Dadpreneurship - Balancing Family, Business and BJ

So I've only had the time to write once on our family blog here. So I decided it was time to "make the time" to give my side of what's been happening so far the past few months :)

(I started this post about 2 weeks ago and like most things that fall into the "BJ" bucket; I am finally getting around to it)

What I like most about this post is that I don't have to do any research, see what types of topics people are interested in reading about currently or make sure I've got keywords present throughout my post; I just write.

What is Dadpreneurship?

Well it seems to be the act of being a dad. Also seems to be about a dad that assembles resources available to him to ensure that he addresses the goals of his family and business, while balancing the organization of his life to also meet his personal goals. Those goals being: 1) staying healthy 2) growing one's knowledgebase 3) being in touch with one's values and so on. The end goal with all these really is balance at the end of the day and if you can achieve that, well then you've got a great formula and I wouldn't mind borrowing it sometime.

Knowing that I've got people reading this who are my family, colleagues and complete strangers; I hope you find little nuggets that may help you or just feel up-to-date on what we've been up to.


What a year I have to start off with ... 1) Started a new business 2) Moved to a new place 3) Watched Helena James learn and grow everyday 4) Helped Sarah start her own entrepreneurial endeavors 5) Discovered that balance was harder than just doing it.

Helena has moved into her big girl bed (I hear Sarah telling her why standing in her bed is dangerous), started saying words like "bubbles", "fish", "kitty", "dada", "mama", "i did it" and "ball" and battled her first real cold that lasted about 2 weeks. The kind of cold your child gets where you can't really give her anything, you give your spot up to her in your bed so she's comfortable, she wipes her nose on everything and she learns that coughing makes mommy and daddy run to see what's wrong ... kind of like strategic manipulation.

Christmas was way different this year for me because not only was I thinking about what I needed to get for my family, I was also thinking about the other 10 people in my business. So this year we did the DOoeys 2009, where each person was recognized for their own special superlative. I happened to get "Mr. Late Night." We had Ryan and his mom make custom wooden-bases with springs that held a corrugated cardboard DO logo. Fully sustainable of course! I think it went off well and we'll be taking it to another level next year. The little things you put into place in your business are what make all the difference in the culture you try so hard to maintain and communicate the importance of to the people around you.

So for 2010 you might wonder?

Well, I'm looking forward to finding a better balance this year to 1) Spend more time with Sarah/Helena 2) Find the right people to put into place at Digital Operative to distribute responsibility 3) Splice out more time for training/exercising for myself and 4) Set goals for my 40th birthday that span both family, personal and career.

That's all for this year! I'm going to go kick my feet up and enjoy my vacation time. Blackberry on silent, unplugged and recharging for 2010.

Merry Christmas

Well again.... story of my life I have not written in over a month! HA HA it is Christmas Eve... presents are wrapped, BJ is at work, Helena is taking a nap and I am BLOGGING... one day Helena you will read this and laugh because I hope you know how excited we are to see your face tomorrow once Santa comes. I told him to not bring you coal this year... you were a good girl:)
Helena has been quite the comedian lately, she has been trying to talk to us... I am not sure what she is saying... but she does say, GOOK or COOK when asked what her name is. She says CA CA for cracker. She says I did it... for when she does things... I love when she tells me that and she is doing something when she is not suppose too!!! This is 99% of the time! She has been battling a cold for almost a month and it has dwindled down to a cough. So I would say she is on the mend and getting back to herself. However this means I have had a month of no sleep! I have been getting 3 to 5 hours of sleep a night again, not ideal but hey I signed up to be a mom... so Ill take it:) I promise to write more after Christmas. I have a list of things to update so my next blog will be LONG, with lots of Christmas pictures of Helena and all of her gifts. I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! (The picture is of Helena and I at the San Diego Zoo... we participated in a show and got red noses just like RUDOLPH!!)

NO MORE BOOB!!!

Well I know it has been a long time coming... however after 468 days of breast feeding we are done!!! Helena has been putting herself to bed at night with out MILK from a cup or from the boob! Now lets see how I hold up. I have been wanting to be done for some time... however I have felt fulfilled that I have been able to keep up with her for this long! We have been down to 1 to 2 times a day for awhile and she has not been asking any more so I figured why not give it a try. And what does she do, she sleeps all night! Man she is really a big girl now:) This is a good thing for me too, I get to have 3-4 morning workouts along with a afternoon run a few days a week. I am going to participate in a half marathon on Valentines day and I am really looking forward to training and also doing most of my training pushing Miss Helena!
Helena was working on her cheering this weekend while we cheered on the 3 day Breast Cancer Walkers in San Diego (she cheered so much she passed out.) What an amazing experience and San Diego is so welcoming and there were lots of horns honking, whooping and howling going on for the ladies and gentleman participating in the 60 mile trek. My favorite shirt was from the guys I saw walking "We are busting our balls for BOOBS!!!"
I hope everyone had a great weekend... I am sure most of you are looking forward to a short work week and a nice long weekend! I am looking forward to starting and finishing all my Christmas shopping and taking Helena to see Santa. I am also thankful for having a nice relaxing 4 day weekend with my HUBBY... putting up Christmas decorations and making our new place nice and Christmas like.... and figuring out how to make our stuff child proof and safe... SHOULD BE INTERESTING!!!

