Quick Update

Okay, I plan to come back VERY soon with a full update on Julie Beth's 2 month check-up and our Christmas holidays. We have been in Memphis for 6 days (5 nights away from home!) so I have to settle back in and get things sort-of back to normal first. But here is a quick picture of all the cousins at Mimi and Poppa's house (Stephen's parents). They have 9 grandchildren that are 11 and under, and it is rare that we are all together at the same time.

Checking In

I wanted to check in real fast and touch base. I am feeling a little under the weather today. The past few days have been very busy. I will be back as soon as I can to update about it all. Check back because Julie Beth's 2 month check-up and my dad's family Christmas will be featured. Stay warm in this snowy weather!

"T" for Tuesday

Well, Will is napping, and Julie Beth is swinging in her swing... at least for now. Tuesdays are one of the days that Will goes to preschool at Miss Kim's. One thing I find so special about Miss Kim's is that I went to Miss Kim's when I was Will's age. She is such a patient and loving woman. She has to be to deal with like 15 2-and-3-year-olds by herself. So Will goes to school from 8-12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When he gets home from school, we eat lunch. Here he is enjoying a PBJ and some chips for lunch today.

After he ate his lunch, we played for a little while. He ran right in the door and ran upstairs to his room to grab a paci or two and his Mickey and Minnie. As I have stated before, all 3 stay with him at all times (except school and church). He's watching Mickey Mouse in the first picture.

While this little angel was at school, I soaked up some cuddle time with my princess. We took a short nap together. I am so glad Julie Beth was blessed with my love for sleep. She slept for 14 hours with 3 feedings last night. Us Davis girls, we love and need our beauty rest! :) Here's the princess talking to Mommy after our nap together. The pictures may not show it, but this girl is starting to have auburn hair. Her brother was born with strawberry blonde hair, and then at one point it got really red. Now he's pretty much just blonde. She was born with dark hair which lightens every time I wash it... just kidding. Although I do feel like that's true. But now out in the sun, it's definitely auburn colored.

Tuesdays equal Stephen driving a few hours at Domino's so it's usually just me and the kiddos. Tonight Memphis plays Kansas, which is a really big game, for those non-basketball fans out there. So after Stephen gets off, we will watch that and hang out. We have 3 different left-over options for dinner, so it will be nice not to have to prepare a meal. Well, my little girl is talking up a storm, and I want to go chat with her. Stay warm!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Brrrrrrr, can we say it's cold outside? The wind here is what's the killer. It really makes it feel much colder. My babies have stayed inside all day where it's warm. We haven't really been up to much today. In fact, it's 4:00 and I just now jumped through the shower. Will has just played and played and watched some Mickey Mouse. Then he napped and played in the bathtub after I showered while I got dressed and stuff. That's something we do often to pass a little time is to let him play in the bathtub. He gets his real bath at night before bed, but sometimes we just fill the tub with water and give him some toys and let him play until he's tired of it.

What am I excited about today? Returning to regular meals as a family. Julie Beth is finally to a stage where she is happy long enough in her bouncy seat to let us all eat at the same time around the table. For the past two months, we have eaten in shifts... and usually in the den in front of the television or Will would eat in his playroom in front of his television as well. But we ate dinner and breakfast all around the table, and I loved it. We are trying to get Will back used to sitting at the table to eat.

What else am I excited about? The upcoming season finale of Dexter. We watched the next to last episode today. We got into this show from a friend in Nashville we used to spend a lot of time with when we both lived there. It's a very intense show and has been since the start. But this season, oh my, is very intense. I can't wait to see what happens. I really hope it's not the last season but have heard rumors that it is.

Today is a pretty boring day, so I won't bore you... Hope you are staying warm on this cold, cold day and that you take time to enjoy a meal with your family!

Photos of the Kids

Since my last post didn't have any pictures, I decided to post a few from this evening...

Will in a Memphis outfit a family friend made him. Isn't it cute? We have matching blankets that my grandmother made us.

This picture is priceless. As we have entered the "Terrible 2's" we see this often...

He's watching Mickey here. This is before we changed him to his Memphis outfit so that we could send the family friend a picture of him in it.
Julie Beth practicing tummy time and holding her head up. She's getting pretty good at it for a few minutes at a time. It's hard to believe she's going to be 8 weeks tomorrow, 2 months on Thursday. Where does time go??

As I think I mentioned on Saturday, she has started talking (cooing) and smiling a lot. This is her almost smile. Isn't she just adorable? Maybe we are just bias... nah! :)

Well, it's time to bathe the kids. I'll be back tomorrow!

