Fun weekend! What the heck? Christmas is almost here.

Hey all! Here are some cute pictures first of our weekend in Abilene with Leslie and Sara (and the kiddos), and some random nine week pics.







Isn't he the cutest? He's getting bigger and smarter every day. He coos and "guhhs" all of the time, and loves to laugh and smile.

We went to Abilene last weekend and had a ball with my friends from college and their kids. I will refer everyone to the link to Leslie's blog on the side for what happened during the fun weekend - Leslie couldn't have summarized it better!

Cooper went to the doctor yesterday for his two month checkup and shots. He's a wonderful, healthy boy, weighing in at 10 pounds and 13 ounces. Right on target. But, he's going to be a tall one! He's 24 inches long already, which is in the 75th percentile. Woo-hoo! Basketball here we come!

All was wonderful, until the FOUR shots. I had to hold him down and watch him cry, but he did better than I thought he would. What a trooper. He had a 100 degree fever last night, and it came down this morning to about 99.3. We're going to keep with the Tylenol and see what happens. However, he seems to have developed a fabulous cough with lots of grossness behind it. No good. I called the nurse and she said if he still has a fever tomorrow that it's not because of the shots, but from something else, and if it gets above 102, to call the doctor. Ugh. I hope he gets better soon, because they're nothing else you can give him except Tyelnol. We'll fire up the humidifier tonight and see if that breaks things up. Poor Coop! He's been so healthy and great thus far. Guess I better wash my hands more!

Thanks

Thanks to all who helped with the diaper issue on my blog. I'm going to see if Wal-Mart will take one of these back maybe. I hear these Huggies Supreme are great diapers from others too, so I guess we'll see.

Here's 8 week-old Cooper:


Here's tired 8 week-old Cooper:


He's starting to look like a boy now!

We went to the dentist this morning and he was so good. Not a peep, and he was awake! Maybe he'll love the dentist someday instead of freaking out. Ha.

Is it bad that everything on the Food Network is a rerun to me because I watch it constantly?

I forgot to shout out ...

When I made one of my lists of favorites on this thing, I didn't mention that two of my fave bands are also Alison Krauss and Union Station, and Coldplay. I could go on more about bands I like lately, but no time. I didn't want to cheat those two.

My mom was here this weekend to babysit Coop while Luke and I went to his company party Friday night (lots of fun) and while we ran the Trail of Lights 5K in Zilker Park on Sat. It was such a fun weekend!

Coop's asleep right now. I'm still trying to get him to sleep at least 6 hours at a time. I think he's waking himself up because he's cold now, not hungry. Also, he tends to leak out of his diaper a lot and we have to change him like twice a night. I went today and bought more fleece stuff and some diaper doublers to see if this all works. Any ideas from moms about how to keep boys from leaking? We wear Huggies Supreme (which we have a lot of from gifts, etc.). I wanna use them up because they're so expensive!

Also, can you put a blanket on a little baby in his crib? He sleeps so well with us in bed because it's so warm. How do I keep him warm without overheating? Such dilemmas ... :)

He's a smiler! Seven weeks ... Has it been that long?

He's getting so big, and cuter than ever.

Is it freezing where everyone else is today? Luke is working from home today, and they say it going to ice over in the hill country. Brrrr! Finally, the cold weather is here.

Click here to see a video - ignore Luke's hairy legs. It's a definite smile!

Lookin' good.


Pucker face - he's got the funniest faces!


Scary catepillar coming towards me.


Big cousin Mason holding Coop.


Haha - tried to take a Christmas picture. No such luck.

Big Boy

He's getting so big! I need to post a picture - I will soon. I guess I need to take more pictures too - we've been slacking in that arena.

The weekend was busy, but nice. Is it weird that I don't really remember what we did? I can't remember anything at all anymore, since Cooper was born. Oh yeah - Friday Luke took off work and we went to the outlet mall in San Marcos to go Christmas shopping. It was really fun! Much harder with a child in tow, but he slept most of the time. Got to catch up with the hubby! We ordered pizza when we got home and ate with Jeffrey and Mason at our house, then watched Christmas with the Kranks. Tim Allen is so funny to me.

Saturday, we put up Christmas lights. I just did the tree trunk and Luke did the rest. Cooper slept outside in his stroller in just a short-sleeved onesie. We were in shorts and t-shirts. It was 84 degrees! Merry hot Christmas. They look pretty though. Again, I'll post pics soon.

