Well...2019 was the year I didn't blog. Life was too busy and I just didn't set aside the time to record our happenings. We do have photos from the year, but just not the story. Here's my attempt to recap the year month-by-month.
In January we checked out a new museum in Greensboro and really enjoyed seeing the aquarium there. They have penguins and sharks and we got to see both during feeding time. We visited our beloved Museum of Life and Sciences in Durham to see the wolf pups who were almost as big as their parents. The girls tried a few weeks of gymnastics in January into February. And, I wrote a large federal grant that was submitted at the end of the month. We also registered Rose for kindergarten!
Sharks at Greensboro Museum
Video of girls dancing at Greensboro Museum
Having lunch at the Durham Museum of Life and Sciences
Visiting momma and papa wolf and their two sons at the Durham Museum
Zoe singing Sol Solecito
Rose singing her songs from preschool in Spanish
Rose doing gymnastics (no Zoe picture)
In February, Rose's birthday and travel to Albany to celebrate Miller women birthdays were the highlights. I had to wear a boot during the trip because of a high ankle sprain from soccer and spent two weeks with family while Colin flew back to NC for a few days for work. We also got to visit with my brother in western Massachusetts during the trip. The girls got new passports and we applied for a Southwest Airlines credit card that got us companion pass sign up bonuses (so girls could fly free with us). The end of our trip to NY was also when Colin's dad (who has Parkinson's) got pneumonia and spent a week in the hospital followed by several weeks of rehab. We noticed a sharp decline in his health after that trip.
Sisters celebrating Rose's birthday party at Rainbow Play
Happy 5th birthday Rose
Dinner out and ice cream for Rose's birthday on a warm February day
Family Google Hangout Happy Birthday to Rose
Rose singing and Zoe doing some gymnastics in the kitchen in NY - February 2019
In March, we celebrated my birthday in Cary and with a trip to my parents in South Carolina. We also had some warmer days. Rose and Zoe also started up soccer and I was very busy coaching both teams and playing two nights a week in a women's open league. Spring soccer came in a fury. Coaching was a struggle - mainly because of doing it for 2-3 hours straight every Saturday, and because 3 year olds are very challenging. We lost just about every game and I struggled to have the energy and excitement with each passing week. We did manage to find a few fun things to do, and since Colin had reached the 6-month mark at his new job, he got to start working from home one day per week. He's never had that luxury, and it has been so nice having him work at home with me on Fridays (when it works out that I don't have to travel for meetings).
My birthday cupcakes
Cary's kite festival in our backyard- Bond Park
Zoe hugging a dinosaur at the kite festival
Rose swinging at North Cary Park
Zoe running at North Cary Park
Enjoying a beautiful spring walk in the park
Exploring
Rose's silly face
Zoe's silly face
April was adventurous. We continued our soccer season with a few other activities on the weekends and had a nice soccer break for Easter. Since we earned our Southwest companion fares earlier in the year, we were able to fly to Albany to spend Easter with the Millers. We had some amazing weather, which made the trip much more enjoyable. I also had a work trip to Wilmington where I got to bring the family and we all stayed at the beach. I had to go to New Orleans as well, and found out I was awarded the large federal grant I wrote in January.
Horseback riding at a farm in the area.
We had a scary moment with Zoe nearly falling off and getting behind the horse
I'll spare you the video of this - Zoe rocked out on the drums
Rose climbing at the farm
Zoe the tiger - grrr!
Mufuletta sandwich from Central Grocery in New Orleans
Beignets from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans
Riding the carousel in Holyoke Massachusetts to visit Tio Mark
Sleepover with cousin Isabella
Zoe singing and dancing on the tricycle in Albany
The "3 amigas" in Albany exercising - and Zoe's growing and slimming out!
Visiting a farm in the Albany area and getting to pet goats
November and December 2018 were about seeing friends and family.
In early November, we met up with our friends Nate and Laural in South Carolina and visited Greenville and Asheville NC with them.
