So long 2011

Pin It Now! I am a bad blogger.  Since returning to work full time it has just fallen off my radar.  I'm a bit sad about it becuase it is a great way to chronicle the everyday - but one of the challenges of being back to work is that I feel like I barely have time to catch my breath let alone pause for a few minutes and reflect.

In all honesty - being back at work and being a parent full time is not as bad as I was expecting.  I love seeing my friends again every day.  I love using my head and thinking, problem solving beyond domestic duties.  But it does come at a cost - I miss my little man.  We see eachother during the week for such a short period of time.  It's such sweet time, but it is short.  By the time we're back at home after work/daycare it's 5:30 and he's wiped from a long day so he's in bed most nights by 6:30.

We have been taking advantage of weekends together and had a lovely December full of fun.  Not that it will be chronicled in my December Daily layout because I have no idea when we did what - (going to save that for next year I guess!) but we had a fun month filled with horse rides with Santa, visits with friends, trips to the city and pancake breakfasts at a new spot close to home.

To say Jonah is thriving at daycare would be an understatement.  He is LOVING it - and absorbing like a little sponge.  He's learned lots of new tricks since he started including clapping his hands and going up and down stairs like a pro.

This past week we were all off together on vacation and savoured our time together.  We have one day left and then go back on Tuesday.  We have already packed away all of our Christmas stuff until next year - the biggest hit this year was our Elf on the Shelf (Clive Bigsby) - I kind of thought Jonah was too young to enjoy it and it would be more for Kirk and I but he LOVED him - would find him most mornings on his own and squeal with delight.

This year was a big one for our family.  As much as we became a family in 2010 I feel like we really earned the title in 2011.  We had to learn to work together, to lean on one another, to say sorry when we fell down, to pick ourselves back up, to be compassionate and kind, generous and selfless.  It was a wonderful year full of firsts.

I do miss scrapbooking regularly.  When I was off and on the Scrapping Turtle design team it was the perfect way to scrap a bit each week.  That has definitely fallen to the wayside a bit but I want to get back at it - and also start sharing more regularly on here with what projects I do have on the go.

 Here's one layout I did back in the fall when I went away for the weekend to scrap.

Look at this little guy - almost walking!  Still has "spaghetti legs" if we let go though - its cute!