The Littlest Stogner

Sea World

2011-10-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

I figured this would be the easiest way to share our pictures from our trip to Sea World (San Antonio). Cora had a blast and was speechless when she met the clan from Sesame Street!

My name is Cora and I like to DANCE!!!

2010-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

9 month old Cora meant one thing, dancing! This child started dancing at around 9 months and hasn't stopped yet! It started as most babies dance, kind of a bouncing up and down dance. Then there was a little bit of a head bobbing from side to side (she looks a lot like a Beatle, which is ironic since she carries a middle name that is a tribute to my love of the Beatles). She's now pretty much dropped the bouncing and just bobs that head from side to side. She dances all the time. Commercial jingles, songs Mommy sings to her, her musical toys...what a sight! She's even began to "dance" in other situations as well. I have learned that the little dance move is an indication that she is full and doesn't want to eat anymore. She also dances when one of us comes home and she is excited to see us and she dances when I come into her room in the morning to get her. What a sweet sight to see your precious baby dance in pure joy and excitement at the sight of you! Oh, may I remember these little bits of my baby and treasure every second of her "littleness". Can I not keep her small forever? Can we not freeze time now, home all day with my precious, safe from all the bullies and mean people out there? Maybe I'm just getting a little nostalgic thinking about her first birthday coming up!

Other great things you are doing;
You call me "Naanaa" or "Nine"...not quite the "Momma" that I would expect, but a name! You have a name for me! I love it! We mainly hear this when you are really trying to get my attention and yell it most of the time. But there are those sweet moments when you crawl toward me chanting "Naanaa Naanaa" So sweet. You still babble "Da da da da" when Daddy is around and have we have also notice a form of "Daaa" when you see your puppy, Jack.

RUNNING behind your push-walker toy. You've been pushing and walking behind your toy for quite some time but recently have practically been running behind it. You also push anything around the house that isn't bolted down to the floor. Boxes, larger toys, dinning room chairs...

You can also now stand for a good amount of time and can even slllloooowy lower yourself to the ground in a crouch sort of way. I can't do crouches but you apparently have great leg strength! Now you are getting up on one knee and trying your hardest to get up in a standing position. Oh baby, it won't be too much longer before you are walking all over this place!

You are OBSESSED with any kind of electronic! You still love the remote, the iPhone and your favorite, the laptop! You have also figured out that the remote actually controls the TV. It is so funny to see you grab it, point it toward the TV! and then look in anticipation for something to happen on the screen. I promise she doesn't watch that much TV!!! You also know how to get Dad's XBOX controller and turn the XBOX on. You push the button until you hear that the XBOX is on and then you are pretty much done with it.

I love you Cora and I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next!

Happy baby at her 9 month check up.
Weight - 18 lbs. 7 oz. (50th percentile)
Length - 28 1/2 in. (80th percentile)
Head Circumference - 17 1/2 in. (80th percentile)
XBOX baby...oh Lord!

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Playing with my friend Marcus, we never stopped moving!

Helping Mommy load the washer

Our record snowfall! 12.5 inches, the most DFW has ever had in one day!

Mommy brought the snow inside for me to play with. We were sick and didn't want to get sicker out in the snow but man, did I want to get out there with her!

Cheesy baby

My 9 month photo shoot with Mrs. Erica

Worn out after my photo shoot

8 months old and Christmas!

2010-02-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

As you can tell we were very busy that month, Cora started pulling up on everything, was talking up a storm and made us laugh everyday. Cora was "dadadadada'-ing all the time and she started to seem to recognize Matt as Dada and repeat it over and over when she saw him. She was a major copy cat, especially with Matt. She would mock him clicking his tongue, growling and her little way that she would scrunch up her nose and breath in and out (hard to explain but pretty cute to see her and Matt do it). Cora also started to figure out how all of her toys worked and was hitting the buttons and turning her favorites off and on. It was so sweet to watch her little mind work and figure things out. She was very proud of herself!

Lunch with family after church the Sunday before Christmas

Christmas morning! Mommy worked and I waited until she got home to see what Santa brought me!

Checking out my loot from Santa!

Sweet baby girl at Mimi and Fluffy's on Christmas morning! It was pretty icy on Christmas morning. We even had a White Christmas! It took us awhile to get to Mimi and Fluffy's that morning and then we all drove out to Grand Saline to see the rest of the family. A very busy day and one tired Momma!

The next morning we headed out to Oklahoma to see the Stogner's and celebrate Christmas with them!! We had a great time with everyone.

For some reason, I really can't remember why, we started giving Cora her baths in the sink again! We've actually kept it up. It's a lot easier and she really seems to like it.

By the end of her 8th month she was a pro at pulling herself up and standing. She has become very "helpful" to Mommy when it's time to load or unload the dishwasher!

My little fashionista!

Playing with one of her favorite toys. Notice the hands are moving a lot faster than the camera can!

7 month old

2010-02-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

Cora turned 7 months old on November 13, 2009. We celebrated Thanksgiving, Cora ate meat for the first time and we had our first snowfall this month! We had a great Thanksgiving. We had both of our families over to our house. We ate, watched football and played games. We had a great time!

Cora in her Packer's gear for the Cowboys/Packer's game. We went to a party to watch the game. She was a fit even in a room full of Cowboys' fans!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eating meat for the first time. Turkey of course! I loved it!

Our little turkey on the move!

Cora enjoying the first snow of the season and her first snow ever!

Halloween

2010-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy but fun Halloween. We went trick or treating at a few friend's houses, visited with Old Mimi and then went to trick or treat and visit with Aunt Merissa and Uncle Kyle. The costume that I originally bought for Cora was too small by Halloween so we went as a Longhorn cheerleader. Thanks to Aunt Robin for remembering the cheerleading outfit in the closet!
One of my daytime Halloween outfits. Mimi brought over the wig and glasses...we couldn't resist!

Longhorn cheerleader with our friend, Riley, who was a Longhorn football player!

6 months

2010-02-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

I feel a little silly blogging about things that happened about 4 months ago. On the other hand, it's sweet to look back at her and see how little (and bald!) she was! It makes me sad to see my baby girl so little and realize how quickly she is growing up, right before my eyes.

Enjoying my first trip to the State Fair

6 month visit to the doctor.
Weight - 16 lbs. 12 oz. (70th percentile)
Length - 27 in (90th percentile)
Head Circumference - 17 1/8 in (85th percentile)

We've got a crawler on our hands!

Eight Months!

2009-12-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby girl is eight months old! I have done such a bad job at keeping up with my blog. I'm working on posting all of the stuff that I missed between August and now. We've done a lot! Miss Cora has done a lot of growing! Being a full time Mom and full time night shift nurse has caught up with me. Pretty much what little down time that I do have is spent either napping, cleaning or catching up on my DVR'd shows! :) My sleep deprivation is catching up with me and blogging hasn't been at the top of my priority list. BUT, I am going to have a lot more free time on my hands in the New Year. I will start working weekends on January 9th. I will work Saturday and Sunday nights and I will be off the rest of the week with my Cora! It's going to be so nice to just work two nights a week. I can't wait!

