Here is the 2013 jar of mementos.
It shows the tickets as the evidence of our growing interest in hockey, and more specifically the Ducks.
It has the tag from the marathon that I would have run if it wasn't for the biggest surprise of the year...finding out that we were pregnant with little Remington! Along that line, there is also the receipt from birth class, and his hospital tag from his Thanksgiving cut on the head, not from his birth, which was at home.
There are the tickets from our flights home with Grace back in March, and all of the significance that those carry with them as we became parents for the first time!
The only other little mementos are the ticket from the OC Fair in the summer, and a ticket stub from one of the two movies that Blake and I were able to see without the kids- World War Z (the other was Hunger Games:Catching Fire, but that stub didn't get in there).
Looking back over the year's blogs and moments:
January was mostly marked by a huge shift for me as I stopped teaching, waited for news about Grace, and let the news and knowledge of being pregnant sink in. I had a lot of downtime, and I wasn't used to the expectations of being a wife without also having the responsibilities of a job.
February brought a huge ray of light as we got the news Grace's passport was ready and we were able to schedule her visa interview. We also got to share with family and friends about our pregnancy, and we celebrated Grace's upcoming arrival with the shower for her.
March was one of the most exciting months of the year, as we had the up moment of the visa interview, the down moment when we heard we needed to send more information before it would be approved, the up moment of getting the approval, followed by the down moment that there was no escort for the trip, followed by the up moment of actually bringing her home! Talk about a roller coaster ride of emotions.
Looking back at the March pictures and videos, I can't believe how much she has grown since then! Bigger, taller, less skin and bone, gone from crawling to running, gone from a few words to over 50 and putting phrases together, sadness to laughing and smiling most of the time. We are so blessed to have her home!
April, May, June, July, August are all marked by just seeing her smile more, do more, and just thrive in her new home. It isn't about the specific events, but about the sweet memories of being a mom.
There are some cool moments of seeing Remington move inside my belly, and now knowing the little boy who was making those movements way back then.
September brought our son and made us parents of two!
He has been such an easy baby, even the challenges of having two kids haven't been as bad as they could, and he brings so much fun too... even if he is growing too fast.
October brought Grace's first birthday party, and November was marked by our Thanksgiving "fun" with his cut, and all of my new forays into doing Grace's hair. December was filled with all of the Christmas activities that I dreamed about doing with kids for years.
Previous years, my new year's eve look back was about the "stuff" that I did...this year... it's really about my kids. It is a whole paradigm shift, where my most enjoyment comes from seeing them as they grow and change. I have a love hate relationship with the changes, where I am so happy for their progress, but I miss their helplessness too... and I bet that won't get any easier.
As much as 2013 radically changed my life in more positive ways than I could have ever expected at the end of 2012, I am rooting for 2014 to be a much calmer year. I hope for a year filled with great times with the kids and family... and no huge life altering changes. :-D
Gotta end the year with some little ones being their cute selves:
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