Our Newest Addition!

I've been DYING to blog about this for the past month, but I had to save it until now...

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!! :)

I'll just warn you....this will be a long post. The reason I haven't blogged since mid-June is that nothing else seemed blog worthy once we found out I was pregnant! :) So here goes...

I guess we'd been unofficially "trying" since January, although no one else really knew that. At the same time, though, we were also training for the half marathon at the end of April. So....I wasn't that disappointed to not get pregnant before the race. I didn't want to NOT run in it after all that hard work, and I also didn't know how I'd be feeling if I did get pregnant. So, it all worked out for the best.

Finding Out: I found out on the Monday after Father's Day, June 18th. The first test I did was one of the cheap ones....2 lines means you're pregnant. Well, there was definitely a 2nd line....no doubt about it. I think I was in shock for the next few hours after that. I wasn't totally sure whether it was right or not....it was just a surreal feeling. I knew I had to tell Travis right away, but I wanted to do another test just for confirmation. So, I went to the drug store and bought one of those digital tests that tells you "pregnant" or "not pregnant". I was also going to buy Travis a Father's Day card to tell him the good news, but unfortunately they'd already taken down all of the Father's Day cards!! Silly Walgreen's, didn't you know I would need one a day late??? When I got home, I did the digital test and it said...

PREGNANT!

I guess that spelled it out clear enough for me :)

Telling Travis: Since there were no Father's Day cards to be found (that would have been perfect!!), I ended up buying a blank card with a picture of a kitten on the front. Inside I wrote...

"Dear Daddy,
Happy belated Father's Day! You're going to be a real daddy now, not just to us kitties.
 Love, Felix and Gabby"

I couldn't wait to give it to him! So, when Travis got home from work, I handed him the card and told him it was from the kitties. He opened it up, read it, and kind of chuckled. Then it hit him what the card meant. His eyes got really big, and he said "Really???". It was so funny! He was pretty shocked at first too. He couldn't concentrate on anything the whole rest of the night!

The Waiting Game: We were both really excited, but we wanted to keep the news to ourselves until we went to the doctor and made sure that I really was pregnant and everything was going well. So, other than one friend at work, we kept the news to ourselves for several weeks. I called and made our first OB appointment, and we went on July 6th. It was hard to wait that long without knowing anything or telling anyone!! Our first appointment went great. The first thing they did was an ultrasound, and after looking around for a second, the tech said, "I see a baby and a heartbeat." That was an awesome feeling. We could see the little heartbeat...it was just like a flutter almost. Really cool! She said I was measuring 7 weeks and 1 day. The baby was 0.9 centimeters.....not even 1 centimeter long!!

Yay!

The rest of the appointment went well, and my bloodwork was all normal. We found out my official due date: February 21st, 2013. It was a great morning! After that, we started planning when and how to tell our parents and families.

Telling My Parents and Sister: I need to back up a little bit and say that Travis finally ordered the grill he's been drooling over for at least a year now. He was waiting for it to go on sale, and we finally decided that it probably wasn't going to until they stopped making it, so he just went ahead and bought it. So it actually was delivered on the same day as our appointment. The box weighed a measly 190 lbs...haha! This thing is a beast. He put it together and was all excited to use it. So, we invited my parents and sister up for supper on the following Friday night to help us "break in the new grill". Travis did some research (of course) on how to grill an awesome steak, and the steaks really were amazing! Just a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and that's all you need. We also had twice baked potatoes, grilled okra, and salad. It was a great supper!

She's a beauty :)

Matching Weber tools

More tools and a monstrous grill brush

So, when everyone was finished eating, I gave Mom and Dad a little book with a poem that I'd written. Each page of the book had one line of the poem written on it, so it was kind of like a flip book. Mom read it out loud...

Pets are a wonderful
addition to your lives.
Especially considering
right now you have five.
Callie the cat
is yours alone.
The other four
you don't technically "own".
You are Grandma and Grandpa
to Bo the dog, (Bo and Peanut are Jenn's pets)
Peanut and Gabby,
and Felix the hog (our "fat" cat).
But now it's time
to step up your game.
Grandma and Grandpa
won't just be a nickname.
Get ready for it!
It'll be fun...not scary.
Your first "real" grandbaby
is due in February!!!

When she got to the part about "Grandma and Grandpa won't just be a nickname", she said "ARE YOU SERIOUS???" I made her keep reading to the end though! They were all totally shocked and really excited! They had no clue that's why we'd invited them to eat with us, so we pulled it off. Buying that grill came in handy as a good excuse :)

Telling Cheryl (Travis's mom): The next day was the annual Dvorak reunion with all of Cheryl's side of the family at Joe Wheeler State Park. I had another poem written out for her to read in front of the group. That afternoon, Uncle Allen made a few announcements with news about various family members from the past year (who had gotten married, graduated from college, gotten new jobs, etc.). At the end, he asked if anyone else had an announcement. So, Travis got up and said he had something for his mom to read in front of everyone. He gave her the flip book with a different poem inside...

