aaa-ohhhh

kead loves cell phones and anytime she hears one ring (or anything that sounds like it might be a cell phone ringing) she puts her hand to her ear and says "aaa-ohhh"- her version of hello. She also says "bye-bye guys" after I hang up the cell phone from talking to someone. super cute.

the calvary has arrived!

Mom got here wednesday and has already re-organized my pantry, helped me finish the nursery AND the guest room and cleaned the kitchen. Not to mention bringing an awesome menu plan with all sorts of fun dishes to cook. We are happy guiney pigs for her fun new resipes!

Kirst got here wednesday and we are busy getting some kojo business done and she is helping me pre-cut all the stuff for birth announcements. She is also an awesome helper and will be watching Kead while my hands are full the next couple weeks.

I love having these girls (and of course my nephew, Burke!) around to help and its great to get to spend some time with them before the baby gets here.

My mom leaves September 4th (they close on their house on the 5th and she will miss the house being packed to be here!) So lets pray she gets to meet her third granchild. This little girl is on her own schedule and hasn't made any indication she will be coming any time soon. I am still doing great, getting rest and haven't been too uncomfortable...so its fine with me. I just hope she gets to meet her Lita. :)

funny.

I was just reading through an old journal and came upon the entry I wrote while still in the hospital after Keadryn was born. This section cracked me up:

"labor was hard and I am already dreading the next...not for a looong time"

well I guess 15 months is kind of long?

yay!

Keadryn has enough hair for a bow!

Now if I can get her to keep one on her head for more than 30 seconds. (hence the picture doesn't show the bow very well, it was the only one I could get before she tore it out!) I just LOVE this smile of Keadryn's. She is such a feisty little girl.

Three things I love about dad:

1) The way he LOVES his family. Seriously he is so great at showing us in so many ways that he cares for us. He has always been a great provider, has always put family first...and he is a cuddly guy! He gives the best hugs and none of us have ever doubted how much he loves us!



2) His sense of humor. I love the way dad's eyes twinkle when he is trying to tell a joke. I love how he has always been game for all of the shenanigans we have put him through...and I love that he doesn't take life to seriously to laugh and have fun!


3) His love for all things outdoors! Dad calls himself a good-ole Colorado boy. He loves being outside (a lot of fishing and golfing!) and he loves helping other people enjoy the outdoors. He gave some friends a fly fishing lesson a couple years ago that they STILL talk about and last summer he pulled out all the stops so that Dan (Drew's brother) could catch a fish when he visited us in Idaho. His love is contagious and I am so glad that he has passed it on.



Happy Birthday Dad! I love you and am so thankful for you! Can't wait to have you so close by (yes- eight hours is close comparatively)

around here lately

Not too much has been going on around here lately. We are kind of in a holding pattern until the little one gets here, not wanting to take on new projects... but there is still some time.

I have finally been working on a nursery for the girls. Poor Keadryn has been sleeping in a room with just a crib in it for a whole year. The vent on the ceiling was the most interesting thing for her to look at from her crib. Now she has sensory overload in there and I always hear her in the morning oohing and ahhing at the decorations on the walls. :) (she calls the rings balls)

This is a fun use of all the fabric Kirsty got me. Eventually they will be filled with pictures and other memorabilia...the nursery isn't even close to finished, but at least its a start. more pictures to come!

five

Drew and I celebrated our five year anniversary today! Since we already had an anniversary trip to Albuquerque and an anniverary stay in Valley Forge, we had a low key day; friday breakfast (a family tradition) and a date night which was complete with babysitting (thanks britt and chase!), yummy ribs and a movie at the real movie theater!

Here are some highlights from the past 5 years:

*me finishing school

* lots and lots of amazing traveling... 17 countries together to be exact!

* working at southcrest doing international student outreach

* moving to the middle east

*learning arabic together

* having keadryn

* moving back to the US

* the surprise of being pregnant again :)

* planting redeemer in lubbock


I wish I would have written a five year plan five years ago, just to look back on it now and laugh at how different things have gone then I thought they would. Not bad different, really really good different. I think every "change in plans" has been God leading us in a direction that is more glorifying to Him and better for us, so I can't complain. I am so excited to see what the next five, ten, twenty years hold for us!

happy anniversary drew...love you and stuff

waiting patiently

I cannot believe how soon the little miss will be here! I am currently 37 weeks and SO grateful for how easy this pregnancy continues to be. We had a minor scare when I started having (very mild) contractions on the way home from the wedding reception in Philly, but laying down and resting after two days of being on my feet cured me of that and nothing has happened since.

