Goodbye 2021 - What a Year

2021 feels like it went by in a blink of an eye. Admittedly the last two years have been a bit of a blur - I think that's the case for most people.

During this time, I have been battling OCD (not the cleaning kind, but rather repetitive intrusive thoughts), perinatal depression, and some postpartum anxiety and depression. For the first year, I experienced these moments alone, embarrassed of my thoughts and how I was feeling. One of the things I am most proud of in 2021 was accepting that I needed help and confiding in my friends and loved ones about my struggles. If you have provided me with a listening ear over the past year or so, please know that I am forever grateful. With the help of a therapist and some prescribed serotonin, I can honestly say I am feeling better every day.

As much as I ruminate on these mental battles, I must admit that 2021 brought a lot of joy. Thankful for iPhone memories, and my obsession with daily photos, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite parts of the last year.

P.S. If you are struggling and need someone to listen, please reach out. It's so therapeutic to get your feelings and thoughts off of your chest.

January

I rang in the new year with Maddox and Levi at home with fake champagne. They even stayed up all the way until the ball dropped. In January, we also re-did the boys room with big boy beds and bedding of their choice. Levi picked a shark themed bed and Maddox picked Super Mario! Todd was also vaccinated at this time because of his job in the medical field. This provided me some extra comfort as he dealt with sick patients.

February

We celebrated Valentine's Day as a family. We picked up our favorite sushi and hibachi and topped it off with a movie night. Todd also redid our upstairs bathroom during this month. Just another quarantine project checked off of the never-ending list.

March

We prepped for Sebastian's arrival and finished decorating his Star Wars themed nursery. We also spent a lot of time at the playground as the weather changed. We ended March with a visit with the Easter Bunny at the Pittsburgh Zoo, which was one of our last outings as a family of four!

April

We completed our family with the addition of Sebastian Todd on April 2nd. We were blessed to come home the day before Easter and celebrate Jesus' resurrection and a visit by the Easter Bunny as a family of five. I also was finally fully vaccinated - which brought me a sigh of relief.

May

We were in full swing with the boys' first year of tee ball. How fun it was to have them play on the same team. Todd also took on his biggest house project yet - building our new deck. It felt like it took forever (but really it was about a month), but we LOVE spending time outside as a family and this provided us essentially an extra living space for the warmer months.

June

In June we celebrated the baptism of Sebastian with our friends and family. We also went to the Three Rivers Arts Festival, the boys participated in Vacation Bible School, and we celebrated Father's Day. The boys also started swim lessons and wanted to spend all of their free time in the pool.

July

I had my first weekend away from Sebastian when I went to Scottsdale, AZ to celebrate my friend's bachelorette party over the 4th of July weekend. This was stressful because on July 4th, 2020, I had my first full fledge panic attack. The anniversary of the panic attack had me on edge. With the help of my therapist we worked through my fears and I was also prescribed Zoloft at this time. I was nervous, but looking back it was fun and a great experience, plus I'm so happy that I went and got to celebrate the bride-to-be. We ended July with a trip to Erie for a gorgeous wedding on the lake. We brought Sebastian on this trip with us and it was so special to get some one-on-one time with him.

August

We celebrated Maddox's 6th birthday at the pool with our friends and family and had so much fun. I also attended my second bachelorette party, this time for one of my best friends from high school. This trip was so relaxing and was filled with many laughs. After this, we had our final wedding of summer in Louisville, KY and it was the perfect day. We wrapped up Augusy, by sending our first baby to Kindergarten!

September

In September, Levi started preschool and soccer, which he enjoyed so much. I also started practicing yoga more frequently and fell in love with it. Todd and I celebrated eight years of marriage with a few date nights. We ended the month by celebrating my Dad's retirement with a party at our house.

October

October was fun-filled. We got into the Halloween spirit and decorated our house. We also visited the pumpkin patch and watched a ton of family-friendly Halloween movies. We watched Todd complete the Gap Trail Relay in Cumberland, MD and even got to have a sleepover with the boys' cousin. We got to celebrate my cousin‘s wedding and finally meet one of my best friends from college's son. Our family finished the month by celebrating Halloween as Space Jam and Pokémon characters.

November

In November the boys started basketball. I just love that they are on the same team and we get to watch them together. I also went to a Steelers' game with Todd and my friends from college. We celebrated Levi's fourth birthday at home with family and then again at a gymnastics gym where he and his friends participated in a ninja warrior challenge. Maddox was also finally able to get the vaccine. Providing another sigh of relief for this mama. Then we celebrated Thanksgiving, this year on the day of Thanksgiving we passed out dinners to individuals who wouldn't of had a hot meal. It was so wonderful and definitely a tradition I want to keep up with. The next day we hosted and celebrated with our family - Todd even deep fried the Turkey!

December

The month isn't even over yet, but we've already done so many fun things. We went downtown as a family to visit the holiday market, Bash started standing up, our elf, Tilf, returned and we got to watch Levi in his first Christmas performance. We are so looking forward to Christmas, and all of the other fun things this month has in store.