First Trimester

I am going to try my best to document as much as I can throughout this pregnancy.  I haven't been the best with keeping up with this blog, but I know how much I will want to remember all of these precious memories leading up to the birth of baby Fabish.  So most of these posts will be for our family memory book, but please feel free to read along and enjoy this wonderful journey with us. 

Heads up:  This first post is VERY long since I'm documenting the first trimester. :)

Matt & I had just begin trying for a baby so when I found out I was pregnant, I just couldn't believe it.  It truly felt like God was saying, "It's time for your family to begin. I know this is something you have wanted for a long time, and it is finally here!"

I found out over my spring break. I may or may not have been a little crazy with taking pregnancy tests. :) I am pretty sure I took a test every day that week hoping to find out I was pregnant.  I was home by myself when I found out, and I screamed so loud and ran around the house.  I really wanted to think of a cute way to tell Matt, but I couldn't contain my excitement.  I took a picture of the tests and texted him right away.  He was very excited too. :)  We decided not to tell anyone for awhile, but of course I was allowed to tell my sisters.  I went to lunch with Rachel that day and told her and called Clara that night.  I wouldn't allow myself to get too excited because it was SO early, but I needed to talk to my sisters. 

I couldn't get into the doctor until two more weeks which felt like forever!  This was weeks 4 through the beginning of 6 and they went by SO SLOW.  I immediately stopped drinking caffeine and started eating healthier snacks and meals.  When I finally made it to my appointment on March 29th, I was even more thrilled to hear the news confirmed, "You are pregnant!" and to see that first sonogram.  I could barely see anything, but there was definitely a little bitty baby in there beginning to grow.

Week 7 was when we went home to New Boston for Easter.   I told Matt that I just had to tell my family since I didn't know the next time we would all be together, and I wanted them to all find out in person.  Since Rachel and Clara already knew, I just had to tell all the boys and Welda.  Right when I got home I told Uncle Casey.  He was SO excited and told me he just knew it was true because he had dreams about me being pregnant.  His reaction just made my little heart so happy.  Next I talked to Uncle Brooks who was also SO excited.  Matt was driving in that night, so I told Brooks that we were going to tell Dad and Welda at dinner.  Well bless his heart, I don't think he heard any of that.  My dad walked in the back door, and Brooks jumped up and said, " DAD!!  Amanda is pregnant!!"  So there went the dinner announcement. :)  However, I loved how excited he was so I didn't care at all.  I just started laughing and then went to hug Dad and told him it was true.  Later that evening I told Welda who was also very excited!

Weeks 6-8 felt so slow again too.  Those days leading up to the next appointment at the beginning were not easy for me.  I know I am just at the beginning of understanding the patience of being a parent.  Nausea definitely hit me during these weeks and is unfortunately still here.  I will have days of nothing and then days where it lingers ALL day.  Thankfully I have never been sick, I just feel like I'm going to be sick.   I told Matt not to worry about that first appointment because I had to do so much, but he was ready to attend the 8 week one.  This appointment was amazing.  Not only could we see our precious baby again (even if he/she looked like a little blob), but we saw the little flicker of the heartbeat for the first time.  I screamed again in the doctor's office. :)

Right after this appointment, Matt called his parents to come over to meet us to go out for dinner.  When we got home, Matt handed them the sonogram saying, "Look at this picture Amanda has from school."  Their sweet reaction was so touching to see because you could tell how surprised and happy they were at the same time.  We all went to dinner and talked about babies the entire time. :) 

Weeks 8-12:
Week 10 was definitely the worst.  I got a terrible sinus infection and was downright miserable.  I cried several times that week because I was so concerned about the baby and just felt awful.  I finally broke down and took some medicine that my doctor said I could take, but it didn't help that much so I went to the doctor to get on an antibiotic.  I think I asked my doctors over and over again if it was okay to take medicine during the first trimester and they assured me it was okay.  Thankfully I started feeling much better.  Of course during this time my husband was SO wonderful and took such good care of me.  He was so calm and sweet when I had my crying meltdowns. :)

