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January 01, 2006
The DeVylder 2005 Year-In-Review
I probably say this every year... but what a year it has been.
This time last year, Gus wasn't even walking yet. He was saying a few words, signing a few words, had a few teeth. He seemed to be on the verge of everything. I'm watching him right now, running around the table as John plays bass, falling into the pile of pillows that he pulled from the couch by himself. Thirty minutes ago he was sitting in a chair, piling up blocks in a really tall tower, exclaiming, "I did this!" Last night in bed, Gus suddenly had this language burst where he had to recite every word he knew- rapid-fire. APPLE, TABLE, BOWL, EAGLE... it was hysterical and a slightly-bizarre glimpse into what his brain is doing right now. The synapses will not stop firing, he cannot stop talking.
This week, he has suddenly started counting. What?? We have this tradition before eating of holding hands, counting to three, and saying HOORAY! Gus loves it, and usually asks to do it again about five more times throughout the meal. This morning, over pancakes, we were trying to have him do the counting for us. Suddenly, he says, THREE, FOUR, FIVE! Uh, you know how to count to five? Wait, if we keep going, you know that EIGHT comes after SEVEN?
So when I think about this past year, or this past week or just even today, I can't even imagine what I'll be saying about Gus a year from today.
2005 has been the year of:
-Amazing Gus growth
-Pregnancy
-Falling more in love with Oak Park. John and I have always had a bit of wanderlust, thinking we just had to move out of here as soon as possible. We like Chicago, we would say, but we don't love it. Something changed this year. I don't know if I could say that I love Chicago, I still long for less congestion and more breathable air, but we have come to love Oak Park, our neighborhood and our house. It would be hard to leave.
-Destroying all our credit card debt (It was a long, hard, expensive road, but I'm so proud of us for finally doing it...we were up to our eyeballs. Seriously. We wanted to have it gone before Baby E came, and we did it just this past month.)
-John taking the scary leap from permanent job to freelancing, which has turned out to be one of the best decisions on so many levels.
-Travel...Lake Tahoe, Santa Monica, East Coast tour, Iowa. Tons of family and friends. Such a lucky time for us. All with one child. What will travel be like with two? I won't think about that right now. We've also had wonderful guests this past year... my Mom has been here often, we've seen John's Dad several times which is a feat considering his home is in Dubai. We're lucky.
-Finishing our basement...just about. If any of you had seen our basement before, and you haven't seen it since it's transformation, you will be surprised. John did all of it, and it looks amazing. Now we have more space for Gus to play, all our office stuff is down there, and we are on the verge of being an organized family (that makes me laugh...yeah, right.).
-Application to grad school...John is in the process of applying for an MFA program, to start this fall, fulltime. The possibility of it is so exciting, I hope everything comes together for him. This man eventually needs to teach...he's patient enough with me, just imagine with undergrads.
-Celebrating five years of John-and-Jannadom, three years of 'official' marriagedom. We've done a lot of living in that time...I'm excited for what's next.
I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions...but I must say, I do hope to continue putting stories of Gus and Baby E up here. When I look back at older entries, I am easily reminded as to why I do this. I would never remember all of the little things that I write about, and I hope Gus and E will enjoy having some kind of record of their early years.
Happy New Year to all!
Posted by janna at January 1, 2006 11:01 AM