New Year's Eve 2013!

Happy new year!!

 

I hope that you had a good time ringing in the new year! We definitely did!

 

We, of course, attended the Ducks Unlimited Banquet. Ryan was this year's chairman and I think he did such a good job. Not that I am biased or anything! For real though, they did really good last night and brought in lots of people and money for the ducks! I was very proud of him even though I was pretty much dateless for the evening. Ha! Thank goodness for my parents and friends there to entertain me!

 

I took a better picture of mom and dad, but this one was more fun because of what mom had done. As dad said, "I've still got it!"

 

Last year we brought this little puppy home for a very pretty penny.

Yes, Wyatt has a DU tricycle. 

 

And now he has a DU bicycle.

 

Mimi and Pawpaw go a little nuts when it comes to their grandbaby. But, it's for the ducks!! (Just glad it wasn't another pretty penny coming from out pocket. Ha!) Thanks Mimi and Pawpaw!

 

The best part of the evening is of course the raffle. I won a pistol case, hat, duck call, and dvd. I was pretty bummed to say the least. However, the last raffle was the dinner gun and it was a Browning Silver 12 gauge. Want to to guess whose lucky number got drawn for it?

 

This girl's!

 

I was so excited! Winning guns is by far the best thing eva.

 

We ended up in bed a little before 3 after we went for an early morning breakfast. I was convinced I was going to go into labor because my pelvic pain was so bad I could barely get into the vehicle and I had the worst contraction yet during the banquet. That, on top of charlie horses in my foot that woke me up every hour I am painfully exhausted.

2012 in review

The last day of the year. I'm still questiong how that is even possible.

 

I feel like just the other day I was getting ready for a night out with my love, ready to support the ducks.

And, here I am again, hustling to finish up my last past of the year in order to squeeze in a nap before I head out to support the ducks again!

 

2012 has been so good to us. With news of a second baby probably being the highlight of the year!

In January, we kicked off the new year with a bang.

Or I did.

That didn't last too long considering they grew at high rate and I wasn't okay with that.

 

In February we celebrated a month of love...for the Razorbacks. We took Wyatt to his first Hogs basketball game and it was a lot of fun! I think he enjoyed himself.

March brought on more love...we celebrated 2 years of marriage with a trout fishing trip. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad that we got to go.

In April my sweet little boy turned one! He had such a wonderful birthay. I am just so honored to be his mommy!

 

In May we took Wyatt to St. Louis for his first Major League Baseball game! He was such a good baby on this trip. We also visited the zoo. Ryan and I went on a float trip and this is the month that Claire was conceived. But not on the float trip. Ha!

We found out we were expecting another baby in June and it was such a joy. Our little boy started school and it was a little bit of an adjustment for me, but it has worked out perfectly!

In July we just  tried to survive the heat!

August was spent at the beach! Well, not the whole month, but it would have been nice! Wyatt was so adorable seeing the ocean for the first time.

September we took Wyatt to the fair...we celebrated Daddy's birthday.

October it was time for Halloween!

November we celebrated my birthday and baby Claire!

And here it is December...

 

Still so crazy that the year is over, that we are starting a new one, and all the new exciting things that the future holds for us.

 

We will be welcoming a new baby this year, our first born will be two, we will celebrate three years of marriage, and who knows what else. All I know is that it's going to be a wild ride!!

On Resolutions...

Truth be told I'm not a big "resolutions" person. I don't feel it's necessary to wait for a date on a calendar to begin making changes in your life.

What I am a fan of is goals. Therefore, this post is dedication to none other than that.

