2009 in Review

What a BIG year 2009 was for us!

January


January was mostly a month of waiting for us. We had our baby shower the first weekend of the month. We finished getting ready to bring a baby home. We were busy!

February


February 25th we welcomed Amelia Michelle into the world! After more than a day in labor and delivery room 8, Amelia finally decided it was a good time to be born. She weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds, 2 ounces and was 21 inches long. Obviously, this was the highlight of our year!

March


March was a tough month. We adjusted to life with a newborn as I recovered from her delivery (which was very hard on my body). Amelia suffered from newborn jaundice at very high levels and spent a lot of time in the window, naked, "sunning" to lower her bilirubin counts. Amelia also struggled with gaining weight and we made frequent trips to the pediatrician's office and the hospital labs. We had visits from my family, friends Lisa and Marie, Jason's family and we also made a trip to Indiana to see my grandparents while my parents were here visiting us. I returned to work at the end of the month when Amelia was just one month old. It was a busy, busy month!

April


In April Jason's mom and her parent's visited us for a weekend. Amelia had her first trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum. We celebrated Easter as a family of 3 and more!

May


In may I got ready to head back to school, Jason started work a new restaurant closer to home, we celebrated my first Mother's Day (in bed, I was sick), Amelia went to her first move (Star Trek), Amelia rolled over for the first time and her little personality really exploded.

June


June was a busy month! Amelia had her ears pierced, I finished up one of my two summer school classes, Jason celebrated his first Father's Day as a dad, we made an unexpected trip home for Jason's Grandma's funeral, Amelia made her first friend (Elsa) and more! We were on the go all the time.

July


July we were busy, as usual. Amelia and I spent the Fourth of July in Indiana at my grandma's house, we went to the Great Circus Festival on the lakefront here in Milwaukee, Amelia had her first "solid" food - rice cereal, Amelia went to her first Brewer's game to celebrate my 24th birthday, we went to the zoo for the first time and more! We had a lot of fun in July!

August


In August I finished summer school and started my final semester at UWM. Jason's sister and boyfriend visited us, Jason turned 26, Amelia went to the beach for the first time and we went to the MN State Fair with my family.

September


Labor Day weekend Amelia and I went up north to Marie's cabin to spend the weekend with her and Lisa, I joined a mother's Bibly study at our church and we had our pictures taken professionally for the first time as a family.

October


In October I participated in my first marathon and we had fun with Amelia's first Halloween - she was a mouse :)

November


In November Amelia began pulling herself up all on her own, we went home for the WI deer opener the weekend before Thanksgiving and Amelia moved up to a big girl carseat in my car. It was in November that I began to feel the pressures of graduation and I spent weeks doing nothing but researching.

December


In December Jason donated his hair, I graduated, with honors, from UWM, Jason ended up on crutches from stepping on a baby toy, Amelia met Santa (and liked him!), we celebrated Amelia's first Christmas with our families, Amelia went out in her very first sled, made her first snow angel and so much more!

2009 was a great year but I am very glad that it is almost over. I look forward to the opportunities that 2010 brings. Most of all, I am excited that I am done with college and can focus on the things that really matter to me -- my family!