You may or may not have noticed, but I have been absent. Not blogging. Not really facebooking. Not tweeting. Not Instagraming. Not pinning.
And I have missed you. Missed your kind words and your blogs and your awesome pins and seeing what you are up to on twitter.
And soon, I am hoping to get back in the groove again. The separation anxiety has been too much.
Well, I might as well tell you why.
In about five months we will be gaining another member to our family. We are pregnant! Well, *I* am pregnant. But my dear hubby has been picking up the slack like crazy for the last few months so he gets full credit too.
Although we are thrilled and beaming and so, so thankful for this blessing, it has not been easy. I have been very sick. Its been severe nausea/sickness and exhaustion and migraines and some other not so fun stuff. For someone who suffers from motion sickness even when not preggers, this nausea has been debilitation for me. I would look at my computer screen and get sick. It got to the point where I had to hide my computer because the mere idea of being on it would make me sick.
But, as of the last couple days, things are starting to look up. I am typing and not dizzy. YAY!
The idea of baking doesn’t make me want to set my kitchen on fire so I will not have to go near it. I mean, not that I thought that. That would be crazy.
So hopefully, over the next five months, I will be able to get back to what I love. Baking. Blogging. And hanging out with you.
For the first time ever, we are planning on not finding out the gender of our newest miracle. This being our fifth child, I think we will be able to handle it. I mean, logistically. Emotionally I might be in the fetal position in my closet eating cool ranch Doritos and ceasar salad (that has been my cravings of late) because I CANT TAKE THE SUSPENSE.
I might need to lean on you for support. Please tell me you have done this and it didn’t make you crazy. Because if there is the slightest chance it will be stressful I might start stalking our ulstrasound tech.
My husband and children have unanimously decided that its a girl. However, we currently have three boys and one girl, so I think the odds are in favor of a boy. I have no idea. I have never guessed right with any of them!
But no matter what we are blessed with, we know he/she is already so completely and utterly loved.
And I just want to really apologize for how absent I have been. I know I mentioned it before, but I sincerely miss you all. Your comments and interaction in the iambaker community has been such a delight! Getting to know you better is a true joy.
Oh, and one more thought. In making this cake I got to thinking… not only is this is fun “We’re Pregnant!” cake, but could also be a fun Gender Reveal cake!
Maybe I will just update this post when our new addition arrives! 
***Just in case you want to know, I call this cake the Rose Cake. Its an original cake the I created in Feb. of 2011 and have made many since! You can see my full tutorial here, or my video tutorial here!
Aha! I had wondered where you had disappeared to… Congratulations! That’s amazing news xx
Oh my gosh, I just thought you’ve been working on your cookbook! Many, many congratulations!! I am so happy for you and your family!! xoxo
Congratulations! I hope the sickness wanes and you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.
Congratulations!!! That is such exciting news.. can’t wait to find out either! Will be praying for you, your baby, and family as y’all await their arrival!
AMANDA!!! While I have missed seeing you around the social media watercooler, I thought you were just taking a well needed break! Congratulations! I am so excited for your family!!! I am not quite sure how many exclamation points are acceptable, but CONGRATS!!!
Congratulations!
I have twins, and I was dying to know what they were (they are boy/girl). I have no idea how my mother did it without ultrasounds lol. May you have a wonderful, healthy and happy pregnancy and an easy and fast delivery!
Congratulations! I think it’s girl! How exciting!
We did a gender reveal party with a cake about a year ago. It was blue and sure enough we had a baby boy in March! We had sooo much fun but I wish I would have had you make a cake instead of our local baker. Their only saving grace was that the cake was tasty but yours are beautiful too!
Congrats!!!!
SO exciting!!!! What wonderful news. Praying for a smooth & healthy pregnancy! ~Sally
CONGRATS! What exciting news. I feel your pain with the sickness…hope you’re feeling better asap!
PS: I craved caeser salad in the beginning too!
congrats, so happy for you and your family. My guess is, it’s a girl.
Congratulations!!!!!
Exciting news for everyone…and kudos to your husband!
Best wishes and congratulations!! Very glad to hear that you are feeling better and that the morning sickness isn’t keeping its hold on you.
CONGRATS!!! What wonderful news!! Praying you are rewarded for all the sickness with a nice, laid back, happy, healthy baby!!
Wow! I thought you were just busy writing your book! Congratulations Amanda!!
Back in the day when I had my children we did not have the option of finding out ahead of time the gender of the baby. We just waited and hoped and prayed for a healthy child. Hearing the Dr. announce *you have a boy/you have a girl* was simply a much anticipated surprise.
I think it’s lovely that your family has decided to wait until the *big reveal* day.
Best wishes for a safe and much more enjoyable pregnancy than what you have been experiencing these past few months
Thank you so much Paula!
Congratulations Hun , I hope you get a Healthy Baby that spreads joy in your life
You are the sweetest Eman!!
Congratulations Amanda!! So excited for you. I hope you feel better soon and enjoy the remainder of your pregnancy!!!
Congratulations!