Sunday Solutions

So for those of you close to us, you know that we have struggled with Sunday afternoons since Stephen took on the youth ministry job in Decatur. At first, it was a real struggle with Will, mainly due to his age and the fact that cold weather approached at the time Stephen started (Sept '09). Then when spring came and Will was a little older, things got easier. Will got to that real fun, easy on-the-go age. But then fall 2010 came, and with it came Julie Beth and cool weather again. Since Julie Beth has been born, Sunday afternoons have been very tiring and very stressful. Will is tired of the church building by the time church is out, but yet, I'm supposed to keep him there another 2.5-3 hours.... and get him to take a decent nap. Just wasn't happening with the addition of Julie Beth. She needed to eat, and he wouldn't nap and would scream. It was just a major headache. So we decided today to try driving separately, and the kids and I leave after church. It worked like a charm. Both kids napped on the way home. We came home and ate. Then we just hung out and played and watched TV until Stephen got home. So I think for now about 3 Sundays a month Stephen and I will both drive to Decatur, and the kids and I come home right after church. Hooray for a Sunday Solution!!

Saturday Morning Laziness

We are having a lazy but productive Saturday morning around the Davis household today. Maybe relaxed is a better word to use than lazy. We are all still in our PJs taking it easy. We have done the dishes and put away 3 loads of laundry. I have Will's sheets drying. Basketball is on the television... Stephen's favorite time of the year. Housework with two is endless. So we plan to continue to do a little housework, enjoy basketball (NC and KY right now), Auburn later, and then tonight Memphis plays. GO TIGERS! Here's some pictures of the kids...

This was last Sunday. Stephen and the kids relaxing after a Memphis win. Stephen is always exhausted on Sunday afternoons so this is usually how you find him. See the Mickey figures in the picture? They are ALWAYS with Will these days. He's come to really love Mickey.

This picture and the one below it is Will this morning. He got this "hat" as he calls it yesterday. Stephen has one similar. Will loves to wear it. See that blue paci? We are starting 2011 without it. It's that time. He goes to school without it. He knows what his sissy's pacis look like. So we are saying goodbye after the holidays. (Please ignore the bed in the below picture. As I said, I am washing his sheets.)

Julie Beth this morning doing what she does best, sleep. We have spoiled this girl rotten. We hold her all.the.time. But I am eating it up as I know these days pass quickly. I have been pushing her to spend time not in our arms though. Right now she's stretched out on a blanket on the floor. She had her best night yet last night. She slept for 7 hours in her bassinet, 7.5 total, and went 8 hours without eating. For those who have asked, yes, nursing is going well. Thank goodness! And no, opposite of her brother completely, Julie Beth does not like to be rocked to sleep. It keeps her awake. If you try rocking her, she will stay wide-eyed, and as soon as you stop, her eyes will start to close. Just one of the many ways she is oh-so different from her brother.

My sweet princess with her lovey. Don't you just love all the purple? I do! But believe me, she has worn way more pink than I would have thought she would have.

That's all for now. Hope you have a relaxing Saturday too!!

Julie Beth Is Here

So it happened... and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. Life with two is tiring and busy and hectic. But anyways, Julie Beth was born October 11th at 7:44 a.m. by a planned repeat C-Section. She was 7 lbs, 6 oz and 19 3/4 inches. She had a head full of dark hair. Will absolutely positively adores her. Here's a few pictures:

What We've Been Up To

So it's been a couple months since I last posted. Shame on me, shame on me. But things have been SUPER busy around here lately. Living even closer to my mom now somehow keeps us even busier. So let's just get the update started!So this is Julie Beth's bedding. This is NOT her actual room. Her furniture will be the same as Will's was which is lighter wood. But the decor is what her bedding will look like. I have to still take pictures of the finished nursery... which, by the way, I think looks better than this!

We also have dealt with a broken arm. Will fell out of the kitchen chair after eating lunch one day and broke his elbow. It was quite the traumatic experience. He ended up having to have surgery to have pins put it to allow it to heal correctly. We wore the hard cast for 4 weeks and then had surgery again to have the pins removed. Everyone, both doctors and nurses, that dealt with Will agreed that this would not be our last broken bone with him. He's enjoying a Twizzler in this picture in case you are wondering.

We are just 10 days away from having Miss Julie Beth so I plan to get everything brought up-to-date before then so be looking for multiple posts!

It's A....

GIRL!!!!

That's right. We went back at the beginning of June right after our beach trip, and it was confirmed that indeed Baby Davis is a GIRL! If you recall, we were told back at the beginning of May that they thought it was a girl, but I was very hesitant to believe. But it was very obvious this time that it was indeed a female.

Her name is going to be Julie Beth Davis. We plan to actually call her Julie Beth. I'm sure once she starts school and has to learn to write her name she will hate us but oh well. All kids have to hate their parents for something; right?

