A look back . . .

2010 . . . wow, what a great year!  A year of new experiences, trials, adventures, excitement and most importantly growth.  I have learned so much over the past year.

What I will remember about this past year . . .

Ty's birth in February.  Not knowing his gender was so much fun.  Experiencing pregnancy a 2nd time.

Having 2 children and all the challenges, and joys it brings.  Learning how to balance my love, time and attention between the 2 of them. 

Jeff's unemployment at the beginning of the year, his job at HoneyBaked for 8 months (the long hours) and his new job at IAT in November.  In all the transitions, what we learned most was faith to trust in God to provide.  We are both so thrilled with his new job, it is such a blessing.

Jeff's 30th Birthday.

2 great beach vacations with family.  Watching the boys play in the sand and pool and spending relaxing time with our loving families.

Weddings . . . 6 to be exact, Overstreet, Hurst, West, O'Neal, Hembree, and Coker.  Jeff and I love weddings, they are so much fun.

Great friends; playdates, weeknight dinners, football parties and cornhole in the backyard.

The verse written on my fridge (post-it) when Jeff was unemployed & I was 8 months pregnant. 1Thes 5:17-18 Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

The boys;

Aiden

This year Aiden has become his own little person.  He is completely out of the baby stage and I would say out of the toddler stage as well.  He has a personality; shy, funny, determined, curious, persistent and I'm sure more characteristics to come.  He has become so independent- doing many things for himself; using the potty, getting food/snacks himself, playing independently, and we are so close to having him dressing himself. 

As a Brother: He was jealous of Ty at first, but now he is so loving towards him.  He loves to show Ty how to do things or how to play with toys.  He is protective and concerned when Ty is crying or upset.  He also likes to tell him "no no, Ty-bo" when Ty is touching something he is not supposed to. :-)

Aiden is also so helpful; he loves to clean- vacuuming of course, doing laundry, starting the dishwasher, putting dishes away, putting groceries away, etc.

Ty

Ty was born in February and weighed 8 lbs, now he has nearly tripled his weight at 10 months old.  He is so big- gets very heavy for me, but I have learned to do just about anything with a baby on my hip.  He is a Mama's boy all the way.  He is very clingy and isn't comfortable with strangers.  He is a picky eater, but has tasted some new foods lately.  Some of his favorites are chicken noodle soup, Ritz crackers, teething biscuits, and peas.  He loves his walker which he uses in the kitchen and outside.  He usually follows Aiden around, but it allows him to get places quickly.  Otherwise he still crawls on his elbows to get around.  I got my first silent night last night; he slept from 10pm-7am, let's hope this continues. This year was one of many new experiences for Ty. 

When I think about the beginning of this year and where we are at now, it just shows me (again) God's unfailing love.  He has been so faithful and He never gives up on me, even when I fall short.  I am so grateful.

I am looking forward to a new year to see what God has in store for our family.  I'm sure it will be another year full of excitement with our boys!