Hello 9 Months!

This week, baby is the size of a honeydew!

Baby is getting closer and closer to breathing on her own.  Her skin is getting softer and her gums are rigid.  Liver, kidneys, circulation, and immune systems are basically good to go!

Memorial Day Weekend
We may be a week short but a belated Memorial Day post....

Picture courtesy of Google images

THANK YOU to all retired, active, and reserve military for your sacrifices for our country and our lives.  We know many have sacrificed and lost their lives to give and preserve the freedoms we have today.

To those that thanked Curtis, we appreciate your kind words.  While we were in Costco, a woman came up to us and thanked Curtis for his sacrifices and Julie for sharing him so in turn we say...  Thank you to the spouses, family and friends for sharing your loved ones so they can do their jobs.  Family members that have served for us include:

Photo courtesy of Google images

(Grandpa) Edward Norman - USMC
(Grandpa) Edward Horobik - Army
(Uncle) Edward Popiolek - Army
(Brother) James Spencer - Active USN
(Great Uncle)  Ward Spencer -USN
(Great Uncle) Ross Spencer - Army
(Brother-in-Law) Kenneth Goldsmith - USN

Hopefully we did not forget anyone, if we did, we'd LOVE to add to the list!

Weekend Activities
We had a pretty productive yet relaxing weekend!  Jim came and stayed with us since the Truman was in port.  We got the car seat bases put in both cars by the local fire department since the rain let up.  We even got the hospital bags packed with just a few items on hold since we use them every day.  We are hoping that Ella decides to stay put and "cook" a little longer though!  We also got to check out a new part of the beach (Chicks Beach) and spend a couple hours with friends.  It was a beautiful day.  All in all, a good weekend with LOTS to be thankful for.

On a side note, this was maybe the 2nd Memorial Day Weekend in 10 summers that Julie hasn't been working at the pool...slightly strange!  She hopes it was a good opening weekend for BPD and wishes she could be there to help.  For now, we will just have to try and make it back one summer and hope that Ella is a fish and not a crier! ;)  If she is a crier...all you BPD folks know what will happen! :-D

Julie & Ella's Check-Up
Julie is measuring on track at 36 weeks.  Ella decided to be a trouble maker for the Captain at this appointment though.  When the Captain went to listen for her heartbeat, Ella decided it wasn't going to happen!  A few minutes before the heartbeat check she was squirming around too.  The Captain decided she would "cheat" and do an ultrasound to make 100% sure where to listen for the heart instead.  When Julie and the Captain got to see Ella, she had her thumb up and pointer finger out (kind of like HAHA!) and touching her nose.  Needless to say, the Captain was laughing big time!  She was laughing so much she even took a picture because she thought it was so funny.  Our little girl already being a trouble maker and a comedian!  Way to go little girl!  So enjoy the picture proof...

Next appointment is in 2 weeks and then we will be going weekly.  Julie also found out that if need be, she will not have to go to 42 weeks, only 41.  They of course hope she will go before needing to induce but good to know that she will only go about a week over before Ella is ushered into the world.

Julie
The countdown to the end of school is getting closer...10 days.  Julie will be working until June 14th unless Ella decides to surprise us.  Swelling decided to kick in this week leaving Julie with a naked hand/finger :(  While she isn't thrilled about the swelling, at least it held off this long!  Julie has been debating drawing a ring on her finger with permanent marker though.  So far, it hasn't happened.  Otherwise, she is doing well.  Julie's blood pressure continues to be good and she unfortunately had to get another Tdap shot (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis) on Wednesday.  She JUST got one in August to update her Tetanus and was not expecting to have to do that for awhile; her arm has been sore for about 48 hours now...thank you CDC and your new studies.  Julie is getting better about taking it easy and listening to her body even though there are times she wants to do things herself and go, go, go!  In the long run, she knows it will pay off, especially when we will be day dreaming about sleep and quiet time.

