Merry Christmas to All!

A table my mom gave us for DM's nursery but I'm enjoying it for now!

The bathroom is complete!

The contractors have left the building! With several setbacks, a simple remodel turned in to a six week adventure. We're still waiting on a piece of trim and shower curtain to arrive, but for the most part, David has a shiny new GREEN bathroom.

Babies, babies everywhere!

Maggie, Kristine, and Teresa
As many of you know, David comes from a very large family and has more cousins than I think I have relatives combined. On our trip out, my MIL Jeannie and I attended a baby shower for David's cousin Teresa. On every trip out there is a pregnant cousin or a wedding, but it was quite odd to be one of the pregnant women this time.

We're in California with the Pattersons!

I just want to take Kate and Michael's lab (sil and bil) home with us! Yes, this is what she normally wears due to health issues. She seems to not mind at all.

Grant isn't really a fan of sharing his Momma.

Here is a pregnant picture of me for those who have been asking.
Random pregnancy comment of the month: A lady said to me "Oh, I love how you're wearing your hear frizzy now!" Well, lady, the reason why it is being worn CURLY NOT FRIZZY is because the top of my hair broke off early in my pregnancy and I've been trying to grow it back out to wear it straight again.

Rain follows us wherever we go

We'll just say we didn't wake up to a pretty morning like this in CA today. But everyone ventured out to Napa with me in the rain. And rain, it did!

If finally stopped raining. We were able to get outside for a bit. Yep, I was the pregnant lady at the wineries but it was still beautiful scenery.

So . . . In Our Spare Time . . .

For a while I've been saying we need to remodel our powder / master bathroom. (Bet all you folks that have new construction homes are jealous that we have a powder / master combo!) It is gross and nasty. I hate taking a shower in it. And you can't fix it no matter how hard you try to clean. I have cleaned it with bleach since we bought the house. Then . . . came the pregnancy so I couldn't sit on my knees on the bathroom floor with a toothbrush and bleach anymore. David had to clean. . . and after about one cleaning, it was declared that we'd get a new bathroom. Last day before our demo.

Just as soon as the room was gutted, we found out our tile we be at least two weeks arriving so now we're living kind of like we're back in the dorm going down the hall and up the stairs for showers. Dust was everywhere. I dusted the house three times in one week and finally declared I won't dust again until the bathroom is finished.

We live in an area where we've never left something on the side of the road over night and it still be there in the morning. Well, our tub was pulled out on a Tuesday and it made it to Saturday sitting in front of our house. By Friday, I told the contractor to start making an alternative plan to rid us of the tub but he was confident it wouldn't make it through the weekend. Sure enough, David and I were standing in the backyard and I thought I heard the tub moving. We went into the house to peer out the window at a couple tugging and pulling on the tub trying to put it up in to their truck. I was so scared they were going to give up. I wanted to go help them. But with some rearranging of their pickup truck and some rope, they tied it in and away they went. If the bathroom is ever finished, we'll post some pictures.

Also, in our chaotic life, we have gone to Nashville, to my parents, I've been to Tampa, David is still on how weekly Nashville outings, and we are currently at David's parents. I am taking classes online at night to renew my teacher / administrator certification. The classes have reminded me that I firmly believe teachers in general talk too much and I will really cry if I have to go back to the classroom, but I also think one should always have a backup plan if needed so away I work.
Work has begun on the nursery. The walls have been painted, twice I might add because the first shade of gray looked blue. A changing table that converts to a buffet has been purchased. Finally, out of concern (terror) created in my on behalf of the store we were purchasing the crib from that it might take 10 weeks to arrive, we have a crib. We went to order it as the store was closing to ensure we'd have plenty of time to set up. Oh, it wasn't going to take 10 weeks. In fact, they had the one David (we) wanted in stock. Glad we rushed around!

Slight delay . . .

Been quite busy here on Cherrydale so I haven't had time to post the latest ultrasound pictures from our last appointment two weeks ago. Good appointment. Concerns from the previous appointment were found to be nothing to worry about. All is well. Details on the current craziness around our house to come!

We're having a GIRL!

Darsey Maylisbeth
"Darsey May"

The picture isn't the best. Apparently she's a bit camera shy. We'll try again for a better profile next month! And, yes, we're aware that the first day of school each year will be a nightmare for here with such a unique name but we couldn't resist!

