Can you believe today is December 31? I can't. This year has absolutely flown by. I think this happens more when you have kids because, as the saying goes, "the days are long but the years are short." 2008 was certainly an adventure-filled one for us, but God has blessed us with our health, our family and our friends.
A quick recap of the year...Ryan and I took a fantastic cruise in February on the Celebrity Century; it was one of our favorite trips. My fourth tax season as a sole proprietor went really well; I am so lucky to have a job I truly love. We had a blast watching Lily as she grew and learned each day, and as she celebrated her second birthday in October. In July, we went on my family's annual vacation to New Smyrna Beach, FL which included side trips to Savannah, Lakeland and Orlando. Our trip to the Magic Kingdom was so much fun; it made us apply for a Disney Rewards visa card so we can start racking up points to take our kids on an amazing trip to Disney in a few years! Of course, we were thrilled with the arrival of Amelia in November. We always wondered if we could love another child as much as Lily, but it only took seeing her to know that wouldn't be a problem. We have truly been blessed this year in so many ways.
I wanted to give an update on where we are in life right now and what is coming up in 2009. Our newest addition, Amelia, is now 6 weeks old which we can hardly believe. She seems to be settling into a nice little eat, play and sleep routine. She eats about every 2.5 or 3 hours during the day and then typically stays awake for 30 to 60 minutes. After that, she will nap for about 1 to 1.5 hours. We try to put her to bed between 10 and 11 at night. Most nights she sleeps until about 4:30 AM, eats for about 15 minutes and then goes back to sleep until about 8:00. She has slept all the way to 8 a couple of times, so we are really hoping that becomes the norm very soon! We have found that if I eat too much dairy, it upsets her stomach and makes her quite unhappy, so I have tried to virtually eliminate it from my diet. I have to warn you that she is quite the hair-grabber. If you have long enough hair (she won't grab Ryan's) and put her on your shoulder, be careful because she has a great grip! On the other hand, she is a sweet little cuddler. She loves to be held and would rather be in someone's arms than anywhere else. I know it won't be long at all before we are really missing the days she will just sit all curled up in our arms. She's a precious, beautiful little girl.
Lily has become a full-on 2-year-old, attitude and all. We hear "Me do it!" a lot. She likes to pick out her own outfits to wear which can lead to interesting combinations. I hear "pink shirt" most days, and she gets very upset if you try to pick something else. She still loves to read books everyday which is a habit I hope she will always have. Her current favorites are her Little People lift-the-flap books and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse storybook. She also loves to watch certain cartoons (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins) and movies (Finding Nemo and parts of Mary Poppins). She is talking all the time now telling us what she sees, what she wants to do or what she wants us to do; she can be a little bossy at times! She loves to name the colors she sees and count how many of something she finds; she'll count just about anything you put in front of her. She is really good at counting to ten too. She has gone from telling us when Amelia is crying to telling her "stop crying!" She loves Amelia so much though. She often runs up to her and says "Mia's big sister!" which is so sweet to hear. She loves her purple room and will take anyone back there to show it off. She sleeps at night with her little entourage: Mickey Mouse doll, Minnie Mouse doll, Nemo doll, Crush the turtle doll, Big Pink Bear, Little Brown Bear, Baby Doll and her pink blanket. She notices immediately if one of them is missing and says "uh-oh" if one of them falls over. She moved to her "big girl" bed in October, just after her birthday. It took a few days for her to adjust but she eventually settled down and was doing great...until we brought Amelia home. She sleeps through the night, but she has started waking up about 6:15; she had been sleeping until 8, so this is a big adjustment for her and for us. We're trying different things to encourage her to stay in bed longer, but thus far, no luck. She loves breakfast and would eat breakfast-type foods all day. Yogurt tops the list but she also loves toast and multi-grain waffles. She likes fruit a lot too, especially raisins, bananas and oranges. She still enjoys snacking on goldfish, and she loves to drink milk or Motts for Tots apple juice. She eats a big breakfast and then pretty much just grazes the rest of the day; she usually doesn't eat a big dinner which I think might contribute to why she wakes up early, but I don't want to (nor do I think I could) force her to eat more without it being something like cookies. We give her small portions of what we eat, and she can choose how much of it to eat. She's a great little girl, and we feel so fortunate to have two wonderful kids!
Ryan is still in the mortgage business, so if you are thinking about buying a home or refinancing, let him know! I had an opportunity presented to me in late August with my accounting firm. Unfortunately, a long-time family friend passed away at that time; however, his family didn't know what to do with his accounting firm that he had owned for many years (he was my parents' age). After praying for guidance and talking to a few trusted family members and friends, Ryan and I decided purchasing his firm was a good opportunity for me and our family. Luckily, all three of the employees stayed with me, and they helped make sure everything has been taken care of as I try to grasp all the clients' needs. My dad provided invaluable assistance too which I will never be able to thank him enough for. Oh yeah, I had a baby in there too which made things a little crazy! This is going to be an interesting upcoming tax season as I have gone from having about 75 individual clients to about 800. However, with Ryan's support, I think we'll manage and hopefully this will turn into a wonderful business for me.
So, that's where we are now. We look forward to seeing what 2009 holds for us. We wish you and your family all the best too, and hope we can spend time together soon!
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