So...my Cora! The sweetest one is eight months old today! I don't have an official list of "stats" right now, but we are getting the flu shot on Tuesday so we may have a new weight then. I can tell you that she is growing like a weed. Cora loves to eat and she is eating all kinds of things now! She pretty much loves everything. Cora continues to crack us up on a daily basis and she is into everything. We are crawling, pulling up, still clicking (her tongue), blowing raspberries and now clapping. She is so proud of herself when she claps and we clap and cheer in return. I also have given her the nickname "Octoarms". This girl is into everything and grabs anything in sight. She is quick and stealth. I have posted a few pics and a video of Cora. I am still working on older posts and hopefully will be caught up soon!

Cora in her Christmas jammies on our way to Daddy's work Christmas party

Goals

2009-12-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

Goal for the day. Update this blog! We have been doing SO much! I turned 31, Cora turned 6 months, then 7 months. Halloween. Cora turned 8 months. Family photos. Thanksgiving. Cora's first snow. Plus lots of other things! My plan is to get all those posts up today. We are also going to visit Santa today!

It's been awhile

2009-08-29T19:54:00.001-07:00

5 new posts!!!!

Playing outside!

2009-08-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

As we were playing outside, watching Daddy wash the cars, I noticed something...we have a new birdnest! We think it might be a Dove's nest. I am hoping this one works out better than the last!

It's built right on top of the old nest.

First bites of food!

2009-08-28T21:32:00.001-07:00

Here is video of Cora's first bites of food! Yummy rice cereal! The video is a little long and my hand is in the way for some of it but we think it's pretty cute!

ExcerSaucer

2009-08-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Cora in her ExcerSaucer flirting with the camera! We took this awhile back but I think it's still pretty cute. Plus I just figured out how to post video. I could never get video to download to Blogger.

Update

2009-08-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

I worked on my Four Month blog (below) last week but just published it. We are happy to report that this week was a very good week at home with Dad while I was at work! She was a little fussy but nothing like last week. I am so relieved. My mom and sister helped out but both found that Cora now seems to prefer her Daddy. She took her bottle better with him and he was the one to get her to go to sleep. Please pray for her continued progress. It makes it so much easier for me to go to work knowing that she is not miserable.

Four Month Update!

2009-08-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Miss Cora is about 4 1/2 months old now. I can't believe it! I planned on posting the week of her 4 month birthday but I kept putting it off. Today was our check up with Dr. Towns and Cora looked great! Her current stats are:
Weight - 13 lbs 15 oz (50th percentile)
Length - 25 3/8 inches (75th percentile)
Head - 16 1/2 inches (70th percentile)

She is following the growth curve beautifully and has been pretty consistent with regards to her percentiles. Her head took a good jump from the 50th to 70th percentile...she's just growing lots of brains!!! We got two shots this visit and will likely get three at her 6 month appointment. She will be eligible for the flu shot when she is 6 months old so we will be getting that shot as well. No fun, but we want to make sure she stays healthy.

We spent the week of Cora's 4 month birthday on the move with a trip to Oklahoma to visit her Mimi, Aunt Stefani and all of her cousins. We have also been able to spend a lot of time with my side of the family. We spent all day long with my Mimi, Cora's "Old" Mimi for Mimi's 82nd Birthday. Mimi loves Cora and I know she really enjoyed spending the day with her. Other than that we have just been enjoying having a 4 month old. She is usually smiling, laughing, talking, playing in her Bumbo or in her ExerSaucer. Sometimes we have a harder time. Cora has developed a pretty bad case of separation anxiety that sometimes makes life a little more difficult around the Stogner household. Life is good until Momma has to go to work. Poor Cora has been crying from about the time I leave for work at 5:45pm until around bedtime at 8:30pm. We are trying everything we can think of to help her out but it seems she just wants her Mom around for comfort and breastfeeding. Poor Matt. My Mom, Dad and sister have been all working together to help take care of her. She's never been thrilled to see me leave but this week has been awful. It makes me feel beyond terrible to know she is so upset when I am at work but I am hoping and praying that she will soon grow out of this. We were told by the pedi today to consider starting her on solid foods to see if this will help. We gave her rice cereal tonight for the first time and she wasn't really a fan! We videoed it and I am trying to get that plus another cute video of her up on the blog. I am having trouble figuring it out!

Bumbo and tummy time. She always leans herself over to her left side in the Bumbo.

Party girl ready to go to a baby shower with Mom and Dad

Cora kissin on her cousin Nathan

Cora and Nathan...and part of Mimi

We love to bathe in the sink at Mimi and Fluffy's house

Chewing on people's hands is another favorite pastime. This time it was Aunt Crissy but I don't think she minded!

Eating my cereal and chewing on my fingers!

What's Going On

2009-08-02T14:03:00.001-07:00

A lot has been going on in Cora Jude's world lately. She is 3 1/2 months old and she is doing all kinds of things. Last weekend we went to a baby shower for our sweet friends, Jamie and Curtis. I went to high school with Jamie and Curtis and now they live in Nashville. We had a lot of fun seeing them and we can't wait to meet their little boy!! Cora had a real good time at the shower. This week we brought out the Bumbo and the ExerSaucer and I am happy to report that she loves both of them. She plays independently when she is in them which gives us time to get things done around the house or get some blogging done! We also started Music Class this week! My cousin Jennifer and her son Nicholas have been going to class for awhile now and having a lot of fun so we thought we would try it out. Cora was very interested in the class, she obviously didn't sing or play with the "instruments" but she was absorbing everything! The class is for infants to 3 year olds. Cora was the only girl and the youngest in the class. There were two boys there that were about two years old and her cousin, Nicholas, who is 6 months old. We will be going for the next five weeks. I am happy to get her out of the house and get her engaged with other people. I sometimes feel like she is quarantined in the house due to our crazy schedules and also because it's so HOT outside! I can't wait for it to cool down in the Fall. I already plan on taking her to the Arboretum, to the park, to the zoo...I can't wait!! Hopefully Matt and I can both take her. We pretty much are either working or watching the baby. Our schedules are not optimum and we really miss each other but we know we are doing what is best for Cora. Hopefully soon one of us will have a better work schedule and we will have more family time.

Cora and Mommy at the shower

Bumbo baby

I love my ExerSaucer!

A sneaky way to get tummy time in...give her something interesting to look at! She LOVES the computer!

Cora's favorite place to take a nap - Mommy and Daddy's bed!

Sad news...

