24 Weeks

It is hard for me to imagine I am already six months along! Evy is growing each day and is becoming more and more active, which is an awesome feeling. I look forward each day to those times she is the most active and enjoy that time with her. Chad was able to feel her kick for the first time this past Sunday! What a memorable moment for us. Now he asks about every hour if Evy is moving or kicking because he wants to feel her again. Chad is anxious to begin playing Evy different types of music to see how she responds. Evy is now a little over 12 inches long and weighs almost 1 1/2 pounds. Her taste buds are developing and her lungs are becoming more developed. I am feeling great (other than allergies), but I am beginning to have days here and there when my belly feels tight and uncomfortable. But, that just lets me know Evy is growing!

Letters To God

A few nights ago Chad and I were finally able to go see The Blind Side. One of the previews was of Letters To God. This looks like such a sweet movie and I can only hope we get to see it when it comes out in theaters (it comes out in April...the same time as Evy). Pause my playlist before playing the trailer...

Merry Christmas

We Love You!

Chad & Stephanie

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I love, love, love Christmas. I look forward to celebrating Christmas all year long and get a little depressed when the holiday is over. There are so many traditions from my childhood that I love and still try to keep going now as an adult. I love decorating the house, inside and out, and begin this process the day after Thanksgiving. Last night I completed the finishing touches and I just love how simple, yet festive, our decorations are this year.

I bought new ornaments (shatter proof!) for our tree and I absolutely love the fun colors. I have a glittery ribbon for the top of the tree and hope to have a bow made this weekend.

Here is our mantle. We've had the same stockings since we got married. But, since Evy will be joining our family we will get new stockings for next year. The little stocking is for our first child, our very elderly dog.

Chad's grandma gave us this lighted church several years ago and I love it! We keep it turned on all month. It is so special to us since it was his grandma's before she passed it on to us. My mom gave us this nativity set several years ago. It is another special item I look forward to having out for Christmas because it was a gift from my parents. And, of course, I thought Evy needed a Christmas tree in her room. We went to WalMart and found this cute little tree and the pink and silver ornaments. I think it is so cute and can't wait to add to the ornaments each year as Evy grows up. And, can you believe it??? It's got pink on it!!! Pink is growing on me :) I visited with one of my adoptive families tonight and they made this banner for me. I love it and think it looks great in our living room. Thanks Jeff and Amy! The final touch I have made is this wreath for our front door. I have struggled with finding the perfect wreath that fits our personalities so I decided I would make one. Chad and I bought the supplies last night and I painted the "D" and added it to the wreath along with the bow. I love the way it looks and thinks it fits us perfectly! And, making this wreath was cheaper than buying a pre-made one.

Chad and I are already looking forward to next year and celebrating the Christmas holiday with Evy. We have been talking a lot about the traditions from our childhoods that we hope to continue with our children, as well as new traditions we want to instill. We hope and pray you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and that your focus will be on the true meaning of this holiday!

22 Weeks

I don't know if I look much different from last week, but I am feeling more different. My stomach is much tighter as Evy is growing. It amazes me what the body can do when growing a baby. Evy is now 14 ounces and about 10 inches long. Her eyelids and eyebrows are developed and her fingernails are visible. It is hard to imagine she still has 5-7 pounds to grow before she is born. Her movements are becoming more noticeable and I can pretty much plan on her being active at least 3 times a day...lunch time, dinner time, and bed time. And, of course, when I eat Dove chocolate! The time is flying by so I am still trying to savor every bit of this pregnancy.

7 Years!

Chad and I have been together for 11 years and have been married 7 years today! It is hard for me to imagine we've been married 7 years. Time flies when you're having fun! When Chad and I were planning our wedding, he really wanted "our song" to be our wedding song as well. This song is one that continues to be "our song" and reminds us of our love and commitment to each other and to God.

Take My Hand Between Thieves

Take my hand and walk with me a while. It gets so hard to face another mile. Days become weary without you by my side. But in your loving arms there’s a place to hide. Take my hand take my hand and walk with me a while. The faithful work of two will not be in vein. And if I start to fall you’ll pick me up again. If we walk together we are safe from harm. And when we are together you will keep me warm. Take my hand take my hand and walk with me a while. In our Savior’s grasp love has security. The world, our world cannot break this precious cord of three. Take my hand take my hand and walk with me a while. Take my hand take my hand and walk with me a while. Take my hand take my hand and walk with me a while. Take my hand take my hand and walk with me a while.

