2016 In Review

It's that time of year again! Time for the year in review. 2016 has gotten a bad rap, which makes me sad since it's the year Levi was born. Here are some more of the big events of our year:

- Lena turned 3 and we threw away her Binky with much less trauma than anticipated.

- I made it through the end of a healthy but hard pregnancy.

- Levi William was born 2 weeks early on Leap Day (February 29). I got to experience my water breaking for the first time and it was my fastest/easiest labor yet!

- Lucy lost her first tooth, followed by 4 more throughout the year!

- After a lot of puking, screaming, and an ultrasound at the Children's Hospital to rule out pyloric stenosis, Levi was diagnosed with GERD (reflux) and took Zantac for 9 months to keep it at bay.

- Lucy went from sounding out three letter words to reading entire chapter books leaps and bounds above her grade level.

- My 16 year old nephew Tayton got a fluke brain infection which required surgery on his head to remove the infected fluid.

- We bought a new-to-us van and sold the hunk of junk Craigslist lemon we had bought in 2015.

- Lucy went to her first (non-family) sleepover for her friend Elliana's 6th birthday.

- For the second year in a row, I attempted and failed many times to potty train Lena

- We got rid of our pool, but spent lots of time enjoy other peoples'.

- Justin went on a hiking/fishing trip in Wyoming for 10 days.

- Lena got to go to her first sleepover at Niki's house.

- I got a cavity filled for the first time in 20 years and greatly enjoyed the laughing gas.

- Lena stopped napping

- I tried and failed to go on a diet.

- My oldest nephew, Tyler, got married and Lena got to be a flower girl for the first time.

- We went camping over Labor Day and survived to tell about it.

- Lucy started first grade and loves it

- I started Zoloft . . . and love it. Haha. After some initial dosage tweaks, it is making a world of difference in my depression.

- I participated in Write31 for the first time.

- Justin and YouTube taught Lucy to tie her shoes

- We suffered through the worst presidential election of my lifetime.

- Justin and I went to our first marriage conference (after 11 years of marriage).

- Levi got his first teeth!

- My mom, sisters, and I skipped Black Friday shopping for the first time in 15 years. (We did it online instead.)

- I had a rough year with Lena's behavior, but she finally seems to be growing out of it and is my little buddy now.


All in all, 2016 was a pretty good year for our family. We are blessed beyond measure and looking forward to what 2017 has in store!

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