A Whale of a Morning

Let me start by saying I’ve tried to tell this story in an abridged version, but always end up going back to the beginning, so let’s start at the beginning.

For those that have been following the blog I’ve started ocean swimming with a group of people called the Bold and Beautiful (B&B).  We meet every morning on the beach at 7AM for a 1.5K swim to Shelly beach and back.  It’s a great way to start the morning, and on occassion a group of us will do 3K's starting at 6:20. 

Well a week ago Thursday the plan was to get up and swim with the guys at 6:20, but decided instead to just go for the 7AM swim. So, I get up, start walking down the beach looking for the two guys, and see them swimming in...er, uh...swimming out...er, uh...swimming in.  They were all over the place. What the heck are they doing? They were about 300 meters off the beach when we saw them.  2 whales. 

Couldn’t believe it...they had been swimming with these whales for almost 20 minutes, and I had missed it.  The whales started swimming off.  Some of the early comers were on their way out to meet them, but missed the window.  So the rest of us started our normal 7AM swim, when to our surprise we saw the whales start to head our direction. 

Still a ways off, a group of us figured we'd give it a try and see if we could catch them. We started swimming the same direction as the whales.  Closer and closer we got to where we thought they were, when I noticed I was swimming over the top of some choral.  What was really strange was this choral was moving. There they were...2 humpback whales swimming right underneath me (a mother and it’s calf).  It was an absolutely amazing.

What was even more amazing was they hung around for another 15 minutes as we enjoyed the experience.  At one point, both whales swam under me again and started to surface...as I turned around to watch them come up, the tail of the calf waved right in front of my face.  Not any further away than the length of my arm. 

It’s one thing to be swimming with the whale sharks in the Georgia Aquarium, but there is something special about swimming with whales in the wild.  And it was just a normal day in Manly.

An experience of a lifetime, and I will never forget it as a part of my time here in Australia. This summer I’m shooting for my first ever 6K and 10K in the ocean.  I’m hunting the big white whale next...

(Note:  The following is a picture of 2 humpbacks to give everyone an idea of what I saw...these are not the actual whales, but you can imagine how much I wish there was a camera there :-)

Bold & the Beautiful Winter Badge for David

I’m so proud of my husband!  David earned his winter badge (without a wetsuit I might add!) with the Bold & the Beautiful!  The requirement was to do 20 swims during the 13 week winter period and my darling husband qualified with 55 SWIMS!!  He’s been loving every minute of his time in the water. 

David and Julie - the creator of B&B!

How cool that he can walk down to the ocean so easily for a morning swim.  We are just so lucky to live where we do and have experiences like this. 

He’s now set his sights on other badges - one for a 4.5K swim and another for a 6K swim.  6 Kilometers!!  I can’t even imagine swimming 100 meters in the ocean let alone 6K’s.  You go, babe! :)

~LAA :)

David with Tim, Graeme & Charlie

Had to get a picture with the budgies! :)

Ninjette Update - 39 Weeks

I’m officially at 39 weeks!  We’re less than a week from our due date - I can hardly believe the time has gone by so quickly.

I’m still feeling great, all things considered.  I was able to run until 36 weeks and have been keeping up my walking ever since.  Thank goodness for the support band and custom insoles for my runners - I really don’t know what I would have done without them! 

The past month I’ve struggled with sleeping (I mean seriously.  How cruel is Mother Nature to give 8 month pregnant women insomnia?!  Not to mention a huge belly to contend with when trying to turn over in the middle of the night) but I really have been so fortunate throughout this pregnancy that I have really no cause to complain.  A little swelling here, acne there is no big deal considering I’ve been able to control my weight gain and still have this much energy!

Ninjette is looking great - she’s estimated at just over 7lbs now and is head down getting ready to go.  She’s dropped very low but is not yet engaged.  David and I are so excited to meet her!

We’ve set up the baby stuff - unfortunately we can’t really do a nursery because we don’t have the room in the apartment (our guest room will be occupied by our parents for the next couple months!) but we’ve set up the pack ‘n play in our bedroom and a changing station in the living room.  I’ve washed all of her clothes and blankets and my hospital bag is almost packed.  I can’t wait to create our underwater theme nursery when we get back to the US.  I already have visions of the sea creatures on the walls. :)

We took our antenatal classes, including one focused on breast feeding for me and a first time dad’s class for David.  The class we took together was a 2 Saturday marathon, first about labor and delivery and then about parenting.  I’m so glad we took the time to attend - both of us feel so much more prepared on both fronts. 

The hospital is beautiful.  The delivery and parenting suites are set up like hotel rooms with amenities to boot.  We’ll be there for 4 or 5 nights depending on the type of birth I have.  I continue to be impressed with the amount of support this country offers new parents.  Between the longer stays at the hospital, the local early childhood clinics and the automatic placement into mothers groups, I feel like I’m going to have more support than I know what to do with!  What a great feeling of security as we get ready to start this new adventure. 

I’ve been working from home for the past couple of weeks.  My last day will be September 30th unless Little Miss decides to make her appearance first.  The waiting game is tough but exciting! :)

Here are some recent pictures of Ninja's mom-to-be (Ninja is too big to fit on the ultrasound screen so no more pics of her until she's born!)

~LAA :)

29 Weeks

29 Weeks

33 Weeks

33 Weeks - where did that belly come from?!

37 Weeks

37 Weeks

Baby Shower

Our dear friend Jo Schofield threw me a darling baby shower.  It was small and intimate and just lovely!  The theme was baby butts and books - we got diapers and Australian/New Zealand children’s books from the girls.  We even got some hand-me-down baby girl clothes from Nat, David and Jo’s former boss!  How perfect for us!  I’m so looking forward to introducing Ninjette to a little bit of Down Under once we start reading together :) 

Jo put a lot of effort into the games - we had a ball, especially with pin the sperm on the egg (heehee).  Thanks Jo for all your efforts!

~LAA :)

Pin the sperm on the egg

Nat, Jo, Gemma, Linds, Sam, Shellee, Lisa

Jo and Linds - she's 9 weeks behind me!