Waiting on our world to change

One maternity session was apparently not enough for this diva! As it turned out, my main photographer Giovanna Molina (responsible for all my fab performance promotional pictures) came to town on the same weekend as I had booked my maternity session with the amazing Carmen and Favio (Studio by Carmen). So I figured- you're only pregnant with your first bebe once and I've never been one to turn down a photo shoot, so I took advantage. The results were incredible!

These images were taken at 30 weeks.

Giovanna Molina Session

Studio by Carmen Session

Our baby girl is here!

Zoe Francesca was born on December 14, 2012 at 9:39 AM. I though it was difficult to keep up with my blog before, but now I get about .5 seconds between feedings, loving, burping and diaper changes. It's going to take a while to catch up, but look out for the following posts:

Our maternity pictures

Zoe's birth story

Mommy and me

My mom found these pictures while looking through her storage. Check out that bump!



23 Weeks

My poor child, I made you a promise to document every miraculous stage of this pregnancy and I am failing miserably.

Let's play a little game of catch up...

First I'd like to mention how grateful I have been throughout the past the 23 weeks to not have gotten any morning sickness or any of the usual dreaded pregnancy symptoms (... shoot, not even a cold!).

13 Weeks - I was so excited to have this ultrasound because finally it was shaped like a real baby!

16 Weeks - Performing my very last Belly Dance show before maternity leave at a student's Sweet 16s.

18 Weeks - Here are M and I on fourth of July at our community park.

 20 Weeks - Gender Reveal BBQ at tia Meli's

Team Blue

Team Pink

We released a balloon to reveal that:

"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails,

That's what little boys are made of..

But sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what is in our future!"

I questioned the technician a thousand times when she told me I was having a precious little girl. I was so sure that you were a boy (which I was happy with) but I'll admit it, every night I secretly prayed that you were a little girl. The doctor gave me a peek at the tell-tale anatomy part.. and there was NO DOUBT, you are a girl.

We will be naming you Zoe Francesca. We can't wait to meet you!

19 Week Anatomy Ultrasound:

21 Weeks - And the bump keeps growing..

 23 Weeks - M and I took a trip to Orlando to visit Blizzard Beach, watch my dear friend Kelly perform at the Stellar Advantage Gala and Epcot: 







At the Moroccan pavilion

There are so many exciting things coming in the next few months so i'll try my best to keep updating.

He put a ring on it!

My big sis is going to be a Mrs.!

On May 6th I held a get together at our house with my family, boy was it one for the books.

We had delicious food made by my mom and tia Onaney. Our tia Rebecca was in Miami, the family was all together, there were smiles and hugs and the love going around was immeasurable. We were celebrating so many things that day: It was my sister's birthday, my cousin Paloma's bday was the day before, one cousin graduated from college and two family members had found love.

After dinner we went outside to cut the cake but before we did my mom gave a speech. It went something like this: " It's such a blessing to have us all here together and in good health, it's my oldest daughter's birthday... :: Blah, Blah, Blah :: .. and last but certainly not least.. I'M GOING TO BE A GRANDMA IN DECEMBER!!!"

It was so exciting for our news to finally be public to the family and everyone was ecstatic.

... but I'll keep the story moving along because that's not what this post is about.

After the candles were blown out and the cake was served and devoured, Abel (my sister's boyfriend) turned to everyone and said ... "WELL FOLKS, THERE'S ONE MORE SURPRISE".

I would not do the moment justice if I tried to type out all of the beautiful words that were said. I'll simply say that it was perfect (regardless of how nervous he was, ha ha).

P.S - In case you're wondering... He did ask for our mom and dad's blessing in addition to being courteous enough to ask M and I if it was ok with us to share the date of our announcement. Of course we didn't mind and were elated to have been able to be part of the proposal, but it was so considerate of him to ask.

The date has been set for May 4, 2013 and I couldn't be happier for them.

Bachelorette Party with my dance sisters

One of our girls is getting married and there is no better way to celebrate it than to embarrass her until she's blue!

Meli's bachelorette party was held at Off the Hookah in Bayside (Downtown Miami).

  Kristy - I love this girl!!! Going to miss her while she's studying in Gainesville.

Cake design by Me!!! .... and Pinterest, lol

6 Weeks

Written on April 19, 2012

• How far along?   6 weeks. 

• Total weight gain:  131 LBS (+1).  

• Maternity clothes?  Not yet.

• Stretch marks? No new ones.

• Sleep:  Uncomfortable. I'm up an average of 4 times a night to go potty.

