Jesus loves me

Each night before she goes to bed, I sing Anne Caroline "Jesus Loves Me." When she was first born and teeny tiny, I honestly had a hard time getting through it without a lump in my throat. We sing it before naps as well, and each time we do, she'll look up at me and smile the sweetest smile. Words cannot describe how much I love singing to her and breathing in her nighttime smell- a mix of Mustela shampoo, lavender wash, and her special baby laundry detergent.

As I put her down tonight, I thought as I was singing how much He loves me too. I have dreaded this weekend since we found out Richard's deployment was moved up. I love celebrating Valentine's Day with him, and I knew it would be lonely without him. But it turned out to be a weekend full of joy. Richard had flowers sent to me via a dear friend who has gone out of her way to check on me and welcome me into her home for dinners and coffee and chats. I had Valentine's Day lunch with another dear friend, who told Anne Caroline about all the people who loved her while I ordered my food.

One of the best aspects of military life is all the people you meet who you would otherwise likely never have the chance to know. Min, Vin and later Gia became some of our closest friends in DC while we were there and went through a deployment exactly a year ago. Min's parents actually live in Columbia, and they came to visit this weekend. It was such a blessing to share and chat with them about what to expect and how to cope with Richard being gone. I was able to introduce them to AC, and it was like they had been buddies for a long time. They are the kind of friends who you can laugh and cry with, who you always order dessert with, who would do absolutely anything for you, and those are the best kind. We cannot wait to meet baby girl Capaldi #2 in just a few short weeks!

Happy Valentine's Day! AC with the beautiful flowers from Richard.

Min and AC meeting for the first time

fun afternoon at the zoo- AC just started riding in the stroller without the car seat adapter earlier this week!

a delicious dinner at Rosso

frozen yogurt date

Anne Caroline's first carousel ride!

 Gia's an old pro at the carousel

a valentine's to remember

So in the past 4.5 months since I have written, we have added a sweet new little one to our family. Anne Caroline, who arrived on September 27th, 2013, has blessed our lives more than we could have ever imagined. The first few weeks were rough- nursing issues, a bout of mastitis, and just general feelings of incompetency as a mom- but it has just gotten better and better. I want to go back and chronicle her first few months, but this day pulled me back to the blog because it has been one of the more memorable Valentine's days in quite some time.

We are in the midst of Richard's deployment, and today was a big day for him in terms of movement and travel. I have thought of him frequently and was just sad that he wasn't here to celebrate a fun day with his girls. To add to that stress, we have had ice and snow over the past two days, and while it finally was mostly melted by this afternoon, our power went out just as AC went down for a nap. Thankfully it came back on, but it made for a panicky hour while I contemplated the best plan for Anne Caroline and me. After a calm evening of our bath and bedtime ritual, I sat down to watch the Olympics...and then felt the house shake. Twitter was quick to confirm I wasn't the only one who felt the 4.1 magnitude earthquake, with an epicenter in Edgefield. So unsettling. I actually felt a tremor in Clemson, SC a few years ago (one that was strongly felt in DC), so it wasn't an entirely new experience but still fairly alarming, given the sleeping baby upstairs. But she slept right through it!

So other than sleeping through earthquakes and ice storms, what else is AC doing at 4.5 months?

• sleeping through the night in her crib (yay!). She started from going from about 11 pm- 7 am between 10-11 weeks, but she is now consistently doing about 8:45 pm to anywhere between 7 and 8 am. Would love to push her bedtime back to 8 pm soon!
• eating solid foods. She is still breastfeeding 5 times a day, but we have introduced rice cereal, oatmeal, and green beans. She went through a bout of getting up at 5 am, and I hoped a fuller belly would help her sleep longer. It seems to have done so thus far!
• starting to sit for short periods of time on her own. She is still shaky but she's making great progress. 
• laughing out loud and fake "coughing" for attention. So funny. She loves to hear herself. 
• smiling and giggling at her reflection in the mirror. 
• actively playing with "Scoots" the snail, "Flutter" the butterfly, her birds on the play mat, her singing dog, and putting anything she can find in her mouth.  
• and humoring her mom by posing for photo shoots!

Love this funny valentine so much! So thankful for her on crazy days like these.

the past 40 weeks

I have not been the best about documenting this pregnancy, so I wanted to at least capture the past 40 weeks in pictures. Today is Miss Anne Caroline's due date, and we are anxiously awaiting her arrival! Her nursery is prepared, our bags are packed, and we have more baby gear than we will probably ever need. Until about 39 weeks, I was completely content with her staying put, but I am now more than ready for her arrival. 40 weeks pregnant is not the super most comfortable state to be in, but overall, I have had a great pregnancy. No real nausea or morning sickness, fairly normal weight gain and normal blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Thank goodness given everything else we've had going on!

how it all started- a (barely) positive home pregnancy test on January 15th

almost 5 weeks pregnant at the SC Inaugural Ball, January 20th

confirmation via ultrasound on February 1st, the day before my 32nd birthday

celebrating the birthday at almost 7 weeks

tiny little peanut at almost 10 weeks

10 weeks at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, MD

12 weeks- thankful for a healthy baby!

first time wearing the belly band at almost 13 weeks

Easter in Spartanburg at almost 15 weeks...

and the big reveal!

touring a lumber yard for work at 15 weeks, right before a tough spell of dizziness and almost passing out...the only time when I did not feel all that great.

