The Franck Files

Go Terps!!

2011-08-15T23:39:00.005-04:00

It's that time again... we're moving!! Matt recently accepted a position at the University of Maryland, so we're planning and packing and getting ready for life back on the East Coast. Matt's last day at Stanford is August 30th and his first day at Maryland is the 6th, so it's a bit crazy. But we're so proud of Matt and excited for what the future holds for him and our family. Go Terps!!

Walking on Sunshine

2011-08-15T10:00:00.001-04:00

Hold the phone... after months of not blogging I have decided that it's time to restart the blog machine. I took a little break because life was crazy in so many sectors (more on that later because I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat).

But in more exciting news, Levi decided to walk yesterday!! Luckily our neighbors happened to be outside recording their own son on his bike when this happened so we have his first steps fully documented. If it were up to us, we would have simply taken a few jacked-up iPhone photos... So for your viewing pleasure, we proudly present Levi:

Sing Me a Song, You're a Piano Man

2011-04-17T21:45:00.001-04:00

Levi got our love of music, and apparently our talent, too. Next stop, Julliard...

Tunnels

2011-03-27T18:58:00.003-04:00

Levi attended his first baby-gym class this week! He is the youngest in his class (some kids are almost 2) but you would never know it. Levi is all. over. the. place. He crawled up the stairs for the first time like he was an expert, and dove head first into the ball pit. Apparently he has no fear- I have a feeling this will be an issue later in life :)

One of his favorite things was crawling through the tunnels, so we got him his own this weekend.

High Five

2011-03-22T12:53:00.002-04:00

Fly Me To the Moon

2011-03-04T21:57:00.002-05:00

So, a few housekeeping items:

1. Sorry for the annoying "mommy" and "daddy" voices in the videos. Our son is adorable; we cannot help ourselves.
2. I am still working on redesigning and reformatting the blog, which is a huge exaggeration since I can't do anything remotely related to designing or formatting a website. If you can help with this or personally know someone who can, let me know.

Now on to the good stuff, full of the cheesy voices and sounds found in previous videos. We took the nugget swinging for the first time tonight. He loved it. We loved it. We love him. It was a love fest. We would have taken him earlier if he would have sat-up earlier. For the record: Levi is sitting up better, but there is still much room for improvement. I cannot wait for the day I can take him grocery shopping and actually sit him in the seat of the cart instead of putting his entire carrier in the big part of the cart and wedging my groceries in around him.

Enjoy! And try not to swoon too much over those gorgeous blue eyes coming right you :)

Who Needs To Sit...

2011-03-02T13:15:00.002-05:00

when you can climb up and stand yourself :)

He learned how to use his toys and toy baskets to get to his knees this morning. This quickly led to him getting on his feet. And if you notice, he's trying to cruise around things, too. It's been a busy morning- and I don't think this one is slowing down anytime soon!

Popping Up

2011-03-01T15:58:00.003-05:00

Levi has a bit of a sitting-up problem... meaning that he just refuses to do it. He can crawl and climb with the best of them, but he has absolutely NO desire to sit up. Now, the problem is that the pediatrician warned me last week that a 9 month old needs to be sitting for 15 minutes unassisted... um, not going to happen.

In hopes of being able to honestly tell the doctor, "Oh, Levi can't sit for 15 minutes but he's getting close", we have been forcing the issue with Levi. The main hindrance is that he just wants to go everywhere and see everything (Lord have mercy for when he can actually walk). But I think we found something...

Matt and I volunteered for the church nursery on Sunday and they had a ball popper. Levi has one too (thanks, Santa!) but we haven't set it up because he can't sit up, and sitting up is the best way to play with this toy. So Matt walked Levi over the popper, sat him down, and turned it on. And this is what he did for (I'm not kidding) five minutes:

He held on for dear life and would not let go! I don't know why he wants to bite it for so long... maybe to claim it from the other babies. He did this throughout the service... here's a second video we got, and this one's actually better:

Needless to say we went right home and set up Levi's ball popper and he does the same thing to his :)

Big Foot, Big Laughs

2011-02-27T10:28:00.002-05:00

We took Levi to toys r us last night to pick up some blocks (so we could build more towers for him to knock down). It turns out the store has remote control toys behind plexiglas so the kids can see what they do before purchasing it- sort of like "try-it-before-you-buy-it".

Levi LOVED this. Here he is enjoying Bigfoot (who apparently does over 80 things).

His favorite toy was the broken Mickey Mouse that moon walks. The boy giggled non-stop with that one.

It's really fun to see Levi's personality and sense of humor emerging as he gets older. And while he might be the spitting image of me, he is definitely all Matt.

Dinah Blow Your Horn

2011-02-25T21:36:00.004-05:00

I love love love watching him learn new things everyday... and boy is he pleased with himself!

Matt and Levi

2011-02-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

Our family loves weekends, especially Matt and Levi. These two boys have so much fun together; it's music to my ears

And... he's crawling

2011-02-21T16:12:00.003-05:00

Levi made it from his play mat in the living room, all the way across the floor to the (messy) master bedroom... time to put up baby gates!

I Wanna Rock With You

2011-02-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

Levi is on the verge of crawling... he's been working at it for months. He is currently getting on his hands and knees, rocking back and forth, and throwing his body forward. He does this in his crib before he falls asleep and when he wakes up. I'll occasionally hear him whack his head against the side of the crib... which of course leads to tears.

Swimming Videos

2011-02-04T12:00:00.004-05:00

We got a total of 7 videos of Levi's first swim lesson- he didn't crack a smile in any of them!! Ugh, he's so un-dramatic, but I suppose that's a good thing.

This is Levi's first submersion! I was so nervous but a 9 month old (named Amy no less) went right before him and she made it our alive; who cares if she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Levi, on the other hand, had no issue with it; he completely took it in stride. He just coughed a bit and looked a little confused. I was so so proud of him!

This is how Levi splashes- it's all business to him; it cracks me up!! He's like this in the bathtub, too. At the end of the video, he "walks" down a "diving board" and "jumps" into the water. In reality, I bounce him down a pink foam hippo and lower him into the water...

Like a Fish to Water

2011-02-03T09:00:00.001-05:00

Levi has officially started swim lessons! He attends a parent/tot class every Saturday. He's only been once, but he did such a great job!

Here we are getting used to the water (sorry for the bruise-like coloration on some of the photos... our little point-and-shoot is on the way out). Levi was totally chill about the entire thing. He wasn't overly excited or upset in any way; Levi is just like his Daddy: even keeled.

Getting ready to go on his back and kick-kick-kick-kick.

With his teacher... she helped him do his first submersion!!

We have some video, too- I'll post tomorrow!

This Blog Thing

2011-02-02T09:00:00.005-05:00

The blog is driving me crazy. I never update it enough and it needs new style. Expect a fresher look and current content soon. But if nothing else, I think the current state of our blog is reflective of where we are... here's what got us to this state...

1. Traveling: I think I was home maybe 4 days of the month of December. I attended my best friend's wedding in Dallas (go roomie!!). And then Levi and I went home for 3 weeks for Christmas (Matt joined us for 2 of those weeks). Even while we were in Seattle I was going places... back-and-forth between my parents and the in-laws, the San Juans, and San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. By the time I arrived home on January 5th, I was exhausted and totally unorganized.

2. The Flu: No sooner than 4 days after arriving home, the flu came to visit both me and Matt. Luckily, Levi was spared. And, at least I had 5 days to get him adjusted to life at home and get our house in some sort of working order before worshipping the porcelain goddess.

3. Hula's Passing: A few days after the start of the flu, Hula went in for a simple procedure and quickly declined from there. Enough said.

So it's fair to say that the past 2 months have been... CRAZY. And let me just take a moment to apologize for the lack of thank-you notes from Christmas. Sorry- it's just one of those years.

Now that February is finally here, I'm getting reorganized and reenergized. I'm throwing away anything not purposeful or beautiful and getting our home shaped-up. And the same thing goes for this blog. I'm getting an awesome new computer that will totally motivate me to blog more (not the reason for the new computer, just an incentive), which is good because we really like to look back through our posts over the years.

So that's life now. We're making it day-by-day, but we expect to be living more fully soon!! In the meantime... isn't he wonderful?

Sweet Hula

2011-02-01T12:15:00.000-05:00

Around 10:30am on Saturday, January 15th, Hula went to the great steak hoagie in the sky. Our sweet girl was doing really well until pneumonia set in early Saturday morning. Just the day before she was eating beef flavored baby food from a syringe.

When I went back to see her on Saturday morning, I said to the vet, "she looks really tired. I hope she can keep this up". I sat with her for awhile, petted her, and told her how much we loved her and how proud we were of her. At about 10am, she kept lifting her head and looking over at me. I smiled at her, told her to rest. A few minutes later, she started bleeding from the nose and her heart stopped. I think she was looking at me to say goodbye.

They were able to restart her heart once, but it gave out only a few minutes later. She was too tired; she was done. Matt was able to come out with Levi, and we held her and said goodbye to her as a family.

The past few weeks have been pretty sad around here, but we are picking up the pieces and moving on. I think what makes it so difficult what the surprise of it all: it's not like Hula had cancer or was 14 years old. She was only 5, and happy and healthy as can be. Obviously, the first few days were the roughest. And just when I think I'm making headway on the grief, I find something of hers: her harness, old dog treats, a tuft of hair, a small duck hidden under a piece of furniture. Just last week I had to go pick up her remains from the hospital; it was so sad. We had her cremated with her favorite toy, Duckers, and now they're both in a small box on our dresser. We've removed almost all of Hula's stuff from our house- some to be donated, some to be thrown away, and some to be placed in a box. One of the most cathartic things we've done is gone through all of our old blog posts labeled "Hula". We will likely be posting lots of videos, photos, and stories of Hula here simply so we have a record of them. So don't be surprised to see random stuff popping up about Hula in the next few months.

One of the things we've always talked about it how fun it's going to be having Hula around while our kids are little, how much they're going to love her, and how much Hula is going to love them. In the past 2 months Levi had really taken a shine to Hula- reaching for her and smiling whenever she came close. Even as we said goodbye to her, he was grabbing her and talking to her. It was super sweet to see how Levi knew her and loved her.

Hula was the most amazing dog we've ever known. We miss her to pieces. And we are beyond thankful that we got to spend her life with her.

January

2011-01-27T00:10:00.003-05:00

It's fair to say this hasn't been the best month ever. We've battle tummy bugs and said good-bye to the world's sweetest dog (more on that later). But today our photographer sent us these images. Sometimes there are no words for the joy I feel looking at our little man. Enjoy!

Hula

2011-01-14T03:11:00.004-05:00

As most of you know, our sweet Hula is in critical condition. She went in for a routine procedure and in the recovery process became septic and nearly died on us. It is the worst-case-scenario of any procedure requiring anesthesia; a horror story on every level. She is currently in a state-of-the-art ICU unit getting hands-on care 24 hours a day. Today she was moved off the ventilator and by the end of the day was extubated (sp?) and only on nasal oxygen. At this moment, she is responding well to this situation. Hula has "woken up" and will spend a few minutes at a time looking around, making eye contact, and attempting to lift her head. She looks like she's been hit with a mac truck.

When we arrived at the ICU on Wednesday, Hula had less than a 50% chance of living. Her current prognosis is 50-50. She's making steps in the right direction, but she's still extremely fragile and can relapse or slip at any time. If she does survive, she will likely have brain damage on some level. Luckily, I've been able to be with her and love on her the past few days. Hula is more than a great pet; she is the fourth member of our family. Please pray that she gets to come home to us.

Get In My Belly!!

2010-11-21T17:43:00.004-05:00

Levi has started solids!! A little over a week ago, we tried rice cereal... this is what he thought of it:

Don't you love his looks of disgust? But after a few rough attempts, Levi finally decided that food is delicious:

I love how he kicks his legs in sheer delight; sometimes he even squeals with happiness :)

Levi Goes to Hollywood

2010-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

My parents have been pretty obsessed with this commercial for a few weeks:

So Levi decided to get in on the action:

Blink

2010-10-25T12:44:00.001-04:00

We're trying to give Levi a well-round appreciation of music. Yesterday, Matt offered to watch Levi so I could dry my hair and put on some make-up (we were going to the Home Depot so I wanted to look cute). It turns out Matt was really trying to develop a love of Blink 182 in our son:

I think he likes it.

Two Firsts

2010-10-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

Levi has been sick with a tummy bug since Friday-ish. At first I thought it was a bad reaction to one of his vaccines from Friday, but once Monday hit and I was changing his diaper every 20 minutes, I realized it was the real deal: Levi had come down with his first illness.

Thankfully, he's staying hydrated and keeping milk down... it's just that he can't keep it in. This means we've been through a week's worth of diapers in 2 days AND that Levi is overcoming some of the worst diaper rash I've ever seen. I call it: I'm-going-to-scream-in-your-face-for-even-laying-me-down-on-the-changing-pad diaper rash.

