Rose Bowl Champs!

While a trip to Pasadena wasn't in the cards this year, we compromised by hosting a game-watching party to see my beloved Frogs (#3 - woot!) take on the Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl.  And take on they did!  The Frogs played a tremendous game, edging out the Badgers 21-19.  It was a proud moment for all Horned Frogs and I was so happy to have our friends celebrating with us.  Even better, Beth and Alex made the trip down from Baltimore with sweet Eli and we all got to enjoy some baby time in between plays.  Here are some fun pics from the night (plus a 26 1/2-week belly pic - Jeff couldn't resist!).

New mommy Beth and baby Eli - 3 1/2 weeks old!

Baby Frog at 26 1/2 weeks

Alex was entranced by the game.  We're not sure about Eli . . .

Skeptical smile aside, Jen Simon thought Eli was pretty darn cute.

Go Frogs!!!

Jeff got in some good baby-holding practice.

Nearly done with the second trimester - about 3 months til go time!

Eyes and Ears and Mouth and Nose

Well, no ears in this picture, but we've got eyes, mouth, and nose covered!  Today we had our fourth (and maybe last) ultrasound and everything with T-Pup looks just about perfect.  Our little guy weighs 1 lb, 10 ounces - in the 47th percentile, which is great.  He's actually measuring a few days ahead of schedule, so Jeff might wind up with his April Fools baby after all!  Stomach, amniotic fluid, kidneys, heart - everything checked out just fine.  My cervix was long and there were no signs of any problems whatsoever, which was a huge relief to Jeff and me. 

Our technician was AWESOME and got this great, 4-D image of T-Pup's face.  He's positioned face up against the placenta, so we think his nose is a little smushed, but it looks like he might have Jeff's mouth!

Babies, Friends, and Kitty

We've been busy since our last post!  Between a weeklong Thanksgiving trip to California, two huge work events for Tara,  a work conference for Jeff, the breakdown of Jeff's car, Jeff's dad's surgery, T-Pup's continued growth, and the birth of three sweet baby boys to good friends, we're just now starting to catch our breath. We're still not quite in the habit of carrying the camera everywhere we go (we'll get better, I promise!), so we don't have pictures of everything, but here are few snapshots of some fun moments in the last few weeks - including one of my growing bump, just for the grandmas.

23 weeks and 1 day

Eli Jonathan Steiner is just four days old!  He already loves Uncle Jeff.

Jeff was a natural holding him!

Sweet kitty Ari P.  Sometimes she's camera-shy . . .
  

Adorable Josie Rafferty, the 3-month-old daughter of my awesome coworker, Lori.

We're not sure how Ari cuddled up underneath the pillow and blanket, but she looked precious.

The bris of Jack Kenneth Spiegel, son to Ryan and Rachael.

The bris of Eli Jonathan Steiner, son of dear friends Beth and Alex Steiner.

Baby Eli liked the wine!

Glowing Mama Beth amd Eli post-bris - they were both champs!

Brunch with my oldest friends, Holly (Hartman) Hull and Hope Feldman.

It's a . . .

BOY!!!  The wait is over!  We found out today, around 2:30 p.m., that we're expecting a precious baby boy.  Although he had his little legs crossed at first, we could see the evidence pretty clearly once he shifted around a little.  The sonogram technician even provided a handy dandy little arrow, just to be sure we wouldn't miss it.

Baby Boy Lang weighed in at 12 ounces (which seems HUGE to Jeff and me!), with a heartbeat of 141 beats per minute.  Everything else checked out fine and now the fun part begins - picking out names and nursery items for our adorable son.  And we do think he's pretty adorable.  Check out this face!

This One's for You, Mom

So, I'm not a huge fan of posting pictures of my growing belly in public arenas, which is why there haven't been a whole lot of pictures on Facebook.  But my mom IS a big fan of seeing her grandchild increase in size, so she asked me if I could take another picture at 17 weeks (which was two weekends ago), in the same outfit as my 13 week photo.  But we took the picture in the morning, before I looked cute with hair and makeup done.  Since I'm a little vain, I had Jeff take another one this past weekend, at 18 weeks and 1 day.  I debated posting on the blog vs. just sending to Mom, but I decided that since this is to be a diary of sorts, even one that I might print out one day, I may as well record in good faith.  So, here they are, the latest pictures of T-Pup and me, obligingly taken by the father-to-be.  Enjoy, Big J!