Chimney Rock with Nate and Laural and my parents
Just after Nate and Laural went back to Texas, my first cousin from Brazil (my dad's niece) came to visit my parents. This time, my brother also made the trip to visit. Most of November was quite chilly, but we had a beautiful day in Asheville to watch the Christmas parade.
Watching the Christmas parade in Asheville NC
My parents brought my cousin to the Raleigh area for Thanksgiving and we showed her some of our favorite spots - Pullen Park, the beach, driving around town watching Christmas light shows, and the NC Zoo.
Riding the train at Pullen Park
Too cold at the beach, so went to the Aquarium
Rose showing how big she is at the NC Zoo
Zoe showing how big she is at the NC Zoo
For Christmas, we made the drive to Albany to spend it with Colin's family. We did our traditional trip to the New York State Museum and rode the carousel a bunch of times. We ran into family there, and the girls loved riding the carousel with their cousin.
Annual carousel ride on Christmas Eve at the NY State Museum
Joining Colin's parents for Christmas day church service
Girls opening up presents at their grandparents with the family in Albany
A certain little girl in our family celebrated her 3rd birthday in September and it has been all about Minnie Mouse in the house. Of course we had to have a Minnie themed birthday party. The party was held at a local park and had to be rescheduled because of a hurricane. Thankfully, the reschedule date was still in September and we had a beautiful day!
Minnie themed birthday party
Happy birthday sweet Zoe!
Zoe's singing Cinco Patitos in the bathtub:
Rose singing Mamma Mia in the bathtub:
We got distracted with the birthday party, hurricanes (two this fall!), and soccer and didn't notice that Darwin had a huge laceration on his elbow. We have no idea how he got it, but noticed that his elbow was exposing his bone as the hurricane hit. Colin took him to the emergency vet just before the weather got bad, and I had to pick him up close to midnight as the storm raged. Thankfully, it wasn't the worst hurricane we've ever had, but it did rain quite a bit and was very windy. Darwin was so afraid to go to the bathroom in the rain/wind with his cone on and ended up peeing all over the carpet! The doctors were able to stitch him up and put a bandage on him. In the first 24 hours he looked so pitiful, so I took his cone off while we were home assuming we could watch him. Boy was that a mistake! Before we knew it, he had pulled the bandage off and was licking the wound. So, it was back to the emergency vet for a re-wrap (and another bill). It took about a month for the wound to heal after stitches. On his first follow up visit it wasn't looking like the wound would close and the vet put some sugar in it. After a few more days it closed completely. Our vet suggested some laser light therapy to help the healing process and we did two treatments hoping that area would stay sealed completely. Elbows rub so much, they can be difficult to heal.
The fall always brings with it soccer season. Rose had a great season and really picked up her game. She was determined on the field.
Zoe started soccer this season and did really well. It's difficult to get 3-year-olds to play during the game. Most kids do pretty well with the 30 minute practice (which is usually fun), but then want to sit on the sidelines with snacks or parents when the game starts. As long as we arrived early enough for Zoe to "warm up" to playing, so usually did fine in the practices and in the games. She's showing herself to be feisty and aggressive in getting the ball and taking it to the goal. We just have to work on her aim.
Zoe's first soccer season
In October, we had our annual fall gathering at the girl's preschool. We love seeing the projects they work on, hanging out with other parents, and getting to see and talk to the teachers. The girls love showing us what they've been up to.
Rose's classroom theme was "la granja" - the farm
Zoe's class has been focusing on dinosaurs - check out the dinosaur egg
We love the cooler weather of fall and getting to visit some local farms.
This fall we also took a trip to the Zoo when the girls had a day off from school. The polar bear at the NC Zoo is always swimming.
October also means Halloween. We painted and carved pumpkins, had the girl's Halloween parade at school, and went trick or treating. This year the girls were both Batgirls. Their friend Lucas was catboy and we kept joking that the neighborhood was save with all the superheros!
Painting pumpkins before we carve them
Ready to go trick or treating
Getting a ride in the Mighty Max as we finish the night
