2011 recap, 2012 one little word, new year's resolutions, and project 365 of sorts.

In January, we spent a lot of time with newborn baby Selah. Selah spent a lot of time with her new blanket, which quickly became her favorite. She and I dressed up in our Steelers gear for the playoff game. One afternoon it was close to 70 degrees, so we went to the park. I reached my goal of collecting 100 Pez dispensers. We broke out our new Moby wrap and Selah loved hanging out with me all day. We took Selah to her first church service.

We spent our first Valentine's Day together in February. I've never had a date for Valentine's Day before. Selah was dedicated at church and wore the dress I wore to my dedication 24 years ago. I started putting little clips in Selah's hair because her hair had gotten so long. She started sitting in the Bumbo but didn't really like it. Selah has her two month checkup and her nickname Peanut is confirmed. My sisters Sarah and Bethy came to visit. Sarah stayed for a few days and we went to Incredible Pizza. We experienced Snowmaggedon 2011 and were snowed inside for a few days.

March brought even nicer weather and we spent our evenings and weekends outdoors, at the park or on a blanket in the yard. The whole family went to the circus with our friends Savannah, Kacey and their daughter Braylin. Selah and Braylin are a few weeks apart, and we dressed them in matching outfits for life group one night. I painted Selah's toes hot pink and they were a hit since she can reach them. Selah got very strong and started holding herself up and learning to roll over from her stomach. She also found her bottom lip and makes the funniest faces. We graduated her to a convertible seat because she cried in the infant carrier- she didn't like being flat on her back.

Our Anniversary month is April! We celebrated one year on the 23rd. We went to Firehouse Pottery and painted mugs for each other. We took Selah to the Easter Express and to see the Easter Bunny. We got her all dressed up for Easter in a big poofy dress and celebrated at great grandma and grandpas. We tye dyed Easter Eggs. Heather and Hona held their annual tea party (I think this is year 4 or 5?) and Selah loved being around all the girls. Selah's favorite thing this month was the exersaucer - she learned how to turn around and play the piano keys. I made a big batch of rainbow cupcakes for the first time and Selah started eating rice cereal and bananas.

May is a fun month! I put Selah's hair in pigtails for the first time (can you believe she has so much hair?) and they looked so cute. She loves swimming! We bought her a baby pool and she loves to lay there and splash all over the place. Selah also learned how to roll over back to tummy and can roll both ways now. We spent our first Mother's Day together and went to the park. Selah had a play date with her friend Brody (they are a few days apart) and also hung out with Braylin at the lake. Caleb went camping overnight. Selah learned to stick out her tongue. We celebrated Caleb's 21 birthday. We took Selah to a Springfield Cardinals game with our life group. We got all dressed up for a wedding in Branson.

Selah turned 6 months and we threw a little half birthday party for her in June. We gave Selah a little taste of ice cream as part of our half birthday tradition.  We also celebrated Father's Day with a picnic at the park after church. Selah painted her feet in Sunday School to give to Caleb. We had family movie night, and everyone camped out in the living room. Selah made her first Build-A-Bear with a gift card from Auntie Sarah. We went to the First Friday Art Walk and Selah loved hanging out in her Moby Wrap. Selah learned how to sit up just in time for her 6 month photos. Selah and I went swimming at an actual pool and she liked being in a float. We had to lower Selah's crib rails since she learned how to pull herself up to standing.

We traveled to Pittsburgh the first week of July and spent 4th of July weekend with my family. Selah loved being with our family, especially hanging out with my sisters. My stepbrother and his wife traveled from Florida as well, so it was great to see them and my nephew Julian, who is a few weeks older than Selah. My sister Rachel was also in town with my nephew Dylan who is a little over a year older than Selah. The cousins were so cute together. It was the first time I didn't have to fly by myself and Selah/Caleb's first time on a plane. Selah did great. We spent a lot of time at Rita's Italian Ice down the road from my parent's houses. Selah enjoyed sparklers on the 4th. Moonshine Beach in Branson finally opened for the year and we took Selah there for the day. She loves the beach! She couldn't get enough of sitting in the sand and playing in the water. She is cutting 4 teeth this month, her first ones. Her new sleeping position is on her tummy with her knees tucked in and an arm behind her head. She is very mobile now and started scooting around. Caleb and I volunteered for Project Partnership at our church and painted a few classrooms.

August was a great month! The most important thing was that Selah can say dada and mama now. She loves to feed herself and actually demands to, and her favorite food is rice. She also enjoys puffs, crunchies and yogurt bites. One Saturday morning we went to the zoo. Selah liked to pet the animals. She got her first pair of real jeans and started wearing her hair in a ponytail at only 8 months old. We found vintage outfits for us at Decades, to wear at Chloe and Thomas's vintage inspired wedding.

