ADVENTURE 20 - Molly Arrives!

Sunday night I started feeling a little strange. Crampy and not too comfortable, but I figured I was just what 39 weeks pregnant - you can't expect to be too comfortable. Then - the crampy feeling continued through the night and got worse and more regular in the morning. I didn't want to risk driving up to work, but it didn't hurt bad enough to be real labor so I stuck around the house. Josh went off to work and as soon as the doctor's office opened I drove over to see where I was at. Ended up being 2 cm dilated but having pretty strong contractions. They said I could stay at the hospital or go on home. Since I'm not a huge fan of hospitals, I headed home and waited out the day until Josh got home. The contractions got continually worse but I didn't want to go to the hospital too early b/c I knew I'd just have to sit around. Josh got home and we waited a while longer then went to the hospital around 7ish where they admitted me. A few more hours of contractions and about 35 minutes of pushing later Molly arrived! She was 7 lbs 14 oz and about 19 inches long. She had tons of hair and was just too cute.

Mom, Tonia, John and Dennie were all waiting for her in the waiting room and about an hour after she was born they were able to see their new little grandbaby. Dad had just driven back from Kansas and had been at his house about an hour before Josh called and told him to head our way to Maryville. He was tired, but he made it to see Molly the night she was born. Lucky dad was the first visitor to hold her b/c she was too fresh out the oven for anyone else to mess with her when she first came out.

We spent the rest of Tuesday in the hospital, and I think they let us come home Wednesday, but now I can't remember which day it was. She was born at mid-night thirty on the 3rd so our days/nights were all screwed up. Perfect little anniversary present if I do say so myself. :o)

Adventure 19 - Tremont Baby Shower and Agnew Visit

Okay. I'm counting the Tremont baby shower and Patti & Steve's visit as 19 so I can make 20 Molly's birthday. :o)

The ladies at Tremont were very sweet, and even though there's only a few of them, they wanted to throw a shower. Molly has everything she needs so I just told them to pick us up one of those little small folding strollers. The ladies (and guys) at Tremont came strong though. They bought Molly a sweet Jeep stroller, some clothes and tons of other cute stuff. A few nature type books - of course - what did you expect from the naturalist folks? It was very nice.

Patti and Steve came to Knoxville for a concert Friday night so they came over to hang out with us Saturday. We got to show them our new house, had an afternoon at the lake, a Davis cookout and a spent the evening playing fun Wii games. Steve's mom had bought him this dance game as a joke, but we tried it out and it's really fun. Might have to pick it up. So 8 months and 2 weeks pregnant me and Patti were breakin it down. We basically stomped the guys except for a few songs where Steve was allowed to smack his booty which he's surprisingly good at at, and Josh (a 70s child born too late) was getting his funk on. Had a great time. Didn't take any pictures but enjoyed the visit and look forward to more once Molly's here.

Adventure Number 18 - The Breastfeeding Class

Hahahaa...Okay details of this one not to be released on the internet, but I'll write a little something for my book later. Too too funny. hahahahahaha - Proof that Josh does indeed love both me and Molly.

Adventure 17 - Last Trip

So this past weekend I took my last travel trip "far" away to Memphis. I plan on sticking around the East side of the state for the last 6 weeks just in case Molly decides to come on out pre-August 10th. I had an appointment the Tuesday before I left for the trip, and I asked my doctor if he "thought it would be safe for me to go to Memphis this weekend". His response was - "what part of Memphis??". hehe..I assured him I would be safe and he let me go with no worries.

Drove down with mom as fast as I could Friday night in hopes that I could catch the tail end of the VBS program. Sheryl was the director this year! (a job I'm sure I would have shared with her unwillingly if I would have been in town. That's the craziness she'll drag you into you know.) Sounds like they did great though. Missed the program but everyone was still hanging around the church so I got to see a few folks. Spent the rest of the night catching up with Sheryl and them and crashed on the futon in Brandon's old room.

Headed to Memphis the next morning with Leita. Promptly got stuck in traffic in Nashville, then at exit 101, then again b/c of some bulldozer or something in road. So a 3-4 hour trip turned in to 5-6. Met Leita's momma and took a quick shower. Then the festivities began.

I love weddings!!! What girl doesn't I suppose, but they're always so nice. Makes you think of yours and gives everyone a little refresher on love. Becca looked amazing, Aaron's dad managed to get through the service without tearing up (go dad!), and I even think Aaron got a little teary-eyed. hehe..so sweet. Reception  was really fun. Tons of people dancing and seemed like everyone had a great time. Stayed up till 1:30 chatting with Aaron afterwards.

Good last travel weekend. Guess it's hunker down time in Maryville where I'll attempt to get stuff ready for Molly to get here.

Adventure 16 - A Sad Day

I guess that you should probably get the bad with the good so I'm counting Linda's funeral as adventure number 16 even though it's an adventure I would have rather not had.

Josh's stepmom Linda Davis passed away last week after some complications she had during surgery. She had been in pain for a while. In and out of the hospital. She made it through the surgery but had lost a lot of blood in her liver. It just wouldn't start again so they pulled her off the respirator Thursday night. Turns out she had cancer as well, but they didn't know that going in.

So this past weekend Josh and I (and Molly) spent time with Josh's family and doing funeral stuff. I've never been that close to a funeral and all that's involved. Lots to do and lots of family time. Found out that Josh is exactly like his dad. Down to the being ridiculous positive and rational in times when you're just allowed to be sad (dang it).