Lots of New Stuff.... Helena is 15 months!

Well we have been having major Internet issues so I am so sorry for not updating. First things first.... Helena is now 15 months old! Where has the time gone:( She went in for her check up and she is 32.25 inches tall, 25 lbs, and her head is 18.5 inches..... she is between the 80th-90th percentile. She is just getting SO big. Here is a list of stuff she is doing now...

* She is now an expert climber at the park. She can do almost everything on her own including going down the slide all by herself!! She loves it and she laughs all the way down:)
* She is getting better at eating with a fork or spoon on her own, she would still prefer to use her hands, so I just give her a utensil so she gets use to it.
* She loves drumming on everything. She uses anything and everything as in instrument. I love it. (Helena got to play a grand piano on Halloween.... I think she is going to be better then me. Look at the way her fingers fly across the keys!)
* She also is an expert car singer and dancer. I have the same CD playing in the car and when #5 comes on she is singing before they do! It is awesome that she knows what is coming.
* She is still saying the same words... ( DADA, MAMA, Bubb Bubb (bubbles) ball, kiki, wuff, pup pup) are a few. I feel like she is trying to mimic things we are saying but a lot of the time she stares at us and watches our lips instead.
* She really like to mimic her dad. Pretty much anything he does she does. She does not do that with me. If I say Helena can you do this.... NOTHING. BJ asks and she does it on command. He loves it.... Helena always makes him laugh. I think it needs that especially after a stressful day at the office:)
* A negative thing is that Helena is a very picky eater and will not try new things! We are trying to get her to but no luck so Avocado, Bug Mac n Cheese, Cheese Sticks, Pasta, Oatmeal, Fruits.... those are out staples at this moment.... oh wait DON'T FORGET PUFFS:)
* A positive thing... she has been sleeping almost through the night... we had a whole week with no waking up. I have not been getting her in the night when she does... I need her to know and understand that night time is for SLEEPING! Another positive thing about this is that I get up early around 515am to head to the gym! I love it and it really jump starts my day!

So in October Helena and I were in Minnesota. It was very nice to have some fall weather, see family and friends, and drink Caribou Coffee everyday! We also went to the apple orchard picked some apples and played with the barnyard animals. There was a baby cow who was 4 days old that kept mooing at us.... so cute. We were there with Grammies, my bff Robyn,Auriana her daughter, and Robyns Mom Sue. It was an awesome girls day:) We had lots of fun and I think we took over 100 pictures:) I also got to spend time with my family it is always nice to go home. I hated that it rained almost all the days I was there, however there were about 3 really perfect fall days. The last day I was there I woke up to snow on the ground so I knew it was time to get out of there! Helena loved having a yard to run in and a pup pup to throw a ball too! She was very funny around Ava, our black lab. At first she was really into her and then Ava knocked her down for her cheese stick... for that moment on she would scream and crouch down when Ava would walk by. Then she got a little braver and would back herself up against the wall and sneak by her. This was too funny... Ava is the biggest baby in the world and would not hurt a fly... maybe lick you to death so to see Helena so cautious was very funny.

Well we made it home safe and it took us awhile to get back into the swing of things... but we are back in normal mode. We made it to a pumpkin patch to get ready for HALLOWEEN:) We had a great Halloween, we were at a birthday party that evening for my CA grandma Alice. She had an amazing party with her friends and family. Helena had the best costume... for those of you that did not know she was a LADYBUG! She enjoyed dressing up and got to eat some M & M's. We did not go trick or treating this year. But next year we will be up for that.... I guess I better start thinking of some costume ideas to top this year!!!

So we are into November and I can not believe that holidays are around the corner. With all of this crazy flu stuff, we have not been doing to many organized indoor kid activities. We go to the park daily and swimming once a week. I just get nervous.... some parents are just so irresponsible and I do not want Helena getting these nasty viruses since she can not have her shot until next month. I lost a friend from high school last week from H1N1, she was only 29. I do not want to be paranoid.... but I am a little!

We have been battle the temper tantrums here... a lot of screaming has been happening. I am thinking this is because she really wants to communicate to us and just does not have the right words to say yet! She has also been on a biting kick, this is not good and I do not like that she does this! I ended up putting my teeth on her arm after she bit me 3 times in one day.... good news is she has not done it since. Helena has a very bad temper.... somethings that really make her mad are, diaper changes, getting dressed, and getting cleaned up after eating or her hair washed! SHE HATES THESE THINGS..... however she really loves the bathroom and is very curious about what BJ and I do in there. Is it time for a potty? I think at the start of the new year we will get one for her to try... She is really growing into her own little person. She is very funny, energetic, silly.... she is developing a very unique personality.

13 Months

Well Helena is already approaching her 14th month!!! Where has the time gone? She is always doing something funny! I would have to say that she is a very active little lady! She never want to sit still for a minute! She wants to be outside and on the GO!!! We almost go somewhere everyday. Between the gym and park or out for a run she must get out of the house at least once.... did I tell you she loves TARGET!!! HE HE

Some of the things she has been doing...