We had an unplugged day on Labor Day this September and took photos every hour. We did a lot of family activities together instead of watching TV. Selah and I laid in the hammock at my in-law's house. We skyped a lot with family. Selah is starting to recognize people on the screen and gets excited. Selah has about 8 or 9 teeth now. Selah and I went to the Evangel homecoming game and hung out with Caleb's cousins. 

In October we painted monogrammed pumpkins for our front porch. We went to the pumpkin patch and picked pumpkins, went on a hayride, and saw animals. We carved pumpkins at the Amer's pumpkin carving party. Selah started to stand and cruise along furniture. We went to the women's conference at church and Selah wore a tutu. I made our Halloween costumes and we took Selah to the 10.31 party at our church.

We kicked off Birthday Month 2011 the second week of November with Heather's birthday. Selah played in the leaves. We celebrated Thanksgiving and spent time with family. We made hot chocolate and I started crocheting. We went black Friday shopping and put our Christmas tree and decorations up. Caleb got a new android phone and I finally got an iPhone and was instantly hooked to Instagram. We spent a lot of time at Dave and Amy's house. Amy and I walked around Walmart A LOT to try to get baby Avery to make her appearance. We drank coffee and found peppermint marshmallows. I made water break cookies.

We celebrated Hona's birthday and Brody's birthday first thing in December. Selah wore a lot of pigtails. I went overboard preparing for Selah's birthday party. It was a success! Our sweet girl turned 1. Avery was born the day before her birthday. We went to the hospital to visit Amy and Avery and were able to see the room where I gave birth to Selah the year before. We had lots of taco nights. Selah had her 1 year checkup and was big enough to sit at the kids table in the waiting room. We had a mommy daughter Starbucks date. We celebrated my birthday with a mustache party. Caleb got me a polaroid camera. Selah started taking steps and walking for a few seconds on my birthday. We had an awesome date night- dinner, movie and fro-yo. We celebrated Christmas. I traveled to PA with Selah to see my family. We celebrated New Year's with Amy and Dave, Liz and Anthony. Selah stayed with Meemaw and Pawpaw overnight for the first time.

It was a busy, fulfilling year and I know that 2012 will be even better.

You may have heard of the "one little word" project - it was started by Ali Edwards a few years ago and has soared. She is a fantastic blogger and designer and I am not only inspired by her projects (digital scrapbooking, especially) but by her creativity and photography.

My little word for this year is capable and I plan to keep it at the forefront of my mind as I tick away at my little goals list for this year. Looking back at 2011, I realized just how much I wanted to apply that word to my own life in 2012. I'm looking forward to a a year of taking risks and living adventurously because I know I am capable of living a full, rewarding life. I think I owe it to myself to take more time to push myself to do things I would usually write off, big or small. Most of the time I live life mundanely and get things done that need done, without setting aside time for myself to grow and thrive. I know I am strong and capable of being a wife and a mama and having a clean house, and can also find time to relax and push myself to do things I enjoy.

I'm excited to be moving forward with 2012 and welcoming in new opportunities, new projects and new goals that I am capable of achieving.

I love that I can feel enabled and capable of starting fresh — there are certainly some things in 2011 that didn’t go as I planned or hoped they might, but I have the power to change that in 2012. Proverbs 16:9: In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. 


Through Him, I am capable — and I know He is doing a mighty work in my life this year. I'm looking to Him with every step.

Are you participating in One Little Word? If so, I’d love to know what you’ve chosen to focus on in 2012.

Moving right along...

I've decided to do something a little different this year as far as resolutions. I like tackling things a little at a time, and having a big to do list, but it can get overwhelming. So I wanted to stick to something small and accomplish it bit by bit.

I wanted something more manageable that I knew I would stick with rather than starting out strong with something while it had momentum, then messing up and forgetting about it.

This year I wanted to do 12 in 2012 with a twist. I have 12 resolutions, but I am focusing on one at a time throughout the course of 1 month. January's resolution is to take more time for myself. I need more girl time, I need long relaxing showers, I need to paint my nails while the baby is sleeping, I need to put the dishes down and do something I enjoy. I need to learn to ask for help or to delegate some housework so I can sit on the couch and watch TV. I know it sounds selfish, but I've been caught up in mommyhood for the past year and I need to get back to my normal self. I can still be a mom, but I can also take time to have fun. It's all about the balance. I'm looking forward to the rest of the month.

One more thing... are you on Instagram? Because I am (look me up- beccanicole05) and I'm obsessed. I'm currently participating in this fun little challenge called #janphotoaday and absolutely loving it. Join in! Follow this link to learn more.