2013: A Year in Review

It's hard to believe that today is the last day of 2013. As I was getting this post together I was overwhelmed with emotion. How quickly time goes by and how quickly Anna has changed. She looks so itty bitty here in January compared to her pictures from December. It is a small giant reminder to savour our days. 

There were lots of ups and downs for me this year in my personal life. Struggles with trying to have a baby, struggles with how best to make our marriage thrive, struggles with worthiness, struggles with finding time to just breathe. Even when I didn't think it was possible I found my way out of the dark and I am so very grateful. I am beyond grateful for each and every day. Grateful for the love and support from Cory. For Anna. For lessons learned. For opportunities to grow. For career opportunities that I once thought were out of reach. I end 2013 on a wonderful, positive note. I am eager to move forward and eager to keep growing & learning. 

For you my readers, thank you to all of you that check in here. Thank you to all of you that read my words and cheer me on.  Thank you for your support and kind words. Thank you for sharing your own stories with me whether through email or comments. All I have ever wanted was to make a difference, to inspire others and help you realize that you're not alone and that our stories matter.

I love this life! Thank you 2013 & look out 2014.

January

Lots of play dates, trips to Starbucks & Chapters & dancing. We went to the Pet Expo with family.  We played in the snow a lot! We built the best snowmen. We made lots of soup.

February

Anna moved to a big girl bed. I scrapbooked for myself (may have been the last time this year). We made lots of trips to the library. Anna & I got our bake on... a lot! We built more snowmen! I started Forty to 40 for Cory.

March

We spent Easter (which was early this year) at my parents and fooled around outside enjoying the mild weather, Anna started going to jiu jitsu on Saturday mornings with Daddy, we made lots of buns.

April

Cory turned 40. 

I took him on a weekend trip to Banff and then the weekend after I threw him a fortieth birthday party.

May

The weather was amazing. We spent as much time outside as we could, we even had a couple days hot enough to fill up the pool! We planted our garden and got back into the farmers market scene. I tried deep fried pickles for the first time and it was love at first bite.

June

I had the opportunity to attend Tedx Edmonton. It was fabulous but the highlight was listening to Fred Penner. We tried out new mojito & panini recipes. I turned our pool and slide into a backyard water park. We made running outside part of our daily routine. We took Anna to her first football game and had a Canada Day BBQ.

July

We celebrated Canada Day together at the Legislature Grounds. We went camping in Jasper- it was the coldest weekend in Jasper that summer- we bundled up and got cozy. We went to the Wolansky family BBQ and it was wonderful as always. Anna & I went to the Edmonton valley zoo, Cory took a couple fishing trips. My girlfriend Annie came to visit. We took Anna to K-Days, we rode rides, Anna won a prize and we ate mini donuts until we burst.

August

We took a 2 week vacation and it was magical! We camped in Banff. Stayed at a dreamy B&B in Nelson and relaxed on the private beach! We went to Osoyoos and fell in love! The wine... oh the wine. We drove through wine country and bought fruit right from the tree. We stayed in a cabin in Revelstoke and explored an Enchanted Forest. Like I said... magical!

September

We took family photos and explored the river valley. I helped plan a surprise 40th birthday party for my dear friend Karen. I went from blond to brunette. We took Anna to Dora the Explorer Live and she LOVED it. Cory & I celebrated 5 years of marriage.

October

I turned 35 and got spoiled by family & friends. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Stettler and Anna rode a horse for the first time, Pure joy! Anna was Tinkerbell for her playgroup Halloween party. She made a costume change and went as Minnie Mouse for trick r' treating, we went out with the Hach boys and cleaned up! 

November

Anna turned 3!!!

We had a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party at the Fountain Park pre-school playground. I went all out on decorations and overboard on food. On her actual birthday we took her to Build a Bear, out for lunch and then made all her favourites for dinner including ice cream with candles. Cory built a hill in our yard for her to slide down. We had many dance parties on the "stage" in our living room. I took her to Sea Life caverns at West Edmonton Mall to see the Sea Lion show and we had our picture taken with a sea lion. Anna drew her first family portrait. We picked up our first real Christmas tree.

December

We put up our tree and the house smelled amazing. We hung outside lights for the first time and bought an inflatable Santa. Our Elf on the Shelf Earl came back. We had a book countdown advent. We baked lots of Christmas goodies. Anna had her first play date without me. We went to 5 different parties. Cory & I had our first date night alone since June! We perfected eggs benedict. We celebrated the holidays at my Mom & Dad's and it was wonderful. We played in the snow, rode the snowmobile, had a cocktail hour, watched movies, ate and then ate some more. We relaxed.