To share...or not to share. There shouldn't be a question.

I decided to blog about something that continues to bother me tonight.

And this is the use of the Facebook status.

It is not it's use in general.

It is what people use their status for.

I enjoy the motivational quotes,

the mood updates,

the personal goals,

the funny stories,

the talk about the weather.

I DO NOT like that people air their dirty laundry.

So your boyfriend cheated on you?

Calling the girl an S-word

she's ugly

you never loved him

he's a scumbag

Now that just isn't necessary.

Not only do you look silly,

but everyone who thought you were a strong sweet woman

Thinks the complete opposite.

And find it a little pathetic when someones status is updated daily

(if not more)

about how much they LOOOOVE their significant other.

Yes, you are cute.

Yes, we get it, you love them

and yes, I get nauseous hearing about it.

Maybe you should just tell them that?

The world doesn't need a daily reminder.

I don't mind the reminders of anniversaries

Even I do that.

But thanking your boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancee/husband/wife

for making you a grilled cheese sandwich

which reminded you how much you love them and how perfect they are...

isn't something most people care about.

I ran across a quote the other day that really hit the nail on the head.

"Face your problems, don't Facebook them"

(or something like that)

And I really think that some people should take that advice and run with it.

Far, far away with it.

Off my Facebook news feed.

12 weeks

Well, I suppose it's time to catch up yet again.
Tomorrow I will be the mother of a 12 week old.
Time really does fly.

I am absolutely loving my new job :)
Especially after being woken up for the first time last night at 5 am!
I feel like I have to brag about this one night because there have been so many worse nights.
WAY worse.
I'm sure those nights are not behind me.

Some things about our little guy:
He was almost 12 lbs at his 2 month appt.
He is holding his cute little head up so strong!
He smiles when I make weird noises or when he sees me after waking up.
He has started to coo and has a small giggle.
He rolls from his tummy to his back...then gets mad.
He loves the tv...oops.

But he really loves to stare at his books!

And he stands with the help of mom or dad.

He is such a sweet little stinker.
And while I loved his close to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, I found I almost slept worse.  I have such a big fear of SIDS that I find myself checking on him almost every hour.  Ugh.  I wish my mind didn't work in such a way.  I'm sure my fear will fade as he progresses in age.

As far as my progress goes, it's really slow.
I think I've lost 2 lbs since I last wrote.
But I feel like I'm looking better?
Sadly, I'm losing all of my beautiful pregnancy hair.
I forgot how much I shed and I miss not having to sweep up my hair/pull it out of the drain.
I had a bit of a wake up call at the gym last night.
I really need to pay attention to my nutrition.
I have always had an issue with making sure I eat enough.
This is not something I have ever done on purpose.  I seriously think my brain has a problem with telling me I'm hungry.  I'll eat breakfast and then all of a sudden it's 4 in the afternoon and I'll realize I haven't eaten anything since.
So at the gym yesterday I ran a mile, did some KB swings, snatches, and box jump burpees.
I didn't push myself any harder than normal, but found myself just moments from hitting the floor cold.
I came home really upset with myself.
Not only because I hadn't taken care of myself that day, but because it no longer effects only me.
My nutrition directly effects Hudson too.
So from here on out, I don't care if I have to set alarms 5 times a day, I need to eat.
And I need to eat A LOT.

Next week is Christmas and I'm so excited.
We literally get to see the entire family.
Both sides.
We will be missing Aunt Micah and Uncle Jarred.
Luckily, we saw them briefly in October and will again when we visit Colorado in March!
Obviously, Hudson won't remember this Christmas but he will be spoiled just the same.

Merry Christmas everyone!

#truthfulfriday

I'm dedicated this Friday to all of my truths.  I encourage you to do the same! 

#truthfulfriday

The truth is, I post way to many pictures of my little Hudson on Instagram.

The truth is, I also do not feel bad about it. He is so cute!

The truth is, I've stopped living my life to please others and have focused on my own happiness

The truth is, I wasn't the nicest person in high school and I regret that daily.

The truth is, I'm a really good friend, but I feel like it isn't recognized.

The truth is, sometimes I really miss family and wish we weren't so far away.

The truth is, my husband is the best person I know and I would go cray-cray on anyone who had something negative to say about his character.

The truth is, my post-baby belly has me feeling pretty down.

