announcing a new addition

when it came to announcing a new little one, we waited. i was eighteen weeks before we finally told everyone. why? fear. fear of another loss. fear of disappointing people (i couldn't face my nieces again). fear of having to explain. eighteen weeks seemed very safe for us. we were thrilled and we were bursting to tell all of our friends and family, but we just waited a little longer than the norm.

when trying to decide how to announce, i wanted something simple, but almost fairy-esque. like fairies should be frolicking around us. i know that is totally odd, but this baby was magical. we found out exactly one month after losing our sweet blueberry and hearts were cracked. but this news, it was magic. it was fate. it was exactly what God had wanted for us and the news was given to us on what would have been a terrible day.

we called our favorite photographer and i got to work on the very simple background. i used the "baby" letters i whipped up in less than an hour for eric's surprise and bought a ton of ikea's sheer curtains. just attached them to a photo backdrop and viola! a fun backdrop. the location i chose was muddy, mesquito-y, and parker was mega grumps, but we still managed to get a few photos!

Isn't he a handsome dude?

Here you are, my sweet friends, our family in the outtakes and  a very big stick that kept a toddler happy.

Always running. 

That stick. 

from three to four (and one in our hearts)...

I am so late in writing this! New Years Resolution is to get better at this. Maybe change it up a bit, add some fun stuff? Who knows. Let's see what the new year brings us.

As everyone already knows, I am very excited to announce that another little Fitz will be joining this family at the end of March. It almost seemed unreal, the whole experience. To lose a baby and, exactly one month later, find out you are expecting again, it doesn't feel like real life. We can only sum it up to, God is good.

I never had a cycle between the miscarriage and the pregnancy, so I had no idea where to start. I took an ovulation test daily, but never got my hopes up because when I found out I was pregnant with Parker, I never had a positive one. This time around, I actually got a positive one. Then, when I estimated I should start my cycle, I started testing like a crazy person. I can't take those tests that are just lines. I need one that tells me that I am pregnant or not, my poor husband probably hated the test expense! Oh well, he loves why we are doing it, so it doesn't matter at the end of the day.

This time around, I decided to surprise Eric. I have found out so early the past two pregnancies and this one was no different. So, if I took a test in the AM, it was positive, but my PM test would be negative. So I sent him a photo of the negative one. Mean? Maybe. But it made the surprise so much better. I went with an 80's prom theme and decorated the entrance of the house. I even unplugged the garage door so he had to go to the front, ha ha! Poor guy. I bet sometimes he just sits and thinks "what did i get myself into marrying this lady?!" but we are pretty lucky to have each other. with overly pink and blue  and gold decor, this man walked in to justin bieber's 'baby' song blasting and parker and i were dancing for him.

it was fun to surprise eric. i feel like he never gets surprises and that he really deserved this one. such happy news and such happy delivery of the news. this husband of mine definitely deserves it. we love you so, eric keith! i cannot tell you how blessed we feel to have this sweet baby trusted to our little family. from the moment we found out about you, we loved you. we prayed for you. we cannot wait to meet you, sweet little one.

34 Week Update!

I am officially 34 weeks, 4 days. I'm in the final stretch. A lot of people warned me that this is the most miserable time, but I don't think so at all. I'm really only uncomfortable when I have to switch sides in bed. I don't have those middle of the night cravings (or cravings at all, actually) and he doesn't kick my lungs. He wants out though. I've had Braxton Hicks regularly. Today they came about every hour. We were all ready to go to the mountains to shoot today then BAM! Massive contractions... the last thing I need is to go into labor with three men in the middle of nowhere. So I ruined the day and made them take me to my mommy. He needs to stay in for a bit longer though, I'm not letting him go to the NICU! It is standard procedure for a baby born before 36 weeks to go there for routine testing. Watch, I have all this action then he stays a week past his due date. That'd be my luck! But Baby Boy has definitely dropped and is just waiting for his Mama to be ready for him.

My little monster is still nameless. I really hate it. I know when I see him I will know his name (hopefully), but we had to put "Baby Boy" on our christmas card. That's pathetic! I was never this person. I'm a planner. My mom is going insane. I think that is the one fun part of this. She thinks I am just messing with her and have a name picked out. Wrong-o, lady!

Here is a little update questionnaire:

How far along? 34 weeks, 4 days. Almost 8 months. 

Total weight gain/loss: 17 pounds. I'm a fatty. 

Maternity clothes? Definitely. I can still wear some old dresses and shirts. Jeans work if they are under my belly. Maternity clothing is just so much more comfortable. 

