The belly has popped!
.
From the day when we found out about the pregnancy, Amy has asked me everyday whether she looks pregnant or not (she wants to look pregnant). And everyday, to avoid any sort of let down, my response was "Yes, you are showing" (even though my belly was still bigger than hers). This past week, things have changed, and now there is no doubt about how big our little girl is getting...

Blueprints of Claire's room have already been sketched. We have the colors picked out and even bought some furniture already. I will make sure to post the famous picture of me putting the crib together while Amy sits in a chair barking out orders (isn't that what pregnant women do?).

In the meantime, we have been enjoying the nice weather here in St. Louis. Dexter took us on a very long walk last weekend at Queeny Park and of course, I had to snap a picture of the three of us.

I end this post with a shout out to a couple of friends: Adam & Liz. They will be getting married this coming weekend and I am happy to be part of the festivities. I wish them the best!

-Dan

August 08
Claire Elza Luna
Amy and I now know that the child who is going to fulfill our lives with joy, happiness, tears, and love, is Claire Elza Luna! No doubt about it....
No hotdog on this bun!

She was very shy, at first....

...but after a while, we got to see her legs....maybe a breastroker like her mother????

I, however, already broke one of the wedding vows I made to Amy a couple of years ago. I told her she would be the only woman I would ever love....I will obviously be sharing that feeling with our baby girl.



July 21
Pentwater, Michigan
This past weekend, Adam, Liz, Amy and I went to Pentwater, Michigan for Bryant's wedding. We also got to hang out with other SIU Swim team alumni (Derek, Matt, Jenny, Ryan, etc...). Check out the pictures on the side --->
The wedding was pretty cool and we had a great time. The drive was a little long (Missouri - Illinois - Indiana (with a break at Amy's parents house, thanks!) and Michigan) but it was worth it. This should put an end to our summer traveling and a start to the getting the baby's room ready project. The next time I post here, we should know the sex of the baby, which may trigger me to reveal the name of the baby! Stay tuned.
Till the next one...
-Dan

July 10
The real heart beat!

About four to five years ago, my wife once told me that one of my best traits is that I am a man of my word. If I say that I am going to do something, I will get it done. Well, on a previous blog post I had promised to bring a recorder to our next doctor visit. As you can hear, I kept my word. The heart beat you are hearing right now (feel free to pause it cause I configured it to an endless loop) is of Baby Luna! Next month we will find out the sex of the baby, my guess? I will never tell.

Here is Amy and her growing belly! She looks so cute!

June 18
Hearted win!

As I sit here in a hotel room in Tupelo, Mississippi, I finally get to watch my team win a championship. It seems now that the Celtics purposely lost game 5, just so they could set up this party at home against the Lakers.
Yes, the Celtics have talented players; yes, they have experienced players; yes, they have the tradition; and yes, their payroll account is not a small one. But the Celtics won this title because they have HEART. Players like KG and Pierce are so passionate about playing ball that they brought some of the purity back to the game. Times when the NBA title meant more than the MVP one.
I cannot think of 4 better NBA professionals to crown than Pierce, KG, Ray Allen, and Doc Rivers. A classy group of guys who I hope can hold up to these words and not dismantle this team by leaving for better contracts.

Go Green
-Dan

June 12

Heart Beat!

Ok, looking at the first sonogram was awesome, but it was really hard to make anything out of it. This week, Amy and I made another trip to the doctor and now things are starting to get interesting. We got to hear Baby Luna's heart beat! Much like in the video on the right side of the screen (not of Amy), we heard it pumping it away. Baby Luna's heart was beating at 170 bpm, which leads me to believe that he/she was doing sit ups in there.
Unfortunately, we forgot to bring a recorder along to capture the moment (I know, sorry about that, we are not experienced at this yet....this is our first kid). But I do have one now and will make sure to bring it along during the next doctor's appointment.

On an unrelated subject, the Celtics are doing great! Although we have had some injuries, I am sure the big-3 will pull it through! Prediction for tonight's game: Celtics are stealing this one. Pierce will go big!

Later
-Dan

June 05
St. Louis, MO + Hot Weather = Pool time!
I have lived on both sides of the hemisphere and I have visited a lot of places there too, and I can tell you without a doubt that St. Louis, MO is the one place that manages to stretch the extremes of the temperature scale to the max! In the Winter it gets cold, very cold. I am talking frozen ponds and snowy Xmas (sometimes) cold. In the Summer, it is hot, green house hot, desert hot, and on top of that, the humidity is a constant reminder that you will get home from work with a shirt that needs to go directly to the hamper.

But there is nothing better than fighting this weather with a refreshing splash. Amy and I enjoyed a nice weekend at the pool which will be seeing the strokes of Baby Luna in the near future!

Pregnancy update: She is 10 weeks along today! The baby is basically fully formed including toes and fingers. From now on is nothing but putting on some pounds and making mommy feel huge! Amy has another doctor’s appointment this coming Monday and I will let you know how it goes.

Talk to you soon.
-Dan


May 21
Drink wine and say cheese!
...and that we did. Kelly, Liz, Adam, Amy and I enjoyed one of the few sunny weekends in St. Louis this year at Sugar Creek Winery. we had plenty of food and lots of wine, and don't worry, our designated driver, Amy the mom to be, drove us home safely.

Today (May 20th) is our 2-year anniversary. Since we both agreed that the last two years were the best of our lives, we decided not be selfish anymore, and so from now on, we will be sharing the rest of our years with our kid!

Love you tweets!

May 13
Baby Luna!
That's right, baby Luna is on the way!
About two weeks ago, I was flying back from Arkansas on a Friday (April 25th) and Amy called me as soon as I landed asking me if was coming home soon. I told her yes, but traffic set me back a good 20 minutes. When I got home, she quickly dragged me to the bathroom and handed me the pregnancy test. "What do you think?" She asked staring at me with a smile on her face. The positive sign on that stick could not have looked more fainted, but the instructions clearly stated that any smidge of a "plus" sign signify the test was positive. The conclusive results were yet to come.

Amy ended up going to Chicago that weekend with some old friends. A trip that was planned for a while and could not had been put off. She had fun, but had a hard time dodging the questions to why was she not drinking. The fake sipping of an endless beer did the trick Saturday night.

When she got back on Sunday, Amy bought another pregnancy test, only this time, a digital one. Results? No fainted plus sign. "PREGNANT", clear and in bold letters!

The very next day Amy was able to go to the doctor and it was confirmed. Our lives have now changed forever and I would not change it for anything in the world.
Now, two weeks later, we got to see our kid for the first time! Sure, it looked like a white blur on a black and white screen, but seeing the heartbeat definitely made me feel like a proud a dad. The "I made that" feeling is indescribable, and it shows by the fact that not one hour goes by and I don't think of the baby. The expected delivery date is December 29th 2008.

Stay tuned for more updates from the growing Luna family!
-Dan (& Amy)


April 30

Welcome to my photoblog!
I promise this time I will stay on top of the game and post pictures as soon as I can.

Have a good day!
-Dan