Sunday it was about 30 degrees cooler. This Texas weather! We attempted to take family pictures in the garden outside of the church, but Cooper was in a bad mood. We'll try again later! I cleaned all day while Luke watched Cooper. We went on a little walk, talked about the neighbors ... it was a good time. Now it's Monday again! Mom is coming into town this weekend to watch Coop while we go to Luke's company Christmas party, and Sat. night, run the Trail of Lights 5K. Woo-hoo!

One month pics are in.

I went to Sears a couple of weeks ago for his one month pics. They're pretty cute. Can you believe the stocking one? He was really little - he's getting so big now!

We went to lunch today with Claire at Fuddruckers (mmm) and then to see Atosha at Cheer Station, and then to the mall. I like to get out with the little guy - he tends to sleep a little more!

Thanksgiving weekend recap

Again, I've gotta keep up with this thing! I feel like so much has happened since I last posted. I guess it's been a while. Let's summarize:

Last week was fun-filled and tiring as well. Lots of firsts for the Coopster. On Monday afternoon, our friends the Wattersons came for a visit so Chase and Cooper could meet. They're instant best friends! We had lunch on Monday at our house, and then we went to Hula Hut and Mozarts - a very Austin thing to do. Brings back lots of memories! The next day we went on a walk with the kids, to Chipotle to eat lunch, and then to Circuit City so Preston and Sara could look at TVs. They'll cave. :) That night, we went to eat dinner at the very far away house of Ty and Charis and had a blast. They left Wed. morning. It was a much different visit than usual because of the new additions to our families. Lots of time feeding the chil'ins and getting them ready. A baby really does change everything, but in such a cool way. It's neat to see all of these families evolving!

Wed. night we went to our traditional dinner before Thanksgiving at one of my fave restaurants - La Morada - with the whole Hejl family. The flautas are amazing! Then, we spent Thanksgiving lunch and day with the Hejls and Luke's grandparents from Oklahoma. It was great to see Cooper's great grandmother holding him and just thinking. Luke and I both wondered what she was thinking that whole time. I had a kid, who had a kid, who had a kid. Whoa. Unreal.

We packed up everything (a serious feat with the new child) and went to my parents in the metroplex for the weekend. Both sets of great grandparents on my side got to see the Coop. My family Thanksgiving was on Sunday, and most of the cousins and their girlfriends/wives were there. It was also a blast - lots of memories there.

I must say the most fun thing was running the Jingle Bell Run for the Arthritis Foundation 5K in Fort Worth Saturday night. I LOVE running races - especially those for a good cause. Meeting people, motivating yourself to go faster, the food and drinks at the end. It was so fun. My dad watched Coop while we all ran it. Luke finished 127th of about 1700, which I think is pretty good. Twenty-two minutes for 3.1 miles. He's so darned fast. But, I finished in 33 minutes and ran the whole time. Not too bad for birthing a child six weeks ago! George finished in 29, and my mom and sister walked it in 48. This is our second year to do the race and I think we'll keep on keepin' on. It's a fun, healthy tradition! Well, until the Mexican food after the race at Cabo Grande. Nulled everything. Poor Cooper. He's such a gassy baby because of me lately! I have to stop the Mexican food pronto!

That's just the summary. It was such a great week. We took lots of pictures, so see below!

Super duper Cooper

Thanks Kelly, for tagging me - didn't see that!

Click here to see a quick video of Coop moving around. This could be kinda big - let me know if it doesn't work. I've ordered a firewire cable so I can put stuff from the video camera on here finally. I'm trying to get him to smile!

Even though no one asked me to ...

I'm going to do the little list of thingies:

Two names I go by: Pookie and Sara

Two parts of my heritage: Irish and Indian

Two of my everyday essentials: my watch and chapstick

Two things I am wearing right now: Gap jeans and a white t-shirt

Two of my favorite bands or artists: U2, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder (sorry, three)

Two things I want in a relationship: understanding and loyalty

Two truths I have: Breast feeding hurts but rules at the same time, iPods rule as well

Two things I hate (or dislike with a passion): violence, intolerance and ignorance (three again)

Two physical things that appeal to me: My two favorite material things in this world - my Yukon and my wedding ring

Two favorite hobbies: Working out and eating - haha.

Two things I want really badly: everyone to love everyone (is that retarded?) and new carpet

Two places I want to go on vacation: Italy and Fiji

Two things to do before I die: run a marathon and see my son marry a Christian woman and have a Christian family

Two ways I am stereotypically a chic: I cry a lot, and I always think that I don't have any clothes

Two things I wouldn't normally admit: Desperate Housewives is my favorite show right now, that's about it!