The truth is, I feel pretty skinny when I'm standing up.

The truth is, I could work a whole lot harder at staying in touch with friends.

The truth is, my best of friends, are the ones I don't have to check in with.

The truth is, I will absolutely spend a whole lot more money on keeping my son looking fly than I will on myself.

Truth!!!

1 Month Postpartum

Hudson is 4 weeks old today!!!

He has already gained an entire lb plus some!

He should, since all I do is feed him.

We have good and bad sleeping nights.

There have been a handful of nights where he sleeps 5-6 hours!

I think I have finally recovered fully.

At least from what I can tell.  My appt isn't for another two weeks.

I went into my 35 week appt at 166lbs and was at 145 during our visit to Colorado last weekend.

20 + lbs is pretty good, especially when I gained around 40, so I'm not discouraged yet.

My goal is another 15. 

I can't wait to run/lift again! 

It's so hard to sit still when the weather is still in the 50s!

Now that I'm home all the time I'll start making progress reports.

We don't own a scale so until I get the thumbs up for the gym I won't know numbers.

My Birth Story

Now that I have, for the most part, settled into my life of being a mom, I figured I would let you all know how my birthing process went!

From the beginning of my pregnancy, I always assumed I would be a little early.  My only reasoning for that was that my mom was early by one week with my sisters and me.  I did not know that I would be 3 weeks and 1 day early though!

September 25th started off pretty normal.  I had Braxton hicks throughout my third trimester so the fact that I was having very small, sporadic contractions throughout the day was nothing new.  Ethan had gone on alert that morning and was approximately 2 hours away from our home.  As the night progressed the contractions hadn't subsided and they were getting quite a bit stronger.  I called Ethan and let him know, but I still wasn't convinced it was labor.  I started timing the contractions, and  I took a bath, which usually did the trick, and started to panic slightly when the warmth of the water did not make getting through them any easier.  I finally called L&D to let them know I was experiencing contractions around a minute long and 6 minutes apart and they told me to wait until they were around 4 minutes apart.  I called Ethan again and he could tell I had been in pain.  I did not know that he had made a call slightly after that to a family down the road.

I got out of the bath, put some comfy clothes on, and curled up on the couch when the door bell rang. Our friend Erin was there and she let me know that Ethan had contacted her husband and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital so they could at least check me.  I agreed and slipped on some shoes and left.  At this point in my pregnancy I had started packing a hospital bag for Hudson, but had NOTHING for myself.

We got to the hospital around 11 pm and the nurse strapped me all up.  We let her know Ethan was far away and she asked if I'd like to be checked so we knew whether to start the process of getting him
home.  The second she checked me she said, " yea, he needs to get back here. Do you want pain medication."  I said yes and we asked her how far along I was and it was a whopping 8 cm.  I was told my husband may have a baby when he got back.

A lot of people ask me if I started to panic at this point.  I honestly didn't process any of the information that I was being told.  Nothing felt real. I made the call to Ethan, and the change over process began.  Someone had to drive out to replace Ethan before he could leave, so the process was going to take 4+ hours.

We checked into my room and the part I was most scared of was coming next.  The epidural.  Looking back on it, I feel silly.  I know some people have epidural horror stories but mine was AWESOME! My anesthesiologist was awesome and a frequent crooked tree customer :). The shot to numb the area was painful, but those 2-3 seconds of pain were well worth avoiding another 6 hours of constant contractions.  I was pretty shocked about the actual sensation of an epidural.  I could still feel my legs and move them, but no contractions!  I always thought my legs would be straight jello.

My nurses avoided checking me again until Ethan came back, because it may have broken my water. Erin and I hung out watching Fraiser, chatting, and attempting to sleep.  Ethan finally arrived around 4am. Yay!!!  The seriousness had begun.  A nurse came in and had me push to break my water...strangest (and gross) sensation ever! Poor Ethan was front row in the witnessing of that show...and everything after.

While everything had been pretty easy going up to that point, things started going south.  Hudson's heart rate was starting to struggle between contractions which worried my doctor.  I probably pushed for 20 minutes before she started naming other options.  My pelvic bones were just too small for me to push him out.  If there was one complaint about my experience, this was it.  I knew a c-section was my absolute last resort, and I wish my doctor had known as well.  I felt like she wasn't very encouraging and was, in fact, the complete opposite.  I can't say that about any of my nurses though.  They were constantly telling me I could do it.

We finally resorted to the vacuum ( not an actual vacuum, more like a suction cup).  About 10 minutes and 3-4 pushes later, Hudson made his debut at 6:24 am.  He was 6lb 9 ounces and 20.5 inches long.  He got about 30 seconds on my chest before being whisked away by nicu nurses.  Ethan followed them to the nicu floor to keep an eye on him and he pinked right up, and started breathing more fluidly.  He was able to join me again in a few short hours.




The worst part of birth was definitely everything that happens after.  The "massage" your uterus gets to release the placenta is much more like getting your insides kneaded like dough.  The stitching process is a nightmare, especially when you don't have your little one in your arms to take your mind off the pain.  Luckily, I had minimal tearing.  In the end, it really is all worth it.

I officially know just how big my heart can beat.  My emotions since this day have been all over the place, but one thing I know for sure is that I would die for this little boy.  And watching his daddy hold him at talk to him just melts my heart.

The Constant Ticking of my 9 Month Pregnancy Brain

That's right folks...

I made it to the 9 month marker!

Which also means that if I were to give birth today, chances are this little dude would be very healthy!

YAY! I've survived the first part of parenting.

I realize that I haven't really written many blogs throughout this pregnancy.

It really hasn't been much to write about.

I have a feeling though, that I'll look back on this experience and wish I had.

Dang it.

So, I'll use this time to recap the highlights of the past 9 months.

When I was about 20 weeks, I was feeling great!

And while I was gaining more weight than I should have...

I was still fitting in most of my jeans/shorts if I used the belly band or hair tie trick.

This little dude has been sitting pretty low the entire pregnancy.

So I was all like, "I'm not going to buy any maternity clothes, what a waste"

Well, as of the past week or two...my mistake.

Maybe karma came to bite me in the ass for saying such nonsense...

but here I sit in nothing but yoga pants and inner thighs covered in stretch marks that look like I was mauled by a bear.

*facepalm*

Ethan's wardrobe has become my wardrobe and I've chosen to ignore my side of the closet to avoid the onset of tears and frustration.

However, when I do get into these types of moods, I take a look at our 3D ultrasound pictures and just smile.

He's already worth it.

This little guy is going to look just like his daddy.

And while it would have been nice to see one of my own features on that little picture, I picked a dang good looking husband for a reason!

We're going to have a freaking cute kid!

I can't wait to see whether he is blonde or brunette,

has hair or doesn't,

or

has blue or brown eyes.

Because when it comes to these sorts of things, Ethan and I were complete opposites as babies!

Lately, I have been experiencing some Braxton Hicks.

They come and go and have never turned into anything worth making a trip to the hospital for.

A long bath, or the belly bandit with it's heating pad usually does the trick.

(PS: Pregnant ladies, I HIGHLY recommend the belly bandit! I was lucky enough to have a friend lend hers to me...it's been a life saver some days.  Not to mention, it'll help bounce my belly back post partum)

Baths have become one of my most favorite parts of the day.

They really help take the weight off my back.

So here is a list of some of my favorite "Pregnant Amber" things:

Roasted Marshmellows

Warm Milk ( I don't even like milk )

Peaches

Ice Water (emphasis on the ICE)

The Belly Bandit

Tums (darn heartburn)

Yoga Pants

Toms shoes

Pillows (like 4 of them)

Sports Bras

Baths

I'm sure there are others that I cannot currently think of.

With the arrival of our little peanut being so close, 

my brain basically ticks nonstop.

Here are a few questions that constantly keep me up at night:

What will our life look like after he is born?

Will our relationship change?

Is my child going to be a terribly, fussy heathen that hates everything and everyone?

Will I lose all of my childless friends?

Will I have nothing better to talk about than spit up, teething, and diaper blowouts?

I know that the answer to most of these questions lies within my own actions.  But I cannot help but be terrified.  I don't want to be the mother that shares every detail of my little ones day on Facebook.  I don't want to feel like I cannot contribute to a conversation unless it revolves around my baby.  I can't stand being around those types of moms as it is.  I do understand that this is how women relate to each other in our current stage of life.  However, I feel like there is a time and place.  So people...if I start to turn into one of them, SLAP ME!

