In January, there was snow. So much snow.
In February, we had a few nice days and were able to get out of the boat and enjoy the nice weather...
And then March. Ah March, what a perfect month...aside from the waiting game of being mega-pregnant. Ivy was born on her due date (March 25th) and those first days with her as a new family are the most cherished moments I have ever had in my entire life.
April was the month of family help! I don't know what we would have done in those first few weeks with Ivy if we hadn't had her grandparents to come out and lend a hand, and our friends to be so gracious with walking Willie, feeding us (delicious) meals, etc.
The summer months brought about drastic changes to the Creekmore. Justin did such a great job fixing up the boat while still finding time to work loads of overtime and take care of me and Ivy too.
In May, we moved back to Thayer's Landing. And what a fun summer it was. Our friends, Jon and Kelli (and their son Seth) were our neighbors and it was so great to have a little company. So great, in fact, that we're all moving back there again.
July was Ivy's first experience with swimming in the ocean. She was truly impressed.
August was Ivy's first ever trip on a plane, and first visit home to Michigan where she met tons and tons of relatives.
The hurricane season brought about Hurricane Irene - the first major threat to the East Coast since we've lived here. We certainly took her seriously, and the guys put a ton of time into preparing the boats and the docks for some major damage. We were lucky and not much happened at Thayer's Landing, but towns not far from us were hit pretty hard.
And then! We went sailing! Our one and only sailing trip went a bit haywire, but we were happy to be out despite the chaos that ensues with a 5 month old on a sailing trip.
And all too quickly, we were back at Constitution Marina for the winter. We're happy to be back, but we really enjoyed the summer a whole lot so it was bittersweet to be back.
Halloween was so fun! Our first Halloween with the kiddo. Her skunk costume was a hit, and I'm sad that it's probably too small for her to wear already. Such a shame.
The "winter" has been anything but, and we've spent more time outside this winter than we've ever been able to before. I was so excited to play in the snow with Ivy, but unlike last year, the snow really just hasn't been around. No matter really. Instead, we've taken advantage of the nice days by going to the beaches and parks and just taking dock walks and walks around town.
December was an interesting month as well. Ivy and I flew back to Michigan to be with my family for Christmas while Justin stayed home. It was so sad to leave him behind, but we had a great week at home and will be flying out to Justin's family next week.
It was also the month of Ivy really growing and learning. She's 9 months old now and learning new things every day. What a fun age! She's trying to take steps here and there, she's pointing to things that she wants, she knows how to shake her head "no", and today we just discovered that she likes to sing a little bit. There's so much more - that's what she's learned in the past few days. Amazing.
It's seriously been an amazing year. I am looking forward to 2012 and we have many dreams about the upcoming year, but I don't know that anything can top 2011 in our books.
