Update: Panzy and Poppy’s guesses are in (“man-child”!) as are some additional special guests!

In keeping with family tradition, it’s time to compile guesses for the the birth date of our baby, as well as answer the Big Question- boy or girl?? The official due date is March 6th.

Massive bonus points if you can guess the name. Winner scores a Google t-shirt. (!!!) Now, off you go!

Ta da!! Our crib is put together! Josh did a great job and made it look easy. Although I can take credit for the mobile- I totally snapped those fabric fish into place AND put the batteries in. So thanks to joint efforts =) by Josh and myself, the crib is ready! Now it really is a nursery, not just the extra room. 

In other baby ‘news,’ I am pretty sure the little one has moved into a heads down position. I now feel hiccups only below the belly button. I’m also aware of the inside of my right hip since I’m pretty sure the little head pushes against it sometimes. I’m not quite yet at The Point where I’ve been told I’ll feel so uncomfortable and ready for it all to be over. I’m hoping I have maybe two weeks left until I’m there. But Baby is definitely bigger (as you can clearly see) and running out of room. 

And you’ve convinced me! I have had so many people tell me that it’s a boy that now I think it is, too. So we’ll see…

Finally, while we were taking this picture, I guess Remy wanted to be included and wandered right into the shot. So since it’s obviously very important to him that he’s involved, we included that picture too.

One month (give or take) to go!

As you can see, baby’s growing. I’m still feeling great! Everything is going very well. Lots of baby movement, which is still fun and exciting. A consistently active period includes Sunday morning worship. Last week, I almost had to sit down during one song that had a loud drumbeat. Baby was either terrified or praising God with all his/her strength.

Meanwhile, Josh and I have been blessed to meet more people, especially fellow Mars Hill attenders. And as we interact with local Seattleites, we’ve come across some interesting differences. We present…

Cultural Differences Between the Southeast and the Pacific Northwest.

1) The Unspoken Shoe Rule. In most households, you remove your shoes before walking inside. We figured this out after we were some of the first people to arrive for community group. As the others trailed in, everyone paused in the foyer to take off their shoes. I’ve never been so embarrassed to be sitting in a circle of chairs. It was like Duck, Duck, Goose, only it was Socks, Socks, Socks, Socks, Socks, Socks, RUDE SHOES!
The next week, I learned my lesson and kicked off my slip on shoes as soon as I walked in the door.
And was the only one with bare feet (and embarrassingly chipped toenail polish.)
Exception to the rule- if you’re not wearing socks, you keep the shoes on. (There were two other girls who kept their slip on shoes on the whole time. Where were they the previous week??)
And yes, it’s due to the rain. Since it’s so common to have rain and mud on your shoes, people are in the habit of taking them off regardless of the current weather conditions.

2) Clothing. It can be 50 degrees out, raining, and you’ll see guys walking around in short sleeved shirts and girls wearing flip flops. As I’m wearing a sweater and coat and carrying an umbrella.

3) Political conversations. At first we thought it was due to the election, but that’s over and there’s still a lot of politics being discussed. Most recently, a group of about 15 people launched into a spontaneous debate over the merits of public and private schools.

4) Less sports, more technology. Let’s say there’s a group of 5 guys. Three of them will work for Microsoft. 1 will work for IBM or Expedia. And Josh, the Googler, is the other guy. Most likely, they’re not talking about college football, which is just NOT as big a deal here. I don’t even know the names of University of Washington’s Big Rival. Or if they have one.
Here, if I overhear a group of guys talking, it’s a given that the words, “iPhone,” “app,” and “launched” are going to be in there somewhere.

5) Straight talk. Seattlelites tend to speak their mind more. It’s not offensive, just very straightforward. Hence the political discussions. (If you’ve heard the Mars Hill podcasts, you get an idea based on the preaching style.)
Similarly, I never realized how often I’ll make a general invitation that I don’t follow through on, though I plan to. “Let’s have lunch sometime,” or “We should go out for coffee,” and it never happens. Or it happens weeks later after an email exchange.
Here, it’s more “Let’s have lunch on Thursday. Does noon work for you?” and that’s that.

6) Communal umbrellas. There’s Forum/Avenue style outdoor malls here. How does that work with the massive amounts of rainfall? How about yellow golf umbrellas that magically appear outside your store? Each mall has these umbrellas that you take from the parking lots and leave outside the store. The only downside is that you have to really consider if it’s worth going inside each store, because there’s a chance your umbrella will be gone by the time you come out. Then you have to find an umbrella to steal from a shopper in the next store. I tend to feel pretty guilty participating in “Musical Umbrellas.”