Stretch marks? Nope, I used to be fat though; my skin was already stretched.

Sleep: My sleep habits are no different than normal. I don't sleep much ever. Rolling over is really hard. 

Best moment this week: Well, movement slowed down... that means I'm not getting kicked as much. He dropped and that means that he isn't in my lungs. 

Movement: Decreased a lot. He is ready to go.

Food cravings: Nothing really. If you say something, I'll want it, but I don't NEED anything.

Gender: My spawn is a little man. 

Labor Signs: Lots. He dropped and the contractions are coming. 

Belly Button in or out? In! It will not pop. THANK GOODNESS.

Wedding rings on or off? They came off this week. They still fit, but I don't want to go into labor and get swollen and need them cut off.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach and back, ham lunch meat, and soft boiled eggs. 

What I am looking forward to: My little man being here. I cannot wait to snuggle him and kiss those chubby cheeks.

Weekly Wisdom: Don't panic when you have contractions. It doesn't mean he is coming. 



Now for our most recent photos of this stinker....

Can I get a little sappy here?

We've been married for six months. Did it really go that fast? Was I really in Belize six months ago? Can I go back? 

I didn't think that being married would change much. We had already spent all our time together and we were already developed our habits for two years (yes, even before we were dating). I was wrong. Being married is so much fun! We are just party animals over here. Not really, but we do have some fun adventures. 

We go on fun vacations, get silly in church, babysit some cute kids (these photos might make us lose this privilege), and prepare for our baby boy. In six more months, we will have our little stinker here. We'll be a mini family. 

 

Just so you know, we were safe. All four of us have big, hard heads... helmets are built in.

Marriage is tough though. It isn't so hard with Eric. I'm sure he thinks "AMANDA IS IMPOSSIBLE," but I definitely got lucky in this duo. Minus his inability to utilize social media (this is an actual issue), he is perfect-ish. We all know I'm a crazy person, but he handles it. He just smiles and tells me that it'll be perfectly fine. Thanks baby daddy. You rock.

In fifty years, this 6 month anniversary will seem like nothing, but right now, I love it. 

And to answer the question... I can't get sappy. I'm awkward. I giggle and use the same words over and over again. I go off on tangents (count the parenthesizes, my friend), but at the end of the day, I get my point across.

The Day We Found Out

We had assumed that we may be pregnant. I had the soreness, the back and headaches, but the worst of them all was the extreme motion sickness. We work in Downtown Phoenix, but live in Southeast Chandler. It is a good 45 minutes to get to and from work, not including the horrible Phoenix drivers. The drives were horrible. I dreaded going to work and coming home from work. It was still too early to tell though. So I'd take tests frequently, but always too early so they'd say no. Finally, there was a little bit of a chance that we could get a positive test. They say to take them first thing in the morning, so, at 4:45 am, before my run, before I even brushed my teeth, I took the best test ever. We got our positive result really early in the morning on May 9th. Eric wasn't up yet, but I couldn't stop myself. I probably could have done something cute, but I just ran in and scared him. He thought there was an emergency. Luckily, his gun wasn't in the drawer this time. My husband is not a morning person. He actually takes about three hours to really wake up. He was thrilled though. I skipped my workout and we just sat and talked about how amazing this is. 

Here are our first photos after finding out. I am make up less, blotchy (I cried. Duh), and was all ready to work out. He was sleeping and thought he had more than an hour to stay asleep. 

Our baby would be my parents' sixth grandchild and his parents' first. We had to tell them in a cute way. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos. We made these little canvas sacks:

We put little gifts in them: a frame (it says "Grandma, Grandpa, & Baby Fitz"), the book "I Love You Forever", and a bib that says "I Love My Grandparents." We tied balloons to it, put them in a box, and brought it over on Mother's Day. They opened the box, balloons flew out, and they opened the sacks. Time for tears! They were over the moon excited. 

*Side note: I KEPT THE SECRET FOR FOUR DAYS. I DID NOT TELL MY MOM OR SISTER AT ALL. I DIDN'T BLOW IT. If you know me, that is the hardest thing in the world. I have a big mouth, especially when I am excited. This is the biggest news I ever had. 


Just so you know, I am a crazy person. Here are just four of the dozens of tests (no exaggeration, ask Eric).

Then my sister Amy and Mom did the nicest thing for me ever! Just so you know, I am the one that does this stuff for my family. I don't get surprises from my siblings. This was the nicest thing any of them have ever done for me. Amy and my Mom came over and decorated our kitchen while we were at work and left us so many gifts... gender neutral, of course. It was so fun to come home to!