Girls Trip to Highlands

This past weekend was one of the best weekends I've had in quite some time! Joined by some of my closest sorority sisters from college (Kat, Kori, Jenny, Elaine, Sarah, and Stephanie), I spent the weekend in Highlands, NC for an impromptu KD reunion. We hit the road early Friday morning just in time to get settled at the house, do a little grocery shopping and get pretty before dinner at Paeoletti's.

We had a wonderful dinner at Paeoletti's! I had a delicious pasta dish called gnocchi and it was a great carbalicious meal before our "big" hike we had planned for Saturday morning. We went back to the house after dinner and stayed up just catching up on life. There is nothing better than sitting around with close friends, cutting up with each other and reminiscing on old times. They are such special girls to me, and I hate that we don't get together more often! Anyway, enough of the sentimental babble.  After a good night's rest, we woke up for a protein filled breakfast prepared by Steph and then hiked Whiteside Mountain.

 View of Whiteside from the house

 Sarah went back to Atlanta Saturday morning so we had to get a group shot before she left. 

 One of many beautiful views on Whiteside Mountain

 Taking a snack break!

After our hike, we went to the Old Edward's Inn for lunch and then walked around town perusing through all of the shops. After a little shopping, we headed to Sweet Treats for an ice cream fix. 

Sunday morning, my grandparents treated us to brunch on the patio at HFCC. I had a Monte Cristo ham sandwich and it was just what my pregnant self needed :)

 We snapped a couple of more group shots before hitting the road to head home. We were all so sad to leave! I'm already looking forward to the next reunion. I love my girls!!!

10 weeks (Written on 9/25/11)

Today I'm on week 10, day 0 of my pregnancy. Thankfully, I still haven't had any nausea and I'm feeling great! I tire easily and retreat to bed between 8:30 and 9 every night, but I feel very fortunate that I'm not sick to my stomach 24/7! I cannot imagine having to work 40 hours a week while nauseated!

I don't really think I'm showing yet, but my appetite has definitely kicked up a notch. As far as cravings go, I've been craving MORE than one 12 oz. diet coke per day! Cutting down on my caffeine intake has been a little bit of an adjustment for me but it's getting better. I have my second prenatal appt. on Thursday with Dr. Gleason at UAB and I'm already anxious for it to get here! I doubt I'll have another ultrasound but I'd be thrilled to see/hear the baby's heartbeat again.

This weekend Grant and I babysat Evie and Liles Morton. We always have so much fun with them! We took them to the McWane Science Center, watched football at Jenny and George's house, and then went to Olive Garden for dinner. They were very excited about our news! Evie drew a picture of "Pregnant Caroline" this morning during church. It was precious - I definitely saved it for the special box.

I cannot wait to share our news with the rest of the world! Come on 12 weeks!

First Prenatal Appointment

Phew...what a DAY! Grant and I went to my first prenatal appt. this morning (Thursday Sept. 6th) at Henderson and Walton. I was a little disappointed because Dr. Woods was unexpectedly out of the office today so I had to see someone else. It was quite a chaotic 2 hours to say the least! It all started with a urine pregnancy test to confirm that I am indeed pregnant. After this I was triaged (weight, height, blood pressure), given a Henderson and Walton pregnancy goody bag, and then taken to a room with Grant in tow. Shortly after we were put in a room, Dr. Woods' nurse practitioner came in and introduced herself. She did a couple of tests (I'll spare my 3 readers from going into details) and then we were sent for lab work. Of course I was very dramatic about getting my blood taken and had everyone in the lab laughing! I managed to not pass out but they had peanut butter crackers and Sierra Mist on hand. Then I was sent to ultrasound which I was VERY excited about. Before we knew it, we were looking at our little miracle's heart beating away. I don't remember much because I was still in a state of shock but Grant said it was quite the experience :) The ultrasound technician said I am 7 weeks and 4 days along and baby Davis had a heartbeat of 138. Everything looks great! I'm already counting down the days until my next ultrasound!!

Telling the Davis Family

While we were in Texas for Memorial Day weekend we told Greg, Dana, Payton and Brenda that we were expecting. Grant's mom picked us up from the airport in Dallas and I was about to burst I wanted to tell her so bad, but I decided to let Grant take the lead on telling his side of the family. As we were driving to the lake house, Brenda started talking about a family trip to Disney World in early May. After she explained her rationale for choosing May as the best month to go, Grant casually said, "Mom, what do you think about a one week old in Disney World?" She quickly turned to the backseat and said, "OH MY GOODNESS, I'm going to have another grandchild!"We will probably postpone the Disney World trip a couple of months :)

Payton shared the exciting news with her Mommy and Daddy by writing this in sidewalk chalk....ok, maybe she didn't actually write it :)

Aug. 16, 2011 (The Day)

As I sit here reflecting on the past 2 weeks, so many emotions flood my mind but more than anything I feel an immense feeling of joy. Grant and I found out we were pregnant on Tues., August 16th. I will NEVER forget that feeling of pure happiness and shock that I felt when I saw the + on the pregnancy test. I screamed for a solid 5 minutes while running around the house in circles. I wanted to call everyone and spread our wonderful news, but I knew that we needed to wait!