Chad, I love you more than words can say. You are an amazing husband to me and I cherish your love. I am so blessed to have you in my life and am looking forward to the next 50+ years with you. Since we are celebrating 7 years...here are 7 reasons why I love you: 1. You support me and encourage me in life 2. You take care of me and serve me, even though I don't deserve it 3. Your childlike heart 4. Your desire to be a great father to your little Evy 5. You can always make me laugh 6. You put up with my always changing moods 7. You work hard to support our family

I love you so much!

The hospital Chad works for puts on a Christmas celebration for the patients and their families and the employees of the hospital and their families. There is a tree lighting, Santa, hot cocoa and cookies, and an amazing fireworks show that is synced to Christmas music. This year Chad's family joined us. It was pretty chilly out, but we were able to find an outdoor heater to stand under. When the fireworks started, our niece, Mallory, was amazed; however, there were some big booms that startled her.

Mallory & Uncle Chad

Mallory & Me

The Davis Family

Me & Chad

After the party we went to Razoos to eat dinner...Alligators beware, Mallory is on the hunt!!!

We can't wait to have Evy and my family join us next year for this fun night.

Evy's Favorite Christmas Song

Last night Chad and I joined my parents and the senior adults from their church for "Johnnie High's Country Christmas Revue" in Arlington. Once the show began Evy started moving and kicking. This was at the time in the evening Evy is active so I didn't think much about it. But, once the cast sang "Boogie Woogie Cho Cho Train" Evy started movin' and shakin' the entire song! I don't care for the song, and Evy and I have listened to all my favorite Christmas songs this year; but, for some reason, she went nuts dancing to this song! This was the only video I could find for the song...but it's pretty entertaining (turn off my playlist before starting the video)

Evy's Nursery

Ever since we found out we were having a girl my mind has been racing with ideas for Evy's nursery. After several weeks of picturing different ideas, I think I have finally settled on how her nursery will look. A couple of months ago my mom and I looked at fabric for the crib bedding and picked out an option for a girl and boy. The room we are using for the nursery is already painted a green color so we had to find fabrics that would match the walls (because we do NOT want to have to repaint that room!). If you know me well, you know I hate the color pink! I don't wear pink or use anything that is pink. So who would have guessed these are the colors of the nursery. Although I'd like to say it is salmon...not pink! Below are the three fabrics for Evy's bedding...and I just love them!

The following picture is my inspiration of how I want Evy's bedding to look like with the 3 fabrics above.

My mom will be making the quilt, bumper pad, dust ruffle, and curtain. We will use a coordinating ribbon as ties for the bumper pad.

And these pictures show the styles of the crib we are looking at buying. We haven't fully decided which style, although they are all pretty similar, but will make that decision in the next couple of weeks.

This one (above) is my favorite...and probably the one we decide to use

At the beginning of this year Chad and I found this rocking horse at a garage sale for $3. I just had to have it and could picture exactly how it would look if I redid the paint. The week of Thanksgiving my mom and I worked for 2 days tearing off the carpet seat, stripping off the paint and face, and staining the horse. I love the way it turned out and I know it will go great in Evy's room.

before

AFTER!

I have also purchased this little lamp for Evy's room. It will make a great night light!

And finally, I am ordering these blocks for Evy. The lady customizes the colors to those of the nursery and one side of them will spell out "Evy Lynn". I've had my eyes on these blocks for months and months and was just waiting to finalize all the details before placing the order.

We can't wait to begin pulling all these things together for Evy. I will definitely post pictures of the nursery when it is complete...which will be in a couple of months.

21 Weeks!

As I type out "21 weeks" it is hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact I am half way through this pregnancy! Over the past two weeks my baby bump has really popped so it is more obvious I am pregnant. Chad comments on my growing belly every day and I think seeing my body change is making the pregnancy more real to him. We are going to begin taking a picture every week to see how much my body changes throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. So, here I am at 21 weeks... Evy is about 8 1/2 inches long and weighs approximately 12 ounces. She is becoming more and more active. Currently Evy is active for about 10 minutes around lunch time and is then active from about 8:30-10:00 every night. The other day I ate several pieces of Dove chocolate and a short time later it felt as though Evy was turning circles. She must love her Dove chocolate as much as her momma does!

A Great Day of Thanks and Excitement

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been a wonderful Thanksgiving for us. We enjoyed having both sets of our parents, Chad's Aunt and Uncle, and Chad's grandma for Thanksgiving feast. We had tons of food (possibly because the pregnant woman planned the menu) and a great time hanging out with everyone. We missed our brothers and their families though. I was reminded today how grateful I am for our families and how blessed we are to have them in our lives. The highlight of the day was sharing the news of the baby's gender with everyone. Chad and I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon for a sonogram. For the past 10 weeks we both felt confident we were having a boy. We were so sure of this we were very surprised when the sonographer revealed we are having a GIRL! I even asked her how certain she was that the baby was a girl and she said (after stressing they cannot guarantee anything until the baby has arrived) that she was sure we could begin buying pink things. Because we were picturing a boy for the last 2 1/2 months it has taken some time adjusting that picture to include a girl, but we are thrilled!