* Walking on her tip toes

* Talking from the moment she wakes up and her feet hit the floor.

* Saying bubble and ball

* Climbing the steps at the park and goes down the slide

* She has been eating more things... she always wants to steal my spinach put it in her mouth and then spit it out QUICKLY:)

* She loves when we build her nesting blocks... they stand about 3 feet tall and she knocks them down and yells BOOM or OHHHHHH. She loves throwing things down and making them crash!

* LOVES LOVES LOVES brushing her teeth

* She also loves reading her books to herself.... if we read them she like to walk around and come up and turn the page. Again there is no sitting unless she is very sleepy.

* She loves doing her ABC flashcards while eating breakfast and also her sign cards. Still not a big signer but we are trying!

Helena is the queen of silly faces!!! She always keeps us laughing.... never a dull moment :)

We are currently in Minnesota, I was looking forward to a nice fall vacation and we are having a FLOOD:( We got to the apple orchard on the only day it did not rain. I will post pics soon but the one above should do for now. We are doing some fun stuff for the next few days... I am hoping we get to fly out on Saturday... there is talks of snow!!!

It is SEPTEMBER???? REALLY? COME ON!

Ok so I am the worst blogger ever.... and I have not written in almost a month which means I have a lot to catch everyone up on!!!
THE MOVE
If you did not know, we moved, no more beach living for us, we are now living on a golf course! That's right we are now golf course people ( whatever that means) HE HE... We made the move on August 14th. It was a Friday night and it was LONG!!! We moved from 4pm-3am or something like that! The next day we got some stuff put away and finished getting stuff from the old place! Thank god for my parents they were troopers... they let me boss them around and we got things in to place in no time! Now for those of you thinking... man Sarah is a slave driver... I AM:) however I do feed you and provide beer and whatever else you may need! So I am very nice to work for! HA HA We had my parents here with us from August 10 thru August 20th... we got almost everything done before they left so it was very live able in the new place! We love it and it is really starting to feel like HOME!!!
HELENA JAMES
Well Helena James turned ONE!!! Can you believe a year has gone by... I can not! I understand why people have their babies close, because once they do turn one you forget about the craziness of a newborn and you think MAN I could totally do that again! (Don't tell my husband this... he would freak...) We are not going for #2 just yet but I can see why so many people go for it! Man it does go by so quickly.... it is so funny what they learn and do. A funny story, when Grandpa was here he said Sh*@ sometimes, and for those of you that do not know that was my first word. So one day Helena is playing with her toys and I hear "SHEET".... and disregard it and again she drops or throws something on the floor "SHEET" this time it was used in the appropriate context... I am know laughing and thinking this is soooo funny. I tell my mom and BJ they do not believe me.... she say SHHHHH a few more times and then she lets it fly "SHEET" Oh my little mimic... she is smart and when she hears something she remembers it and lets it fly! Helena is very good at mimicking... she meows, barks, clicks her tongue. She also tries to mimic words or sounds you make. This is not something she does everyday... she has to be in the right mood. I have been doing flash card with her and she gets so excited when we get to certain cards, she then waits for me to day the letter and object... you can see the wheels turning and she babbles something:) So there is always a good effort made! (Picture of her eatting a cupcake on her offical 1st Birthday!)
WALKING
Helena is walking. She started walking right after we moved in. We got it on tape so I will post the video! She is still very cautious however is cruising on the carpet from object to object. Tonight she went from sitting to standing with out any help from anyone or anything. We all clapped including her:) She was very excited! So we all went for froyo to celebrate. It has been in the 90's so special cold treats are a must these days!
MORE HELENA
So there is so much going on with Helena, she is truly an amazing little girl. She is over a very sweet and happy little girl and she LOVES me very much. She is really started to love her some daddy time so it is a nice break. We are currently weaning from breast feeding. This is very exciting for me. I have exceeded my expectations and am so glad for her and me that I was able to provide her with breast milk for this long. However I would like to preserve my nipples for #2 and with 8 teeth sometimes that is HARD! She did have her shots and at her appointment she weighed 23.5 lbs and was 30.25 inches tall. She is in the 80th percent tile. She did cry pretty hard for the shots and ran a fever for a few days. But all and all a TROOPER! Our pediatrician told me to watch out.... he was testing her on lots of things and he wanted me to not be surprised if maybe the TERRIBLE TWO's arrived a little early in our house. I told him not to worry I have already experience tantrums, her shaking her head no. Now I am just waiting for the day she throws her hand on her hip! I know it is coming.... it was one of my signature moves:)
We did have a party for Helena.... it was lots of fun and I loved watching her eat her cake! I am glad we had 3 different parties for her.... I got to experience ice cream cake, a cupcake, and a butter cream cake! She got lots of books and some fun toys. I had to get her a new bin to hold everything!
Well I am getting tired and I hope this is enough to start catching everyone up... I am sure there is more! I will do my best to go back to writing once a week so I do not forget stuff. I want Helena to be able to read this when she is older and laugh at all the crazy stuff we did together as a family! We did get her 1 year pictures taken. They are on the slide show on this blog or go to our flickr page! I am looking forward to coming home in OCTOBER! Excited for some fall weather and CARIBOU coffee!!! OH AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF COURSE:)

LONG TIME NO WRITE

I am going to post a very long blog over the next few days.... Good news... we are all moved and have thrown a successful 1st birthday party. I have tons of pictures to post and so much to write about between Helena and the move:) Talk to you all soon!!!