Mine/our goals for 2012:

1. Run a 5K-  I ran my first 5K in 2010 with less than a weeks notice. This year I would like to "train" for it and be better prepared. I ran it in less than 33 minutes so I was very happy, but I'd like to be better at it.
2. Save more money. 2011 brought us many blessings. I was able to have a baby, purchase a brand new vehicle, and start working just Monday thru Wednesday. During all of this, Ryan and I were able to put more money into our savings than previous years, as well as start Wyatt's savings account. Both accounts get weekly deposits and for that I am both proud and thankful. I pride myself in being money smart and would like to put even more back than we did this year.
3. Continue to be a good blogger. I define a good blogger as one who post 3-4 times a week, if not more. I blog to remember. I know that I will receive my blog of 2011 in the form of a book from Bunney so I want to remember the everyday life that we experience. If it weren't for blogging I would never remember all the "little" things that make life so much more filling.
4. Mail actual birthday cards. There is nothing better than receiving mail. Well, there is nothing better than receiving mail that a. isn't junk or b. isn't a bill. I hope to have birthday cards in the mail and delivered before the recepient's special day.
5. Experiment more with cooking. I like to cook, but I'd rather love to cook. I know that Wyatt is beginning to eat the food that we are. I want him to enjoy the foods that we enjoy all while being healthy. I don't want Wyatt to be a drive thru baby at all. We aren't big drive thru people so I hope he never picks up on that.
6. Make 12 different wreaths. I love to make wreaths. I've ulitmately decided that's my favorite "craft." Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to have a different wreath on our door each month. I've got January's up, February's finished, and March's envisioned in my head. This may be the most exciting goal for me.
7. Have the best 1st birthday for our special little guy. I already have the theme and many, many, ideas bouncing through my head. I want it to be special, not too over the top, but definitely something people will enjoy.
8. To be a better wife. I will never forget that I was, in fact, a wife before a mother. My marriage is extremely special to me. I know that it sounds terrible to say or even hear myself say it because being a mother is such a huge responsibility, but being a wife comes first. I don't mean that in the way of "I will choose Ryan over Wyatt" but more of "If I want to be the best mother to Wyatt, I have to have a successful, loving, and caring marriage to his father, Ryan." This is probably one of the toughest endeavors, but I'm always up for a challenge.
9. Continue to have Wyatt spend the night with his Mimi and Nana. This goes hand in hand with number 8. I (we) firmly believe that time together ALONE does us nothing but good. Don't get me wrong...we aren't shoving our kids onto our parents. We have the easiest (sleeping) baby so we actually miss the time that we don't have with him. However, we know we need time to focus on each other and for Wyatt to get spoiled non stop.
10. Be a better mom to Wyatt. I know that I am great mother. I don't question that. I have the confidence in myself to know that I doing everything in my power to keep him happy, safe, and healthy. However, I know that I can always improve. How? I'm not entirely sure, but I know that I've done a great job these past nearly 9 months and it's because I've had people (Ryan and parents) tell me that I have.
11. Continue to maintain real friendships. One of my best friends is moving an hour away. I will truly hate it, but it will make me be even more persistent in making sure that our friendship remains the way it is. I've got a great group of friends and firmly believe in quality or quantity.
12. Deep clean my car once a month. This is more for Bunney. I don't like my Edge to get extremely dirty, but I would like for it to be cleaner. I know that the older Wyatt's getting the harder it may be, but it's all about trying, right?

I hope that I am successful in my top 12 goals for the year. What are some of yours?

It's for the ducks...NYE 2012

First off, Happy New Year!! It is now 2012. Still  hard to believe, right?

Ryan is on the Ducks Unlimited committee so can you guess what we would be doing for NYE? I'll give you a hint...it involves ducks. Still can't figure it out? Well we went to the Ducks Unlimited Banquet and had so much fun! We dressed up all cute and I decided I felt like a 21 year old bar fly in my outfit. It's the funniest thing becoming a mother. I use to dress like this all the time when I would head out for the girls...even on week day nights. It was what we did. When I put on on this tank, my skinny black jeans, and high heels I immediately felt like I was showing way to much skin and that I looked like a whore.