Yay you ~ congratulations to the whole family much love and good wishes from Zimbabwe!
Congratulations!!! And we are happy to have you back!!!
Thank you sweet Maria!
How exciting! I am so happy for you. We didn’t find out for our first and don’t plan on finding out for any subsequent baby either. My husband and I were both excited with anticipation and were so glad we didn’t find out. With things the way they are now, if you want your husband in the delivery room with you, he can be the one to announce the sex of the baby. It was such a special moment for us when my husband exclaimed, “it’s a boy!” We did it without buying anything (but the carseat) ahead of time. With 4 kids already, I bet you already have everything you need. Being surprised can be a really special and exciting thing, you can do it!
This cake is so much better than the one I made when we told our parents we were expecting. Half blue, half pink cake with plain white frosting. Then it took them 15 minutes to figure out why we made the cake those colors! I hope you continue to only feel better and the rest of your pregnancy is easy and healthy for you and baby!
Congratulations Amanda!! I sure hope you continue to feel better and can enjoy the miracle you are helping to create.
Congratulations amanda!!! Praying for you and your new (hopefully pink
) bundle!
congrats! #5! what a blessed family you have. I’ve missed you and am glad you are feeling better.
So excited for you. I think I would go nuts trying to wait the full nine months. I am too much of a Type A to not be able to plan every infinitesimal detail. Congratulations on the new addition!
wow! Yay! Congratulations! What is the due date?
Amanda!! So thrilled to hear the news! All of these food bloggin’ babies make me so very happy! Can’t wait to see if your little angel is a boy or girl. xoxo
Jenny- You have been keeping me sane these last couple months. I thought, if Jenny can have a baby and release her book within six weeks of each other, I can do it too right?? You have no idea how many times I have said, “If Jenny can make it through this…” So thanks for the support!! LOL
A huge congratulations! Here’s hoping all the nausea and awfulness disappear quickly and STAY GONE. I’m currently 6 weeks along with #4 (we’re not the secretive type!
) and we have decided not to find out the gender. We did for the first time with #3, mostly for the sake of my oldest daughter who didn’t get the “he/she” thing, and we didn’t want to say “it”. This time, we’ve decided it’ll be more fun for the other kids if it’s a last-minute, delivery-day surprise. The suspense *might* make me batty, but I’ll survive – as will you. Plus, just watch – it’ll be extra fun if you get the docs/midwives to let your hubby be the one to announce who your newest little one is. 
OH FUN!!! Congrats Jaclyn! Glad to know its do-able!
Congratulations!!!
COngratulations!!Wow, this is amazing news. I’m thrilled for you. Hope you are feeling better soon, and until then, take care of your self. xox
Congratulations! And holy cow, number 5! We are all ecstatic for you xx
PS – beautiful cake btw. That turquoise icing? Love it
Congratulations sweet lady! So excited for y’all and hope you’ll keep feeling better and better as you go.
We didn’t find out what gender our firstborn was and it was all kinds of fun. I bet you’ll think of all kinds of ways to enjoy the waiting game with your family with all kinds of games you can include your kids in this time around. YAY for y’all!
Congratulations, Amanda! How wonderful! My sister and her husband didn’t find out the sex of their first – it was SO much fun getting the call early Dec 1, 1997 and hearing, “IT’S A GIRL!” The best!! Enjoy the “not knowing’ – it really is such a wonderful surprise.
Congrats on the newest addition to your family! Wow 5 kids that is amazing! I just wanted to let you know I made the “rose cake” the neopolitan way and had such great feedback thanks for the wonderful idea and I can’t wait to make it with different colors and flavors. Good luck with the sickness hope it goes away but I will say girl too!
Congratulations! I had the terrible all-day morning sickness for the whole nine months with my last two. The only thing that helped was Zofran. Anyway, it’s all worth it to see that beautiful baby at the end!
congratulations : ) enhorabuna
What a cute post with the pink and blue frosting…and congratulations! I sympathize with your sickness, had it with all three pregnancies, its the worst.
Be well, congratulations:)
Try ginger for the nausea in any form, or salty things < pretzels, crackers, chips( sounds weird I know) .
Congratulations! what wonderful news! I did not find out the sex of my first baby and it was fine. It was fun finding out in the delivery room! (Full disclosure – I did find out for babies #2 and #3). But it was good and exciting and you get to pick two names, that’s definitely fun!
You are such a sweet Mamma and I’m so happy for your family. Children are the best of God’s blessings! Hope you feel much better soon!
Oh my gosh!!!! Congrats!!! I had noticed you weren’t as active but didn’t really think of what the possibilities could be besides just plain ole busy. yay!! So excited for you.
Congrats to you! Such exciting news for your family. I also want to say that I really enjoy reading your blog. I am an amateur baker/cake decorator and your blog has definitely inspired me. I LOVE the rose cake and have made a few different versions of it.
Hope you continue to feel better and better during your pregnancy.
Congratulations and good luck with the not finding out. I found out my two and it did not ruin it in any way.
Congrats!
Congratulations!!!! I am so happy for you and your family. We are expecting our 5th grandchild (a girl) in about a month, so I know how excited you are! Glad you’re back to blogging…I’ve missed you!
So many congratulations to you and your family, what exciting news! I have missed seeing your smiling face around the internets but I’m so thrilled for you all xo
AMANDA!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! And I thought you were just very busy shopping for more cake stands!
SO excited for you all and very happy that you’re starting to feel better! Feeling ill while you’re carrying a new bundle of joy and having to tend to little ones while attempting to “keep house” is NOT fun!
I am SO excited that you’re not going to find out for this one! You can get through it. We’ve had three and didn’t want to find out for any of them. I can’t imagine doing it any other way. There’s just that awesome element of surprise after all the labor and intensity to welcome that new family member into the world. Keep it a surprise ~ you can handle it. What a blessing!
Oh my goodness, Amanda!! I just thought you were busy working on your book. CONGRATS!! I’m looking forward to catching up in person in a couple weeks, yay! Many prayers for you, the new babe, and your entire family. xo
Congratulations!! I hope you start feeling better soon! Prayers are with you and your family!
Congrats on such wonderful news!!! Kudos to you for waiting til baby’s birth day for the gender reveal…it is one of life’s most wonderful surprises! We did not find out ahead of time, and we were expecting fraternal twins
We were gifted 2 boys, and I will never forget the joy of hearing the doctor announce each child as he was born. Enjoy the anticipation, ignore the anxiety. If you can hold out til the end you will never regret your decision! Best wishes & glad you’re starting to feel better!
Congratulations Amanda !
So happy for you !
Your FIFTH child?!
I mean….congratulations!
Seriously though….I don’t know how you do it! The idea of a 3rd for us is appealing and also so terrifying that we have yet to actually put that plan to action. LOL.
Ahh, congratulations!! I have definitely been missing your blog posts and Instagram pictures, but that’s such wonderful news! I don’t know anything about pregnancy, but I don’t think I could handle not knowing the gender. But I pray all your sickness goes away and that everything goes well.
That’s simply great! Congratulations =) Missing your post, but it’s been for the best reason!
My twins will be two this Saturday and we waited to find out their sex. I already had a teenage son, but this was my husband’s first….and second. We decided together to wait and find out, and it was the best decision ever! It was so much fun having family and friends guess what they thought the babies would be, but nothing in life will ever compare to the moment when my husband announced the sex of the babies to everyone anxiously waiting after the delivery. I bet you could hear the cheering two hospital wings over! You know, it never crossed my mind once to find out once we decided…I almost had a sense of calm about it. Congratulations and stick with it because you will not regret it!
That is awesome news!!! Congratulations!! I pray you have an easy time the rest of your pregnancy and the suspense doesn’t kill you, I know I personally would go crazy!
Congrats!! I noticed the absence but also knew you were writing a book so thought nothing of it.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I can’t handle 2- you are super woman!!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What exciting, wonderful news to share!!!!!!!!!!
And I think you should wait… it’s how us old chicks did it in the days of yore and we didn’t even give it a thought!
During my first few months of pregnancy just the thought of my computer screen made me nauseous too, so strange!!!! Glad you’re starting to feel on the up swing, hope it continues!!! Your cake is gorgeous, as always. Congratulations on #5!
WOW! CONGRATS!! I was just wondering where you have been last night…but this makes total sense…Such a cute cake!! Very brave not finding out the sex beforehand I do not think I would be able to do that if I ever got pregnant. I am so happy for you!
Congratulations Amanda and family!
We didn’t find out for our first and did find out for the second. I think it’s fun both ways, so try to enjoy it!! Cannot wait to find out five or so months from now. Looking forward to “seeing” you around more 
Congratulations! I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes by a little smoother. Best wishes to you and your family, and this cake is as lovely as ever.
Congratulations!! Not find out is definitely against the norm, and I found that it was harder on the people around me–friends and family–than it was on my husband and me. We did not find out with either of ours, and we did not go crazy, so you have hope. Good luck, and hope you continue to feel better!
Glad to hear you are feeling better. I am the mother of two boys, my first we knew it was going to be a boy, but our second, well he hid during the ultrasound so we didn’t know. It drove me crazy for months, but I couldn’t justify paying for a second ultrasound and my pregnancy was without complications and my doctor would only do a second if medically necessary, so he was surprise. I am a planner, so it was very difficult for me. By the eighth month I had finally come to terms with not knowing. But the best part was when he was delivered, I could care less what the gender of our baby was because he was born with the most gorgeous, golden blonde hair. I was in total shock. Both my husband and I have dark brown hair and it was so unexpected. He was so beautiful and healthy and all I could keep saying was, “He has blonde hair,” over and over again. My husband just kept laughing at me. I have to say that the surprise was a lot more fun than I thought. The best part was telling the family after the long anticipation. Many prayers and blessings as you wait on your new addition.
What wonderful news! You can get through it! We never wanted to know — found out by accident on our second child — was accidentally handed a pink card after the sonogram! Ugh oh! The technician felt terrible — but it was OK! We had a feeling it was going to be another girl! Always thought each pregnancy was a boy! Ended up having 3 girls! LOL! I was very sick with all 3 — doctor said it’s a sign of a healthy baby! Okaaaay! Hope you feel better! Best Wishes!
Congratulations!!!!
I’m so excited for you and your family.
Yeah, nausea is awful combined with dizziness UGH, I remember it well.
Hope that is all behind you and you are able to enjoy more now.
What a fun cake!!!
I could never wait to find out what I was having, but it was only to confirm what I already knew
Congratulations!!!!
Well I have to say you are a much stronger woman than I. I have three children and my first two were a boy and then a girl. For the third, you’d think I would want to wait but I could not! The add to it, my doctor kept putting off the ultra sound. But bottom line, what matters is that you feel so you can enjoy your pregnancy. Hugs to you and your family and may the rest of the time that you are baking your little sweet bunde of joy goes smoothly and more than perfect. Thank you for sharing your happy news with us all.
What great news.
Congrats! I sure hope that the yuckys go away from you for good so you can enjoy your pregnancy.
So happy to read your sweet news today, Amanda.
I will be praying for health and comfort for you.
What a beautiful, beautiful blessing.
xoxo
~Kate
Congrats! Waiting to find out is so fun! We waited with all three of ours. The moment the doctor says “it’s a…” is the best surprise you can get!
My sister was told she was having a girl to her surprise it was a boy.
So so happy for you. You have been missed terribly!!
Congrats! We didn’t know for our three, but I guessed boy/girl right. I’m guessing you’ll have a girl. The best of luck! Love this cake, all of your recipes and photos!
SO exciting !! I have indeed been missing you ! You may want to consider Seaband brand Ginger Gum. I use it for motion sickness (like in a car) and it works great… Can’t wait to know the gender of that sweet precious little one !!
Congratulations! I am so happy for you! I’ve seen a lot of food bloggers throwing virtual baby showers around here, I hope that when they throw you one, I can participate!
Oh friend I am SOOOO happy for you!! We did not find out the gender of babies 1 and 2 – but did with 3 and 4. I think we are done now because that is balanced…
But seriously you will make it and this baby is going to be blessed with you as his/her mama…so just enjoy this time and I will be praying for you!!
Hugs, Kristin
That’s great news! Congratulations!
YAY! congrats Amanda!! we never learned the sex with either one of our girls……..I like doing it that way.
Love the gender reveal cake idea!! so cute!!
Thanks Cheryl!
Oh wow! Congrats to you and your growing family!!
Thanks Kristen!
Congratulations to you and your family. I hope you continue to feel better. Best Wishes!
Congrats!
We didn’t find out with either of our boys and it made the delivery that much more exciting. Each time the doctor held the baby up so my husband could announce, “It’s a boy!” Super special.
Oh my gosh that’s wonderful news. Congratulations! When you have the baby I think you should do a surprise inside rosette cake:) Not too soon afterwards of course. We’ll be patient.
Wow, congrats!! I have been wondering where you have been! We didn’t find out the gender for either of our 2 girls, so I have faith you can do it! I always said it’s what kept me pushing just wanting to know the gender!! Plus, it’s the only surprise in life that someone can’t ruin! Take care!!
Thanks Jodi!
Congratulations! What very happy news, a new little person is always a blessing!
Congratulations!! I too want my 3rd and probably last to be a surprise – but that’s something of the future still. Love the cake, its beautiful! And maybe if you keep yourself too busy baking and blogging and everything else-ing, the suspense won’t be too bad..
Congrats!! I hope you start feeling better soon.
So glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better! At least this explains why you were on my mind the other day. Hooray and congratulations to you and your family!
Wow! Such a great news!! Congratulations!!!!
Oh Em Gee! How exciting!! Congratulations. I’m so happy for you and your family. I hope the sickness stays at bay for you. I don’t know how you’re going to do it… not knowing the gender and all. I don’t think I could. You’re a better woman than I am! Lol. Congrats again! Have a healthy and happy rest of the pregnancy!
Congratulations!!!!!!
Congrats!!!
You will be fine. If I can handle giving birth to twin boys when my 1st son was only 21 months old…you will be great. You have older children that will be better ‘go-fors’ than my little guy. I did finally have a girl when the twins were 3 years old. All of my of those boys have grown up and serve our country in the Airforce. Oh my little girl she is marring a man who wants to be an Airfore Officer.
Looking back it seemed hard at the time so I will share with you the wise words from mother in law (she had 9 children!) Some days you will have to break the day down to parts ‘if I can just get this morning done then it will be ok’ , ‘if I can just get this hour done then it will be ok’ etc. I found when they were sick my parts got smaller and smaller.
I believe all children are a gift from God and He will not give you more than you can handle. (it feels like He brings us to the edge of what we can handle) Your site is one of my favs and I will say a prayer for you and your family especially for you.
