Life As We Know It: 2012 Wrap Up

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2012 Wrap Up

What a year 2012 was! I would say it was less stressful than 2011, but I'm not sure that's appropriate. It was just less stressful in the sense that we weren't facing an unexpected Down syndrome diagnosis and open heart surgery. In fact, we received an excellent cardiology report and don't have to return to them for a year. Kennedy literally grew from a baby into a toddler, before our eyes. As I look back on some of the THOUSANDS of photos of her from the past year, it's evident just how much of a little girl she has become. Though she will always be my baby. We became a family of FOUR! Caleb has been such a wonderful addition to our family, and Kennedy has proven what a wonderful big sister she is. We vacationed, a lot. We spent a great deal of time with family. Sadly 2012 was also the year we said goodbye to my Grandfather and my husband's Grandmother, two very special people in our lives. We said goodbye to our friends, family and therapists in Florida, and ~~packed our things~~ watched others pack our things, to make a 750 mile move to North Carolina. This has been a big adjustment, especially for the kids. We're trying to make friends here, and 6 weeks after moving we STILL do not have therapy established. But, it's worth the cold days and fights for therapy to have my husband home every night.

Kennedy and Caleb attended their first New Year's party this year, and they both stayed up until after midnight! She was the social butterfly she always is, and made her way from person to person, dancing and showing her sweet smile. 2012 was a great year, full of many wonderful memories, a lot of firsts, new milestones, big and small, and change. I'm excited to see what 2013 will bring for our family!

I wanted to go back and highlight some of my favorite posts, videos, photos, and memories. But nap time was barely existent today, and now I'm way too tired. If I don't get this post up tonight, it won't happen. So here's a quick look back at the past year.

Kennedy turned ONE! We celebrated by having a big party with family and friends!

We spent July 4th celebrating Kennedy's one year heart-aversary.

We prepared to become a family of four!

Caleb was born, making us a family of four, and making Kennedy a big sister!

And what an amazing big sister she is!

Kennedy met many milestones - signing, her first words, building with blocks, crawling, standing and biggest of all - WALKING!!!

We celebrated every holiday, in a big way!

We smiled, we laughed and we made a lot of memories.

We traveled - a lot. Sea World, Disney World, Orlando, Marco Island, Sanibel Island, Chesapeake, Raleigh, and Hilton Head...just to name a few. Kennedy even took her first flight. And both kids made many road trips.