Part of Your History: 2012 Remembered

I've got about a dozen posts in draft and of course a resolution to do better at keeping up with this record of my family. For now, here's a look back at 2012.

Family:
-In May when we found out we were expecting a new baby to join our family in January 2013! In September we learned that the new baby would be another girl and we are very excited for Clara to have a sister.

-In April, my sister Mollie had a baby boy and named him Levi and my mom and I (and Clara) traveled to Washington to help out for about a week.

-We were able to see all of our siblings, nieces and nephews on their various visits to Utah and feel very thankful to have our parents and Carol nearby who are so wonderful for Clara and so willing to help out whenever they are needed.

-Clara LOVES her cousins and they seem to enjoy her too! We love having family visit.

-Clara has had a big year - 2012 is when she started walking, talking, learned all of the colors, some shapes, how to count to ten, started going to nursery (which she LOVES) and so many more milestones. We celebrated her 2nd birthday on Christmas Eve with family and lots of balloons. She's turned from a baby into a sweet little girl and we love her so much.

Work:
-In January, Spencer made a big change and started working for KPMG - one of the Big 4 accounting firms. The switch proved to be everything we anticipated in terms of intensity and long hours. He does enjoy working with really great people and working downtown. Walking through the Main Street Plaza and Temple Square is a daily highlight when he is working at the office.

-My business has continued to be a great outlet for me creatively and saw another year of nearly 150% increase over the previous year. It makes me grateful to have a little girl who goes to bed at a reasonable hour so I can spend most evenings filling orders. I added some printable nursery art, iPhone cases and printable greeting cards to my offerings in 2012 and they were all a hit. My most popular items for the year were Bridal Shower Invitations and Nursery Art Printables.

-My last Park City client relocated to Laguna Beach and that closed the final Park City Real Estate chapter of my business.

Church:
-In November I was released as the Laurel Advisor and called as First Counselor in the Young Women's Presidency. Other changes in the ward brought a full staff to the YW with advisors for each class (hooray!). I left Clara for the first time in her life to go to Girl's Camp for most of the week and had a blast getting to know the girls better in our ward. That's also where everyone found out I was pregnant - about 13 weeks at that point. The girls in our ward are so wonderful and the leaders are so fun. We have a really great group.

-Spencer continues to serve as the Elder's Quorum President.

-Clara LOVES nursery and asks to go to church on an almost daily basis! She never put up much of a fight to go (a few tears the first few times, but only for about a minute) for which we are thankful. I know that every child is different, but I'd highly recommend the "drop and go" approach. Friends who hang out with their kids for several minutes and then try to leave seem to have a more difficult adjustment. Clara has learned to pray and says super sweet and sincere prayers. She loves to watch videos on the Mormon Channel and knows about three dozen primary songs.

Travel:
- 2012 will hopefully go down in our family history as the [only] year we didn't go anywhere [outside of Utah together]. And when I say hopefully, I mean hopefully it won't become a trend.

-Spencer traveled for work: to Berkeley and Albuquerque regularly throughout the summer and then to Orlando, Denver and San Francisco for training meetings.

-I drove to Washington with Clara and my mom when Levi was born in April.

-The one family trip we took was to Bryce Canyon in May. It was a really great little trip and we loved hiking in the canyon. We headed to St George right after that to view the Annular Solar Eclipse - which we saw in it's entirety.