As you can imagine, life hasn't exactly been fun or easy around our house. I'm constantly stain-sticking his new homemade wipes and gagging over the smell of Desitin Max (seriously, the smell is so obnoxious to me, I thought I might be pregnant-I took a test-I'm not. The stuff is nasty, but it works). But there is some light in all of this darkness. As I was changing the zillionth diaper yesterday afternoon, Mr. Cranky Pants decided I was the funniest person around:

This is Levi's first, real laugh. THANK GOODNESS I happened to have the camera right next to me. You can only imagine the joy I felt watching him light up and giggle, especially knowing that he wasn't feeling his best. How can you not love this little guy!!

Four Months

2010-10-19T11:13:00.000-04:00

Levi turned 4-months old this past weekend! I can't believe his first year is already 33.3% done. Where on earth has the time gone?

Levi passed his 4-month check-up with flying colors on Friday! He was 14 pounds and 25.25 inches. He's a bit below 50% for weight, a bit above 50% for height, and still hanging out around the 25% for head size. Levi is surpassing nearly ALL of the 4-month milestones, which means we have a little genius on our hands :)

It's amazing how quickly babies change and grow at this age. It seems like Levi acquires a new skill everyday (wish I could say the same). Just look at how coordinated he's become:

You can see that Levi has said "good-bye" to the pacifier and "hello I love you let's get married" to his thumb. While I was a bit bummed at this (because weaning off of a thumb is harder than weaning off of a paci) it's actually really nice that he can self-soothe in the middle of the night when he wakes up. Even better is that Levi is nearly all done waking up in the middle of the night! It's hit-or-miss at this point, but we are no longer feeding the little guy and he's falling back asleep easier and easier every night.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-16T17:36:00.007-04:00

Levi went to his first pumpkin patch today! We dressed him in some fall gear, which was a bit facetious since it was 97 here this week. Somehow, he turned out looking like a cowboy- someone even commented on how much they loved his "western wear"... gee, thanks. I think the problem is his jeans. Levi's built like his dad: long and lean, so I can't find any pants that fit him right and apparently his current jeans look like Wrangler's. But who cares- look how cute he is!!

PUMPKIN MAN!!

2 Month Check-Up

2010-08-13T22:33:00.000-04:00

Levi had his 2 month check-up today (although he isn't 2 months until Monday...). Overall, Mr. Man did remarkably well.

Levi's 2 Month stats:

- Weight: 11 pounds, one ounce (just below 50th percentile)

- Height 22 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

- Head Circumference: didn't get the measurement, but 25th percentile

Levi showed the doctor how much he loves lights (the boy is obsessed) and how he wiggles non-stop. Our first pediatrician thought Levi would be a gymnast because he was rolling over at 5 days old and super strong. Out current pediatrician thinks his love of lights and dancing will produce quite a rock star. Gymnast rock star?? I can see it now...

Levi was also the lucky recipient of 5 immunizations; one oral, one super injections with 3 immunizations, and one solitary injection. The nurse gave him the oral one first and he loved it because it tasted so sweet. And right when she got him to trust her, she poked him once in each leg. The poor guy lost it! He screamed and turned a shade of red I've never seen before. I pulled him off the table and into my arms before she could even get the band-aids on him- it just broke my heart. But overall, Levi cried for less than a minute and then whimpered on-and-off for awhile. And then he passed out tired on the way home.

I'm having some issues posting photos/videos, but once I resolve it I'll share some actually pictures of him- he's getting big :)

Therapy

2010-08-04T01:35:00.001-04:00

This will cure any ailment...

http://www.pbjphotography.com/levi/

And forgive the post baby pudge going on in my photos...

Weight Update

2010-07-30T20:32:00.003-04:00

Levi's finally gaining some good weight... can you tell??

He has his mom's cheeks...

He's a Hungry Hippo

2010-07-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

It turns out Levi isn't so good at the whole nursing thing. We've been working on it for over a month now and just when he overcomes one difficulty, he finds another- poor guy! Anyway, we took him in to get weighed this week and he hadn't gained any weight so we had to get a bit more pro-lactive. Our sweet guy is still on breast milk but it now comes via the bottle, not via mommy for the time being. And while this is sad for me (I miss snuggling my baby!!), it's great because now Matt can help out at feedings.

Matt giving Mr. Man some milky goodness... I wish you could see Levi's little onesie; it says "Run DMC" on it. Mama Celoni made the beautiful blanket on the back of the rocker and the cute little burp cloth under Levi's head was made by my sorority twin, Julia. We are surrounded by creativity, which is excellent because mine is lacking.

First Walk

2010-07-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

He we are on our first walk with Levi! It was weeks ago, but still note-able :)

You would never know it, but there's a baby in there. And not just any baby. Our sweet baby boy :)

Levi likes walks. The sidewalks in our neighborhood are a bit uneven so sometimes the bouncing wakes him up. But overall he's quite a trooper in the stroller. Last weekend we walked about 10 miles total... mostly into town and back on several occasions. We visited the farmer's market, coffee shops, open houses, etc. Someday we'll actually pull back the two covers we have on him and actually let him see the outdoors. Promise.

Big Sisters

2010-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

People keep asking us how Hula and Gerdy are handling their new roles as big sisters to Levi. Well... that's a good question. By now they've realized that:

1. There is something else in the house;

2. That this something else is alive; and

3. That this something else gets treated better than them. Sad but true.

Gerdy in the tent... one of the last safe hide-outs for the girls

Soooo... it's not a stretch to say that they aren't quite as thrilled as we are with Levi. They spend a lot of time cooped up in the kitchen and the back yard instead of on the sofa with mom. That being said, every time we sit on the floor and have the dogs come up to our sweet boy, they are super excited to check him out giving him lots of kisses. And when they are in the same vacinity of their little brother they are all eyes and ears to try and figure him out.

Their attempt to catch a better view of Mr. Man as he dozes off in his sweet peace.

Once Levi isn't as fragile, we'll have them around much more; and once he's interactive they'll love him; and once he's throwing his food on the floor they'll think he's the best thing that ever happened to our family. Until then... they will be the jealous big sisters.

Hula... totally playing the "poor me" card from behind the kitchen gate. Have you ever seen such a sad face?? She's just wee bit dramatic...

First Piece of Mail

2010-07-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Levi received some mail the other day...

It was from the social security office; he got his number. Our sweet boy is a full-blown, documented citizen now. Way to go, Levi!

One Month

2010-07-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I'm about to say this: my sweet baby Levi is one month old today. It's not too much to say that we absolutely adore every moment with him. He is beyond amazing. He exceeds everything we ever imagined he could or would be. Every time I wake him from a nap, he is more incredible than when I put him down. Levi has completely captured our hearts!

On the day he was born... June 16th, 2010

Levi did well at his one month check up yesterday! He got his second dose of HepB (much more painful for me to watch than for him to actually get) and peed all over the nurse. The doctor confirmed that Levi has a blocked tear duct, which should open on it's own in the next year. We spoke more about his reflux. If he's not much better in 5-6 days, we're going to move onto different meds. The dr thinks Levi has ulcers from the reflux- my poor baby!!

How could anyone not love this beautiful face??

Here are Levi's first month stats:

Height: 21.5 inches

Weight: 9 pounds, 7 ounces

He's still long and lean, but he's getting a bit chubbier... it's fun to watch the fat rolls develop on his arms and legs! Still, Levi is barely making the ounce-a-day weight gain that they want. Hopefully he'll do better this month and really wow them on the scale at his two month check-up!

It's exhausting being a newborn... check out his long, skinny legs and big feet. It looks like we may have another distance runner in our family!

Levi continues to be mellow and low-key; he's such a content baby (except when eating...). We are working on finding a daily routine for us; he's still a bit young to really start one. Essentially we're on a eat-every-three-hours schedule. We start the day at 7am with his first feeding... change his diaper and "play" for 5-10 minutes if he's alert. Then he takes about a 2 hour nap before eating again. Bedtime starts after the 7pm feeding and includes bath, eating, diaper change, swaddling, reading, and a song we've been singing to him since he was in the womb. Matt then rocks him to sleep and puts him in the bassinet while I clean the kitchen. At night Levi can sleep as long as he wants between feedings... usually 3.5-4 hours. One night he went 6 hours between feedings- it was AMAZING!

Touchdown!!

Since Levi doesn't really do much (besides sleeping, eating, and pooping- and being amazingly wonderful), I have to make my own fun with him everyday. I usually nap about an hour in the morning, then I tidy the house and start laundry. I try to get out of the house with him at least once a day- these outings have to be strategically planned between feedings and usually happen after the 1pm feeding. Outings include such fancy places as CVS, Bank of America, and the post office- I know, I lead a very exciting life. I'd also like to start a daily walk after the 4pm feeding. When Matt gets home he's very hands-on with Levi... burping, changing diapers, playing, etc. Occasionally the three of us get out for a walk as a family in the late evening before his 10pm feeding.

Levi is really working on getting his hands in his mouth. Soon enough!

Levi loves lights/shadows, feeding time, being swaddled, and his fisher price lamb chair "Lamby" (it's already on it's second set of batteries). He has a love/hate relationship with his pacifier, which we now call his binksy or binks, but it helps his acid reflux so we're continuing with it! "Play time" includes tummy time, reading books, looking at high contrast images, snuggling on the bed, etc. Levi is uber-observant and loves just to look at something on the wall for minutes at a time. I love how content he is, but we can't wait until he wakes up some more and we can really interact with him!

I love looking at this face everyday. Such a sweet boy!

We have already given Levi some nicknames in the past month...

- Mr. Man (we actually have a Mr. Man song for him)

- Mysterious Man

- Little Man

- Little Guy

- Sweet Boy

- Kissy Face (all Matt...)

- Buddy or Buddy Boy

Totally passed out on Gramma Kim... baby boy is getting some serious cheeks!

We are so in love with Levi- he was worth every hormone injection, doctor appointment, medical procedure, false pregnancy test, stretch mark, and sleepless night. The blessing we received is way beyond the prayer that we prayed. We can't wait to see what month 2 has in store!

First Prescription

2010-07-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

Levi is officially drugged up... sorta. After a week of completely losing it during his feedings (and Monday where he refused all but one feeding), we went to the doctor to figure out what was wrong. It turns out our little man has silent reflux.

Instead of the spitting-up-type-of-reflux that most babies get, silent refluxers don't really spit up very much; they just swallow the stomach acid back down essentially burning the esophagus both ways- poor Levi!! Luckily, he was only in pain while eating; otherwise he is his normal, content, sweet self.

So, the doctor gave a prescription for baby zantac and told us to just "burp the shit out of him". This we can do. I'm also feeding Levi a little differently and this seems to be doing wonders for him. They also encouraged us to use a pacifier (which we already do) to help him keep the acid down. His last few feedings have been so much better- it makes such a difference when he's happy and content while feeding instead of red and frustrated.

Not only does Levi have his first prescription, he also has his first problem with medical insurance. Despite registering our little man and receiving several envelopes of confirmation paperwork, our insurance company is claiming they have no record that Levi exists. I have a bag of dirty diapers sitting by the door that proves otherwise, but apparently that doesn't count. What would the first month of life be without having to sit on hold with Blue Shield to explain that I, in fact, had a baby and that's why we registered his existence weeks ago... and here he is!!

Lamby

2010-07-14T11:22:00.001-04:00

During Levi's first week, he was having some sleeping issues. So, like any overly worried first-time parents, we went to Babies-R-Us and picked up anything and everything sleep related to help him (we now own 3 types of swaddles, 2 types of sleep sacks, and a sound machine that mimics the womb, which I personally love-poor Matt). As we wandered down an aisle, I saw this:

No, there was not a baby in the chair. Regardless, we had to have it. It full-on sings and vibrates; I knew Levi would love it. And he does- he slept in it at night for awhile and now naps in it at least once a day. We call it his Lamby. It was the only place he'd nap yesterday.

Usually he gets all buckled in safely, but here he is in a full-blown Lamby Swaddle. He is so stinkin' cute- I can hardly stand it!!!

And don't worry... I straightened him out right after I took the picture so his face wouldn't be tucked into his swaddle :)

It's Franck-tastic

2010-07-12T10:52:00.000-04:00

We spent the weekend visiting with Matt's entire family! Everyone flew down to meet our little man. Levi slept 99% of the time, but he still loved meeting everyone.

Gramma Kim with Levi. He loved all of cuddle time with Gramma- they spent a few hours just hanging out together.

Grandpa Jim with his second grandchild, who is also his second grandson. Levi was the 7th Franck boy born in a row- he was also the smallest!

Levi with Uncle John and Aunt Julie... possibly contemplating another?? Their son, Jackson, now has a boy cousin on each side of his family... lucky him!

Matt and I also got to meet James' girlfriend, Amanda, this weekend- I think she may have held Levi the most :)

Levi with James- he's a little excited. Since the day Levi was born, he's had this line above his nose... he'll furrow his brow, look all concerned, and get this deep line between his eyes (you can see it in his picture with grandpa). I had no idea where he got it, but it turns out it's a Franck gene- James has the same line!

