Here’s the abridged version:

January –  5 months pregnant. I broke down and wore tennis shoes with my work clothes for my bus commute!  We also played Wii for the first time, and then the next night Chad stood in line at Walmart to buy his own!

February – 6 months pregnant.  Pretty slow month according to my blog! I cooked a lot and discovered a wonderful recipe for pancakes!

March – 7 months pregnant. Baby showers! And we had our house painted!

April – 8 months pregnant. I was ready and counting down the days until I was done with work! I was also doing a lot of nesting and cleaning!  As much as I was ready to be done being pregnant, I wanted more time to throw things away! We also went to Mondovi for my Aunt Alice’s birthday party! I packed my bag for the hospital, just in case!

May – Finished up with work on Monday May 14th. Had 2 relaxing days.  Thursday I woke up early with contractions. I let Chad go to work and only casually mentioned my back hurt. He came home, and asked what I was writing down… oh the times of my contractions! No he did not panic, he fertilized the lawn, came inside and watched The Office, and then suggested I call the hospital!  Maria was born the next morning – May 18th!

June – I was breastfeeding, that’s about all.  And my cousin Emily got married, so we made it out to a family event!

July – We hosted about 50 people at our house on the 4th! Both Grandma’s were on hand, so I barely saw Maria (who was on formula at this point!)  Maria went through her first growth spurt and was baptized.

August – I was dreading going back to work. Tried to pack in fun events and enjoy time with Maria who found her thumb and started sleeping through the night! The 3 of us also spent a long weekend in Northern Minnesota.

September – Maria went to daycare, and I went back to work. The first half of the month, I was on the bench and spent my days working at home.  The 2nd half I started my current assignment at Lerner Publishing Group. Oh and Football Season!!

October – Started realizing how much time work takes up!  Glad to be only working 4 days a week!

November – Another busy month. Celebrated our birthdays, our anniversary, Maria turned 6 months old (and also started sitting up), and I hosted Sarah’s baby shower. Plus throw in Thanksgiving (2 of them!)

December – Threw Chad a birthday party,  Attended a couple holiday parties, did all the Christmas shopping (early), and Maria was teething!  And then our first Christmas as a family of 3!!  What a great way to top off the year!