Yet Another Blogger Reviews Her 2012

Earlier, I mentioned that I'd be back with more happy posts, and I'm here to make good on my word. The timing could not be better as reading through all my old blog posts and seeing how much Sammy has grown this past year was just the pick-up I needed. So let's take a step back to January 2012 - shall we?

January

In January, well, I did stuff. I baked bread, I sewed a bunting for Sammy's room, and I took part in a Photo-A-Day-Challenge. James and I brought Sammy to the park so he could experience his first swing ride during one particularly sunny and unseasonably warm day. He also got to experience his first plane ride when we visited his cousins and uncle in Tampa.

I also blogged Sammy's birth story, which is perhaps one of my favorite posts ever.

February

February was a relatively quiet month, though I kept busy obsessively cleaning up the drool trail Sammy left in the wake of his crawling, incorporating finger foods into his diet, and jamming along to the lovely tunes of Sammy's music table. I wrote about my decision to become a SAHM, where I mentioned how my cousin said I would never regret staying at home to take care of my son. (And I'm happy to report that a year and a half into this gig, she's absolutely correct.) 

March

Besides baking a lot in March, I waxed poetic about raising a boy who wants to read, shutting down the mom noise, and why I run. There must be something about the blah month of March that leaves me a lot of time with my thoughts.... 

   

April

April brought some much-needed sun and spring-like temps. I blogged about an unexpectedly fabulous weekend, during which we enjoyed a fun meal at a favorite thai restaurant, I ran 15 miles with one of my favorite running partners, we took Sammy to Water Babies, enjoyed another dinner out with friends, frolicked amongst the spring tulips at my favorite park / rose garden, sipped wine on the patio with our friends (oh wine on the patio - how I miss you...), and ended the weekend with some grilling at a friend's house. Sigh. I still consider that one of the best weekends of the year. 

Also in April? James and I hosted our first ever holiday - Easter! I loved the prep work for that day, and I loved the entire holiday. It was gorgeous and sunny, we feasted on great food and Lillet champagne cocktails, and I ended the day with a fun bike ride.

May

I kicked off May by running the Providence Half Marathon, and setting a new half marathon PR. I loved everything about this race - it was by far my favorite of the year. My running streak continued as I ran 17 miles - the farthest I've run in years - and celebrated my very first Mother's Day the following weekend. We had a super relaxing Mother's Day, and for once, I embraced hosting a day in which I did very little to prepare. In that same post, I wrote out my thoughts on motherhood - all of which still resonate with me, several months later. We ended the month with a fabulous Memorial Day weekend, complete with brunch, Sammy's first visit to a splash pad, a parade, and a fantastic day with friends Essex. That was yet another weekend that is in the running for best weekend of the year.

June

Similar to May, I kicked off June with the Iron Horse Half Marathon. I beat my Providence time by mere seconds, but wasn't as happy as I should have been with the race. I wasn't the only to accomplish athletic endeavors that month though as just a couple weeks later, Sammy took his first steps! 

Many people warned me that life would change as I knew it once Sammy began walking - and not necessarily in the best way, but I couldn't disagree more. For me, his mobility was and is a fantastic thing. Life is so much more fun (though busy) with a baby that doesn't need me to carry him everywhere! June also brought James' first Father's Day, in which we had a fantastic summer day comprised of brunch outdoors, a trip to the park, and a cookout with my own dad on our (newly refurbished) patio. 

July

July began my blogging hiatus, but for good reason. We were too busy celebrating Sammy's first birthday!

I do believe that this was one of my top three - if not top - days of the year. The weather was hot but sunny, and we had so many of our loved ones around to celebrate our big boy. He was a legit walker by then, and had a lot of fun playing with all his cousins, aunties and grandparents, who spoiled him so.  And as apparent by the photo above, Sammy thoroughly enjoyed his birthday cupcake. 

July brought so much time outdoors, including trips to our local splash pad, wagon rides around the neighborhood, weekend beach jaunts and a day at a nearby picking farm. Boy, do I miss summer.

August

August was quite an exciting month for our little family. It began with a week-long trip to the Jersey Shore ...



... followed by several days at the Rhode Island shore...



... and ended with some big news!

September

Judging by my lack of blog posts in September, I spent the first full month of my first trimester doing what ever newly pregnant woman does - not much. Luckily my laptop's photo library reminded me that I at least got outside and enjoyed the late summer / early autumn weather just a bit.







































October

In October I finally returned to a semi-regular blogging schedule! And with good reason - I did stuff other than lay on the couch in a pregnancy stupor! James and I began the month right by celebrating our second wedding anniversary in early October with a quick jaunt to Vermont.

We thoroughly embraced my favorite season with plenty of baked goods and a trip to the pumpkin patch.







































And Halloween was much more fun this year, especially considering last year we didn't really get to celebrate it! Sammy got to participate in our town's annual Halloween festival, and even tolerated his costume - with a headpiece! - on two separate occasions!

November



I feel a little ashamed to admit that my blogging in November (and December, for that matter) revolved mostly around my pregnancy and a baby that hasn't even been born yet! I did manage to sneak in a post about Sammy turning 16 months old though.

In between chasing Sammy around, desperately trying to maintain some sort of physical shape, and 8 p.m. bedtimes, I finally got back to my cooking roots with the publishing of Ina's newest cookbook. I'm pretty obsessed with this book thus far, and really want to blog about some of the recipes I've tackled. (And this might actually happen soon as one of my favorite bloggers is hosting a new project entitled, A Month of Barefoot Contessa. Could there be something more up my alley??)

December

Overall, December was quite the memorable and fun month. It began with Sammy's first train ride (thanks, Queenie and Grampy, for enduring it with us!) ...



... and was quickly followed by some very happy news.

December is always one of my favorite months as it's full of family and friends time, and we are lucky enough to double up on it as we celebrate some pre-holiday birthdays. And then a week later, Christmas arrives! My cautious little boy seemed to really appreciate everything that Christmas brought this year (with the exception of the wrapping paper), and James and I had so much fun watching him look through and play with all his new Christmas treats.

(Sammy wasn't the only one who totally scored with Santa this year!)

A few days after Christmas, much of the Nutmeg State became enveloped in snow. Tossing his lack of mobility aside (you try walking in a hand-me-down snow suit that is just as wide as it is tall!), Sammy loved sledding with his dad and cousins, and actually sobbed the loudest I've heard him cry in a long time when I forced him to come inside to warm up. 

I really am not exaggerating when I say that 2012 was my best year yet, and I love that I have this blog to make note of all the seemingly small (but important) moments that contributed to it being such a special year. With that said, 2013 has got a lot of competition, but I have a feeling we're going to get lucky....