Week 21 - First Christmas

Few, what a whirlwind of good times. We had a wonderful Christmas. Nathan did well with all the attention but had a bit of trouble sleeping with all the noise that was going on.

Nathan got his first taste of solid food, if you can say that rice cereal has a taste. He pushed out more than he ate and did even worse the second time around.

Grandma and Grandpa Cooley are coming today to spend the long holiday weekend with us. Nathan has not seen them since he was 2 weeks. Boy has he changed from back then.

Happy New Year to all.

Week 20

This week we had to say au revoir to Zoe, Laura, and Reid. They are returning to Calgary now that Reid's 3 months at Microsoft are over. We are sad to see them go, but we aren't allowed to keep them. Maybe they liked the area enough to come back in the future. All the best to them!

Laura and Paul got to go to Imprev's Christmas Party at the Bellevue Club. While we were there Joyce and Arvid got some time with Nathan. I think they were teaching him to roll over, because the next night he rolled over in his crib a couple of times. He doesn't seem to retain the knowledge for very long however.

Another fun event was the Christmas get together for Laura's parent-child class. Paul got to swing by and see what that little world was like for 30 minutes. Definitely some talking about babies goes on there.

Joyce, Nathan, and Laura took Wednesday to go and shop. Nathan came home with some clothes that he can now fit into, at least for the time being.

With all that said, We wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas!

Week 19

Saturday - Family was getting over colds. Nathan continues to recover from shots of last week.
Sunday - Walk at the botanical garden to view the spectacular lights.
Monday - Swimming
Tuesday - Parent Baby Class. Diagnosis for Laura's sore middle back (since labor); prognosis 'popped-out-rib'. Solution: Physical Therapist returned it to correct location. Currently hurts worse than before, but is healing.
Wednesday - Make cookies for cookie exchange group. Lunch at Molbacks with Laura and Zoe. Up twice in the night.
Thursday - Lunch with the old work crowd and shopping at Bellevue Square. Great sleep night from 7pm until 3:30am. Paul is finally over his cold.
Friday - Cookie exchange group at our house.

Mom is ready for the weekend!!



Plus a couple just in from the week before:

Week 18

The week started out good with a dusting of snow and just went down hill from there. First was all the flooding in the area. Swamp Creek went turned into a wild river flooding many of our neighbors homes. It was very hard to leave the house on Monday and we braved the storm so we wouldn't miss our swimming lessons. Then the family got hit by a cold bug. Nathan and I took a trip to the doctor, him for his 4 month checkup and me for my back. Nathan is growing I was thinking he was going to be 16lbs but he only ended up being 15lbs 6oz. He is now in the 50th percentile for weight and 75-95th percentile for height at 26 inches. He is doing most everything a 4 month old should be doing. He got 4 shots, yes I said FOUR. I have to say our nurse is so quick it probably was done in less than 20 seconds. I start physical therapy next week for my back, she seems to think I have some nerve damage in my back.
We had some visitors from Canada for dinner during the week. Shawn and Julie got Nathan a Cars dish set that will be fun to use once he starts solids.
Nathan has pretty much grown out of most of his 3-6month clothes at this point he is wearing the 6-12 month stuff. Mom needs to do some shopping or he will be sporting the bare look this winter.
I know 2 weeks ago I said Nathan would be rolling over by now but no he still is stuck on his back or front. He is very good with his hand to mouth coordination. He will hold on to his fish teether for a really long time. He isn't wanting his plug, sucker, soother, mute button, pacifier much these days, instead he likes to scream when you put him in his crib for bed. I am hopping it is just the cold/shots that has made him into this grumpy child.

Week 17

This week was fun. Nathan and I went swimming on Monday and had a surprise visit from Dad. Nathan took his first trip underwater. He did great. No laughs or anything but he wasn't mad either. We put up our tree last weekend and Paul put lights on the house. Nathan and I took a trip to see Santa. Santa didn't really dress up for the occasion, it looks like he is in his PJs. Nathan and I also went to Sears to have his pictures taken. Sears had some girl that had never really done it before. So it was frustrating for me. I shouldn't have bought any pictures. We won't be going back to Sears for pictures. I don't think I posted that Nathan had been refusing a bottle, well he drank one ounce this week without crying. Looks like mom and dad get to go to his Christmas party on the 16th.





And for a little fun here is a funny part of the Shrek Christmas special - Shrek the Halls:

Week 16 - Thanksgiving

Busy week but fun because Paul was home this week. We ate lots of great food and cut down our tree. It was too bad that Nathan got fussy at the end as his Aunt wanted to play with him more. Nathan moves his lower trunk all over the place these days. I have a feeling he will be rolling over in the next 2 weeks.

