Ringing in 2012

We've had a pretty mellow couple of days celebrating a belated Christmas and New Years Eve/New Years Day with Gigi. I've had the opportunity to take some glorious, glorious afternoon naps with my Sammie B and feel so, so refreshed. We've had good food (ham, turnip greens and black-eyed peas for good luck today!) and just had a wonderful time with one another. I couldn't ask for any better way to close out 2011, which was a big year for our little family. In 2011, we survived a not-so-easy pregnancy and bed rest, lots of ups and downs, and welcomed our sweet Mia into our family. While we had tons (TONS!) of love, joy, giggles & magic in 2011, I feel like we didn't get a whole lot of "easy," and truthfully . . . that's my biggest wish for 2012. That my little family (and B and I as parents) get to know a little more "easy" this year. A little less hard.

So, 2012, bring on the easy. Please.

Some other wishes and hopes:

- May B and I wake up each day and be the best parents we can be, and the parents that our two little girls need us to be. May I truly be "giving enough" to BOTH of them, and struggle a little less with that ever-present mama guilt and worry that I could/should somehow do more.

- May the therapists, doctors, teachers and others that walk this journey with us be intelligent, compassionate, proactive, take the time to truly "get" our sweet Sammie B, and work with her in ways that enable and empower her to be her very best self. May those people never underestimate our girl, but believe in her endless potential. May they (and we) remember that only she can reveal her best self to the world. We are just here to help her along the way.

- May we (and those that care for our girl) find ways to enable and empower Sammie B to find independence and mobility, allowing her to engage in the world around her in age-appropriate ways.

- May we always remember that "typical" doesn't have to be our goal, but OUR BEST is. And her best.

- If there's some answer to Sammie B's delays that we just haven't found, and if we are in any way doing a disservice to HER by missing it, may we find it this year. (We really took a break from "testing" in 2011, and while we don't desire to test for testing's sake, my hope is always that if there's something going on that's treatable, we'll be led to the answer).

- May we continue to be at peace with "no answer" if there isn't one to be found.

- May we find our "new normal" as a family of four, and find ways to enjoy each other, even in the midst of what might feel like craziness and chaos.

- With all the change of 2011 (new preschool, new therapists, new sister) behind her, may Sammie B settle into her new routine as well, and her new school, and thrive.

- When all the therapies feel like "too much," may we remember to take a step back, remember what's really important, and just enjoy one another.

- May this year bring inchstones, milestones and the inchstones that turn into milestones, and may B and I never, ever take those for granted, however tiny they might seem. (I just looked back at my New Years post from last year . . . I'd mentioned that Sammie B was "starting to combine two words" and had said "bye bye mama" . . . last week, she said an eleven word sentence. Progress. Amazing progress.) May we not get so caught up in the "where we want to go" that we forget how far we've come.

- May B and I find ways, time and opportunities to reconnect, and may we operate as a team in all we do to parent our sweet girls. And, if we need some help and guidance in doing that, may we find that help.

- May Sammie B always know that she makes me so very, very "happy and proud." (I've told her this so much that now when she does something great and I say "good job," she usually says "happy and proud!").

- As we continue to learn who our little Mia is, may her heart feel as full of love as ours already is for her . . .

- May my return to work go smoothly, and may I have the opportunity to give my career what I'd like to give it after having been "out of the game" for bed rest and maternity leave. May I (and we) find the ever-elusive work/life balance . . . or at least some semblance of it.

And most of all, I hope that 2012 is as full of love, joy, giggles and magic as 2011 was (and more!) and that 2012 is marked by a blossoming relationship between my two girls . . . SISTERS. May they each motivate, inspire, and teach one another, just as they are already motivating, inspiring, and teaching us. May these two little sisters start forming a friendship that will last forever.

My two little loves. May they both always know how very, very, very much I love them. Heart so full it could burst kind of love.

Bring it on, 2012.

From our home to yours, happy New Year!