growing luke

I know I said the next post would be pictures of Luke's nursery.. Well my awesome friend Corine posted pictures on our photography fan page of my belly.. its called growing Luke! She uses me each week to test her lighting before taking formals of bride and groom. Here are some of my favorites:














this last one is so funny! its taken with the fisheye lens! so my belly REALLY looks like a basketball!

fathers day

Sunday we celebrated Fathers day. Every year is special, but this year was extra special because we celebrated Aaron becoming a father in just a few months. I told him I bought him new shoes for fathers day, but really I had something else in mind. I ordered these handmade ties from etsy.com. By thebelleandthebeau. Love that website. The long tie is for Aaron and the small bowtie is for Luke. Photo here:



I can't wait to photograph them both wearing these. They will be so handsome. I love my boys already.

So Luke is kicking a lot more and just the other day.. Monday I think it was, Aaron finally felt Luke kick! It was an incredible moment for both of us. Sometimes Aaron would say he felt him, but I knew it really wasn't him because I didn't feel it on the inside. Maybe he saw the disappointment in my face and wanted to say he felt something.. but the other day we both looked up at each other and smiled. It was a big kick!
This morning Luke woke me up kicking at 8am. Probably because my bladder was so full and he didnt have any room, haha!

Luke's bedroom is coming together and I'm so excited! We decided on an enchanted forest theme. I just love the animals in the bedding, especially the owl. We bought his crib and dresser and painted the walls a pretty green color called summer fields. It took us awhile to decide on the paint, but I think we got it right on. I couldn't be happier with how it's turning out. My mom was nice enough to get us the bedding and my sister is going to paint canvases for the walls. Oh we ordered his name letters online and they are just too cute! Also from etsy.com by CountrysideSayings Letter Block Shop. Here is a picture:



I'll have to take pictures of his room soon. I can't wait to share it! At least what we've done so far. That will be the next post by me.

My last appointment went well. We're both doing fine. Some days my feet are really swollen and my back aches, but other than that I'm doing fine. Just feeling really, really big. I've really been craving Mediterranean food. Luke and I LOVE hummus. I think I've eaten it once or twice a week the last few weeks. Also we've been really enjoying watermelon, shredded wheat cereal, and light minute maid lemonade (not together of course). Oh and chicken salad sandwhiches. My next appointment is in the middle of July and its the glucose test. I have to drink some really sweet stuff and they take my blood to test for gestational diabetes. Its a routine thing, but still a little scary. I can't believe I'm just two weeks away from my third trimester!

We went for a walk last night and met another pregnant couple a few houses down from us. They're due a month before us and they're also having a boy. I'm so glad that Luke will have a playmate just down the street.

Thanks for reading. Check back soon for more updates!

Unsaid Traditions

These past couple of weeks have been crazy busy for us. Two weeks ago we found out that we are having a baby boy. This was somewhat of a relief since we were already decided on what to name our baby if it is a boy: Luke. Since then, everything seemed to start piling up. Before we found out he was a boy, we were putting off doing certain things such as painting his bedroom, buying furniture, etc. This is where the relaxation was forced to a grinding halt. Last week we bought a crib, a dresser, a few articles of cloths that we just couldn't let slip by us, a stroller, and many miscellaneous trinkets and thingamabobs that must go in his room or else life just wouldn't be as cute as it could be for him.

At the end of last week, we were blessed by the presence of Luke's Grandma and Grandpa Pen. My parents came into town. In order to prepare for their arrival, we had to take care minor house keeping things. Grandma Susan and Grandpa Ted made a number of trips to our house in helps of cleaning out various moving boxes and helping to prepare our guest bedroom for our, well, guests. We spent a good amount of time going through stuff from our previous two moves and arranged the bedroom in a very simple and peaceful respite for my folks (and everyone else that comes over and wants to stay the night for that matter). Once that was taken care of, we were actually able to relax for a second and enjoy the outcome of our hard work. The visit with my parents was very nice. We were able to shop around for the varied undeniable Luke necessities, and even picked out a paint color for the room: Summer Field (it's a shade of green).

