While only a few weeks pregnant I enjoyed my lack of responsibility and abundant freedom that was available to us while sneakily writing about it on my blog while no one new of our little blessing. Our trip to Westport mentioned in the post was really us going over to tell my parents of our news. Hehe.
February was a slow month for me. We spent a lot of time in Auckland and without power or internet so I was unable to blog. I managed to get my social networking policies blogged about before our big earthquake. We were so lucky to have the first flight out of Christchurch after the quake (already pre booked) and escape up north for a leadership conference but our hearts belonged in our city with our families and friends who were struggling. It was an odd feeling. I wanted to be away but I wanted to be back. I still mourn and feel for those who have lost in the earthquakes. There are still people without working toilets and running water. Thankfully we are fully functional with all of our loved ones still around us (except for those who have sadly moved away).
Amongst the mess of the earthquakes and my emotions I forgot to mention here on the blog that I was with MiniMoo. I wrote this post about how much I loved her Daddy and for a very long time it remained in my "top 5 viewed posts" stats. Through this people realised that I was having a baby and I began to blog about her more regularly. It was really hard for me to make any sense of anything that was going on inside my head, let alone type it out and publish it.
My largest and most worked on blog post to date and also one of my top viewed posts, The Great Quakes. I finally make some chronological sense of whats happened.
Also, I had a shared baby shower with 2 of my favourite Mamas!
We moved into our new [rented] home after living with the inlaws for many months. We moved in with them when our lease expired, we found out we were pregnant, and I lost a job. It was a blessing living with them but it was also very hard. I desired our own space. We moved into a scummy area behind a security gate and the apartment was everything on our wants and needs list at the time. We've just done a reshuffle so now its no longer a 3 bedroom apartment. We turned the master bedroom into a very small lounge and will be using the old lounge as a sitting room and dining room. It means our bedroom is down next to Camillas when she moves into it and we can get our dining table out of storage and start using it! Hoorah!
July
We hosted a lot of parties and it snowed! The parties were for Camilla and also a midwinter dinner for members of our connect group from Church. (We hosted a fortnightly connect group for young married couples).
We ended up having two large snowfalls (large for Christchurch anyway) and it just seemed to add on to the abnormal-ness of the whole year. More time off work. More shovelling to be done. I loved having Graeme home from work as I neared the end of my pregnancy.
Of course, August was the birth month of our beautiful baby. Camilla has changed our lives completely and I feel like a whole different woman. I wrote about the birth later but this Welcome Post received so many hits. I wrote it the day after her birth, early in the morning, in the days when they just sleep and sleep and sleep. Throughout my pregnancy I wrote weekly updates from week 20. Week 37, written during August was the most popular one. In it I write about how someone asked me for a cigarette (what the heck is the world coming to??) and also I peed myself at a friends party. Beautiful huh.
We settled into life with a new born baby, we had a few sleeping issues but they were quickly resolved, and mostly we just loved and enjoyed our little precious. We spent hours with her skin to skin, we carried her, rocked her and shared our bed. It was a wonderful month of bonding and I am 100% sure we are still reaping the benefits. Camilla is so attached to us and gets very upset if she is held by someone else and I am not in sight. I wrote about Camillas birth in September and to date it is my highest viewed post.
photo credit to Juliet
A very slow blogging month, I was without a laptop for most of it as it was being fixed before my warrant ran out and we went on a 9 day holiday to Westport. My favourite post was definitely my Christmas update. I love love love Christmas. Can't wait for next years already!! In December we also hosted a car park party for our apartment complex which I didn't blog about. We have 30 apartments around us and quite a few people came, it was so awesome!!
Thank you 2011, you were probably the hardest year yet but the one with the biggest blessing. Thank you for bringing our daughter safely into this world and looking after us through destruction and trials.
I got this review idea from Mama Kats Writers Workshop. Thanks Mama! I've been signed up for a while but this is my first completed prompt.
It has been a strange year for me to, Yours looks like it has been filled with blessings! xo
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this post first picture looks like the showers at the George hotel . The video is a great idea love how you are so honest about getting into some nice clothes and out of pjs
ReplyDeleteJess Evans