• Best moment this week:  Talking with my mom about how special this christmas will be =)   

• Miss Anything? I still miss not worrying about baby 24-7! I keep having horrible thoughts that something bad will happen.

• Movement: Not yet

• Food cravings: Spaghetti with marinara and chopped fruit... yum!!

• Food aversions: Middle Eastern food (shocker, because it's my favorite). I dont think I have an aversion to it, it's just not appetizing to me.

• Gender: To early to tell.

• Labor Signs: Nope.

• Symptoms: Off and on nausea and trouble going to the bathroom. 

• Wedding rings on or off? On.

• Looking forward to: My first apointment on April 24th :)

5 Weeks

Written on April 12, 2012

• How far along?   5 weeks. 

• Total weight gain:  Haven't weighed myself recently, but hopefully nothing has changed - 130 Lbs.  

• Maternity clothes?  Not yet.

• Stretch marks? No new ones.

• Sleep:  M had another cousin come into town so sleep has been minimal this week. I've also had a terrible cough (remains of a cold). It sounds silly but sometimes I cough/sneeze so hard that I feel my little bean is going to fall out.

• Best moment this week:  Having M help me apply cream on my belly, he seriously takes the best care of me.  

• Miss Anything? Not worrying 24-7! I cant wait for my first appointment so that I could have some relief.

• Movement: Not yet

• Food cravings: Nope.

• Food aversions: None this week. Actually I'm eating like a pig! Last night M gave me the stank eye while I inhaled a half-rack of ribs, mashed potatoes and sweet potato fries.

• Gender: To early to tell.

• Labor Signs: Nope.

• Symptoms: I started to have sore BBs on 4Wks5D, but it's off and on.

• Belly Button in or out? In.

• Wedding rings on or off? On.

• Looking forward to: My first apointment on April 24th :)

4 Weeks - Pregnancy Update

Written on 04/06/2012

• How far along?  4 Weeks 

• Total weight gain: None, starting weight 130lbs.  

• Maternity clothes?  No

• Stretch marks? No new ones, I already have a few on my sides.

• Sleep: Great! except having to wake up once a night to go pee.

• Best moment this week:  Finding out we are expecting :)

• Miss Anything? Coffee! Although today I had a horrible headache so I broke down and drank half of a cup.

• Movement: None

• Food cravings: None.

• Food aversions: Almost everything, I have no urge to eat. I've been eating simply because I know my little pea needs me to. I also am not into sweets as much as I used to be.. and trust me, I was like a crack addict when it comes to chocolate.

• Gender: Don't know yet.

• Labor Signs: No thank you!

• Symptoms: Headaches, sore throat, some gas pains/cramps and no appetite. 

• Belly Button in or out? In.

• Wedding rings on or off? On.

• Looking forward to: Going to Disney with M's family during Easter weekend and announcing the good news to our parents.

Our prayers answered...

M and I could not be more excited to announce that we're expecting a blessing due December 13, 2012!

My BFP story:

On April 4, 2012 I woke up at 3:00 AM with the urge to use the restroom. Because I knew that getting up and walking would throw my Basal Body Temperature into a loop, so I reached for my thermometer and took my temperature before getting up. After a minute my thermometer beeped and my temperature read 98.61 much higher than I had ever seen (making me immediately excited)! I knew I was 12 days past ovulation so technically, it wouldn't be to early in the cycle to take a pregnancy test. I went in to the restroom, said a prayer and peed in disposable cup. I decided against testing right there and then knowing that wether it be joy or dissapoint, I would be to emotional to go back to sleep if I knew. I covered up the cup, placed it behind the trash bin (so M wouldn't think i'm crazy if he found it) and went back to bed.

Ofcourse going back to bed was easier said than done. I had so many thoughts racing through my head. I even had a brief nightmare of getting up to test only to find a puddle of blood beneath me (Gross! I know, but I'm being honest here).

I fell asleep.

My alarm rang at 6:00 AM

I got up and went back to the restroom with extreme anxiety as M snoozed,  I dipped a cheapie Internet pregnancy test (Wondfo) into the cup and held it for about 7 seconds ( I figured i'd use a lucky number). As per the instructions I laid the test flat and covered it so I wouldn't be tempted to look.

I sat on the toilet and :

-Said another prayer -- thanking god for whatever the outcome as I know he knows what's best for us.

