Dear 2017: I'm here, we're ready, let's go! In the first week we've already had a foggy drive back from Kansas to our home in Colorado, a (FIRST) birthday, a fresh snow, an indoor picnic, and, on the downside, a seriously cruddy cold settled in this past weekend (happy birthday, poor Mlada!)
2016, man. 2016 was humbling. God told me over and over and over again that I don't get to pick the time, or the way, or oh, so many things, and that despite that, no, because of that, this life is still beautiful.
I did a 366 last year, but gave up tracking the further on my pregnancy/exhaustion/allthelaziness went. I'm bringing it back here, it just feels like where it should be. I like how I can reflect in the quiet in my little internet spot here, and didn't end up loving how it felt to have it mishmashed with my work on my business page.
This year is also SUCH a blur. I'm wondering if I need to be seen for some kind of memory loss, because, holy moly, no matter how hard I try, both that year of pregnancy and first year after birth flies by.
Let's catch up in the most compressed possible way. You ready? One photo for each month of 2016:
We had a baby. She is beautiful, and fabulous, and ohmygoodness did she make us wait (hello 41+6!) Worth it.
Colette turned three. She lives in her own very intricate little world, and it's amazing and exhausting to try to follow the twists and turns in her brain. I am so grateful for all of the adventures she takes me on!
Anni turned six. Six has also thrown us for a loop, but oh, my, she tries so very, very hard, and is the sweetest girl. She and reading have recently clicked and she spends much her spare time soaking in all of the Thornton Burgess Mother Westwind books.
We adventured to Wisconsin with my family, and this was my very favorite part of the adventure: Witchs' Gulch in the Dells. Just look!
July gets a video, because Daniel turned 30 and we managed to surprise him! Yay!
He also got a hammock for his birthday, and there was much hammocking done through the rest of the summer and fall.
Anni started her first grade year, and oh, my, I still struggle with my sweet girl being gone all day. She loves, loves, loves it and is thriving and learning and growing in her wonderful school, but I still miss her.
October, Fall, beautiful leaves (we really had a gorgeous and extra prolonged autumn, it was fabulous), including a windy day at the pumpkin patch.
Heck. You're going to get the video from the pumpkin patch, too, because it is one of my favorites from the whole year:
Then, I turned 30 in November. I still haven't quite grasped that one, but I am so grateful that my 30 years have brought me these babies with my beloved. Here is to another 70 years of adventure!
Oh, my, I could share another 10 blogposts on December, no, on Christmas alone! We spent 10 days back home in Wichita with my family and fit in so many things. There were two new nephews to meet, and "old" nephews to adventure with (Charlie has always been and will always be one of Anni's very favorite people. If he read at the dinner table, so did she, he so patiently played round after round of War with her, he's absolutely the big brother to our girls), baptisms, and traditions, hard things, and good things.
Our Santa Lucia traditions has had to adjust a bit with Anni being in school. While we are looking forward to the day St. Lucy's Day will be on a weekend again and we can resume our community tea parties, we don't want Anni to miss out, so we have actually become a bit more traditional in how we go about things.
Anni and I woke in the wee hours to make some lussekatter... or rather some canned orange rolled re-shaped to look like lussekatter, because sometimes you've just got to do what you've got to do, and saffron is not always in the grocery or liturgical celebration budget.
Then we snuck and sang to Daddy, who then came out and read our St. Lucy book to the girls before we had to get Anni off to school.
Simple, yes, but I'm glad we still managed to keep our tradition somewhat. It's one of my favorites!
I often forget, amongst the craziness that is having children, that they are magic.
They are unspoiled by our grown-up worries. We get to worry about the world and its insanities, and they get to worry about the best way to weave a flower crown.
Or who gets to water Mary's flowers first.
They take joy in letting the littlest have the first crown, and in being together.
Oh, little lady. Slow down, sweet baby. You are squishy, sweet, smiley, and an impossible napper (seriously babe... why no naps?) You love sucking on your fingers (in fact, you don't give them up even to perform your favorite new trick... rolling over!)
You adore your big sisters. When Anni comes home and gets down on the floor to talk to you (something she is so good and sweet at), your grins are huge!
Colette, ahem, loves you a little hard sometimes, but you still like her quite a bit.
and your Daddy? Oh, my. When he gets home from work, you find him as quickly as you can and almost immediately settle onto his shoulder, one of the few places you like to fall asleep.
and me? Little lady, I adore you. I love our sleepy cuddles in the night when you are just so hungry you can't stand it, but you really don't even wake up, just enough to let me know. I love wrapping you up so you can hang out right next to me no matter what I do. You are so curious! Even wrapped up, if you aren't ready to fall asleep, you open those sweet eyes wide and check out everything going on around you. It's so fun to watch you grow! You may be the third, but every milestone and sweet baby moment is just as exciting as the first time.
