Family and Friends,

I wanted to start blogging for three reasons.
1) I don't have the desire to share a wealth of information on facebook with a bunch of people that don't care or aren't interested.
2) For those that do want to keep up (for whatever reason), I want to give you that option. On the phone I feel that I never truly share everything, thinking that maybe I said it already, or that it might not be relevant to our conversation.
3) Time has passed, and I have forgotten some of the small details myself. If I've already forgotten part of how I've felt at 5, 10, and 15 weeks along, I'm sure I'll forget much more later on.

Disclaimer: This is going to be a long post. I have a lot to catch up on. :)

I had been on birth control called Implanon for about 2 1/2 years. Although expensive at the time, it afforded my husband and I the peace of mind that we would have a family when we were ready. Financially and emotionally, we arrived at that point earlier this year. In July, I had it removed.

September 20th, we found out he is deploying to Afghanistan in the spring.

September 23rd, we found out I was pregnant.

I didn't think I was pregnant. I took the test anyways, but I didn't focus on it. I got in the shower and kept peeking out to see if the 2nd line appeared, and from what I saw, it hadn't. I got out, dried off, picked the test up to throw it out, and boom. I just hadn't looked close enough.

Happy.

Small Fry is due May 23rd, 2013.

Fast forward: I'm 17 weeks and 5 days pregnant today. My first trimester was relatively easy. I had no morning sickness. However, I have never experienced exhaustion like that ever in my entire life. I wasn't just tired. I felt like I could not do anything or I might pass out. On the weekends, I took upwards of 4 naps a day. In the last few weeks, the exhaustion has subsided. I get tired easily, but it is much more manageable. I don't really have "cravings", but I LOVE to eat fruits and vegetables. Nothing makes me happier than celery or apples. I've had a few ultrasounds so far (only one was planned), and the baby has been moving like crazy. I should be able to feel it soon. I had an appointment this morning, and the midwife said that she wasn't worried about my baby. Since I can't feel anything yet, it is very relieving to hear that. We got to hear a healthy heartbeat as well :) Superficial moment: I've only gained 4 lbs so far, so I'm hoping it won't take too long to lose the baby weight.

This is long enough. I'll type more soon.

Merry Christmas,
Kristin