A few things that might be helpful to know:

Just like last time, winner gets free Google swag. Two years ago, Annie and Josh’s mom scored a t shirt and tote bag, respectively.

Thanks for playing along!

*Note: You can post your guesses in the comments below.
The calendar is just a visual to help you with your guess. I’m sure Josh could have created a working calendar if I had given him a bit more warning.

It all started when Nora accidentally locked herself in the playroom. She loves to run full speed into a room, shut the door, and wait for someone to come find her. If we don’t do this fast enough, she calls for us to let us know that we should be looking for her. I was getting ready to go to a doctor’s appointment when I heard her shut the door and a few moments later start yelling, “Mooooommmmmyyyyyy!”

I played along and was saying, “Nora? Where did she go? Oh, Noooooorraaaaaa!” She was giggling and I could tell she was really excited about the moment I opened the door and “found” her. (It’s always a great moment. Very dramatic but with good closure.)

Since there was only one closed door, I knew she was in the playroom. But when I went to open it, the handle wouldn’t turn. No worries, this happened a few weeks ago when she locked herself in the baby room on accident.

Josh had handled that one, but I thought I knew what to do. I tried using a bent clothes hanger to jimmy the lock open. The whole time, Nora still thought we were playing. “Mommmmyyyyy!”
“Noooooraaaa….are you in the playroom?”
Giggle.
After a few minutes, I could NOT get the handle to turn so I called Josh in. He hadn’t left for work yet, Praise the Lord. He was the one to bust her out of the nursery, so I figured I wasn’t doing it right. The only thing is, he couldn’t get the handle to turn either. Asking Nora to “turn the little button” didn’t yield the desired results either. She had no idea what we were talking about.

At this point, Nora picked up on the fact that we weren’t opening the door. She started whining and saying, “Open! Open!”

By the time we decided to unscrew the handle and take it out, she was getting really upset. But when the handle on her side fell on the floor right in front of her, she lost it. She was crying pretty hard by then and calling for us over and over. She also kept trying to put the door handle back in the opening.

Meanwhile, Josh and I still couldn’t get the door to open. We could now see her through the opening where the handle should have been. I think that made it worse. We just wanted to comfort our little girl. And she clearly wanted out and continued to try to help by sticking the handle back into the cutout opening. This proved to be our saving grace. Josh realized we could study her side of the handle to figure out how to turn the lock. After a few more tries, we finally figured out what to push to make the lock click and loosen.

We opened the door to a very upset, very worried little girl. She calmed down quickly, but it obviously made an impression on her since she kept talking about it. “Mommy. Daddy. Open!” Then grunting noises that I think were supposed to sound like us as we tried to get the door open. I guess we sounded frustrated, too. Followed by fake cries that described how she had been crying. Then, “Daddy. Open.” I heard this story over and over as I hurried to put on our shoes and get us out the door.

That miniature crisis over, we left Daddy at the house (who was now running late for work) and went to Gran’s. I warned my mom that Nora would probably want to tell her what happened. Mom said that she did recount the story to her a few times.

Then it was time for my doctor’s appointment. It was actually at a specialist to get one of my test results checked out. There was a possible concern which I won’t bore you with the details since the doctor said she wasn’t concerned and felt it wouldn’t be a problem. But the point is, since it was a question about my health for the rest of pregnancy and delivery, I didn’t think there would be too much attention given to the baby.

As it turns out, I got to have an ultrasound! The only downer is that I would have made sure Josh could have come if I had known we would get another sneak peek at the baby! Now I’m thinking that any time you go to a prenatal specialist for any reason, they are going to check out the baby’s health, too.

So here’s what I got to see and learn during the ultrasound-

The baby looks great and measurements are on track.

Baby weighs just over 5 pounds.

The baby has HAIR! I got to see it. And with five weeks still to grow.

I got to see a close up of the face and saw the little cheeks and even the tongue.

