Mommy Brain

Forgetful, scatterbrained, just plain dumb. I do feel like this sometimes. Apparently pregnancy takes away your ability to effectively multitask or do simple things like remember to take your groceries home from the store after you have paid for them. I start a lot of sentences and then trail off into distraction until Andy asks me to please finish what I was saying. The silver lining in this brain mush I have been experiencing is an apparent INCREASE in my trivial knowledge. Andy and I sat down to play Trivial Pursuit a month or so ago and something happened that has never happened to me, for the first time ever I got every single piece of the pie. So, I may not remember where my keys are or to feed Melinda but I will know -

What southern US city got $1.5 million from the federal government to recondition a massive statue of the Roman god Vulcan?

Which ultraviolet rays are absorbed by the ozone layer- UV-A, UV-B, or UV-C?

What Austin Powers co-star did MIke Myers described as "honest, talented . . . and yummy"?

and finally:

What Big Pimpin' rapper and former crack hustler was known to judges as Shawn Carter?

If any of you are interested in the answers here they are:

Birmingham

UV-C

Heather Graham

Jay-Z

Merry Christmas

It is a white Chrismas here in Denver. I woke up this morning, got ready to take Melinda out to "potty", looked out the window, and saw two inches of snow. I promptly let Melinda take herself for a stroll around the yard. I couldn't believe all the white stuff, the news had predicted a quarter inch instead we got about six. My sweet husband got up and dro,ve me to work at 7. Yep, I am spending Christmas day working at the hospital. Unfortunately people still need drugs even on holidays. We did go to Winter Park with the Fitzgeralds this past weekend and we will celebrate Christmas dinner tonight. I volunteered to work this year anticipating wanting a lot of time off next year for Edward's "1st" Christmas. We tried to explain Christmas to him this morning but I am not sure he got it, the only response he had for me was a kick in the ribs! Andy and I are constantly amazed at his movements, we can tell he is getting stronger and every now and then we get a glimpse of a leg or arm as it moves across my belly. I never get tired of putting my hands on my belly and trying to guess which body part is pressing back. Sometimes I feel like he is just ready to bust out of the confines of my body. We try and interpret his movements into some kind of personality, I have no idea if there is any correlation but if so we have decided he will be full of energy and always on the go, he will not be able to sit still for very long and he will push the limits and test his boundaries constantly. I am just fine with him staying put for a few more weeks, I won't be able to monitor his every movement much longer and that is a scary thought.









I hope you all have a Merry and Blessed Christmas.

Baby Bump

Big- 10/21

Bigger- 12/10

Biggest yet to come. So many of you have asked for new pictures,I have obviously been ignoring the blog but I have felt guilty about it. It is amazing to look back at pictures and remember feeling "so BIG" and now I am feeling huge and yet I know there is more to come. Everything is becoming relative, and all we can do is try to enjoy as much of this journey as possible, because we know it will be over in a flash. So thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, and phonecalls - they keep me going and we really do appreciate the support.

Happy Halloween

Thanks mom for the the baby pumpkin. And thanks to Brad and Sarah for hosting a great pumpkin carving party. Happy Halloween to everyone.

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It's a boy - Edward Mitchell Fitzgerald

We found out last Tuesday that our little one is a boy. His dad and I are very proud. Andy was so proud he asked if they could produce a 3d picture (like the one of his face and arm) of the "boy parts". It has been amazing to get a glimpse of his tiny face and to think of "him". Knowing his gender has already given him more of a personality, I imagine his kicks and punches are practicing for soccer and tennis.



Naming him was surprisingly easy. A while back Andy and I were having one of those conversations where you dream about things in the future. We decided on Edward Mitchell one day while talking about what names we would want for our children. Edward is Andy's Dad name. We couldn't be happier that he will bear his grandfathers name and hope he will grow up knowing what a great man he is named after. Of course Mitchell is very special to both Andy and I. I was so excited when Andy asked if I would want to name our boy after Mitch. It is a way for us to honor him and what he meant to all of our lives by passing on his name.

My brother has jokingly called him Cousin Eddy but I am making a request here and now that he not be nicknamed Eddy. We like Ed, Edward and E for short. If anyone has any other ideas we would love to thear them.

Augustus Johan Dinkins

My perfect and amazing nephew, Gus, is one month old and I just had the privilege of meeting him this past weekend. Gus was born September 14 after Geraldine's heroic 26 hours in labor. Both mom and baby are doing well. I was so excited to get to spend the weekend with my whole family although with so many arms around it was hard to get enough holding time. My mom is especially sneaky and can take Gus away so fast you don't even notice your not holding him anymore. He is such a laid back baby, already taking after his dad. I found out his favorite place is the changing table, anytime we placed him on the changing pad he got very still and quiet. This could lull you into a false sense of security because it also placed him in prime position to give anyone standing over him a pee-pee shower. I almost got nailed but jumped out of the way saving my own self while Geraldine bravely stepped in harms way and put a diaper over the spout to keep everything from becoming totally soaked. I am so proud of my brother and sister-in-law for the amazing job they are doing as parents, I hope we will be half as good. I look forward to introducing Gus to his cousin in March. For now Gus is the center of all our attention and I love every little thing about him.

Practice Baby

One of the things I love most about my husband is his sense of humor. His idea of funny can be very different from mine (if anyone is curious I can tell you the story of the "Ultimate Humiliation") but most of the time it puts a smile on my face and laughter in my heart. I came home from work one day to find a stranger on our bed, Practice Baby. Andy made Practice Baby by stuffing my very own baby blanket into a onesie and adding a pair of tube socks for the head. Later we added the knitted hat, a wonderful gift from Geraldine. What do we do with Practice Baby? Well we practice, we hold it, burp it, carry it around and just try and imagine what the real thing will be like. We get a kick out of it and know it is no comparison to our real baby who is growing and kicking like crazy in my belly. I can't wait to put the real thing in the onsie and keep his or her head warm with the hat. I can't wait to see Andy holding our child and to smile and laugh at the beautiful picture that will be.


The precious burp cloth in the pictures is from L.A. and she is making and selling these along with other precious baby items. If anyone is interested or want to see what else she has to offer go to her blog (there is a link from this page) and check out the link to her items. She is so talented and has some really great things.

Baby Bump

14 weeks

17 weeks

Our baby Biscuit is growing, faster than I imagined. I am now moving into maternity clothes (see jeans in second picture) mostly for comfort. I can still wear some of my regular pants but if I sit for any length of time I have to unbutton them a la` "after Thanksgiving dinner" style. We have decided to call the baby Biscuit because I got fat once after a summer of eating too many of them in the Biscuit Hut. We go to the doctor this week but still won't find out the sex for another three or four. It is hard to believe we are almost half way to the finish (or I suppose really just the beginning). My brother and sister-in-law have a one week old, when I talked to them this week I asked my brother what he was doing he said babysitting . . . for the next 18 years. I wonder what kind of parents we will be. I told Andy this morning I want to be the kind of parents that don't lose their identity just because they have children. I want to keep doing the things we love, and love them more because our child will be a part of everything. I can't wait to teach him how to ski or to take her on a hike to the top of a mountian. After living in Colorado for 5 years it is too easy to forget to appreciate the beautiful surroundings. We will get to exprience it all over again through our child's eyes.

(Colorado) Wine Country

Palisade, CO. This past weekend we went to the Colorado Winefest with our friends Dave and Kelly. The western slope of Colorado is a totally different climate from the mountains and is where many of the farms, orchards, and all the vineyards in the state are located. The winefest is a weekend long event that features about 10 different wineries from the area. We went on Saturday and did our own bike tour, stopping at different wineries to taste their wines (don't worry, I only took the tiniest of sips and gave the rest to Dave). The bike ride was beautiful, although one unexpected hill took us all by surprise, and those of us who had had more wine than others suffered some severe heartburn at the top! The bike loop was twenty five miles and wound up and around one of the mesas in Palisade. After a 2 1/2 hour ride we stopped for lunch and then headed back to Vail. It was Octoberfest in Vail (again, only a few sips of beer) and we enjoyed hanging out in the Village and eating an Austrian meal at Pepi's. We all recommend the weiner schnitzel if you ever go.


