Tanning

When Ella came home from the hospital she was jaundiced. We saw the doctor last Friday and she was prescribed photo therapy for a couple of days. Here is a photo of our little girl working on her first tan. If you look at the photo closely you will see a blue light shinning behind her. That is the photo blanket that she had to lay on. Thankfully as of Sunday afternoon she is no longer on photo therapy.

Sleeping Beauty

More Pics

New Arrival!

Eleanor Grace Cooley came to us today! Mom and Baby are doing great! Ella weighs 6 lbs 10 oz & She is 19 inches long.

She's On Her Way!!!!

Just a quick post to let you know that we are at the hospital and Eleanor Grace is on her way. It is currently 3:30am and we have been here about an hour. We will try and update throughout the day.

What a Challenge

Nothing profound on my end today so I am sending you here

Run, Kick, Shoot, Score

Well, the Olympics are off to a great start. Opening Ceremonies....IMPRESSIVE! What a performance! Thank goodness for some high quality athletic entertainment while I count the hours until my doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I tried to explain the rules of soccer to Ella as we watched Brazil beat N. Korea and China and Canada tie, but she was more interested in practicing her free kicks against my ribs and working on her hiccups. I then tried to explain the fundamentals of sand volleyball as we watched the US beat the Dutch, but again she was not really interested. Instead she was practicing her spikes on my bladder and her sets and bumps on my lower abdomen. Oh how I will miss these little movements when she is in my arms, but I am longing to hold her more and more each day. I promise I won't give a play by play of my Olympic games watching each day, but be forewarned....there is no telling what might appear on this blog over the next few days during my imprisonment in my king size bed.

Stir Crazy

I was discharged from the hospital this afternoon. Unfortunately, I am on bedrest until I see Dr. L on Tuesday or unless I hear otherwise tomorrow. I thought that hearing the words, "You need to stay in bed," would be a welcome reprieve from work and all the other menial tasks I do each day; however, after just 24 hours of bedrest I am already going stir crazy.
It especially stinks because I don't feel bad at all. In fact, I feel great except for the slight headache I get if I sit up to quickly. Staying in bed would be so much easier if I didn't feel well.

Oh well, at least I have the Olympics to watch starting tomorrow and maybe I can get the dozens of thank you notes written that have been neglected.

No, I am NOT in Labor

Daniel and I have spent quite a bit of time at the hospital this week in Labor and Delivery. No, I am NOT in labor. Tuesday morning a friend of ours delivered a precious little girl and that evening we came by the hospital. We stopped in L & D to see our friend Michelle who is a nurse. While there my doctor came strolling along and gave me a long look and a "what are you doing here? I didn't get a page!" My response, I am NOT in labor!

Fast forward to 4:00pm yesterday. Guess where I found myself? You guessed it, L& D. No, I am NOT in labor. Yesterday at my weekly doctor's visit my blood pressure was "slightly" elevated, so my doctor decided it would be best for me to head over to L & D triage to be monitored. When I walked in, my friend Michelle, the nurse, rounded the corner, gave me that look and the "what are you doing here?" My response, I am NOT in labor.

But I am now in L & D and NOT in labor.

After 2 hours of monitoring my blood pressure in triage it was still not where Dr. L would have liked it to be and so I was admitted. It is 6:18am and I have slept for a total of about 2 and a half hours. I am tired but hospital beds, blood pressure cuffs, bathroom monitoring, etc. are not entirely conducive to a rest filled night. Not sure how long I will have to stay in the hospital, but know I have to be here at least 24 hours. Secretly, well not so secretly, I kind of hope I do go into labor and make this trip to L & D well worth it. As far as our sweet Eleanor Grace goes, she is doing great! She is full term at 37 weeks and really could arrive any day now.