19 weeks

Baby:
Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid. (borrowed from http://www.babycenter.com/)

Momma:
Daycare: A few weeks ago I was calmly sitting in my hairdresser's chair getting a highlight. I mentioned I was pregnant upon which she launched into asking me if I was planning to keep working and asked me what daycare lists I was on. I immediately started to panic and wanted to rip the foils out to get in daycare line. It hadn't occurred to me that daycare would be so stressful. We had considered our options. There is a very good daycare near my office and almost on David's way home. I assumed Baby would just go there if we opt for care outside of our home.

Daycare here doesn't operate on the "call ahead for your table" concept of Outback Steakhouse. Nope, it's more like trying to get a reservation at Folks Folly or Ruth's Chris for New Year's Eve at about 5 pm on New Year's Eve. You get on a waiting list, pay a deposit, and begin to pray. We are on two waiting lists. One David went by himself for a tour and left our deposit. I'm sure they were more than impressed that Baby's Momma was no where to be found. But we had to act fast. Whomever was off next had to go on a daycare hunt. Luckily, this daycare thinks they'll have a spot mid-July for us, which is only about 6 weeks after we need it. Our second choice isn't looking so good. Without a sibling already enrolled or being a church member, a family can expect to wait 12-18 months. Now why do they accept 6 week old children if you may have to wait up to 18 months for a spot? Even I can't plan that well. The thought of transferring churches to move us up on the list did cross my mind. Just kidding. Sort of! Seriously, I pray that this works out.

In other news:
Not too many clothes fit.
I've been told I "waddle" by a near stranger. Thanks! Glad to know those 15 miles a week of speed walking are paying off!
This baby has got to be pounded on my bladder every time I try to run.
I have already lost my brain - scheduled two baby showers on the same day approximately seven hours driving distance apart!
Caffeine has never really been a challenge for me until now! Why am I sleeping 8+ hours and waking up exhausted?

Dad:
I took David to Baby's R Us to show him all the crazy contraptions one can spend money on for a kid. I think his emotional state has moved a bit from sheer joy to overwhelmed. So glad he's coming to my side! Regarding how our lives are about to change, David says to me this week, "UGA is playing in Starksville (Mississippi State) next football season. We'll have to go."
Maggie - "Umm, honey, a sitter for an entire day+ isn't going to come cheap."
David - "Oh, yeah."

Millie:
If I sit on Momma's belly enough, can I squash the baby? No? Let's try "making bread" on it. Maybe I can stab the baby. And food! Why won't Mom feed me anymore? I'm starving. (Feeding occurs when litter box clean out occurs so Millie has to wait on David to get home.)

Tahoe:
I am almost six years old and for my entire life have been lifted up into the back of Mom's car by Dad or her for car rides. Why is Mom now making me jump up by myself and mumbling something about "I won't be able to pick you up soon so if you're coming for a car ride, put yourself in the car. . ."?

Nursery:
More to come in a few weeks.

Fall is here!

We love fall! Mums, pumpkins, UGA football, turning the AC off, and the season that I think matches Tahoe's fur color the best!

A bit of fur

This is what happens when you don't have time to brush your golden retriever for a week. Fur absolutely everywhere.

16 weeks

Baby-
How your baby's growing: Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop. (borrowed from http://www.babycenter.com/)

Momma-
1. I no longer crave or can stand the smell of Mexican food. Poor David. We've eaten Mexican at least 1-2 times a week for eleven years.
2. I love sweet tea. Always have. Never drank it much because of the calories. I drink it now.
3. I'm a pretty "big" girl so I was really hoping my hips wouldn't spread much. Well, not so much. I went to my Bowen therapist for some help with a chronic running injury and she was quick to let me know that my hips definitely showed I was pregnant. Thanks.
4. Public restrooms have never been a problem for me. In a pinch, I will even use a men's restroom if needed. As of late, public restrooms absolutely gross me out. And I have to go. A lot.
5. A neighbor that I don't particularly care for asked why I wasn't running, as many have. For some reason, I felt the need to explain that I was pregnant and running had become really hard due to exhaustion. Why? Why am I explaining myself to near strangers that I don't care for?
6. As of late, I am thrilled to have energy back and be able to run some.
7. Because I'm not a big fan of food still, I've become a chocolate milk lover. Chocolate milk is supposed to be one of the best things you can consume after a long run because it is full of the nutrients your body is desperately try to replace following a long run. I figure everyday with this growing baby is like a long run so I'll drink chocolate milk everyday to try to fill my belly.
8. You people are aware that I've never changed a diaper, aren't you? And if it wasn't for a few sweet, insightful friends making me hold their newborns, I wouldn't have ever held a newborn, either.