7) Dogs. We’ve already kinda covered this one, if you remember Doogler Day. But wow, people love their dogs here. There’s just so many of them. Remy’s actually a great conversation starter. People on the sidewalk and in the elevator love asking about him and then telling me about their dog. And it’s really common to see dogs tied up outside a Starbucks or restaurant. It’s hard to know who the owner is because everyone smiles and stops to pet them.

So there you have some of the differences we’ve learned so far. Granted, nothing too drastic. =) Hopefully, after things are a bit more settled in the spring, some of our Southern folks can come visit! We’ve been keeping a list of “Places We’d Like to Take People” and then you can experience Seattle for yourself.

Baby Face

The baby is facing the camera with an arm on each cheek.

The Crossed Feet 

If it’s a girl, she’s a lady already.

The Arms 

The left arm is a little easier to make out. The right one is quite blurry.

And… The Ever So Gracefully Extended Leg 

This little leg is the cause of some of those kicks I’ve been feeling.

If all goes well, this is the last we’ll see of Baby Teague until we get to meet him/her! That’s approximately 120 days away. =)

That’s just during the waking hours. Here’s some random, vivid dreams I’ve had during the past few months. And yes, I blame these weirdos on the hormones as well.

-I was back in a classroom teaching. The class was a mixed group of kindergartners and high schoolers. And neither age group was listening to a word I said.

-Driving to teach school one morning, I looked at the clock and completely panicked when I saw I was an hour late. To top it off, my classroom had been moved into a shopping mall.

-Josh took me to a pet store/warehouse where you had to walk between boa constrictors roaming the floor. I woke up convinced there was a snake in the bed and if I moved my leg an inch, I’d feel it. 

-I was hanging out in my high school biology classroom when I realized I was about to miss my ultrasound appointment. My teacher and several classmates gave me a ride and we got stuck on horrible traffic. I had to call Josh, who was waiting for me at the office, to tell him I was going to miss it.

-In another ultrasound dream, the technician offered to take the baby out so I could hold it. Or should I say “her,” since I saw that it was a girl. I felt terrible that I forgot we were going to wait to find out the sex. Josh wasn’t even there. But Mom and Annie were. (Thanks, Ladies!)

-At Mom’s new house, I was going to take a shower. The shower was more like a huge tub that filled up incredibly quickly. As soon as the faucet was turned on, you found yourself standing in four and half feet of water. You also had to climb stairs to exit the shower/tub.

-In the most disappointing dream, Josh and I brought the baby home. It was a boy, and I was really excited to bring out the newborn blanket and let him play on the floor with cute little baby toys. Even though he was teeny tiny, he was able to speak and told me he didn’t want to play that boring game.

-In the BEST dream, I was in a cafeteria of endless food lines and I could eat any and as many desserts I wanted. I could still taste the chocolate when I woke up.

More over here.

Bonus: Today we hit the half-way mark. 20 weeks! I just can’t believe it.

The baby bonding has officially started. We have now BOTH felt our child kick/punch/move!

I have been suspicious that I could feel the baby moving the last few weeks, but it felt more like flipping. This past week, I have definitely felt little kicks and punches. If Josh was home, I would freeze and call him over. But as soon as he put his hand where the last kick had been… peaceful, quiet womb. (I KNEW our child would be shy. Or it could be the calming effects Josh has on people.) Of course, as soon as Josh had given up, the kicks started right back up.

About three nights ago, Josh was almost asleep and happened to have his arm resting on my belly when we both felt a kick! (I felt a kick strong enough to make me jump. The same kick felt like a gentle, single pulse to Josh.) One of our first family victories! We’ve had a few more since then. I’ve heard it’s one of the best parts of being pregnant, and it really is. As Mandy says, it’s very reassuring. I love having a reminder (along with the growing abdomen) that there’s a baby growing and getting ready for us.

Random side note: Now, I could be making this up- moms out there, feel free to correct me. But I’m wondering if it’s possible that a baby is capable of making contact with organs in my body. (More specifically, one that rhymes with ladder but seems a little too unladylike to name.) Because every once in a while, during a kicking session, I get an intense urge to use the restroom that lasts for about 0.5 seconds. Is this my imagination?

Here’s some answers to questions we’ve been asked and random trivia about the first three months.

When’s the due date?
March 6th. 

When do we get to find out if it’s a boy or a girl? 
We could find out at the end of the month. But we’re going to wait until the delivery.

Do you have a feeling about the sex of the baby?
Yes. Josh and I both think it’s a boy. Which means it’s a girl.

Any names picked out?
Yes. But we’re not sharing them just yet. We want to be sure we’re not going to change our minds before declaring names.

Have you felt the baby move?
I honestly can’t say for sure, but I think I have. 

