As we enter into the year of 2014 I'd like to reflect on this past years highlights. I'll start with the month of June, where my daughter turned one and we moved six days afterwards to a state we hate. Considering that we were packed up in boxes and living on an air mattress we didn't do anything special. The pink Minnie Mouse party took the back seat and the one year old photos were canceled. Instead we ordered Chinese and watched red box movies. I wrote in her baby journal apologizing how terrible we were as parents for not celebrating our princess turning one. Hopefully she'll forgive us.
2) Good knowing ya South. We moved to a state that we hate to call "home." Virginia- a place where I will be forever happy to leave and never miss. Due to my military rotation, we left our hearts in South Carolina and drove 7 hours to Norfolk, VA. Great little downtown area but otherwise congested with traffic and other unmentionables. I was in charge of the house hunting, which I found a great "newly renovated ocean front view" for only a grand per month. Let me stop you really quick to say this... If something sounds too good to be true, it's because it is. We pull up in a not so safe area at two in the morning. We had no running water to shower, cook, or clean. Fortunately we found a hotel that was a few miles down the road, and unfortunately it looked like it rented rooms out by the hour. After getting some much needed sleep we returned to our condo to unpack all three vehicles and the trailer. Our upstairs neighbor came down and greeted us- he's an older man who was tan, blonde, and roughly around his forties carrying a beer while shirtless. He inquired about our trip and our little family, as the conversation drew to an end he turned and said "welcome to portview, you're in the slums now." Needless to say we were out of that place in a months time and on to bigger, better, and safer things.
3) October. Blakely had so much fun dressing up and trick or treating. Of course my husband and I had more fun watching her and taking an obnoxious amount of photos but hey that's what parents do. She loved all the small neighborhood dogs that dressed up and was adored by every person she came upon. Being one child of three in our building her candy bag was stocked full. Since our family generally eats healthy we take advantage of splurge opportunities.
4) Thanksgiving. My husband and I had friends and family over for dinner, fourteen to be exact. That night was my first attempt at making yeast rolls... The "sixty minute yeast rolls" turned into rock hard balls of disappointment. Thank goodness my mother-in-law bought some from the store!
5) Black Friday. My 90 year old grandmother came down from Kansas with my dad. She's such a sweetheart and in good health figuring her age. She insisted on going pantyhose shopping... Specifically thigh high, lace elasticity and the color of porcelain. That combination was pretty much impossible to find and after shifting through many people and fighting traffic we reverted to online.
6) Post Christmas - Post New Years. We spent it this year with my family in a small town in Missouri. My grandparents retired on some property in a huge log cabin with four wheelers, golf carts, and boats parked in the barn. My grandparents, mom, brother, uncle, aunt, my cousins Lauren, Sloane, and Tatum were there and it's always nice to see family. Tatum is about a year and a half older than Blakely and everything was a competition between the two. I can thank Tatum for teaching Blakely the response "NO" for everything, So thank you Tatum.
Our stay was pleasant; sledding down hills, sharing laughs and stories, stuffing our faces with all the delicious foods, playing phase ten up until one in the morning, (yes double skip can happen) and just relaxing with the people we love and call family.
So as I file the past years memories away and take note of what to do and what not to do, I look forward to what this year has to bring. I hope everyone welcomed this year in as we did!
Happy New Year!
M.