Being pregnant, why can't it be more fun?!

I haven't kept a journal, diary, or blogged AT ALL about my pregnancy, which is really disappointing, because this is my 1st BABY!! I'm soooo excited to be a mother, very anxious, and very scared... My mind is constantly going! It's been such a roller coaster ride thus far, and I think I would be severely regretful if I didn't start documenting some of the symptoms, and most importantly, feelings of what I have been experiencing due to this pregnancy :)

    Finding out: I found out that I was pregnant on June 23, 2010. Only to discover that I was about 5-6 weeks pregnant. I was actually quite shocked when I found out. Ryan and I hadn't exactly been TRYING per se, but we weren't preventing either. We both knew that we were ready to have a baby, but we wanted to put it in God's hands and let him figure out the timing for us. We thought that it would take quite a while to conceive, however, because I was suffering chronic and brutal pelvic pains and after getting it checked out by an ultra sound tech, she said one of my ovaries was not producing and it may be difficult for me to get pregnant! Well... lo and behold, apparently just a week or so after, I was pregnant and didn't even realize it! My mom had to be the one to tell me that I could possibly be pregnant after I was complaining non-stop to her one weekend that I was about 2 weeks late on my period and was sooo bloated and tired! Who wouldn't have thought those were pms symptoms?! I'm really not stupid, I promise!! I ended up taking about 4 different pregnancy tests, just to make sure.  I bawled each and every time I saw the two bars or the actual "pregnant" on the tests! Ryan would never admit it, but I know he had little tears in his eyes :) So cute!
   First Trimester: OHHH My gosh! The first trimester was SO hard for me! I was hardly able to move, with out puking! I laid on my couch or in bed almost the WHOLE summer, just feeling miserable. I had the worst, not morning sickness, but all day sickness. I seriously thought that some days I wouldn't be able to get through it. I just wanted to give up... I was getting bloated, retaining water, shoving food down my throat just to stay healthy every 2 hours, constantly trying to drink water, taking prenatals that made me gag and throw up, AND still try to stay decent looking and keep up on my personal hygiene so my husband didn't go running for the hills haha! Not that he would, he's seriously amazing. I really believe that the only way I got through the first trimester without truly being traumatized forever by pregnancy, is my husband. He was taking care of me 24/7. He would hold my hair back for me while I was worshiping the toilet for hours on end, he cooked for me, cleaned for me (what husband will do the dishes, wipe the counters down, AND vacuum?), and still managed to tell me how beautiful I was! I am such a lucky girl. I thank God for him EVERY day. I also thank God that I was able to get through the first trimester :)
   Second Trimester:  I am now well into the 2nd trimester, and still feeling a little icky, run down, and nauseous, BUT it is all so much easier to endure now that I've been able to feel my little baby kick. It is the most amazing feeling in the world. I really can't describe the way it feels. My best description is like a little fish in my tummy doing flips and somersaults! Each day I feel the baby, I feel an overwhelming excitement and the full gravity of this miracle inside me. I can't get over that Ryan and I actually made this baby together. I'm starting to love being pregnant, despite the sickness, fatigue, lack of sleep, and nausea. I love seeing my belly grow, and having my husband rub it every time he is with me. Our bond has grown to a much deeper level, and we are so much more in love than i ever thought it possible.
    I am back at work full-time now, and am working evenings as well at all the high school athletic events, and it has been pretty tough on me, but it is nice to get up for the day and actually get ready, and feel a sense of accomplishment! Over the summer I started to feel a little depressed, and working has helped take my mind off the hardships of pregnancy, so I have actually really enjoyed being back at work.
   We still haven't learned the sex of the baby, but find out tomorrow afternoon!!! I really think it's going to be a girl, but we will know for sure tomorrow I guess!!! Below is a pic of me at 18 weeks pregnant, I'm actually 19 weeks right now, and can't believe I am half way through the pregnancy! Let's pray that it goes by faster than everyone tells me it will!!!

A little bit of a change......

I deleted my previous blog for a plethora of reasons.... #1 being, it was titled "The Frosts" with the address of ryanandamanda.blogspot.com... it didn't really make sense to keep it because, well, Ryan never blogged on it, and I never posted anything because it was slightly overwhelming to post about OUR lives, and what WE were doing, and what WE did together..... #2 for me, it just makes more sense to have a blog just for myself, where I can type away, vent and document things about me, and how I feel and felt and reacted to certain, specific things in my life. #3 I felt a lot of pressure to post things that made my life look extraordinary and exciting, which to be honest, I really don't lead an exciting life! Extraordinary?? Yes, maybe to me, but not so much to others. We are very simple, quiet and settled, and I just stopped blogging because I felt I had to be impressive!! Among other reasons which I will keep to myself, I have decided to start my very own blog, where I can be myself, and use this as an outlet, perhaps journal even! So call me selfish or self-centered, but I am excited to start blogging again and hopefully I will be dedicated enough to keep up on it!

