he's here

our son has finally arrived!

(this post will be written by both andrew and allison)

this new adventure in our lives has just begun and we cannot wait to share this journey with such amazing friends and family that create such community and support for us.  there is no way to document the story of fisher's birth, along with pictures, in just one post- this will be a continual process.  we are just starting with the basic facts... more to come soon.

it all started on friday, may 18th.  earlier in the week, we had talked about last minute things we would like to do before mr. fisher came.  the first thing drew came up with was going to the movies.  so, as we sat in the gainesville movie theater with sour patch kids and reese peanut butter cups, watching "what to expect when expecting," allison began having contractions.  as the night progressed, we began to realize that our little boy would soon be entering the world.  

we arrived at the hospital around 2:45 AM, saturday may 19th and allison was directly admitted to a labor and delivery room with contractions 2 minutes apart.  by 12 PM on saturday, the doctor broke allison's water to speed things up and at 5:22 PM, she gave birth to a wonderful baby boy named andrew fisher mccleskey. weighing  in at 7 lbs 10 oz and measuring 20 inches long, we were overwhelmed with thankfulness for our healthy baby.  

we had a wonderful stay at the hospital through monday afternoon when we packed it all up and finally headed to north avenue.  with a wagging tail, luna welcomed fisher into our home and we have truly enjoyed every moment that we have spent with him.  we continue thanking the lord for such a blessing in our lives- we are also beyond grateful for the friends and family that have surrounded us with such love, prayer, and excitement.

we will continue to keep you updated, but in the meantime, here are the first set of pictures from the big day (all pictures were taken by the wonderful christine legrand at christinelegrandphotographyblog.com- you must check her out!)

the arrival of our sweet boy...

fishers first bath in the hospital

next post: meeting the grandparents for the first time

greenville love

back in april, my dear high school friends threw an amazing shower for baby fisher.  i am beyond thankful for the ways that these ladies have loved me so well since middle school and beyond.  throughout the years, it has been fun to watch our friendships continue to grow, regardless of the distance in geography.  between the incredible food, photo booth set up, special decorations, gifts, and the sweet people that poured such generosity over our family, i am overwhelmed with thankfulness for special moments like these.  on to the pictures...

roomies in college (katie and i were due two weeks apart- but baby sawyer entered the world just days after this shower!)

38 weeks and 36 weeks pre go

sweet "gram" and "mimi"

the lovely hostesses:

i am thankful for the friendships i have with each of these girls, and for all of the different seasons of life we have walked through together.

final home stretch...

last week was the beginning of the end...  i completed some of my last official "teaching" days before the baby comes and i embraced the home life.  it was seemingly surreal to finish up work indefinitely, but i have been amazed at the ways the lord has prepared my heart for this transition.  it has been incredible to feel such peace and comfort in the shift of desires within my life.  i have always loved teaching with such a passion and have felt called to these children in so many ways.  when finding out that we were going to be blessed with a baby, god began a beautiful work within my heart for a new season of life.  

when i arrived home from work on my last day, there was a package at my door from our dear neighbor.  this is what was inside:

the following morning, i had the royal treatment from my sweet husband- breakfast in bed

to celebrate my "freedom," drew took me to one of my favorite restaurants in roswell, ga:

since being home, i have been able to get lots of well needed rest, quality baby preparation time, and sweet moments with drew as we soak in our last weeks together just the two of us.
within the quality baby preparation time, my parents came up for an all day event to help us on the house on projects like installing a window unit (the nursery seems to get a little too warm at times), installing carbon monoxide and fire alarms (since we are about to be responsible for another life form- total adulthood), repairing a bathroom, getting rid of 7 huge trash bags of clothes for goodwill, and so much more.  we are so thankful for our families and the ways that they love and care for us.
also, on friday, huge success- my friend mandy and i went on a scouting event and found baby fisher's coming home outfit! ahhh!  so exciting!  the nursery finally feels complete, we installed the car seat in the car, set up the pack n play bassinet, and we are knocking things out left and right.
it has also been so great to begin reading pregnancy books (haha, im a little late on getting started, but better late than never) and baby sleeping books.  i cannot believe that in a matter of days or weeks, we will meet our baby.  life is so full and we could not be more thankful.