I can't believe tomorrow we welcome in January! This past year has just flown by. I love January and February, they are two of my favorite months. I love the excitment of what the new year will bring. I also have a serious addiction to Valentine's Day decor from Target. We don't actually celebrate Valentine's day (not our style...we're too cool for school), but I can't get enough of the candy, hearts, and cupcakes. Anyway, I digress.....
Here is a bit of what our year looked like.
January: We were still living in Mankato while Michael finished up his last semester in college. Ingrid was 4 months old, and still NOT sleeping. In fact, she was up ever 2 hours. Now this might have been due to teething (she got her first two teeth in mid-January....at only 16 weeks old, phew!) or just due to the fact that she is the strongest willed baby I know. Either way, we started the CIO method of sleep training...because when you have a kid like Ms. Nightingale, that's the only thing that will work. The first night we let her cry she woke up at 3am, I clenched my fist and ground my teeth through the screaming,but 45 minutes later-she was asleep. And it's been 10-12 hour night's of lullaby sleep since.
February: We celebrate Valentine's Day! I am enjoying all the special occasions when I get to "doll up" my little girl!
Ingrid celebrates her first 1/2 birthday! I can't believe 6 months have passed, and that we are 1/2 way to having a 1 year old. I'm loving having a "big" girl that sleeps through the nights, eats well, nurses well, giggles, and is FULL of personality. This is from Ingrid's "6 month photo shoot!"
March: We are counting down the days until Michael graduates. He is busy working at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, which includes working some weekends. Ingrid is 7 months old and continues to painfully welcome more teeth. Ingrid sits up! We experience one warm day and I take my baby for our first walk with just the two of us I get my first tattoo! This tattoo represents pregnancy and natural childbirth, which I am ever so passionate about. We take Ingrid to visit the Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America, she LOVED it!
Our first walk of the season, we are
thrilled to get out of the house!
My tattoo
Underwater Adventures Aquarium
April: We are enjoying warm weather, and going out on walks. Ingrid's preferred method of transportation is rolling...everywhere! Ingrid continues to get more teeth, and now has 8! My sister comes for a visit and we enjoy going on walks, making cheeseburgers, and watching the Princess and the Frog. Ingrid goes on her first slide ride and is enjoying play dates with friends!
May: My 24th birthday! I am enjoying celebrating my 24 years with my precious child, and awesome husband. Ingrid is 9 months old! She is pulling herself into a standing position, and turning into quite the little lady. I get to experience my first mother's day by snuggling in bed with my baby. I am starting to get more opportunities with photography, and even get to shoot my first wedding!
Michael graduates!!! What an amazing journey the past two years had been. We moved to Mankato, and 5 months later found out we were expecting our first baby. The next 9 months would bring so much anticipation and excitement and the following 9 months would bring trials, tribulations, and so much joy. Michael worked so hard and managed to balance, school, work, and family like a pro.
June: We are enjoying summer, more play dates, and more weddings and kiddo's to photograph!
July: July brings many changes for our family. While Michael is busy looking for a job as a post-grad, we decide to make a move back to our home town, where Michael has the opportunity to work with his dad. We were so sad to leave our awesome apartrment, filled with awesome memories, but so excited to live near family again. Michael turns 24 the day we move, so it didn't turn out to be much of a fun day for him. We move into our new house, only to find that half of our furniture doesn't fit up the stairs! We spend the next several months futon-ing it!
August: August is the month that I've been waiting for for 1 whole year. We celebrate Ingrid's 1st birthday with a big bash! We can't believe she is walking, talking and now a full blown toddler. The past year proved to be the best year of our lives. We also get our first family pictures taken by my friend Carlie. It was a blast to know that these would be our first official "family photos".
September: Michael is full blown engulfed in harvest season, and it's hard to believe but he's busier than he was when he was still in school! 12 hour days, 6 days a week.....oofta. We experience one of the worst flood's Owatonna has ever seen, and our backyard looked something like this....
October: Michael is still harvest-ing, and we are missing him so much!! The waters have finally receded and we are in autumn mode! Ingrid is a butterfly for Halloween, and as you can see-was not thrilled about her costume! We also make a trip to the apple orchard for a fun filled day!
November: We celebrate Thanksgiving in Grand Marais. It was an awesome trip and we enjoyed every second of the huge waves and beautiful scenery.
December: We move, once again-into our new house. We are loving it and it works sooo much better for our family. (1 word: dishwasher). We can't believe how much Ingrid has changed in 1 year. She went from a sleepless 4 month old to a walking, talking toddler. We can't believe how many words she knows, we lost count! Everyday she seems to be able to say something new. We are excited to see everything the new year brings!!
