Toes In the Water

So many of the baby books you read, now recommend going away for a "Babymoon" during your second trimester. I'm a sucker for planning & going on vacation so we decided a warm weather get away was perfect for February. After looking at lots of options, we decided on Puerto Morelos, Mexico - south of Cancun and north of Playa del Carmen. We stayed at an all inclusive resort - NH Riviera Cancun which after all my stressed out searching, ended up being the perfect place for our 5 night, 6 day vacation.

We booked an Ocean Front View and loved keeping our patio doors open to listen to the ocean at night. I wasn't pleased about the huge wall on our patio (all the other ocean front rooms had glass so you could see the water better). Everyone was very nice about our desire to switch, especially because I was pregnant. We heard a lot of "It's for the baby!" After two nights, they upgraded us to the Paradise Club which allowed us to have a great Oceanview Room and access to an additional restaurant (which turned out to be our favorite), a smaller, nicer pool, club with internet access and even a bigger room with jacuzzi on the balcony. Overall, we were happy with the upgrade and our two rooms!

We spent a lot of time by the pool - Mexico this winter had cooler than normal temperatures, so the pools and ocean were slightly chilly. On the warm days they felt great! We walked on the beach, read several books and soaked up some vitamin D. The resort was beautiful and the people were very nice. We ate at a different resort "restaurant" every night and enjoyed all the variety. The food really was fantastic!

One afternoon, we took an excursion to Puerto Morelos & Playa del Carmen for some shopping and sightseeing. It rained on us, but it was nice to get out of the resort for awhile. Such a great trip for us and probably our last kid-free vacation for a few years. :)

Marina & cove down the beach from our resort

Doug ready for a walk on the beach

Our view from our lunch table one afternoon

Room #1

The beach & water were absolutely beautiful

View from our balcony on the Paradise Club side.

The courtyard of the resort

The smaller pool & our view from our loungers

Getting ready to go to dinner one night.

Sunrise from our balcony

Toes in the sand :)

Snow

Willie enjoyed the snow day as much as any kid.

This is a make up post, but had a few snowstorms in North Carolina this year. This particular storm on Saturday kept schools closed for the following four weekdays.

Guacamole Baby Bump

Baby Bump picture at 24 Weeks and 4 Days. This photo was taken mid-vacation after I had eaten guacamole every single day. Being pregnant on vacation was certainly an interesting experience - I got a lot of strange and curious looks. Plus Mexicans are not shy about asking when you are due - which is so different than Americans! We did get some special treatment because of my "delicate" condition - but more on that coming up in the vacation post!

Big Brother

Doug recently put together our Pack and Play. It was a hand-me-down so we wanted to make sure it was ready to go. Turns out it had never been used, so we are set. Willie tested it out and found it very comfortable. Everyone has asked how our "first born" is going to react to the baby. It should be interesting, but Willie has always been extremely gentle around children and babies so we aren't anticipating any big issues. He does have one habit that must be broken. He loves stuffed animals. He carries them around the house in his mouth - looking really guilty. We're working on it!!

Halftime

I'm officially over halfway through my pregnancy. It's nice to hit that 20 week milestone. A funny thing happened to me recently - I started to look pregnant. See if you notice the developments :) A stranger asked me this weekend if I was pregnant, so I think the jig is up.

I also felt some movement for the first time this weekend. The doctor had told me because of placement of the baby and the placenta, I would not feel the baby as early as most moms. So when I finally felt something this weekend - I was so excited!!

I am still feeling great, so I know I am really lucky. Still able to workout on my regular schedule, so that has been nice mentally and physically. Doug & I are counting down the weeks (3 & 1/2) till our last kid-free vacation. Some call it a babymoon - I call it laying on the beach in Mexico. Can't wait!

17 Weeks, 4 Days
18 Weeks, 5 Days20 Weeks, 2 days

Happy New Year!

We had so much fun celebrating the New Year with friends in St. Louis - it was our friend James surprise 30th birthday. In addition, my mom came in from Kansas City to visit us for a few days - so it was great to see her and celebrate the New Year. Not to mention, I was sick. Let's face it - when you are sick - you just want your mom. Even if you are 30 years old.

Here are a few pictures from our New Year's Eve. I've got a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year!

Happy 2010!

The guys - Jon, Doug, Pat & JamesDinner with the family - my mom and Doug's parents

Christmas in St. Louis

For the first time since we moved to North Carolina, Doug had the holidays off! We were so excited to have an extended time to travel back to St. Louis, spend time with his family over the holiday and see some friends.

We made the long drive in order to have our own car and bring Willie McGee. I lucked out and Doug drove every second to and from St. Louis. Willie and I slept most of the way.

We packed a lot into the nine days we were back. Lots of family time and get-togethers with friends. We also took a short side trip to the lake house and Columbia for a basketball game. On the way down and back, we got to see April & Sara - along with their families.

Our plans got a little sidelined thanks to the stomach bug that I got toward the end of vacation - but we were grateful for what we were able to squeeze in! Thanks to everyone who fit us into their holiday schedules.

Willie hanging with his cousins Chubbs & Lucy.

The Burgess brothers with their pups.

The whole family on Christmas Day

Doug & Willie

Christmas dinner. One of our two Turkeys...

Smart dogs, hanging out in the kitchen

Opening my new HD Flip Cam & tripod from Doug :)

Willie is getting really good at opening his own presents.

He is also willing to help others unwrap theirs. At the Mizzou Game - so fun to be back in Columbia for a few hours.Fun day with the girls (and babies)! So great to see so many friends!