Baby and Life Updates : )

So ...we are now 31.5 weeks along! That means there are only 8.5 weeks left, and we cannot believe it! We have been busy. With Easter, travels, family, friends, and baby preparation. We also celebrated my (Amanda's) 21st birthday last week! Can I just say ...my husband is WONDERFUL! First, on my birthday (Tuesday), he surprised me and stayed home from work, walking BACK through the door in the morning with breakfast and gifts : ). My gift was a brand new Canon digital slr Rebel camera! So happy with it! ...I guess we can say it's more of a family investment. We knew we would want a camera that could take some professional quality photos before the baby came ...and now we have it. We want to capture as many of those precious moments that we can! So the morning was spent with breakfast and experimenting with taking photos. We also went out that night and met my parents for a lovely dinner at Mezzodi's. Here are some of our experimental shots:

We then were at my parent's house for the weekend to help my mom with her Open House at her business, Country Blessings. So much fun! Zach was the entertainment, and it was so great to see some people that we had not seen for quite some time. Zach unfortunately had to leave the event early because he "was called by our pastor to come to the church and get some work done before Sunday's services". I was kind of upset because it was Zach's day off. But little did I know, I was in for a surprise that evening. My parents had told me they were planning on going to Des Moines that night to go out for dinner, so that I could just go along and we could all eat together, along with my grandma too. Then I get a phone call from Zach saying his parents had come to town earlier than we thought (because they were supposed to be staying with us that evening). And that he wanted us to meet them at this ice cream place to grab some desert before dinner. Did not make any sense to me. But I went with it. We walked in and I was greeted with a great big Happy Birthday from some friends and family. It was wonderful! See ...I told you my husband was great! We had an awesome time and I felt so blessed!

Ok ....baby updates! Well ...we don't have anything! lol. But it will all be getting done THIS month (we hope)! We are planning a trip to Minneapolis this weekend to get some things, so hopefully that goes well! Like I said we are just past 31 weeks along and only have a little more than 8 weeks to go! That's only 8 weeks left of just us and this life we have been living for the past 2 1/2 years. And that's only 8 weeks to get the things we need for this little one! We are so excited! Here is a photo of me at 31 weeks:

 

 

31 weeks

Also ....Would you like to know what we are having?????????????



Any guesses by the bump?



Well ...maybe this will help you figure it out ... We are SO excited to meet this little one :


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And I will leave you all with that : )

Baby Svoboda Ideas

Sooo ...This baby will be coming very soon and I must say, it is very hard to believe. Zach and I, however, have nearly no baby stuff in this house. So ...it has begun. The baby shopping, exploring, and pondering. We are discovering, we are very much so not the "traditional" type of parents when it comes to the things we want for our little one. We of course want the very best but with GREAT style : ). We are loving the modern twists they have put on all the baby necessities out there. Here are some of the things we have been looking at and absolutely love!

The Crib:
When it comes to the crib, we definately want something modern, practical, and convertible. We just couldn't decide on white, espresso, or a walnut color. So ...when we found this crib, we knew it was it! Modern, and duo-toned. Plus it converts and grows with your child!

 

The Stroller:

This has been a hot topic between the two of us lately. I thought we had a decision made on this. But we started looking more and have come to 3 choices. We are very torn between two of them especially! The Hauck Malibu Stroller and the Maxi-Cosi Foray Stroller. They are very similar, but the Hauck has the bassinet/pram option (which I love!), and the Maxi-Cosi is just a little bit better quality. I cant find a bassinet option for it though, which is very upsetting, because this stroller seems to be our favorite other than that. The Maxi-Cosi can be forward facing for your baby to see the world, or the seat can face you so you can see your little one. If any of you have an opinion or experience with the bassinet option on strollers, please share! I've heard both sides. Some people say they love it, especially if their baby is born in the summer because of long walks outside or outdoor events. And some say they never got much use out of it and it wasn't necessary. Opinions? The last option ...which is a highly unlikely stroller for us because of the crazy price ...is the Orbit stroller. It has AMAZING style with amazing features. It turns 360 degrees and it's car seat is one of the safest out there. But, like I said ...it is mainly coming down to the Hauck and the Maxi-Cosi.

