January brought on a six month old baby who was starting to talk. He recognized his Dada and Bubba, and called them by name. It also was the month we were reminded of the joys of teething, as SC cut his first toofer. January was a mild winter, so one uncharacteristically warm January day brought about the Inaugural Skip School for the Zoo day... something we decided we needed to repeat EVERY year.
February meant BBH had to go away on a business trip, and I had to find out what it was like to be a single parent. Let me tell ya, it is no fun. Kudos to you women who do it! Even though it was just for a few days, I missed him terribly, and was happy for his return. February was also a difficult month for me because I spent a good majority of it sick and flaring from RA. I really had to learn how to pick my battles, take care of myself, and let the little things go. It was quite a lesson, but I am stronger because of it.
March brought on the first tastes of spring, and with it a renewal of spirit and health. March was also the month that I began this little blogging journey. What fun it has been! It has been a great creative outlet, and a fantastic place to share and store memories of our little family as we walk this road together. March brought my parents for a fun visit to the OKC too! It was really nice being the host for once, taking them around town showing them the sights of the city.
In April, I learned that even though I had been with BBH for over 11 years, he will continue to amaze me. We had the blessing and privilege to cheer him across the finish line for his first marathon race. It was such a life changing and life affirming experience for us... our little family grew a little bit tighter that day!
May held a few changes for us. Our Larger Child graduated kindergarten... thus marking the end of "Baby Jake" in my head. It also held the end of my twenties and ushered me in to a new decade, thus marking the end of an era for me as well... "Baby Jen"?? Naw, maybe just "Immature Jen." Either way, I was happy to see it go! Ha! We celebrated in a very mature and grown up fashion... Roller Skating.
June held a fantastic Texas Trip! Summer weeks with my parents are just tradition anymore. The boys and I always have a great time, thought I'm afraid we may run my parents ragged while we're there! I also think they might spoil us rotten! Ha!
June was also when I attempted to make a homemade Father's Day gift for BBH that included photos of the boys. After about 100 shots, we managed to get a couple to work. It truly gave me a whole new respect for professional photographers. Especially those who shoot mostly children.
Larger Child began losing his baby teeth in June. (tear) So, we got our first visit from the Toothfairy, and began the year of the snaggletooth.
July held two giant milestones for our family. Smaller Child took his first (real) steps, and we celebrated his ONE YEAR birthday. His party was, well, not to sound arrogant... but pretty awesome. http://themoderndaysahm.blogspot.com/2012/07/little-man-birthday-party.html
I am of the opinion that the first birthday is the only one you get to do solely for you. It is the one year the kiddo is too young to have an opinion, and mom and dad get to celebrate the fact that they made it through that first year (mostly) intact!
August was HOT. It was another 100+ degree summer, and we were stuck inside for most of it. Even still, we managed to mark a few memories down. August was the month that Larger Child finally honed his swimming skills! It was also the month that BBH decided to, as a favor to me, buzz cut our beautiful baby's hair off. (Still not laughing at that one yet... okay, maybe I am a little.)
The end of August marked the beginning of our Larger Child's ALL DAY scholastic career. He began first grade. He looks so grown up in these pictures.
September taught us that sometimes the Toothfairy gets sick... who knew! It also was The McQueen family's first (and hopefully last) kid trip to the ER. We learned that we can entertain ourselves for hours with a latex glove, and we learned that SC is pretty hardcore.
In October, BBH and I celebrated eleven years of marriage. October also proved once again that McQueens do Halloween right!
We got to celebrate Larger Child turning SEVEN years old in November as well!! We had a great party at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History (The Dinosaur Museum).
Finally December... the holidays seem to bring out the best in us. We get all warm and fuzzy. Baking, reading books together, watching Holiday movies, snuggling, and truly enjoying one another. I LOVE it. This Christmas, we got a visitor for the first time, Frank the Elf, who made this month particularly fun! BBH turned 34 this year! We snuck in some family time, going out to eat, driving around looking at Christmas lights, and giving him a few gifts. We managed to survive the Mayan Apocalypse. Christmas was AWESOME as always. BBH ushered me in to the modern age with a new smart phone, and I gave him the gift of preparedness with all the contents for a well stocked bug-out bag. Santa was particularly good to the kids, somehow sneaking a playground in to the backyard!
I also took the boys to their first concert. We went to see a local children's band that they both just love named Spaghetti Eddie. The LC knows the words to all of their songs, and SC is right behind him. As a matter of fact, any time he hears music, he begins to dance and say "Meow" because of one of Spaghetti Eddie's songs called "Kitty Cat Town."
And that has been our year in a nutshell. We have been together through ALL of the ups and downs, and this year there have been much much more ups. We have all grown in spirit, age, and love. We are one tight family unit. We have learned how to respond, not react, respect, listen with love. We are growing in prayer. We are growing together. It is a blessed BLESSED life. I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!
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