Anyways - so Molly you won't get to meet your Mamaw Davis. She was definitely a character. Short lady who loved to give presents. We didn't see her very often since we have just now moved back to East TN, but when we did you always knew something big would be going on. She loved garage sales (which they mentioned in her obituary and she even had "underground" yard sales in her garage b/c they aren't allowed in her neighborhood. Now that's determination!). She was surprisingly good at Wii bowling. It was always fun to watch Dennie tease her and get her all riled up over nothing. Her fussing at him and then him off grinning on the side. He loved her a lot, and I'm sure he'll tell you all about her when y'all hang out. She asked about you all the time and bought you tons of stuff even before you were born and before your first Christmas so she loved you too.

So...if you ever read this and care to know more about Adventure 16 ask Papaw Davis. He'll fill you in.

Adventure 15 - Fireflies at Elkmont with Kyoo

So we had our high school reunion last week (AH HA! Maybe that was adventure 14). Anyways I ran into Kyoo Jackson (BFF from Kindergarten), and as we were talking we found out that we were both interested in seeing the synchronized fireflies at Elkmont up in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

After a few days of rain and not catching each other at the right time, we ended up meeting up for dinner at Panera (yumm illegal deli meat) and a late night run up to the mountains. It was a great time to catch up as we drove the hour up to Elkmont from Maryville. The distance isn't so far, but those curvy roads at night can be a beast.

Found parking not too far from the trailhead and stumbled our way up the trail in the dark. We were a few days late of seeing the mass of fireflies, but I still have never seen so many in my life. And they don't all flash at the same exact time, but they do cut off and on at about the same time. So it looks like a million tiny photographers out in the woods flashing their cameras. Paparazzi! Or magic! Like little fairies. There were tons of people so it kind of runs the magic mood, but I can only imagine the first people that got to see these fireflies before the crowds discovered how cool it is.

Guess you can't really see the lights from my belly Molly - but I will tell you that it was beautiful and a great opportunity to catch up with an old friend. :o)

Adventure 14

Josh's sister threw us a baby shower in Knoxville and mom hosted it at her house. Everything looked really cute and despite my lack of church and tons of friends in East TN we had a good group at the shower.

Adventure Number 13 - Isaac Time!

I never manage to get a picture when me and Isaac hang out, but I'm counting our kayak adventure as number 13. Before Josh left on his trip, I made him leave me the truck just in case there were any nice weekends, and I could convince Isaac to load up the boats for me so we could go kayaking. Lucky for us - this past Saturday the weather looked like it was going to cooperate.

Once we figured out how to open the garage door, we loaded up the boats and headed to a spot close by our new house in Maryville. It was perfect! Just floating around on a great day without too many boats. We tried to be brave and float down a small creek area, but we decided to turn back when the spiders started jumping off the tree limbs onto my boat and I freaked out. Like I said, we tried to be brave. hehe...

After the creek incident, we stopped along one of the edges to do a little swimming where I learned that big beefy Isaac has "tender" feet. hahaha...So we were quite a pair attempting to swim. Me trying to get out of my boat and on to the rocks without falling and knocking Molly senseless, and Isaac tenderfooting his way around the rocks before he jumped in. :o)

Finish off the weekend with a movie night to see Robin Hood, and I call Adventure 13 quite a success.

Adventure Number 12 - Murfreesboro Visit

Again a delayed posting, but still an excellent adventure. Josh was gone to some place for guard so I headed up to Murfreesboro with mom.

Saturday the crew headed up to Long...Hunter I think it was State Park for a day at the lake and a fabulous picnic. Rode up in the Jeep, and it ended up being the perfect day. Brandon and I played a little soccer. Gotta get Molly used to the idea. Hopefully she'll enjoy playing as much as I do b/c I'd love to watch! Anyways - so some folks floated around in the kayaks and some just swam and some sat in the sun talking. Relaxing and fun at the same time.
Later that evening we had a cookout at Aaron's house (of course! what's a Murfreesboro weekend without a cookout at Aaron's). Then headed over to Sheryl's house for a few games. A standard evening, but so fun.

Sunday was a big day at church. Steve and Aaron joined Trinity. Confirmation Sunday. And my shower! I was overwhelmed by the gifts from so many folks at Trinity. Even after 6 months of being away, they are still as supportive as if we had been living in the Boro. So nice. Got lots of great presents and played some fun shower games. Then headed back to Knoxville with mom.

Got stuck in traffic for about an hour and half extra and got home super late so the week started off SLEEPY.

Adventure #11 Slightly Delayed Reporting

Adventure number 11 happened forever ago, but I've been busy and lazy so I never posted.

Me and Josh headed out to Norris Dam to do some fishing. We, of course, didn't catch a dang thing, but we had a great time.

Brought a picnic lunch and ate next to a mill or something. I don't remember now, but it was a typical lazy Saturday kind of day we haven't had in a while (and haven't had since come to think of it.)

Picture is me sitting on a rock while he's fishing b/c I'm too lazy to actually fish. hehe...what who says adventures can't be restful?

#10 BON JOVI CONCERT

Oh Molly you lucky girl!! You got to go see Bon Jovi before you were even born. Technically I don't think it was your first concert. The first was The Script with Aaron, Leita and Ryan in Nashville, but we'll count this one as your first big concert.

