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!