The Holidays Have Arrived!

Hello All!!!  Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Matt and I spent a wonderful day with Matt's family.  We all ate way too much, laughed a lot, and enjoyed great company.  Matt's cousin, Tara, was fascinated with my ever present bump.  She really wanted to feel her little cousin kick but unfortunately our little girl was quite subdued by all of the food I had fed myself and her.  I'm sure that she will get the opportunity to feel her kick at Christmas time. 

Since Thanksgiving Matt and I have been quite busy running from one place to the next.  We spent one weekend day in Albany registering for the baby.  It was so overwhelming to see all of the choices.  I thought I was prepared but Matt and I still left there feeling a bit frazzled.  By the end of the experience we were ready for a nap.  We survived the trip though and have successfully registered at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby.  There are still small things that need to be added but I have been adding to it as I've had the time and am almost done.  I might actually complete it by the time Baby Cook arrives.

The Christmas spirit is everywhere now and I am so excited.  Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I have put up some decorations at home but I must say that no one rivals my mom.  I look forward to going home every Christmas because as soon as I walk in my parent's house I am transported into the magic and excitement of Christmas.  This year is extra special because my little brothers are both safely back in the States.  I'm so excited to spend the holiday with my family.

In Baby Cook news, I am now 2 weeks from entering the 3rd and final trimester.  I cannot believe that it is here already.  I grow more and more anxious to meet our little angel, but admittedly have moments of "Oh gosh, we still have so much to do!".  But I just take a breath and try to enjoy every moment of this wonderful experience, even the moments of sleeplessness, aches, and being unable to bend over. Haha

26 Weeks!

The only thing we've completed in the nursery. :-)

Reflections

I'm writing this blog tonight because I have a dear friend who is going through a very personal and very painful time right now.  Her struggle has made me think about how easily we can let something trivial bring us down and make us forget just how blessed we are. 

I've been stressed and I've had those days where I feel like nothing is going right, and admittedly those times have made me forget the things I am blessed with.  I forget there are soldiers that won't be returning home to their families, there are parent's who have to choose between paying the bills or feeding their children, there are children who spend their days in the hospital because they have cancer instead of playing outside, and I forget my blessings.  I forget that I have a roof over my head, a steady job, a husband that never ceases to amaze me with how much he loves and cares for me, amazing friends and family, and that Matt and I have been blessed with the opportunity to become parents.  My friend's ordeal has made me refocus.  I wish I could take my friends pain away, but unfortunately I can't do that.  What I can do, and what we can all do, is make sure we never forget the blessings in our lives. 

Everyone has a bad day, and sometimes those bad days can stretch out longer than we would like but the next time I come home complaining about someone who gave me attitude or I feel sorry for myself because "nothing is going right", I am going to do my best to just take a breath and remember all of the wonderful things that ARE going right in my life.  Once you do that, everything else is put into perspective and it will help you realize that you probably don't have it all that bad.  And should you be going through a rough patch, and you feel like there is no end to that rough patch, focus on your blessings and know that eventually everything will be ok. 

Have a wonderful evening! :-)

Lion King, Snow & Beautiful Fall Days



Me & My Love

Hello Again!  I hope this blog finds everyone doing well.  Things have been busy for us.  Matt and I celebrated my birthday/finding out that we were having a girl with a day in the City.  Matt got me tickets to see Lion King on Broadway.  The day definitely didn't end up quite as we had planned.  We got to the City ok.  When we arrived it was raining in the City.  Not fun but tolerable.  We met up with Matt's friend, JP for lunch.  We had a wonderful lunch, catching up and enjoying good food.  However, we got quite the surprise while eating lunch, it was snowing in the City!  Now, it does snow in the City, however not usually this early.  It quickly turned into a slushy mess.  We finished lunch and heading to a bar around the corner so we could have a quick drink before Lion King.  Water for me of course.  After we said our goodbye's to JP and his girlfriend we took a slippery taxi ride to Broadway.  I had a great time at the show.  The music and effects were amazing.  Definitely a wonderful way to celebrate.  After the show we quickly found a taxi and took one very long train ride back to where our car was.  Because of the very early and heavy snowfall the train kept having to stop.  The car ride was even slower but we finally made it home.  Though the weather made things a bit difficult it was still a wonderful day in the City with my wonderful husband. 

Halloween!!!!