How did I tell Josh?
Not very gracefully. I took the test really early. I saw the control line, which was thick and dark blue. Next to it was a line that was so light and pale and non-committal. If I looked at it too long, it disappeared. But each time I convinced myself it wasn’t there, I saw it. Like a distant rainbow or comet. Only incredibly frustrating. So I decided to bring in Josh for his opinion by regressing 20 years and yelling “Jooooooooooshhhhhh!” in a voice so whiny it surprised me.

Then I ran in his office. He was on the phone. With his mom. Shoo–oot. So I backed up out of the room, hoping she hadn’t heard me. (Come to think of it, I still don’t know if she did.) After they hung up, I walked back in, hung my head, showed him the test and whined, “I can’t read it.”

Josh’s response: “Oh, my. What did you do?” 

And ever since he saw that puny, wimpy little line, Josh has been very confident and sure that we are having a baby.

How’d you handle the nausea?
Uh. Well…

Most Surprising Aversion: Starbucks. I know, I know, I couldn’t believe it either, but it’s true. I couldn’t even walk by one without a wave of nausea. 

Weirdest Taste Change: It’s like I forgot processed sugar existed. My usual sweet tooth was replaced by a greasy, fried anything tooth. I could still eat sweet stuff, I just didn’t think to. 

First Thing That Caused Me to Run to the Bathroom: A direct shot of Remy’s dog breath, right to the face.

Things That Made Me Cry: Opening ceremonies of the Olympics and watching Air Force One on TNT.

Best Meal I Ate: Spicy Chicken sandwich from Wendy’s. I could NOT get over how AMAZING it was. 

Biggest Airhead Move so Far: Filling out a form for my new library card, I wrote down my birthday as 11/30/08.

One of the best parts of being pregnant so far has been sharing the news! Thanks so much for all the support and enthusiasm. We can’t wait for the baby to meet our wonderful family and friends. =)

We found out about two weeks before the move. Rather than tell friends and family so early on, we decided to wait. We also knew we wanted to tell as many people at the same time and in person as possible. There were plans to come back to Atlanta in September for Josh’s dad’s birthday and the annual Petrella Beach Retreat. At that point we’d be into the second trimester and eager to tell.

So one cross-country move, two and a half months, and a plane trip back to Atlanta later, it was time to tell the families. 

The Teagues were up first.  Our sister-in-law, Jeanine, is expecting their third child in December. We also owed her a belated birthday gift. Google will stick their name on any kind of gift. So Josh bought two Google infant onesies and put both in a purse we bought for Jeanine. The plan was to let her find both and then…

Josh: “Oh, how’d that one get in there? That’s supposed to be for us!”

Lauren: “That’s okay. We don’t need it until March.”

BOOM! They’d all get it and it would be so fun! And that’s almost what happened. Only one thing  threw us off. Right before Jeanine found the onesies, the phone rang and Josh’s mom went to answer it. By the time she got back (Reality-she was gone about two seconds. To us, it felt like ten minutes) we were even more nervous and tongue-tied. Mission accomplished anyway. Good thing the Teagues are quick.

Here’s the reaction:

Next up: The Petrellas. My mom has been begging for pictures of the apartment. The nieces have been longing to see Remy. So we created a virtual tour of our new city and home, complete with Remy footage for the girls. The Baby Bomb drops at the end.

Here’s the short video we edited together:

This time nothing could frazzle us, right? We’re pros at this point. Just before we were going to subtly get everyone’s attention, our 6 year old niece stood up and announced: “Everyone, I have some news. Mommy’s going to have a baby!” 

Naturally, we were incredibly happy and excited! Also a little confused. ( “Wait, does she mean us? Wasn’t that what we were going to say?” ) We were also not sure what to do next. Postpone? Piggy-back with an “us, too!” ? About ten minutes later, all four nieces were asking to go to the pool. So I panic. “Who wants to see Remy?! We have a video we want to show, but it’s really short! No big deal, we can watch it later, but it’s really short so we can just watch it real quick. Mom, it shows our apartment! Whatever, we don’t care or anything. It has Remy, girls!” Smooth, I know.

Here’s their reaction: (Watch my mom in the white robe. She doesn’t make a move until she’s 100% positive we are definitely announcing a pregnancy.)

 
Up until this point, this baby had been kept our little (pun?) secret for over three months. So you can imagine that most discussion for the rest of the weekend pertained directly to pregnancy. Such a relief! 

We cannot believe our families have so many babies on the way! Jeanine and Katie, my sister-in-law, are both in their sixth months and my sister Mandy is only three weeks behind me. FOUR, I repeat, FOUR women in our immediate families are expecting! It’s our own mini Baby Boom. 2009 promises to be an extremely interesting and busy year. Stay tuned!