2009-07-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today, while walking our friends Eric and Jessica out, we made a sad discovery. I was telling Jessica about the sweet Momma bird and her cute little eggs that I have blogged about. It was when I was walking her over to the tree to see for herself that I noticed something was terribly wrong. The perfect little nest was not in it's correct place. It was turned sideways and I was sad to discover no eggs in the abandoned nest. Sadly, we looked down on the ground and found one little egg laying beneath the nest. What happened next was the worst part. Matt picked the egg up to place it back into the nest and it fell down and cracked open! Jessica and I were too horrified to look. I'm so sad. I know this is just Mother Nature but it broke my heart! That Momma bird was so protective of her little eggs and now I am guessing they are all gone. We think it must of been the rain that dislodged the nest. Poor Momma bird. :(

New posts

2009-07-18T20:59:00.001-07:00

Two new posts! :)

Yard work

2009-07-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

We decided to work on the yard today since we had the day off together and Aunt Robin was willing to come by and watch Cora. The weather was actually pretty nice and we didn't sweat nearly as much as I thought we would. I even mowed a lawn for the first time ever! We are very happy with the way everything turned out but we still have some work we want to do. We are going to remove a few more of the shrubs and add more flowers but we will have to do that later.

Before pic of the house (this was a pic before we even bought the house!)

Another before pic, taken today

Cora came out to visit and actually enjoyed some time outside in the milder weather

Me, starting to plant the flowers!

After pic, it was starting to get a little dark out

Can't wait to plant more!

Matt noticed a little bird nest in our tree! I tried to get a pic of the bird but she flew away. Looks like she was hiding something! Three cute little eggs! I felt so bad that I scared her away. She perched herself on the roof of a house across the street. She was making all kinds of noise and kept her eye on us. I know she must of been worried about her little eggs. I was afraid she might not come back, but she did! What a good momma! I can't wait for the babies to hatch!!!

Mimi and Fluffy came by later in the evening and Cora got her first bath in the kitchen sink.

She wanted to stand for most of her bath

Mimi drying Cora off!

3 months old!

2009-07-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl is three months old! I can't believe it! She is so sweet and such a happy little baby. She still gets a little fussy at night but it's not too bad and we all seem to be getting into more of a night time routine. Cora's Mimi Carol has been keeping her the past few Monday nights so Matt and I could work a few shifts together and have a day off together during the week. Cora loves going to her Mimi and Fluffy's house and she has done really well spending the night. I loved going to my Mimi and Papa's house for "slumber parties" while growing up. Now Cora is doing the same thing and in the same house! Cora is smiling, laughing and talking up a storm! We are still working on getting her to turn over consistently and tummy time is still a beating, but she seems to be hitting her developmental milestones and she is getting big!!

I love bath time!!!!

July 4th

2009-07-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July at our house this year! Matt's family came down from Oklahoma to celebrate. My parents and sister also came over for dinner. We tried to watch the fireworks from our back yard but we couldn't see very much. I think Cora really had a good time seeing her family and playing with her cousins.

Friday night. One of her July 4th outfits. We couldn't get a good pic of her Friday night!

Mom and Cora on July 4th.

My camera died right after we took this picture. So of course, we didn't get any pictures with the rest of the family. :(

Family Time

2009-06-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

My cousin Clint is home on leave from the Navy before being shipped out to Korea in August. Clint and his twin brother, Clay, have not been able to meet Cora yet so we had a party on Sunday to get the family together. Cora wore her Sailor dress and loved meeting her cousins. We all had such a great time hanging out! We also took Cora to church for the first time this morning. She made it about half way through the service before I had to exit to the nursery to calm her down (there are no babies in the church and no nursery staff).

Clint and Cora

Two Month Old

2009-06-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Cora is now almost three months old but two weeks ago I went to get pics taken of baby girl to remember her at two months. She looks so much different than she did when we had her newborn pics taken! We treked out to Plano to the home of one of my coworkers and she shot pics of Cora in her home studio. There are some really cute shots and one of them we are using for her baby announcement (yes, I am just now getting around to sending out announcements!). Here are some of the best ones below!

Father's Day

2009-06-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Matt's first Father's Day last night with my parents, aunt and uncle and with Robin. We had everyone over to the house for dinner to celebrate the dads as well as my Dad's birthday, which was Thursday. Cora had a good time visiting with her family. Today Matt slept in since he has to go to work tonight. Cora and I had lunch with my parents and all of my sisters. It's been a great weekend! We enjoyed one of our two days off together this month. :( Now, back to single parenting!

Getting ready for lunch with my family

Cora on Saturday after we worked on her cradle cap. Aquaphor to the head is not the best idea. It did help though! We had to seize the chance to sport a faux hawk!

Cora and Daddy

Littlest Beatles fan. Got that tongue sticking out again!

STATS

2009-06-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

We had Cora's two month doctor's visit yesterday and got all of her "stats".
Weight: 11 lbs. 3 oz. - 60th percentile
Length: 23 3/8 inches - 80th percentile
Head Circumference: 15 1/8 inches - 50th percentile

The doctor said she looked great! She is doing everything she should be developmentally and looks very happy and healthy. He told me to start baby proofing the house now and said I might want to put her on a vitamin supplement since she is exclusively breast fed and will continue to be as long as it works out for us. She smiled and cooed for him and took all of her shots like a champ! She got three shots total and one oral vaccine. :( It was so sad but as soon as it was all over and was in my arms she fell right back to sleep.

Cora's stats record. Notice the spelling of Stogner as Stagner...silly nurses.

Sweet naked baby waiting on the exam table for the doctor with her tongue sticking out for the pictures!

Randomness

2009-06-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pics we have taken over the past few weeks. Cora is now 8 weeks old and we go for her 2 month check up tomorrow. This visit means the first of the dreaded immunizations!! I am hoping Cora does ok and doesn't feel too bad tomorrow afternoon. We are still struggling with our evening routine. Cora's "witching hour" continues. She's pretty much mad at the world from around 6:30-9:30pm. She only wants to be held and is just so tired and fights sleep like no baby I have ever seen. Just this week she has decided she would rather be held by Mommy or Daddy which really breaks her Mimi and Aunt Robin's hearts. I know we will get over this but I was really hoping once we got to around 8 weeks it would get better instead of worse. I will post her new "stats" tomorrow after we see our friend, Dr. Towns!

Hanging out with Dad at about 6 weeks.

Sweet baby after a bath. She LOVES her baths but especially loves cuddling up in her warm towel afterward.

Getting ready to go her "baby shower" from my Mom's side of the family. This shower had to be postponed due to my being put on bed rest at 36 weeks. The shower was even better postpartum, everyone got to hold sweet Cora!

Napping with Dad.

Can you imagine anything cuter? On her way to celebrate her Mimi Carol's birthday. Last night, 8 weeks old.

Tummy Time!

