My 27th Year

Yesterday began my 28th year....so now I find the need to reflect on my 27th year.

During my 27th year....

We sold our first home :( and moved into our new home :)

* That was rough for me. Harder than I ever thought. I think I dreamt about our old house for at least a solid 3 months after we moved. It was our first house, the house we brought our babies home to, the house we worked so hard on, the house where Isabella and Declan took their first steps....you know, all that sentimental stuff. Then we moved into this big house where my kids were afraid to be in a separate room than me. Ryan spent countless months installing new flooring, I spent countless weeks painting and cleaning room after room and then I finally settled in...........because we found out that little Miss Quinn was on her way.

Isabella "grew up" and Declan's personality was "booming!"

*At the beginning of my 27th year, Isabella was still very much an attached little girl. And I clearly remember the days where she really started coming into her own. She started playing babies by herself, loved doing art projects, and became independent. Believe it or not, she started going upstairs without us and didn't pass out from fear. And Declan...he was a tough one. His 15th month was HARD! He wanted to be carried and held All.Of.The.Time. I kid you not. Who am I kidding? He still wants to be held A LOT, but it's getting better. But he became the little clown (little Ryan, if you will) and keeps us laughing when we're not icing our arms from holding him so much.

We experienced a very stressful, yet happy time: Finding out I was pregnant with Quinn.

*Of course we intended to have another baby. We just didn't intend to have one so soon and definitly not right when we were going through the adjustments of moving and doing some major household changes. It was stressful in the sense that a newly pregnant, very emotional me dreaded coming home to a dust filled house while Ryan spent months on his knees nailing in bamboo flooring throughout our downstairs. The kids were transitioning, we were transitioning. Heck, I was still nursing two kids and wondering how in the heck that was going to end!

We had a snowstorm that (to be honest) sucked!*I enjoy a good snowfall. And yes, I enjoy it even more now that we have kids that think it's the best thing in the world when white stuff falls from the sky. But being in the woods, down a long, gravel, pot holed driveway, off a road that is the last road on earth to be plowed, was NOT fun. Seriously, my van was stuck in the garage for like, a month. At least. That was just too much snow and that's all I can really say about that.

And the best thing that happened in my 27th year.....

I had the homebirth that I have always dreamed of and Quinn, one of the four best things to ever happen to me, filled my life like I never expected.

*When I was pregnant with Isabella, we wanted a homebirth. When I was pregnant with Declan, we really wanted a homebirth. When I found out I was pregnant with Quinn, I was having a homebirth..whatever it took. I had decent experiences in the hospital with the other two. I loved my midwife, and I had two wonderful babies. But I knew that it just wasn't me. It wasn't us. Honestly, not to sound full of myself, but really, we didn't need a hospital. The hospital didn't provide me with anything but stress, discomfort, and anxiety. My home provided with me with exactly the opposite. So 4 months ago, today, our sweet baby landed gently on our bed, in our home, and that was the single most wonderful thing to happen in my 27 years...not just the 27th year, but all of those before. (Isabella and Declan, you were the most wonderful things to happen in my 24 and 26 years, but I'm just talking about the whole "landing on our bed" thing...I know you two "get it.")

So, yes, it has been a wonderful year and the one that is now on the horizon will be just as wonderful I am sure. I mean, it started out beautifully today when Isabella told me exactly what was in the little wrapped box on the counter, and how she and Declan helped wrap it, and talked into the video camera...and then burst into tears when Ryan said "Isabella, don't tell her. It's a surprise!" Yes, a great year has already begun.