Back to Life, Back to Reality

I got home late last night from my girls' weekend in FL with my adorably pregnant sister in law, Barbara. We couldn't have had a better time! As you can see, the oil spill has not reached Destin:

The weather was perfect every single day and the water was crystal clear. We took walks on the beach:

We went out for dinner (Don't ever tell two pregnant women that you offer "All-You-Can-Eat" Crab Legs! We sat there for two hours and ate three buckets!):

And when I forgot to re-apply my SPF30 and ended up looking like this:

we went shopping at the outlet mall. Since we have quite a few baby outfits (like 10!) for 0-3 months, I started stocking up on some larger sizes to put away for later. It was so much fun to buy actual little clothes (instead of sleepers) for him. Liam now has outfits for next summer's beach trip!

We slept late and stayed up late. We laid by the pool, sipped (virgin) frozen drinks, went to the spa (massage & facial!) and ate ice cream every day. Thursday, as I laid perfectly still in the sunshine, I could feel Liam kicking (fairly hard) in my belly. Thoughtlessly, I laid my hand across my tummy and I felt a slight bump from the outside for the very first time. The next day, with my bathing suit tight against my tummy, I saw a slight shake when he kicked. It won't be long before those kicks get stronger and stronger-- what I can barely feel now, will become unmistakable in the next few weeks...

When I got home last night, Rob felt his son kick for the first time. Magical.

It was a fantastic trip and a much needed break. I feel relaxed and ready to face my last 5 weeks of work (post on that soon), then the final two months of preparing for the baby. This trip came at a wonderful time and I had so much fun hanging out with my sister in law, who I rarely get to see. The fact that our babies are due 9 days apart is really special, too-- I can't wait to add pics to Liam's baby book so I can show him his aunt Barbara and I, pregnant together.

Thanks for a great trip, Barb! Love you!