Today I'm skipping my usual Friday post to finish recapping 2016. If you haven't read my recap of the first half of the year, check that out here. In that post, I also shared a reader survey to get me ready for blogging in 2017. The amount of encouraging responses has already blown me away. Y'all are awesome! I think I'll actually share some of the response with y'all next week, so stay tuned. :)  If you haven't already filled out the survey, I'll probably close it off on Monday, so I'd still really appreciate your feedback!

2013 in Review 

part one + part two

2014 in Review 

part one + part two 

2015 in Review 

part one + part two 

July:

We celebrated July 4, which is now especially meaningful for us after the loss of our first baby on that same weekend in 2015. There will always be a hole in our hearts for that loss, and we were squeezing Beau extra tight on that day. This little smocked patriotic jon jon will always mean so much to me.

Our sweet niece turned two and we celebrated with a farm party. We love her so much! 

Just had to throw this photo in because of the sweet face of my tiny baby! Time goes so quick! 

Summer with Ben home was just so awesome. We loved getting to settle into being parents together.

This photo being included is really for no one but me. I have lots like this on my phone and just never want to forget the sweetness of snuggling my precious boy! 

We got to live out a big dream of ours and continue traveling after parenthood. Beau's first stop was beautiful Switzerland, honestly the most enjoyable place we've ever visited. (part one + part two)

Next stop was Lake Como! 

And then Milan! 

Favorite Posts of July: 
What My Son Taught Me: Self Perception
Lessons from Beau's First Trip 
What I Actually Used in my Hospital Bag

August

We then flew to England and spent a few much needed days with family in Brighton. 

And then we spent a week exploring beautiful London, a city that feels like our home away from home! (part one + part two)

We also managed a quick day trip to Paris, something I'm so glad we did, even though it was exhausting 

When we got back, someone needed a haircut. Not mentioning any names. :) 

The week that we got back from our wonderful 17 days abroad, we decided to sell our house, and bought a new one. It began a whirlwind of packing and counting down the days until moving into our new home.

Favorite Posts of August:
The Beginning of Our Trip: Switzerland
On Traveling Internationally with Two Month Old Beau

September:

September was all about preparing to move. Measuring things in our new house, packing, shopping for new furniture. 

I loved looking back on how much life had changed over the summer. 

And finally it was moving day! We, of course, celebrated with cookie cake! 

Favorite Posts of September:
What My Son Taught Me: Time 
4 Months a Mama
A Day in the Life

October:

At the beginning of October one of my mama dreams came true, and my little pumpkin got to visit the patch. 

Beau also started eating solid foods! 

We took another pumpkin patch trip and grabbed this family photo.

I went on a quick day trip to Waco to get this sign at Magnolia Market, it was such a great day! I've said this before, but each time I visit Magnolia, the experience is more wonderful. 

We watched lots of college football,

And loved celebrating Halloween with our boy! 

Favorite Posts of October:
A Quick Magnolia Mission
A Day in Paris with my Boys 
Moving from Our First Home

November:

Another sweet part of Halloween was getting to host the Coles, and meet sweet baby Campbell. 

Right after they left to reunite with family in Mississippi, we hosted Beau's baby dedication with our home group and family. 

I also figured that since it was November, Beau could start to enjoy some Christmas jammies. :) 

We took a quick trip to New York with our siblings, leaving Beau for the first time overnight. Not trying to do that again anytime soon. ;) 

We hosted our fourth Thanksgiving, and enjoyed celebrating with Beau for the first time! 

Favorite Posts of November:
Crafting with Beau
Beau's First Halloween

December:

December was full of lots of fun Christmas adventures. 

We had one really fun Christmas celebration with our close friends. It involved matching jammies and taking Beau to see Santa. 

He had this out of character moment and gave us a priceless first Santa photo! 

We celebrated the engagement of Sarah and Dillon, yippee!! 

And my close friend Meredith came to visit for a few days, like a breath of fresh air. Time with good friends is just the best thing! 

We had the sweetest Christmas ever with our precious boy! 

