It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Ok, well not really here in Columbus, MS. It is currently 67 and drizzling. However, I am still very much in the Christmas spirit! I have all of my Christmas shopping, decorating, and wrapping done! Now it just needs to be December 23 so we can drive up to Minnesota and celebrate with real snow! Sorry for the lack of updates lately! On December 5th, two of my wonderful friends and fellow 10-04/10-05 spouses threw me a baby shower! It was great to have my Columbus AFB and Beans and Cream friends all together! It was wonderful and Brian and I realized how truly blessed we are to have made so many great friends down here. Baby Ross will be a very well dressed and well loved little man! :) That same day Brian took his test to get his commercial pilots license and passed! He will get that rating the day of his graduation. This week is his last week of flying. They've really been pushing his class hard to finish before Christmas, which leaves his whole month of January up to the 22nd flying stress free! He even had to go in one weekend and fly just so they could get done early. He has his last checkride this week as well, either Thursday or Friday and then he will be done! It's also his birthday this week, on Wednesday, so once he again he will be studying on his birthday, very much like studying for finals on his birthday while at the Academy! We are planning on driving up to Minnesota and being there from about the 23rd through the 4th or so, all depending on driving weather! We are so excited to see everyone and Rascal is excited to play in the snow and with Casey (my parent's dog). I have been feeling pretty good. My belly is growing every day and I can feel our little man moving inside me. Still no names decided on, I told Brian our 16 hour drive will give us plenty of time to decide! :) It's been really nice not working, especially since I have not been sleeping well. I keep waking up at 4 am and am wide awake and it takes me forever to fall back asleep. Oh well, good practice for the baby, right?! I have my next doctor's appointment this Friday. We have so many changes coming up in the next few months: assignment night (Jan 8) where we find out where we're going and what Brian's flying, graduation (Jan 22) where we will get our orders, moving to either a training base or our permanent base depending on which aircraft he gets, a whole new training phase, and a new baby! Whew!! We will try to keep this thing updated as much as we can to let y'all know where we're going and what we're up to! Hope everyone has a Merry Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!






Picture from my baby shower. Yes, that is Rascal wearing his big brother shirt helping me open presents!


Rascal in his santa suit, and not happy!

Much better! Notice the santa suit on the ground!

The Ross family at our class's Christmas party with our tacky sweaters. Rascal was not feeling it! And no, Brian was not forced to wear that! He picked that outfit out on his own and wanted to wear it! :)


Some of the 10-04 spouses and fiance!

My belly at 19 weeks

Belly at 20 weeks. Same shirt to show the little difference there is!

Thanksgiving week

We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! We had a great one! We have so much to be thankful for this year, so it was an extra special one for us. We were blessed to share Thanksgiving with three other couples and we had a blast! The past week has been quite a blur for us. On Monday, we found out that we're having a boy, Wednesday was my last day of work, Thursday was Thanksgiving, and Friday was Black Friday!! You better believe the night we found out it was a boy, I went out and bought some cute boy outfits! We're still debating on names, hopefully by April we'll have one picked out! :) On Wednesday I was sad to say goodbye to Beans and Cream. I can't believe it's been a year since I started working there! Brian and I decided to have me quit before Thanksgiving so that we would be able to come home for a couple weeks in December, so that I could take it easy before we move, and so I could spend time with our friends and enjoy Columbus! I also wanted to be home more so that when Brian wasn't flying I could spend time with him since after he gets his wings he will be gone a lot flying. We put up our Christmas tree and decorations on Friday after I got done shopping. This year has flown by, I cannot believe it is almost Christmas time! Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving:

It's A...................

BOY!!!!!!

We had a great appointment today. Everything looks great and we are super excited that we are having a little boy! Now we just need to agree on a name! Brian's excited because not only did Joe Mauer win MVP but he's having a boy! Great day! Here's some pics from our ultrasound:

It's definitely a boy!! He had his legs nice and open for us!


Our sweet baby's face. His eyes are open!

