Goodbye 2012! Hello 2013!

Last year will always be a memorable one, but not always for good reasons.  2012 was not very kind to us, but did make up for it later in the year.  Here is a summary of some major things the Weibleys experienced last year:

• Jan. 3 we began our drive from VA to TX to move back "home".  It took 4 days, 3 nights but we finally arrived at my mother-in-law's, where we ended up staying for 6 weeks. 
• While we lived at my MIL's, Sophie began to show signs of Celiac, though we didn't know what it was. She was just sick the entire time.
• Jan. 27 was Brandon's official last day of being in the Navy.
• Feb. 20 we moved to little bitty Schulenburg, TX.  Took a while to adjust to small town living, especially in addition to civilian living.  
• Feb. 24 Brandon began his new civilian job, starting off on night shift working 5 pm to 5 am. 
• Feb. 28 I celebrated my birthday with a family outing to San Antonio and a new DSLR camera, which I still am learning, but loving!
• Early March, I took Sophie to the doctor after tons of online research, with a couple of possible problems for her health issues.  The pediatrician began testing and referred us to a GI doctor in Austin.  
• March 16 - Sophie saw the GI doctor.  March 19 was her biopsy to test for Celiac since all tests to this point showed signs for it.  March 19 also began her permanent gluten-free diet, along with a believed-to-be-temporary dairy-free diet.  March 21 biopsy results confirmed Celiac.  Finally an answer!
• March to May was very overwhelming as I tried to figure out what to cook!  I began learning all about ingredients I had never heard of and trying to find foods that I would see in recipes but unsure if our store carried.  
• May - Sophie had her first weight gain since December! Praise the Lord!
• Summer 2012 - I was finally getting into a groove of cooking gluten and dairy free, but noticed other foods were still bothering Sophie.
• August - Sophie visited an allergist to see if she had an allergy to peanuts, almonds, or eggs.  Egg allergy was confirmed. 
• Sept. 4, we found out the best news for the year: baby #2 was on its way! 
• After her allergist appointment, symptoms began again of another food issue.  Began cutting out foods, which ended up being a long list that I posted about HERE. On top of all this, we still had not added back in dairy.  Corn was determined to be the culprit around early November.  Cooking without all of this, especially corn, was so much harder than just cooking without gluten! Sure made for an interesting and exhausting Thanksgiving.
• Nov. 29 we found out our baby was a boy!
• The last 2 weeks of the year Brandon was on vacation.  Before he headed off, we were told that he would return to work on day shift.  That was something we had been wanting and praying about for months! 

2012 was very much a difficult year for us.  Adjusting to civilian life (and civilian pay - can you say medical bills!!), small town living, and all of Sophie's medical issues made it one of the most difficult years for me personally.  There was a lot of heartache, a lot of tears, a lot of sleepless nights with a sick child, and a lot of stress.  I have never been so happy to see a year end!

Goodbye 2012!

This year has already been better than last.  My morning sickness is gone.  Sophie finally seems on track for her diet.  We added back in all but gluten, corn, egg, and dairy so all the other things I had cut are no longer an issue. Believe it or not, it's a lot easier with just those things than all the rest, especially since I'm learning to make more.  Brandon has been working day shift since returning after his vacation earlier this month.  This has allowed us to spend so much more time together, not only on days he works since we are awake now that he's home, but also we now get the whole day with him on his days off!  That is a blessing for sure!  We are preparing for baby boy and looking forward to his arrival toward the end of April. As for Sophie, we hope to get her adjusted to a big girl bed quickly and potty trained soon.

The year 2013 doesn't have much to beat out 2012, but I hope that this year is much better than last!

Bring it on 2013!  We're ready!