Year in Review

2010.  A year I know that I will never forget.  It has been a very pivotal year for me in so many ways.  There has been so much change, so much transition and so much growth for me this year.  I feel like this is the year that I have really become a grown-up and even that realization is still setting in some days.

January

This month was the most anticipated month for me, probably ever.  David and I got married on January 9, 2010 and our wedding was more beautiful and more fun than I could have ever imagined!  It was really cold that day, but there was not a cloud in the sky.  We got married, we danced, we ate and we got to spend the day with the people in our lives that we love the most.

Following our wedding, we headed on our honeymoon to Las Vegas for 7 nights and 8 days in the gorgeous new hotel and casino The Aria.   What a great trip!  We really wined and dined ourselves on our honeymoon. 

February

We spent our first Valentines Day as a married couple together.  We went to Mama Roux, a cajun restaurant in Austin, with the Copelands and had a really good dinner. 

We also began to do some more serious house hunting in this month.  This mostly consisted of driving around to the different towns that surround Austin to determine if we would want to live there or not.  I was familiar with Pflugerville, because we were currently living there, and I knew that Round Rock would probably be outside of our price range.  We did not want to live in Hutto.  Then Dave showed me Leander and we decided that this would be were we would focus most of our attention.  The 'Der. 

March

The house hunt continues!  We were on somewhat of a deadline because we were trying desperately to make an offer on a house before April 30 to qualify for the first time homebuyers tax rebate.  So every weekend this month, as well as some week nights, were dedicated to viewing houses.  We were connected with an amazing real estate that was such a help every step of the way.   When it was all said and done we viewed about 45 houses, and made two offers.  The second offer worked out and was the one that got us into our beloved home now.

We also found out that we were pregnant!  It was quite the crazy month that's for sure.  I was secretly very happy that I was now pregnant just before we were about to pack up and move.  Oh, shucks, I couldn't help out that much.  :) A huge thank you was owed to my parents, my sister, Dave's parents, and JonO and Lexie  whoe were all a tremendous help to us during the move. 

Also, Thor was in a scuffle with our neighbor's dogs that ended up being pretty dramatic.  We were very lucky that our other neighbor was home to break up the fight and call the cops.  This almost felt like a sign, that yes, it was indeed to pack up and move on.  Buh-bye, Pflugervile, and hello a couple of more hundreds of dollars in vet bills. 

April

Easter weekend we spent in San Antonio with my family, and Dave's parents joined us.  It's always fun when they get to hang out with my crazy family.  It was at this get together that I told most of my extended family that we were expecting a little one in November!  I gathered up all of the ladies in that the family while we were at the bar-be-que, and I told them I had something I wanted to share.  My Aunt Yolanda said, "you're pregnant?" It was funny that it was even anticipated that early!  So, I let them know, that yes, I was indeed pregnant. 

We also celebrated Dave and JonO's birthday in a longstanding tradition of doing a joint celebration.  I believe they have been doing this for about 6 years now.  We all went bowling, which was a nice change of pace from the other years when we usually go downtown for a night of debauchery. 

Other things that kept us busy this month were the 10K Texas Round-Up, Sarah's dance competition in San Antonio, we closed on the house, and then we started packing up to move.

May

May brought about the big move.  We were (and still are) slaves to our new home. 

We also celebrated Mother's Day in San Antonio with my mom's side of the family.

Sarah had another amazing choir performance that we got to attend in Harker Heights.  This was the first time that I was actually able to hear her sing an entire solo performance, and she was amazing!

Oh! The Lost Series Finale was being shown at the Alamodraft House.  Dave and I were able to buy tickets and see the show as well as the pre-show hoopla on a nice little dinner/movie date. 

June

In June, we had a guest come and stay at our house for a couple of nights...the infamous Storm.  It was a stray dog that Dave and I found in our garage one morning after a particularly bad summer storm.  Poor thing was so scared of the thunder.  We kept him in the garage while we were away at work, and then when we returned and opened the garage he bolted.  Then he returned, then he disappeared again.  Later this month, someone else in our neighborhood found him as well and posted signs looking for his owner.  We got a kick out of those signs. 

Thor turned 2 years old on June 17.  Hard to believe that two years has passed since he joined our family. 

Dave, Sarah, my parents and I all made a trip up to the Dallas-Arlington area to go to Six Flags.  It was so much fun and a nice get away from town. 

We found that that we were having a baby girl!!!