 I started showing a little bit so it started getting harder and harder to keep it a secret.  I tried my best to wear clothes that hid the tiny bump, but I only have so many of those.  Dresses were worse because they hugged my little tummy and showed the bump even more.  Matt & I started telling more of our close friends because the news was just getting too hard to keep a secret!   I had my end of year summative with my principal during week 11 so I told him, and then I decided to tell my second grade team.  They were so cute because they got so excited when I told them, but then they said how they already knew.  :)

This past week, week 12, we had another check up.  There was no sonogram this time (boo), but we were able to hear the heartbeat for the first time!  It was SO amazing.  I could listen to that little sound all day.  Since everything was okay, Matt & I decided to share the news with the world, which meant we put it on Facebook with this picture.

I was very hesitant about putting it on Facebook because I feel really weird about sharing too much on there, but I was just so excited so all those feelings went away.  After reading all of the sweet comments and congratulations, I'm so glad I did.  I started crying while watching what people were saying.  It's all starting to feel very real, and it's just so exciting!!

We are finishing up week 13 this week which is the end of the first trimester.  I'm hoping for less nausea and more energy. :)  I never knew I could be this tired!  I have taken a nap almost every day even if it's just for 30 minutes.  

Sweet baby Fabish, we cannot wait to meet you this November.  You are already loved so much and prayed for daily by your momma and daddy! 

Shooting Range

This past weekend the whole Fabish family went to the gun range.  I was a little apprehensive about this trip, because I have never been comfortable around guns. 

 When we got to the gun range I was really nervous.  It was loud.  There was lots of people shooting.  Big guns, little guns, aggh.  I didn't know if this was the place for me.  Well it didn't take long for me to get comfortable.  After a few lessons from my sweet husband, I was on a roll!  However when it came time to shoot skeet, I wasn't too hot.  I missed every single one and acquired a pretty big bruise on my arm from where the big gun hit me.  All in all though, it was SO much fun.  I already asked Matt if I could have a pink gun and can we go back again.  He is excited that I am more comfortable and want to do it again, but he said I could never have a pink gun. :)

 Getting ready to start

 Kyle (my sister in law's boyfriend)

 Leslie (SIL)

 Heidi (SIL)

 Me!

 Father in law

 Silly hubs

 Skeet shooting

 Thad (BIL)

One month and one day

That's how long it has been since my last blog.  Lots of little things have happened here and there, but I haven't had the time or energy to jot it down.  Here's a little run-down of life lately.

Fun with friends: dinners, meeting friends' parents, bowling alleys, baby showers, out of town besties visiting, movie nights, dinner with college favorites, Sunday football, A&M football games, bible study

I love all of our friends and feel so blessed to have them in our lives.  I just wish some of them lived a little closer!  I'm so excited that I get to visit, along with 3 other friends, one of my best friends in Seattle in TWO weeks!  And then two weeks after that I will see my BFFs in New Boston!

Race for the Cure:  I participated in my first Race for the Cure-Dallas!  My sisters and I wanted to form a team and were blessed to have some of our sweet friends join the team.  We already decided to do it each year.  Our team met early Saturday morning so we could all carpool or follow one another to the same parking lot.  Even though we had to walk a little slow--due to SO many people--it was so much fun.  After our big walk we all headed over to Ozonas for a yummy brunch.   Since my wonderful cousin, Angela, flew in (JUST for the walk) she spent the rest of the day with my sisters and me at the house and going to a cute pumpkin patch! 

