Happy Halloween!

We went to our neighborhood Halloween party hosted by the Powells this weekend. I was an oven with a bun inside (that really is my belly peaking out through the cardboard cut-out oven)...and Brett was the baker. :)
Remaining bake time: 8 weeks!!!

Up, up, and away...not exactly

We went to a Wine and Hot Air Balloon Festival in the Shenandoahs this weekend. Unfortunately it was too windy for the balloons to launch, but Brett, Mark, and Stephen enjoyed the wine; Karen and I enjoyed the funnel cake; and almost-2-year-old Eli enjoyed the kites and the hay. It was a beautiful fall day and a great way to spend a Saturday!

A visit from Meemaw

We were treated to a visit from Meemaw this weekend. My mom had a training class @ FBI headquarters and was able to stay with us from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. Unfortunately Brett was either at work or @ VT most of the time she was here. The only real time they got together was commuting in to DC on Friday morning. But I thoroughly enjoyed some wonderful time with my mom! Boy did she take care of us! She walked the dogs. She cooked us meals for the week. She did the laundry and cleaned up. It was Fantastic! I wish she lived closer...no, not because she's just so good at all those things and at taking care of her daughter, but because it was just so wonderful to have her here. I love you Mom!!!

btw, here's a few picts of Brett and super cutie lil' Hokie Riley Sommer and friends at this weekend's tailgate:

Do not ask me what they are doing in the last picture...Brett was again stingy with his story telling. :p

100 Days To Go!!!

They say the average pregnancy is between 266 and 280 days. As of today, we have 100 days left until our original due date of December 28, 2007. The doctor advises that very rarely are due dates actually met. But nonetheless, a milestone is reached. whoo hoo! It really does seem as if these past few weeks have flown by. I still remember eagerly awaiting the first doctor's appointment, then the next to hear the heartbeat, then the sonogram, then to feel the kicks. I cannot say that I am eagerly awaiting labor and delivery though- lol!

Serenity Now!
Brett recently made me pose for this picture that he thinks is so funny. The buddah belly is in full effect.

One in the oven...a little Hokie bird that is!

*Daddy Post*

Most kids wait until they are juniors or seniors in high school before they begin touring college campuses. Not Ziggy, he had his first VT campus tour this weekend - in utero!



The "tour" began with the longstanding Hokie tradition of pre-game tailgating. Thanks to mommy, he had some good eats and some exercise – VT bean bag tossin’ style. Afterwards the Luhring family (and friends) packed up and headed over to Lane Stadium. At the game, we took in some sun (a little too much) and some football (Hokies beat Ohio 28 – 7).

Following the game, Ziggy's tour of the beautiful VT campus was documented.

First stop: the Drill Field. The same Drill Field daddy walked across some 13 years ago with his dad. Next stop was the 4/16 memorial in front of Burruss Hall, where Ziggy got his first dose of what it really means to be a Hokie. The scene there was very moving. Ziggy continued his campus tour by taking a quiet stroll past the Duck Pond.

All that walking got the little guy hungry…so it was off to the next Hokie tailgating tradition – dinner at Hooters! What better way to top off the day!? Thanks to mommy, he got some more calcium in the form of grilled cheese…it'll be a couple of years before he can eat the hot wings like daddy. ;-)

What a great weekend! No pressure little guy, but for the next few decades, you'll have many more VT campus visits...after that, Mommy and Daddy will visit you at college in Blacksburg! Daddy can't wait to see how the Hokies are doing in 2025!

Growing a tax write-off

I love the IRS! huh, what? :) The IRS is my government client. I usually go to their Maryland facility about once a week. Last week, for the first time, someone I didn't know commented on the baby. I noted it as my first "stranger comment" and it was awesome! One of the security guards said, "How is your baby?" to me and at first I thought I heard her wrong. But then she smiled and looked at my belly and I said, "Oh! Thank you so much for asking!!! The baby is doing just fine!"

Then today one of the woman I see from time to time in the office (but who is not our client and I don't work with) saw me and noticed my belly and said, "Oh my! How exciting! Is this your first?" Then she launched in to a bunch of questions. It was so fun! IRS employees in particular find Brett's "tax deduction" comments thoroughly amusing. When people ask when the baby is due, and I respond December 28, they usually say, "A Christmas baby! Or maybe New Year's baby!" and I tell them how babydaddy has said, "We gotta get this kid out this year to take full advantage of the tax deduction! If Dick Clark comes on, we're going to the hospital to induce!!!"
Yes Ziggy, your daddy is funny...almost as funny as he is budget conscious! :p

Labor Day Weekend

On Friday night, I saw the baby move for the first time...VERY funny! At home with only the dogs, I laughed out loud for a good 15 minutes. I was sitting there and could feel him moving and happened to look down. My whole belly had these tiny little shakes in response to his kicks (or elbows or punches...who knows for sure?). I was cracking up! I emailed Brett to tell him we had a new trick to show him when he got home. (He was in Blacksburg living it up like a college kid in anticipation of the 2007 Hokie football season opener the following day.)

