2011 in review
Big Events & Milestones:
• Expectant status – Upon our announcement in early January that we were expecting our first child in July, we quickly found ourselves wrapped up in the “expecting game”. The out-pouring of support and encouragement from family and friends was reassuring to both Eric and I, as we wondered how a new human was going to fit into our lives. Throughout the course of our pregnancy, we inherited loads of advice (most of it solicited and helpful) and boxes full of baby gear (thanks to generous friends who already embarked on parenthood – it definitely paid for us to wait). The tasks felt overwhelming, but we paced ourselves, took things as they came, and found ourselves “ready” for Speedbump by the due date. And then we got to wait, and wait, and wait….
• Eric brings home the bacon again - 2012 marked Eric’s completion of his master’s degree in structural engineering. He finished in February with a scintillating presentation about buildings connected by sky-bridges and how wind impacts their movement (see, I did pay attention Eric!). He resumed work at KL& A in March, the engineering firm he worked for prior to graduate school. He enjoys his job and appreciates the company.
• New family member – Oh, have you heard about that one yet? Harper Anneliese Richards joined us at 7:11am on Tuesday, July 19. To say she’s been the highlight of our year is an understatement.
• Let the juggling act begin as modern working parents – After Harper’s birth, Eric returned to work the next week. I was fortunate to be able to take 3 months of maternity leave, and then I returned to my work on a partial appointment (75%). When I returned to work in October, we found ourselves having to juggle a bit more than we were used to. Not only do we now work, walk the dog, make dinner, and clean up in the evenings, we also get to care for Harper’s needs AND try to go to bed early (since sleep is more precious than ever). The transition to work went more smoothly than expected, and while we definitely feel busier than we were “P-H” (pre-Harper), we are managing quite well. Our daycare provider is fantastic, which makes leaving Harper much easier. We leave each morning (in our cars – booo!) armed with diapers, bottles, lunches, my beloved breast pump, and enough snacks to feed a school bus full of hungry children.
Travel & Stay-cations:
• San Diego – BabyMoon – To celebrate Eric’s completion of his master’s degree and prior to him starting work and not having any time off, Eric and I flew to San Diego in February for a week of chill-axing. We got to stay in my cousin Chase’s hotel, which was way fancier than our typical travel fare. Getting away to a new place with warm sunshine and lots of fun things to explore was a great way to celebrate Eric’s accomplishment and make some special memories before adding to our family.
• Haley’s trip to New York – For spring break, I flew to upstate New York to visit friends. In addition to quality friend time, I also learned a ton about the Amish, which was fascinating.
• Kansas – Of course we made a few trips to Kansas to see our families. In May, we attended McPherson’s All School’s Day Parade (in cold weather) and played as much as we could with our nephew, Gavin. Eric’s family also threw us a baby shower in Wakeeney. After Harper was born, we ventured back to Kansas in September, where we had a series of “meet Harper” parties. I got to stay a full week, and it was so nice to have more time to visit friends. We rounded out our year by traveling to Kansas for “Harper’s Holiday Tour”. It was so much fun to see Harper and Gavin interact. They are going to have so much fun as super-special cousins!
• Summer in Fort Collins – Typically, we travel a lot in the summer. Whether we have scheduled trips out of state / country or planned camping / hiking trips in the mountains, our summers are usually pretty full. At 30+ weeks pregnant and with a teeny-weeney baby this summer, our summer consisted of “stay-cationing” in Fort Collins. Instead of traveling, we hung out in Old Town, attended festivals, checked out the farmer’s markets, and did some light hiking in the foothills. It was nice, although we are already antsy to take Harper camping in 2012.
• Family visits – For some reason, we found ourselves with a lot of company this year. Both sets of parents and my sister and her family were able to visit in the week after Harper’s birth. We have hosted both of our parents multiple times throughout the year as well as my group of high school friends.
Daily Life:
• Tanner’s adjustment – It hasn’t been all puppies and flowers for our dog, Tanner this year. He has been demoted to “dog” status. He still gets to go on a walk every day, and he still gets cuddle time in the evening before bed. But, he does not quite receive as much of our attention as he did prior to Harper’s arrival. For this, he is quite depressed. For now, things are going well. Tanner ignores Harper and spends his days/evenings on “his” couch in “his” room.
• Help, help, help – I’m not sure how we are so blessed to have so many amazing, generous people in our lives. We seriously could not have survived without you! For the first half of the year, we received so much support, loving advice, and baby supplies. For the second half of the year, we received tons of baby stuff, cards, and meals. Generous friends and co-workers provided us with delicious, home-cooked meals 3 nights a week for 3 months. From friends and family afar, we received so much love and encouragement. The out-pouring of all of your generosity was truly humbling.
• Reprioritizing – One of the many lessons we’ve learned this year is that everything takes longer with an infant in the house. Accomplishing everyday tasks (let alone ones on our “to-do” list) require a great amount of planning and strategy. Sometimes we find ourselves playing “pass the baby” to make sure we are feeding ourselves and keeping our house as clean as minimally possible. Yet, having Harper around has prompted us to be spontaneous. I remember one Sunday in September when we spent an hour just laying on a blanket in the shade of our backyard. We never would have done that “P-H”. What a lovely gift! Our priorities have changed, and we’ve found that while we do still have to get stuff done, we do also make time to just “play” in very simple ways.
• The world’s most boring people – Ask us if we’ve seen any good movies lately or been to any good concerts. Nope - not since July. Any epic outdoor adventures this year? Well, we did do a couple of Yurt Trips in March, but other than that – not really. The question “what’s new in your life?” is guaranteed to prompt a response involving Harper and her latest trick. Eric and I joke that we have become the world’s most boring people, and that’s ok for now. We feel truly blessed by the opportunity to create a life and humbled by the responsibility of raising another human on the planet. I know most of you would agree that becoming a parent is not “boring” at all – it’s just a very different world from the one we lived in one year ago.
If you made it to the end of this – congratulations! We’ve had an amazingly blessed 2011, and we hope you had a terrific year as well. Sending our most sincere wishes of love as we start 2012.
Love,
Haley, Eric, and Harper Richards
