...and he's off!

This morning at 5am, Aaron started his journey to Royals Fantasy Camp in Surprise, Arizona. For those of you who don't know about it, this is Aaron's 30th birthday present from me.

Two summers ago, he asked "Honey, if we ever win the lottery, can I go to Fantasy Camp?" so I started saving...it took me a year...but in my mind, this is such a small price to pay to make his dreams come true!

He will be at the Royals' training facility until Saturday and will be treated just like a Royal all week, including his own authentic uniforms, baseball cards, locker, etc. Additionally, he will be playing alongside and be coached by former Royals players!

Fast forward to this morning: Aaron couldn't sleep last night but got out of bed with a shot at 4:30am. After a stop at QuikTrip for donuts and Gatorade (breakfast of champions), we sped through the fog like there was no tomorrow. Aaron was so excited to get into the terminal building that he forgot whether we should go up or down on the elevator...so we went both ways!

At the airport we saw George Brett, Fred White, Joe Randa, Al Fitzmorris, and more. I asked Aaron if he was starstruck and he said "Yep, a little bit!"

His flight left at 6:30 and he landed around 9am Arizona time. At the baggage carousel, he ran into former Royal John Mayberry, whom he had met at his orientation. Immediately, John said "Hey, big hitter!" Aaron said "You haven't seen me play yet..." and John Mayberry replied, "No, but I have heard about YOU!"

This is going to be an awesome week! Aaron is going to call me with recaps every night and I'll be sure to post to the blog about everything. When he gets back Saturday night, we'll post the pictures he took!

Happy Monday:)

A letter from the big-sister-to-be

Dear Mother:

Please stop making me pose for ridiculous photographs. I refuse to give in to your silly notions that I have a brother or sister on the way. Don't think for a moment that I won't welcome it into this world by crapping all over the house as soon as you arrive from the hospital.

Sincerely, Agatha Helen

PS - Please serve my salmon warm next time. It tends to lose its flavor when served directly from the refrigerator.

Pictures - at 20 weeks

Here we are, already at the halfway point! In a way, it seems like it's gone really quickly - in another way, it seems like the Nugget will never get here.

This month has given me much more energy! Hallelujah! I still don't have much of an appetite - or any fun cravings to share - but I'm thankful for that. Lord knows I don't need to gain any unnecessary weight. Speaking of, the no-weight-loss-streak is over...I gained one pound this month, LOL! :)

The Nugget is continuing to grow and I am really looking forward to feeling baby movements soon. (The punching that I mentioned yesterday might not be so much fun, but it will still be a blessing!)

Aaron continues to be the most adorable and doting father-to-be. I couldn't ask for a better partner in all of this!

Our love to all of you:)

It's a....

...baby!

(You didn't think we'd break down and find out, did you?)

It was so exciting today seeing the baby in person. Nugget is very active and in great shape. Nugget currently weighs 12 ounces and its head circumference is 13cm. We are in the 58th percentile for growth, and Dr. Heit is very happy with where we are.

If the pictures just look like blobs to you, the top one is a profile shot, the middle one is a frontal view (Nugget is a ham who really likes to look straight into the camera!), and the bottom one is a tiny little foot.
You can click on the picture and it will come up in a larger format.

Nugget evidently has a future career in boxing. Every time we focused on its upper body, Nugget would start PUNCHING at the placenta! Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam...one shot after another. Looks like we have stubborn Ludwig and Pennington genes through and through!

Once you go maternity...

I will preface this post by saying that all of my pre-preggers clothes still fit, but I have just been itching to buy maternity clothes. I know...by the time June rolls around, I'll be tired of them...
Anyway, last week I discovered these maternity jeans (or as Aaron calls them, jeansweats). I now know comfort like never before! Welcome to eating a full meal and not having tight jeans afterward! Welcome to the absence of buttons and zippers! Welcome to heaven!

I may never go back to regular jeans again!!

i *heart* babies r us

Our crib is already here!! I ordered it Sunday night, and it arrived at our store Thursday afternoon!

Our glider & ottoman is on order and I'm calling today to order the dresser. HOORAY!

Get the message across

One of our new favorite hobbies is finding onesies that say funny things. We picked these up at Target and Old Navy...too cute!

Have a great day:)

Please meet the newest member of our family:

Our dear friend Dawn gave this to us this weekend. She is the mom of three sweet children, and this bear has held a special place in their home. Once a month, she took a picture of each child with the bear to gauge their growth - and now we plan on doing the same!

Aaron has named the bear Patrick Ewing, after the former basketball player. We think the bear is about as tall as the real guy! When I drove home with it Saturday night, I got a lot of strange looks!

Thanks to Dawn and her family for this special gift. We can't wait for the Nugget to meet Patrick Ewing!

Crisis Averted

This is the nursery furniture that we've picked out:


Aaron's parents offered (before we were even married, LOL) to buy the crib when we have a baby. I fell in love with this furniture, and as icing on the cake, it is affordable! At our last Babies R Us visit, we were given two 15% off coupons, and we thought they would go to perfect use toward the crib and dresser (which Grammy Ludwig is very generously buying).

Grandma Pennington was going to buy the crib today. She called last night to see if the crib was in stock, or if we would just order it. They politely informed her that OUR.FURNITURE.HAS.BEEN.DISCONTINUED. Not only that, but there are no more cribs in their warehouse or floor models at any of the stores in our area. Can you feel my heart start to race? The pregnancy hormone tears start to fall? Good, we're on the same page.

