Adventures are underway...

Well, it's been a month since school started- and what a month it has been!

It has been a little bit of an adjustment to get back into a "school routine." Tyler has to leave by about 6:45 am to get to the train station and then doesn't get home until either 6:11 or 6:41 (depending on what train he makes it on-- and yes, we actually have to be THAT exact with our schedule these days!) However, I am leaving for class about 7:30 in the morning and some days, just barely make it back to pick Tyler up from the station on my way home from campus. SO- our dinners have consisted of cereal, grilled-cheese sandwiches and if we're lucky, one day of a "meal" and leftovers for as long as they can last! (And pizza is almost guaranteed at least once a week!)

We've had some "fun" little challenges thrown in to our busy schedules this last month: Tyler's car that he leaves in Salt Lake to get from the station to his work suddenly died (of course during the time when I was also up there for URLEND training!) Apparently the alternator (that we had just replaced 7 months earlier for $400) was dead. So we had to get it towed from the hotel we were staying at, then had to try coordinating with the mechanic how to get the part replaced. It was supposedly under warranty, however, conveniently, the mechanic that had replaced it originally couldn't find the receipt confirming the part warranty...Anyways. It took over a week of back-and-forth confusion between Provo and SLC mechanics and replacing additional cables, for the car to STILL need to be jump-started. (Apparently- this new alternator is still not charging the battery properly- because, as luck would have it, there is an occasional "dud" one from the shelf, and OF COURSE, we'd be the "lucky" ones to get that one). So, Tyler had to learn some of the SLC bus routes as well as did some walking between the station, mechanic and work. Now the question is- do we renew the registration (also due this month), crossing our fingers that it can last a few more months or do we just accept the fact that we have completely run out of our luck with this car?! (Not that we ever had any... :) *Tyler had gotten a parking ticket for parking too close to railroad tracks by his work just before all this (even though the tracks haven't been used for YEARS). Yeah, that's been our "luck!"

Meanwhile, I have been trying to juggle my class schedule with having a client I see two times a week with URLEND seminars,clinics, and projects, along with doing some research work and setting up volunteer work on the "side." (It was hard to just "jump in" and be required to have a client already, however, it's helping me get out of my comfort zone and try new things- knowing I won't do it perfectly at first, but I'm learning on the go! I am enjoying most of my classes and am still excited about the prospect of what I'll be able to do in the future to help others with their communication, I'm just still trying to figure out how to balance it all!) Then there are the frequent questions of, "what are your plans for next semester?" and trying to figure out IF there is a "plan!"

We did get a crib and mattress, however, who knows when we will get it out of its box and actually set it up! We are very slowly looking for a carseat/stroller and other "necessities", but we're not making much progress on any "nursery" (Who am I kidding?! That room is our "overflow" storage...I don't know that it will ever be a nursery!) As far as names- we're making more progress on what we're NOT naming him than what his name will be! We keep thinking, "oh, we've got time!" - but these last 6 months have flown by-- we're already to 27 weeks! And he lets us know he's there all the time now- lots of kicking and moving around!! :)

We are so excited to have our little guy join our family, but we'd be lying if we didn't also admit we're a little nervous for how it will all work out. Tyler is enjoying his job (he has been getting more responsibilities and taking over some accounts), but, let's be honest, it isn't very ideal for coordinating a baby and school schedules. There is the realization that if I don't do my program now, it only becomes harder/almost impossible to do later (most SLP graduate programs require that you enroll in a Master's program within 5 years of completing undergraduate work. PLUS- a baby is just going to get older and (hopefully) will have siblings down the road...Ü) We're feeling a little torn between our options: We knew Tyler wanted to get some work experience before applying to an MBA program, we knew if I were to complete my graduate program it would most likely need to be done right away (and without a graduate degree I am not able to do much with speech-therapy), and we knew we wanted to have a family. I don't want to feel like we have to choose between one or the other...but we don't want to be "so busy" that we can't enjoy our little boy either. (We've already had to come to the realization that we can't do everything right now in our lives- such as Tyler isn't doing intramurals and I'm not doing orchestra-- we'd love to be able to "DO IT ALL"- but we're really learning the principle of choosing between good,better, and best options and that there is a "time and a season for everything"). We don't want it to seem like we're complaining, we feel SO blessed to have these options in our lives, we're just trying to figure out what will be best for our family in the long run. It's just that as much as we try to "make a plan," our plan doesn't quite go the way we envisioned. Oh to have a magic crystal ball right now! :) We're just trying to keep moving forward with faith and what we do know and keep our hearts and minds open to whatever the Lord has in store for us. We're learning a lot about patience (as much as we want all the answers now, we just don't seem to get them much in advance!) and humility and submitting our will to the will of the Lord (definitely not easy for ME).