Weekend in my old hood.

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I'm really going to try and get better at keeping up with this!

We went home for the weekend for Cooper's first long drive. He conks out in his car seat, so it wasn't bad at all. It was good to catch up with Luke and have a little talk time in the car. Everything is going well. I can't believe that he's already four weeks old! It's been slow, but fast. Does that make sense? Here are some pics. More to come!

Here's the fam before church:


Rachel and Coop:


Cooper in George's lap:


After a bath:


Grandma and Cooper:



Where's Cooper?


Best friend Tigger:

Whole new meaning to multi-tasking ...

Ten things I've noticed in these past three weeks:

1. I can never get one thing completely done in one setting.
2. Soreness like I've never had before - that's all I'm saying.
3. Things are moist in weird places, and we find ourselves asking, "How did this get wet?" a lot.
4. Cooper wears five different outfits a day, or no clothes at all.
5. We're always hot.
6. I really, really, REALLY miss sleeping.
7. We love the bouncy chair.
8. Getting ready to go somewhere is a feat in and of itself.
9. The house will never be full clean again.
10. It's all worth it, because we have the most beautiful baby on earth!

He makes little sighing noises sometimes, and LOVES to flail his arms and scratch the crud out of his face. I cut his nails, but it really doesn't seem to help. All I can do is put lotion on them and hope it doesn't scar. I think one of them will scar forever it seems. Maybe it'll go away. Calm down Coop! Things are getting easier though - still hard to drag myself out of bed three times a night, but it'll get easier.

Not that I'm complaining, just observing. As I sit here and watch him sleep while Luke cooks, I can't help thinking about what Cooper will be like when he grows up, and what kind of vacations we'll go on, etc. There's just so much awaiting us in the future - I can't wait! Pictures will come soon!

Cute little pumpkin

I know it's late, but I had to put it on here. He looks awesome in bright colors, like orange! He's his father's son for sure.

The due date

Today is the day Coop was supposed to be born. I couldn't imagine if we was still inside my body - he'd be a 10-pound baby by now! I can't believe he's already two weeks old. Luke goes back to work tomorrow, so it'll be the first time I'm alone with him for more than like two hours. I bet we'll find something to do, like clean my nasty house. How do people keep houses clean? I feel like I clean all of the time and it's never really clean. We're thinkin' about hiring someone to come and clean the house from top to bottom ... deep clean ... ever six months or so. Worth it to me!

Jack Reese spoke at Westover this morning - reminded me of ACU. We weren't there though - listened to a live stream online. I love that Westover techie feature!

Halloween tomorrow - we have a way-too-big pumpkin onesie for Coop. He'll look cute.

More pics - we can't help ourselves!

Here's a few more pics from the past two weeks. Some of these don't even look like him anymore because he's fattened up a bit. He got really skinny there for a couple of days. One of us on a walk too - he loves the stroller. Luke and I are dying to put him in the jogging stroller, but it'll be a while I think. He has to be able to control his head a little more than now. But, he's already holding his head up while on his tummy and holding his paci in his mouth by himself. So advanced!

Awake and blogging ...

It's 1:11 a.m. here and I've just put Cooper down, finally, to sleep. I'm downstairs and he's in his bouncy chair. Scary thing is, I can't sleep. So, I blog. I've just read through a ton of old ACUer blogs and it made me happy. It's so great to be able to keep up with the lives of so many old friends in such an interesting way. I miss being involved in everyone's life on a daily basis at ACU - blogging helps us all stay connected!

I'm looking at my week-and-a-half old boy right now, and I'm amazed. Never did I think that something so perfect would come out of two SUPER imperfect people. I guess that's where God comes in. Even as I'm exhausted and healing right now, I really don't care about me. It's unbelievable how instantly you love someone that you don't know. I'm already worried about him as a teenager (with our bad metabolisms, braces and my eyesight, he doesn't have a prayer, at least in junior high), or in elementary school playing the make-people-pass-out game like boys did at my school, or needing me when I'm not there, questions, this crazy world and the stats we hear every day ... everything. I'm already a worrier, so this is going to be hard to let go and let God take care of him. He is so precious to us.

Anyway, I love and miss everyone I don't see everyday, and I hope somehow that all of our kids can hang out (at least at ACU) and know each other in the future. This talk could be all of the hormones I have running through my body, so take it all with that in mind!

Moms - any advice when I'm feeling overwhelmed? I'm already worried (shocker) about going back to work in the new year. I get to bring him with me, so I don't know why. I just want to be able to devote my attention in the right spots.