Every year where I work encourages everyone to dress up for Halloween.  Each branch decorates and we all dress up.  The managers go around and vote on the best branch and the best costume, overall.  We ask our members to vote for their favorite costume and donate the funds we collect from votes to St. Judes.  It's a fun was to raise money for a great cause and have a fun-filled day at work.  It's also a great way to kick off the Holiday season.  :-)

The rest of the week went by fairly uneventfully.  I did return to my yoga routine for the first time in a month and half.  First, I will say, if you're going to work out during your pregnancy, don't take an extended break.  When you return your now present belly will prove to make working out difficult while you adjust to how to move with your new addition.  Second, returning to a workout routine while still pregnant is even less fun than returning after a normal hiatus. 

Friday night we had dinner and hung out with my friend, Latisha and her family and some friends.  I can definitely say that I have not laughed as hard as I did that night in a long time.  By the end of the night my stomach muscles were achy from laughing so hard.  Partly because I was actually the only sober individual at the shindig.  Sometimes that can make for a very boring even, but in this case it kept me endlessly entertained.

The rest of the beautiful Fall weekend was spent doing some chores, running some quick errands and relaxing as much as I possibly could.  We have almost cleared all of the stuff out of the soon to be nursery so that we can start preparing the room for baby.  I have definitely found that I need a few more breaks between chores than I did before, but they all get done AND I'm getting more down time than I usually allow myself. 

Our baby girl loves moving and kicking around in there.  She makes it very clear when she feels too crowded and will kick whatever, or whoever is doing the crowding.  Matt loves to rub my belly and talk to her.  Every day is a new experience and we are enjoying every moment of it. 

I hope that you all have a great week!  Until next time.  XO

IT'S A.......

Hello!!!!  Sorry I've made you all wait so long for this news.  The doctors appointment took longer than we anticipated.  First, they were 45 minutes late getting me in, which can I just say was not pleasant for me and my incredibly full bladder.  When I finally got in the Ultrasound Tech took a lot of the necessary "anatomy" pictures that were necessary for the doctor.  Baby Cook continuously kicked at the ultrasound wand each time the tech would push down to get a better picture.  Guess he/she wasn't digging the invasion of their space. ;-)

Then, after 30 minutes of taking many many pictures, the Ultrasound tech told us that she was 80% sure of what we were having but she wanted to be more sure so she needed me to go walk around for 15-20 minutes and eat something sweet.  She needed the baby to move so she could get a more definite look.
So, Matt and I went to the supermarket and got me a candy bar and walked around for a bit.  Then we returned to finally get the answer of who we had growing in there, our little boy or our little girl.

Initially the baby hadn't budged one bit from the position they were in when we left.  I was not about to have come that far and waited that long only to have to schedule another appointment becuase there wasn't a clear enough view.  So I coughed and the tech moved the wanded rapidly around on my belly to get our little one to corroperate.  Thankfully, Baby Cook finally budged and the tech was able to finish her pictures and FINALLY reveal to us what we were having.  It's a girl!!!!!

I have to admit, Matt and I were a bit shocked. lol  We had convinced ourselves that it was a boy so when the tech said it was a girl we were speechless.  However, Matt and I recovered quickly and we cannot wait for our little girl to be here with us. We already know that she is quite spunky, from the kicks to the ultrasound wand and quite stubborn, since she needed some convincing to get her to move enough to reveal to us who she was. 

So, the planning and shopping begins!!!! 

New Season, New Trimester, and New Adventures

I am horrible about keeping everyone updated through the blog.  Since my last post a lot has happened.  Every day life wise Matt and I have had the pleasure of enjoying our friend, James' band perform, we celebrated our friend's Abby and Joe's little boy, Joey's 5th birthday party, Matt and I have celebrated our 29th and 27th birthdays, and heard the exciting news that two of our closest couple friends are expecting!  It has certainly been a busy month.

I spent my long birthday weekend in a cleaning frenzy, not exactly the ideal birthday weekend but we were blessed with 3 of the only warm/beautiful Fall days we have had so I had to take advantage.  I definitely took advantage of doing some "Spring Cleaning" in the Fall.  I think a bit of the nesting bug bit me that weekend.  I certainly learned my lesson in the necessity of taking it easy while pregnant, as I was incredibly sore after all of that cleaning.  I guess I'll just have to have Matt do most of it for the rest of my pregnancy. ;-) 

Though I had everything I could ask for in being blessed with our expanding family, Matt also got me a wonderful gift of tickets to Lion King on Broadway!  I have wanted to see it since we moved here and we finally will this weekend.  I am so excited!  I can't wait to blog about our fun afternoon/evening in the City. 

