Reflecting on 2014

I cannot believe we have closed another chapter!

In typical Robbe fashion, our year was quite the experience.  In February we got the best news ever....WE WERE PREGNANT!!  Having lost our baby in July 2013, we had been asking for the Lord to bless us with another child.  I will never forget sitting in the bathroom, holding the pregnancy test with Matthew and seeing those two beautiful lines appear!!  Tears of joy...absolute tears of joy!!

Our precious miracle.

March brought us out to California for a visit with our Robbe side of the family.  Ten days of beautiful, sunny, warm-ish weather was just what we needed to get us out of that long, winter funk we had.  Spilling the beans of our pregnancy was so fun - we dressed Ethan up in a "big brother" shirt and let him roam the house.  With lots of confused looks we finally yelled out that we were pregnant!!  Our visit took us up the central coast to Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach and Solvang.  It was such a beautiful and memorable trip for us.

Pismo Beach, CA.

Nothing like riding a swing during a west coast sunset.

Early morning fruit-run at the local farmer's market.

Out site seeing in Solvang, CA.

Now this is how you take a selfie!

In May, we headed on our next adventure - our first annual Wasson/Robbe family vacation!  We loaded up our cars, tossed the kids in the back and headed down to Topsail, NC for an entire week of BLISS!  Most mornings were spent sitting on the back deck, watching the ocean waves, feeling the wind, smelling the salty ocean air and sipping on a hot cup of Joe.  It was so relaxing and MUCH needed!!  The afternoons consisted of sinking our toes in the water and digging our "tooshes" into the sand.  Ethan absolutely loved the beach!  Building sand castles with Grandpa, flying kites with Uncle Gabriel, snuggling up with Grandma and playing frisbee with Daddy were just a few of the highlights.  Our evenings usually ended with an incredible dinner, ice cream and an intense round of Settlers.  It was a memorable trip and we were so thankful to spend quality time with the people we love the most!  We had such a good time we've been excited to go back since the moment we drove away.

Wasson/Robbe crew 2014.

My little family of three (and Brooks was brewing inside).

Sandcastles!

Ethan and his cousin Micah absolutely adore each other!

Adios!  See you next year!

In June I went out on a whim and decided to audition for one of my favorite musicals...HAIRSPRAY!  Not knowing whether or not a "preggo" would be casted, I decided to audition anyways!  Much to my surprise, I made it!  I was honored to play the role of a Dynamite (Judine) with Worthington Community Theater.  I am so glad that I decided to join that cast!!  Not only did I meet some incredible people and make some fabulous memories...I got to sing some FABULOUS music!  Although Ethan was too young to see the show, Daddy brought him in during our finale of "You Can't Stop the Beat!"  That was such a special moment for me.

July brought our next great news....ITS A BOY!!  Ethan was going to have a little brother and we were beyond thrilled with the news!!

You can see those beautiful eyes.

My pregnancy with Brooks was similar to that of Ethan.  I struggled with the same horrible morning sickness from conception to delivery.  However, outside of the sickness the actual pregnancy wasn't too terrible.  Brooks was super wiggly and I loved feeling him move around inside me.  The pregnancy seemed to fly by...probably because I have an incredibly supportive husband who was there every step of the way!! He never complained. Never got upset.  Never questioned.  He just helped me and loved me through the entire thing.  I couldn't have asked for a better husband.

August brought a special celebration...we celebrated Ethan's 2nd birthday cowboy style!  Matt and I had such a blast planning this party for our little man!  With family over, we panned for gold, hit the can and fished a snake out of a boot!  It was a true cowboy experience;)  It was an unforgettable time celebrating the life of our precious Ethan.

Ready for our party guests!

Our grub.

The birthday boy with Grandpa and Grandma.

Too tasty to care about pictures.

October ended up being BIG!  We started the month with a mini trip to Lynchburg, VA.  This was our first trip back since moving in June 2012!  Lynchburg holds such a special place in our hearts.  Driving past our old house brought back a flood of memories!  We hit up our favorite food joints and enjoyed introducing Ethan to all of them.  Walking around campus with a toddler and a massively huge belly made me feel a bit dated...but it still felt great to be back!  Matt and I also had the opportunity to take Ethan to his first football game.  We weren't too sure how he would do but he was an absolute champ!  It was cold, loud and overstimulating.  Do you think that hindered Ethan?  Nope!  He sat there until the bitter end.  Looks like we have some more football games in our future:)  The trip also included reconnecting with some special friends!  It only goes to prove that the miles between a friendship do not matter.

Homecoming at Liberty University 2014.

Tailgating.

Snuggled up between mom and dad at the football game.

So the end of October ended up being our biggest surprise.....BROOKS CAME EARLY!  I won't go into the entire story on this blog (I did so in another post) but it was definitely a surprise to us.  At 34 weeks and 4 days, my water broke at 5:30am and Brooks Matthew Robbe was born at 8:41pm weighing a healthy 5lbs 11oz and measuring 18.5 inches.  He gave us quite the scare but God was so faithful and good to us.  Our little precious Brooks was born 100% healthy!  With only three short days in the NICU, we brought our miracle baby home and quickly adjusted to a family of four.

Brooks Matthew Robbe 10/24/14

So in love with him.

Brothers meet for the first time. 

Proud daddy.

Getting as many snuggles in as possible.

Brooks is the most content, happy and peaceful baby.  ANNND...he does not cry!  I still have yet to hear my son's full vocal chords at work.  At roughly 4'ish weeks...he began sleeping through the night (6 hours at a time).  Even though he has regressed a bit the last week, I am confident that he will get back on schedule in no time.  He is such a beautiful and perfect little boy.  We are so blessed!

Ethan has adjusted well to his new role as a big brother!   I wondered if he would be interested in a baby since he was so young himself.  Outside of a few early jealousy moments, he has become such a sweet, gentle and kind brother.  His maturity astounds me and he is constantly asking to hold his "wittle brudder Brooks."  We couldn't be more proud of him.

To be honest...November is a bit of a blur.  I took pictures and videos because I knew I wouldn't remember!!  HAHA.

December brought some of the best Christmas memories.  The highlight of Christmas was hearing Ethan (unprompted) say "I love baby Jesus" after we read him the Christmas story.  He has so much more to learn about our incredible Savior and I feel honored that I get to be one of the ones to share it with him.  It was also a special Christmas because it was our first holiday with Brooks.  He sure does complete our little family.

Christmas Eve.

Daddy helping Ethan write a letter to Santa.

Santa came:)

Early morning Christmas snuggles.

Such excitement opening his gifts. 

Our 4th Christmas together!

Brooks' 1st Christmas!

Love our family.

This has been quite the year!  I am sad to see it come to a close but I eagerly anticipate this next year.  I pray for the Lord's continued guidance and blessings for 2015.

Happy New Year!