Looking back on 2012

It's taken me forever to write this recap ...

It's that time of year to look back on the year and reminisce all that was 2012.  In a nutshell this year was ... 6 months of pregnancy and 6 months of sleep deprivation. Sounds eerily like 2010. These are strangely enough the best kinds of years.

My pregnancy was uneventful and life with a toddler was so it was very much a blur. Although everything changed at 32 weeks when we were told we were having a girl -- the little Nicholas Matteo I was dreaming of vanished (sadly) and little Charlotte? Lucia? Annabelle? took his place. She (Claire) arrived 1-day ahead of schedule on June 14th. Family complete.

Wesley grew up! From 18 months to 2-1/2 is a big change! He became a big brother, started a Parents Day Out program (pre pre-school), and was potty trained. He went to Nashville with daddy on the airplane in April and saw his first downtown play - The Grinch - with Nana in December.We took music classes, library story time classes, and swimming classes.

Aside from being busy with toddler & baby classes, I took a pre-natal water fitness class throughout my pregnancy, made new friends, and had a busy spring/summer/fall filled with weekly park play dates with a new mom's group. I taught my French class until March when the session ended.  I came to love my students but I was getting into my 3rd trimester and was ready for it to end.

Around the house, changes were happening as Wesley's room became a big boy room and the small bedroom became Claire's room with an office in the closet.  We painted the brick of our house and  hired a landscape designer to redesign our front & back yard gardens.  By August we had our new patio installed, and in the fall we started planting some shrubs and envisioning our new outdoor space.

No travel, no fancy restaurants ... 2012 was pretty quiet in that regard. All I can remember is our quiet 9th anniversary dinner (our first time out without the kids) at our favorite restaurant in town, and that we sneaked in an amazing dinner at Bien Trucha after my last French class while Wesley was with his Nana. I'm still salivating from their amazing tacos.

Looking forward to another busy year as my babies grow up and our life continues to evolve and change each day.

Happy New Year (belatedly).