2011 - year in review

With 2012 right around the corner, I'd like to dedicate this post to the wonderful year of 2011 and all the little things in between:
-Sweet little Ian joined our family, Claire is officially potty trained, we got a new roof, we had an amazing family trip to Florida for Thanksgiving, my little brother got married and Alisha joined the family, Nathan moved back to the US (for the time being anyway), I had an amazing trip to San Diego for Katie's wedding with the college crew, all our family came to Ohio to visit during the year, Madison got her braces off, Claire learned her ABC's, counting to 12, months of the year, days of the week, and lots of new songs, Ian got his first three teeth, Eric and I have been able to go on some great dates and enjoy married time without the kids, we are in the process of starting to think about a family dog, Ian had his first plane ride and first time on the beach, Eric has really focused on his health and is loving it, we both still really enjoy our jobs, Madison made the basketball team, we survived our first family 12 hour road trip across the Midwest in a minivan, Claire moved into a big girl bed, the long court case came to a close, I've decided to grow my hair out for a change, our stairs are constantly blocked by whatever is close to keep Ian from going up when he can't get down yet, our house has been in a constant state of lived in, we got our family picture taken, lots of time was spent in the Fall leaves, we made it to the pumpkin patch, apple orchard, and some farmer's markets, we have committed to buying organic and socially responsible food for the family and get away from so much processed crap, the Christmas tree was pulled down twice this year by Ian, having one bathroom for a family of five is proving to be a challenge and requires some creativity, I have about 20 pounds to lose from this last pregnancy, the current family favorite book is Barnyard Dance, no cable in the house but Netflix is often found to be showing Dora, Diego, or Wonderpets, Claire loves pretending and has an amazing imagination, Ian's first word is "nigh night", he waves bye bye, loves feeding himself, and throws his head back when he laughs really hard, Ian laughs his hardest belly laugh at Claire, Claire started by calling him Brother Man and has now changed to My Ian, I lost a dear friend and co-worker unexpectedly, I have taken lots of pictures but completely failed at keeping them updated on this blog, facebook, and our family photo site, and to sum it up...it's just been a great year spent watching these three kids change before our eyes and we are loving every minute (well, most minutes) of it!

I wish everyone a safe and happy end of 2011 and here's to an awesome 2012 - with more pictures I promise!