So Long Old Friend

Yesterday I said good-bye to an old friend. I was a little more emotional about it than I thought I would be. But, I guess after 13 years of deep, loyal, mostly reliable friendship, a little emotion is expected. For two years now I knew the day was coming when Penelope and I would have to part ways. There were times I resisted and other times when I was ready to throw in the towel and be done with it even though I knew the timing wasn't right. But, with a baby on the way in just 4 short weeks and a major life changing move looming just 5 months away, Daniel and I both agreed it was time to say fare thee well to my beloved Penelope. Penelope and I have been through a lot over the past 13 years. College, an almost 2 year separation while I lived in Hawaii, a move to Texas for grad school, multiple road trips, etc. We had a typical love/hate relationship. And now she is gone. I said my good-byes and watched as Penelope drove out of sight to bigger and greener pastures.

So long dear friend, so long.

Has Anyone Seen My Ankles

My ankles are missing. Instead of a wonderfully defined calf and tiny ankles, I am now sporting puffy cankles! Along the same lines, my toes now resemble Fred Flintstone or Barney Rubble toes. Thank goodness for a good pedicure, so at least they are pretty Barney Rubble toes.

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

Not too much going on in the Cooley household. At least not anything truly blog worthy. But I figured it was time for a little update. So here goes.....
* Daniel and I survived our move into his parent's house at the end of June. However, next time, someone remind me that moving at 8 months pregnant is not the most ideal scenario.
* I am now 34 weeks pregnant. We saw the doctor today and Ella is doing great. It appears we may have a thumbsucker on our hands. (Much to her daddy's chagrin!) She is head down and moving in the right direction.
* We assembled the crib last weekend and now we just need to rearrange all the furniture in our room.
* We started our Prepared Childbirth Class two weeks ago and our teacher is great. Daniel said she reminds him of a character on Scrubs.
* 1 baby shower down , 3 to go

Hopefully I will have something more interesting to blog about soon!

32 Weeks

Eat, Drink, Pee, No I.V.

That catchy mantra from the 3-day came back to haunt me this past weekend. I learned that if you are 30 weeks pregnant and you are unable to eat or drink due to GI issues you will find yourself in Labor and Delivery at your local hospital for some IV fluids. Thanks to what we think was some kind of GI bug, I found myself dehydrated and in need of some medical attention yesterday.

Thankfully after 5 hours at the hospital, almost three bags of IV fluid, a nice shot of phenergan, and some apple juice, the little one and I are on the mend. Our "active little critter" continued to live up to her name yesterday as the nurse chased her around trying to get her heartbeat. Just when the nurse thought she could position the monitor, our little peanut would start doing gymnastics and the nurse would have to look for her again. It was great to know that despite my feeling crummy for almost 5 days that the baby was just fine.

On a positive note, Labor and Delivery is no longer a "scary unknown" for me. Daniel and I figured out where we need to go for the real deal, where to park, how to find our way through the maze of hallways, what the rooms look like, etc. To top it off, I had a great nurse who took awesome care of me. Now the resident on duty....that is another thing, but we won't go there. Let's just say we are hoping he is nowhere to be found when I am in labor.

So, today I have been reliving my 60 mile walk and the thousand or so times I heard that ever catchy mantra....Eat, Drink, Pee, No IV!

Smitten

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today, Daniel and I are celebrating our 2nd Anniversary! We have truly been blessed over the past two years. I waited 29 years for my prince charming and all I can say is he was well worth the wait! Happy Anniversary sweetheart!September 25, 2005
The day after Daniel proposed

June 17, 2006
Our Wedding Day

Dinner Party

When I was in seminary I attended a great church in Ft. Worth. We had a large single's group and there was always some sort of fellowship going on. One of my most and least favorite social events was Dinner for 6 and (you fill in the blank, but most often bowling). The participants did not know who they would be having dinner with until they showed up. Tonight as I was cooking dinner for Daniel, I thought back to Dinner for 6. I asked myself the question if I could have a dinner party and invite a random group of girlfriends, who may or may not know one another, who would I invite.
Here is my very first Cyber Dinner for 6 guest list:

My mentor for the past 10 years, Liz. The story of how Liz and I met is very random. It involves her son's then ex-girlfriend -now wife, a stolen bag, a summer in Hawaii, Ridgecrest NC, a gentleman named Eddie, an unexpected phone call and a trip to Georgia. I told you it is random.

