26 weeks

Mike graduated this week. We were lucky enough to have Judy and Lewis, Mike's parents, join us for a fun-filled weekend here in Ann Arbor. We went out for many good meals and saw a lot of the extended Sprunger family who travelled to see the elder Sprungers. This was also the first heat wave that we'd experienced, which meant I am starting to understand when people say, "ooh, it's going to be a hot summer for you." Apparently hot weather= swollen hands and feet, which also means no rings and a new pair of flip flops! Congratulations to Mike on his graduation. We are all proud of you!

25 weeks

This past week has been pretty busy, but not nearly as eventful as the upcoming week will be. Mike graduates on Friday and his parents fly into Ann Arbor on Wednesday. Oh and let's not forget that someone, who is proudly wearing her big sister tank, is turning 5 that day. This past week Mike has been busy studying for finals in between pub crawls, trivia night, happy hour, and attending the Spring Gala. It seems surreal that this has been our last weekend filled with Mike having to study. It will be so nice to have him back on the weekends. It will also be so nice to have a house husband for the next 2 months. I've already started my list for him!
Another very exciting event was that we are now an Aunt and Uncle! My brother Mark and his wife Susan had a beautiful little boy named Ben. We are so excited to meet him in a little over a week when we embark on our whirlwind house hunting trip on the east side of Seattle. I have loved the daily updates I've gotten from my besotted parents and from Mark. The new parents seem incredibly at ease and are taking their new role, diaper explosions and all, in stride. I'm glad we'll have experts on hand when it is our turn.
So now I'm gearing up for another week of school, which luckily will only be a four day week since I'm taking Friday off to watch Mike graduate. I'm really looking forward to celebrating his graduation with his parents and a lot of extended Sprunger family. I'm sure there will be at least one ice cream expedition included!
This picture was taken of me before we attended the spring gala which was an MBA Graduate dance. We didn't actually dance, but we did enjoy the nachos!

Week 22-24

Okay, so I totally fell off the blog bandwagon in a big way. Sorry! But if it is any excuse the last two weekends I spent with my parents in Kirkland Washington and was out of my weekend blogging routine. Anyway, as I mentioned I just had my Spring break which I spent happily back in the pacific northwest. My mom and I found some great deals on baby things and managed to whittle down our list of nursery items. In a matter of days we bought the stroller, car seat, bouncer seat, crib, mattress, and bedding items.

It may seem that I went a little crazy buying things, but I think it is my way of making a little bit of order in our otherwise swiftly changing life. I never imagined that we would have so much going on at one time . One would think that having a child would create enough upheavel, but add to that wrapping up a school year, graduation, new job for Mike, moving across the country, and buying a new house, and all of a sudden life can seem very overwhelming. I really can't complain though, as all of the things that are simultaneously occurring are exciting and positive.

As far as baby Sprunger, she seems to be growing stronger and moving more each day. She definitely has opinions already. She enjoys the Beatles and anything sweet, but she does not enjoy being squished or poked. Oh and apparently 3 in the morning is a good time to have a dance party! I'm sure she will also enjoy being at her father's graduation in 2 weeks and being able to hear President Obama speak, though her memory of the occasion will most likely be a little fuzzy.

That is about all for now. And hopefully I'll be more diligent about keeping this thing updated.

The picture on the left is 22 weeks and on the right is from 24 weeks.

21 weeks

So keeping up a blog turns out to be more work than I thought it would be. So sorry this is a little late, but I did squeak in under 22 weeks by just a day. Right now I'm in week before Spring break hell. My children are bouncing between excited about break and just plain bouncing. They did throw me a lovely "surprise" shower last Monday. Of course I'd known about the whole thing for weeks since kids are just rotten about keeping secrets. But the fine details had been kept under wraps. On Monday afternoon I was ushered out of the classroom while my wonderful instructional assistant helped the kids pull together the food and decorations for the shower. Of course I did get enlisted to grab the cake and ice cream from the kitchen, where they appeared magically in front of the classroom door. Oh and I dutifully ignored the enormous bunch of pink and purple balloons hanging out in the bathroom for most of the day. Other than that I was totally surprised! I've put a couple of pictures from the shower for your perusal. Probably the best part was after I walked in and they yelled "Surprise!" the next thing that came out of their mouths was, "can we eat now?" After about 10 minutes of filling themselves with sugar, the shower wrapped up with me putting on a Dr.Seuss dvd and my assistant and me hosing down the classroom trying to rid the tables and chairs of chocolate cake and smears of ice cream. I have to say all jokes aside, it was a very sweet and touching experience. This was truly a child-driven party and they were so excited and rallied together as a true classroom community.




