Getting ready to send off 2013

It seriously seems like yesterday when we were just welcoming 2013, and welcoming Nathan into the family. With our little guy's birthday so close to New Year's, it hits home how quickly the days are passing. Then again, this past year has been really fun, so maybe that's why it went by so fast.

This year on Facebook I attempted to post at least one photo for video every day. It turned out to be a remarkably good photo diary of every day life, particularly since the kids featured quite prominently in them. I've been going through my old posts just to look at them and reflect on the year. Here's a few favourites that I think really captured our first year as a family of four.

Up until he was about 4 or 5 months old, Nathan was the type of kid who needed to be held in order to nap. I think I was more okay with that this time around. Knowing that he's our last baby probably was a factor.

This was Andrew and Nathan's first ride together at Canada's Wonderland. I loved how happy Andrew was to have his little brother with him, even if Nathan didn't totally know what was happening. 

Nathan has been hitting all his mobility milestones faster than Andrew did. I'm not sure why that is, but I suspect it's because he's not as heavy as Andrew was so he doesn't need to build up as much muscle. I still remember coming in to check on him after his nap and being greeted by this sight. He was just so happy with himself that it was hard to stay shocked for too long. Needless to say, Jamie's first task when coming home that day was to lower the base of the crib. 

Despite the look on Andrew's face, he loved meeting Mickey. It was on this trip that he became obsessed with Ariel, and the rest of the gang from The Little Mermaid. This was a trip that Jamie's dad arranged, and it was for the entire Wells clan. We had a truly amazing time, and I can't wait to bring the boys back to Disney World when they're a little older. 

The entire crew enjoying dinner on our last night at Disney

When Nathan was able to sit up and crawl around on his own, Andrew seemed to become more interested in what his little brother was up to. No big fights yet, but Nathan did get his first bloody nose thanks to some roughhousing.

This was the first year where Andrew actually started to grasp Halloween. I took him out trick-or-treating, and he really liked it. We only did about 5 houses before he got a bit scared and asked to go inside, but he liked the whole process of getting candy. These photos were taken at a Halloween party with friends.

Andrew had stopped drinking a cup of warm milk before bed for a while, but wanted to take up the habit again when Nathan would have his bottle before bedtime. Now, Andrew will say something to the effect of "And now gonna have milk together," before laying down with Nathan for their pre-bed drink.

Here's Nathan at around 10 and half months old (almost 11 months, I think) being a total cutie. I took this photo on an unseasonably warm day. I think it captures his cheerful nature.

There will come a day when Nathan will be embarrassed by this picture, but until then, I will post it proudly on this blog.

I've got a few more of Andrew playing in the snow, but I will save those for another post, probably lumped in with a recap of Christmas. I'm hoping Grandpa Wells didn't get the boys too much stuff, but it wouldn't be the same if he didn't.

Now, on to the requisite crafting stuff (this is a craft blog after all). I managed to finish one thing, and make good progress on another.

I finally finished the blanket! Yay! I took so long on it that I've decided not to give it to Nathan, but gift it to my brother and his wife for the baby girl they are expecting in April.

And here's all the progress I've managed on these socks in the past 5 or 6 months. Pretty dismal. I'm making the heel flap right now, so I suppose I'm about half way done? I'm not sure what I think of the way the yarn colours are pooling, but I'm not going to frog it at this point.

And that's about it for me. I'll try to post a little more often despite my lack of crafting. There's always stories to tell when it comes to the kids :) Take care!!