The End Of A Great Year

What a great year 2011 was for our family.

Noah joined our family of three making it a family of four. Ava became a big sister and is learning exactly what that means! 

Noah was born on January 9th, 2011 at 5:44am. He weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 22" long. He kicked off our great year.

We took a couple of trips, one to LA in which Ava and Noah took their first plane ride and saw the beach for the first time.

We also made some trips to Prescott.

We met up with friends for playdates and took many trips to the Phoenix Zoo.

October. Seeing Dora from afar.

Checking out the toys at the Fisher Price Toy weekend at the zoo.

Ava grew up from this... a diaper wearing, barely talking, shy little girl to .....

THIS....

A fun loving,potty trained, big girl bed sleeping, non stop talker, who loves her big brother so much she doesn't even know it.

And Noah grew up from this...

to this..

a babbling fool, who's almost walking, eating and drinking on his own and loving his big sister!

I can't believe how much they both have grown and how much my love for them grows every day.

Personally, I was able to get back to my pre-Noah weight.
I think I was able to get a handle on taking care of two kids at one time, but I am still learning how to balance being a good mom, cooking, cleaning and making sure that we are all alive at the end of the day.

I like to go back to my new years resolutions and see if I was able to keep any of them, so let's see:
1. To be able to do 25 real push ups. WELL, I DIDN'T QUITE GET TO 25, BUT I DID GET TO 10 ND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL I CAN GET TO 25.

2. To get back to my pre baby weight. CHECK!

3. To learn the art of patience. UMMM, WELL.... SORTA. I HAVE GOTTEN BETTER, BUT I HAVE MY DAYS.

4. To be the best Director of the Leptuch Household. I THINK I DID PRETTY GOOD, BUT AM VOWING TO DO EVEN BETTER NEXT YEAR.

5. To find ways to cut our daily/monthly expenses. WELL, NOT SO MUCH. I AM REALLY GOING TO DO THAT THIS NEXT YEAR.

6. Get involved with other mommies. CHECK. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF FRIENDS THAT WE MEET WITH ON A WEEKLY BASIS. I REALLY ENJOY TALKING WITH OTHER MOMS AND I LIKE TO SEE HOW AVA HAS GROWN UP SO MUCH AND IS NOT SO AFRAID OF OTHER KIDS.

7. Take Ava and Noah some place new each month. NOPE, UNLESS YOU CALL A DIFFERENT STORE A "NEW PLACE."

8. To make one new meal a month. CHECK. I ACTUALLY HAVE A WHOLE NEW ROTATION OF EXCELLENT AND LOW CALORIE MEALS.

9. Start some family traditions. YES, BUT SO FAR IT HAS REALLY ONLY BEEN CHRISTMAS ONES.

10. Make sure to take time for myself and stop feeling so guilty all the time when I do. SORTA. I DO TAKE TIME FOR MYSELF, BUT I STILL FEEL GUILTY DOING SO.

11. To be present in life and enjoy every moment. WORKING ON IT. I DO ENJOY MY TIME WITH MY KIDS, BUT I HAVE TO BE BETTER ABOUT NOT WORRYING ABOUT CLEANING UP THE HOUSE SO MUCH OR MY TO DO LIST.

So there you have it. A year in review for the Leptuchs. I hope next year is even better, if that is possible!

I can't wait to see how things change in 2012!

Hopefully they will continue to play nicely!