Maryland Baby Shower - 2/5/11

It's been way too long since the last post, but it's been a crazy month and a half!  Jeff and I have been busy not only preparing the house for our imminent arrival (only about 6 1/2 weeks to go - yikes!), but also enjoying house guests and baby showers, and spending some quality time together.  Over Martin Luther King weekend, we went down to the Charottesville, VA area and stayed at a lovely B&B for a couple of days.  It was nice to just enjoy each other's company, without the stress of our everyday lives.  And since the B&B didn't have TVs, radios, or computers, we certainly got to spend plenty of time chatting, reading, and relaxing. 

Rachael (Jeff's sister) came to visit us the last weekend of January and she was a HUGE help in painting the nursery and our den/office.  Since paint fumes aren't great for pregnant women and the physical act of painting is a little more difficult at 7 months pregnant, Rachael was a lifesaver.  It would have taken Jeff twice as long to get everything done.  Now the nursery looks great and we only have a few things left to do in there before it's "finished".  Stay tuned for pictures of the nursery to come, once it's REALLY completed.

And now I finally come to the first weekend of February and the real point of this entry- my Maryland baby shower!  It was so amazing.  My mom, sister-in-law Brie, mother-in-law Felicia, and Rachael all came in for the big day, as did my college roommate, Lisa Munger.  In addition to my family, there were women at the shower from all different parts of my life - work, synagogue, our "posse", and even grade school.  The day was unbelievably special and I feel so blessed to have such amazing women in my life.  Our sweet boy is so loved already!  Here are a few of my favorite pics from the day.

Dear friends and hostesses Maureen Turner and Beth Steiner

Shower hostesses Brie Sherwin, Maureen Turner, Beth Steiner, Vanessa Yost, and Mary Mazzuca

Gram/Gigi "holding" her grandson!

Awesome Costco cake!

My amazing sister-in-law Brie and college best friend Lisa Munger

Felicia and Rachael with the fabulous diaper cake they made!

Baby pictures of Jeff and me - with our sweet boy in the middle

Grade school friends Holly Hull and Hope Feldman

Diet Mountain Dew hat and cute bibs from Jen Simon and Erin Sudow

Special friends!

Back home in the nursery with Mr. Octopus

Best family!

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!  :)