Womb Within a Womb???

Gracie felt her baby brother made the perfect seat.

We spent three-and-a-half days out in Ocean Isle this week, soaking up the last few days of freedom before Steve starts school again on Monday. I must admit I am slightly shocked by what I look like in a bathing suit. Things seem to be... expanding. It's a good thing Steve and I started that bet last week; hopefully it will keep the belly at the top of the expansion list.

We--even baby, if I dare speak for him--had an awesome time. We sipped Izzes (have you had them? They're fruit juice sodas, made with actual juice and sparkling water--so good!) and snacked on strawberries and blueberries, played in the sand, hunted for seashells, and swam in the warmest ocean I've ever been in. I had no idea Atlantic would be so lovely! I don't know why, but I always imagined a sort of pacific northwest feel, with lots of pebbles and cold water. Instead it was like paradise: 70-something degree water that doesn't make you cringe when you get in, soft soft sand with millions of seashells to admire, and bright sapphire-blue water. Gorgeous.

Swimming together was at the top of my favs list. We'd go out past the waves breaking and bob up and down in the swells, Gracie practicing her kick-kick-stroke while Steve held her (at one point she declared excitedly, "I'm fimming like a fish... I'm fish-Gracie!"). Charlie would go all still when we were out in the water (which is kind of a big deal, because when he's moving he is REALLY moving), like he was lulled to sleep (he kicks in approval of this entry, by the way). Every time we'd go out and he'd quiet down I thought of my sister-in-law Rachel saying her baby (due in October) did the same thing, and how she was thinking how it was kind of like her baby was in a womb and the ocean was a womb. I know the word womb is kind of gross, but try to think about it without the gross-out factor, and its cuter. :)

I staved off pregnancy-mask by religiously applying sunblock to my face (though my freckles still got darker!), and actually slept VERY comfortably in our nice cold air conditioned hotel room, where we turned the temperature wayyyy low because we weren't footing the bill there. :) At home I feel like a toasting marshmallow even with the air at 77 (which is low for us! ).

And, 24 weeks as of yesterday, and holy cow. Holy COW. I am feeling HUGE. Especially when I look at pictures of first-timers at my same week... I am ginormous. I seriously don't know how 16 more weeks of baby is going to fit in here. I may not be able to walk without toppling forward in a while. Steve is preparing himself for laundry duty, because the belly + no view of my feet + a full laundry basket + basement stairs = a tricky combination.

Oh. And you may have noticed I slipped in the name Charlie up above. We've pretty much settled on that for his first name. I like it. :)