2019: Year In Review

Boy oh boy.

To sum up 2019 in one word, I'd 100% have to go with 'whirlwind'.

It sure has been a crazy year, and looking back I can hardly believe how much has changed in the last 12 months. From heavily pregnant to mother to a 1 year old, from 5 years engaged to over a month as a Mrs...it's fair to say, finally, 2019 was our year.

I started off the year in true style - heavily, sure I would burst any second pregnant. Finishing up work and heading onto maternity leave before Christmas, Liam and I celebrated our last Christmas together just the 2 of us, firmly expecting our little one to arrive around the festive period. Boy how wrong we were! New Years was much of the same, being tucked up in bed well before midnight and then grumbling when the fireworks eventually woke us up.

Fast forward to February, yes FEBRUARY, when our precious little boy joined us out in the real world - 10 days overdue. The moment he was placed on my chest...well, it was 100% hand on my heart the happiest moment of my life. The weeks (heck, lets even go with months) following little Jim's arrival passed in a complete blur, with plenty of tears, laughs and smiles all round.

2019 also brought a heap of fun entertainment-wise - first up was seeing Busted live in Birmingham with one of my besties...and then later on attending Friendsfest in Manchester. It was somewhat of a hefty trek but well worth it when we arrived - it was the 25th anniversary of the show starting, and to celebrate there was so much more there than when I'd attended the previous year.

And of course, my beloved Nottingham Forest has to be mentioned! As a repeat season ticket holder, I was overjoyed this year when I could finally return to watch my team in action. When we had found out we were expecting Jim, I was adamant I would be at every home game up until I popped, but Jim had other plans and it soon became difficult to walk, let alone stand for 90+ minutes at a match.

November also saw Liam and I attending Jack Whitehall in Nottingham as part of my gift from Jim for my first ever Mother's Day, followed by a family outing the next day to the Harry Potter Studios down in London. I've been a huge fan of Harry Potter for years now and so has my Dad, and for us all to go down for the day and show Jim around everything was truly magical. The day was perfect from start to finish, and already I'm planning on us all going back when Jim is a little older.

Liam and I also finally decided at the start of the year that after Jim was born, 2019 would be the year we finally tied the knot. And so in May, we visited and booked our venue for December, leaving us just six months to plan a wedding. Crazy? Yes. But did we pull it off? Hell yes!

I decided to split my Hen celebrations out into three separate occasions in order to celebrate with everyone close to me. First up was a night out with the two best bridesmaids a girl could as for - Hannah and Maria. We went on a crawl across Nottingham before ending the night in Prysm, busting out some serious moves to old school pop. Later on in November I gathered the rest of my bridal party together to head into town once more where we ended up in Bierkeller, and WOW was it fun to get everyone up on the tables dancing!

On the other side of things, I also have a group of guys I've known since way back into my school days, and I knew I had to get together with them to celebrate. Opting for paintball, we headed over to Delta Force in Kegworth for the day and wow did I underestimate how painful it would be! I don't think I've ever been so bruised in my life, but it was well worth it. A day out with all my friends where we get to shoot each other with paint? Sign me up for the next one!

And, on December 12th, surrounded by our family and close friends, Liam and I finally became Mr and Mrs after just over five years together. Honestly the day was so perfect from start to finish, and I got to start the New Year with my new husband and beautiful baby boy.

So 2019? Yeah, I'd say it was pretty darn good.

How was your 2019? Let me know in the comments below!