When I feel the need to brag about my kid, I'll blog about it.  

So you people can choose your suffering :)

I also hope that Ethan and I find a parenting system that works for us.

This doesn't worry me nearly as much as the previous situation. 

I know there will be trying times when we are both sleep deprived and frustrated.

But those are the times that I see what I love in Ethan the most.

I'm lucky to have found a calm, and compassionate husband who never raises his voice or loses his temper.  He knows to leave me be when I'm frustrated and acting like a moron, and knows that sometimes all I need is a hug, without any words.

Oh my, that was mushy.

But seriously...

He's the best and I'm so very lucky.

I'm now starting to put together a list of things to pack for the hospital.

Looking these things up freaks me out a bit.

Labor is Scary! And Gross!

Once I stop working, (next week), I'll have lots of time to update and post pictures of our hospital bag.

I have almost everything set aside for the little guy already.

They're pretty easy since the hospital supplies most of what they'll need.

There are a few things I still have to purchase for myself.

Mostly nursing friendly bras, PJs, and other misc. items.

I'm thinking of just getting a zip up/sweat pant outfit from VS for after delivery.

I need some warm socks or slippers for roaming the hallways.

I also have to type up/write down a birth plan.

(I'm not going in with any expectations necessarily.  I am requesting to avoid the administration of pitocin and the administration of an epidural before I reach 4 cm.  I am also requesting that there be a delay in the cord clamping and that baby stays on my chest for a full hour immediately after delivery.  I hate women that preach about their labor decisions, so if you have questions about why...you can ask me or look it up yourself :-D)

I obviously know that any and all of these may change if their is a health risk to the baby.

And, we need to install the car seat!

Here are a list of things that are currently freaking me out:

I'm afraid of needles.

I'm afraid of hospitals.

I'm afraid of the animalistic sounds I may make during labor (sorry Ethan)

I'm extremely behind on sleep and I'm afraid I won't catch up before it's too late.

I'm afraid that Ethan will look "down there" as I push out our little man and be scarred for life...

I'm afraid I'll never lose the extra weight.

I'm afraid that breastfeeding may not be an option for whatever reason.

I'm afraid that everything I think my labor will be like, will not, and I'll be whisked away and cut open with a giant knife and won't be able to immediately hold my peanut.

I'm afraid our dog, Reagan, will be angry with us when we return...who cares about Sheldon ;)

What I do know, is that we will figure it all out.

However long it takes, our family will be happy and more complete than before!

I just can't wait to meet this little guy.

The little guy that's been bruising my ribs with kicks and punches.

The little guy that literally takes my breath away because my lungs have no room and no where to go.

The little guy that reminds me that my bladder is a quarter full and that just isn't acceptable.

This little guy:

28 weeks

I cannot believe it has been two months since I last announced to my blog followers that Baby R is a boy! Time sure is flying by and I need to catch up!  Since my last update my wardrobe has shrunk, my hours at work have almost been cut in half, and Baby R officially has a comfy place to sleep once he arrives.

My mom and one of her good friends Erin threw me the most lovely shower while we were home in Colorado.  I am truly blessed to have all of the people who came in my life.  We had so many gifts to haul back to Montana that we ended up renting a U-Haul! I was so excited about them all that I nearly forgot to write thank-yous! So if you haven't received one...it's coming!  I'm having so much fun creating a space for just this little guy.

Some of the gifts I am most excited about are his crib and bedding.  His bedding is the Skip, Hop, Mod dot set and his bed is the Babyletto Modo :)

I have my parents to thank for a serious chunk of his furniture and my grandparents to thank for the bedding.  I really wanted to go for a more modern, less matchy/theme-like room and these have really hit the spot!

I'm also super excited for our stroller!  I literally fell in love when I saw it at a store in Cherry Creek.  And when anyone hears me say Cherry Creek that lives in Colorado, they know it was a pretty penny.  However, we were very lucky to be close friends with a current employee of Mountain Buggy!  They offer a very generous family/friends discount.  My mother in law ended up paying the same price as she would have for a Bob ( which everyone and their mom has on this base ).  We went with the navy and white terrain buggy and I cannot wait to take that thing out with Baby R in it to get my pre baby
body back!

