20 Weeks...Halfway There

We are officially halfway through this pregnancy.  In about 20 more weeks we will be meeting our new bundle of joy.  I feel Baby Lude every day, but we have a lot of growing to do!

Joe was on call for Labor Day weekend, so I decided to load the dogs up to visit my family in Elyria for a couple days.  My first visit while in the area was to see Ashley and Charles so I could meet baby Madeline!  The visit was short and sweet as we all were very busy, but I am so happy I had a chance to see the new parents and get in my baby snuggles!

Madeline is so cute and tiny!

My family had not seen me in person since the country concert, and Baby Lude has made much more of an appearance in my belly since then.  My Mom's reaction was by far my favorite, somewhere along the lines of "Look at you!!!"  I guess seeing me in person is a little more exciting than in pictures.  It was great to catch up with everyone and just spend some time relaxing.  And of course the dogs always love staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I hope our baby doesn't try to break the rules as much as our dogs do!

Grandma and Grandpa have the best backyard to run around in, with a great view from the deck!

They have lots of wildlife for the dogs to get excited about!  (Including squirrels that come right up to the sliding glass door knocking and looking for peanuts).

Jaden loves hanging out with Buddy and Izzy.

Buddy looking a lil guilty (or maybe just sleepy?) when Mom caught him on the bed.  I guess someone thinks rules are different at Grandma's house?!

Jeff surprised us with an awesome buckeye football helmet he had made!  We are so excited to display our helmet outside during our first football season back in Columbus.  And it's even two of a kind ;)

GO BUCKS!!!!

On Labor Day my sisters, brother-in-laws, niece, and nephews were all coming over to my parents house for a cookout.  But sometimes life throws you a curve ball.  Around 1:30 on Labor Day, Joe called with devastating news.  His father had passed away suddenly at home from a heart attack.  Joe was at work covering a liver transplant when he received the phone call from his brother Justin.  Our boss, Jim, is absolutely amazing and got there to relieve Joe as soon as he could so he could get home.  My Mom helped me gather my things/dogs so I could get down to Columbus to meet Joe.  We got to his Mom's house that evening around 9. 

Joe's brother and his wife (Jeremy and Nikki) always go above and beyond to help us out.  Nikki's Mom, Chris, took their dogs so we could take over their home for the week with Buddy and Izzy.  We had no time to figure out what to do with them and are so grateful for their help making what was such a stressful week a little bit easier.  We got to spend a lot of extra time with our niece, Greer.  She is adorable and we are even more excited Baby Lude will have a cousin so close in age.  Buddy and Izzy also got lots of quality time with a baby around and handled it surprisingly well.  Buddy is gentle as can be.  Izzy contained her excitement (and licking!) more as the week went on. Izzy especially loved when Greer "growled"  at her, wish we could have gotten it on video!

Greer matches Uncle Joe's beer!  And look at that hair...Greer's, not Uncle Joe's ;)

Gabe loves his furry cousins!

My growing bump has Grandma Lude very excited and she couldn't resist giving us a lil gift this week. I can't count how many times she reminded me she thought my bump had gotten bigger just this week :)

Tragedy brings family together, and we are very grateful for the extra time we were able to spend with family this week. Our week was spent mourning, and more importantly celebrating Art's life amongst family and friends.

Joe and Derek

Sibling Pact. Josh, Justin, Jeremy, Sarah, and Joe.

Mom and kids.

All the grandbabies.  (Decided shoving my belly in the pic just wouldn't have been very cute!)

Lude Family.

Joe and I have been so touched by the outpouring of support from our family and friends during this difficult time, y'all are amazing.   We are sad Papa Lude will never have the chance to meet Baby Lude.  We will cherish the fact that he was the first one we were able to share the news with on his 65th birthday (and thank goodness because he had been reminding us since our wedding day that he "wasn't getting any younger" and needed more grandbabies).  We are also thankful for all the extra time we have spent with him and memories made since moving back to Columbus in January.

Joe posted a tribute on facebook.  It pulls at my heart strings knowing Joe is going to be such a good Daddy, just like the one that raised him.

"Excellent service today for my Dad. He was a kind, loving, goofy, gifted, hard-working, supportive, encouraging, selfless, carefree, laid-back family man. He was a devoted son, brother, uncle, nephew, father, grandfather, husband, friend, perfectionist, musician, cyclist, welder, seaman, runner, biker, dreamer and artist, among others.
He has been an inspiration throughout my life. He consistently demonstrated how to respect his wife and how to be a loving father. He loved animals, especially dogs. He taught me to never be cruel to other living things. He advocated moderation and the "pay now, play later" philosophy.

In recent years, I have enjoyed bonding with my Dad over delicious, sometimes exotic beers (especially IPAs). I'm really going to miss that. It makes me emotional to think he won't be around to meet my unborn child, but I am happy that we surprised him with our news on his 65th birthday. Over the years, he made me shake my head with countless silly jokes and ideas (many of which he saw to completion). I chalked it up to his getting old and crazy. Now I realize how young he actually was.
Our tears won't soon dry, but neither will our smiles soon fade. Although we wish we had decades more together, we're thankful for the time we had. Our hearts are broken with yours.
I'll miss you, Pops. What kind of beer do they have on tap up there?"

Art Lude....DAD....we love you.

Baby is the Size of a Banana

New for baby this week? Measuring 6.5 inches from head to rump and 10 inches from head to toe (which is the way baby will be measured from now on since he/she is stretched out enough), Weighs 10 oz., gulping down amniotic fluid, producing meconium (their first poop...and so it begins!)
Maternity clothes? All dresses and maternity pants these days.  This has been my most noticeable week in terms of "big changes" in my belly.  All the family even noticed it popping out more throughout the week.
Sleep? Not good.  Hoping a lot of that is due to stress.  Mama wants a few more months of good sleep!
Best moment this week? Time with family.
Movement? I feel a lil something pretty much every day now.  Last Friday was the most movement I have felt at one time.  Baby Lude might have been having a lil dance party.
Food cravings?  Fried chicken was pretty good this week.
Gender? Jeremy has reconfirmed his guess of girl after seeing me in person. Renee-boy. Jaden-girl. Gabe-girl. Aunt Mel-girl, Carol Frye-boy.  Keep the guesses coming...we love it!
Happy or Moody most of the time?  This week has been rough on a pregnant girl's hormones/emotions.  Very moody.
Looking forward to? Babies first OSU football game.  Anatomy ultrasound.