CHANGES CHANGES CHANGES

I have not written in quite some time... I have been between homes. We got the keys to the new place we are renting and we have making it COOK worthy every since! We have started to paint and clean up to our standards. We will be making the move on Saturday. We have a lot of work to do in 4 days before we get all the furniture and small stuff in. Really looking forward to the move and the new place:)
As for Helena... she is going to be ONE TOMORROW! Where has the time gone? I do not know.... I remember what I was doing a year ago today... I actually blogged that day it was the day before knowing I was having a baby the next day. The last day of being pregnant and the last day of it just being me and BJ. Having Helena James is one of the greatest joys I have ever experienced. I am still in awe of her everyday.
New things she is doing... she says UP, MOMMA,DADA, NIGH NIGH (NIGHT),COOL(She mimics this) and she is mimicking other sounds or things we do. She is still not walking but showing signs that it is not far away.
We are picking up my parents tonight.... and just going to ENJOY Helena's big day tomorrow by spoiling her rotten!

July is already here???

Well it is already the middle of July and I have not blogged in over a month:( SORRY! Things that have been going on.... we have all been sick:( It started with BJ, he was sick for almost 3 weeks. During his 3 weeks, he did however win his first volleyball tournament of the summer and he did finally get some anti-botics for and URI and Sinus Infection. Then he passed it on to me the day we were leaving on VACATION! So I was sick through out our trip and have been under the weather since we have returned! I have horrible allergies, so I do attribute most of my symptoms to that. However it has know been 2 weeks, of stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, ringing ears and MIGRAINES! Oh well, life goes on :)

So in the last month, I celebrated my 28th birthday. Which was a great day, I spent the day with Helena. BJ got me an amazing handbag that is big enough to carry all of Helena's stuff and Helena got me some personalized picture coffee mugs:) We enjoyed a family dinner and I got to come home and watch movies in bed! For the 4th we were just getting ready for our trip, so we had a relaxing weekend of beaching it and packing.
We left for vacation on July 6th, it was a red eye flight, which was very interesting with Helena, all and all she did great, she stayed up 3 hours past her bed time and passed out during the take off. She had a few outburst throughout the flight, and she really melted down during the landing, it was 3am CA time and 6am East coast time. I would have melted down too! She was attached to my BOOB for a majority of the flight I think for comfort, the negative part of this was that the plane was 1000 degrees and we were all sweating. We slept off and on the first day of vacation to try to catch up on sleep and get adjusted to the time. BJ's mom made the most amazing soup and also a fish dish for dinner!
Our vacation was based on spending time with family, which we did and we loved it! We got to see our niece and nephew a lot and BJ's sister, her husband, and mom. It was so great to spend time with them since we only see them a few times a year. We also got to have Dunkin Dounut's coffee, Water Ice, and East Coast pizza. BJ, Helena, and I also went in to Philly for a day and did some historic site seeing. It was a quick trip since Helena's attention span is a little shorter then ours.
Helena also had a little birthday party that Mimi and Aunt Nicki through her. They had some of BJ's oldest friends surprise him. She had a great day with everyone, she got some fun gifts and also got to taste her first ICE CREAM CAKE! Helena had many food firsts on her trip, Water Ice, Pizza, Ice Cream Cake, Fish,Spinach. It is good to know that she will pretty much try anything:) Helena also was practicing climbing the stairs. She only did that a few times, but she did a great job! Helena also got to meet her Great Great Mum Mum, she is 90. It was fun visiting with her, I am glad that we got to spend sometime with her! Vacation was amazing, I wish we could have had a few more days.
So we have not even been back a week and most of you know that our lease on our apartment is coming up and we have had some issues here so we are MOVING! We looked earlier this year and have been looking for this last month. There have been somethings we have been interested in, however there is always a catch.... so I called the place we were interested in before and it seems that the price is doable and I will have a washer/dryer, nice heated pool, and gym. We are happy to have this crossed off our list. Now it is time to pack.... we have less then a months time to get everything ready! Good thing is though that my parent will be here help with Helena and to get situated!
I think the last really cool thing that has happened since we got home.... I took Helena to swimming this week. She has not been for 3 weeks and I was so amazed how much she REMEMBERED! She is jumping in on her own, kicking like a champ, back floating, she also blew bubbles..... and the coolest thing was that I got to wear goggles while Helena swam to me under water. She did everything perfect, she was holding her breath with her EYES wide open:) It was so cool to see her kicking her way to me. I was so proud of her! She is really is turning into a fish! I hope everyone's summer is going well. The next month for us is going to be crazy, getting ready to move. I am training for my RKC, planning Helena's 1st birthday! Lots of fun and exciting things happen with the COOKS!

