Year in Review 2016

 Another year is in the books!  Before we turn the page to 2017, I want to look back on our 2016.  Mostly highlights but a few low lights, too, and one photo that summarizes each month of our year.  Enjoy!

January

We rang in 2016 with our neighbors and then celebrated my 33rd birthday at Top Golf with those same neighbors just a few shorts weeks later.

February

The highlight was definitely our neighborhood progressive dinner (aka my last hurrah...see March).  Low light?  Well, that would be Craig tearing his ACL while playing "old man" basketball.  Hence the crutches in the photo...

March

This was the month I learned about Baby Sides 3.0!  During my spring break week to be exact.  Which meant I had time to scheme something and surprise Craig when he got home from work.  And surprised he was!

April

Holden's turned two.  Craig also had ACL repair surgery...horrible for him, but also pretty horrible for me in my first trimester of pregnancy!  I'm certainly glad that's a thing of the past!

May

I finally got to announce my pregnancy to the world.  May was also the start of a fantastic summer at home with the boys!

 

June

In June, we learned Baby 3.0 would be yet another boy!  But first and foremost, we learned he was healthy after a terrifying scare with Down Syndrome.

 

July

Brantley turned 4, we celebrated our 6-year wedding anniversary, and we took a family trip to Chicago.  We had so much fun except for hand, foot, and mouth disease that decided to plague both of our boys while there.

 

August

Woo hoo, we got a minivan!  Technically, I think this was the end of July, but it's too big of a milestone not to be included!  Holden was also potty trained during August, which was a pretty big accomplishment.

 

September

September brought Brantley's first day of Pre-K - and I was excited to learn both of his teachers were from Iowa!

 

October

Lots of fall things in October, but the icing on the cake was trick or treating with the cutest pirate and his parrot!

 

November

What I thought would be baby month came and went without a baby (barely).  But we did get to enjoy our first-ever Thanksgiving at home, which I loved every minute of!

 

December

We completed our family by welcoming Mr. Rhett Kauffman into this world 11 minutes into the month of December.  Dare I say this was the best month of our entire year?

Wishing all of my friends and family and happy and healthy 2017!

Year in Review 2015

 Year in Reviews are some of my very favorite blog posts to write!  I love reflecting upon the previous year and all of its highlights as we prep ourselves to ring in the new one.  This year, I'm taking the same approach as last year.  I'm posting one photo to summarize each month of 2015.  Enjoy!

January

When we rang in 2015, we had no idea that our house would be on the market and we'd put an offer on a new one just a few short weeks later.  We literally went from casually looking to finding a new house to putting ours on the market to signing offers on both in under three weeks!  Although a new house was what I wanted, I cried and cried over leaving {the memories of} our old one.  I also turned 32...but that was nothing compared to the roller coaster that was buying and selling a house.  2015 definitely started off with a bang!

February

We spent basically every weekend in February packing our old house....that and visiting the new one!  Since we had the code to the key box, we made an appearance at least once per weekend!  Because of our busy month, I have basically no photos from February.  Just Holden's monthly photo and this Valentine's-themed photo of the boys.

 

March

Official closing date - March 2.  A Monday.  What on earth were we thinking closing on a Monday?!  There were a few stressful moments when the buyers of our old house, who were out of town for the weekend, got stuck on the east coast and weren't sure they'd make it back to close.  Luckily they made it--a few hours later than normal--but it all worked out.  We stuck around home for my Spring Break (in lieu of our previously planned vacay to Arizona) to unpack and try to make our house into a home!

April

We celebrated a special someone's first birthday in April - the first of many parties in our new house!

 May

Craig and I enjoyed a day date and segway tour in the Plaza/Westport area.  He enjoyed the KC history and I was just happy to stay on my segway!

 

June

The start of an amazing summer with my boys.  Here we are picking blueberries - one of many, many summer activities we partook in.

 

July

So hard to pick a photo to describe our July.  Brantley turned 3, Craig and I celebrated five years of marriage, and we made the annual trip to the Lake of the Ozarks.

 

August

We added a patio to our backyard and spent more time out there in a few weeks time than we had since moving in!