Levi with Uncle Richard... it's always fun to see young guys hold newborns- you'd think they were holding a bomb. Right after Matt took this picture, Richard passed Levi right back and said, "here you go".

Jackson!! Our nephew was such a trooper this weekend! Gerdy ADORED him and he kindly put up with all of her chasing and jumping. It was great to see him; we learned that he currently loves swimming, balls, berries, and rocks. Oh to be a toddler again...

Thanks for visiting!!

Ain't It Grand

2010-07-09T23:47:00.004-04:00

We've been busy around here... busy with diapers, laundry, and meeting lots of family and friends!! Levi has now met all of his grandparents, the Franck boys, his aunt Julie (who is married to a Franck boy), and Amanda (who is dating a Franck boy). We're currently enjoying the Franck family for the weekend so we'll have lots of pictures up from their visit soon. But here are my parents with their first grandchild, Levi:

Levi with my mom. She's still not sure on her "grandma name"... she was thinking of "Mamo" since that's what she called her grandma, but can't really settle on it. If she doesn't pick one soon, she'll be subject to whatever Levi comes up with and will have to live the rest of her life as something horrible like "Grandma BooBoo". Levi loves his Grandma, and I'm pretty sure that Grandma loves Levi, too... she requests pictures of him daily, sometimes several times a day. But I can't blame her; Levi is pretty amazing. See how clean our floors are in this photo? That's all thanks to Grandma who worked hard cleaning them- thanks!!

Levi with Papa!! My dad was smart and settled on his "Grandpa Name" a long time ago. For those of you who don't know (or haven't put it together, yet), we chose Levi's middle name after my dad, Thomas (he goes by Tom - and my brother is named after my dad but goes by Tommy - Levi goes by Levi). I love my dad and am excited that Levi carries his name; I think my dad's pretty excited, too. Levi doesn't look that excited yet, but I'm sure he will be when he's older.

Bath Time

2010-07-03T16:34:00.002-04:00

Levi has had three baths total in his short life... one in the hosptial and two at home. We recorded the first one but the footage is a bit... revealing, so here are photos from the second! Levi is amazingly calm during his bath- he only cried when I washed his hair during the first bath and he didn't cry at all during his most recent one.

Taking it all in... look at that belly!

He's really working at getting his (right) hand into his mouth lately. Sometimes he gets his thumb, but he usually gets his two fingers.

All warm in his towel.

Clean and ready for bed!

Levi's also been smiling a lot when he sleeps... it's beyond adorable. Hopefully we'll get it on camera soon.

Two Weeks Old

2010-06-30T19:40:00.000-04:00

We've had Levi for two weeks now and we've all survived!! We're all tired (except Levi), but we're making it through the craziness of having a newborn.

Levi did a great job at his 2 week appointment this week. At this point they want babies gaining an ounce a day, and Levi is literally gaining an ounce a day. His jaundice is looking great and his doctor was super impressed with his demeanor- as of now, he is extrememly content and rarely fusses. His doctor was also amazed with how strong he is; Levi showed off how he can roll onto his side so easily (he's also demonstrating his uber-strength by scooting backwards out of his new sleep positioner)... she thinks we have a little gymnast on our hands.

Now that Levi is 2 weeks old, Matt has to go back to work. I am so sad about this; it's been wonderful having him home to bond with his son. Luckily, Levi's Mamo is coming in town for the rest of the week and then Matt will have a 3-day weekend to spend with us. And then I guess we get used to this new type of "normal".

Pictures soon :)

Levi Video- 5 Days Old

2010-06-26T19:10:00.003-04:00

Levi is only awake 2-3 hours a day, but when he is, he's super cute... here he is at 5 days old on his changing table. I love this video because:

1. You can see that Levi has the hiccups... this is something he did several times a day in the womb and has continued outside the womb, as well. It doesn't seem to phase him, but it can hinder his nursing, which is just a wee bit frustrating for everyone involved.

2. You can see how little Levi is when you see him in comparison to Matt's hand.

3. You can see his little bald spot... Levi has hair on the sides and back of his head, but the top just has a little fuzz on it.

4. It has Levi in it and he's pretty wonderful... and the sneeze at the end is pretty cute, too.

Enjoy!!

One Week Old

2010-06-24T19:42:00.004-04:00

As of yesterday, Levi Thomas has made it a week!! Some of the highlights of his first week:

He can roll over on his side... usually a milestone surpassed months from now, Levi has been showing off his skill both in and out of his swaddle. We called the pediatrician on Tuesday and she was shocked a 6 day old could do this... we're hoping this also means he's super smart. But he's not as smart as us: we blocked him with a sleep positioner. Granted, he despises sleeping outside of the swaddle and in the positioner, but he's learning.
Levi has become very confused on the idea of "night" and "day". Sooo... he sleeps through the night day so soundly it's nearly impossible to wake him and he tries to stay awake all through the night. This is supposed to get better after the first month; I'm hoping it gets better tomorrow :)
Levi took his newborn photos! We won't have them for a bit, but I can't wait to see them. He was naked for 99% of them and proceeded to pee and poop on everything. It was lovely.
I finally cut off both his and my hospital bands. I liked having him labeled that he belongs to me, but Matt finally intervened and made me cut them. It was painful, but I made it through.
Levi passed his first pediatrician visit with flying colors!! He's gaining good weight and his little bit of jaundice is going away nicely. Our doctor kindly answered all of our questions (we had a full sheet of them) and let us know that he is perfectly fine.
Levi got even more clothes... having been promised that we would have a 9 pound baby, we decided to forgo purchasing any newborn clothing (or diapers for that matter). So when we brought home our sweet 7 pound 8 ounce baby and tried to dress him in 3 month clothing, his little arms and legs got completely lost in all the extra fabric. We had to regroup and send my parents out shopping for something that would fit. Thank goodness for grandparents!!
He lost his umbilical cord stump! I still don't know what to do with it. Reason says to throw that nasty thing away, but it's still sitting in a bowl on our dresser because the mom part of me wants to frame it and hang it in his room. I'm hoping to come to a nice compromise.

Here is a photo from the first week, complete with the swaddle and hospital bands that are now gone.

Levi Wakes Up

2010-06-19T20:41:00.004-04:00

He sleeps continually, but it's really cute when he finally wakes up. Forgive the spit-up at the end...

Levi Thomas Franck

2010-06-16T23:06:00.007-04:00

He's finally here!! Today we welcomed our son Levi Thomas Franck. He is absolutely amazing- we just adore him! Here are some highlights from the labor/delivery process...

We arrived at the hospital at 7:30pm on Tuesday night. The plan was to start the induction that night. To do this by first "ripening" the cervix, which takes about 12 hours...

June 15th, 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant... we were beyond ready to meet our son!

After they started the "cervical ripening", I started having lots of cramping which is to be expected. But after about 3 hours of laying on my side with my eyes closed in pain, they decided to check how I was progressing. Low and behold, I was actually having contractions and had dilated to a 3 and my cervix was perfectly ripe- no 12 hours of ripening for me! The stopped that drug and gave me my epidural (which was beyond amazing). They let me continue contracting without any meds and by 6am I was dilated to 4. Around 7am, they started Pitocin and my body continued to progress quickly. At 10:45am I was in a lot of discomfort and made Matt get the doctor. Turns out I was fully dilated and could start pushing. I started pushing at 11:15 am and at 11:44am, we finally met Levi...

Levi finally graced us with his presence. He was peaceful from the start- just a few quick cries. He weighed 7.5 pounds and was 19.5 inches long.

Here Levi is in the nursery getting all cleaned up. He latched on to the first thing he could get his hands on (it's the wire to his temperature monitor)

First bath in the nursery!! He was not a fan...

What a clean, beautiful baby boy!

Look how tall he is (actually, he measured right about average, 19.5 inches)

The windows to Levi's soul

Time for his first outfit, he gave himself a little scratch on the face but nothing too bad.

Snug as a bug. He has been so peaceful so far... I hope he stays this way!

Rolling around in style... you can't walk holding your baby because it's a liability. They don't want you to trip and fall and sue the hospital. So, he has a little crib cart in which to roll around.

A very proud daddy- Levi adores Matt

Clinging to his mommy right after a feeding. One of my favorite things to do so far is burp him after he eats.

So that's it from here. Levi is sleeping right now and he's making some sweet sounds. He's a good, but slower eater and just the most precious little thing. We adore our little guy! We leave the hospital on Friday around noon and then we'll introduce Levi to his big sisters, Hula and Gerdy, which will be a whole new adventure in and of itself...

38 Weeks

2010-06-09T10:21:00.003-04:00

In short:

I am still only 1cm dilated. The baby has not dropped. I am not effaced or anything that would indicate that he is looking to make a timely exit of my uterus. Like everything else, it seems like baby boy is on his own schedule. I, however, will continue to walk for miles-a-day, bounce for hours on my birth ball, and do whatever it takes to get this nugget out of my belly and into my arms. It is turning into a battle of wills and I am determined to win.

Baby Shower

2010-06-04T19:43:00.010-04:00

About two weeks ago, our new friends in Palo Alto hosted a little baby shower for us!! It was so thoughtful of everyone. Besides my parents who flew out for the party, the guests were from our OAG (One Another Group) at church. They've been so welcoming and generous towards us; we feel like we landed in a really good place out here. Anyway, we had a blast and took a ton of photos... and it only took us 2 weeks to pull it all together!!

Our friends, Mikee and Jo hosted the shower at their home and they were all sorts of creative with the entire thing. One of our favorite things about this shower was that it was co-ed, so there was a fun mix of humor and conversation. They planned awesome games, too- many of which are pictured below. And the food... SO good!

Anyway, on to the photos...

Invitees were asked to bring something to put in a time capsule box that our son gets to open when he's 21. There were all sorts of great ideas: a memory stick, fashion and computer magazines, a twinkie, etc. The trick, of course, is that we have to keep track of this box for 21 years... but we're thinking the smell of the twinkie will tip us off... Here we are with his box-o-goodies, which is now on the top shelf of his closet.

Diaper Bag Design: The group was split into 2, and each team was instructed to design and make (out of a paper bag, newspaper, and other random things, no less) a diaper bag that we could take to the beach- we asked for cup holders. We were super excited for this one because (nearly) everyone in Silicon Valley shares the same skill-set (think engineer-smart-science people, aka NOT AMY).

Team A (Steve, Adelene, Qianwen, Vicky, Mamo (aka my mom). with their beautiful creation- notice the umbrella, perfect for the beach!

Team B (Lauren, Pam, Jane, Greg, Jen, and Papa (aka, my dad) with their beautiful creation, "The iBag"- notice Jane modeling the bag with the awesome "BF" (aka: Baby Franck) monogram. They graciously allowed my dad in the team photo... he played to his strengths during this event by opting out of it.

Debating... decisions, decisions...

Team B is the winner!! I think it was tested and guaranteed 500 pound weight limit :) For what it's worth, we are actually going to test each of these at the beach this summer.

Somehow we didn't get a picture of everyone- I was convinced we did. But it was a great time with a really fun group. Thanks for helping us get ready for our little boy, and thanks for hosting, Mikee and Jo!!

Siblings

2010-05-28T14:43:00.006-04:00

Warning: if you think pregnant bellies are gross, this post is not for you :)

We are a bit nervous about how the puppies will react to their little brother, but our first born seems to be coming around to the idea...

snuggling the little guy... amazingly she still fits like this

giving him kisses... it helps that I lather on the coco-butter... I average about a tub a week

Gerdy's not into the belly; can you blame her? It's not exactly "cute", but we think she'll be a great big sister- the kind that gets concerned when the baby cries. Hula, on the other hand... she'll probably find a comfy spot furthest away from the screaming and just tune him out. Can't blame her, either!

36 Weeks

2010-05-26T08:40:00.001-04:00

We're 36 weeks today... only a few weeks left. Baby looked great on the non-stress test; we got one contraction and he was moving off the charts- to the point where I was embarrassed to be in the PDC. He's happy and healthy, though I think he's running out of room. The check-out lady at Trader Joe's told me it looked like the bun was going to burst out of my oven... the check-in desk at the hospital asked if I was going to the PDC or L/D... yeah, it's getting tight in there. And if you look at our photos on facebook, you'll see that in every one from the past week I look like I'm going to eat an entire goat. It's time to get him out and start life as a family.

At the end of my appt, the doctor reminded me to get my bags packed. I joked that I would but they're just going to sit there until late June when the baby finally decides he's ready. Apparently, my dr doesn't agree. Because he's so big, I'm dilated, and having on-and-off contractions (and we have a rock-solid conception date so we know he's physically ready), she said she wouldn't surprised at all if he came at 37 weeks.

So, you do the math. In my mind, 37-36 is one week. And all I can say to that is, "holy crap". I guess I should get some curtain rods for his room and then maybe hang them. I guess we should move the dining table out of the nursery. I guess I should check to see if we even have any 0-3 month white onesies. I guess I should drive the 2 miles to ikea to actually get his nursery rug. I guess I should actually finish his burp cloths so that he has more than 3 when he gets here... mama needs to get busy. Oh, and that hospital admission paperwork should probably get in the mail today.

