2015: one of my faves

I love doing these reviews and looking back on how much we accomplished, grew and loved in the previous year! I'm having a hard time saying goodbye to 2015! Though it was full of it's challenges (as always), it was such a great year for our family!

January

• We took a quick trip to northern Utah to visit our friends one last time before our big move to Arizona.
• I went to Vegas  for one last hurrah with my salon girls (oh how I miss my salon, the girls and my clients!) 
• I turned 27!
• I babysat the family of 5 boys that I've watched every year (except the year Mia was born) for what I suspect was the last time (sad about that as well! we love them!) while Eric packed up our house (yeah, I had it good, ha ha!)
• We announced our move to Arizona and said goodbye to Utah on January 31st! 

February

• We woke up in Arizona on February 1st! Our new adventure was just beginning!
• I took a pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE! Though I suspected I was pregnant by the end of January, I didn't get around to taking a test until after our move. It was such a relief to find out why I was so exhausted 24/7 :)
• Mia and I traveled back to Utah for my family's annual cabin vacation, and visited our Brinkerhoff family as well!
• We shared our exciting pregnancy new to our families (even though we hadn't been to the doctor for confirmation yet.)

March

• We went swimming... at an outdoor, unheated swimming pool :) Definitely not in Utah anymore, ha ha!
• My parents came to visit! It was our first official time having visitors and we loved it!
• We made it to a spring training game! That's one thing we were excited to have at our fingertips with moving to Arizona!
• We celebrated Easter with family across the valley! Holidays with kids are so much fun!!

April

• We finally went to the doctor (had to wait until our insurance kicked in!) and got the confirmation that I was 14 weeks pregnant (just as I suspected!) Mia was so obsessed with listening to the heart beat. Sweet big sister!
• We announced our pregnancy to the world, ha ha! 
• We also very unexpecatdly found out the gender of our baby (Eric wasn't even there!)
• Eric turned 29.

May

• Eric and I celebrated our SEVENTH wedding anniversary! 
• We announced to the world that we were having a baby BOY! 
• That sweet husband of mine let me enjoy the perfect girls day of pampering for Mother's Day!

June

• Eric and I were able to sneak away on a cruise, just the two of us, to enjoy a "babymoon"! 
• We celebrated Father's Day.
• We also experienced our first real taste of Arizona summers... two weeks straight of 115 degree temps. Miserable. Even more miserable because I was pregnant, ha!
• We kind of "spur of the moment" spent a weekend down in Mexico... one last family vacation of just the three of us. And it was the best weekend with my people!

July

•  Mia and I went back to Utah and celebrated the 4th of July with family (and missed Eric like crazy while doing so).
• We celebrated baby boy with a baby shower!
• We went swimming, a lot!

August

• Mia and I went back to Utah for the last time as just the two of us. My best road trippin' girl!
• I had maternity photos taken (and they are so dreamy!)
• We soaked up our time as a family of three as much as possible! We were so excited to welcome baby boy into our family, but it was a bittersweet feeling knowing Mia wouldn't be our only child anymore!

September

• BABY MONTH! James came a little early and we welcomed him on the 28th!
• But before the exciting arrival of our baby, Mia transitioned to a big girl bed (as if I could call it that... there really was no transition. She was such a champ with the change!)
• I had my one last hurrah with my girl! My one wish was to be able to take her to see the ballet under the stars instead of being in the hospital, ha ha! 

October

• We welcomed this month as a new family of FOUR!
• Both sets of parents came to stay with us and help while we adjusted to having a newborn in the home again. We are forever grateful for their help!!
• We got out of the house much more than I ever imagined we would be able to (thanks to Eric who happens to be super husband/dad!) and went to a pumpkin patch, car show, hockey game, etc.
• We celebrated Halloween with Mickey and Minnie mouse!

November

• We continued adjusting to being a family of 4. It was pure chaos at times, but the best kind!! But it went much more smoothly than I could have dreamed!
• We went to DISNEYLAND!! I have yet to recap this trip (oops) but it was such a sweet and exhausting vacation ;) Mia still talks about it every single day!
• We celebrated Thanksgiving (without Eric, boo!)
• Eric started the craziest work schedule to date.

December

• Eric worked ever single day (except for Christmas day and the day after) and I couldn't help but go in survival mode. Blogging was one of the first things to go and to be honest, it was a nice break! (But I am ready to get back into the swing of things!!)
• Mia turned THREE!
• My parents came to celebrate Christmas with us in Arizona! It was nice having family here since we weren't able to travel!
• We celebrated Christmas... our first as a family of FOUR!
• Mia, James and I went back to Utah to visit family since Eric was still working so much. I can't tell you how relieved and excited I am knowing that Eric will be with us for our next trip to Utah- YAY!  

I was so excited to ring in 2015 knowing that we were moving and suspecting that our family would be growing. I was so hopeful and positive that 2015 would be our year, and it was! Of course Eric worked too much and missed out on some family fun (I am so grateful for all that he sacrifices to provide for our family, and never complains about it!) and we experienced trials and challenges... but overall I look back on 2015 as one of my favorite years ever! We have enjoyed our life in Arizona so far, we were able to escape on some amazing vacations as a family and we welcomed sweet baby James into our family! It's tough to beat a year that has a new addition to the family in it ;)
Going into 2016 I am a little apprehensive. We are in limbo at the moment (never a fun place to be) and there is a lot of unknown. I don't like that (but who does? ha!) but I do know that as long as I hold my people close, and God even closer, we can make it through anything! I am excited to watch James grow. I'm excited for the memories my babies will make together. I'm excited to (hopefully) have Eric home more. Even though I don't know what to expect this year, I'm excited to experience 2016 with my little family!