Meet Evy Lynn Davis

We knew for over a month we would have the sonogram the day before Thanksgiving, so we wanted to do something fun and creative to reveal the news to our families on Thanksgiving. The original plan is something we had discussed long ago, but as I woke up this morning I was tired of the idea and decided not to go with the original plan. My mom and I had been working on a rocking horse I bought at a garage sale (I will post before and after pictures in another post) this past Spring and I decided we would put pink ribbons on the horse as we showed off the finished horse to the family. Most of the family thought we were having a boy, but my dad and Chad's Aunt said it was a girl. Everyone is so excited to have another girl in the family and I know my dad is excited to have a Baby Stephanie running around again.

Evy Lynn is growing fast and everything shows to be developing great. She weighs 9 ounces and is 7 1/2 inches long. I am starting to feel more movements and kicks, which is so cool. We've waited for what seemed like an eternity to find out we are having a girl and now we are counting down to meet our Evy Lynn. We are so thankful to each of you who desire to be involved in this journey with us! We hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We love you all.

New Due Date

According to the doctor and the measurements on the sonogram we had on Sunday, I am 17 weeks and 1 day today, which is just 3 days earlier than what I had originally thought. The doctor has been saying April 20 is the baby's due date all along. But, now the baby is measuring at this due date as well. I know this doesn't make much of a difference...it is only 3 days...and I know the baby will come when he/she is ready. I just hope we'll be ready when the time comes. We had a great doctor's appointment today. Everything seems to be healthy and the baby has a strong heartbeat. We are anxious to find out this baby's' gender and it was confirmed today we will find out the day before Thanksgiving. I'm curious to know what each of think we are having and would love for you to comment on this. Then check back on Thanksgiving and you'll find out if you were right or wrong.

A Weekend of Greatness

This weekend was great! Chad and I have been so busy the last couple of months that we have not been able to enjoy a lot of quality time together on the weekends. Also, Chad usually works on Saturdays to get overtime pay; and although I love that he is always willing to do this for us, I also miss him on those days when I'm at home, usually taking it easy. So, on Friday night I asked Chad if he would be willing to not work as long on Saturday so we could have a date night. He picked up a pizza, a movie, and the makings for banana splits, and we had a date night in, which is always my favorite times with Chad. On Sunday we had a coworker of mine offer to give us a sonogram. Chad has been anxious the past couple of weeks to see the baby and to find out if we are having a boy or girl. We had the sonogram, but the baby would not turn right. The baby was super active (a best girlfriend of mine told me to drink caffeine right before the sonogram so the baby would be moving, which I did, and she was right)! It was so amazing to see the baby's dramatic arm and hand movements as he/she waved to us. We were able to see the baby's profile, the spine, the heart beat, and even the kidneys. What an amazing miracle a baby is! And how wonderful it is that we are able to see this little guy/girl in action! We were a little disappointed to not be able to find out the baby's gender, but we know we will find out soon. Although these two events made for a great weekend, I would have to say this morning was the icing on the cake. I felt the baby move!!! It was about 5:00 am and I turned on my side and all the sudden I felt this fluttering in my belly. I can promise you, for those critics out there who might say it's too early for this, it was NOT gas NOR hunger pains. I know without a doubt it was our baby! It was the weirdest most wonderful of all feelings and I can't wait to feel him/her again.

Happy Halloween!

Fall is a great time of the year! I love the colors, smells, and traditions. I decorated our mantel this year for fall and think it turned out great (with some help from my mom) and wanted to share.

Chad is at work today so I spent the afternoon trying out a new recipe...

Goblin's Orange Popcorn from tasteofhome.com

I had all the ingredients in the pantry and it was so easy to make! All you need is:

4 quarts popped popcorn (2 bags of microwave popcorn) 1/2 cup butter, cubed 1 cup sugar 6 tablespoons light corn syrup Dash salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 12 drops yellow food coloring 4 drops red food coloring Directions:

Place popcorn in a very large bowl. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla and food coloring.

Pour over popcorn; toss to coat. Transfer to a large baking pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 250° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool.

This is such a tasty and easy to make treat. I will be making this at Christmas time, using red and green food coloring, for treats and gifts. Carving our pumpkin a few nights ago and making this treat today brings excitment as I think about how this time next year we will have our own little "goblin" to share these traditions with, to take to the pumpkin patch, and to dress in a costume and take Trick-or-Treating.