I got to see the kidneys (or so I was told. I couldn’t make those out) and I got to see the bladder. The bladder was full. =) I know that’s kinda gross, but I thought it was also a sign of how developed the little ones are in there. All we might see is a big belly that squirms sometimes, but hey- there’s a whole person in there! Right down to a functioning bladder.

Plus- Sorry if this is TMI, but I thought it was interesting. The image was pretty clear and I noticed some particles floating around. I asked if that was the sonogram image or if it was actually particles floating in the amniotic fluid. Sure enough, the technician said it was little particles of skin, etc that’s supposed to be there.
1) I was fascinated that I could even see this detail. It must have been a high quality sonogram machine.
2) Ew! I’m so sorry, Baby! I didn’t know you had to swim around in and swallow that stuff. Poor little thing. Don’t worry, when you arrive, you get fresh air.

And here’s a picture. I know it’s fuzzy and hard to tell what’s going on. The baby is facing the camera so you can sort of make out the facial features.

It’s almost time, Baby! We get to meet you soon!

I always feel a little guilty when someone asks about our names because we don’t reveal them ahead of time. It seems so snobby, but we have several reasons for this. I will list them, as well as some of the rules that I have imposed on us during this naming process.

1) Name change! We might change our minds and don’t want to confuse everyone. This happened with Nora. We had a totally different name picked out for a girl. We starting rethinking it two weeks before her due date and didn’t decide on Nora until the moment after she was born. I don’t know that we would have gone through with a name change if we had been telling everyone our original pick. Then she wouldn’t be Nora. And she’s such a Nora.

2) The Initial Grimace. The look of, “Oh, really?” It seems like once the baby is actually born and a name is declared, it’s more likely that people are able to pull off pretending to like the name. At least to the parents’ faces. (Nothing like the pressure of the Waiting Room to have a good reaction to a name pick.) But if you know there is still time for the parents to change their mind, it’s easier to let that doubtful expression slip.

3) School Yard Taunts. This is when someone tells you how the kids at school will make fun of your child’s name. I won’t attempt to give examples but you know what I’m talking about.

4) Great Minds Think Alike. Sometimes another expectant couple lists their possible baby name that is also on our list. Then I don’t know what to do. Say, “Us, too! Whoever has the baby first gets to use the name!” I am pretty sure that I wouldn’t actually care if we did use the same name as one of our friends. But it does seem like it could get really confusing. We aren’t on a mission to have the Most Unique Name by any means, but still, if there’s too many kids with your child’s name, then you have to tack on their last name’s first initial. Hassle.

Now moving on to Rules About Picking A Name.

Rule #1 No Stealing
I will admit that I am very guilty of liking a name after someone else uses it. Obviously with family, you can’t have cousins with the same name. So those names are completely off limits. But what if a friend/acquaintance picks a name that you realize you love? Especially if it’s a unique name that you wouldn’t have the courage/creativity to come up with by yourself. Is there some sort of inverse relationship where the less you know the person, the more acceptable it is to steal the name?

Rule #2 The Name Should Mean Something
We had to go and use the middle name Praise for our first one. Now I feel like if we don’t have at least some meaning in the names of the rest of our kids, they might feel neglected.

Rule #3 Can’t End in a T
I can’t remember where I read this one (hope I don’t complicate things for anyone else) but I read that it can be a bit of a tongue twister if the end of the first name is the same sound as the first letter of the last name. (Even saying that is a tongue twister.) For example, Juliet Teague. Kinda hard to say. I know, I know, I thought it was a silly rule at first, too, but it kinda makes sense when you think about it.
Of course, if this is the case with your name, I’m sure it works just fine. =)

Rule #4 Should Be a Good Sibling Name to Nora
Another rule I probably wouldn’t have thought about on my own, but I have heard several people talk about this. And again, it makes sense. With an old fashioned name like Nora, how would it sound to have a brother named something trendy, like Jagger? (I checked out Celebrity Baby Names to find that one.)

