January:
Early in January, we had our first prenatal appointment (!!!), confirming that we were expecting our first baby! The month was spent spreading the good news...first to family, then close friends, and soon after that, everyone else! We loved having the first pictures of our Sweet Pea! (Now I love looking back at these first photos. Our bodies are amazing! I can't believe this little blob is Linnea!!)
February:To be honest, not much happened for the Carlsons in February. One thing of note was that we celebrated Valentine's Day together. We are not huge fans of the "traditional" Valentine's celebrations, so we typically opt for something non-traditional. In 2011 we celebrated by packaging meals at Let's Dish! We knew they would come in handy once Sweet Pea made her arrival! Don't we look hot in our bandanas?! One thing I've always loved about Jeromy is that we can have fun together doing the simplest things. :-)
March:
We celebrated Jeromy's birthday at the beginning of March. I, for one, love birthdays. I think it's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the life of the ones you love. And I love my Jeromy Steven! We enjoyed dinner out at Famous Dave's. I was finally feeling better, after a rough 1st trimester of pregnancy. Dinner felt like a feast, because I had been living off of cereal and not much else for way too long!
April:In April we took a short weekend trip to Madison to visit our friends Marshall and Christy, and their son Everett. Marshall and Christy are a fellow Luther couple (woot woot!), who moved to Madison a few years back. Unfortunately, we don't get to see them often, but when we do, we always have fun. Christy was pregnant too, so it was fun to share the excitement of babies, and enjoy our time together with them. Everett made fast friends with Jeromy (or J-Pod/J-Pop/J-Bop as he called him!).
May:
June:Late in June, we had a WOWZA/MANZA cabin weekend! It's our third (I think?) year of going up to Sarah's cabin as a group. It's always a good time, with our dearest friends. This year, the ladies generously threw me an awesome baby shower! It was perfect...we sewed burp cloths and bibs, had yummy treats, and enjoyed our time together. I'm SO lucky to have these wonderful women in my life. Here's all of us ladies (and our Lil' Manza Gavin). We missed you, Rachel! (It'll be interesting to see if/how cabin weekend lives on, since there will now be three little ones in our group - Gavin, Linnea, and Bethany's baby (due in March).
July:In July, we stuck pretty close to home after several months of out of town trips (see above months). We were busy preparing for the arrival of our Sweet Pea, which included lots of room/house preparations, and many wonderful showers. Jeromy and I (and Linnea in utero) are so blessed to have several very nice showers thrown in our honor. One such shower occurred in mid-July. Thrown by dear friends/former neighbors from Brooklyn Park, the guests included many who have known me my whole life. What a special gift to have such close friends who love you so dearly, and love your unborn child so much already.
August:
It's not hard to think of our highlight from August - LINNEA!! Linnea Beth Carlson was born just 5 hours shy of her due date, on August 13th. Weighing 7 lbs, 13 oz, and measuring 21 inches in length, she changed our lives forever in the matter of a nanosecond. We knew the meaning of love at first sight. I don't even have the words to express how amazing, challenging, emotional, joyful, and wonderful Linnea's birth was, and the journey of parenthood has been. It's already gone so quickly... what an amazing day, the day my baby girl came into this world!
September:September was a month filled with getting to know Linnea, and learning what life is like as a family of three. We enjoyed getting together with family and friends, and introducing her to our favorite places and people. Within her first month of life we went to church, the Farmer's Market, and the State Fair! We may have been a little crazy, but we sure had fun!
October: At the beginning of October, we took our first vacation as a family of three! We packed up the car, and drove to Bayfield, WI for their Apple Festival. We've been there a few times, and were so excited to introduce Linnea to one of our favorite places! Jeromy's grandparents have a house up there, which is where we stayed. That meant lots of good family time with extended relatives. It was so fun to have everyone meet Linnea, and enjoy a little trip as a little family. :-) Jeromy and I both love to travel, so this is the first of many vacations for us! Here's us on the shore of Lake Superior!
November:
November brought a very special day for our whole family - Linnea's baptism! In an awesome coincidence, my mom's birthday fell on a Sunday this year - and not just any Sunday - a baptism Sunday! As many of you know, my mom is a pastor (we are members of her church). It seemed so perfect to have Grandma baptize Linnea on her birthday (which happened to be Linnea's 3-month birthday). It was a beautiful day, and a wonderful celebration. Many family and friends came to be a part of our day, and it's one we won't ever forget. Here is my favorite shot from the day.
December:
December brought the craziness of the holidays, and renewed perspective for the Carlsons. Ususally we are bustling around, in search of the "perfect" gift for everyone, and trying frantically to fit everything that "needs" to be done in. This year felt different. Things were still a little crazy, but we focused our energy on enjoying time as a family, and building traditions. Lefse making, tree cutting, church going... it was wonderful to share those traditions with Linnea, and look forward to all the years to come as well. A favorite tradition of mine is to cut down our Christmas tree. We did this every year growing up, and it's a tradition we plan to keep for us as well. Early in December, we bundled up Linnea and headed out with my parents to our favorite tree farm. Linnea had so much fun - she fell asleep in the middle of it! What a wonderful memory/story, that I know we we tell her for years to come!
December brought the craziness of the holidays, and renewed perspective for the Carlsons. Ususally we are bustling around, in search of the "perfect" gift for everyone, and trying frantically to fit everything that "needs" to be done in. This year felt different. Things were still a little crazy, but we focused our energy on enjoying time as a family, and building traditions. Lefse making, tree cutting, church going... it was wonderful to share those traditions with Linnea, and look forward to all the years to come as well. A favorite tradition of mine is to cut down our Christmas tree. We did this every year growing up, and it's a tradition we plan to keep for us as well. Early in December, we bundled up Linnea and headed out with my parents to our favorite tree farm. Linnea had so much fun - she fell asleep in the middle of it! What a wonderful memory/story, that I know we we tell her for years to come!
1 comment:
No problem. I stole it from millions of other bloggers :) Enjoyed reading yours!
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