Merry Christmas!

Matt and I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the new year. We hope 2010 holds as much excitement for your family and it promises to hold for us. We had a wonderful Christmas together. Goober caused some issues early on in the morning but redeemed him/herself later by kicking hard enough for Matt to feel. It was the best gift of Christmas to feel our baby's excitement on Christmas morning.

We are eighteen weeks pregnant. As of Christmas morning I have not yet gained weight so I have 2 1/2 weeks to gain 6 pounds. I am hoping I picked up some weight during Christmas dinner, we will have to see. Here are some pictures of our Christmas morning together.

Sixteen Week Check

We visited the doctor this morning for our sixteen week check-up. We were heading in with a couple of concerns, but left feeling so happy and relaxed. I anticipated getting a lecture because I have still not gained any weight. I was actually down a little bit this morning but the doctor said it was totally fine, it was just the result of horrible morning sickness. He said he needs me to gain 20 lbs before the end, however I don't need to worry about it yet. Slow weight gain is better then too much too fast. He measured where the baby was and it is in the right place, he said that just by feeling my stomach he would say I am sixteen weeks pregnant. Although I haven't gained anything my shape is changing and the baby is moving into place. He was even able to feel the baby's head positioning through my stomach. They listened for a heart beat which gave me a small heart-attack. The baby was in motion so it took a minute to find it and then they kept loosing it. While they couldn't find it I started to stress, but they got it and said it was perfect. Today Matt was super excited to find out that the heart beat had slowed down and today our baby is a boy! I think it all depends on what I have for breakfast.

My morning sickness is subsiding, which is right on time and I am starting to get some of my energy back. I was fighting a cold this week but I am feeling better today. I have had a little bit of leg numbness but this too is normal. My blood work from last time was all great and my blood pressure is perfect. So right now we are doing great. We have booked our first ultra-sound for January the 5th, we will be almost 20 weeks and they will be able to measure everything and tell us how Goober is doing. This will be our most fun appointment as we will get to see little Goober for the first time. After that we go back to the doctor on January 11 for a regular check. Time will fly now.

We used our video camera for the first time this weekend. Matt put together a short video of our footage so as soon as we figure out how to load it on here you will see what we did Saturday afternoon! Love you all!!!!

Family Celebrations!!!

We recently spent the weekend in not so sunny Florida celebrating Nana and Grandad's 50th Wedding anniversary. It was wonderful to be a part of such a special celebration and spend time with our family. Matt gave a speech and I was so proud of him, not to mention look how handsome he looked...maybe I'm bias! One little lady told me she could totally tell I was pregnant...it made me laugh because most days I can't even tell I'm pregnant. It was great to see family and friends and celebrate an anniversary, Christmas, and the growth of our family with the whole Davis family.

Florida was a little colder then we were hoping it would be but it was so great to spend so much time together. Even though we were only gone for four days it was the longest period of time Matt and I have spent together since August. We celebrated Christmas with Davis' while we were in Florida and were spoiled to death as usual. Two gifts that were especially exciting was the new video camera we got to tape Goober's shenanigans and a gift card to Pottery Barn Kids for the nursery. I can't wait!!! Our baby is already so spoiled.

We are back in Canada where we have recently received a beautiful layer of snow. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" here! This weekend I am hosting the Christmas banquet at our church so I must run to go set up the church , but we will post again soon as there is so much happening during this exciting season! There might even be a video or two once we figure out how to do that!

Thanksgiving Celebration

Matt and I set Sunday night aside to spend time together. With our crazy schedules we try to set specific time for just the two of us. As always it was the best day of the week! Our time together is so valuable so we soak up every second together. We decided since we had already celebrated Thanksgiving in October that we would spend Sunday night setting our condo up for Christmas. Since this is my absolute favourite time of year I looked forward to this night all week. As we were discussing our plans for Sunday night, Matt decided we should also celebrate thanksgiving since I wouldn't be home during the week to celebrate on Thursday. Not only did my wonderful husband allow me to Christmas decorate far before he thinks you should, but he also went to the grocery store, purchased dinner foods and cooked (that's right cooked) me a thanksgiving dinner. I am so spoiled. The best part of it all is that Goober co-operated! As you may remember from my October run-in with turkey, I was so sick and couldn't eat anything at all. This time Goober was so thankful for "her" (I'm convinced it's a girl) Daddy and his American roots. We both loved every bit of our meal. We are super sad we can't be in Florida to celebrate with "Y'ALL", but can't wait to fly down next weekend.

