Hola blog! It’s that time of year when I force myself to do a yearly re-cap. I actually climbed onto the computer to print out a recipe for lactation cookies, but while I’m here, hells bells, why not re-cap what I did in 2016? Let’s take it month by month.

January 2016

Uterine polyp removal in preparation for IVF

– started hormone injections for IVF

– completed three heart-shaped Mandala paintings for sale HERE!

February 2016

– Josh and I finally go to the Chihuly glass art museum downtown (worth it)

– ended the full-time job I’d had for the past couple of years, panicked for a week or two, and then signed on with a PRN position. Phewwwwww.

– had my egg retrieval on my father’s 65th birthday (February 9th)

– found out that the two frozen embryos were both boys, and had a hearty laugh with my fertility doctor

– trimmed down coffee consumption from 3 cups a day to 1 cup (HELL)

March 2016

Finished the neon glitter Mandala, which is definitely one of my faves. Available here!

Josh and I go to the Seattle Arboretum, in spite of the fact that my back is all messed up. I never did figure out why I had back problems for a few days/weeks, but it suuuuucked.

I decide that 2016 is going to be the Year of the Caftan and buy two caftans, to that end. (note: sitting here GIANT at 9 months pregnant, I can’t BELIEVE how tiny my waist looks in that caftan, sob!)

– painted our bedroom
– started going to an IVF support group

Caucused for Bernie! (SIGH)

April 2016

Josh and I had competed against each other earlier in the year for a “Dietbet” and he won (I’m pretty sure he cheated by fasting, but whatever). My “punishment” was that I had to go skiing, but by the time April rolled around and my back was finally not screwed up, not much skiing was to be found so I was “punished” by walking in snow on Mount Rainier instead. It wasn’t terrible!

Painted the guest room.

Downtown Seattle fun with Fleeta and Bob–Pike Place Market, and checking out the Olympic Sculpture Park.

First trail run! An “easy” 5K up Tiger Mountain.

– April 28th: the day of my IVF transfer! One perfect little male embryo, which the nurse exclaimed looked “better than textbook”. Aw yeah.

May 2016

– started progesterone suppositories for IVF

Josh and I tour the Theo chocolate factory for funsies (and distraction) and while there, get the Very Important Phone Call that I’m pregnant! YAYYYY! We immediately burst into happy tears. Such a special moment.

– first ultrasound, post-transfer

June 2016

First camping trip! Not only did we set a camping record for us this year–five times–but I did every single one of those trips pregnant.

– I finish Corinne’s cat paintings and start a project for the guest room

Josh and I take an archery class together. He’s better than I am, but I’m not too resentful about it.

– started going back to the gym

Josh runs the Rock and Roll Marathon; I do not join him.

Josh leaves his hormonal pregnant wife for EIGHT WHOLE DAYS to go float down a river or something so I spend one night at Brenna’s, because I am so lonely. It’s not the daytime loneliness that bothered me, it was the nighttime.

July 2016

Posted our “official” (12 weeks) pregnancy announcement to all forms of social media

Bear Cub gets trimmed a little TOO much and is re-christened “Goat Cub”

– thanks to Groupon, I receive my first facial (overrated)

– went and got a shellac manicure for the first time since January…but very quickly realized that shellac manicures are a waste of money when you’re pregnant. Your nails grow too quickly!

Camping trip number two!

Baby’s first concert: Die Antwoord! With my Broad.

Camping trip number three!

Said good-bye to my VW Passat wagon, which I loved but caused me a great deal of trouble during our 10 years together…

…and HELLO to this sexy blue Subaru outback, which I love but am a little sad that now I have to make 500$ car payments for every month. Heigh ho.

– Josh and I and the girls hike to Twin Falls (2.5 miles but much harder while pregnant)

My Broad and I go see the new “Ab Fab” movie together. She tried to get out of it (twice!) but I wouldn’t let her. It was great!

Finally finish this Polly Apfelbaum rip-off painting for our guest room.

August 2016

At 16 weeks pregnant, my belly POPS! Aw, look at how tiny and cute it was.

Joshy and I celebrate our 8-year anniversary…he bought me a little lemon tree. Would you believe it’s still alive? And on the back patio, yet? Amazing.

Camping trip number 4! The first actually warm trip, too. Thank goodness.

Started a new Mandala painting, which ended up taking wayyyyyy longer than I thought it would to finish.

A very special (final) camping trip to a private island, where I got to witness my husband doing a headstand on a paddleboard. Who knew he had hidden talents?

At 18 weeks pregnant, I made the decision to quit weighing myself (a very smart decision and I highly recommend it). Of course, this was a little easier to do because Josh broke the scale right around that time. Tempting to just never buy a scale again!