Of course, we all know how this really works. I'm going to get all organized and ready by Monday night (yea for 3-day-weekends!) and then he's going to take his sweet time. But still, it would be nice if I could walk into the nursery without stepping over junk all of the time.

35 Weeks

2010-05-19T13:00:00.001-04:00

So, we are still waiting on our new camera charger to arrive in the mail. But I found a way to post a preggo picture of me. Did you know that cell phones have cameras? They do, so I decided I should use mine. Here I am in all my Shamu-like glory a week and a half ago... I'm 35 weeks today and my med student mentor says I'm bigger and that my belly is lower than it was last week... but this will have to suffice for now (and for what it's worth, we had been walking around San Fran all day, which is why I look like I'm about to fall over and sleep)

Other big 35 week news:

1. I've been having contractions since early Saturday morning. They range from painful and regular, to painless and sporatic, to no feeling what-so-ever. This is they call this "false labor". Baby Boy seems to love it... whenever I'm having a contraction, he wiggles like crazy. And starting this whole "contraction phase" made me realize that it's high-time I hang the nursery curtains and submit my hospital administration paperwork. He's going to be here in just a few weeks!

2. This week's NST went well... it was the first time they really had to work with him to get him moving, but once he was willing to stop being lazy, he was all over the place. And they were able to record 2-3 contractions on paper!!

3. My 35 week appointment today went well. We discussed all the big issues, like when to call L/D with contractions and what pain management looks like after delivery. Did you know they only give you motrin after giving birth?? Sounds cruel to me... I will be requesting whatever I need to keep on top of the pain :) We also talked about the baby's size... they predict he'll be 9 pounds at 40 weeks, to which the resident smiled and said, "that'll be easy-you can do that". If she brings that attitude into the delivery room, I will smack her. And it turns out my contractions have done a bit of work- I'm 1cm dilated!! I have much further to go, and I could stay at 1cm for weeks and weeks, but it's fun to think my body is getting ready.

That's it from here...

His Father's Son

2010-05-13T17:47:00.004-04:00

Well, the numbers are in. Baby Boy is bigger than most 34 week babies- and his head is measuring 36 weeks, 6 days (basically 3 weeks ahead of schedule). So, he's healthy and big- and everything else is looking great, too. I can't wait to meet mini-Matt in a few weeks!

He weighs 5 pounds, 12 ounces (and there are 16 ounces in a pound...) and should gain about 1/2 pound every week from here on out. So, if he goes to 40 weeks, he'll be close to 10 pounds at birth. Awesome. Who's jealous??

The weirdest thing about these tests is that they are somewhat inaccurate. They say there's a 1 pound error rate, so he could be anywhere from 4 pounds, 12 ounces to 6 pounds, 12 ounces, which is a big window, if you ask me. If he's on the lighter end of this spectrum, he's doing just right for his gestational age. But if he's on the heavier end of this spectrum, we got one chunky baby coming our way!

What does this all mean?? Not much... unless you're in the top or bottom 10% of size, they consider you "normal". I talk with my dr about the results next week, so hopefully she'll have some insight on how to best handle his size and if we should induce at a certain gestational age, or not. I'm hoping she won't let me go past 39 weeks- but maybe we'll get lucky and Baby Boy will come on his own before then!

Sadly, we don't have any photos since he was hiding his face with his hands (my mom says he's shy and hiding because he's naked...). And, I would post a preggo picture of me, but we have lost our camera charger and our camera is out of battery. But don't worry, our replacement should be here soon!

How much does nugget weigh??

2010-05-09T16:55:00.000-04:00

At each and every one of my prenatal appointments, I have been reminding them of the big babies on both sides of our families. I was two weeks early and 8 pounds; Matt was almost 10 pounds; the last Franck born, Jackson, was a whopping 10.4 pounds. I have nightmares of going into labor at 40+ weeks and taking home a 12 pound baby.

The good news is that my belly is measuring right on track; technically the belly should measure in inches as many weeks as I am pregnant. It's a horribly inaccurate science, but the drs still go by it and my numbers are perfect. But they're a bit concerned with our family history so we get to have another "how big is the baby" sonograms on Thursday when I'll be 34 weeks and 1 day pregnant. At this point, the average baby weighs 4.73 pounds.

The question is... is Baby Franck below, above, or right on average?? You can vote on the right-hand side of the page. We'll let you know how he measures up on Thursday afternoon!

Memories...

2010-05-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

I was looking through old photos and came across these...

This was the drug delivery for our second IVF procedure. About 8 different types of syringes and 10 different types of drugs... some to shut your system down, some to ramp your system up, some to help the eggies grow, some to help the eggies mature. Some to trick your body into thinking it's pregnant, but all to drive you certifiably crazy. I remember when Matt was explaining his master's thesis to someone and was explaining why HCG is banned for professionally athletes... I bursted out with, "Hey- we have that in our fridge!". Some come with injectable pens, some require mixing with different syringes, some go into the belly, others the butt (they say the hip, but that's a lie), a few into the thigh or arm. And then there were the 15 pills I took daily, and the IV transfusion to help my body not kill the embryos (we have my IV pole in the garage if you ever need to borrow one). And the best part is that your dosage/timing for both injectable and oral drugs changes daily... our house was C-R-A-Z-Y, and run by a single sheet of paper that was kept on the fridge.

And this is why it's all worth it:

His first baby pic!! These are the three embryos we transferred during our second IVF cycle. We called them "Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail" (the three embryos we transferred in our first cycle were "Huey, Dooey, and Louie"). They were three days old at this point. They were all 8-cell embryos and considered "perfect" on transfer day. We decided that the embryo sticking out to the right was the one that implanted. The other two didn't make it, which is totally normal, but I do wonder what happened to them.

I absolutely love this picture... and to think we'll actually get to meet this little guy in only a matter of weeks!

Week-in-Review

2010-04-27T14:44:00.000-04:00

Highlights from past week:

2 Visits to Labor-and-Delivery: Don't worry; everything's fine. The pain I get in my side is from when they removed my left fallopian tube when we had the ectopic pregnancy. Apparently it didn't heal quite right, which is why I double-over in pain when Baby Boy kicks it. And for what it's worth, the reason I go into L/D so much (only 4 times so far) is because my doctor's clinic doesn't take appointments after 20 weeks unless it's for a routine thing... so if you call to check on something and they have any concern, you get sent straight to L/D. It's actually great; I get right in and get checked right away. And plus it's fun to meet the nurses that will be there when I finally give birth!

Baby Boy Turned Head-Down: Since the head is the heaviest part of the body (and from our last measurement it looks like he's inherited Matt's giant cranium, so I'm thinking super-heavy in our case), he's likely to stay this way and hopefully not become breech. I had been starting to panic that he would never turn; he's always had his head on the right side and his legs on the left. There is a breech position where the baby folds in half and comes out butt-first, effectively making his grand entrance into the world by mooning everyone... it's called the "Frank" position- I thought we were doomed.

Graduation from Childbirth Prep: Our class included several birth videos; I wanted to vomit. I know it's natural and miraculous and important for many women to see. However, it's equally important for some women NOT to see. I am one such woman. It's so disgusting, especially the placenta; and, it's not like seeing someone else give birth is going to change how I give birth- it's just going to terrify me. We have 5-8 weeks until he arrives, so hopefully I'll get those horrific images out of my head before it's my turn. And, I'll be so doped up from the epidural that I plan on not feeling a thing!

Med-School Mentor: Since I'm giving birth at a teaching hospital, I get a lot of face time with residents and interns (and top-notch doctors). I found out at my last appointment that we qualify to "mentor" a first-year med student through the final part of pregnancy. Essentially, the hope is that they learn what pregnancy is like from the mom's point-of-view; I sure part of it is that they really want the students to see how crazy moms-to-be can be before they decide to go into OB. I'm all over stuff like this. We've had amazing doctors and crappy doctors, so I'll do anything I can to encourage a doctor-to-be to actually be patient focused. Anyway, I met our little student, Sarah, and she's super cute and nice. And, she loves babies, has tons of nannying experience, and is doing her summer research project on artificial reproductive technology so we're a perfect fit. I'm thinking we may have found a babysitter, as well...

Pictures soon, I promise. I'm huge.

A Few New Things

2010-04-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Some fun, new things have appeared around the Franck home...

Since baby boy was conceived in a petri dish just off of Park Ave (not to mention that we miss our NY friends terribly), we couldn't resist this book... must give credit where credit is due.

We thought the puppies deserved a little treat, and since they love enclosed spaces (and we stumbled upon this between ice cream cones at Ikea), they got their own little tent, complete with fuzzy blanket. Sadly, they aren't as impressed with it as they should be, but we're going to keep trying.

Roses!! Matt nearly gutted these bushes a few weeks ago, not knowing that beautiful roses would eventually bloom. Our procrastination has finally paid off :)

These are A-MAZ-ING. Our "comfort techniques for labor" class showed us how to use these... just keep them in the fridge, lay over a chair, and have your awesome husband roll this on your back like a rolling pin. Baby Boy has done a number to my lower spine/tailbone already... it feels like a bruise when touched. But after a few days of the Arizona-rolling-pin technique, my back feels so much better; I'm trying to figure out how many times a day I can ask Matt to do this without him hating me. I'm sure they taste delicious, too. And yes James, you can also do this with a large beer can.

So that's it from here... we have an 8-hour "Child Birth Prep" class next week in which we watch a birthing video. Should make for an interesting car ride home...

Mamo and Papa

2010-04-12T10:51:00.000-04:00

Mamo and Papa (aka Amy's parents) came in town for a quick visit this weekend!! Sadly, it rained all weekend, so we pretty much ate lots of good food and watched the Master's.

They gave the puppies some love. Hula actually knows the words"grandma and grandpa" and gets super excited when we say them. Hula's obsessed with food (she's a Huff...) and actually remembers how much cheese they used to feed her when we lived in Seattle and dreams of the day she can gorge herself on it again. Strangely enough, I currently dream of the day I can gorge on soft cheeses like bleu and chevre; I plan on having Matt bring me a huge cheese tray after the delivery. I envision something with olives and meat like this (with less veggies and more cheese, of course):

Anywho...

Mamo and Papa also got a chance to feel their grandson kick, wiggle, and roll. The little guy is moving right along. He is just wedged into my right side and is sitting low. The doctor told me last week that it sounds like the baby is organized and ready to get out of there- he's already a planner; just like his mom!

Thanks for visiting, Mamo and Papa!

29 Weeks

2010-04-07T13:20:00.002-04:00

Well, we are 29 weeks into the pregnancy; he'll be full-term in 8 weeks and due in only 11!!

Today's check-up was pretty uneventful... everything looks great! He's measuring right on track, his heart-rate is dropping (which is good because that means he growing), and my doctor made my day by saying that I have the "pregnant glow". They checked my thumb (which I nearly sliced off while chopping an apple Monday night), and they said it's healing well- no infection so far. All-in-all, it was pretty boring.

However, there was an exciting doctor appt today... Hula had to go to the vet.

Does this look like the face of a sick dog?? Apparently, it is.

Hula has yeast infections in both ears and a nipple. Seriously. She also has some bad allergies- they think to her food, but they can't change it because she is on a special diet for her bladder stones, which is more important to prevent than allergies. SO, the solution seems to be:

- Antibiotic injection

- Steriod/antihistamine pill for 2 weeks

- Antibiotic ear wash and drops for 2 weeks

- A regular, daily dose of antihistamines and a fatty acid supplement after the meds

- Cortisone injections up to 6 times a year (we are going to try and avoid these)

I can't believe Hula has so much discomfort and is still such a happy dog. We've known for awhile that she just sucks-up whatever pain/discomfort she has (anyone remember the massive bladder stones episode from November??), but even the vet was shocked that Hula was so cheerful when her skin was so irritated.

Oh, and apparently Hula's gained 1/4 of a pound so they suggested low-fat peanut butter for giving her pills. Whatever... I think she deserves the real deal.

He's Matt's Son So...

2010-03-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

... he has to have a pair of running shoes :)

Thanks, Gramma and Grandpa Franck!

It's Francktastic

2010-03-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

We just spent a wonderful weekend with the Francks!! We had gorgeous weather and spent lots of time watching sports on the Stanford campus and then coming home to compete on the Wii (I think Jim won...). And we also ate a lot of great food (or maybe that's just me getting really excited for every meal- the baby's gotta eat!!).

Thanks for visiting us- it was great to see you!!

27 Weeks

2010-03-25T20:22:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week (as we sat court side to watch the stanford women's basketball team score 61 points in the first half- hello Elite Eight!!) Matt said, "only 27 weeks? this gets anti-climatic the more it goes on". Yes, I guess GETTING ONE WEEK CLOSER TO MEETING YOUR SON is anti-climatic.

