Yesterday Ann and I drove out to Raccoon Creek State park which is located west of Pittsburgh along the Ohio state line. We hiked about 5 of the 19 miles of the Heritage Trail. It was very beautiful and smelled like sweet ferns. We'll definitely go back to camp or do some more hiking there.

A bridge along the trail at Raccoon Creek.

Auggie loves the trail! 

Ann and I went to the Three Rivers Art Festival today. It's located downtown near the Point where a lot of festivals and free concerts take place in Pittsburgh. There must have been over 100 artists showing their work. It was well worth the trip.

I snapped a shot of this guy from the Zany Umbrella Circus performing some cool acrobatics for the crowd at the art fest. 

A shot of us at the Pittsburgh Art festival. 

We finally got the ultrasound photo scanned from last Thursday. Of course, everyone knows that we're having a girl. We have chosen to name her Madeline. In this shot you can see her head on the left and she has one of her hands up.  

We're having a....

GIRL!!! We found out earlier today when Ann had her ultrasound that we're having a little girl. The tech was able to tell almost immediately what the gender was. In addition to that, the tech measured the growth of the baby and everything looks fine. Ann has gained an addtional 8 lbs. and the baby itself weighs about 1 lb. Things get more and more exciting every day!

Working on the crib... 

After Ann and I found out earlier today that we're having a girl, we went out and bought a crib. We decided to get one that had a changing table and some drawers already attached to it. It's a practical design and a space saver. 

Ann and I went to Joe's house for a BBQ. Ann snapped this shot of Mike and I manning the grill. We made some great burgers and some tasty honey pork tenderloin. 

Ann and I rented a couple of bikes today and we went for a two hour ride along a scenic trail on the south side of Pittsburgh. The trail paralelled the Monongahela River. We took our time and I'd say that we covered about 7 or 8 miles. It was pretty hot, so we stopped for lemonade at The Cheesecake Factory. 

Ann with her bike along the South Side Trail. 

Ann and I went to the Pirates/Marlins game at PNC park last night. We got to see a couple of bats get broken and a grand slam by the Pirates Mackowiak to seal a 9-1 victory over the Marlins. A very kind PNC park employee snapped this shot of us. 

Before we left the Pirate game after the 8th inning, I thought I'd snap a quick shot from behind home plate. 

Ann and I had nice visits from both of Ann's parents this weekend while they were both swinging through town. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of them while they were here. We did have some nice dinners with them both and some yummy homemade french toast. 

Ann had to take an action shot of me making the Tiramisu that we took to a Memorial Day cookout at Josh's place. The tiramisu turned out really well. 

A shot of Ann and I at the bowling alley. Unfortunately we lost all three games that we played against Kim and Josh. I'm sure I won't hear the end of it until we have a rematch. 

Here are Kim and Josh at Josh's place. We celebrated Memorial Day on Sunday with a cookout at Josh's house and then went bowling.

Ann and the Augster at the start of our walk along the river. This was taken in front of the newly renamed Warhol bridge in honor of the eccentric artist. 

A bad picture of me, because I'm standing in the shadow of PNC Park (where the Pirates play) with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background. We were walking Auggie along the river. It was a gorgeous day!  

Our friend Andy came down to Pittsburgh for the weekend to help with an art show at the Mattress Factory. We were on our way to grab a couple of beers and some wings. 

Our friends, Lorne and Kara, gave Ann and I a sushi kit. I took my first stab at making some Crab and Vegetarian Maki (sushi rolls). They turned out to be very tasty!  

You can see Auggie in the foreground playing with some of his buddies in Bradford. These are all purebreds - there's a Boston Terrier (Auggie), a Golden Retriever (Digger), a Newfoundland (Kathe), and a Shar-Pei (Enid). What a crew! 

Here's a shot of Ann at 16 weeks with her first pair of maternity jeans. Most of her other pants have become a bit snug. She's starting to show a little :) 

Ann and I went shopping down in Pittsburgh's strip district for the first time this year. The strip has tons of great stores, especially those that offer very fresh local produce at great prices. Ann took this shot just outside of a great Italian grocery called Pennsylvania Macaroni Company. 

Ann's second appointment

Today Ann had her second appointment. The highlight was that we got to listen to the heartbeat. As far as weight gain, Ann is a whole three pounds heavier than her last appointment, however, the doctor said that she is right on track as far as weight gain goes. After the next appointment, on June 9th, we will hopefully be able to tell everyone the gender. What do you think--girl or boy???

Ann and I planted some flowers around the house today including a few in this little "Brooks" flower pot. Notice the ladybug welcome sign stuck in the soil. Pap's nickname for Ann is ladybug. We thought it was cute.