Curtis
Curtis is officially AM3 Spencer as of Thursday afternoon at the frocking ceremony.  Fun little story...
Julie came to watch the ceremony and just sat in the very back since the whole squadron was in the auditorium seats.  They started to bring people up to officially advance them and Curtis was a part of the second group.  The Chief Warrant Officer in back asked Julie who she was here to see...  All of a sudden, the Executive Officer (XO) came to the back of the auditorium to ask if Julie wanted to come up front and she said okay thinking she could get closer to take a picture with her phone.  NO!  The XO decided Julie should come up on stage.  Now, some of you know how Julie does with attention...not well and SUPER red face!  Julie started to walk down the side aisle with the XO and her face was probably THE reddest it has ever been.  She said she could feel everyone in the squadron looking at her as she made her way down.  She tried to fight a little about just staying by the stairs but the XO and the Command Master Chief (CMC) weren't having it...neither was the Skipper (the CO).  The Skipper told Julie to come up on stage as he handed the Frocking Letter to Curtis.  Thank you to whoever got selected to take pictures with Julie's phone...someone was voluntold by the XO to do that for us. :-D  After, Julie was very happy to come off the stage and go to the back of the auditorium again.  The CMC even mentioned that it was too bad Curtis was sitting in the middle of the row because they would have let me sit with him the rest of the ceremony.  Julie kindly said that it was okay.  ;) By the time everything was over and everyone was leaving, Julie was thanked by the CO, XO, and CMC, probably a few other officers for attending and how do you respond to that?!  Quiver and respond with thank you! haha.  Now to see if Julie ever goes to another awards ceremony! 

Frocking Ceremony 30 May 2013

Frocking Ceremony 30 May 2013

Left to Right: Commander Rhodes a.k.a. Skipper, AM3 Spencer, & Julie

He has new pins and patches for his uniforms to make him look extra fancy!  The patch goes on his sleeve and the Crows go on the lapel of his uniforms.  There is a version of the patch for his dress whites as well but we figured you only needed to see one example.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Aviation Structural Mechanic's Patch for Dress Blues (AM3)

Petty Officer 3rd Class Crows

Curtis started C-School on Thursday for his AM rate.  He will be in school until June 28th and it is still here on base.  C-School is where he goes to learn more about his rate and what the job entails.  The hope with C-School is also that Ella will not surprise us early so Curtis won't have to miss any schooling.  We will see what she decides!

Belly Pictures
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the next installment of baby bump pictures!  Drum roll please.... kidding!

33 Weeks

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

36 Weeks

Next week we hit 37 weeks which would be the absolute earliest we would want Ella to arrive.  Let's see what happens!  Next week's post may include a recap of the monthly pictures...wait and find out!

We hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

35/35!!

At 35 weeks, baby is the size of a coconut!! 

She won't get much bigger but she will plump up!  Hearing is fully developed and responds best to high-pitched noises.

Thebump.com also says that the uterus has grown 1,000 times its original size!

What does 35/35 mean?
It means that we are at 35 weeks and there are 35 days left til due date!

Curtis

CONGRATULATIONS!!

As some of you have heard, Curtis passed his test and made the next rank, E-4!!  He will be AM3 Spencer!!  That means he is an Aviation Structural Mechanic, Petty Officer 3rd Class. We are both VERY excited about this achievement, especially because he had less than a week to study for the test.  Next on the agenda, study for the next advancement test that will take place next March! This will help Curtis with his officer packet and hopefully help his chances of getting picked up for Officer Candidate School. 

Curtis is still working on his Air Warfare Qualification and hopes to have that done by the end of June to earn his Wings.  Just another thing to make his application look that much better!

Julie
Julie is starting to get worn out and more tired these days as sleep has become a little more difficult.  We think a big reason for it has been the very warm weather we have been having, mid to upper 80s.  She hasn't had too bad of a time getting comfortable but more trying to stay asleep during the night.  It seems like her best sleep is during the weekend so this 3 day weekend will be VERY good for her.  Otherwise, things have been going very well for her and the school year is slowly winding down.  Miss Ella is still kicking up a storm and making Julie's belly move like crazy which provides great entertainment for us both! 

Béla
Over the weekend, Julie's Dad and Toni went to the nursery where we got Béla as a kitten and saw Béla's grandma!  They used to have Grandma and Mom but apparently they got in a fight and Mom ran away.  Grandma is still there and Dad and Toni are nice enough to send us pictures!!  Apparently Béla has an uncle that is at the nursery too!  We did not know an uncle might be there and for all we know the uncle could be her dad.  Needless to say, Béla has more family and it sounds like a long distance kitty reunion ;)  Check out Grandma and a family comparison!

Béla's Grandma

Béla's Grandma

Can you see the family Cat-Attude resemblance?!

