2012 was quite the year for us. Looking back, there were moments of epic failure, moments of complete bliss, and moments that left me wondering what lesson God was trying to teach me. All things considered, it was a great year! Here's a recap just so I can remember it in the years to come!
We visited the funeral home twice in a week span (from the day after Christmas to the New Year's day), with one of our best friends saying goodbye to his mother, and a long time family friend (from our cow showing days) losing his battle to cancer. It was a somber beginning to the new year, and our thoughts have been with both families several times throughout this year. I know that this has been a rough year for a lot of people, and my heart has ached for them so much. It seems crazy to me to think that we named JC after my grandfathers and Patrick's dad. In August of last year, we lost Pa. I found out a few weeks after his funeral that I was pregnant with Myra. He never even knew that we were going to have her. Patrick's dad never met her (here; I fully believe that both of my grandfathers and my father-in-law got to spend lots of time with her in heaven before she was born). It's been a tough year for my family; we're just not the same without Pa.
At our house, the year started with with a minor renovation; we painted (and by we, I mean Patrick) the living room and hallway.
JC helped remove all of the nails, then we headed to Scottsville for a few days. Pregnant + paint fumes = bad. During that time, Mom, JC & I picked out fabric for Myra's nursery.
We changed the walls from a tan (I'm not sure the exact name) to Metropolis by Valspar. It seemed a fitting color for the year, especially considering that this would be the year of the superhero. (ignore the messy background; I was in the process of putting the room back together when this shot was taken. Don't ignore the boy in his underwear; you'd never see him if you did. He hates pants!) I just wanted to show the color of the walls now; it's not the best shot, but I'm in a hurry to get this done before Myra Mae wakes from her nap and it's the first shot I found!
Once we had the fabric, we chose a paint color for Myra's new room. It was a no brainer once I realized that "Fairy Tale Blue" (Benjamin Moore) was a perfect match to the accent shade in the main fabric.
Here we are just a few weeks before Myra was born. I planned to do a post about her room by now, but it's still not finished. I still need to buy some artwork to go above the crib; I had hoped to have something made, but that didn't work out. Two things I notice about this photo: My face gets really fat when I'm pregnant, and JC insisted that he wear those gloves for the entire winter. I think this was made at the end of March, so it's a little out of order for the "month-by-month" recap.
In February, we celebrated JC's birthday. We both had doctor's appointments that day, so Patrick and I took off the whole day to spend with him. He had been asking to go bowling, so we took him to eat at Chick fil A (his favorite place), and to Stakz for some frozen yogurt. On his birthday, we let him pick out his presents. We always take him to Toys R Us and let him choose a few things that he wants. I spend so much energy trying to hide presents (unsuccessfully) at Christmas, that it just seems easier this way, and he loves to shop. Wonder who he can thank for that trait? Ha! He picked a few Thomas the Train sets, and a couple of Bob the Builder DVD's. We spent the first part of the year obsessed with both, but he quickly lost interest once he acquired an entire train station.
JC had so much fun bowling. It was all he talked about the rest of the week!
I continued to have morning sickness until about a month before Myra was born. It was awful! With JC, I lost about 20 lbs. I was just as sick with her, but didn't manage to lose weight; in fact, I was actually a few pounds up when I had her. Blah.
We had a very uneventful March-May. We were sure that Myra would come early, mainly because we weren't ready for her to come. So, we had a few "last day out as a family of 3" celebrations.
Patrick and I had a few dinner dates, thanks to our moms watching JC for a few hours. It was so nice to get a chance to have some alone time before everything changed.
I went to the doctor the week before Myra's due date (39 weeks), and was miserable enough that my wonderful doctor suggested that we induce (as we had had to do with JC because he was 3 days past his due date). So, we picked the date 5.7.12 (because our anniversary was 5.12.07). Dr. Lyons called to let us know that she would have to reschedule for the 8th. No problemo. I was just happy to have her out of me! I had began my maternity leave April 30th, and it broke my heart to say goodbye to my students. They were such a special group, and I hated that I wouldn't see them for their end-of-year celebration and their final days at Memorial.
I had the entire week before she was born to get ready; I had my house spotless (for what will probably be the last time until they go off to college!), and JC and I spent most of the week together. On the 7th, we spent the day with JC, doing whatever he wanted. We went to the park, ate at Chick fil A and Stakz, and we went to Toys R Us to play and buy a new toy. We also went bowling before sending him off to spend the night with my parents. Patrick and I had planned to go out that night, but I was so exhausted that we just stopped at Jimmy Johns on our way home (one of my favorite cheap places to eat). It was nice to get a good nights sleep; it turned out to be the last one I would have of 2012!
