First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

Then comes a baby in a baby carriage...

(In the beginning...)

Although, in our case-it's 2 babies in a baby carriage!

That's right-come August the Fitz Fam will be doubling...I'd look out if I were you!

(The gasp heard round the world-the day we found out there were 2)

(Currently, at 16 wks-all other pics are too distorted and/or alien-like to expose to anyone besides grandparents. But I figured feet were harmless.)

FAQ: Yes, they are fraternal. No, we don't know their genders yet. Yes, I was sick but now am feeling better. Due Aug. 29ish but are expecting them sooner. Yes, we will be getting 2 cribs eventually. No, we haven't picked names. Yes, we are nervous with excitement, fear, and anticipation every day. No, Ryan still doesn't want to change diapers. And yes, this is the greatest thing ever!

Third Times a Charm

So far we have tried to go to Disneyland with these guys twice this year. (if you count New Year's Eve as this year). We finally made it happen on Leap Day. Sorry to the rest of you who couldn't be there. It was a fabulous 20 hour day at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Only the boys were willing to get this wet at 5pm in 60 degree weather without sweatshirts.Just as Heather commented, "We haven't seen Mickey yet," there they both were in all their glory. I take credit for spotting them first, but Royce gets the prize for leaping over small children to make sure we were first in line for the picture. Surprisingly, there still were several who managed to get their autograph books signed before us.

Actually, for those of us who have spent quite a bit of time at the Magic Kingdom (people were confusing Ry for a tour guide), we had some great adventures on Saturday exploring the streets of Hollywood. You should have seen Ry's great driving skills to get us to our destination in time after a 40 mile detour (curse the CA highways). I can't give the experience justice, but we were in a hurry to put our names into a lottery to win Wicked tickets. With only 5 minutes to spare, Ry dropped us off at the curb without slowing down, found a parking spot, put quarters in a meter, went back for Heather's purse, ran across the street, went back to help up the old lady he knocked down, and got his name into the lottery with about 10 seconds to spare. We didn't win, but it sure was great cheering for everyone else who did. (And Ry was glad he didn't actually have to sit through hours of a musical.)

This is us posing in front of the only star whose celebrity name we recognized. (or the one right by our car).

The rest of the day (after a few more u-turns and traffic jams) was spent with Royce's friends in Burbank. And Ryan got to fulfill one of his dreams by meeting and conversing with a real life Disney Imagineer. However, due to a confidentiality clause, the conversation didn't get much past his favorite color.

Although it was sad to leave, we still enjoyed a few adventures on the way home. I'm sure most of you recognize this world's largest thing that tells temperature in Baker, CA. It actually dropped a degree while standing there. We also made quite a spontaneous stop in Palmdale, but I'm afraid that will have to be a mystery for now.

To add to our weekend fun, we also had a fun lunch visit with Ron and Marji. Ry actually got pretty close to his "usual" at the Harvest Cafe. We'll be sure to keep you posted on that. And Sunday night was spent with our friends Jeremy and Juli who were visiting from Florida. So thank goodness for the extra day in February this year-otherwise we wouldn't have been able to pack it in.

I Thought I Would Never...

1. Mix different cereal in the same bowl

2. Brush my teeth in the shower

3. Taste baby food

4. Witness Ryan take it upon himself to clean anything

But it turns out that:

1. I am a fan of Cheerios and Wheat Chex

2. The warm water does not gross me out as much as I thought it would

3. Well, this one was still bad. I admit I had to force myself to do this to overcome my disdain. Plus I needed to see if it was too hot for the kid. I still don't think I will ever become a true "lick the spoon clean" sort of mom.

4. My sweet husband cleaned and organized the garage all by himself Tuesday night! And he was actually willing to throw stuff away!

But just in case you're worried that hell has frozen over, or pigs are flying-Ryan still loves pepperoni pizza and you tube, and I still will never tolerate radio commercials. And we both can't stand anyone who holds up their number so you vote for them on American Idol.

V-day Guilt

In case you didn't know, we tend to do things a little bit differently around here. Today, there are no roses, chocolates, or red teddy bears at our house. But, we do have a lot of "conversation hearts" that cannot be eaten. These are just from the last 24 hours.

Ryan last night while hanging out with friends: "We need to go. I have to go to the store. I have Valentine's Day guilt."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't get anything for you either." "Oh, good. Let's just go home then."

(while going to the car) "It's freezing. I wish you wouldn't open the door for me and just start the car." "Too bad." He seriously has never missed opening the door for me.

"Everybody loves you." and "People like me like you." (He says this at least 3x a day. Aren't you all jealous?)

And my personal favorite:
(after watching a commercial with a little kid swimming in a pool)
"Do you call those things water wings or floaties?"
"Floaties"
"Oh, Good." (with a high five added)
"Why?"
"For some reason I can't stand people who call them water wings. I'm so glad it's going to work out between me and you."

And who wouldn't want to fall asleep to these words:

"I have a prayer in my heart for you."

Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry it won't be as good as ours.

And...I thought this would be a good day to fulfill this request. So here you go:

Happy Birthday Ryan!

I know this birthday won't be as good as last year's, but hopefully I can make it up to you. I could go on and on and tell the blogging world how much I love you-but you know that's not how we work, so I won't. But have a really great bday!

Mattress Sledding 101

1. Head up to Utah at the first sign of fresh snow

2. Gather pre-prepared mattress* from garage at rental house

*Mattress is copyrighted by FitzTru corp. No duplications allowed without the express written consent of the owners

3. Gather as many friends as you have

4. Go to Rock Canyon Park (other locations have not been pre-approved)

5. Smirk at the others in their red discs who look at you with awe and admiration

6. Load up mattress with as many participants as possible

7. Get a good push.

8. Glide effortlessly down the hill, fly into the air, and land painlessly and joyfully on your cloud- like sled.

9. Get the boys to pull it up again.

10. Repeat as necessary-or change it up by flying solo, backwards, and sideways

11. Use your sled for your recooperation also.

12. Reward yourself by attempting to eat a 2ft. sandwich and accomplish New Year's Resolution of getting your picture on a restaurant wall.

Sorry. I edited Amy's post because she's stealing all my Christmas Letter material. To those of you who already read the exciting conclusion, you will have to die (or keep really quiet for 11 months).

Did Ryan:

A) Easily finish the sandwich and get his picture on the wall
B) Vomit ungodly quantities of food 1 1/2 feet into it
C) Proclaim "I never wanted to eat this stupid sandwich anyway" halfway through
D) Finish the sandwich, and writhe in unspeakable agony for the next 12 hours

Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion.... Christmas 2008.*

*Yes, I've stooped to advertising on my competitor's blog

It's Groundhog Day!

"Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye! On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008 Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths. After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers, Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

To which all on Gobbler's Knob exclaim, "BOO!!!" We were glad to be warm in bed this Groundhog Day, but we will never forget the memories of the fabulous town of Punxsutawney, or the deadening cold we endured on Gobbler's Knob those 4 years ago. We are especially proud to have been welcomed into the Inner Circle by Bill, as the only people crazy enough to come from Las Vegas to witness such an event.

Thanks for a great holiday, Phil. We'll see you next year.