Love to all!

Go Wildcats!

Look how cute the future Wildcat is! Looks a little scared of the camera, but knows where he's headed!

The doc appt. went well yesterday. He's gained four ounces in four days, so that's good. Back to 7 lbs. 2 oz. Still pretty little! He has conjunctivitis in his left eye from the birth canal, so it's all pussed and gross looking. We got some meds, and it's already better today. Whew! I mean, this is a common thing, and Luke and I freaked out. I'm glad this is the only problem we've had, because I don't think Luke could take much worse! He's such a good pappa!

Gotta go do laundry!

Back in full effect.

It's so hard for me to keep posting pictures, but he already looks older and cuter! I'll try and keep up tonight or tomorrow.

More on me: On Friday, Luke, Mom, the Coop, and I went back up to St. David's because of my spinal headache. Lemme tell ya - this thing was unbearable. Like a dork, I thought I could wait it out until it went away on its own, but no chance. We went up in the afternoon. It took about three hours. They gave me what's called a blood patch in my spine. They took 20 CCs of blood out of my arm and put it in my epidural space. So weird. I almost passed out, they had to stop and start over. I think it was just because the doctor was describing everything he was doing to me. Ugh! As soon as he stopped that, I was okay. After it was all over, I had to lie flat for 30 minutes completely still, and then slowly sit up every 20. Then, pressure in the back all day. But, no headache! Thank you God. I feel so much better.

We go back to the pediatrician tomorrow morning to weigh him, etc. I think all will be well! He's so awesome!

Sorry

About the scary leg picture. I took it off. See the less ghetto picture below. I'm really tired and just posting pictures that I see. Blurred vision because of this headache. Apologizing again ... Here's a hook 'em horns for ya! (Thanks Claire!)

COOPER IS HERE!

Dang. I'm so sorry it's been such a long time since I've posted, but I've been birthin' and feedin' babies for about five days so far. Now, the birth story for those who have been waiting:

Saturday, Oct. 15, UT game: Luke and I went with Ty and Charis to the UT football game on Saturday afternoon. Ty got tickets from his work, so me and my 38 week pregnant self went to eat and went to the game. It was SO hot! Without even realizing it, I did all of the things you're supposed to do to put yourself into labor - walking up a lot of stairs, walking that morning with Luke, eating Mexican food at Hula Hut after the game, etc. Needless to say, I was exhausted after that day out.

When we got home that night, I felt SUPER uncomfortable. I took a bath and sat on the couch and felt a little better, and then went to bed. Same old night ...

Sunday, Oct. 16, 3:30 a.m.: I woke up for normal pregnant reasons and was just listening to the house noises, when I felt a pop sound, followed by another louder popping sound. I was all, no way. I walked to the bathroom, and low and behold, my water had broken. This of course scared the heck out of me, so I woke up Luke, and off we went. It was pretty frantic. By the time we got into the car and had everything we needed and were on the way, my contractions had started full force. And man, contractions are not cool. New found respect for natural birth people. I sure couldn't do it!

We got to the hospital, I changed, and started the contraction process. Ouch is an understatement. At about 6:30 I asked for the epidural. The anesthesiologist (is that right?) was going to be 30 minutes late because of a twin c-section, so that was fun. His replacement got there pretty quick and went for the epidural. But, instead of an epidural, she gave me a spinal block, accidentally. This happens to one out of every 100 epidural tries, so I was "lucky!" I was totally and completely numb from the chest down. I'm serious when I say that someone could have cut my legs off and I wouldn't have known. Oops. They stopped the medicine and said that I had to wait for it to wear off for about two hours before I could feel anything. I was dilated from a 4 to a 10 in one hour, but had to wait to push. Woo-hoo! After I started to feel my toes and legs (which is so weird, by the way), I started to push. I pushed about two and a half hours, and out he came! It was absolutely the most amazing thing I've ever done. It was so great. Luke cried like a baby. He's perfect.

The worst thing so far is the spinal headache I have, and have had since Monday morning. It comes at about 1:00 p.m. and doesn't go away until about 7:30 p.m. If I wasn't confined to lying down completely flat when the headache hits (only thing that works) things would be awesome. He's eating pretty good, but got pretty skinny Tuesday and Wednesday, so that scared us. We went to the pediatrician this morning and he said that everything was totally fine. Same weight as he was when he left the hospital, but we've had to supplement with formula a couple of times. He's doing great today. He's seriously the most awesome thing Luke and I have ever done and will ever do together. I really don't think it's hit me yet that he's our forever!