Aaron bought me Bon Jovi tickets as a going away present when I left Murfreesboro so I headed up yesterday to enjoy some classic music. hehe... For some strange reason no one wanted to volunteer to attend the show with me so I wrangled my old boss Becky into going. She was the perfect choice b/c I think out of all the people I know she is the only one who appreciates Bon Jovi's music.

We ate dinner in Franklin with Aaron and caught up (we haven't seen Becky since she left her old job). Then we drove on up to Nashville. The seats were great, and Jon Bon Jovi is SO cute! It was funny b/c all his old songs were way better than his newer ones. People went crazy for Livin' on a Prayer and Bad Medicine, but the more recent songs left the crowd a little quieter. I liked them all though. They played everything I hoped except for "Have a Nice Day" so I was definitely satisfied with the show. Yeah for Bon Jovi and yeah for a good time.

After the concert Sheryl helped me register for the baby stuff at Target and Babies 'R' Us. Me and Josh tried to register, but there's just TOO much stuff. Slightly intimidating. So it was fun to have someone give me their pointers that worked for them. Everything won't work out the same for Molly I'm sure, but at least I have a really good starting point now.

And for anyone paying attention - here's the latest belly pic. Yucko!

#9 - Hiking at Old Stone Fort

The same weekend we stopped for Talan's soccer game we did a little hiking before we headed out to dinner theater that night. We went to Old Stone Fort in Manchester, TN. I had spent time here when I was little with my grandparents, but I had forgotten what it was like.

Hiking-wise it was a pretty easy stroll. I was glad though b/c I'm getting slow now. Not sure if it's b/c I'm out of shape or if it's harder to walk with belly, but I'm definitely not a fast hiker at the current time. The group I was with didn't mind though. They waited up for me if necessary, and Patti even managed to fall and bust open her knee (just in case I busted it - you know..to make me feel better. hehe)

We saw lots of cute spring flowers, and after seeing the cute combination of yellow, purple and green I have decided that's the colors I'm going to do Molly's nursery. It'll be happy and girly, but not too crazy. Don't you think?

#8 - Talan's Soccer Game

Talan, my little cousin, is playing soccer and t-ball this year. Since I'm a huge kids playing soccer fan, adventure number 8 was a Saturday morning trip to watch him play. He's four and the smallest on his team. He's super cute to watch b/c his little jersey is about 2 sizes too big.

I was really surprised b/c they have the little kids follow the "real" rules as close as they can. As far as I've seen, the little ones usually just run in clumps on the soccer field (which they did), but this league tries to teach them offense and defense so they keep half on one side of the field and half on the other. Talan was cute b/c you can tell that at one point they told him NOT to cross the white line (must have been a defense day) so now he kind of stops and thinks before he crosses it. Or he runs right up to it after the ball and just stops. :o) Just following directions; right?

Charity says he's better at t-ball b/c it's more of a focused sport without so much going on, but I think his soccer was just great. So glad I was able to stop in and see him play and hopefully I'll see many more games in the future!

#7 Without The Pics...

Number 7 Adventure involved me, Isaac, a beautiful Saturday and a couple of kayaks. Isaac had said that he'd never been kayaking before so I said next time Josh had guard and it was nice we would go. So this past Saturday we loaded up the kayaks (well Josh loaded up the kayaks) and headed out to Stony Point for some fun. Despite his fears of paddling like a dork and falling in the water, he did amazing, and we had the best time. Managed to dodge the ridiculously fast boats that come barreling around the corners and neither of us fell in. Nice enough day that you could almost imagine swimming, but by the screams of the kids jumping off the rocks the water was still a little chilly. We'll save swimming for next time.

I guess I could say the real adventure started when we were leaving b/c neither of us knew how to use the tie downs Josh used to secure the boats. I had even had a lesson the night before and couldn't get it. So we probably spent thirty minutes trying to get the boats back in the back of my truck and tied down as best we could. Oops. Still good though. Finished off the day with some chicken salad sandwiches and hash brown casserole from Cracker Barrel. Lovely. :o)

Baby notes: Molly is FLIPPING out in my belly. Her kicks are getting so strong I can see them outside. I looked down the other day at lunch just to see, and every time she kicks my belly jumps like a hundred feet. lol..strange. I can't even imagine how it will be later. Nice to know she's in there though.

Adventure #6 - Kayaking The Stones River

Spent Easter weekend in the Boro. Papa's in the hospital so it wasn't the same kind of Easter we're used to. But it turned out nice. Josh, Aaron and I kayaked the Stones River from Walter Hill Dam to Mona Boat Ramp. Nice float - about 5 miles with a pretty good current in some points. It was awesome to be back outside before it gets too hot and after such a yucky cold winter.

I was so excited to get out in the kayaks! I think Molly will be game for kayaking while she's in my belly for a pretty long time since all I have to do is sit there and move my arms. It's a little harder to do b/c it feels weird using your abs, but besides that, smooth sailing! May be difficult getting in and out of the boat later on, but I'm usually out and about with some helpful guys so I think we've got it covered.

Unkie Aaron let us all bombard his house for the weekend. Boys and all so it was a full Davis crowd. Always a good time when a Mulroy is around though so it worked out well. Thanks!

Adventure #5 Weekend

I'm counting this past weekend as one big adventure #5 because I did a bunch of small cool stuff, but nothing huge. So we'll do it day by day.

