ohmygosh... this is a hot mess, but I am busy and go back to work tomorrow and just don't have the time/energy/focus to proof/improve this. My apologies. But here is a wrap up of our 2012. On the whole, it was a pretty great year.
January: We started off this 2012 year in our own distinct way - disgusting and feverish. And continued the month with all sorts of similar symptoms. Somewhere in there Daphne smiled and cooed, and Cooper and I rocked the sledding hill (which has gotten NO action yet this year - HELLO CHICAGO - WHERE BE THE SNOW???). I was still figuring out this how this whole double the number of kids meant quadruple times some exponent the amount of work such amount minus infinity = the amount of sleep that I was getting, but we were all enjoying having one new and totaling four and learning that the littlest two were, in fact, not the same at all. Coop was, unlike Daph, part feline.
February: We continued the trend in February of living surrounded by poop. But what better way to spend one's time then not sleeping and surrounded by poop? I kid, it wasn't all that bad - there were moments of good. Like when COOPER TURNED THREE!!! What? I have a three year old? yeah, for like one more minute. I gotta say - two was awesome. Nothing terrible about it, on the whole (I would be lying if I said there were not "moments"), but three is pretty great, too, though a bit more sassy. At three Coop turned into more of a person, less of a baby. Suddenly we had conversations, and most of them started to even make sense. But I am getting ahead of myself. Cooper turned three and it was amazing and he is a big boy and a great big brother.
March: We began to venture back out into the world in March (I think we felt we had done our part sheltering the masses from Daph for three months, and it was someone else's turn). Then we went bat-shit-crazy and took a "vacation" which was really only genuinely personally enjoyable for Coop, but was amazing vicariously for everyone else. We played soccer and visited the fish zoo, and had a good old time in my last month of maternity leave. Daphne thought it would be fun to pretend like she would start sleeping in long stretches, and then promptly regressed to the sleep habits of a newborn.
April: And then it came to a head. The newborn sleep habit and my return to work led to some serious "tough love" which actually went way better than expected (we all came out alive) and FINALLY we got some sleep in this house. Amen. Yes, there was Easter, there was girl time, there were leg warmers and there was a slobbery smile, but, for me, this was a month that had SLEEP.
May: Cooper started swim lessons and Daphne really came into her own and laid down the law / put us on notice - this house is HERS now and she will own us all. This was a bad month for me. A really bad month. I have pictures here to document that my kids were around doing things this month, but heck, I don't remember them, because most of these pictures were pictures that my dear hubby took and then sent me, because I was MIA for a good chunk of their (and most normal people's) waking hours. Serenity now. Serenity then.
June: The crazy continued into this month, but I managed some time to hang with my terrors. Daphne began showing us what mobility looked like on her, and Coop continued to be a sweet little buddy, who still wants to be my constant companion. I wondered what the future will hold for Daph as my daughter, but I wonder all the time what our future will hold - will Coop always be my buddy? Will Daphne always know just the pitch to scream at to drive me batty but make me give in? Or will they switch it up. I hope they stay exactly the same forever, which means always changing every day, because each time I think they are perfect, they become something else, that is in fact, just a little bit better.
July: We had company in July, including a birthday Mamaw, which was wonderful. I finally found a middle ground, and was able to rejoin the world of the family. And, to fill in for all the time I used to have, but no longer can find, I posted pictures of the beautifuls because, isn't that really all anyone wants to see anyhow? Isn't the picture enough to remember the time? Let's hope so... Oh, and we almost moved to Decatur. That was crazy. I had a one day/night road trip with Cooper to our prospective new locale, and though it was not the right place for us, I will never forget that trip. I chose to take him. I chose, rather than leaving Cooper home with his dad and sister, and taking some "me" time and cruising 3 hours to check out some places, I chose to take him with me. The truth of the matter is, yes, there was some extra work (extra stops, lots of strapping in and out of the car, etc), but I prefer having his company to being alone. I love that kid.
August: This is the last month I look and see a younger Cooper. Now he looks so much OLDER than he does in these photos. And Daphne, this is the first month she starts looking to me like she looks now. This month must have been some weird age / time vortex I guess. Either that, or haircuts make a HUGE difference, and Daphne, well, she is just a mess. She started pulling herself to standing and I think we all knew it was the beginning of the end. We took cover at the movies.
September: This was a big month, a HUGE month for Sir Cooperton. He started preschool and HATED it immediately. And, what a victory, I was there to witness it. Fortunately, with a little time (2-3 drop offs) he came to LOVE school and all things school related. It is so weird handing over my child (figuratively, since Steve does the drop off) to another person 3 mornings a week. I can't see what he learns while he is there, but he brings it home - randomly pronouncing "5 plus 3 makes 8!" Proud of that kid, I am. And so happy he gets a few hours a few days a week away from his (terror of a) little sister. It started getting chilly and thus, the dinosaur was born. "Rowr!"
October: This was a BUSY month... baseball (watching and playing), basketball (playing?), ditching the kids and going to Vegas, making and wearing AMAZING (but not so durable) costumes. Oh, and pink eye. Eww, I don't even like remembering it.
November: A celebratory month! Thank you for America, and THANK YOU TIMES A MILLION FOR DAPHNE! (and thank you times a million and one that we all made it to this milestone). Pictures were scarce, but many memories were made. Family from both sides got together and my favorite season of the year was begun. Oh, and I turned 30. When do I start FEELING 30?
December: As the year wrapped up, Daph stepped up her game. Literally. She now terrorizes us with lots of steps and when she really wants to get trucking, she will grab a hand (or any available leverage), stare down at the floor directly in front of her, and then start churning the legs as fast as she can - the upper body barely able to keep up. I never know when I watch her how she doesn't fall more often. But she looks great in a swimsuit. Cooper was at the BEST AGE EVER (Yet?) to experience Christmas, and new family traditions were begun, including driving looking at Christmas lights, eating cookies and drinking hot cocoa.