Father God I lift Amanda to you God and ask for complete healing, comfort, strength and joy for her. I pray that symptoms change immediately and her body functions in the way you God has created it to be. I pray for a smooth, easy delivery for Amanda and her precious baby. Amanda are a very special person and I will keep you in prayer every time I think of you.
Oh how you bless me Patti! Thank you for your encouraging and wise words and thank you especially for that beautiful prayer!
CONGRATS! So fun and so brave to not find out the gender, I say I want to do that, but as of now we have just two girls, so without a boy I don’t dare do it, my hubby really wants a boy and I don’t want any disappointment in the delivery room
Hope you feel better soon, pregnancy is so rough!
Congratulations!!! I had to find out with my little girl. It was our first child though so I needed to know so I could get organised. I thought she was going to be a boy though until we found out she was a girl so lucky I didn’t just guess. I couldn’t stand the idea of cake when I was pregnant. In those first 4-5 months if I even thought about cake I wanted to vomit. Luckily that went away and I sure as hell made up for it in the last few months….maybe a little too much
CONGRATULATIONS!!
I can’t speak to migraines, but as someone who suffers fairly frequent bouts of vertigo, I know what the dizzies/nausea can do to you after a while! I haven’t tried it myself, but I have read several times that ginger helps. I usually pop seasick pills like candy, but that’s probably not a good idea when you’re preggers! Might want to try the ginger. There are also exercises for vertigo you can look up. I realize that’s to balance the crystals in your ears, but not knowing if your motion sickness is triggered by that, it might be worth checking out.
Congratulations! My husband and I didn’t find out with either of our children, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I loved the speculation done by everyone. I loved trying to figure it out for myself (I was wrong in both instances). And I loved the moment when my husband got to announce it for the room (the midwife handed the baby to him to cut the cord and make the announcement). That is one memory (well, two if you count it happened for each kid), that I wouldn’t change. I loved not knowing so much that I, a normal lurker, came out of lurking to tell you that you will not regret not knowing. It’s quite fun!
WOW! 5 kids! Congratulations!
I’m scared thinking of having/not having a 4th. We found out the gender of our first two, but didn’t with out third. It was definitely different but I found it so much more relaxing feeling like I didn’t have to plan everything and what a joyous moment when my husband called out “it’s a girl!” If we do have a fourth I think we would do it again.
Wow! Congratulations, that is wonderful news! We didn’t find out with our 3rd and last baby, and the excitement of the reveal was so amazing!
All the best to you as you hopefully feel better soon.
Blessings…
P.S. All I can think of when I see that blue icing is the flavor of blue bubblegum icecream. Yummmmmmmm……
Congratulations!! Awsome. You can hold out, yes you can. The news at birth cannot be beat.
We did NOT find out with any of our seven living children and it was just sooo exciting at the end. Good luck with nausea. Eat more cake.
So happy for you and your family, and this wonderful news!! I am sorry to hear that this pregnancy has been so rough on you, though. I hope it’s uphill from here on out! Welcome back, we missed you!
Congratulations! How exciting to be adding a new little person to your family!
I never knew what any of my three boys gender was ahead of time…maybe I’m crazy, but we kind of liked the “surprise” when they were born.
I think maybe your daughter is hoping for a playmate, but if she doesn’t get one, she’ll definitely have plenty of brothers around to protect her!!
Glad you’re feeling better!
Wishing you every happiness! Congratulations.
So happy you’re feeling better. Congratulations!
Congrats! The suspense would kill me, but then again I think that it would be fantastic to be surprised. These cakes are so beautiful, in both colors. Good luck to you and your loved ones!
Congrats! We did not found out with our 5th and 6th child. It was so much fun! A lot of people thought we were crazy, but we really enjoyed it. It build the anticipation of the child’s birth. We really enjoyed it. I keep telling people once you don’t find out, you won’t go back. Good luck. Hope you feel better soon.
Congratulations!! I really hope you start feeling better soon. Those first few months are so difficult. I have 3 daughters and I never found out the gender with any of them. The suspense won’t kill you and for me personally, having someone tell me “It’s a girl!!” seconds before placing that little babe in my arms is the best feeling ever. I’m sure either way it’s joyous news but I loved finding out at the end of that long road. Hope you have a healthy, happy pregnancy.
many many congrats
:) i’m sure u can handle the surprise, u r just too good…. I didnt find with both of mine too 
Yay! Congratulations!
We didn’t find out (had our little girl in July) and it was like Christmas morning, but multiplied by a million! You can do it.
I was super sick for a while during my pregnancy; no fun. I don’t wish that on anyone. I hope you feel amazing for the rest of it! Blessings on you and your sweet family!
Congratulations! How exciting! I hope that you are feeling better soon.
I am totally type-a and we did not find out the gender until our son was born. It was not all that hard for me until the very end when my husband and I could not decide on a boy’s name to save our lives (but had at least 3 girl’s names at the ready). I mostly wanted to find out at that point just so we could stop worrying about a name if it was a girl and get more serious about the name if it was in fact a boy. It was one of the the most thrilling moments, when my husband watched our son come out and proudly exclaimed “It’s a boy!” Next time, though, we will definitely have a name nailed down before we even get close to having the baby. It took us three days to decide and it was finalized by a coin toss. I know that sounds totally crazy, but neither of us wanted to steamroll the other and we figured that was the fairest way we could think of to decide.
