Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

Another year has come and gone and what a year it's been. Before I get into the exciting things that happened in 2011, I want to apologize for being such a lousy blogger. I guess I've felt that I needed to be in the mood to write a big, long, funny, creative post every time. I avoided blogging a lot of days because I didn't think I'd have the energy to write up a "news paper article" type post. Today, as I was taking down the Christmas decorations, I realized that I should blog more even if it's short and sweet. After all, I started this blog as a journal type thing and I want to remember things that happen in my life. I need to write it weather I'm in the mood for a long creative post, or short and sweet post. It just needs to be documented, period. So I'm sure you've guessed what one of my new years resolutions is. That's right, to post more often on my blog.

Now, onto my reflections of 2011.

1. Taking our family to Utah. It was Rosie and Joseph's first time on an airplane and they loved it. They were so excited to be on a plane and everyone kept on commenting how cute they were. Joseph, because he was under the age of 2, was able to sit on my lap the entire flight. Although being huge a pregnant, it was nice to snuggle with my little guy all the way to Utah. I'd never been to Utah before, or seen mountains for that matter, so I was really excited too. I posted about that trip way back in January, so to find out more, read that post.

2. Dave's business (the quilt shop) has done amazing this year. We were finally able to take a pay cheque each month out of the business (at first all profits were re-invested into the business). What a blessing the quilt shop has become in our lives! I was even able to get my own sewing machine out of Dave's first pay cheque! I'm grateful for all the hard work Dave puts into his business and all he does to support our family.

3. Painting the kitchen and throwing out my back! My kitchen looks amazing, but I threw my back out in the process. I wrote a blog post about that when it happened in February. I never understood it when people would complain about their backs, but now I have huge amounts of sympathy for them. I couldn't do anything when it happened. I was so depressed because I couldn't even take care of the basic needs of my family. Changing a diapers was next to impossible even, and there was absolutely no way I could even attempt to pick up my kids. Another goal of mine is to strengthen my back so that things like that never happen again.

4. Finishing my third quilt. I made Dave an amazing quilt (which made have also contributed to my back problems. It was a difficult pattern, but it was worth all the hours and hours of work. I'm pretty impressed with myself!

5. Michael was born on June 3rd!!! This is the most exciting thing that has happened in 2011. He came basically on time according to my ultrasound (one said June 2, the other said June 4). My water broke at the in-laws house and about 14 hours later he was born. He weighed 8 pounds and 1 ounce. I was so surprised to see his blonde hair and even more surprised to see his blue eyes. I never thought I'd have a blued eyed baby, but I'm glad I do. It's fun to have children that look so different from each other. Michael is a very social baby and therefore never wants to be left alone, even at bedtime. I spent the first couple weeks of Michael's life holding him, ALL the time. He suffered from a bit of colic, but became a different baby once I cut of dairy and once Dave gave him a blessing. He's almost 7 months now and I'm so happy to have him in our family :)

6. I ran my second 5 km race. I raced at Bayfront park and it wasn't easy. I gained a lot of weight while being pregnant, more than I've ever gained, so I had more to carry around when I ran. It was a nice run and I'd like to do it again sometime. Running more is another goal of mine.

7. Rosie started school. It was very emotional sending my little girl off to school, but she's doing great. Her teacher is amazing and she's learning so much. It's like she woke up one morning and started coloring instead of scribbling, and she could suddenly write her name. She won the courage award and preformed in the holiday concert. I'm so proud of how far she's come since September.

8. Joseph went potty. Although he's nowhere near potty trained, he's gone on the potty a few times already! He's such a smart boy and I know he'll be trained in no time. Joseph also learned all his letters, uppercase and lowercase this year. Like I said, he's a smart boy!

9. Two of Dave's cousins were married this year.

10. Jane, Autumn, and Iris came for a visit. I really love that family and wished they lived closer, or could visit more often.... or maybe we should visit them in Hawaii (I like the sound of that!) Autumn and Iris are such beautiful and sweet girls and Rosie loves hanging out with them. I'm so glad the weather was nice the days they were here.

11. Halloween was a lot of fun. Rosie dressed as a princess, Joseph was Tigger, and Michael was a lobster and I was a chef and carried him around in a pot!

12. Thanksgiving was wonderful as always. It great to spend time with family, reflecting on our many blessings. I wrote a blog post about that too. I really love Thanksgiving and can't wait until we have a house large enough to host it. I have a lot of ideas up my sleeve, thanks to pinterest.com

13. Christmas was wonderful as always! I'll quickly list what the kids got for Christmas, since I neglected to write a Christmas post.

Rosie

- Ariel Barbie

- Gabriella Barbie (highschool musical)

- Purple slippers

- Light bright

- Tinkerbell sticker book

- Tinkerbell book with figurines

- New Christmas dress

- 150 piece puzzle

- New pajamas

- Color wand Fairy

- Princess Leia costume

- Princess dress

Joseph

- Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle

- Toy Story puzzle

- Winnie the Pooh puzzle

- Backpack from the Gap

- Cars sticker book

- Toy Story book with figurines

- Cars Color Wonder

- Superman T-shirt and new jeans

- Dinosaur toys

- Pirate ship

- New Pajamas

- Jedi Knight Costume

- Dragon hat

Michael

- Sophie the giraffe toy

- Fridge Zoo by Leapfrog

- Teething Toys

- New pajamas

- Canada outfit

- Yoda costume

- Baby toy car

I'm sure there's more stuff that each kid got, but I can't remember right now.

Mike, Katie, and baby David have been visiting all December and that has been a lot of fun. It's will be sad to see them go next week.

14. Katie is pregnant! She's expecting her new baby boy in February!

15. Shannon had her baby a few days before Christmas. Her baby girl was named Gwendolyn.

16. My friend Tara also had a baby in December and she also had a girl, named Gabriella.

17. Dave attended quilt market this year in Texas. He had a great time meeting all the industry bigwigs and spending time with his BFF Al. I sure missed him when he was gone, but I'm glad he was home in time for Halloween.

18. Dave started teaching seminary this year. It's a calling that he's very excited about, but stressed at how much time it takes. It's hard when we have a family with 3 small kids. I know he loves his calling but will probably only teach for 1 year.

19. April got engaged! Her wedding will be in May :)

There are many more exciting things that I just can't think of right now. It's been a great year and I hope 2012 will be just as wonderful, or better.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth