Zander Jonathan Fitch

The baby is here! Here are some cute pics taken shortly before the birth!

My two sisters comparing tummies! Pregnant belly hasn't seen too much sun. LOL.

Cute belly and NO stretch marks! Wish I could have said the same thing for mine!

This is a picture taken by Sarah, I think this was at the hospital...right before being admitted.

Man, sometimes thing don't work out quite the way you plan...I have 20 vacation days left at work, so I thought that with my sister due to have her baby on July 29th...I would schedule some time at the end of the month, this way I could be there or allow my mom to be there without having to worry about babysitting my kids. WELL...July 15th Ashley went to work at 6am but she started having what she thought were cramps, she left work because she was not feeling well...she went to take a nap but her "cramps" were getting worse, she figured they might be contractions. My sister Sarah took her to the hospital around 7pm and come to find out, she was dialated to a 4. Much to everyone's shock she was admitted. They broke her water and the waiting began! Finally around 5am she was dialated to a 10 and after waiting 45 minutes for the doctor to get there, and after just 4 pushes he was out! (this is the story I got from Sarah). I wasn't present at the hospital. I had to work on Friday and I kept debating about whether or not I should be there with her for the actual labor. Anyway, here are some shots, taken by my mom:
Here is Ashley waiting, and being a champ! She had intended to try to deliver with no epidural and she held out for a really long time...much longer than I coulda!

Here are the eager soon-to-be parents. Ashley and Victor:

And here is the cute guy! He was born July 16 at 6:28 AM. He was 8 pounds 6 ounces and 19 inches long. He has a lot of dark hair and is so sweet!

He is a little chubby, ADORABLE!

Look at those chubby cheeks and those cute lips.

Here is the proud papa, Victor.

Here is my sister, a new mom!!


SO...I went to work that day. My mom told me that visiting later was a better idea because NO ONE had slept the night before. I left work early, something that I NEVER do...and Matt and me and the kiddos rushed to the hospital. Our timing ended up being horrible. Right before we got there, the nurse came in and whisked the baby away leaving everyone with some bad news. For some reason the baby's white blood cell count was really low. They were gonna give him an IV antibiodic and run a bunch of tests on him. When I got to the hospital, my poor sister was upset. I am sure that everything is just precautionary right now. But I could only imagine the feeling and fear when that happens to ya. She is one of the strongest and bravest people that I know. I am so proud of the fact that whatever obstacle that comes at her, she never lets it get her down.

Any thoughts and prayers that you could spare for this little baby would be much appreciated. I am not sure who is out there reading my blog (this all may just be my personal journal)... but if anyone is...please say an extra prayer if you can. I will keep you updated as I get more information. Hopefully on my next visit I can actually hold the little guy, not just peek at him through the window.

Ashley's Shower!

The month of June has been SOOO crazy! At work..with family stuff...and just..LIFE! It is great, but I just kinda want to be BORED for just a second. I have scheduled some time off of work at the end of July...maybe that will be the time to relax. For now, no such luck!

On June 19th we had a baby shower for my sister Ashley..and for my soon to be nephew..JONATHAN ZANDER CONTRATTO. I am 9 years older than my sister, and have for most of my life felt like a second mome more than a sister. BUT for the last few years we have become really good friends. Even though this pregancy wasn't exactly planned, I am excited that we will be mothers together. I sorta thought that on this side, my kids wouldn't have cousins their age..but YIPEE..Jamie will have a buddy on this side. We are all excited to see thier friendship!

Okay. My mom is just plain amazing. Everything she cooks is delicious, her planning is perfection and her hospitality is unmatched. She is my HERO! I am so thankful that she helped me with the cooking portion of the party!! She really thought of every detail. They brought so much stuff. The meat, the buns, a green salad, 2 pasta salads, chips, drinks, ice, coolers, the cake! WOAH! My other little sister Sarah helped with the party favors. They turned out super cute...they were little shoes made from a styrofoam cups. The cake (which I talked my mom into buying instead of making because she was doing so much) was DELICIOUS and pretty.

Here are my two cute sisters! I am so lucky to have them. OH..and I must mention...these pictures were all my moms as once again I was too busy to take pictures...DOH! I did have my camera in my pocket the whole time though..that is a step!

And just look at her pregnant belly! My pregnant belly was very lumpy..but hers is smooth and cute and round...and not any stretch marks yet!

This was my first time meeting Victor's mom...Victoria. And one of his many sisters, Emily.

Here is the mother of my niece...(I guess that is what you would call her). Kasey Beynon. She is just like family. We don't get to see her very often, so it was great to see her.

Here is my niece, Alysia (who I still call Poopie), and Ashley, and Alysia's girlfriend Katie.