OMG – I LOVED Cool Ranch Doritos when I was in the States, and I wasn’t even pregnant!
Huge congratulations Amanda. Looking forward to hearing more as things get closer.
All the best!
Ben
Congratulations!!! I am absolutely sure you can handle waiting to find out
Muchas felicidades a ti y a tu familia. Enhorabuena y hasta pronto. Besos
Oh congratulatioooooons
thats such great news and well warranted for the missing posts. YAY!
I am so happy for You! What a great news to start a day with. Congratulations XOXO
Congratulations! How exciting for you. I’m sorry you have been so unwell but its good that things are looking up. I applaud you for waiting to find out the gender..I did with all four of mine (girls by the way) and it is so rewarding to be excited at the very end. You’ll make it through…you’re in my thoughts and prayers.
God bless!
Congrats! I hope you feel better soon!
We did both! With my daughter we had no idea what was coming! The last couple of weeks I was dying to know, but honestly I would do it again! There is something to be said about knowing and being prepared and all that – but it was just awesome being surprised like that!
Good luck! I hope she’s healthy and bouncy and beautiful!
Congratulations! Being surprised is the best! We have 4 kids, (3 boys and 1 girl,) we were surprised with each of them and I would not change it for anything. It is like opening a present on Christmas morning or your prize at the end of labor. Not to mention it drives other people crazy.
Congrats! I am so sorry you are not feeling well though! Too bad I’m not closer I could do something to help you! Will be prayer for strength and energy! God Bless!!!!
*squeeeee* Well, for the expecting another miracle part. Boo hiss for the sickness part! I thought maybe you were just too busy writing a cookbook to post. I’m so very happy for you, Mandy! Praying for God’s protection of you and your baby as he/she prepares for their debut into the world! <3
congrats gorgeous! that’s so exciting!
I may be late in saying CONGRATS, but I wanted to say it anyway! So here it is… CONGRATULATIONS!!
I hope you’ll be feeling great soon!
Dear Amanda, CONGRATULATIONS!! I always look forward to your posts and this one was no exception, I just couldn’t be happier for you and your family, what amazing news!!
So pleased to hear you are feeling better and your days are getting a little easier. I am so excited for the gender reveal and wishing you a fun few months ahead! xo
Such wonderful news!!! Congratulations to your whole family!!!
We never found out with any of our 4 babies, what we were having…it was the BEST suspense and present every.single.time. I cannot imagine doing it any other way…dreaming of BOTH possibilities, picking out 2 different names…I just LOVED having that exciting motivation in the delivery room and, having everyone else we knew just as excited at finding out “boy? girl? boy? girl????”
You can do it…I was even the FULL 2 weeks late with my 4th…that was pretty trying, but again, waiting for the day God had determined for her was worth it
Hope the nausea subsides fully and you can enjoy this time of life!!! And don’t find out!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!
Congrats!!! We just had our 3rd little one, our only girl … and after all that, I can’t imagine NOT finding out ahead of time! Having said that, I hope your little punkin’ is healthy and happy & that this time around is an easy enough go for you. Glad you’re back!!! *I would sneak a peek at the US and NOT tell anyone what it is .. heh heh*
Congratulations!! Kudos to you for not finding out the gender til birth…I couldn’t do that! I have 5 year old twin girls (whom I completely and totally adore to peices!!) and finding out their gender was a must for me! *When we learned they were both girls I asked my hubby if we needed to go get a puppy…he’s handled it extremely well…and no new puppy…phew!*
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your rose cake!! I made one recently (a square one) for a baby shower and received tons and tons of compliments on how beautiful it was.
Glad you are back!
Aww CONGRADUALATIONS!!! I’m so excited for you and your family. May the Lord be with you and your little one
That’s wonderful news! Congratulations are totally in order!
BEST WISHES !!!!….sorry you haven’t been feeling well but we are so happy to have you back!
Congratulations!!! Glad you are finally starting to feel better. Can’t wait to see your new little one!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is SO exciting!!! I am guessing it will be a girl!!!
Bless your heart! I think it’s a girl, too. I was S-I-C-K for SEVEN months with my daughter, and that was in the days before widespread use of ultrasound. I got one when I was more than 20 weeks to check on something else, and my daughter was in such a position that we were not able to see her gender, so I feel ya, sista!
Best wishes to you all!
Congratulations! I am currently expecting number 3 and I can empathize with your nausea. I’m 37+ weeks and still throwing up, but like you said, it will be worth it. For months I couldn’t visit any food blogs or watch food network and I hid my cooking light magazines when they arrived in the mail. Ugh, my stomach still turns a little thinking about it. We are also waiting until delivery to find out the gender–no regrets so far!