Murphy Murano:  Yes.  I have a name for my car.  Our family is weird.  And this is just another thing we do.  I can't remember who started this.  I love how I can nonchalantly tell my best friend from home, Lindsey, and she just casually acts like it is no big deal.  She's always loved our family's weird things.  Anyway, my car literally STOPPED the evening of the race when I was taking my cousin to the airport.  I mean get out of the car and push it into the parking lot STOPPED.  A sweet man stopped his car and helped.  How. Embarrassing.  Oh how the Lord loves to humble us in so many ways..   Later on my sisters and I couldn't stop laughing.  Especially when they were pushing my car.  Anyway, Matthew came and saved the day.  We got her fixed, so I thought, and last Wednesday morning right beside White Rock Lake, it STOPPED again.  I was on my way to my full day math vertical team planning meeting.  Thank heavens I was going to a meeting at someone's house and not school.  Matthew came again and saved the day.  She is all better now.  Hopefully I won't be embarrassed again anytime soon.  I will never get aggravated at someone ever again that is stranded on the road!

Mrs. Fabish:  Oh me.  I really do love my job.  But I have been a pooped teacher here lately.  My little precious ones, all 23 of them, are terribly precious but we have had some challenging days.  I am so blessed to work with such an amazing team that has so sweetly listened to my stories lately.  While we have been doing a lot of math, reading, and writing, we've also been working a LOT on building our character.  I started an activity this week called Bucket Filler with my class.  I wish I would've started it the first week of school, but I didn't know much about it then.  I've been using this website as a guide.  So far my kids LOVE it and are learning more about being respectful and kind to one another.  In writer's workshop we are writing "how to" stories, and one of my kids is writing, How to Make a Friend.  So far it is my favorite. :)  

We are looking forward to the weekend.  I get to go to a fun baby shower this Saturday. :)  Matt & I are boring so we don't feel like dressing up and doing Halloween stuff, but we are having a few friends over, and I get to eat lunch with my Chi-O girls after church on Sunday.  Anyway, our house just got BOOed...so I am about to go look through our basket of goodies. :)

Babies & Aggieland

Babies.  For many of my friends, our days have gone from discussing boys and dating to marriage and babies.  I felt like "babies" was a common theme among many of my favorites this past week.

My very best friend had her second baby girl last Monday, September 19th.  Annabel Brynn had a little bit of a rocky start her first few days, but she is now home with her family and doing well.  Please continue to pray for her health (and Momma and Daddy) as they prepare for an upcoming visit to see a specialist in Little Rock in October.  Please read Lindsey's blog if you want to learn more about what has been going on with Annabel.   Here is a picture I got from the proud Momma.  Aunt Amanda loves this little girl so much and can't wait to meet her!

This past Wednesday I had dinner with some of my Chi Omega girls.  We have started having dinner together once a month.  It's so nice to see them and catch up each month.  Well Nadine had already told me and some others, but at dinner she announced that baby number two is on the way.  :) AND Ashley & Nathan Young are expecting their first baby!  So so exciting!!  Cannot wait for all the showers. :)

Earlier in the week Matt was out doing a consult for a customer who just happened to be an Aggie.  He must have liked Matthew because he GAVE him two awesome tickets to the A&M/OSU game along with a parking pass.  People like that are just awesome. :)  Matt was so excited and texted me a picture right away.  As much as I was excited (for Matt) that we could go to the game, I also knew this meant I was going to see my baby brother, Casey!  

We left early Saturday morning so we could see Casey first.  One of the organizations Matt was very involved in, One Army, was having an alumni tailgating party.  Since the game was at 2:30 that meant we had to get to the tailgating party around 12ish.  We saw Casey for about an hour and then he had to run and get his two best buddies who were visiting him for the weekend, and Matt and I needed to head off to the tailgate.  Our original plan was to drive back home right after the game.  Well big sister started crying the moment her little brother walked away. :)  So sweet precious Matthew said, "We can stay and eat dinner with him so you can see him longer."  So, we changed our plans. :)

We really enjoyed the One Army tailgate.  It was so cute to watch Matt embrace some of his buddies he hasn't seen in a long time and watch him have so much fun.  I loved seeing him so happy, and I told him he can't wait another 3 years to come back for a game!  