-Googled "Can FMU sit for longer than 2 hours and still be used ?" -- The answer was "Yes"

-Checked my Facebook

-Checked a fotographer's website to see if she posted any pictures of an event I attended on Sunday

By then 5 minutes had passed and I braced myself for the let down. I had grown to familiar with the stark white face of these Wondfo test.. I couldn't even imagine it looking any other way. I also reminded myself that many of the reviews for these cheapies said to expect nothing more than a faint line even if you are pregnant.

I pulled the shower curtain back.

And looking straight at me were the two most beautiful, clear, bold pink lines. Outloud I said "Oh my god!". For a second I thought I had picked up the wrong type of test. I thought "did I just dip an OPK?".. "OPKs always have two lines".

I had imagined for so long what the second line would look like if it were there, and now it was

...and I thought it was all a mistake.

I quietly unwrapped a Clear Blue Digital test (I didn't want M to hear me) and dipped it in. Again, held it for 7 seconds. Instructions on this test said to wait for two minutes before final results but within seconds the screen displayed the beautiful word I thought would never describe me ...

"Pregnant"

I could hear M shuffling around waking up and feeding our dog Tyco.

I was a nervous wreck!

I went over in my head the sweet plans I had for when this day would come and how I would do an elaborate reveal at which time he would cry.. I would cry ...  the angels would sing and things would be magical. But now that I was in the moment I couldn't keep my nerves together. I thought : "maybe I could invite him for dinner and do something special tonight" .. or "Maybe I can tell him during our trip to Disney this weekend, it's only 2 days away.. I can hold it". But I couldn't shake the nerves. My husband is my best friend and it would drive me up the wall keeping a secret of this magnitude from him. Plus, I'm a horrible liar.

I went out to the kitchen with the biggest smile on my face and kissed him. He had just woken up and hadn't brushed - making this kiss so dry, simple and unromantic. For a moment I felt naiive. How could I expect him to sweep me up and give me the passionate kiss I longed for? He didn't know that I was carrying his child. He didn't know that god had answered our prayers. For M... It was just Wednesday and he was his usual sweet morning self.

This is where things got weird:

Tyco (again- our dog) was acting so unusual and on edge.He kept frantically looking around as if something was wrong; he'd never done anything like this. He ran to the couch and looked around. He then shot to the kitchen and looked around (with crazy eyes). He jumped on the oven --- this was pretty funny (well for me) because for my own entertainment I asked M if Tyco was looking for the bun in the oven (LOL!) but M didn't catch on.

Tyco was starting to make me nervous so I walked back to our bathroom and paced.

After a minute I concluded that I just couldn't do this dance any longer. This is as much his child as it is mine and it wasn't fair that I was the only one that knew so I picked up the Digital held it behind my back and walked to the kitchen.

Tyco was still acting crazy and I thought it perfect to use it to my advantage. I walked right up to M and asked "do you think that Tyco is acting so crazy because of this?". Like a gitty school girl, I shoved that stick right up to his face!

He immediately held me as he asked continuously "are you for real??"; You could see the shock in his face but he wasn't crying.

It didn't bother me that he wasn't crying because I could feel that we were both thinking the same thing: "This is to good to be true". M bent down and kissed my stomach and then loving held me again.

My idea of the day we'd find out we were expecting played out completely different than I had dreamed of, but it was real. No rainbows, no harps playing, no doves being relased.. Just two people, completely in love and equally nervous about the journey that awaits.

Though we are excited, it simply hadn't sunk in yet.

Thank you lord for this wonderful gift!

In case there was any doubt...

I get it from my momma!!

Caught this picture of my fabulous mother blowdrying her hair.. you know, in heels.

God's Tiniest Angel

Anastasian Naimah Swanson was born on March 22, 2012 and she was a blessing to all who had the honor of meeting her. God brought her into this world to bring us joy and to re-define in our hearts the meaning of true love. Due to Trisomy 13 she passed away at 5:20 P.M on March 25, 2012. 

Tia Amida was blessed to have spent time with you princess and you made me feel extra special every time you responded to me singing. Your brother Sebastian sang you the cutest "Anaaasstaaassiiiaaa" song. 

May you rest in peace my darling.

With love,

Tia Amida

Sebastian's 2nd Birthday

Hello my name is Amida and I am irrationally OBSESSED with my nephew, Sebastian.

Now that i've got that off of my chest, here are some pictures of my witto muchkin's 2nd birthday.

Fun in the bounce house

 With my twin (faternal) nieces Angelina and Karina

Grrrrrrrr!

Showing the girls how to Instagram.. lol!