After eating we made hot chocolate and finished decorating the house. We followed this up by watching one of our favourite Christmas movies "Elf". We cuddled up on the couch, the three of us, and Goober and I fell asleep in Matt's arms. That to me, is the perfect ending to a perfect family day! I am so excited for the memories we will make together as a family over the next couple of years.

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

The title of this post comes from the song "Season's of Love" from the popular Broadway play RENT. Although I have never seen this play, a group at our high school used to sing this song for large events at the school and I have always loved it. I guess it stands out to me because it's about choice. So much happens in our lives but there will always be seasons of love and in those seasons we can choose to rejoice and be glad or we can focus on the struggles. Friday, at our twelve week check up, we experienced a "Season of Love". For the first time we were able to hear the baby's heart beat and this whole "pregnancy" thing became real. So far this experience has been pretty unenjoyable. I feel sick most of the day, fat at night, and am up a couple times a night going to the restroom, all without really feeling like this is much of a miracle. But for the first time as I laid on the table in the doctor's office looking at Matt this experience hit a turning point. There really is something in there, it is happy and healthy right now...and for the time being it's a girl!!!! Haha "her" heart beat was 155 beats per minute and the old wives tale is that if it's over 140 it's a girl and if it's below its a boy. The doctor told us this and then quickly said the next time you come it it could be a boy, I guess it depends how excited Goober is that day. So we still don't know the gender but I'm convinced it's a girl!!! This week we are measuring our love with little baby heartbeats!!!

Everything went really well. They did all the standard tests and will contact us if anything comes back. I have not yet gained a pound (although I am feeling chubby these days) this is appearently normal for those with bad morning sickness, it just gives me extra pounds to gain when I am feeling back to normal and have late night cravings! They seem to be taking this H1N1 thing very seriously at the doctor's offices. The office was empty when we came in with the exception of another prego woman and a brand new baby, almost like they were protecting high risk patients. They also had masks available for those who were sick or those (like me) who wanted a photo op for their blog :). Matt and I have decided that I will not get vaccinated for the flu. We feel like there is a lot of controversy around the vaccination and we are not interested in taking the risk for our unborn baby. I am just trying to rest as much as possible, eat well and washing my hands like crazy.

That's all for now. We go back to the doctor in a month for a check-up and for an ultrasound shortly after that. From here on in we have appointments every couple weeks but we are in the clear and free to spread the news to all our family and friends!!! So tell whomever you would like and invite them to follow our progress here if they are interested as well.

Fall, Winter, Spring Baby!

It seems as though my trimester's are going to coincide with the changing of seasons here in Canada. We got pregnant in the fall and then last night as I left work I found a light sprinkling of snow on the cars and grass. As I head into week 11 of our pregnancy and look forward to week 12 and all the second trimester promises to bring, I realized we are probably only days (or weeks if we're lucky) away from getting our first big snow fall. It seems as though our pregnanacy was perfectly planned. We got pregnant in the fall, our second trimester will give me some extra warmth through the winter and then come spring I will pop this baby out in time for bathing suit weather...maybe???

What a Responsibility....

Matt and I had a great weekend spending time together. We spent about an hour in Chapters (our version of Barnes and Noble) looking at Baby name books and laughing at some of the suggestions. Matt finally gave in and let me buy this book called "Cool Names for Babies". It has a lot of strange suggestions as well as some neat ones. Matt is on a mission to get everyone on board with his pick but two can play that game. Just kidding. Boy names for some reason seem to be easier for us. We agree on almost every boy name and have a bunch that we like, but when it comes to girls we are stumped. Hopefully this book will start to narrow our search for the perfect name...in the meantime we will go with Goober!

The Secret is Almost Out

Matt was on my case for not posting recently so this ones for you Baby!!! As of today we are ten weeks pregnant and only two weeks short of letting everyone in on our little "surprise". Thank you so much to those of you who have kept our secret so well...we love you all so much and can't wait to let you tell your friends and family as well. November 14th we go back to the doctor and at that point I will be 12 weeks and heading into the second trimester. If everything looks good we will spread the news!!!

