Year Six

It's Our Six Year Blogiversary!

So much has changed since that very first post. 

At the time, we had recently gotten engaged and were beginning to plan our wedding.

Then, over the course of the past six years, we got married, sold our condo in Ballard, moved to Snoqualmie, had a son, and had a daughter.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg.

As life gets crazier, this blog gets quieter. I only wrote 55 posts in the past 12 months, which is an all-time low for me. But that's still more than one post a week, which I don't think is all that bad considering the fact that I work full time and have two tiny humans who require my near constant attention.

I've been working really hard to, at a minimum, write about the important events in our lives, and to include as many photos as I can. I'm learning that although the days sometimes seem so long, the years pass by in the blink of an eye. So it's important to me to document our memories as often as I can.

This blog continues to be a reflection of our lives, and my hope is that perhaps someone besides Stewart enjoys reading it. If not, at least it will be something that we have to look back on someday when we're old and senile.

Anyway, without further ado, here are this year's highlights...

• We took quite a few fun little trips, including Bellingham, Mayfield Lake, Priest Lake, Port Bair, Ocean Shores, and Port Townsend. 
• My little brother got married! I hosted a bridal shower for my lovely new sister-in-law, and not too long afterward I threw them a baby shower! 
• Stew knocked me up again — yay! Compared to my pregnancy with Ryder, the first trimester was a breeze. During the second trimester, we went on a little "Babymoon" trip to the Ocean. And during the third trimester, my best friend threw me an absolutely lovely baby shower. My sisters also threw me another super adorable shower when Kiley was a few weeks old. 
• We continued to be huge Seahawks fans, of course, and attended all the home games as loyal 12s. Luckily, some of my fellow Hawkwagon Tailgater Gals were also pregnant this season, so I had some sober camaraderie. 
• In preparation for Little Sister's arrival, we re-decorated the nursery and Ryder got his own Big Boy Room!
• Kiley Patricia was born on February 10, 2017. I've been writing monthly updates about her as she grows...
• I enjoyed my maternity leave, but subsequently went back to work full time. Ugh...
• My Grandma Sally turned 90 years old and we threw her a huge party to celebrate.
• Unfortunately, my Grandma Getchman passed away, followed shortly afterward by my Grandpa. I loved these two more than almost everyone in the world, and my grief has been unimaginable. 
• Poor Ryder came down with croup again, but luckily this year he was able to stay out of the hospital. 
• I turned 35, Stewart turned 36, and Ryder turned 3!
• Stewart and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.
• We also celebrated all the major holidays, including Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (which included fun traditions like getting a tree, and visiting Santa). And we actually had three separate Christmas celebrations: one with the Always, one with the Getchmans, and one with the Wells. We are spoiled.
• On Mother's Day, I reflected on how incredibly fortunate I am to have my amazing two children. And on Father's Day, I wrote a letter to Stewart attempting to tell him how much I appreciate him. I'll never really be able to put it into words...

To those of you who've continued to follow along on our journey, thank you — we're so glad you're here, and hope that you'll continue to follow along. 

Cheers to luck and love.