Irratable Child Found Feet

Well it is only week 15.5 and Nathan is doing lots of new things. He can full on laugh. I bounce him on my legs and he just laughs and giggles. So fun for mom. Also today all he has been doing is staring at his feet. I got a good picture of it outside today. Yesterday we took a quick trip to the ER as our doctor was unable to see Nathan. He had spit up a bit of blood, was screaming uncontrollably and I wanted to get him checked out. The ER checked him over real quick and he was fine. They discharged him with the diagnoses of "Irritable Child". All I can say is babies should not spit up blood. I still finding myself second guessing my trip but I am sure last night and today I would be wondering if he was really ok. The ER doctor said this is going to be one of those wait and see type of problems. By the way Evergreen ER is very cool. They just added on and it is really very nice. We got our own room, unlike when I broke my wrist and I had to share my room with 4 other people. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and then next day is the day we cut down our Christmas tree. I am looking forward to dressing Nathan in his new red sweater. Also it is the anniversary of the day we found out I was pregnant. I remember being on cloud nine last year as we were walking around the Christmas tree farm. Check back on weekend for more pictures. :)

Week 15 in pictures

Here is Paul's selection of week 15 photos.

Week 15

Nathan is sleeping. That is what he does now. Typical night is from 7pm until 4am up and eat then sleep until 7am. Mom is happy so the family is happy. Nathan is also eating less frequently. I think a typical day he eats about 5 or 6 times. 4am, 8am, 11am, 1pm, 4pm and maybe a bit at 7pm. For now that is the pattern, I am sure it will be different next week. You can see that he can see much farther, I can smile from across the room and he will smile back. Nathan can also look and then grab for an object. This week he also passed his fish teether from one had to another. Another skill that he has mastered is drooling. I guess you know that from Paul's iDrool photo. I have to admit I didn't know that you needed a bib before they starting eating solid foods. I thought bibs were for eating, turns out you need them for the never ending supply of drool. Paul and I hear laughs from Nathan now. More than just the ha that he has been doing. He has all kinds of gurgle sounds. Nathan can also hold himself standing with just his hands. You have to be careful holding him like this because he randomly lets go when he is done. Pictures will come later. I am hoping Paul will do that his week. We will see.

Nathan will have some cousins from Kenya... Check out here for the news flash: http://fuzzypoopers.blogspot.com/2007/11/our-kenya-heritage.html

New Apple Product.... iDrool

Week 14

Nathan and I have been working on rolling over. He seems to enjoy being on his stomach too much to roll over these day. I don't believe he has rolled over since he was 2 months. Oh well so much for me thinking he was so advanced. Oh and our sleep anomaly was just that. He went back to a 3-4 hour wake up schedule last night. Speaking of sleep there are two ways of thinking about infant sleep. Ether they should be sleeping like an adult or a baby. Developmentally Nathan is not ready for long periods of sleep, he will get there with time. Plus Nathan is the talk of the moms, they are impressed how well he sleeps in class. He will fall a sleep while laying on the floor. They say the need to rock/hold their babies to fall asleep. One last random thought on sleep, Nathan has also started to take naps in his crib.
Let see.... what else is going on. Nathan has all kinds of new sounds. He seems to like to "talk" when he has his hands in his mouth. This week he has spent a great deal of time with his hands together in front of his face.

Additionally, we had a great weekend last weekend spent with Jason and Kirstin -- spent it at the Tellevik's cabin. They got to meet the little guy for the first time and it was obvious that everyone got along great and there was lots of love to share! We will have to do that again. Board Games, Scrapbooking, puppies, Xbox, and food galore.

Sleep anomaly

There was a strange sleep anomaly last night in our house. I woke up at 1AM and it was quiet. I woke up at 2AM and it was quiet. I woke up at 3am and I heard a little one sucking his thumb. Since I was up I fed Nathan after 8 hours of sleep. 7PM until 3AM. Then he slept until 7AM. Got to love that guy. Just for reference he broke his record of 6 hours, he has done that twice in the past 2 weeks. So I am feeling pretty good with my 5 hours of sleep in a row.

Zoe and Nathan's First Swimming Lesson

On a bright and sunny Monday afternoon, the girls and the babies started their first Water Babies class. Everyone had a great time. The babies loved the water, the mothers loved being there with them, and the fathers enjoyed capturing the moments on film (digital, mind you).

Week 13

Busy busy week. We survived. Swimming lessons start on Monday.

