2023: A Year in Review
On January 1st, we celebrated the one year anniversary of bringing our precious baby Magnolia home from the hospital. On January 5th, we transferred another embryo in an attempt to have another miracle baby. 5 days later, I had my first positive test.
At the end of the month, we heard Rosalie's heartbeat for the first time and Magnolia took her first steps. These represent the two major themes of our 2023- growing baby Rosalie, and watching Magnolia transform from a baby into a little girl.
February (and the next few months) were spent coping with morning sickness while keeping up with a busy toddler. We spent many mornings at library story time, had lots of play time with Grandma and Grandpa, and were delighted by Magnolia's language ability starting to explode.
In March we officially found out we were having another girl, although we already felt pretty sure about it and had her name all picked out. I also had my cerclage surgery to keep baby Rosie safe, and finally finished up my IVF shots.
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| 384: the official tally of how many IVF shots I've done. |
In April we enjoyed celebrating Easter together with family, and soon afterwards enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather. Magnolia discovered the delight of playgrounds for the first time.
In May, I passed the halfway point in my pregnancy. Always a cause for celebration, and it also prompted us to announce the news to everyone who didn't know yet. Later in the month we had fun venturing out for our birthdays and for a town Memorial Day festival and parade.
In June we said goodbye to Magnolia's era of multiple naps a day, and I got a lot more tired. We said hello to splash pads and a wading pool and water table in the backyard, and had a fun family outing to Port Washington despite the heat and gross air that Canada's wildfire's sent us. At the end of the month our beautiful little toddler turned one and a half!!
In July, said toddler started nursery and LOVES it. She also tried a toddler art class, but mostly spent every class happily wandering around the room instead of doing art. For the 4th year in a row, we visited Kelley Country Creamery for their sunflower field and homemade ice cream. This year, Magnolia hated stopping to take pictures, but loved getting out of the stroller to run and to see the cows.
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| Proof that she does indeed repeat outfits sometimes. |
August was crunch time to get ready for baby girl #2. After moving David's office to the family room (he works from home), I was able to start decorating the nursery and joyfully getting all of Magnolia's tiny and adorable baby clothes out of storage. Not quite as fun was when my feet got so swollen that only about 2 or 3 of my probably 100 pairs of shoes fit anymore.
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| This is cuter to look at than my feet lol. |
September 5th was by far our most momentous day of the year. Our sweet baby Rosalie Belle was born at 11:29pm after a long labor. She gets to share a birthday with her grandma, which made it extra special. The next day my parents brought Magnolia to visit, and she was automatically an incredibly loving big sister. It blew my mind that a 1 year old could be so caring and nurturing, and it continues to be heart-melting to watch them interact. The rest of the month was a blur getting used to having 2 kids under 2. We were tired, but happy tired.
October is my favorite month, and this year was no exception. We got more into the swing of taking care of 2 babies, and managed to get about and about to do lots of fun fall activities like an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, and walks to see the leaves. I never thought I would willingly "hike," but I love fall enough to give it a try. Their costumes were Little Bo Peep and her sheep- although unfortunately trick or treating got derailed due to snowy weather.
In November we ventured out to many playgroups and toddler activities with baby sister in tow. We hosted Thanksgiving because David LOVES cooking (and eating) the Thanksgiving feast. It's a win for me because I have no desire to cook.
In December we welcomed David's parents for a long visit to meet Rosalie and spend the holidays together. We had a merry Christmas with our babies. Magnolia turned 2 at the end of the month- we can't believe how grown-up, smart, beautiful, and amazing she is. Baby Rosie woke up from her sleepy newborn phase and is becoming more interactive, smiley, and adorable all the time. We had her baby blessing while all of her grandparents were here, which was very special for the family!
Although we stayed close to home this year due to pregnancy and having a newborn, 2023 was a lovely and momentous year for our family. We are overjoyed to be parents and to have 2 healthy and happy girls.
We're looking forward to some traveling in 2024- stay tuned!
Past years in review... can't believe it's been 10 years since I started this!
2022 (Magnolia's first year, Texas, Las Vegas, Utah, Paris)2021 (Tragedy and joy- losing a child and bringing one home, Charleston and Savannah trip)
2018 (Poland, Sicily, moving back to America, NYC, Hawaii)
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