Greetings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Sleepyhead and Yogurtface...



I think these two are going to be great friends. Let's just hope Dylan isn't in charge of teaching Cohen how to eat yogurt or else I'll be spending the retirement money on wet wipes! Silly, funny boy!

I just realized it looks like Chris's hand is Cohen's. I mean they're large but not THAT big.

relocation

Today at nap time I decided to relocate to another spot in the house. I guess I just got tired of the crib and plus, I REALLY like the sound that the vent fan makes in the bathroom. So, that's where I went... right between the toilet and the scale. Mommy wasn't crazy about leaving me there but I convinced her that I was happy as a clam and so she finally put the monitor right there beside me and headed off downstairs. She said not to tell anyone, cause they might think she's a wierd mommy for leaving her child in the bathroom floor.

Love Cohen

to clear up any confusion

Just so Darby and Becky can rest easier, Tombo glue is a little adhesive strip that comes out of a dispenser kind of like that white out dispenser they make now. It's just easier than double sided tape but performs exactly the same task. I'm all about convenience and I had more to stick together than just the picture, that's why I used it. Fear not my loves... your cards arrived in style with lovely photos in tact!

"hold your head up... HIGH"

You know that song? That's what I kept singing in my head today while Cohen and I were doing this...


Props to my boy who's trying his darndest to strengthen that wiggly little neck of his! He really is a strong one if I do say. Way to go baby - 4 weeks tomorrow!!

The spirit of Christmas

Thanks everyone for the advice on the "gas drops". Cohen has been a LOT better Tuesday-Friday and I made it through my first week at home with him alone! We even ventured out on a trip to the pediatrician, McAlisters (for a dinner with Daddy) and to Michael's for some Tombo glue to finish up the Christmas cards. I just have to share what happened while we were there...

I got Cohen out of the car and successfully made it from there to the glue aisle and then to the checkout counter. Any of you mom's can relate, that in itself was an accomplishment for me given that the carrier + baby = HEAVY and I was scared the whole time that he'd have a crying episode in the store. So, once I got to the front of the line I realized I left my wallet in the diaper bag in the car. After all, I was JUST running in for one thing, I didn't need to bring the whole bag. I told the cashier I'd be back but to go ahead with the people behind me obviously. Then the lady in front of me who was just paying said, "No, please let me get that for you... it's not worth going back to the car. I understand, I'm a mom too" I was floored! She was so nice to pay for my $8 Tombo glue and the cashier and I stared in wild wonder that there are actually people out there who do nice things just because. I'll probably never see her again but that gesture will stick with me forever. She restored my faith in people. Maybe it's Christmas that brings it out in her, but maybe she just looked past herself and saw someone else's need. It was great. Now I feel the need to pay it forward. I'll have to be looking for a way to do so.

Mom says I should have then asked if she'd come to Kroger with me and buy my groceries too! ;o)

if you feel like it...

If you're bored or just want to humor me, you can go HERE and download the slideshow I made. It might take a little while to download being that it's mucho megabytes, but I just thought I'd post it anyway. Yesterday Cohen had a case of the Mun-days!! It was one of those where I honestly felt like I may never live a normal life again... destined to be a recluse, hold up in my house for the rest of my life rocking and making every effort to soothe my gassy child. Today was good though so, Happy Tuesday!

finally checking in

Life with a baby is different. That's the only way to put it.

Cohen is a wonderful baby and Chris and I are both slowly learning how to handle things with him around. Chris is a GREAT dad and has really taken to him quite naturally, as I always knew he would. My mom was here for 2 weeks and I can't even imagine trying to get by without her! She went back to Memphis yesterday though (yes, I wept) and thus... we are now an official family of 3. It still seems very strange to be a parent but things get a little more routine with each passing day. It's been fun though; ups, downs, sleep, no sleep, but overall I just love the little man more than I can say!

I had a great slideshow all done with a special song that I picked out just for him but of naturally once I went to upload the file I realized it was entirely too large. I'm so bummed but here are some regular photos of our boy at least. How do they change so much so fast?

A little bit more about our son's name as well. I know its not very common so here's why we chose it... Cohen was my great, great, great uncle. AND Koen was Chris's grandmother's maiden name. We really liked that it was part of both of our families. Matthew means "gift from God" and we truly believe that he is! After losing one baby last year and previous uncertainty about fertility because of Chris's cancer- we know without a doubt that the Lord gave us this baby boy as a gift to be treasured!!

