While some hated this year for everything lost, and others loved this year for the chance to slow down, our family (for the most part) has been pretty neutral about it because it didn’t majorly affect our lives: Russ was lucky enough to keep his job (working slightly reduced hours for a few months); I stayed home with our girls and worked my virtual job as usual; and though preschool was canceled back in March, Ada returned as normal in the fall (and I’m thanking my lucky stars I didn’t have to learn how to handle distance learning!).
Holly (1 this month) has been a dream baby. Seriously so calm and content that I tried to really soak it up because I know I’m not likely to get so lucky again! It’s only in the last few months that she’s become more opinionated (and noisy!!). Her latest exploits are climbing stairs, crawling on hands and knees (she really prefers an elbows-and-knees “shimmy” crawl), pulling up on everything, pulling all the things out of all the places, unrolling toilet paper, and splashing in toilets. She’s obsessed with her big sister, and the two girls spend a good portion of every dinnertime laughing with each other J
Ada (4) has gone through a lot of changes in the last year! She became a big sister, moved from a crib to a big bed, switched from napping to quiet time, AND stopped sucking her thumb (with the help of some yucky nail polish). With all those big transitions, plus the fact that she’s 4, she can have some big emotions, and we’re all learning how to navigate that, which can be tough! But there’s a lot of joy, too: Ada loves going to preschool, where she is starting to learn Spanish! She also loves playing with friends, coloring, Cosmic Kids Yoga, and dressing up like a princess. She has a big heart, which allows her to forgive quickly and give love and compliments abundantly.
Despite the fact that Holly was such an easy baby, going from one kid to two was a tough transition for me! It’s such a juggling act trying to figure out how to balance everyone’s needs, including my own. I love our girls, and I love that I get to be around for all the moments, but I’m not the “crafty activity mom” or the “mom who plays pretend,” and I’m still not sure what kind of mom I am. It’s something I want to figure out. In March, I joined a monthly business coaching program geared specifically toward sleep consultants, and I have loved it! I learn so much from my coach and all the other women in the group. My confidence in and enjoyment of what I do has increased so much this year – which is saying a lot since I already loved it before! I feel so much joy and satisfaction when a mom tells me how I’ve changed her life by changing the sleep situation in her home. Other hobbies I’ve been exploring lately are cake decorating and purposeful documenting. I’ve always been dedicated to preserving photos, but @mymodernstory convinced me I need to be preserving more of my thoughts and insights, too.
This year, Russ has received not one, but TWO promotions at Duncan Aviation, so he’s now a Line Service Team Lead. It’s a somewhat uncomfortable position for him, due to his management role, but definitely a great opportunity for growth. It comes with a new schedule – 3-day weekends (Sun.-Tues.) every weekend – yay! …But also a 13-hour workday every Saturday – yikes! Our girls love him so much, and Ada cries nearly every time he has to leave for work. Russ is developing quite the side hustle with his Apple product repairs. People drop off phones nearly every day for him to fix, but he must not be busy enough because he also keeps coming home with more damaged Apple products to flip. He loves to tinker and he loves to fix things. Speaking of fixing things, he recently overhauled the suspension and steering in my car. I love having a car-smart husband! And that’s not all -- Russ has also taken over breakfast responsibilities, so now we have a delicious meal as a family every morning, and I love that I don’t have to worry about breakfast anymore.
After having date night derailed by a new baby and COVID, we got back to it a few months ago. It’s so, so good to have that dedicated time together each week (@rushleydatenight). Our family also managed to travel to two new states this year, seeing the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, and spending Thanksgiving with Russ’s grandparents in Arizona. My three out-of-state siblings also came into town in May for an impromptu reunion during the lockdown. Pretty good for 2020’s travel circumstances! For a time we considered selling our house, buying and renovating a large travel trailer, and exploring the U.S. for the next year, but instead decided to dip our toes into just the renovation side of things with a small travel trailer. We’re still not sure how we feel about this decision, since the trailer we got turned out to be a hunk of junk . . . Hopefully it will be a fun adventure?!
We wish you a Merry Christmas, as well as a 2021 that has a little less craziness, a little more gathering with loved ones, and a lot more JOY!