2012 has been the greatest year of our lives. Not a real big mystery why, of course, it's because our Prince Ethan joined our family. The first half of 2012 was all about preparing for Ethan's arrival and the second half was about cherishing every moment of parenthood. I can't wait to see what 2013 will bring but I don't want to forget all the amazing things that happened in 2012.
New Years Eve
We rang in 2012 with friends and family by having a private chef cook us all dinner. It was a great start to the New Year!
Nursery Preparations
We began working on our little Prince Ethan's nursery.
Lily's baptism
I had the honor of being Lily's godmother at her baptism.
February
Babymoon
We went to Naples, Florida with my parents for one last trip before our little man arrived!
We met up with Rich, Tif, Jacob, Makayla, Ray and Sandi to do some shopping in Disney World since they were in Florida at the same time. We bought Ethan lots of fun Disney items!
Nursery Construction Continues
Ethan's nursery started to take shape and we were in the home stretch of creating the perfect room for our little man!
New carpet
We got all new carpet in our house to prepare for Ethan's arrival
Valentine's Day
We celebrated our 6th Valentine's Day together with dinner at Wildfire
March
Warm Weather & New Patio Furniture
We had 80 degree days and celebrated by grilling out and buying some new patio furniture!
Finished Nursery
We finished our prince's nursery and it is my favorite room in the house!
Baby Shower
We had a beautiful baby shower given by our parents and we got everything we needed and then some!
April
Ethan Preparations Continue
We continued to get ready for our little boy by getting everything cleaned and set-up. We just had to wait!
Easter Decorating
Our house was all decked out for Easter and we dyed Easter eggs, with a special one for Ethan of course!
Easter with our families
We enjoyed Easter with our families and had the most gorgeous weekend to celebrate!
Maternity Pictures
I finally got a real bump so that we could take some maternity pictures!
May
Final Ethan Preparations
Just a few final touches to the nursery for Ethan. We didn't have long to wait!
Birthday!
Final belly picture before leaving for the hospital!
My early push presents from Michael - 1 for each month I was pregnant!
After a long 30 hour wait - my first picture with my miracle and greatest accomplishment!
We became a family of 3!
Parenthood
Parenthood was the greatest thing to ever happen to us and I must say Ethan made it such an easy transition!
June
Newborn Pictures
We had newborn pictures taken of Ethan and they are something I will treasure forever. My little man at 4 days old looking completely angelic.
1 Month
Ethan turned 1 month and we kicked off our monthly themed photos!
Jacob's 2nd birthday
We celebrated Jacob's 2nd birthday with an awesome Cars' themed party!
Father's Day
We celebrated Michael's first Father's Day at Arlington Racetrack and Ethan was the cutest jockey ever!
First Smile!
On his 6 week birthday, Ethan gave us the best present, his first smile!
First trip to the zoo
Ethan made his first trip to the zoo with Auntie Arla and Lily!
July
Forth of July
We had a great 4th of July and Ethan enjoyed his 1st celebration!
Family Gallery Wall
I created a family gallery wall with pictures of our whole family.
2 Months
Our little patriot turned 2 months old!
August
Milwaukee Zoo
We headed North to the Milwaukee Zoo with Tif, Jacob, Makayla, Ray and Sandi.
Kitchen & Bathroom re-decorating project
We had our kitchen and bathroom painted and changed out many of the decor items.
Maternity Leave Ends
After 3 amazing months with my little man, I had to make the cruel return to work.
3 Months
Our beach baby turned 3 months old!
First Haircut
Ethan got his first haircut courtesy of Daddy's barbershop!
30th Birthday Surprise
My family surprised me with an amazing 30th birthday party. I was totally shocked!
Family Zoo Trip
We had a great family fun day at the zoo with Arla, Teddy and Lily. We also signed up for a zoo membership.
Fantasy Football Draft
Fantasy Football draft night 2012 - Tif or Ken is this year's champion!
Fish Fry
My parent's had us over for a fish fry to eat my Dad's latest catch from Lake Erie!
September
Big Boy Seat
Ethan got upgraded to a big boy car seat at only 3 and half months because of his height!
Best Buds
It only took 3 months, but Porkchop became completely enamored with Ethan and vice versa.
Makayla is 1!
We celebrated Makayla's 1st birthday with a pretty in pink elephant party!
4 months
Our little apple pie turned 4 months!
First taste of food
Ethan had his first taste of cereal and wasn't too sure about it!
Apple Picking
We made our annual apple picking trip but at a new farm. I can't wait for Ethan to be running through those orchards next year!
Michael turns 30
We celebrated Michael's 30th birthday with delicious pierogi!
Fall Family Photo Shoot
We had a Fall family photo shoot with the same photographer who took Ethan's newborn shots.
October
My little pumpkin
I did a little Fall photo shoot with my little pumpkin at the pumpkin farm!
5 Months
Our little pumpkin turned 5 months!
Pumpkin Picking
We made our annual trip to Goebbert's with Rich, Tif, Jacob, Makayla, Ken, Ray and Sandi
Lily's 1st Birthday Party
We celebrated Lily's first year with a Bubbleguppies party!
Ravioli Fest
We got together with my family for our annual ravioli making party!
Pumpkin Carving
Our first pumpkin carving with 4 pumpkins! Ethan had a Mickey pumpkin of course!
Boo at the Zoo
We took our little lion to Boo at the Zoo and he took his first carousel ride!
Halloween
We took our little lion trick-or-treating for the first time!
November
Movember
Ethan kicked off Movember with some sweet mustaches of his own!
Election
We voted and Ethan got to take part in the booth with me, he can't tell you who I voted for though, LOL!
6 Months
Our little turkey turned 6 months!
Football Sunday Oktoberfest Style
We hosted football Sunday with some of our favorite Oktoberfest treats!
Thanksgiving
We celebrated Ethan's 1st Thanksgiving!
Setting up Gramma and Papa's Tree
Ethan got to take part in decorating Gramma and Papa's tree for the first time, he was completely enthralled with the lights and especially Papa's train!
December
Zoo Lights
We went to Zoo Lights with Gramma, Papa, Arla, Teddy and Lily. It was 60 degrees on December 1st!
Christmas Book Countdown
We started a 25 Days of Christmas Book Countdown with Ethan!
Christmas Decorations
We Decked Our Halls for Ethan's 1st Christmas!
Santa
Ethan met Santa for the first time and loved him!
7 Months
Our little Santa Baby turned 7 months!
Christmas Card
We sent our first Christmas card as a family!
Ethan and Porkchop dress-up
Ethan and Porkchop made the cutest Santa and reindeer ever!
Magic of Christmas
Ethan fell in love with the magic of Christmas, he's definitely our son!
Christmas Crafts and Baking
We made Christmas crafts and baked yummy treats!
Family Celebrations
We were lucky to have 4 different Christmas celebrations with our family.
Christmas Morning
We had so much fun celebrating your first Christmas morning, we are the luckiest parents in the world to have such a beautiful little boy!
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