Goodbye 2012

I feel the need to do a little post reflecting on 2012 before I write my new post with goals for 2013.

It has been an interesting year, with lots of highs and a few lows. It began in Melbourne in the midst of a heat wave,  where we were staying with some lovely friends of DD's. We also managed to catch up with a few best friends, and meet up with a SMC buddy that we had met online.

We returned home in early January and shortly after began the weaning process. BB took to food easily. Here are his fist mouthfuls of pureed mango. He looks impressed right? And perhaps a little surprised too!

It's hard to believe that this is the same child as the one I have now!

Also in January he cut his first teeth. 

In February his biggest milestone was moving into his own bed. This was a gradual process moving step by step further away, but it did happen quite fast. On reflection it was probably me that needed it to be gradual more than it was him. He settled quite quickly and was soon in his own room!

 

He also began moving himself intentionally around the house. 




March saw me coming to the end of my maternity leave but I really didn't want to return to work - I took another 3 months on no pay while I tried to come up with a plan. I began to seriously think about alternatives and became more and more frugal with our money. BB put his efforts into crawling and truly mastered his art.

In April he started walking with the aid of the furniture.

In May we started the "hold my hands so I can walk" game

We really thought at this point that he would be running around any second - but he then took his time with walking - and started climbing instead!

He started saying his first words, mum, dad and more, and ba (booby!) and also became much more interested in stuff around him, so it was great fun when started taking him places like the children's farm.

In July, BB turned 1, still not walking on his own, but excellent at power crawling, and getting more and more confident as a climber. We started to try for BB2. I started to make plans to work from home.

August, BB's Aussie grandma came to stay, he was Christened, and finally started walking on his own, We got pregnant with BB2, we went on holiday with DD and UP and both their mums (I laughed about having to mother in laws despite never marrying, and nicknamed the mother in law and the other in law!) . I set up my own business working from home, and BB started nursery for just 4 hrs a week so that I didn't have to do all my work when he slept. August was really quite an awesome month when you look back!



September's highlight has to be the Paralympics, which I was very fortunate to go to. Everything about it was awesome. Sadly, September was also when our fortunes started to change. First UP's mum got sick. Within two weeks of dancing away to folk music with BB she was in hospital having had a brain hemorrhage and being diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was a big shock that such a thing could happen so quickly.

In October we lost BB2 and I trapped a nerve in my back. It was a dark month. BB kept me going.

Reading with his friend L after swimming

In November, I turned 41. I also started making money through my business (up till now all money earned was reabsorbed in start up costs). I began to emerge from the dark space of losing my little girl too, and started to think about maybe trying for BB3. BB and I started doing lots of 'art'. We aim for one activity a day, though sometime he only lasts 5 minutes. He has produced some great works, including

A stained glass window for Aussie Grandma

A birthday pressie for Auntie H

A snowman for UP's mum

Tree decorations

December has been a busy time. We have caught up with friends from near and far that we had not seen for a while, if not in person by exchange of Christmas cards and photos. I have been doing the elimination diet, with some very pleasing results, feeling much healthier all around as well as having achieved some weightloss.

BB now has quite a vocabulary, though I may be the only one who understands most of the time. His words include, mum, dad, his own name, car, tractor, milk, water, more, boo, gone, pop, yes, no, one, two, three, seven, ten, bath, whats that, pussy, pretty, woof woof, quack quack, choo chop, ba(nana), tickle tickle, ta, and ning a ning a ning, which means I want that give it here. He says other things too, that I don't fully get. For example 'pusher', means anything like a remote control, mouse, or phone that he wants to get his hands on - it could be please that he's saying but I'm not sure. He talks a lot. I cant wait until I can really understand him.

He's also started to enjoy doing jobs like mummy (which currently makes more work - but with practice ... :o).

I cant really end a post on 2012 without looking back at what I planned to achieve.

My first goal was fitness and weight loss! Ironically attending both weight watchers and the NHS health trainer actually led me to gain weight! The elimination diet I am doing now has brought me results though and my weight is steadily going down, I found sensitivities to grapes and instant coffee so far, but I expect that I will find at least one more thing.

Fitness wise, BB and I are walking 2 or 3 times a week still, weather permitting. We even made it out 3 times in the last week, dodging the rain. I haven't been swimming like I said I would - I actually totally forgot that goal. I will remember it for DD's visit this weekend. I have been using the Wii, intermittently, my lowest Wii fit age is 20! I have noticed that I am much better at everything on here since I began the elimination diet too.

Reading and writing. The writing part is doing well. The reading part not so. I do read books associated with parenting and lots of stuff on line, but I didn't manage to read a novel. I would love to get lost in a good book - I may try that one again next year!

Austerity measures - I gave up on them and set up a business instead! Much easier financially, but hard in that I get hardly any time to myself now. If BB is awake I am mum, if he is asleep I work. I like the flexibility though, and it doesn't interfere with our lifestyle too much.

My final goal to start trying for baby 2. That seems like a sad note to end on. I am grateful that I did get pregnant with BB2, even if it was just for a short while. I do really hope that by next Christmas BB has a sibling though.

To end on a high instead - here is BB today, the last day of the year, hard at work with his friend M.

On the whole, it was a good year spent in the good company of my gorgeous little man. I am a lucky mummy!