Week 12

Wow time is flying by. Nathan and I did our last 0-3month class this week and we are moving up to the 3-6 month class. Should be fun because most of the moms that I know are now in that class.
This week Nathan became a champion hand sucker. He can suck his thumb too but he is not quite as good at that yet. I am completely fascinated by this for some reason. You can see him think about it and then move his hand. Wow so smart I think to myself. So far he does not seem to favor one hand over the other. At first I thought it was all right handed sucking but now it seems to be more left handed. My parents are hoping for a left handed child. My mom because she is left handed, my dad because he would be a more valuable baseball pitcher. I just want him to be able to use the right handed scissors in school.
This week I was also thinking to myself that he is generally happier, less fussing and crying. Well it figures on Friday I was at my wits end by 5pm. He didn't take any significant naps and was so crabby all day. He did have another 5 hour sleep last night so that made up for the long day.
Last weekend we visited the fruit market by our house and got a couple of pumpkins. I did a product focus group this week for a bottle/pump company. They have some neat product ideas that I can't share. Nathan and I also went to a playgroup in Redmond.
Next weekend we get to visit with the Jason and Kirsten at my parents cabin.

Week 11

This week was filled with a storm and power outage, an installation of a new freezer, helping mom and dad put in some shelves, and plenty of more smiles.








By Laura Just wanted to add a few things. Nathan is getting over his love of black and white objects and is starting to like colors. He is tasting his stuffed dog a lot and has started to grab objects and bring the towards his mouth to lick. Nathan has had one more 5 hour stretch of sleep this week. He has also decided that he likes to be held outwards so he can see the world. Swinging is also lots of fun in his swing. Eating has been a challenge for the past few weeks. He gets so unhappy if he has to burp or if the milk isn't flowing fast. Other than that he has been sleeping more and is generally much happier during the day. Bed time is getting earlier.

Week 10

Busy fun week for the family. This past Sunday we got to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with Zoe and her family. Zoe's mom made a really yummy turkey and stuffing. Nathan and I had parent child class on Tuesday and a play date on Wednesday. We had one night of a 5 hour sleep. Most of the other nights we are getting 3 or 4 hours in a row for the first session and then he is up every 2 or 3 hours after.
Nathan also rolled over from tummy to back on a hard surface for the first time. He has done that many times on the bed since he was 3 weeks old.

Did the stars align?

Did the stars align? Was there a full moon? Did someone cast a spell on my little bundle of joy? Write this down in the records books... Are you ready for my big news. Nathan slept for 5 Hours in a row.... Did you get that... 5 Hours in a row. It could even be 5.5 hours because I didn't count the light sleep that he got when he was still making noise in his crib. So after he woke up ate he slept for another 3. 5 hours in a row. This is short of a small miracle for mom. Just so you know he broke his record of 4 hours. Mom only got 4 hours of sleep in a row but that is because Nathan went down around 9pm. The downside to all this sleep is Nathan wakes up as a hungry little screaming monster that is unrecognizable as my sweet little son. I will take sleep over a happy baby at 2am.

Week 9

Nathan had his first trip to a museum this week. Boeing's museum of flight. I recommend it for anyone that comes to town. I hope that Nathan learns to love airplanes. This week he had his 2 month checkup. 12lbs 8oz. He still is in the 75 percentile for height, weight and head size. The doctor said he is doing everything a 2 month old should be doing and that we don't have to come back until 4 months. During his visit he also got a round of immunizations. 3 shots. I have to say it was easier for me than the heal stick he got at his first appointment. Now granted he was very fussy after his shots. Nothing seemed to help so Dad and I decided Tylenol was the only way to go. Sleeping is about the same he is up every 2-3 hours at night. We have tried everything. 4 different swaddles, keeping him up until late, putting him to bed early, adding a hat, adding a incline to the crib, gas drops. Paul can get him to sleep for 4 hours in a row if he holds him. I have decided he will sleep for as long as he sleeps and I am not going to go nuts over it. Yesterday Nathan and I spent the day in bed as I had a fever. Turns out I have an infection and I am on antibiotics, feeling much better today. Next week is busy Nathan and I are doing swimming lessons, parent/child class and a play date at someones house from class.
I almost forgot. Nathan has a new friend in town. Zoe came all the way from Calgary to spend 3 months in Redmond with her mom and dad. Zoe is 12 weeks old and is super cute.

Week 8

Mommy went to the dentist and had a good checkup. She doesn't have to go back until March. While mom was out I went to Nana's and Papa's. I had the best nap at Nana's and Papa's she might need to leave me there everyday. Nana even made cookies that I couldn't have but boy they smelled great. Right now mom is typing for me as I am talking up a storm in my crib.
This week I am starting to copy mom. I can say "ohhhhh" and "ahhhhh" so well. I am even better at holding my head. I actually like alone time where I can just look at the pictures or play gym.
Most of the time I am happy during the day and fussy before bed. Just like to keep mom and dad up. I still only like to sleep 2 or 3 hours at a time. Sometimes I like to wake mom up every 1.5 hours. I really just get so hungry and lonely in my crib. Check out my pictures. Mom didn't get to take as many because she forgot the camera at Nana's house.

