Special Delivery

My first week of school has passed and it was actually quite the tough week in some respects. The kids were great and very excited their teacher is pregnant (maybe because that means a sub for the second half of the year.) I felt a little bit like a spectacle at times when my kids from last year saw me, gasped, and pointed to my expanding belly. I also tried to start out conversations with the fact that I was pregnant to avoid any awkwardness for the other parties. "No I did not gain 20lbs over the summer just from being lazy and eating chocolate, this bulge is my new little girl." I'm kind of glad the initial notification of my pregnancy is done at school.
The bad part of school has been the heat. It was 90 degrees last week, we have no air conditioning and I teach on the second floor which is nothing new from last year. However, our school is building a 9th grade addition to the south side of the building. Therefore, all of the classroom windows facing the south side have been boarded up for the addition, so now I have no windows as well. The classrooms got as hot as 97 degrees. The first day was particularly rough because I actually tried to dress professionally. I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or the heat or both but when Brian, my Mom, my Dad, and the Davies all asked me on occasion how my first day went I started sobbing. Sorry everyone! The rest of the week I wore sundresses and felt much better, but sweat more than I thought possible. Next week should cool off and hopefully will be better. I've already decided that when my work environment becomes a little more professional I will start dressing a little more professional.
There were many more important great things this past week that certainly pulled me through. The ultrasound being number one. Then on Friday my cousin, Ginger, sent me pink Gerber daisies at work in honor of my little girl. That definitely brought a smile to my face and made me forget about any heat I may have been feeling. The picture above is myself, my growing belly housing our little girl, and the beautiful bouquet.
On Saturday Brian and I started to register for some baby gear. Boy, were we out of our league. We realized that we know barely anything about baby equipment and decided to regroup and bring our parents to help. Brian was great though. I gave him an A+ for behavior. He is usually good for the most part during our shopping trips, but then starts breaking down at the end. This time as we were nearing the end and he was starting to get a little tired of contemplating between shades of pink, he held up his four fingers and started saying in the middle of the store, "Fourth quarter, Fourth quarter." This little self pep talk is a common football routine for the fourth quarter of a game, and I found it funny he employed the same technique to finishing the job that he used in a grueling head bashing football game to deciding between baby bedding. I'm not sure which was actually more difficult for him to finish out. Really, he did great in his Dadly duties. Our little girl and I are certainly blessed!

It's a Girl!

We had our first ultrasound today and we rejoice in thankfulness that we have a healthy little baby. It is amazing everything you can see from the ultrasound from the spine, to the heart, to the little hands. All seems well with our little one and we are so thankful. That was really the most important thing to us. The baby was sleeping at the beginning of our ultrasound and after all the poking became one active little baby kicking and waving hands, which was awesome to see. The baby was a little uncooperative in determining the sex but the doctor is reasonably certain our little one is a little baby girl! She had her hand on her hip which is something my Mom and I do all the time, which is crazy. Brian said with that tendency and her stubbornness to turn around she had to be a girl like me. Now we anxiously await her arrival sometime around January 28th. In the meantime we will worry about all the pink accessories I now feel the sudden need to acquire! Thank you so much for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Bump Watch

Due to requests from Giselle and Kristen the bump watch continues. The last two weeks have been busy for all three of us Davies!

Brian has been busy getting the old sanctuary at church (Kaiser Hall) redone for the new contemporary service he is leading this fall. He has been working so hard and spending many hours there, but the payoff is coming. The sanctuary looks great and almost everything is in place for the September 9th start.

I had my first experience as a consultant and really enjoyed the experience, despite the 104 degree weather of Kansas City. I could talk about teaching and pedagogy all day so I think this job might be a good fit for me. The talking will turn to action soon as my school year starts on Tuesday. My mind is elsewhere, and my old clothes don't fit anymore, but going back will be a great distraction for the remaining half of my pregnancy.

Our little peanut is growing rapidly and has made me officially look pregnant. There is no hiding the bump any longer. A big milestone in the last week is that I have started to feel the baby's movements and kicks. I think our little one is quite the active guy or girl, which has been very fun. Speaking of guy or girl, the count down continues as to finding out the sex of the baby. 10 days left until our ultrasound Sept 5th. During which, hopefully, the baby will cooperate and we'll know if that movement in my tummy is from our little girl or little guy. Crazy! I think that word pretty much sums up this whole experience. We'll be sure to keep you updated on all big news in the future!

Nursery Pictures

We've been busy working the last several days on the nursery. My Mom and Katie came in and we had a lot of success. The color selection after five samples and much angst was Sherwin Williams Honeydew. I love how it came out. The glider and dresser we bought off of craigs list second hand, painted white, bought new material to cover the glider, and hardware for the dresser. That was our first foray into refinishing furniture and it was both fun and a success. When we find out in September whether it is a boy or girl we will accent the room appropriately with pink or blue. I also have some white shelves to hang and we are going to put the baby's name in white letters over the crib. This has been such fun and such excitement. As you can kind of see from the pictures the nursery was in terrible shape before. It was a lot of work so it was so nice to have help when we needed it! I am now off to Chicago, Kansas City, and Indianapolis to facilitate some three day training sessions for Carnegie Learning. Maybe Brian will put up a post in the meantime.

Church Blog

This fall Brian is heading up a new contemporary service St. Peter is offering Sunday mornings. There is quite a buzz and it seems like people are excited. I know Brian is. We started a blog for this service and we have some pictures from the remodeling of the old sanctuary where the new service will be held. If you feel like it you can check it out.