Our seats at the game were perfect.  We sat on the former students side which was nice (for me) because we didn't have to stand the whole time and our side was shaded. :)  Our seats were on the second deck and although A&M lost we had a wonderful time.  As much as I complain about almost all of my family and now my husband being Aggies, the games really are SO neat.  They do so many things at the games that have been done for years.  The school spirit is amazing, and I love hearing about all of the traditions the school has.  Matt was so cute because he tried really hard to get me to yell and get into the game.  :)

Love seeing the Corps of Cadets.  My daddy and Papa Kay were both in the Corp.

Student side-I know it is hard to tell, but they do not sit down the whole game!

Watching the band is always my favorite part!

After the game we ate dinner with Casey and about 6 of his buddies.  Luckily we were able to walk into On the Border and get a table right away.  We had so much fun, and I loved getting to know some of Casey's new friends.  He is so happy which makes my heart so happy.  I love him so much!  And yes, the tears came again after I hugged him goodbye.  :)

 Goofy brother!

 Casey & his new Aggie buds.

 The whole group of boys (including Nick & Lee who visited this weekend)

We love you, Casey Mac!

Labor Day Weekend

Well I have put off blogging because I didn't have any fun pictures to share with my words.  I have got to start putting my new camera to use!  Oh well.  Here we go anyway. :)

Labor Day weekend was great!  We started the weekend on Friday with a fun night with two of our fun couples' friends.  Justin & Michelle Smith recently bought their first home so they invited the McGuires and ourselves over for a fun pot luck dinner night.  We had SO much fun!  First of all their house is beautiful.  I can't wait to go back and see baby girl Smith's room all finished....who will be here this December. :)  Anyway, we all brought some yummy food to eat.  The girls talked all night.  The boys grilled food and had boy time outside.  We nicknamed ourselves "Smitty Mac Fab."  Yes, we are that cool.

That Saturday Matt and I were LAZY.  Correction.  I was lazy.  I slept until 9:00....woke up and still felt tired....got back in bed and didn't wake up until 12:00!!!  I haven't done that in forever.  The beginning of the school year always makes me SO tired.  I stay up too late b/c my mind won't stop racing from all the "to dos" which leads me to being super lazy on the weekend.  Thankfully my hubby feels the same way I do about resting and being lazy on the weekends.  Yeah yeah I know that will change someday.  But not right now. :)

On  Sunday we had church like normal and then came home to rest because our Sunday school class was doing a progressive dinner that evening.  Side note--this was also the first A&M game of the year.  Matthew played the Aggie War Hymn while getting ready for church....on the way to church....after church...you get the picture.  Well by the time we got to the last house that evening, Matt asked the host family if he could play the A&M game in their game room.  None of the other guys seemed to mind.  So all of the boys watched the game while the girls drank coffee and chatted.  We had so much fun and have loved getting to know our group!  Plus the Aggies won.  I love how my cute husband loves his team so much. :)

We ended the weekend at home.  Matt grilled hamburgers and invited one of his buddies over. I invited my two sistas over....Rachel & Clara.  Because they both live in Dallas.  In case you didn't know. :)

I did get one picture of my furry baby.  So I will end with that.  Isn't she the cutest?  She loves her Matthew. :)

Back to School, Birthday, & Baby Sister Moving to Big D

I haven't had time to blog lately, because a lot of my free time has been consumed with getting ready for school.  There is so much work that goes along with preparing for a new school year.  Decorating and organizing my classroom is my favorite because I have zero time for it during the school year.  I try to get as much work done as I can during those few weeks leading up to the first day because it is hard to get big projects done throughout the year.  There just isn't any time.  I've told my friends that aren't teachers that my office hours are actually 3:00-on.  I am teaching from 8:00-3:00 so there is little time to prepare for many things while those sweet things are in your classroom.  After decorating your classroom and organizing comes planning, planning, and more planning.  And of course learning all about your new class! I have 23 students this year, and I already adore each & every one of them.  While it is pretty exhausting until about the end of October, which is when they have learned the class routines and become a little more independent, we are off to a fabulous start! 

