two thousand fourteen is in the books!

here we are at the end of another year! 2014 was a big year for our family. it included (most of) ashford's first year of life, a year of growth for thatcher and myself as parents/partners, me turning the big 3-0, and a year of change and development for azalea in her new role as big sister. i have so much to be thankful for this year - all the fun things we were able to do with the kids, my new work schedule, the opportunity to travel, the support of family and friends, another year with my dad, the list goes on...

this is the fifth time i've done one of these recaps on my blog. needless to say, i enjoy a good recap! 

2010  |  2011  | 2012  | 2013

january

most of january was spent adjusting to being a family of 4. lots of nursing, lots of snuggling, (not) a lot of sleeping. but most importantly, lots of love! we potty trained azalea this month, and my grandma passed away.

february

in february we got brave (or super desperate to escape the cold) and took both kids down to florida! the plane ride was surprisingly a breeze and we had a blast spending a week with my parents and soaking up the sun and warmth. can't wait to go back this winter! on the home front, we took the kids to the zoo, and celebrated valentine's day. 

march

azalea turned 3 at the end of march. earlier in the month, we went to our metro moms play group, uncle anders came in town from germany, i took the kids to the children's museum, attended the minnesota blogger favorite things party, and a biggie - i went back to work after my 12 week maternity leave!

april

we celebrated easter (and it was warm!). i solo parented for a few days while thatcher traveled to texas for work, my parents returned from florida, my dad reached the 18 month mark with stage iv lung cancer.

may

we had ashford baptized on mother's day. azalea got her first hair cut, i changed positions at work and went down to 20 hours/wk, we had a memorial weekend bbq with dawn and becky and their families at nokomis park.

june

i took azalea to her first twins game, we "celebrated" our 7th wedding anniversary (we didn't do anything. ha!), we celebrated thatcher's 32nd birthday, went to the uptown bike race, celebrated father's day, and ashford turned 6 months - june is always a crazy, fun month!

july

we soaked up summer by visiting oodles of playgrounds, wading pools, and splash pads, celebrated my 30th birthday (i hosted a favorite things party for a bunch of girl friends and also celebrated with my family too), our nephew jack turned 7!

august

we took a family trip downtown on the new light rail line to the mill city farmers market/river front, the kids and i visited thatcher at work for the first time (almost a year late), went to the minnesota state fair, and visited jackson street roundhouse.

september

azalea had her first day of preschool, we finally finished the basement, my dad's sister and my uncle visited from new jersey, i went to a brett dennen concert with becky and sarah, azalea had her first trip to the dentist, we went to my company's "summer" party at dangerous man brewing.

october



my dad reached 2 years with stage iv lung cancer, we re-furnished our living room, attended our friends kate & derek's wedding with the kids, went to an apple orchard with the barr family, i had my first neighborhood book club meet up, we took the kids up north to duluth and grand marais, played in the leaves, hosted a metro moms play group, went to the swce annual family halloween party with the carlsons, and celebrated halloween with queen elsa and the skeleton.

november



thatcher and i attended michelle & joe's wedding, i solo parented for a few days while thatcher went on a work trip to utah, our friend dannie started watching the kids a few hours/wk, becky and i attended the 'fall spectacular' sale that dawn put together, i went to my co-worker mandi's birthday party, we got our first snow fall of the season, thatcher hosted a party at our house for 30-something of his fellow "urban nerds", we attended karen's annual chili party, celebrated thanksgiving with 2 family gatherings, cut down a tree and decorated for christmas.

december

ashford turned one! we soaked every last ounce out of the holiday season (per usual) with christmas movies, music, family time, and sweets galore. ashford was sick for a few days, i took the kids to the metro moms holiday pj party, took family pictures at the st. paul union depot, and now to celebrate nye!

hello 2015, nice to see you!