2010 Rewind

Wow!  What a year!  I have to say that I think it’s been one of the busiest but BEST years yet!  We started the year off with a bang!  I celebrated the much dreaded anticipated 30th birthday.  I told Cory I didn’t want to make a big deal about it so he arranged a nice dinner with my family and then took me away for the weekend to Grove Park Inn for some much needed pampering.  That same week, I had been feeling a little funny and thought one of two things…(1) I was coming down with the flu or (2)……we were PREGNANT!  We were so excited!  We let Ella tell our family at my birthday dinner.  She stood up in her chair and said that she was going to be a big sister!  It was the perfect birthday present!

We had to wait until mid-February before we went to the doctor to see our “lil peanut” for the first time. 

The doctor told us everything looked great and he felt it was safe to share the news with all our family and friends!  As soon as we got home, we posted it on Facebook (fastest way for news to travel and we can’t help it but just like all of you, we’re addicted too!) and updated the blog.  I’m not very good at keeping exciting news quiet so the wait was getting the best of me! 

My due date was September 20, 2010 which meant I had the entire HOT summer to be pregnant!  But at the time, I was looking forward to long, hot days because we were having one of the worst winters I can remember.  Every week for a couple weeks, it SNOWED!  Ella and Cory were loving every minute of it while I watched carefully from the sidelines :)

 

Just as the last bit of snow was melting, we were hit by a wind storm!  I was working that day and got a phone call from Cory saying our backyard looked like a tornado destroyed it.  I thought he was probably exaggerating until I got home to this…

Poor Ella was devastated!  Her trampoline and swing were 2 of her favorite things!  Luckily, the trampoline was salvageable but the swing didn’t survive :( 

As the weather started to warm up some in March and since we no longer had a swing, we took Ella to the park.  We should have stayed home that day because Ella ended up with a BIG boo-boo…

Ella broke her arm in 2 places after letting go on the swing and landing face first in the mulch with her right arm extended.  She got a bright pink “bracelet” (cast) that she had to wear for 3 weeks before getting a removable arm brace.  It was the longest month!  Luckily, Ella’s arm was healed just in time for our Disney World vacation!

We took Ella to Disney World for the first time in April.  She absolutely loved it!  (so did Mommy and Daddy!)  We’re already ready for another trip!

We planned our Disney Vacation before I knew I was pregnant so I was 18 weeks pregnant while we were there.  I was able to ride a few rides but mostly I did a lot of walking!  Did I mention how hot it was in Florida in April?!  90 degree days already!! 

I normally dread coming back from vacation but we had something very exciting to look forward to.  We got home on Sunday and I had a doctors appointment on Monday to find out if Baby T was a boy or girl?!  Well…

As you can see from the ultrasound picture, we had no problem figuring out that our lil’ peanut was a BOY!!  We were all so excited!! 

After a cold, nasty winter, summer finally came and so did the HEAT!  We started having 90+ degree days right off the bat.  This was a little less than ideal for a pregnant woman!  It turned out to be one of the hottest summers on record with over 80 days of 90+ degrees.  One of the hottest days (or so it felt) was the day of Ella’s 3rd birthday!  Thank goodness it was a pool party!

We spent the remainder of the summer enjoying the pool and trying to stay cool (or at least I did!).  Before preschool started back, we went on our annual Sunset Beach trip.  It was miserably HOT but that didn’t stop Ella from playing in the sand or ocean!!  I found a nice cozy spot in the shade and that’s where I stayed :)

As summer ended, it was getting closer and closer to Evan’s due date.  I was extremely anxious for him to get here because I was literally about to POP! 

My back hurt and I couldn’t sleep…I walked miles and miles and miles thinking it might just get him here sooner.  No luck!  On the evening of September 25th (5 days past my due date), I served Evan his eviction notice.  8 hours later…Evan arrived (6 days after my due date)!  My little man is going to be like his Mama…always late :)

It was love at first sight all over again!  He was so worth the wait!  We were now “Taylor, Family of 4” and couldn’t be happier :) 

Ella was now a Big Sister and well…

…things started off a little rough!  But after a few weeks of adjustments, Ella fell in love with her baby brother!  She even suggested that we should keep him :)

Everything quickly started falling in place and we were figuring out how to balance 2 kids!  It was wild and crazy from time to time, but we were enjoying every minute of the chaos!

Evan arrived just in time for Halloween!  I was so excited about both of their costumes this year!!  I thought they were just the cutest!  Ella even won a costume contest :)  And Evan in his tater sack…how stinkin’ cute is he?! 

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After Halloween, the days seemed to speed by and before I knew it we were getting ready for Thanksgiving!  I was personally getting excited about pumpkin pie :)  I love the months of November and December because we get the opportunity to spend time with our family and extended family!  We have so much to be thankful for this year!  God has blessed us beyond measure!!

Earlier in the year, we bought 6 acres of land to build our dream home on.  So while I was out of work on maternity leave, we started meeting with contractors and an architect.   We also started clearing the land to get things ready for our future home site.

In a blink of an eye, it was December and we were getting ready for Christmas!  How was it possible that it was already time for Christmas?!  Our lives felt like we were in a constant fast-forward!  In the midst of the holidays, we decided it was time to put our house up for sale…I think the holidays were making us all CRAZY! 

This Christmas was the best yet!  For the  first time in decades, we had a WHITE Christmas!  Shortly after we got up on Christmas morning, it started snowing and snowed all day!  It was the perfect touch to an already great Christmas! 

Buddy Elf had been keeping an eye on Ella and Evan and reporting to Santa every night.  They must have been on Santa’s NICE list!  And what Santa didn’t bring, Mimi and Nana P bought! 

 

Tonight is New Year’s Eve and I’ve spent the evening watching movies with Ella in our pajamas and snuggling with Evan.  I couldn’t think of anything I would rather be doing!  God has been so good to us in 2010 and we look forward to what he has in store for us in 2011!

I pray that 2011 brings you happiness, love, good health, and prosperity!

Happy New Year!!!