We arrived at the hospital at 6 (way too early for me!), and the nurse registered me as the wrong person. I got settled in only to learn that I was having a total hysterectomy instead of a baby. She wasn't very impressed and acted like it was my fault. Thankfully, that was the only fluke with the day. I was very nervous. Not as scared as I was with JC (where I yelled to Patrick that if he loved me he would take me home right then), but I knew that if something went wrong, I would be leaving him behind. Thankfully, it went great!
On May 8th, at 2:40, Myra Mae Gray was born. I pushed 2 times, felt nothing, and wanted to leave Patrick for the anesthesiologist (especially after the one I had with JC refused to come back and make the epidural work). He was my hero! I vomited on the delivery table twice, and almost passed out, but it was such an easy labor and delivery otherwise. Mom was there, and Dad brought JC, Granny, and Grams shortly after. I wanted JC to get to meet her before everyone else; I knew that once people poured in, we wouldn't get a chance to have a quiet family moment. Myra gave JC a new backpack filled with books about being a big brother, Toy Story 2 & 3, some candy, and a few small toys. He loved her from the beginning! Ha!
Our first photo as a family of 4!
We arrived home exhausted. I don't know how people without family support do it; I know we were so lucky! My parents kept JC the rest of the week, and he came home for a night before going to Patrick's mom's house for a week. Myra slept about 8 hours the whole first weeks, and I was more exhausted than I've ever been in my life. Thankfully, Patrick has an amazing boss, so he was able to take off almost 2 full weeks. I don't know if I could have done it alone!
Here they are on Mother's Day, when Myra was just a few days old. We had had about 15 hours of sleep that week!
When Myra was born, the attending pediatrician (we had her at a hospital in a different town than our pediatrician's office, so we had to see the on-call one while there) said that she was temperamental. I wish I could hunt her down and beat her! Ha! It was like she gave Myra permission to fulfill that role.
We had to go back to the hospital to meet with the lactation consultant because she wasn't latching correctly. With JC, breastfeeding was so easy; not so with Myra! But, nothing seemed easy with her those first few weeks. She lost weight; JC had gained at his first check-up. We had to make 3 trips to BG in the first week just to keep checking her weight gain. I had a breakdown at the doctor's office because she just wouldn't gain any weight despite eating. All. The. Time. I knew that I was making plenty of milk, so we met with the lactation consultant. It turned out to be a super simple fix, and she was up almost a pound the next week. Now, she's 7 months old & in 9-12 month clothes.
I also found out 2 days after coming home that I didn't have a job for the next year. This was one of those answered prayers, and I was completely grateful for the opportunity to spend this time home with my babies. I loved my job and my students immensely, but I just felt that my place (for the time being) was at home with my own kids. I had prayed and prayed that there would be a way for me to stay home this year. I know that I burned a bridge in doing so; I'll never get to go back to my gigantic classroom with the huge picture windows that overlooks a cow pasture (seriously, how many teachers have that kind of view?). My students were the best. They threw me a baby shower my last day. They're just a bunch of country kids for the most part, and we all got along so well. I really miss them, and that place. But, I'm happy here. Anyway, my former boss met us in the high school parking lot to sign the paperwork. I was a mix of hormones, very emotional, just a few days post-pardum and exhausted. I cried the whole way home. Then, my dad reminded me that it was what I had wanted; I had prayed the entire pregnancy that I wouldn't have to leave her with a sitter. It worked out that in August, our babysitter (probably the only non-family people I would trust with JC & Myra) retired.
We spent the summer trying to stay cool. Patrick carried the mail several times in the scorching heat. We played with the cows, ate at Chuy's, and spent lots of time as a family of four.
We went on our very first "date" to see The Dark Knight Rises. It was amazing. JC (I mean Superman) insisted on being in this photo. Myra was asleep, and we thought it would be mean to Mimi to wake her for a picture then run out the door! Oh, and sometime during the summer, our own superhero was born; from The middle of July until now, JC has worn non-superhero clothes probably 20 times total (including church). He even wears his superman t-shirts as undershirts to church most Sundays. The kid is obsessed! He has 9 Superman shirts, 6 Batman, 4 Spiderman, and 2 that have all the Marvel heroes on them. He has Batman boots, tons of books, and lots of toys. I'll post more in the Christmas recap, if I ever get to it! Oh, and this is my new hair (after I cut 8 inches off). Don't get used to it; it didn't last long.
Here's JC & my Dad (Grumps) at the farm. Notice the cape? It was the 2nd one and is now shredded from wear!
Towards the end of July, we found a new church. It has been such a HUGE blessing for us. I can't even begin to explain it, and I'm not going to try in this post. I'll just say that, as a family, we are so much stronger than ever, and I leave EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY feeling like God was talking to me. I have never felt that before, and I'm finding that my faith is growing stronger by the day. It was really cool that we spent Sunday morning this week listening to one of my old childhood friends preach; he and his parents go to that church, and we grew up going to church together. I always thought the world of his whole family, so it was wonderful to sit and listen to him. It was a nice way to end the year! I'll write more about our church later.
