Here we are at the end of another year, and looking back, it has been the best one yet! I know I say that every year, but truly, this one has been one of the best years.
At the beginning of the year, our dear son Liam turned 1 year old on February 8th! He is now a 22 month old sweetheart, who brings so much joy and happiness into the lives of anyone he meets. Being his parents is the best thing in the world. He is incredibly sweet, happy, caring, loving but also so full of energy! He loves to run and explore, learning everything he can. He knows and uses hundreds of words and regularly speaks in sentences of 3-4 words, learning new ones everyday. He loves to play with friends his age and also loves to color and create art pieces. He is incredibly social, loving to be around people, but is also very good at playing with and entertaining himself. His attention span is incredible for a little boy his age. He is very obedient but also very independent and stubborn.Watching him grow and develop into his own little person, is such a joy.
The highlight of our year, was welcoming our sweet, perfect little princess Aubrielle Rose (nickname Brielle) into our family on August 25th! Ironically, we found out that she was joining our family last Christmas day and exactly 8 months later (and 8 days before her due date), she was born after an awesome and nearly pain-free 4 hour labor! She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is now 4 months old and SUCH an incredible joy. Liam adores her and loves to give her hugs. She is a very good baby and only cries when she is very tired or hungry. Most of the time she just smiles, plays with her hands and watches the people around her. We are regularly told that she is the best baby people have seen and we agree!! Thankfully, she takes after her brother in that area :) She brings so much joy into our lives and we are so glad our family has been blessed with her!!
I (McKenna) am so grateful that I am able to stay at home with my sweet kids and although I am constantly busy with our 2 kids 18 months apart, I have been able to expand some of my hobbies. After YEARS of dreaming, Richard bought me my first DSLR camera for mothers day which is a Nikon D90 with a 35 mm f1.8 lens! I love it so much and someday (hopefully soon), I will use it to start up a photography business. But for now, I love using it to document our day to day life as a family. I have also enjoyed blogging on our family blog (which has been moved to http://richennaclan.blogspot.com/ ) and spending time with dear friends.
Richard will be finished with the pre-requisites for Podiatry school (surgeon specializing in the foot and ankle) in July and plans to start Podiatry school in the beginning of August. He has already applied to all 9 schools and was invited to 7 of the 9 schools for interviews (the other 2 haven't received his application yet)! He went to Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona for an interview in the beginning of December and has another interview scheduled for the end of January at Western University in Pomona, California . He is taking the MCAT January 27th and as soon as that is completed he will be able to go to more interviews and find out if he is accepted or not, since most of the schools won't interview or give an acceptance decision until after the test is completed. We are so incredibly excited about our future in Podiatry and the fact it is the perfect fit for Richard!
This year we also celebrated our 6 year anniversary and are happy to say that like every year, we are astounded that yet again, we are even more in love this year than all the previous years combined! Richard was so sweet and surprised me on our anniversary with a re-creation of our engagement and even gave me a new ring that he picked out! He is such a wonderful, thoughtful husband.
Looking back, we are so thankful for our blessings and memories of 2011 but so excited for the memories that 2012 will bring to our little family!
Love,
Richard, McKenna, Liam and Brielle
