2013 Year-In-Review

Yeah, yeah, I am well aware it is the middle of August 2014, and this is the type of post that should be written the first week of January, but I am coming to terms with the fact that this is what life is like with two littles…always 7 months behind on, well, everything. This includes vehicle registration renewals, which as it turns out, come with some regrettably hefty late fees. Yikes! So, not being one to leave started projects unfinished (no matter how inappropriately timed), here are the 15 most memorable happenings of 2013 for the Felker fam:

1. I was neurotic pregnant the first seven months (which I blogged about at 16 weeks and 37 weeks). As we all know, I simply *adore* the state of pregnancy.

2. When it became apparent we could no longer keep Caleb caged in his crib any longer at 22 months (a sad, sad day), I willed myself to do something other than eat half-baked chocolate chip cookies and watch the train wreck of a sociology experiment (better known as ‘the Bachelor’) in my spare time. We finally cleaned out the-room-of-which-we-did-not-speak (i.e. it was filled to the brim with stuff), and transformed it into Caleb’s new “big boy” room. And when I say “we,” I definitely mean Sean.

3. We finally traded in our dumb phones for smart phones, bringing us into the modern age.

4. Discovered Evie’s sex in an unconventional way, and had a lot of fun with it 🙂

5. Caleb entered the terrible twos, and had I written this post back in January, I would have said that parenting a 2-year-old is a task no human being should be subjected to. But now, I scoff at my naiveté, as I have since been enlightened and know that the terrible twos pale greatly in comparison to the terrorist threes. Before the negative press begins in regards to these comments, I do try to maintain a balanced perspective, and I do love Caleb and who God made him very much, which I wrote a little about here.

And on his actual birthday, Caleb wanted everyone to know he’s sexy and he knows it:

6. Evangeline Love Felker was born on August 1st at 4:08 pm at Kaiser Antioch Medical Center. She was 19.5 inches and weighed a whopping 8 lbs. 11 oz. (thanks, dear daughter, you know how much I LOVE birthing GARGANTUAN babies), which confusingly took her entire first year to double (for reference, most babies double their birth weight by 4 months). But hey, at least I didn’t give birth to her on the side of the road, or barf all over the car due to her father’s poor culinary discretion. You can read her eventful birth story here.

7. Bought our first car ever – a minivan – reversing any coolness factor we may have gained by purchasing smart phones.

8. Evie had cleft lip surgery on November 21st, which commenced what easily ranks in the top 3 hardest months of my entire life. I tried to think of a way to spin this one humorously, but it’s still just too soon. Too soon.

9. Caleb said and did a lot of crazy stuff, which I’m sure took years off my life, and will all be avenged when we recount them on the day of his wedding.

10. I led a women’s Bible study and formed close relationships with some incredible women, who have continued to be a blessing in my life.

11. Fun family visits:

12. Took Caleb’s pacifier away. He stopped sleeping. Gave it back. Took Caleb’s pacifier away…again. He stopped sleeping…again. Gave it back…again. If I was sent to a deserted island with my children, and I had to choose between bringing Sean or a pacifier, I’d go with the paci. Just kidding, I would take Sean, but his first task before searching for food or water would be to fabricate a paci and a couple of spares. Seriously, I would cut off my right pinky for paci. I legitimately wonder what they did back in the olden days before pacis. You know, in all honestly, I’m almost positive the invention of pacifiers is the reason child mortality rates have declined so significantly in modern times.

13. Did lots of exciting outings, celebrations, and activities:

14. Three of my blog posts: “It’s a…,” “Out of Cleft Field: Evie’s Cleft Adventures,” and “Days 6-10 Post-Surgery Update,” reached over 500 hits each in 2013, which practically makes this blog famous. Fo’ real. Digital copies of my autograph are available upon request, however, my schedule is booked in regards to speaking engagements at this time.

15. And finally, this picture won best family photo of the year: