A Sober Christmas

Let's just say that I would prefer not to be sober during Christmas ever again. Every year my mom hosts an amazing Christmas celebration where we all gather early to open presents and then gorge ourselves on egg nog, wine, appetizer's, and a ham dinner. I never really realized the chaos of Christmas in years past partly because I was consuming large quantities of wine. This year I was overwhelmed, grumpy, tired, and just wanted some peace and quiet because I was sober. It became clear that I had poorly planned my pregnancy and should have waited until the New Year. Too late now. You see, our family is quite loud. We all talk over each other and raise our voices to be heard. Add in some wine and egg nog and the level of noise is almost unbearable. After the presents were opened and the kids were running around high on excitement, I quietly wandered upstairs to my moms room to take a nap where I could shut out the noise for just a little bit until dinner. Thankful for another wonderful family holiday. Not thankful that you are not supposed to drink when you are pregnant. It's all worth it though.

Finally the 12 week mark!

For the first time we were able to hear our baby's heartbeat today. At the 8 week appointment we were only able to see the heartbeat so to hear it today was AMAZING! All is going well but I seem to have a bit of a platelet issue. My platelet count is low so they are going to keep testing me every four weeks to see if it improves. Thankfully I am not dangerously low and they don't seem too concerned. It's quite possible that I have always had a low platelet count. My hips are still hurting and now the sciatic nerve on my right side tingles every night when I go to bed. Good times! Only 28 more weeks to go!

Thanksgiving in Florida

I feel very lucky that my in-law's live in Florida. It's a warm place to escape from the cold Colorado winter. We go to Florida for Thanksgiving every year where we get to visit Trevor's mom Pam, step-dad CJ, Dad Jimmie, step-mom Patti, sister Kim, brother-in-law Chris, niece Grace, niece Kate, and all the extended family. Had Thanksgiving lunch at grandma's house and then Thanksgiving dinner at Kim's house. You would not believe the amount of food to be consumed. Sadly I was not feeling so hot during the trip because of the pregnancy and wasn't in the mood for Turkey so I ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly.

We're Expecting!

As if 2009 wasn't already exciting enough with an engagement, wedding, and house purchase...we just had to add in one more event...a baby! We pretty much decided after the wedding that we would wait a month to detox our systems and then as they say, "pull the goalie." If it happened before October great and if not we would wait until the new year. And then BAM! It happened. Pregnant by the end of September. It was a rough first trimester. I felt hung over almost every day and had never been so tired in all my life. I found myself going out to my car at lunch just to shut my eyes. Chicken made me gag. In fact I couldn't really eat much for dinner so then I would wake up at 3 AM starving. Then there is the pee factor. Waking up sometimes two times a night to go pee. Really?! And then my hips were bothering me. I went from our bedroom, to our guest bedroom, to an air mattress all to try and find comfort. No comfort found. My hips were expanding and aching and I couldn't do a darn thing about it. But then we went to our first ultrasound for our 8 week appointment and it is then that you realize it is all worth it. Seeing this blob in your tummy with a beating heart is the most amazing experience. It's truly a miracle and I feel so blessed that I get to be a mommy. Only 32 more weeks of pregnancy to go!

The House Purchase...

It was a Sunday in September like any other Sunday. It was time to start thinking about buying a home and getting out of the downtown loft. We were on the fence about staying in Denver or moving a bit West to a Denver suburb where you can get so much more house for the money. We decided to check out a new neighborhood called Solterra in Lakewood/Golden, CO. Only 15 minutes from downtown, Solterra sits among the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. As you drive into the subdivision you have a sweet view of Red Rocks Amphitheater which has been THE concert venue for almost all musicians. We took a tour of all the model homes and decided this would be a sweet place to live but it would take about 10 months to build a new house. So we left thinking nothing of it. On Monday morning we received a call from the builder letting us know that they had a spec home that they wanted to sell. We went and checked it out at lunch and had signed a contract before we left. Holy crap! We rented out the loft, moved in with my parents for a few weeks, and then closed on our dream home on November 13th.

And then we were married...

I would say most girls dream about getting married and wearing the big, white, beautiful princess dress on their wedding day. It was something I always wanted until I turned 30 and realized it would be much more romantic to just elope on a beach with just my husband. So that's what we ended up doing. It wasn't a decision that was fully supported by friends and family but they eventually got used to the idea. I would say it was hardest for my mom but thankfully she gave us our wings to fly at a very early age and allowed us to make our own decisions. To this day it is the best decision I have ever made. I can't even describe the feeling that day waking up in St. Thomas next to Trevor. It was just the two of us with no hassle, no drama, no stress, no nothing but peace and tranquility. He went his way that day to get ready and I got pampered with hair and make-up. We met on the beach and exchanged vows. It was such a beautiful day that I will never forget.

And then we were engaged...

After almost two years of dating and a year of living together we were finally engaged. You dream about this day and feel like you will be prepared for it but you are never really prepared. It was Trevor's birthday which also happens to be Valentine's Day. I planned a trip to take him to Estes Park, Colorado for snow shoeing and a weekend at the Stanley Hotel (where Stephen King was staying when he was inspired to write The Shining - freaky!). Trevor proposed to me on the top of a mountain where we were in about 4 feet of snow. So romantic.

First comes LOVE...

Where do you even begin?? There is so much I want to tell you but I should probably skip right to the part where I met Mr. Brown because this blog is about the Brown's. My friends and family will agree that I lived my life as a wild child until I met him. Let's just say I was the Queen of Serial Dating and partying. Then on 1/20/07 Trevor Brown came into my life. I had just moved into my new Denver apartment that day and invited some friends over to go out on the town. My friend Dave brought Trevor and after a couple of months of group outings and flirty texts Trevor finally asked me out on a date on 3/9/07 to the Denver Nuggets basketball game. It's funny because I had a rule about not dating anyone over 35 and I was unsure of Trevor's age and felt weird asking. After the basketball game we went back to his loft and when he went to the bathroom I glanced at his driver's license in his wallet. 36!!! But as you can see I broke my age rule. This picture is actually from our first date. :)