I know we're already a few days into the new year, but I thought, like last year, I'd recap some of the best moments from this past year. And since it was 2013, 13 top moments sounds good. :)
Oh, and these are not ranked. Instead, they are in somewhat chronological order. Here we go!
1. 2013 was the year I turned 30, and Matt wanted to make sure it was a birthday to remember. I don't think I'll be able to forget our trip to Puerto Rico and ringing in a new decade on this beautiful beach!
2. I also celebrated my 30th birthday with 30 Random Acts of Kindness. It took some time to get all 30 done, but it was definitely well worth the effort!
3. For Mother's Day and Father's Day, Matt and I treated ourselves to some nice new bikes. We enjoyed riding them all throughout our neighborhood over the summer, especially since we were able to pull Katie Wynn along with us.
4. At the end of May, we had a nice long weekend vacation at our beach house with my parents. It was this weekend that Katie Wynn had her first real dip in a pool and was quite the little fish in the water! However, she still hated the sandy beach and loud ocean.
5. I wasn't the only one with a big birthday this year; 2013 was also the year Matt turned 40! In an effort to catch him off guard, we surprised him with a big party on his half birthday instead of the real deal. We had so much fun "halfway" celebrating with our friends that night!
6. We were back at the beach house in June, but this time for a week-long vacation with friends! We enjoyed having a house full of fun people to do things with, and I think one of the highlights from this trip was definitely the splash pad!
7. One of the highlights of this past year was definitely getting to watch Katie Wynn hit so many milestones! From starting real food, to sitting up, crawling, and eventually walking, the little baby we started the year with morphed into a busy bee toddler before 2013 came to a close.
8. While it wasn't necessarily something good that happened, I can't wrap up 2013 without mentioning the disaster that was our rental house. From the call that we received one Saturday notifying us the first floor ceiling had caved in due to a busted pipe, to the long awaited for day when the last bit of remodeling was installed and done, it was a LONG three months. It definitely wasn't something we ever wished to have happen, but we ended up with a nearly brand new house when it was all said and done. We are just grateful we weren't living there and that we had a wonderful contractor who did great work and excellent insurance that paid for it all!
9. In August, after several months of brainstorming new ideas and working with my friend Matt, we finally launched a new look and new name for this blog. It involved switching platforms which meant lots of learning for me, but I have definitely started getting the hang of it and really love the new space!
10. In September, Katie Wynn turned one. While I suppose that counts as one of her milestones and could be included in number 7, it was her actual birthday party that was a top moment of the year for me. I stressed about the weather since we'd had rain all week, but the sun came out and it was perfect. All of our friends were there, the animals were a huge hit, and since I hired a photographer, it was really nice and fun to actually get to enjoy the party with everyone else. Definitely one of the best days of the year; I didn't want it to end!
11. On October 1st, shortly after Katie Wynn turned one, we learned that she's going to be a BIG sister! (And no, it's no joke this time.) We were thrilled to find out and know that it means 2014 is bound to be an exciting year as well.
12. Later in October, I had some of my college friends in town for the weekend. I always look forward to our get-togethers and getting to spend a lazy weekend in pjs hanging out with them. This year, we added something new to our agenda: a Color Run. Only four of us participated, but it was lots of fun!
13. And last, but certainly not least, I have to mention the home improvement projects we managed to crank out this year. We're definitely learning that it's harder and takes much longer to get things done when you have a toddler underfoot, but we still completed three fairly big upgrades that we get to enjoy every single day! The shoe cubbies have totally transformed the functionality of our closet, the pallet wall in the half bath added some great texture and design to an otherwise blah space, and our mudroom upgrade (which I still owe you final pictures of) has been a huge help of corralling coats this winter.
There are SO many more things that I could have added. Looking back through blog posts, it looks like we had a really, really good year. I can only imagine that this coming one will be just as great, if not better!
Now tell me, what were your top moments from 2013?