Sweet Baby Boy

This is Daddy and Will watching sports on TV. We love football season and watch a lot of games... whether it's Alabama or Tennessee or the Titans or whatever. Plus the big sport in our household is basketball and the NBA season started and Stephen's been following some former Memphis players who are now in the NBA until the new Memphis season gets kicked off. So there will be lots of sports watching in the future for these guys! Notice Will has on a sports outfit!

I love his face when he's sleeping!! You can tell he's in a really deep sleep when the mouth is not only open but puckered too...

We have started using the activity mat as well. One end has an area that has lights and music which he absolutely loves to lay on his belly and watch. Then the other end has the mirror. It is so funny to watch Will stare into this. You can tell he's so confused. But it's so sweet. He's started talking to himself. Stephen and I will try to get him to talk but come away with nothing. Then when he's alone either in his crib or on his activity mat, the baby talk just flows out. It's so sweet to hear!! So this is our baby boy that's growing soooooo fast!!!

Will's First Halloween

This is the Davis family at Trunk or Treat at church. We didn't actually "treat or trick". We just hung out with our Sunday School class which had a few cars decorated and gave out candy. Will wore his skeleton sweatsuit that Joey and Amanda gave him. It was big on him because it was 3-6 months but it was cute, and it kept him warm so it worked!

Stephen & Will together. Will was tired. It wore him out! :)

Me with Will in his backpack carrier. He absolutely loves it. We use it when we go almost everywhere right now.. grocery store, mall, wherever.

Closeup of Will at home before we left of him in his skeleton costume.

Me & Will before church one Wednesday night. Look at that cute pumpkin booty!!

Will looking at me talking to him. He's really into making eye contact when you talk to him.

Us again but with Will looking at the camera this time.

Will smiling/starting to laugh at us while taking pictures. I love this picture!!

Look at those chubby legs!! Everyone comments on how small Will is but look at those legs!! The next pictures are just a few more of him in him pumpkin outfit:

Overall, since Will was only 6 weeks old on his first Halloween we thought it went well. On actual Halloween, we went out to eat with Ryan and Casie and then went to the mall and walked around. Each store was giving out candy to trick or treaters so we admired all of the kids' costumes. So this is our little pumpkin & skeleton! :)

Another Week: A Growing Baby

This week Will has discovered the mobile in his crib. He absolutely LOVES it, and it entertains him just long enough for me to scarf down dinner in peace without having to hold him. He is still sleeping in his bassinet in our room, but we have play time in the crib to get him used to it so the transition won't be too difficult... at least we hope not.

Will loves to sit up either propped up against the couch or on a pillow. His head is a little lopsided here. We think he looks like such a big boy in this picture.

He is so sweet when he sleeps. He has started sleeping less as he requires less sleep and gets older and has more awake time, but I just love how peaceful he looks when he's sleeping.

Will contemplating....
Then he let us know what he was thinking... His daddy thinks he's going to be a preacher. We'll see about that. Other comments on this picture has been that he's telling about how he almost caught a fish this big or saw a snake this long... haha. If only we could really know what he was trying to tell us...

So Will is now 6 weeks old. The weeks are truly flying by. We have started getting out with him a little more. Last Sunday we went and Stephen got fitted for Ryan and Casie's tux at the mall and grabbed dinner out. It was nice to just get out of the apartment and do some of the things we did before Will was born. Then Wednesday night we went to Trunk or Treat at church. It was a lot of fun. We really enjoy being social and getting to experience our new life as a family with a baby. Look for another post this weekend about Trunk or Treat and pictures from Halloween and such.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

So that entails this week... the good, the bad & the ugly. It's been quite the week with Will. We've had many emotions run through our house over the last few days. There have been some trying times with Will. In the past couple of weeks Will has started getting fussy at night and crying for no reason... which the doctor said is normal. There's nothing more wearing on you than hearing your child cry and not being able to calm him down. We hold him every way possible. We feed him. We change him. We rock him. We sing to him. Sometimes nothing works. But eventually the crying stops and he goes to sleep and tomorrow is a good day and it's all forgotten.

But aside from the bad and ugly that comes with parenting, the good and the great come with it too. Will has "grown up" so much over just the last week even. He's to the point where he needs to be interacted with and stimulated. It's the sweetest thing to see Will be amazed by a singing giraffe that he has.
Now, I know you can't really see the giraffe in the picture, and I know Will's head is cut off, but I took this with my cell phone real fast so not to lose the moment. This is Will's first interaction with his toys. The giraffe was playing the music, and Will was looking at it, and then out of no where, he reached for it and this is what he came out with! It was the sweetest thing ever. When he grabbed it, you could tell he was like, "What did I just do?" and then he made one of his "Caaaa" noises that is heart melting sweet.

