Back from the best vacation ever - pictures and bumps and updates, oh my!

Everyone returned home safe and sound at different times Monday night.  Chris and I made it back to Ottawa a little before 11:30pm, and the rest of the family got back to Arizona sometime late evening as well.  Its been about 2 weeks since the last post, but it was a very busy 2 weeks.  Today as I'm writing this I am 20 weeks and 3 days pregnant, so we'll start with the 20 week highlights, and then I'll have up lots of cruise and bump pictures....

Size of baby: cantaloupe..... that just sounds HUGE to me
Maternity clothes: just got my shipment in from Motherhood, and now I have a fair amount of shirts that are long enough to cover the band on my jeans, so comfy
Movement: every day!  It's the most awesome thing ever.  The entire cruise, Baby was moving SO much.  Its incredibly distinct now, especially after I eat pretty much anything, or am around loud music (like on the cruise) Baby just starts popping away.
Food cravings: GRAPES!  I canNOT get enough of red seedless grapes.  I could just eat tons of them right now
What I miss: I finally really missed alcohol when we were on the cruise.  It would have been nice to sip a pina colada, or enjoy the free champagne on those certain cruise nights, though it is a small sacrifice to go without, so oh well...... still really miss my old body, including being able to walk up more than 2 flights of stairs without getting winded like a morbidly obese person.  Weight is still the hardest.  I wish there was someone who could understand that.  Everyday I remind myself that I will only get bigger, but that doesn't make it easier.  I was so faithful to the gym on the cruise, but still the scale goes up.  Unfortunately, crying about it doesn't help either.
Sleep: I cannot believe how well I slept on the cruise, but I have been sleeping GREAT
Symptoms: other than a growing belly, nothing to complain about
Best moment this week: lets call it best moment of the last 2 weeks, and that was when one of the cruise crew said to me when we played shuffleboard, "you're 5 months pregnant, but you are so small!"
What I am looking forward to: the craft fair next week, where I am very hopeful to sell lots of my delicious goodies, and then Christmas!

The cruise really was the best vacation I have ever been on.  Aside from being in Canada, my only time out of the US was about 6 years ago when I went to Cancun, but that was nothing compared to this trip.  I have never felt so spoiled or pampered in my life, and I loved every minute of it.

Since I was pretty limited in extra things I could do when it came to getting off the ship, Chris told me to do whatever I wanted at the ship's spa, and let me tell you, BEST massage of my life!  I got one on our first evening, as we were setting sail.  From traveling and just sitting all day, my back was in a world of stiffness and pain.  I checked with the staff to make sure they were trained in prenatal massage, and the girl I talked to said, "oh yeah, those Philipino women will know exactly what to do" ..... and oh she did!  I had no back pain the rest of the cruise, save for a smidge of sciatica on one of the last few nights.  It was sooooo great.  I would have gone back 1 or 2 more times had it not been so expensive.  I also got to have a pedicure, which I haven't enjoyed since the day of the wedding.  That was also quite nice.

Our first stop was in Labadee, Haiti, and it was just really beautiful.  There was a roller coaster there that everyone (except me of course) got to take many turns riding.  Here's a few pictures of that:

Jeff & Chris

Jeff & Cindy

And here's Jeff and Chris on the beach in Labadee with their very oddly shaped beer bottles:

 After our stop in Haiti, we spent a day at sea, which was great.... just laying around in the sun by the ship's pool, listening to music.... ahhh.....  That night was the first formal night on the cruise.  It was fun getting super snazzed up, although being pregnant and wearing nylons when you have to go to the bathroom constantly is really annoying!  Here is a picture of Chris and me from that night:

Our next stop was in Cartagena, Columbia, and it was pouring for most of the time we were in port.  Chris and I made it just off the shop and a very short walk away before realizing that this was no fun.  We were only there until about 1 that day, so we went back to the ship and just relaxed with some coffee, which was still very nice.  The next place we went to was Colon, Panama, which was okay.  Cindy and I found some great knockoff designer bags.  I felt really nervous at first when we went off the ship because the girl doing my pedicure had told me the night before that her manager told her that if she went off the ship to make sure she didn't go alone.  That did not sound good to me.  But, the 5 of us hooked up with another couple who was trying to negotiate a cab, but the driver was trying to charge them a lot, so we invited them just to walk with us, and it was great.  We found a huge shopping area (where we got our purses) that is guarded and does not allow locals in, so we were very safe in there.  We did find something very different in Panama's clothing stores..... have you ever seen a mannequin like this in the US? ....

Not even at Victoria's Secret..... those were some busty mannequins!  Here's another picture from Panama:

Jeff, Chris, & Jim enjoying their Panamanian beer

After Panama, we were in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  Jeff went zip-lining, which I would have loved, and Jim and Cindy were supposed to go horseback riding, but it got cancelled.  But, here are some pictures from our time there:

19 Weeks!

We spent a while walking around in Costa Rica.  I tried going for round 2 of that after lunch with everyone, but I couldn't make it very long.  The heat/humidity, combined with Baby sitting precisely on my bladder that day was not making for an enjoyable afternoon, so Chris and I went back to the ship where we took a much needed LONG nap.

The next day was a day at sea and the second formal night.  Here's a picture of Chris and me from that night:

Our last stop was probably the prettiest - Grand Cayman.  We went to Seven Mile Beach which was unbelievably beautiful.... and yeah, you can literally see the belly in some of these!

Chris with his baby rock, Jeff with the Daddy rock, and Cindy with no rock

Finally it was our last day at sea, which also was the 20-week mark for our pregnancy.  WE ARE HALF WAY THERE!!!!  Its very exciting, and even more terrifying for Chris and me!  But here are the 20-week bump photos..... it is definitely here to stay!

And here are some random pictures:

Me & Jeff

One of our awesome servers, Georgiana, & Jeff

Jeff being silly

Chris and one of his many glasses of wine and champagne (he had to drink my share so it didn't go to waste)

It was a great trip.  I'm very happy to report that I did not get motion sickness, which I never have, but I wasn't sure if being pregnant would affect that in some way.  It was fun to have people notice my belly.  I had one guy ask me if I was smuggling a bowling ball, which I thought was pretty funny, and I got one belly pat from a stranger, but nothing very intrusive.  When I got brave enough to wear my 2-piece bathing suit, I don't know if I still looked more belly or just fat, but after seeing some of the women who had no shame in wearing a bikini despite not exactly being in the best of shape, I decided that comfort was more important.

Each time we went to a show, Baby started popping away like crazy, especially if there was loud music.  One night was dedicated to the 70s, the 70s Disco Inferno.  The next morning when I was laying in bed, Baby gave me probably the hardest movements I have felt so far - still had some disco fever left I guess!  Still nothing is really strong enough for Chris to feel, but soon it will be.  He thought he might have picked up one thump one night, but maybe not.

Today we are off to another doctor's appointment (should just be a monthly check-up), and then we get Bailie back this evening.  I have really missed her.  Next week is the Craft Bazaar at the Embassy, which will hopefully be lucrative for me, then the next week we have another doctor's appointment, then we leave the following week for Arizona!  And oh yeah, Thanksgiving's tomorrow!  I'm excited to make our turkey and pumpkin pie again this year.  And after Christmas vacation, the countdown to Baby is really on!  It's going to be a whirlwind, but we're ready...... I think :-)