His little arms that were waving all around! :)

His little legs that were kicking

Kinda hard to see, but it's his foot

Another boy shot! (As Brian would say, the toilet seat view)

Legs on the left, stomach, arms, and face!

Career Day!

Last Saturday was Career Day at Columbus AFB. On this day they have several pilots from different airframes come talk about the plane they fly, the mission of that plane, what the lifestyle is like of that plane, and the available bases for that plane. It helps the students make informed decisions come assignment night where they get to rank their top choices of airframes. This was the second Career Day since Brian was in pilot training, and I went to the first one, so I opted out of the morning briefings but went to the static displays in the afternoon. We got to see the most important one though, the C-17. This is Brian's top choice to fly and is a really cool plane. They have been dropping a few for the past few classes, so hopefully we can get one! They have really nice bases too, all on the coast. Another plane Brian is interested in is the RC-135. It's a spy plane that does some cool things! The main base for that is in Omaha so it would be really great to be closer to home! Brian did pass his checkride last week and did well! It's such a relief to have that stressful checkride out of the way! He started some formation flying this week and really enjoys it. They are still on track to be done flying before Christmas so it's pretty crazy to think he only has a little over a month left of flying! We are more than ready for assignment night and to see where the Air Force will take us next! Here are some pictures from Career Day:

The lovely C-17

Brian looking right at home in the cockpit of the C-17

Me with the cockpit behind me


Brian and I by the C-17

Baby Update!

I had my third doctor's appointment today and all went well! They just took my vitals and listened to the baby's heartbeat. It was at 156 bpm and sounded good. Both the doctor and the nurse have a feeling that it's a girl! Brian and I both think it's a boy, but now we're not so sure! However, we will find out for sure, if the baby cooperates, on the 23rd of November!!! I really wanted to find out the sex before Black Friday so I could do some shopping and it worked out that we can! So in less than 3 weeks I will update you on what it is! Brian has the most difficult checkride of his training tomorrow so we're crossing our fingers all goes well! We will keep ya'll updated! :)

Halloween: Columbus-Style!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! We sure did here in Columbus, MS! We didn't have any trick-or-treaters this year at our apartment but no worries, the leftover candy will get eaten! Brian's roommate from the Academy, Spencer, was in route from Pensacola, FL to Enid, OK to continue his pilot training and spent Halloween night with us! It was great to see him. Spencer is from Wisconsin, so he's a huge Packers fan and I had a ton of fun decorating his room with Vikings decorations! GO VIKINGS!! Spencer did not have a costume since he was moving, so I gladly lent him the banana costume for the night! He made a great banana! :) Rascal did not want to re-live the whole pet parade incident, so he was a glow in the dark skeleton. I went for a pumpkin lady look. Most people had no idea what I was, so I just said I was going as a redhead or a pumpkin lady, either one! Brian wanted to be a local again this year, with a little different outfit. I was afraid when a real Mississippi local saw him that he was going to get beat up, but they didn't know what he was and that he was making fun of them! We went to a few parties our pilot training class was having and all in all it was a fun Halloween! Here are some pictures:


The Ross family has never looked better.

Brian and Spencer

Rascal and Brian just hangin out at the party

PUMPKINS!!!

Two weeks ago we traveled to the nearby city of Caledonia, MS and purchased some pumpkins at the Country Pumpkins pumpkin patch. It was a cold day (well cold for MS) so we bundled up to go get us some pumpkins! Everyone was there with their kids and it was us with our kid, Rascal. As soon as we got there he managed to poop in front of everyone, typical!! It was a cute place and we got some great pumpkins! Today, the 25th, we carved those pumpkins. Here are some of the pictures from our adventures:


My little Rascal man and I in our pumpkin wagon!


Not too thrilled about his picture in the wagon with the pumpkins!




Rascal with his pumpkin!



Our artistic family with our pumpkins! :) Not! Rascal can't get enough of his dad. We took like 10 shots of this picture and this was the best one!

