2016: The Recap

Guys. 2016 was a game changer. A total and utter game changer. 2015 was full of world travel, educational advancement and baby prep, but in 2016 it actually happened. We had a baby.

A cute baby.

A very cute baby.

And now our life revolves around her awesomeness.

The photos below were posted to Instagram in 2016. They are the most liked of all the images posted and in an effort to have some kind of family record (because 2011 through now is a tumbleweed blowing across your computer screen) let's recap the year:

1. After 42-hours of raw, medication free labor, our Remy girl came into the world. My birth story deserves its own post (fingers crossed I'll follow-through) but it was dramatic, traumatic, and Paul and I agreed we wouldn't talk about future kids or future labors for quite some time. The short story is my body didn't absorb the epidural narcotics, a piece of the cervix was blocking the birth canal so I was dilated to an 8 for 7+ hours (middle of the night), hyperventilated every contraction, pushed for 3 hours, had a baby who wasn't breathing and it was just real dramatic like. The photo above was several hours after birth when we were reunited. So much hair on that little head!
2. For Halloween I wanted to do a costume fairly low-key that had high impact but didn't require us to invest a fortune (because babies are fickle and only want to wear a costume for minutes at a time). Hot glue gun cotton balls to a beanie and add a dollar store pair of reading glasses (lenses removed) to a sweater, brooch, and dress combo and wah-la! We sure love our little old lady.
3. I decided it was cheaper (and more fun!) to fly Alaina out to shoot our family photos than to pay someone in town, so for two short days in November she came for a visit. We spent one afternoon taking family photos in front of the Portland skyline and at Cathedral Park by the St. John's bridge. I'll absolutely always treasure this photo of me and Remy -- it's about the only one where I have nice hair! 
4. This photo is the very first full-face photo of Remy we posted to social media. In it we also announced her full name, weight (8 lbs 8 ounces), height (20.75 in), and a good look at that very full, very dark head of hair. 
5. After visiting Santa at the mall (wherein we paid an obscene amount of money for a reservation so we didn't have to wait in line) I saw this festive setup in Pottery Barn. We quickly set Remy on the couch and snapped this gorgeous keeper of a photo. I'm still waiting for Pottery Barn to return my phone call about including this image in next year's catalog. 
6. This family-of-three shot is one of my ultimate favorites from Alaina's shoot--it made it onto the backside of our 2016 Christmas card as well. I posted it on a Friday wherein I got some really bad news at work that rocked me back a step (nothing super personal, account and client news) but I posted this photo with a caption of how excited I was to go home and spend time with these best friends of mine. Being a full-time working mom also deserves its own post I think. (Add it to the list.)
7. A baby in a pumpkin! I mean come. on. I fully anticipated Remy would cry when we put her into a cold, wet pumpkin wearing only a diaper. She didn't, because our baby is the most even-keeled happy baby there ever was. (Oh, we also put a dish towel in there.) We put a few decorations up on our porch once Sunday after church and snapped this picture. There are about a dozen in the set and they're all ridiculously cute. 
8. Remy loooooooooooooves the bath. Like holy smokes that girl would be happy to bathe every night. Somewhere mid-Fall we started putting her in the bathtub with one of us and she's never happier than when she's splashing in the tub. This photo was the second night she got to bathe in our main bathroom--the first night she learned that splashing has cause and effect.
9. Christmas Eve we took a redye flight to Bermuda. I wanted to vacation somewhere warm for the holiday but options were limited as true Caribbean/Mexican destinations were off-limits due to the Zika Virus (I'd like Remy to have a sibling with a normal-shaped head you see.). My parents joined us (they committed less than 90 minutes after asking!) and we had a ball hanging out at a posh resort, riding mopeds, and relaxing together. This photo is at the resort's private beach on the day after Christmas (late enough to have slept in after Remy couldn't figure out what time it was in her crib in the hotel room closet). 

2016 is a year many called a dumpster fire, rife with political and social drama. My year, however--our year, was fantastic. Adding Remy to our family has added depth and meaning to an otherwise full and satisfying life. Paul and I have, much to our surprise, naturally snapped into parenting this sweet girl entrusted to us. What a year.