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:

Greta's first pigtails! Adorable. To die for. So cute. And so forth.

This girl just loves her technology!

I took Holly to the nutcracker and it was the best! First off, it was so great to have a morning set aside for Holly and I to spend quality time together and do something extra special. We went with our friends, Kelly and Tessa. It was up in San Francisco and the show was the perfect length - 50 minutes. When the show was introduced, parents were told, "no shushing," which was the best! We could all relax and let our kids really enjoy the show. Holly loved it! We had balcony seats and she loved leaning over the rail while sitting on my lap. After the show, we played at a litttle park and then grabbed some lunch and topped it all off with some ice cream. When we arrived at the ice cream shop, Holly pushed her way to the front of the line and then, when she saw the ice cream, she balled up her fists and jumped up and down with excitement! It's so fun to be a Mom!