Jeanine. I first "met" Jeanine one evening while jumping fences on blogs. I use the term "met" loosely because Jeanine and I have actually never met one another face to face. We have emailed, we use Facebook and we read one anothers blogs, but we have never actually met. Jeanine's husband, was my pastor's roommate in college. I stumbled upon Jeanine's blog through Brent's blog and knew immediately that she and I were kindred spirits. I hope to meet Jeanine and her precious family before the end of the year.

Beth. Beth is married to Brent, our pastor. Beth is one phenomenal woman. She is probably one of the most dedicated doctors I have ever met. She is insanely smart, beautiful inside and out and quite funny! Beth was the first person other than Daniel to know that I was pregnant.

Lindsay. Lindsay and I met at PCBC just before Daniel and I got engaged. Lindsay is like a little sister to me and I love her dearly. She is my coffee, ice cream, dinner, or whatever buddy. She wants Ella to be a ballerina much to my chagrin.

Jen a.k.a Bug. Jen and I have been friends for almost 17 years. We met in high school and have been friends ever since. Jen and I survived our Junior year at SAS, we walked 2 1/2 miles from school to my house after taking our AP Art History Exam, she and her mom came to visit me during my first semester of college, she flew to TX sans husband to be in my wedding, and has always been just a phone call away. Jen just had a sweet little boy, Ethan. How exciting it will be for Ethan and Ella to meet someday!

I could invite a dozen or so more people, but then it would no longer be Dinner for 6 and unfortunately our dining room table doesn't even seat 6, so I guess it is a good thing this is just a cyber dinner for now.

Before the Throne of God Above

On Our Knees

This morning as I perused the numerous blogs I read daily, I came across several prayer needs. Will you join me in lifting them up? You can visit each of these sites to learn of their needs:

www.especiallyheather.com
www.thelifeofadb.blogspot.com
http://theocentricism.blogspot.com/

Not a Post for the Faint of Heart

Today I witnessed something very tragic. Sickeningly tragic. I was so sad. Let me paint the picture for you..... It is just a little before 5pm. Daniel has just picked me up from work and we are on our way home. I am telling him all about my "exciting day" when I look up and see something odd on the rear windshield wiper of the minivan in front of us. At closer inspection I realize it is a bird. As we come to a stop behind the minivan I can now tell it is a baby bird. It has that sweet little baby bird fuzz. It hops from the windshield wiper onto the back bumper. At this point I realize what is about to happen. This little bird is too young to fly. I begin to express my concern for this cute little cheeper to Daniel...."he's going to fall off and get hit"....."he's going to get hurt"...."I can't watch this happen (as I cover my face)".... "Daniel, if he falls off in front of our car, make sure you don't hit him"...."why are you smirking? He is going to get killed". This goes on for about three minutes. The light turns green and the minivan takes off. The little bird falls to the road. I give my instruction again of "DON'T HIT HIM!" Daniel moves a little to the right to avoid the bird. I look in the side mirror and see the poor little bird now flattened by our car. I guess the little guy had started to hop to the right just as we tried to avoid him. My husband committed VEHICULAR BIRDSLAUGHTER! Tragic I tell you, tragic!

This Post is for Liz and Carly

This post is dedicated to Liz and Carly. I know, I am corny, but hey, considering Liz has taken Carly to the zoo probably more times than I have been in my lifetime, I thought it would be appropriate.
Yesterday, Daniel and I went to the Fort Worth Zoo. We had a great time, but it sure was hot! Liz and Carly, I took a picture just for you.............

The obligatory flamingo and the back of the head photo.
Yes, I purposefully had Daniel take a picture just of the back of my head because at 27 weeks pregnant the backside is definitely not so attractive.

A couple of other fun photos from our day at the zoo:

This little orangutan was a hoot.
Are you talking to me?
Queen of the Jungle
My favorite zoo animal

After we left the zoo, we headed to Joe T Garcia's for some awesome fajitas!