Thursday, February 2, 2012

2011 In Review

At the start of every year, I review my Life List and check off what I accomplished in the previous year.  I was not surprised to find that I didn't complete many things this year, and that's because I spent every day of this year, except for the first five, working on one very important item:

4. Have children  Jack, 10/5/2011 :)


Phew, that one was pretty all encompassing.  And I'm probably not going to get to too much more on this list for about 20 more years...and that's okay with me.  :)  Quality over quantity, right?

We did visit two more Presidential libraries this year on one of my eight trips back and forth from Indiana to Denver - Eisenhower and Truman, which are conveniently located right off I-70.  Yeah, eight trips last year - and Brent had a few more than that.

84. Visit all the Presidential libraries   (LBJ, Clinton, Eisenhower, Truman down, 9 more to go)

I refuse to make any proclamations or set any goals this year, other than to say I want to be a good mom and find new fun things to do with my little critter as he continues to grow and learn.  I've identified a few other things I'd like to do, including reading the books on this list, Top 30 Books to Read Before You're 30.

As is tradition, here is our 2011 in review:

January found us ringing in the New Year at our house with a few friends and preparing for Brent's move to Denver later in the month.  We spent the MLK holiday weekend in Denver, house-hunting, where we selected a six month apartment lease since we weren't sure when I would be moving.  12 hours after signing our short-term apartment lease and landing back in Indianapolis, we discovered that I was miraculously, finally, and wonderfully pregnant.

We started February in limbo - Brent in Denver and I still at home.  I began (quickly) searching for jobs in Denver and prepping the house to go on the market.  On Valentine's Day, our home became an active listing on the MLS and we also left on a relaxing vacation to Cancun with our friends Christi and Jay.  Bonnie and I had weekly dates with Rachel and Charlie to help pass our evenings.






I made trip #2 of the year to Denver in March for a job interview.  We were able to spend five days together which was great!  At the end of March, Brent flew into Chicago where Lana, Adam and I met him to see Purdue play in the NCAA tournament at the United Center.



April brought a lot more transition to my life, as my last day at DFAS was April 7th and I said goodbye to many wonderful co-workers and good friends.  We packed up two carloads of my things and spent two days driving to our new home in Mile High City - trip #3.  We arrived on Saturday night and I started my new job on Monday morning, 16 weeks pregnant.  We celebrated Easter in our little apartment - where we had one recliner and boxes as end tables and nightstands.  (We obviously were counting on selling our house quickly and didn't want to bite the bullet and invest in new furniture.  It's a time I refer to as our Camping Days.)


Thanks for the goodies, Grandma.



I spent the first week of May in Washington DC for work, and arrived at Dulles around the same time President Obama was announcing the death of Osama Bin Laden to our nation.  It was a pretty memorable week to be in the nation's capital.  At the end of the week I flew home to Indy, where I met Brent at the airport and we carbed up that evening with Justin and Rachel in preparation for the Festival 500 Mini Marathon.  I walked with Mom and Christi, and my 20 week old Lima Bean.  We returned home over Memorial Day (trip #5, second in the month) to pack up our home, which we thought we had sold.  Even though the deal fell through it was nice to see our friends and family during my birthday weekend.  May was busy, as we also entertained our first visitors (Lana and Justin) and took in the U2 concert at Invesco.







June found us frantically searching for houses to either rent or buy since our apartment lease was up in July, and I was already six months pregnant.  We returned to our honeymoon destination, Kauai, at the beginning of the month to use our timeshare week in paradise.  I placed in my age group for the first (and probably only) time ever at the Hanoi to Hanalei  5k race.  Who says that lack of competition isn't a satisfying way to win a race?



We celebrated the 4th of July by watching eight simultaneous sets of fireworks all over the Denver metro area from a quiet perch atop South Table mountain, which was a short climb from our apartment door.  I baked a Star-Spangled Apple Pie that I still dream about and we spent our last few weeks in the apartment before moving on the 15th.  We flew home to Indianapolis (trip #6) for two wonderful baby showers. 








(And a third, more informal, shower) 


I started slowing down in August.  We celebrated the wedding weekend of our friends Mel and Andy from afar after deciding that another flight at 34 weeks was just too much.  I started tidying up work matters, since I would be full term at the beginning of September and the baby might come at any time!  Oh how I chuckle at that now...



September 






We finally met our little Lima Bean on October 5th at 41 weeks, 1 day.  A boy!  Of course, we knew it was a boy all along.  We enjoyed our sweet Jack Robert the rest of the month.  Both sets of grandparents met Jack.








Mel visited in November, as well as Christi and Carrie the weekend before Thanksgiving.  I flew home with the girls and stayed with my family for the holiday.  Jack met many relatives and friends.  November was such a great month and will be getting its own post soon!




The best flying helpers ever, holding my coffee and my baby while I get situated.  



We celebrated Baby Hetrick at his/her baby shower and then Jack and I made it home on December 4th - just in time to celebrate Jack's 2 month birthday the next day with his monthly photo shoot.  A phone call on the morning of Sunday the 11th rocked our world...it was our Pearl Harbor.  We didn't really even have time to get everything unpacked before we loaded up all our gear and boarded a flight home again.  You know all about the rest.  On December 25th, we experienced a true Christmas miracle.  Rob, and my family, have felt like George Bailey ever since.




2011 was quite a year!  It was definitely a tough year - one that will put some hair on your chest.  But it was also the best in many ways.  We're looking forward to a calmer 2012!
                         

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