1 Year {Memories}

A few weeks ago, Matt and I decided that we were going to exchange traditional anniversary gifts. The material for year 1 is paper, so I thought it would be fun to look through all of our photos from the last year and make a little scrapbook so we remember all the highlights of our first year together. I'll try not to overwhelm you with photos but instead link back to older posts when possible.

After our wedding, we honeymooned in Maui! It was gorgeous and one of the most relaxing weeks ever.

Following our honeymoon, I moved to Seattle (Matt was already living there).

Our first apartment was in Ballard, a hip neighborhood just about 5 miles outside of the city. We lived above a grocery store and within walking distance of a ton of coffee shops and restaurants. You can read more about our neighborhood in this post.

This is the spot where our very first fight occurred (the picture was taken at a much later date!). Let's just say I'm not the world's greatest driver...Matt was teaching me how to back into our parking spot, conveniently located next to a very nice old car and this large concrete pole. He insisted on showing me how it's done a couple of times (after I had tried and we were both frustrated) and smashed right into the pole on the second demonstration, cracking the entire mirror. End result? Matt laughing hysterically. Lauren in tears. It was pretty funny looking back though.

Matt worked for Acts 29 and later Mars Hill Church. This was also our church, just about about a mile from our apartment. I'm still amazed by how many people we grew close to in less than a year for a church with thousands of people. God is so good.

I've mentioned before that being far away from our families and friends was hard but good for our relationship too. This year we were so blessed to be able to travel to see both of our families, and they came to visit us also. It was evident to me the day I met Matt that family is as important to him as it is to me. So while it is no surprise that we've gotten to know each other's family very well this year, I am extremely grateful for the time we've spent together and am happy to call Matt's family my own.

(Not all of Matt's family is pictured here, but they are all in the ski trip photo later on!)

Matt's cousin Amanda and her husband Nelson also lived in Seattle, so we grew close to them as well. She and I were also expecting at the same time, and it was fun to share that experience with her. Her little girl Ella will be five months older than Baby A, and I can't wait for the first time they meet!

My first Christmas away from home was bittersweet, but we tried to make it our own. Our apartment was too small for a tree so we bought a blue spruce tree to keep outside on the patio and hope to keep it alive long enough to plant it one day when we have a house! 

We had Christmas via Skype with my family, and then flew to Virginia to spend Christmas with Matt's family! We had a really great time there, and I got to try two of Matt's favorite things - his mom's Swedish meatballs and homemade cinnamon rolls. Unfortunately, I didn't take very many pictures there though.

We decided to start our own family and found out we were expecting on February 2, 2012. A few weeks later, I began my blog (formerly AikensInSeattle) and made the big announcement!

The very next day we flew to Breckenridge, CO for a ski trip with the Aikens. Yep, I went skiing (for the first time) the day after I found out I was pregnant. The doctor gave me the okay since I was only about 5 or so weeks along at the time.

On one of our visits back to Indiana, we got to spend some time with a couple of my really good friends :).

We were overjoyed when we found out we were having a girl a couple months later!! You can read about that day and our reveal party here.

Eek. I promised this wouldn't be too long. You'll just have to visit my old blog to read all about our adventures in Seattle.

We found out we were moving to Nashville around the same time we found out we were having a baby girl (I can't remember if it was the same day but it was close). Less than two weeks later (21 weeks pregnant for me) we packed everything up and made the 2,600+ mile trek to Nashville, TN. We stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Aiken in Iowa along the way!

We have been in Nashville for not quite three months now and live in the same apartment complex as Matt's sister and brother-in-law. If you keep up with my blog, you probably know all of the most recent news! 

 Hope you enjoyed some of our favorite memories from this year! I'm getting excited for tomorrow's post where I'll answer your questions about marriage and our first year.

 Help me reflect on what we've learned and leave a comment below!

+, Lauren Aiken