Claire Bidwell Smith

2012 has probably been the busiest year of my entire life.

I gave birth to my second child.

And I also brought my first book into the world.

It was a big year, a beautiful year, and a hard, hard year. I tried to do so many things. I succeeded at many of them, failed at a few, stretched myself and my little family to the brink. Some of the things I hope would happen did not. Other things happened that I couldn’t have even dreamed of. It will be a year to remember, more than any other before it. It will be a year from which many parts of my future will stem. This year will have been the end of a few things, but the beginning of so much more.

Here are a few of my favorite images.

January in Los Angeles. So much ahead of us. 

In February I became a published author, actualizing a dream I’d had my entire life.

I went on a book tour! And took Vera and Greg with me. New York, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Boston. It was amazing.

You guys came out in droves to support me and the whole experience just blew my mind. Thank you.

Life slowed down again in May and we all began eagerly (and a little nervously) expecting the birth of our second child. 

On June 17th at 9:02pm, one week after Veronica’s third birthday, Juliette Marie was born. We had no idea that we were having another girl. (Full birth story here.)

This next sequence of photos, wherein we introduce Veronica to her sister, makes tears stream down my cheeks. We waited until this very moment to reveal to her that the baby was a girl. 

She was so, so excited to find out that she had a little sister. 

And then there we were. A family of four. 

She was so easy to fall in love with.

 

Just when things were getting good, we shook it up by heading to Australia for another book tour, this time with a 10-week old Juliette (and my mother-in-law) in tow.

Watching my kid hold a koala bear was even better than holding one myself. 

We came home a little exhausted, a lot braver and even closer. Life went back to normal with things, big and small. 

Vera learned to swim.

And I continued to figure out how to be a mom to two girls. Something I think I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing. 

In the coming year I want to commit to my family more than ever before. I want to create a magical, loving home. I want to be a better, stronger, more fun wife. I want to be a more patient, more creative mom. I want to find time for me in the midst of all of that. I want to feel thankful every single day for these people, my most important ones. 

I also want to keep heading out into the world, but with less fear and more thrill. I want to remember that each moment matters, that no breath is wasted, no dream is too unwieldy. This is my one precious life and I want to live it bravely.

Lastly, I want to make an impact on the world around me in a positive way. I want to take actions that promote peace and forgiveness. I want to teach my daughters kindness and generosity, and love.

Love.

Love.