For those of you who think I've been getting fat lately... that I got married and immediately thought, "YAY! I can get fat now!" Think again. This ain't no beer belly... It's a baby belly!

That's right... Noel and I are excited to say that we have a little one coming in February! We couldn't be more thrilled! So... I'm 9.5 weeks now and the baby is due Feb. 16, 2013. You might be doing the math and thinking, Wait a minute, but didn't you just get married a few weeks ago, Amy? Yup, and I was with child in my wedding dress. Classy, I know. But these are different times we're in, people. I didn't feel like it was all that crazy or taboo. We even announced the good news at dinner after the ceremony! :) It was a happy happy day. One I will never ever forget.

Let me share the wedding story:

We were going to have a big wedding in Houston in October, but when I was home in March and we were planning it, something just didn't feel right about the kind of wedding we were planning. I think some may say I became a bit of a Bridezilla. Now, I don't know about that. But I do know that I was that girl that was obsessing over flowers and centerpieces and saying things like, "But Mom, this is MY wedding!" And I am pretty sure I tried on about 100 wedding dresses. I was overwhelmed by all the options. I felt like little things really mattered, and I wanted to be the one that made the decisions on what to buy because I wanted everything to be the way I wanted it. But at the same time, I was indecisive about everything.

The one thing I did decide on was a venue- a place called the West Lake Club in Houston that was sort of like a country club. It was a really nice venue. But I think it just didn't feel right because it wasn't really my style- the club setting. It was fancy and very very nice, but maybe it just wasn't me. And I think that made me feel different about the planning too. And the guest list grew bigger and bigger... because we had this beautiful venue, and we kind of needed to fill it up. It would have been silly to have this nice big space and not that many people in it. So the list got up to like 150. Which to many, might sound like a moderately sized wedding. Not too big, not too small. But to me that felt stressful and huge.

I thought about our wedding weekend. Noel would have had to fly into Houston from DC last minute just for the weekend. The schedule would have been packed. We would have had his family in from out of town, not really knowing how to get around or what to do in the big city of Houston. His parents would have flown all the way from Japan after not seeing him for several years, and maybe he wouldn't have even really had time to spend with them. I would have been worried about everything getting there and in it's place. If I was already so obsessed about flowers and the perfect dress, I was sure by the time the weekend came, I would have been a stressed out ball of nerves wanting everything to be perfect. And I would have had tons of people there, distant relatives that I don't even really know, to witness it all.

Ok I'm sure it would have been beautiful no matter what, and in the end I would have been happy. Everyone thinks their wedding day is the most wonderful, best day. But while I was in Houston trying to get the plans going, my family noted how much I wasn't really enjoying the process. I am not sure who it was, my mom, dad or brother, but one of them said something like, "I think the destination wedding is the way to go." And I started to think about it and talk about it and looked into it. I remember feeling like, "Why didn't I even think about considering this before!?"


I had been planning the kind of wedding that I felt like one was supposed to have. Because it's the kind of wedding almost everyone has. But it just didn't feel like it was what I really wanted. It was too much! Too showy, at least for me. After all, I just wanted to get married. And so looking at destination beach wedding on the internet, they looked so romantic, easy, and stress free. Not to mention the setting itself is gorgeous. So we decided to dump the whole Houston wedding and go get married at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

I chose the place based on reviews from people that got married there. Everyone was happy and said the wedding staff did a great job, so I felt like I could trust them. It was a huge relief to just forget about all the planning, to hand it all over to the resort, and all we had to do was find our outfits and show up really. The wedding got exciting to me again. I knew the only people that would come would be our closest family and friends, and I liked how intimate and casual it became to feel. I no longer felt like it was a huge production... and the first day we went out looking for my beach wedding dress, we found it! It was so easy to decide on a dress all of a sudden! And what was even better was that it was only $100 on the sale rack at David's Bridal. And you know what? It was perfect! Simple, flowy, dressy but casual. I loved how it was short in the front and long in the back. I didn't have to worry about being too hot. I've seen some brides at their beach weddings in full poofy satin gowns.... and they always look like they are sweating their asses off.

Anyway, so we did it! And everything was so perfect! Everyone at our entire wedding, including, us, added up to 13 people. We got there on Monday night, had several days of fun in the sun and then the wedding was on Thursday in a gazebo with a grassy area that overlooked the beach. My brother, Evan, officiated the ceremony and it was so beautiful and personal. So much more special than having some random Reverend Juan Jose marry us with his Mexican Catholic rituals. Evan included a lot of special details and made it a Jewish ceremony like we wanted. He and his fiance, Jenny, even got us the most gorgeous Ketubah (Jewish wedding contract) as a gift, and we signed it right there after Noel stomped on the glass. And right when the ceremony was over, Noel and I danced to our song in the gazebo- Savage Garden's I Knew I Loved You. That way we were able to have our first dance, because with our small wedding group we weren't having a dance party reception. Although we did dance to the salsa band they had out on the courtyard a little later that night.

We had a nice semi-private dinner in the resort's air conditioned Brazilian style restaurant. The cake and flowers and everything were included in our wedding package. Everything was just so easy and couldn't have been more fun and perfect. I loved that we got to spend so much quality time with our family who traveled there to be with us. Everyone was enjoying themselves. It was nice that everything we needed was there in the all-inclusive resort. When we were hungry, we went to eat. When we were tired we took a nap. People could drink whatever they wanted, as much as they wanted. Seriously, now I feel like there is no better way to get married. Noel and I both are so glad we did it this way!

It seems so right how it all worked out this way. The West Lake Club where we were originally planning to have the wedding phoned my mom and said they were actually closing August 1st, and would give my parents their deposit back! Amazing, how the Universe works right? We couldn't have had our wedding there even if we wanted to! Good thing I changed my mind and decided to go with Mexico, or else I would have been super frantic looking for a new venue.

Also, because we moved the wedding up, Noel and I decided we could start trying for baby #1 sooner. I was really into the idea of having our baby in the USA before we move all the way to the Philippines. I wasn't too keen on the idea of having my first child all the way over there. So far from home, in a place where I have no understanding of their medical care. Where it won't be as easy to pick up the phone and call my mom when I have a question, because of the huge time difference. No, I want to have my first baby in America! :)

And we got pregnant! Way faster than I ever imagined I would. It was basically like right away. I was so surprised. Because I know many people that haven't had it so easy, it takes them a long time, lots of different methods. Being a pessimist, I figured it would be no easier for me. But lucky enough, I was wrong. And now we will have our Little Bubba, or Bubbete?, just in time. It's like someone's taking care of us or something. Making our lives work out for the best. Because if this baby didn't come along when it did, we would have had to stop trying for a while so that the timing of the due date didn't fall around when we were set to leave for Manila... then I wouldn't have been able to go with my husband, and things would not have been as easy.

This way it's just perfect. We get to have the homebirth I always hoped for, with my amazing midwife mom delivering the baby! I will get great prenatal care. And most importantly, we can all be together at the birth, and my family in Texas will meet our baby before we move.

Life is just amazing. It is stuff like this that makes me feel like there must be a God... I mean, it sure seems like someone or something out there is taking such good care of me. Something told me to join the Peace Corps and come to El Salvador, and because of that I met the love of my life. And because of listening to my heart and having such wonderful parents who made it possible, we found ourselves having the most amazing beach wedding, and now we get to have a baby on top of it!? Well, to whomever/whatever you are that is looking out for me, I am deeply grateful.

There will be many more Amy Baby Belly posts to come! Look for updates on my pregnancy, our move from El Salvador to D.C., and after- all my new experiences being in our nation's capital for the first time!


Paz y Amor.