2018 was a great year for the Costellos! Of course we had our ups and downs, but I like to focus on the positives. We had our fair share of difficulties of many kinds, illnesses and difficult life changes but we powered through! Here’s a look back (mostly for my memories!) of our 2018. Consider this your 2018 Christmas card π
January
- We announced we were expecting baby #5!
- I survived morning sickness and fatigue combined with 4 kids, life and working. That was about all we accomplished in January. Lol
February
- Gabriel celebrated his First Reconciliation
- Jeremiah had a birthday! (We won’t say how old…)
- We enjoyed winter in Iowa learning to ice fish and snowshoe
- We attended our first opera and the kids really liked it!
- I survived another month of pregnancy.
March
- We got to see baby #5 for the first time via 19 week ultrasound! Always exciting!
- We helped make the Costello’s St Patrick’s Day parade float a success once again!
- Black Betty joined our family and I’ll forever be a maxi-van lover π
- We celebrated Easter!
April
- Gabriel had his First Communion! And I only cried once or twice…
- Lucy turned 7 and we ate sushi and went ice skating, her requests
- Gabriel and Lucy started baseball/softball seasons
- Jeremiah completed his final presentation for grad school.We pulled the big kids out of school so they could be a part of it. So proud of him!
May
- Amelia had her first ever weekend with Aunt Mel, solo
- Celebrated Mother’s Day with Great Grandma Laura
- Amelia fulfilled her lifelong dream of taking horseback riding lessons
- Celebrated the end of the school year and the beginning of summer!
JuneΒ
- Gabriel turned 9!
- Jeremiah and I spent some time in San Diego without kids, enjoying all the sites and foods before he attended a conference there
- Hosted 2 of our favorite cousins for 10 days!
- Had the annual Costello campout with our extended family. It was one of the hottest weekends of the year, and our A/C also malfunctioned this weekend. I was 7 months pregnant. Good times
- We had another batch of adorable baby bunnies
July
- I celebrated another year of life and 8 months of pregnancy, and it showed! (Read: I was M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E.)
- We took a wonderful family vacation to Kentucky and visited The Arc and The Creation Museum. We also ate a lot of great food!
- The oldest 3 kids rocked swimming lessons
- Lucy chopped 9 inches off her hair and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths
- J and the kids enjoyed summer in Iowa with lots of fishing.
- We hiked a lot to try to walk the baby out
August
- Started the month off with a bang with the arrival of Kateri Elizabeth Ann Costello on August 1 after a fast labor of 2.5 hours!
- Filled up the 5 rows of van seats a bit more
- Got more used to life as a family of 7
- Traveled to Des Moines with a 2 week old infant and Gabriel got to fulfill his Christmas gift of a day of rock climbing! (not our best timing)
- Kids resumed schoolΒ life. Gabriel started 3rd grade, Lucy 2nd grade, Amelia 4 yr old preschool
September
- Gabriel and Lucy starred in their first year of flag football
- I chopped 8 inches of my hair and also donated to Pantene Beautiful Lengths!
- Kateri was baptized!
- Jeremiah ran the QC Marathon Relay on a team from his school
- Ruth turned 2!
- We took our first longer road trip as a family of 7 to visit Uncle Cameron at his last year at Conception Seminary College in Missouri and hung out with the monks
October
- We had fun at Halloween!
- I used the beautiful fall colors as a reason to update the kid’s pictures
- Had a good time with friends at the pumpkin patch!
- I returned to work part time and am enjoying a fabulous work/life balance. I go to work part time and come home to my full time job π
- Enjoyed fall in Iowa by hiking some local parks
November
- Amelia turned 5!
- Gabriel and Lucy got to live out a child’s dream when they were gifted a 5 day trip to Disney World in Florida with their grandparents!
- I met up with 3 of my childhood friends; we had not all been together for over 15 years. It was long overdue!
- Gabriel started swim team and he loves it. I LOVE seeing him so committed and motivated with an activity!
December
- Jeremiah officially graduated from UNI with his Master’s in Educational Leadership!!
- Gabriel attended his first swim meet. A learning experience for all!
- We celebrated Christmas 5 times and 1 more in January!
We’ve been incredibly blessed in 2018 and have high hopes for 2019! Hope you all are enjoying the last few days of 2018 and counting your blessings as well!