DC cherry blossoms and 16 weeks

18 weeks

it's a girl! 20 week scan

almost 21 weeks at a wedding in VA

almost 22 weeks

almost 24 weeks at our first shower on May 31st, a Very Hungry Caterpillar book shower with some of our closest DC friends

25 weeks at a baby shower for Jess

26 weeks at Richard's residency graduation and promotion ceremony on June 21st...

and at a wonderful "hello, goodbye" couples shower in DC the same weekend.

28 weeks on the 4th of July!

closing on our new house at almost 30 weeks

almost 32 weeks, at my first SC baby shower in Columbia thrown by some of my favorite girls

and at almost 33 weeks at my Spartanburg baby shower...these three ladies were fabulous hostesses

almost 34 weeks at Carolyn and Sam's wedding in Raleigh on August 10th, the day we officially moved out of our Kensington, MD home

sweet shower at First Baptist Arcadia at almost 36 weeks with ladies who have loved on me since I was born

Clemson-UGA game at almost 37 weeks, on August 31st with Kim, only 3 1/2 weeks behind me

39 weeks, 6 days...almost there! Brunch at DiPrato's on a beautiful Sunday.

Come on whenever you are ready, baby girl! We cannot wait to meet you.

farewell DC, hello SC

It has officially been a month since we moved into our South Carolina home, and it's hard to believe we've been gone from the DC-area that long. The past four weeks have been a whirlwind of unpacking, arranging and rearranging, preparing for baby and adjusting to the heat and humidity of the Palmetto State. I couldn't go any longer without documenting a few of the things I miss the most (and don't miss at all) about DC.

What I miss...

• our sweet friends- the picture above was taken one of our last nights in DC at Founding Farmers with the Capaldis and the Kwoks. Love them and so many others who blessed us tremendously during our three years there. 
• my office and working on the Hill. My Twitter feed is still full of political writers, but it's not the same as being in the heart of the action. And I miss the sweet ladies and gentlemen who worked in the Longworth Cafeteria, the post office and friends in other Members' offices and on committee staff. 
• our house and our neighborhood. It was our first married house, and while it was older and had its share of issues, it was cozy and familiar. And had a mail slot in the front door. We loved our neighborhood and all the charms of Kensington, from the Farmer's Market to the train station to Main Street lit with white lights. 
• the cultural opportunities in the DC-area. One of our favorite theaters just put on Miss Saigon, and we hated not being there to see it. 
• the proximity of where we lived to New York City. While it's wonderful being closer to the majority of our family members, I am further from my brother Will in Hoboken, NJ. We love NYC, and it was a treat to be able to pop up there for the weekend to see him and take in the Big Apple.

And what I don't miss?

• Sitting in traffic for at least two hours a day during the work week. I drank coffee, listened to the news on the radio, and admired the Rock Creek Park scenery during those commutes, but I am so thankful to be done with them. 
• Living in such a big city. We got to the point where we would occasionally run into friends in downtown Bethesda and I would on the Hill, but generally, I could go out and not see one person I knew. I love being in a place where I see a familiar face in almost every shop or restaurant I go into, and where even if someone doesn't know you, they make a point to chat and be friendly.
• Having to watch Clemson games on TV. It's so nice to be close enough to Death Valley to be there in person. Granted, our attendance this season may be limited because of Miss AC, but at least it won't be due to distance. 
• Our teeny tiny bathroom and closets. We still don't quite know what to do with all our newly-acquired space. A two sink vanity- woo hoo! A walk-in with space for multiple seasons of clothes...so exciting. Though our new space is no where close to being "done," it sure has been fun making it ours. We're happy to be home!

the Gowdy DC office- so miss daily conversations with this crew

the day we left to drive to SC- almost 34 weeks pregnant and incredibly emotional. Got over the tears quickly when it took almost 4 hours to get to Richmond, VA (normally a 2 hour drive!).

changes

If you know me, you may know that I hate change. I am not very good with it. I get comfortable and content in the little world I know and get frustrated when anything comes along to disrupt it.

Richard finished his residency officially today (praise the Lord!) after graduating last week, and I am so, so proud of him for enduring six years of long nights on call, 80+ hour work weeks, intense learning experiences and high-level patient care of men and women who served and were injured half-way across the world. In the next three months, we will leave our first married home in Maryland and close on a new house in South Carolina. I'll leave a job and office I truly love, and we'll welcome a baby girl. Richard will begin life as general surgery staff at Ft. Jackson in Columbia and will no longer have the network of residents and attendings he's been accustomed to. We'll say goodbye to wonderful "new" friends and have the chance to reconnect with old friends. And as bittersweet as it may be, we are so, so blessed.

We never thought we'd have the option to go to Ft. Jackson. This time last year, I was three days away from experiencing a heartbreaking miscarriage. Now I'm a full week into my third trimester. We found a great house and will have even greater neighbors. And our moms cannot wait to get their hands on their grand-girl.

So we are thankful for all the change. Thankful for a healthy pregnancy, thankful for a new home and for God's faithfulness over the past six years.

A few pictures from the past week...

Richard's promotion ceremony

pinning on his Major shoulder boards

with the Webb family after the graduation ceremony

most of the Davis family- Will and Caitlin had to come a bit later

all the Davis "kids" and significant others at Founding Farmers for a celebratory lunch

Sunday brunch at the Army-Navy Club

such a delicious meal

the Webbs

the original Davis 5