Happy New Year

We rang in the New Year at home with my sister Blair, her boyfriend Brian (who we all really like), and Aunt Hayley. David laid down for about an hour around 9pm, but then was back up and ready to party well past midnight. Luckily for us, he also slept in until about 9:30 this morning. Now we just have to get him back on schedule so we can go back to school on Tuesday.

Although 2011 seemed like it went by very fast, it was a pretty challenging year. We lost Isabel as our nanny, discovered she was hard to replace and David started school (which was a difficult transition for all of us). I finally switched to flex-time at work, which has been an improvement, but still a challenge. Matt has struggled with his career, especially the future prospects at his current firm, as the economy continues to stall and work has not been very steady. We discovered how hard it is to keep a young child occupied when stuck inside for days at a time due to ice (last February) and then temperatures in excess of 110 degrees (this past summer). With all the bad, however, we also had lots of good - David learned how to walk and talk, has revealed a completely charming personality and has finally started to like school. Matt and I have grown much closer and our marriage much stronger as we continue to learn to be parents together. We took our first family vacation together to California this past August, a preview of many more great trips to come. After years of fighting it, I gave in and decided to be a Sooners fan (at least so long as they are not playing UT) and Matt and I had lots of fun going to a few OU games (and I like all my new crimson and cream colored gear). Matt and I spent our first night away from David this past November (after more than 2 years).  Matt's two best friends each welcomed a little girl in 2011 - Caroline and Anna Marie- and the Winkler's are already expecting another one. David got to bond with Granny D when she came to take care of him this summer. We meet Kim - the girlfriend and now finance of Matt's youngest brother and are looking forward to their wedding in this coming September. We had too many great experiences with Aunt Hayley to document, but more than anything, we realized how lucky we are to have her live so close (and Hayley, if you are reading this, you can't move. Just think how sad it would be for David to not see his Aunt Hayley on a regular basis. It would just break his heart. You don't want to be responsible for that, do you?).

I am sure there are many more great (and not so great) memories from the year that I haven't thought of as well.  I am looking forward to what 2012 has to bring. Next up - Matt and I have a trip to Vegas planned for the end of January. It will be our first trip together without David! 

Happy New Year to All!