 

September 

This was a big month in our house as it included our very first "first day" of school!  Brantley started 3-year old preschool and has loved every day of it since!

October

 Every holiday is more fun than the last and Halloween this year with Olaf and a penguin did not disappoint!

November

Four words - Royals. World. Champion. Celebration.  800,000 Royal's fan in one place to celebrate a World Series win = a day I'll not soon forget!

December

 Christmas with these cuties!

And finally, the "letter" I included with our Christmas cards this year.

Happy New Years, friends, family, and blog followers!

2014 Year-in-Review

December 31st is always a fun time to reflect upon the previous year and think about all of its highlights.  I've always done some sort of year-in-review on this here blog (2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013).  This year, I think I'll take the post-one-favorite-photo-from-each-month route.  So without further ado, here's my 2014 year in review!

January

We converted our then-guest bedroom into Brantley's big boy room and moved him into a big boy bed in preparation for his little brother's arrival!

February

Snow days for mama.  Brantley wasn't a fan.

March

Less than one month to go until the debut of Baby Boy #2!

April

We welcomed a happy and healthy Holden Beckett on April 18, after just a few short hours of labor (and a full day's worth of teaching!).

May

Technically taken in April, but since we got these photos back in May I'm going with it!  These two.  Man, I'm blessed.

June

Holden's first Royals game!  (Versus the Cardinals.  The Royals won, by the way.)

July

Our first born turned two!  (We also vacationed with my family at the Lake, which comes in a close second!)

August

I tagged along with the hubs on a work trip to Austin.  We got a explore a bit of the city and see one of my high school besties and her new family of 3!

September

Holden's first college football game.

{Blue} October

Awesome month.  There was Halloween with two littles.  And our adult-only trip to Vegas.  But the Royals playing for the World Series title takes the cake!  It was definitely a good time to be a Kansas Citian!  Man, that was awesome.

November

I'm cheating again.  Technically these were taken in October, but since we got them back in November, I'm going to call it a favorite November photo. :)  Holden's 6-month session, also known as an opportunity to update our family photos!

December

It's no surprise that Christmas with these two is my favorite memory. 

 

And finally, here's is our "letter" that was included with our Christmas cards this year.  I'm a sucker for year-in-reviews, huh?

I am so very thankful for the amazing 2014 we had.  I feel very lucky and blessed to live the life I do.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy evening ringing in the new year and here's to a fabulous 2015!

 

2013: A Year-in-Review

Ever since starting this blog, I've always done some sort of a yearly recap. 

Check each one out here:

2010

2011

2012

This year, after seeing my friend Katie's adorable Christmas "letter", I decided to take a slightly different approach to my 2013 recap.  Thanks for the inspiration, Katie, and I hope you don't mind me "borrowing" your cute idea! :)

And because I'm such a picture-fanatic, how about another version of 2013's year-in-review?  A slideshow of only about 137 of my favorite Instagrams from the year.  (I did another slideshow with 60, but decided 60 photos to represent 365 days just wasn't cutting it!)  Enjoy!



Happy New Year friends, family, and blog-followers!  Here's to another fantastic year ahead!

Top 12 of 2012

We're gearing up to ring in the new year - 2013!  I can't even believe it!  Each year seems to go faster and faster (which I have a mathematical explanation for), but 2013?!  I seriously feel like 2003 was just a few years ago.  But instead, it was a whole ten - nearly 1/3 of my life!

Instead of doing my annual yearly recap month by month (because let's be honest, I can't even stay up-to-date with blogging, let alone write about each of the twelve months of the year), I thought I'd do a Top 12 of 2012 list.

So, without further ado, here are the Sides' 12 Best Moments of 2012.

1) Brantley's Birth - This one takes the cake.  The single, most amazing day of, not only 2012, but our entire lives.

2) 35-Week Ultrasound - This was the day in June we found out everything was going to be a-okay with Brantley and his brain.  Gives me goosebumps to even write about.

3) Gender Reveal - I'll admit, I was shocked, and slightly disappointed, when we opened that box full of blue balloons, but now I can't imagine anything but a sweet, little mama's boy.

