I've been thinking lately about how the year is kind of like each week. Every week I look forward to the "end". The weekend, when Scott is home with us and we get to take a break from the monotony of every day tasks. I look forward to the end of every year. The holidays are my favorite time! We get to spend extra time with family, eat great food, and have an excuse to bake up a storm! :) We get to celebrate being thankful and the birth of the Savior. I just can't get enough!
However, weeks and years are also different. I (almost) never look forward to the new week. (Mondays! Yuck!). But I always look forward to the new year. There is just something exciting about starting fresh and having an excuse to think about how you can make your life better. I have some goals for 2013 that I'm really excited about. But first I want to remember all the great (and the not so great) things that happened in 2012.
JANUARY:
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| Isn't Carter a cutie!? |
January was a hard month for me. I was pregnant and still pretty sick. Work was CRAZY! We were given last minute notice about some trials the MTC and Missionary Department wanted to do. We have to make tons of changes to flights and schedules in addition to our regularly heavy workload at that time of the year. It was really frustrating at the time. But months later I can see just why it was so important for us to do that work! On the positive side of things, my little nephew Carter was born! He is such a cutie! :)
FEBRUARY:
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| The aftermath of my family shower |
Work continued to be crazy in February but it was broken up by a lot of fun things! Scott and I celebrated our last Valentine's Day without any babies, I had a great 22nd birthday and I was thrown two baby showers--one by my awesome coworkers and friends and the other by my family.
MARCH
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| Nate turns 16 and can finally date! |
In March I went to my last day of work (although I didn't officially quit until my maternity leave was over), and I spent a couple of weeks getting ready for Nolan as my due date came and went. We also celebrated some birthdays in my family and were lucky enough to have Katie and Carter here for my mom's!
APRIL
After about 12 hours of labor, Nolan is born just after midnight on April 5th! We were so excited to see him! We celebrated his first easter a few days later and opted to stay home from all of the festivities. :) We were also very excited when Scott was offered his job at the American Red Cross and began work about three weeks after Nolan was born.
MAY
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| After Nolan's baby blessing |
In May, Scott took a trip with his siblings down to St. George to visit his Grandpa Keyes who wasn't doing very well. Unfortunately, Nolan was too small for us to attempt the trip. We were very glad Scott was able to make the trip since his Grandpa passed away soon after. On a more positive note, Nolan received a name and a blessing at his Nana and Pappap's house and I experienced my very first Mother's Day as a mother!
JUNE
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| My dad's first father's day as a grandpa! |
In June, Scott and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and Scott experienced his very first Father's day. We also celebrated the day by speaking in our new ward with less than 24 hours notice. I also officially quit my job and had a great going away party there. I definitely miss that job sometimes!
JULY
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| Nolan and Great Grandpa B! |
In July, we celebrated the 4th with my family. Nolan was not a fan of the fire trucks and police cars. Hopefully the parade will be a better experience next year! :) We also took family pictures with my family and Nolan was able to meet his great Grandpa Butterfield for the first time. Scott had a crazy month at work with all of the wild fires happening in Utah.
AUGUST
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| Family pictures taken in July |
August continued to be a crazy month for Scott with the aftermath of the fires which included mudslides in Saratoga Springs. Nolan and I continued to spend a lot of time together with Scott being gone so much for work.
SEPTEMBER
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| Touching leaves in Provo Canyon |
In September my Grandpa Butterfield passed away at the age of 91. We were sad to see him go, but since he had already lived a long life and outlived two wives, we know he was ready to move on.
We also took Nolan on his first trip up the Provo Canyon to see the fall leaves and colors. He LOVED looking at all the leaves!
OCTOBER
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| At the Cemetary in Logan, UT |
At the beginning of October, we had a funeral for Grandpa Butterfield. Every one of his children and all but one of his grandchildren were able to be there! It was great to see all of my family again. We also had a great Conference weekend and enjoyed the new announcement regarding missionary changes. Megan was excited to here that she would be elegible to serve as soon as she turned 19! We also celebrated Nolan's first Halloween where he dressed up as a Gnome!
NOVEMBER
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| Megan reading her call |
In November, Megan turned 19 and turned in her mission papers. She opened her call on 23 November and found out she'd be leaving on 23 Janurary to serve in the Hungary Budapest Mission! We also celebrated not one, not two, but three Thanksgivings this year! Scott's parents were having Thanksgiving on Friday and my parents were having it on Saturday. So, I cooked my first turkey (leg) and we celebrated on Thursday as a family of three! I also started my new job working as a contract writer for Orange Soda this month.
DECEMBER
December was a great month. Nolan and I spent a lot of time at my parents house. Megan got her wisdom teeth out and Nate had surgery on his vocal cords the next day. We stayed a my parent's house to help my mom with the patients! We celebrated Christmas eve and Christmas morning with my family and then headed south to celebrate Christmas day with Scott's family. After a couple days at home we went back up North to go through the Temple with Megan for her first time. It was a great experience!
