Looking back.

2012 saw growth and many changes

and you, Garrett, lost your aversion to almost all strangers.

We started the year with music class together,

and this January begins tumbling, perfect for cabin-fever weather.

In March you sampled your 1st Shamrock Shake,

it's momma's favorite you know, can't be that hard to replicate!

We made many a trip to Gelato Fiasco,

where toasted coconut and caramel sea salt ruled as the favorite flave combo.

We said farewell to the "onesie" and a local Friendly's too...

but there was Frosty's and the Fresh Batch, and we somehow made do.

There were hikes and walks with dogs and our friends,

and many trips to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens!

Summer at Popham, Bar Harbor and Mackworth,

Camden and Ogunquit, our favorite places on Earth.

We made a big move, a farmhouse with land,

20 acres to roam, run and sled, all that's missing is sand.

You loved when we visited the Boston Children's Museum and Pumpkinland too,

we had a blast at Storyland and the Maine Wildlife Zoo.

You had some more 'firsts', a babysitter with whom you put up no fight,

and with Grammie and Grampie, your first overnight!

Your first train ride to the Northpole was a smashing success,

our annual picture with Gabby and Santa? Oh boy, was a mess!

There were summer concerts in the park, with dancing and picnics,

Battles for haircuts at our new favorite, Snip-its!

Your best friends are still Pooh bear and a giraffe you call Eyeore,

you're obsessed with Sesame Street, Cookie Monster, and more!

We saw the gang from the Street in person and live,

Abby, Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Zoe and Oscar all doing the jive.

The year was full of news, both dark and some light,

we've just barely missed catapulting over a fiscal cliff, for many, a fright!

The Costa Concordia was a big ship that did sink,

and a CIA scandal that may have started with a wink.

There were protests in Greece, Russia, and Spain,

and equal marriage for all in WA, MD and Maine!

Jeremy Lin was a sensation just for awhile,

so what's the big deal about Psy and Gangham Style?

Baumgartner broke records in a helium balloon,

Encyclopedia Britannica stopped printing and then there was Honey Boo-Boo.

London played host to summer Olympic games and fun,

President Obama was reelected, and Mitt ended his run.

The Curiosity Rover landed safely on Mars,

2012 was a year of losing many great stars.

Authors, entertainers, politicians, astronauts and those from the world of news land,

Dick Clark, you took many with to you to your heavenly Bandstand.

Whitney, Etta, Gibb and Shankar to name just a few,

Hamlisch, Brubeck, Davy Jones and Donna Summer too.

Vidal Sassoon, you were a pioneer for great hair,

Sendak, Bradbury, Binchy, and Ephron, you all wrote with such flair.

To Rodney King, Gore Vidal, and Mike Wallace we say goodbye,

To Armstrong and Ride, you're now forever in the sky.

McGovern and Specter, your politics were never boring,

and we lost a war hero in the one, the only Stormin' Norman.

Farewell Andy Griffith, M.C. Duncan and Phyllis Diller,

Larry Hagman, as J.R., just who was your attempted killer?

The Oscar went to The Artist, a movie silent, black and white,

Mother Nature got angry, gave us Superstorm Sandy, who packed a mean bite.

Our days were darkened by too many shootings and despair,

we need only to know that there are many new angels watching over us everywhere.

Aurora, Oregon, and Sandy Hook, you remain in our prayers.

Let 2013 be filled with warmth, hope, and light,

Happy New Year to all, and here's to our future, so bright!