Some things I have really enjoyed doing lately ( with my time off work) is crafting for his room. Follow me on Instagram to see all of the most recent changes to his nursery!  I also love to take a break from moving around to watch my belly shift and jerk with all of his movements.  It's all so surreal once you really think about what is causing all the rumbling in your tummy.  I'm still keeping pretty active.  I stopped running in the last week or two due to severe calf muscle pain.  I was nearly in tears after my last run.  So now I stick to long walks and a lot of work with my new favorite athletic equiptment...kettlebells!  I was introduced to kettlebells at crossfit, and after a lot of research, found how beneficial and versatile they are.  It's so easy to mix cardio with weighted lifts using kettlebells.  I never leave a workout feeling as though I may not have accomplished anything!  So for preggos, and non-preggos, I highly recommend looking into using them.

Ethan and I have been trying to get in a lot of alone time before baby gets here.  We recently took a trip to whitefish, MT. It was a really beautiful mountain type town with great restaurants and shops.  We also plan on making at least one trip to the cabin in west glacier before the end of the summer.  It's definitely the most beautiful national park I've ever seen. There is also a tiny little restaurant called the northern lights saloon that serves up the best huckleberry pie!

We have a lot of big things happening in the next few weeks! Ethan's birthday is the end of this month, our 3D ultrasound is scheduled for the first, our anniversary is the 5th, and my birthday is the 14th! Holy cow! Everything is so exciting!

As much as I love being pregnant, I really miss my body and my wardrobe. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I'm one of those crazy women who loses all the weight in the first three months :)  Eek!  It's bearable at the moment because I know I'm nurturing a little baby inside of me.  I'm not sure I will be as accepting of this weight once he is on the outside! That's why for my birthday and with my final pay check I'm asking for and purchasing myself motivational Lululemon workout attire for the winter!!! Haha that store is a slight obsession, but it gets me in the body busting mood the second I put it on!

Well, that's it for today!  I'll do my best to update after the next couple weeks.

Slugs and snails, and puppy dog tails...

That's what little boys are made of :)

That's right.

Baby Rego is a little boy.

Monday was our 20 week ultrasound.

I've had a countdown on my phone for the past 2 months.

The night before, I slept terribly due to my excitement!

Our ultrasound tech was awesome!

It really is insane how they know what they are looking at.

We saw his kidneys, stomach, brain, spine...

You name it, she found it!

We got a disk full of every picture she took, and they are all so clear.

It took her, I kid you not, less than a minute to find the gender.

She also mentioned that he is a bit of a show off, because he would not hide his little peep any time she passed by it.

And if you were wondering if my "mommy instinct" was right...

It was :)

I don't really know how to explain it.

I felt like I was wasting my time thinking of girls names.

And I felt awkward looking at girls clothes.

We are both beaming with happiness.

I'd be lying if I told you I didn't cry.

Knowing what this little karate kicking kiddo is, makes everything so real.

We are finally feeling him move from the outside.

Ethan felt him for the first time the day before the ultrasound.

I love that he can finally feel something.

I feel like, for now, it's their way of bonding.

It's such a special thing to witness.

I can't wait to get to Colorado so my sisters can feel the little guy kick.

I have updated my registry and can't wait to start his little woodland nursery!

Speaking of registries...I was kind of nervous about registering on a website.

People procrastinate, and like seeing things in person.

But things are already being bought which makes me so excited!!!

Also, etsy may be the death of me.

So many adorable hand made things to find!!!

I can't wait to celebrate and eventually meet our little stud.

I'll leave you all with this little pregnancy questionnaire that I see often on blogs :)

How far along: 20 weeks 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: I am up about 13-14 lbs.  This is definitely the worst part of my pregnancy! I'm not used to these numbers in the slightest!

Maternity clothes: just a few shirts. I have about 3 pairs of pants that still button. If I am not wearing those its my lulus, the hair band loop, or a belly band.

Stretch marks: None yet! Hoping that this body butter continues to do its thing!

Sleep: I sleep pretty fantastic aside from a pee break every night between 2 and 3

Best moment this week: Of course seeing our healthy little one!

Movement: I definitely have been raising a break dancer in there. He is constantly jabbing me with elbows and knees and feet. In fact...he is currently using my uterus as a punching bag.

Food cravings: peaches and that's about it.

Gender: BOY!!!

Labor signs: none. It's a bit early so thank god for that!

