Life with Liza: Santa, Parties, and NYE

Somehow the holidays are over. Christmas seems like one big blur, mainly because we've all been sick in the Knox house. It started with me the day before Christmas. Head/throat/fever stuff. Then I passed it onto poor Liza. She started running fever the day after Christmas and was sick until the day after her birthday :( She was so pitiful. When she has fever she is just so different from her normal self. From Tuesday until Friday she just laid on me. I debated on cancelling her party and rescheduling, but thankfully her fever broke on Friday and Saturday morning she was a little better. She definetly wasn't herself, but a huge improvement. So on Friday afternoon, I called our cupcake girl and told her the party was on. By this point Tyler was sick. He went to bed around 6:30 Friday night and I was in a mad dash to finish all of the last minute party things. I have spent monthS planning this party and in the middle of all this caos it was going to happen! At 1 in the morning I finally went to bed. Woke up at 6 and we had a party at 11. It really was perfect. (minus sick daddy) She got so many wonderful books. Some were passed down from family members. Some people picked out their favorite book as a child. Some had sweet notes written inside of them. Pop Pop even bought one of those recordable books. (which makes me cry) Hannah (Honey) made Liza her own "box" to keep all her letters in. In the Pratt house that was very important. I still have my box and still to this day I love to pull it out and read old letters. So in the end Christmas was kind of a blur with the snow and sickness, but the birthday party was great. We had a friend come take pictures, and I can't wait to get them all back!

For New Years Eve, Liza stayed with Cookie, Pop Pop, and Pratt. She and Pratt had so much fun. We went to El Dorado to eat dinner with some friends. Friends that we made in 2012. One of them being my doctor who delivered Liza. She and I clicked from the beginning and have become close friends. Tyler and her husband are so much alike its scary. My precious friend Corrie was there too, and her wonderful husband. Corrie and I also met this year and I feel like she's been my best friend for years. It was special to get to spend New Years with her. She is the strongest person I know and is fighting the hardest battle I have ever witnessed, but she's winning. She is so inspiring and makes me want to be a better person. 2013 is going to be her year, I just know it. 2012 sure wasn't easy for her, but she has fought every single step of the way.

Since it is a new year I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want for this year and I've tried to narrow it down. I want to have more patience, with Liza, Tyler, my school kids, just everyone. I also want to slow down. (if you know me well this is very hard) The first year of Liza's life flew by and I regret not slowing down and taking more in. I let small day to day things get in the way. I have to stop. Before I know it she will be starting school and I will wonder where our time went. My mom brought me a box of my old things that she found and when I opned the box I found a book that my parents gave me when I was 12. Inside my dad wrote a note and in that note he said "You have blessed our lives more than you will ever know and until you have a child of your own you will never know the love we have for you." I fell apart reading this because he is so right. I knew they loved me, but until I had Liza I couldn't imagine the love they feel for Hannah and I. A year ago today I was learning how to take care of a new baby. I was so scared and anxious. I did a lot of crying and praying, and we made it. We made it a year with a healthy, happy baby girl. We made mistakes here and there, but we succeeded. "We" being the key word. I couldn't have done it alone. Tyler is more than I could've ever asked for. He knows just when to step in or when to walk away. Our days haven't always been easy. Looking back the first 2 years of our marraige was so easy, but like he said last Friday night "our life has so much more meaning now." My friend Corrie said something one day that will stick me forever. We were discussing how children change everything and she said "When I had my first baby I told myself, I will always support my husband in any decision he makes when it comes to my children, because after all I chose him to be their father. I could've chosen anyone, but he's the one I chose, so therefore I will always support him" What a HUGE statement, but so so so true. See, isnt' she wonderful...Yep.

Here are a few pics from the holidays. As soon as I get the birthday pictures back I will post them. Happy New Year my friends. Let's be patient and take the time to enjoy the ones we love.

XOXO...

Christmas night at Cookie's