4) Going Home from Hospital - After two looooong weeks in the NICU, Brantley was finally released from the hospital. I wasn't even sure what to do with all our time at home!

5) My Masters Graduation - Though my program went in the blink of an eye, I'm so, so glad to be done with my masters degree and never, ever have to worry about homework again.  Not to mention, the nice, little pay raise I'll get in August. :)

6) Trip to Greenville - We braved it with a 6-week old and drove 14 hours to Greenville, South Carolina for my cousin Brad's wedding.  It was a nice, little getaway and our first family vacation with little B-Man.

7) Spring Break Trip San Diego - We headed to San Diego for a mini babymoon and to see my high school bff and her hubby.  It's always nice to get away mid-March, especially to a new city we've never been!

8) Lazy Summer Days - Whether we were lounging by the pool or going for late-night walks (trying to induce labor), those early summer days consisted of some good memories in anticiaption of Brantley's arrival.

9) My Extended Summer Break/Maternity Leave - No work for 21 weeks.  Nuf said.

10) Celebrating in the joy and excitement with our family, friends, and neighbor's and their newborn babies: Kinley, Kellen, Wyatt, Jackson, Will, Evan, Payton, Preston, Brock, Madison, Ayson, Tripp, Dane, Avan, Ruby...I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, but it's quite the list!

11) KU in the NCAA Championship Game - This is probably closer to the top of the hubs' list.  After all, he remembers things in life based on moments in KU basketball. 

12) Brantley's First KU Game - What a fun day we had taking Brantley to his first sporting event at just nine weeks old!  It was the first of what I hope to many, many family sports outings.

What an amazing year it's been!  Of course, we also enjoyed the little everyday moments spent with our family, friends, and little K-Dog.  We are so blessed and can't wait to see what 2013 has in store!  Happy New Year everyone!

2011 Recap

What a fantastic year it's been for the Sides'!  It was pretty hard to beat 2010, but this year may have done just that!  I did one of these recap posts last year and think it's fun to go back and read, so here I go again! 
 

January
We rang in the new year just as we did the year prior with a NYE party at our house.  It's always a good time with great friends!  Sarah turned the big 2-8 and celebrated with a sushi dinner date and a spa gift card from the hubs.  We hit up Snow Creek for a day of tubing with friends and headed to O'Malley's (the cave bar) for a few beers afterwards!  Sarah also enjoyed the first few of SIX(!) snow days in January!

February
More snow days for Sarah as we were hit with the "Blizzard of Oz"!  We hosted a mini Super Bowl party and my family visited while my cousin, Nathan, wrestled in a tournament at Mill Valley.

March
With March came some slightly warmer weather and our Spring Break trip to San Francisco!  We almost didn't get to go because of Craig's weird eye infection.  Remember that?  Yikes!

April
April brought some very summer-like weather and the return of baseball season (two Royals games for us)!  Craig also ran in his first half-marathon in years (with little to no training) and finished in under two hours.  Other highlights include our first trip to the Farmer's Market this season, a new grill, a picnic at Blackbob Island, Easter in Wichita, and trip to Iowa for my cousin Beth's bridal shower.

May
We participated once again in Crawl for Cancer and had a blast "curing cancer".  More Royals games and Memorial Day boating with our friends Josh and Rachel (and their 3-month old Brayden).  Sarah also started classes for her master's degree at Baker University!  And who can forget the scary severe weather we had?  Counties all over the KC area were placed in a tornado warning during the school/work day!  It definitely made for an interesting day at work for both of us!

June
Sarah taught morning summer school once again.  Our Wichita friends Brandon and Jessica came to KC for the Ray LaMontagne concert at Starlight.  Trisha and Justin also came to visit for a few days and we took them boating, to the Legends, and to the hottest baseball (T-Bones) game of our lives!  We planned a huge Royals/Cubs tailgate with nearly everyone we knew and had a blast.  And, of course, June 29 was the day we headed out for Hawaii!