Here are my cute grandparents...my dad's parents. We call them Pa-Pa and Ma Ma (pronounced Meh-Meh). Their first language is Spanish, so they speak English with a bit of an accent..it is so cute, I love it. They are SOO funny, always cracking jokes...one that still 10 years later always makes Matt smile.

Here is the dad-to-be, Victor and my niece Poopie.

I am glad my mom snapped a pic of me or you might not have believed I was there! I was thrilled to see my old neighbors come to the party. Here is my second mom, Stephanie...and one of my childhood best friends (we were stuck to each other like glue for the first 16 years of my life) Heather..and her FOURTH daughter.

My dad is one of SEVEN kids. He has 2 brothers and 4 sisters. Here is the baby of the family, Lorraine and her hubby, Uncle Ben.

Here is one of the other sisters, Jeanette and Lorraine too. Maybe I am biased, but I love my aunts, they are so cute and so sweet. This picture may not show it, but they are SOO short and petite. I am just over five foot three and I am like a giant on this side of the family.

Okay, this has to be one of my favorite pictures! My cute hubby, my cute dad, and my cute son..who recently created this big old cheeser picture face that he is sporting in this shot. What is up with that?

Matt's Dad and his wife Tina also came to the shower! Yipee! Matt was generous enough to go into work early so he could be off early so he could barbeque all day! I was glad that Leo was there to help keep Matt company during his hours of cooking! I was also excited to have Tina meet most of MY extended family for the first time.

Here is Poopie's little sister, Abbie. Lauren and her hit it off and became best friends. Abbie was a sweet, polite, well-behaved little girl. Lauren afterwards informed me that they are SOO much alike because #1 they are both six years old and #2 they both HATE Dora. Great, they had discussions on all that is important. LOL.

Here are the parents-to-be opening presents. They got so much awesome and much needed stuff.

Here is the fun memory game that we played.

Here is a shot of the guests in my house. In the middle of the picture is one of my cousins, Patrice. She and I are the closest in age (1 year apart) and she was the cousin I hung out with most often during all family parties. She is very close to my grandparents and tshe sees them often, so I am grateful for that. They live in Clearfield so I don't get to see them as much as I would like.

Here is Sarah and her boyfriend Collin...in thier first picture together, awww.

Here is a shot of the gang..from left to right, my cute mom, my Aunt Lorraine, my cousin Melissa, Ashley, Kasey, my neice Poopie, my Dad, and my Grandma.

And here is the fearsome foursome...Collin, Victor, Ashley and Sarah.

All in all, I think it turned out well. Originally it was just going to be a girl thing, BUT...Ashley wanted the whole family to come and I sort of panicked...but I got excited because my dads family hadn't seen my house so it was great to show my house off. It was a lot of work to get the house cleaned...so I enlisted the help of one of my best friends, Beth, to come help me...I paid her for her time as I worked her like a dog...(oh yeah, I am big time now-paying someone to clean my house-booyah). I had a great time visiting with the guests. I am glad that I had so much help from my parents, from Matt, from Beth, even from the kiddos. It was a great time, but I was EXHAUSTED afterwards! Congrats Ashley! I can't wait to meet ZANDER!

An Oldie but Goodie

My mom put this picture on Facebook, so I thought I would share (for anyone that missed it). This is a picture of (from left to right)...my sister Ashley, my niece Alysia-whom I STILL affectionately call Poopie, and my youngest sister Sarah.

I am a lot older than my sisters, 9 years older than Ashley and 12 years older than Sarah. As a kid, I felt more like a second mom than a sister. Although I used to be so upset about having "baby" sisters. I whined about having to babysit them so much, and about taking them to the park, reading to them and having them always wanting to be with me...in retrospect, the time that I got to spend with them has been priceless to me. I got to watch them grow up and become the beautiful women they now are. Ashley is about to be a mom and it will be great to be able to share "mom" moments and experiences with her. Sarah works with me at Discover for the past two years, so it is great to also have so much in common with her and to see her so often. PLUS one of the great things about having younger sisters is that they help keep me a little bit more in touch with fashion and other popular trends. I really enjoy the moments we spend together, our sister sleep-overs and movie nights and all of our family events. It is nice to have sisters who are truly my best friends, who know me SOO well, who know all the people that I love (my extended family), who love my kids almost as much as I do, and who would do almost anything for me. Well, enough mush...this picture just reminds me of all that we have been through, I would have to guess that this picture is at least 16 years old. It also seems to me like Lauren looks a lot like Ashley, and Jamie looks a lot like Sarah*. What do you think? Do you see that resemblence?

*Okay and how can I not mention cute Sarah in this picture with her naturally curly crazy hair!! I miss that frizzy mess, it was so adorable.

(PS... I LOVE you so much Ashley and Sarah..you are the best)