2014 in Review

January 01, 2015

2014 in Review

Since 2014 was the year I hopped back on the blogging bandwagon, I figured I'd do a little "2014 in review" post to commemorate it. So, hang on tight: here it goes, in my favorite fashion: a top ten list, in no particular rank or oder.

10. Scooter's Beggin' Gig

Scooter has had quite a year jam-packed with oodles of fun Beggin' antics and adventures. He became an official "Beggin' Partner" about a year ago, and has been so fortunate to be featured on a'many Beggin' Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts as well as at numerous Beggin' events (Beggin' Pet Parade, Pooches in the Ballpark). This has been so great for him (even though I'm sure he doesn't really know it :) and for my creativity in coming up with new photo ideas for each of his pics. Here's to continuing our partnership into 2015 and for oodles of more fun bacony pics to come!

9. Vacations

We were fortunate enough to get to go on three vacations in 2014: one to Michigan in July to visit our friends the Terrys (which was just Patrick and I, since Mike had to work), one to New Orleans in June (just Mike and I) for a wedding, and then our most recent one to Florida as a whole family to close out 2014.

We had a blast on all of our trips, and Patrick has proved that he is one heckuva road tripper--being amazingly awesome for both the 8-hour Michigan and 16+ hour Floridian car rides he went on. I sure hope this is something that he never grows out of and always has--because it makes us want to travel and go places all over knowing how good he is in the car!

Visiting Michigan and Florida has made me so thankful for amazingly awesome friends and family, no matter how far away they might live from us. We hope 2015 has oodles of great journeys and trips in store for us as well!

8. Patrick Turned One

May 2nd, 2013 feels like just yesterday, and I cannot believe that we celebrated Patrick's 1st birthday in 2014 and that he now is closer to 2 than he is to 1! His first birthday was filled with TWO birthday parties (one at our house, one at grandma's) and more fun jam-packed into one day than he could have probably ever wanted. It was so much fun documenting his first year of life every month through monthly growth pics and watching him evolve from a little baby into a toddler.

Patrick grew so much in 2014 and has really developed his own little personality and attitude. I cannot wait to watch him grow this next year (and many more to come!) into a sweet little man!

7. Cloth Diapers

I know some people would judge me for having this on my 2014 top ten list, but oh well. They just probably haven't experienced the awesomeness which is cloth diapering in the 21st century!

Seriously. Cloth diapers are our fave, and look oh-so-adorable by themselves, with a tshirt, or peeking out of a pair of shorts (on babes and toddlers, that is :). Mike said on our vacation recently how much "better" cloth diapers look than sposies (disposables) with every outfit. This made my cloth-loving heart sing.

But in reality, the cloth diaper world has not only keep a hold of Patrick's #1 and #2, but has also made me some great friends via social media just because of our love for a fluffy bum. I even spent wayyyyyyy too long one day (like several hours! ekkk!!) typing up this blog post all about why we love cloth and every single in and out of cloth I could think of to put in there, just as a reference for anyone looking to cloth diaper or needing our opinions (and I do update this same post frequently too!). Anyways, we love cloth, and cannot wait to continue it with Patrick and #2 when he/she comes in a few months.

6. Pics & Paws Photography

I launched my own photography business in late 2013, and had a wonderfully awesome year of picture taking in 2014. I got to take SO.MANY.PICTURES. for so many couples, babies, and families! I feel so fortunate that I'm not only able to take these pics, but people like them enough to keep calling and keep asking for photo shoots and sessions!

I had a hard time picking pictures for the above collage...and those are just a few of my many favorites that I loved taking this past year. I hope 2015 is filled with oodles of photo shoots and new editing techniques and styles for me to try out!

5. Educational Technology Specialist

Back in April of 2014 I posted about big news--that I was taking a new job as an Educational Technology Specialist at a new school beginning in August of 2014. Even though the school year is only half over, I absolutely LOVE this job and this school! The girls are fabulous, and I love that I get to split my time helping teachers with tech and also teaching a few classes. It really is my dream job and I am so happy to be at such a great school in such a fantastic position.

The above pic is my video production class from last semester who have all decided to "stay on" with me and do kind of a free-lance video production class (not as a regular class, but more for service hours and to continue their videoing skills) this semester--I am so excited! These girls have made some amazing videos this semester and I look forward to seeing what they come up with in 2015!

4. Scooter's Attack

This probably seems like a terrible thing to add to a year in review post, but it was a significant event in 2014 and I wanted to make note of it. Scooter's Attack was definitely an eye-opening experience for us, and reminded us just how special and a huge part of our family Scooter is. The outpouring of support we got after his attack was incredible; he's touched so many people with his pictures and "antics" (more than we could ever imagine!) that so many people were also affected by his attack as well.

I am proud to report that Scooter has made a 100% full recovery, and is still the spunky little almost 10 year old dog he's always been! This attack has shown us how much Scooter means to us--especially Patrick--and how huge of a part of our family is! Plus, we've seen how much this little dog of ours has touched and inspired others! (and incited a lot of giggles too!). We love Scoots so much and we hope this experience is a learning one and not a repeat :)

3. Documenting the Bump

I was really peeved at myself for not better document my pregnancy with Patrick. I committed myself from 5 weeks on after we shared our news to do a weekly blog post documenting the bump. 26 weeks in and I'm still going strong with my weekly posts!

I've made sure to take a lot of bump pics/selfies as well--I love looking back at them post-baby and seeing what I looked like, and if/when #3 comes along, it will be great to be able to do some of my favorite comparison pics. I really love how a good chunk of 2014 was spending documenting this growing baby in my belly--I cannot wait for a few months in 2015 for us to find out if it's a he or she, and what his/her name will be! Stay tuned!

2. Favorite Blog Posts

Since I finally hopped back on the blogging train this year, I wanted to give a shout out to a few of my favorite blog posts of 2014. If you haven't read any of these yet, these are the ones I recommend you read, cause they were my favorite to write/compose and ones I reference quite often for various reasons. I hope I have some equally as awesome posts in 2015 as well!

Things Not To Say To A Pregnant Lady

Patrick's Birth Story

Extreme Pumping

Patrick Tales

6.9.12

All About Cloth

1. Soon-To-Be Family of Four + Scooter

We found out on August 1st that we were going to be adding a new little one to our Mooney clan in early April. We could not be more excited about making Patrick (and Scooter) big brothers and to find out if they'll have a little sister or brother.

I've really enjoyed documenting the bump (see #3 from above) and this pregnancy thus far (go read my weekly posts for the nitty-gritty details about each week if you're interested), but mostly seeing Patrick notice my growing baby and him pointing and saying "bay-beeee" at my tummy.

Our soon-to-be family of 4 status is definitely one of our top highlights from 2015...although I cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for the Mooneys!

BONUS: Favorite Pics of 2014

Yeah, I could not NOT share some of my favorite pics of 2014, could I?!! Duh. Of course I'd need to share these, which is why I saved it for last as a bonus. Here are some of my all-time favorite pics from 2014. Enjoy...and I hope 2015 has even better photo-captured moments in store!