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.

Week 16

So I've finally caved and decided to start a blog. I've really enjoyed reading those written by friends so I thought I would give it a shot. Hopefully I can figure it out and keep it updated! I'm on midwinter break, the only good thing about teaching in Michigan, and we woke up to 8 inches of snow this morning. Guess we won't be using the barbeque any time soon.

So while I'm relaxing on the couch watching the snow continue to fall, poor Mike is at school preparing to take his accounting final. Chicken is keeping me company though, snoozing away next to me. She is still recovering from her muddy romp at the dog park yesterday and then subsequent bath.

The countdown to finding out the gender of the baby is on. I counted this morning and we have 16 days till our 19 week ultrasound. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, not knowing the gender has kept me from doing any baby shopping! I'm itching to get started but I'm trying hard to wait until March 10th. My main focus these past couple of days have been trying to feel the baby. So far I either have a very active baby or a very active digestive system. Hopefully time will help me figure out which. Other than that I'm feeling fine, though sleeping has started to become somewhat uncomfortable so I caved and ordered a pregnancy body pillow which is so large that Mike may be sleeping in the guest room for the next 5 months. Hopefully it will ease the strain on my hips and back. Well here is a picture of me at 16 weeks 4 days. Pardon the outfit, but these maternity sweatpants are pretty much the most comfortable thing in the world!