Since Will was so amazed by his giraffe, I decided to let him try and watch a Baby Einstein movie he has. It says from 3 months and up. But man, Will loved it. It's 31 minutes long, and he sat through 22 minutes of it. He loved all the shapes and colors that came across the screen. It will definitely become a daily activity from now on out.

I let Will sit in his bouncy seat while I set up and he watched the movie. The first picture below depicts how calm he was at first. Then he was not very patient with me while I was trying to get the DVD on. He started fussing and throwing his arms all around. Well, on his bouncy seat there is a toy bar. One of the toys that dangles is a rattle, and the other is something that plays a short song when pulled. Well, he throws his arms around and they end up grabbing onto the red thing that plays music. Again, he stopped for a second as if he was amazed at the feeling... which I'm sure he was. But then he started back up again with his arms and this ended in him pulling the toy which then started singing which really got his attention and calmed him right down. It was so neat to see him start noticing the things around him... even if on accident. The second picture below shows him holding the toy. Again, it's blurry because I snapped it with my cell phone before he let go, plus Will was moving the whole time.

Overall, being a parent is still amazing, but it's definitely a trial and error and learning process. We're still learning what Will likes and doesn't like and how he likes to be held when he's fussy and things of the sort. He's starting to smile some, which when he smiles it melts my heart! As long as at the end of every fussy, bad time Will lays his head on my shoulder and holds onto my shirt so tight and looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes that I can tell love me, I can handle the bad times. We have some other new pictures as well, but we'll post them later when we have more time. Oh, and Will's Social Security card came in the mail so the government now recognizes him!

Meet Will's Godparents

So this is Ryan & Casie Adams (almost!). They are engaged and are getting married on November 22, 2008. We are so excited that they are Will's Godparents. They are such a great couple. Ryan graduated from Lipscomb in May of 2008 and is working full-time while Casie finishes nursing school. She'll graduate in May of 2009. Then Ryan is going to grad school next fall. They are such a loving, patient Godly couple... the type we'd love to take care of Will if something were to happen to us. (Although we definitely prefer for nothing to happen!). We are so glad that they accepted such an important responsibility. We look forward to them being involved in Will's life and being his "Aunt Casie" and "Uncle Ryan".

Will is One Month Old

It is so hard to believe that it's already been a month. It's absolutely flown by. He is such a great baby overall. I mean, he is a baby so he does have his fussy moments, but they are really few and far between.

We went to the doctor today for his one month check-up. He is quite a healthy baby. He weighed 9 lbs, 5 oz and was 21 inches long. He had gained 28 oz in 21 days... absolutely amazing. His weight was in the 40th percentile, so he is still a smaller baby. But the doctor did say his overall weight gain was above average. Him being 21 inches put him in the 20th percentile... but no one in either of our families is tall so we weren't expecting a long baby. His head circumference was 14.5 inches which was in the 25 percentile. So we have a very healthy baby, and we are so thankful for that.

Here's Will at One Month:

Recovery is in Sight!

So it's been another week. Time is still flying by. I am finally starting to feel better. It's been very difficult being sick and taking care of Will... AND a client called and ordered a transcript of a case I had covered before Will was born. The unexpected money will be very nice but squeezing the work in was a little hard.

Stephen's mom came as mentioned in the previous post. She was a great help. I was able to rest a lot during the days and work on my transcripts. We enjoyed just her company too. Plus she gave us a little extra cash and we were able to splurge with the grocery budget at the store this past week... which was super nice! On Saturday, my mom came up. It was very nice to see my mom. Then on Sunday my dad came up. I'm so glad that Will's grandparents are involved and want to see him and watch him grow. He's very blessed.

Will & I are headed to Bama this weekend to watch Uncle Jon play football since it's his senior year and there are only a few games left. Plus we are going to my cousin Tatum's baby shower, which will be fun for Will because he'll get to meet all of my aunts and cousins and stuff.

As far as an update on Will during the last week, not too much has changed. He's slept a little more than he did before. I miss his wide-eyed talking time but I know he needs his rest. And depending on who you ask, Will has either strawberry-blonde or red hair. It's cute on him! Maybe you can see it in the pictures below!

Will is growing so fast!!