Rule #5 We both have to like it.
This one is the most obvious, but also the one most likely to cause a name veto. It always stinks too, when Josh says a name he likes and I think, “Eh…” I want to like it, but I’m just not feeling it.

Rule #6 We both have to REALLY like it.
Plus assume the child will like it, too. For the rest of his/her life. Talk about lifelong commitment.

Now. All that to say…we think we have picked our names. And despite what it may sound like, I really love talking about names and asking people what names they like. It’s interesting to me to hear what names people pick and to see how it matches up with their personalities. I also like to hear what names people think we would like that would fit us and our family. One of my favorite things is to find out names people like but can’t use for some reason. That they don’t mind if we steal. Yay for honest stealing!

And yay for baby names and our new baby on the way! 6 weeks to go- that’s a month and a half!!! We are really excited to meet this little one.

So here’s the thing. I’m about to go on record for a guess of whether we are having a boy or girl. I have never, ever gone on record and been right. With anyone’s kids. I am consistent in guessing wrong. I really don’t understand it, given the supposed 50/50 odds of choosing correctly.

I think we are having a boy. There’s a few reasons. They could simply be the differences between the first and next pregnancies, or they could be the differences between expecting a girl and expecting a boy.

With my first trimester with Nora, there were times I thought I would never eat again. I would feel so sick all at once. And then the rest of the time, I felt okay. This time around, I felt mildly ill most of the first few months.

My belly seems to be a difference shape. I can’t explain it, but I feel like I look different and my clothes fit differently. My maternity shirts are already too short. (Although that could be the fact that we have been eating out a LOT during the packing/driving/unpacking process.)

We had a girl name picked out a long time again. We cannot get our act together in figuring out a boy’s name (and are accepting all suggestions.) It was the opposite with Nora. We had the boy name Noah picked out very early on that time. (We’re not using that name because I’ll never get Nora and Noah straight.) Even my OB said that if a couple can only decide on one gender’s name, they will have the opposite. So there you go- medical fact.

And finally, the most convincing reason is the Publix Deli Man (Identity Likely But Unconfirmed.) Going back two years ago- there was a barista at Starbucks who guessed I was having a girl with Nora. She actually apologized when I told her I didn’t know officially because we chose not to find out. She felt bad that she ruined the surprise because she was that convinced she was right. And, as we all know, she was. (Although I didn’t take her that seriously.)

A few weeks ago, I was walking out of Publix and a man who was walking in yelled over his shoulder, “You’re having a boy!” I called back, “You think so?” He paused and said, “I KNOW so.” and kept walking.

I told Mom and Mandy about this encounter and she said he might be the Deli Man. This man told Mandy he thought she was having a boy with James. He went on to say that he’s famous for guessing correctly and people bring their pregnant friends in all the time just so he’ll guess what they are having. He claimed to always be correct. When she described what he looks like, it matched the man I saw walking into the store. I haven’t actually seen him in the Deli, so I can’t be sure he isn’t another random person who is often in Publix and is extremely confident in his gender guessing abilities. (That seems unlikely, no? Or is there a whole culture of people who go around telling pregnant ladies what they are having?)

PLUS, I was thinking this baby was a girl until the Deli guy shared his opinion, and since I’m always wrong, then he’s probably right. (I do realize that I am hedging my bets here.)

So that’s probably the most convincing reason I have right now, even if it’s also the least founded. It seems that while I always guess incorrectly, I run into people who work in the food service industry who are experts. If not at all medically trained. So I figure if Starbucks Barista was right about Nora being a girl (who I thought was a boy) then this baby, who I thought early on was a girl, must in fact be a boy if that’s what Deli Man tells me.

While it’s fun to guess (and we will be having another guessing pool soon if anyone’s interested), we really and truly would be thrilled with a boy or a girl and don’t have our hopes on one or the other. So while I’m guessing boy (officially), it doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be just as excited if the doctor announces that it’s a girl.

Although I really hope we decide on a boy name soon. Two months and counting.