We celebrated little Joey's 5th birthday on the 16th.  It seems crazy to me that he is 5 already!  It really feels like it was just yesterday that he was that chunky cheeked, curly haired little 1 year old we met 4 1/2 years ago.  It definitely makes you realize just how fast time can go.  It has been great to share in watching him grow from a toddler into a little man. 

Matt celebrated his birthday weekend by going out for opening day of bow season.  For those of you who don't know, hunting season starts in October and doesn't stop until Summer starts.  Not only does Matt live and breath hunting season for the next several months, I do too.  Not by choice however...haha.  Unfortunately, Matt has not had too many occassions to get out and hunt.  I'm sure he will do all he can to make up for that dilemma though.  As long as I don't keep him too busy with all of my "To Dos".  I did get Matt a Scentlock tub since I'm asking him to move all of his hunting gear out to our shed.  Can't be spooking those deer with any scents...lol

Matt and I were also very excited to hear that our friends John and Colleen, and two other friends (who will remain unnamed for the moment as I don't think they have shared their news with everyone yet) are expecting!  We could not be more excited for our 4 friends.  We have known John and Colleen since before they met and became a couple and we have been blessed to join them on their journey from a budding couple, to newlyweds, and now parent's-to-be!  Colleen has a very comical picture of me as I got the news that they were expecting.  She had gotten me a shirt that said "Due in March".  I was saying how cute it was to Matt and Colleen asked me if I liked her shirt, as she unzipped her coat and showed me her matching shirt with "Due in April" on it.  To say I was shocked and thrilled is an understatement.  Matt and I are thrilled to be sharing this journey with Colleen and John.  Congrats you two!

Our other couple friends are due in May and I am so excited to also be sharing this journey with my girlfriend.  We had joked that we thought it would be fun to be pregnant together; side note, we did not plan to be...lol  We are definitely thrilled that it turned out that we will be pregnant together.  She has been with me since Matt and I started our Trying to Conceive journey and has experienced all of our trials and tribulations and ultimate joy when we finally discovered that we were expecting.  She has been a life saver and definitely my go-to girl for advice, as she has two other children, so she knows what to expect.  Matt and I cannot wait for their new bundle of joy.

As for Matt and I and our lil munchkin, I am now 20 weeks!  Half way there!  Where does the time go, and more importantly, how will I get everything done?! lol  Since my last post I have felt the baby move for the first time, at 17 weeks.  I remember feeling a little poke and being so uncertain that it was anything other than a little muscle twitch and then ultimately realizing that it was our little one moving around in there!  It is such a magical feeling.  Next to starting to show, feeling our baby move for the first time just made the reality that we are actually going to have a baby so much more real.  I have enjoyed every little punch and twitch as they have gotten more frequent and stronger.  Last night Matt was finally able to feel the baby move.  It was such a magical moment to see how excited he was when he finally felt that little punch or kick.  He loves talking to my belly and now, trying to feel for movement.  He is such a proud papa already.  :-) 

Tomorrow we FINALLY find out whether we will be having a little boy or a little girl.  We cannot wait!  This will be the first time Matt has seen the baby since our first ultrasound and the first time he will hear the heartbeat!  Schedule wise it just didn't work for Matt to be there, so we can't wait for him to be able to share in the joy of seeing our little one.  And of course finding out who is in there. No worries, I will definitely be sure to update a post with what we will be having, I promise! 

20 Weeks!

Half Way There!

 Ok, so until tomorrow!  Good night all! XOXO

Never Give Up Hope

Happy Sunday!!!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Ours was blissfully uneventful.  As you all know, this week marked Matt & I finally sharing our exciting news that we are expecting!  This blog post could get ridiculously out of control with what has been happening since we found out in July but I will condense it for mine and everyone else's sanity. 

After my surgery I did in fact meet with my fertility doctor in June.  Everything fell perfectly into place.  My next cycle was set to start a couple of days after my visit with the doctor which meant we were all set to go to start the IUI cycle.  So we anxiously started the process of the shots and endless ultrasounds and blood work.  All together it was about a 12 day process.  All that was left at the end of it was to wait.  Now we had been waiting for 3 years already to have a baby, so you would think that 2 weeks would be a piece of cake to me.  That was not the case...lol  By the time I got about 3 days away from my "am I pregnant or not" blood work I couldn't handle it anymore.  I had been on the Internet non-stop, and I knew that there was a risk of getting a false positive if I tested before my blood work but I just couldn't wait any longer.  On June 29th I woke up and decided that I was going to take a pregnancy test.  I fully expected it to be negative so when I took the test I went about my morning routine and then returned a little while later.  What I saw froze me in disbelief.  I just stood there staring down at the test and then up at my reflection in the mirror, not knowing if I should be excited or beating myself up for possibly just causing myself the biggest disappointment yet. 

It's amazing how two lines can make you happier than you've ever been.

Folks, I took 7 pregnancy tests over the next few days.  That's right, since the lab had messed up getting my blood test results to my doctor before the long 4th of July weekend I tested every day until that Tuesday when the nurse uttered the words I had been waiting to hear for so very long, "You're pregnant".  So on July 5th, almost 3 years exactly from the day we began trying Matt and I finally got the news that we were going to be parents.  In that one moment, all of the pain, frustration and tears suddenly disappeared.  Matt was there with me for the baby's first ultrasound and at that time it didn't even look like a baby, but that little blob was the greatest picture ever. 

Words cannot express what this picture meant to us.

The next few months have been a whirlwind.  The first time I heard the heartbeat I started crying.  I could listen to that sound all day.  Matt and I also made the decision to not tell everyone that we were expecting until I was through the first trimester.  We did make some exceptions and told our parent's and siblings and our two closest friends, Abby and Joe.  Even with giving ourselves permission to share with some it was so hard to contain our excitement and not tell everyone we saw.  Though some of our family didn't exactly follow the rule and shared anyway. ;-)  So, when I finally reached the Second Trimester we couldn't tell everyone fast enough.  Though it was hard to keep it in for so long it just extended the excitement for us by waiting to tell everyone. 

Now we move into the second trimester and all that it brings, including me having to wear a belly band so I can still wear my old pants...lol  Matt and I feel so blessed and though it took us a long time to get here, all that matters to us now is that we are finally to this point, and we couldn't be happier.

Where has the Summer gone?

The Mighty Mississippi

Happy September!  Can you believe that we're in September already?  It seems like Summer was just beginning and now we're already winding it down.  I will say, we have been winding it down successfully though.

The beginning of August marked Matt and I's 4 year anniversary, as well as, his parent's and my parent's anniversaries.  Matt and I were able to celebrate his parent's and our anniversaries together with a lovely dinner a Momiji's in Stone Ridge.  We had a wonderful dinner and just sat and celebrated.  Afterwards we returned to Sue and Erwin's for desert and more visiting. 

The next day was Matt and I's anniversary and the day we left for Iowa.  So unfortunately we spent our anniversary on the road, but that was ok by me.  On the road, out to a nice dinner, or at home in our pajama's curled up on the couch; all that mattered was that I was with Matt.  Matt has made me feel like the luckiest woman in the world and I'm looking forward to the many more years we will spend together, growing and having adventures.  I love you babe.

Matt and I decided to break with the routine of making the trek to Iowa in one days drive and we split it up going out there.  Though we were still tired by the time we made it to Iowa on Friday, we were much more energized than if we had done it in one day.  Breaking the trip up allowed us to enjoy most of Friday night with my parent's and for us to finally welcome my brother, Dustin home!  We also, very happily met our niece Hayden and got to see Hunter and Megan again. I was so excited to see my family.   We enjoyed a nice dinner along the Mississippi with my parent's.  We then zipped out to Dustin and Megan's and visited with them for the rest of the evening.  Admittedly I gave Dustin a very long and much overdue hug, which I'm sure he was glad there were not many people there to witness...lol  We also got to meet Hayden, who is even more adorable in person.  Dustin and Megan asked Matt to be Hayden's Godfather and he was/is so honored.  Hayden is definitely a fan of Uncle Matt and enjoyed hanging out with him while we were there.  Matt was equally as smitten with her and loves to brag about her to our friends. 

Brother's from another mother

Soooo happy to see my little brother again.