July

We spent most of our weekends away in July.

July 4th, we celebrated in Harker Heights at my parents house.  Barbeque, swimming, family circle time, and lots of eating.

Then Jae and his ladies came into town for a visit.  They visited us in Leander and stayed the night, and then we all headed to San Antonio to visit with more family.

Jenny & Jake Stewart visited Texas and we were able to steal them away from their family for an afternoon.  Sam, Kelly, Dave and I all met them at the Taproom for some good burgers and a great time. 

Dave and I went on a wonderful family vacation with Annette & Reese to Rockport.  We stayed at an adorable little house right on the cove and did a lot of night time fishing.  Unfortunately, we did not catch much, but we still did a lot of good eating on this trip!

This month we really started to focus on working on the nursery because we now knew that Olivia was going to be an Olivia. 

August

I turned 25.  Eh, who cares.

We spent a lot of our time and weekends in the 'Der, or close to.  After a very busy July, I had made that promise to Dave. 

September

September was most definitely a month of some serious nesting for both Dave and I.  Dave took on several homes projects that he wanted to get done before baby arrived.  Our family room was arranged and wired with surround sound.  Dave & Reese also installed an overhead microwave, and then he bought a grill.

I was now becoming a little more serious about the fact, that holy crap, we are going to have a baby.  Some of the big furniture pieces for our nursery were bought by our parent and assembled by us. 

Our 10-week Bradley birthing classes started this month. 

October

My baby shower in San Antonio was hosted for me by my sister, mom, and grandmother.  It was so much fun and I was so happy with the love and support all of my family members showed us.

More shopping! Shopping and more shopping.  Seriously, we shopped like crazy this month for Olivia and really stocked up on things we thought we would need once she arrived.  By the end of October, I felt good and prepared to bring a baby home. 

November

This was definitely a month of waiting.  Everything that we did this month was usually accompanied by, "this could be the last time we do such and such."

Mike, Jeani & Reese came into town from overseas!  We got to spend so much time with them, it was wonderful!  I was so glad they were able to be in town and wait with us on the arrival of our little girl. 

Diane, one of Annette's friends, hosted a wonderful baby shower for Jeani & I.  We were showered with a lot of great new outfits and toys for both of our babies. 

Thanksgiving was spent with the Copelands and Annette cooked an amazing dinner.  Lots of eating, spending time together and football watching.

My due date came and went.

December

Sweet, sweet December 2010.  The month that our little Olivia was born!  Our Thanksgiving baby slowly become a Christmas baby.  She had a dramatic entry into this world as I had quite the labor experience (I will eventually blog more about that.)

She was born December 8, 2010 and has truly changed our lives.  This month has been a whirlwind.  Becoming a mom has been one of the most fulfilling experiences imaginable, and I'm only 3 weeks into it!

Jae, Claudia and Ava were in town for a couple of weeks and we spent a lot of time with them.  Christmas was in San Antonio this year. 
We've been able to spend time with both sides of our families and introduce Olivia to much of her crazy family.

Overall

New Year's Eve night, as we settled in for the evening, it sort of hit me on how much our lives have changed in a year.  This year has definitely been a whirlwind and some of our lives biggest milestones happened in 2010.  It's hard to believe that last year at this time Dave and I were not married and today we are parents.

Everyone likes to say at the changing of the calendar year that this coming year is going to be their year.  I truly feel like 2010 was our year and after having such an amazing year I don't want it to stop!  I want to make 2011 "our year," again.  Now, that does not mean I want to repeat any of the things that made 2010 so wonderful, no more babies for a couple of more years!! However, I do look forward to more milestones to come.

I look forward to all of Olivia's "firsts."  I can't wait till we all get to watch as she growns and starts sitting on her own, rolling over, babbling, talking, scouting, crawling, and those first steps.  All of those awesome things that babies do and make their mommy & daddy so proud.  I don't want to take any of those moments for granted. 

Resolutions for 2011? Eh...most definitely get back into shape and lose the rest of this baby weight.  I'm aiming for running at least a half marathon in November 2011 (San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon) or February 2012(Austin Marathon) , depending on how my training schedule works out. 

Other than that, I would like to focus on our family, spending time together, and being the best mommy I can be.  We are so blessed by having all of Olivia's grandparents nearby and I'm excited that she will grow up being able to have a relationship with all of them.

So another year down, and another one just beginning.  So much in the past year to smile about, and so much in the future to look forwad to.