When we went to see and get Béla, she had 2 brothers with her; we don't know if there were more in the litter.  Her two brothers looked like twins and had the gray coloring like Grandma with the subtle tiger stripes.  We might be biased but we like Béla's coloring better!  It is pretty cool that we can say we know where Béla's family is!  I wonder if Béla is the most traveled of her family now ;)



Next week will bring 4 more belly pictures (Weeks 33, 34, 35, & 36)!! 

Have a GREAT Memorial Day Weekend everyone!!  Happy Pool Openings!! :o)

34 Weeks and Home Sweet Home!

At 34 Weeks, she is the size of a Butternut Squash...

She is recognizing and reacting to simple songs, if you're singing them.  She is also urinating about a pint a day.

 
Curtis

Curtis got home VERY early on Wednesday morning!!  He is very happy to be home with his three ladies.  Curtis was also very fortunate to get a three day weekend this weekend and next weekend!  It was great to sleep in and be in his own bed again. 

Curtis took his flight deck familiarization test while he was on board and passed with flying colors, no pun intended, and went from a trainee to doing what he needed without having to shadow someone else.  The flight deck was a pretty fast paced environment and you have to be constantly aware of your surroundings.  It was a good first ship experience overall but Curtis definitely prefers being here at NAS Oceana on the ground.  Unfortunately, Where's Spencer has ended and no pictures were posted on the USS Carl Vinson facebook page but he did have some pictures taken by people aboard.  We suspect they weren't artsy enough to post on facebook.

Julie

Julie is very excited to have Curtis back at home and was extremely jealous that he got to sleep in and stay home on Friday while she had to go to school BUT she knows that he was working very hard while he was gone and deserves the time off.  Kitty snuggles are nice but hubby snuggles are better!  We are pretty sure that Ella is excited to hear Curtis' voice again :o)

School is still going well and week 1 of SOL testing is complete.  As of Friday, there are 19 days of school left.  Ella is still kicking up a storm and possibly doing martial arts in Julie's belly.  There were times during testing that Julie would look down and her stomach would just have a mind of its own with movement; when trying to show Curtis this, Ella decides to be shy.  The next appointment isn't until the last week of May but every day we are getting closer and closer! 




Tomorrow we will be going to the local fire station to have our car seat bases installed.  We are also looking into meals we can make and freeze and hope to make at least one or two a weekend until Ella gets here.  We are doing our best to get ready, especially since the June 2013 Babies group Julie follows has already had quite a few June babies arrive.  In the mean time, we are doing what we can to prepare and enjoying the time we have together before life gets very hectic!

Until next week ladies and gentleman!!

33 Weeks and a couple GOODIES!

This week, the baby is the size of a Durian??

1. We have never heard of a Durian fruit

2. Thank goodness this isn't actually inside Julie because it looks painful! 

3. We know wikipedia isn't the BEST source but click to find out more about --> Durian.

  

She is keeping her eyes open while sleeping.  She is starting to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing.  Her bones are hardening and she's going through more brain development.

Appointment Update

The appointment went very well on Wednesday and everything is looking good!  Ella's heartbeat is around 134.  All of Julie's vitals were good and the belly is measuring on track! :-D  Ella is facing head down and the Captain even did an ultrasound to make sure it wasn't a butt she was feeling which means we got 5 new pictures of Ella!!  It's good to have a picture happy person ;)  She definitely looked a little cramped in there and it is only going to get worse for her.  Check out Miss Ella!  We got the ultrasound pictures scanned in and added some text and arrows in paint to make it a little easier ;)  You may have to click on the picture groupings to see them a little larger.

Top Picture: Arrows pointing to eye and nose
Middle Picture: Arrow pointing to head and face
Bottom Picture: Ella is opening and closing her mouth

Top Picture: Arrows pointing to Ella's head and face and an arm or a leg
Bottom Picture: Arrows pointing to her eye and nose

Another goodie to share is a 7 second audio clip of Ella's heartbeat!  Check it out...

**If for some reason you have trouble with the audio/video playing, it might be the browser you are using.  We can't see it with Firefox but Google chrome shows it.  If you're still having trouble, let us know!!  We will make sure you can hear it**

Curtis

Curtis is still doing well on the ship and learning a lot and enjoying his time there even though he would rather be home.   He has definitely been keeping busy!  The USS Carl Vinson facebook page continues to post pictures but unfortunately there has been no Spencer sighting in the photos. :(  There is still hope!  It won't be too much longer until Curtis gets back home but due to safety, we cannot tell you exactly when but we WILL let you know when he is home safe and sound!

