The 12 Months of '11

Just a little recap of the crazy year we just had...

Jan - We had found out Baby E #3 was a boy and could not for love or money come up with a name. I was working full-time. Julia was having fun in Kindergarten. Josh was being his sweet self and Jason was venturing into a new career.

Feb - Jason spent a week in St. Louis while I realized the unbelievably exhausting plight of a single mom. I took the kids to the Newport Aquarium by my pregnant self while he was gone. We had so much fun! (but I will never ever do that alone again)

March - March ended with me being done with work just in time to hang out with Julia for her spring break - and Josh, too, of course. We loved waking up with nothing to do, as I was changing gears from working mom of 2 to stay at home mom of 3 - with 11 weeks before Mr. Baby was due.

April - Oh geez, where do I start? Those 11 weeks I thought I had before Mr. Baby would come turned out to be 3 weeks. On April 16 at 1:42pm, Mr. Seth Freeman Ennis was born weighing 3lbs 8.6oz and 16 inches long. He was tiny, yet perfect. The last half of April was spent at the Special Care Nursery loving on this little gift, watching him grow and waiting for the ok that he was ready to come home.

May - Our daily trip(s) to visit Seth came to an end on May 12 - when he was finally discharged. I remember dressing him in his tiny blue preemie outfit, placing him in a car seat that swallowed him up in its straps, saying good-bye to the precious nurses, and heading for home with a smile no one could smack off of me. Later in the month, Jason turned 37 and Julia had a pink hawaiian party for her 6th birthday.

June - Kids went to VBS while I claimed maternity leave for not teaching. :) Loved having a few hours a day to get things done or just cuddle quietly with Baby Seth. Josh turned 3 and had a Spiderman party and Jason and I celebrated 11 yrs of marriage by going out for dinner and shopping.

July - My youngest sister Grace married "Uncle Phil" on July 1st. We had so much fun at the wedding - loved having all of our family together.

Aug - Lots of lazy days enjoying summer. We did King's Island and the Zoo...Swam at Grandpa and Grandma Ennis', Story time at Church...and then Julia started 1st grade.

Sept - After Julia started 1st grade, Joshua started pre-school. He LOVES Miss Liza and all of his friends there.

Oct - I started back to work full-time missing the kids so much I could hardly breathe. I love what I do, who I work with and who I work for, but nothing is better than getting to be Mom all day every day. I'm counting down to the time I get to be 100% Mom again in March. On a sad note, though, I lost my cousin Steve Oct 8...He was one of my best friends growing up and I was so honored to be able to share some of our memories at his funeral service. I hope he knew how special he was...He is missed by so many....

Nov - I turned 32 and am pretty cool with this age. I don't feel young/naive, but I don't feel old/feeble. I can work with this. Over Thanksgiving, the entire Estepp family spent a week on a beach in Florida. Such a wonderful gift to have everyone together. Jason and I took our kids for a day at Magic Kingdom...and it was just that - Magic. Julia and Joshua had a ball seeing their favorite characters and riding the rides. My cousin Krissy and her daughter Peyton joined us, too. Definitely a day we will not forget...Can't wait to go again!

Dec - Busy. Busy. Busy. Julia sang in our churches children's choir, Joshua was still his sweet self - but not wanting to sleep in his own bed, Seth got his first ear infection and Christmas. We woke up early to see what Santa brought, had brunch at Nanna/Poppa's, snacks at Jason's parents and then dinner at my Uncle Steve's. The day is jam packed - exhausting - but wonderful. I can't imagine spending it any other way.

Here's to 2012! After all of the highs and lows of 2011...I'm ready for a new year with new beginnings, aren't you?