This weekend, our little family went to the Oakland Zoo. It was a beautiful day. I know the weather will get cool and rainy at some point, but I'm telling you, this is the life! Anyways, the zoo. Holly's been more interested in animals than ever. We were especially excited the see the lions, giraffes, elephants and monkeys. The lions were lazy and we could hardly see them, but all of the other animals were visible. It was a really fun day... and Holly had zero accidents! 'Atta girl!

I've begun first birthday preparations. I have the fabric for Greta's dress, but I can't start on it until I've finished some other projects (I'm motivating myself to finish the other stuff). I also have big 36" balloons that we'll get filled with helium. I know what kind of cake I'm going to make. But, I still can't believe sweet Greta will be one soon. Greta is a very loving little girl. She gives amazing hugs! And is never shy about rubbing her face into mine when she wants kisses. She's an excellent crawler and has taken some wobbly steps holding onto my hands and with the cart. She started saying her first word a couple weeks ago but I wasn't totally sure if she was actually saying it or not. Her first word is, "hi." She'll come crawling up to me and say a drawn out "hi." I wonder what she'll say next? Greta just had a big growth spurt and she's chubbier than ever! Sometimes I joke that she eats her feelings because Greta is an emotional little girl. She still gets up once in the night. I'm not sure how to get her to sleep through the night. She always wakes up super upset and ravenous. Even if I cuddle her back to sleep, she instantly wakes up and starts screaming as soon as she senses the crib. Soon enough she'll be a good sleeper. Greta loves her toys, especially her bunny. Anytime she gets her hands on her Bun-Buns, he gets a big, squishy hug and some gnawing. When Greta sleeps, her bunny is usually covering her face entirely. We love our Greta!

Greta at 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 months.

Holly's potty trained! We spent a few days butting heads and having lots of accidents, but then the kiddo caught on and took control. It's her thing completely now which works for me! Holly's favorite potty treat is one pink and one blue mike'n'ike. Pink and blue are her favorite colors right now. My favorite part about potty training Holly is that now that she's wearing undies I can see her cute little bum. I think it's funny when she puts her panties on backwards and has a cheek (or two) hanging out. 

I love a new year. It's so fresh and shiny and full of possiblity. 2011 was a big year for us - the best part of it was Greta! Giving birth to that sweet little baby and having her bring so much joy into our family was awesome. Of course, having a baby brings all sorts of hiccups for me. PPD being the biggest post-baby hiccup. I was blessed to have less severe PPD with Greta than I had with Holly, although obviously, it was still a trial. 

The other really big event of 2011 was moving our little family from our beloved Denver to the golden state. I had never so much as visited California. The first time I came to California was when we moved. It was a tough thing to do, but we made the decision prayerfully and slowly, we are reaping the blessings of our leap of faith (for example, we love the beach!). We did most of it ourselves. Conor drove the moving truck and I drove our car with the girls. Usually, Conor would catch up enough to finish a meal with us, but other than that (and nights) us girls were alone on the I-80. That experience proved to us that we could do hard things and built our confidence as a family.

I'm big on resolutions. I like to focus. This year I resolve to:

• take better care of myself (ie: get more than one haircut in 2012)
• grow my testimony
• sew more for myself and my home
• have FUN!

Among other things. I think it's going to be a really good year. We're looking forward to doing some fun things as a family like a trip to San Diego. Yessir, I'm looking forward to 2012!

And just to look back, here's a sampling of my favorite photos from 2011: