Good-bye 2010, Hello 2011! 2010 has been a great year. It's hard to believe that just a little over a year ago, we packed up our stuff and trekked out to CO to start a new life. Along with owning a home and having a baby, we've officially entered the next chapter in life.  In 2011, I'll continue to juggle time management with working from home (the company I used to work for in CA re-hired me as a contractor) and being a stay-at-home mom. I'll also be training for the Ft. Collins Half Marathon...we'll see how far I'll get with this. Ha! I'll also be witnessing when Evan reaches milestones...by this time next year, my 'lil boy will be running around on his two stubby legs. :)

 

Feed, burp, change diaper, sleep, rinse and repeat.  

This is what motherhood looks like the first few months. Everyone says it's hard work. Everyone tells you that you won't be able to get much sleep, but there is really no way to prepare for it until it happens.  Motherhood is not easy, but it has been so rewarding. Evan is eating like a champ and growing like crazy.  We went in for his 1-month check-up and he's gained 2 lbs and 14 oz! Unfortunately,  my lil pumpkin seems to be super gassy after each feeding which leads to no sleep for baby or mom. O_o We tried putting gas drops in his formula today and it worked like a charm! He was able to go down peacefully this afternoon. 

Score! 

Why, hello lil' pumpkin! 

Long story short, my water broke at 9pm. I was admitted to the hospital around 10pm and those cRaZy contractions started not too long after.  2 hours later I was at 9cm and begging for the epidural. Epidural was administered and a few minutes later I was in heaven.  By 12:30am I was fully dilated and ready to push.  Pushing sucked.  After a few hours and no progress, the doc came in and helped Evan out with forceps. Um yeah, I'm so glad I had that epidural!  At 4:08am on Oct. 9, Evan Micah Cooper was born measuring 6lbs 1 oz, 19 inches long.

Recovery was tough the first few days, but it's been manageable thanks to pain meds and ice. Life at home with the baby has been one of the biggest learning curves ever.  I think we've been pretty lucky considering that he's not a fussy baby and only cries when he's hungry or gassy.  He just started smiling this week (not sure if they're due to gas or if it's a real smile) and it's so darn cute!! I have yet to catch his smile on camera.  

I'm thankful that Jeff took care of all the diapers and bottles in the beginning so all I had to do was focus on breastfeeding.  I'm thankful that my mom came for 2 weeks and fed us, showed me how to burp Evan and put him down for a good nights sleep.  I thank God every day for giving us such a healthy son and giving me strength so I can finally hold him in my arms.

I'm so sad that September is almost over. Where did this month go?! Jeff and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on Thursday. It was super low key and wonderful. We ate at the Canyon Chop House in Old Town. I wish I had a camera so I could of taken pictures of the food! It was fabulous. All the ingredients used are locally grown and fresh. This place even managed to make onion rings and mashed potatoes look fancy on a plate. ;) It's a great place for celebrating special occasions.

It's beginning to feel more like Autumn here. The leaves are starting to change color -- mostly golds and yellows. It's really beautiful this time of year.  We drove to the Rocky Mt. National Park with our friends, the Millers, on Saturday to see the elk bugling. It was a spectacular sight. I don't know why they call it bugling because it doesn't sound like a bugle at all. It sounded more like a high-pitched whistle. 

I'll be 38 weeks along this week...I can't believe it. They say that the last month feels really long, but I feel that it's going by too fast! Only 2 more weeks until my due date! 

How Far Along: 38 weeks
 

Total Weight Gain :  I've lost count...

Maternity Clothes: Same 'ol maternity clothes that still fit.  I LOVE my gaucho pants...they've been a life saver.

Stretch Marks: none!

Best Moment this Week :  Celebrating our anniversary, going to RMNP, and getting THIS for my bday!

 

 

Movement :  Lots of stretching and hiccuping

 

Food Cravings : None

Labor Signs :  None other than BH contractions. 

Belly Button Innie or Outtie : Innie :)

What are You Looking Forward to this Week :  Possibly finding a way to feel more comfortable? hahaha.  I honestly don't know if there is anything else to look forward to other than having this little guy come out.  I'm so swollen, tired, and cranky.  I'm so over feeling like a turtle on its back when I have to get up to pee every night.  :P

One of the things I really miss about California are the farmer's markets. We have farmer's markets here but the variety of produce are pretty slim year round. HOWEVER, I have to say that CO peaches are probably the best peaches I have ever tasted (Sorry, CA). I was also pleasantly surprised by a vegetable stand that sold pretty much every veggie needed. They also let you stuff a plastic bag full of whatever veggies you wanted for just $7! Score! 

We're in the first week of September and the weather has been wonderful. I'm can't wait for Autumn to arrive. I'm so ready for pumpkin pies,  colorful leaves, and the crisp, cool air.

As you can see from the comparison pic, the baby has grown a lot! Only 5 more weeks left!

How Far Along: 35 weeks
 

Total Weight Gain : A lot...

Maternity Clothes: Whatever I can find that still fits. Bottoms are all maternity and I'm scrounging for tops that aren't too short. I can't wait for the weather to cool so that I can just throw on some sweats and a baggy sweatshirt!

Stretch Marks: none, but I noticed some bursted blood vessels on the left side of my belly. :-/

Best Moment this Week :  I've had a burst of energy -- enough to go walking 3-4 times this week!

Movement :  Lots of rolling around and hiccuping. 

Food Cravings : Not so much this week.

Labor Signs :  Braxon Hicks are getting much more intense. Every time I contract, I can feel my uterus pushing against my rib cage and down near my pelvic area.  It makes it hard to breathe. It's quite uncomfortable.

Belly Button Innie or Outtie : Innie :)

What are You Looking Forward to this Week : The weather cooling... :) I'm getting tired of these 90-degree days!

The month of August has been a busy one! We had a handful of visitors stay with us over the last few weeks. My brother and sister came to visit, Jeff's friend also came out for the weekend, and Jeff's dad, step-mom and stepbrother were just here this past week. Having visitors means lots of site-seeing and eating out. Two things I love. I don't have any pics from when my brother and sister were here... I know, I'm lame. But I have a few to share from Jeff's family (photos courtesy of Jeff's dad). :)  

16th St. Mall, Downtown Denver

Jeff and me walking down 16th St. Mall in Downtown Denver

Coors Field

Jeff's dad and stepbrother

Poudre Canyon

The Coopers @ Poudre Canyon

Jeff standing near one of the major rapids

Jeff's dad and Cathy at Horsetooth Reservoir

Pearl St. in Boulder

Starting tomorrow, Jeff will have to go back to work and it'll be back to real life *boo*.  We have 6 weeks left to prepare for the baby and I don't have a single "nesting" bone in my body. Hopefully it'll kick in as time grows closer.

Jeff and I left on Friday afternoon for Mt. Rushmore. We stayed in Custer, SD. It's a cute 'lil town surrounded by pine trees. We happened to go on the same weekend as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I've never seen so many bikers in my life! Here are some pics of the trip.

Hmm...not much to see in the north part of CO...

First time in Wyoming! 

This was the storm that we ended up driving into 20 minutes later....

...and we couldn't see a thing! I have never driven through a storm this big. We kept driving in and out of storms for the remainder of the drive. Every time we'd get out of one storm, our GPS would have us make a turn that lead us straight to another storm. It wasn't fun driving through all the hard rain and hail, but it made time go by fast since there were bucket loads of lightening to look at. :) 

Oh. My. God. OHMYGOD! It's a DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!!! What does it mean?!?!?!?! *starts crying*

Dinner stop at a town called "Lusk." Good 'ol Subway to the rescue. :)

Our hotel in Custer.

All ready to go!

Entering Custer State Park....lots of roaming buffalo :)

Is that a DONKEY?! 

Hello there! These guys pretty much knew how to get food. If a car window was open, they'd get fed. If not, they'd just walk on by to the next car. 

Lookie -- our bellies match!

This is a shot of Wildlife Loop. It kind of reminded me of the rolling hills in CA...minus the haystacks and Western-themed campgrounds. ;)

We stopped back in Custer for lunch. Here's Jeff waiting for his food.

You can't pass an ice cream & pie shop that looks likes this and not go in. I got cinnamon-apple ice cream and it was SO good. I ate it all before remembering to take a pic of it. :P After ice cream we headed back to Custer State Park to see the scenery on Needles Hwy and Iron Mt. Road.

There are all sorts of rock formations on Needles Hwy. This particular rock is where the name came from.

Tunnel carved in the mountain...

This photo is one of the pigtail bridges on Iron Mt. Road.

Mt. Rushmore!

 Sculpture has always been fascinating to me. I really can't wrap my mind around the process of creating something from a block of stone.  It amazes me that someone could design and engineer a 60-ft tall sculpture on the side of a massive mountain.  We've all seen this monument in books and in movies but it really is a site to see in person.

 We walked the "Presidential Trail," which would of been nice if 1) I wasn't pregnant and had to lug around extra weight. 2) If it weren't so darn HOT. The sun was not my friend that day.  3)  If I could breathe a bit better.  Seriously, my lungs are slowly running out of room and I feel like I can't get enough air. Climbing up these stairs made me feel like I was suffocating. Not fun.  4) I didn't have the third-trimester sleepies. I felt really jet-lagged and tired.

Afterwards, we headed into Keystone for dinner (not recommended during the Sturgis Rally). Bikers...everywhere.  Jeff and I felt really out of place. I think we were the only ones in town that didn't own a bike. The restaurants were overpriced and sketchy. We ended up driving to Rapid City for dinner. After dinner, we drove back to Mt. Rushmore to see the lighting ceremony.

 I have to admit, the lighting ceremony was a little anti-climatic. It took a few minutes to sloooowwwly light up the mountain. And that was it.  The presenter chatted for a good 15 minutes, giving us all sorts of presidential trivia. I really needed to brush up on my U.S. History. 

The next day we headed out to Jewel Cave National Monument. We opted out of going on the 1 hr. 20 min. tour mainly because there were no bathroom breaks on the tour. Damn you, bladder!!! It really bummed me out. Instead we took the "Discovery Tour" which essentially is the kiddie tour in my opinion. We went down an elevator, stood in a room while the guide told us a little bit about the cave for 20 minutes, and then returned back up.  I guess it was a good thing we did the 20-min tour cuz Jeff forgot to bring a jacket and it was 49 degrees F down there. He would of froze if we went on the longer tour.

And that concludes our trip. We headed back home after visiting the cave. I would love to go back and visit the Black Hills area again (maybe when the kiddo is older). I'd love to hike a few trails and do more exploring in the caves.  It's a good thing that it's only 5 hours away. :)

Oh, I forgot to mention this random bit. On our way to Custer, we saw someone pull over and take a picture of the city limit sign for Lost Springs. We thought it was a little odd that someone would take a photo of it, but later on we found out why.  It said: