To 2009.... May it bring good things to all!!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!
I hope everyone has a great New Years... I am going to stay awake until midnight to kiss my husband! New Years resolutions for me..... NO MORE SUGAR!! and I am sure I will think of some more. I would like to end my blog by sending a prayer to my family in Minnesota, for those of you that don't know my Uncle Steve, was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer back in June and we were told earlier this week that treatment had stopped working and that his kidneys where shutting down. I just want to say that he has been an AMAZING Uncle and Godfather to me and I am so happy my daughter got to meet him when we were home. This is a difficult time for my family and this is when I wish I lived closer so I could be there to help. He and the family are in our thoughts and prayers everyday! I hope everyday for him is comfortable while he is at home and he knows how much we all love him! With that, I do say Happy New Years, stay awake and kiss all the ones that you love and don't sweat the small stuff, it too will pass and tomorrow will be a new year! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009:)

December 2008

Minnesota Bound
Well I have not written again in awhile,so bad at keeping up to date. Helena and I were in Minnesota from the 2nd- 17th. We were able to see friends and family. It was such a great trip, I just wish the weather would have been better so I could have seen more of my family. And I also wish BJ could have come with us. Helena got to meet her pen pal Auriana, that is Robyn's little girl and she is 10 weeks older then Helena. They got to spend lots of time together, Robyn took a day off to just hang out with us. I hate saying good-bye to her. She really is the sister I never had! Helena also got to see A LOT of snow. I think it snowed almost 10 inches while we visited and she also got to experience her first wind chill! Lots of very exciting things!
BACK TO CALI!!!
It was very nice being home in Minnesota, but it was also nice getting back to my hubby, cats and my own bed! We got home just in the nick of time for Christmas. We had such and amazing Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with friends and had a Latin meal. It was amazing and I could not eat on Christmas! As for Christmas day... Helena made Santa's nice list and got lots of toys and clothes from the East Coast. I am so glad she did, because this is the last sizes I have.... I have 6 months and some 6-9 month stuff.... so I am sure in the next few months there will be a shopping spree for Helena... What a lucky girl!!! As for me I got gift cards and work out stuff. When you gain 70 plus pounds during pregnancy it takes a lot of hard work to get it off. As of January 1st, there is no more sugar or desserts:( MY FAVORITE!!! Lots of fresh fruit and veggies to go with my Mighty Mom Class. That is my husbands gift to me, beside some gift cards to get a sexy outfit for our 2 year anniversary. Mighty Moms is a Pre and Post Natal Kettle Bell Class! IT IS SOOOOO AMAZING!!! http://www.ironcorekettlebells.com/ check it out! You can buy them at Target, you get a total body workout with cardio... all in 45 minutes! Plus I get to bring Helena and she gets to play with 2 other little girls. They were all born and August. So hopefully come swimsuit season.... WATCH OUT!!!
Updates!
Since we have been home, we have moved Helena to her crib!!! This has been a very interesting week. I feel like I just brought her home again! It has been a hard transition for us all.... all 3 of us are EXHAUSTED!!! We had a better night last night.... so hopefully we are getting closer to sleeping thru the night again. I have a totally new crib set up, thanks to some online research! So if anyone needs some help.... feel free to give me a call and I can give you my advice! Helena is also almost sitting up all by herself and sort of rolling over.... she is not that motivated to do this.... She does however love tummy time and is so fascinated about how to get moving. I try to trick her with toys to roll or crawl and she just smiles at me like I am CRAZY! How does she know this at such a young age:) Helena is also eating cereal and oatmeal and drinking water from her sippy cup. She loves to put the cup all over her face before she finds her mouth. She is very funny:) She also loves her jumper, this weekend while watching the Chargers, we put the jumper in front of the TV... football and jumping are her 2 favorite things and she was gabbing and jumping as fast the football players were running. BJ and I were cracking up. Helena has really found her voice and it is sooo cute when she makes new noises. I am sure she is going to say MAMA or DADA soon!

Minnesota Bound December 2 , 2008

Minnesota Bound

December 2 , 2008

Helena and I are headed to MN. We will be gone until December 17th. We are looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends. I have gone a little over board with warm clothes for her. I have none:) HA HA Anyways, we are going to miss BJ, he is staying her and growing there business, that is doing SO WELL!!! We are so proud of him! When we get back Helena has shots and her 4 month check up. And we start going to Mighty Moms 3 days a week. This is a mom's kettlebell class. IT IS THE BEST WORK OUT EVER!!! Hope everyone is well!

Santa Baby We brought Helena to see Santa today.... SHE LOVED HIM!!! We also uploaded a very cute video of her babbling.... she loves to chat with us.... please check it out at www.flickr.com/photos/bjcook

The Month Of November!!! November 22, 2008

The Month Of November!!!

November 22, 2008

Well I am a bad mom and have not written in so long:(.... we have had a lot going on. For those of you that do not know BJ lost his job on his birthday back in September, so since then he has been working very hard with his partner Adam to start a new business, Digital Operative. He has been doing an amazing job balancing all his duties. We sure do miss him, it takes a lot of hours to get a consulting business up and running. THEY ARE DOING A GREAT JOB!!!

Helena Meets Great Grandma Mingo

Well the first week of November, Great Grandma Mingo was in town. I think she was expecting this tiny little baby... Helena is still little, however she is very strong. She must be upright at all times and facing outward. She is almost sitting up by herself and she is chatting up a storm. She talked to much when Great Grandma was here, telling lots and lots of baby stories. We had a great time and were sad to see her go!

3 Months Old

On November 11th, Helena turned 3 months, it is crazy to think she is getting so big. It is amazing to watch her grow and take the world in. Things she really loves right now.... TV, she loves all the colors and she really likes to sit and walk it contently. She also loves to be read to and sung too. She has 3 favorite songs, #1 Baby Beluga, we sub the Beluga for Helena and it always calms her down. #2 Pretty Pretty Princess, BJ made this song up, she loves it! and this morning we made up a new song for her Bear. She loves this one because we have combined Peek a Boo. She and I have also been working out. We go to Stroller Strides 3 days a week and walk and I get some resistance training. This next week we will be starting Mighty Moms, which is a 45 minute workout using kettle bells. I am very excited to start this work out and really start toning up. I did gain around 70 pounds:) so with breast feeding and walking I have lost almost 35 and have 35-40 more to go... I shooting a little lower then when I started! Helena is such a good baby, she is starting to really chew on things... I am pretty sure she is getting a tooth she had a low grade fever for a few days and was extremely crabby. This did pass and now she is back to normal.

Schedule

I wish I could say we have a set schedule.... for now we are getting better... She is still getting up between 1am and 3am for just a little night cap. Then we are up by 6am for the morning. She has started to take a 1.5 to 2 hour nap around Lunchtime when we are home. So I am trying not to run around at that time. As for bed she is sleeping before 9pm every night. I would say things are a lot better then in the beginning, now if I could just get to bed by 9pm everynight too...

MINNESOTA

Helena is going to ride her first airplane on December 2, we are flying home to MN for a few weeks. We are really looking forward to seeing some snow. I am really looking forward to seeing my family and friends and introducing my Little Red Head, HJ to them. We are going to miss BJ, but with this new business he can not step away. So in the next 2 weeks, we will be having lots of family time, seeing Santa, Christmas Tree decorating and Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to a long weekend next week to really spend some quality time together.

Happy Halloween October 31st, 2008

Happy Halloween

October 31st, 2008

So I have not written in a few weeks. We have been doing well, we have been trying to get a on a schedule. Sometimes this is easier said then done. I have been trying to get Helena to start sleeping in her crib, this has not been easy. She has yet to sleep in there for longer then 30 minutes! If I had nothing to do, I would let her sleep on me all day. She is just so cute and cuddly so it is very easy to let her lay with you. She had her shots and did very well, she really did not cry however she did run a fever for a few days. We also had a visitor, Aunt Jaime from Iowa came to visit us and do some work up in Del Mar. It was very nice to have her here to catch up and hang out. I got out of the house for the night to have dinner while BJ had the baby. They had a great time together. As for our Halloween plans... nothing to exciting. Helena and I had lunch with my friend Natalie, she had such a great time over there and loved Nat's husband along with her dog, she got lots of puppy kisses and did not mind at all:). We had her in a very cute outfit for the day time and dressed her up as a pumpkin for fun. We did not take her anywhere, just snapped some pics and hung out with her. She loves to watch the TV, so we put on Baby Einstein. SHE LOVED IT for about 10 minutes she watched and responded with lots of ahhhs and ohhhs. It was really cool to watch her interact. She is really strong and is holding her head up along with wanting to be very independent and sitting up, whether it is propped up with pillows or just sitting on our leg, she must know what is going on at all times. SHE IS VERY NOSY.... wonder where she gets that from. HA HA Well We hope every one had a very safe Halloween. We are looking forward to Great Grandma to get here this week!

Spoke to soon October 17th, 2008

Spoke to soon

October 17th, 2008

So she is not quite sleeping thru the night.... we are getting up at 3am. Eating on one side while I pump the other. She then would like to to play for an HOUR!!! You can not get upset she just talks and talks for an hour... I am sure she gets that from me! She is 9 weeks old this week and becoming her own little person each and everyday. The funniest thing this week is that she has new fake cries. She loves to tell you that is not what she wants... it is this whiney cry and all you can do is laugh switch position and let her know you are on to her ways. As soon as you do move her she SMILES!!!

Little Miss Lily

Helena and I spent this Thursday with Lily and Monica, Helena LOVES Lily, she is just so interested in her. Lily is 13 months so much bigger then Helena, however they are becoming great friends. I have the cutest pics.... ENJOY!!!

Sleeping Thru the Night

October 14th, 2008

Helena slept from 9pm- 5am!!!! I was sleeping from 10pm- 5am!!! Can you believe it... I did wake up a few times to check on her... you get so nervous even though they are right next to you.

2 Months Old!!! October 11th, 2008

2 Months Old!!! October 11th, 2008 Helena is 2 months old... I can not believe it. She has been battling a little cold, we brought her to the dr and she is almost 10 pounds and 23 inches. She is getting so big. She is really starting to recognize things. She loves her floor play-mat. She loves kicking and grabbing the toys. BJ and I also have a little game we play with her. We give her kisses on the cheek and we ask her to give us a kiss. We then place our cheek next to her and she opens up her mouth and slobbers all over us and smiles. She is just getting so big... we are not on a schedule yet, however we are only getting up 2 times at night, so I can not complain. We brought her to polish fest she loved all the music and the baby bjorn. That thing is the best thing... she loves it and can be in it for hours. Helena and I are going to hide to stroller strides this week, it is a walking and weight class for moms and there babies. We are super excited. We pushed back her shots, so we are going in a week from Wednesday, not looking forward to that appointment. BJ will be going with so hopefully, I will not be to much of a mess. We are loving all this time get to spend together as a family, if BJ could only be Semi- Retired forever... Well I am signing off for this week. Enjoy the some new pics and BJ is updating flickr.... www.flickr.com/photos/bjcook

Flickr So Many Pictures We have over 600 pics of Helena... it is very time consuming to put them up to this site and very easy for us to upload them to Flickr... so I am just putting a few up a week from now on. Please look at.... www.flickr.com/photos/bjcook Thanks.....

October 5th, 2008

October 5th, 2008 Long Time No Write So Helena is going to be 8 weeks old tomorrow. We have been so busy with just trying to get a schedule. This is not easy, with breastfeeding I get about 1.5 hours between each meal. So between trying to keep up with the house, baby laundry, and just trying to brush my teeth. There is not much time for me to keep up on this site. So from now on I am going to try my best to write once a week. Last 8 weeks and counting So recovering from a c-section was not that bad. By week 2 I was pretty mobile. My dad was here to help out for a week and then my mom followed and stayed for 3 weeks. It was so nice to have her here, she cooked and cleaned and baked.... it was the best 3 weeks ever. BJ and I was so spoiled and we ate like kings. By week 6 I have been walking by the bay every other day and now I being 2 months after I am going to start to really work out. I am going work on my nutrition too. I have to eat enough to lost weight and keep up with making the good ole milk for Miss Helena James. Just a few...Milestones for Miss Helena James So our little peanut-butter pirate... is getting so big, we can not wait to see how big she is at her next appointment October 15th. For the first month Helena was battling breast milk jaundice, she had to be poked 3 times and we had to supplement with formula... Helena HATES formula, it makes her puke .... I think she is allergic or she just has a super sensitive stomach like her father. Lets just say we have spent a few nights up with the little peanut not so happy about the formula, and then I cried and thought I was a horrible mom... ( Thanks mom for telling me that I am a good mom and she is just sensitive and still a little one trying to learn the world.) Helena loves playing in her vibrating chair, she love the chick rattle, and stares at the stripe of the kitty. She is so good at tracking objects and she loves to talk to them. In her words... Ah Goo Ah Goo. Every Morning she wakes up around 6am when I am still very much sleeping, we feed and change her diaper and she smiles and smiles and smiles, of course I do not have my camera so.... I do not have a ton of so cute smile pics. She loves when we say "Good Morning Sweet Girl" This was started by her Grammies Clark, she just smiles and kind of does a crazy giggle. It is to cute for words... everyday we are just so amazed at all the new things she does. Vistors Like I said we have had lots of vistor's and we have more to come. We had Grandma and Grandpa Clark. We also had the New Jersey girls here for BJ's birthday, this is Mimi ( BJ's Mom), BJ's Uncle Mike, Auntie Nicki and BIG cousin Taylor. Taylor was so good with Helena all she wanted to do was be with her. They will be great friends and playmates in a year, when Helena can actually do something. We had such a great time for BJ's bday weekend, we went to seaport village, I had wine!! We also went to Seaworld, Helena's favorite part was feeding the Sting-rays. We had such a great weekend, it was nice to get out and enjoy being a family. We are looking forward to having BJ's Dad, my friend Jaime and Helena's Great Grandma Mingo. Other fun stuff Some of Helena's other things she loves to do... * Loves being outside, when we walk she either sleeps or is wide awake and she loves to be talked too about all the cool things outside. * She loves Baby Beluga, it is her favorite song and almost every time I sing this she calms down. * She loves laying on her tummy on her boppy. * She loves her daddy... as soon as he enters the room and talks she finds him. * Starting to love her swing. * Loves her purple blankie. * LOVE LOVE LOVES bathtime, she is so good in the water, now if we can just master her getting out. Things Helena does not like... * Getting dressed, she screams like we are beating her * She hates getting gas when she eats, this causes her to scream, rip off my nipple and then we have to convince her to burp so she can feel better. * She also dislikes being in one position for to long... we most always be doing new things. I think she is trying to tell us to get ready... because once she starts moving we will never be still again.

Her First Pet

Ugly Dog

BJ loves Ugly dolls and he found Helena a little on to put on her carseat. She loves to stare at her toys on her car seat so this is a welcome toy in her eyes!!!

Puma's Helena's First Shoes

Puma's

Helena's First Shoes

How cute are these socks... she already loves shoes... she will not be getting her own credit card. We already have to watch her spending habits. PS she gets them from her dad!!!

Halloween

We bought a costume.... cant wait to dress her up and take a thousand pictures....

I lost my umbilical cord and found my LUNGS!!! August 23rd, 2008

I lost my umbilical cord and found my LUNGS!!!

August 23rd, 2008

So this morning as we were changing her diaper, we realized that her umbilical cord was gone, her last little thing left of the womb. I am certain that since she has lost her cord, she has realized that she has an amazing set of lungs, in which she loves to use for a total of about an hour day. We feel so bad sometimes because no matter what we do she cries until she coughs:( I am pretty sure she gets little gas bubbles... I am trying really hard to not eat anything spicy or things that may upset her. So if anyone has any tips let me know!!!

Week One August 18th, 2008

Week One

August 18th, 2008

Helena is one week old!!! Where do I get a serum to keep her so small and innocent. Or where can I get of bottle of this baby smell I breath each and everyday! We had an amazing weekend just getting to know our little girl. She is such a great baby, she sleeps between 2 -4 hours and she eats and eats and eats... We went the the Dr's today and she is almost back to her birth weight and she has already grown an inch. We can not believe how different she looks each and everyday. BJ has been off of work for this whole time, we have been such a great team, and she just loves her daddy.

The Hospital Stay!! August 11th-14th

The Hospital Stay!!

August 11th-14th

So we needed to stay at the hospital until Thursday, it was really great being there. We had round the clock service... excellent nurses and help. I was not able to walk for the first 12 hours, so BJ changed every poopy diaper. For someone who never changed a diaper... he would win a medal. He was so fast and she barely ever cried when he changed her. Once I got the hang of walking around, we would walk Miss Helena everyday around the halls, and the last day we attended a class... this is when the incident occured. Someone stole our beautiful soft PURPLE blanket.... I am not kidding someone at a hospital stole a child's blanket!!! THANK GOD THEY LO-JACKED MY BABY... Needless to say I have another purple blanket, but lesson learned you can trust no one, not even at a hospital:( After our class we were discharged, putting our little girl in the car seat and heading home to start life as a new and glowing family! I will remember this as one of the happiest moments of our lives. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it!!!

Birth Announcement HELENA JAMES COOK

Birth Announcement

HELENA JAMES COOK

Helena James was born August 11th, 2008 at 8:36 am at Mary Birch Hospital. We had to have a scheduled c-section due to Miss Helena being breech. Having a scheduled c-section has its perks... since I am a planner I got to know exactly when she was going to be here, however the nerves and my heartrate were soaring. BJ and I arrived at the hospital at 6:30am and we were in the operating room by 8:15am. From what BJ tells me when they brought him in they had already started and I was cut open... thanks for tell me you started Dr O'Hara!!! Dr Farrel was the best... he gave me all the fantastic drugs, that worked in less then 5 seconds. BJ was sitting next to me for less then 5 minutes before Dr. O'Hara asked me how I was feeling and if I could feel anything... I responded I was good and he said great we are almost finished. In my head I was thinking WHAT!!! It felt like literally seconds had passed and then the nurse was yelling here comes her butt, BJ get your camera and then she was over the curtain... my response was "Where is all of her hair???" I had horrible heartburn and to me that was the only reason why I should have been so miserable. She did have a lot of strawberry blonde hair, I just could not tell due to my drugged stupper. By 9:05am I was in recovery and by 9:15am I was holding my daughter for the first time. What an amazing experience. It was UNREAL!!! I still can not believe that she is part me and part my incredible husband!!! I stared at her and tried to figure out who she looked like. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I am the mother to this beautiful little girl. Let the Journey begin!!!

August 10th, 2008

Last day being pregnant!!!

August 10th, 2008

So BJ and I have been relaxing all day... yesterday was jammed packed for us both. I cleaned the apartment like I had never cleaned before... and repacked her bag and ours too! This morning we enjoyed some delicious blueberry pancakes... I MADE THEM:) We also got a very cool video camera so we can film Lil Miss HJ!!! We have both been talking about how crazy it is going to be tomorrow afternoon we are going to get to hold this little bean... We are both so excited... we will be uploading pictures to our flickr account... http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjcook/ We can do this directly from BJ's Crackberry:) Here is the last belly picture... we hope everyone has had an AWESOME weekend... we have and we are so excited for what is to come next on this journey!

August 9th, 2008

Around The Corner

August 9th, 2008

So it is Saturday Morning... BJ is playing in a volleyball tournament... I am doing laundry and cleaning the apartment... and I am thinking that next Saturday it will not just be the 2 of us anymore!!! We are very excited to welcome Helena James in to the world on Monday morning... it is less then 48 hours away!! I will put up one last belly pic this weekend... it is crazy to think that this BELLY is going to go away! YEA!!! I know it is going to be at least 6 weeks before I can really work out... but man I will be blogging up a storm when I can go to TKB, Kettlebells, and a Spin Class again... and I will be throwing myself a party when I get in those SKINNY Jeans and a pair of heels:) I hope all my family in Minnesota enjoy there fishing trip tomorrow.... We will be talking to everyone next week. Have a great weekend!

August 4th, 2008

6 days....
August 4th, 2008
So I am currently resting at home... headed to work this afternoon. We got a phone call from the Dr's today and we are all scheduled for our C-section on August 11th... at 8:00am.... so hopefully by 9:00am next Monday Miss Helena James Cook will be in this world!!! Let the count down begin 6 days... we will update on Thursday after our appointment... just in case this little stinker decides to flip around. Hope everyone has a great week!!!

July 28th, 2008

Dr's Appointment

July 28th, 2008

Well today's appointment was a long one. We were there for almost an hour, after Dr O'Hara checked me and we talked about all the different things that had been going on over the last few weeks, he was wondering why things were so different from 2 weeks ago. He suggested an ultrasound so he could see what was going on. So we found out that Miss Helena James has turned.... she is perfectly FRANK BREECH with her little feet above her head. We have decided to not do the external inversion there would be only a 30% chance of the Dr being able to get her to flip. We are going to head to the pool some say doing summer-saults and handstands in the pool can help the babies flip. I am also going to look into some Acupuncturist’s that specialize in pregnancies. Dr O'Hara also talked a little about some Chinese root that we could burn by my pinkie toe. So 10 days and we will see, otherwise we will head in to the hospital August 11th, for a c-section.

July 27th, 2008

24 days....

July 27th, 2008

So we are due in 24 days... the anticipation is on... I have been procrastinating and only packed Miss Helena's hospital bag. And after the night I had last night today I am going to pack BJ and mine... We went to see The Dark Knight... what an amazing movie... it makes me sad to know that the world lost such an amazing talent in Heath Ledger... his role as the JOKER was unforgettable. Anyways 90 minutes into the movie I started having contractions. Of course only 3 or 4 were real the rest were extremely uncomfortable Braxton Hicks:( So BJ got me a very large water when we got home and I laid on my left side and watch Law and Order until I feel asleep. Today I am still having these fantastic Braxton Hicks with some lovely cramps... Hopefully this means tomorrow when I go to the Dr's he says that we are e-faced and dilated..... KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED.... Oh BJ also installed the car seat in the Durango. I just can't wait to be making the drive home with our little peanut!!! She is still also as active as ever... always moving, jabbing, and kicking her heels up. I am pretty sure she is getting ready to perform a little dance recital most days... Especially when I blast Kelly Clarkson as I do stuff around the house, SHE LOVES IT!!!

July 24th, 2008

36 Weeks

July 24th, 2008

Well we have started our 36th week and we are getting very excited... however I have not been feeling the greatest:( I am throwing up again and my sleep is becoming less and less. And even poor BJ is not getting the sleep he needs since I am thrashing around most of the night. We have our 36/37 week check-up on Monday... so excited to see what Dr O'Hara thinks.... I will be putting up a belly pic this weekend. We will be putting the car seat in the Durango and just relaxing and enjoying each other... it is crazy to think that it is not just going to be the 2 of us anymore!!! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

July 21st, 2008

One Month Count Down!!!

July 21st, 2008

Well I do truly believe that Miss Helena James will be with sooner then a month, but today marks the 30 day count down until we are officially due!!! We are just getting so anxious to meet her! We will be 36 weeks on Wednesday and we have a Dr's appointment on Monday July 28th... so we will see what Dr O'Hara thinks then. Oh and the nursery is all done... so make sure to check out the pics! Hope everyone has a

July 17th, 2008

Week 35

July 17th, 2008

Well we are in week 35 and I have a feeling like this is coming to an end in the next few weeks. I am having a lot of pressure and lower back aches and last night I got sicker then I have been this whole pregnancy:( YUCK... BJ was so great though, he even held my hair back!!! I have also been experiencing some cramping and real contractions. Nothing consistent enough to think we are going into labor though, JUST UNCOMFORTABLE!!! We are almost ready only a few more things to do... like getting the car seat in the truck and just setting up a few more things. I am so excited to meet her, I just want her to incubate at least until week 37. So 2 more weeks. I am still working 3-4 days a week and I think I am going to do this until she comes, it keeps me pre-occupied and actually I do less there then at home. I can find something to do here at the apartment, clean, organize, sweep, vacuum. Between me and my cleaning ladies we will probably be able to eat off the floor soon!!! Well I need to do our laundry now and finish Miss Helena's as well. This weekend we will tackle packing the hospital bags... and I will put up finished nursery pics and some pics of my extra low belly!

July 16, 2008

35 weeks and it's time for Dad to finally post!

July 16, 2008

So my last post on here was the infamous "Shrimp" post. Glad to see some of you got a kick out of that. Well now miss Helena James is dropped and ready to come out over the next 2-3 weeks we're told. It's been quite busy the past 34 weeks at work, getting the nursery ready, playing volleyball on the weekends and anything else I can cram into open time slots. Now it's finally hitting me that she's coming soon and I feel pretty ready for her to be here, but the unknown is kind of scary. Just hope that I get to spend a lot of time with her, show her how to push mommy's buttons, prefect the Cat Voice, feed the fish, appreciate a good cappucino, not eat the sand at the beach and just maintain a state of chillness. I heard that I almost could have ended up growing up in California as a kid and now I'm bring a little girl into this crazy world filled with lots of noise in the form of media, the internet, war, people that can't drive and I hope she finds her signal along the way. San Diego is a great area to experience a consistent weather all year long, the ocean, fake grass, palm trees, desert, mountains; a cornucopia of topigraphical treats. Anyways, I'm glad everyone has been hear for us along the way and through the past few years. I'm looking forward to first steps, words, ideas and more with my little "Halien." Thanks again and stay tuned!!!

July 11th, 2008

34 weeks and counting!!!

July 11th, 2008

So on Wednesday night I woke up in the middle of the night thinking WOW my back is killing me and man do I have to pee!!! So I get up and another WOW... I was feeling tremendous pressure. Something I can say I have not really felt to often. So I tried to go back to bed and I really did not sleep the rest of the night because there was no comfortable spot:( So on Thursday we had our check up with Dr. Ohara.... first the nurse laughed at me a little and asked why I was walking so funny so I explained to her all the same symptoms. So Dr O'Hara checked me out and guess what our little peanut has dropped, he can feel her head... we are not dialated yet, however my cervix is starting to soften.... so he patted me on the knee and said that she is going to be here sooner then later. He told me anywhere from 2-4 weeks:) All I can say is REALITY CHECK!!! We are both so excited and mostly ready... I will post so more pics this weekend and next weekend we are having our Maternity pictures taken.

July 6th, 2008

July 6th, 2008

San Diego Shower...

So today, Jamie threw me an amazing shower with all of my girlfriends in San Diego, it was such a great day. Of course it was beautiful outside so that helped, but most of all it was just so nice to be surrounded by my nearest and dearest friends. We had a great lunch and my friend Kristen, who has been taking cake decorating classes made Helena the most beautiful cake I have ever seen!!! It looked like something out of a magazine!!! Everyone was very impressed... it also tasted amazing!!! Helena again got so many great gifts.... she is such a little princess already:) But hey that is ok... if you did not know Sarah means Princess... so with a mom as a princess... I am sure she will follow suit:) She got so many cute outfits and also she got some toys and all of her bath stuff. All I can say is THANK YOU !!!! WHAT A FABULOUS DAY!!!

July 5th, 2008

33.5 weeks

July 5th, 2008

So..... I have not been feeling the greatest... very tired, crabby, extreme heartburn, and acid reflux.... you name it I am feeling it. I am down to about 3-6 hours of sleep a night, I am not a fan, I just get to hot, my nose gets clogged and I just wake up. Everyone keeps telling me this is God's way of preparing me for the lack of sleep that is on its way... but does God know that I have to work... I still need to go to work and be nice and smiley to people. HA HA... The last few weeks.... all the girls at work threw me an amazing shower... Helena got many gifts, of course lots of stuff that she needs:) I also turned 27.... man I am getting old, BJ and I got my favorite take out.... GREEK.... and watched a movie. We also got to watch the fireworks from our kitchen window... it does not get better then this folks, we saw 2 sets of fireworks at the same time!!! I LOVE THE 4th!!! We are going to be headed to our 4th birthing class this week, we are all geared up to visit the hospital. We are both very excited to see where she will be born. Class has been not to horrible, however 2.5 hours is a long time after a long day of work. And everyweek it feels like we are talking about the same stuff. But I am more determined every week to try my hardest on doing this naturally. BJ and I may be getting a Doula to help us during birth and we are reading a Hypno- birthing book as well. Most of you know I am not the most relaxed person, so all of this has been helping me let go!! We also have our 34 week check up this week on Thursday, I am still hoping this little lady is still head down. All and All we are all good, just nesting, trying to rest, and eating tums everyday! Oh we have added new stuff to the nursery, we are not done yet, my deadline is July 21st, one month before we are due... so we have a few weeks before it is complete:)

June 22nd, 2008

The Nursery

June 22nd, 2008

So BJ, Uncle Jake, and I have been very busy this weekend. First we had a little mix up with the crib. It has been in for over a week, however no one from Babies R Us called because when I picked up the dresser, they set complete our order. So needless to say, after 3 phone calls and finally talking to a new person, they figured out that they had our crib. So we were able to pick it up Friday and we also got our book shelve. BJ put the crib together for me, and I just had to get everything in there!!! I just can not wait for her to come. We still have to put together her book shelve, I am sure I can get BJ to do that next weekend. I also have 2 more showers coming up and I can not wait to see friends and celebrate this precious little girl that could be coming into the world in less then 9 weeks.. WOW TIME FLIES!!! BJ and I are also taking birthing classes, get excited for us we are going to watch the birthing video this week!!! YEA we can not wait. More to come next week, our 32 week check up and probably an almost finished nursery:)

June 15th, 2008

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

June 15th, 2008

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY BJ!!!! Today is BJ's first father's day. It is amazing to watch him get ready for Helena coming, we are both very aware she is coming sooner rather then later. We had a great breakfast this morning and we did a little shopping for the nursery trying to figure some other things that are missing. We are both so excited for her to come, she is moving all the time and she always loves showing off for her daddy, I am guessing the minute she arrives she will have him wrapped around her finger in a second. Again babes, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, next year we will have her with us and we can have an awesome day at the beach as a family:)

June 12th, 2008

30 Weeks

June 12th, 2008

We are officially 30 weeks, so according to your DR we have 7-10 more weeks, until we meet our little girl. We had our Dr's appointment and Helena really enjoys hanging out below my belly button. She is currently laying sideways enjoying the space while she still has it. She is starting to move up toward my ribs, but not very often. She has nested herself and she likes it. She and I are doing fine, she is preparing me for not sleeping, so that is fun, I spend at least 2-4 hours awake in the middle of the night... this is not fun when you need to go and work a 8 hour day:( She did however move away from a bladder so, at least I have some relief!!! We are just waiting for her arrival and getting ready slowly but surly. We truly can not wait:)

June 10th, 2008

Trip to MN!!!

June 10th, 2008

So BJ and I took the bump to Minnesota for my brothers graduation and my grandma's 80th birthday celebration. What a great little get away. It was very nice to see everyone and to just get to spend some much needed time together:) We also get to experience a little miracle while we were home, my best friend Robyn had her little girl, June 6th, 2008... Auriana Grace. We were blessed enough to get to hold and see her. Reality check for us, we are going to have a baby in 7-10 weeks!!!! AHHHHHHHHH We are getting ready. So welcome to the world Auriana, be good and don't keep mommy and daddy up all night:P

May 30th, 2008

28 weeks

May 30th, 2008

So our little princess is growing like a weed and is putting some major pressure on her mommies bladder. So much pressure, I had BJ take me to triage last night. I was literally going to the bathroom every 5 to 10 minutes:( NO FUN AT ALL.... I was never in pain, just severe discomfort. Needless to say after 2 hours of hearing our little girls heart beat, and hearing her every kick, hiccup, and punch (she did not like the monitors) HA HA I had a some white blood cells in my urine, so there was a possible infection. So this morning my Dr called to check on my and the baby and I gave him the update from last night, he told me that 10% of woman get bladder infections as there babies get bigger, they are unable to fully unload their bladders, so that leads to an infection. So we are on some antibiotics. Today has been a lot better, at least I am able to sit upright for more then 5 minutes at a time. Lets hope this gets better and this little girl does not find a permanent home on my bladder! Other updates, we are headed to MN on Wednesday for my brother Ben's graduation and also to celebrate my Grandma Mingo's 80th birthday. It will be a short trip but BJ and I really looking for to some much needed time away. We are making headway on the nursery BJ finished painting last weekend, we hung up the cute purple curtains. We also got her dresser yesterday. I set up her changing area... the cats would like to claim this as there new bed. I can see it now we are going to wake up and she will be sleeping in the crib and they will be on her dresser watching and sleeping right by her. The cats love her room, the rocker, dresser and Jone's favorite the purple curtain, the perfect place to hide. We are so excited to meet her, she is moving all the time and being 28 weeks it is unreal to know that we could have a baby in 10 weeks.

May 25th, 2008

27 weeks

May 25th, 2008

Well, so far the 3 day weekend has been very very productive. I have been in full nesting mode for the last week. BJ has been doing great painting and helping me get things where they need to be! We ordered the nursery furniture and we also got a gilder from a co-worker of mine, that matches everything perfectly. Today we are painting the other wall. We have both decided that Helena's room is our favorite in the apartment. It is just so bright and cheery. We will be able to pick-up the furniture in 10days or so... So by the 2nd weekend in June... I am sure I will have talked BJ in to setting up the crib:) I CAN NOT WAIT!!! This is just so much fun... As for the baby front, she is moving a lot... and she get the hiccups quite often. It just kind of tickles me. She loves when I take a bath, she kicks and punches. We have lots of moments, where we wonder what body part she is pushing, I get some very hard spots on my stomach, we think mostly it is her little butt... so BJ always tells her to stop being fresh and act like a lady. She then usually punches him, to respond, " YEA RIGHT DAD!!! YOU JUST WAIT" HA HA I think she might be just a little stubborn, I have no idea where she maybe getting that from!!! I will put pics up of the finished painted nursery later this weekend! Happy Memorial Day! And a shout out to BABY D... you be good on Tuesday and turn for your mother!!! We can not wait to met you...

May 18th, 2008

THE PIT

May 18th, 2008

WHAT A DAY... today we tackled moving all the stuff we had the office/junk room. Jake, BJ, and I got all of it to the storage area just a few miles away. We only forgot a few things so that is not that bad! When we got back I got to put some of her stuff away, it is not a permanent spot for most of it, but it makes me feel better to see it all coming together. We are so excited we are getting a glider from a co-worker of mine this week. We are also ordering our furniture next weekend!!! We can not wait to see the whole space come together. Keep checking us out... I give us a few weeks and we will have a lot more done:) Check out the nursery section for before and after shots!

May 17th, 2008

26 weeks

May 17th, 2008

So many things to update... our daughter is a mover and a shaker... she loves kicking, punching rolling. BJ refers to this and "being fresh" I have also been getting mini contractions nothing to worry about. I will not lie, they are not that pleasant. We had our check up this last week, and I had the Diabetes test... Helena and I are very healthy, everything is going really well. I am right on par with the pound per week rule.... and that is FANTASTIC! I know all woman go thru this but watching your butt triple in size is so fascinating, I know it is all for a good cause. I am still pretty small for almost being in my 7 month. That is right 3 months to go.... CRAZY!!!! Today we are moving everything to storage so we can start getting the nursery ready. Both BJ and I are very excited. I will being putting up so more pics later today or tomorrow of the belly and "The Pit" Things Bj and I are looking forward to... a big 3 day weekend next week:) We have a lot to do but we are getting it done! Other then that, I have heartburn A LOT.... and people love telling me that my boobs are huge. I just say thank you since I have been an "A" cup most of my life.

May 4th, 2008

24 weeks

May 4th, 2008

Well we are in our 6th month and BJ and I are ready to start getting ready for the little one! We are both getting excited ordering stuff for our little girl. We have gotten lots of accessories for her nursery and now we have the fun and exciting task of cleaning out the PIT (office. storage area)!!!! HA HA So over the next 2 weekends we have A LOT to do. We are moving a ton of stuff to storage on May 17th:) WE CAN NOT WAIT. Then we will start getting the crib and all the other baby essentials. Helena is already a trouble maker, She loves keeping her mom up for hours at night having dance parties. She also loves getting lots of attention from here Daddy, she is starting to show off her soccer skills just for him. More to come next week. We have our 6th month check up were I get to drink some delicious orange sugar stuff. YUM YUM!! I will have before and after pics of the PIT aka nursery then too.

Belly Update

April 20th, 2008

So I will posting a new pic of the belly every 2 weeks, I am still not that big, but for me I am huge:) HA HA I hope you enjoy!!!

April 18th, 2008

5 month check up

April 18th, 2008

I went to meet with the dr for our 5 month check up... everything is looking great. She is flipping around like a crazy woman. Her heart rate was 150 bpm. We are on track to continue a healthy pregnancy. Next visit we get to drink some yummy orange stuff to test me for diabetes. WISH ME LUCK!!! Helena is moving all the time and BJ loves feeling her kick. The cats sometimes lay on my belly and then she kicks them and they are forced to move... it is funny, she is telling them to get off! HA HA

April 12th, 2008

MN Baby Shower

April 12th, 2008

I would like to THANK everyone that shared my special day.... I have never seen so much cute baby stuff in my life!!! I would like to thank my mom, auntie cheryl, auntie sue, auntie brenda, and my grandmother of coming together and throwing me an awesome day! Also thank you ROBYN for writing down every detail of my gifts... it is really coming in handy for my thank you cards:) So about pictures of my shower.... I am a bad mom... so I will be taking little photo collages of all the super cute stuff I got!!! When I got home from, MN BJ and I had so much looking and everything. And about a week later we got a package that I had sent, it was like seeing everything for the first time again! So check out the new pics, I will have them up by the end of today (4/20/2008)

March 31st, 2008

IT'S A GIRL

Helena James Cook

BJ and I are happy to announce we are having a little girl. We were both shocked, we had convinced ourselves we were having a boy, picked out boy nursery stuff and everything. To our suprise we are having a girl. We are so excited. We are sorry we do not have more pics, we only got 2 today, a profile and a gender pic that we are going to keep to ourselves:) The printer was on the fritz, but we got to see Helena sucking her thumb and of course she was extra stubborn, I have no idea where she gets that from. The tech said that she was worried that we would not be able to see because she was cross legged and had her umbilical cord in between her legs. Well after lots of poking we got her to move. She has all 10 fingers and 10 toes, we also got to see her brain and heart. All and all she is healthy, 6 1/2 inches head to rump and she is a little over 8 oz. For all of you in MN, I can not wait to see you.... sorry no bump pics tonight, my camera died:( So tomorrow I will put bump pictures up and new pics of the new family car. We bought and Audi A4 1.8 turbo, BJ needed a little speed. HA HA

March 20th, 2008

Our Healthy Baby Cookie:)

March 20th, 2008

So today I went to my last appointment before our ultrasound to find out whether or not Cookie is a boy or girl. We found out our baby is doing fine and all the screenings we had done are negative:) That is a huge weight lifted off our shoulders, it is so exciting to know that everything is going GREAT!!! The heartbeat today we 136 BPM, which totally throws me off, this kids heart rate has been all over so know I have no predictions on what we are having. 11 more days and we will find out.... I CAN NOT WAIT!!!! We are both so excited!!! Well I hope everyone has a great Easter and I will write in 11 days to update the world on what little Cookie is.... BOY OR GIRL:) PS. Today I got to hear the baby hiccup it is so crazy, you could hear it through the doppler well we were hearing the heart beat... crazy I know...

March 16th, 2008

Something Funny.....

March 16th, 2008

So our little Cookie as been sitting on my bladder the entire weekend. It got so bad uncomfortable that I made BJ, my poor sick husband,take me to urgent care at 7:30pm, because I thought I might have a bladder infection. In the mean time some medical asst, came in and listened to Cookie's fast little heart rate and it was beating at 156 bpm. So according to the wives tale, I think we might be having a little girl. The doctor said that there is no infection just the baby finding a nice new resting position. So we go in to see our nurse on Thursday to hear the heart beat again, and 2 weeks from Monday we will know officially whether we will be having ourselves a Helena James or a Greyson Reid. I know BJ and I are so excited to know, it feels like forever and we can not believe that we are almost half way through this process.

March 11th, 2008

The BUMP!!!!

March 11th, 2008

I know everyone is dying for pics of the bump.... I have bad news.... it is still hiding. As soon as you can really see it, believe me I will be taking pics all the time!!! We have started the 20 day count down until we find out whether or not cookie is a boy or girl. We can not wait!!!

February 22, 2008

Baby's Heart Beat

February 22, 2008

So BJ and I went and met our OBGYN, Dr O'Hara. Very nice man and funny! I have been told BJ needs back rubs everyday and that I am not to act pregnant over the next 3 months. Resume my old life:) So I have been back to kickboxing, yoga, and this weekend spinning. Just trying to stay healthy so I can try to do a natural labor. WE WILL SEE ABOUT THIS... I am deathly afraid of needles and from what I understand the epideral needle is mighty large. So the baby sounds great heartbeat is 140. So we have our blood screening done next week for all of the testing to see if anything could be wrong so wish us luck. We are almost in to our 15th week. We cannot wait... I am still waiting for the baby bump, I am gaining weight however I just feel very pudgy:( Nothing sticking out of my clothes yet they are just to tight to fit properly. So as soon as I see something I will put up some pics I promise.

Febuary 17th, 2008

Time Flies when your Having Fun!!!!!

Febuary 17th, 2008

So we are in our 13th week, just on the cusp of our 2nd trimester. We cannot believe how quickly the time flies. We have been back from Mexico for a little over a week and are still getting settled in. It was Valentines this last week, so BJ brought me to a cute romantic comedy "Defiantly Maybe” however before we even got to leave I realized that I could not button my jeans anymore. So I just had to tuck them under and wear a long shirt! So there is an official bump. I am actually starting to look pregnant instead of just feeling pudgy. We are so excited we have another appointment on Friday to meet our OBGYN. So wish us luck and more updates next week!

It's Growing!

Shrimp on the Barbie

So the little guy/gal is like 3 inches and the size of a shrimp. If you really don't know what a shrimp looks like I inserted the wikipedia entry for you

Offical Pregnancy Announcement

January 27th, 2008

So December 13th I woke up and I truly was amazed.... I just had the weirdest dream. I had taken a pregnancy test and it was positive. I thought to myself, well I have a few more days till Aunt Flo visits so we will have to wait and see. That same night I was visiting with my San Diego Grandma and she says " Sarah you are glowing.... there is just something about you." I started laughing and I just know that tomorrow, Friday morning I needed to pee on the stick. So Friday morning at 5:30am I woke to get ready for work... got the stick out and well I was brushing my teeth, thank you Sonic Care for being 2 minutes, it is the perfect timer for this sort of occasion. I looked down and there was one very pink line and that one for all the other girls that have peed on sticks know is there, but not as defined. I run in to the bedroom and BJ smiles and says.... I think you are only half pregnant!!! HA HA so 4 tests later we decided ok we are preggers. That was the best Christmas gift I have ever received. And now 2 Dr. appts. later, we have the craziest pictures. I never thought staring at an ultrasound machine could be so joyous and watching a baby the size of worm dance around has been the most amazing thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. So this being my 10th week the count down begins only 30 more weeks to go. We will be putting pics up after our amazing trip to Mexico to renew our vows and celebrate our one year anniversary. And on March 31st we will announce whether Baby Cookie is a little girl or little boy... Most of all I just hope that we stay healthy.