One thing that really struck my fancy last weekend was the time that me and my dad spent putting together Luke's crib. As we were reading the instructions and struggling with translating the previously poorly translated diagrams into something we could understand, I started reminiscing on a time from my childhood. When I was about six or seven one of my fondest and most vivid memories was of when me and dad set out to put together a veneered compression board roller style microwave stand that sat in the same place in our house for as long as I can remember. I remember bringing my dad tools and trying to figure out which direction to turn the instructions. Then finally in the end watching my dad stand back with his fists on his hips looking at the newly assembled stand, then me looking up at him and him looking down saying, "We make a pretty good team, huh?" About halfway through the assemblage of my future son's bed with my father, I realized the significance of this moment. Twenty some odd years ago, I remember feeling a sense of admiration for my dad as he always knew exactly what we needed every time we messed up a bit with a previously botched attempt. And I know that he felt a sense of pride in me as I was finally able to help him in a way that he had never been helped before; by his son. This time, we were both feeling all of these feelings. I still had the warm feeling of admiration for my dad's uncanny ability to figure out the simple problems but also a sense of pride for always having been able to help my dad when he needed it. And he was still feeling that same pride for his son who was starting to formulate and compare complex solutions to the simple problems. He was also feeling that same warm admiration when he stepped back and saw himself in the young man asking for the screwdriver and proposing a solution for getting that over sized crib through the entirely too narrow hallway where we found ourselves stuck toward the very end. Then we both shared the same warmth and pride when we stepped back from the crib in its final resting place in the room of the third generation Pendleton, fists on hips, smiling, accomplished. There is something special about a father and son solving problems together, and both of us knew that these instances are invaluable. It goes without saying that my Grandpa Pen passed this invaluable tradition to me through my dad, and neither of us had to say out loud that we were both proud of the fact that this same thing was currently being passed down to Luke. I have found that the best things passed down through the male generations usually go without saying. Very different than the female generations (evident in the fact that mom and Leslie both said, "I told you you it wouldn't fit down the hallway! I told you you should have put it together in the bedroom.")

It was nice having Grandma and Grandpa Pen in town. (I really like calling them that!!) We very thoroughly enjoyed sharing with them all of the anticipations and challenges of the upcoming months.

Coming up this weekend: Painting.

Love and Sincerity,

Aaron and Leslie

belly keeps growing..

Real.

This pregnancy is becoming very real. Not only because we're shopping for cribs and testing out strollers, but we are now calling our baby by name and feeling him move a lot more. His name is Luke Aaron Pendleton and we're already in love. I find myself talking to him out loud instead of just in my head. Yesterday I was editing a wedding and I stared at one picture in particular. I looked at it a little bit longer than I would have a few weeks ago, before I knew I was carrying a son, our son. The picture was a mother and her son on his wedding day. He was walking her down the aisle and I saw myself as her in 20 years. I knew exactly what she was thinking. She was so proud of her son and wondering where all the time went as her little boy grew up. She probably thought back to the exact moment when she felt her baby boy kick and now she's about to watch him get married. I have to remind myself that I don't always want time to hurry up. I keep wanting these next 20 weeks to fly by so that we can see finally see our Luke and hug and kiss him. Although what we really want is these next 20 years to slow down. I'm anxious to watch him grow and turn into a wonderful man like his dad. And even when or if he decides to marry and start his own family, I know there will be plenty more special moments that we'll cherish. I can tell that becoming a mother is going to be special and as this pregnancy continues it's making all these feelings and thoughts very real.




We can't wait to meet you, Baby Luke.
This week I felt you kick 3 times. I woke your daddy up so that he could feel, but you didn't move again until after he lifted his hand my from stomach. Silly boy.
I ate purple grapes yesterday and you really started moving around. You must like grapes. I do too. You started moving around when the song Layla by Eric Clapton came on Pandora. Did you know that we might have named you Layla if you were a girl? I think you knew. And you must know that I'm talking about you because I just felt a good kick. I can't help but smile. We love you!

