Halloween and Huskies - 24-25 weeks

Happy Halloween!! We packed in the fun last weekend, with my class party on Friday, Huskies and parties on Saturday, Seahawks on Sunday, and the whole fam over for dinner on Sunday night. I was exhausted on Monday, but we had a great time!

Yesterday was the last game at Husky Stadium before they start the renovation, and the last home game of the season. We don't know what will happen with the Alumni Band in the new stadium. Read more about that, plus our favorite 95 year old, on the front page of the Seattle Times here! We had a huge band yesterday, and we even got to sit on the track one last time. It only would have been better if we'd been able to beat Oregon!

25 weeks

I'm happy that I was able to make it through the season in Alumni Band! The belly definitely put a damper on my dancing moves, and I'm looking forward to next season when I can jump again!

Here a last picture of us in Husky Stadium!

First home game of the season: 9/4/11 - 16 weeks

Last home game of the season: 11/5/11 - 25 weeks

Full on Fall - 23 Weeks

Some rainy fall weather around here has been good for getting stuff done around the house, and has inspired some crafty activity! We girls hit up the fabric store to start some Christmas projects (gifts for actual people who are already out of the womb), and do some preliminary scouting for Baby's room. We haven't found the perfect fabrics, but we were inspired by some ideas. We're hoping to make our own crib skirt, display bookshelf (books must be accessible and appealing to our baby, who is going to come out a reader from all these phonics lessons she hears every day!), and maybe some curtains. We also found a pattern for making our own fabric bins, and we're hoping to make the perfect thing to fit in our changing table cubby holes!

Meanwhile, Jason and I assembled the crib! We were able to sell our guest bed (sorry, guests! We still have a super comfy couch and an air mattress...guests are still welcome!) to an adorable teenager moving out for the first time. I couldn't wait to get all those boxes unpacked and out of the room!

You can see a little peek into her closet here...Rachel brought over boat loads of hand-me-downs, and Jason is already complaining that the baby has more clothes than he does!

We are unbelievable thankful that Rachel won this crib and mattress for us. It is beautiful (we LOVE it against our green wall!), incredibly sturdy, and safe. We love the organic mattress, and I feel very relieved to know that our baby won't be pressing her little face into toxins every night. Thank you Lullaby Organics for these amazing gifts!!

We checked another big thing off our list this week. We finally picked a pediatrician! This seemed like a big project to me, we didn't even know where to start! We went to an open house at a local pediatrician group this week, and LOVED it. They work directly with our hospital, and someone from the group will see us in the hospital after the baby is born. We've selected a primary pediatrician, and will start seeing him after that point. The whole practice seemed warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable. We were ready to sign up right then and there!! It's a relief to have something big like that checked off the list.

The baby has been very active this last week, entertaining me with regularly with her kicks and rolls. Jason gets to feel her, though she is still shy around other people so far. Bebe and Auntie Rachel are patiently waiting to get kicked! This weekend she got really going and I swear I could see my whole belly moving! Since she is probably about 11 inches long and a little over a pound now, she can really swing some weight around. :)

The kids at school continue to be very entertained by the baby, and have hilarious questions. I swear, having an unborn child is the best class pet ever! This week it was "Mrs. F, you ARE getting fat!" They continue to debate names, though they are thinking about crossing "Baby F" off the list. One friend recently said, "Mrs. F, I don't think Baby F is a very good name for the baby. Because, actually, she won't always be a baby, and she might get kinda mad that her name is Baby." The other kids seemed to think that was pretty great logic. I resisted telling them about the Dirty Dancing character. I guess Jason and I should get cracking on deciding what we are going to call this child, but luckily we still have time. For now, February Sparkle will have to do.

Here we are at the game last week with some friends. Instead of playing classical music, this baby is getting smarter to the tune of "Bow Down to Washington." We think it will be very calming to her in her infancy!

Halfway to Baby! - 21 Weeks

Things seem a lot different ever since we found out that baby is a girl, and I started feeling her move around in there! Even Jason thinks he can feel her bonking around. There is no question that someone is in there! She also gets lots of hugs from my kiddos, especially since the belly has really started to stick out.

We are starting to make some progress on her room. This week the changing table arrived! Jason assembled about a million pieces, but luckily to him building this stuff is just like real-life LEGOs.

Looks like a cozy spot for a change!

Hooray! There is no mistaking this for a baby's room now! Next step: sell the bed and extra furniture to make room to put together the crib, and pick out some cuteness to make it girly!

We also toured the district infant center! We met all 3 teachers, a happy mom and baby, and checked out the space. We really liked the laid-back atmosphere, and the stellar reviews we have heard from other moms. I think this center is our first choice! We will get on the list as soon as the spots are posted in Jan/Feb!

It's a.....

GIRL!!

We had our big 20 week ultrasound yesterday! Mom flew in from DC just in time so that she and Rachel could be there for the big event. It was really amazing to see our teeny little baby swimming around in there! The tech said my placenta is in a good position (phew, I was worried about good placental attachment), and that the baby looks good! We checked out all her body parts and major organs. We saw her little heart fluttering and measured her brain, kidneys, etc. The tech said she seems to be normal sized, about 11 ounces. She even said her head looks normal sized! Phew! She also seems to be on track for the due date we hate previously calculated for February. We got to switch over to 3D for a little, which made her look even more like a real baby. The tech also made us a DVD of part of the procedure! Screening party, anyone?? :)

Isn't she the cutest??

