No Place Like Nebraska

We made a quick trip home for the weekend of August 14th to witness the marriage of our friends Nick & Kara Markin. Joe had the chance to spend some much appreciated father-son time with his dad during the week before I arrived. We have been blessed with amazing friends and family and it was great to return to the Huskerland even if it was a short, busy visit. I was so lucky to have such a great crew in medical school and I miss you guys dearly! Thanks for an awesome weekend together and for hosting us Brent & Lois :) Here are some photos of us at Nick's wedding.(27 weeks)

Weekend in Chicago

We spent the weekend of August 8 in Chicago helping to celebrate the marriage of our good friends John & Nikki Scully! It was great to see and catch up with so many of Joe's friends from Notre Dame. Here are a few pics of us at 26 weeks at the wedding. Joe does a great job as the supportive husband. We spent part of Saturday out shopping on Michigan Avenue before the wedding and catching up with friends. We were looking for some XL attire for my friend Nick's wedding the following weekend. Joe picked out this cute blue dress and wanted me to buy it. My response was.. "I'm not sure I like that style because it will make me look huge." His reply, of course, was "Tiffany, let's be honest." (Clarification... I don't just look huge, I AM huge... ha, ha, ha! I died laughing at that comment.)

Baby Loft!

Joe's brother Dana was out to visit this weekend and he helped us start working on the "baby loft." Parenthood became a whole new form of reality seeing a crib in our house! Here is the beginning of what we are putting together to prep for the little one. It took all the will power I had not to go buy every jungle stuffed animal I could find to decorate! I have been spending WAY too much time at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby these days. It is very evident to Rockni that something is going on. She has always been cuddly but now INSISTS on sitting IN my lap all of the time. I'm convinced she either knows exactly what's going on or thinks I have a tumor and am going to die. She was very amped up while Joe and Dana were putting together the crib. Then out of no where she escaped to the guest room with a pouty face. I picture her thinking, "I've seen the Lady and the Tramp and this does not look good."

Growing, growing, growing...

Here we are at a Nats vs. Cubs game to celebrate Mike & Roberta moving to D.C. (24 weeks).We stopped by to see Joe's cousin, Kim & family that evening and she is at 35 weeks before delivering little Ethan :) I also got the chance to attend my friend Amy's shower this past week in Charlottesville. She is 35 weeks and I am just rounding the corner to week 25.

Bump Watch

I know many of you won't get to see much of my growing belly so here are a few shots at 22 and 24 weeks. I'm sure they'll be limited so enjoy them while they last...

18 Week Ultrasound

How amazing to see your little one squirming around in there! Joe and I got to watch a super detailed ultrasound of "junior" for almost an hour at Bethesda Naval Hospital at 18 weeks. We've both seen many ultrasounds during our training but it is COMPLETELY different when that little baby is yours. We decided to wait to find out the gender so we can be surprised at the delivery. Any guesses?

Family in D.C.

After breaking the news to mom, my brothers Tyler and Todd flew in and we spent the weekend perusing D.C.

Telling the Family...

It was loads of fun sharing the news with our friends and family. Joe broke the news to his dad by asking "Dad, I have kind of a personal question. How do you tell your wife she's starting to get fat?" Of course Leigh never skips a beat and his response was "That's FANTASTIC! When does he arrive?" Tyler's response to me warning he was going to be an uncle was, "Nuh-uh... Tori's pregnant?!?!" It was fun to tell all of the family and hear how excited they were. Of course it was extra special to get to break the news in person to Jennifer, Brian, the girls, Dana, and Michele in Hawaii and my mom the week we returned. We gave my mom a 12 week ultrasound photo in a frame for her Mother's Day Gift. It took her a while to decipher the unrecognizable image but she was pretty ecstatic.
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The Big News

Joe and I found out we were expecting after many telling signs the night before we left for a weekend in New York City together. It only took me 20 minutes to wake him up from his nap to tell him. We spent the weekend getting used to the idea of being parents and swapped wine glasses nonchalantly while hanging out with Dana and Chris so as not to let on to our secret.

We are FAM-I-LY...

Here is the crew. An old photo, but a favorite nonetheless. Hopefully our little junior will be learning the ropes of the world from the many fun and interesting aunts and uncles, grandparents, and big cousins Kennedy and Ashtyn. From left to right: Uncle Todd, Aunt Tori, Uncle Tyler, Great Grandma Gladys, Grandpa Ron, Grandma Becky,Tiffany and Joe, Grandpa Leigh, Aunt Jessica, Aunt Annie, Uncle Thom, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Brian, Aunt Michele, Uncle Dana, cousins Kennedy and Ashtyn.