Baby boy

It's a BOY!!!!!!!


Aaron says this is his pitching arm


Here are the goods


Love this profile one


His little mouth is open in this one




We're in love already!

Mother's Day and old words of wisdom

Well, it looks as though we have missed a week of updating the blog, so I guess this one should be twice as interesting. But the good news is that no news is most of the time good news. The past couple of weeks have been smooth. No major set backs but no major elations either. Leslie is feeling very well, and the baby is doing well too. Her checkup went as well as could be expected, and we now wait for the greatly anticipated twenty week checkup (a week and a half away) in order to find out which sports the baby will play when they get older. I mean which colors to start decorating the baby's room. All kidding aside, Leslie and I really go back and forth deciding whether we want a boy or girl, and frankly, we don't really care which one it is. Grant it that once we know we will be able to pick a name and decorate the room and talk about the baby like it's a real person with a real gender, but until then we will just have to settle for gender ambiguous references and produce comparisons to keep everyone connected to this new life. (Btw, He/she is the size of a bell pepper this week, in case you were wondering,)

Other than developing a slight back ache throughout the course of the day, Leslie's first Mother's Day was very pleasant. Buying her first real Mother's Day present was just as exciting, if not more so, for me as it was for her to receive it. Nothing elaborate, I gave her a card and some very smelly lotion she had hinted that she wanted a couple of times. Hopefully this will induce a state of relaxation, and every time she smells the sweet smell of Noir (whatever that is) she will think of her sweet husband and how much fun he had picking out his first of many Mother's Day presents to come.

On a more existential note, I had a very nice conversation with the eighty year old man next door on Saturday while I was washing our car. He commented on how nice it was, and with a very gracious "thank you," I told him the reason we got the car was because we had been wanting to start a family. After telling him we were pregnant, and him congratulating us over and over and shaking my wet sudsy hand, I could see the wheels turning up in that aged and seasoned mind of his. He was fighting the urge that many have once they know someone is pregnant to impart all of the wisdom and knowledge they have learned over the years all in one conversation, and he told me he didn't want to bother me anymore. He shuffled off following behind his polished cane, saying, "I'll let you get back to washing your car. Congratulations again!" So I had no choice, I went back to washing the car.

But before I knew it I saw him right outside of the corner of my eye. He was back. I had secretly hoped that he would say what it was he was saying, because unlike the vomitous ranting of most strangers once they know you are pregnant, most old men choose their words carefully, wanting to say as little as possible to relay a message that someone will actually appreciate and find useful. He cut to the chase, "You know my favorite thing about raising my kids? Even though I enjoyed when they were this high," he put his hand at his knee, "I didn't have a lot of time to spend with them. I was too busy. I worked too much. But my favorite thing was when they got older, and I was able to spend time talking to them. It's when they got older that I could appreciate them and take pride in them. Just having a real conversation with my boy when we are able to relate to one another, that is the best. And now, one thing I feel I missed was having lunch with my father. I didn't take the time to go and just have lunch with him. My kids now, they come and have lunch with me. And that is the best. So enjoy when they are young, but remember, if you raise them right, it will only get better."

I told him how much I appreciated that, because I know first hand. I told him that children take a certain satisfaction with having those conversations with their parents too. Just sitting and talking with my mom or my dad is something that I cherish to this day. Although I am not able to take them out to lunch as often, I can still have those conversations, and I know that they enjoy the same, but probably more.

So as we are preparing for sleepless nights, constant confusion and frustration, loud cries and bad smells, anxiousness and fears, we are trying to prepare ourselves for the over joyous times, the pride and the satisfaction of knowing that we can influence a life that we were able to bring into this world, that we are able to impact enough for them to impact someone else.

Love and Sincerity,

Aaron and Leslie