January: This year started out with a bang, quite literally with me banging down the stairs. My sudden inability to stand up straight made it difficult to keep up with my almost 3 year old, fortunately my awesome mom came to the rescue and stayed with us until I was upright. This was followed by record snowfall in PA, which would have been a problem except my wonderful neighbors shoveled every flake from our driveway.
February: With February came the celebration of Laine's second year home. We celebrated in our traditional way with Pizza Hut and the video of when we first met. (Pizza Hut was what we had our first night together.) I will never forget them placing that beautiful girl in my arms, but at the same time it is hard to remember my life before Laine arrived.
March: March brought the celebration of Laine's 3rd birthday, a trip with Aunt Tina and Uncle Jeremy to Build-a-Bear and a Dora/Diego birthday party. It also brought a business trip for me, which reminded me of the strong community that I have here as 3 different people were willing/able to take Laine for the week. March also brought some job contemplation for me, there was a position here and a position in Indiana that I was interested in.
April: Now the whirlwind really starts to pick up speed. In April, I got a new hairstyle, contacts and a new job. I took a position leading part of the America's technology team for one of our product lines (LNP.) It was hard to leave analytical chemistry, a bit of an identity crisis really, but ultimately a good career move. It offers many challenges now as well as opens many doors in the future. The transition into the new job was tough, but fortunately, now I can say I'm really enjoying the position.
May: May brought vacation! My friend Sam was getting married in Seattle, so we took some extra time and enjoyed the city. Denise, a childhood friend, was able to drive down to Seattle and hang out with us. It was a great trip and a great city, Laine enjoyed all the different modes of transportation, airplane, train, bus, monorail and what trip to Seattle is complete without a fairy boat ride!
June: With summer came more friends! Several families from our China Travel family came to visit Philadelphia. We spent a day exploring the Philly cites, then spent another day at the Crayola factory and finished the trip with a barbeque. I love to see the girls playing together, they share their history and it is good to them continuing to connect with one another.
July: In July, we took a trip to Chicago to celebrate my nephew's baptism. While we were there, I took a trip down to our plant south of Indianapolis while Laine stayed and played with her cousins. I think she got the better end of that deal. July also brought the hottest weekend of the summer, which to my friends and me obviously means that it is time to go camping! It was a great time to relax, even if it was a little warm.
August: August brought some calm to our lives, we stayed home, my job started to settle down, and it was a great way to prepare for the busy fall ahead!
September: We started the month with a trip to Michigan and a celebration of my parents 40th Anniversary. We've done very little over the years to celebrate my parents birthdays and anniversaries, so this year we got our act together and gave them a real party, of course, we didn't bother to tell them, we figured they would get the idea soon enough. They were surprised and excited to share the day with family and friends. We had a great week in Michigan, visiting the zoo and botanical gardens. We also roasted marshmallows and cooked out a few nights.
October: We started the month with the loss of my beloved Grandma Tink. She had been declining for a while and I was glad that we were able to spend time with her in September when we were in Michigan. Her funeral was a wonderful gathering of family and friends to celebrate her life and goodness of God. My grandmother was an only child, yet her funeral was filled with brother and sisters-in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins, in addition to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The outpouring of love from family and friends was really touching.
October also brought the fun of fall, we went to a pumpkin farm with friends and Laine was the cutest Minnie Mouse ever (if I do say so myself.)
November: This November I was the president of the Eastern Analytical Symposium, a conference focused on analytical chemistry. For the last 4 years, I've been on the executive committee and this year was "my" year. It was an exciting week, filled with conference activities and committee events. One of the highlights for me was the President's reception, it was great fun to share the evening with Laine and my parents. Laine had a fabulous time on the dancing the night away and stole the hearts of all who attended.
We followed up the week at EAS with a trip to Florida for Thanksgiving. It was a good break, spent by the pool and enjoying the warm weather. It was nice to spend time shopping with my mom and sister as well as playing with my nephews.
Well, that pretty much brings you up to speed. It has been a year of change, loss, hectic schedules, joy and success, so basically a typical year. Laine continues to be a happy, healthy kid who loves art, gymnastics and books; with no interest in numbers, (she finally became interested in letters when she incorporated them into art.)