It is so hard to believe that Will is 2.5 weeks old already! Where is time going?!? He is such a great baby. He cries very little and is very content just laying on his boppy looking around. It's so nice that he's easy going and sleeps a lot. He's growing like a weed too! He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz when he was born on Friday, September 19. When we left the hospital on Monday, September 22, he weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz. Then when we went to the doctor on Monday, September 29th (a mere week later) he weighed 7 lbs, 9 oz. His doctor was amazed!! He warned us that Will is going to develop neck rolls and leg rolls but not to limit his food intake and keep feeding him on demand... oh boy! He's started communicating already. If you talk to him, he'll look you in the eyes for a while and then say, "Caaa". Haha. Not really much of communication but it is the sweetest sound. He has the strongest legs ever as well. He kicks and can move himself around a great deal. It's actually kind of scary. Oh, and his cord fell off today so we officially have a belly button.. and I'm glad to report it's an inny. :)

I have the crud... runny nose, headache, earache, sore throat.. the crud. It's hard since I can't take anything for it since I'm breastfeeding. It's definitely a challenge being a new mom and having to sacrifice so much... like when I feel like crud and just want to rest but Will needs to eat or needs a diaper change or just wants to be held.. but it's also amazing how much I love him and how it doesn't bother me at all to love on my little guy...although I can't kiss and hug on him too much since I don't want to get him sick. Stephen has been a great help during all of this. I still let him sleep at night and try not to bother him since he does work full-time and go to school full-time. But he'll take care of Will from the time he gets home until he goes to bed except for feedings & diaper changing. I have tried pumping and letting him feed Will and Will just doesn't like it as much, and I'd rather let Will eat than pump anyways so I don't mind feeding him. I think it's a sweet, fun time. But I enjoy my downtime and rest time that he allows me to have. He's a fabulous husband and father.

Stephen's mom is coming tomorrow for a few days. I am looking forward to having some help since I'm sick. And of course Stephen is gong to enjoy having his mom here... after all, there's nothing like your mom! :)

Oh, and we went to church this past Sunday for the first time. We only went to worship service but it went great. We sat on the back row right by the door in case Will did get fussy and needed to leave. But he slept the whole time. He really loves music and singing. He always kicked a lot in the womb when we were at church during the singing, and he enjoyed the music this Sunday at church just as much. Anyways, that's what's been going on with Will and us over the last 2.5 weeks. I'll attach a couple of pictures of Will... they are all of him sleeping, because, well, that's mostly what he does besides eat.

Will is finally here!

Our son, William Seth Davis, was born at 9:30 pm on Friday, September 19, 2008. He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 19 inches long. We had a planned C-Section scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, but Will did not want to wait that long. Jennifer's water broke about an hour after I got home from work on Friday, and 3 hours later Will was born! Everything went extremely well during the C-Section, and both Will and Jennifer are very healthy. Jennifer is feeling great and seems to already be recovering very quickly. Everyone is amazed at how well she has been able to move and walk around these first few days, but we know it is because we prayed everyday for the last 9 months that both Jennifer and Will would make it through childbirth healthy and safe. God has truly blessed us with our beautiful son Will. Here are a couple pictures...

and a brief slideshow....

You can see a whole larger album of pictures from the first few days of Will's life by going here...

The Birth of William Seth Davis

The End is Near!!

So I went to the doctor today for my weekly checkup. I've still made no progress and my cervix is closed. :( But we did schedule for me to be induced if I don't go into labor before my due date. So I am scheduled to be induced September 30th (a Tuesday). I really would like to have Will earlier but at least the end is in sight. I know I have a maximum of 28 days left so that's bearable. So that's the latest Will update. He's being like his daddy and taking his time... and being extra slow! :)

Will's First Room

We finally finished putting everything together so that Will's room is ready for him to arrive! We spent all day today (Labor Day) finishing things up. All of his stuff is safari themed. Here is a quick little video that shows what the final product looks like. Enjoy!

General Update

Okay. I felt the need to do a second post just as a general update. Things have continued to be busy for us over the past couple of months. We had a shower in Memphis and Stephen was the best man in a wedding in Florida. Check out the pics of us with the bride & groom and then Stephen being goofy with the groom and other best man.



We almost have Will's nursery finished. We still have to hang some of the valances on some of the windows and then do some of the wall decor so hopefully after the weekend I can post some pictures of that. We hope to have a very successful, relaxing weekend in town since it's our first in many weekends. We are going to go shopping and get things to pack up the hospital bag and stuff since we are getting close to that time when it could happen almost at any point.

Stephen starts back to school next week. He enjoyed his whole like one week off, but that's what happens when you take summer classes. He's looking forward to being done in December. Work has started picking back up some for me, which is nice since we'll need the extra money after I'm off work. I can only work for about 3 more weeks though since we have a 2 week turnaround. I don't want to be in the hospital trying to get transcripts out and holding up cases because I'm delivering a baby! Anyways, that's what has been up with us... just busy, busy, busy.

