Hello 2017

2016, you're going to be really hard to beat. I mean, my best gift ever came so I really can't complain. I am looking forward to what 2017 has in store for our little family.

To kick of the New Year, I am setting some goals, not resolutions, for myself:

1. Unplug
Over the last year, especially the past several months, I have felt like I was allowing social media to take up too much of my time. Honestly, I was allowing it to take over my life. Whenever I had an idle moment I was on some social media outlet. Ask Jared, I was addicted. Certainly these apps were helpful to keep me entertained while I am tied to my pump 3 times a day for 30 minutes at a time. But obviously that wasn't the only time I was checking though. My breaking point was when I realized this was the first thing I opened on my phone after turning off my alarm in the morning. Yes, I would often open my Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat feeds before even getting out of bed. Disturbing, I know. So, I quit cold turkey. I deleted every app from my phone on January 2nd. It has been kind of freeing which is sad that I feel that way. My goal is to go a year with hopes that I will never return.

2. Blog
No, I don't consider this blog a social media outlet. I think of this more as an online journal and a way to keep extended family in touch with our life. I started this blog back in 2013. Jared and I had recently gotten engaged, we were living in Winston-Salem, I was in my last semester of nursing school, and Jared was in his MBA program. I wanted a way to remember the craziness that was consuming our lives. I went back and read some of those older posts while I was updating the layout (and name) of the blog and I was reminded of why I wanted to keep these memories on here. My goal is to post on here once week or at the very least, every other week.

3. Run
Before I got pregnant I was trying to get into running. We have a really great neighborhood to run in, with lots of sidewalks and greenways close by. But, then I got pregnant and I was really tired, like all the time. So I turned to prenatal yoga and Pilates as my workouts to prepare for my plan of natural birth. During this time, my best friend, Meghan, was training for her first half marathon. I jokingly said that I too wanted to run a half marathon one day. After Fletcher was born I said my goal was to run a half marathon by his first birthday. The one I am currently training for will be a month after his birthday. Technically, I should pick one closer but, this one is in the Outer Banks and I can't pass up a trip out there.

4. Love
The day I married Jared I could've sworn I couldn't love him (or anyone else) anymore. Oh boy, was I wrong. My heart grew five times the moment he became a father (and I met our son). Watching him learn and grow into this truly amazing dad has me constantly melting. I always knew he would be great, but he has exceeded every expectation. The past 9 months have not been without their challenges though. I think in part because we need to remember that we are not just mom and dad we are also husband and wife. My goal is to make sure we don't forget the latter part of that. I want to continue to build on our marriage and grow as a couple. This means, more dates nights (or day dates), less screen time after work, and more meaningful conversations. My mom was kind enough to gift us a weekend away to Asheville in the beginning of March as our Christmas gift this year, babysitting included.

Fletcher's face says it all, let's hope 2017 doesn't blow by like 2016 did.