Now he's ready to play outside.

I do not get to see this girl enough.
The next day Matt and I spent more time hanging out with everyone.  We met my sister, Erica and brother-in-law, Steed for lunch in Davenport.  We caught up and then spent some time wandering around the mall.  I even got some Whitey's Ice Cream, my favorite.  We had dinner with my parents and then headed out to Dustin and Megan's for a bbq.  We were able to see Megan's parent's, Laura and Denny and to visit with some of their friends.  I also got in lots of snuggles and kisses with Hunter.  It amazes me, every time I see him how much he has grown.  I treasure every moment I get with him, and now Hayden, when we are able to go home.  After the bbq Matt and I went to Kalmes, a local bar/restaurant, with Dustin, Megan and some of their friends.  It was great to just hang out and I love watching Dustin and Matt interact.  The two of them together crack me up. I'm so glad that my brother's love Matt so much.  He definitely fits in with our family quite well.   

Uncle Matt & Hayden rockin' their shades.

 Sunday afternoon Aly arrived at my parent's house to join us for a little bbq.  Don't let Matt fool ya, he was really excited to see his little sister. Dustin and Megan came with the kids and my Uncle Dan and cousin Brian even made a surprise visit.  We sat around and visited, catching up and just enjoying each others company.  Hunter even tricked the newbie (aka Aly) into taking him into the house so he could play with his toys that were in there.  In Aly's defense he was pretty hard to resist.  He walked up to her and asked her if she would come with him (in a sad little voice) as he took her hand and led her to the house.  Now how can you resist that...lol  I was just so happy to have my family together.  I feel like I miss so many of those moments so when Matt and I can be a part of the family time I cherish every moment.  If I could change anything, having our two families closer together is definitely at the top of my list.  Though it was much too short of a trip, I was so glad that we were able to go home and see everyone.  I definitely cannot wait to head back for Christmas.  Aaron will be home then so I'll be reunited with both of my little brothers.  I can't wait!


The next day Matt and I also enjoyed a lovely lunch, that turned into an evening visit with our friends Abby and Derrick.  We hung out and just joked and laughed.  We also got to spend time with their daughter, Alexandra, who is so adorable.  It's always wonderful to see and hangout with Abby and Derrick and we have such a great time.

The next day Hurricane Irene hit.  We had lost power, which we expected.  The wind and the rain were just crazy, but little did we know the turmoil the storm was creating just at the bottom of the mountain.  After all was said and done, we had no power or phone and all ways off of the mountain were blocked.  Lucky for us the road crews were able to clear at least one way off the mountain so I was able to get to work the next day.  I could not believe the devastation of what the storm had done.  The little league field, that Matt grew up playing on, was destroyed.  Claryville, the town below us looked like it had narrowly missed being washed away and the news spoke of towns being evacuated and people being forced to leave their homes.  A week of no power and a lot of clean-up later the effects of Irene are still being felt.  I complained because we didn't have power or phone but when I saw what other people had to go through suddenly no power didn't seem like such a big deal.  People will be cleaning up and recovering from Irene for some time to come.  It definitely made me count my blessings.  We were lucky enough to escape with no damage and no after effects, save not having power or phone for a while.  We were blessed that Abby and Derrick offered their hospitality to us for a couple of nights.  The storm actually gave us the opportunity to have some great times with Abby and Derrick.  We had a great time hanging out with them each night, having dinner and playing with Alex.  Matt and Alex are best buds now...lol  We truly were very lucky compared to others.

This weekend Matt, Sue, Erwin and I went to Hooley on the Hudson in Kingston.  Hooley is a half way to St. Patty's Day celebration.  There are vendors, dancers and bands and lots and lots of very bad for you food.  We had a very good time, though we did have to escape to the refuge of an air conditioned restaurant a couple of times as it was very hot and humid. We made the most of it though and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  The bands were probably my favorite.  Hooley is always a good time. 

So, as August has come and gone and we have officially moved into September, Fall is quickly approaching.  The Summer visitors will be mostly gone soon (thank goodness!), schools are back in session, and as I took my walk today I realized that the trees up here are already starting to change.  It is hard to believe that in a few short weeks a new season will be upon us.  So, we will enjoy what time we have left of Summer and then welcome Fall and all that it has to offer.  I hope you all have a good week!!!