So… this morning was one of the greatest moments I’ve ever had. Seeing this greyish-blob on the screen suddenly made everything seem real.

We had a checkup at the doctor today. Everything looks good with Mallory and the baby, which I am calling “the fetus” until we find out if it is a boy or girl.

I know it’s hard to see what’s going on in the photo above, but I bet trying to take a picture of something just a little bigger than a LEGO mini-figure through a woman’s innards is a bit harder than it looks. I have some of the latest photo editing equipment and software, but I can’t find the “Remove womb gunk” filter to try to make the photo any sharper. Sorry, that’s the best it’s going to get for now.

Mallory is in her 13th week, so the due date is still set for July 11.

We went browsing for baby things over the weekend… strollers and car-seats are so much cooler than what I remember me and my little sisters being pushed around in. Some of these things have better tires and upholstery than my car… pretty crazy.

Here are the other four photos from the ultrasound, pay no attention to the last one… it’s kind of scary looking. It’s reminds me of those 3D puzzles where you have to focus a few inches behind it to actually see what is going on. At first it looked like some kind of stunt double from Star Trek or something… but the more I look at it the more I see the Grateful Dead logo.

Mal and I went to my cousin Katie’s wedding Wednesday night. It was nice to see family that we hadn’t seen for a while.

We were curious to see what a wedding at First Assembly would look like. It’s not a very “churchy” building, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was impressed with how the lights and candles helped make the room feel smaller and more intimate.

I’m still not sure how I went 27 years without having to go to a wedding in the church my entire family has been raised in…Oh well.

Congrats to Katie and Micheal, we wish you guys the best.

See what I did there? Trip? Am I just talking about the drive with Mal’s family to visit family in Anderson, Ind., Saturday morning or about Kevin’s little mishap with his son’s Ripstick?

Probably both… I hope he didn’t hurt himself too bad because his aerial acrobatics were pretty funny to watch.

We had a good time with everyone up there. We had lots of good food, fun stories and a few games.

I’ll update with some more pictures later today… our power has gone out three times while trying to post this little blurb, so I’m going to sleep for a few hours and then try again in the morning.

Mal and I were able to watch Aaron walk down the aisle with his wife, Mallory, at the Philo Presbyterian Church and dance the night away at their reception in Champaign Friday night.

I had to work all day before heading to the church for the ceremony and took the opportunity to be a spectator instead of photographer, so I didn’t shoot much. I regret not bringing a flash in with me, since the wedding was a candlelight service and the reception was pretty dark. My camera does pretty well in low light, but I’m not thrilled with anything that I got from the night. Luckily, Danny was the official photographer, so I’m sure things turned out great.

It was a wonderful wedding and I’m glad we were able to be there… best wishes to them as they start their new life together.

Mallory, Max, Oscar and I (and our little bun-in-the-oven) wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

We had a lovely evening at my parents’ house in Rossville last night. I made a stupid mistake and grabbed the wrong bag of presents to take and didn’t realize it until we went to open gifts after dinner. Thankfully Mal’s parents saved my butt and met me halfway with the right bag for my family.

Mal and I had our Christmas Sunday afternoon because it was the only time we could both be home and awake at the same time. It is fun starting our own little traditions and thinking about what things will be like with our own kid to spoil next year.

We got presents for the pets… Oscar devoured his treats and loved his new toy. Max seemed more interested in cardboard boxes and tissue paper than his new toy. Oh well… he plays with the toy now that the boxes are gone.

Our tree turned out pretty well. Max didn’t mess with it too much, although Mallory swears he tries to eat it when I’m not home. Compared to stories of my sister, Kayla’s, cat climbing to the top of their tree I think I can live with a few chewed-on branches.

We are spending time with Mal’s family at her parents’ house in Fithian today. We’re going to have three dogs roaming around the house pretty soon, so it should be interesting.

I’ll have some photos to share soon, especially of my sister, Meagan’s, little adorable dog. It’s freaking cute…. like almost as cute as me.

I hope everyone gets what they asked for and gets plenty of family time in this week. Happy Holidays!

We got Oscar a Santa hat to wear… he didn’t seem to like having his picture taken with it. He spent most of the 36 seconds we had it on his head trying to eat the white ball off the end.

Normally I feel the same way about the holidays. I’m not sure what is different this year (baby, house, pain pills, etc.) but I am actually getting into the holiday spirit.

I’m hoping to update a bit more later tonight after we have Christmas Eve stuff at my parents’ house in Rossville. I just thought I’d take a few seconds to share one of my favorite photos of Oscar in the few seconds of internet availability at work.

Max is finally starting to realize that the dog is going to be around for a while… the past few days he has been a little more friendly and is now comfortable enough to lay down and nap with Oscar.

I think it’s pretty cute…

I’m not looking forward to the cat’s reaction when we bring a baby home this summer. Don’t worry… it will be our baby, not some random baby that we steal from the nursery while no one is looking.

We’ve been holding onto a secret for the past few weeks… Looks like we’re going to be turning the guest room into a nursery.

Sorry for the bad photo of the home pregnancy test, but I can’t make myself motivated to shoot a plastic stick that Mallory peed on last month. I’ve ben holding onto it so I could take a picture for this update to the blog, but apparently the colors start to fade after a while. The blue plus sign was much more prominent when she took the test.

Oh well… none of that really matters.

The doctors have put the due date as July 11… 7-11 should be pretty easy to remember.

Hopefully I can convince Mal to write some updates about baby news… I feel weird talking about ovaries and placentas and fetus development. Heck, I never took sex ed in school, so for all I know a stork brings a baby in a basket when God decides that two people love each other enough to have a baby.

I was going to write about how Mal gets to do all the easy stuff… rest/relaxation, wearing comfortable stretchy clothes, extra eating, etc. I honestly can’t even joke around about that though… I have absolutely no idea what she is going through.

Hopefully I can be around to help her with whatever she needs. Taco Bell run? Check. Pickles and ice cream? You got it. Being married to a ridiculously-good looking guy? Done.

We’ll post more news here on the blog as things progress…

A sticker on my McDonald’s cup says that all of their sandwiches have 100% pure beef… Sounds like a good thing, but I thought I ordered the fish fillet?

Oscar is starting to become more and more comfortable around the house. I think we’ve gone a week without him peeing on something… he’s eating more regularly… playing more and acting less needy.

He still can’t seem to figure out the remote control, though. I’m guessing that will take some time. A few more weeks of Mallory’s “Sex and the City” reruns on top of her latest batch of “Full House” and “Roseanne” should be the motivating force.

We are bringing him with us today for Thanksgiving at Grandma Jerrie’s and to dinner at my mom’s house. Lunch should be OK, dinner will be interesting with mom’s cats.

Speaking of cats… Max has been the exact opposite this week, he’s peed on a few things… has decided that the flowers on the kitchen table are a treat for him to eat and has been 10x more obnoxious than usual. I’m no animal psychologist, but I thought he’d do stuff like this a couple months ago when we first got the dog.