I guarantee if we stay up past midnight to welcome in the new year, we are going to look a lot like our good friends dog, Boston.

We hope you have a lovely New Years Eve! Happy 2011!

My goodness, 2010 has nearly completed. As of tomorrow, I will have have completed my goal of posting on this blog EVERY DAY FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR. Doesn’t that sound really so insane? I cannot believe that I did it.

Anyway, thanks for coming along for the journey…reading the posts, viewing the photos, watching the videos. It really makes me SO SO happy to have you coming to the blog.

I also really appreciate those of you who comment both physically on the blog and also in conversations or emails, because I know that I have posted something interesting enough to you that you take time out of your busy day to not only read but also send me feedback.

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

I plan to slow down the posting a bit in 2011 and focus on a few other goals I have like learning French and rediscovering my passion for reading. Books, how I have missed you!

Oh and I hope to not tire myself out too much in the third trimester and right after having a new baby. Sleep, precious sleep…I need to store some hours in the bank for those late night/early morning feedings. That is honestly exhausting even thinking about that right now…

Don’t worry though…I am still addicted to this blog and the posts probably won’t slow down ALL that much…they just won’t always be every day.

So, I hope you have enjoyed this year. It has been a lot of work, but so much fun. Again, thanks for reading!

Photos of a hike in the snow, taken near Cartwright Road.

Another one of Andy and Belén’s adventures last week took them to a gymnasium where Belén worked on her gymnastics, especially jumping skills.

Little B has been making pretty good progress on her ABCs.

It has been a fun Christmas full of family gatherings, food and of course presents for Belén.  Santa brought a few presents but the grandparents and aunties were very generous making us very pleased that Belén can say the phrase, “Tank yew.” As always, it is a wonderful time of the year to gather together and be thankful for all that we have especially all of the wonderful people in our lives.

And the card text read something to the effect of “We have been busy chasing a toddler and being knocked up” except that it was stated a little more eloquently than that. I was so close to going with the “knocked up” wording but as I went through list of relatives who receive the card, we begin to count on more than one hand the number of people who would likely be offended.

Marian Hoobing, Andy’s grandmother was a wonderful lady who we all miss very much. When she was alive, each year she made her famous butter rings and gave them to friends, family and people at her church. Everyone wanted her recipe, but she would only share it with the women who were carrying on the Hoobing name. For years, Eileen, Andy’s mom, made butter rings and gave them to her friends and loved ones but she was also not allowed to share the recipe.

When I married into the Hoobing family, one of the most precious gifts I received was the Butter Ring recipe. Not being overly domestic, I treasured the recipe, but never actually made it myself. Eileen always made us a ring and that satisfied us every year, but I felt guilty I was not using the recipe and sharing the goodness with our friends and family.

When Marian died, her Butter Ring recipe was distributed at the funeral. I saw a lot of happy old ladies clutching their 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with the mysterious recipe that day. Now that my mom and Andy’s sisters now had the Butter Ring recipe, Eileen held a Butter Ring workshop for us last year. That resulted in my first batch of Butter Rings which I shared with friends.

A dozen glasses with raspberries later, we are happy to announce that we are expecting a baby girl.

While a boy would have been fun to experience, we know girls and are excited to have another one. As with learning the news of Belén’s sex, I am disappointed Andy will likely remain cool as the girls get older while I will likely become super lame. It would have been nice to have an adoring son (yes, broad generalizations are being made here), but honestly, this time around we could not be more happy and excited to welcome another baby girl. Having Belén has been such a wonderful experience, if baby number two is anything remotely like her, we will be the luckiest parents alive.

So now we move on to the name game. If you have any fabulous girl names you think we should consider, please do share!

It’s a girl! I cannot believe we finally know!