I'll try and keep more pictures posted!

Quit scaring me Dr. Scary McScaryson!

Another interesting doctor's appointment - I just can't get enough craziness at her office lately! We go in at 4:15, do the usual weigh, blood pressure, etc. I gained SIX pounds in a week apparently, and that's good. Back up to 20 total. Working from home and trying to chill out has helped. Then, the doc comes in to measure and examine me, again, as usual, and as she's feeling around on my tummy she says to the nurse, "Go get the ultrasound." I was all, "Holy goodness. What's the deal?" She then replied to us, "I think this baby's breech." Great. I didn't feel he was breech because I think I might have noticed him flip over, but she wanted to look on the ultrasound and make sure.

She turned on machine and looked around, and behold, he was head down. Whew! His head was so far down already that she couldn't feel it. She just wanted to be sure. Man! Why the heck did she have to scare me? She just kept saying that it was not good for him to be breech this far along, and we'd discuss our options after she looked at the ultrasound. I'm glad all is well!

I'm three centimeters dilated, so one more than last week. Things are moving right along. Doc predicts next week, so we'll see I guess. It could be anytime. It's really starting to freak me out after this appointment. This child is going to come out, one way or another, in a VERY short time. Our entire lives are going to change. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I have to keep focusing on the good! We get to meet Cooper soon!

Off to the UT game tomorrow. I bought a large orange t-shirt to wear. And I will look like just that - a large orange!

On my way ...

... to the doctor's appointment! Scared some of you guys. Ha!

Wish me luck. We'll see if I've progressed any this week and gained some weight back. An update will come soon after.

Also, I wish I was at ACU Homecoming this weekend! It sounds like it's going to be such a fun event. We'll be at the UT game on Saturday afternoon instead (too bad we're missing that ACU football game), Lord willin'. Maybe those loud canons and screaming fans will send me into labor.

37 weeks - let's think 19 days left, shall we?

Large and in charge, and eating my weight in Taco Cabana and other fatty food.



Gotta gain weight, for the first time in my life. This will probably be the last time I will have an excuse to do this, so I'm taking advantage!

Our birthing class this weekend was really great. I enjoyed it, but I think Luke got a lot more out of it than I did. Luke still felt like he didn't know much of the details behind the whole process. Well, if we didn't know something before, we sure do now! Lots of really cool videos will hopefully help take the edge off of the real thing. :)

I'm working from home starting tomorrow, and I have to take it easy per the doc. It'll be nice. I still have a lot to do with the nursery and around the house, and I'll get to rest a little. Next appointment: Friday afternoon. Could be any day!

Weird update from doctor

We had an interesting doctor's appointment this afternoon. I'm a little more dilated than before - a tad more than two centimeters and progressing fine. It was kinda nice today because the doc's normal heart rate monitor was broken, so we got to have another sonogram instead to check everything out. It was cool to see him again on-screen. Everything looks fine - heartbeat, organs, movement, amniotic fluid, etc. My doctor couldn't tell if he was still a boy because of how crammed he is in my giant tummy, but she's confident in her first assessment of the whole boy thing. Right now, Coop's about 6 lbs. 9 oz. and growing at full speed, still on schedule for Oct. 30. All is well!

Except for one thing: I lost five pounds in a week. Really weird. This concerned the nurse and the doctor big time, since I shouldn't be losing weight at all right now. This brings me back down to 14 pounds total gain. I mean, I hadn't eaten anything in a while before my appoiment, and it was like 4:30, so that could have been part of it. But, my appointments are always at 4:00, so go figure. She asked all of the questions: Are you eating the same? Yes, a ton. I had hamburger pizza last night and McDonald's today. Any weird activity? I worked out yesterday, but I do so often during the week.

The doctor then said that since he's growing fine and everything's normal then the weight loss was probably okay, to which Luke chimed in (and thankfully so) that work has been extremely stressful for me in the past week and a half, which it has. That struck a small chord with the doc. Stress can make you lose or gain weight, and I think it's the only explanation for my weight loss. From of all of this, the doctor wrote me a note and advised me to work from home and take it super easy from now until the baby comes. Whew! I think it will help a lot. I'm going in on Monday to switch everything over, give a run-down to all and grab some stuff, and then it's home until labor day per doctor's orders. Not sure how everyone at work will react to that, but I really can't help it. I hope this helps me maintain my weight. It really scared me when the doctor was so concerned because I'm seriously not trying to lose weight. I eat all of the time it feels like. We'll see what relaxing from here on out does to my weight. I'm just glad everything's cool with Coop.

