2012 was a year full of surprises, blessings, accomplishments, and lots of temper tantrums for the Ales family. Such is the life of a pre-schooler. Right? Looking back over our calendars, it doesn't seem like we did much of anything. But, looking at our photos, and reliving the memories reminds me that we had a great year. It was simple,and we spent it together. Perhaps that's the best kind of year to have!
We didn't do any traveling this year because... well, early in the year we found out we were going to have another addition to our family. Surprise! After lots of morning sickness, nausea, and general pregnancy fun, our little girl joined us on September 26th. Charleigh Marie weighed in at 9 pounds, 1 ounce and was 21 1/4 inches long. She has a head full of dark hair and a smile that breaks hearts.
Our blonde haired, blue eyed boy, Freddy, turned 4 this week. FOUR! Everyone was right, time flies right by. He's tall! This summer, he attended Mommy's Potty Camp, and after earning a ridiculous number of prizes and awards (Steve coined it right when he called Fred a prize mercenary!), he graduated to big boy underwear. I have never been so grateful (neither has our budget!). He also moved up to a big boy bead! Fred has a huge vocabulary, and talks non-stop (he LOVES to remind us about words we "aren't supposed to say." Nice!). At his annual check up, he measured in at 44" tall and weighed in at 46 pounds. Right now, he LOVES Transformers, Rescue Bots, Super Heroes, Lego's and he still has his endearing love of cars from the Cars movies. He enjoys reading books, playing with play dough, singing songs, and attending his weekly swimming lesson. He is attending his second year of preschool and thinks his teacher, Ms. Tammi, is awesome. Most of the time, he is a ton of fun to be with. He's the light of our lives and we are proud of him for his accomplishments. His temper-tantrums... not so much. :)
For Mother's Day this year, Steve basically tripled my raised bed gardening area and we added a drip irrigation system. We spent the rest of spring, summer, and fall enjoying our garden. I continued to learn more about canning, so that we could enjoy our work and bounty all year long. The hades of Texas heat finally did the garden in. My being pregnant had nothing to do with it... at least that's what I'm telling myself! I found that I really do enjoy gardening.
Steve continues to be an amazing father to our children, and blessing to me as my husband. There have been many times where he has been the voice of reason talking me off of a ledge. He is still working with the same company, though we are uncertain as to what our long term plan will be. We are maintaining faith that it will all work out for the best. I am grateful, and blessed, that he works as hard as he does so that I can stay home with our children.
We made it through 2012 and we're looking forward to 2013!Love,
Steve, Heather, Freddy & Charleigh
P.S. If you ever find yourself in our neck of the woods, we'd love to see you! You're welcome to come have a bite to eat - anytime!
