January 20th - We got engaged. It was beautiful, unique, a surprise to me, and absolutely perfect.
Feb-May - These months consisted of LOTS of planning and budgeting. We planned like crazy for the wedding. I made all of our centerpieces by myself. My and my Aunt Marva made our flower girl baskets and card box. There was dress shopping with all my favorite people, dress fittings with my aunts and sis-in-law CJ. There were engagement pictures. Bridal pictures. Planning a baby shower for my brothers (now) fiance, Andrea. There were family birthday parties and dinners. Every single weekend was packed full of 'to-do' items during these months. Every. Single. Weekend. But I wouldn't trade ANY of it!
June: We got married!!! The wedding was prefaced with a paintballing bachelor party for Alan with family and friends and they enjoyed some Buffalo Wild Wings afterwards. All came home with bruises, luckily all disappeared by wedding day. :) We had a girls night and a bridal shower for me; what a lucky girl I am! We watched Pitch Perfect, ate food, and did facials w/the girls in my family for girls night. My bridal shower was a dream come true with a theme of Happily Ever After, which is very fitting. It was decorated so beautifully, food served so beautifully as well, and I got to spend time with those I love most. Then the night before our wedding we got to celebrate with our families by having a rehearsal dinner of sorts (not really a rehearsal, but more of a get-to-know-you dinner). Alan's parents hosted this and provided much of the food. We held it at a church pavillion and the weather was wonderful. We ate BBQ meat, salads, desserts, drinks.....yum! Our families got along well and we all headed home early to get ready for the big day! Then our big day arrived! After a sleepless night for me and Alan, we woke up and started to get ready. My amazing Aunt Marva surprised me (with help from Alan) by showing up to make me breakfast. Made me cry. She is wonderful and amazing and thoughtful and kind, and the list goes on. So much more than an aunt and more of a mom to me. Breakfast was delicious, and she even cooked for Alan's parent's who were staying with us. Then family showed up to help drive decorations over to the library (where we got married). Such great family we have! Alan's sister showed up to by my right-hand that morning and get me to the library. Our day went perfect. Perfect, I tell you. We left our reception that night at 9:00, headed home to change and switch cars, then we were off to Midway for 2 nights. We spent our first 2 nights as a married couple in Midway, did some shopping in Park City, and generally just relaxed. We headed home the Sunday after the wedding (we got married on a Friday) and packed for our honeymoon. We opened wedding presents too :) Monday morning, bright and early, we headed for the airport. We flew to California and later hopped on our cruise ship headed to the Mexican Riviera. What an amazing honeymoon we had :) We layed in the sun, fell asleep in the sun, sat in the hot tub, explored the marina on a peddle boat, had a tour of Ensenada before cooking a meal with a restaurant chef, and shopping in the streets for souvenirs. We watched comedy shows on the cruise ship, ate way too much food, took naps, met new friends and enjoyed each and every second!
July: No rest for us! We got home from our honeymoon and started to look for new places to live; we needed more room and a change. I also finished getting a baby shower together w/my family and we had one heck of a shower for Andrea! We did a Cute As A Button theme and it turned out sooo cute! We decorated onesies, played games, ate food, and got to celebrate a new little guy joining our family.
August: Alan and I found a place to move very quickly! Our landlords at the time were gracious and let us out of our contract a month early. We paid double rent for 2 weeks to hold the new place (ouch). We started moving on August 15th. Our nephew Dawson was born on the 21st (pics below are the maternity pics I got to take for them!). We finished moving w/all the big stuff on August 23rd. Alan started school the next Monday on the 25th. On the 27th I found out I was pregnant. :) I told Alan on the 27th too. We began to settle in to our new house.
September: Alan was busy with school and work. I was busy with work. We were still in shock that we were going to have a baby! Excited and nervous took their turns with how we felt. We planned out how we would tell our families and friends. I had my first dr appt and Alan came with. We got to do an ultrasound and see our little frog (Alan thought it looked like a frog) :) We got to hear the heartbeat. It was confirmed, we were going to be parents. We tried to hide my morning sickness from the family. We tried to be very careful about what we said and did to keep it a secret until we were ready.
October: We got to tell our families we were expecting! What a great few days as we reached out to everyone! I struggled with morning sickness and the changes already coming with my body. Alan heard me when I said I needed a break away from everything and surprised me with a little vacation to Park City. We shopped, relaxed, ate an amazing dinner (and expensive), saw a show, slept in. It was wonderful. He is an amazing husband. We celebrated Halloween and my birthday. We got to see our adorable little nieces all dressed up and they drew me pics for my birthday. We got to visit with family, laugh, and enjoy.
November: Alan stayed busy with school, and also accepted a new job for a new company. He was promoted to an Operations Manager when he accepted this position. We found out our little bundle of joy was a little boy! I cried, Alan nearly did cartwheels. After 2 days I was excited as well though :) We celebrated Thanksgiving with my aunts and uncle and by some miracle they convinced me to do Black Friday shopping. We ate too much food, celebrated my cousin's birthday, and went home happy. We bought our first big piece of furniture together...an entertainment center. It is beautiful.
December: Alan started his new job and I struggled for the first 2 weeks with not having him close to me at work. Alan has been working crazy hours already. He had his finals for his first semester of school and of course aced them. He is so smart. :) We got a 3 week break together with no school. It was wonderful! We celebrated Alan's birthday (kinda.....he was sick). I surprised him with a basket full of his favorite treats and balloons at his new office. We bought and put together our crib. We bought our stroller/carseat combo as well as a swing. (Ok, those might have been in November, but I can't recall now). We also purchased our dresser for the nursery. I convinced Alan after months and months that it was ok to have 2 car payments, and he finally gave in and we got me a new car on the 20th! We celebrated Christmas with my siblings and their spouses with a game night and way too much food. So much fun :) We took some time off work and drove to Idaho to celebrate Christmas with Alan's family.....we relaxed, napped, Alan played in the snow with his nephew's, we played games, opened presents, ate yummy food, drove to Pocatello for some errands, and came home one happy couple. :) We spent New Years Eve with Alan's siblings that live here in Utah by playing games, watching a movie, and half of us falling asleep by 11:30. :) There was an attempt at 11:59 when we woke up to open and pour some sparking cider, but it just didn't work. haha! We said Happy New Year, cleaned up our food mess, and off to bed we all went.
We had one heck of a year that will never be forgotten! Engaged, married, honeymoon, moving, getting pregnant, new car, new job. Wow!! We survived all of these big events and are happier than ever :) We are looking forward to what this new year will bring! (And apparently I need to do better at taking pictures for all of our events!)
