Happy New Year!?!?

So, yeah.  I am just now easing into the realization that it is 2012 and now it is HALF WAY OVER!?!  Incredible!  In an attempt to wish you all a happy new year, here is a brief over view of our year so far.  :)

 JANUARY - We were cold!  We spent a lot of time inside or at Ikea or the library and we read lots of books (Kaylie's favorite).  In fact, we read so many books, that one day Steve came home from work and I told him that we needed to get some new books and he replied with, "I was thinking the same thing!"

 FEBRUARY - Still feeling cold.  My sweet, wonderful sisters, Darla and Debra, came for a visit which was a heaven-send for me during some very gray days.  We celebrated Steve's 30th birthday and as you can see, our almost-15-month-old Kaylie was still only crawling.  With some help from her cousins who came to visit, she started doing laps around the house by the end of the month.  I never knew I'd be so excited for my child to walk and I think it greatly improved our relationship.  :)

MARCH - Michigan shocked us all with some very warm and wonderful weather!  I think I may have been the most grateful of all because I was really needing some sunshine!  We announced to friends and family that we are expecting baby #2 in September, which means the 1st trimester had come to an end and food was finally my friend again.  So, sunshine and appetite all in the same month - what a great March!

APRIL - We celebrated my 30th birthday and found out we are expecting a baby GIRL.  We are thrilled and can't wait to meet her.  Kaylie turned 18 months and is now attending nursery at church.  I don't know how well she listens or participates, but she LOVES her nursery leader, so she happily waves goodbye to us each Sunday and marches right in.

MAY -  We took two trips to visit my sister, Darla, and her family in Toronto.  They moved there at the beginning of the year and are now only 3.5 hours away from us, which is a huge blessing!  Kaylie loves her cousins "Guke", "Nannah" and "Na-nine" and I love sister time!

JUNE - We finally experienced summer weather and have taken advantage of any and every opportunity to be outdoors.  Michigan is beautiful this time of year!  Kaylie and I went with a friend to her parent's lake house and spent a couple of days in the sand and the water.  Kaylie loved it and has no fear of the water.  We also got to see Lake Michigan and walk on the beach.  What a beautiful place!!  I keep loving Michigan more and more!  The highlight of the get-away was being removed from household chores and responsibilities and really being able to focus on Kaylie and playing with her.  I think I sometimes get too caught up in my to-do list and forget to enjoy her as much as possible.

So, life has been fairly simple this year and full of wonderful moments and memories with Kaylie as we watch her continue to discover and learn about the world around her. She loves to say new words and is talking more and more.  Just recently she has refused to use her high chair, so meals are now done at the kitchen table.  I think she is sensing that her time as our baby is coming to an end and is getting ready to be a big sister.

And with that, we wish you a happy 2012!!  :)

Once there was a snowman....., small, small, small!!

The Michigan winter has not lived up to its reputation, so as we've been waiting for it to hit, this is what we've been up to................

Kaylie made a new friend in NYC during the our Christmas vacation. We stayed with our wonderful friends in Manhattan and played for a few days. Kaylie and Jane are only 3 days apart in age.

Carousel in Central Park

Checking out the Natural History Museum

Visiting with my uncle and aunt who also live in Manhattan (I'm telling you, it's the place to be!)

Eating at the Shake Shack twice and loving the flavor of the day!

The Rock

Cupcakes and milk with our other wonderful friends, the Stotts, who, you guessed it, ALSO live in Manhattan. Marne was our tour guide and helped us find our way around. It was so fun to be with them!

Attending church in the same building as the temple

Kaylie with her other new friends, Chelsea and Aubrey

Look familiar? I'll sing the song if I have to.

On our way to Central Park

Fulfilling a dream of Steve's - eating at Grimaldi's pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge

Waiting too long for a taxi after waiting too long in the Lincoln Tunnel. :)

Getting excited for Santa

Decorating sugar cookies

Seeing Wicked in Detroit, not NYC!

Aah, there you are winter....or at least there you were.

This picture was taken out our back window at the beginning of December. It has not looked like this since!

Pigtails, Fall and a Birthday

Does life get any better?

We love our little 1 year old!

Apples of my Eye

We went apple picking with our good friends here and not only did we get a huge $15 bag of apples, donuts and cider, and more than 1 mosquito bite,

We also got this picture, which is my new most favorite picture of all times.

Rewind and Pause, please

Tonight I was looking at pictures of the last few months and I decided that I really miss these days:

Our days of baby oatmeal and pureed peas, carrots and squash are pretty much over and it makes me really sad. :(

Home Sweet Home

The last month has been a whirlwind!! We made the move to Michigan and moved into our house all within a couple of days and it has been nonstop since. We are really happy to be here and are sincerely loving everything so far. We are blessed with wonderful friends who have helped make the transition so smooth.

A lot has changed over the past month but the biggest change has been that we are home owners. Crazy!! Our To-Do list and To-Buy list are never ending but we are enjoying our many projects.

Here are some pictures of the things we love about our house. (These are dedicated to you, Megan!) :)

It has a front porch. And yes, rockers are on our To-Buy list. :)

It's in a beautiful neighborhood with friendly neighbors.

Counter space!!

A laundry room WITH a sink...

...and a closet!! I admit that this is my favorite room in the house.

Room to grow! And space to ride bikes and roller skate during the long, dreary Michigan winters

A garage that fits both of our cars. Incredible.

A place in the kitchen for the mail, and my purse, and my projects and all those other random things that find their way to the kitchen.

A pantry!!!!!

A beautiful backyard

WINDOWS!!!(and apparently, a dusty fan). :) This was so important to me..... the windows, not the fan.

And the very best part of it all is that SHE lives here. :)

We feel very very lucky and very very blessed to be here. We look forward to making many happy memories in our new home.