Other than the shower excitement, not too much else to report. Baby Sprunger is still nameless, thanks largely to her indecisive father who is as we speak methodically going through a baby name spreadsheet. She is becoming easier to feel, though she tends to be most active in the wee hours of the morning, particularly when Chicken joins us on our bed. I'm looking forward to spending some time in Seattle stroller and crib shopping with my parents and seeing Mark and Susan and my soon to be born nephew! Okay, goodnight everyone. It is almost 8:40, which means someone needs to go to bed!

20 weeks

Well Spring is certainly in the air in Ann Arbor. We've enjoyed some beautiful weather and have taken full advantage of it with long walks and BBQ. Well, only one barbecue, but we have many more planned since we just had to buy a brand new tank of gas. Not too much else going on here. Mike is busy with school and I've been busy keeping my students under the semblance of control. Apparently tomorrow is going to be very exciting in my room. My students have been planning a surprise shower under the guise of a puppet show. Supposedly it is happening tomorrow during choice time, but I'll keep you posted!

Week 19

So the long awaited day has come and gone and we found out that we are having a little girl! Between a very full bladder and a frozen ultrasound machine, the anticipation was almost unbearable for me. I suppose the uncooperative machine was a mixed blessing though, as the tech let me go use the bathroom which made the experience much more pleasant. I was also happy to see that the baby looked much more human this time. Of course that didn't stop me for mistaking the legs for a profile of her face, but eventually even I could tell that what we were looking at was a baby. Initially the baby had her legs crossed making it difficult for the tech to see anything, but after laying on my side for awhile she cooperated and we were able to to hear the news that we were having a girl. Something I had thought initially but then I started doubting my intuition after a series of "It's a boy!" dreams. Hopefully that is not foreshadowing for the delivery day. So little girl Sprunger looks healthy and all of her organs seem to be in good working order. I'm starting to feel movement more often and her kicks are much stronger. Here is a picture of me at 19 weeks 3 days. Excuse the windblown hair and dying plant. The hair is due to just coming back from walking Chicken, and we have no excuse for the plant, let's just hope we are more responsible parents.

18 weeks- out of the mouths of babes

So being a K/1 teacher has been a challenging, physically, and emotionally exhausting experience. That being said, the kids can be really funny. I told them I was pregnant about 5 weeks ago, after being outed by a parent who apparently was examining my waistline more closely than I'm comfortable thinking about. I decided it was time to spill the beans. A co-worker lent me a book by Eve Bunting called "My Teacher is Having a Baby." When I held this book up for my kids to see, I expected gasps of shock and rounds of applause. Instead none of the kids figured it out. I had to ask them why they thought I was reading this book. Nobody came up with an answer. So much for my big reveal. They were excited when they finally figured out that I was pregnant and sat quietly through what turned out be a somewhat lengthy read aloud.
Among some of my favorite comments have: Becca, "That is why your stomach is so fat!" Katherine, "She's not that fat." From sweet Robbie, I've had some very cute comments, one happened a few weeks ago as I was bending over, he exclaimed, "I see your bump! And it is going to get a lot bigger." Thanks for the prediction Robbie. Today he came to show me the lego ship he had made during choice time. He told me, "Your baby is going to be really cute." I said, "Just like you, huh?" His reply was an enthusiastic "Yeah!" Kira has been very interested in the baby. Today she asked me if it was wiggling inside me. I think my favorite comment so far has come from David. The other day I was sitting at my desk (trust me this doesn't happen very often) and he sidled past and said almost to himself, "your almost beautiful, Big and beautiful." Not quite sure if this was a compliment, but either way I'm almost touched and definitely amused.
One of the best things so far has been my recent discovery that I can use the baby as a way to manage the class. I believe it is either this week or last week the baby's hearing has started developing. The other day my kids were really noisy so I told them they were going to wake the baby up with all their talking. That threat actually brought about 30 seconds of silence. A miraculous moment!
Anyway, other than not too much to report. Mike has been in Colombia visiting family this week. I'm excited for him to get home. Chicken found a pink tennis ball at the park and that was very exciting for everyone, well mainly just her. Our one and only toilet got clogged this morning. That was fun, but my hero Dave Corsa came and plunged it clear for me this evening. Thank goodness I hadn't had my prune juice today. Pregnancy is so wonderful.
Stay tuned for the big sex reveal next week. Of the baby that is!
Enjoy a picture of Chicken with her new ball and me with in all my 18 weeks of glory. Please keep in mind that this was after a very large meal that I'm too embarrassed to talk about.