Feeding:

For feeding, I am definatlely hoping to nurse. As long as this baby cooperates : ) But Zach and I still want him(Zach) to be able to have the feeding bonding time with the baby. So I will be  pumping so he can bottle feed as well. We did our research and have decided on stainless steel bottles. Bacteria free and unlike glass bottles, they are unbreakable! We found a brand of bottle called Pura and think they will be perfect! 

Diapers:

We are also hoping to go green with diapers! I found a brand of re-usable diapers called GroVia and they seem great! If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know! I thought GroVia has a great selection.

 

Swaddling:

A friend of mine told me about something called a Woombie. She said it was one thing she definately recommended for our newborn. I checked them out and they seem great!  Absolutely, we are getting one!

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So this is just the start ....We still have many, MANY more ideas. But that was just a few. Please share any advice or thoughts on shopping for baby necessities! We would love your input : )

Updates : )

So ....finally some updates and finally some photos! Over the past couple of months, there have been a lot of things going on. We found out what we are having! We moved into a more permanent place, I started a great part time job doing web and design at our church, we went on vacation, Zach has started recording his new full length album, and plus some!

This baby is growing so fast and is so active! Rolling around, kicking and punching. Loving mostly every moment of it ; ).
Vacation was, for the most part wonderful. And that would be because Zach and I were away together, in the warm 80 degree weather on a beautiful beach in Miami, FL. There were a few minor mishaps though. The flights there were a little tough (the delays and the connections), but we made it! And when we got there (at around midnight Miami time), we were STARVING since we had no time between flights for dinner. But apparently only one restaurant was open in the area and would deliver at that time. It said "open 'til 3 AM!" on the take-out menu. So we called and called...but nobody answered. So our last resort ...a vending machine. Zach got a couple of things ...then when it was my turn ...I got one thing ...then the machine ate my money : (. Unfortunately ...it was a little bit of a rough start. We spent most of our time walking the beach to shopping and restaurants, and spent time of course on the beach, throwing a ball around or just relaxing. We went out on a 8-midnight fishing excursion as well! Not quite what we were expecting though. There was about a 35 minute delay to wait for a "regular", and we didn't catch very many fish. Zach however caught a stingray! But ...we don't have any pictures because the man from the crew cut Zach's line with no warning ...kind of a bummer. But a very exciting experience for Zach! We had wonderful food down there, and the weather was amazing, the service was just very poor :(. Needless to say ...we would not recommend Miami, FL to anyone who wants to get away and have a relaxing vacation. But we were able to make the best of every situation, and we just enjoyed each other!
Here are some pictures from our week:

 Sorry ..quality of pictures is kind of poor ...my camera died before we got to Miami ..and I realized I forgot my charger. So...we used Zach's EVO for photos : )

Also some exciting news ...we got a new vehicle! The silver sebring is out and now we have a much needed SUV! When Zach and I would go to travel (which is a lot!) we would load everything up into the car, which in most cases is his guitar, amp, mic stand, other music gear, the dog, our luggage, and of course ourselves. When we would get in and take off, we would look back and realize, "hey, there is no room for a baby in here!", or any of the gear that we will need for baby! An SUV with more room was much needed! We were so blessed to find this perfect vehicle for us at a perfect price! A Chrysler Pacifica ...It has all the features you could hope for when looking for a family friendly vehicle. It has 3rd row seating, heated front and back  leather seats, dual climate control (which I LOVE because i'm always cold and Zach is always hot), memory seat positioning, car seat latches, seats that fold down flat for more room, and a built in DVD player, perfect for baby! Here it is!

 

We LOVE it!

Zach got a new vehicle too! Out with the ole' ford focus station wagon, and in with a truck for him! Perfect for him to go hunting and fishing. He is loving his new ride too : )

I will be blogging again sometime this weekend! Which will include photos from through our the pregnancy thus far!  The baby is getting bigger and bigger every week it seems. Which makes my stomach pop out more and more each week obviously. More to come soon!

