The most amazing year of my life.

What an amazing year 2011 proved to be. It seems that it ended as quickly as it started, and now I have an 8 month old! It was a year filled with many joyful moments that we will treasure.

Christmas is always a favorite time of year in our house. As you may recall from last year, we put up A LOT of decorations to celebrate the season. Well. this year, we decided the best part of Christmas didn't come in the form of decorations all over the house. We put up the big tree in the den, but that was about it. We realized we didn't need much more than a tree full of lights and special ornaments for Emma Claire to stare at in wonderment.

I was very fortunate to have two weeks off of work during the holidays, so I got to spend some extra special time with EC; days where we stayed in our pjs all day long until Chris came home from work. She is such a little love bug and joy to be around.

I was so excited when my brother finally got to come visit us during Christmas. It had been 6 months since he had seen Emma Claire, but she felt just as safe in his arms as she did in June. They got to spend some quality uncle/niece time together, including a few bottle feedings.

For the past 19 years, we have celebrated Christmas Eve in Mobile at my parents' house. But now that we have started a family of our own, we decided to move the tradition to Hattiesburg and join both families together to celebrate. Needless to say, it was a full house at our place on Christmas Eve, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. After attending mass at Sacred Heart Church, we gathered at our house for the traditional soup, sandwiches and gift opening.

The next morning, I brought Emma Claire into our bed for some Christmas morning snuggle time :) Grandma, Boppy and Uncle Chris were all there to witness Emma Claire's first encounter with gifts from Santa. As with most babies, she was more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes than the actual toys.

Christmas at our house was followed by Christmas at Chris' parents' house. It was so fun celebrating with Emma Claire and Chris' sister's baby, Saylor. That evening, we went to Chris' grandparents' house to wrap up an eventful day. I think it is safe to say our child now has every singing, blinking, flashing toy ever made. We are running out of room here! I'm thinking of putting some of the unopened toys away and saving them for her birthday. Smart move, right?

The celebrating didn't stop on Christmas day. Chris, my brother and I all went to New Orleans with the best of friends for a fun evening. When Chris and I got home, we witnessed Emma Claire's first crawl. A few hours later, we witnessed another first. I had put Emma Claire in her crib so I could grab a few things before I fed her. When I walked back into her room, she was STANDING UP in her crib. I quickly called for Chris to come take a look. When he walked in, all he could say was, "Oh crap." He knew we were in trouble now! Almost every morning since then, she has been standing up in her bed, waiting for us to come get her.

Emma Claire is a pretty smart baby. She took on to the fact that we were all so proud of her ability to crawl, so she decided she should be proud, too. Now every time she crawls, she pauses after a few inches to clap for herself.

At the end of last year, I was celebrating the miracle growing in my belly. This year, I am unbelievably grateful for the miracle I get to hold in my arms. She is my reason to celebrate, my daily source of joy and my heart. I can't believe 2011 has come to a close, but I am excited to see what 2012 has in store for our family!