Megan, Larry, Allen, & Hayden Balsmeier: 2013

Well, it's three weeks into 2013 and I'm just now posting this. I only blogged a couple of times last year. I somehow manage not to update it. But anyway, below is the year in review.

January: 2012 began (really?!)
February: Larry's brother Taylor moved in with us at our condo
February 22nd: Allen's 1st birthday
March: Signed a contract to build a house in West Valley.
March 26th: Allen started walking!
April 22nd: Our four year wedding anniversary
May 19th: My Dad married my new step mom, Cathy!
June 11th: Megan's 24th birthday
Met my Aunt Tonie who came to the US to visit (from France)
July: Took our annual trip out to Kansas to visit Larry's family for a week
Also, my best friend, Chelsea, married Matthew.
August: Allen started nursery
August: Allen won the Kushies baby of the month contest...because he's so cute.
August: Taylor moved back to Kansas (lol, we do miss you!)
September 1st: Found out we were having another baby, due May 13th 2013 (the day after Mother's Day). We were so excited for Allen to be a big brother!
September 11th: Moved into our new house
September 18th: Saw the baby's heartbeat on ultrasound
September 21st: Went back to the doctor because I was worried something was wrong. The ultrasound showed no heartbeat. Miscarried baby and had a D&C :( (My third miscarriage)
October-December: Settled into our house and enjoyed the holidays...
October 31st: Allen was a monkey for Halloween.
November: Allen transitioned out of his crib and into a big boy bed!
November 22: Served Thanksgiving dinner and had my family over to our new house
December 15th: Said goodbye to my childhood cat, Oreo.
December 24th: Larry's 29th birthday
December 25th: We spoiled Allen for his 2nd Christmas.
January 1st: 2013 began...and here we are!

Okay, that was a really summed up version. Overall, it was a pretty good year, aside from the miscarriage. I've really loved watching Allen grow into a toddler. He's so much fun and is truly a sweet and precious spirit. We absolutely adore him! Through the year he learned so much and grew a lot. He's 28 lbs now and I forget how tall, but at his last appointment he was in the 90th percentile for height (tall and handsome). He loves dinosaurs, turtles, trucks, trains, and mickey mouse. He has the cutest personality and I just love his sweet voice. Hearing him say "mom...hi!" and the many other words he says is the cutest sound ever. Our little Albee is such a good boy. I'm constantly in awe of what a sweet little boy he is. He's my little angel and I'm convinced he's perfect. :) Also, just an update on his feet. He just had a follow up appointment at Shriner's and they said his feet look great. He's doing so well he might even get out of his brace when he's three instead of four. We're happy about that!

Moving this year was good for us. The building process was a bit of a hassle at times but it all worked out and we are happy with our new place. It was a little bit of a change to move to the opposite side of the valley but we like it. And it's nice being close to Larry's work. We put a lot of work into painting and even put in a really nice backsplash in the kitchen. Allen even has a big boy room now, complete with a slide, fort, and bunk bed! We have a herd of deer that live in front of our house and we love watching them. Allen calls them the "doe." We're looking forward to fencing the yard, putting in grass, and finishing the basement this year.

Dealing with my miscarriage was a hard part of 2012 and I'm still coping with it. Infertility and recurrent miscarriages are very frustrating and discouraging, there's no doubt about that. I had a full work up done and both Larry and I had genetic testing to try and identify the cause of the miscarriages. The results didn't provide any answers and we were told to just hope for the best next time and continue with the fertility drugs. I do feel very blessed to have my little Allen and I'm encouraged when I think of the fact that we were able to have him, even though it took a while. I'd have to say that all three miscarriages were really hard, but something about this last one has been a real challenge for me. It seems that a lot of my friends are having babies due around the same time and, though I'm happy for them, it just hurts to think of the baby we lost. Instead of having a pity party for myself, I'm trying to stay positive and hoping that we can have another baby when our Heavenly Father sees fit.

Meanwhile, I'm just loving being a mom to my little Allen. I can't believe he's going to be two soon! We're looking forward to this being a good year. I'm all blogged out now, but there, I did it...I updated the blog!