July
July was a crazy-busy month--all five weekends were filled!  We enjoyed our Hawaiian vacay by attending Sarah & JC's wedding and spending 2 nights on Oahu and 5 nights on Maui.  It was the best vacation ever and the most beautiful place I've ever seen.  (Speaking of...I've spent the last few days finishing my Hawaiian posts...just five months late...you can find them here, here, and here.)  We returned from Hawaii just in time to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary with a couples massage and dinner at La Bodega.  The following weekend, we headed to Greenville, SC to visit my cousin, Brad.  Then, Sarah spent a weekend in Herman, MO celebrating her friend Erica's 30th birthday.  And finally, we headed to Cedar Falls, IA for my cousin Beth's wedding to her longtime boyfriend, Gene.  All the while, Sarah continued classes for her master's!  Whew!  One last thing--we started trying for the future Baby Sides! ;)

August
Sarah began her 5th year of teaching, but decided to give up coaching dance this year.  She enjoyed her free time by being extra organized at school (in preparation for a possible maternity leave next year!).  We made our annual Labor Day trip to Iowa for the (rainy/stormy) Hawkeye home opener.  And after a break from home remodeling projects, we got granite countertops, new backsplash, and a new sink in our kitchen.  Our sweet doggy, Kinnick, also turned 3. :)

September
September was pretty low key.  Craig celebrated his 33rd birthday, we attended a Jayhawk football game, and Sarah had a blast at the Taylor Swift concert with friends.

October
Craig ran another half-marathon (and beat his earlier time) and we planned a big Chiefs tailgate.  Craig also started the remodel of our upstairs/guest bathroom.  But the best part of October?  Learning we were going to be parents!!!!

November
NYC was the last of many big trips in 2011.  We spent Thanksgiving in Wichita and finished the remodel for our upstairs/guest bathroom.

December
Sarah headed to Des Moines to host a baby shower for her dear college friend, Sarah.  We also went to another Chiefs game and spent Christmas in Iowa.  No NYE party this year.  (We decided against it after being up late on the 30th for the 9pm start Iowa bowl game.)  However, we look forward to ringing in the New Year with each other, our dog, and a pot couple pots of fondue. 

I swear, the years just keep getting better and better.  This time of my life is, by far, my fave!!  I have no doubt that next year will be the best yet!  Happy New Year everyone!  Best wishes for 2012!

2010 Recap

I think we can both honestly say 2010 was the BEST year of our lives!  Here is a recap of our fantastic year!  Beware...it's a long one!

January

The year started with a bang, as we rang in 2010 with friends and a NYE party at our house.  The next day we headed to Iowa for my cousin Rachel's wedding.  Other January highlights included Sarah's Texas Roadhouse birthday dinner with friends, new bedroom furniture (after painting the walls grey and red), and who could forget that 24-14 Orange Bowl win for the Hawkeyes!  Oh, and multiple (I think 3) snow days in a row for Sarah!

February

February was when wedding plans seemed to kick into high gear and our "wedding pile" in the basement started growing big time!  Sarah started a wedding planing blog and had tons of fun keeping far away friends and family updated on all the plans.

March

We finished painting and re-decorating our guest bedroom in March and soon after we had weekend visitors from Des Moines--my college roommate Sarah and her husband Ryan!  It's always fun to have visitors and I appreciated the helping hand on some wedding prep stuff!  Spring Break also gave me the opportunity to accomplish tons of wedding stuff, including putting together all 200 wedding invitations with the help of some amazing friends!

April

April meant bridal showers galore!  My sister hosted one in Iowa, friends Erica, Rachel, and Jamie hosted one here (my mom, dad, and sister came the same weekend), and the dance girls surprised me with one, too!  Craig's family also made the trip here in April for a soccer tournament.  Unfortunately, I lost my voice for 4 days straight and couldn't talk whatsoever when they were here!  That was the worst!!!!

May

Our wedding invitations were finally mailed!  We traveled to Wichita for Mother's Day and enjoyed a chilly day at the Sedgwick County Zoo with Craig's mom, sisters, and sisters' families.  We also participated in Crawl for Cancer (the same pub crawl we met at two years prior) and celebrated Memorial weekend by boating/camping with our friends Josh and Rachel at Lake Jacomo near Lee's Summit. 