Andy and I felt inspired being back on our bikes, it was our first ride together since the triple (my first ride at all). Hopefully we will fit in a few more before the winter sets in. It is beautiful fall weather here. We are headed to the mountains this weekend to enjoy the aspens during their golden phase. In about 2 weeks the the leaves will be gone and the snow will be on its way. I don't know which I like best. I always want the fall to last a little longer but the first snowstorm is so exciting because it means skiing will be here soon. For now we are loving the 80 degree weather and clear blue skies.

Triple Bypass

It went something like this:
Andy said,"Do you want be in a bike ride in July?" And I said, "Sure, sounds like fun." Next thing I know we are on a team training to ride 120 miles over 3 mountain passes. Our team is Champions for Children and our focus is raising money for the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center (the firm Andy works for). This year the team raised almost $70,000 for the Law Center. Some of you may be asking why a law firm needs donations. The Law Center is a non profit organization that provides legal services for at-risk and maltreated children.

Andy and I bought new road bikes in January and then stared at them until April when it was finally warm enough to start riding outside. Once summer started we were in full training and it pretty much took over all our free time. The Triple Bypass is supposedly one of the hardest one day rides in the United States. It starts in Evergreen, CO and goes over Squaw Pass, Loveland Pass and Vail Pass. One hundred and twenty miles later you end just west of Vail in Avon, CO. Over the course of the ride you gain 10,310 feet in elevation. Andy and I really enjoyed training together. Most of the time we were good about encouraging one another but, I have to admit there were times that our competitive
natures got the best of us.

I found out that I was pregnant about 4 weeks prior to the ride. My doctors said it was fine to ride since I had already been training. We made the decision that I would take a break in the middle so I must admit that I only rode 90 out of the 120 miles. We started at 6 am and finished about 12 hours later (that included 3 hours of break time). It was a great accomplishment and something we will probably never do again, although I keep thinking about that 30 miles- I may have to go back and prove I can do the whole thing.

To all of you who contributed to our fundraising, THANK YOU. Our team is still intact and we will be participating in other (easier) rides next spring and summer.

Things we did the Summer

1. Went to Mexico for friends Matt Jay and Jesse Berg's wedding

2. Trained for and completed the Triple Bypass (more about that later)

3. Hosted Sarah Drew who lived with us while working as an intern at Andy's law firm

4. Got pregnant!

Of course there were many other things packed in but these were the highlights for us. As usual it seems that summer has flown by. Summer started with an early trip to Mexico to celebrate the wedding of Matt and Jesse. Matt is a high school friend of Andy's who now lives in Aspen and were were lucky enough to be there as he and his beautiful bride said their "I do's". Matt and Jesse were married in the Mayan Riveria not very far from where we went on our honeymoon. It was our first destination wedding and we had a great time, I have never been on a vacation where I knew half of the people staying in the resort. We felt spoiled going back to such a beautiful spot only seven months after we had just been there. Thanks Matt and Jesse for a great excuse to take a vacation.

Sarah Drew was our houseguest/little sister for the summer. She moved out to Denver after landing an internship with the Dandelion project, a therapeutic gardening program, through Andy's law firm. Sarah spent the summer preparing, planting and cultivating several gardens throughout the city. The gardens were located at different residential facilities for children who were placed there either for behavior problems or family circumstances. It is not an easy environment, the kids have lived such different lives than we could ever imagine. The Dandelion project uses the gardens as a tool to teach the kids about growing and taking care of themselves and others. Sarah was a hit with the kids and with us. She left around mid August to go back to Florida to start school. We miss our little sister!

By far our biggest surprise of the summer was finding out we are pregnant! We weren't exactly planning on it happening this summer, but we are thrilled. I am now 14 weeks along and everything seems to be going well and as it should. We are thankful that baby and I are healthy and pray that will continue for the rest of the pregnancy. I am over the hump as far as the nausea and tiredness go. Now I am in that great in between of feeling "fat" versus looking "pregnant". My original goal was to weigh less than my brother Jacob by the end of the pregnancy but after he got on the scale last week I realized that will probably not happen. How can a grown man (who is almost 6 feet tall) weigh only 142 lbs? We are looking forward to finding out if we will be adding a son or daughter to our family, we will keep everyone updated.