Skype Shower

On September 11th at 4pm (September 12th at 6AM in Japan!) I had a Skype baby shower!! Technology is sooo amazing and gave me the opportunity to have a shower with friends and family back home even though I couldn't make it to the states!

From left: Norma, Debbie, Mom, Christy, Angie, Lynnlee, Grandma, Emily, Kim, Julie, Josie, Amy, and Emily... Oh and ME on the tv!!!

Mom was an amazing hostess and I am sooo thankful that she threw this shower for me!

A picture from my side of the world... do I look a little sleepy?! Definitely not used to getting up at 5am... I suppose that's all about to change soon! (And yes, I kept things festive by using decorations from my shower here!)

It was sooo fun getting to chat with everyone and actually SEE them! It was fun that everyone got to see my growing belly (we even played the belly measuring game) and I gave everyone a tour of our Japanese home!

Opening gifts...

we are soooo blessed and thankful for everyone's generosity. I think Little Bit is spoiled already!! :)

SUCH a CUTE cake and fun Japanese treats! Of course I would have LOVED to taste the cake, but considering the early hour I think fresh blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries were probably the better choice! Little Bit would have been on a sugar over load if I had eaten cake at 6am!!

Lynnlee really liked the blue icing!

Meeting baby Josie for the first time! Julie and Stew made a long trip with a tiny little one to attend the shower... it was soooo great to see all THREE of them!!!

We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family. The shower might not have been traditional, but it was DEFINITELY memorable... Thank you soooo much to all who came and shared it with me!

Yokosuka Baby Shower

On September 4th I had an AWESOME shower here in Yokosuka with friends from base and Japanese friends from my kimekome craft class! First and foremost a HUGE thank you to Kelly and Tiffany for throwing the shower - it was sooo much fun and I'm incredibly grateful to them for doing it!!

The shower was a blast and I was honestly surprised by how many people came! It's such an unusual situation to be so far from home experiencing such a huge milestone... I just feel really blessed to have such good friends here to share such a special time in my life with. It was also special sharing this American tradition with my Japanese friends! The Japanese don't have baby showers, they traditionally bring gifts and visit the family AFTER the baby is born at their home. The shower was a new experience for them and one they seemed to really enjoy!

Haruko, Sadako, Yoko, Sumiko, Keiko, Kelly and I

Me, Erin, Dana, Beth, little Noelle, Haruko, Mayumi, and Sadako

An adorable diaper cake from Tif and super cute prizes!

I even had a corsage!

YUMMY FOOD!

A fabulous diaper cake that Kelly made!!

Julia was photographer for the day (THANK YOU!) but we got a picture before she took over camera duty!

Mayumi and Sumiko - winners of the "pass the gift to..." poem game.

Kelly explains and demonstrates the belly game for everyone...

Checking measurements with Sumiko, Dana, Yoko, Eiko, and Terri watching...

Lois didn't win the belly measuring game, but I insisted on a picture since she thought I was SMALLER than I actually am!!!

Haruko guessed the size of my belly PERFECTLY!

Opening gifts! Beth just had a little one and knows what a pregnant Momma REALLY wants! :)

I included this pic because it's one of the few with Tif in it (lower left)... she did a good job of avoiding the camera!!

Super cute stuffed food set - complete with eggs, fruit, shrimp, and onegiri - handmade by Sadako's daughter.

Being silly - what can I say, I really liked the bow and garland. I also LOVE Erin's reaction!

Lois, Yoshie, and Donna tied at the attributes games (they had to guess which attributes I hoped the baby would get from Shane, me, or neither of us)! Dana (2nd from left) won the don't say baby (or akachan) game!

I can't even put into words just how much fun the shower was... I'm always up for a good party and this was truly fantastic with incredible memories that I will keep forever! Thank you so much to everyone who came!!!

catching up

I know, I know it's been wayyyy too long, but I'm working on a couple of fun posts now and might even get one posted tonight! While you wait, check out the slideshow - I have several new belly pictures on it!

30 and 30!

30 years old and 30 weeks pregnant!!! I decided to celebrate my 30th with a trip to Tokyo - good food + good friends = a great birthday!!

Serendipitous! There were tons of costumed Japanese people at the mall, no idea why but it was fun taking pictures with them!!