The ship did a Replenishment-At-Sea (RAS) where they got more supplies and the other ship that was bringing the supplies was being lead by a dolphin and they got an AMAZING picture...look how SMALL it is compared to the ship!

130508-N-ZI635-235 PACIFIC OCEAN (May 8, 2013) A porpoise leads the way as Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187) prepares to conduct a replenishment-at-sea with the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are currently underway off the coast of Southern California conducting flight operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class George M. Bell/Released)

Julie

I have been getting in my 30 minutes of daily exercise 6 days a week and it definitely feels good to work out but it is still hard to get motivated.  The Captain did tell me that my belly was nice and firm which was good.  I will keep working at it!  School has been going well and we are gearing up for 2 weeks of testing at school.  A LOT of  testing!  Virginia schools take SOL (Standards Of Learning) tests and a passing score is required to graduate.  I am VERY thankful I didn't have to do this much testing as a student!  Each day is a different subject but at least they are computer based.  In the mean time, I am going where I am needed at school.  This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and to my surprise I got some goodies to celebrate!  It was very unexpected but exciting!  I heard it was also Nurse's Week so Happy Nurse's Week too! :o)  Other than school, there hasn't been anything too exciting to report.  Everyone is healthy and safe which is always a good thing! 

Until next time!!

32 Weeks/8 Months, Belly Pictures, and a Sailor's First Boat!

At 32 Weeks, baby is the size of a Squash!

She is getting ready for her descent and may be head down by now.  She may also be feeling a little cramped.

We hit the 8 month mark on Thursday!  A little hard to believe for us but we are there and two months to go, give or take, from Miss Ella's arrival.  It is a little hard to believe that our lives will be completely changed within two months but we are looking forward to the challenges and rewards that it will bring!  


Curtis
Curtis left Monday morning for San Diego and is aboard the USS Carl Vinson which got underway Thursday morning.  This is the first time Curtis has been on a ship since he joined the Navy.  Below is a picture from the facebook page of the Carl Vinson....

130502-N-RG587-591 PACIFIC OCEAN (May 2, 2013) An F/A-18 Hornet flies over the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are currently underway off the coast of Southern California conducting flight operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dean M. Cates/ Released)

Curtis got to launch his first jet off the ship yesterday and was told by many people he did a good job, I am not surprised ;)  He mentioned in his email that after his 2nd and 3rd launch he was feeling more confident and comfortable. Curtis is also finding his way around the ship, especially the essentials, like where he has to work, the galley, sleeping quarters, etc.  The facebook pages of the ships are pretty good about keeping people as updated as possible without revealing too much information for safety and protection of our sailors.  They also take quite a few pictures aboard the ship and post them.  If you decide to follow the pictures posted by the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), be sure to look for captions that read Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81; VFA 81, a.k.a. Sunliners, are the squadron Curtis is attached to.  It could end up as a game of where's waldo (or Where's Spencer) to see if Curtis ends up in a picture!  I can't wait to hear what else has been going on in the next email!

Julie
It was a pretty easy week at work with quite a few baby bump comments!  Quite a few people were asking when the due date was and then seemed to be very shocked when they found out...still deciding what kind of shock it was for the other people after the looks they gave.  There was also the comment that I must have a body for making babies since I have had it pretty easy so far.  The response to that one?  I think I said, "perhaps!"  I was very tempted to say "thank you?"  haha!  I am still tempted to play dumb and say "baby?  What are you talking about?" but Curtis told me that would be mean so I've been behaving.  My next appointment is Wednesday afternoon so that will be interesting since it has only been 2 weeks since my last appointment.  It was suggested last time to make sure I get in 30 minutes of exercise for 6 out of the 7 days and so far I have been getting that done.  It is kind of hard to get back into a routine after taking a break but you have to start somewhere.  Hopefully I won't get bored of just walking or Wii step!  Overall, not a bad week but I could have done without some of the dreary weather we had during the day!  The sun looks much better than the rain clouds ;) 

Belly Pictures

And now the next installment of belly pictures! 

29 Weeks

30 Weeks

31 Weeks

32 Weeks

Since we are getting closer to the due date, we may switch to pictures every two weeks at the end of May.  I think one thing we also may try and do is a blog with ALL of the pictures right in a row to show the progression.  No promises on either of those things yet...need to see how busy it gets around the house first!  Stay tuned for next week's blog which will have an appointment update!

Don't forget to vote for when you think Ella will arrive!  The poll is to the right on the sidebar!