12 photos for 12 months

i did this last year and i thought it was fun, so here we go again...

it goes without saying that 2011 was a big year for us. 2011 will forever be ingrained in my brain as the year we went from a being a couple to being a family. here are some of my favorite photos over the last year, broken down by month: 

january: i was 2+ months out from my due date...large and in charge!

february: i had my baby shower with all of my best girlfriends and family. i'm so thankful for my friends kelli and liz (and my aunt cindy) for putting it together.

march: our world changed forever. i thought for sure azalea would be an april baby, but she surprised us by making her entrance 6 days early on the 26th. i will never forget this day!

april: we spent most of april getting to know our little love. they were some of the hardest days of my life, but also the most love-filled. azalea celebrated her first easter!

may: i celebrated my first mother's day. azalea also started smiling and sleeping through the night. happy mama alert!

june: this was a big month. our 4th wedding anniversary, thatcher's 29th birthday, and thatcher's first father's day. i also returned to work after 12 weeks off. this photo was taken on thatcher's birthday.

july: i turned 27 and we spent the 4th of july weekend at our family friends' cabin. azalea went swimming for the first time, and she wasn't too impressed. :)

august: we took our first little family vacation to hayward & bayfield, wi and duluth, mn. azalea was a great travel buddy and we enjoyed visiting some new towns and my friend dani in duluth. can't wait to travel with her again this winter.

september: at the end of september, we went to an apple orchard with our friends liz and joe and their two boys. we had a good time, and i look forward to taking azalea again next year.

october: azalea celebrated her first halloween. she was the cutest little rooster i've ever seen! :) we took her to the community ed halloween party, our neighbors' pumpkin carving party, and trick or treating to a few houses.

november: last month was my friend dani's baby shower. her little boy is due january 7th and we can't wait for him to get here! november was also the month of the sick house, so no thanksgiving to write home about.

december: we wrapped up the year celebrating azalea's first christmas. i'm so thankful for my little family and all we got to do this year. i couldn't ask for anything more.
happy 2012!!