Immediately, I started searching websites for something similar (and not thousands of dollars). Nothing. NOTHING. It all looked like rickety crap. :(

Enter Miss Heather. We were instant messaging and she started finding other Babies R Us stores such as Omaha, Lincoln, Bentonville, and Wichita. If any of these locations had my furniture, it would be a perfect opportunity to road trip!

Omaha: nothing. Lincoln: nothing. Bentonville: nothing. Wichita: more than 300 in stock.
Hold the phone...more than 300?! And they can transfer it to our Babies R Us within two weeks at no additional cost?! SOLD!

So crisis averted...I can now breathe normally and the Nugget will not be born with high blood pressure:)

Thanks so much to Heather for her resourcefulness...Grandma Pennington for providing a place for the Nugget to sleep...and Grammy Ludwig for providing a changing table/dresser to store all of the sweet clothing we're already receiving!!!

Happy Birthday, Missy Em

Today is our niece Emily's 11th birthday. Happy Birthday, sweetheart! We love you!

(Photo taken Summer 2004)

Yesterday at Kindermusik, Jonathan's mom let me know that he is curious as to whether or not our baby is on its way from the Planet Krypton.

Stranger things have happened...:)

Bippity Boppity Bacon

Is there anything more luscious in this world than bacon?
God bless Jim Gaffigan...he must live inside my brain!

Sixteen Week Update

Here we are, already at 16 weeks! We saw the doctor last week and everything is great. The heart rate was 150 (several of you have been asking, in hopes that you can figure out the sex of the baby!) and Aaron verified with the doctor that there is indeed ONLY. ONE. HEARTBEAT. We hate to disappoint those of you who have been predicting twins or triplets, but it doesn't look like it's happening this time! No weight gain this month, so I'm still 10 pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight.

The Nugget decided to pop out a little bit yesterday and today - I'm so excited! I have been ready to *look* pregnant for a while and am thrilled that it's starting to happen.


Fun this month has been getting rid of the morning (all day, all night) sickness, starting to have more energy, and seeing Aaron talk to the baby often. He is going to be such an amazing dad.

Not so fun stuff this month has been waking up 6-8 times a night - either for bathroom visits or to get a snack, and acne that I haven't had since I was in junior high! LOL! I really can't complain though. This has been a very easy pregnancy so far and we have been so blessed that God has entrusted us with this tiny miracle.

My mom and I went fabric shopping this weekend for bedding. We have a few accessories already (of course Grayson's rocking chair, see previous post, is a focal point), and we're keeping the design a secret...but I do have to say the nursery is going to be gorgeous!! I may cave and give a few sneak peeks here and there:)

That's it for now. I still need to post holiday pictures! Love to all of you:)

Five years ago...

Five years ago tonight, Aaron e-mailed me on match.com for the first time.

Thank you sweetheart, for bringing such joy into my life...and for giving me the honor of having your baby!

{Picture taken February 2003}

Merry Merry

A friend sent this to me today and I loooove it. Hope you do too! Merry Christmas!

Crazy Good

A few weeks ago, one of my Kindermusik families brought an out-of-town guest to class, and as a thank-you brought me these stupid good chocolates:

They were so pretty, I didn't want to eat them! However comma with flavors like strawberry balsamic caramel, rosemary caramel, orange blossom honey, caramel with fleur de sel, raspberry, lavender caramel, Venezuelan dark, Venezuelan spice, and Tahitian Vanilla, I am sooooooooo glad I did! They are by Christopher Elbow, who has a gallery in the crossroads district. I think he and I are going to be very good friends!

Pictures - at ten weeks

Here I am at ten weeks. Still no bump:) I lost ten pounds right at the beginning because I was so sick, and haven't gained anything back yet. I'm not craving much but Aaron is always in the mood for fried chicken!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Tonight we finally took the time to decorate our home for the holidays. I love getting out decorations and ornaments - it's like rediscovering old friends. It was so fun finding things like the "black babies" Chase was so proud to sell as a fundraiser years ago, the stocking that I sewed for Aaron our first Christmas together (and sewed THROUGH my finger with my mom's sewing machine), the stocking I knit for myself two years ago (my nightmarish first attempt at using double-pointed needles), the handpainted-from-the-inside ornaments in velvet boxes that Pasha and Lubov give me each year, the pottery barn star bowl from Heather, all of the jewelry boxes Mom gives Jen, Lenyse, and I every year, the kissing ball that always gives me an extra excuse to give Aaron a smooch as we pass in the hallway...and the list goes on and on.

I hope you enjoy this collection of our holiday memories!

Unbelievably Blessed

There are so many reasons why I feel so very blessed to be able to make a living doing what I love and what I feel I was born to do. Every day, I wonder how I got so lucky and why I deserve such a wonderful life.

Especially days like Wednesday, when Mackenzie and Grayson walked into piano lessons with this:

The card attached reads:

Amy - Congratulations! I am so excited for you. this chair was painted by a friend of mine in New Orleans when I was expecting Grayson. I've given away all of my baby things but just wasn't ready to part with the chair. When I saw the colors in your baby blanket, which you are knitting, I instantly thought of the chair. I'd be honored if you would put it in your baby's room. I couldn't think of a better family to leave it with. You've touched our lives in many ways. Much love, Leslie

Wow. What an amazing gift from an amazing family whom I deeply cherish!

Another funny

At piano lessons tonight:

Miss Amy: Ben and Simon, I'm going to have a baby!

Ben (age 8, with a sad look on his face): Oh. Does that mean we have to miss piano lessons?

How much do I looove that my students are DISAPPOINTED that they will have a break from lessons this summer!?