2009-06-11T17:12:00.001-07:00

Tummy time around our house is probably a lot like most other people's houses. First we start out ok, then misery! She flipped herself over from stomach to back last week twice but hasn't done it since. These pictures were taken awhile back. She must of been about 5 weeks old. Notice the newborn acne. It's almost completely gone now!

We're home!

2009-06-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

We are all moved into our new home! We closed on May 28th and moved in June 1. Matt returned to work tonight, June 7th, which made for a very busy week getting into the new house! I love my new house and Cora has made the transition very smoothly. She does miss her Aunt Robin though! :(

Cora is getting bigger everyday. She smiles and "talks" up a storm. She has really discovered her hands and arms. She really started to suck on her fists this weekend. I don't know if this is the early stages of teething or if she is just trying to pacify herself, either way, she loves her hands! The one thing Miss Cora loves more than sucking on her hands is ceiling fans! She will watch a ceiling fan for hours! It's really cute to watch her smile and laugh at the ceiling fan. Cora also rolled over from her stomach to her back today for the first time. I try to keep up with the tummy time but she really doesn't enjoy it, she was quick to find a way to get out of it! It was so cute to watch her after she figured out what she could do. I was so happy that Matt and I were both there to witness one more milestone. I am so sad that I have to return to work soon knowing that I will likely miss out on some of these events.

On that note, Matt went back to work tonight and we miss him a lot! This is the longest the three of us have been apart since Cora was born 8 weeks ago. I feel so blessed for the time we were given to spend as a family. The next few months will be a hard transition for us as I go back to work next week. Matt and I will alternate our nights at work so someone is home with Cora at all times. We will certainly miss each other but it is worth it to us to be home with our baby girl.

Sorry about the lack of photos. I have not unpacked the camera yet! Will post some soon!!!

Memorial Day

2009-05-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Cora spent her first Memorial Day at the house of her good friends, Dale and Rhonda. A good time was had by all, some had a REALLY good time. Cora and Mommy hung out a lot in the house to avoid the heat but we did make it outside some. Cora even dipped her feet into the pool. It was pretty cool and she really wasn't a fan! Rhonda got some pics during the party. As you can see below, some of us had a really good time, including Daddy! ;) These are a little blurry, taken with a Blackberry by Rhonda after a few drinks.

The "non swimmers" hanging out!

Matt's cannonball

Matt's "toe touch" - I'm pretty impressed by this one!

Mom and Cora poolside

Mother's Day

2009-05-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

I realized I forgot to post about our first Mother's Day. We really had a nice day! We met up with my family in the afternoon at my Mom and Dad's house. I got to spend some time with my sisters and my niece and nephew. We then went to eat with Mom and Dad. The highlight of the day was taking Cora to meet her great grandmother, her "Old Mimi", as we call her. Mimi was SO excited to meet her newest grandchild. Mimi has always loved babies and she had been waiting to meet Cora since she was born. My Aunt Merissa said she hasn't stopped talking about "her baby". Mimi was so cute, she told everyone at the nursing home that Cora was her's. She was very proud of her! I got lots of sweet cards for my first Mother's Day as well as TWO gift certificates for massages!! My favorite thing! I have already used one of the gift certificates and I am saving the other for after our move! Pictures from Mother's Day are below. I forgot to get a pic of me and Cora by ourselves. What was I thinking?

Cora and her big cousin, Nathan

Old Mimi and Cora

Four Generations - Old Mimi, Mimi, Mommy and Cora

Mimi will always know how to hold a baby!

Updates!

2009-05-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Notice we have four new posts! Enjoy!

Newborn Pics

2009-05-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

These pics were taken here at the house when Cora was one week old. All of the pics are precious. These are just a few. Below is a link to the slide show the photographer made.
(Turn your volume up!)

http://www.poeticexposure.com/corajude

Bathing Beauty

2009-05-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather and had a pool side lunch with Aunt Robin while she house sat for our good friends, Dale and Rhonda. We got Cora in her bathing suit and sat in the shade soaking up the nice weather while it was here. I wish it felt like this all the time! It's going to be HOT before we know it! :(

One Month Old

2009-05-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Cora is one month old now! I can't believe how the time is passing. Cora is getting big and starting to do a few "tricks". She has started to smile at us and has found her voice. It is so cute to hear her coo and see her smile. She is also getting very good holding her head up. She thinks she is a lot older than she really is! We continue to do pretty good with the breastfeeding, she is quite the piglet! She seems to be getting longer but is still pretty lean! In other news, she has developed a pretty mean case of newborn acne. :( I still think she is the prettiest baby ever! We are hoping that this will resolve it's self soon.

Cora hanging out on her one month birthday!

Sweet baby just out of the bath. Nasty newborn acne! :(

Just hanging out again

Oklahoma!

2009-05-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

We took Cora to Oklahoma for the first time last weekend. We got to introduce Cora to all of her family in the OK! Everyone was very happy to meet her and she was happy to meet them. We had a rough night while there but for the most part she did really well. I took the camera but only got a few pics before the camera died! :( We got to spend a lot of quality time with Matt's mom for the Mother's Day weekend. We headed back to Dallas Saturday night to spend our first Mother's Day at home.

Cora at Mimi's

Cora and Mimi

Cora and her Cousin Briana

Lazy Sunday

2009-05-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

We had a lazy Sunday this past week. It was still rainy and a little on the chilly side. We were so excited about the offer on the house so we decided to take a Sunday drive and show Baby Cora and Aunt Robin the house we were looking to buy. I got to use one of Cora's Newborn sized outfits that I thought she would never be able to wear. It is a warmer outfit and I thought we would have to put it away due to the weather this time of year. I was wrong! It was such a cute outfit and she had it on for about 10 minutes before she had one of the dirtiest diapers I have ever seen, EVER! I change a lot of diapers at work and I have never seen one like this before! We had to take a bath and make a wardrobe change before we could get out the door. We were all very excited to see the poo though, it had been about 24 hours since her last poo, out of the ordinary for this very regular, breastfed baby!!

What a pretty girl! Just before she had to change her clothes!!

Outfit No. 2...still looking pretty cute!

Getting ready to watch the Rangers' game with Dad

Playing with her Activity Gym before bed

Week Three

2009-05-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here's what we have been up to this past week. We had our sweet cousins Nicholas, Avery and Abby visit last weekend. I got some really cute pictures of Cora with Nicholas and Abby. I, unfortunately, really messed up and didn't have the memory card in the camera while taking pics of Cora and Nicholas :( All those cute pictures lost! On Tuesday, we went for Cora's two week appointment at the pediatrician. Cora got a clean bill of health and weighed in at 8 lbs and 1 oz (back to her birth weight!). On Wednesday, Cora spent the day with her Mimi CC while Dad and I looked for houses. We have an offer on a house and it looks like they are going to accept! We have a verbal agreement, we just have to get the official paperwork signed. We are so excited! Other than that, we have been hanging out at home trying to to avoid the Swine Flu and all other germs! Cora has had some tummy issues and seems to hurt pretty bad after her feedings. I have cut the dairy out of my diet and really started to make sure I am not eating anything too gassy or spicy. She seems to be doing better. We also tried some soy based formula. Cora is such a good girl and eats whatever we give her, but I think she really seems to enjoy nursing so much more than a bottle. The soy formula seemed to stop her up as far as the poo pooing goes so we have just been nursing and we are as happy as we can be. Still fussy and gassy but I am sure this is something we will grow out of in time.