But I get it- once you learn you're (finally) pregnant, hear the heart-beat, make it past the first trimester, and find out the gender, the only really big thing left is actually meeting the baby. Sure, it's awesome to see him on random scans and it's great when he passes all of the tests. But, it's not quite the "high" of the big things.

So, fully knowing that we are in an anti-climatic part of the pregnancy, here is a thrilling update:

- 27 weeks along... some people call this the start of the 3rd trimester. My OB does, as her office considers 37 full-gestation. I consider this a huge benefit to being high-risk. A lot of high-risk mothers have premature babies, so the doctors really see no need in you going more than 37 weeks. I am praying this means that our nugget is here NO LATER than June 23rd.

- The nugget has eyebrows and his brain is very active. He should weigh about 2 pounds (but we all know he's more than that...) and if you could measure him with his legs extended, he would be about 14.5 inches long. That's just weird to me; there's a living creature over a foot long inside of me. And he has apparently found my bladder, and he loves to kick it.

- I am still feeling well. My belly is L-A-R-G-E (as seen below). In fact, 4 weeks ago I sat next to a woman shorter than me who was 36 weeks and her belly was smaller than mine. I wanted to ask her where the heck she was keeping that baby!! And no, she did not have a long torso. Oh- and I passed both my glucose (diabetes) test AND my EKG test with flying colors!!

- The house is still moving along. We have a lot of little projects that are driving me nuts. I just want them done. Our friends and family should consider themselves extremely lucky that they don't live near us because you all would be enlisted for us. (And for the record- yes, we are making friends here but we can't quite require manual labor of them... yet).

- Matt is surviving-I think.

Ok, here are Baby and I in all our pregnant glory...

Special Delivery

2010-03-19T14:28:00.000-04:00

I returned home from interviewing a photographer yesterday and look what arrived...

Baby Boy's Crib!!

This was a complete surprise and such a generous gift from Gramma and Grandpa Franck- thank you!! We can't wait to raise our babies in this crib... the first of whom will be here in three short months.

Top-o-the-mornin' to ya

2010-03-17T10:55:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

This is our door, which needs to be cleaned and touched up... No, we're not Irish (we don't think...), but we celebrate none the less because everyone loves a party... even if it's super lame.

On a day when most people drink green beer, I pounded this lovely glass of super sweet orangeness to find out if I have gestational diabetes... I'm 99% sure I don't, although it would be nice to have a legitimate excuse for the weight gain (I'm gaining more than I "should"- whatever... I do what I want!).

I also had my 26 week appointment (14 weeks to go!!). Baby Boy's eyes are open and he can blink (though I'm sure there's not much to really see inside my uterus...). While his movements are no longer the same he has these random, spaz attacks where he is bouncing around for about an hour. Matt had his hand on my belly during one of these episodes last night and said, "holy crap!". Perhaps a hint at future hyper-activity?? He should be a pound and a half... I'm guessing he's more around 2 :) And, he should be as long as a rutabaga. Gotta love a rutabaga.

Matt is going to a little work St. Patty's Day thing tonight (I am opting out of being the pregnant lady in a bar on St. Patrick's Day...) and then we're eating some Irish Stew, which I think is like beef stew with dark beer. And yes- I made Matt buy the beer so that I wouldn't look like a horrible mother.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Weekend-O-Friends

2010-03-15T08:15:00.000-04:00

Realizing that Baby Boy will be here in 3 months (woo-hoo!!), we thought it would be good to see some out-of-town friends before the craziness of parenthood truly sets in. So, Matt flew to Portland this weekend to see Ramsey and Kim flew in to play with me for a few days.

Kim in the official picture taker of our relationship and she forgot her camera (probably realized that the pictures would make it on the blog and therefore purposely "forgot" it...), but we had so much fun talking, eating, and... shopping. We shopped for 10 hours on Saturday, purchasing everything from furniture to sun glasses to handbags to jewelry to shoes to vacation clothes to maternity clothes to baby clothes to husband clothes. Needless to say, it was highly successful and lots of fun.

From what I understand, Matt and Ramsey went on tours, slept-in, watched basketball, and had a St. Patrick's Day party (where Matt was the only person without a date- tear). And because they're boys, they didn't get any photos together.

Thanks for visitng Kim, and thanks for taking care of my husband, Ramsey!!

In the Land of Ducks

2010-03-08T11:50:00.002-05:00

Lives a sweet, little pug...

Stuck

2010-03-03T14:41:00.002-05:00

There's nothing like keeping-up a blog to realize how boring and lame you are. We simply have nothing to share. There is nothing exciting going on. None of our rooms are done... they'll be in progress until April or May. We spend all of our spare time cleaning, organizing, getting ready for baby, (and making fake torches). It's nesting at it's finest. Some of the more specific things we've been doing through include:

Finding a baby photographer. We were incredibly spoiled with the talent of wedding photographer, so finding an equally talented baby photographer at a decent price who will also provide digital copies of photos is very difficult. One photographer quoted me $3000 (yes, three thousand dollars) for 20 digital images. Getting digital images is super important to us; our gorgeous wedding photos sit in a box and we don't want the same thing happening to our son's photos. Another photographer who does gorgeous work charges $2250 for an hour of talent. By the time we'd pay for all of the sessions, editing, proofs, and digital images we would be spending more on photographing our baby's first year of life than we did to conceive him. Thankfully, I think I've found someone talented who charges decent prices AND has an option for digital images. I meet with her in 2 weeks to see if we'll work well together.
Solidifying the nursery. When we had it painted, the painters thought we wanted he ceiling painted the same color green as the walls (I don't know why...). But with that fifth wall painted, the whole coloring is off and I don't know if it's the actual green that's wrong for the room or if we just need to repaint the ceiling, so I'm having a woman who specializes in interior paint colors come over on Friday to help me. Matt says I get one more shot to get the right paint on the walls... I need to make sure it's perfect! We've also finally decided on a crib, changing table/dresser, book shelf, and rocker/ottoman. I just need to pick out a rug and find a local (decently priced) artist to do some custom art work for us; we're thinking the big sisters (aka: Hula and Gerdy) deserve their own little piece of love in the nursery, too.
Getting rid of extras!! Because we had to move so quickly and because I was so incapacitated in the early stages of a high-risk pregnancy, we didn't have time to sort through our stuff before we left Long Island. So we're trying to get through it all now. We've replaced everything we're doing to store in the garage from worn-out, card-board boxes to sturdy, plastic ones. We've made several LARGE trips to Goodwill and are currently getting rid of books/DVDs via online sellers. We're also going to list our extra furniture on Craigslist this weekend and have an appraiser coming out to look at our nice stuff on Monday.

So that's life at the Franck home right now... thrilling, isn't it??

23 Weeks

2010-02-24T20:06:00.000-05:00

Time is c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g... June seems forever away and I just want our baby to be here! I had another appointment today; everything looks great AND I walked away with a door prize!!

It's the highly coveted Philips DigiTrak-Plus 24. Jealous? You should be. With it's stylish black plastic carrying case and long neck lanyern, it's the height of sophistication and style.

It can be worn as either a necklace or a side satchel (which I prefer so that it doesn't bounce back-and-forth on my tummy when I waddle, er I mean, walk). I also managed to wear it with a black zip-up so that it was a bit hidden when I visit Pottery Barn Kids for the zillionth time today. However, the lady who attached it to me put the top connection between my collar bones so it sticks out the top of my high neck shirt.

How am I lucky enough to wear this beauty?? I've been out of breath a lot lately and having some heart palpitations so they're just playing it safe by having me wear this for 24 hours. But no need to worry... the breathing is most likely a lovely combination of Baby Boy moving up into my lung space, my ribs not yet expanding, and my asthma. And the heart palpitations are just my heart pumping all the extra blood it's creating (by the time a mom gives birth, she has an extra pint of blood in her body and she makes most of it in the 2nd trimester, so the heart is doing a lot of work). My little friend hooks up to 4 points on my chest/ribs and apparently I can't shower or bathe for 24 hours, so thank goodness I showered before my appt this morning.

So that's all for now... Baby Boy continues to kick up a storm- it's wonderful.

Half Full

2010-02-22T07:23:00.000-05:00

The Olympics are half-way over, so we thought we should check-in and show our map. We are finding it difficult to keep-up on the current medal count because of the time change. (And I swear, I am about to burn facebook because of all of the spoilers people put up during the night. I know you're all excited about Bode, but I have at least 3 hours before I can watch that race). ANYWAY, here is where and here is our map, which was accurate last night.

Highlights so far include:

Plushenko's hissy-fit over his silver medal... but I guess I'd be cranky too if I had a mullet and had to go home to Russia. Oh, and the costumes those men wear... nothing says "athlete" like hot pink sequins, patent leather, and feathers.
Canada vs. USA in hockey... we had to go to a sport's bar to watch this and happened to sit in the Canada section- made the victory that much more sweet, eh?
The bob-sled outfits; who knew line backers could fit into spandex? Ewwwwwww....
Any and all USA gold medals.
The ski and snowboard cross races!! We keep waiting for all four of the competitors to crash at once so they all have to get up and untangle themselves to finish the race.
The hype behind this ice dancing garbage- how in the world is that a sport?? It is ballroom dancing on ice. It might be fun and pretty- but it's not a sport. It has a "twizzle" section- it's a hobby.

Tonight is a down night, but we're looking forward to the ski jumping and Canada vs. US in curling. To help move the night along, we will also be making our own gold medals while eating a cherry pie (it is George Washington's birthday, after all). Oh- and we'll be sorting through a small part of our 1 car garage that is loaded to the brim with boxes.

Breaking News

2010-02-17T20:31:00.000-05:00

This just in... there is a new sport being added to the Olympics!! It's called de-oculation. What is "de-oculation"?? It's where an athlete chews the bejeebus out of some poor stuffed-animal's eyes, eventually ripping them out and eating their insides. And who is the the US's start athlete?? Non other that our sweet Gerdy.

Gerdy is 15 pounds of chewing mania. With her sharp teeth, puppy energy, strong jaw, and sheer determination, she makes an incredible "athlete". Here are some of her recent victories:

Duckers: He was Hula's love and life; she would look longingly into his eyes day and night. But now Gerdy has removed (and swallowed) both of his eyes, effectively making him a Bilateral Anophthalmiatic (medical term for no eyes...). Hula is less than thrilled.

Winky the Emu: This mutated emu had survived 8 years without a single scratch. But he was no match for Gerdy's athleticism. Like Duckers, Gerdy chose to celebrate her victory by ingesting his eye. This is what Winky should look like on BOTH sides of his head.

The Monkey: This was the car-seat we forced Hula to use on our first cross continental move, but he has become Gerdy's most recent conquest. She mutated Mr. Monkey into a mono-ocular mammal, but was unable to swallow his massive eye. She did, however, eat the stuffing.

The funniest thing about Gerdy is how secretive she is about this chewing- we have never, ever, ever seen her in action. We just notice when buttons, zippers, and body parts are missing. The only thing we have ever caught her doing is licking zippers... it's as if she's luring them into her lair of craziness or prepping them for their demise. I've recently noticed her licking the piping along our upholstered furniture with the same, crazy look in her eyes... could be trouble...

Fabulously Fantastic Friday

2010-02-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday day was a hands-down great day. To summarize:

1. We received the cutest Valentine's Day cards from our nephew, Jackson. I love me some Handy Manny!

Thanks, Jackson!

2. We were able to watch Baby Boy move from the outside!! He was kicking pretty strongly in the evening and when I looked down, my belly was moving!!

3. The Opening Ceremonies!! Granted, we had to watch it tape delayed (even though we're in the same time zone as Vancouver... major gripe-fest), but it was still wonderful, accidental tri-pod aside.

Favorite Parts:

- Sarah McLaughlin and K.D. Lang performances (Matt didn't know who K.D. was and thought we were going to see a rap show... When I explained who she was and she started singing he said, "that's a woman?" Classy Matt; super classy.)

- The orca whales traveling across the floor.

- Steve Nash!! I have no idea why, but I go so excited when I saw him. He usually grosses me out with his sweaty, long hair (isn't there a sanitation issue there??) but tonight he was a welcomed surprise.

- The Great One, and the wild people chasing him as he played red-neck riding down the street in the back of the pick-up truck.

Not So Favorite Parts:

- Where was Celine!!?? Come on!! She might be crazy, but she's also awesome and one of the most famous Canadians. MAJOR letdown.

- The whole tap-dancing, punk rock, fiddle playing fiasco...

- The idea of a second caldron; I don't care that there was a malfunction, but you really only need one. Kinda lame to drive to the final location...

To celebrate the Opening Ceremonies, we watched them (of course). I was going to bake snowflake cookies but couldn't find a snowflake cookie cutter to save my life. And, we did a craft project. How can you watch them light the torch, without your own torch?? Mr. Lauer and Mr. Costas mentioned several times all of the different ways the torch was carried: chair lift, logging truck, dog sled, etc. Well, two can play at this game... our flame traveled by:

Speed Skate

Curling

Ski Jump

Down-Hill Ski

Bobsled

Figure Skate

Snowboard

Ice Hockey

Luge

Skeleton

Bialthlon

And once the torch arrived in our stadium, it had to lit, of course:

Contemplating his heavy responsibility. "I can do this. I will light things on fire. I am a Franck Boy."

