To say that 2017 was a year of ups and downs would be a drastic understatement. 2017 was a whirlwind of emotions and at times gave me whiplash.
We started the year off adjusting to life as a family of four. Adeline was cute as can be, and Cordelia loved her with all her heart- but having a baby wake up every hour on the hour to nurse put some strain on me, and our family felt the effects of having a mother with postpartum depression.
By February things were starting to feel a little more normal. We started figured out how to go out to dinner, have friends over for play dates, and we went on lots of walks. We also celebrated my Grandmother's 90th birthday. My mom and sister executed an amazing party and when instructed that we should wear purple I even managed to dust off the sewing machine and make new dresses for Cordelia, Adeline, and I.
March involved more engagement at school for me. I actually managed to make it to PTA meetings, and finally was able to go back to the library to volunteer. After struggling since the birth of Adeline I finally started feeling like maybe I wasn't drowning anymore.
Cordelia solidly became best friends with another girl at school, had a ballet recital, and participated in the school art show. Adeline learned how to roll over! For the first day of spring Sarah was able to visit and we were able to continue our traditional outing. This year we went to the National Arboretum and froze. Two days later we went to the National Gallery of Art and were much warmer. It was truly amazing to introduce our little girls to each other.
Unfortunately March is also when our peace fell apart. Toward the end of the month we were told that we would have to move out of our little apartment by the first of June. We were shocked and panicked, and in everything that followed we learned that people we thought highly of really didn't deserve any of that respect. I am not sure the feelings of hurt will ever really go away.
As March turned to April we started packing up our things and looking for a new place to call home. We looked at a lot of duds, a lot of things we couldn't afford, and we filled out paperwork for our current apartment about 900 times.
In April we threw Cordelia a big 6th birthday party, we wanted her to be able to invite as many friends as possible because we weren't sure if this was really also going to be like a going away party- who knew where life was going at that point. Cordelia was really excited to have a special dessert brought to school for her birthday- she picked dirt cups, and all the kids sang her happy birthday in "squirrel".
In April we threw Cordelia a big 6th birthday party, we wanted her to be able to invite as many friends as possible because we weren't sure if this was really also going to be like a going away party- who knew where life was going at that point. Cordelia was really excited to have a special dessert brought to school for her birthday- she picked dirt cups, and all the kids sang her happy birthday in "squirrel".
May was full of box packing, paperwork filling out, crying, laughing, long walks to school pick up, and Adeline falling off the changing table and hitting her head (she was ok after 6 hours of observation at the Doctors office). Also at the end of the month Cordelia got to feed Adeline her first baby food!
June meant the end of school, and a last minute one month extension of our move out date- thank goodness because we were due out two weeks before school let out! I think I cried a little more about the end of school than I did the start! HES had become a home and the moms and teachers there became our family.
Adeline could sit up, and enjoyed eating "real" food instead of mush, which was a whole new challenge! We finished up the month by taking Adeline on her first veggie picking adventure!
July was hard, we lost my dear Uncle Kevin after a long battle with cancer and we had to move out with no place to go. All of our things went into storage and thankfully for my mom and my family we didn't need to sleep in shelters or hotels. For 25 days we were homeless and I will never be able to express how horrible it is knowing that after ten years of being part of someone's family you can be thrown out with a tiny baby and a six year old with no place to go and no show of concern. I should probably feel guilty about talking about it online and "airing dirty laundry" but since they don't read this and really don't care I'll save the guilty feelings.
The plus side of the experience is that I learned without a single doubt that my mother loves us and we will never be without a home as long as she walks the face of this earth. I feel amazed, and grateful that I was so lucky to get her as a mom.
At the end of July we finally got to move into our new apartment and we spent all of August unpacking, decorating, and exploring! In August we also took a family road trip to South Carolina to see the Eclipse!
School started September 5th. Cordelia gets to ride the bus, and has transitioned to the new school really well! I miss walking to pick her up, but the bus does make it awfully easy. On the first day of school Cordelia also lost her first tooth! She really is a big kid now. Adeline was an excellent crawler by now, and even had started to stand and walk while holding on to things!
October is my favorite month- I dressed the girls in Halloween clothing every chance I got, we went pumpkin picking, attended Halloween parties, I made the girls costumes , sewed up some Halloween commissions, Brendon and I celebrated nine years of marriage, and I mad my first homemade tortillas (not October related, but still life changing). We also had a nice visit from one of our favorite Aunts and her new boyfriend!
In November we celebrated 31 years of Brendon! We were kept busy with school, lodge, and volunteering with the PTA.
I am happy to see the end of 2017, there were so many hard lessons, and so much growing to be done. But I am happy to say that our love for each other is stronger than ever! Brendon, Cordelia, Adeline, and I are looking forward to a brand new- and hopefully calmer year!
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