My cousin Ashley and her baby girl, Abby

Cora and Abby

Daddy being silly

Big yawns!

Matt thought it would be funny to part her hair. My poor pretty girl!

Sleepy after her doctor's visit!

Not a fan of tummy time!

The cord is gone...again!

2009-04-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday morning I was surprised to find one missing umbilical cord while changing Cora's diaper. The majority of her cord fell off sometime during the night and was lost in her sleeper. There was a little bit of stump left, but what an accomplishment! I took two pictures of her new belly button and started a post about Cora's missing cord with the pictures posted. It was only after looking back at the post that I decided to take it down. I didn't do a great job covering up Cora's "private" parts in the pictures and I knew her Daddy would NOT be happy! You really have to watch what you put out there on the internet these days! Sooo...this evening as I was changing Cora and getting her into her nightgown, we lost what was left of the cord. Cora now has a totally gown up looking belly button! I have to say, I was kinda sad when the last of it fell off. This is just the start of her growing up. I know everything is going to go by so quickly. I already just want her to stay tiny and precious like she is now. So, here is the newest pic of her and her new belly button. All private parts appropriately covered!

A Day in the Life

2009-04-24T19:12:00.001-07:00

Cora's first 10 days at home!

Car ride home. She is as orange as the car seat. :(

Big bed, tiny baby.

We had only been home for about 10 minutes. I think the boys really missed us!

Just after Cora's first bath, her hair is SO curly.

The Packers' newest fan.

Guess who made this for Miss Cora?

First pair of shoes!

Cute face!

Daddy and Cora

Laying in the sun, trying to get rid of her jaundice.

Cora's first Sunday, she had to wear a dress!

Mommy's favorite thing to do!

I love this little face!

Just chillin'

Labor and Delivery

2009-04-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Cora's first few minutes of life. I had a wonderful delivery with help from my great labor nurse Marci, my mom, sister and Matt. Another good friend, Jenni, took care of us for a little while. Cora was born right at shift change, so we had two great nurses!

Marci and Dr. Norwood, my great team!

Matt changes the first diaper!

NICU attended the delivery because Cora's heart rate was pretty low for awhile before delivery. I love this picture because of all of the hands on the baby girl. I had the greatest team attend the delivery, my best friends were there to make sure Cora was ok. Thank you to Aunts Ana, Vicki, April and Sheryl. I really couldn't of asked for a better team!

Hi, my name is Cora!

2009-04-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

She's here! Cora made her big debut on Monday, April 13th at 6:40 pm. We were sent to L&D from Dr. Norwood's office at around 12:30 in the afternoon. He began pitocin at around 1:45 and broke my water at around 4. After that, everything went very quickly! I dilated from a 5 to a 9 in about an hour (I also got my epidural!). At 6pm I started pushing and had her out in 40 minutes. She was so sweet and laid back from the very beginning. My mom cut her cord and Matt went with her to the baby warmer where he put on her first diaper. We were all so happy to finally see her and welcome her to the world! The family all came in to see her and hold her. She was so alert and bright eyed. It was a very sweet time. She went right to the breast and ate like she had been doing it for weeks! She's the perfect baby!

We are home now and she is still doing great. She eats, sleeps and rarely cries. I love being her Mommy and her Daddy is so proud and protective of her. We had to take her to the pediatrician on Thursday to check her jaundice level. Everything looks ok, we just have to spend time in the sun each day to get her levels to come down. She still looks pretty yellow, especially in pictures. We will go back in a week to the pedi. Cora has had lots of visitors and we love introducing her to everyone. She is just so cute, everyone loves her! Cora's big brothers Jack and Gizmo love her too. Jack wants to sniff her every time he passes by, he also likes to lick her feet. Gizmo isn't as interested in Cora, he does come and check her out every once in awhile. That's pretty much our life. We're loving every minute of it!

Just joking

2009-04-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post before Cora arrives. Matt had to go to the bank this morning and he took Gizmo with him. Matt uses the bank that Robin works at. Robin was working along with one of our good friends, Rhonda. Rhonda loves her some Gizmo and Gizmo loves her in return. Gizmo, being the good sport that he is, donned the Easter Bunny ears for a picture with his friend Rhonda. Too sweet!

Still pregnant!

2009-04-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am, laying on the couch and still pregnant! We went to see Dr. Norwood on Thursday morning. We were all packed and ready to be admitted into the hospital. Just before Dr. Norwood made it into the room to see us, Matt said to me that he thought we were going back home today. I admitted to him that I too had a feeling that we weren't going to be having a baby before the weekend. We were right! My blood pressure was elevated..no surprise! But, I had zero protein in my urine, no significant swelling and my follow up BP (while lying on my side) was perfect. The bed rest is still working! I told Dr. Norwood what Dr. Kurian said about the possibility of being admitted that day, but he seemed skeptical. He checked me himself and told me he thought I was really closer to 3 cm dilated but almost 100% effaced. I told him that I really didn't think I was in labor because I wasn't uncomfortable at all. I felt pretty bad after my previous exam but with rest I was feeling a lot better. We decided at that time to wait until the next week, when I will be into my 39th week to induce my labor. He told me that the high blood pressure will eventually catch up with me and that he felt good about having her at 39 weeks. We both are trying to avoid a trip to NICU if at all possible! I am happy he is being so conservative. I don't mind being pregnant for a few more days, even on bed rest. One of the good things about working where I do is a profound appreciation for being able to keep my baby right where she needs to be as long as I possibly can. I work with moms that would literally give their left arm to be able to carry a healthy baby to full term. I am VERY lucky! So...another weekend on the couch/in bed and I will miss out on some Easter festivities but we will have a baby on Monday! I am scheduled to go in to see Dr. Norwood for a visit at 1:45 on Monday afternoon and if my BP is still elevated (it will be!), I will be admitted to be induced!! This is my last post until after she is here but I will try to post as soon as Cora makes her entrance! Pray for all of us please on Monday!

Last days?

