2020 Recap & 2021 Word of the Year

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Happy 2021! What a wild year 2020 was. I would have never guessed in a million years that I would give birth during a global pandemic, or that it would still be getting worse in 2021. The world brought a lot of heaviness in 2020 that still lingers today. While 2020 was extremely hard, it was also one of the best years of my life. Baby Scarlett’s arrival has forever changed me and has been the best gift. 2020 was the year that I truly learned to slow down.

I also learned to never take things for granted, like normalcy. Once things are back to whatever normal becomes, I won’t take it for granted when I can safely travel again or go to the grocery store without a mask. This year challenged me to get more creative at home with entertainment and at-home photoshoots. While not much has changed yet in early 2021, I am hopeful for changes. 2021 has been heavy too and I delayed this post for that reason.

2020 In Review: 

• I celebrated 3 years of blogging: I did slow down with my blogging a lot this year because I wanted to be fully present with Scarlett and I was learning to navigate motherhood. I am hoping to be more consistent this year (if Scarlett’s nap times allow me to). You can find my 3rd anniversary blog post here. I will be celebrating 4 years very soon.
• We attended the Super Bowl: What an experience of a lifetime getting to attend the Super Bowl and also seeing the Kansas City Chiefs win. I posted all about our experience here.
• I had 2 baby showers: I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to celebrate with friends and family just a couple weeks before the lockdown. You can find my Texas baby show post here and my Oklahoma baby shower post here.
• Became A Stay at home mom: post here
• Quarantined: I learned to truly never take normalcy for granted. You can see what good things the quarantine taught me here.
• Prepared for Scarlett: This reminds me that I need to share her nursery reveal soon.
• Became a mother during a pandemic:  You can read her birth story here and I shared about finding motherhood here. 
• Spent most of the time at home, but did a few social distanced activities during the fall (see post here). 
• Jake finished another year of residency: He has 1.5 years left. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel although he is going to do a 1 year fellowship.
• Jake and I celebrated 6 years of marriage: Time flies when you’re having fun.
• We went to the beach (We very much social distanced and took precautions)- hopefully 2021 will bring safe travel at some point. Post here. 
• Jake got his first dose of the COVID vaccine and will get his second this week. This year has brought a lot of worry with him working at a hospital, so it’s so nice to finally feel hopeful and not have to worry as much about him getting sick or getting us sick.

My Word of 2021:

My 2020 word of the year was “embrace” and this fit perfectly in so many ways (post here). I learned to embrace change as my body changed during pregnancy then becoming a mother/postpartum. I also learned to embrace the time at home, although it was challenging. When I planned to be a stay at home mom, I didn’t realize I literally would be staying at home all of the time with the pandemic.

I loved having a word of the year and decided to continue this in 2021. This year my word is “faith.” I prayed on my word and was instantly was reminded of the scripture, “Faith can move mountains,” from Matthew 17:20. This verse reminds me that God has a plan for us and that I need to have faith and trust his plan.

Top 6 Post:

1. Back To Basics: Burberry Cashmere Scarf Review: Is It Worth It?: I’m not surprised this was my top post of 2020. Luxury reviews get me the best views on Google. I hope to review more in 2021.
2. Baby Girl’s Name Announcement: I had originally planned to wait until Scarlett came, but it was nice to announce so I didn’t accidentally slip up.
3. My Baby Registry Must-Haves: Pretty much most of what I registered for has been really useful. I need to do an update and share some additional products we got/our favorites.
4. Scarlett’s Birth Story: This will forever be my favorite memory.
5. Maternity Milk Bath Photoshoot: This was way out of my comfort zone, but I learned to love and embrace my growing bump.
6. Baby Girl’s Nursery Inspiration: Like I said earlier, I need to do an update on this post. Her nursery was very similar to the inspiration, but we did change a few things.

About My Outfit:

This dress is from Chicwish and is so gorgeous. I have a feeling it will be a staple in my closet since it’s so versatile and can be styled in so many ways. The top part is made out of sweater material and the bottom is a little silky. It almost looks like two different pieces. I styled it with a gold sequin cardigan to make it festive for New Years. I sized up and it fits perfectly; I was afraid it might be too small in the chest otherwise. I plan to style this with pink for Valentine’s Day too.

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