So, the Friday before last, Roxanne and I drove to St. Simons Island for a four day vacation. We were very sad that Justin couldn't come (pregnant lady hormones=an actual tearful departure... sigh) but he is currently having the busiest month ever at work. And since I'll be taking maternity leave from work in August, I knew that I couldn't do a summer vacation unless it was when my bosses were out of town already. When they told me they were going out of town last Friday and the following Monday, I decided to just take Roxanne to the beach. Did that sentence make sense? I'm tired... Baby Bumblebee is kicking and kicking in a way that makes it hard to sleep. So I'm delirious blogging. Dangerous!
Back to the beach... We had a great time. There were definitely some stressful parts, since herding a 3 year old for that many days all by yourself can get old, and even more so when said 3 year old is an extremely stubborn little thing. Still, it was very very worth it. Our routine basically consisted of waking up, me letting Roxanne watch some cartoons while I tried to sleep in a little, eating some snacks for breakfast on our way to the beach, spending a few hours on the beach, heading to a restaurant for lunch, then going back to the beach until dinner. We added in some shopping and walking around the Village at St. Simons here and there, but I tried to keep the beach the main focus. Roxanne LOVES the beach. She loves playing in the sand and splashing in the water. While it was way too cold for me to swim, she had a good time splashing in the water and occasionally laying down in it.
On Friday, she was content to play with me and/or amuse herself, but by Saturday, she told me she was going to find a friend on the beach to play with. And sure enough, each time we went back to the beach, she would find a "friend" to play with for at least part of the time we were there. They were all little girls, and most were around her age or just a bit older. It was amazing to see her be so incredibly social (not that she isn't always pretty social) and to see how well kids can get along at the beach. It's like they are all in this state of happiness that makes it impossible for them to be mean to each other. Of course, at one point, she ran back to me from being down at the water with lots of other kids (including some wild boys) and said something along the lines of "all of those jellyfish are dead. They all got killed." Sigh. There were a ton of jellyfish washed up on the sand for some weird reason, but I had been telling her they were resting. Oh well. In any case, ever since we've been home, Roxanne has been begging me to take her back to the beach. She says she wants to live in the hotel. Forever. And never come home. A girl can dream.
On Monday morning, I took Roxanne to the beach for about an hour before we headed to nearby Jekyll Island to visit the
Georgia Sea Turtle Center. I had been asking her for days if she wanted to go to the "turtle hospital" in the hopes that if I made it sound awesome enough, it would distract her from the fact that we were going home afterward. It actually was a lot of fun, and her favorite part was asking me all of the sea turtles' names. They all had very fancy names, and we got there in time to hear a short explanation about each "patient" and see them swimming in their pools. We even got to see some tiny tiny ones that had just recently hatched. They were Roxanne's favorites. Painfully adorable... The museum part was also really fun. Lots of interactive exhibits about different aspects of sea turtle protection and life in general. I'd recommend a visit if you are in the area!
Sorry, this photo is so blurry! This is the baby bump when Roxanne and I were at the beach. So, in a cheesy way, it represents Baby Bumblebee's first beach trip! 
These ultrasound images are Baby Bumblebee's face profile. They were taken when I was 20 weeks, 4 days, and Bumblebee measured 20 weeks 1 day. I'm still hoping that I can continue not gaining weight (I still haven't gained any!) and keep the baby's weight at a good, healthy place. The Friday that I had these ultrasounds, Justin was able to come with me to the ultrasound part. That appointment was in the morning. My midwife appointment was later in the afternoon. I found out at the later appointment that even though I passed the early Gestational Diabetes screening, my blood tests were VERY close to the cut-off. So now I'm trying to follow the Gestational Diabetes diet. It's not easy but if it helps me avoid a C-section, I'm willing to do my best. 
More Bumblebee pictures! The baby looks great on the ultrasounds. He or she was 15 ounces at the time of the appointment. Everything seems to be developing normally. The baby kept pulling his or her feet and hands all up together in front of his or her face. And waving one finger in the air. Oh, and for posterity, the baby's heartbeat was 154 at the ultrasound, and 159 at the midwife appointment. These rates are MUCH higher than Roxanne's were. And higher is supposed to mean girl. Of course, you can't totally rely on that, but it definitely points to girl! Justin says he'd love a boy, but that he doesn't think it's likely. :)
Here's a 21 week belly photo. Classy basement bathroom photo... 
Here's from today. I'll be 22 weeks tomorrow. I know my face is sun-burned and a mess here. We went to the Dogwood Festival today with Justin's dad (much to Roxanne's delight!) and I got too much sun; in that charming way that happens when you wear sunglasses and no sunscreen. Oops.
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