Friday - We had our potential new house inspected right after work Friday. It took about two hours, but it ended up pretty good. It's an older house so we expected some stuff to be wrong with it, and there was nothing that was super shocking. We've put in a request for some of these things to be fixed before closing, and we're waiting again for their offer on what they will do. There's a lot of waiting involved in house buying. Takes too long! Not good for impatient people.

Saturday - Josh had to help Gary move this work bench so instead of going hiking we stuck around Knoxville for the day. We helped Gary, then swung by Josh's dad's house to show him the ultrasound pictures. He's so cute! I just want to squeeze him. Him and Linda were both excited to see pictures. Since we were in that neck of the woods, we ran to Litton's for lunch. YUM! Best burgers in Knoxville. Five Guys and Fuddruckers are pretty good, but Litton's is local and tasty so it wins. We got our dessert to go and headed across the street to the duck pond to eat our cheesecake outside in the beautiful weather. Me and  Josh went to the duck pond for picnics when we were dating so we have good memories there. More Saturday - whew...busy day. Gary and Tina bought us tickets to the hockey game that night. It was the craziest Ice Bears game I've seen in a while. They were playing the FireAnts. By the end of the 2nd period they were fighting so much that both benches cleared and the whole team was beatin' up the other team. Awesome hockey fight. So many of the players had penalties that they had to end the game early. After the game, we ran over to Isaac's friend's house and watched some MMA fight that Josh wanted to see. A violent Saturday, but a good one.

Sunday - Went to church. We had skipped last week to sleep in. Sorry God. But it was nice to be back. Mark had a really good message, and the praise band was on it. Made me miss being in choir. Maybe soon we'll be moving into our new place, and we can find a permanent church.

After church we grabbed some burritos and Josh suggested we check out some furniture stores for inspiration. Heck yeah!! Did my husband just suggest furniture shopping? Yeah he did. :o)

In the afternoon, me and Mom took Christy swimming at the Y since we didn't get to go the other night. Haven't been swimming in forever, and I've decided it's the best pregnant workout ever! It's easy and works out a lot of muscles. Woohoo! Christy was excited to swim with Molly. She kept asking if I thought she liked it. I didn't hear any complaints so we're going to assume Molly loves to swim.

Rounded off the night with dinner and movie at home. Wonderful wonderful weekend. Ready for the next?

3 Day Old Sandwich Worries

When you go to the doctor for the visit where they tell you the horrible list of things you're not supposed to eat when your pregnant, the one I never knew about really was the deli meat one. What the heck? You're supposed to try and eat healthier, but you're not allowed a Subway sandwich unless you heat up the meat first to a certain temperature. Apparently there are bacteria in deli meat that live in refridgerated temperatures and if you eat them they cause miscarriages. My doctor warned me about this several times (along with my beloved Tuna steaks which we won't whine about right now).

Anyways, so yesterday Josh left for work before I did as usual, and when I walked into the kitchen to make my sandwich there was already one sitting there made next to an oatmeal creme pie. Already in a baggie and everything. So I figured he rushed out the door and forgot his sandwich like I've done numerous times. So I packed his sandwich ignoring my deli meat rule for just this once b/c I was too lazy to make me a new sandwich and figured it was better not to waste a freshly made one.

I ate the whole sandwich at lunch mayo, mustard, cheap deli meat, cheese and all and promptly sent Josh a text message. Ha ha..dummy you forgot your sandwich so I ate it. His text back - "Gross".

Found out later that the sandwich had been in his lunchbox in the car since Friday when he decided to go out instead of eat the one he brought. NASTY! So now I'm all freaked out that I have eaten a nasty sandwich and ingested miscarriage inducing bacteria. Lovely. But...I'm not sick so hopefully Molly's just in there fighting off whatever her goofy mom decides to try on her today. Oops.

The Numbers

Oh I forgot! For all you numbers people. Molly is currently 10oz. She's growing perfectly (one day ahead of schedule the ultrasound lady said). She kept listing off all these baby specifications and such that all started to mush together in my brain, but basically, we're good. :o)

I'm at 19 weeks and 3 days today, and I've gained 6 pounds overall for a grand total of 146. WHICH I think sounds quite large, but you know doctor's scales. We're going to say I started way less than that - okay. We'll just focus on the only gaining 6 pounds part from now on. Okay?

That's it for now. Other Davis news. We found a house we really like! Going to try and make an offer if everything looks good after talking to a lender and having the mom's inspect.

Molly Jane

Well, our little girl got us off to an interesting start. Took the ultrasound lady a while to figure out she was a girl b/c she had the cord between her legs and wasn't moving. Way to go Molly. Just be stubborn to start with. :o) The lady kept shaking my belly trying to get her moving. Then she finally figured out Lil D was a girl!

So the idea of a girl is going to take a little getting used to since we had boy stuck in our heads. At least I did. Josh claims he knew it would be a girl the whole time, but I had bought a few things boy-wise and nothing girly.

Oh well..I changed gears quickly and was out shopping with mom today. hehe..Got a cute little sundress, and I'm on the hunt for an orange skirt. Girls really do have super cute clothes! How fun.

Her name is going to be Molly Jane Davis. Molly...just b/c I think it's pretty, and it works for a little girl and a lady. Jane for Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, plain Jane, and surprisingly Effie Jane (my granny's granny..I think). I think it's nice b/c they sound good separate. And they sound good together if you're yelling. Very important criteria. I'm excited b/c I really liked my girl name so now we get to use it. Yeah!

Today's the day!