On Saturday, I watched an emotional ESPN College Gameday. It was definitely not just the hormones, the show was well done with many clips of "We are Virginia Tech" and stories remembering the victims and attempting to ramp up the 2007 season. Following the game and on Sunday too, I mistakenly watched many "Labor Day baby specials," telling the labor and delivery stories of various women, on tv. What was I thinking?! eeesh! Sometimes ignorance really is bliss!

On Monday, Brett and I attempted to register @ Babies R Us (BRU). I say "attempted" b/c it's harder than it sounds. When we registered for our wedding, we gleefully went around beeping fun stuff with the scanner gun while a nice guy from Bed, Bath, and Beyond walked us through the store telling us all the cool gadgets that we might want for our house and for married life. We were all alone in BRU and probably couldn't have looked like two more clueless fools. Sure, we were armed with the BRU checklist and the Baby Bargains book, but still we had no idea what was going on or what we would need. Heck, Brett didn't know what most of the stuff was for!

There were a few times when I was literally doubled over in laughter though. When we saw the "snuzzler" designed for baby head and body support, Brett says, "Oh damn! Look at that thing...we're getting it and I'm using it! That thing looks so comfortable! I want it!" Then we saw a sort of pad that you could put underneath the baby in the carseat and right on the packaging it said that it was for "diaper blowouts." Brett lost it! He said, "This thing is just cool b/c it says 'diaper blowouts' right on the packaging!" We got a good laugh at that...indeed, we are mature enough to be parents!

Bending it like Beckham

Be careful what you wish for! A few weeks ago I was having many pleading conversations with our growing little boy asking for him to give me a sign that all was well and to let me feel him move. I was worried b/c I didn't think I was feeling any movement and knew that around that time I should have been. I determined that one of two things was going on-
#1 I have another disobedient little boy
(in addition to Romey Domey Duper Dog) or
#2 I was a clueless mom

Yup! Turns out I'm a clueless mom (but I'm letting myself slide and utilizing the "I'm a first-timer" defense). Ziggy is proving to be a very obedient little one and now that I recognize what it is, I've felt lots of regular movement. As we were driving home from work today, he must been in a weird position, b/c I could really feel him and it was making me LOL. It really tickled. I had to say, "Hey buddy, what's going on in there? Can you slow it down a bit so that we can safely drive home?"

***

This past weekend Brett was able to feel slight movement. We were relaxing on Friday night and I said, "Okay, Ziggy's pretty active now and you may be able to feel this." So we laid together quietly and Brett felt a little kick. His face was so awesome! It is a beautiful mental picture very similar to the one I have captured in my brain from when he read the pregnancy test for the first time. Boy, this is fun!!!

Take me out to the ballgame

We celebrated my 31st birthday @ Camden Yards. Kristine had her company's awesome seats (4 rows behind the visiting team's dugout) and invited us to the Orioles vs. Twins game. The O's lost, but we did get to see two home runs and a broken bat. We documented the event as Ziggy's first sports outing. Here's a picture of our "growing family" at the game. Brett notes that there's only a couple weeks left until the truly important sports events (Hokie football games) begin. It is yet to be determined if Ziggy will be attending a Hokie game in utero or not...it depends on how we feel I guess.

Redneck shower

Happy Birthday Brett! Guess what he got for his 31st birthday? A hot water heater. Dude, are we old or what? lol! Nah, we're not old; but we are homeowners! Our hot water heater went ka-put today. This morning after taking a lukewarm shower that was ice cold by the end, I suspected something was wrong. :( We've purchased a new hot water heater and the installers should be here tomorrow. However tonight Brett decided he needed to take a shower. He says, "No big deal...it's like 70 degrees outside. I'll just shower with the hose...it'll still be warmer than inside." I don't think I have laughed this hard in a while. Out the front door he goes wearing his bathing suit and carrying shampoo, soap, and a towel. He turns off the porch light "for privacy" he says. LOL! We both were hysterical laughing as I took pictures documenting his redneck shower.