St. Peter Lutheran Amplified Worship

Washington D.C. trip

On Tuesday and Wednesday we flew to Washington D.C. to visit Brian's grandparents and Aunt and Uncle. It is always great to do a little sight seeing in the capitol and it was great to see the Washington D.C. contingent of Davies. Barbara made a great dinner and we enjoyed visiting with everyone. Barbara and Ken are great hosts and it was such fun to hear of and see pictures of their recent adventures. We saw pics of their new Boise home, their recent London trip, Ken's trip to Prague, and their family vacation to New England. They certainly don't let the grass grow under their feet.

Also while in D.C. we got to be guests at Brian's friend, Geoff Hunter's graduation. It was a great ceremony, tour of the facilities, and party afterward. It was wonderful to be able to be a part of such a special day for Geoff, Giselle, and their wonderful families. Everyone was so proud of Geoff for his accomplishment and we certainly share the sentiment. Best wishes to Geoff and Giselle in their new chapter of life to take place in San Francisco. Another great place to visit! We have video below to share.

Bump Watch

We had visitors from Minnesota this weekend, the Nixon Family. We spent some great time together. While they were here I was a little tired maybe due to the activity, but maybe due to the little growth spurt that seems to have taken place in my belly over just the last week!

Michigan Visitors!

From Tuesday to Friday my Mom and my brother, Michael, came for a whirlwind visit. They brought some baby stuff from Chicago that my Mom has been "collecting" for us and, we were on a quest for some additional pieces. We found a dresser that Brian and Mike refinished over the two days (thanks guys), and a glider that has yet to be redone. We had a great time together and their visit and help was much appreciated. We look forward to their return in early August with Katie to finish cleaning and painting our second floor.
We also had a short but great visit with Giselle on Sunday. She was flying through Detroit on her way between Toledo and San Francisco and stopped for a little two hour visit. It was great to see her and have her see our house and set-up in Michigan. I think she was a little surprised with how much baby stuff we have already, but I guess that's just us. Thanks so much for the visits we LOVED them!

Ann Arbor Art Fair- Not in Detroit Anymore

Last Saturday Brian and I ventured to the Ann Arbor Art fair. It is a nationally recognized fair and about an hour from our house. It was a gorgeous day as most of our summer days have been. We did not make any purchases but certainly enjoyed seeing the different mediums of artistic expression. It also struck us how different the crowd and atmosphere was at this cultural event as oppossed to the Detroit city fest. We took a video to highlight the contrast.

Baby on the Way

The news is officially out. Brian and I are going to have a baby! The due date is January 28th (right around the Bear's upcoming superbowl win.) I am now 13 weeks along and feeling pretty well. We heard the heartbeat at 11 weeks and everything is going well. Our baby is now about the size of a lime and my belly has grown quite a bit to accomodate it comfortably. It is great news and we are so excited. We are probably going to find out if it is a boy or girl in our September doctor's appointment. Thanks for everyone's excitement and support thus far.

Friends' Wedding 2007

For each of the past few summers Brian's close high school friends have "taken turns" getting married. With Chris and Annette's past, the finale of friends' weddings has come and gone and it was quite the final act. Brian's high school friend, Chris, and his beautiful bride, Annette, were married July 13th in the Albany area during a beautiful outdoor ceremony which Brian officiated. The night was capped off by a very fun reception. The personalities of Chris and Annette truly came out through the wedding choices as did their love for each other. It was great to be a part of the evening. The only sad part is that such occasions for us to all get together are coming to a close. I think we'll just have to try a little harder now. Friends Vacation 2008?

Michigan Sunsets

One of the interesting things about living in Michigan is the late and great sunsets we experience. Being this far west in the eastern time zone we still have traces of sunlight even at 10:00pm. Also with the flat farm land, we have big skies which make a great canvass for some great sunsets. The other night was particularly spectacular and Brian got a few pictures of the sun setting over St. Peter. Tomorrow we are off to Albany for Chris Gerber's wedding weekend. I'm sure we'll have a great story to share upon our return.

We're not in Norridge/Delmar any more!

Last night Brian and I went with some friends to the Detroit City Fest. It was kind of like a taste of Detroit with live music. We had a blast! The two couples we went with, we met on vacation in the Dominican Republic. They are life long Michiganders and know everything that's going on in Detroit. We are really glad they invited us it was quite an experience. Detroit is so diverse, and there were booths that had tons of local food from Greek, to Lebanese, to Ethiopian, to Polish, and much more. I had a Gyro, hummus, and Italian Ice and enjoyed all three. Brian who is very careful in making his selections had hummus and BBQ ribs. We passed on the deep-fried Mars bars and the 1 lb "Oh my God" hamburger. We settled in by one of the plazas and listened to a jazz singer and caught up with each other. While we were walking through the stands we encountered the Rap pavilion, and it totally reminded us that we were in D-town and not the homogeneous Norridge or Delmar any longer. Brian took video below to capture the memory, and I'm glad he did it was a really fun night.

Honey-Do-List

We had a great and relaxing fourth of July. Brian and I used the extra day to continue doing work around our house and had our own little barbeque together. We have been doing quite a lot around the parsonage, but the end of major home improvements is in sight. One of the things that has always bothered Brian and I were our dinged up garage doors. Brian painted them recently and what an improvement! I am almost embarrassed to post the before picture because it looks so bad, but I guess it is telling that we had about a year's worth of more pressing matters to get to first. Anyway, we are making progress and this old property is really turning into quite a gem.

Vacation Excursions

While on our family vacation, we went on a couple of excursions. Katie's dream in life was always to be a dolphin trainer so the swim with the dolphins was a no-brainer. Katie, Mike, and Brian got 50 minutes of time in the water with the dolphins who were really friendly and interactive. The boys also chartered a boat and took it 45 minutes south of Cancun where they went deep sea fishing. They caught a barracuda, a sail fish, and a mahi mahi(dolphin fish). The waves were pretty rocky and they got sea sick for a while but ultimately had a great time. The video really tells the stories best. Enjoy!