The Maddiemobile!

Yes, that's right, we now have a Honda Odyssey minivan; "The Maddiemobile" as we have been lovingly calling it. We needed a new car and figured that now was as good a time as any to get a family car. We will now have plenty of room for Madison and ALL of her baby stuff. Even before we were pregnant, we packed everything other than the kitchen sink for trips, so it would stand to reason that when packing for a baby, we might just pack the kitchen sink too! It will be nice to have the extra room and ALL the awesome amenities of the van. Once we get over the initial dorkiness of it all, we think the Maddiemobile will be a perfect fit for the growing Davis family! Parenthood here we come! :)

Spring Break Getaway

Last week we took a spring break getaway to Sarasota to visit Gary's family and then to the Mountains in North Georgia with some friends of ours from church. While we were in Sarasota, in between visiting family, we went shopping to find the right stroller and playard and highchair and so on. It was quite funny. We had no idea how to open and close a stroller, get the carrier out of the stroller, how to dismantle the playard or anything. So, we're standing in Burlington Coat Factory in Sarasota tearing up the strollers and one of the salespeople, Madeline, came over to help. She could see that we had no clue as to what we were doing. I think she was a little afraid that we would completely destroy all of her displays too. She was wonderful and after showing us just how easy it was to actually use all the baby gear, we felt kind of stupid. Who knew that they put the release there :) We had a lot of fun though. Then, on Wednesday, we packed up our stuff and headed to a cabin in Blairsville, Georgia with Chris, Eureka, and Kylie. We stayed there until Sunday. While we were there, we went all over the place. Thursday we went to Dahlonega, and Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland where the cabbage patch dolls are born. Friday, we went to Dukes Creek Falls and on to Helen where we went to see a huge model train exhibit and went into all the little shops around the town and stopped at the Nora Mill Granary. From there we went to Mark of the Potter and the Old Sautee store. We ended the day with dinner at the Dillard house in Dillard, GA. The view from inside the restaurant was fabulous. On Saturday, we went to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia where we had to hike .6 mi up the mountain to get to the observation deck. None of us were prepared for that hike, but we made it. We had a great time, but we sure were glad to be back home Sunday night.

And the name is ...

Mommy and Daddy, with a little help from Chester, have decided on a name for Baby. Our baby girl will be named Madison Marie. We chose this name because Marie was Gary's mom's middle name and now baby Madison will always have a little bit of Grandma with her! As for Madison, well Mommy and Daddy just really liked that name! We're all very excited to finally be able to call our baby girl by her name! Mommy calls her Madison, but Daddy likes to call her Maddie - at this point she's responding well to both :0)

Pictures of our baby girl

It's a GIRL! It's a GIRL!

This week definitely passed slowly as we waited to learn what our new little bundle would be. It helped, though, that we were able to check our blog each night (okay, actually like every 5 minutes) to see how many more people had voted and what gender was in the lead! When Friday actually arrived, we had a total of 88 votes and girl was leading by a margin of 56-32! Looks like we have some good predictors out there!

At the appointment, when we were waiting to go in, we couldn't have been more excited! Will it be a boy or a girl? We were finally called in to the ultrasound room and the nurse took the baby's measurments first because, of course, they save looking at the goods for last. When she measured the baby and checked for vital signs, everything looked great! 4 chambers in the heart beating at 138 bpm, 3 blood vessels in the umbilical cord, 10 fingers, 10 toes, and everything else developing right on track! Then, the time came to find out what we were having. The nurse casually mentioned, that she thought she already knew, but said we would go in for a closer look. By hearing this, Becky and I both thought, "ok, she must have seen something, so it's got to be a boy". But then she said, "IT'S A GIRL"! We were thrilled! In that moment, our entire outlook on our future as parents seemed to shift. Up until this point, we knew we would be raising a child, but to know that we'll be raising a girl was just amazing.

After finding out, we brought in Becky's mom, who had been waiting in the waiting room. Mimi really wanted a girl and she got one! It's a good thing too, because we had a subsequent baby shower in the hospital parking garage out of mimi's trunk. A doll, dresses, and pink outfits galore came pouring out. It's a good thing we didn't end up with a boy because all he would have gotten to use was a box of diapers! :)

Becky and I are beside ourselves with excitement and are so appreciative to our friends and family who have shared in it with us! We will keep you posted as our little girl grows and approaches that due date - it can't get here soon enough!

Love,
Gary, Becky, and Baby GIRL Davis

The 3rd Grade Perspective

Becky and I, obviously excited about our big news, decided to start telling people right away since we just couldn't keep it a secret. We told our families about the baby right after we got the news at Thanksgiving. Then, told close friends. I told the teachers on my team at school in mid-December and then told the rest of the faculty at the school Christmas party right before Christmas break. Needless to say, the word quickly spread to parents after the winter break. Despite lots of people knowing, and quick "Congratulations, Daddy" comments while walking my kids places in school, the kids in my class were still pretty oblivious that anything was going on.

I waited a while to tell them for obvious reasons, but then decided recently that, since we were safely into the 2nd trimester, it would be ok for them to know. I was meeting them all at the movies last Sunday to see "The Tale of Despereaux" and Becky was coming with us. Since she's starting to show and has started wearing the maternity tops, I knew that it would be best to let the cat out of the bag before showing up at the movies and having the questions start there.

So ... one morning during the week before the movie, I was teaching about author's purpose and the kids had to write a few sentences that informed their reader about something. I told them that I would write a few of my own sentences on the board and model what I wanted them to do, but said they needed to follow along and read it to themselves as I wrote. I wrote on the board "Mr. Davis is a 3rd grade teacher at Gilchrist Elementary. He is married to Mrs. Davis and has a dog named Chester. He is also very excited that in August he will be a DADDY!" I turned around to very confused and unsure faces. So, I told them, "yes, boys and girls, Mrs. Davis and I are going to have a baby soon!" They all clapped and were all so excited; however, not surprisingly, lots of questions followed. I was just really happy that I was able to answer all of them ... until the last question. One of my quiet, sweet girls raised her hand and asked, "Mr. Davis, I've always wondered, what do they do with the extension cord once the baby is born"? I thought I knew the answers to all baby questions, but I realized that day there was at least one question to which I definitely didn't have a clue!

This is just one of the many reasons I love my job.

Prenatal Visit - Part Deux

Gary's writing this one ... :)

We're a little late posting this, but on Friday, February 6th, we had our second prenatal visit. This one was relatively uneventful, comparatively. However, I know that that's a good thing! After waiting a long time in the big waiting room, then the sub waiting room, then the exam room, we finally saw the nurse/mid-wife. Becky didn't have to have the exam again, so she was happy about that. This time the nurse just did a heartbeat check (which was perfectly normal!) and reviewed the results of Becky's urinalysis and blood pressure check (both of which were also normal).

I say that this appointment was uneventful, but in all actuality, each time we hear the heartbeat it is definitely an event! Becky still has yet to be sick or have any crazy cravings so, other than a little bit of belly growth and some mild mood-swings, pregnancy symptoms have been slim-to-none. We're always glad to know our new little friend is in there growing and developing just like (s)he should be!

Other than the terrific news that Baby Davis and Mommy are doing great, we got some more news as well. We'll be able to find out the sex of the baby at our next appointment on March 6th! Woohoo - the days of referring to the baby as it, (s)he, and him/her will be over!

SO ... stay tuned for another installment of "... and baby makes four", coming to you in just 3 more weeks!