Week 7 - II

To satisfy your sense of hearing. This is what Nathan often sounds like while awake. Laura's idea of course!



Paul & Laura

Week 7

Week 7 is over, few. Great to have some extra hands on the weekend. The fridge is now working, we think. The guy couldn't tell me if the timer was broken or not but he showed me how to fix it if it is indeed broken. Aunt Karen and Uncle Ian had us down for a mid afternoon lunch where we dinned on Turkey burgers that were quite yummy. Karen also made cupcakes for the Septembers birthdays. Nathan and I attended our parent child class and did a long walk to the library. Mom had us over for dinner due to the fridge being out. Let see updates on Nathan. He went for his longest time between feedings, 4 hours, the only problem with that is he was up until 1am with Dad. Paul and I have decided Nathan is most happy on his changing table. That is the place that he "talks" the most.

Week 6

Well this week was very busy. Paul and I had our 3 year anniversary. We celebrated by getting some Mexican take out and taking it to log boom park and eating it by the water. Nathan missed it all as he was sleeping in his car seat. I had my postpartum check up. Nathan missed that too. He was sleeping in his car seat. Friday was my birthday and we dropped Nathan off at the grandparents place. We hit the BluWater Bistro in Kirkland for a wonderful dinner. I had Macidamia nut crusted Mahi stuffed with shrimp and crab. For dessert we shared fondue. So Nathan missed that too but he was awake at my parents. He did great with out mommy around.

Nathan is still growing, my guess is he is almost 12lbs now. We will find out on Monday when he goes in for his checkup. He is fitting in his 3-6 month clothes now and has out grown a bunch of his newborn sizes. Nathan is starting to watch everything around him. He is very fond of black and white objects. His grunts are turning into coo'ing sounds now and he can hold his head pretty well on his own. Last night he slept for a record 3.5 hours in a row. Followed by some not so great sleep. Well the goal of keeping Nathan alive for another week was successful. On to next week.

Week 5

Week 5 was a busy with a long weekend visit to Laura's parent's cabin. Nathan's first overnight out of this home since he came home.

Following that it was a bit too much activity with a couple of related problems with our fridge. Having things thaw when you don't want them to is no fun.

Nathan is keeping up with a 2 hour sleeping pattern in the nights. He has a significant number of smiles, mostly in the morning. He is fussiest in the evening. Laura heard him say: ahh.

Mommy and Daddy are sleepy, ZZzzz. Goodnight.

View Album

Get your own

Week 4

Nathan, Paul and I are having a great time. Nathan is growing. He is now popping the snaps out on a couple of his onesies. He has to be the smartest baby I know. He can smile.

He still is not sleeping for long stretches. His record is 3 hours but normally it is more like 2 hours and 20 mins. I have started to go to a Parent/Child class on Tuesdays. It was quite fun last week and plan on going weekly. 20 babies in one room that are 0-3 months. It gives you a chance to ask questions. Today we went to Costco and had a nice trip to visit Paul at work. Tonight we are going out to dinner.

Week 3

Of what will be 1 of hundreds of graduations, Nathan will hit his very first graduation soon -- He will graduate from the pampers 'N' size into the '1' size. That is as soon as he goes through the remaining 12 diapers, probably the next hour...

Nathan is tipping the scales at almost 10 pounds (as of 30 minutes ago). He is eating up a storm. Constantly keeping Laura busy. Laura is doing amazing work and I think Nathan is really starting to appreciate it.

It was this week that Paul went back to work and tapping his nose to the grindstone. However, he is well aware that it is more work to be at home. He spends some time at work hoping that Laura and Nathan are getting enough rest and there aren't too many explosive diapers during the day.

With a little planning and determination we made it to church this morning. However, there wasn't that much listening to the message for Laura as in that 30 minutes Nathan wanted to eat and managed to make 2 dirty diapers while taking in food. Paul was apprehensive to go/look into the nursing room, out of respect for the other nursing mother and felt bad Laura got the short end of that stick. Next time I guess I have to nurse? :O

Observations: Nathan is more alert and aware of the world around him, there are some happy/relaxed times with Nathan, and he appears to recognize some faces and voices


Photos:

Week 2

Swish. That was the sound of another week passing. The Cooley family has been bless with Grandma and Grandpa Cooley staying at our home for the past 7 days. Nathan has gotten to meet all his Grandparents now.

