2009 in Review

January
Happy New Year 2009 wasn't the best start for us. Benjamin and I lost our baby in December, and in Jan I was still having a hard time accepting things. It was also my 35th birthday which put be officially AMA (Advanced Maternal Age) - another issue I had problems dealing with. It was a rough month.
February
A much, much better month for us! We found out we were expecting again! It was so exciting and so scary at the same time. We also had William's 2nd birthday party at the end of Feb (even though his actual birthday is March 5th). He had a "Hi-5" themed birthday and it was then we decided to tell the family that we were expecting again.
March
William's officially 2, and unfortunately March found him sick. He got an ear infection and was fighting it almost the entire month. I was fighting morning sickness myself. It was a nice month for us.
April
April started off fine for us with a nice Easter, but it also brought us a scare. My NT scan showed us that the baby had a 1:42 possibility of having Down Syndrome. It was a scary development for us. We decided to have an amniocentesis at the end of the month to check for sure to see if the baby did in fact have Downs. We did find out that the baby was a boy! 2 boys for us!!
May
God can sure test us sometimes. We found out this month that our amnio we did in April did not work. So, we decided to repeat the amnio. This time it worked, and we found out that the baby was fine - and for sure a boy! Wow! What a month of "low"s and "high"s! William also got his big boy bed. Benjamin had a birthday. He turned 29. He gives me trouble all the time about being older than he, but just wait until next year buddy! I'm gonna give you so much trouble on your big 3-0!!!
June
Made it through the end of the school year, but immediately started teaching summer school. However, after the 1st week of summer school, I started having preterm labor. So, I ended up having to stop working and be on bedrest. That meant no more lifting William. Thank goodness I have such a great little boy, because he was a real trooper even though he didn't quite understand why Mommy couldn't pick him up anymore. This month also brought us a milestone for Benjamin. He received his degree from Colorado Tech. He had his graduation ceremonies in Colo. Springs and I couldn't have been prouder! We also celebrated my parent's 40th anniversary. We had a great party at our house and got to see family members that surprised us with a visit for the party. It was a busy, but really great month for us!!
July
July started off with a bang (hehehe) Happy Independence Day! Not too much happened in July. I was starting to understand why women say it is not the best being pregnant in the summer.
August
One word = MOLD! Darn! While Benjamin was redoing his office in the basement, we found mold behind the paneling. Luckily, we got that all cleaned up and everything was ok. I started back to work at the end of the month - with a student teacher! I was a little concerned going back with being on bedrest for the summer. However, things ended up being ok. It was hard working full time and being 8+ month pregnant. When I was that far along with William, I was on bedrest and not working.
September
September started off on a rocky note as I got a very bad virus! I missed a week and a half off work and ended up in the hospital for contractions being caused by coughing so much. Luckily, I did start to get over the illness. My last OB appointment the doctor told us that he was going to schedule my induction for the evening of Sept.29. This was the month we would meet our new son. My induction went well, and at 9:28am Sept 30, our little Michael was born! A month I will never forget!!!
October
Officially our first month as a family of 4. I have to admit, that October was a really rough month. Not only did we have to get used to sleepless nights of newbornhood, but also dealing with a toddler that was understanding that he was not the center of attention anymore. I have to say, that William really did a good job as a new big brother. He had his days of jealousy, but overall did a great job. However, it was also this month when H1N1 made its way to our household. My poor William got it. It was a rough week of fever, but as bad as they say it was on T.V., William came through it fine. I was very scared that the baby would get it, but luckily both the baby and I dodged the H1N1 bullet. Unfortunately, Benjamin didn't fair as lucky! He did make it through too. It was a long month, but we made it through!
November
A busy month of taking care of kids. We started getting used to the baby and our new life. We had a great Thanksgiving. So much to be grateful for this year!! My time off on maternity leave was drawing to a close. It was a great time off, but all good things must come to an end. William ended up with a couple ear infections, so we went back to the ENT and another set of ear tubes may be in future. Hopefully not! Mikey started to smile. He just gets cuter everyday!!
December
Bringing 2009 to a close was another great month for us. I did end up going back to work. My first week back I did cry every morning. Michael did great at daycare and I know I could count on William to look after him. William had a great Christmas. Santa, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa and everyone else treated the boys very well this Christmas. William really got into the unwrapping and like to help his little brother open presents. Our house is officially undecorated, and William just doesn't quite understand why Christmas can't last longer! What a little sweetie!

As I look back over the past year, I can't imagine a better year. I know not everyone had a great year like we did, and my heart goes out to them. I have a feeling that 2010 will be another wonderful year!!