Goober is currently the size of a small plum and is approximately 1.25-1.68 inches long. While that may sound tiny to the rest of you, I am definitely noticing the difference. It is crazy that something so tiny can make me feel so miserable. I am really looking forward to the sickness coming to an end shortly. Although it is not as noticeable to others, I have noticed a little weight gain. I'm sure Matt has too but he says he hasn't...what a good husband! :) Life has been crazy as we begin to make decisions about where we will live next year, and look into all the gear we need to purchase for the baby. We are having fun though researching all the latest products on the market to make us trendy, economic parents. Matt does all the research into the best products and reviews they have received, I pick things based on how pretty they look. We still have lots more research to do before we are ready to purchase anything. Luckily we have 7 more months. We will post pictures of what we are looking into as we get closer.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!!

This past weekend we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. Goober (what we now lovingly refer to Baby Davis as) proved to be a true American by refusing to co-operate at Thanksgiving in October. The second we walked in the door I was overwhelmed by the smell and sight of the turkey. A meal that I look forward to all year brought on horrible nausea and morning/all day sickness. Although I did show Goober who was boss by eating a small amount of dinner, Goober proved to me that when he/she says no, he/she means no... and so begins the sacrifices of motherhood. Either way, we spent the day being thankful for our pregnancy and couldn't believe that at thanksgiving next year we would be toting around a 4 1/2 month old baby with us. In the meantime, we will try again in November, the second trimester, when food is supposed to regain it's appeal. Perhaps the parade, the football and the later in the pregnancy celebration will be what it takes for Goober to feel more comfortable and co-operate.

Mark May 28th On Your Calendar!!!!

We visited our family doctor yesterday to start our pre-natal care. He asked a number of questions about our family history ect. to determine our pregnancy risk and to determine that we were in fact really pregnant. One of my favourite questions was "Do you feel pregnant?" when I responded yes, he said then you are! Easy as that! We found out that we are a very low risk pregnancy and they expect that everything will go well. He also confirmed that our due date is May 28, 201o which is exactly six weeks after the expected arrival of Lindsay and Jared's baby number 2. I am so excited to have an experienced Mom to spend my maternity leave with!

Our next appointment will be in about 3 weeks. At this time they will do blood work and likely look for a heart beat. I have been feeling okay but am starting to experience more sickness throughout the day, according to my male doctor this is a very good thing and I should be happy about it. Clearly he is a man, no woman would ever tell you morning sickness is something to be excited about :). Right now I seem to have a cold/sinus thing going on. I took the day off work to sleep it off and am hoping to be good to go tomorrow. I have been told to do what my body is telling me to do and right now it is saying sleep!!!!

Life in Canada, has Changed Our Lives!!!!

"Oh the Lord is good to me and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need the sun and the earth and the APPLE SEED, the Lord is good to me!"

As you know, Matt and I recently moved to Canada in May with the hopes of starting our lives, careers and eventually family here. And as per the pattern thus far, God is showing us that as much as we would like to plan each step or our life in our timing, it is not our timing but His. After a few months of job searching we accepted temporary positions at a friend's gift card factory making gift cards and credit cards. While this wasn't our plan, we quickly changed our mind set and found ourselves thankful for jobs which were different than our original plan. Soon after starting there Matt's charm, charisma and wealth of knowledge landed him a great job at State Farm working for an agent just down the street from our home. Although he was leaving me in the factory alone, not my plan again, he was starting a new job that we believe will lead to a great future for him. Clearly God's plan.

Earlier this week, again not exactly in our timing but in His, we found out the incredible news that we are pregnant and ready or not, we will be starting our family. While this was a shock at first, we could not be more thrilled as we have always planned to have a large family and cannot wait for our miracle to arrive. When I got home from the factory (we are working on changing this situation) Matt met me with a clean house, flowers and a "What to Expect When Your Expecting" book. This book has helped tremendously already as we really weren't sure where to start. What a great night we had celebrating together and talking about our future family. Once again the Lord has tapped us on the back and told us to slow down. Savor these moments, He will protect us. We feel so blessed to be entrusted with a little life, and we are so very excited about the journey that is ahead of us. We praise God for what he has done and will do with our family in the future.

I am currently feeling pretty good, with the exception of feeling exhausted all the time. We are five weeks pregnant and have been told our baby is the size of an APPLE SEED. So today in the craziness of our Canadian life we thank God for the Apple seed.