Other than our fun times with pumpkins, Brian has had a easy couple of weeks lately. He has a small class and they are pretty far ahead so they haven't been flying them as much. So that means he's been home a lot lately which Rascal and I both love! He should have his final checkride either this week or next. It's going to be a hard one so we need everyone's prayers! We know now for sure that Brian's assignment night is on January 8 which is where we will find out exactly what plane Brian will be flying and where we will be going next. His graduation is on January 22 where he will get his wings and be an official pilot! We are finally starting to see a light at the end of this tunnel!! As far as baby and I, I have been feeling so much better. No more nausea! I'm still really tired, but I can deal with that! I start the 2nd trimester next Tuesday and am so ready to do so. My next appointment is on the 5th of November and the appointment after that is where we will find out the sex. We are both dying to know!! Other than that, things have been pretty calm around the Ross household. Have a great Sunday!

Some Recent Purchases!

For my birthday my lovely in-laws gave me a gift certificate to cafe press, which is an online store that puts pretty much anything on any article of clothing! I found so much cute stuff, but limited my purchases to a dog shirt for Rascal, a onesie for the baby, and a maternity shirt for myself! Brian didn't want a shirt that said Yorkie Dad so he didn't get a shirt. :) Here are some pictures of those purchases:

He wasn't real happy with this one on, but I thought it was super cute!

I couldn't believe they made onesies like this! It made me laugh so I had to get it!


My maternity shirt. Fits kind of awkwardly now since I don't have a belly but I had to try it on once I got it!

Columbus Day Weekend!

Our little banana

So this weekend was a busy one for the Ross household! On Friday I celebrated my 24th Birthday! Brian and I figured out that it was the 10th birthday that we have celebrated together. That makes us feel old! Rascal took me to Dunkin Donuts for a bagel Friday morning since Brian was scheduled to fly last minute. Then some friends took me out for lunch at my favorite place downtown. Then we went to our friend's assignment night, and then out for dinner! This weekend is Columbus Day weekend and since we live in Columbus, MS they celebrate it unlike most other towns! The first event is a pet parade around downtown. Now we participated last year, Rascal was a pumpkin, but we did not win the costume contest. So this year around August or so, I planned for Rascal to be a banana (original, right?!) and I would try and find a banana t-shirt to match him. Well, we got the costume for him, and one day at K-Mart I happened to find an adult banana costume! This year we were determined to win, so I swallowed my pride and put the banana costume on! Unfortunately, we did not win any of the top 5 prizes. Needless to say, I was a little bitter considering I made a fool of myself, but oh well it was a good time and we all got a good laugh out of it! Rascal had no idea that he didn't win and had fun sniffing the other dogs so I guess to him it was a successful day! After our disappointing loss we hit the road for Birmingham for a day full of shopping, eating, and registering for baby gifts. It was a lot of fun and I was so happy that Brian was home this year to celebrate my birthday with me. We both have Columbus Day off today so we are busy cleaning our apartment and snuggling with Rascal. Here are some pictures from the parade. Hope you enjoy!



Me feeling like a fool but trying to be a good sport!


The Ross Family (I smell a Christmas card picture!)


The two bananas marching in the parade. Yes I am the only one dressed up.