Here's a little prepost during breakfast before we find out whether Lil D is a boy or a girl. It's split down the middle on who thinks what. Christy thinks boy. Josh's momma thinks boy. My mom won't say, but she's secretly going boy for naming reasons. Dad gets too distracted about taking Little D fishing in his pond and driving him/her around on his motorcycle all summer to tell me what he thinks. Last I heard Sheryl and Patti think girl. And Aaron thinks boy.

Me and Josh are pretty convinced that it's a girl for several reasons.
(1) We have always thought it would be fun to have a boy.
(2) He's been outnumbered by girls his whole life.
(3) We've bought more boy stuff already than we have girl's stuff.
(4) We keep calling Lil D a "he" by accident.

We're thinking the odds are pretty much against a boy overall. At first I always wanted a boy just b/c I'm not that girly. I can't do hair or makeup. What if I end up with a super girly one? Oh my. Boys seem to be more actively fun although I think I was a pretty dang cool little girl when I was growing up so I guess you never know.

So now, a few hours before we find out I'm undecided. The correct parent response is "whatever as long as it's healthy" - right? I have names I love picked out for both so I'm good there, and as we've been out shopping I can't help but notice the girl clothes are SUPER cute. I'm excited to able to call our baby something other than "it" today and to be able to start dreaming up rooms and watching for cute deals on gender specific items. Probably going to be the longest work hours ever today.

Got my green on for St. Patty's Day! Have a good one! I'll talk to y'all later. :o)

Fishy Dreams

This one was funny! So Friday night I dreamed that I went fishing with our old next door neighbor Kyle. Old as in used to live next to us not old as in elderly. Anyways, so I dreamed we went to this lake fishing. Us and one other person, but I can't remember who. We were fishing forever, and I was really worried b/c we didn't have licenses. It ran out the other day. Kyle kept saying we'd be fine, and they never really checked anyways.

We continued to fish and were sitting down next to this older gentleman talking about how we didn't have licenses. I was saying that I was worried, but I figured we'd probably be okay. What's the chances of them checking TODAY? The old man just listened, but he didn't really say much. All of the sudden mid-conversation I see the wildlife guys float up and start checking licenses across the lake. I didn't know what to do so I dropped all my fishing and jumped in the lake and started swimming. The wildlife guys came over and asked if we were fishing and if we had licenses. We lied our butts off. No sir, we're just over here swimming. La la la...don't mind us. They left, and I thought we had gotten away with it! Then out of no where the old man we heard the old man turn us in! He was pointing in our direction, and we knew we had been tattled on. Bummer!

Apparently in Heather dreamland, they are really strict with licensing b/c instead of just giving us a fine, they were taking us directly to prison! I was standing in line freakin' out b/c I couldn't figure out how I was going to get bailed out of jail without telling Josh. You see...the other day we were talking about licenses and how I needed to go get mine. Blah blah blah. So there was no way I was calling Josh to bust me out of jail for not having a fishing license.

Yep...guilty conscience in my dreams, and I haven't even done anything in real life!! Strange.

Lil D May Actually Get His/Her Own Room When Born

I don't want to jinx it by posting that everything is great and finalized, BUT last night someone accepted our counteroffer on our house in Murfreesboro! We will close on April 16th, and that means I can start looking for a house in Maryville! WOOOHOOO! We'll be fine if it doesn't work out, but we were both getting anxious to be able to settle into a house prebaby. This is awesome! Pray that everything works out and that we find the perfect house in Maryville quickly. Josh will be gone on deployment for a few weeks in May so we have to either find it quickly before or quickly after to get settled. We're not rushing though. I just hoping for a nice size house with some character. We loved our first one, but it was pretty cookie cutter. Something with a little vintage style would be great. Thanks!! Note: One week today until my ultrasound. Can you tell I'm excited to see what's going on in there? Hope the little guy/girl is moving or something. That would be nice. Later!

Adventure #4 - Tremont Scavenger Hunt

For the first time since I moved the entire Boro crew came over to Knoxville to visit us! We all signed up to do the scavenger hunt at Tremont. I said it was just our style. An excuse to get together, hang out in the mountains all day and for a good cause.

The group arrived Friday night, and after getting settled at my mom's house which has a lot more guest beds than mine, we attempted to stay focused and do research for our questions. We did okay with searching but ended up catching up more than making plans. This lead to a bit of confusion the day of, but I think it turned out well.

Hike's included in this adventure - Laurel Falls (1.3 miles), Elkmont Nature Walk (.5 miles), Little Green Briar Schoolhouse (about 1 mile) and Spruce Flats Falls (1 miles). I've never done so many short hikes in one day! It was great. Think of all the craziness that could have happened if we actually knew where we were going. hehe..

Brandon (almost 3) was our youngest group member, and he did awesome! Sheryl and Dave got an extra workout carrying him up and down most of the trails, but everyone ended up happy. Funny b/c if Brandon wasn't being carried he was running full speed up a mountain. Which lead me to a new discovery that little kids (at least this one..who happens to be my only reference thank you) are all extremes. Either not walking at all or running like mad till they face plant into the trail. Either way seems to equal no rest on the part of the folks taller than 3 feet. Kudos to the Mabrys. :o)

The Middle Tennessee Misfits came in dead last out of 18 teams with 266 points. And they thought we needed to be disqualified. HA! We'll show you..you picky rules people.

Following the hunt we all came back and ate completely fattening food and played games till we passed out. Can we say AMAZING WEEKEND?? I think that we can.