The move is bittersweet since the Lord has provided such a blessed life for us the past two years in Seattle. We’ve made some great friends, been part of such a loving and serving community, as well as a church where it’s easy to see that lives are being changed by Christ. We will truly miss our friends and community from our time in the Pacific Northwest.

At the same time, we are so thankful and thrilled to be coming back to our families and southern friends! We love the idea that Nora will have chance to really get to know her (many) aunts, uncles, cousins, as well as her grandparents. There’s also so many awesome friends back in Atlanta who have been so great about making time for us during our visits and keeping up with us through the past two years. We are so excited to think about being able to make plans to come visit and hang out with you all again! We’re looking forward to being able to travel to see those of you who live outside Atlanta that we haven’t been able to see during our visits.

So now all we have to do is pack up! And find a place to live. And figure out if it’s worth it to ship the car and try to ship Remy as air cargo. (He may never recover.) Or if poor Josh should drive across the country with Remy in the backseat (again) while I attempt to fly with Nora on my lap with a 6 month baby bump. Or if we should all drive together even though Nora is not a huge fan of the car. And if Josh (or all of us) do drive, is it safe to drive the short route across the northern states when it’s getting really cold? Or do we lose a day and drive south first? So maybe there’s a few details we are still trying to work out…

Meanwhile, Nora’s so excited about spending more time with her extended family! Well, she would be if she understood what was about to happen. We’ve been working on everyone’s names for awhile now, but she’s finally learning a few. She’s says:
Poppa- Poppy and/or Panzy
G- g- g- Gran
Nee Nee- Aunt Annie
Ay ya ya ya- Ally
Caca Blaboe – Uncle Beau
Jee- Aunt Jeanine
EE- Aunt Tiffany

If she hasn’t learned your name yet, Family Members, don’t take it personally. A lot depends on which home movie she’s currently obsessed with and how often you’re featured in it. Right now it’s the Mexican Vacation movie from a Teague trip a few years back and she doesn’t recognize Uncles Kemble or Royal. But she’s learned almost everyone else from that movie. She’ll learn the rest of the Petrellas and Robinsons as soon as she gets back into those movies.

In other Nora news:

-She calls for me anytime she doesn’t see me. “Maaaaaa!” Yes, it sounds like someone from New Jersey.

-Her newest hobby is collecting rocks from the backyard. She brings them over to me to hold, leaves them in a pile on the steps, and balances them on top of her play lawn mower and pushes them around the yard. Like she’s throwing them a little parade.

- As a result of pregnancy, my complexion isn’t exactly porcelain-like . Nora gets very concerned about my “boo boos.” She stares at my face with a totally serious expression, puts one hand on each of my cheeks, and turns my head to inspect each and every blemish. It’s a fairly humbling experience that I get to endure several times a day. Especially when she catches ones I haven’t noticed yet.

- Nora was lifting her baby doll into a chair with a loud grunt. Josh correctly identified that she is mimicking me when I put her into her car seat. (She is 26 pounds and I have the upper arm strength of a ten year old.)

-The other day she was playing in her room and I kept hearing her saying something that ended in “eee.” For the whole afternoon I tried to figure out what she was saying. It was something like, “Uh, oo, EEE!” I finally realized she was counting to three. We made a big deal about it and now she does it because she loves our reactions. Sometimes she tries to build it up by saying about four two’s. And gets totally distracted in the process and never makes it to the big ‘three!’

-She likes to pat Remy and say, “Goo gah” for ‘good boy.’

-She gets really excited to go pick up Josh from work. She starts calling for him when we pull up to the building. “Daaaa!” As soon as she sees him, she just giggles.

-She calls stars “uh abo ya,” (‘up above the’) from her Twinkle Twinkle Little Star book. (Her favorite page reads “Up above the world so high”.) If only she knew they have a much simpler name.

-I think she thinks the word for running is go go. Because that’s what she says whenever she sees a jogger on the road. Or maybe she’s just cheering them on.