We went to the mall right after the appointment because driving north on I-35 from the Central Texas area on Texas/OU weekend at rush hour is just ridiculous. Luke got some clothes, and I got nothing except baby clothes and nursing stuff. It was a little sad for me. I miss my normal clothes! It's colder here now, and I have like two shirts I can wear at this point. Come out baby!

We then went to Chuy's with my friend Claire and then back home. It's been a nuts week, but I'm glad for the weekend. We're going to birthing class Sat. and Sun. to see what this will all be like. God bless us all!

26 days and counting ...

THIRTY-SIX WEEKS!



Wow. I'm HUGE! He's dropped a little bit since last week I believe, so the heartburn has been basically gone, and I feel much better breathing and eating. Pretty nice of Cooper I think. At the end of this week, he will be a full-term baby, so labor could happen at any time. I don't think it's hit me or Luke yet really. Not sure if it will until we're in the delivery room and I'm having him.

We spend this past weekend getting everything we still didn't have for the nursery and other essential items. Babies 'R' Us is a madhouse on Saturday afternoon, so word to the wise - don't do it if you have many large items in your shopping cart and you are trying to walk through the aisles! It was still pretty fun shopping around. But, by about 6:30 (and we'd been to Sears Grand and BRU) we're still at Target buying groceries and baby stuff, we were spent. We got a mattress, Diaper Champ, a going home outfit (super cute) some burp rags and bottles, and other fun stuff. I think we still need a mobile, but that's about it. He has more clothes than a boy should ever have, but they're all so cute! I'm only praying to God at this point that he's a boy. Otherwise, we'll have much more to do/buy. On Sunday, Luke went to the lake with his brother Jeffrey and I went to the gym and swam. It was pretty cold, but kinda nice to be weightless and not feel so huge for just a few minutes. As of last Thursday, I've gained a total of 19 pounds. Man, I feel it! Then, we went to care group and had some great Chinese food. I'm pretty sure I overdid it at that restaurant. Mmmmm ...

My bag is basically packed for the hospital and we have everything we need and more for the baby. I just can't wait to see how big he is and hold him and see what he looks like. I'm so excited, yet nervous, about the whole ordeal. Not much time left!

Doctor's appointment

Another update: Already, we have progress! I am 1-2 centimeters dilated and 50 percent effaced, So, the labor process has already started. Man! I didn't think there would be progress like that this time, so we'd better get our tails in gear this weekend a buy a mattress, put the car seat in, etc. I know this probably means nothing, but the doc predicts I'll have Cooper in 2-3 weeks, or at least before my due date. Unreal! I had a pretty stressful day at work, so I haven't really had a chance to soak this in. I think I'm in a little state of shock.

She also mentioned that this makes for a much shorter labor process - about 6-10 hours total. That's great news if it rings true! I'm trying not to get my hopes up for anything so I won't be disappointed when it's 24 hours long!

Woo-hoo! Cooper here we come!

Weather

Even with all of my angst for the weather lately, this morning is AWESOME outside. The high today in Austin is 82, and I've never been so excited about a cold front. Ever. The hotness was really starting to get to me. This morning, walking the dog, I was so happy-go-lucky just because of the 72 degrees. Is it weird that I'm ready for Christmas?

Shower time!

What a crazy weekend! Since the shower was moved around because of the hurricane, and the word didn't really get out as planned, I had TWO showers. Yes, two. One on Saturday and one on Sunday, the real one. Saturday, I went to the place where it was going to be and waited to see if anyone came, and one person did. It was still nice, because all of us chilled and ate and looked at the new, beautiful house. Today was also great! We got lots of great gifts from our family and Westover friends. It was SO much fun. Here are all of the hostesses and moms, total. All there at one point or another!



Here I am at a whopping 35 weeks. Only a few more weeks to go! He's still moving like crazy. I'm ready to meet him and see what he looks like, hold him, all of that fun stuff. We just lack a few more things until the nursery is completely organized. Yay!

Is it ever going to be not hot outside? It was seriously 109 at one point on my mom's car thermometer. Ridiculous! Pregnant and hot weather do NOT mix well.

Doctor's appointment

We went to the doc today. All is well. I've gained another three pounds, so that puts me at 16 pounds total. I'm feelin' that! His head is still down, and I'm measuring normally. My blood pressure was high the first time she took it, but it went down as I sat there. A little swelling everywhere, but nothing out of the ordinary. Cooper's heart rate was at 166 - that seemed high to me. But, no one said anything, and he was moving around the whole time. Really strong heartbeat!