This is a picture of Helena on the way home! She never once fussed for the 5.5 hour trip home, she napped and read and played with us and DID AWESOME! We are very lucky parents to have such a good little girl on our hands!

Crazy Weekend!

So Helena has jumped on the I am going to be 1 ban wagon and has changed over night! She use to be totally content sitting and playing with her toys, she was the kid that never wanted to roll over. She also did not want to acknowledge that you were teaching her something, she would give you the look like DUH I know that already:) Well man in 2 days things have totally changed....
So like I have said before Helena has been standing and walking around things, chair, toys, sofa.... and just last week she started to crawl. While over night she taught herself to pull up on anything, including her crib which now she is EATING. Yes I am aware I have given birth to a beaver:)
She is moving like a champ and is very brave, we are making bets here in the Cook apt. to see when this lady walks. I am saying by the end of July.... please let me know if you would like to take part in these shenanigans, the pot is going to get hot I can feel it.
Now because Helena is moving she seems to be getting into trouble, this is not her fault since we still have stuff in her reach. We are moving in 45 days somewhere so why move it now. Well this leads to us distracting her and teaching what she can play with and not. I told her no, and well she now fakes a sad face and pretends to cry. Yes again I know I not only gave birth to a beaver, it is a beaver who is nominated for an Oscar.
Well since Helena has been moving she is a lot happier, which means she seems to be more into learning things. We do lessons everyday, from clapping, touching our nose, eyes, ears, hair. I am teaching her to plug her nose and say "PHEW" her daddy stinks sometimes... we love you Daddy:) She is also signing a little more, she now signs, MILK, Drink, Eat, and More. 3 more then she would do a month ago. She is also babbling up a storm and its so funny... when BJ comes home or into a room she says HEY..... that's what it sounds like and it is every single time. So cute and sweet it is something she really only does for him... it like she is on of his buddies just hanging out saying HEY!
Helena has also been getting her appetite back, she has been eating more solid food, eggs, bananas, cheerios, grapes, blueberries, bagels. I have yet to really give her meat, however she really love beans and that to me is a good start. I took Helena to the Baby Time Expo this weekend with her friend Emma and they did so well. I got Helena some Baby Legs. THESE are genius... I have never heard of them or seen them and I am in love with them.... BABY LEGS you are amazing. I also go these really awesome utensils for free from always learning. They are also amazing and Helena loves feeding herself with them!
All in all a very busy weekend of change....She really has changed to me over night. She is such a little lady, I love being able to spend every day with her and I feel so blessed and lucky. Thank you Helena James for letting me be the best mommy I can be!

A terror on the loose! Mr Jones WATCH OUT!

Helena is moving and it is very funny she will go a little then rest, with a big breath! Its so funny. She is also sitting up from laying now and when we go to get her from her crib she is either sitting, kneeling or standing! Good thing I dropped it down a few weeks ago. We had an incident the other night, she started crying and we went in to check on her and she was "SLEEP CRAWLING" she was on all fours moving around her crib with her eyes totally closed! They say the practice what they learn during the day.... IT IS TRUE! Enjoy the video:)

We have a mover and a shaker people!

Lots going on in the Cook house.... Helena unfortunately got a stomach bug last week, Thursday night she woke up with a low grade fever and the fever just kept getting higher. We ended up bringing her in and found out she probably had a stomach bug. She got to sleep with me for a few nights so she got some rest and by Sunday her fever had broke and she was getting back to normal. She is also cutting 4 more teeth so she has been a little more irritable.
But the good news is that HELENA is crawling all over the house! It is so exciting for all of us. She is leaving no spot unturned. She is also pulling herself up onto things and walking around anything she can get her hands on. I do not think we have very long before she is running around the house!!!
Helena is 10 months old today. I look at her and am amazed, she is not my baby anymore she is such a little lady. She is saying MA MA and knows that it is me. She is also very close to telling us NO. When she does not want something or is done she yells and it sounds a little like NO or she shakes her head NO, can we say SMARTIE PANTS. She also is pointing to Nose when she is asked and we working on mouth, ears, and eyes. She loves reading her books everyday we read before her naps and she very patiently waits to turn every page. She is just really starting to be a sponge absorbing and taking everything in! Our days are truly becoming an adventure!

Walking..... OH MY!

So we have bought Helena a push walker.....she does not necessarily push it. However she does walk around it!


" See Mom one handed...." and she is at her starting position.






And she is rounding the corner....






Her last leg....







As you can see she is really starting to move.... I think it is only a matter of time before we are in for some real trouble!!!

The Month of May

So this is a little late, but Happy Mother's Day to all of your beautiful mothers out there! I hope you enjoyed your day:) I know I did... I got to spend my first mothers day with my mom:) My mom flew in and we all headed to Palm Springs for the weekend! SO MUCH FUN! Lots of swimming and relaxing, good food and Margaritas!
I feel like so much has been going on let me see if I can blog it all....
Miss Helena James is just getting so big, she is now 9 months. She has her 4 teeth and 2 more coming. She is getting more beautiful red hair, it is the most amazing shade of copper you have ever seen.
* Helena is still saying, Mama, Dada, Ya Ya, MMMMMMMMM, and Yea!
* She is walking along all the furniture and pulling herself up with a little help
* Today she actually got up on all fours and flew herself forward in to the carpet! SHE GOT PISSED:( Ok is was a little funny....
*She is wanting to do everything by herself.... she is 9.75 months going on 3!!!
* She is now loving swimming lessons and really learning... when we count 123 she jumps off the edge to us. She also is very close to swimming underwater by herself instead of us diving her!
*Helena is also finally getting better about sleeping ( knock on wood) She is almost sleeping thru the night... she sleeps from 7:30ish to between 2:30am and 4:00am!!! She eats and goes back to sleep until 645ish.... now if we could get her to sleep until 10am:) Just Kidding
* Helena is an amazing dancer and singer, she hears music and starts to raise her hands, like she is raising the roof. She also yells out AHHHHHH AHHHH OOOOOOO in harmony to must tunes, it use to be when we sang to her, now it is also in the car.... it is so cute I just smile while I am driving, I have a personal concert everyday!

I am sure most of you that read this have had kids, so you will understand what I am talking about. This last month has been the most trying month with Helena, she spends so much of the day frustrated between trying to move and communicate what she would like. It is a test of patience and it has shown me that I actually have some! I have been trying to sign with her, say all the words that she may want or need and also pointing at things.... she is just so stubborn she looks at me like I am CRAZY.... and then gets bright red, tenses up, and arches her back in ANGER! ( I know some of you are saying pay back is a B&^%$ .... I know I was not that bad of a kid) HA HA.... I just hope that soon enough everything will come together for her and we can talk, walk, and laugh!
We brought Helena to her first kids movie UP.... needless to say we did not make it thru the end. She was so restless and babbled the whole time so we needed to leave so close to the end. She has been to 3 mommy matinees and done well, but now that she can move, I do not think movies are in our cards.
More fun and exciting things the little girls I nannied were in town so we got to spend the day with them. It was so much fun. They are now 7 and almost 11.... they are such great girls and are turning out into beautiful young ladies!
I am sure there is so much more..... BIG news.... our nephew was born on Friday May 29th, 2009 Evan Patrick McGann. We are very excited for the McGann clan and can not to get out there in 6 weeks! We have a busy summer ahead of us.... between, birthdays, vacation, moving, and my RKC course. By September we will be ready for another vacation, but instead we will be planning BJ's 30th birthday bash! Well I hope every ones May was great! I will do better this next month with blogging. When I do not do it every week, I know I am missing out on things....oh something funny.... BJ dressed Helena the other day and this is what he came up with.... its a new style and I think it is pretty cute!!!

The Busy Cooks!

Wow, it has been a while since we have written and of course there is so much going on! We have all been sick here in the Cook house so things have been a little chaotic. BJ was getting random fevers and feeling run down, I started to get a fever, body aches, and fatigue and poor baby Helena is cutting another top and every time she cuts a tooth she gets a NASTY COLD! So all of us have been to the doctors and we are all going to LIVE!
There is so much going on.... I am starting to work sort-0f.... it is a top secret project that I can not talk about. But when I can I will and it will be BIG!!! I can say that I am very excited to be working on something I am passionate about and to be able to do with Helena. So I am sure in the next few months I will fill you in on everything!!!
As for BJ, his business is booming and I am so proud of him! He is doing an awesome job at balancing everything, from work, to home, and he is even getting in some V-ball from time to time! We both try to stay active so we can be a positive example for Helena as she grows!
As for the little stinker herself, we have figured out that she loves to sleep on her stomach, now if I could only find a diaper that holds thru the night. She wakes up soaked all the time! I have tried the Pamper Night-Time Diapers, however she is so sensitive she has gotten her first diaper rash:( So thank god I bought 6 sets of sheets and crib saver pads!!! Since she has been sleeping on her stomach she has been getting up less thru out the night. It is very nice to actually get a little bit of sleep. Other things Helena is doing...

* She is saying "Mama" and "YA YA DA DA"
* She is really good at feeding herself things.... and we are getting more adventurous about what types of food we feed her since she can eat some of what we eat:)
* She is still butt scooting
* She loves to stand and walk with us. (We got her a walking push toy and are very excited to see how she does with it.)
* She also loves reading and turning the pages. We read 3 to 5 books a day, and most of them we read at least 2 times!
* Helena loves playing with the grass and flowers, she got to experience mud for the first time this weekend and of course I did not have the camera!!!
* Helena has been enjoying wearing her sunglasses like her mommy, she thinks she is sooooo cool.
* Helena also really enjoys playing with her friends, she has a couple of friends her age and she loves to scream at them, pull their hair, and also hold their hands:) Over all it sounds kind of rough, however they have a way of being gentle to each other.
Here are some pictures of what has been going on over the past couple of weeks!







Helena feeding herself puffs.... (Good pinching skills)








Helena realized she could dump them in her mouth!
Ooops she is missing her mouth and feeding the sofa...