Tiny baby feet!

We got lots and lots of pictures!! Bebe is super excited for another baby girl!!

Mom and Rachel both brought boy/girl gifts. Finally, we can buy the pink stuff!

We went straight to our favorite Indian restaurant for dinner to celebrate with Papa.

Time to start working on names for this baby girl! Here is the list my first graders came up with...I think Sparkle is definitely the front runner right now!

Here's a video Rachel compiled of the whole event!

Prep for Baby - 19 weeks

We feel like there are a million little things to do to get ready for baby! We are slowing making our way through our list, and getting a few things checked off.

We've been daydreaming about how to convert our "Guest Nest" into a cozy room for baby. I'm thankful that dad and I did a bunch of preliminary work last summer (no painting or building for me now!) We are a little reluctant to give up our guest space, but excited about making it work for baby!

This week Mom ordered a changing table for us! We've been on the hunt for the perfect thing to match our Loom crib that Rachel won for us in June. We're still in shock over that one. Thanks, Lullaby Organics! Don't they look cute together?? We haven't seen the changer in real life yet, but we're confident that we will love it!

Yesterday I got the scoop on district childcare, and scheduled us for a tour! The district infant center is at the nearest high school, which is only 2 miles from my school. I've heard GREAT things about the program, and can't wait to check it out. At one year, the baby can be on campus with me! Our long-term plan will definitely depend on where Jason ends up next year, but as a district employee I do have the option of getting a variance and having Baby attend any school in our district. I did laugh while I was trying to fill out the application paperwork...no name, no birthday, we don't even know the gender! No medical records, no immunizations....

We are officially signed up for a birth class! At the recommendation of our midwife, we decided to take hypnobirthing at the hospital. It's a comprehensive birth class that she said would offer the most options to couples who are committed to a natural birth. So for 5 weeks we'll spend Tuesday nights practicing breathing and visualization, and learning about what we can expect during labor. Hypnobirthing has been recommended to us by a couple friends, one who said that it has no become a life skill for any situation where she needs to go to her "happy place" (ie traffic!).

Other than that, we've been reading up a storm! Here are a selection of the books I've read over the last year in preparation for baby and my rating of each...with more to come!

Get Ready to Get Pregnant*****

Complete Organic Pregnancy***

And Baby Makes Three***

Birth Day*****

Catching Babies*****

How to Have Your Second Child First***

Big Book of Birth****

One Year to an Organized Life With Baby***

What to Expect When You Are Expecting**

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy***

Eating for Pregnancy**

The Parent You Want to Be*****

The Everything Get Ready for Baby Book**

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother****

Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn (in progress)

Last weekend we wrapped up the summer with one last camping trip! We tried to escape the rain by heading over the Leavenworth with Dawn and Derek, and only got a little wet! We did get to eat German food while watching the Huskies. Sweet! Camping while pregnant was definitely an adventure. But look how close our site was to the bathroom! Nice!

Leavenworth Thousand Trails - 18 weeks

We can't wait until Wednesday...it's ultrasound day!!!

17 Weeks!

Rachel - 17 weeks with Kenley, March 2009
Michal - 17 weeks with Baby F, Sept. 2011

Baby is 17 weeks, and we survived the first week of school! I was pleasantly surprised at how much energy I had each day, and am looking forward to a full 5-day week with my kiddos! So far my class seems pretty dreamy...just what I needed this year! I hope it continues! Jason had a great week too. His school was even featured on the news! You can catch a glimpse of his head in this clip. :)

We had a quick midwife visit last week. We checked in on baby's heartbeat, and got test results that Baby has less than 1/5000 chance of having any genetic issues. The baby is about the size of a 4 inch turnip, and is supposed to gain weight like crazy over the next few weeks. Next midwife visit is the big ultrasound, and we can't wait! Hopefully Baby won't be feeling shy. We're hoping to check off some baby stuff over the next couple weeks, too; find a pediatrician, apply for district childcare for Fall 2012, and other kinda important items. :)

Spreading the News!

This week we have been busy going public about Baby! I've been waiting to our first full-staff meeting to do our traditional announcement at school. Our principal always brings a Baby Ruth bar, which gets everyone all excited because we know that means there is a baby being announced! We pass the bar around until the person who is pregnant holds it up. We did the Baby Ruth on Thursday, and now the school people are in the know!

Once we announced at school, we were ready to tackle a tricky social world of our generation...Facebook! It worked out great that we could make our first post about Baby on the same day as the Huskies' home opener! Good news for the Frieslet, it got lots of "likes!" I've never had my inbox fill up so fast with comments!

Here we are, all dressed for Game Day!! We had a great time at the game hanging out with our Husky friends, especially after they had just seen our announcement on Facebook. I was happy that the belly didn't impose too much on my dancing, but making the tailgate rounds AND standing, dancing, and playing in the purple block the entire game really wiped me out! By halftime I was feeling DONE! Luckily we had great weather and a great game for the last home opener in Husky Stadium before the big renovation.

Jason also made sure his mentor teacher and principal were in the loop about the baby. The last group that I have to tell...students and parents!! Still not sure how or when to do that, but really hoping to make it until AFTER Curriculum Night on September 20th before I reveal!

We both spent all week getting our classrooms set up, and we are looking forward to the first day of school on Tuesday!!