Beginning the transfer...

Let the games begin!! Even the guy on TV likes it...

Our NBC affiliate begins coverage today at 2pm. Medals will be given in the ski jump (normal hill), mens 5000m speed skating, and the women's biathlon (sprint). Bode Miller also tries to redeem himself tonight in the men's downhill. And for those wondering, yes we will post our map with strings/medal counts probably half-way through and at the end of the games, too.

"With Glowing Hearts"

2010-02-11T15:44:00.000-05:00

Sounds like a line from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". But lame mottos aside... tomorrow is the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics!!

I love, love, love the Olympics- both summer and winter. It's like a second Christmas to me. I love the sports. I love how some underdog totally prevails. I love how Bob Costa makes every athlete's story a sob-fest. I love how Matt Lauer looks pained to actually cover a global event for more than a day. It's all fantastic to me.

My first memory of the olympics was watching the luge with my dad and my brother. My dad got out the map and showed us where all the countries were and how the medals were tallied. But, the Olympics are more than a good memory for me... it's a full on fascination. I'm not sure where it started.

Was it having an Olympic-themed field day in elementary school? I was the fastest, female distance runner in the 6th grade (ooooh, how times have changed) and got to run the (tiki) torch for my final Olympics... I have searched high and low for the photo of me prancing through the gym in my green field day shirt (I was also the captain of "Italy"). If I remember correctly, I'm also wearing a pink headband; I have always been the height of style and sophistication.

Was it hearing the Olympic committee announce, "Atlanta" when I was in the 2nd grade? For what it's worth, I had no idea what was going on. We were all sitting down at our desks and my teacher, Mrs. Hahn, briefly explained that we were waiting to hear if we got the Olympics. Say what? How do you get the Olympics? The principal put the TV up to the intercom and when it was announced, everyone started cheering and clapping, so I did too.

Was it actually attending the olympics in the summer of '96? We had already moved to Seattle, but were able to get tickets in the Georgia resident lottery because we still owned our house there. For three weeks we lived on our house boat, The Miss Molly, on Lake Lanier. Everyone had those in Atlanta... I haven't quite seen anything like it since then. Think of my family of four living in a trailer on pontoons for 21 days... you can start laughing now. Oh how I wish I had a photo of that boat (which we named after our dog). Anyway, we saw the semi-finals for women's gymnastics (think Dominque Dawes and Kerri Strug aka the girl who landed that vault on one foot to win the gold ), the 1996 Dream Team (Barkley, Malone, and Pippen), and the gold medal match for men's soccer. That was the real event... originally I was bummed that we chose soccer (I was a 14 year old girl, after all), but my parents were actually really smart about this since soccer is huge internationally and has THE CRAZIEST fans. I have never seen anything like it. I remember at one point, they were tossing a bag of urine around like a beach ball. Nobody's a winner in that situation...

Anyway, I don't know where the fascination started. If I wasn't pregnant, I would be forcing Matt to go to the Vancouver Olympics. It's such an amazing experience. We'll do it sometime...

Needless to say, in this household we celebrate the Olympics like a national holiday. No detail's left unthought of; no stone is left unturned. Menus are planned accordingly. We wear "go America" gear. Our walls have turned into a study of geography in relation to athletic achievement. And, our coffee table books have been replaced by daily competition schedules and Olympic-themed craft projects. And social life? What social life? It's 24-7 NBC for the next three weeks.

So to get ready for tomorrow's Opening Ceremonies, I spent Wednesday shopping for supplies and today putting a few things together. Like the new wall art?

Yes, you need a map when you watch the Olympics. How else are you going to be able to place all the countries (there are 80+ of them this year) as they ski down the hill?? As they earn a medal, a string going their medal count will be placed. This is fantastic for the kindergarten teacher in me!

There's more to come... just wait, and prepare to be horrified.

Half Time Show

2010-02-09T21:07:00.000-05:00

Matt and I have been obsessed with Scrubs since we got married and started living together. We both started watching it secretly and then finally realized that the other was also watching it, and now we constantly watch it together. Since we started so late into the series, we watch by the season and we have NOT seen the final season, so no spoilers please.

So, imagine my excitement at my 20-week OB appointment last Wednesday when the resident walks in and says, "Hi, I'm the chief resident here...". All I could think was chief resident!?!? Like Elliot Reid?? I wonder is she's actually co-chief resident with someone named J.D.?? But I can't ask her because she'll think I'm crazy, right? I totally missed whatever she said next... I was off in a Scrubs day-dream; J.D. would have been proud.

But I guess the real news is that we officially passed the 20 week mark!! And since a typical gestation lasts 40 weeks... we're officially HALF WAY!! And for your half-time enjoyment, here I am in all my pregnant glory!!

Do not be afraid- I will not eat you. And forgive the pajamas, no make-up, and bad hair. It was the end of the day :)

It only looks like an outie because my thumb is peeking out around the side of my belly.

Highlights from last week's appointment:

I've only gained 3 pounds in the past month, despite the fact that I downed a bag of BBQ chips last Monday!!

Everything else looks great- Baby Boy would not come out for the doppler (totally not surprised by his protest...) but was happy to show off for the ultrasound.

We (me, the chief resident, and my Dr who is the head of the PDC and has the cutest boots ever) talked about what to do about Baby Boy's size... Matt was a big baby, I was a big baby, and Baby Boy is already measuring large across the board. In fact, I learned that they totally discount the one measurement where he's somewhat normal. While we can't make any predictions based on his current size, they are going to watch him closely towards the end. Since they do not want me having a c-section due to my blood clotting disorders, they may induce me early. But, we have awhile to go before that decision is made.

In other baby news, Baby Boy is about the size of a cantaloupe this week and is already swallowing small amounts of ambiotic fluid. His taste buds are already working, too- so I'm going to try and eat a large variety foods (i.e. cheese pizza AND pepperoni pizza) so that he develops a diverse palate.

And he's kicking!!! He's been kicking for awhile, but I thought it was just gas and stretching ligaments. Matt's actually able to feel him kick sometimes, so that's exciting. Baby Boy doesn't have a real pattern to his movements yet, but actually follows standard early baby movement (miracle beyond miracles) by moving a lot when I drink something cold and moving the most when I lay on my left side. He was also very active when I ate pineapple last night. And he moves when I burp (it's gross but part of being pregnant)... definitely a Franck boy!

I'm feeling fantastic!! I have tons of energy (despite the insomnia) and am super ready to do the whole "nesting" thing. I've heard this goes away in the next month or two, so I need to get busy!!

Large and In Charge

2010-02-01T15:44:00.000-05:00

We had our anatomy scan (well, Baby Boy has his anatomy scan today)... he is still a boy, which is fantastic since we spent Saturday shopping at the outlets for him. During the 30 minute scan, the technician and the doctor were uttering phrases such as:

If he would only sit still...

Where did he go?

He keeps moving when I want to take a picture...

And, my personal favorite: he's hiding behind his umbilical cord!!!

STORY OF MY LIFE, or at least the pregnancy. He's just in own little world, like his dad. I can just see his preschool report card: "Your child enjoys school, but is often uncooperative and has trouble following directions".

Matt was back at his videography, capturing every in-utero movement that he could but the camera ran out of battery. However, we got a few pictures:

As the photo says, this is of his face looking at us. Yeah, it's a bit scary. You're actually looking at the eye socket and muscle... he should get cuter in the third trimester when he starts getting some meat on his bones!

See... he's a boy!

And, here is the adorable profile pic... isn't he wonderful?? I love him!

Here is what else we learned... we got a big baby!! He's one pound, and on average, he is already measuring about a week-and-a-half ahead of schedule. In particular, he has inherited the Franck trait of a massively large head. (Thanks, Matt- I really appreciate that.) So, he's big- really big. And yes: I will be hooked up to an epidural the second I go into labor :) But, we love our biggun, and can't wait to see all him in about 20 weeks!!

Heirloom

2010-01-27T13:21:00.000-05:00

... Tomato!! That's what Baby Boy is this week. Well, that or a mango, depending on who you believe, but I'm going with tomato because I love tomatoes!

Baby Boy has settled in nicely to my right side- perhaps he knows my left side is deficient (aka: tube-less) and feels safer on the right? Not sure, but he's been there for a few weeks. If this continues, I'll be sporting a very lop-sided bump soon. I can't feel him yet- or, if I am feeling him, I'm attributing it to either stretching ligaments or gas (lovely, I know).

Here are two outfits for him... the first is from his Grandma and Papa Huff (thanks!) and the second was what we bought him the day we found out it was a him.

How stinkin' cute is this!? On the left leg is a little cargo pocket- love it!

Excuse the wrinkles... but this is a cozy little one-piece I can't wait to put on him :)

The front pocket and the hood have a great, stripped detail. What are those papers to the right? Stacks of hospital bills... changing insurance companies during a high-risk pregnancy is a delight :)

Both outfits are Splendid, which means they are super cute and super comfy. Some of the onesies I ordered last week have arrived... and yes- the Spiderman onesie is a pinkish-red so it has to go back. Bummer. But the other ones are super cute :)

Our next sono is on Monday... it's a high-tech one so hopefully we'll get some good images to share with everyone.

Weekend in Review

2010-01-24T23:12:00.002-05:00

My parents visited us this weekend, and we somehow didn't get any pictures. But, we did have a great visit. We watched the Stanford's men's basketball team whomp Oregon State and the men's swimming team demolish Arizona State. Matt took us on a 3 hour tour of the campus, including Hoover Tower, and we enjoyed a beautiful evening eating dinner at the Ritz at Half Moon Bay. My dad even sat through me getting my make-up done for an hour at Neiman's. And Hula and Gerdy received lots of love from their grandparents- of course :). Thanks for the visit, Mom and Dad!

We Be Shoppin'

2010-01-20T16:52:00.004-05:00

As happy as Baby Boy is to be naked at the moment, he's going to need some clothing. So, as a loving mom, I took it upon myself to research and shop online for part of today :) Here are some of the goodies:

Spidey is mostly for Matt...

We just love bears, so this was a definite winner

We are hoping to go a little funky with our little guy's style... we're thinking hip and fun :)

Nothing too special, I know; but, some good basics that are cute and all-boy. I can't wait for them to arrive in the mail!!

We're Having A...

2010-01-19T17:46:00.001-05:00

Boy! It looks like Sam has to do pull- ups (Long Island Sam, not Croydon Sam). We are so excited... we already bought our son his first real outfit from Neiman's. Couldn't help it. John, Rich, James, and Jackson can rest assured: the legacy of the Franck boys will be well protected.

There's a Hole in the Blanket, Dear Hula Dear Hula

2010-01-17T12:27:00.000-05:00

I love my Hula; she so sweet and loving and hilarious. Gerdy has been on a mission this past week to unravel our cashmere throw (I normally wouldn't allow this no matter how cute she is, but it was headed for the Goodwill box). Anyway, Gerdy managed to create a whole about the size of an apple in the middle of the blanket.

And, you have to know Hula. If you cover yourself with a blanket of any sorts, she dives underneath to snuggle. It's like an obsession for her.

Just as I was lying down to take a quick snooze to the Wendy Williams show (don't judge...) and Hula was tucking under the blanket, she reappeared...

Why, hello little pug! She laid on my legs and watched Wendy with me for a few minutes. Then she tried to get through the hole, which got her stuck... but don't worry- we worked it out.

Lights, Camera, Action!

2010-01-15T09:02:00.001-05:00

Here is the video from our attempt to learn the gender. The video is looooong; and no, I don't think people want to watch our in-utero dumpling for half-an-hour. But, we don't have our scanner up and running to share the photos, and my mother is waiting anxiously for a picture of her gender-neutral grandchild. Enjoy!

A Peek Into Our Relationship

2010-01-14T12:02:00.001-05:00

A conversation we had this week (Matt in blue, Amy in pink):

Amy: I really want to get a wonderful baby photographer.

Matt: Oh- do you want to get a picture of the baby in a banana?

Amy: What?

Matt: You know, put the baby in a banana and take a picture?

Amy: No.

Matt: Not a real banana, but a costume that peels down on the sides and front?

Amy: No.

Matt: And the baby could be like, "ahhhh" in the banana...

Amy: No.

Matt: Awwwe, it'd be so cute in the banana.

Amy: No.

Matt: And for Halloween, our baby could be a banana.

Amy: No.

So, it was settled- no banana costume. But- we did get a first little outfit for our son/daughter.

It's a 3-piece outfit... not crazy about the ducks. They are not quack-tastic.

We liked the onsie...

I LOVE HUGS!!!

I was surprised at how few gender neutral outfits there were (they're basically feminine boys' clothing). It seemed like there were a lot more when I had friends who (purposely) didn't know what they were having. But we liked this set mostly because of the "I Love Hugs" onesie. It's such a needy and sweet message for a baby. And the ducks?? Well, they're ok... not really sure how they match the adorable onesie. But, it beats a banana costume.

