2013-the year Max was born

I never remember things in terms of the year that they happened. Rather, it has always been, "The year I started college", "my internship year", "when we started dating", "the birthday that we surprised Nicole & drove there", "the year from hell that Anderson was patching all day, etc. So, 2013 will most likely go down as "the year of the Mister"

I have literally already forgotten if there were any major events, but I am going to try to list the top events on my radar.

2012 Apparently, I did this last year?


The arrival of the icing at 5:06pm on May 9. This one has changed my life in so many ways and I will eternally be in love with him for completing our family. Our cake was already pretty yummy (funfetti variety, if I had to choose), so the fact that Max made it even better speaks to his perfectness, cuteness and chubbiness, in general. He is so snuggly and so squishy that I am almost* okay with the fact that he still does not sleep through the night. It has been so, so much fun to watch Anderson become a big brother and there is truly nothing more wonderful than watching the man I love with our babies. It sounds cheesy, but it is true.

*I really am ok with it, but I am just tired at 2am, 3am, 4am, etc. so I feel like I need to say almost

**He has literally had ear infections for the last 3 months straight, so it is not his fault, which is why I think I am ok with it

***If he curled up with you, this would all make sense

"I am going to drastically reduce your patching time." said to us by the DOC. Casually. His back to us. Just as I will never forget the moment of Mr. Max arriving, I swear this moment is burned on my memory. I CANNOT BELIEVE WE ARE ONLY PATCHING 3 HOURS A DAY. Every single day, I am shocked and grateful and, let's be honest, a little giddy when he gets to take it off at 9am. I could literally go on about this for days. Truly life changing.

* Only the imoms will understand that there is pretty much a tie between both of those events for first place...

News from JPa
Our JPa has continued to be an inspiration to all of us by refusing to back down from this awful illness that has changed all of our lives. Despite some sad news in spring 2013, Jack made it right by letting us end 2013 with positive news from his latest scan. His resilience and determination has inspired all of us and we know he is going to continue the fight.


The pie was officially cut into PIECES with the arrival of our Reese There is nothing more fun than having a baby the same age as your twin sister's. In true Sissa bear form, I was the first one to hold her (after the parents) and I am totally looking forward to being her favorite. I called dibs on her when she was born, since Amanda is pretty solidly locked as Lily's favorite. I cannot wait to see what this petite little thing is going to grow into and I will never tire of her grinny pics. Also, Nicole is really OCD and a researcher, so I also get the perks of her basically telling me/ordering for me whatever Max needs at each point.

My Goddaughter, the Goose was born in January and that whole thing about having a baby the same time as your twin, goes along with your BFF, too. I do not know where we would be without the Brimers to keep me sane and I am mostly happy to be Godmother because we are not connected for life. (A close second is that I am going to get to take Lucy to make her first Build a Bear. I already called dibs on it.) I cannot believe she is almost 1!

I got an iphone and I feel like it deserves to be a top spot. I developed the deepest crush on Steve Jobs after reading his biography (READ IT!!) and I will say that he deserves all of his accolades because I love the efficiency of my phone.

We got a PUBLIX! I don't know if it was the day that I found Enfamil formula for $1.50, the day the bakery gave me a free pie because they didn't have meringue, the day that the employee held Max so I could reach something or the day someone decided to make everything green for a certain 3 year old, but at some point, Publix changed my life and I am grateful.

Walter White Thank you, AMC. Just, thank you.


Rain. So.much.rain. This affected a lot of days because we literally could never go outside. If you have an Anderson in your house, you understand why this is a problem.


The calmness (or, at least not as crazy) Let's be honest, I have a frantic personality. I like it because it allows me to get many, many things on a daily basis. But, I feel like I have been way calmer lately and it is sort of interesting. I was really worried about having 2 kids and just the day to day life with full time jobs (Brandon & I don't exactly have 8-5 jobs) and an older brother wearing a patch and all the logistics and worry of adding another kid. And, turns out, Max truly is perfect* because I just don't care about all that like I thought I would. Of course, it still takes multiple calendars for me to keep our lives straight, I am not hanging out & watching TV (AMC shows were my only real TV choices in 2013) and I am Grumpster  by bedtime, but I am way more  relaxed than I ever thought I would be at this point. I like it.

*Also, Noni & GG are perfect because they are literally raising the second kid, which is probably why it is not as hard as I thought it would be...

I am really looking forward to 2014-a 4 year old, a 1 year old, a beach trip, an imom trip, lots of Target trips and, mostly, lots of snuggles with these 3 perfect boys and 2 furry girls in my house.