Good-Bye 2007!

Well, today it's time to say good-bye to the year 2007. What an amazing and wonderful year it was. It was a year to never be forgotten. This year a new chapter of my life began, Chapter Mommyhood. But I will get to that in a little bit.

Let's start with January. January 12th I became an aunt for the first time. My brother-in-law and his wife had their first child, Zachary, so that made me Auntie Steph. The end of January, I went to San Antonio with my mom, brother, and husband. We did things such as the zoo, NBA game, visited Corpus Christie, and spent a lot of time at the Riverwalk.

March and April I was showered with many gifts for my baby showers. My friends and families planned wonderful parties for us. By the time all of them were over, we had more than enough stuff for the little one.

May 22nd was the big day. My due date was the 29th, but I was induced a week early. At 11:03 am Bradyn Lincoln was born. Since then life hasn't been and will never be the same. As if I wasn't happy enough already, I was suddenly filled with even more joy and love than I ever thought possible. Watching him grow and develop and showing him people and places and things that we love and seeing his reactions to these things has been so amazing and enjoyable. Words just can't describe.

June and July I took time away from work to get to know my baby and enjoy the summer. July 6th was my brother-in-law's wedding. So we packed up the baby at 6 weeks old and traveled up to the Chicago area for a weekend of wedding festivities.

Then it was back to work for me. Leaving Bradyn at daycare was the hardest thing I have ever had to do... still is. I hurt every day after I drop him off. I am sad every day at work, but he has become such a social little guy and I attribute that to daycare. He loves other kids and babies and is very happy even with unfamiliar and new faces.

October was our first Halloween with Bradyn. We had fun dressing him up and dressing up with him. We also took him to the pumpkin patch to pick out his very own pumpkin.

November and December brought with it all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday festivities. After all of the traveling back and forth between grandparents houses, Bradyn has already become quite the seasoned traveler.

December was a busy month starting with going to see Santa, the baptism, and a a fun warm winter trip to Florida! Of course then there was Bradyn's first Christmas, which was fun. He almost knew what to do with those presents. He was more interested in the shiny paper, boxes, and bows, but we got lots of smiles from him.

So there you have it. In the last 12 months we now a family of three instead of two. And in 7 short months we have shown Bradyn so much already. We introduced him to our families and friends, put him on a plane, stuck his toes in the sand and ocean, and started a lifetime of family traditions.

And despite how busy Bradyn has kept us, we still managed to sneak in some time away to spend with each other and with our friends. Thanks to Bradyn's wonderful grandparents who have been more than willing to relieve us of baby duties every now and then. I think it has definitely kept us in balance.

Last night I rang in the new year with a bang! We partied, laughed, and lived up what was left of 2007 and kicked off 2008 with some of my best buds. I'm so lucky to have them!
What an incredible year! I can't wait to see what's in store for 2008!

Good-bye 2007...