Observations: There are good days and bad days. Tasks at home, become, more, interrupted. Your own baby is certainly the cutest.

Photoz:

Week 1

This is a glimpse into the Cooley house during Nathan's first week.

With the exception of bouts of struggling to calm a crying and fussy baby all is going well. Laura has the bulk of the work and she is of course doing an amazing job as I knew she would. I am attempting to serve her, give her some alone time, and allow her to sleep as much as possible.

Grandma and Grandpa Cooley have gotten to see Nathan via a couple of Web conferences. They will be able to see him in person early next week. Grandma and Grandpa Tellevik have been by several times to observe Nathan in his 'sleep' state so they haven't yet seen his eyes. Aunt Karen and Uncle Ian have been by to see Nathan as well. Indeed he is being welcomed into the family and the Cooley's are feeling the love and support on that front.

Our biggest adventure has been a trip to the Dr. for a checkup followed by a stop off at Target to compliment some of our existing supplies. This new mom and dad are figuring out what we 'really' need; aside from coffee (for Paul) that is. Our parental observation, leaving the house when you have a child is approximately 4 times as much work as before. Plus there is a nervousness around the next time the little "time-bomb" may go off - you can delay the fuse a bit with some soothing rocking, but it will still eventually burn down. :-)


Another Movie:




Another Slideshow:

The early days

Daddy Cooley has been readying some digital entertainment for you. This is a small view into the early days of our little boy Nathan.

Mommy Cooley is doing a fantastic job with our little boy. It is hard to express the inequality of the workload at this point. Not only does she need to recover from Labor and delivery, but she is the food source for our boy. She is so strong, patient, loving, and kind. She is doing fabulously.

Baby Cooley is in one of four states: eating, sleeping, looking around, or crying. We are learning how to handle these states, but there is much more to be educated on.

A video:



A slideshow:

Ready or Not here I come

Our baby boy arrived early this morning! Mom and Baby are healthy. A perfect and quick birth.

Born Aug 3rd 2007 at 5:13 PDT
7 pounds 14 ounces
one Nathan Charles Cooley

Already he is a star in our minds:














And a very happy 0th birthday to Nathan:


















And in the flesh:















Cute as a button and perfect as can be. Us parents are beaming now!

Zoom Zoom

The Audio:


Introducing my new used 5-door car, 2006 Mazda3 hatchback. I once told Paul we would never buy a Mazda due to the fact he says it like he lives in Britain. This is one thing that makes me laugh when he talks. Java, pasta, lava, drama are other that come up that he uses an a in apple sound. pah-stuh (US) vs. pas-tuh (CND). Now if I could just get him to start saying "eh?" again. Anyway my new car is fun but I will miss my 2-door Honda Civic.

Up

Going up?

On 07/07/07 two friends and I celebrated the day with a mountain bike ride up a mountain near Lake Cavanaugh. Sure the satellite images make it look flat, but there is a couple of climbs in there, if you read the elevation profile: Elevation Profile link

The tracks:


Link to the Innersource mapping project

Squirrles make a run for it.

Well we have enjoyed a year of having a wooded backyard. Where the squirrels like to run on the fence highway. That is quickly coming to a end. The property behind our hose has been sold and the squirrels will need to pack their bags and leave. We finally had gotten some quiet days now that the Brightwater project has left our road but now the bulldozers are out back making room for another 4-5 houses per acer.

Precision

Due the Brightwater project, the road that provides access to our cul-de-sac has been in a state of deconstruction.

One thing to note, is the precision of when things will get back to normal. Check out the sign that is posted in front of the construction, they are accurate to the hour. They have 7 days and 21.5 hours to finish up.

BC - 31Weeks 6 Days

Things are going well at the Cooley house. BC is growing way too fast and has started to sit on my bladder and kick my ribs. I think he is doing the splits or some new dance in there. I have a hard time believing that my stomach is going to be able to stretch anymore. I have started my every 2 week checkups. So far we are both doing well. Notably that BC is moving lots, my blood pressure has only gone up a bit and I don’t think I have gained too much. 22 or 23 pounds so far and I have 8 weeks to go. Doctor said the baby will be here by the Aug 9^th if I would like. So if he is not here by the 4^th we will induce on the 8^th or 9^th. 8/8/07 would be a good birthday. In fact so would 8/9/07. So far he is the perfect baby, no crying, no dirty diapers and fun to play with. I might start to miss that soon.

Two very giving coworkers are hosting a co-ed baby shower at our house on the June 23^rd. Feel free to come if you know where we live. I can’t wait to see all our friends and relatives and I am happy to know a few are traveling down from Canada for the event.

