Mission: Accomplished

In a matter of hours, Brian and I (with the help of our friend) had cleared the spare bedroom of ALL that it held and, in turn, filled it with 3 new pieces of nursery furniture. Despite the need for organizaiton, a fresh coat of paint, and assembling the crib, the room actually "feels" like a nursery. It still boggles me that in just a few short months, we will have a (hopefully) sleeping child in that room. :)

Enjoy the pictures! The first is of Brian and Ryan (our hired help!) posing in front of the rented truck. The next are of Baby Luds' new dresser and armoire. They are beautiful, and the pictures don't do them justice. And the last is of my "Holy Belly Batman!" As you can tell from the photo, I have grown quite the bump. Note the new haircut and highlight! I love it!

Heading into 3rd Trimester...

I cannot believe we are nearing the third trimester...the end is in sight! Not that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed being pregnant and all but come on, it's hard work. You start off feeling crappy, not wanting to eat and end up (where I am now) starving ALL of the time and feeling like a fatty everytime you step foot into the kitchen for just "one more snack." I gave up weighing myself weeks ago, but I know those pounds are piling on! My next appointment isn't until next week, and maybe I will stand backwards on the scale, as to not have any inkling of my weight.
We have some very exciting things happening around here. First up, the progress of Baby Luds' nursery. Brian and I will be packing up the back bedroom and moving it all into storage this weekend with the help of our good friend Muchow. Then, we are off to Babies R Us to pick up the crib set. Although we won't actually be putting his things in their actual place, I think it will make this whole "we're having a baby" thing a little more real. My mom will be spending a few days in Madison in a couple weeks, and we are hoping to clean carpets and repaint. Time is just flying by. Also, up on deck, is my first baby shower. My bestest girlfriends back home are planning a shower for me and Little Luds. It will be great to get together with all my family and friends from back home.
Tomorrow marks the first day of Brian's final year of residency. How exciting for him (and me!) We ventured out downtown this weekend for the senior resident farewell, which turned out to be a great time. Brian planned a bulk of the night's activities and did a wonderful job! It's hard to imagine that next year, he will be the one being honored. We were also able to sneak away for a WHOLE day (those are hard to come by!) and head to Milwaukee for a Brewers game. It was a perfect day, minus the whole being poured on as we were walking out to our cars and the detours on 94 due to WI flooding.
Hope everyone enjoys their week...we will be sure to post again soon. Enjoy the new pics!

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Happy Father's Day!

"You are someone I look up to, no matter how tall I've grown."

Happy Father's Day to our dads, Joe and Ron. Thanks for all you have done for us. You've helped us build the lives we have now. Enjoy your special day! We wish we could be with you to celebrate!

Happy "Father-to-Be" Day to Brian. It's hard to imagine that next Father's Day, we will have a son to celebrate with. Brian is currently working his tail off at the hospital (now physically in the hospital for over 24 hours), but hopefully he will be home at some point today to get some much needed rest and relaxation. It will be a low-key day for us, as Brian will be post-call and I plan to be in bed ALL day resting up for the next 3 night shifts that I so dumbly scheduled myself for. :) Happy Sunday!

~15 more to go~

So I am posting a tad early, but I'm close enough to 25 weeks! Baby Luds is now viable, which means he can live outside of me on his own (well with a "little" bit of help!) He is about the size of an eggplant this week (about 1 1/2 pounds), which just amazes me. He is a very active little man, and operates on my schedule, making him the most active at 9 pm and about 2 am. These times are totally fine with me when I am actually working, but it makes sleep somewhat difficult on my nights off. I saw my OB last week and all is well. I gained a boatload of weight, so much that I wish Baby Luds was about 8 pounds...that would make me feel better! :)

The weather has finally turned gorgeous here in Madison. I love being outside in the sun, but I have a nagging feeling that this summer will be a LONG one! Brian doesn't say a word when he comes home and I have the AC on. Good boy! :) The mugginess is what gets me. I can only imagine what August will be like!

This past weekend, I spent some girl time with Katie, Jen and Brittany. We had a good time, minus the windy beach. But it was nice to catch up and relax. Brittany is also prego, now about 12 weeks. Poor Katie probably heard more than she wanted about being pregnant, getting pregnant, and birth. :) Brian came home from Quebec on Saturday. He enjoyed his conference and even slipped in a little sightseeing.

The remainder of the week will be a busy one, but do not fret, I plan to update again soon. Maybe I will even post a belly pic for all you curious folks out there!

A Future Hawkeye on our Hands

The littlest Ludwig better be a sports fan. Grandma and Grandpa Ludwig came to Madison for a visit this weekend and brought with them an assortment of goodies. Brian was most impressed with the Hawkeye short/t-shirt combo. Brian has also done his fair share of purchasing sports themed items for the boy. Baby Luds has his own Hawk pacifier, blanket, hat, and onesies, not to mention the Badger and Packer gear. Brian and I tease each other that we will probably have the dorkiest kid on the planet. He will have negative interest in organized sports and would rather play chess or a video game. No matter who he grows into, he will be wearing his dad's favorite teams, like it or not.

In other news, I did the Madison Race for the Cure this weekend. It was a beautiful day and thousands of people turned out to support a great cause. A group of girls from work put together a team for one of our coworkers who's currently fighting breast cancer. Brian stole away from work for an hour to do the run, as well. Afterwards, Brian and I treated ourselves to Dairy Queen ice cream!

Brian is headed to Quebec for a leadership conference for the week and I will be heading to Lake Michigan for a girls weekend with Jen, Katie and Brittany. Should be an eventful week! Stay tuned!