So, for the time being, our response to "what are you going to do?" is this: We're having a baby!...and we'll go from there!

How's that for having adventures?! I still feel a little awkward with having a blog- I don't feel like people want to see that much of US...and unfortunately, there isn't much of baby Davis to see at this point without the awkward pictures of me! I've told myself we'll have GOOD stuff to post in about 3 months- but for the time being, we'll just give an occasional picture update here and there (more to prove baby Davis is growing--and so is his mother-- so no judging!)

21.5 weeks

24.5 weeks

26.5 weeks
(we were up in Idaho Falls and it was COLD- so it added to the "awkward" picture!)

The Spirit of Adventure

I suppose that everyone has their own definition of  what constitutes an adventure-

The good ol' dictionary says: "an adventure is an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. Adventures may be activities with some potential for physical danger such as skydiving, mountain climbing or participating in extreme sports. The term also broadly refers to any enterprise that is potentially fraught with physical, financial or psychological risk, such as a business venture, or other major life undertakings."

Well, according to that definition- Tyler and I are embarking on some sort of adventure...we're just not sure exactly what kind it will be! :)

We have made the "bold" and "risky" decision to take on: THE REAL WORLD! Tyler and I graduated in April and thus, it seems, everything has an outcome that is uncertain to us! I suppose the only "physical danger" we are currently in is crossing the railroad tracks every day and Tyler taking the high-speed commuter train up to Salt Lake City (nope, no skydiving for us at this point).

Tyler started a job at VMI Nutrition the end of July as an account manager. It is a company that "specializes in the formulation, blending, packaging and testing of powder nutritional consumer goods." (Yeah, he's in the 'white powder' business :) They make things like protein shakes and pre-workout mixes for other companies to sell and Tyler is in charge of working with the companies and coordinating their products and orders. Right now he's doing a lot of the company reports (he's getting really proficient in Excel spreadsheets!) We moved to a two-bedroom condo in south Provo the middle of July that is just a few blocks from the Provo Frontrunner station, so that is what Tyler has been taking up to work each day. It's about an hour ride and then he drives from the Salt Lake station about 5 miles to his work. (I suppose that's another "risky undertaking" as the station is not located in the best neighborhood in Salt Lake- so we just pray that our dying car is still there each day and makes the short drive :) Tyler hopes this job will give him good "business" work experience so he can apply to business school in a few years for his MBA degree.

As far as our "financial or psychological risks"- I will be starting my Master's program in the Speech-Language Pathology program at BYU in just a few short days and I'm not sure what my psychological state will be within a few weeks!! I have the opportunity to work with a professor doing some research while also participating in a LEND training program. This is a program that is grant funded by the Maternal Child Health Care Bureau as an interdisciplinary Leadership Education of Neurodevelopmental Disorders- so focusing on how to improve the care given to children who have severe disabilities by all the professionals that would be involved- from doctors, special educators and speech pathologists, to therapists and psychologists. I am excited about the program, but between that, graduate school and research work, and, oh yeah- - OUR BABY BOY (expected to come early January 2014)- there will be plenty to do! (Hence, the uncertainty of my future psychological state!) And once again, we fall in the "poor college student" category...saving our pennies and counting it a blessing each month when we can pay rent and our little car keeps running- but that's what this time of our lives is about, right?!

