2011 in review

Well, 2011 is over, so let’s briefly recap…

January
When the year started, the boys had just turned 3. They were still sleeping in cribs, and still in diapers. Looking back, it’s hard to believe how far they’ve come in a year.

In January, though, they were potty-trained. And it was pretty easy. Whew.

My back was hurting from the disc I herniated in December.

Favorite photo of the month:

February
The boys moved into their big boy room. Another transition that went a thousand times better than I expected. I think it’s because we waited until they were older, but who knows why, really.

My back was hurting, and I had a steroid injection that made it worse. Bleh.

Favorite photo of the month:
I didn’t take it, but it’s of my sweet nephew Andrew.

March
I spent a weekend in Savannah with girlfriends. My back hurt.

Favorite photo of the month:

April
I visited my new nephew Andrew (and my niece and sister and brother in law, etc) in Virginia.

I had back surgery. It was the best thing I did all year. My pain was instantly gone, and the recovery wasn’t too bad.

Favorite photo:

May
Took photos of my coworkers brand-new identical twin boys. (Yeah, don’t drink the water in my office!)

Favorite photo:

June
Went to Boise for work. My sister and her family came to visit for our cousin’s wedding.

Favorite photo:

July
The boys took swimming lessons. They made huge improvements in the week of lessons, but by the end of the month, they were back to refusing to swim. Sigh.

Favorite photo:

August
We went to Virginia for Andrew’s christening. Everyone was sick, and I got barfed on on the plane, so it wasn’t the best trip ever, but we ended up having a great time anyway.

I sent in audition tapes for a new reality show, and I get “pitched to the network” but I never hear back from them. Boo!

And the boys started school at a new French Immersion school.

Favorite photo:

September
Nothing major happened, we were just getting used to our new schedule and routine. Oh, wait, my friends’ restaurant had its grand opening. That was pretty exciting.

Favorite photo:

October
Same old, same old. The boys were construction workers for Halloween.

Favorite photo:

November
Passed in a blur. Spent Thanksgiving with my family. George and I celebrated our sixth anniversary.

Favorite photo:

December
The boys turned 4! Christmas! Two weeks off school! Linus gets Hand, Foot, and Mouth. Ugh.

Favorite photo:

Also in 2011:
– Construction began on the building across the street from our house in April. It is supposed to be completed by April 2012, and I cannot wait. I’m tired of the workers, the cars, the mess, the dirt, but it’ll all be worth it when it’s complete.

– I got more serious about photography. I never want to go into business as a photographer, but I do enjoy photographing my friends’ kids. Just for fun. And related to that, I completed another 365 project! I was all set to not do one in 2012, but I think I’ll just see how it goes. That’s what I did in 2011, and look where that got me!

The boys in 2011:
– Were obsessed with Cars for the first half of the year, and Thomas for the second half.
– Started pre-K at a French school and can count past 10 and know their colors in French.
– Got even pickier, food-wise.

So overall, I’d say it was a good year. Hopefully 2012 will be even better!

12/31/11

12/31/11, a photo by pyjammy on Flickr.

Well, that brings us to the conclusion of another year! Who are those old people? Look at this picture from New Year’s Eve 2004 (or is it 2005? Do you say the year coming or the year going? In any case, it was taken on 12/31/04.) The location is the same, too.

12/30/11

12/30/11, a photo by pyjammy on Flickr.

We took the boys to the Insectarium, and Miles was telling me about the bee that stung him on the ear that time at the park. I’m glad he’s not afraid of that plastic bee, but he was terrified of the butterflies.

12/29/11

12/29/11, a photo by pyjammy on Flickr.

My mom got the boys these Stomp Rockets for Christmas and they were a HUGE hit. Highly recommend. But we’ve already gotten two stuck on the roof. Oops!

12/28/11

12/28/11, a photo by pyjammy on Flickr.

The boys got metal Slinkies for Christmas, and I tried to make it go down the stairs. Didn’t work too well, but clearly they didn’t care!

12/27/11

12/27/11, a photo by pyjammy on Flickr.

I was playing with the new remote shutter release I got for Christmas. Here’s me and my friend Anne, who came over with her little boy (who is the same age as the boys.)

12/26/11

12/26/11 a video by pyjammy on Flickr.

This is kind of weird, yes? Reminds me of the Doublemint twins.

Christmas recap

This was definitely the most fun Christmas we’ve ever had with the boys. And I learned my lesson from last year. Last year I kind of went crazy and probably bought every toy that said “ages 3 and up” for them (which is pretty much every toy on Earth) but this year, I was much more careful with my gift-giving approach. (In my head, I would compare this to war – carpet bombing with toys last year, but precision bombing this year.)

Linus was feeling so much better on Friday, which meant they were able to spend the night at Granny and Grandpa’s. Thank goodness, I really needed a break! Plus, I still had a ton to do before the holiday. I spent the evening making Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls, which were not too hard to do, but maybe next time I’d cut back on the butter and sugar. They were a tad rich for me, and that’s saying a lot. The recipe made six and a half pans of rolls, so five of those got gifted to friends and family.

{Of course, after all that, the boys wouldn’t even eat them on Christmas morning. Argh.}

I got up bright and early Saturday morning to pick up the boys because it was snow day at City Park! They’ve been talking about it ever since last year, so I thought they’d be excited to play in the snow, but the reality was a bit too cold, wet, and slippery for them. Ah well, it was still fun while it lasted.

They had more fun jumping, playing on the railroad tracks and laughing at the naked statues.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at home, then we went to our friends’ house for Christmas Eve dinner. Stephanie made the most incredible cioppino so even though the boys had a massive freak-out upon arriving at their house (they had fallen asleep on the way over) we had a great time. It didn’t hurt that I had an eggnog daiquiri when I got there and hot chocolate with bailey’s before we left.

The boys were up until ten thirty that night, which was insane. Their usual bedtime is closer to 7:30, so they fell right asleep and didn’t wake up the next morning until almost NINE! Now I know I need to keep them up super late if I want to sleep in on weekends. Ha.

So I was up at 7:30 on Christmas morning, waiting on my children with my coffee and a roaring fire.

(on the TV)

I’m happy to say that the gifts they got were very well-received, except for the Hexbug Nano that scared the bejeezus out of Miles.

They got LeapPads, one Thomas train, and a bunch of tracks. Not too much, but they loved everything. They might be a little too into the Leappads, but at least they’re learning tools. Uh, yeah, that’s what I’ll tell myself.

And the fighting over the Thomas trains tells me they really love them.

Later, we went to George’s uncle’s house for Christmas dinner, where the boys got more loot (and so did George and I. I got a great set of Land’s End tote bags for the gym, overnight trips, etc.)

Oh yeah, I forgot to brag about what a great job George did for me. 😀 I got a new Kindle to replace the one I dropped a few weeks ago, a cool sciency cookbook, and the remote shutter release I wanted for my camera.

And that wasn’t all! Kristina got me a set of beautiful All-Clad measuring cups and spoons (I drool over hers whenever I’m at her house), some fun magnets, and a Parks & Recreation book. 🙂

Hope everyone else had a fantastic holiday as well!

12/25/11

12/25/11, a photo by pyjammy on Flickr.

This might be my favorite moment of gift opening this morning (except the moment I opened my brand new Kindle, thanks Georgie!), when Miles saw the box I’d put their LeapPads in and exclaimed, "Oooh, Mommy, a SANTA box!" Then he tossed it aside, as if THAT was the gift. Hee!