A Year in Review- 2016

I always love putting together this post because it is fun to look back at the year!  This one was a whirlwind with our little Leni being born and Charlie growing up so much this past year!  From birth-2 years, a child grows and develops so much.  However, from 2+, it is amazing how independent they get and become these kids who talk allthetime :)  She cracks us up multiple times a day!


January
This was the month we announced our 2nd pregnancy to the world!

February

February we were in the thick of potty-training.  The picture below was getting ice cream for FINALLY pooping in the potty.  Gosh, potty training is probably the biggest pain in the butt ever!  Charlie was a challenge.  After about a year, I'm happy to report we are in undies for nap time and about ready to switch to undies for bedtime.  NO MORE DIAPERS, what?! (well, for Charlie anyway...I only have to go through this all over again lol)

March

We got the opportunity to take Charlie to the circus for the first time!   I'm not sure who was more excited, me or her!  This was a huge memory for me as a child so I could not wait to take Charlie!  

April

April was a busy month!  Our second baby girl was due to arrive the next month, so we were trying to get in everything we could in the month of April!  BUT first, we needed to finish little Leni's nursery.  The process of getting the nursery ready was such a task....everything that could wrong did and more!  When it all finally came together it turned out beautiful!

We managed to sneak in a Reds game and catch a foul ball!

Oh, and I was busy growing a baby :)

We took Charlie to the conservatory for the first time to see the butterfly exhibit.

Last minute, I decided to do a mommy & me photo shoot.  I'm so.glad.i.did.  I absolutely love these photos!  I didn't get maternity pictures done so these serve that purpose.  Additionally, I love having these photos of just Charlie & me!

May

May go down in the books!  Derek turned 30 and we snuck in a celebration 1 WEEK before Leni was born.  We surprised him and had a very fun night out.

May 14th, Leni was born (11 days earlier!)

We had Leni's newborn photos done by the same photographer that did Charlie's.  I will always cherish these pictures!

June

The next 3 months were a complete whirlwind!  Trying to manage 2 children and figure out how to give attention to Charlie while recovering/feeling completely sleep deprived with a newborn.  The picture below sums up everything...we had a happy/content newborn, Charlie seemed pretty happy as well and did not notice any difference (she is the best big sister!), LuLu always tries to get in the experience, and then there is me, tired lol!

Derek and I continued with our date nights :)

July

We attended our first Cincinnati professional soccer game with friends

Spent a lot of time outdoors!  So different to have an infant during warm weather!

Watched our second baby girl grow up so fast and start giving us smiles

Had friends come down from Columbus for the weekend and had so much fun!

August

I went back to work (wow that maternity leave flew by!) this month!  I was ready as I was when I went back to work with Charlie.  This time was a little more challenging as trying to wear the working mom hat of a mother of two is different in some ways.  It helped that Derek and I had an exciting month planned for us!

We went to the Chris Stapleton/Hank Williams JR concert 

Got 3 month photos done for Miss Leni

We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!

We hosted my sister and her family for a fun week!

Had a fun night out on the pedal wagon

September

We took our first road trip with both girls to Athens.  Derek and I went to Country Night Lights Friday & Saturday and enjoyed seeing Jake Owen & Brett Eldridge. 

We also took our first overnight trip to Cleveland for an UFC fight!

Charlie started preschool!!

October

Solid foods!  Leni started this month and we found out that mashed potatoes were a big hit!

Leni also started sitting up and exploring the world in this whole new way!

We celebrated Halloween with two little bugs!

We got to see my brother and his family who came to Ohio to visit.

We took the girls to the pumpkin patch and other fun fall events

Charlie started swimming lessons

November

My girlfriends and I attended a wine event by Cincinnati Bacchanalian Society.  We hadn't been for years and had such a great time!

Took our annual family photos.  This served the purpose of Leni's 6 months, Charlie's 3 year, AND family photos!

Celebrated Charlie's 3rd birthday with a farm animal theme

Enjoyed Zoo Lights

We also attended another tasting event (our 3rd for the year!) at our local favorite wine bar/restaurant!

December

I got to take Charlie to her first ever movie at a movie theater.  We went and saw Sing!  Again, I don't know who was more excited..her or me :)

It was a warm warm Christmas this year!

We saw Santa many times this year

Had fun at our annual neighborhood Progressive Dinner

The girls enjoyed opening up their gifts from Santa!