I like to think they came to celebrate my birthday too!

The only thing that could have made my birthday better - having Shane home. He went all out even though he couldn't be here, scheming with friends and family to make sure my day was special - flowers, diamonds, and gifts galore...Thank you baby - I love you!!

Bubba Gump's was my choice for dinner - mmmmm, I love shrimp!

(The server wanted to take our picture with the shrimp and hat - loving the shrimp, not so fond of the hat!)

Joana, me, Lara, Erin, and Aaron

...and what birthday celebration would be complete without a trip to the Japanese arcade!

Yes, this is The Claw game...for Haagen-Dazs ice cream!

Don't mess with pregnant women!!!

Japanese photo booth fun!

Third Trimester

28 weeks!

Woohoo - I've made it to the third trimester!! Less than 3 months to go, and now I'm suddenly feeling more and more tired and anxious. Nesting has definitely kicked in and I just feel like everything needs to be done NOW. Guess it just comes with the territory!

Shane's ship pulled in to Busan, South Korea last week which gave him a chance to see my growing belly on skype - I REALLY love technology!! I think he had a really good time there and definitely enjoyed the chance to relax away from the ship for a few days and experience another Asian country.

I had a second ultrasound last week to check the location of my placenta (it was previously very low). Great news - it has moved to its proper location and I will be able to deliver naturally and on time! YAY!! Everything else is going well with the pregnancy...I'm definitely growing as you can see from the picture and little bit is moving more and more every day. We're working on narrowing down names, but haven't made any decisions yet. We're also still hopeful that Shane will get to be home for the birth, but of course nothing is definite. I'm taking MBA classes to keep myself occupied for the summer and it's actually passing faster than I expected. I can't believe the end of July is approaching and I only have 2 days left in my 20's!!

4th of July Surprise!

My 4th of July surprise - I got to spend it with Shane!!! The GW came home for an unscheduled visit over the 4th of July weekend and though they've already left again, it was absolutely wonderful to relax with my hubby!!

Shane had duty on the 4th but we made the best of it. Since he was stuck on the ship, I went and hung out with him for a while! He took me up (and up and up) to the bridge so I could see where they drive the ship and we had a picnic dinner.

View from the bridge of planes on the flight deck.

Move out of the way - I'm driving this monster!

More planes on the flight deck with Yokosuka base in the background.

Having our 4th of July picnic dinner in Shane's stateroom!

While home, Shane performed his first reenlistment for EM2 Boegli. I know he was really honored, and I thought it was pretty cool to see him on the other side of a reenlistment.

Keeping with an American themed weekend, we decided to go see a movie - our first time at a Japanese theater! We watched Ironman 2 (in English with Japanese subtitles) and for a true movie experience you HAVE to get refreshments...these were some of the combo options, BEER COMBOS!!

We went with a more traditional popcorn and coke combo - but got half regular and half carmel popcorn, yum!!

Shane got a chance to feel the baby move a lot more this time - and leave it to him to find a way to pick on the baby before she's even born!

He thinks it's hilarious to gently shake/tap my belly - especially if it causes her to move. I on the other hand am not very fond of this little game since I AM attached to the belly he's messing with! Silly guy!!

Halfway!!

Today officially marks halfway thru the pregnancy - woohoo!! I've updated a couple of belly photos so be sure to check that out if you get a chance - and if you're wondering why I look so terrible in the 20 week photo it's because I went swimming today and just didn't have the energy to get dolled up for a picture :) I'm betting on everyone just being interested in the belly anyway!

Things here are going good - just trying to pass the time until Shane comes home and lil' miss gets here! Shane left about a week ago and, as always, I've had my ups and downs with it. I think considering all the preggo hormones I've got going these days I'm doing extraordinarily well - I haven't even broke down on a stranger yet! :)

Our little girl is about 6 1/2 inches long from head to rump this week - a little bigger than the palm of my hand! I'm growing too - but most people here are surprised when I say I'm pregnant, and even more surprised when I mention how far along I am! I can definitely tell the difference though and am gaining a normal amount - just don't have the completely obvious belly bump just yet.

I think that's it for now - just wanted to celebrate the halfway mark with all of you!!!