 I bought this from Teacher Tools...a little too late.  I wanted it personalized, but they said it would take another week, which I didn't have.  So I bought it anyway....

and personalized it myself!  The writing is a little bigger than I wanted, but it works just fine for my classroom door sign! 

One of my biggest jobs in organizing my classroom was that I organized ALL of my children's books by genre.  I had them somewhat organized, but now they are REALLY organized.  I had to sort all my books and put stickers and labels on every single book, so they better stay that way. :) (haha we will see)  So far my class is doing great. Thanks Laura for helping me!!

I put this on my desk.  My precious little Reid who was in my class last year painted this for me and gave it to me for an end of year present.  Kids really do pay attention...especially when their teacher drinks one a day. ;)

These stools were very blah to look at so they are now colorful Armstrong colors!  Thank you to Mama Roach (Carrie's mom) for doing them for me. :)

Okay that's all I will share about school.  I know these pictures tend to get boring. :)

Last weekend we celebrated Mary's birthday. We ate dinner at Chuy's, which is one of my faves, and then danced our little hearts out at Knox Street.  We just love Mary and are so glad we were a part of the celebration!  I stole a couple of her pictures because I didn't bring my camera. :(

Last but not least....the last Cox sister has moved to Dallas! I can't even begin to explain my excitement.  Wednesday night before she moved here I could hardly get ready for bed because that's how excited I was.  The Cox Clan is very tight...we love each other so much... so having my two sisters....my VERY best friends....SO close by makes my heart incredibly happy.  I can't get over it. If I want to go see Rachel...15 minute drive TOPS.  Wait, what if I want to see Clara?  15 minutes.  Clara's office is TWO MILES from my school.  That's crazy to me.  We have all decided to make time for a sister get together every week.  Right now we are thinking about signing up for a painting class.  Anyone know of great painting classes to take in Dallas? :) 

Anyway, Dad moved some of Clara's things on Thursday, but the big part was this past Saturday.  Did I mention that my husband is such a wonderful brother in law?  Well, he is.  He had an extra couch (BIG L shaped couch) and queen size bed for sweet Clara-Belle.  On Saturday morning we headed out to his office warehouse and loaded up everything and then brought it to Clara's apartment.  Rachel came over to help out too.  Those of you that know us KNOW who was doing the big lifting to her second floor apartment.  Clara and I did manage to carry one part of the couch upstairs by ourselves. :)  Anyway, Clara is all set up now!

When we were out at Matt's office warehouse loading up Clara's furniture, we were able to grab a couple other things for ourselves.  My mother in law asked me to come look at this dresser and beside table about a month ago.  It orginally belonged to my father in law's grandfather and she wanted us to have it. Her words..."This would be great for a future baby's room."  :)  It needs some touching up here and there, but we'll cross that road at a later time.  For now I think we are going to keep it the original yellow wood color (with a little polishing here and there) but change up the handles.  I really want to do antique furniture and have a mixed eclectic look in our future children's room....so this dresser is perfect!

One Love~Jamaica

We have been back for about a week now from our honey-versary.  Last year after our wedding it didn't work out for us to go on our honeymoon right away so we decided to put it off.  We almost scheduled it for December but decided to just hold off until July.  I am SO glad we did!  Yes, I would have loved to immediately go on a honeymoon, but it was definitely worth the wait.  While there we found out that December is when the resorts get very busy.  One guy told Matt that it gets crazy busy sometimes when trying to get attention from servers.  I'm sure that depends on where you go, but we were both very happy to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere surrounded by a small amount of other guests.