Also, since I've posted so much about my "little" boy... I thought you all should know something about my "big" boy too:
Chris had his first post-cancer CT scan and blood work done last Tuesday and everything is CLEAR! We are thrilled beyond words and thankful for the Lord's protection over him. I meant to post on Tuesday but was just too busy (read: nursing round the clock).

Hope everyone is having a restful Saturday. The boys are watching the SEC championship and so I snuck away to get a few things done. Tomorrow we're getting the Christmas tree and putting up the lights. I'm excited to see how they look on the new house!!

Cohen is Here... He's Finally Here!

Cohen Matthew Carreker made his entrance into the world on Thursday night November 20 at 6:09 pm. He weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz. and was 21.25 inches long. We still can't believe it!! I'll try to post more later but he's doing great, I'm healing slowly but surely, and Chris has proven himself to be the BEST husband a girl could ask for. As if I needed proof. Thank you for your encouraging emails, calls and prayers.

any bets?

What do you think our boy will look like?

friday fun

Provided I'm not in labor, we're going to see "Quantum of Solace" the new James Bond movie tonight. If the weather was a touch cooler (like it's supposed to be later this weekend) I'd wear one of these pretties...
find them here

occupy my mind

I'm trying to keep my mind OFF of the fact that my boy remains in my belly today. Tomorrow is the full moon. Maybe he'll come then. He's not due until Sunday though-- don't you DARE post in my comments that first babies are usually late. I don't think I can bear to hear it again! ;o)

But to pass the time I was looking at some sites and found this cute idea.

A BIG thanks to all of you guys who ordered custom Christmas cards from me this year. I'm sending them out to you today if you don't live in Dallas. I hope you're happy with the finished product. I'm also getting started on a 2008 Christmas music playlist and I'll try to post that later (after Thanksgiving because thats just the way it should be)!

Meanwhile- I wait.

spraying on the pimp juice

The other day in the grocery store I witnessed yet another mind boggling scenario which I TOTALLY forgot to tell you all about. Then today I saw this on Bakerella and it sparked my memory so here we go.

First, I think this is a really neat idea. No, not spices... beaches.

So as I said before, reading that little post of hers about sprinkles reminded me of this which I posted a WHILE back about the girl eating the jar of sprinkles. Now you see where I'm going? This brings us to last week where I was again shopping the aisles of our local Kroger.

As I debated the deodorant options for my husband (who has the most sensitive armpits this side of the mississippi) A man walked up, grabbed a bottle of AXE Body Spray or some equally potent man perfume and proceeded to spritz himself, not a couple, (as if that would have been ok) but at LEAST 20 times from head to toe. He then casually placed the bottle right back on the shelf where he found it and went on his way.

Now, I ask you... with a saleswoman standing not 2 feet away and me right beside witnessing the whole drama unfold, what posesses someone to use a product (vigorously) and then return it to the shelf as though it never happened? Did he get sweaty in the supermarket aisles and need to freshen up? Was he going on a date post grocery trip? Maybe he was "sampling" like they do at Costco.

As I approached the check out I noticed that this man was standing two lanes over from me. I could smell him people. I could. From no less than 6 feet away.

Help me understand.

dessert alert

Seriously the best dessert hands down! If you live in Dallas and can ... go to La Duni and order it. Prove me wrong. Go ahead-- try.

I think Chris and I will go get a piece this weekend. Really, he told me we could!

Anniversary

AND I totally forgot but meant to say Happy 2nd Anniversary yesterday to these two goons. How about a wedding anniversary on election day? So romantic!

Things

Some things to discuss...

1. NO BABY YET.  Thank the Lord for stretchy pants.

2. I have NOT cut my hair but I still plan to after the baby comes. I think I'll want a change once I start losing some poundage and getting back to "normal" (as if my previous knowledge of normal will ever exist again). Don't laugh, I KNOW my life is about to turn upside down but that doesn't mean I can't attempt to have a cute haircut and make myself feel a little better right? 

3. The president-elect. I think I knew it would happen. I think we should all just pray like we have in the past. Pray that he will be open to the Lord's voice and guidance in how to manage our country. We serve a God capable of anything and whatever the next 4 years bring, He is ultimately still in control. I'm so glad I can rest in that.

I also realized this year that when I cast my vote it wasn't about me as much as the little mister in my belly. Pretty sure that's how everything is going to go soon huh?

4. I'm missing my 10 year class reunion this weekend.

5. I'm mad that Alabama is now in the #1 spot on the college football polls. Simply unfortunate.

6. Shout out if your feet grew when you had a baby!! Mine have. Some people say they go back to normal. I'm kind of hoping that mine do but also a TINY bit of me wouldn't entirely mind being FORCED to buy all new shoes ;o)

ok enough... I hope everyone has a good evening. I'm off to eat some pasta with my family and enjoy the cool fall night!

Happy Halloween

because I sometimes feel lazy

"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.”

- Steven Covey

I don't know who Steven Covey is but I think he's absolutely right on this one. If we don't make what we want out of ourselves... who's going to do it for us?

The Boy's Room

I know I know... I'm sorry it took so long.

The only thing is I have to put something over his changing table.

Most likely going to be a round mirror.

click here to see all of the photos

Could have written this post but I didn't...

Shout out to my sister on this one. Click Here

Fall Style Guide

I got a funny text last week from my friend Emily who said "cleaning out my closet. wondering if capri pants are out of style?" I replied that I didn't really know for sure but I didn't think you could pull them off during winter really and PROBABLY  by next summer there would be a new style to which we'd all fall victim. Thus... she threw them out. Then she said I should post on the new fall trends and she'd follow my advice. I don't claim to know anything about fashion, I just read magazines and watch what the cool kids are wearing. I went over to InStyle.com and here's what I found...

We should all hurry out and purchase these top 5 must haves! I mean we really MUST

1. Print Dresses

2. Tailored Jackets (which I'm not posting photos of because they were ugly and I don't support it)

3. Fuller Skirts

4. Chunky Knits

5. Ruffled Blouses  (be careful on this one ladies-- we don't want to revisit 1995)

Em- I'll try to do a little more research on pants specifically but I hope this helps for now. So all you girls run on out to the mall and spend that money you know you should save to buy Christmas gifts!

I also promise to post nursery pics but I still had a couple of last minute things. It's like when I make a cake and someone comes and eats the batter. Makes me furious because that's my little art project and I don't want to share it until it's DONE!  Am I possibly the only human who doesn't relish eating cake batter... yes, most likely. Forgive me. Have a good Tuesday!

Yes, Mom it's still us!

UPDATE: I did not design this blog template. Didn't want anyone thinking I had any time on my hands. I downloaded it.

Just in case anyone got confused and thought they were in the wrong spot. DO NOT FEAR! I just got bored with the other template and changed it up. Added a little oomph if you will. (and I hope you will because life's more fun that way).

Originally I thought this blog would be posts from Chris AND me. BUT I've since learned that men think blogging is a total waste of time and energy. I feel bad for them really. They don't know what they're missing out on!! SO, I changed the layout to be a little more "me". I'm sure I'll change it again though once the baby arrives and I feel like it's too girly for him.

Happy Birthday

Want to send a birthday wish out for my Dad! Today is his big day and I hope it's wonderful! I love you Dad and I couldn't ask for more!! XOXO

Proof

For anyone who might be under the assumption that cancer took its toll on my husband... I give you the proof otherwise. This is what he spent the weekend doing a mere 5 weeks after surgery. Smart? maybe not. Soaking up life, absolutely. I'm not lying-- he's doing MUCH better! Can't keep this man down!


I stayed home while he was goofing off with these yahoos!

Thank you all again for your continued prayers and support.

Coming soon... nursery pics!

some photos

Here's a photo Emily snagged of my bump at our recent (fantastic) baby shower. Thank you Em for not getting the "rest" of me in the shot.


Also, I forgot to mention that THIS sweet little monster is going to have a SISTER! We're all really excited because Carrekers don't get a lot of girls in the family! She should arrive February 16, 3 months to the day after her cousin!!


At the shower, Danielle made Court feed Chris baby food samples for a fun game. We actually did it to Court when Dylan was born so this was PAYBACK! I think he tried everything from sweet potatoes to veal. Seriously, they make VEAL baby food! I love Blake's face. We were all cringing. At one point Chris was determined we were feeding him catfood!


Darby- this is for you. We have a "friend" that hangs out on our new porch from time to time. He reminds me of Squash. I don't like cats really but he seems nice so until he misbehaves... I'll let him stay.

Have a good Thursday evening... I'm recording the new NBC show Kath and Kim. I think it looks hilarious!! Taylor- I know you'll watch the office so tune in 30 minutes before and see if you like it.

