This year went by so fast, I can’t believe we’re heading into 2013 already! Here are some of my highlights from 2012:

We started off the year with my daughter having a myringotomy (ear tubes) procedure when she was 16 months old in January. It was a little scary for us, but she is much better off now! I’m proud to report that she has not had anymore ear infections since having the ear tubes placed and she has been much happier on plane rides since there is no pressure build up in her ears.

In February, our family took its first trip to Denver, CO to visit my husband’s twin brother and his family. The scenery was beautiful and it was interesting to see how different things are out there from Chicago.

• We got to eat at Bang!, which was featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We had the calamari served with sweet red chili sauce, which I thought was unique, and my husband loved their meatloaf.
• We went on a brewery tour at Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins. It was a lot of fun and I loved the beer sampler we ordered at the end.
• We also visited downtown Fort Collins, Golden, and Boulder.
• I was surprised at how many gun shops and medicinal marijuana shops there were…pretty much on every corner! For some reason, that does not seem like a very good combination to me, haha!
• My favorite was seeing Lia and her cousin, who is only 8 days older than she is, interact with each other. They have many of the same tendencies since their dads are identical twins, but they are also very different, not only because he is a boy and she is a girl, but probably mostly because our parenting styles are very different. It’s always interesting when we all get together.
• Another highlight of my trip was visiting a friend from high school in Boulder. He is doing great things as a Catholic missionary at the University of Colorado. I’m so proud to be his friend

In March, I got to participate in Operation Precious CARgo, where we collected items for expectant military moms. I loved being part of such a great cause, especially for those who are protecting our country. If you have the chance to participate in a similar cause, I highly recommend it!

Lia had her first trip to Soldier Field for an Easter Egg Hunt in March. She also attended her very first concert, ukulele player Jake Shimabakuro (he’s amazing!), in July, and then the Imagination Movers and Fresh Beat Band in October. She’s been a very busy little girl!

In June, we were so lucky to be able to spend a week with most of my husband’s family in Orlando, FL.

• We stayed at the Marriott’s Grande Vista Resort and visited Sea World, Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. The Toy Story ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was my favorite to go on with Lia!
• We also had a day without the kids at Universal Studios (thank goodness for grandparents!). By the way, I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan, but Hogwart’s and the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios were pretty awesome! The ride is probably the best roller coaster I’ve ever been on!
• I have to give major props to my husband sister who made it through Magic Kingdom twice in one day and Universal Studios in 90 degree heat 7 months pregnant!
• My favorite part of the trip was seeing Lia with her cousin who had just turned 4 years old. I think it was the start of them being BFFs  I’m also glad that Lia was able to spend some quality time with my husband’s parents so she can get to know them and feel more comfortable with them since they live in San Francisco and she only gets to seem them a couple times a year.

We celebrated Lia’s 2nd birthday in September! She’s growing up so fast, but we are having more and more fun with her each day!

My husband’s baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, won the World Series in October…woo hoo!

We could not possibly go a whole year without any negatives, right? So here it goes:

• In October, we got skunked for the very first time! Yuck.
• Obama got re-elected in November (this may be a positive for you, but definitely a negative for me, my job, health care, and the economy, among other things).
• Two of our friends lost their parents this year. I can’t even imagine having to live without one or both of my parents
• The Chicago Bears did not make it to the playoffs. But my husband is happy his San Francisco 49ers got the 2nd seed in the playoffs. It looks like I’ll be a 49ers fan now!
• This probably goes without being said, but there were the tragedies of the Sikh Temple, Dark Night, Wisconsin Salon, and Sandy Hook shootings, as well as Hurricane Sandy. Thinking about all of those families affected always brings tears to my eyes and I am always praying for them.

Let’s move on…

We got to spend Thanksgiving and celebrate our newest nephew’s baptism in San Francisco with my husband’s family. This was our first trip to San Francisco where we didn’t really go out to do anything. We had a great time hanging out and relaxing with family. Lia was so happy to play with her BFF cousin all weekend. I am thankful that we have been able to get to know my husband’s sister and her family a lot better since they came to visit us for Lia’s first birthday, vacation in Orlando in June, and our most recent San Francisco trip. It seems that our families have much more in common than I ever expected and it’s so nice to have someone to talk to who has very similar views about family as we do. Lia only has one living great-grandparent, so here’s an awesome picture of her, my husband, and her great-grandpa.

My husband was promoted twice this year, which rarely happens at his company! We’re just so happy that all of his hard work is paying off!

We spent a whole week, including Christmas Eve, with my family in Arizona. Although much of my extended family lives in the Chicago area, my brother, his family, and the 2 cousins I grew up living 2 houses down from are in the suburbs of Phoenix. Holidays can be especially tough on my parents since they have to choose if they will spend them with my brother or me every year, so it was nice to finally have my whole family together for Christmas (I think for the first time since 2006).

• There are a lot of shopping malls in the Phoenix area. Since I’ve been visiting there pretty much every year for the past 16 years, I’ve become pretty familiar with them. On this visit, we went to Superstition Springs Center in Mesa where they have big motorized animals that kids can “drive” around the mall. We also visited Mesa Riverview, which is a new outdoor mall on the other side of Mesa, for the first time. We met up with a couple of my co-workers at Yogis Grill, a “fast-food” Japanese restaurant. Their portions were huge, food was good, and they have some reasonable prices! We also went to Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler, which is probably one of my favorite malls out there; and San Tan Village in Gilbert, an outdoor mall where Lia had a ton of fun in the play area.
• We had a family picture day at Discovery District Park in Gilbert. It was a really nice area for pictures since there are plenty of trees, a lake, benches, and this nice water feature. We were also lucky that we have a very talented cousin who knows how to use an SLR camera and edit photos.
• We went to the Chicago Bears game at University of Phoenix Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals. It was so much fun, especially that the Bears won! And Lia actually had a great time too, smiling the entire game and cheering and clapping with us. It really was like a home game with how many Bears fans there were!
• Lia’s cousins on my side of the family are much older than she is, but I loved seeing her excitement around them and their enthusiasm for taking care of her. She and my youngest niece, who is 6 years old, were inseparable throughout the week and Lia is still talking about her!
• Christmas was awesome, as always AZ Santa was nice enough to leave Lia a few little presents in her stocking with a note saying her presents were waiting for her at home.
• I am just so grateful for my entire family and I always miss them so much. I’m hoping that someday, we’ll all be able to live in the same area.

We were blessed with so many things this year, but I think our biggest blessing was being able to spend time with family. How was 2012 for you? Leave me a comment below

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