Child Birthing Class Complete!!

So once again it's been a while since Stephen or I posted. I am now 34 weeks along. We are getting so close to the due date... it's so exciting and scary at the same time. We went to child birthing classes at the hospital this weekend which were very beneficial but at the same time it kinda made me more scared. Check out the picture of Stephen in the empathy belly!!

Our New Apartment

As we have settled into our new apartment at Colonial Grand in Brentwood, which we absolutely love, we thought it would be nice to post some pictures. I had some pretty serious difficulties installing our ceiling fans, but we have learned a lot about building and installing different things around our apartment. These new skills should come in handy in the future. As always, we have a great deal of sunflower decorations (Jennifer's favorite), especially in the kitchen. Right now Will's room is pretty bare, but we are about to paint it and put in his new bed, dresser/changing table, and gliding chair. We do have his bathroom finished, as you can see his monkey shower curtain. Will's bedding and decorations will be safari themed. So here's a short slideshow.

Davis Family Update

Okay. So Stephen and I are not very good at the blogging thing but we are going to work on it. We've been hassled by some people for our lack of blogging so we are going to make a real effort to keep it up.

For those of you who may not know yet, Stephen and I found out we are having a little baby boy, and we are so excited! His name will be William Seth Davis. We got William from Stephen's dad and granddad's name. They were Herbert William Davis and Herbert William Davis, Jr. and we just thought Herbert was a little old-fashioned for us, so we kept William. And we just picked Seth because we like it. If we have a little girl one day, we'd like to name her Julie Beth, and we like how they rhythm although some people think it's silly.

So Will is growing so fast. It's amazing to me that I'm already 24.5 weeks along. My mom says it's because we've been so busy the first part of the pregnancy, which we have. Shortly after we found out we were pregnant, we went to the Final Four in San Antonio with my dad which was amazing. Then summer was coming up so we had vacations and such. And we've gotten moved and settled into our new apartment. We plan to take pictures of our new place this weekend so I'll post some!

My mom came up today and we picked out and bought Will's furniture for his nursery. I had already picked out and ordered the bedding. We still have to paint the room but hopefully in the next three weeks or so, we'll knock out a big portion of the nursery work. Will is going to be so spoiled thanks to his Mama J (my mom) and Mama Rie (my grandmother). They just love to buy stuff for him, and it's sooooo sweet and much appreciated.

On a side note away from the baby part of our lives, Stephen is set to graduate in December with his Master's which is super exciting. He's taking summer classes this summer, which he's bummed about. But he knows he'll be glad he did come December when he's finished. This is the first time in his college (undergrad & grad) career that he's ever taken summer classes. He has two classes, one online and one classroom, so it's not that bad. Work has been pretty steady with me. I just absolutely love my job... never a dull moment.

But I reckon that's about all for this update, except I will attach a belly picture that a lot of people have asked to see. This is me at the beach (hot!) at the start of my 6th month... Will & my belly are growing FAST!

We Got a Kitchen Table!

Stephen and I got our first piece of furniture that we actually picked out and bought together as a married couple. When we moved into our first apartment as a married couple, we moved into our TINY current apartment. It didn't have a dining room area so we gave my kitchen table to my dad. Well, since we are expecting our first child, we are about to move into our new apartment that has a dining room area so we need a kitchen table. And this is the one we picked:



We think it's a great table for an apartment and for a few years. This isn't a table we plan to keep for a long time. We have both missed having a table, and Stephen really looks forward to being able to study at the table. It's such an exciting time getting moved into the home where we will start our family. I will post some pictures once we get moved and settled in!

Our Journey Into the Blogging World

So Stephen and I decided it was time to join the blogging world as a way to keep up with our friends and family as our family continues to grow. It will be much easier to post some pictures and stories on here for our moms to read.

Since we're new at this, I think we'll just use the first blog as sort of an in depth about us section. Stephen grew up in the Memphis area and went to undergrad at Lipscomb University and majored in Bible with an emphasis in youth ministry. He is now finishing up his Master's in Theological Studies. He is set to graduate in December, and we hope very shortly after the Lord blesses us with a ministry job for Stephen. I grew up in Guntersville, AL and went to court reporting school in Gadsden. Stephen and I met in Nashville after I moved here for a job. We love it here. We are still looking for the right church to join but we've been attending Brentwood Hills Church of Christ and are fairly happy there. We are expecting our first real child in September... the 29th to be exact. I say "real child" because we have a dog (maltipoo) who is like our baby now so when the real Baby Davis arrives she will have some major adjusting to do. As long as Baby Davis cooperates we are scheduled to find out the sex on May 5th! (18 days!) We'll definitely keep everyone updated!