17 Week Appointment

Went for my 17 week appointment today, and everything is going great. Lil D's heartbeat is still strong. Ever since the first one didn't have a heartbeat every time I go in that's the first thing I want to see/hear. Luckily they're checking it every time. Yeah! So heartbeat good. Weight gain good (only 4 pounds since I started). Wonder why my pants won't fit?? What the heck. My whole 4 pounds must have been added right at my waistband. So here's the first belly picture for the blog. 17 weeks. Sorry about the stupid face. I've been taking them every week since 9 weeks. Not too bad of a belly yet.

2 weeks until we find out what Lil D is (besides being human of course).

Little Gyro Little Laughs

I'm not counting this as an adventure since it wasn't technically anything active, but I still had a good time. Went to eat Greek food with Isaac last night. Been craving these yummy gyro sandwiches that me and Aaron would get every once in a while in Franklin. Not because I'm pregnant, but b/c I don't get them all the time like I used to. Same with Slick Pig, Blue Coast and Chick-Fil-A. Anyways so when me and Isaac were trying to think of something to do and failing b/c neither of us wants to make a decision for the other one and he suggested we try something new. I said let's go Greek! We headed downtown and grabbed a yummy gyro and some rice from a small cafe. Again I ordered too much. Seems like I'm always starving but don't actually eat any more when I sit down to eat. Just eat more times during the day. I guess breakin' up big meals into a bunch of little ones would be smart. :oP

After that we met up with one of his friends to watch a Knoxville improv group do a little Who's Line type show in the Old City. I had a great time even with constant updates from Isaac that it was already past my bed time. (He makes fun b/c I usually just go to bed when Josh does now b/c there's nothing else to do. Might as well.)

Appointment tomorrow. Anxious to see how much weight I've gained. I hope it's not as much as it feels like. Gag.

Adventure #3

Josh, Aaron and mom (aka..Gannie..weird) joined me for my #3 adventure. I said originally that I was going to do hikes, but my smart friends suggested I do adventures so I could count all the fun stuff that we do. So..Adventure #3 was a hike to Abram's Falls. 2.5 miles up and back. Easy hike, but I learned an important important lesson for all future adventures. Stop and pee every chance you get before you hit the trails. Maybe I should have read the warning sign rather than just posing behind it. No bathrooms Heather! Not easy peeing in the woods when there aren't any leaves so I just held it! That certainly will not do on longer hikes. :o) So anyway, we had a great hike. I think we did a great job. I'm just a little slower and more careful than usual, but it's working out well. We've done Abram's Falls before, but I don't remember the last time we did it so it turned out to be a really fun day.

Following the hike, we met up with Aaron's family for dinner at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. Good stuff! I think mom had a great time talking Ireland with Aaron's dad, and I had fun catching up with his momma. Love it when everyone just works so well together.

To finish off a great weekend, me and Josh attempted to go fishing today. It was ridiculously cold so our attempt only lasted an hour and a half and we didn't end up with any fish. But we usually don't end up with any fish so the only difference was the cold. hehe..It was nice to get out of the house and try out my shiny pink fishing rod his mom got me for Valentines day.

So add another adventure weekend to the books. Nothing much coming up this week, but I have a baby appointment on Thursday and the Boro crew is coming up Friday night for the hunt on Saturday. Woohoo!

Pants and Advice

About time for a baby post I suppose. Since things are just moving along good this time (yeah for for that), there's not a lot to update. Next appointment is March 4th.

So I am officially in the stupid stage where I almost look pregnant instead of just fat, but I definitely can't fit any of my normal clothes. Yuck! Went to work the other day in one of my bigger pairs of cargo pants. Made it about 2 hours before I had to unbutton and yank my shirt over the top so I didn't look undone. Did I mention that already on here? Feel like I did. Anyways, it's getting worse. Definitely don't want to buy a bunch of those pregnant pregnant clothes yet b/c they're super droopy, but this is getting uncomfortable. Side Note: Hurray for low rise jeans. I made it a lot longer that I would have before they were popular. :o)

Advice? Okay any moms (or dads) out there actually reading this I need your help. I find out what Lil D is on March 17th and after that I guess we're supposed to do the registry thing. Problem is I know nothing about babies. So...if you have an opinion on the best things to register for and the stuff that ended up just sitting around your house wasting space, please post your recommendations here. Sheryl promised to go with me if I'm around Murfreesboro one weekend (woohoo for first momma's in your group of friends), but extra seasoned advice is always nice. And much easier to remember and reference if you write it here rather than telling me next time I run into you in the hall somewhere. Thanks!

Add another weird one to the books

Last night I dreamed I had a bunch of kids living in the woods outside my house. They were everywhere. Tons of them. I would go outside and talk to them. We would hang out during the day. Great group but they were just sad and a little rough. Typical movie stereotyped orphans I guess. Except these weren't orphans. Every few nights their parents would all drive in at once. They descended on the packed but peaceful woods and changed everything. I remember trying to talk to the parents like I did the kids and every thing I would say was wrong. Understandably. I didn't know what I was talking about but I just kept talking. Just dug my hole deeper and deeper with them. Things would tell me to just go back inside but I stayed.

