My 2025 in Pictures

Each year, I do this exercise: I go through all the memories from the year just ending and make a highlight reel with pictures. This exercise serves three purposes: to revisit the great, good, and challenging moments of the year ending, to express my gratitude for completing another good year, and to see what I am taking with me into the following year. Also, this is working as an album for me: opening my blog posts and seeing these albums. And inspire and challenge you to do the same.

2025 was amazing! But it wasn’t an easy year, and not everything went my way. I faced plenty of challenges, and things didn’t always go smoothly. The year before, 2024, was especially tough for me emotionally and mentally. Looking back, I can see how much I grew and how much stronger I became in 2025, and I realize I finally became the version of myself I had dreamed of for years.

In 2025, I prioritised myself more than ever. I said "no" to a lot of activities, projects, and people I knew would suck my energy and leave me with little time for the things and people that actually matter to me. And I felt no regret in doing so. I also made a priority for working out regularly, sleeping well, and having a balanced diet.  

So, here are some sneak peeks from my 2025.

January

January started quite slowly. I was coming after an enterocolitis that began on New Year's Eve and kept me in bed for one entire week. I was so thankful that my daughter and my husband did not catch the virus, and at least they were functioning well. As I recovered, I spent the days and weeks that followed with my dearest ones, mostly around our home, cooking, having a good time, or going out for coffee. Of course, I had plenty of activities with my daughter; she loves thrilling, adventurous ones. We visited the newly opened Museum of Immersive New Art (MINA), the largest immersive art center in Europe, and of course, the Jumping House. The museum features various immersive shows, which are captivating, if you were to ask me. More than that, it has a creative space dedicated to kids ages 3 to 12, featuring interactive, educational, and fun installations.

As January was about to end, I began a thrilling, challenging new chapter in my career: a new job. I was so happy about the opportunity that opened up to me, as on paper, it sounded exactly like my dream job (after one year, I still consider it my dream job :D). January is also usually the month when we rent a cabin in the mountains for the weekend and spend a good time there with friends, and January 2025 made no exception.

February

In February, I dove deeper into my new job's responsibilities, working to understand the new environment, meeting new people, and understanding the dynamics. After a few years of working almost entirely remotely, I started going to the office a couple of days a week, and it felt like a deep breath of fresh air.

February is usually a month when we attend various sports events, and this February, we had a tennis event and a volleyball one on our list.

March

When thinking back to March 2025, the first thing I remember is that it was an absolutely crazy month for me. When I started the project at the end of January, it was about to go live on March 31st, and I almost panicked when I heard my boss was going to be on vacation in the Everest mountains without Internet access during that critical time. After the panic thoughts faded, I thought that I had only two options: go big or go home :) So I decided to put my skills on the table because, deep down, I knew I could do it. It was stressful, but one of the most rewarding and happiest moments of my career.

At the beginning of March, we revisited the Turda Salt Mine, which we had explored a few years ago, and almost forgot how beautiful and impressive it is.

Also, I stayed true to my objective to work out constantly, and it made a huge difference for me physically, but more than that, mentally. While working out, I keep my head away from my job duties, from my day-to-day tasks.

Some cultural events with my daughter and some of her friends were not to be missed, and the highlight of the month for her was our introduction to climbing, which became a regular activity for her in the months that followed.

April

At the beginning of April, I already felt the need to take a deep breath after an exhausting March, so I spent most of my time relaxing with the dearest ones, enjoying spring and the delightful weather. We took many walks, soaked up the sun, filled my home with flowers bought on Saturday mornings at the market, and visited our parents for Easter celebrations. April came like a soft, calming balm.

At the end of April, beginning of May, we took a week off and stepped away from the day-to-day responsibilities, flying to Valencia, Spain, where we spent a wonderful time. I have all the details of our vacation here: Valencia with a Toddler.

May-June

May and June were both very social; it became apparent that spring had come, and our hearts melted under the sun, and we spent most of our time outside the house. We had many gatherings at our home with dear friends; we went to theirs often to spend time together. We also went out frequently to meet friends and colleagues for dinner, and we attended happy events like weddings and baptisms. I won't post pictures with these people for obvious reasons :D.