I had a typical day at work that day, but as I was driving home I started thinking that I may be pregnant. I told Grant this as soon as he got home. We went to Seki Sui for dinner and stopped by CVS on the way home to get some pregnancy tests. After seeing the first +, I instantly took the remaining three, and then we went BACK to CVS to purchase a different brand of test. We both felt that the + sign wasn't enough...we needed to see the word "PREGNANT" on a test to believe it. Another 3 tests later (6 for the night), it was official...we are going to be parents!

The next couple of days I couldn't focus on anything but the little miracle growing inside me. We decided to go to Dothan for the weekend (Aug. 19-21) to share our wonderful news with my parents. We got into Dothan Friday evening. I had picked up an Olexa's birthday cake for Grant's birthday on Saturday. I bought a Beatrix Potter nursery rhyme book to give my parents. We put the book in a box under the Olexa's cake. I insisted my mom look at Grant's beautiful birthday cake immediately, but then told her that the real surprise was in the box under the cake. She knew immediately what was happening.  It took my Dad and Douglas (Julie was in Birmingham for a wedding) a little while to catch on. My mom squealed with delight that all of her hard labor smocking will finally be put to use.

I think I am around 7 weeks pregnant and I'm feeling great! I have a little nausea when I first wake up in the morning for about 15 minutes, but other than that I really don't have any symptoms. I hope this will continue for the remainder of my pregnancy but I've got a long way to go!

Grant and I are beyond excited to share our big news with his family in Texas this weekend! My first doctor's appointment is Thurs. Sept. 8th! I cannot wait for it to get here!!!

I wrote this entry mainly for me so I will never forget these special moments.

We're Going to Have a BABY!!!

Wow, it feels good to type that! Grant and I are expecting a baby in April! Today I am 10 weeks, 4 days  and I'm feeling great! I've been writing posts since we found out we were expecting on August 16th so I'll be posting those in the coming days. I want to keep track of every step of this exciting time in our lives!

I had my second prenatal appointment today with Dr. Gleason at UAB. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this man! Grant came down with a terrible stomach virus on Monday and wasn't able to come to the doctor with me. He was disappointed he couldn't be there but he's been in the bed sick as a dog all week. I was a little anxious about going to my appointment solo, but Dr. Gleason immediately put me at ease. I heard the most beautiful, amazing sound I've ever heard - our baby's heartbeat! Dr. Gleason wasn't sure if we'd be able to hear it on doppler this early but I heard a strong heartbeat of 166. My heart was swelling with JOY. I really wish Grant and I could have experienced that moment together but I know we will have many more opportunities to hear that precious heart pumping again ;)

I've gained 3 pounds since my first prenatal appt. 3 weeks ago. The doctor said I'm right on target with weight gain. My waist is definitely feeling a little thicker. So far I haven't had any real cravings but I have been hungrier! My favorite foods right now are Zoe's chicken salad and pimento cheese, anything from Chik-Fil-A, CHEESE, wheat thins, and lemonade. I was feeling pretty tired weeks 7 - 9 but I've noticed a good change in my energy level this week!

We plan to wait and tell the rest of the world at the end of the first trimester!

Labor Day in TEXAS

We headed to TX for the long weekend to visit Grant's mom, Greg, Dana, and sweet Payton - our niece. We flew out Thursday morning and arrived in Dallas around noon. Grant's mom picked us up from the airport and we headed to the lakehouse. Grant made some awesome spaghetti for the three of us Thursday night then Grant and I woke up very early on Friday and headed to Waco for the day so we could babysit Payton while Greg and Dana were at work. Of course I took about a million pictures of her and I already miss her precious little voice saying "Aunt Ca-line" and "Uncle Gaynt."

Friday night, we stayed in Waco at Greg and Dana's beautiful new house and headed back to the lake Saturday morning for some more fun! We watched football, ate wonderful meals, and enjoyed each other's company! Also, if you haven't noticed already, every picture on this post is of "The Papes" so please excuse my obsession! :)

Sadly, I came down with some sort of a head cold on Friday and think I may have passed it along to this little girl.  But, snifflin and all, she never stopped goin!! 

We will be back in TX for Thanksgiving and we are very excited about meeting the next Davis addition: BABY FINLEY!!!