Anyways, we are very excited! We will be using mostly purple for both nursery and clothes. I'm just not a very pink person. Once I make a final decision on the bedding I will post what it looks like. But I will tell you this, the one I'm leaning towards is very PURPLE! YAY!!

I'm Alive!

So I was reminded the other day that it has been FOREVER since I've updated the blog. Truth be told, I didn't want to just complain the whole time. But where have I been?

I've spent A LOT of time hugging one of these... Guys, this pregnancy has been oh-so-different. I kept thinking it was going to get better, and now at 16 weeks, it finally has started to. I was sick alllll day long and allllll night long. I lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks and got severely dehydrated. They put me in the hospital for a night to get IV fluids and rest. I took Zofran. It helped a little. My weight loss is now up to 11 pounds for the pregnancy. But y'all, it's coming from somewhere else because my belly is really starting to grow. It's rounding out too. In other words, it's actually starting to resemble a pregnancy belly and not someone who just needs to lay off the dessert. We had a sonogram the other day that suggested the sex of the baby but couldn't be definitive, so until the next one, we aren't sharing but stay tuned because on June 7th, we will have a confirmation and be shouting it at the tops of our lungs.

As far as Stephen and Will are concerned, they have been good. Stephen has been busy as usual getting the summer plans for the youth group finalized and things of that sort. Stephen and Will have spent a lot of time together, and Will has turned into a little Daddy's boy. I don't mind. I know deep down he's really still a Mommy's boy... haha. Just kidding. But Stephen really truly has stepped up to the plate and been such a good husband and father the past few weeks. Fed Will almost every meal when it was just the two of us. Changed pretty much every diaper when it was just the two of us. Done laundry and dishes when they got so behind he had no clean boxers or plates... And he brought me breakfast in bed every morning. I could on and on and on about just how wonderful he is. Will is just developing and growing so fast. We took away paci except for at night. For the most part Will has handled this well. Mom says Will is really like a 2nd child in a lot of ways because he spends so much time with Kalon. He's so advanced in his physical abilities... now if only we could get him talking more. That paci really hindered us.

This month is going to be super busy. Stephen's parents are coming for a visit, we are moving to a new house, and we are going on a beach vacation... so stay tuned for updates on that and what little Baby Davis is!!

Will Has Something to Tell You

I guess it's time to announce to everyone that reads our blog since it's everywhere else, that yes, indeed, we are expecting child no. 2... and we couldn't be happier! The baby is due October 20th. However, the doctor said that since I will be a repeat C-Section that assuming all is healthy they will schedule the delivery for sometime during the first week of October.

And everyone always asks, what do you want? Of course we're going to be so excited and love the baby whether it's a boy or girl. With Will, without a doubt, I said I wanted a girl. With this baby, I still want my girl one day, but I want another boy. There would only be a difference of like 1/2 a month between their birth-times so the clothes would fall perfectly! And our next boy we are naming after my grandfather. Will was named after Stephen's dad and grandfather. So I'd like my grandmother to be around to meet the newest Samuel Neil Davis... calling him Sam.

Ive been feeling so tired and if I let my stomach get too empty then I feel queasy. I knew I was pregnant before the positive test based on how I was feeling... and it's so different than with Will. I don't know if it's because it's the second child or what, but I remember finding out I was pregnant with Will, being happy and feeling great for 2-3 weeks before feeling terrible. So I'm a bit surprised to feel bad so soon. But I find comfort in knowing that it just means that my body is doing what it's supposed to and the baby is settling in and finding a 9-month warm & dark home in my belly.

I suppose that's all. Once I know more, I'll pass it along. Until then, just continue to pray for us and a healthy pregnancy.

A Great Start To The Day!!

So I decided to check the shipping status of Will's swing this morning. When I ordered it they said it would be delivered between February 17-25th. So I really just wanted to see what the status was. It said it was delivered. It has shipped USPS. I immediately ran to the front door, and what do you know is sitting on the front step...

his swing!!

Thankfully, Stephen ran out and put it on the swing set for me. I wanted to see how it would look, because they didn't have a red one, and I noticed that the green of the slide and the swing were a little different. But I do think it looks fine since we put distance between them and stuff. What do you think?

Sorry for the lighting again. It wasn't dark this time, but today is just a dreary, rainy, dark day. I wish it was warm enough that we could put Will in it for just like 5 minutes. He fussed... well really screamed... so much when Stephen went out to put the swing on. We are ready for it to warm back up a little and the rain to go away so that we can play, play play!!