June

I taught summer school once again (morning session only this year) and continued working on all the little wedding details that I enjoyed so much.  I also headed to Emporia with the dance team for the annual summer camp.  It was my first camp experience as a coach...let's just say I was thrilled to see my fiance and dog once the three days were over! =)  Craig's (and my soon-to-be) second nephew, Mason Angelo, was born on June 10...exactly one month before our wedding!  Though I don't know much about the details (and not sure I really want to know), Craig apparently had a blast on his weekend bachelor party in Lake of the Ozarks.  And we headed to Noel, MO with friends for our first-ever float trip as a couple!  Finally, we cleaned and re-stained (well payed someone to do it) our deck and fence.

July

BEST MONTH EVER!!  The first weekend consisted of my dream bachelorette party--an afternoon by the pool, dinner at a Hibachi Grill, and then a night out at Power & Light.  Even better was the fact that almost all of my friends were there...high school friends (one flew in from Wisconsin and the other from Hawaii), college friends (except for Casey... :( ), co-worker friends, and KC friends.  It was an absolute perfect way to spend the weekend before my wedding!  The wedding, of course, was the best part of our year!  We are very grateful for the friends and family who traveled from near and far to make our day the best ever!  Everything was a blast from the rehearsal dinner, getting ready, pictures, dancing, etc.  If we could pick one day from our entire lives to "do-over", it would definitely be July 10, 2010.  After our wedding weekend, we flew to Jamaica and stayed at Sandals Negril for our 7-day,  6-night honeymoon.  It was pretty great, as we enjoyed ziplining, snorkeling, a couples' massage, a candlelight dinner on the beach, and so much more!  Back to reality meant back to work for Craig.  I was thankful to still be on summer break for a few more weeks, in which a made a website for all of our wedding photos (it's still not finished...)!  We enjoyed using many of our new wedding gifts and purchased new, stainless steel kitchen appliance with our Lowe's gift cards! 

August

August was a fairly slow month.  The relaxation was much needed after our month of July!  We did head to Iowa over the Labor Day weekend for the Iowa football home opener and I began my fourth year of teaching (crazy!). 

September

Craig celebrated his 32nd birthday.  He also attended the Monday-night Chiefs home opener with co-workers (Chiefs won!).  We also attended a KU football game and began remodeling our basement bathroom.

October

In October, we attended our first Chief's game as a couple (and my first NFL game ever) with our friends Jamie and Jay.  Again, the Chiefs won and the season started to look very promising for the first time in years!  Our basement bathroom remodel was completed, but Craig immediately started to demolish our main floor bathroom.  We spent a weekend in Wichita for Craig's mom's birthday and enjoyed a festive afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch.  October came to an end as we celebrated the wedding of our friends Travis and Alissa.  And, of course, I can't forget the beginning of our "Seeing Both Sides" blog!

November

Back to Arrowhead for another Chiefs game!  This time with Wichita friends Brandon and Jessica.  And surprise--another win!  Up went our Christmas tree and decor around the middle of November!  Thanksgiving was spent with my family in Iowa this year.  We braved the Black Friday crowds with my mom in Iowa City, and purchased an early Christmas present for ourselves (a new plasma tv).  

December

Such a busy time of year!  I hosted a baby shower for our good friend Rachel (who's due in February), while Craig went to yet another Chief's game with co-workers (and they won!).  Our main foor bathroom was finally completed.  We got new carpet throughout our entire house.  We went to a KU basketball game at the Sprint Center, hosted the Xerox Christmas party, attended the Mill Valley party, and celebrated Christmas with both of our families (mine the weekend before, his on Christmas Eve/Christmas day).  Finally, we spent the last few days enjoying each others company, as we are both on vacation.  As this day - and year - draws to an end, we are celebrating in the exact same way it began - NYE party at our house with some of our closest and best KC friends.  The party hats, noise makers, and bottles of champagne are ready to go.  Can't wait!

Happy New Year to all! :)