Dad-
:) - just smilin'. I pray that this baby gets David's positive outlook.

Millie-
That dog has NO clue that he is about to be second fiddle. HAHAHAHA! And I can't wait to pee in the crib.

Tahoe-
When is the puppy coming?

Nursery -
1. Carbon monoxide detector
2. Three window shades to block out sunlight
Exciting, I know.

Millie doesn't smile

Sorry! No baby update. Maybe I'll get it finished and posted tomorrow. I wanted to try to get a picture of Millie watching the game tonight so I sat down in front of her to get a cute picture. As soon as I snapped the first picture, she turned her back to me. I guess she didn't want her picture made. She is such a SPECIAL cat.

Tahoe has some news to share!

As you know David is often away from home with work. Therefore, I had never given much thought to how I'd tell him we were expecting if we should ever be that blessed. I always figured he wouldn't be around and I'd have a chance to plan the perfect way! I am very fortunate to have a job that allows me some flexibility so I'm able to spend time with David when he's off during the week. This particular day I'd come home early and we'd been grocery shopping. The planner that I am , I thought I'd take the opportunity to go ahead and make sure I wasn't pregnant and take one of my tests I'd picked up at the store. Yikes! Now I had to come up with a quick way to "surprise" David because I was going to have to quickly explain my suddenly strange demeanor. Tahoe was of course hanging around. (I'm convinced he could tell something was very different.) Hence, I thought he could help out. I tied a test to his collar and sent him out into the yard. He promptly decided to run clear to the other side of the yard from David to pee.


And he just kept peeing. David noticed the bow on Tahoe from across the yard so David called him over to see what I had done to Tahoe's collar and (with my help) learned he'd be a daddy soon.


We're due March 7th! And I still don't really think this is happening other than the constant exhaustion! More to come soon.

St. Simons Island

We spent the week in St. Simons with D's parents and my mom. We had so much fun and did absolutely nothing but lay at the beach and then move to the pool. I could spend the rest of my life on Island time.

D and M

D and his parents

John holding a fish he caught on he and D's fish excursion.

Mom arrived after I'd taken off my make-up for the week so here is a picture of her with Cricket from around Mom's birthday. (I was slack and didn't post on her FUN birthday party.)

Memphis goes to Vegas!

M, John, and Jennifer (Most favorite Memphis couple!)


Elizabeth, Jennifer, M, and Pattie

All at a fabulous dinner with Elizabeth's company at the National Apartment Association Education Conference. Great times but Vegas is definitely for those who don't require eight hours of sleep a night like me!

Yes, we're alive!

Well, I had pledged last weekend to get back on the blogging bandwagon and then this happened!


We were getting ready for a FUN Friday night w/ friends, Sugarland, and Keith Urban. We'd heard of severe weather warnings in the area, but hey, it is the south in the summer, that is always the case. I was getting ready, walked out of the bedroom and D was looking out the back doors to see a tree split in half over our power lines, (remember - old house - NO underground utilities!). Of course, this brought down the lines, the pole, and a bit of our fence. I immediately rushed out to clean up the fallen "sticks" when David reminded me we were still under a tornado warning. I can't stand a messy yard! We made it through safely but as soon as I saw those lines on the ground, I realized we'd be in for a while w/ no power. Of course dear Elizabeth let me move all of our refrigerator contents to her house. I am cheap and wasn't losing good groceries. E continued to be so gracious as to host Tahoe and me (D worked) with air conditioning, breakfast and an Internet connection.


Tahoe's face here summarizes how stinking HOT we were when we weren't at Elizabeth's house. I have no desire to go through any major power outage after this. David and I ran a race on Saturday night hoping to come home to some AC love, but nope. Not so soon. But on Sunday, after being as sweet as I possibly could to every MLGW employee that came through our yard (huge outage was based out of our yard so all the "news" came through us), I saw the new pole below being elevated. Oh, happy day!

