My fond farewell to 2015

Dear 2015,

You were a good year. My notes are few and far between about your goings-on over the past several months, but the pictures that remain tell every story I might have needed to remember. 

During your reign, Anna turned 18 (and then 19) months... if only these pictures could talk, as this little person does nonstop. She counts to ten, sings the "ABCs", "Twinkle Twinkle", "Frosty the Snowman", "Hush Little Baby", "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" while rarely missing a word, recites at least a dozen books from memory while flipping pages, accurately identifies her sisters 100% of the time, has lots of "Daddy-isms" like "Boom shaka-laka" and "Oh no you didn't!", uses "No thank you" anytime a less-preferred activity is about to happen, such as a request to come for a diaper change... This little person is aware of others more than I can grasp. She learns names immediately and then proceeds to use them - just today, we thanked the salesperson at the furniture store who had introduced himself to us once, and as we walked away, Anna yelled back "Goodbye Jeff!". I know, right?!?!?! From her carseat, she'll ask everyone in the car if they're cozy: "Daddy, you cozy? Momma, you cozy? Abby, you cozy? Elise, you cozy?". Naps are a breeze, bedtime is a breeze, meals are a breeze. And when something doesn't go her way, the three-stooges-like dancing, prancing, hopping that ensues is so damn cute that a mini melt-down is hardly a nuisance. Thank you, 2015, for allowing Anna to bloom and blossom into a toddler with opinions and attitude, charisma and curiosity, compassion and love.

Our big transition of 2014 was Anna's arrival... our big transition of 2015 was the start of public school. The mornings were rushed, the days felt long, the evenings were too short, and the weekends were treasured. By Halloween, we'd finally found our groove. And this pic pretty much sums up the whole transition: one of our ladies came out defensive and shooting while the other came out carefree and dancing. But the smiling faces are the outcome: proud, confident, and successful. Thank you, 2015, for giving us the strength to embark on a journey that rocked the socks off the world that we'd known for seven years. 

2015 was full of outdoor time...

The Fall was full of pumpkins and friends...

With the big girls gone, the little one and I fell even more in love with the closeness of one another...

From laser tag to fishing, theater-going to movie-going, and a little Harry Potter in between, the big girls bid 2015 a fun-filled farewell...

The best gift of all this holiday season was the solid two-week break from life: the girls were out of school, John was off work, and the daily grind came to a screeching halt. It. was. glorious.

Christmas morning...

Thanks for a great year, 2015. Enjoy one last pic of the only member of our household who somehow missed all of the other photo ops. ;)  Here's hoping no one gets excluded in 2016!