Eleven Memorable Moments of 2011

Yes, I am aware that it is Friday.  I've been so lazy in holiday mode, and I'll be honest, it feels really good to ditch the schedule.  Oh, and then Barfy McPukerson struck again.  But this week's Listicles topic (yes, yes, that's Monday Listicles, if you are really keeping track) was an important one.  And I am a huge proponent of looking back, reflecting, and taking stock.

We've had an incredible year, and there is no way it would all fit into one little post.  But here are a few of the things that came to mind when I started brainstorming my memorable moments from 2011.  Many of them are blog-related.

1. We took Lilah for her very first haircut.

She was a little nervous.

2.  I celebrated my first bloggiversary.

3.  I held my baby's struggling body while she went under general anaesthetic to have her blocked tear duct unblocked. Thankfully, the surgery was successful and did not need to be repeated.

4.  House of Lilahbility released its second annual Spring Style Guide.

5. I proved to the world (well, okay, to my blog readers, anyway, which I admit is a miniscule fraction of the world's population) how much my daughter actually resembles me as a toddler, though people are forever informing me she looks just like her daddy.

One of these photos was taken in 1981, and one was taken in 2011 on Hipstamatic for iPhone.

6. I was floored and honoured to be nominated for Vancouver Mom's top 30 Vancouver Mommy Bloggers and I went to my very first blogging-related event.

7.  I joined Twitter.

8.  I made a few people cry with this slideshow.

9.  I beamed with pride when my baby turned two, when my hubby got a prestigious award for his hard work and a promotion in the same month, and when  I received my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 

10.  I ran for a cure for a fourth time, this time as part of Team Bloggers for Boobies.

11.  I met up with some online friends for a little something we dubbed The Mother of All Tweetups. All the beauty, talent, and downright sparkle at that one little restaurant table just about took my breath away.   It was a little like a blind date, but the good kind, where you start to envision a lasting relationship. 

Just three of the six lovely ladies I was fortunate enough to get together with - Lisa, Bruna, & Stasha

A few of the ladies, who happen to be more organized and less lazy than I, have already broken it down.  You can read more about our blind date at Bits of Bee, Schwartz Chronicles, and Bees With Honey.  Stasha took a lot more photos than I did, but I think she might be holding them hostage until we all commit to a date and time to do it all over again.

2010 Reflections and Slideshow

2010 was a pretty awesome year for us Lilahbility folk.  We went to Maui for a friend's wedding in January, welcomed the world into our beautiful city for the Winter Olympics in February, watched Lilah take her first steps in February, celebrated our first Mother's Day and Father's Day as parents in May and June, threw Lilah a big first birthday bash in July, met up with family and friends in Ontario in August, got Lilah settled into daycare and settled myself back into the work routine in the late summer and early fall, took a long weekend family trip to Whistler in November, and worked on creating our own holiday traditions in December.  There were plenty of ups and downs, new teeth, runny noses, first tastes of cake and ice cream, and more than a few family dance parties.  We've watched her go from a worm/beached whale/commando crawl to a proper crawl to cruising furniture to wobbly steps to outright running, and from a couple of gestures and signs to her first spoken word to two-word combinations and carrying a vaguely recognizable tune.  Evolution in the microcosm.  And when you stop and think about it, all you can do is feel blessed to have been a spectator to it all.  And pleased that you managed to capture most of the moments on camera.

So, without further ado, here is a slide show of some of my favourite Lilahbility moments of 2010, set to "Dog Days Are Over" - the Glee Cast version, because I like it more than the original.*  I hope you'll enjoy it even a fraction as much as I do!



*And because I am obsessed with Glee.  I am also obsessed with watching this slide show over and over again, to see if I can do it just once without getting a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. So far, no luck.