Congrats Amanda…to YOU, your husband and your children! What a fun surprise you have waiting for you:) I am so sorry that you have been feeling so poorly, especially when you have four little ones! Thank goodness for a helpful husband. Happy to hear that you are feeling better and are ready to come back to us:) Can’t wait to see your reveal cake, and your new little peanut!
Oh, how I’ve missed you, but this is such wonderful news. Glad you’re back and feeling better. BTW, we totally waited until delivery day to know the gender of our baby. It was such a lovely surprise. I highly recommend it.
Love to you & yours, Hilary
Wow Amanda! So so so exciting! Congrats for the newest addition! How exciting to wait to find out too! I cant wait to hear. So happy for you!
CONGRATS!!! So exciting! I dont’ have kids yet, so I can’t give you any advice on it, other than the suspense would kill me…ha! Glad you are beginning to feel better and pray that continues! Glad you are back too!!!
Christy
Congrats to you two. When our daughter was born 36 years ago it wasn’t an option to know the sex before birth, but it was so much fun speculating and dreaming up names, all I can say is have fun with it, it may not drive you quite as crazy that way. I also was sick the whole nine months, the only relief was when I ate raw veggies and fruit. My daughter always blamed me for the fact that she hated fruits and veggies (she has since grown out of that stage–thankfully).
Yay!! Congratulations!!
Congratulations sweetie!!! I’m always in favor of the suspense (and the surprise), I’m sure you will hold on just fine but we will be curious for another 4 months! Please keep us informed of any news!!!
Awww congrats! Me too I am expecting my first this July.
Congrats! It’s ok not to know. We did that after an ultrasound was inconclusive. We just figured that it’s God’s way of saying we should leave it a surprise. I think it’s the people around you who need to know more than you do! LOL! I’m sending you positive vibes for feeling better and just enjoy your new gift!
Thank you Stacey!!
best wishes! congrats ! =)
I have missed you and I am really sorry you have been so under the weather but it seems like it’s for a good cause, so congratulations! I am guessing from this blog you might be naming the little one Rose if it’s a girl, lol
Congratulations and many blessings to you and your family!
Amanda, congratulations! I love the suspense too! I can’t wait to see your new arrival cake. Wish you many blessings from above. I’ve loved to know this is your original cake, I’ve seen many around the web, but yours are the best! Thanks for sharing the tutorial, you have inspired me enough to make one soon!
Congratulations!
Congratulations on soon to be blessing number five!
aw congratulations, I was missing your posts. I totally didn’t know until our baby was born, but in my heart I knew it was a boy. I wanted to know but not really, it was fun and we are never having more so there you go;p
mazel tov, amanda! you’re a baby- (and cake-) making machine.
Ha! You have the BEST comments!
I”m just so excited and happy for you Amanda! SO HAPPY!
I’ve already congratulated you on Instagram, but I’m congratulating you again!
I think we are due around the same time (April?) I too was very sick. I started out nauseous and then for about 3 and half weeks I was vomiting every day. I know, gross, but really it’s worse than ‘just’ nausea. I am 18 weeks along today, with my first, and doing fine though still taking unisom + B6 at bedtime to kill off daytime nausea.
We are not finding out the gender either, and I like the idea of my husband getting to announce it
Yay! Cheers (& cake!) to babies!
Congrats Maggie!!! Sounds like we have a heck of a lot in common!
Glad you are feeling better and I hope that continues!
We were “old-fashioned”, too, and did not find out the sex of our babies before they were born. The best part was that my doctor knew this, and the instant each one was born she looked to my husband and asked HIM to tell me what we had! It was very exciting. (Warning: you will get a lot of pressure from others who think they just HAVE to know, but it’s kind of fun to think that a “secret” can’t be pried from you because you don’t even know the answer!) Here’s wishing you a healthy baby!
Well this is exciting!! Congratulations.
Oh my GOODNESS!!! Congratulations! Baby & book in the same year!!!
We did not find out what we were having and it was really fun and exciting!
Hope you continue to feel better! Take it easy, girl!!! Let your hubby pamper you!
I had no idea you guys waited to find out for your little man… I LOVE that about you!!
Congratulations!! Sending lots of prayers your way. Awesome looking cake by the way. You are very talented.
Thank you!
Don’t find out the sex! For our third child (already had a boy and a girl) we decided to not find out the gender. Getting names for both sex was difficult, but the surprise was so worth it! My husband was able to announce the sex of the baby girl and it was SUCH a wonderful moment! You can do it! You can wait!
WooHooo!!! What happy news! Always sooo exciting. I had four and we went for the surprise everytime! It was fun! It added to the “gift” aspect of a new child. I will say that it kept my oldest, my daughter, from being disappointed with her last sibling. We lived where three roads in our neighborhood converged, and all three of us girls were expecting that spring. I had Natalie and her two brothers. Needless to say, she wanted a sister. Well, Heather had a girl,two weeks later Beth had a girl. I figured the odds were against Natalie’s wish and I was right. She got brother 3. But, he made up for it by getting her on tv and notoriety at school by being born in the car en route! Ha ha! Happy times! Best wishes and I look forward to hearing more. (Secretly I hope your daughter has better luck than mine did and I hope she has red hair like beautiful Eddie)
Kathryn BTW my hubby is one of eight!