Lather and Rinse

Brett's real 31st birthday present was a pair of Heely's...you know, the shoes that you can skate on? The ones that 10 year old kids go whizzing by you in the mall with? Yeah, those. Brett used to look at those kids and say, "They should make those for adults." Imagine how thrilled I was the day I learned they DO make adult sized ones! With just a little practice, Brett got the hang of them pretty quickly. We were laughing thinking that one day we may get a pair of these for Ziggy. Brett goes, "Yeah, I'll be telling him about the pair I had and he'll say...cool, you had Heely's when you were little Dad? and I'll say, No son, I got them for my 31st birthday."

Surprise! and A View From The Top

We were in Denver from August 8-12 for the annual Voth Family Reunion. It was also our in-person opportunity to inform Rich and Sherry that they were going to be grandparents. It was a neat surprise. Originally we had planned to let my protruding belly and a special maternity top speak for themselves to inform the grandparents-to-be. However, we altered our announcement plans b/c Brett's parents picked us up via airport drive-by as opposed to their usual meeting us in the main terminal and waiting with us at baggage claim. So I wore a larger shirt to not spoil the surprise.

We went to lunch and when we were seated, I went to the bathroom and removed the larger shirt to reveal my "Pregnant (not fat)" tank top. I sat down across from them and said, "With all this food, it's as if you guys are eating for two...when in fact only I AM!" It took a brief moment of processing what I said and reading my shirt for them to react. But indeed they, like my parents, are super excited to become grandparents.

While we were in Colorado, we visited Mount Evans and drove the winding road to the summit (14,264 feet up). We, of course, documented the visit, but truth be told, Ziggy did not like it too much and let me know it by making me nauseous. Also, despite the fact that it was 80 degrees at the bottom of the mountain, it was in the 50's and SNOWING at the summit! brrr! We took a quick photo to document the moment, but I told Ziggy that if he wanted to return some day, it'd be with his Daddy and Grandpa b/c Sherry and I had had our fill of mountain peaks, despite the (literally) breathtaking views. :)

oh boy

Yup, it's a BOY! At our appointment today, the ultrasound tech confirmed that all organs are functioning well and that we are expecting a son! Thanks to Harshna for lending me her maternity clothes, one of which is this fun shirt. :)

Baby's First Photos

Weighing 13 ounces and being 19 weeks old in utero, he's not quite ready for his close-up yet. :) But Papa Rich (aka Grandpa Luhring) did scan some of our ultrasound pictures and sent them to us. We've posted them if you're interested...but really it's mostly parents and grandparents who like to view these. The profile ones are cool. I think they are kind of like those pictures that you stare at and then you finally see something. :) Once you know what you're looking at in an ultrasound picture, they're kind of cute. Enjoy!

Pop! goes the weasel

Okay, I think I've "popped," as they say. Depending on what I'm wearing, I think now you can tell there's a baby in there, and that I haven't just let myself go. ;) We've been taking weekly pictures for our Belly Book. But here's one taken @ 17 weeks, 3 days in an outfit that made Brett comment, "wow. You look pregnant." when he first saw me.

Stay tuned for the bump watch...

The Big US

That's what it's called online...the Big US is the Big ultrasound (or sonogram). This special appointment is designed for a professional to analyze the baby's organ development, but the big bonus is they can also usually tell you the baby's gender. I am SO excited!!! Being the planner that I am, I prefer to know ahead of time. Brett said he could "go either way" re: finding out the gender. Well good...b/c we're going my way (lol!) and finding out!

Today I scheduled our Big US for August 7. whoo hoo! I can't wait!!! We've starting the name game conversation (and already have disagreement- ha ha!). However, we're thinking we will not be publicizing our choices. Many of our friends who are either pregnant or already parents, have advised us not to share our name considerations. Apparently people have many opinions about names...and willingly share their thoughts, whether they like your choice or not. We'll see...

16 weeks

Had another doctor's appointment today. I Love going to the doctor! It's not as if the appointments are super exciting or anything...they are a total of about 7 minutes long and include peeing in a cup, having my blood pressure taken, and hearing the heartbeat. That is my favorite part and why I love going to the doctor! At this point, I have not been able to feel the baby move, so my only true indication that all is well is to hear that "whowh whowh whowh" sound of the doppler indicating detection of Ziggy's heartbeat. It's Awesome!!! (btw, we've been calling the little bean Ziggy b/c at one time I said to Brett, "Do not stress me out! I could be growing a zygote right now!" Although this is just a fleeting stage in gestational development, the term stuck with Brett and he began calling the baby Ziggy.) :)

Hearing the heartbeat

Brett said that it really felt "real" to him at our first prenatal appointment when he saw the baby and the heartbeat. But it has been 4 weeks since then and Brett admits that he needs a constant reminder that we're having a baby to realize it. He said, "we need one of those ultrasound machines at home." Okay, Tom Cruise! But honestly, I know how he feels. We haven't really told anyone and are so cautious because we feel as if it's not really real yet.

