You'll read about my 2011 wrap up on the first day of 2012, but close enough! We spent the last day of 2011 in the children's hospital ER, with Luke receiving fluids and meds via IV because he had a 106 degrees fever, ear infection, vomiting, and dehydration. What a cheerful post, right?!
He's on the mend now and Keith and I are grilling steak and pouring some champagne because, though we're getting old, we're not THAT old and still enjoy celebrating New Year's Eve :)
So, on to a recap of 2011 in Duffy Town...
January started with a baby growing in my belly (as you know, I--and only I--knew it was a little girl and was secretly shopping for cute baby girl clothes :)
Luke experienced his first snowy winter, complete with sledding in our neighborhood park...
Somehow I don't have any photos, but in mid-January, Keith surprised me with a long weekend trip to NYC. Luke stayed with Bill & Brigitte, and Keith and I stayed in Tribeca and did all of the things we can't do here: saw a Broadway play, ate at amazing restaurants--at 10 pm if we wanted to, saw movies at any time of the day, shopped and lunched leisurely...it was wonderful, just like our old pre-kids weekends. And yet, I was ready to get my little man back after two days. Yep, I'm definitely a Mom now.
Avoiding a first haircut, I let Luke's hair get to this state:
For the first half of 2011 Luke LOVED milk. Correction...Luke LOVED milk out of a baby bottle. When we took the bottle away just shy of his 2nd birthday, suddenly he wouldn't touch milk (and still hasn't)...
Luke's intro to skis (fake plastic ones, so Keith ended up carrying him down the hill...but still an intro)...
Three days before going into labor and feeling excited to meet the baby...
And at 3:19 am on March 24th we welcomed Anna Bridget Duffy and made our family complete. It was d
efinitely the highlight of our year...
As everyone said/says "she looks just like Luke" ..."she looks like Keith"... and that's just fine with me...
We didn't know how Luke would react but he loved his baby sister from the start...
And she was strong and smiley from the start (for instance, at 6 weeks):
We took our first family getaway weekend in mid-May at Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah. Luke decided to experiment with the Terrible Twos that weekend but we still managed to have a good time. It's all about the mindset...
Did I mention the brotherly love yet?...
I missed most of the ski season but since we had a great snow year I managed to get in a great wintery day over Memorial Day weekend...
Great hiking 30 minutes or less from home never gets old for us. We enjoyed this hike with Kim, who visited for the weekend (squeezing it in before her move to Switzerland) and took this photo...
I (bravely, thank you) flew home to New England with both kids in July. Though it was THE MOST HOT AND HUMID week of the summer, I loved, loved, loved spending time with family and old friends, as well as having my kiddos get to know the places--like North Beach--where I grew up...
We hung out with
Chris, Lauren, and Andie...
And Anna was so fortunate to meet her ONLY great-grandparents - Anna and Armand Millette...
Bill, Jeanne and William made the long trip out in August for Anna's Christening (Bill and Jeanne are her Godparents)...
We visited friends and enjoyed the surf in Southern California...
And we took our family vacation (with great friends) in Bar Harbor / Acadia National Park Maine, where we ate LOTS of lobster, breathed in that gorgeous Atlantic air, and had lots of laughs with old friends...
And w
here the Dads organized beer-box kid races...fun for one and all...
And Luke honed his hiking skills...
In September our neighborhood grocery store opened. It was a big deal in these parts...we're there EVERY day. Sometimes two or three times...
Luke started pre-school and it has been a wonderful experience for all for us so far: Luke loves going to school, adores his teacher, and has made many new friends...I have really enjoyed co-oping in the classroom and have met some wonderful parents, who have already become friends. Here's the first day of school...
Here's the first field trip (a hike with 12 two-year-olds)...
Luke turned two and we gave him a strider (ie. no pedals) bike. He didn't actually get on it until late September, which was a bit disappointing for two parents that love cycling. But as two wise people have told me, I need to let my children be who they are and appreciate that, even if it's not what I envisioned. This is a simple example--Luke may end up loving his bike--but as his personality and interests start to develop (which started happening this year) I keep reciting that to myself. It's the best parenting advice I have received...so far...I'm sure I'll need more later!
As many second children probably do, Anna B. had not choice but to roll with the program (for instance, at a Utah football tailgate) and was a great sport...
In 2011 we sold my beloved first car, a 2002 Subaru Outback, to our neighbor's son--a nice, hard-working freshman at the University of Utah. But it was still emotional when he scraped off the Cambridge and Chicago parking permit stickers (obviously) and it was no longer my first car...
Halloween is a whole new, and more important deal when you have kids. Luke was a Utah football player (we already had the jersey and the other pieces were easy...I'll have to step it up next year), and Anna was a lobster (very cute, but annoyed that she couldn't move)...
The biggest change this past year was how much Anna grew. She was crawling at 6 months, pulling herself up and cruising at 7 months, and climbing up the stairs at 8 months...determined and independent all the way...
We had a nice Thanksgiving with friends, beginning with a road race (my first in YEARS) with two girlfriends, followed by a wonderful dinner with two other families...
Did I mention how much Anna has matured during 2011? So far it has been a joy watching her grow and learn and I'm trying to really enjoy each phase. Though the phases are mostly the same as Luke's were, this time has been different because Anna is growing up with an adoring older sibling. It's heart-warming, and cute, and a little bit frightening because she's figuring things out sooner than Luke did!!!
Luke got in real ski boots and on real skis for the first time at 2.5 years old. We're just encouraging, since we love skiing so much. And out here, 2.5 years is not an abnormal age to be on skis. The kids are jumping off cliffs by 7 years (not ours, of course, though I think their father was...)
Alta. I have a season pass for the first time and we hope to make skiing here a winter weekend tradition...
I wish this photo was more in focus because I love it. We had a really wonderful Christmas in Utah, with my whole family visiting. Despite spreading around Luke's sickness, I think everyone had a nice time...
Winter in Utah. Put on warm clothes and enjoy the outdoors. We're trying to lead by example, though from the looks of the children in this photo, we have a way to go...
We had a fantastic year. Every person in our immediate families made the long trek out to visit us and meet Anna, which we know is not an easy task. And we feel very lucky to have health, happiness, and wonderful people in our lives. If 2012 is as wonderful, we'll be thankful.
Thanks for reading.
