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This year has been a crazy, wild ride. We’ve had a lot of ups and a lot of downs, but overall I learned a lot, I’ve grown as a person, a Mom and a business owner. I’m excited for 2017 though, to see what it brings and to really make some changes and meet some goals. I’ve never been a good resolution follower so this year rather than setting a lot of unrealistic New Year resolutions, I’ve set obtainable goals and I can’t wait to get started on them. As much as I want time to slow down because well, Blake is growing up WAY too fast, I can’t wait to embark on the 2017 journey! So let’s recap 2016 because well, I think it’s a good reminder to see what I’ve been through and accomplished and it’s a great way to see what I can change in the new year. Plus, it’s really just going to be a game of what the heck I can actually remember or not. 😉

JANUARY

January was full of a lot of lessons learned in my business aspect. I attended Alt Summit (a blogging conference) and spoke on keeping a schedule and organized. The topic was actually really good for me. It was a reminder at how important organization and a schedule is. I learned a lot at that conference, met some of my best friends now and had the opportunity to meet some amazing companies. It was also in that same moment of time that I started really thinking about making A Positively Baby Shower a reality.

FEBRUARY

During this month I learned to trust my Mother’s intuition. Blake ended up in the ER because she hadn’t pooped in weeks and was screaming in pain. I knew something was wrong and I kept telling the Doctor that. She assured me that it was normal for young, breastfed babies to go awhile without pooping and that she was fine. I just had this feeling though and I said, I really don’t think it’s just that, she’s straining hard. So the Doctor hesitantly agreed to do a stomach X-ray. Well, her intestines were completely full, blocked and inflamed. They took care of it and gave us medicine, but in that moment I learned to trust myself. I kept doubting, thinking I was overreacting as the Doctor assured me she was fine, but I had a gut feeling and well, I was right.

MARCH

March was a fun month. All month long we took Blake around dressed up as a Leprechaun and photobombed people. It was seriously hilarious and well, she looked friggin’ cute. You can see it, here. It was also a month full of a ton of planning and lots of work for our first A Positively Baby Shower. OH and did I mention we also purchased our first home together in March too!? March was a big month!

APRIL

This was a big month for me blogging wise. I accomplished a big goal and threw my first, A Positively Baby Shower here in Boise. It took so much hard work and I spent seriously hundreds of hours planning it, but it was just perfect and I proved to myself that I can do hard things. April was also Blake’s first Easter and it was so special spending time as a family and experiencing time together.

MAY

May was a relaxing month. I took a few days off as a breather after the shower and spent time as a Mom. It was perfect. We went on a lot family outings to local places since it was getting warmer outside and watched Blake develop in a cute, almost one year old! She was crawling everywhere and starting to talk and show off new tricks.

JUNE

In June Marcus and I celebrated four years of marriage and took our first trip just us two away from Blake. It was for seriously one night, but really hard. HA! We went to Utah and had the best time, but we were sure happy to see our sweet baby girl again the next day. June was also a big month on the home front as well, we worked endlessly for days and days, actually weeks, to finish our backyard! We took it from nothing but dirt to fully landscaped, we put pavers in and well, I was pretty impressed with all that we did since neither of us had any landscaping experience. 😉

JULY

This was a bittersweet month. Our sweet girl turned one on the 3rd and well, I was so excited but also sad because time was FLYING. We celebrated with a pig party (you can see, here) and she loved eating all the cake. July was also the month that I decided to bring Dani onto A Positively Baby Shower and we started planning our SECOND one! I think this was the first moment I realized that holy cow, I can actually make this baby shower a thing. I was honestly a little in shock that people believed in this thing that I had worked so hard on, but so excited!

AUGUST

We spent August with all of Marcus’ family in town! We went swimming, to the zoo, did all the fun summer things! We went to the fair as a family, my favorite and it was the perfect summer month. Blake loved swimming and we spent almost everyday in her little pool in the backyard. I also made a trip to Utah for my first TV appearance to talk about our second A Positively Baby shower! You can see it here, I was kind of a mess, but that’s fine 😉

SEPTEMBER

September was the beginning of a busy next few months. I traveled to Utah to do Good Things Utah one more time before the shower and Dani and I made last minute preps for everything for it. This was also the month that Marcus and I realized we were about to experience our second round of infertility for baby #2. We had been trying for awhile, since before Blake turned one and nothing was working so we got a little more aggressive with treatments. It was a month filled with a whole lot of emotions.

OCTOBER

October was the month I threw my SECOND A Positively Baby shower with Dani. It was seriously better than I ever could have imagined at the Jane Headquarters with the most amazing sponsors. It was kind of surreal and absolutely incredible to watch my little dream turn into a reality. Marcus was just the most supportive and helpful during the chaos of the event. It wouldn’t have even been a possibility without him and Dani’s husband–they were rockstars during the entire thing! During the beginning of October I also had the opportunity to speak at Pinner’s Conference in Arizona and have our first little family vacation while there. Marcus used to live in Arizona so it was so much fun. We went to all the fun places, I conquered my fear of speaking for the second time that year and it was a blast! You can see the recap, here and here.

NOVEMBER

November continued as a crazy busy month, just as October was. I spoke at Pinner’s Conference in Utah and made a fun girl’s weekend out of it with our little babes. Between October and November I was home for oh a total of maybe two weeks between traveling. November was also a big month in our personal life, as Marcus and I both felt prompted to share our infertility with all of you. It’s been a crazy ride, but actually really therapeutic for both of us.

DECEMBER

As the year draws to a close, December has been probably my favorite month. It’s been full of a lot of lows with this whole infertility thing and other struggles, but it’s been the best in the Mom/family department. It was insanely busy the first couple of weeks with work, but once Christmas hit things slowed down and I have had the opportunity to really spend quality time with my sweet girl and her Dad. It was just what my heart needed and it really brought me the happiness I’ve been longing for. This month was also a big deal in my business too because Dani and I locked down the next TWO locations for A Positively Baby Shower. YAY! We have meetings over the next few weeks, but will share details of the locations soon.

2016, you’ve been good, bad, sad, hard, amazing and well–just what I needed. So long and hello 2017!