To do:

Buy and Install CarSeat
Make at least 3 dishes for freezer
Get a used 4-door car (maybe)
Have baby shower
Attend Labor and Deliver Class
Thank you cards for shower
Address list printed for announcements
Phone list for hospital
Do work FMLA Paperwork
Wash baby clothes
Shop for supplies for baby
Pack bag Daddy
Pack bag Baby
Pack Bag Mommy
Sleep
Have baby

Cathy's Wedding (Where)

This is the Map of where Paul and Laura traveled while in Alberta in May 2007. Of course the purpose of being in Alberta was to get to Cathy's Wedding in Kananaskis, AB.

A link to the Google Map showing Kananaskis, AB

Our GPS tracks while in Alberta:




Link to this Map: Trip To Cathy's Wedding

Columbia Bible College Photos(1995-1996)-Part 2

This is the second post containing photos from the second year of college.

The below is a slideshow of the Photos that my camera took at Columbia Bible College (Abbotsford, BC) in the Fall semester 1995 and the Winter semester 1996.



Link to CBC 1995 - 1996 Picasa Web Album

Columbia Bible College Photos(1994-1995)-Part 1

Several moons ago, I went to college - Columbia Bible College. Not quite as long ago, my friend Jason reminded me of a photo we had taken while torturing a friend -- probably shouldn't have tortured Chad like that. The net results was me searching, finding, and scanning all of my CBC photos and posting them into a Picasa Web albums. It has been several months, but now I realized I should 'post' these.

The below is a slideshow of the Photos that my camera took at Columbia Bible College (Abbotsford, BC) in the Fall semester 1994 and the Winter semester 1995.




Link to the CBC 1994 - 1995 Picasa Web Album

A view into Baby Cooley's home

The following is the latest ultrasound (youtube movie) of our growing baby. This is week 27 of the adventure (May 6, 2007). There are three photos below. This had the 3-d portion of the ultrasound turned on, unfortunately due to some technical glitch we only got a 4 minutes of it before the tech accidentally stopped the recording. You can breathe a sigh of relief that you do have to watch all 25 minutes as a result ;)

Nursery

After hours of sweat, pain and failure the nursery is almost done. First the yellow was too green and neon in color. So one wall had to be primed and repainted. The lines between on the boarder were not up to my standards. Paul had to make runs to home depot for more paint. Mom made the skirt and valence. I spilled blue paint on the carpet and had to give the carpet a hair cut. The frames do not match exactly and I think I want to still paint them the same blue as the stars. I put the stars on with a stencil I made after the stamp I made did not work. Now I am worried I hung a giant cat toy above the crib. That makes me wonder what are the dangers of a cat sleeping in the crib with a baby? The next step is to find a rocking chair for the room and maybe a small table to have next to it. I have no idea on what color (colour for you in Canada) to get. I hope this room will last him until he is at least 5 as I have decided I hate to paint.

Movie view.

Camcorder, Kona, and Comox

In preparation for our baby, we've went camcorder shopping. To give it a workout I've used the all star cast: Laura, Kona and Comox. Enjoy.

Kona -- Mini-Tiger



Comox's Big Adventure:

Woot

Do you woot?

My brother-in-law, a man in the know of all thing modern, introduced us to www.woot.com. Woot offers one discounted product each day on its web site. Except on days like today where they sell through their left over stock in what is referred to as a woot-off. To make the woot-off even more exciting, one watches each product to see if it is the "Bag O Crap," a $1 grab bag of goodies that sometimes can have expensive electronics items in it.


w00t!

Brightwater

Our roads leading to our house have been consumed by people walking around in orange vests and large noisy machinery. This includes the house shaking during the day due to all the drilling/pounding they do. This has been going since January and will not end until early summer. They call the project the “Brightwater” project. They are putting in a main sewer line on a road leading to our house and the road now resembles something that looks like a war zone. On the plus side traffic on this road is local access only now. This is so much better during rush hour as people use the road as a way to get around traffic on 522. The down side is we can only leave and come from one direction at any given day. That and the sewer backed up into someone’s house a few weeks ago. That poor family.

King County's Website on Brightwater

BC the Hopper

BC had a great Easter. He was busy practicing his hopping around for next year when he will be free to crawl around. He has been moving more and more all weekend.

BC is now a star on a limited addition DVD. He is the feature of the documentary "Week 21 in the Womb" Filmed by the Internal Fetal Medicine of Evergreen hospital. Transferred to DVD and music added by film editor Paul Cooley. Some of my internal organs play a role in the film but they are only there for the support of the star.