2009-04-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

I went to see Dr. Kurian today, she is one of Dr. Norwood's partners. She was very sweet and I really enjoyed my visit with her. I was kind of nervous about seeing a new doctor but she was great. Not much new, BP was high then I laid down and it was normal again. She checked me and we were all surprised to find out I am 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced! I was shocked. I haven't really noticed a lot of contractions and what I am feeling really don't hurt. She gave me the option of being admitted into the hospital or to go home and wait it out. I decided to go home where I knew I would be a lot more comfortable. She just told me to give them a call if anything changes. I feel really good still and I am still on bed rest, so we will see how quickly Miss Cora decides to make her appearance! I go to see Dr. Norwood on Thursday and Dr. Kurian told me to expect to be admitted by him during my appointment if I haven't had her already! So I guess we can probably count on having a baby this week! I will keep y'all informed! Robin took some pics of me tonight in case I don't make it past tomorrow afternoon. I hate them, I know now why people don't do maternity pics when they are about a week away from delivery! If we can get some better ones tomorrow, I will post those!

Guilty!

2009-04-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

The toy lasted about 10 minutes. My puppy Jack, one of my constant companions through bedrest.

Still in bed!

2009-04-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for not updating. It's not that I've had a lot to do! I am still on bed rest and just loving every minute of it! LOL I saw Dr. Norwood on Tuesday and got the results of my 24 hour urine. It did show that I had protein in my urine but not enough to induce my labor at 37 weeks. I also had protein in my urine for the first time from the sample that I had to give in the office. I let Dr. Norwood know what my BPs have been at home and he thought I looked really good as far as swelling goes. He scheduled me for a Biophysical Profile for the next day. A Biophysical Profile is a ultrasound that looks at how well the baby is in utero and whether or not it would be safer for her to be outside rather than inside. It looks at fetal breathing, movement, tone, heart rate and amniotic fluid level. Miss Cora passed with flying colors and she appears to be perfectly happy right where she is. My high blood pressure doesn't seem to be affecting her at all. So I am back on the couch during the day and in bed at night. My blood pressure has really been pretty good here at home so we will keep on doing what we are doing. Dr. Norwood wants me back in the office on Tuesday but of course he will be in Florida until Wednesday! He made me promise not to do anything silly while he is out of town. I will see one of his partners on Tuesday and will probably go back on Thursday too just so Dr. Norwood can see how I am. I am looking forward to at least a week and half of bed rest and then I will be 39 weeks. I think he is thinking about just going ahead and inducing me that week to get my blood pressure down for good. I have started to become pretty uncomfortable lying on my left or right side all the time. I have some back pain while on my right side and I have done something to a nerve under my ribs when lying on my left side which is very uncomfortable. Dr. Norwood said it was a common problem and he reminded me that I don't have to exclusively lay on my left side. I hate to complain. I don't know how women do bed rest for months. I really feel for those ladies. I guess that's it for now!

Too Cute!

2009-03-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

Matt and I decided it might be a good idea to get the hospital suitcase packed, just in case! Before we could even get anything in we had someone let us know that he might like to go to the hospital with us. Gizmo is pretty attached to Matt and me, the hospital stay is bound to be hard on him. I know Robin is already dreading having to be home alone with him for a few days. Hopefully he will forget about it all when we bring his little sister home to meet him!

Updates

2009-03-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot has gone on in the past few weeks. My blood pressure was up a little last week at my doctors appointment. I still had no protein in my urine so I was told to keep on going and let him know if anything changes. I went to work that night and took my BP at home that morning and it wasn't any better. I took it really easy over the weekend and it went down. I called Dr. Norwood on Monday morning and he officially put me on bed rest! No work for me until after maternity leave. I am on modified bed rest, which means I can get up to go to the bathroom, shower, and maybe get something from the kitchen to eat/drink. I can lay on the couch and watch tv or in the bed. The good news...my swelling in my feet/ankles/legs and hands has gotten SO much better. I have ankle bones again! Matt took the week off with me and has taken good care of me. I went back to see the doctor today and my blood pressure was even higher. I knew it would be and I attribute a lot of it to nerves. I could feel my pulse bounding as I sat down to get it taken. Still, only a trace ammount of protein in my urine. I had the lovely pleasure of doing a 24 hour urine collection at home that I turned in at the visit. The results from that test will be more conclusive. Dr. Norwood also checked me at the visit and I am 1.5 cm dialated and 50% effaced. It might be sooner than later that we have a baby! I would really like for her to stay in for another week but she might have plans of her own! I guess that's it for now. I go back to see the doctor on Tuesday and he will have more info on what is next for us. Until then...I will be on the couch or in bed!!!

so true!

2009-03-08T22:31:00.001-07:00

The showering begins!

2009-03-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

Last week Matt and I had our first two showers. The first was last Friday night with Matt's coworkers and their wives. We got a lot of stuff and we had a really good time. I took a pic before the shower. I was 32 weeks and 6 days when the picture was taken, I feel like I am even bigger now! My hands and feet are starting to get pretty swollen now. I hate it! I see Dr. Norwood on Monday so I am going to see what he says. My blood pressure has been pretty good so I'm not too worried, I guess it's just pregnancy swelling. I had another shower last Sunday with a lot of the people I grew up with. Again, we got a lot of great stuff! My camara died so I am waiting on pictures from some of the girls that were there. I'll post them as soon as I have them.

Matt didn't like having to guess the candy in the diaper.

Nesting

2009-02-20T00:11:00.001-08:00

We have been without the internet at our house for about a week, so I haven't been able to update the blog for some time. We FINALLY got the rest of the nursery furniture tonight after a long drawn out process with Babies R Us. We got a damaged armoire and it took FOREVER and a couple of trips to Arlington to get a replacement. We were very happy to finally get it in the nursery tonight, with the help of my parents! I can now start to get some of the stuff, that we have already received from people, put away as well as a few things I have purchased. We have our first shower in one week. I really wanted to have everything in place as far as the nursery goes so we can get all of our goodies in place! Here are a few pics of what we have done so far! We have a little more touch up painting to do so these are not the entire finished product. Enjoy!

Cora's crib

We don't have our bedding yet.

Her little friends are waiting on her!

Armoire

Changing table (we still have to install the blinds and curtains)

Two of my favorite outfits. I hope she loves the Beatles too. That's where she gets her middle name, Jude, from.

Two of my other favorites. She is sure to be a Packers fan.

This is her Navy outfit. I had to get it for when she gets to meet her cousin Clint who is in the Navy and away from us all right now. The pants are capris and SO cute!

I should probably stop buying shoes.

3D Sono

2009-02-07T02:56:00.000-08:00

Ok...here she is! She looked really cute but still wanted to keep her hands in front of her face most of the time. We did get a few good ones though. We also found out she is breech. She was head down at the 25 week sono but she must of moved! She has about 10 weeks to get back in the right position.

Mouth wide open, she took lots of breaths or drinks...not sure which.

Cute little face.

She stuck her tongue out at us twice, she also opened her eyes twice.

It's a Boy!