Belly button-in or out? Still in!

What I miss: All my cute clothes. They tend to look ridiculous now.

What I am looking forward to: My shower in Colorado next week!

Milestones: I'm officially half way done!!! And we have a name! ( But don't ask yet! It's a secret for now!)

Love always,

The Regos

Growing like a weed...

Well yes, our yard is growing with weeds

(darn base lawn maintenance)

but holy cow...this belly seems to be growing overnight!

Here's a comparison between week 13 and 18.

I know that I said something along the lines of,

"I'll update weekly"

and that clearly hasn't happened since it's been probably 10 weeks.

So I apologize for that.

No more promises I don't intend to keep.

I'm finally starting to feel this little one squirm around in my belly.

Feels a lot like someone threw a bag of popcorn in my belly and let it do it's thing.

I can't believe I'm already 19.5 weeks along.

This kiddo is the size of a mango!

Speaking of fruit sized babies...

Sometimes I look at the size of food they tell me my baby is, 

and feel like they are making things up.

Since when is a mango larger than a sweet potato?

As far as this pregnancy has gone.

I've been pretty dang lucky.

I haven't thrown up once.

Thank God, since I cringe at the mere thought of it.

I haven't experienced any heartburn or terribly emotional moments.

I swear to you that if I didn't have a cycle like clock work before I got my positive test,

I'd be one of those "crazy" women who didn't know she was pregnant.

With my small frame though...it eventually would have become pretty evident.

The only really terrible side effect that this little mango has brought along with it is migraines.

I suffered from migraines all through college due to the hormones in my birth control.

Mine typically go through 3 stages:

Vision impairment: meaning I can't see anything in my peripheral vision or can't see directly what I'm looking at.

Terribly Painful Headache: This usually lasts 4-24 hours.

Numbness in my left hand/Arm

So I have probably had 4-6 of these throughout my pregnancy.

The worst part is....the list of medications I can take to ease the pain is basically non-existant.

My OB says that these usually disappear once you hit the mid-way point...

YAY! ONE WEEK!

Which also means...

Exactly one week from tomorrow we get to HOPEFULLY find out what this little squirt will be.

I have a pretty good feeling I already know, but I don't want to be one of THOSE women.

You know the kind I'm talking about.

Ethan and I get to see our parents the week after we find out during our trip to Colorado.

Ethan is going to be running in the tough mudder :)

I'm so sad that I cannot participate this year.

But we'll be waiting at the finish line as Dad runs through his last obstacle of electroshock therapy ;)

My mom's friend is also throwing me a shower while I'm there.

And I'll tell you one thing...Registering for a baby is STRESSFUL!

I'm so lucky to have awesome friends who can help me out!

I feel like I have skipped a section in my blogging life where I tell you about the friends that I've FINALLY met here.

I have met a solid group of girls and moms that I couldn't have been happier to have found.

I never feel like they compete with each other and the drama is pretty much non-existant.

We are all passionate about healthy living, but also indulging in life's treats.

I've found friends that I know would never judge me, but help me make the right decisions.

You are probably thinking to yourself, "Who Cares?"

But I wish you could understand the dynamic of wives on a military base.

It's no Army Wives.

You don't connect with each of them the second you meet.

Some of them are crazy.

Some of them are just straight mean.

And some of them like to make you think that they are the nice, welcoming, military wife you thought up in your head before you got to your base...until you get there and they pretend like they don't know you.

Unless, of course, they can use you to their benefit.

It's like high school all over again basically.

So, thank you, to all of my friends!

Now,

I'll leave you with a little bit of my nursery inspiration.

I'm not big on the super baby-ish nurseries.

Or ones that literally match the curtains, to the crib, to the rug, to the lamp shade.

And it's really difficult to find things that aren't like that.

So, I'm deciding to go with a woodland themed nursery.

Boy or Girl.

And I'll adjust what I need to when we find out which it is!

(If you follow me on Pinterest...you already have an idea! Haha!)

 I just love these Book ends!!!

I would love to incorporate some chevron prints.

I'm thinking Red & Navy for a boy.

and Yello/Orange and Grey for a girl?

That's all for today!

Friends and family who are curious...we have registered at www.babyearth.com :)

Surprises at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Let's skip the part where I explain where I have been for months...

My life isn't that exciting.

