The Adams in 2016

Family

Jan 11

I wasn't expecting to have so many readers back on my site after my long blog silence. Hello! I missed you! And if you're new, hi! Nice to meet you.

Now would be a good time to tell you where we all are these days. Let's get (re)acquainted, shall we?

LUCY, 2:
First of all, it is so weird to have a two year old in the house without a younger baby around! Lucy turns three this March, and this year she started preschool (three half days a week) and ballet with big sister Caroline. She is fully potty trained *choir of angels singing the hallelujah chorus* and like a lot of babies of the family, she thrives on attention and is a little bit of a drama queen. She's the class clown, she gives enormous hugs, and she can usually be found in the kitchen begging for a snack and busting a dance move. She loves singing and eating bacon and eggs. It would not surprise me at all if she grew up to be some kind of performer: comedian, singer, actress, dancer? Right now she says she'd like to be a bumblebee when she grows up.

CAROLINE, 4:
Caroline also started preschool this year for three half days a week (she will likely join us for homeschool next school year). She turned four last October. She is my sweet, artistic wonder. She's quiet, but when she speaks, it's usually something very observant, witty, and creative. She is whip smart, knows all her presidents and is so close to reading. She calls all her friends her best friend (like Mindy Lahiri says, " 'Best friend' isn't a person, it's a tier!") and is still obsessed with cats. She says she wants to be a "Mommy Doctor Ballerina Princess" when she grows up. She no longer wants 100 cats, though. She says she'd like 47.

JUDE, 6:
If Jude were in public school, he'd be in kindergarten. However, since he has an early birthday and turned six in October, in our Classical Conversations community, he sits in with first graders. This was a big year for Jude: he lost his first two teeth, he learned to swim, he learned to ride his bike, and he can read on his own! He played soccer, golf, and basketball, and does a year-round swim team. He even got to swim at Georgia Tech this summer for a big city-wide swim meet, where his little relay team got sixth place in the championships. Proud mama alert! This is our second year homeschooling, and he loves it. He's got a penchant for memorization and a passion for the Bible. He says he'd like to be a pastor when he grows up. He really loves wearing blazers.

CHRIS:
I joke that I'm a start-up widow as Chris works long hours at a start-up as a software engineer (shhhh! I no joke had to look at his LinkedIn to see what his official title is, though). Thankfully he really enjoys his challenging job. What I love, though, is that family dinner is really important to him. He makes it home each evening for dinner, and the moment he walks in the door, he's 100% devoted to us. He's still lifting heavy weights and wants to do a lifting competition again this year. I really hope he can one day do our podcast again.

ME:
In the words of the great modern philosopher Kylie Jenner, 2016 was indeed the year of realizing stuff. The start of my 2016 was largely dedicated to getting my health in order: I cut gluten and then did a Ketogenic diet to get my thyroid and sugar in check. It worked! I feel so much better and ended up shedding 20 pounds. As for everything else? I over Konmari'd my closet, and I wore yoga pants far more often than I did yoga. I got bangs then promptly grew them out. I let my blog die, then I picked it back up again. Some hard things: Chris and I won't / can't have any more biological children (more on this some other time), I still feel like I haven't connected well with women in my neighborhood, and when did I start peeing my pants a little bit every time I jump in dance class or sneeze hard?! Some great things: we are starting to make good friends at our church, all but two rooms in our house have been painted (just need to do the guest room and Chris' office), and I got a Roomba (yes, this makes the list because I'm allll about it! Maybe more on this some other time, too).

As much as I keep dogging on 2016, it wasn't terrible for us at all. My marriage feels stronger than ever (like we finally hit our groove but also avoided becoming complacent), we vacationed in Florida and California and Texas, and I got to do a little speaking at my church's women's retreat. I've mastered from scratch pizza, I have kept a fiddle leaf fig alive since Mothers' Day, and I made it to 2017 with my sanity and optimism still in tact.