Andersons 2012 Year in Review
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Winter 2012
In February, we moved Catelyn into a big girl bed- in fact, Beth's old bed that was handcrafted by her grandfather, and not long after, we moved Julia into the crib in the same room, prompted by the girls keeping each other up by talking to each other through the walls of their bedrooms! We threw a "Miss the Midwest" party to celebrate our five-year anniversary of moving to Seattle. Everyone brought a Midwestern dish to share, which resulted in a lot of casseroles, some fantastic jello molds, and a ridiculously good deep-dish pizza!
In March, we started the garden, and enjoyed a quieter month, while surviving Daylight Savings and teaching Catelyn to "read" Psalm 23. We also spent a morning having some professional pictures taken, and at the end of the month, Beth flew back to Illinois for her Grandma Jean's 95th birthday!
My favorite ladies
Check out the snow reflections behind them!
Missing the Midwest
Celebrating five years in Seattle!
March Photo Shoot
We wanted to capture life with two littles :)
Spring 2012
May started the season of many birthdays - the girls celebrated the birthdays of four of their friends, along with going on a hike to Twin Falls and a visit to National Park Family Day. We had a visit from Beth's professor friend Colin who was in town for Quiz Bowl. Oh, and Beth finally got to see The Hunger Games movie, which she would not stop talking about ;)
June brought the start of camping season, which started off with a very wet, gray trip to Lake Easton with our friends Emilie and John and their two little ones. We only managed one overnight before packing it in, because brr! Who wants to camp in the rain? And a week into June, lovely little Catelyn turned 3! And so did all the other kids in her PEPs group- we spent most of June in a haze of birthday parties and pinatas.
Sweet Sisters
At the Tulip Festival, grinning at Aunt Melodie
Hiking Twin Falls
Having a snack with their dad along the trail
One Wet Camping Trip
So many rainjackets, so little time
Summer 2012
August meant saying goodbye to our nanny Rachael, who had been with us on and off since Catelyn was a year old, and starting daycare for the girls- they miss her dearly, but they love daycare and all their new friends! At the beginning of the month, we got to participate in and celebrate our godson Natale's baptism with his parents Trayton and Shannon (and much of their extended family). And we had another quiz bowl sponsored visit from Colin, and took the girls to the Evergreen State Fair with Emilie and John and their family- we even got to watch a goat costume contest ;)
Our friends Andrea and Andrew had a beautiful wedding in Illinois, which was the highlight of our summer- we're just so delighted to see the beginning of a lifetime of love for two people we love so much ourselves. Beth also had some time to visit with her grandma and her friends Amanda and Emily who joined them in Illinois for the week. And last, but not least, sweet Julia, who introduced us to the world of two under two, turned two herself!
September started with a surfing trip to Neah Bay at the very northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula. Even Catelyn got in on the action! Unfortunately, Beth was laid off in September along with the rest of the web team in her department at the UW. Fortunately, we had some visits from friends to distract us- Beth's friend Kenyon from San Diego came up for a wedding, and Beth took her on a tour of all the coffee shops in town! And then Beth's best friend Caty came out to visit for a week, including a trip around the Olympic Peninsula to see mountains, beaches and rainforest, along with taking Caty stand-up paddling, and to check out the Chihuly exhibit at Seattle Center where we celebrated Carl's birthday. Definitely the best way to end the summer!
Mt. Rainier in July
The girls loved eating the snow!
Summer Wedding
Delighted to be a part of A&A's big day
Stand-Up Paddle Yoga
How does Beth talk people into this stuff?
Fall 2012
October was a transition month- Beth started a new job at Hood Web Management working on search engine optimization and content marketing for small businesses. Julia gave us a bit of a scare with a potential fractured foot that turned out to not be fractured (whew!). We celebrated godson Natale's first birthday (how did that sneak up so fast?) right before Halloween. And despite Beth's intent to dress the girls up as bears so she could be Merida for Halloween, Catelyn insisted that she was going to be a bee. What kind of bee? A *stinging* bee.
December was spent with Beth's parents making a second trip out for the holidays, and the rest of us scrambling to get ready for Christmas. We had a wonderful visit with them- not only did Beth's mom manage to beat down the laundry monster, we were able to take the girls to The Nutcracker, and the whole family out to Lake Quinault for a couple of days where we saw elk and eagles in the wild!
Unfortunately, the month ended on a sour note- our house was broken into on the 28th. A few valuables were stolen (Carl's work laptop, a box of loose change, and a locked box full of ... pencils!), but it left us a little shaken and hoping that 2013 ends a little less dramatically.
Grumpy Bear, Stinging Bee
Happy Halloween. Or not.
Happy Birthday, Beth!
Emilie saved the day with a surprise party and homemade cake!
At the Nutcracker
The girls mug for the camera at the ballet
2013 Plans
In January, Carl will begin a new position at Amazon.com, with the Kindle Kids team, and we're excited about the change!
In June, Carl and Beth will celebrate their 10th anniversary- though we're not sure how yet. And we expect to do even more camping and playing outdoors now that the girls are old enough to manage it more easily! We would love to have you join us for one of our adventures, so just let us know if you plan to visit Seattle or want to get together sometime in the next year!
Happy New Year, everyone!