July 3

Hi little one,
Greetings from Montego Bay, Jamaica! It's about 95 degrees outside right now, so while your daddy plays on his iPad and I take a break from the heat, I thought I'd take a minute to catch you up on the events of the past week. First, though, here's the weekly bump picture! We had to abandon the chalkboard, but as you can see, we improvised with what we had :)

This was a hard picture to take, for two reasons. First, the obvious...the swimsuit. I didn't want to cover you up from the beautiful sun, and everyone here is SO NICE about pregnant ladies out on the beach. But it was still a little hard for me to walk around looking like I just swallowed a smallish watermelon. Second...the waves! We literally had to try to take this picture about 15 times because the sand kept getting washed away. I think Daddy was a *tiny* bit frustrated by the time we got done, but it was worth it in the end! Happy 25 weeks, baby girl!

Lesson learned: We had the most amazing wedding! Not a thing went wrong (unless you count our first dance song getting a little messed up, but it wasn't a major catastrophe) and I was starting to get a little nervous because I've heard an old wives tale that if something doesn't go wrong, the marriage is doomed from the beginning. Well, luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it) for us, our something wrong waited to happen until our honeymoon. My luggage got lost on its way from Kansas City to Montego Bay! I had to go without clothes, toiletries, and medicine all of Saturday and most of Sunday. My clothes were pretty gross by the time I got to change, and I didn't take any pictures that day because I was a little grumpy. Next time we'll pack a little of everyone's clothes in each suitcase, just in case this happens again.

H2Oh really?: The doctor wasn't kidding when she said that I need to drink more and more water, especially on the plane and here on the island to avoid swelling. It really IS possible for ankles to swell to the size of canteloupes! I won't post a picture of it, but trust me, little one. Not a pretty sight. Not at all.

Just a tip: When we exchanged our US $ for Jamaican money, we thought we had hit the jackpot. $100 US dollars is a little over $9000 here!! We had grand plans to live like kings at the spa and to shop like crazy at the boutiques. We were quickly brought back to reality when a 10 mile cab ride cost us almost $4000 Jamaican dollars. UGH. (And Daddy was so cute trying to tip the cab driver $100 Jamaican dollars, which is the equivalent of about $.50 cents.)

Beep beep: So after learning we lost half of our luggage and walking to the cab with ankles roughly the size of my waist, I was NOT in a good mood. Then we got to experience Jamaican driving. Sure, their steering wheels are on the wrong side of the car and they drive on the wrong side of the road, but it's their horns that really put a smile on my face! I initially thought we got into a crazy cab with an asshole driver by the time he had driven 5 miles and honked at six different people. But here, they use their horns more as a friendly greeting rather than a cautionary measure. Think more of a "Have a nice day, friend!" instead of back home where it's more "F^%$ YOU". I knew I was going to like this place, once your daddy figured out what was going on and clued me in :)

Stunning: When everything sorted itself out, we walked down to the beach and I took our first pictures here. It's hard to be mad about things like luggage and fruit-sized ankles, when you have this to look at:

 

 

Beach time: Since arriving, one thing your daddy and I have thoroughly enjoyed is the beautiful beach. Here is a picture of a rainbow right over our resort. Despite splashing around in the middle of the ocean when we saw it, I asked Daddy to run out of the water and get my phone so I could snap a picture.  The view just doesn't get any better than this!

 

 

Delicious eats: Another thing we've enjoyed (maybe more so myself than your dad) has been the food. We've both been getting IFF every day (that's code for I Feel Fat, or in other words, stuffing our faces and bellies to the max). Our favorite meal by far has been the breakfast bar at World Cafe Restaurant. They have a scrumptious entree called French toast brulee. As you can see from the picture, I definitely indulged...all-inclusive is the.way.to.go.

The sound of music...and peacocks: Some things I will miss when we go home are the sounds here. You can regularly hear peacocks cawing (or whatever it is that they do) . I'll admit that when I first heard them, I thought Meagram had somehow followed us here because their cries sound a lot like her whines to go outside with the dogs. It's also not out of the question to hear a waiter spontaneously burst into song in the middle of lunch or dinner service, so that is another sound I'll miss when we have to leave in two days. As musically inclined as your daddy is, I think you'd like all of the sounds here, too!

Daddy says it's time that I stop rambling about our honeymoon, and just post some pictures. Here's a quick snapshot of our time here!

Daddy doesn't know I took this picture of him reading (ssshhhh!) The Guy's Guide to Pregnancy, Childhood and the First Year of Fatherhood by Michael Crider. I read The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman (which was so good!) and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.



Daddy also does not know that I took these two pictures of him as he walked and sat in the water. They're my favorite pictures from the past week.

 

 

And here's a silhouette picture of your mommy and her big, huge 25 week belly. 

 

And, last but not least, a picture of your mommy and daddy on our honeymoon at sunset.

 

I love you, little baby girl!
Mommy