I gotta say, a hell of a lot happened in 2012 — I’m surprised it all fit in 366(hello, leap year!) days. There were a lot of awesome aspects of the year, but one of my favorites has been watching the blossoming friendship between my son Fynn and our pup Milo. Fynn can be so gentle with Milo, while still having fun chasing him around or playing tug of war. And Milo is eternally patient with this curious toddler. I look forward to seeing the fun (and trouble) these two get in.

2012 also brought a lot of great reads here on the site. After the jump, three of my fave. Which were yours?

• Big ups to Jolene Robichaud for suggesting to the group that we each spotlight a rescue organization we love to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I loved reading each group’s inspiring tale in our Charity Crush series.
• Leda Marritz‘s post on what inspired the Kong dog toy finally answered a burning question I’ve had since I first saw this weird butt plug-looking dog toy.
• I love taking photos of my pets, and while I think I do a pretty good job of capturing their adorable personalities, Kira’s tutorial on snapping the best pet shots was chock full of helpful tips that have improved my photos tenfold.