Back to Bidness

I haven't really posted much of note lately so I thought I'd hunker down and try to put a little something fun out there for anyone who reads this.

First of all, this weekend Justin and Leah came to Dallas and hung out with us on Saturday and Sunday. They also had their two fantastic little ones in tow, Jackson and Carson. We went to the fair on Saturday. I loved to watch Jackson's face as he took it all in. I think he was 100% overwhelmed but thoroughly enjoyed the strawberry chill that consumed the front of his white polo shirt. Luckily Leah said that thanks to some Oxi-Clean... the shirt looks like new today! Carson meanwhile, was a complete angel and aside from the LOUD fair noises startling him once and a while, rode along in the stroller as happy as a clam!

In baby news... I'm 34 weeks along and feel like I'll burst any minute. No I will not post a picture of myself because I think I'm retaining half of the Atlantic Ocean and no one likes a puffy-faced picture of themselves splattered across the internet! I will, however; post photos of the nursery once it's done. We should be finished sometime this weekend. We've definitely decided on the name now and will let you all know who he is once he makes his entrance!

Also, I saw this online today and wanted to pass it along. This girl is impossibly cool. I don't know how she finds the time and energy to be so interesting but I'm jealous. I know that much. Click here for more.


I love fall! I REALLY love it! I'm hoping to get some pumpkins soon but here's a link for you if you already have yours. All kinds of pumpkin decorating and carving ideas. Click here for more. If you want to get into the autumnal spirit (to use a choice Martha Stewart phrase), go get a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. Yes, I REALIZE that the caloric intake equals that of a few fun size candy bars but that's not the point. It's fall, it's getting cooler outside and it tastes delightful!


October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Most of you might remember me walking in the Susan Komen 3-Day Walk last year. It was such a cool experience and if there's one in your area and you still have time to train for it... SIGN UP! I can't walk this year because I'm 9 months pregnant and well, that just wouldn't be smart. BUT I plan to go find a cheering station and cheer the walkers on. If you have a chance to at least do that, I can say from experience it's very encouraging. Finding a cure for cancer has taken on a different feeling altogether for me this year. We can't sit and wait for someone else to do something about it. We have to do our part too. Check for a walk in your area here.

My Best Makeup Investment

Go get one of these suckers if your eye shadow creases or if your eyeliner smudges like mine. It really does work beautifully!

I think it's funny anyway...

One Day Soon

When I'm not pregnant anymore I'd love to wear this. Ok maybe my shoes would be a little less "stripperish" but all the same, I think it's pretty cool on her. I think this cool snap Dallas has been getting the past two days has made me excited about autumn and the possibility of fitting back into my old wardrobe again as well! Yes, Taylor, I too am VERY excited about wearing my cowboy boots!

I'll admit

I kinda want to try these...

The storm that wasn't

... at least not in our neighborhood. Thank GOODNESS Hurricane Ike's projected path was not accurate because we were able to move into our house this weekend without any major rain or wind storms in Dallas!!

I owe a huge THANK YOU to my friends and family who went above and beyond to help us! My mom flew in and cleaned our house from top to bottom on Thursday and then Dad drove up Friday with a truckload of belongings from our baby shower in Memphis (plus some other of our things). Russ, Kent, Emily, Ashley, Court, Jim, Dan and Ryan came over helped unload the POD with all of our things in I swear less than 30 minutes! It was a blessing beyond measure!! Thank you everyone- I'm so grateful and owe you all way more than just PIZZA!

Mom and Dad- you're great parents!!

photo via: flickr

and I quote...

Thought this was neat. And true.


via: design crush

inside the house

Here are a few pictures of the inside of the house! I'll post more once we get in there and make it our own!
And for those of you who were wondering... I'm not cutting my hair until after a friend's wedding this weekend. She'd be sad if I looked like a fool!

formal living room

guest room

kitchen

what's making me happy

1. Chris's doctor told us today that he will not have any chemotherapy unless the cancer comes back!!!! He'll have CT scans and blood work every 3 months but we're hoping and praying the results will be fine and he's cured FOR GOOD! Praise the Lord-- this make me happiest of ALL!!!!

2. We got our house and can't WAIT to move in. I'll try to post more photos of it soon.

3. These shirts from Urban Outfitters (esp. that first one)

4. Auburn football season starts on Saturday. Holla!

5. It's a holiday weekend almost!

Closing Day!

Today at 1:30 the Carrekers will be the proud owners of this baby!!!