So I decided to start a personal blog. While I enjoy posting photos to facebook - I feel like they are always missing a story! Plus I love to write and enjoy sharing photos and this can be a sort of journal for me (even if no one reads it!)
2013 for the Stirling clan had some great highlights!
Of course the biggest highlight of this year was Finley! For those of you that don't know - we were trying for awhile to get pregnant and weren't having any luck. When I finally got pregnant - we were over the moon! His due date was March 3rd, but came early due to me having a drastic spike in my blood pressure. On the morning of Feb 24th, I was induced around 10:00am in the morning and sweet baby boy was born at 9:11pm that night!
To say we were happy was an understatement! While it was totally overwhelming it was all pretty amazing!
I have personally enjoyed being a mom more than I thought possible - and I had high hopes - that's not to say it hasn't been challenging also though, but worth every second of challenge!!
It's so hard to believe he is already 10 month old (trust me his life has gone by MUCH faster than my pregnancy did! haha) He's a high energy, full of life little guy. He has a goofy personality and is very determined when he wants to do something (hence crawling at 5.5 months old and taking his first steps at 9 months old). I could go on for days but will leave it there! haha
All the other babies were a major highlight too! So many great friends had babies around the same time Finley made his appearance and a few more since - and babies are always exciting! It will be so much fun for Finley to grow up around so many friends close in age! (I'm going to back track on this part and write more posts on friends!)
One of our lows this year was Dave being laid off from his job - financially it was very challenging, but we were lucky enough to have him home for 4 months. During that time he got to spend loads of time with Finley and I and he began cooking more (!!!!!) He has made some killer meals and has done a fantastic job of taking regular recipes and making them dairy free so I can enjoy!! (including sticky toffee pudding!) For me this has been a major highlight!
During the job hunting process - he was offered an amazing position at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium in California! It was SO exciting thinking of the potential move - for anyone who knows me you know California is a dreamy place for me! Beaches, palm trees - sunshine! Sadly due to the high cost of living and the fact I wouldn't have been able to get a working visa - we had to turn the position down.
While Dave was off we also got to go back to Newfoundland for a 2 week visit so that Dave's Pop & brother & family got to meet Finley!
We were hoping to visit in the summer - but while looking at plane ticket prices - we realized it was the same cost to go now as then, so we booked our flights on Thursday for Tuesday morning!!! We had a great trip despite the CRAZY humidity! It was soooo hot/humid.
While there Dave took me "Jigging for Cod" - old school Newfoundland style - it was SO MUCH FUN!
Another highlight of our Newfoundland trip was running into the Myles family while there! They were on a trip to Newfoundland already, and they came by Dave's hometown for a visit!
Another great highlight for me was being asked to be my BFF's maid of honor in her wedding in August - backing up though - before that though - her fiance - pre- engagement called me to ask me if I could help him with a ring! I had 2-3 days of not being able to tell her a thing - while texting and calling him back and forth - it was the hardest thing ever - since I tell her everything and I was so excited for them! I'm SO excited to be in the wedding and it's going to be fun - it's a "Staycation" wedding too - so we will get some time "away" also! So exciting!
I also found a new hobby this year - anyone who knows me knows I love photos - I love looking back over the years and reminiscing. In March - I spent my birthday money to buy a better lens for my camera - to take better photos of Finley and quickly realized how much I truly enjoyed taking photos - since then I've done 6 photo shoots - including engagement, family, fall and kids. I get SO much enjoyment out of taking these photos - and I think I'm doing an ok job as well! While it won't be something I'll be advertising I would be honored to do any photos for anyone reading this - just let me know! Here are a few favorites.
We also were lucky enough to take 2 other trips this year - we went to Victoria on Mother's Day weekend - Dave had to go down for work, so we decided to tag along! We had a great time strolling around Victoria - eating amazing food and enjoying being a family of 3!
When Dave found out he got his new job - he surprised me with a trip to the West Coast of the Island to the Blackrock Resort - it was incredible.
The 3 of us went and enjoyed doing a 4km hike at Sunset the first night...
and an 8km hike the next morning along the rocky West Coast shore. We then spent the rest of the day hanging out on Long Beach - the sun was shining the entire trip - which is a rare case this time of year on the West Coast!
We finished the night watching the sun go down while sitting on the beach! Amazing trip!
There are so many other great moments from 2013 - but this post is getting long! I will do more posts and share more photos in future posts!
With 2013 being over and 2014 just beginning - no specific resolutions from me - but I'm hoping to keep this photo a friend posted in mind - because despite what's going on - I truly think we always have something to be grateful for!
Jessica
xo