I start going in every week beginning next week to check dialation, progress, etc. I can't believe he'll be here so soon.

Stupid hurricane

My shower has been rescheduled for Sunday now, instead of this Saturday. It's from 2-4:00. Hurricane's rule. I hope everyone who can come will still come. It's all good, since my life is WAY BETTER than the people on the coast, fleeing for their lives. I'm just happy people care enough about me to think of throwing me a shower. And I wish my sister could come. Who's going to write down my presents?

GO AWAY HURRICANE!

34th week, already better than 33rd week

Here's me:



A little face swelling, and that was early in the morning, so I have morning eyes.

This past week for us was a crazy one. Wrecked car, rent car fiasco (Driving a neon, by the way. Very comprable to a Yukon ... It's my punishment.), doctor visits to check out Cooper, and Luke's marathon sickness this weekend. This week has already been better for everyone.

So Luke. Friday night we went to dinner with our longtime friends, Matt and Candi, at Red Lobster. It was great, but Luke was feeling a little funny the whole time we were eating. Just thought it was his usual car sickness, which in itself is pretty bad. We went to our house and watched a movie, and then went up to bed at about midnight, before which, Luke threw up. At around 1:15 a.m., he threw up again. Let me just say that neither of us slept the entire night, and Luke threw up about 20 times, and that's not exaggerating. I felt so bad for him. It was major.

So now with the worry of dehydration, we decided at 6:30 to call an urgent care place to see where we could get in first thing. There's only one big one in the area apparently, that's open early on Saturdays. I made an 8:00 appointment at 7:00 Saturday morning when their call center opened, and off we went. A line of sick people had already formed at 7:55, but we managed to get into the doctor at 8:15. That's the fastest anything like that has ever happened for us. Anyway, the doctor said it was a stomach virus, not food poisoning, because he did not have a fever. Now, off we go to CVS to get Gatorade, crackers and a prescription for anti-nausea stuff. You don't wanna know.

All was better yesterday. We went to church as always, care group, etc. Today, he's feeling bad again. So, we'll see what happens. If it gets worse tomorrow, it's back to the doctor. Poor Lukie. It's really miserable. I'm completely staying away from him because I don't know what I'd do if I contracted this virus. It would be off to the emergency room for me.

Whew. Anyway, less than six weeks to go with this pregnancy thing. I'm really starting to feel it. You just can't ignore the pregnancy anymore like before. It's in the way in everything you do, but I'm starting to get used to it. He still moves a lot, and it's still amazing that he's forming inside of me and getting bigger and bigger. But, I'm starting to get really ready for him to come out, and really nervous about this birthing thing. It's going to happen, one way or another, so I just need to suck it up and get pumped! My shower is this weekend and my mom and sister are coming down to hang out, so I'm excited about that. I'm glad the shower is coming up so I can take an inventory of what I have and finally get completely organized before Cooper comes. This nesting instinct thing is for real. I was SO restless at home just being there and not really needing or having the ability to do anything except wait.

All is well.

Here's the pole I killed.



So today started off hectic, and still hasn't ended. I'm having to catch up on work that I missed from being tested and prodded all day. I called my doctor this morning and told the nurse everything that happened with the wreck. She said that I should go into the doctor on call just to make sure everything's good. So, while Luke was taking care of my retarded car mishap, I dropped work and went to the doctor's office. She said all was well from her end, but it's nearly their policy to send anyone who's had a wreck or something weird happen over to labor and delivery to get a stress test on the monitor for about 30 minutes. I had to chill downtown for a while, since they were backed up, so I went and ate lunch and sat there. I got up to labor and delivery, and got kinda weirded out. I kept thinking This is where I'm going to have my baby, and it's for real. But, the room they put me in was just like what I will have when I do deliver, and it was really stinkin' nice. Wood floors, tile, really big. That made me feel good.

They got me all hooked up to this big monitor for what seemed like forever, and asked me a million questions. I have to tell you, the best question was "Are you afraid of your husband?" just out of the blue. It almost made me laugh. I said "No, thankfully." Then I thought about how sad that would be. Still random.

Anyway, all is well. Cooper's fine, and I'm going to watch where I'm going carefully from now on. What a day!

I'm an idiot.

I had a wreck in the HEB parking lot tonight. Ran into a short, but fairly sturdy pole. My car is jacked. Radiator, bumper, lights, you name it. I uprooted the pole. Thank goodness for big cars. But, if I had a small car, I would have seen the pole. Now, one more thing to do and more money to spend, because I'm retarded.

