Beachy beachy beach beach

It. Was. Glorious.

85, sunshiny,and blue sky for miles. We sat under little huts, drank cold delish juicy things (well, D had beer and CocoLocos), and just enjoyed the nothingness.

We had put off a few things we needed to talk about specifically for vacation time, and we both really appreciated the time to chat and stare at the waves while doing so. We got started on the great baby name discussion. We made some progress, started a list, and had fun trying to come up with things. It was even more entertaining since we forgot the baby name book my cousin had let us borrow, and so we were trying to Google all sorts of stuff.

I thought I would be disappointed that I couldn't partake in any of the true all-inclusive joys...well, really just the booze. But D managed to cover that for me, and all the juice was so FRESH it was nice to just drink those. Although, the waiters really had a hard time grasping that I didn't want ANY alcohol in my beverages. I kept pointing at my belly - BABY = NO ALCOHOL. It seemed to take a couple of tries, and D became my official taste-tester. I am happy I like juice now because I certainly was not a fan before being pregnant. So Gretel likes all things sweet. It's her thing.

And no, Gretel is not her name. But Newton sounded too boyish after I was so insistent that she was one. My brother made a joke about Gretel, and it stuck. That's all we call her. And D got to feel her kick for the first time while we

were there! We were enjoying some of the fabulous entertainment...AKA the Michael Jackson Tribute Show, the Match Game, the Stars Show (with appearances by Cher, Usher, Elvis, etc) and the Domincan Show. All of these included lip syncing and back up dancers. The Dominican Show was actually a lot of fun. It was a lot of traditional dances, and all of their dancers really knew what they were doing. The music was LOUD and super upbeat, and Gretel was busting a move. Before that all of her ninja kicks were too small for D to feel on the outside. However, she was really grooving to the Dominican music, and was flailing up a storm. He was so excited! I was too. I felt bad every time I told him she was kicking, and he would try to feel it, but it was just too small. She made sure to give him a solid high five, and he was ecstatic.

I think we have a few more photos on our camera, but we haven't had a chance to upload them yet. And even in all of those, I think we only have one picture of the two of us that D took himself using his phone. We are cool like that.

We came home to 35 degrees and pouring rain. Thanks, Kansas. The next day we had the first of D's company Christmas parties, and Sunday we worked on getting Christmas up at our house. Look for pictures soon! He heads back to ATL tomorrow, and I will meet him there Friday afternoon for the second Christmas party. All of this traveling seemed like a good idea a few months ago, but the rounder I get the less exciting it is. That being said, we are both really looking forward to Germany. Two weeks from today we will be on our way. He is so excited to see his family, and for me to experience my first Christmas there. Although, after our flights this last trip, we upgraded our seats for our long flight from DC to London. By the end of our last flight on Friday, my back was done with planes. And it was not a long flight. So hopefully the extra space and comfier seats will help.

Pictures of Christmas at Casa de Grammatikii will be up soon!