And the winner is...

2010-01-13T16:07:00.000-05:00

No luck! We did everything to get the baby to cooperate, but he/she kept the umbilical cord between his/her legs and blocked out view. They said 80% boy, but with the cord bunching up, who knows. It looks like we're out another week...

In other baby news, our daughter/son is the size of an onion, has fingerprints, and is developing sweat glands this week.

Oh, the Excitement of It All

2010-01-12T20:20:00.005-05:00

Gender Ultrasound -- Tomorrow -- 3pm -- Pray that our dumpling turns into quite an exhibitionist and we get to see the goodies!! We will be shouting it from the rooftops, so stay tuned :)

While it's not nearly as exciting as finding out the gender of our long-awaited baby, there is something else coming up that's going to be huge in our house: The Vancouver Olympics start in 31 days!! It's a hands-down, full-fledged event for us (mostly for me and Matt plays along). Planning has already begun... get ready for a full-blown Olympics extravaganza!!

Saturday's To-Do List

2010-01-09T12:27:00.008-05:00

Wake Up (and drag Matt out of bed).
Find some clean towels and shower.
Get house ready for the painters who have taken 6 days to paint a room and a hallway.
Call landlord- make her supervise the painters who disappear for 2 hrs at a time.
Tell puppies that we love them, even though they're trapped in our bedroom.
Go to a flea market looking for a desk, TV stand, and kitchen table. Come home empty handed, but celebrate silently as I now get to order the pieces I want online.
Buy new sheets and pillows at Macy's. Marvel at the sales person who brings over stripped, embroidered, and polka-dotted bed skirts when I repeatedly tell him, "plain white".
Return sea salt for new wooden spoons. Realize that my sheer excitement over wooden spoons is totally inappropriate.
Try to buy a dishwasher, because I am not a dishwasher.
Learn that we have to special order said dishwasher and that it will take 3 weeks for our dishwasher to arrive. Cry uncontrollably to myself.
Send Matt to Best Buy to order the dishwasher.
Order a plain white bed skit.
Order desk, tv stand, and kitchen table.
Research birthday gifts for Jackson's first birthday (don't worry John and Julie- it will be quiet and compact).
Watch the play-offs and laugh at Bob Costa's bad dye job.
Finally do some laundry- 3 loads people.
Make dinner (shepherd's pie).
Wash dishes by hand... tear...
Decide that the boxes will not win... unpack them with a purpose.
Go to bed in our new sheets!!

Insights at 4 months

2010-01-07T16:53:00.001-05:00

I think I'm beginning to realize something about our baby; he/she is very much into his/her own timing; : everything happens, but during a space in which the baby feels ready. The baby does not want to be rushed, kinda like Matt.

Baby Franck was a late implanter. That means that when the embryo was transferred into my womb, it took longer than expected for him/her to implant into uterine lining, effectively starting a pregnancy. This was extremely stressful for me as I peed on test after test hoping for the second pink line to show. I actually thought we were out another IVF cycle until I finally got the positive sign 8 days post transfer. And when we started tracking the growth via blood work at 10 days post transfer (they want the beta number to double every 2 days, though most people's double more quickly than that), the growth showed that the embryo was just hitting the doubling mark every 48 hours. I feel like Baby Franck was saying, "I'm here. I'm fine. Just give me some space and I'll do what I need to do".

At our six week ultrasound, we were hoping for a heartbeat- and a strong one. A high heartbeat (130 beats/minute) lowers your risk of miscarriage. Well, we saw the heartbeat, but as our wonderful RE (reproductive endocrinologist, aka fertility dr) put it, it was barely a day old and way too soon to count. We'd have to wait another week to see how strong our baby was. But again, Baby Franck showed up just enough to let us know that everything was fine and that - in time - we'd know more. And the next week we did; we had a super strong heartbeat and his/her growth was right on track.

And then I "graduated" from the RE to a high-risk OB. Because I'm high-risk, I get a sono about every 2 weeks on average :) Matt and I get a little too excited for these: we get there super early, Matt brings a camera/video recorder, we make the technician point out every little thing to us... But Baby Franck does not see it the same way. He/she prefers to sleep through most of the ultrasounds and refuses to wake-up. Yesterday, the baby gave us a "leave me alone" wiggle, but that was it. He/She knows how to give just enough to let us know that he/she's ok then continues to do his/her own thing, namely napping. Not that I can blame the baby; I'm a heavy sleeper and don't like being woken up, either.

It is of no surprise then, that our baby is refusing to give us any clues for the gender. We thought we might get a peek yesterday, but the baby was in the exact opposite position needed to get a look. Apparently Baby Franck knows what is best and right now it's best not knowing :) Or maybe the baby's just super modest, like his Grandma Huff who tried to give birth to my older brother wearing her underwear.

Sure, it's a bit frustrating to have a baby who apparently only works on his/her own time. I'm a planner/organizer and would love to just know everything as soon as possible. In fact, I'm already assuming that our baby is going to be fully competent, but reluctant to follow any set plans. But I can work with our baby's pace. I'm just planning on our little bundle to be late... maybe an early July birth??

Matt and I are opposites in this respect, too: I'm a planner and he well, not so much. I measure and plan accordingly and Matt shoots first and asks questions later. It was tricky earlier on in our relationship to reconcile our different approaches to life, but we've seem to have struck a balance. He knows that I'm going to bring the 20 page, detailed travel itinerary for our 3-day weekend, and I know that he's going to find something totally wacky and fun that makes us stray from my well thought-out plans. But thank goodness I made a dinner reservation weeks ago or else we'd be eating Baha Fresh.

2010-01-07T00:44:00.002-05:00

Apparently we fell off the face of the earth this week. We moved into our tiny house in Palo Alto and just tonight got our internet back. Updates from the past week (because I'm sure you're all dying in anticipation):

Living: We are technically moved into our new place in Palo Alto. Technically, because everything's technically in our house- it's just a cluster to find anything. We had the painters here yesterday to paint our bedroom; Comcast came today (I waited for 8 freakin' hours for them to show up and only got a $20 credit for it... apparently my time is worth $2.50/hr); the painters are coming back tomorrow to touch-up the bedroom and work on the hallway; the upholstery cleaner is coming tomorrow to clean our sofa/chair/ottoman. It is very, very much a work in progress and I'm trying my darndest to be ok with that.

So far we've seen a massive raccoon (like, 3o pounds), a black squirrel, and 2 cats. The sprinklers were possessed tonight and would not turn off. Matt finally shut off the water, but managed to keep the house water turned on (thank goodness). So, the gardener and plumber are coming tomorrow, as well. And how shall I conduct my day of business with these vendors? From the king-sized bed that sits in our living room (our bedroom is still being painted).

Little One: We had our 16 week sono today!! For those who are curious, the baby is now the size of an avocado or gerbil. The baby looked great and was even showing off with a head-stand. Unfortunately, the dumpling was feeling quite modest and we did not get a peek at the gender. BUT, next week we get an official gender scan!! Sadly, I have a gained 5 more pounds in the past 3 weeks. We also learned that my random, blood clotting issues should not be a factor for the pregnancy (could be a factor during the birth) but that I do have some type of mutation that makes it difficult for my body to metabolize folate and other B-vitamins. So, I'm on a new pill for that. Lucky for me, this pill will also increase my appetite so I'll most likely be out-weighing Matt by the time I deliver in June and I will be looking H-O-T for bikini season.

Etc: I am sick with an annoying cold... just when I was kicking the first trimester tiredness, this is making me sleep even more. The dogs are at the vet for a week while we have all of these contractors in the house. Matt and I found an awesome pizza place that delivers.

We'll be posting a preggo picture soon- promise!

Ready, Set, Resolve

2010-01-01T13:00:00.001-05:00

As you can probably imagine, our New Year's Eve celebration was a bit subdued. It's a simple equation, really:

Not Knowing Anyone + Being Pregnant = Spending NYE on the sofa in your pjs (actually, it equals Matt watching Carson Daly with the dogs while I sleep in bed...)

And, even though we avoided the crowds and couldn't officially toast in the New Year, we came up with a few resolutions. Matt would like to run 6 days/week, break 16 minutes in the 5K, and read more. I would like to eat more fresh produce, make the bed everyday, and give birth.

The last one is actually a big deal for me... I'm not so good at the whole pregnancy/birthing thing. About a year-and-a-half ago, we had an ectopic pregnancy which landed me in emergency surgery where they took away my left fallopian tube (and I subsequently went on a drug-induced rant on how the doctors -who were standing right there- were all hoes). It was this utter failure of a pregnancy that started us on our infertility journey, and after a zillion tests with the specialists, put straight on the road for IVF. In May, we did our first IVF cycle transferring three, perfect embryos only to come up completely empty handed. It wasn't until we went to a special infertility doctor that also specialized in immunology that I finally got knocked up- and have been able to stay knocked up - two things I haven't been able to manage on my own :) And so, my goal is to make it to June and actually give birth to this little one!

Oh- and I also resolve to get rid of some baby weight by the end of the year, too!

My 15-Week Fruit Basket

2009-12-31T17:20:00.002-05:00

Nearly every pregnant woman I know receives weekly emails on what exactly is going on inside the womb. It provides useful things about what is developing in the baby's body and how much the baby weighs. By far, the most fun information provided is what size the baby is in relation to a piece of fruit. This week (week 15), our baby is the size of an apple. Last week, Baby Franck was a lemon.

Other neat things about week 15:

- I'm finally not tired anymore. Gone are the days of 2 hour naps and getting nothing done during the day;

- The baby can squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possible suck his/her thumb;

- The baby can grasp objects;

- The baby's eyes are fused shut but he/she can sense light. Apparently, if I shine a flash light at my tummy the baby will move away from the light.

Our next ultrasound is a week from today... we might even know the gender in 2 weeks!!

Holly and Jolly in Retrospect

2009-12-30T15:08:00.007-05:00

Well, I guess I failed my own blog-everyday-for-30-days challenge. But it was Christmas and we were spending time with family and friends so I'm giving myself some grace :)

We had a great time going back to Seattle for Christmas this year. One of the big highlights was celebrating Christmas with our (almost) 11-month nephew, Jackson. He received at least half of the presents under the tree, but all he really wanted was wrapping paper and Grandma and Grandpa's remote control. The poor guy was working through a horrible cold, but he was still as sweet as ever. Here are some pics:

The paper was the main event for him.

Jackson with Santa's big gift... who doesn't want a dino rocker??

After he opened his gazillion presents...

And to think... next year he'll have a little cousin to play with!

King of Kings

2009-12-23T19:47:00.002-05:00

In highschool I was made to sing the Hallelujah Chorus every Christmas season. Our awesome friend, Lara, found this on YouTube- I prefer it this way much more.

Home Sweet Home

2009-12-23T01:02:00.002-05:00

We're home. We made it. Had a good snuggle session with Mr. Meg. Blogging everyday is difficult. Off to bed... more tomorrow. Merry Christmas :)

Baby Names

2009-12-21T19:22:00.003-05:00

Even though we've decided to wait until the baby's born to name him or her (and apparently 2/3 of people think we're having a girl...), Baby Franck has been given many names thus far. Here's a small sampling:

Little One
Flopsy
Mopsy
The Franklet
Minion
Paddle Hands (in the first trimester, the baby had paddle hands... now he/she has fingers)
Francktini
and today's favorite... The Trans-Sibabyan-Franckhestra

Humbug

2009-12-20T14:54:00.005-05:00

For so many reasons, Christmas just isn't the same for us this year. There are the crummy reasons (we don't know anyone here, we didn't do any Christmas decorating, it's 60 degrees outside, etc) and the wonderful reasons (we've been looking for a permanent home, we're occupied with becoming parents, Matt started a great job, etc). I think the biggest reason we're Scrooges is because we're utterly worn-out and exhausted.

The past 4 months have been a whirl-wind for us. September was full of scheduled injections, daily dr appointments (some in NYC), and me being out of commission with painfully enlarged ovaries. The first month of pregnancy followed with me sleeping 12-14 hrs/day and trying to adjust to the mix of pregnancy/IVF hormones (aka: I was crazy). Matt's interview at Stanford and subsequent job offer took up the rest of October, and then there was the packing/move across the country that was November (and keep in mind, Matt had to continue giving me daily hormone injections until the end of November). Everything was scheduled, planned, and absolutely nuts around our house. There was so much to juggle... one minute we would be reveling in the fact that we heard a heartbeat, and the next we would be arguing over how to best pack the toaster. And then I would nap because I had absolutely no energy. Even though these are all absolutely wonderful things happening in our life, they are taxing: we're having a difficult time expending any energy to be merry and bright. We just want life somewhat back-to-normal.

