2014 Year in Review

I have said this so many times this year that it sounds redundant, but, despite repeating myself, this year really has gone by so very quickly. There have been so many changes this year, and Harris and I have so many things that we are both so thankful for in 2014. There were challenges, as there inevitably are, but, overall, 2014, you were more than alright in our books!

January
We kicked off the new year by going to watch the sunrise in Virginia Beach, where Lucy was not impressed when I tried to make her wear my ear muffs. My sister and her boyfriend came for a visit, and we visited the Virginia Aquarium. We went down to my parent's house to celebrate my 28th birthday, and I took my very last corporate trip (to Dallas).

February
February was a roller coaster of emotions this year! At the beginning of the month, Lucy hurt one of her front legs and was put on mandatory rest by her veterinarian. We ended up buying a pack n play for her to spend her time in, and, thankfully, she loved it! About a week later, I quit my job to pursue writing full-time, which has been incredibly rewarding, and a remarkably good decision, if I do say so myself. At the end of the month, Lucy got an eye infection, which ended up causing her to need surgery, and a lengthy recovery time. So many highs and lows in this month, but we made it through, and still feel like a lot of good came out of it.

March

In March, Harris and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary, and our 11-year dating anniversary! He took a work trip to Mexico, and Lucy and I were very excited for him to come home. For me, most of the month was spent acclimating to my new job, and ferrying Lucy to and from the vet and ophthalmologist. Towards the end of the month, we got exciting news that Harris has received a promotion, and would soon begin a new role within his company! 

April

Harris started his new job on April 1st, and then promptly took a week of vacation :) We went down to NC where we visited my family and attended the wedding of one of my childhood friends, and then went to SC to visit his family and celebrate Easter. We also went to our first baseball game as Sunday season ticket holders (my paper gift to Harris for our 1-year).

May
My friend Michelle came to visit from Texas in May, and we had a blast! She and Harris drank their way through the Virginia Beer Festival, and I unknowingly had my last pre-pregnancy drink with her (which we, thankfully, got on camera!). They brought a giant rubber duck to sit in our river for a week. We also started getting our fruit and veggie shipments from local farms. And, perhaps most excitingly, we found out that we are pregnant!

June

We started June off with a bang, celebrating Harris' 30th birthday in Philadelphia with a couple close friends. I think my hubby was pretty surprised, and it was so much fun being able to do that for him! I battled morning sickness much of the month (Lucy was a trooper and kept me plenty of company and took lots of naps with me!), but we managed to keep our secret pretty quiet (aside from the random strangers Harris told when he couldn't keep it in any more!). Finally, the weekend of my Mom's birthday, I staged a coup by going home for the birthday and surprising my family with the news (I made cute little cards with an ultrasound picture and the phrase "Will you be me____ Love, Baby Ligon"). The next weekend, I had already planned a trip to visit Erica & Michael in Charlotte, and managed to get my in-laws to come up for breakfast during the weekend, and got to surprise them in person, too! Unfortunately, Harris had to work both of these weekends, but everyone was absolutely delighted!

July

In July, we were still battling first trimester morning sickness, but loving seeing the belly start to grow a little, and getting to see our precious babe on ultrasound. We finally shared our news (rather, Lucy shared our news!) with the rest of the world, and we also went back to Charlotte for a couple's baby shower for Erica & Michael! This was Harris' first-ever baby shower, but he had a lot of fun! Our baby supplies also got started this month as all the grandparents and aunts could hardly wait another moment to buy anything!

August

August was a very busy month for us! We kicked it off with two separate visits by my sisters: first Kayla and her friend Katy came to town, and then Morgan came all by her lonesome. It was so fun to spend time with all of them, and nice to have a little one on one time with Morgan - being the oldest and the baby, it's way more rare for us to have time alone than it is for either of us to have time alone with Kayla. Harris had a work trip or two this month, and work in general kept him pretty busy. We entered the second trimester, and, after a couple months of all-day nausea I just woke up one morning feeling perfectly fine (glory, glory!). At the end of the month, I had the great pleasure of hosting a baby shower back home for Erica with her mom!

September

It felt like much of September was spent patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for the day when we would find out the sex of Baby Ligon! Once we got our level 2 ultrasound scheduled, everyone was counting down the days! We hosted a small "Gender Reveal" party for our parents and sisters, where we all found out that Baby Ligon is a girl! We were absolutely shocked, but so, so excited! We also took a surprise weekend trip to Colonial Williamsburg, where we walked 10 miles, and ate lots of good food! September was also, by far, the hottest month of the summer.

What a difference a good shopping trip can make! 

October

In October, everyone was on "Baby Ellie" watch, and I was so excited for my best friend to have her baby! Ellie was born on the 22nd, the day after Lucy celebrated her 5th birthday! Harris had a very busy month at work, but we still found time to enjoy the gorgeous late summer/early fall weather we were having. We ordered new outdoor chairs (complete with foot rests) and spent at least part of every weekend out by the water, reading, having a beer (or water for me), and just chatting. We slowly started working on the nursery. Oh, and my belly got big enough to rest things on! Score!

November

November was the kick-off of "busy season", in more than one way! The very first weekend of the month, we took a trip down to Ocean Isle for the baby shower my Mom and sisters hosted, which was beyond amazing! I still haven't written up a post about it, but it was book-themed, and they just did a fabulous job. Two weekends later, we headed down to Greenville for another amazing shower hosted by Harris' parents. This one was nautical theme - to match our nursery theme - and was equally as perfect! After that came Thanksgiving, where we hosted our good friends and their 2-month old for supper, and which also kicked off the busiest time of Harris' year - UPS peak season. So, all your people who ordered your Amazon packages from Thanksgiving to Christmas, you're welcome :)

December

As you can imagine, December was an incredibly busy month for Harris. He was working just about every day, usually about 14 hours per day. Somehow he managed to still be a wonderful, thoughtful husband and human being (and not the 5 year old I would have been faced with the same lack of sleep and lots of work!). We are just thankful that he gets a little bit of reprieve for the holidays! During this time, though, he decided to grow out a "peak" beard, which was fun! My mom and Morgan came up the first weekend in December for our 3D ultrasound, and ended up helping me get my head on straight about all the things I still needed to do before little one's arrival. We got our Christmas tree, Ferdinand, decked and ready for presents. We had Harris' company Christmas party, as well as another small baby shower thrown by some of our neighbors. We rounded out the month with all of our holiday traditions!