She decided that the sofa was REALLY hungry too, so she shared all of her puffs!!! HA HA

Swimming Disaster!

So BJ and I thought since Helena did not have a good lesson last week, we should get her in the water to just have some fun! We decided to go to family night at the pool. BAD IDEA.... we were in the pool for maybe 8 minutes and the next thing you know she had been smack in the head with a diving ring that some little kid threw! These were not supervised kids and the little girl felt horrible! Needless to say Helena cried like she never has cried before. She was so pissed and of course that was her first real injury.... POOR GIRL. We told the lifegaurd what happened, it took us awhile to calm her down but she was back to her old self before we knew it. I took a bath with her last night so she did not end the night with a bad water experience. I had her totally cracking up, we played for about 20 minutes splashing, blowing bubbles, and floating around. So glad we did that! So we will see how she does on Friday, we may walk into the pool area and she may just start screaming!!! Wish us luck:)

More Videos.....

This is one of her favorite toys still!!! She was 3 months old here....


The cutest giggle you will ever hear!


Helena loves to ROAR!!!

Videos

I have finally downloaded some videos.... I hope you enjoy.....

First day in the hospital.... she is so small where is that little girl....



So little!!!!

What A Week!

So the Cook family has been falling apart!
On a positive note, we had an awesome Easter! Helena loved her basket especially the shredded paper:) We spent the day together as a family and actually all got some down time. Helena and I have a packed schedule every week, between kettle bells, play dates, story time , and other things that pop up I feel like sometimes we are never here! So on Easter we went to breakfast downtown and then we just had a comfy Sunday and enjoyed playing with Helena and watched some movies. For those of you that have not seen BOLT, very cute and we give it 2 thumbs up.
On Monday, I was going to go to dinner with the girls, when BJ who had not been feeling well all weekend with sporadic fevers came home very ill. So started the long week of the Cooks falling apart. We ended up going to the Dr's for BJ and found out that he is ok and just needs to take better care of himself. Helena has been cutting her other top tooth which means we are up 2-5 times a night and with that we are also up for 1-3 hour stretches at a time. This is the hardest thing I would say about the first year. I have never slept thru the night, however there were weeks and days in there where Helena would sleep for 7-9 hours stretches. So when we are up every 1-3 hours it is very DIFFICULT! I feel very bad for her and I really hope that after this tooth is out we have a little break! GOD knows we need sleep! And then due to the lack of sleep I started to become very congested and running a low grade fever myself. We all have recovered except Helena she is still cutting that tooth:(
Helena is doing new things everyday, she has started to scoot on her butt in a circle, she is also scooting on her back. Still no crawling, but I'm sure we will get there soon. She is also pulling herself up with your fingers or if she has a ledge. She loves to be standing on her feet. She is not that big into walking her feet yet, but again I am sure we will get there. She loves feeding herself and is getting more things in her mouth. She does a great job eating her puffs she eats them one at a time and does it all by herself. She also loves drinking out of cups! The Easter Bunny brought her, her very own big girl cup and she loves it and does not dump it on herself which is GOOD! Last but not least, I know we have talked about swim lessons before, BJ took Helena this week by himself and apparently they did not get to participate very much because Helena cried most of the time:( Hopefully next week will be better! I hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weekend. I know we are going too!!!

8 months

HAPPY 8TH MONTH HELENA JAMES!!! You are growing in to such a little lady. We love watching you grow and learn. We love all of your funny faces, noises,and smiles! YOU never cease to amaze us! We are blessed to have you as our little girl! We love you very much!

Teething yet again!

Helena is officially cutting her top teeth. The first has broke through and man is she extra clingy and moody. She really wants to be with you all the time! I was fortunate enough today to get all the laundry done with her help of course and a light cleaning. We just dusted a little. When she teeth's she either sleeps a lot or not at all. This time it has been a little bit of both. I sure hope she gets some relief soon. Something fun is that she will be 8 months this Saturday and I am sure the Easter Bunny will be visiting on Sunday. Enjoy the picture of her folding laundry, we are having her start chores young. ( She was playing peek-a - boo, and when she pulls the shirt of she was keeping her eyes closed... like if she did that I could not see her! So silly:) )

Growing....

I just realized I did not update her height and weight after her 6 month check up! Her next appointment is in May!

• August 18th, 2008 20 inches long, 6 lbs 10 oz
• September 9th, 2008 21 inches long, 8lbs 4 oz
• October 22, 2008 22.25 inches long, 11lbs 13 oz
• December 18th, 2009 24.25 inches long, 14lbs 12 oz
• February 27th, 2009 27 inches long, 18lbs 9 oz
  

Is it really April!!!

So I have not been writing because I have had an eye infection. I have some stuff going on with my corneas, so I have been trying to not be on the computer as much. I have been on drops for almost a week and my eyes are getting better and my vision is no longer blurry! We had Helena's second swim lesson this week and BJ and I both took her. She goes on Fridays at 9:30am which is not the best time, because Helena is usually napping around 10ish, so she is just really tired and cranky at this time. Friday, she was a little bit of both. She was doing great until it was time to practice underwater swimming. The teacher did the first underwater dive and we noticed she goes under the water with her eyes wide open! She then comes up a little angry that she went under! Everyone in class claps for Helena and then she stopped! BJ did the next one, I know he was super nervous but he did a great job, she did not go in has head down as she was suppose to, so she was even more mad when she came up! Helena has the week off from swim lessons this week and I am sure she will be grateful!