Favorite Posts of December:
Christmas Traditions
Magnolia Market with Meredith

Thank y'all for being such a sweet part of my 2016. I truly love blogging so much, connecting with y'all is one of the best parts of my days! I hope you're enjoying a sweet New Year's weekend and I look forward to a next year of chatting with y'all!
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2016 in Review (part one) & A Survey

As I think through 2016, it's impossible to not immediately label it with a marker. 2016 was the year we became parents. There were so many other highs and lows this year, but the highlight of it all was little Beau William. My life changed in every way the moment we met him, and I'm so grateful. There's no doubt that this year hasn't been perfect, but I've loved every minute with my boys.

January:

This photo is actually from New Years Eve, but we started off the year by learning that we were welcoming a sweet baby BOY to our family. Beginning the year with our gender sonogram was so, so much fun. We then kept the secret for two days before our reveal! 

Hosting the party was such a fun way to celebrate the involvement of our family and friends in our pregnancy. We loved it! 

Throughout the Spring, many of our evenings looked like this. Getting the nursery ready for our baby boy! 

Favorite Posts of January: 
Dressing the First Half of Pregnancy 
It's a Boy!
Our Gender Reveal Party 

February:

February began with a road trip to Austin for IF: Gathering. 

I turned 25 and we celebrated Valentine's Day in the same week, with dinner at a favorite Dallas spot.

We took a quick weekend trip to Nashville to visit sweet friends.

and I had my hometown baby shower! Celebrating and anticipating Beau's arrival was a theme of the Spring. There was originally a banner with his name on it in this photo but we took it down so that his name would remain a social media secret, haha! 

Favorite Posts of February: 
Second Trimester Update 

March:

Another sweet baby shower thrown by three of my closest friends! 

I went to a book signing and met one of my favorite bloggers, Shay Shull! She's one of many mamas who gave me courage to tackle international travel with a new baby.

I took one last girls trip before Beau was born, to Waco with my best friends, to tour all the Fixer Upper houses!

Favorite Posts of March: 
A March Nursery Update 
30 Weeks 

April:

One of the best things that I did at the end of my pregnancy was challenge myself to get active for 20 minutes each day. It's so funny to look at this photo because my ankles are so swollen! I told Ben recently that my goal for a second pregnancy is to get active 20 minutes of EVERY day. I think that because I'll be taking care of Beau anyway, it's not like I'll be able to just lounge around. We'll see! 

We took our maternity photos with the amazing Dyan Kethely! I'm so grateful that we have these photos to look back on my pregnancy. 

Favorite Posts of April: 
Our Maternity Photos 
My End of Pregnancy Challenge 

May:

We had a scary few weeks involving Beau's health (all detailed in the NICU story below) but we were so grateful to learn that we would be meeting our son so soon!

May 11, 2016.. the best day of my life so far. 

That day was quickly followed by the hardest few weeks of my life, and we rejoiced when we finally got to bring our boy home!

Annnnnddd that very next day he had his much needed first haircut! Haha! 

The haircut was just in time for Newborn photos. The one love is my favorite of the whole session, and I have many favorites! 

Favorite Posts of May: 
Introducing Beau William 
Baby Beau is Home!! 
Naming Our Son 
Beau's NICU Story 
Beau's Birthday

June:

We took Beau to church for the first time, a really sweet memory! 

We spent this month really just settling into becoming parents. I remember so fondly this season of all the feedings and snuggles with Beau and Ben at home for the summer. Looking back, I really don't feel like Beau's arrival slowed us down.. it was still a busy month! 

Ben got to celebrate his first Father's Day, and I gave him a little gift for our upcoming trip to Switzerland.

Beau attended his first baseball game, shielded from the Texas heat, thankfully!

We were loving, and still do love, life as a family of three. This photo was one of the first times that it really hit me.. this was my little family! 

We ended the first half of the year with Beau's first vacation, to the Texas Hill Country! 

Favorite Posts of June: 
Baby Beau: One Month 
Newborn Photos 
Beau's Nursery
Beau's First Haircut 

Stay tuned for part two! :) I would LOVE if you could take a moment and take this really quick survey for me. I've got some big dreams for this blog in 2017 and I'd love for you to help me make it better. Thank you so much in advance!

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