I began blogging at the end of March, 2012.  Two Hundred and Nineteen posts later, we have arrived at the end of 2012.

I wanted to record our family adventures, share recipes, and review books on my blog when I first started out.  This is still my goal, but it is also so much more.

In addition to writing several times per week, I discovered blog hops, social networks, and blogging groups.  I have met an incredible group of people in bloggers.

I only wish I had begun sooner.  Having said that, I’m also very glad that I started at all.  I cannot imagine not having a place to write and share and connect with people interested in the same topics as I am.  Its really incredibly fulfilling.  My blog will provide a journal of our family events for my little ones to read and enjoy one day, and that feels great (and productive 🙂 ).

Writing and connecting is the best form of therapy out there, and I just adore it.

My blog has gone through several re-designs throughout these nine months.  I have become a bit addicted to changing the look of my header, the colors of my post titles, the look of the home page, and the list goes on.

But, through it all, I have tried to always focus on the content, above all else.

It’s difficult to pick only 10 of my favorite posts from 2012,  but I thought it would be fun to look back a year from now, so here it goes……

1. I love posts that make me smile, laugh, and create a warm fuzzy feeling.  When I interviewed Bam Bam, my then four year old, I was laughing so hard, I was crying.

Interview with Four Year Old Bam Bam

2. This year, I have also learned how fun it is to write about bits of my childhood.  I found a prompt to write about one of my best childhood memories, and I wrote about building forts with my brother and sister.  I love this memory.

One of my Best Childhood Memories

3. I also really enjoyed writing about “the most important 15 minutes of my life”.  This was another prompt I found and I forced myself to go with the first thought that popped into my mind.  Its a bit silly, as you will see…..

The Most Important 15 Minutes of my Life 

4. Food, I found out this year, is very photogenic and super fun to write about and share with fellow cooks.  I have shared many recipes this year, but one in particular is my favorite and received a great deal of attention…

Rocky Road Brownies

5. Family outings are always really fun to document and share.  We love going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium several times per year.  This year, I took photos of the aquarium life as well as the rest of the places we visited, and this was the resulting post….

Monterey Bay Aquarium

6. I found that I enjoy writing about movies that our family watches together.  I always appreciate an in depth review of children’s movies before I see them, so I thought I would contribute to the cause.  Here is a review of “We bought a zoo”.  I just loved this movie….

We Bought a Zoo

7. Conversations around the dinner table can get pretty interesting in our house, especially when our five year old adds to the discussion, as is outlined here….

Dinner Conversation with a Five Year Old

8. As parents, we are always learning as our kids grow.  In this post, I shared how important Trust is in the parent child relationship….

Giving Our Kids Space to Grow

9. Since writing consistently was a goal for this past year, I found a new “me time” activity, and that is observational writing.  In this post, I sat in one of our local parks, and described the surroundings….

A Breezy Park Day

10. I felt the need to write about how blogging has changed my life and allowed me to enjoy the day to day more thoroughly.  This is the resulting post….

Slow Down and Blog

That’s it, my top 10 for 2012.  Looking forward to 2013.