July

July continued on the same vibe as May and June, us meeting a lot of our friends and relatives and spending a lot of time outside our home. We started July with a walk through the forest with my daughter and a group of her kindergarten friends, which ended with a picnic in the forest. It was pretty thrilling, as it was our first hike with our daughter; she resisted quite a bit, mostly because she had her best friend with her.

In July, we received a visit from some of my mother's relatives from the USA, and I was so happy to meet them again after so many years. My daughter met her cousin from the USA, who is her age, and it was pretty funny to see how they interacted, since my daughter does not speak English and her cousin does not understand or speak Romanian. Children just find a way to cross the language barrier.

In July, I got the chance to spend more time talking and laughing with two of my best friends. I find spending time with dear people calming and good for the soul. We went again to a cabin in the mountains with a large group of friends and friends of our friends, we soaked up the sun and enjoyed the swimming pool.

In 2025, I decided to celebrate my birthday in my hometown with my family and closest relatives, and I could not help but have the most summery cake ever.

August

August went by in the blink of an eye. Our daughter graduated from kindergarten, which was almost unbelievable, with us realising how fast time goes by. August was more about cooling down and waiting for summer vacation, since we had planned it for the second half of August. Time flew by in August, with us having many outdoor activities with our daughter's friends and their parents, who became our friends.

For this year's summer vacation, we chose Spain again, Palma de Mallorca this time. We rented a whole house, with an outdoor pool, and it was bliss.

August was also the month when we found out we are going to be parents again! We were so emotional and happy, wanting so much to have a sibling for our daughter, and we knew she did, too.

September

With all the hormones going crazy, September was quite an emotional month: our daughter started school, and it was a big leap for her as she transitioned from kindergarten. So we knew we had to give her all our support throughout this transition, which went smoother than we imagined.

In September, I attended the celebrations for my 20th high school graduation. It was so good to see my high school colleagues and friends again and to spend hours talking and laughing with them, reminiscing about all the funny, crazy things we did in high school.

Also in September, we celebrated our daughter's 6th birthday, and, thankfully, we rented a playground to host the party, since in previous years we had invited everyone to our home. The birthday cake had to be with Smurfs, of course!

October

In October, I naturally started to slow down. I was feeling well overall, it's not that I had morning sickness because of the pregnancy, I felt like I had all day sickness :)) As I was telling my husband, I felt the need to preserve my energy, as I started to have lower levels of energy. Overall, it was a calm October, with some challenging situations at my job; I found the right resources to navigate them well. During this period, I became even more aware of my habits and continued to implement good ones. I continued to go to the gym, but I significantly adjusted my workout sessions, I tried to keep a balanced diet, and listened to my body (even when it said it needed a Cola :D). I attended various chill events, like pilates, prenatal massage sessions, and music therapy, which helped me connect to myself and feel really good.

November

In November, we continued with chill walks; the weather was quite cold, but I felt the need to move my body. Our daughter was thrilled at the idea of having a baby brother next spring, and she started preparing various presents for him. I was also pleased to see that she wants to continue with the climbing lessons. It helps her a lot in boosting her confidence.

The year could not end for us without booking a cabin in the mountains for the weekend, hoping we can find some snow. Snow was not found, but we saw fog, mud, and a lot of good time with friends.

December

The first half of December went in a blink of an eye, with the three of us looking forward to the Christmas vacation and time off. This December, we had our first Christmas photoshoot and also the last one in the format of 3. We followed the December tradition, and I took my daughter to The Nutcracker ballet. It might be the last year I buy tickets to The Nutcracker. When I told my daughter about the plan, she was like, "noooot again, mommy" :D. Next year, I have to be more creative. Of course, the Christmas tree decoration is one of our family traditions, too.

That's all, dear! I hope 2025 was kind to all of you, despite the challenges and hard moments that came our way. The only piece of advice that I have now that 2026 just begun, is that I wish to all of you to first and foremost love yourself, love spending time with yourself, stay true to your values and your beliefs, and make sure you invest time in building yourself and building the relationships with the dearest ones stronger. At the end of the day, that's all we have!

Hugs, M.