The Dvorak family
is the best around.
There's just one problem
that makes us frown.
It seems like in this family
the birthdays are all
In the spring or summer,
not the winter or fall. (which is pretty much true!)
And so we offer
a good solution or fix.
Hint: it has to do
with something that kicks.
Get ready for it!
It'll be fun...not scary.
Your first grandbaby
is due in February!!!

She read it in front of the group, and it was neat to see her reaction too. She didn't seem as shocked, but she did get teary at the end. Everyone was all excited! It was a neat way to tell everyone.

The flip books

Last page! :)

After that, it was a mad rush to tell the rest of our families before the news leaked out. We told everyone to keep it a secret until we gave them the ok, and for the most part, everyone cooperated. We had Baugay over for supper and told her. She was surprised and excited for us! We called aunts and uncles and my grandmother. We texted and called our friends, and we told people at work. Sunday, we had the news announced at church. So, now finally it is officially out in the open and it doesn't matter who knows. We just had to tell people "in the right order" so no one got their feelings hurt.

Being Pregnant: Knock on wood, so far I've felt pretty good!! The main thing I've noticed is just being tired ALL THE TIME. I've indulged in quite a few naps in the past month, and I've gone to bed early as much as possible. I haven't been sick or nauseated, and other than one week where no food really sound that great, so far my appetite has been good (probably too good). The only other symptoms I've had are just a stuffy nose and one random nosebleed on a Saturday morning at 7 AM when I was still in bed. It was a nasty one too. It looked like someone had been murdered in our bed...no joke. My doctor said that happens sometimes when you're pregnant because so many new blood vessels are developing in your body. Luckily, it hasn't happened again since that one time. Poor Travis was in a such a hurry to make sure I was ok and then get the sheets in the washing machine that he accidentally washed his cell phone with the sheets. Oops! Let's just say it was an eventful start to the morning.

Tomorrow I'll be 10 weeks along. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday of next week, so I'm looking forward to that. It's hard to wait so long in between appointments! I guess I'm just impatient.

Right now, one of the main questions we're getting is...are you going to find out if it's a boy or girl?? My answer is....of course we are! I seriously don't see the point in waiting. I want to know as soon as possible. I think it's the planner in me. I know, I know....they could always tell me the wrong thing. But, that doesn't stop me from wanting to know. I've found out that people are very opinionated about whether you should find out the sex ahead of time or not. Everyone is giving us advice on what we should do. I'm glad I had already made up my mind ahead of time...that's all I have to say. Unless something crazy happens to change my mind, we're going to find out. Travis says he can go either way. But I HAVE to know! :)

No, we don't have any names picked out yet. Apparently, some people have names picked out before they even get pregnant. Not me. So far, the couple of names I've suggested have been shot down, so this may be interesting. But, we've got plenty of time to decide!

And, no, there are no "belly" pictures yet. Honestly, I can't tell much difference between now and my pre-pregnant belly. It wasn't exactly flat to begin with...haha.

So, I guess that's enough for now! I'll be sure to update pretty regularly from now on. We're just really excited and thankful for this blessing from God!

1st Time Camp Counselors!

Travis and I went to camp for the first time in years last week. This time, though, we were going as counselors instead of campers!! We were counselors at Guntersville Camp, and we really enjoyed it! We got to meet a lot of awesome kids, spend some time outside, unplug from technology for a few days, and most importantly, hear several great lessons about the hope we have as Christians. It was a very encouraging week!

The girls in our car...Bekah, Baylee, and Taylor!

Love these sweet girls!

Pretty sunset the first night

Egg toss disaster!

So cool! I never knew putting mentos in Diet Coke makes it shoot everywhere!

Swim time!

Scavenger hunt finds

Sarah B. and me

Cabin 2

:)

Silly boys...

Brother and sister!

Ben being a frisbee acrobat!

We survived camp!

So, those are just a few of the pictures I took. One of my jobs (besides being Camp Nurse) was to take lots of pictures, so I think I took at least 120 or so. Whew! 

Hebrews 6:19-20: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. "

Romans 5:3-5: "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

1 Peter 1:3-4: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you"

I hope that we can be counselors again next year! I'm already looking forward to it :)

Travel Time: Fripp Island

Let's continue on with the details of the rest of our trip...

We left Savannah to head to Fripp Island around 2:45 PM. I would've loved to stay in Savannah longer (and maybe revisit Paula's restaurant for supper...haha), but we had a surprise party to decorate for! Savannah to Fripp is such an easy drive...only about 1 1/2 hours. Mom had no idea what we were up to, but Aunt Gale had the idea that we should surprise Mom with a party to celebrate her beating breast cancer. I'd already bought the decorations, Aunt Gale got a cake, and everyone brought presents. We were planning to get everyone else there before Mom, Dad, and Jenn arrived. Luckily, that wasn't too hard because they were running late! When Mom walked in, she was definitely surprised!! I'm glad we pulled it off!