We haven't forgotten about you!

Hello all! We just wanted to let you know that we haven't forgotten about you! Sorry we haven't posted pictures or put any updates up recently. Things have been very busy! Between moving to our more permanent home, doctors visits, traveling, performing, and our baby gender reveal party ...it has been crazy around here. But soon and very soon, We will be putting up the pictures and sharing with you the gender of this precious baby : ). Just to keep you excited, we will share with you baby Svoboda's 20 week photo ....

We love the little bundle of joy so much already!

Here we Are ...a growing family!

We are finally here! A new blog and ready to share more on our lives and now ...our growing family. Yes that is right ...we are expecting a bundle of joy! Due July 1st, 2011 ...and we are excited as ever to be parents, and for whatever joys, trials, and adventures that come with it. 

For those of you who know us, know that we have been on quite the journey throughout the first year and a half of our marriage. From college, to Rockford, Illinois ...from there back to Iowa to help mend our hearts....Iowa to Branson, Mo ....from our crazy adventure there, to now ...Back in Iowa for what we hope is a very long period of time. The journey we have been on has been tough, testing, yet very exciting. Throughout it all we sought very much after God's calling and where He was guiding us ...and that is what made it such an adventure. We have learned SO much, and it has drawn us closer together as we have drawn closer to Him. 

Now we are back in our home ...IOWA! It is so great to be here and we are loving it! What brought us here was an amazing career opportunity for Zach. He one day (while we were still living Branson), decided to search "worship leader positions in Iowa" on Google. An ad popped up for a church in Des Moines and we were traveling there in just a couple of weeks for an interview. It was so amazing how God orchestrated it all! Within a few weeks of Zach reading that ad online, we were packing up and moving to now what is home to us with an amazing church (Lighthouse Community Church) where he works full time as the Worship Director. And when I say an amazing church ...I mean an AMAZING church! The body was so great and has still been overflowing with kindness and welcoming hearts. 

It is also so great to be back by our families. We have missed them SO much! To be able to see them more than once a month has been such a blessing. And now that we are expecting a little one ...our parents are more than excited that we live here now! It will be awesome to have grandma and grandpa close by :) 

Speaking of this little bundle of joy ...let us share with you that journey ...

We had been wanting this for a little bit of time. It was October 22, 2010 and I was visiting my dearest friend in Wisconsin for her bridal shower when I decided to see if maybe this would be the month that it had happened (just as I had some months before that). I went on through my normal daily "getting ready" routine and when I was finished I looked down expecting to see what I had seen every previous time before ...but to my surprise, there were two ...yes TWO pink lines! Stunned and overwhelmed, I kept looking up and then looking back down just so I could rediscover the amazing news... I was pregnant! There were many tears, a couple of little jumps up and down, and I think I even let out a little squeal at one point. All of this in my friends family bathroom in Wisconsin. I kept my cool when I walked out and grabbed my phone right away to call my wonderful husband. "Hello", he answered. With a shaky voice I said, "hey hun, what are you doing?". "Fishing." (He had made a trip to go fishing with his grandpa and his cousin that morning) "Oh, well are you with anyone?" I replied. He had reminded me that he was with his grandpa and his cousin. "Can you step away from them for a moment?" I said. "Well no, I'm in the boat with them hunny." I kind of chuckled. And then I told him ...he had to keep his cool, but I could definately hear the smile on his face from my end of the phone. I know it wasn't how we had hoped to discover this news because of course we wish we could have been side by side holding each others hand and looking in each others eyes ...but we were so thrilled!

Taken at 7 weeks

 And here we are, months later. And still as thrilled as ever! We will most definately be sharing many details with you throughout the pregnancy...including photos, any big news, and of course how we are preparing ourselves. As well as just our thoughts on all this new parent stuff! 

We will do our very best to keep you informed : ) Thank you guys all for your love and support! We love you all very much!