2009-01-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

Well, we officially added a new member to our growing family! We have finally adopted our long awaited friend, Gizmo. For those of you who don't know, here is the story. My mom works with blind woman who has a seeing eye dog named Gizmo. About a year ago it was decided by Jan, my mother's friend, and the seeing eye dog people that Gizmo was ready to retire from his 5+ years of service. Jan asked me and Robin if we wanted to adopt Gizmo and give him a good home to spend his golden years in. Gizmo is the best dog and we gladly accepted! We did not have our Jack at this time and we thought we would be a one dog home. After a tradgic accident involving Jan's new dog, we found ourselves a year later still with no Gizmo. We had really given up hope that we would ever even get Gizmo, until last week. Jan called and let know the time had come and she needed to get Gizmo into his forever home.
So, that brings us to today. Robin and I picked up our newest family member this afternoon at Jan's new apartment. I have to say, it was one of the saddest things I have done in quite some time. Gizmo hasn't just been Jan's pet for the past 5 years, he has been her constant companion and best friend. Most importantly, he has been her eyes and has kept her from danger. Gizmo was Jan's roomate and friend when she went through her divorce a few years ago. Needless to say, Jan was very upset when we picked him up today. Robin and I were both crying and hugging Jan. I don't know how you can ever give up your pet, but in Jan's case she had to, she needs to get ready for her new, younger guide dog. Please pray for Jan over the next few weeks, she is really going to have a hard time adjusting to life without Gizmo.
Gizmo and Jack have spent a weekend together before but we were still nervous about their meeting. Gizmo is a lot older than Jack, he is 9 years old, Jack is barely one. Everyone who knows Jack knows that he has neverending energy. This is a little overwhelming for Gizmo, but I have to say, they LOVE each other! They have started back where they left off and I believe they are going to be best buddies! Jack is SO happy! I am posting some pics of the new brothers.

Gizmo on the left, Jack on the right

Soccer Mom in the making

2009-01-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

Matt and I got a more family appropriate car this weekend. After considering lots of different options, we ended up getting a new Honda CR-V. It's a pretty cute little guy and I am getting used to driving it. I have been pretty much an anti-SUV girl for quite some time now, my tree hugging nature always held me back, but this little crossover utility vehicle can keep my Green side happy. It gets 20-27 miles per gallon, which I am pretty sure is better gas mileage than my Jetta. I was also pretty sad to not get another VW, but we really couldn't find anything there that kept both of us and our wallet happy. This is not my car but a picture of one I found online. This is pretty much what it looks like. I really wanted a black or dark blue one but this one is an '08 and they were very willing to make us a deal on it, we just couldn't resist. I will try to post a pic of our car and a 28 week belly pic this week.

I have been off of work this week after a weekend of having some high blood pressure issues. Dr. Norwood gave me a clean bill of health today and told me to not stress so much about it. I think he thinks that was a lot of the problem! My BP has been a lot better since Sunday and I just had a trace amount of protein in my urine. My ankles, hands and face are not swollen and I have felt great, so I am going to rest as much as I can and get back to work on Friday night. I just hope I can take it easy at work from now on. I am now starting to go to see him every two week and he feels sure we can keep a close enough eye on the BP with my more frequent visits. I was hoping I wouldn't have to go on bedrest or anything crazy like that! I have stuff to do! I have showers coming up and I am throwing two showers for friends as well! Anything to keep Cora healthy though, if that means bedrest, then I will go on bedrest! I'm just praying and keeping my fingers crossed to continue a normal, healthy pregnancy. It's going by so quickly! I think I'm really going to miss it!

Things are moving along

2009-01-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

Jack loves to help out.

We are making progress on Cora's room. Today we get our new carpet put in and I CAN NOT WAIT! We have been without carpet since before Christmas and I am looking forward to getting life somewhat back to normal around here. This is a boring pic but it's where we are at now. We are going to get the chair rail up later this week. Also, some of our furniture for the baby was damaged when it was getting loaded into our truck at Babies R Us, so we will have to wait a little longer to get another armoire in.
We celebrated our friend Adrian's 30th birthday party on Sunday night at Joe T. Garcia's in Ft. Worth where the food is always great!!! I actually had on make up and some cute new maternity clothes, so I took a 27 week belly pic before we went to dinner. Cora is getting bigger and bigger!

A toast to Adrian.

27 weeks

Getting bigger

2009-01-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

Well, there's not much new going on here at the Stogner House. We went to Oklahoma this weekend to go to Matt's sister, Stefani's baby shower. It was a really quick trip but it was nice to get to spend some time with Matt's family. Stefani got a lot of great stuff for baby Alex, who is due February 23. We think Stefani will probably deliver before then, we are just hoping she can hold him in just a little bit longer.

We (mainly Matt) have gotten started on getting Cora's nursery together. We will get the new carpet in the house on Monday the 19th. We will pick up the furniture on Wednesday. Hopefully we will have the painting done by Wednesday as well. Then we will really have things going, I can start washing her clothes and getting everything put up!

As far as our health goes, I passed my glucose challenge, so no diabetes for me! I was so happy! Matt and I also start our birthing classes the first Monday night in February. I am really looking forward to the classes. I think Matt is looking forward to them too, but I know he is worried about having to watch videos of births!

That's it for now. Here are some pics of us getting the nursery together. We are getting the primer on for the chair rail that Matt is going to put up. We are going to paint the lower part red and the upper part off white. I will post a pic of our bedding too. I think it's going to be very cute when we get it all together. Please don't pay attention to the way we look. We just got in from Oklahoma when we did this. My belly is a lot bigger than the last post. I am 26 weeks and 1 day preggo here.

Jack was helping us out.

Baby Cora's bedding. I hope the paint and furniture look good with it.

Cora Update

2009-01-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

Well, everyone will be happy to hear that my sonogram on Friday went really well! The sonographer told me a little bit while she did it on Friday that really calmed my nerves. I didn't want to make any official announcements though until after I saw Dr. Norwood on Monday. He was please with the results. Her right kidney was a dilated a little more from 3mm to 4mm, but her left kidney decreased in dilation from 3mm to 2mm. The numbers are now pretty insignificant and it looks like I don't even need to have anymore sonos! I believe he was mainly looking for a marked increase in the dilation. Say, from 3mm to 5 or 6mm. My fluid level was prefect and she is definately growing and moving around like crazy in there. They estimated her weight at 1 lb. and 12 oz.! Pretty big girl! She was measuring almost a week bigger than she is...I knew it would start happening sooner or later! Everything else was normal, her heart looked great and she still has all of her bowel where it is supposed to be (I guess the NICU nurse in me came out when I asked her to look at her bowel to make sure). The only disappointing thing was that she was positioned just perfectly that we could not see her face (at all!) and we really couldn't see her girl anatomy. The sonographer told me she was very happy we weren't doing a sex determination with this sono because she really couldn't be 100%. She did assure me she could still see some bits of girly bits. We didn't even take a picture home. We are planning on getting a 3D/4D sono done in about a month. This is purely for entertainment purposes and we will paying out of pocket. But I will be getting it done at Dr. Norwood's office and I really like the sonographer there, she is so sweet. I hope Cora cooperates! Hopefully I will be able to post some really cute pictures after that scan!