Congratulations to you and your family! Very happy for all of you!
Congratulations! What wonderful news.
Congratulations are definitely in order! Well done for getting through the rough patch, hope all goes much more smoothly from now on. It’s great to have you back. I love how the whole family is in anticipation to see whether it’ll be a girl/boy. Don’t find out and spoil the fun
Stick with it – what a blessing for the little one to be so eagerly awaited 
Take care!
Congratulations and all the best!
Congrats!!! (And I’m with you – I didn’t feel like being bubbly and happy and shiny and BLOGGY…when all I really felt like doing was throwing up and going back to bed. So I have blogged maybe…four times, since I got pregnant 7 months ago.
)
Congrats again!
Dearest Amanda,
Congratulations!
We are expecting the arrival of our fifth at any moment!
May God bless you and strengthen you as you grow this new little one – boy or girl!
Love, Susan
Congratulations!!! How exciting for you. Just a bit of encouragement; I’m pregnant with my 3rd (20 weeks today, halfway!!!) and we haven’t found out with our first two nor do we plan to find out with this one. My husband says it’s the one surprise in life where you’re going to be perfectly happy either way, so why not have it be a big reveal when the baby gets here. Also logistically it works out just fine too, just bring a boy and a girl outfit to the hospital and go from there.
Now personally I’m hoping for a girl this time around, my first two are boys.
Good luck and I hope you keep feeling better.
Catie
Oh for exciting!!! Congrats on being halfway too.. thats exciting in itself!
Hope you are feeling great and hope you get the little princess you are hoping for… girls are sure a blessing!
Congrats!
I have two girls, ages 7 and 2.5. Waited until the delivery room to find out boy/girl for both. Drove the grandparents nuts, but was totally worth it!
This holiday season will be filled with even more joy. Congratulations to you and your family. Nice to have you back.
Congratulations!
Just wanted to throw my two cents in to say that we didn’t find out the gender of either of our kids, and it was a wonderful experience! Really motivating during labor and really magical in that moment of discovery! And actually it’s quite possible to manage it even if you don’t already have all the kid stuff – just buy the big things (crib, car seat, stroller, what have you) in neutral colors. It’s really the smarter financial decision if you plan on having more children anyway. When it comes to gender-specific clothes I don’t know a single mom who hasn’t been showered with baby clothes by friends and family. In fact that’s pretty much all they ever get for gifts!
And in your case you are already prepared either way and good to go!
Of course I love finding out what my friends are having too so I’m certainly not against it, I just really enjoyed the experience and always encourage people to give it a chance!
I am an admirer of your blog and recipes. Congrats on the new baby. Don’t worry about the sex. It is a gift from God and you will love him/her the same. I hope you keep feeling better every day and every minute. I have 3 of my own. Had problems with #1 and #3. hugged the toiletseat (as my x would put it) every morning with all of them to the last day…not fun. As soon as you held that baby in my arms the first time, all the pain and misery evaporated…I wish you the best with your family.
Congrats!
I never found out the sex of either child until the day they were born. There was no better reward after a hard labor than being greeted by your husband telling you if you had just labored a boy or a girl.
The second one was a little tougher. I moved about halfway through my pregnancy. Prior to moving I had an amnio performed. About week 35 I thought about calling my former OB and asking what the amnio report said about the sex of the baby. But, I stayed strong.
I can tell you it’s worth the wait.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Glad you are feeling better. I don’t have kids yet, but the morning sickness terrifies me.
Surprises are great too!! WOOHOOO
I have four children. We found out through ultrasound the gender of our first three. All boys. When I found out I was pregnant with #4, we decided we’d wait until the baby was born to learn the gender. Many times, I wanted to give in and just find out. But we waited. The surprise of birthing a baby girl after three boys was *so* worth the wait!!! <3
Just want to say congratulations!! I read your blog when I need a pic-me-up or sugar fix… Big smile here.
I have to commend you on waiting to find out the sex of your new babe. We have 5 boys and 1 princess smack dab in the middle of them. Having 6 kids is such a blast. However I have more will power against sugar than I do with ” the baby secret”. If you could see me – this is not saying much
I love baking…
So my hat’s off to you. Well… Apron… might be a better word.
Many Blessings,
Kim
Thank you so much Kim!! Love meeting other parents with lots of kids… I have a lot to learn yet! If you ever want to drop by and share some life lessons with me I am all ears!!
Hi Amanda, How lovely to know that you’re expecting. At seven weeks, I’ve barely begun the nine month roller coaster. Gender determination is banned in India because of rampant female foetecide-a very, very unfortunate practice. For me, the ban is a good thing because I don’t even have the option of possibly knowing.
I’ll keep you in my prayers and pray for a safe and normal delivery.
Congratulations! May your pregnancy be smooth and blessed!