looking back at 2017

Wow. You guys. I can't believe it's been over six months since I filled this space with fresh words. Getting back to writing is at the top of my goals for 2018, so watch out.

In the spirit of the new year, I really just wanted to recap 2017 because IT WAS SUCH A CRAZY YEAR. In some ways, it seems like it didn't even happen or like I've been in a time warp. We started the year in Europe and ended it back in our North Carolina home just as we'd left it.

Bizarre.

Here goes...

My mom visited, and I turned 30 in Italy cooking and drinking Chianti in a Tuscan villa.

Celebrated German Carnival with crazy parades right outside our door and a costume party.

Fell in love with San Sebastian on a Spanish adventure with our friends from London.

Twirled through Mirabell Gardens reenacting The Sound of Music with a lifelong best friend.

Returned permanently to our home in North Carolina, where we discovered our new rhythm that involved having to get in a car to go everywhere, American playgrounds, and shopping carts in grocery stores.

After sicknesses and adjusting to living in a new place, FINALLY got Miles back to sleeping through the night in his own crib in his own room. All the thanks to the Sleep Lady and her amazing book for this precious miracle.

Traveled to Charleston for a sweet little family vacay where Miles fell in love with the aquarium.

Had our first adults-only weekend away as we celebrated our friends' wedding in Maryland.

Surprised one of my best friends by showing up at her house for the weekend in Cleveland.

Our baby boy turned TWO. Just HOW?!?!

Read a total of 15+ books for the year, which is no small feat with a toddler!

Celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families, saw dear friends (and got to meet their sweet new babies), laughed, loved, cried, and just overall lived the hell out of 2017. There'll certainly never be another year like it.

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parting thoughts

Two years. Two incredible years of our lives we've spent living in an apartment in Aachen, Germany. When we first moved here, I cried. Alot. I sat in the bathroom floor and bawled my eyes out. I had left almost everything behind to come to a place where I knew no one, had no job, and didn't speak the language. I was five months pregnant, and I missed my dog. Writing it now makes me chuckle, but the struggle was very real at the time.

Here, I grew a child inside of me. Raised a tiny infant into a rambunctious toddler. Endured sweltering heat at 7 months pregnant with no air conditioner in a top floor flat. Where Miles learned to crawl. To walk. To run. Where he first said mama and dada. Where he had his first taste of solid food and learned to eat with utensils. 

Learned (a very little bit of) a new language. Stepped way (way, way) outside my comfort zone. Traveled to so many new places - by plane, by train, by automobile. Spent Christmas Eve looking at the Mona Lisa in Paris and cooked pasta in Florence for my 30th birthday and reenacted scenes from The Sound of Music in Salzburg with a lifelong friend. Cruised the canals of Amsterdam and ate pintxos in San Sebastian and took a selfie with Big Ben in London.

Daily walks in the park, stopping to watch the ducks and laying out a blanket in the grass listening to the monotonous sound of the fountain as the water rises and falls. Gelato on hot days and picking up flowers for our dining table at the weekly farmer's markets. Walking everywhere. The store. Dinner. I usually get in a car once a month. Late spring - when we open the windows and let the fresh air sweep over us as we listen to the chorus of birds. The month of December - when our little piece of Germany becomes a magical Christmas village filled with craft vendors and mulled wine.

There are many things I won't miss about Germany: the lack of Mexican food and air conditioning topping the list. But damn, if you haven't been good to us. It's not goodbye, but see you later. Until next time.

18 months with Miles

Whew! You guys. I don't know how two months got away from me, but here we are at the end of May. Between three weeks worth of visitors, having to get my computer repaired after it took a nasty fall, preparing to move home to North Carolina, and keeping up with a rambunctious toddler, the time for writing has been limited. I've got a ton of stuff to catch you up on, including our trips to Spain and Austria and some great books I've read, but I thought I'd jump back in with an update on our baby boy who just turned a whole year and a half old!

Here are a few things he's been up to lately...

Making teeth! His total count is up to 12 now that he's cut four mean molars.

Wants to do everything himself. Climbs in his stroller on his own and can almost get it buckled. Assembles his straw cups. Pretends to put his lotion on himself after baths. Tries to dress himself and will sit on the bottom stair in our apartment to try to put on his socks and shoes. 

Always requests to go outside. Loves spending afternoons at the park playing in the sand, going down the slide, and picking flowers in the grass.

Has gotten the hang of "riding" his little balance bike his Grammy bought him on her visit and cruises all over the house on it. Unless he's asleep or eating, this kid NEVER STOPS MOVING.

Is still a great eater and can now eat bigger versions of things - for example, he can take bites out of a whole sandwich instead of me tearing it up into bite-sized pieces for him. Has discovered the joys of "dipping" foods. Is a pro with a spoon. Prefers using a real fork to the toddler version.

Has a huge vocabulary - some favorites are "owside" (outside) "i keem" (ice cream - which he requests almost daily), "Monty" (who he asks to see anytime we FaceTime one of my parents), "airpane" (airplane - he's become slightly obsessed since our last flight), "pees" (please - usually more like a demand than a request), "Josh" (which he thinks is hilarious to call his daddy since he hears me saying it), and so many more. Recently added his elbows and knees to the list of body parts he can identify. Is slowly learning his colors and numbers, too!

Sings the "bom, bom, bom" line of Sweet Caroline and the "woohoo" part of the Duck Tales theme. These have been my proudest achievements in parenting thus far.

Also, can someone tell me how my baby has become such a big boy?! How do I slow it down? While I love this new stage of learning and getting to experience so much through his eyes, it all seems to be happening too quickly!

It's hard to believe that the next time I update on this dude, we'll be back in home sweet Carolina! Our house, our wonderful bed, our friends and families.... oh Germany, you've been so good, but I. AM. READY. 

Watch out for lots more posts coming soon (hopefully!), and enjoy this last expression I'll leave you with...