I am 23 weeks and 2 days today. I have 117 days until my due date. I have gained about 13 lbs give or take. No major symptoms to complain about. I need to stop bending over after I eat. That is a bit unpleasant. On Friday it was over 70 degrees outside. It was so nice to sit in the sun for a bit. I need to get some shorts that fit because I feel silly wearing Paul’s shorts out of the house.

I have ordered some stuff for the nursery. An airplane mobile and some airplane posters that I will have framed. I hope they get here soon so I can start to pick out some paint and fabric for the nursery. Oh and I need a rocker/glider. Not sure on a color for that. I am thinking navy blue, white, yellow and a bit of red for the colors.

BC update

Mom and Paul got to attend today's ultrasound. Baby is doing great. He is in the 66 percentile for its age. So pretty much a average baby. The baby is 21 weeks 3 days and weights about 1 lb. Heart, stomach, bladder, brain and everything seem to be in perfect working order. The heart is about the size of a quarter at this point. He is still very much a boy.

Personally I am doing great, I got the go ahead to take my Flonase for my allergies and I am pretty much always hungry. I get a bit winded if I run up the stairs. It does turn out that I have a fibroid that is attached to my uterus. It is up high and probably has always been there. I guess if there was more of them then it would be cause for concern that they would be taking blood and other things away from the placenta. So the baby would get less blood and good things it needs. Just one doesn't sound like a big deal. I go back in 6 weeks for one more ultrasound to check to make sure it is not growing.

We got todays ultrasound on VHS but we don't own a VHS player. So we might need to find a way to transfer it to be digital. Seems strange this high tech ultrasound machine that can measure and view all parts of a baby can only make VHS tapes. This logic is beyond me.

I am getting larger every day. Have to say I will be pretty big by the end of this. I have gained about 10-11 lbs so far and still have 17-22 weeks to go. The pounds have started to accumulate faster in the past couple weeks.

That is it for the BC update.

Boy

Our first ultrasound was on Monday. It was pretty amazing to get the view of your growing child. He was 4" long but what is absolutely mind blowing is that he is a mini version of us. All these tiny fingers, toes, ribs, legs, spine, and heart that you can see through the eyes of ultrasound. Those ultrasound doctors are some else, how quickly they can focus in on the little body parts is astounding.

Of course the next thing you need is a view of our boy. I personally have found ultrasounds hard to visualize, but when it is your own it is much easier. Must be the context of having 20 minutes of watching your own boy move around? Here they are ...

Jackson Geocaching Scavenger Hunt

This weekend we spent 5 hours on a GPS/Geocaching Scavenger Hunt that our friendly neighbors set-up. It was a nice sunny day and a good day for an adventure. Highlights included a good view in Queen Ann and my first trip to Sand Point.

With Laura's suggestion we googled and found a way to share our GPS tracks with you the internet world on http://maps.innersource.com.

Irony

Irony is being smug about your driving record when your wife gets a speeding ticket in your car, then receiving a speeding ticket on the same stretch of road your wife got one 3 weeks later.

Paul

Cohawk

Thanks be to blogs, instant communication, and the shrinking of the world we can share our pet stories at the drop of a cliche.

One such anecdote is about our little kitten Comox. It turns out he is defective. But I won't have you call him defective, I mean it in as loving way as possible. His poor little problem is that apparently he wasn't born with all his hairs attached to muscles, the muscles that allow a cat to stand all its hair up. He only has muscles to control a line of hair down his spine.

This means that when he becomes frightened he has a line of hair that stands up, a mohawk really. Or as we affectionately call it a Cohawk. It is a treat to see these days as it is a bit funny.

Now that I think of it, it probably isn't a defect. He probably has exacting control over each of his hairs and he decided to make a Cohawk?

Paul

BC Project

Well the BC project is well on its way. BC, Baby Cooley, is a name given to the baby by my teammate who seems to be very excited about this pregnancy. So I am working hard on this BC project. - 15 weeks 3 days or 172 days left until my due date. Oh my.

I had a checkup today. Heartbeat is good, sounds like this. Blood pressure is good, urine is good, and my weight is up 2 lbs from my first visit 5 weeks ago. I did learn some interesting things today. My blood type is A negative. I guess this negative can be a problem if the baby ends up with a positive blood type. So I might get a shot of Rho (D) immune globulin (RhoGAM) after the baby is born or/and if I have any bleeding during my pregnancy. Doesn’t seem like a big deal just something I need to be aware of. I have another appointment in 4 or 5 weeks where we will do an ultrasound and maybe find out the sex of the baby. I think it will be a boy but I could be wrong.

