We Get to See Our Baby! - 9 weeks

Baby F. - 7/15/2011 - 9 weeks

On Friday, we had the big appointment that we had been waiting for! We went to meet our midwives, and got actual confirmation that we truly are pregnant! The nurse did joke with us that "yeah, our stick is SOOO different from your stick." Haha! We were thrilled when the midwife ran to grab the ultrasound machine, and we actually got to see Baby! She's pretty sure there is only one baby in there (phew!), and we saw the little heart fluttering away. Reality is setting in...we are going to have a baby!! Our midwife said I have a "roomy pelvis" (sweet!!), and also feels confident that if my identical twin had a smooth pregnancy and delivery, then I will, too.

We've decided to deliver with the midwife group at the Center for Women's Health at Evergreen. The group is separate from the hospital, but their offices are in the hospital, and the deliver at Evergreen Hospital, of which we have heard nothing but great things! We will meet with a different midwife during each visit, and then the midwife on call when we go into labor is the one who will deliver Baby! We felt really comfortable with the nurses and midwife that we met. The midwives tend to lean towards natural and holistic medicine (just like us), and avoid medical interventions as much as possible. The hospital itself has been designated as a "Baby Friendly" hospital based on their success with breastfeeding, and has an award winning NICU, should we need it. Also, it's location in Totem Lake puts it smack in the middle between home and work. We think this is the spot for us!

We got to go on a hospital tour a few weeks ago. We had to wait until 9 weeks to see the midwife, but a hospital tour we could sign up for right away! Ron, Nan, and Rachel came with us on a quick 20-minute tour...this hospital better get used to our entourage! We got to figure out which parking garage to park in, which doors to go in, and how to find the Family Maternity Center. We got to see a labor and delivery room, and Ron and Nan have already picked out their comfy chairs in the waiting room. Rachel and I grilled the tour guide with all our questions about all the options, nurses, doctors, prep classes, etc. Luckily we have done this once before!

6/24/2011 - 6 weeks

Please ignore the fact that I already look pregnant...that's just the shirt. Or maybe our Greek dinner. Either way, can't blame it on a baby bump yet!

We have a couple more appointments this summer, but the next BIG one will be the 20 week ultra-sound on September 28th!! We are planning to find out if we are expecting a boy or a girl!

Big News - Baby On The Way!

On Sunday, June 12th, we got BIG news! We're pregnant!! We were not convinced by a faint + on the first test, so Jason sent me straight out to buy the digital kind. Seeing a plain old "PREGNANT" made it pretty clear!

We managed to keep it to ourselves until Wednesday night when we gathered the family at Ivar's Landing at Mukilteo, one of our favorite restaurants with a beautiful view (we recently celebrated my National Board passing there!). We told our parents that we were celebrating Jason's last day at his mortgage office, but we spilled the even BIGGER news as soon as we got there. We realized it was a little crazy to celebrate Jason quitting his job to begin his year as a full-time student and announcing our baby on the same day, but I guess we like to live on the edge. Everyone was very excited, including both sets of grandparents and Aunt Rachel and Uncle Michael (again, but this time on our side!), and Kenley (who really had no idea what was happening, but she sure loved clam chowder!). We called Uncle Justin and Aunt Kristin on the way home, and kept the news to ourselves for a few more weeks until we could get some official confirmation.

Baby Friesen's arrival will be sometime in late February. This baby could share a birthday with Grandpa Ron (February 20th) or Bebe and Great Aunt Cathie (February 26th), or have a pretty cool birthday of 2/22/2012. So far this baby has been very cooperative, appearing right on schedule!

A Dreamy Kauai Honeymoon

On our first anniversary, we headed to Kauai for our honeymoon. It was an amazing trip!!

Kauai has some amazing hiking, and we made sure to take advantage of that as much as we could! Our most memorable hike was the Kalalau Trail, of which we did a 4-mile trek and saw some spectacular views of the Na Pali Coast. The downpour right before we started made this "arduous" hike especially treacherous! It was definitely an adventure.

We signed up for a "Jungle Adventure," where we got to hike a Kauai cattle ranch, kayak, zipline across a ravine, and have lunch at a private natural waterfall pool.

We snorkeled every day. This spot is called "Queen's Bath." It's a protected pool, basically a tide pool that's big enough to snorkel in! Underwater tunnels allow the fish to swim in and out, but not the big waves. On the last day, Jason even saw a sea turtle in the bay right outside our Poipu hotel!

We also shopped the historic town of Hanalei, went to a farmers market, ate delicious food, barbequed ocean-side at our hotel, toured a coffee plantation, drove the impressive Waimea Canyon to the Kalalau lookout (where we did NOT see anything! thanks clouds!), ate shaved ice and Puka Dogs, crossed a swinging bridge, bailed on a "waterfall hike" and then drove to a double waterfall, spent lots of time at the pool, and had a romantic anniversary dinner in an orchid garden.

Our favorite thing was our Na Pali Coast Snorkel and Sail Adventure on our last night with Captain Andy's Sailing Adventures. We got to ride an amazing sailboat, we spotted dolphins, and got to see a different view of the Na Pali Coast. They also dropped us in the water and let us snorkel around a reef. We had an amazing dinner and had a perfect view of a Kauai sunset just as we pulled back into the dock.

Successfully romantic and tropical honeymoon!

The BIG Day - August 8th, 2009

We have some catching up to do on this blog! We loved loved our wedding and were so thankful to everyone who helped and were able to be there to share our special day. What an amazing event to have our friends and loved ones all in one place! Here are the photos by our amazing photographer, Kate McElwee. We love watching the slideshow, it's like reliving the day each time!!

http://katemcelweeblog.com/2009/08/15/court-in-the-square-wedding-michal-jason/

Don't miss the slideshow!

http://katemcelweeclients.com/clients/slideshow/Michal+JasonWedding/

Wedding Family Barbecue - Friday 8/7/09

Michal just sent out the Evite for our Friday night BBQ, so I'm in charge of updating the blog with some extra special details. Enjoy!

Lincoln Park in West Seattle is right by the Fauntleroy Ferry dock. We have Shelter #4 reserved all day long, but the festivities will begin around 6pm.

The best parking lot is at the south end of the park on the right-hand side as you come down the hill towards the park. From the south lot, there's a wheelchair accessible drive down towards a paved walking trail (Lincoln Park Walk) that runs along the beach. Our shelter is a short walk from the parking lot along the trail.

Click for Map here, and add your own address to get directions to the park!

Light Rail Anyone?

This weekend marks a couple momentous occasions.

First: We are officially 3 weeks from the wedding date!

Second: Seattle's Light Rail system was finally opened to the public. While it doesn't yet go straight from the airport to downtown yet (the airport station will open in December), there's a bus shuttle from the airport to the nearby Tukwila station that takes passengers straight into downtown, just blocks from our wedding site and hotels. Any out-of-towners brave enough to try out our new public transportation options? :)

Light Rail System Map and Stations
Sea Tac Airport to Nearest Light Rail Station = 10 min. bus ride
Westlake Station to Mayflower Park = 1 block
Stadium Station to Silver Cloud Hotel = 3 blocks

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Interested in going to an M's game on Sunday afternoon? They play Tampa Bay at 1:10. Michael is planning to get a block of tickets, so if you are interested in joining, email him at michaelking1981@gmail.com!