Never been so happy in my life to see a pole being installed. We were so hot.

Power came back up at 10:30 pm on Sunday. I was quite impressed with the professionalism of the power crew and their willingness to get the job done. While we still have a messed up fence and one too many poles in our yard, I am so grateful Memphis came through our crazy storm with no serious injuries and with just a bit more sweat on the brow than we'd expected!

In other news, Happy Father's Day to our most amazing Dads! And, we are officially back up and blogging. Look for pictures from Vegas next week!

Happy Mother's Day!

D and I are are blessed with amazing mothers (and mother-in-laws) who have sacrificed greatly so that we can have the lives we have today. Thank you and we wish we could be with you today!

Roses . . . a few

I'm not known for my green thumb. Hence, my excitement over a few blooms!

The sun goes down on Cabo

Our last sunset in Cabo

My last YUMMY breakfast in Cabo - eggs benedict, my favorite!

I guess what makes vacation so special is that you can't vacation all the time (at least I can't). We came home Sunday night and I hit the ground running Monday with a trip to Nashville and David followed on a separate trip to Nashville on Tuesday. Tonight is the first night in over ten nights we're all back under one roof.

David goes fishing . . .

Since David is a Catch and Release kind of guy, I'm sure his guide was more than thrilled when D said he could have the fish he caught for dinner tonight. (Yes, most tourist bring them back to the resort to have cooked for dinner. Instead, we're eating pizza tonight and the guide is eating fish. :))

Free loader above. Another pelican had the unfortunate experience of being caught by David. No worries, the guide was able to untangle him and send him on his way.

The famous Cabo Arch.

Cabo continued . . .

Okay, my thorough attention to picture taking could only last so long. So . . . instead, we'll have random stories from our trip thus far.

1. While I was so grateful to have an exit row seat w/ a seat between D and me, it was quite interesting taking an international flight w/ a crew that I'm thinking hadn't ever taken one. The flight attendants were clueless as to what forms we needed to fill out to get into Mexico. We all made it through but definitely seemed to annoy the Mexican customs rep.

2. Oh, Wal-Mart. Yes, in my attempt to save money, we went to Wal-Mart to purchase staples. I have been to Wal-Mart now only twice in the past two years and I'd like to keep it that way, but boy, you sure can get some cheap groceries there! (We did this on our honeymoon, too.)

3. We've been here almost five nights. I still don't know my room number. I don't think I have any short term memory. At this point, I'm pretty sure our waiter at our favorite pool has a better idea of my room number than I do . . . hum . . . that is not good.

4. I discovered as we were listening to a band at dinner a couple of nights ago that my husband thinks Willie Nelson sings "Amazing Grace". While true that we've seen Willie Nelson sing "Amazing Grace" live, I think we're probably officially not permitted in any Southern Baptist Church based on his Willie comment. Might not even be able to go to any southern funerals.

5. The beginning of every conversation w/ someone new (At least when David is in charge - remember I still say I'm from Atlanta) - The new friend: Where are you from? David: Memphis. Our new friend: Ahh, the home of Elvis??

6. The internet signal is only strong at the bars. We're pretty sure this is not a coincidence.

7. I'm so grateful for the exposure my brother and Mom gave me to this Mexican and Guatemalan cultures. Because of it, I do not get irritated when no one who is waiting on me has near the urgency that I think they should have.

8. As w/ the last post, please ignore my typos!

Cabo days 1-2

Rocks on the ocean. This is the most beautiful place we've ever been together. I just hope America doesn't ruin it. PS - Random blog watchers - this post and the next couple are really us trying to document our vacation. A vacation so desperately needed and appreciated. You're welcome to come along but try not to get too bored.
The ocean bed drops off within 20 feet of the shoreline so swimming isn't permitted here, but when have David and I ever swam in the ocean? The hotel has proved to be more green than I expected, Granted, I don't travel everyday so this may be common, but we have to insert a key card to get the room lights to turn on. Hence, when you leave, the key goes w/ you and the lights go out. Urgh . . . more details to come. D just explained that he is starving and ready for dinner.


From the ocean towards the hotel

Our second day view

D and M at The Office. Fabulous tuna, fish tacos, and Mexican food!

David at The Office just before sunset

View from our front door

D after a day at the pool

Our view point from our first day in Cabo. We spent all day in these seats.

The view from our balcony