After arriving in Jamaica very hungry & tired....and waiting through customs....and walking outside to very humid warm weather....I still had the biggest smile on my face.  I was SO excited to be somewhere all alone with my husband.  We barely walked outside the doors at the airport before being approached by several men asking us where we were going and if we had arranged plans for traveling to our resort.  Matt & I, being new to this out of the country traveling, did not make any prior arrangements.  So we immediately were scooped up to take a small bus aka taxi cab to our hotel.  (Later we learned this wasn't the best choice because it was more expensive than the shuttle...noted for next time!) The cab had no air conditioning, but I was still too excited to care.  We got to our resort and both of us immediately wanted FOOD.  Thankfully, our little all inclusive paradise had some ready to go.  After eating, we both headed to our room for a nap.  Yes, aren't we fun? 

Each day we did the same thing.  We would sleep in until about 9:00 and then head downstairs to eat the yummy breakfast.  Then Matt would work out & I would head to the pool. :)  The rest of our day would include more pool time, lounging at the beach, and then sometimes taking a nap before getting ready for dinner.  

Two of the restaurants required reservations so we immediately made a reservation for our anniversary night.  We both agreed the Japanese restaurant sounded like the best choice.  (I have grown to love Hibachi restaurants for all of you that may have dropped jaws right now because you know how picky I am.  Still not digging sushi, though.)  Anyway, the night of our anniversary, we had a BLAST.  Our chef was so much fun!  I wish we could go back for just a Saturday night dinner. :)

We only left our hotel one day.  Our original plan was just to go to Dunn's Falls. It is a beautiful waterfall in Ochos Rios where you get to hike up the waterfall.  Well, if you have seen my facebook picture, you know that's not all that happened.  When we went down to guest services, I noticed a brochure for Dolphin's Cove.  Immediately I told Matt that I would rather go there than Dunn's Falls.  I love animals and have always wanted to swim with dolphins!  We lucked out and had the cutest girl help us out to where we could go to Dunn's Falls AND Dolphins Cove.  They had a shuttle come early in the morning to take guests to BOTH.  We also found out that Dolphins Cove had many other fun things to experience while there.  Oh my, I was so excited!!  To say I had a good time the day we went is an understatement.  I enjoyed every minute of the day and felt like a little girl because I kept thanking my husband for taking me.  Those types of things aren't always his favorite thing to do, so I know he was just being my sweet man he always is by going with me. 

Our last night there was one of my favorites.  We ate dinner at the Cajun restaurant.  It was super yummy, but that was not the best part.  Now every single person we had as a server or whatever while there was wonderful, but Marvin, our precious waiter, was the nicest. :)  He immediately asked for our names which he used every time he came to our table.  I felt like he went out of his way to make our last night enjoyable.  The next guy we talked to was another server named David.  He wasn't our server, but he kept coming back to our table to talk to us.  I guess he had overheard that we were celebrating our anniversary the night before while talking to Marvin because as soon as Marvin left, David came to our table.  He looked at both of us and said, "So you have been married for a year, that's great!  Are you both Christians?"  Yes that may have bothered some people, but we didn't mind at all.  (One day we were told that people in Jamaica are very religious).   Anyway, we both nodded and smiled and he leaned over and said, "To God be the Glory."  My heart melted.  David then went on preaching a little message about how important it is to have God number one if your life while sharing his own struggles that he had experienced.  He smiled again and said, "But God always saved me in the end and he always will, especially when I give it all to him."  I later told Matt that we had experienced an angel in Jamaica.  Oh, we loved it. 

  
The people in Jamaica were extremely welcome and incredibly kind.  Everyone always had something positive to say and made us feel so at home.  One of my favorite things they would say was, "Is this your first time to visit Jamaica?  What took you so long!?"  Matt & I already said we will one day go back.  Yeah Mon! ;)

Here are some of the pictures.  Look at my facebook for all the others!  :)

 The best staff....so fun & entertaining

 Anniversary Dinner

 Riding to Dunn's Falls

 Marvin, me, David, & Matt