Looking Back on 2016
My year... in review!
January:
The house was prepared for moving, and its new location prepared, too.
February:
Our house was moved, and work began to remodel it and fix mold and water damage issues. Also, D had his first-ever gun show, and I had my bridal showers. Thrown in the mix was a reenactment.
March:
My birthday, then bachelorette party, and then continued work on our house. I hauled the horses down (with my dad’s help), and it was the first time driving a loaded horse trailer anywhere. We got the engagement photos done, and then there was the bachelor party. Finally, there was the wedding!
April:
We got home from the honeymoon to an improved home, and began to unpack and get what we needed in proper places. We had a reenactment, and then two more open weekends for working around the place before another reenactment. The cats (Kelly and Odo) also came down. Kelly immediately went feral, but Odo warmed up pretty quickly.
May:
The month began with us still at the reenactment, but then we went home and began to figure out our plans for the rest of the month. We went to the East Texas Mini-Shindig, and enjoyed that. Then we did a gun show, after spending a weekend with my family.
June:
D got his first “real” job, increasing our income substantially. We did another gun show. Then I took to working with Sneaky, and we came a long way fast. The long days without D took their toll, but he did get home early enough on occasion for us to enjoy the sunset. Late that month, I rode Sneaky for the first time, and thanks to my own stupid thinking he freaked out and put me on the ground. I woke up in a hotel the next morning with stories of the previous evening’s adventures and the news that I was pregnant. We spent the rest of the month at D’s parents’ place.
Also: this blog was started.
July:
We still lived at D’s parents’ place, sleeping on our own mattress in the living room. D and his dad worked on getting water to different places in the house, and getting electricity set up. I, meanwhile, recovered from a concussion and then began to deal with morning sickness. Concussions, by the way, are not fun. At the end of the month, we went to another gun show. It turned out to be the last one of the year. Odo disappeared, and Dingus was born after a long wait.
August:
We moved back to our own home and had electricity and a little bit of running water for the first time. In the second half of the month, we had a major workday, and a good bit of progress was made. We announced our pregnancy to the world. Dingus got a few halter sessions in, and also learned to deal with crowds. I had my first midwife appointment, and got to hear the baby’s heartbeat.
September:
A little progress on the house was made here and there, and we went up to see my parents. We brought home Cookie, and he became accustomed to the life of a house cat. I had my second appointment not long after that. The baby was growing well, and I received the news that I am Rh negative. My sister-in-law made some adjustments to my ball gown, for I was beginning to show and get too big for it.
October:
We had a reenactment, and Cookie made the day for a lot of people, wandering around on his little harness and leash. D came with me to that month’s midwife appointment to get his blood drawn for the test to see what his blood type is. He got to hear our baby’s heartbeat for the first time, and I discovered his reaction to needles. Oh dear. We also had another workday, and got a good bit done and cleaned up in various areas.
November:
I had two people work on reenacting wardrobe options for me. I finally bought a couple new pairs of pants, and D teased me on my waist size, an inch or two smaller than his. Hmmm. I had my fourth midwife appointment, and the baby showed considerable growth and a lot of movement, making it hard for her to tell if there was only one. Also, we discovered that D is Rh positive, which made it necessary for me to weigh my options on a rhogam shot before the December appointment. We went to a reenactment, and had a good bit of fun there, even though it was a little cold. I received three dresses. We celebrated Thanksgiving with his relatives, and I discovered how much I disliked holidays. Also, D had a birthday.... and I won my NanoWrimo debut!