But today we had to suck-it-up and be merry: like it or not, it was Christmas in our home! Since we leave Tuesday for Seattle, we celebrated early: it's easier than dragging everything on the plane, only to drag it all back a few days later. We slept in, watched Christmas movies, ate split-pea soup (it's Christmas-y because it's green...), and opened presents beside our mini-Safeway Christmas tree. By no means was it the Christmas of our dreams, but we'll have plenty of those in our future (complete with our little Francklit). We can't wait to get to Seattle on Tuesday and see everyone. It'll finally give us space to relax and enjoy the Christmas season...

Our House Is a Very Very Very Fine House

2009-12-19T19:09:00.005-05:00

When Matt was officially offered the job at Stanford, I had three immediate thoughts:

A. I'm so proud of him for taking this huge step in his career;

2. I can't believe we have to leave our friends on Long Island; and

D. How are we ever going to find a home in the highest housing market in the U.S.

But, we looked at our finances and talked to some people. Amazingly, we could afford a few things. Granted, they weren't beautiful things, but with some work and effort (aka more $$), they would be livable. And then we began to talk to some more people. And more people. We looked at our life and realized we had some big decisions to make. For variety of reasons, it became apparent that now wasn't the right time for us to buy.

This was heart-breaking to me. We've wanted our "own" place for awhile now, and with Baby Franck on the way it seems like the perfect time to plant some roots. Hopefully our next move will be a bit more permanent and we can finally set-up shop.

So, we started looking at possible rentals this week. We've been focusing so much on the cost of purchasing a house, we didn't have a clue about renting one. While Matt was at work all week, I sorted through Craigslist depressed at how many places didn't want pets. Don't they know how cute my dogs are?? I knew we needed either a place with a yard or super close to a park: I didn't want to spend my days with the baby cooped up in a house, needing to drive to get some grass. We couldn't do a second story (or higher) apt or condo: can you imagine trying to get the baby, diaper bag, hand bag, and groceries up the stairs and down the hall? And I really, really, REALLY wanted to be close to Stanford (aka: Palo Alto, aka: super cute and obnoxiously $$). I could just see Matt running to/from work every morning and me loading Baby Franck into the jogger a few times a week and walking to campus to meet Matt for lunch. They have wonderful shopping and beautiful parks, and my doctor is right down the street. If we wanted to go to a game at night, we would just drive down the road, instead of commuting for 45 minutes in rush hour traffic. That was the quality of life I wanted for me and Matt. But as I looked at the available rentals in Palo Alto, it became very clear: it was way way WAY to expensive for us.

OK, fine. I regrouped and started searching outward from coveted Palo Alto. I would occasionally find something that might work that was only a bit over our budget. But it would be in a crummy area or be so ugly I would cry living there. I would move the search further and further out, until I was suddenly considering places in downtown San Jose. Hardly convenient for Matt; I feared he would never see his baby during the week (and for a dad who records sonograms, I knew he'd want to see the baby). It would take an hour to get to my doctor; what in the world was I going to do if I went into labor and Matt was at work?? It was nearly impossible for me to walk the line of "affordable" and "decent quality of living".

And then pops up an ad on Craigslist:

Palo Alto guest cottage
2 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Hardwoods
1 Garage
Fenced in yard with an apple tree
Pets OK
Washer/Dryer included
Amazingly affordable- half the price of comparable places

I figured it must be a DOG of a place... fears of our St. James cottage came flooding back. But I put in a call and scheduled a viewing. Matt and I did a drive by but couldn't see it because it's so tucked away. Mom's strolled by with babies, the UPS man was delivering packages via bike, and there was a great playground/park two blocks away. We knew there had to be a catch, but decided to see the place anyway.

It was perfect. We signed the lease today.

It's small (we estimate 900 square feet). It's older. I'm not crazy about the kitchen. I would love larger closets/bathroom. We don't have room for overnight guests. But, the hardwoods are just what we wanted. We can store lots of things in the garage. The yard is perfect for a little play-set. We have just enough room to set up a little play-area for the baby inside, too. The bedrooms are a decent size. All of our favorite furniture will fit. (I'm really, really excited to just get rid of things we don't need. I'm tired of dragging our junk around the country.) They are re-doing the pipes under the house (so no fears of a massive leak like last time) and the entire perimeter of the house is sealed (so no possible rat infestation like last time). They're putting in new landscaping and a new parking area so I can be super close to the front door with the baby. The entire place is getting professionally cleaned, inside and out. And as for guests: the hotel closest to us is the Four Seasons :) For the price and livablity of the house and neighborhood, we got away with a steal of a deal. Matt starts running to work in early January!

Oh- and they're painting baby's room this weekend :)

Rasslin' On A Friday Night

2009-12-18T12:52:00.003-05:00

It's the weekend before Christmas, we're in a new city filled with Christmas lights ready to be explored, and what did we do tonight? We watched grown men in singlets try to pin one another on a mat (aka the Stanford wrestling team). It was as disturbing as it sounds. I was going to take a picture of our big night out, but I didn't really want to document any of that. So no picture. And we lost- it was a lose-lose situation.

On a fun note, more people think we're having a girl than a boy. I'm sure Hula would love another little sister.

Boy or Girl

2009-12-17T11:31:00.002-05:00

People keep asking if we think we're having a boy or a girl. We don't know and we don't care- we just want a baby!! We are definitely one of the "find-out-as-soon-as-possible" couples. We don't need the big reveal after delivery. We'll get a preliminary look around 17 weeks and then have it confirmed at 20 weeks (assuming the baby "cooperates" for these ultrasounds, which is not looking good. The baby has refused to even wake up for 2 our of our last 3 ultrasounds).

For those of you who don't know, it's the dad's genetics that decide the gender of the baby (you can read about it here). Matt's one of 4 boys, and his oldest brother has a 9 month old boy, so the smart money says I'm birthing a boy. And to be honest, the story of the "Franck Boys" is so legendary, I can't imagine adding a girl to the mix... But my parents and friends all think we're having a girl... only time will tell! As we wait, feel free to vote on the side of our blog.

Oh- at the request of someone super smart, I added a baby countdown to the side of our blog, too. Only 188 days to go!

A Fat Day Everyday

2009-12-16T23:00:00.003-05:00

Note: I am not complaining. I know I'm incredibly blessed to be growing a baby inside me :)

That's how I'm feeling these days, like everyday is a fat day. IVF patients gain at least twice the amount of weight in the first trimester, and being the stellar patient that I am, I'm right on track and up a good amount already. I don't feel pregnant yet, so it basically feels like I'm having a fat day every day of the week and that I need to be popped. I can tell from the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning... even my thighs have expanded!! I can't help it, I just feel gross. I'm sure once I get my real belly going I'll feel better. And, knowing that we're 13 weeks pregnant today makes it more than tolerable. Here is my 13 week belly (disregard the Bella Band under my shirt and no I didn't walk around with the band showing all day- I wore a vest over my shirt. And next time we will avoid the close up of my thighs...)

Baby Franck- In Action!

2009-12-16T00:00:00.004-05:00

Some dads skip ultrasounds or fumble through their blackberries as they blankly stare at the screen pretenting to know what's going on. What does my baby-daddy do? He walks right up to the screen and procedes to video tape the baby on not one, but TWO different recording devices. We're a bit excited about this whole baby thing; can you tell? Below is Baby Franck bumbling around.

On a side note, we actually had two scans yesterday... this is from the first one when the baby was moving. Five minutes later during the second one, Baby Franck decided to fall asleep and refuse to wake up, yet again. Oh the stubborn, lazy baby that we have :)

"Put Up Your Dukes" Challenge

2009-12-14T16:33:00.000-05:00

I admit it: I'm a crappy blogger. I'm not funny or creative- and I was ok with that. Well, I was ok with it. My BF from elementary school (Keight) started a blog called "Put Up Your Dukes" (their last name is Dukes) only a year ago and it has turned into of my favorite things to read. At first it started as a way to keep people in the loop about their pregnancy (they now have an adorable baby boy). But when she started blogging once a day, the blog morphed into a funny and intelligent little portal into her life. And I love it.

So here's my plan... I'm going to blog everyday for 30 days. I'm calling it the "Put Up Your Dukes" challenge to revamp my blog life. No, I don't think I'll ever be as witty as Keight. It's really an attempt to not be so lame. And I know that people don't care about what I think, so if you don't want to receive my blogs anymore, feel free to unsubscribe :) Do you think I'll have any friends by the end of this??

The Pregnancy Thus Far

2009-12-11T11:30:00.001-05:00

Since sharing our baby news on Wednesday, we received lots of "Congratulations!" and also lots of questions. Here's a quick attempt to provide some answers:

How are you (Amy) feeling? Fine! The first few weeks were a little rough, but that was due to the IVF hormone drugs that were still in my systems mixing with early pregnancy hormones. Other than that, I've just been tired and a bit moody. Oh- and hungry, especially in the morning.

Are you going to find out what you're having? Yes! We should know in the next month or two.

Have you had an ultrasound, yet? Yep- five of them (one of the benefits of doing IVF is that you get ultrasounds on a weekly basis starting at week 5). We had one ultrasound that showed the baby moving like crazy! My last one (on Wednesday) showed the baby fast asleep- it wouldn't wake up no matter what we tried! This is totally normal, and I'm hoping it means we have a sound sleeper :) Our next ultrasound is on Monday.

Are you gaining weight, yet? I supposed it's ok to ask a pregnant lady this... yes, I've gained some weight and have started showing. I'm in maternity cloths about half of the time.

Do you have any food cravings? Nothing specific, but I gravitate towards warm, high calorie, high protein food which I guess is very normal for pregnant ladies. The past few days I've found myself eating a good amount of green apples. Does that count?

How many kids are you going to have? Um, no idea. We're going to take it one kid at a time :)

Are you bummed you don't have twins? IVF (as with any fertility treatment) carries with it a higher risk of multiples. For this IVF cycle, we transferred three "perfect" embryos and only one took. Sure, we wonder what happened to the other two and feel a loss for them. But we feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant at all and don't feel like we got cheated in any way.

We're always happy to talk about our life trying to get pregnant... feel free to ask away. Thanks to everyone for their excitement and encouragement!!!

Even Bigger News!!!

2009-12-09T19:24:00.003-05:00

What's even better than getting a job at Stanford??

We're having a baby!! All of our prayers and infertility/IVF treatments have paid off and we're finally pregnant :) We are thrilled and can hardly believe it!! Currently, we're 12 weeks along with a singleton and due on June 23rd. We do have a few ultrasound photos of Baby Franck, but our printer broke before the move so we can't scan it in, yet. But don't worry- we've been waiting awhile to be parents and are overly excited about it all, so you're bound to know more than you ever wanted to about our baby- we'll keep you very up-to-date!!

And yes, I'm starting to show. I love it.

2009-12-08T18:32:00.002-05:00

Well, we're all here and accounted for. Hula, Gerdy, and I arrived on Saturday afternoon and the past few days have been a whirlwind of getting settled. We'll post pictures once all of the boxes are gone- I promise!

On a side note, Gerdy has learned how to unzip the zippers on our throw pillows. Can't win them all...

Enjoying the Scenery

2009-12-03T14:46:00.005-05:00

Hello All,

Trying to zip out of Goodyear, Arizona, so I am going to make this quick. We drove from Odessa, Texas, to just past Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday. Probably the prettiest drive so far, mostly because the sun was visible the whole way and the sunset was incredible.

We are heading from Goodyear, Arizona, to Morgan Hill, California today, which will put us just 50 miles from our final destination. We will rest up in Morgan Hill before a big day of moving and unpacking tomorrow.

Here are some pics from yesterday:

PS - It is Amy and my four-year wedding Anniversary today. I love you and I miss you Amy :)

Texas was pretty flat. Saw lots of small oil pump doo-hickeys.

We could see the mountains approaching. Hoping that the snow wasn't too bad.

Was clearly evident that it had snowed, but luckily, not much on the roads.

The scenery lulled James to sleep.

As the sun went down, everything got a lot prettier.

And prettier...

Friendship, Hope, Fate, and a Blizzard

2009-12-02T13:00:00.006-05:00

Hey All,

Had a really really long day yesterday, drove 950 miles from around Nashville, Tennessee to Odessa, Texas. The route took us through some notable towns, including:

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Friendship, Arkansas

Hope, Arkansas

Texarkana, Arkansas

Texarkana, Texas (It's on the border)

Fate, Texas

A bizarre thing has been happening as we progress on this trip. It has been getting colder and colder as we approach Mexico. This created a problem around Abilene, Texas, when we suddenly found ourselves in near-blizzard conditions. The snow slowed us down quite a bit, but luckily, it tapered off after an hour or so, and we made it all the way to Odessa.

Today's route will take us through the remainder of Texas, through New Mexico, and into Arizona. We are stopping just past Phoenix, in a town called Goodyear.

Here are some pictures (and grainy snow video) from yesterday:

Mississippi River

I took James to Cracker Barrel. I love that place. Amy was extremely jealous.

When we got into Texas, we realized that we weren't dressed appropriately, so we picked up some new clothes to fit in.

It's a toss up on who was the better looking Texan.

Not sure how well this video turned out, but here is a look at the snowy conditions.