I even went as far to take a picture and send it to my dear friend Erin for reassurance that I didn't look like a sloot who was out trying to find her a man. So ridiculous that I felt this way, but I also think so understandable...I mean, I am a mom. I should be wearing mom clothes, right? Ugh, I still have mixed emotions about all that business.

At the banquet I won in the silent auction. I've decided what I am doing Wyatt's "big" boy room in and so now I just have to start my collection of items need. The way I have it envision in my head is absolutely adorable so I hope my idea turns out the way I intend it too.

I also actually won in the raffle drawing! Woo! I got a DU backpack that I most certainly will be using on hunting trips because it is my bag. I will also be sporting my DU hat with pink lettering. I also won a boot holder thing and skeet. I'm quite the outdoorsy lady, huh?

As soon as we got to the banquet we scoped out this Greenwings tricycle. We decided that we go ahead and bid on it and see were it took us. I told Ryan I wouldn't pay anymore than $100 for it simply because I knew I could get one for way less than that. The bidding started at $50 and Ryan bid. This kept going with some another bidder who thought he needed my trike. What the crap. Well, once it reached $125 I mouthed stop to Ryan and he said okay. Then, I noticed he quit making eye contact with me as the price kept getting higher and higher and he continued throwing that hand up...Seriously, I was about to come out of my chair to run over there and slap him for being so foolish! $240 later we came home with this little beauty...

The reason why Ryan quit making eye contact with me and continued the bidding? My dad, who was behind me, kept nodding his head at Ryan to keep bidding, when Ryan wasn't paying attention, dad bid, then the other man, and so on and so forth. At one point dad and Ryan were actually bidding against each other. Dad technically won the bid and threw down $100 contributing to the trike fun (big thank you Pawpaw)! Mimi said that little trike will never see dirt or grass... Who can blame her?!

As Ryan reminded me, "It's for the ducks." If that means that my little guy will have plenty of ducks to be shooting at here in a few short years then I am a-ok with that!

And can you just imagine when he can ride this all alone inside Mimi and Pawpaw's?

Here is me and my lovely hubs.

Proud committee member. Ha!

I also got a new band during the festivities...

No, it didn't have diamonds and no it didn't win me anything.

However, Pawpaw did win and came home with this new 75th Anniversary pistol. Lucky duck! He says it will be Wyatt's one day.

This is our first picture of 2012!  

We counted down, said cheers, and had some sugar.

We had so much fun. I got to dance so my night was of course made. We look forward to what 2012 has to offer. I hope we are just as blessed as we were in 2011!

Farewell to 2011

If you're anything like me you are wondering how it is humanly possible to be hours away from kissing 2011 goodbye and welcoming 2012 with open arms. 

Every year life seems to get better and better...

2008 I met Ryan.

2009 I got engaged to Ryan.

2010 I married Ryan.

2011 I welcomed our first child, Wyatt.

I have no idea what 2012 has in store for us...What I do know is that we will be celebrating 2 years of marriage and a first birthday of one handsome little boy.

But, before all that, I'd like to take a trip down memory lane to remember some highlights from this year...

In January we went on a little duck hunt.

February we had a big snow and actually got stuck in the ditch...that was a lot of fun being 7 months pregnant.

March we celebrated one year of marriage and spent the day hiking on Petit Jean.

In April we received the best gift ever. Wyatt Hudson Davis entered our lives and our lives were forever changed.

May is when we began to get some real smiles from him.

In June Wyatt experienced his first (of many) fishing trips.

 July we spent our first night away from Wyatt.

 In August we were big enough to start using our high chair.

In September Bunney turned the big 3-0.

 October we got to visit our first pumpkin patch!

In November Ryan killed a buck and all was well in the world.

 In December we celebrated Wyatt's first Christmas and we can't even describe how much fun it was!

Life goes by so much faster the older you get.  Add a child to that and it begins to fly by at wrap speed. I hope that 2012 creeps by because I want to enjoy and cherish this year. I hope that everyone has a very blessed 2012.