a look back ~ 2013

Its amazing how much can change in a year, especially with little children. 2013 was a year of change for our family. It was a great year in so many, many ways. But it was challenging too. I've been feeling kind of nostalgic lately and wanted to remember.

January

I don't have many pictures of this month, but this one about sums it up. We were all anxiously awaiting a new baby. The boys were shooting up like weeds. Tyler decided to potty train himself, Johnny was loving joy school and his little friends, Brian was busy with work and church, I was taking as many naps as possible.

February

It's a little depressing to look back now and remember the things we were doing last year in February. Clearly, we are not playing outside barefoot or going to the park to play now. Geesh, I'm missing that sunny weather! When I look at these pictures I remember that I was trying to take advantage of all the time I had with these two boys before the baby came - spending a lot of time outside and on the go, also enjoying Santa Monica as much as possible as we knew we would be moving soon.

March

This month was all about William and rightly so. What a joy! Becoming a family of 5 was quite an adjustment, but Will was such a sweet, sleepy newborn. March was a great month.

April

By April the newness wore off and we had a unhappy baby on our hands. It took a few weeks to realize he had silent reflux. Poor baby. It was a rough go there for a while. We visited Grandma Shirley as much as we could and turned on the television a little too much, probably. But we just have to get through it - and we did. We also closed on a home in Idaho, sight unseen. There was no backing out!

May

May. This was the hardest month by far. I had surgery on Brian's birthday. The recovery was very painful. In the mean time we had to pack up and leave the only home our little family knew. We said goodbye to a lot of dear friends and family and a lot of wonderful memories. But at the end of it all, we arrived at our new home to see a big "welcome home" sign my sister made. It was so sweet and it really did feel like home.

June

Johnny turned 4 in June and got a haircut, thank goodness :) It was so fun to be able to invite cousins to his birthday party. Willie really started filling out this month. And Brian made homemade doughnuts. What? We can make doughnuts at home?! It was life-changing enough that I had to include a photo.

July

Brian was well into the swing of things at work on the farm and the boys were spending as much time as possible outside and trying to figure out alternative clothing options since it was soooo hot out there.

August

Grandma came for a visit. We showed her around Julia Davis Park in Boise and had a great time. Willie had his first ride in his new red swing and grew a whopper of a double chin.

September

Late summer evenings in the backyard were the best. We spent lots of time out there watering and then subsequently pulling those darn weeds. Funny how that works. By September we had also decided to move again and closed on another house. And a big milestone for Johnny - he started preschool!

October

I started making baby food by the truck load. Willie became a champion eater like his brothers. We enjoyed  some of our favorite things about the Kuna house - cul-de-sac friends and the soaker tub - for the last time. By the end of the month we were in our new home. 

November

Tyler turned three. All his dreams came true when he went to Chuck E. Cheese.  We had another cousin birthday party. The weather was fantastic and we enjoyed our new swing set and the gorgeous view from the back yard. Brian learned to drive to loader and did some "work" on the drive way.

December

It started to get cold. Really cold!! The boys really enjoyed their first snow (from the inside, mostly), Christmas, and lots of time with family. Willie started to get into everything and cause his mom all kinds of worry. 

On New Year's Eve at around, say 8 pm, us 4 party animals brought in the new year with a toast. Boy, I love these people I get to have in my forever family. I'm so very blessed. I look forward to another wonderful year with them. But hopefully, 2014 will not include a move. I don't want to see moving boxes for another 30 years!

 Happy New Year!