August 2009- March 2010 Recap

Mildly put, let's just say that 2009 was NOT my year for journaling! I have some serious repenting to do.

Many of you have kept tabs with us and know what we've been up to, but for those of you who haven't, here's a run-through of what August 2009-March 2010 brought our way:

August 2009: I enjoyed teaching swim lessons to good friends in our neighborhood and watching little Jonathan (my good friend, MariLouise's little boy) a couple times each week. We had a blast joining my family in Grand Lake, CO for a short mountain vacation. And Andrew got his long-time wish: owning an iPhone! I'm sure anyone who has seen him with it would agree with me...it's definitely his favorite toy.

September 2009:Andrew and I took Taylor into the mountains for a small Labor Day getaway in Evergreen. We stayed at a cute bed & breakfast there and hiked nearby the next day. Later in the month when I began feeling sick, we learned that we were expecting again!

October 2009: Unfortunately, life during this month mostly revolved around my extreme morning sickness. For starters, I sadly had to stop watching Jonathan during the week. It was a real bummer for Taylor especially. Andrew's parents came for a long weekend to visit, and after seeing how sick I was, his mom stayed longer than planned to help take care of us. Later, my mom drove from Utah and stayed for a week to help too! Andrew managed to celebrate Halloween a little by dressing Taylor up in a cute dragon outfit, thank goodness. Here are pictures to prove it!

November 2009: More extreme morning sickness for me, not to mention wife/mom-sickness for Andrew and Taylor too. It was rough on all of us. Continuing October's trend, There were several unplanned trips to the doctor and many prescriptions filled, a suffering husband and son, and sleepless nights for everyone. Whew! I'm now SO glad that part of pregnancy is over (it only took 5 1/2 months--ha!). Thank you, thank you, thank you, to the handfuls of friends and family who came to our aid while I was sick. I don't know how we would've managed without you!

With the help of Jeff and Donna (my aunt and uncle who live here in Denver), our fam drove to Utah for Thanksgiving. Andrew had fun running the "Turkey Trot" in Orem with Larz, Kyle, Devin, and Uncle Mitch that day. We were spoiled when we celebrated a little Macfarlane family Christmas while there too!

December 2009: Morning sickness tapered down to a manageable degree, and our family flew to Alabama for Christmas. We stayed for a full ten days! As we generally travel south only once or twice a year, this was a real treat for us. We felt especially honored to be with family in the Birmingham Temple a few days before Christmas, when Cindy and Cameron (Andrew's sister) were sealed to their newly adopted son, Davis.

We also invested $700 in a "new" 1984 Toyota Tercel this month. Big step for us...ownership of two cars!

January 2010: Began packing for another move. We felt happy to find a slightly larger place to make room for baby that was also closer to Jeff and Donna and my grandparents, and better yet, to Andrew's work in Golden too.

We had the "big" 20-week ultrasound for our baby at the beginning of the month. We've decided to make the baby's gender a surprise this time. So if you think you know if it's a boy or a girl from looking at these pictures, keep your guesses to yourself! :)

February 2010: Moved. Again. It was tiring process! When we felt moved-in, we had fun painting walls and hanging curtains for our first time (ever). The place really feels like home to us now. Please come visit us any time at our townhouse in Littleton!

I hate to even mention it--our "Champ" Toyota totally died. I'm still feeling the pain! :(

We also celebrated my birthday on the 21st...Andrew surprised me with a date to the Cheesecake Factory and a movie night at home without Taylor, and family came over to share cake with us the following day. I made great memories.

A week after my birthday, my mom had a hemorrhagic stroke. Yes, my mom. She's only 46! It was a scary thing for the whole family to say the least. Taylor and I flew to Utah to help take care of her and housekeep for a week after she left the hospital. We hear that she's doing a lot better now, although she still has a long road ahead of her. We feel SO grateful that her prognosis improved from very grim at first to predictions of a full recovery now. We love you, Mom! Get well soon!

March 2010: Our home feels put together now. Life has finally slowed down a little too (does it ever totally slow down though?!). Poor Taylor, who had to put up with a sick mom and a crazy move for so many months, is getting to go outside much more regularly now. I'm so sorry, Sweet Little Boy!

Andrew and I are going to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary on the 25th. Wow. I am married to the best man in the world. Each year, I have to pinch myself that I got so lucky. Thank you, Sweetheart for choosing to share of this crazy life of mine with me--forever! I'm so grateful you did.

Well if you are still reading this, there must be hope for me and the future of this blog. I hope you'll check back again soon and see what's going on in the eventful lives of these Norrises! I promise to update more often than every nine months. :) Bye for now!