I still have so many things from December (and November!) that I want to share here, but I feel like I need to press pause and post a few things that are more thematic for the month of January. I’ve been trying to look back on 2019, see what worked for us — and what didn’t — and really think about how I want 2020 to look.
I’ve been sharing an annual recap on the blog since I finished the first calendar year here and it’s always one of my favorite things to look back on. For the past two years, I shifted away from the “recap” formula and instead shared some of our favorite moments from the year. I might not have blogged as much in 2019, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t taking plenty of pictures or spending our days making the very best memories together.
The Best of January
After the hustle and bustle of Christmas, I felt like we were just getting to know our girl. I went back to work full time — with no vacations or holidays on the horizon — and we finally settled into a real routine. Four months is such an interesting age. We started to see more of Polly’s personality unfold, were getting really good at breastfeeding, and really learning how to be a family of four. Our home was starting to come together and I finally felt like we were living here.
We celebrated Polly’s four month milestones, which included lots of baby wearing and very little sleep. I blogged about all of our favorite baby products (and which ones you could live without) and finally got around to sharing all about our Thanksgiving vacation in Disney World.
The Best of February
Sophie really branched out this year and learned to love so many new things. We wrapped her first season of basketball with a big trophy and plenty of hugs from Coach Daddy. She is less inclined to put herself out there, so it was really fun to see how far she came during her first season. This might sound silly, but one of my favorite moments from January was finding a tiny little t-shirt in a pile of clothes my sister sent over. I didn’t keep many things that the big girls wore, so every time my sister unearths something that I shared with her, I get a little romantic about the whole thing.
Polly turned five months old in February and I started cataloging all of our Amazon purchases (I’m still not sure if those admissions were a good thing – ha!). I also shared our very first monthly vlog, which has become one of my absolute favorite things to keep up with.
The Best of March
The very best thing we did in March, was take a week long camping trip, an hour away. Josh and I both had to work, but a fast internet connection and big sisters made it easy to do, while still enjoying an amazing trip as a family. Polly was falling in love with being outside and the weather made for perfect afternoon strolls and evenings by the campfire.
In March, I told you all about how I meal plan and grocery shop and we’re still going strong with this process, ten months later! Polly celebrated her half birthday and we tried not to be too sad about being half way to a whole year old.
The Best of April
Sophie will always be the very best of April and we celebrated her ninth birthday with pancakes, a day trip to the American Doll Store, and a Father Daughter dance. I’ll never forget how horrified she was when she opened her corsage — she was so worried she would be the only girl there with a giant flower on her wrist!
We celebrated Polly’s first Easter and her seventh month in our family. We finally bought our forever house and shared a long list of projects we’d like to tackle.
The Best of May
Mother’s Day is always such a wonderful day of rest and I am forever grateful that I have three little ones to share the day. It was my first Mother’s Day since Polly’s birth and wearing her during the worship service at church made it even sweeter.
Polly turned eight months old (Yes, I’m going to include these posts for every single month!) and really fell in love with being worn in the sling. We added a second Wildbird to our collection and was content with whomever wanted to cart her around! We spent an afternoon picking strawberries with my grandfather and the girls wrapped up their third and sixth grade years in school. Right before we broke for summer, Sophie decided to get brave on us and chop off all her hair!
The Best of June
There is no question that June is our favorite month, so having Polly join us on our annual beach vacation made it even better. For the first time in many years, I was able to stay the full two weeks with our family and we taught Polly all about what makes Gulf Shores the best beaches around.
On the blog, I shared a little more about what life is like with an almost teenager — it isn’t for the faint of heart! Polly celebrated her ninth month and we all celebrated the end of another year of dance. Aventura sent me the biggest box of Spring and Summer goodies and I shared a few of my favorite dresses with you on the blog.
The Best of July
We managed to sneak off to Pensacola for a long weekend and despite the crummy weather, we had the best time playing in the sand one more time.
Ella enjoyed her first summer of Cheer camp, Polly turned ten months old, and I finally had enough time to read a few books.
The Best of August
It’s always a sad day when summer ends, but I think all of my girls were ready to return to the routine and normalcy of school days. Ella started her second year of middle school and cheered at her first Junior Varsity football games. Sophie headed off to fourth grade and added both piano and baton twirling to her afternoon adventures. My mom finally retired and started keeping Polly in our home, while I worked.
August was full of blog posts, but they were almost all about things that happened in July. It wasn’t until this very moment that I realized I never shared the girls back to school interviews – uh oh. Maybe we’ll just insert those into January for the sake of posterity.
The Best of September
We celebrate two birthdays in the month of September and they were both monumental. Polly was a year old on the fifth and Ella was officially a teenager on the eleventh. How is this my real life?! Polly’s first birthday party was everything I dreamed of and — as weird as it seems — I was so happy to be back on the birthday party circuit. Planning parties and watching our girls glitter with anticipation is one of my very favorite things and I will never take those days for granted.
Since we were celebrating her first year of life, it seemed only fitting to finally share our favorite photos from the hospital, along with her newborn session once we were fully recovered. One of our most popular posts of the year was Polly’s Guide to Baby Led Weaning — she surprised everyone at her party (except her parents, obviously) when we avoided her birthday cake in favor of fruit and cheese.
The Best of October
Halloween is always such a fun holiday for children and Polly was finally old enough to enjoy it. We took her to our favorite local Trunk or Treat, where she got lots of smiles and giggles over her avocado costume. We rounded out the month with my favorite new Halloween tradition — a walk through my sister’s darling neighborhood.
I shared another round of things I had been listening to and reading and spent my very first night away from Polly. We were still dragging our feet about our home renovation, but I was furiously pinning all of my favorite pieces of inspiration.
The Best of November
I know that I said June will forever be my favorite month, but November gave it a run for its money. I was dreading turning 40, but determined to make it my very best year ever. Josh had the brilliant idea to spend my birthday in New York City, so we were able to surprise the girls with the trip of a lifetime. I’m still not finished recapping our amazing trip, but it will forever be one of my favorite weekends ever.
I shared another round of Aventura goodies, took Polly to her first Disney on Ice, and watched Ella dance on the field at Bryant Denny Stadium. We celebrated Vera’s second birthday, hosted Thanksgiving with my parents and all cried a little when we realized Pink had been left behind in NYC.
The Best of December
I know that Polly’s first Christmas was the year before, but this felt like her first in so many ways. She recognized Santa when she saw him, she ran all over the lot while we picked our Christmas Tree, and squealed with delight on Christmas morning. We made so many memories this past December and I will forever remember it as one of my favorite holiday seasons.
