The Best of 2013

The year just doesn't seem complete without some kind of look back of all the little and big things this year has brought us. I've been blessed with several new pairs of eyes around the blog lately so hopefully this will give you all a chance to catch up and see something new. For those of you who have been around…maybe you'll see something you've missed!

January

January was all about a new life with two. I wrote about Jackson's arrival and my first week being outnumbered. Life certainly picked up pace but was also smattered with lots of baby cuddles. My, possibly over detailed, "Day in the Life" post was statistically a big hit. I gave breastfeeding another go and made the horrific discovery that Jackson was allergic to dairy. January also brought our first big snow and we discovered just how wonderful Ethan took on the role of big brother.

February

February brought on the first round of the sickies. Honestly, if I had to sum up 2013, I would refer to it as the year of the snots. For the love…we still have them. Be gone already! Our family went into survival mode and we made the unfortunate discovery that Ethan becomes super hyperactive on any kind of allergy medication. Joy. I opened up and shared my "Just a Mom" moment and made the goal of focusing on patience during the season of Lent.

March

March brought us a new sense of normalcy. I had experienced a new love for my toddler and longed to bottle up his innocence. I shared my favorite baby items and some postpartum essentials. I also confessed to not being able to do it all…or at least not all at once. 

April

In April, I blogged about blogging (tsk, tsk!). I confessed to sucking at Twitter and emailing and urged you all to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram (@mythoughtsuninterrupted)…my happy places. I mourned the fact that I was entering the last year of my twenties. In case you were wondering, I'm over it now. I also shared a super cute 2.5 year v-log interview of Ethan (of course, I might be biased). 

May

In May I talked about life with boys and how I consider myself to be an adventurous parent. I lamented over the fact that I still did not have parenthood all figured out and proclaimed that for Mother's Day all I wanted was my own freaking time out. I marveled at the joy of sibling love and enjoyed a family fun beach vacation. May was apparently a roller coaster of emotions.

June

June apparently was a turn around month for me (minus the fact that the "trying threes" reared their ugly head a little earlier than planned). I urged you all to be confident mothers and wrote about why I thought second borns were the lucky ones. I also gave a little shout-out to my better half on our 5 year anniversary while we took a romantic get away to Asheville, NC.

July

July contained a wide variety of events. I shared 7 warnings about potty training. I also kicked off Operation Get Fit with some embarrassing post partum photos. I reminded myself to let my first born be little and shared some photos from a baby "love" shower I hosted. 

August

Jackson honed his crawling skills in August and Ethan began school after we took our last mountain vacation to Bryson City, NC. I wrote a review on the Dr. Oz Cleanse which is one of my most popular posts to date on a subject that isn't talked about much on here ever. I also shared a v-log with you guys about a parenting fail of mine and discovered that you guys do like v-logs…every once in awhile. I haven't done one since.

September

We returned to the beach and hit a parenting sweet spot in September. I shared a favorite recipe, attempted to teach my child to count and did a follow up post to Operation Get Fit. I also vowed to put myself on my priority list because as we all know: "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!".

October

Ethan turned 3 in October and I talked about letting go and striving to be a better example. I struggled with not feeling personally fulfilled and wondered if the grass might be greener on the other side. October brought us more sickness and cancelled plans and let's just say I wasn't sad to head into November.

November

We finally got over sickness enough to celebrate Ethan with a Red Tractor themed party in November. I reminded myself to take in the moment and I got rather crafty and broke my "no Christmas before Thanksgiving" rule by decorating early. I shared tutorials on painted mason jars and making an advent wreath. I did a final (for now) Operation Get Fit update and joined up with some other bloggers to form a local Knoxville Mom's Blog.

December

Jackson turned one in December and I did my final monthly onesie update. I shared one last craft (a DIY typography canvas) and then gave you a holiday home tour. My son reminded me that pretty came from within and then I took some time off to enjoy the holiday season with my family. 

Looking back, I can say 2013 has been a transitional year for sure. We did a lot of learning and adjusting and I think we have finally found our groove. Thank you all so much for the love and support you all show me and my family. I truly enjoy connecting with you all! I strive for this blog to be a place where you can feel normal and a little inspired and I hope I have provided that for you. I'm looking forward to 2014 and everything that it will bring. 

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