In other news, we purchased all of Cora's furniture this weekend! I was at Babies 'R Us with my mom and sister when I saw a set that I really liked. It was 20% off and I thought it was a very good deal for the amount of stuff we were getting. I called Matt, sent him some pics with my cell and he gave me the green light to buy! We should get it all in next week. We will have the new carpet laid the week after that and then we will officially begin to get the nursery together. For those of you who do not know, our house flooded a few weeks ago and we are still waiting on getting the new carpet in, right now we have some carpet and a lot of concrete for flooring, it's just lovely! I will attach a pic of the furniture. As soon as we have the nursery done I will post a pic of that too.

6 Months Preggo

2009-01-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

Here I am at 24 weeks+6 days pregnant. Forgive my appearance, I just got up from taking a nap and I was in serious need of some make up. I will post pics from my sonogram tomorrow.

Me and Matt...Cora needs to know how her Dad really is!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

2009 is going to be great. I feel like I have a lot to look forward to. Another year with my husband and family, most importantly, the arrival of our newest family member. In addition to my friends Melissa, Stephanie and Teri all having babies within a few weeks of Cora, we also have a little nephew on the way. It's going to be so much fun!!

Christmas was fun. We spent the day at my cousins Abby and Nathan's beautiful old house in Ft. Worth. I got a lot of cool stuff. I got the sweetest necklace from Matt and Mom and Dad got us a camcorder.

I have my next sonogram tomorrow but I don't have my doctor's appointment until Monday when Dr. Norwood will be back in town. I will be 25 weeks on Saturday, so this visit will include my Glucose Challenge along with going over the results of the sonogram. I am nervous about the Glucose Challenge. I really hope I pass and that I don't have Gestational Diabetes. I am sure I will be fine, but I have gained 30 lbs(!!!), so we will see what the good doctor says!

I am bringing my camera to the sono tomorrow and I have made a New Year's resolution to start taking more pictures during the pregnancy. Stay tuned!! Everyone can see my extra pounds! :)

Milestone

2008-12-14T07:51:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share a Cora milestone! I have been able to feel Cora's movement from the outside since Wednesday. Matt hasn't been able to catch her just yet until this morning! He finally felt her kick when he got home from work this morning. We were both pretty excited :) My pregnancy book hasn't mentioned this milestone yet. I am sure she is very advanced and ahead of the curve! Robin is now looking forward to getting her turn at feeling her niece kick.

It's been awhile

2008-12-14T01:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I have posted a blog. We have had another busy week. On Tuesday morning, we were surprised with a flooded house. Matt came home from work and found it and called me immediately at work. I of course thought he was joking but soon realized that this was no joke. There was approx. 500 gallons of water in the living room. Our house is pretty much a disaster zone but we are trying to get back to normal as much as we can. Insurance is pretty much going to give us a total makeover but it is a big pain!!

Little baby Cora is still doing good I guess! She is still kicking all the time. I am 22 weeks now and still praying for a healthy, long pregnancy. The 23 week mark can be a scary time for us in the NICU business, sometimes knowing a lot can be frightening. We were also told at my 20 week sonogram that Cora's kidneys are a little dilated. I will have to have a sono now every 4 weeks to keep a close eye on her kidneys and my fluid level. Both of her kidneys are considered dilated but the dilation is on the lower side of the high mark. I am just praying that it was a fluke and our next sono will be completely normal!

That's all for now! I PROMISE to post pics soon!

We're having...

2008-12-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

a GIRL!!!! I knew we were! We are so happy and I can't wait to start buying cute outfits and getting ready for the nursery! I am going to get the sono pics scanned and post a better update soon!

Big Day!

2008-12-02T06:11:00.001-08:00

Today is the big day! I have my 20 week visit and sono today. I will post the sex as soon as I can get to the computer!

25 days till Christmas!

2008-11-30T23:46:00.000-08:00

I just started Christmas shopping today! I have a lot more to do and I really don't know when I am going to get it done. I don't know what everyone wants for Christmas, I don't even know what I want for Christmas! I have a few new family members to buy for this year so that can be pretty stressful. Hopefully Matt will know what to buy everyone.

We had a great first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. After working all night, we drove up to Oklahoma and had dinner with Matt's family. I got to fit two naps in between all the eating so I was good.

I went back to work on Friday night and I have pretty much slept ALL weekend long. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep from Thursday or if there is sometime going on with the little babe, I just couldn't keep my eyes open this weekend. I figure I should sleep while I can! I am going to get too big here pretty soon to sleep soundly and as soon as our little baby gets here I imagine I won't be doing much sleeping at all for the next 20 years or so. Another new pregnancy joy...I am snoring! Matt and I both wake up laughing at my snoring. It's sad when you wake yourself up snoring. I'm so humiliated. :)

It's back to work on Monday night but we have a big day ahead of us on Tuesday. I have my 20 week sono and hopefully we will have the sex of the baby verified!!! I can't wait to find out and get another glimpse of our baby. I haven't seen her in 8 weeks. It will be exciting to see how she (or he) has grown. My mom is going with us and she is SO excited. I don't know if she has ever even seen a sono done before. There were no sonograms around when she had us. Can you imagine? I can't imagine not knowing what is going on in there until birth. I guess it's just the NICU nurse in me. I am going to quiz Dr. Norwood about everything and I will be able to finally relax to know there is nothing going wrong.

I promise to post pics soon! I know all the writing can get boring!

Just getting started

2008-11-24T22:44:00.000-08:00

Well, my bestie Ana and I were talking about blogging and after she took the plunge I figured I should get started too! Bear with me though, my punctation is not always correct and I am not the best writter!

These past few weeks have been crazy for me and my family. Matt and I got married on November 8th, we moved him into the house and of course we are getting ready for that baby that will make his or her appearance around April 20th. The baby is the main reason I decided to blog. I would love to keep everyone that might be interested informed!

So...I am 19 weeks pregnant. I am getting bigger and bigger everyday. I first felt the baby around 17 weeks and it was a quick little kick. After I never felt it again, I figured it was just a little gas. This weekend though, the baby has certainly made it's presence known. She (or he) is moving around ALL the time. I sometimes wonder if that baby ever sleeps! :) It's very weird to feel a tiny little baby moving around in there. It really doesn't feel like what I thought it would but I am sure that will change. I know the kicks will get stronger and I will become more and more uncomfortable! That's ok though, bring it on baby. I am happy to know you're moving and shaking around in there.
We find out in one week on Tuesday, December 2nd. We can't wait to get another look at the baby and finally know for certain what the sex is. I just know it's a girl, but I guess we will see!

I am going to start publishing pics of my belly if I can get some pics that don't make me want to gag to look at!