Rubies not Pearls

Well, I think we can officially say that this little one will be a July baby. Our apologies to all of the June guessers in the "win a cat" contest. She seems to be just a little too comfortable in my belly. In fact at our last fetal assessment appt. where they did a quick ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid levels, I could have sworn that I saw her reclined back with her arms folded behind her head and her feet crossed and propped up on my rib cage. Just kidding. All I could really see was that adorable Cronley nose. At least she has assumed the correct position. Let's hope that she doesn't try one of her Dad's tricks and flip around at the last second!
So, we really don't have any news to report from here just yet. We hope that everybody has a great 4th of July weekend! Safe travels to all of our family members making the trek to Mid-Forest Lodge. Have tons of fun and have some beers for us (at least for me -- Tom is still in de-tox from Joe's bachelor party)!
Happy 4th!!

Two Pictures that Must be Seen

On the right, that's me getting a solid dousing of water following my final flight in VS-33. Yes, that is the Hawaiian Jumpsuit. The Hawaiian jumpsuit that dad got while cruising the Hawaiian Islands with mom in 1976. I thought that it would be an appropriate outfit. Actually, I knew that it would be totally inappropriate, and therefore perfect!
My friends and I flew from San Diego along the coast of California to Santa Maria, had lunch and flew back. We had a great time, and it was a great day of "work." My favorite part was being asked, "Where did you get that outfit?"
"In Hawaii. In 1976."

And to the left is Tracey trying to explain to Calvin the current state of affairs. He has no clue what is going on, but he knows that his food is still being rationed and that he no longer has the biggest belly in the house.

Nothing to Report

Aside from increasing levels of insomnia (thanks to a growing and active baby who apparently enjoys squishing my bladder and colon - mostly at night) and rapid weight gaining, there is little else to update you all with. We had two doctor's appts. today. The first was the weekly fetal assessment where they measure the volume of my amniotic fluid (looks good!) and then they hook me up to a fetal monitor for about 20-30 minutes to see if I'm having any contractions. Honestly, I could listen to that little heartbeat all day long and never get tired of it, but I have to say that at this point it is quite depressing when the girl next to me, who's due date is two weeks after ours, is having massive contractions every four minutes (which she wasn't feeling......) and her machine is going crazy and meanwhile, my contraction monitor is steady as a rock and completely flatlined. To confirm the absolute lack of labor activity, we had our regular weekly check-up as well and this may be more info than you want, but the cervix is thick and closed. However, the doc did say that it is very soft (which apparently is the first step). I think he just added that last statement to prevent me from cursing ALL the way home :) Just kidding. She can stay in there a little bit longer, but I do have my limits!!
So, like I said -- not much to report. Oh, did I mention that Tom has his last flight as a Screwbird tomorrow and then on Friday we are closing on our house in Mississippi?!

Bye, Bye Screwbirds

Today is the ceremonial end of my squadron, VS-33. Forty-six years of Screwbirds met in the hangar on NAS North Island to listen to speeches and to celebrate the successes of the squadron. Tracey and I were pictured in front of the airplane that bears my name.
It was neat to see the squadronmates from many years back gather "family reunion style" to reminisce. I realize that, since both of my active duty squadrons now only exist in history books, sadly I will not be meeting up with my old buddies many years from now. Nonetheless, it was a nice ceremony and a fitting end to the squadron and to my days as a Screwbird.

Joe's Bachelor Party

What can you say about Joe's Bachelor Party Weekend? On one hand, it could be argued that it was a rather tame and gentlemenly gathering of friends. We played 36 holes of golf on Coronado Island. We drank wine. We attended Our Lady of the Rosary for Mass on Sunday. We toasted our friend/brother at a quaint dinner in San Diego's quiet Old Towne area. We even considered closing an evening with a rowdy game of Scrabble, but didn't. You could say that it was gentlemenly. You could say that.
It could also be argued that it was a knockdown-dragout beer-guzzling competition with everyone tying for last place. You could say that too. We got to meet one of The Finest City's Finest and at one point Joe's left cheek got to meet the sidewalk. Golf, Baseball & Beer; that's what I can report. You could say it was crazy, over-the-top and even obnoxious. You could say that.
For me, it was an accurate representation of the man to whom it was designed to pay tribute. The oldest brother whose been the shortest Cronley male for over 10 years. The submariner who loves to sail. A man who wouldn't touch a coffee in the morning, but would kill for a Buena Vista Irish Coffee. The snowboarder who takes care of peoples' financial future. He's an enigma wrapped in a conundrum. But I don't care about that. I know that he's fun to be with, loyal to a fault and everything you can hope for in a brother.
So what can I say about Joe's Bachelor party? Hopefully, John and I said something to Joe that we needed to say over many years: Thanks for being who you are.

Catherine & Matt's Wedding

After a nice long road trip and weekend in wine country for the wedding of Catherine and Matt Thompson, we are now safely back in San Diego with a still empty car seat (which we did bring along , just in case!) and one very rotund belly. The wedding was incredible! The day before the wedding, we were all freezing cold as the entire coast was totally fogged in, but somebody was looking out for us on Saturday as we had one of the most gorgeous days of blue skies and brilliant sun for the wedding. The bride was stunning and the entire day went off without a hitch! Here is one of my favorite photos of the day --- I took it right before my brother, Kevin, walked my sister down the aisle. You can just make out the famous arch rock in the background. Unfortunately, I managed to not get any still photos of the bride and groom together (sorry Matt!), but Tom did take some great video of the entire day which clearly shows the bride and groom glued to one another (too cute!). It was a wonderful celebration for our family and it was evident that everybody had a blast. Believe it or not, I was not the most pregnant person at the wedding. Bless her heart, my cousin Kimi and her husband Mike drove nearly 3 hours to be there --- on that day, she was already 5 days over-due!! She certainly showed me up and put me right in my place :) We're still awaiting word on whether or not that one glass of wine at the wedding got things "moving" for her. We were joking because of the about 70 guests in attendance, there were no less than 4 doctors and 4 nurses. One would have thought that we would feel comforted by that fact, however, the wine was really flowing that night and we're not sure if ANY of them would have actually been sober enough to deliver a baby. Luckily we didn't have to find out.
The 22 hours spent in the car were well worth it. We had a great time and we are so happy for the newlyweds. Thanks to my mom for hosting such a fabulous party and Congratulations to Cath and Matt!!