Baby Prep, a Birthday, and an Anniversary

Above: In case anyone was wondering how goofy my sweetie can get.... Haha! I love him.

This week's midwife appointment was on Wednesday at our place. D managed to make it home in time to be here, which was unexpected and a great surprise. The place is still under construction, but she didn't seem to mind. The baby is slowing down its activity, but is still quite the active little thing. Braxton Hicks contractions have recently begun to become noticeable, as the midwife pointed out when she went to find the baby's heartbeat (I was apparently in the middle of one and didn't know; they've become more noticeable since then). I was also dilated 2 cm, and she says my hormones are working perfectly to prepare for this baby. That is very good news!

Tuesday was Valentine's Day. But my beloved had been coming home from work every day this month with a treat, things like chocolate roses and cherry tootsie pops and little plastic tubes of M&Ms, Skittles, Reese's Pieces, and Reese's Mini Cups. On the 1st he also brought home a bouquet of red flowers, and another day brought a tub of Cookies & Cream ice cream. On the day itself, it rained and so he got to come home early. So, he brought a late lunch consisting of pizza, cinna-sticks, and garlic sticks, a bouquet of purple roses, and a candy/drink/balloon collection. We ate the pizza before crashing for a mid-day nap. Then, since I was achy for some reason, I took a bath and he worked on the spare room wall. After that, he did some cleaning around the house to prepare for the midwife's visit the next day, and then we sat down and watched a movie he had brought from the RedBox: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. And we ate the cinna-sticks and garlic sticks for supper. It was a great evening.

I forgot to mention... On the 13th, the day before Valentine's Day, he also brought home a washer & dryer set we were given! I really appreciate his employers - they take care of us really well.

Twice in the past week I've had cows in the yard... most of the cousin/aunt & uncle-in-law's herd on Friday, and then on Wednesday there was one yearling bull in the yard that quickly went back. We have a fence to work on, in case anybody was wondering. But the big hole the herd went through was fixed that evening by D's youngest cousin. Took a T-post, wire-tightening, and fence clips. The bull was just curious and found a little hole before panicking because the herd wandered off on the proper side of the fence. Cows... oh, cows...

And last weekend, we finally got the barn doors torn down, and now we know nobody will be squished by a falling-down door. It was really bad. Once the barn roof gets replaced, we will replace the doors. At the moment, two round pen panels are tied in place, and it is much safer! Not to mention easier to get closed properly...


Today, Dad and the family is coming to put primer on the bathroom walls and ceiling, and we will be able to take showers after this weekend! He is also bringing the RV and leaving it so that when Mom comes for a couple weeks (which she will do when I notify her that I'm in labor) she has a place to sleep. My oldest two siblings (known as W & L) are going to spend the weekend at a reenactment, so there will be my parents and the youngest two brothers invading this afternoon.

I will officially hit 38 weeks on the 19th. Despite the midwife telling me to expect Baby to wait until 41 weeks, as most of her first-time moms end up doing, I am not thinking that little Baker will hold on that long. Something is telling me that it is indeed quite possible that there will be a little baby in the house by the time my next blog post is due. <gasps>

My brother is crazy, too... hehe...!

And happy birthday to my littlest brother, whose birthday was yesterday! He's getting older and it's hard to believe that before long he'll be grown up and on his own. Yikes! Where has time gone?

The next birthday in the family is mine - two weeks exactly from now.

Also, I wish my parents-in-law a happy anniversary. Today they have been married for 27 years, and in that time raised a wonderful son and a soon-to-be married daughter, who has proven herself well enough to be chosen by one of my husband's best friends. I love my mother-in-law (how many people can say that?), and she is a true virtuous woman - somehow she puts up with her wild-eyed husband. She is loved by her children, who look up to her. With some help, she manage to home school her two children, who are quite literate and definitely are well-socialized. And as for my father-in-law, who strikes me as slightly crazy at times (he's very much a visionary...), he works hard, helps us when he can (we are very grateful!), and loves his wife despite the fact that she is still mostly bedridden. It is an amazing union, especially when you look around and see couples falling apart every which way under circumstances nowhere near as bad as these two have faced together.

Christmas 2005 - Mama, Daddy, Tana, and of course D himself 

Thank you, Mama and Daddy, for sticking together for so long, through thick and thin!