• Helena also started clapping this weekend! It is very cute, she joins in when we clap and she seems to start clapping when we say YEAH!!!!! She also closes her eyes when she claps it is pretty funny!
  
• We are also still having tummy time to encourage her to crawl. We know she can get up on all fours because she does it a lot. So for now she just scoots in a circle on her belly! She is also defending her sit and reach championship!
  
• Helena is also feeding herself more with her hands and with her spoon. We give her melting puffs on her highchair tray and she gets 1 out of 5 in her mouth and then the rest she gets stuck on her face:) She does really well her spoon, she gets it in her mouth and then she picks it out with her fingers and smears it all around! Lots of fun before bath time!!!
• She is also still talking a lot, between squeals, cooing, and yelling MAMA in lots of different ways. She is also really good at singing to songs! She hmmmmm's along, IT IS ADORABLE! She is also blowing tons of bubbles that is very wet:)
• Helena is getting really good at taking all of her rings off her ring tower, she is also getting a few back on. The best part is that she has realized she does not need to take them off one by one anymore, she now just turns the tower up side down and watches them fall off! HA HA
  
• Helena also did something new today, she was sitting on BJ's lap and I was across the sofa from them, I reaching my arms out and she was trying to stand herself up! She did a few times, she is just so cautious so she would just lift her butt up a little bit!
• BJ wanted me to add that on the weekends Helena enjoys lounging on him! She does this almost every night and pets his arm hair. She really just loves every minute she can spend with him and I know he loves when she snuggles on him!!

BJ and Helena were playing guitar this weekend, she got very excited about this and enjoyed strumming with him! I also brought Helena to lunch with me this weekend with a girlfriend! She did so great! Never fussed, just ate her puffs, sweet potatoes and teething biscuit! She loved talking to everyone around us and just being the center of attention!

Other updates for the Cook's, BJ's business is really booming, they are Fung Shuing the office and getting settled. We are really enjoying that summer has arrived in San Diego, yes we skip spring! It was 79 degrees today:) We are just enjoying every minute with Helena, I just can not believe she is going to be 8 months next weekend!

Helena is finding her voice!!!

We were at my friend Natalie's house. Helena has her days of loving the dogs and then hating them. She loved them this day! TOOOOO FUNNY:)

SWIM LESSONS!

Helena had her first swim lesson today. It started a little rocky since she puked in the pool and the instructor freaked out:) We got all the chunks out of the pool and continued. We splashed and sang songs. We floated on our backs, kicked our feet, went under water, and jumped into the pool. All of these things were assisted.... Helena did a great job, she really loves the water. She did get a little freaked out about going under. They have you dive them under.... she came up a little freaked however we clapped and then she smiled! This is going to be a daddy and Helena activity, however I will be in the water too. We both want to be comfortable in the water with her. We do not have pics from the class, but I did get her a new suit and cover up! I will post pictures this weekend. We are off for a walk, the weather has been beautiful so we are spending a lot of time outside:)

32 Weeks! TIME IS FLYING!!

Wow I am a bad mom, I have not been keeping up on the blogging! Well big things happening in the Cook house. BJ and his company moved into an office space this last weekend. So that is a really big deal for them. They are getting new projects each day, so we feel really grateful especially when a lot of people are struggling. It will be nice to have in only 10 minutes away instead of 30 minutes. So CONGRATS Digital Operative, may the new office space bring you lots PEOPLE/PLANET/PROFIT :)
As for home life things have been a little stressful, we are trying to move out of our falling apart apartment. We are in a lease until August, however there are somethings going on and we would like to work with them on getting out. So we are giving them our notice and MAY 1st, 2009 the Cook family should have a new address:) We are all very excited for this, I am most excited to de-clutter our lives! Really dig in and get rid of stuff. How do you accumulate so much SH$%!!! We found a place we like we are just waiting to finalize everything till the middle of April so we can take advantage of being an immediate move-in.
On a positive not, Helena went swimming for the first time last week, she is natural in the water, she splashes and has no fear! She loves putting her face in the water, kicking her feet, and blowing bubbles! If I would have let her she would have stayed in there all day! Other things she is doing, she is really starting to have a temper, if she does not want to do something she squeals and arches her back and sometime throws herself back. It is very funny I do have to say, however you have to really watch where she is throwing herself, she is soooo strong, she wipes back so fast you can barely catch her. She is cutting her top teeth and I think on a growth spurt, she is eating, drooling, and sleeping a lot! We are doing really good with naps, she puts herself down with out a fuss most days. Bedtime I still rock her, which is not working as well anymore but again most days we snuggle up and rock till our heart is content! All and all she is such a good little girl, she loves to smile, laugh and talk! What more could you want:)