I think we would both agree that the most exciting adventure and "major life undertaking" we are about to begin is: PARENTHOOD! We couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to become parents!! With many other "ventures" underway, we have wondered how it will all work out, but, hey, "uncertain outcomes" are all part of the adventure! We just are going forward with faith that "everything will work out" and we'll find out how along with everyone else! :) Sure there are a LOT of things that we'll both have to learn and I'm sure we'll have even more moments to look back on and laugh at how naive we were- but we are thrilled to have a little boy joining our family and can't wait for what adventures he'll bring! :)

To blog or not?!

I love seeing updates of our nieces,nephews and friends on family and friends' blogs or looking up yummy things to eat I wish would just appear on my plate. I enjoy looking at pictures, just not of myself! So I was quite hesitant to start a blog. I wasn't sure what I'd post and I thought it was too much work. However, I also realized Tyler and I are terrible at keeping a journal and soon I was forgetting things that we had done together. So, partly to ease some of my guilty conscience and in an attempt to have some record of what we've been up to, I thought it might be more fun to post little updates in our lives and maybe an occasional picture. Thus, our blog was born.

Now, what to post?
For a long time we joked that we'd be ready for additional family members when we could keep a fish alive. Easy enough, right? WRONG! Sadly, we went through several small goldfish and beta fish, that, despite our loving attention, just did not seem to want to stay in their fish bowls. Yes- we had MULTIPLE fish jump out of their bowls, several that had to be flushed and even one "unaccounted-for mystery disappearance." Even though we had been putting beta water drops in the water, we finally came to the conclusion that the water in Provo was just not suitable for fish (which gave me great comfort thinking we were drinking that same apparently "toxic" water). Recently we took our chances and bought one more fish (but used bottled water- yes, it gets better treatment than us!) AND- we are happy to report that we had success! We were official "fishy parents" :)
Now we're up to 4 pretty beta fish- Look at us go!

Our next "milestone" to reach was getting plants (specifically flowers) to grow from seeds. Our first attempt did not go well as we admittedly got started too late in the summer. However, we weren't ready to give up so easily, so this summer, we set out our plant pots and planted our seeds in late May. Then our landlord decided to water the doors (we're still not sure what she thought she was accomplishing) so our plants got flooded. We tried again. Then we got bugs in the dirt that ate the tiny, just-barely visible seedlings. Hmmm. Replanted- and the hottest summer in Utah came and just scorched our dirt (that attempt really never had a chance of producing plants). Then we moved and I thought, I'll give it one last shot: SUCCESS! Although we don't have any flowers yet, I'm optimistic that we'll get some- but we have green for the time being- more than we've ever had before!




Fish: check. Plants: Check. So- ready or not- we're having a baby! (Our decision to have a baby wasn't really contingent on if we could keep a fish or plants alive, but it is a little more comforting to us to think we can keep things alive, finally!) When we found out a little boy would be joining our family in January- that pretty much made up my mind on starting a blog - - I wanted to be able to give updates and "brag" about our little guy too!! :)

Tyler had just started his job in Salt Lake and didn't think he'd be able to make it for our 20-week ultrasound appointment (August 15). However, he has a very understanding and supportive boss and excited co-workers that basically kicked him out of the office the minute he said the appointment was happening that afternoon. He made it back just in time to surprise me with flowers as I was pulling out to go to the appointment (we were just going to have the technician write down the gender and look at it together later that night). I was so happy he could be there- I don't know what was more fun- seeing the first pictures of our son or seeing Tyler's face filled with so much excitement!! We knew we'd be thrilled with a boy or girl- we just wanted a baby! And I know Tyler would just melt for a little girl, but, I knew he had already pictured watching the BIG GAME with his little boy...and so, we were overjoyed when we could clearly see: It's a BOY! Everything looked great during the ultrasound and he has definitely been very active ever since! I had people telling me that they could start feeling their babies kicking starting at 17 weeks, but I hadn't felt anything (or that I recognized as baby movement at least!) However, within a day or two after seeing our little guy, I clearly felt some little taps and Tyler could feel them too! Now- I think he's running laps or something- I feel him moving around a lot! It still is fun to think- there is a person in there! And we couldn't be more excited and anxious to meet him! Now- to pick out a name... :)