It’s been an entire week since I posted here. And almost two since I actually said something more than Merry Christmas. I had grand plans of blogging throughout the week, reorganizing my house, spending our days doing fun things with my girls and really embracing the twelve uninterrupted days we were able to spend together. Our Christmas was wonderful as usual and we did get some re-organization done. And if you count the Subway counter at Walmart and a quick breakfast at IHOP as “fun”, then I guess we did those things, too. Mostly the last week has consisted of me lying in bed (or on the couch or the floor or in front of my mother’s fireplace), taking multiple prescriptions, watching Breaking Bad and trying to entertain my children while battling the flu. I’ve felt well enough to get out of the house a few times, but I’m quickly reminded that my body is exhausted and it’s time to lay back down. I have a ton of photographs to share and a few great stories to tell, but I’m only just returning to the land of the living so it might be quiet around here for a few more days. But just so you don’t forget about us or think that we’ve up and moved to Alaska, I thought it only fitting to say farewell to 2013 with our annual yearly recap.
JANUARY was spectacular and it didn’t hurt that we rang in the new year in a pretty special place. We also wished our very sweet daddy a Happy Birthday and shared a holiday recap on the blog.
In FEBRUARY, I celebrated my one year “runniversary” and later that month ran my first half-marathon. Running Mercedes is one of my proudest moments to date. I also got my first Stitch Fix box that month and fell in love with a black, lace dress that I later wore to my brother-in-law’s wedding.
The blog was a little sad in MARCH. Well, if we’re being honest, it was very sad. I recapped our Circus visit from January. The only other posts I shared that month were weekly recaps. There was a lot of running recovery and birthday celebrating with my best friend and we had a great time celebrating the spectacular wedding of Josh’s brother and his beautiful bride.
APRIL was such a full month and more than made up for the lack of posting during the previous one. Some blog (and real life) friends and I shared a fun Pinterest clothing challenge which debuted in April. Of course, I talked a little about running. What’s new, right? We had a pretty amazing birthday celebration for the Taz {which I later recapped here in May} and Josh shared a few funny things you might not have already known. Ella had her very first dance competition and I shared my perspective on the Mommy Wars.
In MAY, I shared my favorite chicken salad recipe. We wrapped up the Pinterest style challenge and I finally found a two-piece bathing suit that I loved. I talked about my five favorite movies, we went to the zoo with Poppy and we made a really big purchase!
In JUNE, I shared a little about the stress of parenting girls. This is almost always my favorite month of the year since we spend it in our very favorite place. I actually told the story of our return from the beach before I shared the vacation. Boy was that trip memorable. I didn’t manage to recap the entire vacation until later in the summer, but at least it got blogged, right?
JULY turned out to be my very favorite month of 2013. I talked a little about why Josh & I take a kid-free trip every year and we spent Independence Day in our very favorite city. I visited MOMA for the very first time and had excellent pizza in Brooklyn with my favorite person in the world. And finally, our sweet little Hudson Ray was welcomed to the world.
In AUGUST, I confessed that my youngest daughter was a thief and celebrated my eleventh wedding anniversary. And I also enjoyed the best girls weekend ever at the beach with my sweet friends. There was a LOT of dancing, singing, tanning and laughing involved. A lot.
SEPTEMBER was amazing. My sweet little Ella taught me so much about having a servant’s heart. She gave her birthday away {to the tune of $1200!!} and made this mommy so very proud. I talked a little bit about her very first “birth” day, too. We had our annual back-to-school interviews here and here and headed back to the dance studio for another wonderful year.
In OCTOBER, I told you all about Ella’s first concert experience. It might be one of my favorite days this year. When I was pouting about a bad day, Taz did her very best to cheer me up without even knowing it. We went to a smashing princess party for our friend Ava Reese and Sophie could not stop talking about it. What is better than dress up and AR? Not much, according to her. I spoke at our local middle school and then shared a little on the blog about learning to be yourself. We finished out the month with holiday parties at the dance studio and a fantastic Halloween!
In NOVEMBER, we finally managed to make it Tuscaloosa for a home game. Our season might not have ended like we wanted it to, but that day was perfection. Just because we only made it to T-town together once this season, doesn’t mean we weren’t celebrating our wins! Our friends sure were throwing beautiful birthday parties this fall and this pumpkin picking party was no exception. My girls were especially impressed with the hayride.
DECEMBER is coming to an end and it was a good one. The blog revolved a bit around Christmas, but who is surprised about that? I shared my ruffle tree skirt tutorial (if you can even call it that) and talked a little bit about the anticipation of the advent season. We had our annual pancake breakfast slash tree extravaganza and later in the month visited the big guy himself. Ella had a solo in her school program and we gave you a sneak peek into our holiday house. And even though I haven’t told you all about it yet, we had a wonderful time at home together celebrating the birth of our savior.
I hope 2013 was as wonderful for you as it has been for us. I cannot imagine how 2014 can knock it out of contention for the best year ever, but we’re gonna give it a mighty shot. We hope you’ll stick around and see what we’re up to next year. But for now, you can stroll down memory lane and read our other annual blog round-ups here: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 & 2009.