On another note my mom broke her pelvis bone and is having a hard time with pain and moving. She can hardly move. Paul and I are bringing dinner over to my parent’s house tonight. I am hoping I can trade help for her recovery now for help with the baby when it comes.

ill on the weekend

Twice in as many months I've had the misfortune to make it through the work week and wake up on Saturday ill. This last Saturday I woke up with a fever of 102. That said, it wasn't as bad as those fevers I recall having as a child. I had a couple of bad ones that really were uncomfortable. In fact they would either give me nightmares or lead me to a little sleep walking. The nightmare actually in retrospect was, well, weird -- Mundane even. It was basically of everywhere I turned things would turn gray. Not gray exactly, more like static. The more I looked the less there was to look it. That left an impression to this day, let me tell you. In fact I cannot remember a dream for more than 3 hours, but this little nightmare is going on 25 years. That said, it was my only known time in my past in which I've slept walked. To my knowledge. Maybe I do it all the time and end up back in bed, but I doubt it. However, it would be a good excuse for those missing socks, eaten deserts, extra pounds, and actually you name it. That is it, my excuse is now: I did it while I was sleep walking. Nah, not going to work.

Anyways that tangent completed, on to my being sick. My wife was extra kind and took care of me while I went from being too hot to too cold and back again. All with a little less patience and energy than normal. What a sweetheart she is. Kudos to her. Love that woman! And on top of all that she is pregnant and not feeling as energetic as before. I hope I didn't bring her a fever.

The other negative to this is it is basically a wasted weekend where nothing fun really happened and we didn't go anywhere. I wrecked it for the both of us. I'll need to remember to make up for that. Valentines day is around the corner isn't it?

We are pregnant.

Due date is August 4^th. Not sure when people started to say "we are pregnant" but it happened at one point in history. Does that mean that Paul gets more credit for all the work my body is doing at this point? Well he should get credit because for the past 8 weeks he has been doing more work around the house, cleaning the litter box, more dishes, more grocery shopping, more cooking, and giving me more back rubs than normal. I have been having morning sickness that doesn’t happen until the afternoon. I have figured out how to manage it so business trips have been event free. There was about 4 weeks of figuring it all out. Laura’s rules of pregnancy:

1. Don’t take the prenatal vitamin even on a full stomach. (3 Flintstone vitamins are fine and have my daily supply of folic acid).

2. Don’t brush your teeth if you are feeling sick to your stomach. This is a sure fire way to get a kick start on morning sickness.

3. Eat every 2.5 hours even if you feel sick or not hungry or if nothing sounds good.

If these rules are followed then morning sickness seems to be avoided. Then that leaves me with fatigue. I spent week 6-9 taking 2 hour naps during the day and not sleeping at night. I have since cut out most naps and I am sleeping somewhat better at night.

I am able to put this in my blog now because my coworkers now know about my pregnancy. It is fun to see how different people react to my news. Women are excited and offer up free things like cribs. Men are worried about me. Sit here, how are you feeling, don’t listen to that pregnancy story, do you need something to drink. The advice has started and lots of questions. Do you crave anything? My answer includes, I hate brushing my teeth, I hate my prenatal vitamin and nothing ever sounds good to eat. I make my husband pick something and then I will eat it. Fruit is on my number one list of things to eat. Chocolate moved to the bottom of the list but is starting to sound good again.

On Friday I will start my second trimester. Everyone says this is the easiest one. I am happy for that. Right now I have ordered some maternity clothes on ebay. I got 2 pair of jeans. They are way too big all around, maybe they will work in the 9^th month. I need to order the small size from now on. I guess for now I will do the elastic band trick in my jeans that are just a tad to tight. So far my dress pants still fit.

More snow.

Got to love the weather! Snow in Seattle has me home today. I was supposed to go to Portland but I decided to stick it out at home. No need to be delayed. Last week I got stuck in Portland when it snowed. The weather has been crazy. I wish it would warm up and we could go back to normal rainy Seattle where I can drive.

Oh and the Seahawks lost. Oh well, there is always next year.

On another note we are getting new kitchen counter tops. So we are with out counter tops, a kitchen sink and dishwasher right now. They should be installed when I get back from San Fran on Friday. Washing dishes in the bathroom is just not right.

Seahawks, one down three to go

I am not a huge football fan but I do like the playoffs. Paul wasn't feeling well tonight so we picked up a pizza from Garlic Jim's and watched the Seahawks vs Cowboy wildcard game. That had to be one of the best football games I have ever watched. In the last 1:13 I knew were going to lose the game. There was no way to pull off a win as I told Paul. Followed up with, well unless some fluke things happens on the snap. Sure enough we won. Way to go "he-hawks" (as my sister called the team when she was 2).