Island Park Cont'd

Island Park!!

This is a very belated post of our family trip to Island Park. My mom and dad were wanting a nice, relaxed family vacation, so they planned an incredible weekend trip to Island Park. We stayed at a place called Eagle Ridge Ranch... we had our own family sized cabin (complete with hot tub!), scheduled a couple horseback riding trips, went on nature walks, ate like fat people, watched Lion King only about 15 times, played games and slept a LOT (well, I did anyway lol). IT was such a fun weekend. We were so lucky to get Addi and Tess with us, Jake was missed very much by all of us, but we were fortunate to get part of his family! Thanks Mom and Dad for all you did for us. The mini vaca was incredible and totally hit the spot for relaxation and fun! Thanks for the food and making us feel like we were at a 5 star resort!! Mom I was so proud of you for riding the horse and not screaming once! You were sooo good!!

Addi was so cute on her very first horse back ride EVER! She was such a trooper and was so brave!

The hot tub was only like 90 degrees, so basically freezing for a hot tub! I only got in once, because it was so cold, yet everyone else thought it was just right. I was the lame one and froze the whole time we were there!! Sorry everyone :(

AT the Beach!

Tanessa took us to Cocoa Beach and we had the TIME OF OUR LIVES!!! Ryan and I boogie boarded and made sand castles and took a LONG walk on the beach (so romantic, right!?) However, he was Addi's little buddy. He is more of a "land dweller" so he stayed with her under the umbrella and played with her quite a bit. They were adorable to watch!!

Summer of fun (and many expenses) cont'd!!

I never got to finish my post that I published last week, so hopefully I can get this completed!! I promised my mom I would upload all my pics from our Florida trip, so i will try to squeeze as many as i can in this one!!


Ryan and I went to a really cool zoo while we were in Florida. Tess said it was the least impressive zoo there, but for us Idahoans, we were easily impressed!! We've NEVER seen an alligator or crocodile in real life, so for us, that just made it for us right there!!!
Check out the fat head on that sucker!!! It was so creeeeeepy being that close to the croc...
Pretty snapshot at the Epcot Center in Disney World. I LOVE IT THERE!

Close up!! I don't think we've ever had so much fun on a vacation. Ryan and I were all smiles the whole time!

Summer of fun (and many expenses)

It's almost sickening how long it's been since I've posted anything on here... I even deleted it for a while....but this summer, I actually have some things to post, so I am a little excited to get them posted!! Ryan and I have had an incredible summer. I am not used to having summers off and getting paychecks every month, so this has been one of the best summers ever!! This has definitely been a vacation filled with mini vacations!! Right before summer started, Ryan's sister Jenn invited us to Disneyland for a weekend, so that was vaca #1, after that I went to visit her again for about 5 days in Vegas, which was one of the best times I've had in my life, I just love her to death and feel very blessed to get her as my sister-in-law (vaca #2). THEN, we were invited by the Walkers and the Federico's to take a 4 day camping trip to Pine, which was quite an adventure!! Unfortunately the Federico's weren't able to attend due to a very unexpected death in their family (our love and our prayers have been going out to them ever since). So we went camping with the Walker family, who we love! Their family is our family pretty much, so we had a WONDERFUL time. We got a place right on the river, it was incredible! (vaca #3). The Tuesday following, we headed to Orlando to visit my big brother, Jakey, and his family. Words can't descsribe how much fun we had. It was incredibly fun, as well as incredibly meaningful. (vaca #4). I can't wait to go back!! I miss them soo much already. Each night we were there, I cried thinking of when I had to say goodbye to my precious Addi, and to Jake & Tessles. It just broke my heart. The night we said goodbye I cried myself to sleep and cried the WHOLE way home. Poor Ryan had to put up with the pitiful sobs for nearly 13 hrs!! He was such a trooper though!! Anyway, that's just my summer in a nutshell ( we had many more mini mini vacations to Pocatello to visit friends and family, and were able to have some visitors of our own here in Twin). Below are some pics that I felt worthy of posting!!
We got to go to Epcot Center at Disneyworld, it was AMAZING!!! Everyone needs to experience this!!
I am a HUGE Beatles fan, and in the "UK", they had a band called The British Invasion, that impersonates the Beatles and their music. They were so good, I was very impressed!
It was tough for us to leave the UK, since Jake served his mission there, it was pretty cool there. We even got a Galaxy bar!!! The best chocolate ever made I swear, and we have never been able to find it here in the states. Jake was bursting with joy hahah!!