Hinze Happenings 2011 - Counting our Blessings

2011 was a year of many blessings for our family, along with a few sad events as well. Our biggest announcement for the year was in the form of a little baby girl born October 27, 2011 at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. Maris Josephine arrived after 37 hours of hard work on the part of mom, dad and our doula, Christy. She weighed 6 pounds 15.7 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. We planned a home birth with a great midwife - hoping to have this baby vaginally after 2 prior c-sections. While we ended up transferring from home to hospital - we still achieved the VBAC birth and couldn’t be happier with our experience. Our midwife was still there for the birth, along with our back-up OB and doula. We are over the top with joy to have another little girl after thinking our family was complete at two! 

Our year started with birthdays as usual - Wyatt turned 4 and Maddie turned 6. Just days after Maddie’s birthday we were surprised to discover we were expecting another baby! After the shock wore off (it took several months) - we set to preparing for this little one’s arrival at the end of October.

Mike’s business, Integrity Boat and Yacht Services had another great year. There was some concern with the economy, but for every boat “lost”, another or sometimes even more boats were added to the fleet that Integrity maintains for their owners. There were some huge fish caught with Captain Mike this year - a 147-lb tuna, 58-pound grouper and a few huge amberjacks as well topped the list of big’uns. Trips were made to Louisiana and several deliveries to South Florida kept Mike busy and gone from home throughout the year. Mike rounded out the year with the 4th Annual “Cowboy Party” with his good friends and clients. They spent 5 days up in Alabama hunting. Mike returned with two deer this year!

Most of Anne’s year was spent being pregnant. Morning sickness plagued her once again and lasted the duration of her pregnancy unfortunately. Thanks to the care of a fabulous midwife - she had a much healthier pregnancy this time around (It really is all in the diet!). Maris’ pregnancy lasted 39 weeks and 5 days compared to 36 and 37 weeks for Maddie and Wyatt. She was also the biggest baby so far - close to a pound heavier than Maddie and Wyatt! Other than having to have an iron infusion near the end of her pregnancy, there were no major complications this time around. Anne continued to lead a breastfeeding support group as a La Leche League Leader. Her meetings are some of the biggest in the state with regular attendance hitting 20-30 moms each month! After almost 5 years of studying and taking classes - Anne took the exam to become an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Just a few hours after Maris’ birth, Anne received notification that she had passed the exam. It was exciting to welcome  a baby and become an IBCLC all in one day! She plans to ease into her private practice helping moms and babies overcome their breastfeeding challenges as Maris gets older.

Maddie is almost 7 years old (Feb. 26) and in first grade. We’ve continued with homeschooling and Classical Conversations this year. Maddie loves math, but hasn’t yet discovered the joys of reading (although she does read quite well - she just doesn’t enjoy it). She took swimming lessons this summer and wowed us with her amazing backstroke. We’ve talked about joining the Barracuda’s swim team, but she said she isn’t interested. She wants to try Karate in January, though. She’s a fabulous big sister - helping mommy with the baby every day, sometimes without being asked!

Wyatt is almost 5 years old (Jan. 2) and as always a very funny guy. He is in preschool this year and although the beginning of the year was a bit of a rough transition he’s loving it now. He tells his teacher all kinds of funny things like “My dad caught a big fish and then he Chick-fil-a’d it.” When his class was singing Christmas songs this year he told them his favorite song was “grandma got run over by a reindeer.” His teacher keeps me smiling with notes telling me the funny things he says. He also loves his little sister and is a big help. He’s sleeping all night in his own bed, now too! (This was a huge thing for him). 

Our little angel, Maris, will be 2 months old on December 27. It seems like she was just born, but then again it seems like she’s always been here. Her first 6 weeks were a little stressful until we decided to try treating her with medication for reflux. The poor thing would scream after she nursed until she fell back asleep. Thankfully the meds made her much more comfortable and by 7 weeks she finally started to smile and coo.  She sleeps great at night and is a sweet baby. We are all in love with her!

We said goodbye to Anne’s grandmother, Grace, this Fall. A small, family service was held here in Niceville. There are plans to combine her ashes with her husband, Caleb’s and bury them in North Carolina at some point, but a date has not been set. One of the hardest things for us was Anne’s parent’s moving to the West Palm Beach area in October, just a few weeks before Maris was born. After having them here and being so close to them, we feel lost without Mimi and Papa! We are thankful for the many friends who are like family and all the support they’ve given us in the past 2 months. We were showered with meals, childcare and moral support during the last weeks of the pregnancy and the early weeks of Maris’ life. It’s been hard not to have them here, but we’re managing. We’re traveling to spend Christmas with them in their new house and the kids are excited to see them again. They are the ones who have missed them the most (Anne does, too of course). 

We are looking forward to 2012, making plans to move to a bigger house (hopefully) and enjoy life to its fullest as we celebrate 10 years of marriage.  

As 2011 draws to a close we hope your year has been blessed and that you’ve been able to find joy and wonder this Christmas season. Please stay in touch! May the new year bring you joy, peace, love and simplicity.

Life is a great and wondrous mystery, and the only thing we know that we have for sure is what is right here right now. Don't miss it.
— Leo Buscaglia