It's strange b/c one night I was trying to get one of the kids back to her dad as he was leaving. But for some reason all the kids had turned into stray cats. Some scattering and hiding random places. Some walking around oblivious to what was going on. I picked up a particularly sad little cat and told this guy it was his. Didn't he want to take her home. He yelled and said to put the cat down. She would find her way home. I kept trying to convince him that she was little and it would just be easier if he took her then. But he wouldn't listen and starting yelling at me. I stood while he did, unflinching, but quietly set the cat down when he finished and went back inside. It was a loud night outside my house. All sorts of craziness must have been going on but I stayed inside.

The next morning I woke up and walked out into the sunlight. The woods were calm again. Empty except for stacks and stacks of sleeping bags piled up between trees. I remember it being completely dry and comfortable looking except there was no grass or leaves - just dirt. I thought well..if you had to stay in the woods, this would be the place and at least they had lots of sleeping bags. I was talking out loud to myself as I said this. "Well...at least they have a nice place to sleep" when behind me I heard footsteps and the little girl say "And what exactly do you mean by they?". It sounded so mean and I was ready to explain myself. They...as in you little kids sleeping in the woods! I don't even know y'alls names. What else am I supposed to call you? I'm sorry alright geez. But I turned around, and she was grinning. Perfect. Just teasing. With all the other kids behind her. Then we started the day once more. And WAKE UP!

Spread the word

It seems like everyone loves to make big announcements except me and Josh! It’s funny b/c we love for people to know, but we’re both terrible about telling people. So about two weeks ago after stressing out about it for the past 4 months, I told my new boss Sandi that I was pregnant. Being the wuss that I am, I prepped her by emailing and saying that I had big news and we should meet. Hehe...Being a great grandmother twice over plus having 3 kids she quickly figured it out once I walked in her office and shut the door. I told her that she could help me tell everyone around the office thinking ladies are good at spreading the word, but I know now that Sandi is a much better secret keeper. She didn’t mention it to anyone. Sigh.

So after another 2 weeks of stressing about it, I decided I would try the HR lady under the disguise of needing to know what my leave options were. Since my one year anniversary with Tremont will be December 2010 and Lil D will arrive in August I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out. Working at a small non-profit I figured I wouldn’t get any paid leave, but I didn’t want to have to quit my new fun job b/c of a stupid rule! I was in luck! Charlene was the perfect person to tell. At my request she has successfully told the whole of Tremont in less than a day. Ah...I love it. :o) Most of the folks here are either in grandparent mode or not ready for kids yet so I am the lone babymaker in the group. Hehe...Needless to say they are very excited and already want to know when Lil D will be around to play. My stress level is now back to normal. I can look forward to busy work days but also great support. Yeah! What kid wouldn’t want to grow up hanging out with smart folks in the national park? Hope he/she likes the outdoors.

Like old times...with a new twist

Went back to the Boro this weekend for a visit since Josh had guard. Convinced Isaac to go with me so I wouldn't have to drive alone and so he could meet all my friends there. The weekend was amazing! At least I thought so. Drove up Friday night. Drove the whole way myself and didn't even fall asleep! Thank you..thank you..thank you!

Saturday morning Aaron got in the kitchen and made me some BISCUITS! No really...we were well treated house guests and had a wonderful breakfast. After food, me and Isaac headed out to explore the Boro. A trip to Wesley turned up sad b/c all the students were away at a conference. A nice walk around campus. Then we headed up to Woodbury to visit my grandparents (thanks Isaac..you're a trooper). After that we headed up near her old house to visit the fire tower.

When I was little we spent alot of time in the summer at Granny and Papa's house in the country. I remember climbing the fire tower when we were really little and what an adventure it was. We would plan it out. Walk by the cemetery and pet the goats. Then journey up the fire tower. All the way to the top. Always locked so I've never been in it but still fun. When I was a little older and found Woodbury and Granny's not quite as excited as it once was, I would walk up there on my own with my journal and write. Perfect place to write. We combination of being alone and being with others as the cars drive by on the road right next to it. Quiet and noisy. Always a good breeze and something to look at in the distance. Isaac's a writer too so I figured he might like it. Though it was man-made I consider this my second hike with Lil D. :o) Ours this coming weekend will have to be #3.

The rest of the weekend was typical for our group. Dinner. A short break for Brandon's Dragon Tales bedtime ritual. I now know how to repel funky sad clouds. Then games all night. Don't remember how many we played, but I'm sure the girls won the majority. hehe..

Church was fun! Almost cried pullin' the parking lot seeing all the familiar faces walk in. (I'm supposed to be emotional right?? Come on. Give me a break.) Nice to see everyone and felt like home. At least my Sunday home.

Great weekend with great friends. Thanks guys!

Hope it's a fast day!

I'm headed to the Boro for a fun weekend of catching up with everyone after being gone for what feels like FOREVER. Josh has guard so I'm dragging Isaac with me to make the rounds. Should be an interesting weekend.

No baby news other than I gave up buttoning the pants I was wearing yesterday, and I will be thankful now for all these ridiculously long t-shirts they make that I never understood before. Haha! You stupid long skinny t-shirt - I will use you to hide the fact that I can't button my pants. :o) Josh claims that I look pregnant already, but I say I only look it right after I eat. That or this baby keeps appearing and disappearing in my stomach.

Have a good day!

The sleep after you hit snooze...

Okay so I figured out I usually dream in the short time after I hit the snooze button and before I actually get up. It's funny b/c it's only 8 minutes or so, but I have epic dreams. These two below aren't huge ones, but they get WAY worse. Enjoy.