December:
D and his buddies went to an Arkansas reenactment, and the wife of one of those buddies and I stayed behind and took care of the cattle they tend to. It was a cold and wet weekend, but Cookie discovered carpet and I got to help clean wet medicated feed out of cattle feeders. The next week, Cookie was transferred to the outdoors, where he quickly developed into an outdoor cat, but just prior to that Kelly finally got to where I could touch and hold her. That weekend, we celebrated D’s birthday. The following weekend, Cookie spent his first weekend alone outside while D and I went and visited my family, getting to see their new house for the first time. We also went to see Rogue One while we were there, and enjoyed Braum’s milkshakes since we don’t have a Braum’s in our area. The midwife appointment went well, and we confirmed there is actually only one Baker on the way. The little one had made the midwife unsure at the November appointment, with all the rolling around and getting excited it did, plus getting an early growth spurt.
Then, there was Christmas, where we got (and gave) a lot of presents. And then the last midwife appointment of the year was yesterday, which went very well. I am now 30 weeks along... ten more weeks to go! Tomorrow, D will go in for his License to Carry test, at long last. It’s a good way to end a year. Oh, by the way... there's now a Facebook page for this blog! Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/transplantedintexas16/!
To my parents-in-law... y’all are AMAZING. Whoever has made the term “mother-in-law” seem like a nightmare obviously never knew you, Mama. You both are like adoptive parents to me, and I know I made the right choice marrying my D. I got the best husband and best in-laws a girl could have! And, this little baby, which is due in March, already has awesome grandparents.
To my parents... thank you for letting me out into the world this spring, and thank you for teaching me to choose wisely, for I know I did in my husband, your son-in-law. Maybe you weren’t perfect parents, but hey, nobody is! You are amazing, and I’m sure you will be amazing grandparents, too. I love you both so much!
And finally, to my husband:
Thank you for giving me the best year of my life so far. Thank you for doing your best no matter what, and always being here for me. You have been my rock, my shoulder to lean on, and my dream come true. We are less than three months now from our first anniversary, and I cannot wait to see what this next year holds in store for us. I love you with all my heart. You mean everything to me. You, beloved, are an exceptional provider, an amazing companion, and already a wonderful father. Your love is what keeps me going day in and day out, and I cannot do enough for you. D, you are above and beyond what I deserve. I love you, and I love our little baby. ❤❤❤
January:
The house was prepared for moving, and its new location prepared, too.
Our house was moved, and work began to remodel it and fix mold and water damage issues. Also, D had his first-ever gun show, and I had my bridal showers. Thrown in the mix was a reenactment.
March:
My birthday, then bachelorette party, and then continued work on our house. I hauled the horses down (with my dad’s help), and it was the first time driving a loaded horse trailer anywhere. We got the engagement photos done, and then there was the bachelor party. Finally, there was the wedding!
April:
We got home from the honeymoon to an improved home, and began to unpack and get what we needed in proper places. We had a reenactment, and then two more open weekends for working around the place before another reenactment. The cats (Kelly and Odo) also came down. Kelly immediately went feral, but Odo warmed up pretty quickly.
The month began with us still at the reenactment, but then we went home and began to figure out our plans for the rest of the month. We went to the East Texas Mini-Shindig, and enjoyed that. Then we did a gun show, after spending a weekend with my family.
June:
D got his first “real” job, increasing our income substantially. We did another gun show. Then I took to working with Sneaky, and we came a long way fast. The long days without D took their toll, but he did get home early enough on occasion for us to enjoy the sunset. Late that month, I rode Sneaky for the first time, and thanks to my own stupid thinking he freaked out and put me on the ground. I woke up in a hotel the next morning with stories of the previous evening’s adventures and the news that I was pregnant. We spent the rest of the month at D’s parents’ place.
Also: this blog was started.
July:
We still lived at D’s parents’ place, sleeping on our own mattress in the living room. D and his dad worked on getting water to different places in the house, and getting electricity set up. I, meanwhile, recovered from a concussion and then began to deal with morning sickness. Concussions, by the way, are not fun. At the end of the month, we went to another gun show. It turned out to be the last one of the year. Odo disappeared, and Dingus was born after a long wait.
August:
We moved back to our own home and had electricity and a little bit of running water for the first time. In the second half of the month, we had a major workday, and a good bit of progress was made. We announced our pregnancy to the world. Dingus got a few halter sessions in, and also learned to deal with crowds. I had my first midwife appointment, and got to hear the baby’s heartbeat.
