Another one bites the dust...

So here we are...another year has come and gone.

Goodbye 2009.  You were very good to me.  I'm not entirely sure where you went so quickly, but alas, you are gone.  This past year was a busy one.  Full of many adjustments (a newborn at home, a new school for Nate, going back to work after maternity leave), sadness, and many adventures!

I started off the year strong with a resolution to get in shape after having recently had Alex.  Mom and I made a plan to exercise together three times a week, either by my visiting her at work and using the treadmill there or her stopping over on her way home from work to rock out to Sweatin' with the Oldies or Tae Bo.  It lasted a month or two and then Mom started a project of remodeling her living room and her attentions were diverted.  Without her motivation, I lost all mine.

We finally started going back to church to get to know the interim pastor so we could see about getting Alex baptized.  We had been gone so long people at church hardly even realized I was pregnant so Alex was a bit of a surprise.  On January 25th we had him baptized and had a nice cake and coffee ceremony for all who could attend in the church social area after the service.

In February Dave got into an accident with my car while on the way home from running out to get pie.  He decided one night he wanted pie so he ran to Big M and on his way home some woman took a turn in front of him and **CRUNCH**.  Luckily he wasn't hurt but my Millie (my 2000 Honda Civic) didn't fare well. More than two weeks later we got her back all fixed up and less than a week later I got into an accident with her and she was crunched yet again.  She stayed crunched and in June I got a new car and we sold Millie to our neighbor's son across the street.  It's nice to still see her (and her still crunched door) every day!

I would call 2009 The Year of the Concerts.  For me, I saw a lot of concerts this year.  Ok, so there were three, but for ME, that IS a lot.  I was lucky enough to see New Kids on the Block (yes, I am still a die hard fan of NKOTB!) not once, but TWICE!!!  Fantastic blast from the past for me.  I felt like a 12-year-old pre-teen all over again!  I also got tickets to see David Cook (love him!) at SUNY Brockport!  What a great show!

In March the family traveled to New Hampshire for my cousin's wedding.  It was quite the experience as this was the longest trip we'd taken with the boys EVER!  It worked out well though.  The whole 8 hour drive there we told Nate that where we were going was "far, far, away" (like in Shrek) and when we finally arrived at the hotel we'd be staying in, it turned out to be an old castle looking building.  When he saw that he gasped and said "Hello, Princess Phone-uh!"  It was perfect!  The wedding was beautiful and wee had a nice long weekend visit with my family.

Two short weeks later we were headed up North to see the family again after hearing the news that my dear Abuelita (little Grandma) passed away.  It was a rough weekend but we were able to stay in a house my cousin owns that was GORGEOUS and in between the calling hours and the funeral and the family stuff, it was nice to hang out with the kids and my immediate family.  The kids got to play and it was nice to see everyone for a whole weekend.  Life doesn't often allow for many experiences like that.

In May we sent my brother off to Qatar on deployment for the Air Force National Guard.  It was hard to teach Nathaniel what it all meant, but we sent packages, made pictures to send, talked to him on Skype, and welcomed him home safely in October.  It was quite the experience for the whole family!  It gives me a whole new respect for military families across the country who are serving to keep our freedoms.

We had many adventures with Tiff and Brie!  Namely a trip to the Syracuse Zoo, a couple Red Wings games, carnivals and parade nights, many trips to Melon Bean, the Apple Fest, Zoo Boo, Springdale Farm, and many more!  We love our adventures with Tiff and Brie and look forward to many more in 2010!

As a family, we took trips to the Strong Museum, the Pick 'N Patch, the State Fair, and a week's vacation in the 1000 Islands.  We spent a lot of time out on the boat, fishing, swimming and riding.  We took the boys to see the circus and tagged along on field trips with Nathaniel's class to the Zoo, the pumpkin patch, and watched their Christmas program with pride and joy!

I spent a lot of time meeting up with friends for lunch, dinner, parties, shows, and full-fledged Mama Reunions.  A few friends got married, a couple welcomed babies, and my own baby turned ONE!  Somehow in the past 12 months, Alex started crawling, pulling up, walking, and finally RUNNING.  He got his first tooth (on 6/2) AND his second just two days later.  Somewhere in there he got his 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th tooth, too!  We spent some time in the doctor's office and the emergency room with pink eye (Nate), roseola, chest x-rays, urine samples (Alex), croup (Nate and Alex), possible concussion (Alex), scratched cornea (me).

I am proud to say that I got my first deer during hunting season this year.  It was a great experience and I'm glad to finally be among the "elite"!

With the exception of a few bumps in the road, 2009 was a great year!  I hope to make 2010 even better by being present with my children, simplifying my life as much as possible, and truly enjoying my family as these days go by much too quickly!