1 Miracle, 3 Guardian Angels: 22 Weeks: Babybump….Babymoon!

I know, I know….its been a few weeks since my last post. I apologize; in all honesty, I have been basking in my newfound pregnancy excitement. It has been three and a half years since I have made it this far in a pregnancy and I have been celebrating!

Given our somewhat hectic lifestyle and busy summer, I had yet to take a “bump” photo. By now, in Harper’s pregnancy, I think I had five. Poor baby boy…he is already suffering from second child syndrome. So many parents have told me that the first baby always has scrapbook after scrapbook and photo album after photo album of memories, firsts, and well, simply cute little snapshots. The second baby, however, is usually not so lucky, due to the busy lifestyle of a mom with said first child. I was determined to not let that happen to baby boy. Each of our children is a miracle and I plan to document each little milestone or idiosyncrasy just as I had with Harper. This is SO not the case, already.

I have started to develop quite the baby bump. Surprisingly, at this point in my pregnancy, I am not as round and robust as I was 3 ½ years ago when I was pregnant with Harper, much to my surprise. Given that I am a woman of limited stature (I don’t stand even five feet tall) and am working on my fifth pregnancy in less than four years, I expected to be out-to-here already. The fact that I am not is cause for celebration, and maybe a trip to the local ice cream joint. I mean, some of my pre-pregnancy clothes still fit, and I need to try out my new maternity purchases….

Given said busy summer, Mike had decided (with a little prodding from his burgeoning wife) that we were in need of a vacation sans Harper. What an idea! A vacation?! Without the three year old?! Without all of the toys?! Without...gasp…the puppy?! Wow….I was a lucky woman. He also made it known that this would probably be our last chance for a vacation before the baby, given that football and the start of the school year are just around the corner. We affectionately named our mini-vacation “Babymoon 2012”.

Because I am a very Type-A, OCD person, I usually plan all of our vacations/excursions/trips down to the last detail. I was informed that this was not to be the case. Have you ever tried telling someone with my tendencies that they are going to have no involvement, no control, whatsoever? Allow me to let you in on a little secret….it doesn’t go over well. Several “Are you sure you don’t want my help?” and way too many “Where are you taking me, anyway?”’s later…Mike planned our vacation with absolutely no involvement from his control freak wife. Who wants to give this guy an award?! Planning a romantic getaway is a feat in itself, but doing it with my personality right next to him is freaking amazing!

While we are at it, have you ever tried packing for an unknown destination with unknown weather and unknown activities??! Have you ever been five months pregnant and a woman trying to do just that?! Enter my Type-A personality and OCD tendencies….there IS a reason I AM THE PLANNER! I am known to grossly over pack for even the smallest trip. This time…I dug out our largest suitcase and filled it! THERE, Mike, THAT WILL SHOW YOU! You have to carry this suitcase all weekend! Ha…

After dropping off Harper and the puppy for the weekend, we were on our way to the surprise locale. Now, I am a pretty intuitive person, and I realized after we merged onto I-75 North that we were probably heading to a destination somewhere in our great mitten states “north”. Pretty smart, aren’t I?! After countless hours in the car, and several rest stops later, we arrived in Mackinac City. He knows me pretty well, that he gets credit for, even if I did feel as though my car had been hijacked and myself kidnapped because of all the secrecy going on around me.

Not only had Mike planned our vacation to one of my Bucket-list destinations, but he literally planned our entire trip, day by day, excursion by excursion. What a guy! Mike had booked us a beautiful hotel room complete with jacuzzi tub (the way to just about any pregnant woman’s heart), scored a welcome basket full of Mackinac City’s finest goodies, and planned a weekend that I was sure to never forget.

I won’t go into all of the details but give you some of the highlights of Babymoon 2012: We spent Saturday walking around Mackinac City, enjoying its shops and fantastic food, ending our day with a trolley ride around the city and a romantic sunset stroll along the beach. Sunday was spent lunching with my brother in St. Ignace and enjoying Fort Michlimackinac (make fun all you want…I am a MAJOR history buff), the fishing pier in Mackinac City, and capped off with a sunset cruise underneath the Mighty Mac (by far, the coolest thing Mike has ever done for me!). We set out Sunday evening after our cruise to Mike’s parent’s cabin in Mancelona where we spent the night. Monday morning, we set off for home, stopping at 3:00 for a doctor’s appointment.

From beginning to end, Mike made Babymoon 2012 an incredibly memorable vacation. Our doctor’s appointment went well. Baby boy’s heartbeat was nice and strong at 143, and our next visit will provide us with another chance to gaze at the marvel that is our precious baby boy.

Now, enjoy a few pictures from our trip!

Day 1: LOVE him!

We always sneak in a game of mini-golf while on vacation. It was a favorite date night for us before we were married, and we get a little nostalgic each time we "putt".