September:
A little progress on the house was made here and there, and we went up to see my parents. We brought home Cookie, and he became accustomed to the life of a house cat. I had my second appointment not long after that. The baby was growing well, and I received the news that I am Rh negative. My sister-in-law made some adjustments to my ball gown, for I was beginning to show and get too big for it.
October:
We had a reenactment, and Cookie made the day for a lot of people, wandering around on his little harness and leash. D came with me to that month’s midwife appointment to get his blood drawn for the test to see what his blood type is. He got to hear our baby’s heartbeat for the first time, and I discovered his reaction to needles. Oh dear. We also had another workday, and got a good bit done and cleaned up in various areas.
I had two people work on reenacting wardrobe options for me. I finally bought a couple new pairs of pants, and D teased me on my waist size, an inch or two smaller than his. Hmmm. I had my fourth midwife appointment, and the baby showed considerable growth and a lot of movement, making it hard for her to tell if there was only one. Also, we discovered that D is Rh positive, which made it necessary for me to weigh my options on a rhogam shot before the December appointment. We went to a reenactment, and had a good bit of fun there, even though it was a little cold. I received three dresses. We celebrated Thanksgiving with his relatives, and I discovered how much I disliked holidays. Also, D had a birthday.... and I won my NanoWrimo debut!
December:
D and his buddies went to an Arkansas reenactment, and the wife of one of those buddies and I stayed behind and took care of the cattle they tend to. It was a cold and wet weekend, but Cookie discovered carpet and I got to help clean wet medicated feed out of cattle feeders. The next week, Cookie was transferred to the outdoors, where he quickly developed into an outdoor cat, but just prior to that Kelly finally got to where I could touch and hold her. That weekend, we celebrated D’s birthday. The following weekend, Cookie spent his first weekend alone outside while D and I went and visited my family, getting to see their new house for the first time. We also went to see Rogue One while we were there, and enjoyed Braum’s milkshakes since we don’t have a Braum’s in our area. The midwife appointment went well, and we confirmed there is actually only one Baker on the way. The little one had made the midwife unsure at the November appointment, with all the rolling around and getting excited it did, plus getting an early growth spurt.
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| The present D gave me... a Mossberg MVP Patrol! |
Then, there was Christmas, where we got (and gave) a lot of presents. And then the last midwife appointment of the year was yesterday, which went very well. I am now 30 weeks along... ten more weeks to go! Tomorrow, D will go in for his License to Carry test, at long last. It’s a good way to end a year. Oh, by the way... there's now a Facebook page for this blog! Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/transplantedintexas16/!
To my parents-in-law... y’all are AMAZING. Whoever has made the term “mother-in-law” seem like a nightmare obviously never knew you, Mama. You both are like adoptive parents to me, and I know I made the right choice marrying my D. I got the best husband and best in-laws a girl could have! And, this little baby, which is due in March, already has awesome grandparents.
To my parents... thank you for letting me out into the world this spring, and thank you for teaching me to choose wisely, for I know I did in my husband, your son-in-law. Maybe you weren’t perfect parents, but hey, nobody is! You are amazing, and I’m sure you will be amazing grandparents, too. I love you both so much!
And finally, to my husband:
Thank you for giving me the best year of my life so far. Thank you for doing your best no matter what, and always being here for me. You have been my rock, my shoulder to lean on, and my dream come true. We are less than three months now from our first anniversary, and I cannot wait to see what this next year holds in store for us. I love you with all my heart. You mean everything to me. You, beloved, are an exceptional provider, an amazing companion, and already a wonderful father. Your love is what keeps me going day in and day out, and I cannot do enough for you. D, you are above and beyond what I deserve. I love you, and I love our little baby. ❤❤❤
You are a wise, wonderful, and loving woman. I love you bunches Sweetheart!
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