Farewell to 2009...

So, 2009 is officially in the past and we have a whole new year ahead of us. Last year was a great year for us, and I thought I would share a quick recap for you...
Of course, we started the year with a brand new (three week) old baby. Everything was new again, as we now had two kiddos. We learned a lot, adjusted a lot and slept a little. ;0)
We started out the year welcoming a new member of our 'family.' Our best friends (Brendan & Liz) had their first baby, beautiful Madisen, which immediately meant a new best friend for Avalee. ;0)
We had a great visit with my sister-in-law, Ceara who met her new niece for the first time. Zavion loved seeing his Aunt Ceara again, and put on quite the show while she was here. LOL! And, we got to catch up a little too, even if the visit was much too short.

We went bowling; Avalee slept through all of it and Z had a blast.

We had another visit from a friend of mine from high school. She lives in Germany now, so the visit was pretty special. Her daughter is about a year younger than Zavion, so they got to play together and we got to catch up (and see Sarah's cute little baby bump!).


We got more snow (in February?!) and Z had a blast sledding, building a snowman, and...
Throwing snowballs!


We experienced what it would be like to have twins...but only for a week...when I watched Madi while Liz went back to work. It was crazy, but lots of fun too!


We got another visit, this time from my brother, John. He decided to surprise my parents, so we (Colin & I) set it all up with him; we made up a story to pick him up from the airport, than he showed up at my parents house the next day. We totally pulled it off and it was a great surprise! It was also John's first time meeting Avalee and I loved seeing her little face the first time she saw him...priceless! And, when Z came downstairs to find Uncle hiding on the couch (one of Z's favorite games) he was ecstatic!
Z took swim lessons again, and had a great time.


We had lots of sunny day lunches with Daddy (and even some rainy day ones too...yay for the mall, and Charlies!).




We took a spontaneous trip to the beach after hearing the temperature at the coast would be in the 70s (in April!). It was Avalee's first trip to the coast and she loved it! It was also our first real trip with the four of us, and it was an amazing day that will forever be with me.
Avalee rolled over, than sat up. She got her first taste of solid food, and LOVED it.

We celebrated our first Mother's Day and Father's Day as parents of two kids.



We had our family reunion and took the kids to The Enchanted Forest for the first time.
We took both kids to the pool and watched them both swim like fishies!



We went camping during THE heat wave. It's definitely not something I would want to repeat, but despite three digit temperatures, we still managed to have a great time.
We went to Seaside for a few days and had a great time hanging out at the pool, swimming in the pool and exploring the town.

Avalee started crawling!


We added a new family member; Cup, the fish. Z was ecstatic to get his own fish and spent the first few days singning, reading, and talking to him.


We found out another little family member in on the way; my sister-in-law and her hubby are expecting their first baby in April! Of course, Colin and I are very excited, but but Zavion is so cute with how excited his is for his “new baby cousin.” :0)

We started a new football season and introduced our newest Duck to the game.


We remodeled the dining room. We always hated the carpet in there, so tore it out, put laminate in than added some new paint, blinds, cabinet and dining room table! (We didn't get very good before & after shots, so this is the best we have...)






We went to VEGAS sans kiddos! We missed the kids terribly, but still managed to have a fabulous time. ;0)

We watched our little boy turn four and enjoyed a fun Superman birthday party with him.
We went to the pumpkin patch, carved some pumpkins and dressed up the kids for Halloween (A's first!).




We celebrated Thanksgiving with family, food and fun.
We drove to Hood River with two kids to ride The Polar Express. It was a loong drive to and from, but definitely worth it to see the look on Z's face when the 'conductor' yelled, “Aaaal aboard!” or when the train started moving or when Santa got on!




We took our annual trip to the Christmas tree farm, this time with a 'plus one' and picked out the perfect tree.


We celebrated Avalee's first birthday with lots of family & friends, lots of fun and lots of presents!

We celebrated Christmas at home with family, and had a great day.

And, we ended the year with a trip to California for the Rose Bowl!


And...along the way...
had lots of playdates, made baby food,

took trips to the park, did some crafts, cooked some yummy food, took trips to the pool, canned a lot of pickles...and...
We shared a lot, laughed a lot, and loved a LOT!!
















Here's to 2010!