Josh makes me mad by hiking one of my bucket list lakes without me, Lake Blanca. Heigh ho! He said it was HARD. Well then. GOOD.

Erika and her two sons come for a visit! We go to Pike Place Market, she cooks for me AND sets up the crib and we have a fabulous time.

September 2016

We meet Mr. Bennett–Ronia’s birthday present–for the first time.

I spend a fun week in Boise with my parents and the Little Nipper, and feel Baby M. kick for the first time! So exciting!

Josh and I drive to Spokane so he can climb a mountain with his father, while Fleeta and I do a little baby shopping. Then before we drive home, we have breakfast with his 90-year-old grandmother. Isn’t this a cute picture?

Finished painting the nursery, but found it kind of boring, so I start searching for the perfect wallpaper border.

Made a couple of minkie-and-flannel baby blankets for my son (this one was my favorite).

Found the perfect border for the nursery–dinosaurs!

Had a special ultrasound to make sure the little guy’s heart is okay…and of course it is!

October 2016

Went over to Shoshanna’s house to paint her little free library

Made some curtains for the nursery

Fleeta sweetly fixes up this quilt that I made for my parents and returns it to me, where it’s currently residing in our guest room. It looks pretty good in the guest room!

Started ramp training the pets to prepare them for having to be in the BACK back of the car, once Baby M. comes

Josh and I attend our first non-work-related baby shower…

…and the same afternoon, we take the tripod to the park and snap some maternity pics before the sun completely disappears.

We obtain a hideous brown dresser from “Buy Nothing” and completely transform it into this cool ombre work of art for the nursery! I guess Pinterest is good for something.

My friend Espe, who is due two weeks after me with a boy, takes some beautiful maternity photos of me at a park, for free! She’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.

Josh and I dress up as Juno and Paulie Bleeker from the film “Juno”. Not the most exciting Halloween costumes ever, but it’s really hard doing Halloween when you’re a big sweaty pregnant lady. We set up a grueling game of Scrabble in the parlor and handed out Halloween candy to the hoards of tricker treaters, and that was good enough for us!

November 2016

-voted, hoped for the best, found out the WORST, mourned for an entire day and then decided for the sake of my son that I couldn’t perseverate over the sadness. Also: pulled out my Happy Light that I hadn’t used since 2009 and started using it every morning!

Finally finished this friggin’ Mandala painting, although I’m not totally satisfied with it and therefore haven’t listed it in my shop.

My cousin Erika comes to town and throws me the most fantastic baby shower at Brenna’s house, and still hasn’t sent me the pictures for it! Ha ha. I wonder if I’ll ever get them?

My mother, aunt Claire, and cousin Katie also came into town for the shower. It was really wonderful. I felt very loved. And thank God, nobody brought up politics the entire time.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, a drive to Spokane, and baby shower number two (I’m terribly spoiled), Josh and I got a HORRIBLE case of food poisoning from a local taco truck. We barely managed to scrape ourselves together to make the drive, but I’m glad we did. We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with both sets of our parents and his grandmother, and then the next day I had another sweet baby shower and saw my ooooooold friend Lisa and all of her children! Maw.

Love this picture of my parents trying to coax a kick from the baby.

December 2016

– finished up a painting for Baby M.’s room (this is when the link between Instagram and Flickr shit the bed, so I don’t have a picture)

– Josh and I spend my birthday/”Babymoon” at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle, relaxing and eating lots of things

– Josh gets heavily into glitter beards, and I support him!

– Owen invites me to participate in his annual art show, but I am too big and pregnant so we just attend the show instead and stay for an hour and a half. Still Good Times!

– Josh does up an elaborate glitter/tiny Christmas light beard, I wear a muumuu and we wrap me in Christmas bulbs, and we take our Christmas card picture!

Winter Solstice party at Brenna’s house.

I am too pregnant to travel, so we do Christmas Eve at Grandma Shirley’s, with the Broad…

…and the next day, we do Christmas Day at our house. Josh’s parents, sister and sister’s family all came over and we feasted on lasagna that I had made the day before, exchanged presents, and had a nice time. Our first Christmas at our house, and our last Christmas before the baby comes!

And that brings us up to date, blog logs! Stay tuned later this week and I’ll let you know how we PARTIED DOWN for New Years Eve, bwa ha haaaaa. 2016: you were one interesting year. I refuse to do what so many people on the Internet are doing, which is write-off the ENTIRE YEAR as crap, because this was the year that I finally got pregnant after 6 years of nonsense and there is no replicating that bliss. I can’t wait for 2017!