I am looking forward to meeting this little girl and can't believe how much less scary this is the second time around. I know every labor is different, as is every child...but there is some confidence in knowing that my body really can do this! :)

I am also really enjoying these last couple weeks with Kead as an only child and trying to give her plenty of extra love because her world is about to be turned upside down as well. Last night we were sitting on the couch watching the Olympics and she came over and put her head on my belly and started rubbing it. SO cute. She is going to be such a great big sis!

So we are patiently waiting for our new addition...everyone keeps asking "are you just SO done being pregnant?!"...but my answer is still no. Even though I have reached the uncomfortable point in pregnancy, I am still enjoying being a mother of one, sleeping through *most of* the night, and getting some final projects done around the house... and I know that she will come when the time is perfect for her.

the jersey shore

One final set of pics from our vacation last week. We took Kead to see the ocean for the first time. She had a love/hate relationship with the water, but as long as someone was holding her hand (or just holding her) she liked it pretty well. She also loved the sand and birds. We wish we would have had more time at the coast, but are so glad we went, even for a little bit.

top five of philly

1. the reading terminal- a fun market downtown philly with all sorts of fun little stores and restaurants.




2. the historical sites- we got to see some of the fun things the city of brotherly love has to offer like the liberty bell, independence hall, valley forge and all the buildings that are older than anything in lubbock. :)






3- south street- such a fun atmosphere with all the crazy little shops and people!


4. philly cheesesteaks! yum yum yum


5. family! Ok so I know this isn't really a "philly" thing- but it was so great to hang out with the fam for a whole week. I just love them so much!

the ludwig family rap

For those of you who have been to a ludwig wedding the rap is...well at least memorable. Keje and I made it up for Kirsty and Adam's wedding six years ago and edited versions have been rapped at all four of the weddings to welcome the new member to the family. Keje and I rap, kirst does some sweet little choruses and Aj- b-boxes (though we have to beg him everytime)

Well, the ludwig family rap made its last appearance at Aji and Trish's wedding...and can you believe we have NEVER got it on camera?! Anyhow- here are the latest lyrics edited for our new sister: T-LICIOUS

L-to the-U-to the funky-D- WIG

K-POP and J-FUNK and this is our gig
our story begins in colorado where
M-DIDDY met a shorty named C-LO
the year was 1972 and M-DIDDY said:
"hey-we'd be cool"
after awhile they tied the knot
and this is where our story starts to get real hot

holla holla balla balla
uh-huh-chicka chicka chicka ah

the first little one was K-GUN
a handful, but she's got it going on
the second little one (that's me) J-FUNK
I might be spastic but I've got a lot of spunk
the third one rolled along thats A-BOMB
a devil and an angel but he loves his mom
after three just just didn't stop
they saved the best for last (that's me) K-POP

holla holla balla balla
uh-huh-chicka chicka chicka ah

We've got A-MACK, D-THUG and P-KRUNK too
but now A-BOMB wants to add one to the crew
for awhile there we thought she was fictitious
cause she's great and she's sweet
meet our sista T-LICIOUS!

holla holla balla balla
uh-huh-chicka chicka chicka bounce!


a little de-coding: Each family member has a rap name: Dad= M-diddy, Mom =C-lo, Kirst= K-gun, Jord= J-funk Aj=A-bomb, Keje= K-pop, Adam G= A-mack, Drew= D-thug, Patrick= P-krunk ,Trish= T-licious

Aji and Trish

The day before the wedding kirst, keje and I were talking and all said that we didn't think we would cry because a brother's wedding is different than a sister's wedding...but that was before we saw Aj standing there at the altar waiting for his beautiful bride...we ALL lost it. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was a blast. check out the kojo blog for all the fun crafts we did for the wedding!

(p.s. I love my grandpa)

oh- and I also got to make the matching outfits for kead and little burke!

back to the world of blogging

You may have noticed (or perhaps not...) that I have taken a little vacation from the world of blogging. Lots has gone on in a couple of weeks: my birthday, adam and kirstin's anniversary, keje's (my little sis) birthday, keje and pat's anniversary, and now added to the week o' celebration adam and trish's wedding!

We had a great time out in philly for the wedding and so I will post about that over the next couple days.

FIRST though here are some pics of my fun birthday present from the drewster: my espresso machine (that came with a barrista that makes a wicked dry cappuccino!)