I'm okay, and Cooper's okay, but I'm calling the Dr. in the morning to see what I need to do, just in case. He's moving around, and the airbag didn't go off, so we're good. It was just really scary, to think about how fast that happened, and how I didn't think of anything but the baby. It could have been so much worse, but it wasn't. Just thought I'd let everyone know. Cooper's a sturdy little fella thus far.

33 WEEKS

Here's large and in charge Sara with Coop.



This is such a pregnancy shirt, but not all of my stuff fits over my tummy anymore, and that can look just gross at times. My tummy feels like it will pop any moment, and I hear it only gets bigger! I really can't imagine that right now.

Our weekend was pretty relaxing and somewhat uneventful, which was nice. We're trying to soak in as many of these kinds of weekends as possible until Cooper comes. Friday night we went to eat Mexican food and rented a movie, which was great. But, that night, at around 2 a.m., I woke up with the worst case of heartburn I've ever had in my life. It was unreal and pretty painful. I sat up with a pillow in bed for about two hours until it died down, even after nearly a whole little thing of Tums. Man, no more Mexican food for dinner. We can't handle it.

Then, we slept in a little on Saturday, went on a walk through the neighborhood, ate lunch, etc. Luke and I did some yard work, but it was mostly Luke. I started cutting back roses and things, but I seriously can't bend over anymore. So, I watched him in the yard with the dog and helped a little. I think we were in the yard for like four hours. It looks SO much better though! We were beginning to grow a jungle out there. I cooked dinner for a family with a new baby (and some for us of course) and we took it by, ate ours at home, and watched another movie. Man, we're crazy.

Yesterday was a major blow off day. Church was great, not a blow off time of course, but after that we did nothing. I took a nap, and then we watched TV and Ocean's Eleven. Then to bed. It was great.

Only sevenish more weeks to go!

Doctor update

All is well in the Cooper department! His head is still down and his back is to the left side of my body, so he's kicking and moving a lot on the right side of my tummy. Boy, is that comfortable. No weight gain at this appointment, so I'm still at 13 pounds total, which I still don't believe is accurate. Whatever. I'm eating chips and french onion dip right now, because I can. One more appointment in two weeks, and then it goes to every week. Not much time now!

Congrats to Luke's brother Jeffrey and his wife April (and little Mason too) that they're having another boy! These Hejl boys are taking over the world. I can't wait for Cooper to have a cousin his age to play with!

I've been tagged ...

Here's me at 32 weeks - I feel like a bullet aiming towards something. Ha! Only eight weeks or less to go - woo hoo!

I've been tagged by Leslie to answer these questions. Let's see ...

Seven things to do before I die:
Take a culinary tour of Italy
See my son turn into a husband as wonderful as his daddy
Sing something cool in front of thousands of people, again
Get back to my high school weight
Run a marathon
See my parents go somewhere really, really cool on vacation
Live on the lake

Seven things I can do:
Teach advertising
Cook pretty well
Still run at eight months pregnant (not for long)
Say the books of the Bible in less than 20 seconds
Eat way too much Mexican food
Work from home better than I work at work
Love my family

Seven things I can't do:
Fix my hair straight (ha Leslie)
Household projects with my husband
Keep the house dusted
Resist pizza, of any kind
Watch an entire movie at home past 10:30
Part with my iPod
Eat tomatoes or cucumbers

Seven (okay eight) things that attract me to Luke:
His smile
How dedicated and in shape he is
His love for God, and family, and all of his friends
That he misses me really badly when I'm gone, and get's bored
His love for cars and the yard
That I'm his favorite person to talk to
How excited he gets about everything
His responsibility and drive to get things done and get them done right

Seven things I say most often:
"I'm so sure."
"Fascinating."
"This is Sara."
"October 30th. Yes, I feel good. Cooper Martin Hejl."
"Put it on my calendar."
"I love you."
"I'm hungry."

Seven celebrity crushes:
George Clooney
Brad Pitt
I really can't think of anyone else

Next month!

Cooper is officially due NEXT MONTH! Unreal how the time has flown. It's all starting to hit us. Things are coming together, but I'm having this nesting issue. I actually cleaned out our tupperware drawer the other day. Whoa. You never realize how little tupperware you have when it's all organized. It looks like a lot when it's in a pile!

Another note: I'm really worried about gas prices. It was WAY too much to fill up the Yukon yesterday. WAY, WAY too much. I hope things don't get much worse in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. I feel blessed to live here in Texas at this moment in time!