A Bulleted List

because that's all my brain can handle right now!

-We made it to our new home in Florida on Wednesday and have been unpacking ever since. Our new place is pretty great-we like almost everything about it. We do NOT like the ugly gold that they painted every wall nor the way it makes all our decorations look weird. We DO like the backyard, and deck, and storage space, and neighborhood, and trees, and squirrels.

-Hannah is really close to walking. What qualifies as actually saying "she's walking"? She can take up to about 6 or 7 steps and even took 10 steps once. Just this week she started doing it on her own, without needing any prompting from us. Is that walking? She still falls after 6 steps or so.

-It's like she became a toddler over night. Seriously-I look at her and wonder who she is and what she did with my baby. She is already testing her limits and definitely understands my simple commands and chooses not to follow them. Grrr-it begins.

-She's so beautiful. Really, really beautiful. I can't even believe it.

-Our new neighbor came over and introduce herself and even brought us dinner our first night in town. What a welcomed welcome that was!

-This place has the best food. The grocery just the down the road from us has tons of affordable organic options, a huge produce selection, and just about anything you could ask for. I spent almost two hours browsing the aisles yesterday and loved every second. They had vegetables I had only heard about in Mississippi! And that was just the regular grocery store. We went to a Farmer's Market this morning and it got even better. There were more vendors in JANUARY than Starkville's market in peak season. Vegetables-check. I'm on the hunt for pastured eggs and good milk now.

-We already have dinner plans tomorrow! A friend's sister and her family live here and invited us over. Woo hoo!

-Mass at a huge parish tomorrow-3000 families.

-Ted's first day of work went great. I think he's going to love his job. Praise God.

-Two of our best friends just had a baby today! Gianna Therese-we love you so much and can't wait to meet you!

-Christmas was great. We got to spend lots of time with both families since I quit my job and Ted hadn't started his yet. Hannah didn't really understand how to open presents, but she enjoyed her toys after they were opened! Her favorites-her push walker that makes her smile every time she sees it and the drumsticks that came with her music set. She likes the entire music set too, but those drumsticks really make her happy.

-New Years was perfect and spent where we always spend New Years-in the middle of nowhere Missouri in a retreat house with our closest friends. We missed it last year due to being 9 months pregnant and it just wasn't the same starting the year anywhere but there. We were only there for one night-but we packed as much fun in as we could. Normally, we climb the mountain and pray the rosary at midnight, but this year we had Midnight Mass in the chapel-which was also cool. Hannah's godfather was the celebrant and he sure knows how to give a homily. Confession, fellowship, walks to the river, catching up with friends, reflecting on the past year and praying for the one ahead-perfect.

-I've been going to that same retreat house since I was 16 years old. It was there that Ted and I began our dating relationship. So many times we've talked about bringing our kids for the retreat and this year it actually happened. Hannah became the youngest New Years retreatant and thoroughly enjoyed her time there. It was pretty surreal having my baby there. And oh so wonderful. Everything is better with her around.