Dear Family and Friends,
It is December 11th, at 11:11 pm. As a kid (and let’s be honest, as an adult too), whenever I’d see all the same numbers on the clock, I’d make a wish.
I’ve heard some people say something like, “Wish in one hand and $#!+ in the other and see which one fills up first.” But I say wishes are a form of hope. And hope is never a bad thing.
Our wish (and hope) is that you are happy, healthy, and surrounded by love.
This year has gone by so fast, but it has been full of blessings and memories.
At the beginning of this year, after being a stay-at-home dad for the entirety of 2022, I started a new job. It was a wonderful opportunity, but it was also very hard to no longer be a part of Henry’s day. The transition was tough on all of us, but it has been one of the best things for our family.
In February, Henry took his first steps! We surprised Mommy with a special Valentine’s Day craft.
March really took off with continued milestones. Henry began brushing his teeth, quadrupled his vocabulary (favorites being: car-car, green, on / off, dada and mama became “daddy” and “mommy”), and had his first up close experience with a farm animal.
In April we decided to take a family vacation to the beach and introduce Henry to the ocean. It was such a fun (but exhausting) trip. Henry took a little bit of time to warm up to the ocean water, but eventually he was jumping and splashing.
We were challenged as new parents with learning to go with the flow instead of sticking to a strict schedule, but he was such a little trooper through all of it. Most days, by the time we got to the beach and got everything set up, he’d fall asleep in either of our arms. He blossomed into a social ham making friends with everyone at each restaurant we went to.
In June, our little guy who had spent the first year and a half of his life being cared for at home started at a daycare program. It actually may have been harder on us than it was on him. Drop off’s were heartbreaking and emotional. However, once he got adjusted, Henry’s socialization and learning seemed to increase at a rapid pace. As hard as it was for all of us, it has been such a blessing!
We also had a Peay Family reunion and Henry got to meet some of my aunts and uncles and cousins that he’d never met before. He got to see his cousins too, who just adore him. He also got to try some ice cream.
In July, we had the best time like we always do at the Lugo lakehouse. Henry enjoyed playing in the water, going for kayak rides, playing with his cousins, and riding in the boat.
August and September were busy saying goodbye to summer and welcoming fall with the start of football season (Go Bucks!). In that time frame Henry got his first bout of sickness from daycare, hand-foot-mouth disease. And then got it again about a month later. We managed to squeeze in Oktoberfest in “Zinzinnati” for a weekend getaway while Henry stayed with his grandparents for the first time since infancy. At the very end of September, another big change happened for us. With my change in job and hours, it afforded us the opportunity for Kelsi to scale back her hours in the pharmacy. We celebrated her student loans being forgiven after 10 years of working for Norton as a non-profit. What a blessing these changes have been for us!
We had a belated, surprise birthday gathering for Dad, who hit a big age this year!
October is always a whirlwind for us with many reasons to celebrate. We planned another getaway for our anniversary, just the two of us. This was special trip because we went back to visit two stops from our honeymoon, the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and Sleepy Hollow, New York. Henry had a blast with Ma and Pa: he rode a horse for the first time and has talked about it ever since.
I planned a train ride to the pumpkin patch, as a nod to one of Henry’s latest obsessions. His new favorite word after the trip was “conductor.”
Sadly we ended our favorite month by getting COVID. We were out sick and in quarantine for two weeks, which meant that, unfortunately, Henry had to skip Halloween and Trick or Treating this year. We had really built it up for him, so when we asked him what special thing he would like to do for his birthday in November he would always answer, “Trick or Treat!” On a whim, we reached out to some neighbors to ask if anyone would be willing to help make a little boy’s birthday dream come true, and we were overwhelmed with responses. Our neighborhood helped us make this special memory happen for him.
We squeezed in a lot of celebrating another year older for our little guy!
Before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving. We have always been so grateful for our families and the time that we get to have with them. We truly miss those that are no longer with us, but we treasure each and every one of our loved ones.
With December came Christmas decorating, cookie baking, holiday music, dishwasher issues, HVAC issues, and all the other things, welcome and unwelcome, that come with the holidays.
We got a little tree to decorate and put up in Henry’s room. He picked out the ornaments to go on it and they included things like a school bus, BBQ sauce, a horse, and an airplane. He has been thoroughly enjoying all of the lights and decorations around the house and has formed a new friendship with a Christmas teddy bear named Russ.
We took him to a light-up event near our house, and he was just in awe of the big Christmas tree, all of the kids, the dogs, and the firetrucks. He even got a cookie, which made his night. When we got home, we let him try some eggnog, to which he responded, “I want some more!”
There are still presents to wrap, totes to put away, baking sheets to wash, and probably some last minute shopping to do. But as the lights on the tree illuminate the room and we look forward to celebrating the holidays with our family, the only thing that truly matters is the love we share.
We change, and we grow, but the love shared between family and friends stays with us. That love goes beyond us, and if we let it, can impact everyone we meet. To quote one of my favorite Christmas movies, “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”
Here’s a full recap of our 2023!