a reflection on years past

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I realize that we are now a full week into 2013, but due to being away from the internet during that time, I am just now getting a chance to write this post. As we prepared to ring in 2013, I couldn't help but reflect on how MBL and I had spent the past 4 New Years together...

2008-We rang in the new year in beautiful, warm, sunny Florida. We were on our honeymoon and had been gifted with a gorgeous one bedroom suite right on the water. We were staying at a family friendly resort where the evening's activities were largely kid oriented, so we chose to ring in the new year on our own. We celebrated with champagne and watched the ball drop together.

2009-This was a really hard day. In stark contrast to the year before, we spent the day driving around town doing last minute year end stuff. We also made a trip to the local lab for a beta blood draw. We were sitting outside Salvation Army when we got the call from the RE's office that my beta was negative. I was not pregnant after our first round of IVF. MBL took the call and I just sat and cried. Even now, I can picture exactly where we were sitting in the parking lot. I can picture the snow falling heavily on our car and the dreariness of the Mich.igan winter day. I'm pretty sure I went home and ate until I passed out. Healthy, right? Needless to say, I was quite glad to say goodbye to 2009.

2010-Oh 2010 was good to us and 2011 promised to be even better! I rang in the new year with a nearly 20 week belly and the knowledge that the new year would bring us our much longed for baby girl! I went to bed early and MBL spent most of the night installing our new laminate flooring (with the help of an eye mask and earplugs, I slept right through it all). All I remember about Christmas break that year is sitting on the couch watching TV and waiting to see my belly move. It didn't matter that I wasn't awake at the stroke of midnight, I already knew that I would love 2011.

2011-Honestly, I can't even remember what we did for New Years. We spent the previous week at my parents and had enjoyed a romantic night away from Piper to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. I'm thinking that I barely made it to the ball drop before collapsing into bed. I was sad to see 2011 go as it was such a magical and special year for us--we became parents! I was certain that 2012 would not be as wonderful as 2011...

2012-What a year! There is no succinct way to summarize 2012. Parts of it were terrifying and stressful and at times I felt like I couldn't go on. To say that MBL and I went through significant struggles would be an understatement-at times it was bad, so very bad. But, there were also wonderful parts. Celebrating Piper every day, getting to see her grow, spending time with family, getting mentally healthy, and I ran my first half marathon. And in September, we got our natural BFP-our light at the end of a dark tunnel. My mom sometimes says that 2012 was he** for me and, at times, it certainly was, but there were so many good times to outweigh the bad. And, the truth is, that I am stronger and better because of what we went through. I know the same is true for MBL. So, when it came to ringing in 2013, there was only one thing I wanted to do--I wanted to get a room at a hotel with a pool and celebrate New Years as a family. We took Piper swimming and had a nice dinner out while Piper played with grandma and grandpa. We ate too much and resolved to be healthier in 2013. We put Piper to bed around 9:00 and then MBL and I made it to 11:40 before passing out. I know 2013 will be a good year because I can look back at the past and see how far we've come. And who wouldn't have fun knowing that the next year would involve raising this cutie:

2013 has a lot in store for our family and I'm really excited about what we are bound to experience!

How did you ring in your 2013? Do you usually stay up to watch the ball drop? Do you have any fun resolutions?