In August, my fellow teachers returned to school. I anticipated being a little depressed about it, but I wasn't. In fact, I'm still loving being home. Our bank account wishes that I was working, but we're getting by.
In September, we embraced our love for all things superheroes and had some pictures made by Andrea from Wolfe Photography.
This is one of my favorite images from the shoot. Andrea was amazing to work with, and I know that we'll be calling her in the future. Truthfully, we haven't had a bad experience with any of the people we've had do pictures. I look forward to the day when I have lots of money so that we can have family photos done quarterly! Ha!
We had so much fun watching as JC & Myra reached milestones. JC has been so encouraging to Myra. Every time she learns something new--good or bad--he cheers her on and makes the biggest deal out of it. For example, the other day, he said, "Look, Mommy! Myra hates that! Isn't she a good Pretty Girl? She showed us what she didn't like!" Every morning, he still says, "Good morning, Pretty Girl!" and he spends approximately 5300 minutes each day making sure her every need is met (whether she knows she needs it or not). He's such a generous kid!
It's very clear that she's quite smitten with her big brother, too!
Here she is just a few months old; they only have eyes for each other!
This is how JC spent a lot of his time the first few weeks of her life. Don't worry; she wasn't sleeping in the crib at that point (I took the bumper out before she slept in the bed, and the blanket was only there because I had just folded it and was putting stuff away--which was the only time she was in her room until she was several months old). Notice the green paint on the stool? That's from his room (painted before he was born). A little DIY mishap. Patrick didn't notice it until it was dry, and I'm too lazy busy to worry with it. The stool lives in the laundry room, and I normally only use it when I'm trying to get lightbulbs off of the shelf. So it wasn't a huge priority.
Our superhero didn't disappoint at Halloween. We only go trick or treating in our neighborhood (there are only about 10 houses that pass out candy), and to our old babysitter's house. He doesn't need a lot of candy, so we don't make a big deal out of it. It turned cold for the first time all year, and Myra and I walked with them on our street, but we came back home and left them to the rest of the subdivision. Our tradition is that we get McDonald's after we go to Nanny & Poppy's (the babysitter's), so he feels like he's getting a little more of a treat. Myra didn't dress up. She had a superhero costume (from the superhero photos), but I didn't put it on her because it was so cold. She didn't mind, and neither did I!
Here she is just before Thanksgiving. It's the last picture we have our our house with carpet. That's a post coming soon, I promise! I love her chunky legs. Since this picture, she's gotten so fat that those baby legs won't stay on her thighs. Ha! I grow them "fluffy" as Dr. Garrett says.
We tried to get a family photo at Thanksgiving. They both had adorable shirts; but this is as good as it got for the photos. It was one of those odd days that started chilly but was 70 when we took this shot. It got chilly again before we left Granny's. This photo is a reminder that I MUST flat iron my hair if I'm going to dry it straight. I look like a bad 80's movie!
Here are my 2 favorite photos for the year:
I just love these two faces!
We sent our Christmas card out, and it was my favorite one yet. I ordered 50, thinking it would be enough, then discovered that it wasn't. There were about 25 people on my list that I wanted to send to and didn't after we sent to family (Patrick has a HUGE family!). I ordered more, and they were supposed to be here by the 23rd, but didn't make it until after the mail went out on the 24th. I have connections with the post office (Patrick works at Munfordville, Horse Cave, Hodgenville, and anywhere else locally that they need him, and my dad is a postmaster in Adolphus). So, I knew that I could get the local ones out as long as I sent them to work with Patrick. But, due to a communication error, he took the ones that were going to his coworkers, and nothing else. So, all of the people on the list from Munfordville and Horse Cave got left out. So sorry! Anyway, here it is:
I still haven't uploaded the first Christmas photo. We have Christmas with Patrick's family on Christmas Eve, then we stay home all day Christmas. My parents and grandmother come for breakfast and then they go to Granny's house. Patrick's mom comes over for lunch. Then, on the 26th, we go to Granny's. the 26th was Pa's birthday, so it became our tradition that we go there on that day.
That's our year in review. Today, we went to Lowe's to get the baseboards to replace the ones we ripped up during the flooring installation. I picked up paint for JC's new superhero room. I'm hoping to tackle that project later in the week. We'll see!
Tonight, we are staying in. Tomorrow, as is our tradition, we'll be lazy and in our pj's most of the day. I love spending the first day of the New Year with my family; it sets a great precedent for the remainder of the year!
I hope you have had a fantastic year, and I hope that 2013 is even better for you!