You'd think with my nausea, constant fatigue, and hunger that it would be more real to me. But even as my pants are snug, I am thinking it's just bloat and water weight. However, today we heard the heartbeat. It sounded just like it does on tv! :) A very fast, fluid surrounding sound. The doctor reported that it was in the 160's and sounded very good. That was about it...a really quick appointment, but an amazing moment nonetheless!

Bring on the second trimester...and the increased energy, and the decreased nausea, and the "fun" part of pregnancy...

Happy Father's Day

We went to Florida to visit my parents this weekend and this is how we told them they were going to grandparents...and this time to a baby without fur! :) Meemaw (Grandma Kirk) got it right away...but I think Meepaw thought we were getting a new puppy.
Happy Father's Day...just think, this will have a whole new meaning to Brett next year!

Mommy-Mobile

As we are looking ahead to our future family needs, we noted that we really need a new car...so we got a mini-van. Just kidding! Seriously, we have been missing the Jeep since it got totalled almost 2 years ago. We've been putting Sandy in the trunk of the Lexus when we need to take her places. She looks so cute with her little head peeking through the ski-pass-thru. She seems to like it...I mean, it's just like a bed back there. But we know she misses sticking her head out the window and feeling the wind.

Anyway, so Brett had been saying, "Okay, well when we get pregnant, we'll get a new car." Jeesh! Is that what it takes around here to step up your wheels? I mean really...all Brett had to do to get a new car was to get hit by some dude who didn't stop at an intersection and total his Jeep. Man, and I have to be breeding before I can get rid of my Tiburon?! That's rough!

We began looking in May and on Memorial Day weekend were really just continuing our research. But lo and behold, those "Memorial Day sales gimmicks" were just too irresistible. We wound of getting a great deal on a Pontiac Torrent and now have a new Mommy-Mobile.

Jumping Jelly Belly Bean

We had our first prenatal appointment today. It was funny and exciting. First we go to check in and the receptionist is explaining our healthcare costs. She says, "You'll owe $260 today." (meaning that was the co-pay for all of our prenatal care) Brett exclaims, "Whoa! How many visits will we have?!" She replies, "about 20" and Brett says, "That's expensive!" She is now laughing and says, "Today's charge covers it all." Brett says, "Oh, that's not bad then...I thought you were going to say you were going to charge us that much each time we came here. I was thinking, 'man, kids really are expensive!' " Both the patient in the waiting room and the receptionist were thoroughly amused at the new expectant dad. :)

We had our first ultrasound and saw this little tiny bean having a good ole' time, bouncing around it's new little home. The doctor says, "See that little guy jumping around? That's your baby. See that flicker of light? That's the heartbeat." What an amazing sight!!!

I sat there grinning like a fool the whole time. In fact, the doctor said, "You look so happy...like you are just going to pop!" Brett and I were both so stunned, we didn't ask a single question- not even "when are we due?"

The "BFP"

Online it's referred to as the "BFP" the Big Fat Positive...

April 17: I couldn't wait and took a pregnancy test, even though it was super early. When the faint line indicating "positive" appeared, I thought I must be imagining it because I wanted so much for it to be true. So I threw it away and didn't say anything to Brett. However, the whole day I kept thinking, "could I be???"

April 18: I took another test in the morning and again saw a faint line. Hmm...but again, I just tossed it and went to work. When I got home I decided to take another because I had to discuss this with Brett. I saw another faint line and then decided to take a digital test. I was shaking when I took the first test and all it said was "Error!" DOH! I tested with a second digital and it said "Pregnant" almost immediately. I was So excited! I ran downstairs and carefully wrapped the stick (which was covered and clean!) and told Brett I had a present for him. He's used to me doing silly things like that so I think he was expecting another candy bar or car wash mitt like I had given him the previous week. He opened the box, looked at the stick and said, "REALLY?" with this awesome smile on his face.

It still hadn't quite sunk in, so I went on to take another 6 tests...one each day; a total of 10. I'd leave them on the sink each morning for Brett and we watched as each day it seemed the line got darker. Brett said, "Yup, I think you're getting more pregnant by the day!" :p