Mr. Otis

Happy Halloween!

Chad and I were finally able to spend an evening together without having to do anything specific. Since we have a baby in our lives now I wanted to begin a tradition to pick out pumpkins to carve every year. So we went to the store to pick out our pumpkin and came home to carve him. I haven't carved a pumpkin since college and I can't believe Chad and I have never done this together!

It was a lot of fun deciding who our pumpkin was going to become.

Before Poor Guy! This makes Chad gag so I had to dig out the insides Chrissy was wondering what in the world we were doing All the Davis men stick out their tongues when having to concentrate on something! :) Here's Otis! I think Chad did a great job! Chad's mom gave me a recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds and they are sooooooooooo good!

We cannot wait until Halloween comes around next year and we will be able to dress our little one in a cute costume and share with him/her this fun tradition.

The Blind Side

Several months ago Chad and I came across this preview, but there was no release date for when the movie would come out. We just found out it opens the Friday before Thanksgiving and we are so excited to go see it. It seems like such a great story...the preview alone makes me tear up (I don't think it's because of the hormones). We can't wait!

End of the First Trimester

It is so hard to believe I am just over 12 weeks and already into my second trimester! Some days it seems like the pregnancy is creeping along slowly, but sometimes it seems to go by in a flash. The biggest development this week with the baby is that he/she has reflexes and is also making sucking movements with his/her mouth. I am not as nauseous as I have been and woke up Saturday with a little baby bump! My mom was over at our house this weekend so we went to look at fabrics for possible nursery colors and themes and found some cute designs. Now we just need to know if the baby is a boy or girl and we can get moving on these details. I am so excited about the second trimester because the baby will be growing so much more, I'll be able to feel him/her move, and we will get to find out the gender. Lots of fun stuff this trimester. On another note...I am still working on the post about how we told our families. We do not have internet at home and this has hindered me from posting as much as I'd like. We are finally getting internet installed next week! We love you all!

11 Weeks

I am 11 weeks today. Right now the baby is just over 1 1/2 inches long (about the size of a fig) and is almost fully formed. The baby is already kicking and stretching and occasionally has the hiccups. Although it seems like time is zooming by and I am wanting to savor this pregnancy, I cannot wait until I can feel the baby move, which the books say will be another month or so. Although the doctor won't do another sonogram until I am 18-20 weeks, we are hoping to have a sonogram done at 15 weeks to see if we can tell what this little baby is...boy, girl, or still a "gingerbaby". I am still "car sick" most of the day and exhausted 24/7. My blood pressure is still a little high, but the doctor didn't seem too worried about it at this stage of the pregnancy. We go back to our doctor on the 14th for a check up. I am working on a post to share with you the stories of how we told our families about the pregnancy so check back soon! Love to you all!

We don't usually watch Dancing With The Stars, but I was told to watch this video and it brought tears to my eyes. "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" are two of my favorite movies and watching this tribute brings back the feelings I have when I watch these movies. I just had to share!

10 Weeks

10 weeks! I will be 10 weeks tomorrow. Mom and I were talking this morning about how fast the pregnancy has gone so far. I can't believe I am almost through my first trimester. I am so blessed this pregnancy has gone so well. Other than having a car sick feeling throughout the day and dealing with exhaustion, this pregnancy has been a joy. I can only imagine what it will be like the first time we feel the baby move and kick. The realization that time is moving so fast has caused me to slow down and savor and enjoy each day, because I know the pregnancy will be over before I know it. Our world will never be the same!!! The biggest change with the baby this week is that the fingers are no longer webbed and the baby is kicking his/her legs. The baby is also approximately 2 inches long (the size of a lime) and weighs about a quarter of an ounce. I go to the doctor again next week because my blood pressure was high during my first prenatal visit. So please pray it was just the excitement of that day that caused the high blood pressure and not something that is going to be an issue throughout the pregnancy.

Fun on the Riverwalk

Renee, Sarah and I went to the Riverwalk tonight for dinner. We ate at Mi Tierra, which was so yummy! Sarah and I have birthdays a week apart from each other so we exchanged cards and gifts during dinner.

We then decided to walk along the Riverwalk and came across this beautiful bush to take a picture in front of.

As we were taking pictures, an older man decided to go behind the bush and urinate! This was very amusing and disguesting to us, but what do you do?!

After we walked for a while we needed Starbucks...again. Starbucks seems to be our favorite hangout when we're together so it was only right we end our night there.

The evening would not be perfect until we watch a few FRIENDS epidsodes, which is what we're doing now. This weekend has been great and we've made so many good memories. It's sad to think it will be many years before we will have another girl's weekend with the three of us.