And finally, in pregnancy news, everything seems to be going really well! I’m so thankful that I’m in the second trimester and have a lot more energy. (Very helpful for packing.) I’ve been feeling the baby move at least once a day. Yay!

I have to watch what I do around Nora the Mimicker. Here she is copying my hands-on-hips study of the kitchen and packing progress.

Yay and Praise the Lord- we’re expecting another baby! We are so excited and happy to report that I am 13 weeks along, everything is looking good and the little one is about the size of a lime. (I find that to be a cute comparison for some reason.) We’ve been able to hear the baby’s heartbeat, which always seems like a miracle. Baby Teague is due in March, right around the time Nora is turning two. The official due date is March 19th.

And just in case you wanted to know it, here’s the story:
I was experiencing one or two mild symptoms right before my mom arrive for her visit in July. Just enough to wonder if it was possible. I knew that if I was, it would be super early. So I waited until after she left. It was a great distraction having her around and I tried not to get too excited. In fact, I thought I played it cool. Although it turns out, Mom was a little suspicious after I randomly decided to take a nap on the couch one afternoon and fell asleep instantly. But she didn’t say anything. At least not until her suspicions were confirmed. =)

Mom left on a Tuesday and I had told myself I would wait until Friday. Just to give myself time and to make sure the result was accurate. And also because Friday is my favorite day of the week.

I made it until Wednesday morning. I couldn’t settle down and started praying and felt like I should go buy a test right then. So I did. I came home, waited for the results, and gasped out loud when I saw the positive test result. I can’t think of the last time I did this, but I literally fell on my knees and starting praying. I prayed for the Lord to help this baby grow so we could welcome him/her into the family. I also prayed for trust and peace no matter the outcome. (Sadly, we had experienced a miscarriage a few months before.) I prayed for a few moments before I felt the familiar pat of Nora’s hand on the back of my head. Naturally, she thought I was playing peek a boo. I looked up and saw her happy little face and thought how great it would be if she could be a big sister in a few months.

I managed to wait until Josh came home to tell him the news. (I’m still a little proud of myself for that display of self discipline.) On any given day, I try to take several pictures of Nora (gotta keep those Pictures of the Day coming). So it’s become a natural part of our routine for Josh to look through the camera to see what pictures were taken that day. On this particular day, I had these gems waiting for him.

By the time I went in for my first prenatal visit, I was almost 9 weeks. The doctor was able to find the heartbeat. When we heard that whir, whir, whir, my entire body relaxed in gratitude and I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Josh and I were so grateful that we were able to hear the heartbeat that day. The weeks went by and we got into the double digits on our weeks. Yay! Soon it was time to go home to Atlanta for Tiffany’s wedding (Hooray!) We were able to announce the pregnancy to family and a few friends we were able to meet with in person.

And I’m feeling so much better! Poor Nora has become quite the independent player since I had so little energy. I supervised her playing, and that’s about it. And Remy. I just couldn’t stand the stank that is Remybreath. And when he comes in from outside? Forget it. I had to cover my nose and hope the cloud would lift soon.

But I think I’m over that The World is Made Up of Overwhelming Smells stage. I have some energy back and I’ve even been able to clean the kitchen without wanting to retch. Big progress. Speaking of big, I realized a few weeks ago that I was going to be needing my lovely maternity jeans sooner than I expected. Unfortunately, I had just lent them a few months ago to a friend who isn’t due until December. I felt like such a cheater having to email her and ask for them back! She probably didn’t even get a chance to wear most of them. Of course, she’s wonderful and was very understanding. She’s just one of many people who have been so supportive and happy for us.

There’s already so much excitement and love for this baby. He or she is loved and covered with prayer and we couldn’t ask for better support.

Josh and I have been so blessed and the blessings continue! In the past month, we gained a new nephew, James, Kemble’s engaged to our soon to be sister-in-law Ashley, we got Rex as a new brother-in-law, and now we get to announce that we have our second child on the way! Praise God for family, especially family that keeps growing!

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.