Happy 2012 Good Bye 2011

2011 was another great year for our family.  Busy as Shazam worked hard on her masters, Super Sammy G worked her tail off and Little E grew and grew!    Little E is hardly the same child she was a year ago.  She was still a 21lb baby last January and now she is all toddler and tipping the scales at 28 lbs.  I was a bad blogger but really I think I was just overwhelmed trying to get through the day to day that I just didn't have the energy to do much more than keep us clothed and fed on a daily basis.  Some days I didn't even do a good thing at that.  So here is 2011 in review.

January

We started 2011 watching Auntie Beth run in the Millennium mile in NH.  She did great!

Happy spectator

Auntie Beth doing great!

Hung out around the house and considered career options.

Little E discovered that she loved her puppy Darwin's bed.   Who needs fancy pott.ery barn chairs!

 Mid month we had an epic snow storm and little E had her first experience with some real snow!

E in a snowbank

Loving the snow!  

Sledding

Enjoying a ride from Mommy

Happy snow family!

 Amah and Gumpy (Grandma and Grampa G) bought her an awesome table.  She loves it and eats, plays and draws at it daily.

Snack time

Cheering on the Pats!

 At E's 18 month appointment we found out that she had lost weight (not good for a growing toddler) so we started project chubby cheeks to fatten up little E.  She got to enjoy milk with cream added, butter in everything and lots of ICECREAM!

I think she likes it!

E you have a little something on your face!

 February
February started a little rough with E's first real injury (ouch) from a fall onto the storage cubes.

Nice cut above her right eye.

  She was still in love with her dog bed.


E made her first cupcakes for Mommy's Birthday

The chef

Hey Mommy why is my cupcake so small compared to you?

E wasn't feeling great that night and ended up in the ER with breathing issues.  We now are a proud owner of a nebulizer.  She was a real trouper with her treatments and was on the mend soon.  Her lungs seem to be her only holdover from her prematurity.

Being a good sport about her breathing treatments.

 March
We started taking trips to the local farm.  The snow was still on the ground but E loved stomping in the puddles and seeing the animals

Splash

Exploring the Barn

Ella started really loving some of her new toys.  Cutting fruit is still a popular game.

The chef

Looking cute in Mommy's hat

 With Easter on the way E got her first tast of a marshmellow peep.

Mimi Ella and the peep=yum

She got her portrait taken for Easter with a real live bunny!

Ella and some eggs

Ella and the bunny!  Her dress even matched

 April
Ella's funny little personality is in full swing.  Why she was in the sock bin with Kermit I have no idea but she was having a good time.

 With the weather improving we spent alot of time as a family hanging our at the local historical site.

Ella wants to climb just like Mommy

Chickens watch out

Mommy and E in a tree!

 We also returned to the farm where the lambs were starting to be born.

Love Chickens

New lambs so cute!

Trying to prevent E from jumping into the pig pen

E weighs in as a piglet!

ride um cowgirl

E went to her first Boston Marathon to cheer on a friend.  We are lucky that the marathon goes right through our town.

Waiting for Kathleen

Mommy and her awesome sign

Run Kathleen (in center with black skirt and shirt)

 E was really excited to get her Easter basket and was totally into her first egg hunt.

Easter Bunny E

Finding some Eggs

More Eggs

 At the end of the month we made it to another Sheep Sheering festival with my parents.  Lots of fun.

Traditional sheering.  The sheep just lay there.

Shazam and my mom

Ahma Gumpy and E.

 May
We started the month with our annual March of dimes walk.  We almost made it through the whole thing without thunder and lightning.  I am counting on a sunny beautiful day this year.   We were joined this year by our fav nicu nurse, her husband, my parents, and both Shazam and my best friends. They all humored me and wore the crazy bee hats I found so that we could be team Bumble Bee!

Mama and E

A little over 20 lbs above her birth weight

Ready to walk

Shazam and her bff courtney

Ahma Gumpy and E

Family picture after the walk and during the rain

As the weather warmed up E hit the pool.

E also got a little daring and started climbing things for fun.

 E also started spring training making her Mommy and Uncle Jeff proud.

She's got quite an arm!

