Job Update

Since I became pregnant, one of the top 3 questions I've received over and over was "So what are you going to do about work?" Well for those of you on the edge of your seat, I finally have an answer.

I personally think this is one of the hardest decisions a mom has to make. I knew that I would love to try to work, but knew that working full-time with Brett's schedule would be so much stress, especially with my "all or none" personality. And I just wasn't willing to sacrifice all that time with Taylor, but no one works part-time and from home in my department. As most of you know, I hate to make decisions, so Brett gave me some good advice. He asked what would be my perfect situation and then go for that.

So to make a long, long story short, my management created a new position for me that is part-time from home! It is a lateral move and I am changing from a device clinical trials to a pharmaceutical trial. I can work from home because the pharma trial is run by a CRO (Contract Research Organization) not in Memphis, so I can manage the CRO from home. I think I will actually love this job a lot more, because I am going back to project management instead of people management. The CRO deals with personnel issues, and I just make sure they are doing their job overall. And it will be fun and different to try pharma research. Initially, I will still need to go into the office 2 days a week, but hopefully can get down to 1 once I fully transition and learn my new job. For now, my mother-in-law, Jennifer, will watch Taylor 1 day a week and one of my sweet friends, Becca, has graciously agreed to watch her the other day.

The Lord continues to richly bless our lives... and I am so thankful to Him for perfectly working this out. I'll let you know how all of this goes!

Happy Halloween!

From our little ladybug...



This is for Callen, Mary, Claire, and Shannon... here we are at the zoo with Taylor. :)


We hope you have a fun day!

2 1/2 Month Update

Here's a quick update on what's been going on in the Davenport household... Taylor started sleeping through the night a couple weeks ago (the day of her 2 month check-up), so we're all very happy around here! The girl likes her sleep (like her mother) and usually sleeps from 10ish-8. I feel like a new person getting a full nights rest! Here's Taylor right before her first set of shots... sad.

We got a zoo membership last week and have already been twice. The Memphis zoo is actually really nice and the weather has been beautiful. We first went with Lauren and Jake, Jenny and Charlie, Katie and Sam, and Becca and Hunter. Poor Taylor is going to get used to being around all boys!


My mom (aka Marms) came in town this weekend and we went again on Sunday. We saw a baby giraffe that was only 48 hours old.



We went to church for the first time as a full family last weekend. Taylor went to the nursery and did just fine. Please notice her adorable dress that Callen's mom made! Afterward, Taylor got to see her friend across the street, Cate, for a very brief play date.



Taylor is a lot of fun to be around now... she smiles all the time! And today, she really started to reach out and grab toys...

They're singing...Go Cubs Go...

Go Cubs Go...Hey Chicago, what do you say? Cubs are gonna win today.

So maybe they didn't win last night, but tonight is going to be different. We had baseball night last night and watched the game while eating baseball park food... hot dogs, cheese dip, etc. It was a lot of fun, despite the outcome of the game.

Many of you may not know this about me, but I have been a Cubs fan since I was little. I would intensely watch the games and listen to Harry Caray and Steve Stone. I could recite the line-up forwards and backwards, and I was convinced that I would marry Mark Grace one day, even though Damon Berryhill was pretty handsome as well. Tough choice...
vs
But Ryne Sandberg was always my favorite and held a special place in my heart. He got an entire page devoted to him in my baseball card binder. I have been to Wrigley twice... the first time when I was little and Harry Caray still sung the seventh inning stretch. Then Brett and I got to go in 2004.


So here's the Cubs schedule for the rest of the games... Zambrano is pitching tonight so it should be a good one!!

Davenport Destin Trip

We went to Destin a couple weeks ago with Brett's family and had a great time. Fortunately, Taylor slept most of the way down to Florida and did great while we were there. I think she's going to love the beach! We went during the week of Hurricane Ike, but still had good weather for the most part. We had two really good beach days, and we set up a little kids tent under an umbrella, so Taylor could go down for a couple hours. I think the waves put her to sleep...




Tim and Jen and their two kids (Eady and Tucker) live in Jackson, Mississippi, so we really enjoyed spending a lot of time with them.

The cousins...

Taylor and Tucker spending some "tummy time" together...

Bill and Jennifer (Grammy and Papa) with Eady at dinner one night.


Bill and Jennifer watched the 3 kids one night and we went with Tim and Jen to the Red Bar for dinner. Yum!

Here is the start of one of Taylor's first real smiles... she now smiles all the time in response to your smile. It's really sweet.

We went down to take pictures at sunset on the last night.

Brett's latest

You know Brett can't be without a project... here is what my den looks like right now. Actually, these pictures are a bit old now... there are now about 6 big holes in my walls that will eventually be electrical outlets. When it's finished, it will be built-in bookshelves, a fireplace, and a small desk. We are breaking Taylor in early to noisy tools and sawdust. Lovely!

6 Week Update and Out-of-Town Guests

Well, I guess it's time for an update... it has been almost 6 weeks since Taylor was born. She has been keeping us busy! I never imagined how much work it would be, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Of course, we've had our good and bad moments, but slowly but surely, we're getting the hang of it... thanks to our family and friends who have helped us out tremendously in the past 6 weeks! Taylor has had a lot of very helpful visitors! We've had meals brought to us at least 3-4 times a week... I have not had to make a real meal in almost 6 weeks. Our church friends have been amazing along with neighbors, work friends, and family. Taylor's fabulous grandparents have helped us out a ton with babysitting. Brett and I have been on 2 dates, and I've gotten lots of time to get out of the house and run some errands. The support and love we've received has really been overwhelming to us... thank you everyone!

Here are a few updated pics I took recently...



Taylor is quite the popular little lady... here are some pics of her with out-of-town guests.

Mimi and Grandaddy

Nano

Aunt Susan

Marms and Uncle Jordan

Papa

Mimi, Grandaddy, Uncle Dave and Aunt Amanda

Uncle Dave

Aunt Amanda

Marms

Aunt Jen

Olivia

Sam


We love visitors... come see us in Memphis soon!!!