17 weeks, 1 day - same top, new maternity jeans!

18 weeks, 1 day - Big difference in 1 week!

All-American Weekend - In the Bag!

Late October is always a crazy time of year for me - and subsequently, for Jeff.  For the last five years, the third weekend of the month has marked American University's Alumni Weekend (this year re-named as All-American Weekend).  Which means that from about October 1 - October 24, I not only work until at least 6:30 or 7 every night (plus some weekends) in preparation, but I'm also tired, stressed out, and perhaps more than a little crabby. 

Jeff's always a trooper for putting up with me during this time, and never more so than this year (my 6th Alumni Weekend!), when I was balancing the traditional Alumni Weekend workload with a work trip to Seattle and a growing baby starting to make an appearance by way of too-tight pants.  That's right, the week before All-American Weekend, I woke up on a Wednesday to find that nearly 90% of my pants just wouldn't button without extreme contortions and unsuccessful sucking-in of the baby pooch - which really isn't meant to be sucked in any more! 

As you might expect, this experience with the pants did not go over well with me, and caused even more stress than normally experienced from AAW prep.  My sweet husband definitely received the brunt of my wardrobe frustrations (I'm sorry, babe!!!) and I think we're both happier now that I've added several pairs of comfy, full panel maternity pants to the closet.  Even though these new pants fall down a little because there's not quite enough of a belly to hold them up, they're infinitely better for my comfort and my psyche than the old ones. 

We're also both happy that All-American Weekend is over for yet another year!  Jeff was sweet enough to join me for my big Saturday event, the Alumni Awards Ceremony & Reception (the culmination of nearly 7 months of planning), which was a big hit, and then we headed to the All-American Bash for more schmoozing and cheesecake lollipops (yummy catering is definitely a perk of my job, especially with a baby on the way!).  We even got some photos to remember the night!  T-Pup, take note - it's your mom's last Alumni Weekend before you completely change her world!  :)

Big J Comes to Visit - Part II

Since getting Mom's entire visit into one entry would have made for a VERY long read, I divided it into two.  After the intensity of Thursday and the go-go-go nature of Friday, it was nice to take it a little bit easy Saturday and today.  That's one of the things that I love most about spending time with my mom.  It doesn't matter whether we're running around or just taking it easy, watching TV- it's always quality time.

We took our time getting ready on Saturday and then got ready to go to Great Beginnings, this fantastic baby store in Gaithersburg that has all kinds of furniture, bedding, strollers, high chairs, etc.  You name it, they have it for babies.  Of course, this was all a little overwhelming for me, as I don't do well with that many options.  I nearly had an anxiety attack in the stationary store when attempting to select wedding invitations!  But it was helpful that we were just there to get the lay of the land, not to make any decisions on purchases.  There's a TON out there, but it's nice to know we have such a good store nearby. 

At night, Mom and I watched some old family videos she has recently converted from VHS to DVD.  It's such a blessing to have all of those family memories recorded for posterity.  Some of the things I remember (like our family trip through Zion, Bryce, and Arches National Parks after my summer at the Bolsohi in Vail), but so many things I didn't, like my dad playing with my cousin Paige in our kitchen.  Just truly priceless memories.  It's really amazing to think that Jeff and I are going to be making our own family videos someday soon, and taking family trips like the ones my family used to take.  I can't wait!

Today the three of us went to some open houses in Gaithersburg, just to see what's out there.  We're not quite ready to move yet, but we know we will be in the next two years and it's fun to see what the future could look like!  While Gaithersburg is a little further away from work than we'd like, we think we might get more home for our buck there than we can in Rockville.  Obviously, we'll have to wait and see when the time comes, but we were impressed with the places we saw and excited at the prospect of future house hunting!

Of course, the day was tinged with more than a little sadness for me, as we dropped my mom off at the airport after the open houses.  Every time we leave each other, I feel a bit lost and anxious.  We have six or seven weeks until the next visit at Thanksgiving, and I'm just grateful that October is such a busy month!  Less time to think about missing my best friend.  Until then, I have a few pictures to commemorate the weekend - grandma's first meeting with T-Pup!

13 weeks and 1 day pregnant!

Parents-to-be with baby's first toy

Tara, Grandma, and T-Pup