The other night I dreamed that the whole crew was going on a cruise again. It was boarding time, and I wasn't going on this one b/c I was super pregnant by then. I was totally fine with that, but for some reason I REALLY wanted to eat the buffet they have the first day right after you board the boat. Which is funny b/c it's never really that good, and there are like 800 people eating at once. Regardless..everyone helped me sneak on the boat so I could eat the buffet then my plan was to exit before the boat set sail later that day. I got my food and was sitting down at a table with everyone and noticed that the group wasn't the same. Sat down next to Sheryl and asked what was up and she said that all the rooms were screwed up b/c they had weird numbers of people in their group this time. Some how Dave magically had another brother who wanted to go on the cruise, and he just so happened to be retarded (whatever the PC term is..I'm not sure. My sister Christy's "special" too so I get a pass when talking.). I looked across the table and there sat Dave's new brother acting goofy. Total sweetheart of course, but totally out of control. I remember thinkin' well this will be an interesting cruise..about time for me to get off. Then...I woke up. Weird...

Second dream this one was this morning. We were on a mission trip. A pretty gnarly one in some bad place. I remember a little hut that we all gathered in and then just trash every where. Like we were literally staying in a dump. Kind of like in that movie the Labyrinth when what she thought was her room was actually the dump with that weird lady. So anyways everyone was outside doing something and hopping from trash heap to trash heap. Things where getting crazy. Don't remember if it was dangerous or if it was just alot of work but something was going on. I was, of course, hugely pregnant (can you tell I might be worried about this??) so I was staying back kind of waiting. No one in my group knew I was pregnant so I think I was thinking about what to do and that I shouldn't have decided to come when one of the local guys came up to me. He was super tall and rough looking, but you could tell he was a nice guy. Maybe not the most trustworthy character, but friendly and thoughtful. So he stepped up to me and whisper (aye..girl what are you doing here like that? you know you shouldn't be here) and then glanced real quick at my belly and looked back up at the crowd. He said it so quiet no one could hear but me even though we were surrounded by people packed in. I was shocked b/c no one else who knew me realized, but this guy I had never seen did. He didn't out me..just left me standing there shocked and walked away. And I woke up.

Ha! Two strange ones. I love dreams!

Nice Environment

Okay so nothing baby-wise happened today, but I did stay late at work for their annual picture sharing night. It was really sweet. They all (by all I mean all like 15 of the people who work at Tremont) bring food for a potluck and put in 10 pictures. Then we have a big slideshow, and people tell about their year. Very family style. People joking, goofing off, just having a good time together. Definitely not a corporate feel. So nice. These people really love what they do. You can tell b/c they do it during vacations too! Tons of hiking/nature pictures. It's inspiring to work with people who love their jobs so much!

15 weeks today! 29 more days until we find out whether Lil D is a boy or a girl.

The Beginnings

Okay so here's the back story on Lil D for now and to begin my blog.

We had been trying for a while to have a kid since I had a miscarriage early last year. Just as we were starting to get worried that it would never happen and starting to get anxious, I found out I was pregnant! Yeah! It's interesting b/c we just moved back home, Josh just started his new job in October, and I started mine in December. We have no permanent living situation b/c we're trying to sell our house in Murfreesboro. Luckily - mom and dad's house hasn't sold, and they're letting us stay there. Not the ideal situation for a kid, but a good one.

I'm bummed b/c all my baby type friends are in Murfreesboro and my church. I feel kind of disconnected and lonely here now b/c we can't settle until we move to Maryville. It'll be okay though. You're all only a phone call away; right?

So as I said earlier the original idea for this blog was to be a pregnant hikers blog. I am going to try and complete as many hikes as I can in the smokies before Lil D makes his/her entrance into the world. Should be fun, and I would love to have you join me. Anyone? :o)

Here's the info on the first hike: 

To begin, we have my first official pregnant hike. Spruce Flats Falls and Middle Prong Trail Cascades with Isaac. Josh had guard that weekend, and it was supposed to be the prettiest day we had seen in a long long time so I called and begged Isaac to go hiking with me.

He didn't want to go at first b/c he said he was severely allergic to poison ivy/oak (or something in the woods). I laughed and said nothing was going to get him in the woods in winter and we would be extra careful not to touch anything. He was convinced!

So Saturday I packed us up a picnic lunch, and we loaded up the Echo for an adventure. We hiked around Tremont since I always hear people talking about the stuff there, and I have never hiked it. It was easy to see how little exercise wise I have been doing b/c I was winded on the first hill. Depressing. We got lost within probably the first 100 feet and had to follow a group of name brand sporting baby carrying family hikers to the correct path. We did make it to the falls and they were very nice. Had a great time catching up with Isaac and for the first time since I've come back to Knoxville it was easy hanging out with him. Kind of like it used to be.

After that hike we stopped for an early lunch (SORRY pregnant here..can't hike on an empty stomach). Then we successfully got lost trying to find the middle prong cascades. In our defense, the sign on the correct trail did say that the trail didn't go anywhere. Why would we follow a trail that said that? We ended up asking some old ladies (who looked like experienced hikers by the way) where to go and got going in the right direction. So we ended up with 3 hikes for the price of two and a little confusion and had a great time. As a follow up though...Isaac did get poison ivy just like he said he would. Which resulted in a outward appearance that apparently frightened small children and sensitive ladies and a shot in the butt. lol...sorry. So not funny. Definitely not funny. But if that was his last attempt at a hike in the woods, I'm glad it was with me.

Next hike: Aaron and possibly his parents and my mom on a hike in February!