Doctor Visit

I had another ultrasound and my full physical today. The doctor said that everything looks great! I am measuring at about 11 weeks, so my due date is right around April 29. The lady who did my ultrasound let me watch the baby for awhile and it was moving around like crazy! It looked like it was trying to do the worm with its body! It really has grown so much since our last ultrasound and is really starting to look like a little baby! In the ultrasound right above the text, the head is on the left, that blob floating above it is its hand, the bright blob below that is its heart, and its feet are at the end. She could barely get it to hold still for a decent picture! We should find out the sex in the next 6-8 weeks. The heart was beating really fast, so I'm starting to think that it might be a girl, but we will see! Either one is perfectly fine with us. We're getting ready to go watch the Packer Viking game at a friends house. It's been an exciting couple days of sports! Hopefully both the Vikings and the Twins can come out victoriously! We may be far away, but we still cheer for our favorite teams!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Greetings from the Ross household!! Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but not a whole lot has been happening here in Columbus. We are happy to report that today was the first day in about 3 weeks that we have not had any rain! Rascal was very happy to be able to go potty outside today without getting soaked! However, since it has been raining constantly, our grass hasn't been cut in about 3 weeks, so it's hard to see Rascal when he's out there! Now that the rain is gone, we are patiently awaiting cooler weather. Today was about 85, but hopefully cooler days are just around the corner. I have been feeling not so great in the last few weeks. I have been having constant nausea and have no energy to do anything. I know that better days are just down the road, but I've had a few days where I don't know how much more I can take! It feels like I am having every symptom in the book besides vomiting, which I am very thankful I don't have! I keep telling myself it could be so much worse, but every now and then I whine to Brian. Brian's really been a trooper through these first few months and we are both very anxious for the 2nd trimester to start and for me to get back to myself! Brian's training is going really well. He had his cross country last week, but due to bad weather was only able to fly to Oklahoma City. He's been getting a lot of flying in, and is scheduled to fly the next couple days. He's planning on flying to Savannah, GA for lunch tomorrow. Rough life! :) Other than that, I've just been working and Brian's been flying! My next doctor's appointment is on the 5th and we get to have another ultrasound! We are very excited to see how much the baby has grown! I am starting to be able to feel a belly coming in in my lower abdomen. Hopefully next blog I will have more to share! Oh and how about them Vikes?!



The belly shot at about 9 weeks. No real belly yet, just bloating! :)

Our flooded parking lot due to the mass amounts of rain we received!

Rascal all bundled up to go out for the day-the only way to keep him from getting soaked!

Our Little Baby!

We had our first doctor's visit today. The technician said that everything looked really good! We got to hear the heartbeat(162 beats per minute!)and see the little thing movin around! It was surreal! The technician also said that I'm measuring at about 7 weeks and 1 day, which was a shock since I thought I was almost 9 weeks along. She said either the baby could be small, or I could have ovulated late, thus why it's only measuring at 7 weeks. So we will see! They changed my due date to May 2. I have my next appointment on October 5th and I get another ultrasound! I'm lucky because my doctor is the only one in that practice that has 2 ultrasounds in the first trimester. So I am excited to see how much it's grown since then! We never actually got to see my doctor today because he had to go do an emergency C-section while we were waiting, but they said that everything is right on track and looks good!

Rascal's Vacation

Well we had another successful vacation with Mr. Rascal! Atlanta was a blast even though I got a cold and had some nausea, but that wasn't going to stop me! We spent all day Saturday at Stone Mountain in Atlanta. We spent most of the day hiking the different trails that dogs were allowed on. It was a lot of fun, especially since Rascal is such a good hiker. He may be little but that boy can jump and loves to climb on rocks with his dad! :) Saturday night we got to do some shopping. I got my Target fix and Rascal got to go to Petsmart and pick out a new ball. On Sunday we went to the Braves game. When we were first walking we didn't see any other dogs, so we were a little worried we had the wrong date, but then we saw a bunch of dogs! There were small dogs, big dogs, ugly dogs, everything! It was a pretty hot 95 sunny day, but we found the shade and Rascal loved it! I don't think he had a clue what we were doing, but he still had a good time! Here are some pictures from our trip:



Our first hike of the day!

Brian and Rascal hiking

Brian and Rascal near the carving on Stone Mtn

Don't bug me mom I'm watching baseball!

Some dogs playing in the pools at the game

They had the whole upper deck saved for dogs and their families! So weird to see dogs at a baseball game!

My first baseball game!

The three of us! :)

Rascal climbing on a giant baseball

Rachel and Rascal pooped out from a fun trip!






A video of the Braves fans doing the Tomahawk Chop. To Brian's horror, Rascal was joining in.