Cake and gifts table

Rachel...An "Over-achieva Diva"

Rachel's Wave Rider....a gag gift from Aunt Gale! :)

Totally surprised!

Opening gifts after supper

The party was a great start to the week! The rest of the week was a lot of fun too. Even though it rained most of the week, it was just great to spend time with the family. It was actually fairly cool outside for it being June at the beach...nowhere near 90 degrees like it sometimes is! We played games, watched a lot of basketball and softball, and of course, we fed the deer. I spent a lot of the week reading the Hunger Games books plus one other book. 4 books in one week! :)

We definitely had to eat at Dockside one night...I look forward to that every year. It was awesome just like it always is! They make really good she-crab soup and hushpuppies :)

The whole clan...minus Kathleen! :(

Don't you just love Mom's new 'do?? I love it!

We also celebrated Travis's birthday while we were at Fripp. He's 26 years old now!! Can't believe it! I still feel like we should be college age...

Socks and undershirts...I guess he IS getting old! :)

We had a such a great time at Fripp this year!! It's always a bummer to have to get back to "real life" after having so much fun. Next year, we should just stay for a whole month instead of a week! :)

Travel Time: Atlanta + Savannah

Sorry I've been MIA over the past couple of weeks! The week of Memorial Day flew by with our time at the lake, working, and packing for vacation. We left on June 1st for our yearly Fripp trip with my family, but first we made a couple of stops in Atlanta and Savannah.

I had scheduled a follow-up visit at Emory (where I had my back surgery done) for June 1st at 2 PM, so I figured while we were stopping in Atlanta, we might as well check out the Bodies Exhibit. Travis wasn't all that excited at going to see a bunch of dead bodies, but he appeased me and even woke up at 5 AM so we could leave the house by 6:15! What a great husband I have! We drove to Atlanta and headed straight for Atlantic Station where the Bodies Exhibit was. It was so cool! Of course, Travis wanted to read everything, so we spent close to 2 hours going through the exhibit. It's really amazing how our bodies work!! Especially to see human cadavers and real organs and blood vessels. One of the neatest parts of the exhibit was seeing a "healthy" lung and a smoker's lung in side-by-side displays. Of course, the smoker's lung was black and nasty looking. In the middle of those displays was a glass box for people to throw away their cigarettes, and tons of people had thrown theirs away! I think the exhibit was worth waking up early for, and Travis agreed!

We grabbed sandwiches at Which Wich (it was our first time eating there, and we just found out that one is opening in Madison...yay!!), and then we headed to my appointment. That didn't take too long (and they said everything looked good), so we were on the road headed for Savannah by mid-afternoon. Savannah is about 4 hours from Atlanta, so we got there just in time to eat a late supper before crashing at our hotel for the night.

We left our hotel Saturday morning and headed for Savannah's Historic District. We spent all morning just walking around and checking out the area. It was such a nice day! There were lots of people out walking around and sitting in the parks. We loved looking at all of the old houses and buildings.

It was so nice walking in the shade of those trees!

Old Cotton Exchange building

One of the squares

Owens-Thomas House

Garden in the back of the house

The part of the day I was most looking forward to was lunch, of course! We had an 11 AM reservation at The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant. When we walked up to the restaurant, there were a ton of people standing on the sidewalk across the street. Apparently, they all had reservations too! We stood around until our names were called, and then we were given a ticket to go inside.

There were multiple floors of dining inside, and we were told to go to the first floor. We both decided to get the buffet, and it was definitely the right choice! Oh. My. Talk about yummy, fattening comfort food. It was everything you think of when you think of Paula. Fried chicken, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, lima beans, candied yams, biscuits, hoecakes, etc. Plus, a salad bar and dessert. We were SO FULL when we left, and I didn't even feel like we'd eaten that much. I guess it was all the butter!! It definitely lived up to my expectations, and I'd love to go back again sometime :)

YUMMMMMMMMM

After lunch, we waddled out of the restaurant and tried to burn off some calories by walking to the other parts of the historic district we hadn't seen yet. We found the square where Forrest Gump's bench used to be. We also walked over to Forsyth Park, which seemed like a bigger version of the Quad. People were everywhere just enjoying the nice day.

After hanging out in the park for a while, we started walking back to our car. We found a really pretty building on our way back. It's actually one of Savannah College of Art and Design's buildings. My pictures don't do it justice!

Finally, we got back to our car and left Savannah behind. I wish we'd had more time to look around, but that just means we'll have to go back a second time!

To South Carolina!!

Next up in the blog....our week at Fripp, complete with a surprise party, lots of good eatin', and fun family time. Stay tuned for that update! :)