Home Run

Batting Practice with Uncle Jeff

The wacky muscian

We took our first trip as a family to the Aquarium.  E loved it espesially the tide pool.  She loved getting her hands of the animals.  The penguins and seals were also a big hit.

What is in there???

Cool!

Mama Ella and the Sea Anemones

 June
We were back to the farm again. This time we got to meet a chicken and see the piglets that had been born!  E also sported pig tails for the first time.

Mommy and E walking to the farm yard

I love you chicken!

Piglets

 Hanging out at home

Doing some work with mommy

Wearing a Nightgown for the first time

Painting the back stoop with water

Showing off my mad utensil skills

We also attended E's cousin's dance recital.  We thought E would last about one act but she sat for the entire first act.  She loved it!

E with her cousins

 We also squeezed in strawberry picking at the end of the month.  She ate more than she put in the bucket though.

 July
July was probably the busiest month we had all year.  We packed in friend's, 4th of July, E's Birthday and the beging of a vacation.

We started the month with a playdate at the park with a friend

E with J

 Fourth of July weekend started at the lake and ended up at Great Mimi and Great Buba's party in NH.  E had a great time.  She loved the parade.

Buba, E and Mimi

 E had a Pinwheel 2nd birthday party in NH at Mimi and Buba's.  It was a blast.   I recycled decorations from E's 1st birthday party and they turned out really well.  E had a great time with the sprinkler, bounce house and cake!

We spent some hot days at the local spray park were E loved running through the water (the child has no fear).

We moved from our 2 bedroom apartment to a larger and nicer 3 bedroom apartment at the end of the month.  It was a great change and E now has her own bathroom and we have room to spread out a bit.

E likes her new tub!

Mommy and E having some cereal in our new breakfast nook

 Our new town has a town pool so we were frequent visitors to the kiddy pool after we moved.

E loving the water

Warming up!

August

We started out the month with a vacation to P-town for family week.  E loved the ocean and the pool and we had a great time with friend old and new.

Sea Weed Girl

Making sand castles

Swimming

 We really enjoyed the family week festivities and had a blast in the preschool playtime in the park every morning and even marched in the parade!

Shaving Cream fun

Our rocking sign

View from the parade

When we returned home from vacation it was back to the farm to check on our animals.

Hello Goat

Big Girl

Mama and E

We made it to the pool almost every day!

 We went to the zoo!  E's favorite part was the petting area.  She spent a lot of time kissing the goats.

Mama and E checking out a tortoise

I love you goat!

Goats rock

 She also spent some time working on her Kramer hair!

 September
September brought our awesome summer to an end.  We all returned to school and back to the grind.
E enjoyed arts and crafts in the breakfast nook.

October
We made it to E's first country fair.  She loved it and had a wonderful day.  She fed the chickens, saw a giant pumpkin, rode her first pony and carousel.  It was a awesome day.

E gets her love of Chickens from her Mommy

Loving the Pony

Checking out the goats

On the carrousel

Back on the Pony since it was so fun!

We enjoyed a very mild mid October and E and Mama did a photoshoot at the local historical society.

 E was a ladybug for her first trick or treating.  She was a natural and ran up to each house for her treats!

Mommy and E

Checking out her loot

Enjoying her treats

 November
We had more fall fun with E's cousins.

love the fall

The cousins

We spent Thanksgiving in VT with my extended family.  This will be out last holiday at the farm as my uncle is selling it.  It was bitter sweet for us all.

December
 E's drawings started to really take shape this month with pictures of people

portrait of Mama

 We had lots of holiday cheer from picking a tree and triming it to building a gingerbread house.  E was really into the spirit and spent her time talking about Santa and hugging her tree.

Picking the perfect tree

Trimming is serious business

Waiting for Santa

Putting out cookies for Santa

Santa Came!

Enjoying her toys

Opening presents

Mimi and E

Mama and E enjoying their Christmas Breakfast

2011 was a really tough year.  Balancing school, work, parenting and marriage has been really tough.  We are all looking forward to Shazam finishing graduate school in May.  Who knows what 2012 will bring us.  What ever it is I look forward to sharing it with my great family!

Mommy and E...they make everything worth it!