My sister-in-law, Lauren, and her family have one of these, and she has 4 kids and they all loved it, so when Stephen and I found one similar we immediately wanted it. Will loves it. We are using it in place of a stroller. We carried Will to the mall in it, and he was very good. It has the little cup holder for him which he loves. He sets his paci down on the floorboard of the car, and then drinks some of his milk, and then he puts the cup back and picks up his paci. And the steering wheel has a horn that he likes. Right now we are using it as an inside/outside toy. We usually go on a lot of walks during the spring/summer, so we are hoping that Will will also enjoy it for neighborhood walks.

Well, I'm off to put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher in an attempt to keep this house straightened up! Stay warm on this chilly, rainy Saturday morning!

What We've Been Up To

Well, we have continued to stay very busy around here. Mommy and Daddy had to put this together for Will....
Sorry for the quality of the picture. It was dark and I just wanted to snap one. His bucket swing is on its way and then he'll be set. I've managed to push him in one of these regular swings but it wasn't without challenge. Stephen and I read a lot of reviews on this swing set, and they said that it took the average couple two hours to put together. Well, Stephen and I must be far from the average couple because it took us like 5.5 hours! Oh well, it's done and soon Will will get to enjoy it tons.

This has kept Will VERY entertained....

This is Will's favorite show. Actually, it's all he really watches it. It's a lot like the Wiggles, but it's a mixed group and it's a lot brighter and they sing a little more and have story time and stuff. He loves to dance to their songs and I've even caught him trying a few of the moves! This lets me get a little housework done or grab a shower... if I can keep Will out. He thinks any time it's running he needs to be in too.

The housework for the most part is caught up. Since I'm working again we have divided up chores between Stephen and I to try and keep it caught up. So we both just do a couple of things each day and it has really made a difference so far.

What are your Valentine's Day plans? Ours... well, we decided it would ever so romantic to celebrate with about 8 teens spending the night. Doesn't that just sound ideal?! It's the first time a lock-in has worked out with the youth group, so we decided to let them all come here and party it up. I'll be back with updates about that soon!

Favorite Pictures

Here's some of my favorite recent pictures of Will. Hope you enjoy!

Looking like a big boy!

Hanging out before bedtime, loving on Ellie, and enjoying his periodic treat of VERY watered down sweet tea. Check out the curls... they tend to show up by the end of the day!

I love Daddy, and I love pretending like I'm driving!!

Enjoying (or at least pretending) a sucker... this didn't last long. About 30 seconds in, he hated how dirty his hands were.

Will's Next to Favorite Thing

Sooooo Will's favorite thing to do is play outside, but next to that, his favorite thing is to take a shower and play in the water... here's a couple of pics for proof... check out his posing in the one picture!

Isn't he just adoreable?!

It's 2010

Yep, it's 2010, and I have yet to do a post. We kicked this year off with a bang... a bang of sickness that is. The week after Christmas we went to Memphis, and I don't know if it's the traveling or the colder weather there, or nothing to do with Memphis, but Will and I came down with the crud. Nothing specific, we just didn't feel good. No fever. No throwing up or diarrhea or anything of that sort. Just no energy and feeling like crud. How do I know Will felt like crud you may ask. Well, the child sat in my lap for two day straight and screamed if I had to put him down to go to the bathroom or eat or anything. And Stephen was working a lot because we had been in Memphis and he had asked off the next weekend to go on a youth retreat. (More on that later) So we tried to stay warm and nap some.... and after 3 days, we were ourselves again. However, Stephen continued to work, work, work... but we are paying bills and slowly but surely tackling our debt so that we can have a debt free life. I am so thankful for Stephen's extra hard work and dedication to getting all of our deb tackled as quickly as possible. So after working like 8 days straight (having the beginning of one week and the weekend of the next off-remember, he does work weekends too), he left for TCTC (Tennessee Christian Teen Conference) in Gatlinburg with the youth group. From all the stories I've heard, they had a blast. They laughed and made bags to feed the hungry and made memories that are going to last a lifetime. Now, that we are somewhat up-to-date.....

I am so over this cold weather. I loved cold weather before I had a child. I loved to stay in bed or on the couch bundled up watching TV or reading and drinking hot chocolate and things of that sort... but I hate it now that I have a child who feels very cooped up in our house. I just keep reminding myself at least we have a house and are out of the apartment... I don't even want to imagine what that would be like. So anyways, with the weather being so cold and us being sick, we have tried to stay inside as much as possible. Our house wasn't over-the-top decorated, but we did have wreaths on every window on the front.... which I did manage to take down just a few days after Christmas. However, we also had a nativity scene that was still up. So today, Will and I bundled up and took it down!

This is Will trying to climb a tree (It's really a bush)

Empty space where the nativity scene was


Most of the nativity before I took it down

My bundled up baby loves being outside, and this bright yellow ball makes him so happy!