It’s no secret that my time spent blogging has fallen by the wayside in the past year. Between navigating a little one into toddlerhood, developing a semi-routine as first-time parents, and transitioning into a new position at work (not to mention the other litany of celebrations), it is easy to say that I was a tad busy in 2023. I am heading into this new year with optimism though, and am hoping to spend more time in this little corner of the internet.

On that note, I thought for my first post of 2024, we could play a little catch-up for those who are interested in seeing what we’ve been up to the last twelve months. While I did share an update last spring, I also would like to have these memories documented so thank you for indulging me!

February took us back to Richmond to celebrate our friend Emma’s second birthday. Emerson loved attending her first birthday party and was fascinated by all of the big kids. Jody and I celebrated Valentine’s Day with our little sidekick at Limoncello in St. Michaels – one of our favorite local Italian places! Despite her first two teeth popping through, Emerson still was a happy gal. She wanted to be mobile so bad; she learned how to pull herself up on the coffee table and crawl backward, but would get stuck under the chair.

You know how sometimes there is so much LIFE in a short time? That was March for us. After my beloved grandfather unexpectedly passed away, we celebrated his life at a beautiful service and then celebrated my sister’s match day in Baltimore the following afternoon. Then, a few days later, Jody and I left Emerson with my parents and boarded separate planes for Madison and Josh’s bachelor & bachelorette weekends. I planned a trip for Madison’s girls to Charleston – it was so fun (Even though this was almost a year ago, would you be interested in seeing our itinerary? Let me know, if so!). Jody’s birthday rounded out the month and we celebrated with Poppyseed Casserole, Loaded Tots, and a weekend trip to Richmond.

Ah, spring was such a great season. Emerson celebrated her first Easter (it was hard to believe we were rounding out her last ‘first holidays’), where we had a beautiful morning worshipping before our Easter dinner outside. Emerson even had an outfit change because we (I) bought her too many cute Easter outfits! My mom and I hosted a Bridal Tea Shower for my sister and contemplated quitting our day jobs to party plan full-time 🙂 Emerson and I went on walks outside almost every day. We signed her up for her first swimming lessons, and we couldn’t believe how much she loved them. Jody planned a date night for us to attend Drunk Shakespeare in DC – so fun!

Eek – some of you know what’s coming, … are you ready for it? The absolute highlight of May was attending Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Philadelphia with my girlfriends and oh my goodness, did it exceed every expectation. My bestie drove up the night before the concert so we could sip wine and make friendship bracelets together before heading to the concert the following day. That weekend was rounded out by celebrating my first Mother’s Day with my grandmother, aunt, and Mom at brunch. Before Madison and Josh moved to New York immediately following her graduation from medical school, our family met at Camden Yards for one last Orioles game before they were no longer Baltimore residents.

June in our household is forevermore the month of endless celebration. Madison and Josh got married in the most beautiful garden ceremony at the beginning of the month. I turned 30 and Jody surprised me with a trip to one of my favorite places, with a wine tasting at Pippin Hill Vineyards, a picturesque venue I had been wanting to visit for years. Emerson turned one and we celebrated with family and friends at her ‘Here Comes the One’ birthday party. Lastly, Jody and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. On our honeymoon, we had dreamt of taking a trip to celebrate our fifth anniversary but when that fell just six days after Emerson was born, plans obviously changed. Instead, we treated ourselves this year to a mini-staycation at Wylder Hotel on Tilghman Island. Each celebration is almost exactly a week apart!

Our July was pretty low-key following a busy month. We spent the fourth of July at my grandmother’s house, where my mom and I spent 3+ hours picking crabs and melting in the hot sun. We cooled off with ice cream cones in the evening, Emerson surprising us all by eating my entire cone! Jody and I celebrated our ten year ‘dateiversary’ with a tasty Smith Island cake. My friend, Amber, and her daughter came to visit for a weekend and we took a trip to the zoo. July also saw the end of my breastfeeding journey – I am grateful to have made it over 12 months but it was bittersweet!

We saved the best parts of summer for last! August was full of countless days outside and afternoons in the pool. We ate ice cream following Emerson’s first visit to a beach. We harvested zucchini from our garden, tore our fence down in anticipation of our new one being installed, and enjoyed many smoothies for lunch. At the end of the month, we boarded our flight to Massachusettes for our first real family vacation. Emerson did great on her first flight and we made it to the airport with time to spare for possibly the first time in our marriage!

On the first day of September and our last full day on the Cape, we took a day trip to Nantucket. There was a slight mishap with the ferry (we watched it sail off without us!) but it was still the dreamiest day. We spent the last few days of vacation in Boston, which included a visit to the Children’s Museum, stops along the Freedom Trail, and of course, cannolies from Mike’s Pastry. Upon arriving home, our fence was installed and we prepared for a camping weekend in Gettysburg. We had the best time in the woods, despite it raining our last morning, forcing us to pack up early. Emerson’s biggest milestone happened this month: she finally started walking! September ended with Madison and I reinstating our annual sisters’ weekend, this time to Austin, Texas.

October was full of all the fall things! After a less than stellar start – Emerson experienced her first stomach virus and then shared it with Jody and my parents, somehow missing me – we spent as many days as we could doing all of our favorite fall activities. Sadly, we didn’t make it to the mountains this year, but we still had a sweet time apple-picking at a local orchard and playing at Fall Fest at a nearby farm. My friend and I had a Hocus Pocus-inspired girls’ night (highly recommend to all Sanderson Sisters fans)! Our Emmie girl was extra sweet on Halloween as a s’more. She wasn’t too sure about the costume but with a little cookie bribery, she had a great night!

For our anniversary earlier this year, I gifted Jody a couples’ golf lesson – a sport we know little about but wanted to try together. We finally had a chance to schedule our lessons on a beautiful November afternoon. My sister and her husband hosted a housewarming party at their apartment in New York, allowing us to enjoy a parents’ night out in the Big Apple. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house again this year where everyone loved Emerson’s new skill: gobbling like a turkey. We spent the final weekend of the month in full holiday mode, complete with cutting down our tree, making cookies, and watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

December felt full of community, love, and holiday joy. We completed many Christmas traditions including our newest of taking one photo each day to go on our advent calendar. Jody and I had our first kid-free weekend with my best friend and her husband in almost three years. In celebration of her birthday and our friendship, we got matching Taylor Swift-themed permanent bracelets that I just adore. Emerson was much more interested in the holiday festivities this year! She wasn’t a super fan of visiting Santa but she was ecstatic he left an apple in her stocking and spent the entire day munching on it. The final week of the year was nice and slow. Jody and I both took the week off and we had the best time at home with our girl.

Friends, I’ve said it before but I am so grateful that you are here. Thank you for sticking with me, especially this past year of inconsistent posting. I am excited about what this new year will bring to this little corner of the internet and can’t wait to have y’all along for the ride!