2013

At the end of every year since I have been with Matt, I have said it has been the best yet. In 2009 we met, fell in love and I realized he was "the one". 2010 brought me back to Ames and us moving in together. In the year 2011 we got engaged, went on a cross country road trip and traveled to New York City for the Pinstripe Bowl. 2012 we got married, bought our first home and learned we would be becoming a family of three.

This brings us to 2013, the best year to date, where I started the year off 12 weeks pregnant. I was lucky to have an easy pregnancy and a fantastic partner in Matt, who doted on me hand and foot. We enjoyed the time we had of it being just us two, all while counting down until we got to meet our baby girl. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in June, while I was eight months pregnant. Then in July, we welcomed our Emma Grace into our world with open arms and hearts so full of love. Being a parent has been the most rewarding, scary, exciting and stressful ride we have ever been on. We have learned more about ourselves as individuals, grew closer as husband and wife and truly learned what unconditional love is. Emma has brought us so much love, happiness and pure joy. We are taking in every moment and cherishing it all because it is going by so fast. 

It is because of Emma that I fell even more in love with her daddy this year. Like I said above, Matt has been a fantastic partner and that has really shown through during my pregnancy and now as we juggle parenthood. Seeing him hold our daughter for the first time was one of the most special things I have ever seen, brings tears to my eyes still thinking of it and seeing pictures. Matt is a phenomenal dad, seriously the best. Emma is so lucky to be able to have him as her daddy. The way she giggles for him and stares at him with bashful eyes, you can see how wrapped he really is. I am excited to watch their relationship over the years and to see them grow.

I don't know what 2014 has in store for us and our family, but I am excited for the adventure and to add on to these memories we have already built as a family. While I didn't make a New Year's resolution, I have devoted to writing down daily in a journal something that I am thankful for that particular day. Looking forward to seeing what I wrote next December.

Wishing you all a healthy and joyous 2014!