2012 in Review!

2012 has been a BIG year for the Akins family. First of all, we became the Akins family! Brief run down of our best year yet below…

January- the wedding (see extended post!); having our families in town; Mom having to get surgery here (bad)- but getting an extra week to spend with them (good!); Landon gets his first job post-graduation.

February- We started our Valentine’s tradition of selecting an obnoxious theme for gifts. This year: most sappy under $10. Success!

March- The day of the Hunger Games, we find out we’re pregnant(!). We don’t tell anyone, but see the movie with ridiculously goofy grins on our faces. Which come to think of it probably seemed inappropriate. And now for a never before told story: I just had this *feeling* so I left work early to take a test. Big freaking, “Yes Kim! You are actually going to have a baby!” I start jumping and screaming, which totally scares the crap out of the dogs. I text Landon and ask if I can meet him for lunch. Red flag, because since he started working I’ve NEVER done this. He has no clue. He is running late for lunch and I’m hyperventilating. He has no clue. I show him a picture of the positive test, he says “Really?!” gives me a kiss, and then says “do you have my sandwich?” 

April- Landon’s family reunion. I survive the event-which apparently had been debated- and seem to earn family approval. Tell our families about the little monkey. To say the least they are a little excited.

May- We get our first peek at little peanut. At the ultrasound, Landon: Can they tell the gender? Me: Um, no. Not till 20 weeks. Landon: Then what’s the point of today? (Upon seeing the very first image on the ultrasound and subsequently hearing the heartbeat) Landon: There’s our baby! (with tears. I promise). And just for the record, even though the baby was the size of a lima bean, we still saw some dancing!

SO the cutest little bean you've ever seen!

June- Baby’s first concert. Coldplay. This baby has dang good taste! Also baby’s first professional sporting event, a soccer game. Baby is not impressed. Could be because the score was 0-0.

July- Our gender scan- It’s a boy!!! Lots of tears from both mom and dad. This is the moment where it suddenly becomes real that we will be parents. Even better, we find out that our SON is growing perfectly and everything is right on track. Landon applies for and gets an amazing new job at Tech. (Finds out that he’s hired just after we find out about Jeremiah!) He’s hired as the Section Supervisor for the TTU Student Business Services’ Call Center. The really neat thing is that it’s a brand new job, and brand new call center, so he will get to help build it from the ground up. We’re both humbled by this blessing.

August- Mom comes out to visit, and we have a baby shower. Surprise! This is the first time we really start telling people I’m pregnant, and the first time I’m really showing. I’m about 24 weeks when people start to catch on J Landon’s parents also come out for the shower so we get to have some fun family time. And in unrelated news- I highly recommend Lubbock’s Moonlight Musicals. We saw Sound of Music and loved it! I apply and interview for 2 promising jobs. One falls through, one makes an offer but we decide it isn’t right for our family. This is kind of a down time for me, but makes me realize how fortunate I am to be married to Landon because he is a superstar partner during this chaos. More on this later.

September- Jeremiah attends his first football game- TTU vs. New Mexico State. He likes it, and decides we should go to the rest of the home games this season. (The people in our section become increasingly impressed the more pregnant I get!) We have a lovely baby shower in Denison. We also find out that I suddenly don’t do well flying or driving in late pregnancy. I see a promising job listed at Tech and apply.

Kind of an awkward picture, but this is a moment when I realize that there's actually a little person in there, who is approximately as big as a papaya. Yikes. Crap just got real!

October- Landon is accepted into the Tech MBA program. So proud of him! He will start in January. I get a call for a phone interview for this “promising job” and immediately get a great feeling. I complete said phone interview in the United Express parking lot near our house because our phone reception is bad at the house. I get the follow up in person interview, at which point I’ll be 34 weeks. I get this job, and couldn’t be happier. See other post for the details about my amazing job!

November- I start my new job, about 5 weeks before the baby is due. Jeremiah is born 11/21!  We have our first Thanksgiving as a family of five, though I’m pretty much passed out on the couch for it. I did get to see some good football though.

December- We celebrate our first Christmas as a family. Details and pictures to come. Mostly we spend the month not sleeping, staring at this baby for hours on end, and snuggling up to our little guy. We also have snow for Jeremiah’s first Christmas!!!

2012 was a year that really tested us in a lot of ways. We had some difficult moments, but they definitely brought us closer to one another and really taught us the value of being a team and leaning on one another. These challenges also really deepened our spiritual connection and our reliance on our Heavenly Father. Despite these challenges, this year we’ve received an overwhelming number of blessings. We couldn’t be more excited about where we are today or what’s to come for our little family.

Happy 2013 to all of you!

Love,

Kim, Landon & Jeremiah (and also Piper & Dakota!)