Or I guess WASN'T that exciting!

As some of you may know, Ethan and myself just returned from a Disney World vacation with my parents and sisters.

Alyssa and Rachel were on Spring Break, Alyssa's boyfriend was in Orlando for baseball Spring Training, and my parents own a timeshare...

So that is how this trip came about.

Now, let me take you back to February 3rd, Super Bowl Sunday.

It was no different than any other Sunday.

Aside from the fact that this...

was the start of our day!!!

Now that both of our families know.  

I've been DYING to blog about it, so that I can keep you all updated.

As of today, I am 10 weeks 3 days pregnant with our first little jelly bean.

His or Her due date is October 18th, 2013 :)

We are not announcing this to the rest of the cyber world until our next appt. (Apr. 8th) which marks the end of our first trimester.

So please help us keep this circle small until we have exited the danger zone...

it's less than 2 week people!

I'll give you a bit of an idea of how we got to this point.

Ethan and I have always wanted to start our family rather early.

(As both of our parents did)

But I refused to do so until our honeymoon took place.

We finally set sail on that cruise one year and some change after our wedding date.

The next month (October) we made the decision to stop preventing and start trying.

For some of you this may be a bit TMI, but for other couples in their "Trying to Conceive" stage, I believe this will add some comfort.

Ethan and myself are both very healthy, young, fit people.

I didn't have PCOS, my cycles were like clock work, and there wasn't a single abnormal PAP in my life.

So we thought this would be a walk in the park.

It wasn't...

I made the mistake of googling things like,

"How long did it take you to get pregnant?"

In which case every response was,

"First Try!!!"

"2nd Month"

or

"It was an accident"

Which was all very discouraging for me.

Here we were...month number 4 and still, no baby.

I thought for sure I was broken...well turns out I'm not.

So, if you are where I was...don't listen to these crazy super human women!!!

Now, here is how we broke the news!

On the day of our first appt. we got to see (and hear a 185 bpm heartbeat) the little guy.

Awwww, such a cute little blob.

We also had ordered and already shipped a "Knitting while you're expecting" book to Ethan's mom in Barksdale, Louisiana.

That night we skyped with his mom and dad, as they opened their package.

Obviously, they had an idea, as we have never really skyped with them before....we're terrible kids.

They were so very excited for us!

When it came to telling my family, I wanted to wait until Florida to tell them in person.

This was a bit difficult to plan.

We didn't know who would be picking us up, what the plans were for the day, or how to really surprise them.

So, we just brought that little sonogram with us and figured...we'd figure it out.

My dad was the one to pick us up from the airport.

My mom and sisters were currently at Jake's baseball game and weren't expected back for another hour or two.

So, I made the decision to tell my dad first while we were in the condo.

He had a very typical dad reaction and said, "No Kidding?!" in the goofy voice we all know.

Since we knew my sisters and mom would be arriving soon I decided to tape band-aid the sonogram to the outside of our condo's door.

Hearing them approach the door was one of the funniest moments of my life.

Rachel: "Oh my God...OH MY GOD!"

Alyssa: "If this is a joke I'm going to be so pissed"

Rachel: "It says Amber Rego on it."

Then, they opened the door and attacked me with hugs, while my mom proceeded to cry, and my dad caught it all on tape.

My mom purchased this shirt for me at universal to help tell some close family friends and my god mom!

(wish Alyssa would have made it in this picture!!!)

We were fortunate enough (despite the awful snow in Colorado) to meet up with Ethan's Brother and Sister-in-Law, in Colorado Springs to break the news.

It meant so much to both of us that we were able to tell some of his family in person.

We can't wait until we get to see the rest of them in May (hopefully!)

As for how I'm feeling.

I must say I've got it pretty easy.

I struggled around 8 weeks with constant migraines...but have found a natural remedy that has kept them at bay for the most part.

I've had a few spurts of nausea, but haven't worshipped any kind of porcelain.

The worst symptom I have is complete exhaustion.

But I can handle that.

There is no bump yet...just looks like I'm over doing it on the donuts and pizza.

The only thing I really crave is fruit and Mac 'n' Cheese...which I never really ate, but dang is it good!

So, from here on out I'm going to do my best to leave you all with weekly updates and pictures!

We are so, SO excited, and so blessed that we have all of you to be a part of our little one's life!