One Week...

I can't believe a whole week has already gone by since I had Cullen!

The birthing process is seriously amazing and like my husband said, if you didn't believe in God before experiencing the miracle of birth you certainly would after. 

I will never, ever forget that day. 

Hands down...

best.day.of.my.life.

I know billy feels the exact same way.

It's like our life together feels complete now.

Before Cullen it was as if something was missing.

Billy and I have wanted a family for years.

We didn't even care about being married first.

I actually found out I was pregnant right after our wedding.

The love we have for our baby boy grows more and more every day.

I have never just looked at someone and cried because the love I have just over powers me.

Life has changed for us, for the very best! 

I couldn't be happier and more proud to finally be a Mommy!

AND Billy is the best Daddy ever!!

He helps me with anything and everything whenever he is home.

He has had to work a bit every day and we really miss him when he's away.

My Mom has been helping us a lot, she took a week off of work and has been making us meals and spending hours visiting with us every day/evening.

Happy one week Birthday to our precious little Culley Bear!

because everyone loves baby feet...

and toes...

Your Momma and Daddy Bear will always love you baby Cullen!

BABY STATS

Sleep:  Cullen has no real sleep patterns right now.  I'd say he sleeps around 20 hours a day/night.

Hair:  was very blonde when he was born and is getting darker every day.  for some reason it appears kind of redish in these pics.

Eyes:  dark blue and changing every day, today they look almost navy.

Feed:  Nursing is going really well.  We gave Cullen a pacifier on Tuesday night and he slept like a champ although feeding seemed more difficult on Wednesday.  That might be because of the paci.  I'm debating whether or not to continue giving it to him.  

I think I will start pumping next week.

Weight:  At birth he was 6 pounds 14 ounces.

He dropped 6 ounces by the time we left the hospital and he is now weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces.

Length:  Last checked he was 19 and 3/4 inches 

Milestones: Becoming more and more alert.  I love when I'm holding him and I talk, he just stares at me.  If Billy starts talking he turns his head and just stares at him. 

Cullen also seems really strong for a little guy, he is pretty good at controlling his head/neck himself.  

MOMMY STATS

Pre-Pregnancy weight: 115

Day of delivery weight: 153 (estimated)

Current weight: 136

Weight to go: 21 pounds

38 week picture:

Today:

I am for sure hormonal and emotional.  I cry easily and little things make me sad.  I hope this passes quick, I don't feel like not feeling like myself.  I only cried a couple times while pregnant and I've already cried a handful of times since last week.
I need to start writing up the birth story while it's still fresh in my mind.

We have newborn pictures today!!
The girl will be over soon to take the pics :)

BTW, I was only able to type this all up on Thursday evening because my parents were over :)
I am so THANKFUL for all their help and support.
We watch Survivor and have dinner every Thursday night.

a few firsts...

Thank you ALL so much for the sweet comments, tweets and FB comments on our little Cullen!!

We are such proud parents and of course we just adore our precious baby boy.

our first family picture...

first picture with his fur brother, gussy...

first time in his bouncy seat...

first easter...

first time in a car seat...

first time in the swing...

Cullen seems to be happy and content no matter what he's doing! :)

He really is the best thing to ever happen to us!

first doctor visit...

Cullen had his first doctor's appointment yesterday. 

He gained the few ounces back that he first lost and then some!

We are so blessed to have a healthy growing boy!

Cullen is a bit jaundice so we are going back in tomorrow to have another blood test.

Please say a little prayer that our Culley passes this test.

He is our EVERYTHING....

he's here!!!

Cullen arrived on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 3:00 pm!!
6 pounds 14 ounces
19.4 inches long

We are so blessed to have a perfect, precious, healthy baby boy!

HAPPY EASTER FROM OUR 

Culley Bunny!!

a few pictures from his first minutes/hours... 

We can't get enough of our Cullen!

So far everything has been wonderful, Cullen is such a content happy baby.

Gus is coming home today, we have missed him and are excited to have our little family of 4 all together. 

Birth story coming...my water broke!

More pics of Culley Bear to come soon as well!

creepers...

Now I'm not calling ya'll creepers but maybe there is a stalker or two out there?!

I checked my stats the past two days and I don't typically check them but maybe I'll start more often, they are interesting to me. 

screen shot from tuesday...

See where it says pageviews from yesterday - 3,429

I can't believe on Monday my blog had that many hits!
Maybe a lot of you thought Cullen was born ;)

screen shot from today... 

Pageviews yesterday - 2,928

I had 28 comments yesterday but my blog had 2,928 hits!

I admit I read A LOT of blogs through google reader and I don't comment as often as I should or would like to. I think a lot of people are in the same boat.

Top keywords that brings people to my blog - Big Bird. Seriously?!  Have I ever even talked about Big Bird on my blog?? I don't think so, ha!!

anywho...

I love my readers and I love reading others blogs.  I apologize for not being the best at commenting the past 2 weeks.  I've been staying so busy at work and going to bed extra early. I want to stay on top of all my work since I have no idea when Cullen will be making his grand entrance!

If you are new to my blog (welcome!) or if you read but never comment, say hi!  I want to check out your blogs if you have one as well!!

ten tidbits on a tuesday...

1. i despise unloading the dishwasher these days so we have been using paper plates and plastic cups.  i don't run the dishwasher until we are out of silverware.  then i leave the clean dishes in the dishwasher for at least a day praying billy will put them away...not.gonna.happen.

2. billy is a night owl and has been sleeping on the couch the past 2-3 weeks straight.  this will probably continue until baby comes (maybe longer).  these days when i go to bed i go straight to sleep without watching tv.  billy is like a child who can't sleep in the dark without noise.  he has the tv on the entire night.  he even wakes up and eats ice cream cookie sandwiches in the middle of the night and watches nickelodeon/disney channel (don't tell him i told you), haha! 

3. i eat non-stop.  i seriously can't stop.  i eat something, feel satisfied for about 20 minutes and i'm hungry again.  i just tell myself that baby cullen is growing and he's the one gaining the weight....wishful thinking on my part.  i have a feeling our culley is going to be a small baby.

4. our doctor's son, who is my age, is billy's assistant coach for his hockey teams.  billy coaches youth hockey, he's got 3 teams right now.  every time we go in for my appointments A LOT more hockey talk goes on than baby and momma chat.  speaking of those teams, two had tournaments over the weekend and the older kids won first place!!  my doctor is also the father in-law of a guy billy coaches skills development with for hockey. small world....

5. billy has been to every single one of my doctor's appointments!  he is SOOO excited about becoming a daddy! melts.my.heart.

6. even though he has been to all my appts we are now into his super busy time of the year for hockey, he is only home 1-2 nights a week.  this will be our life for the next 6 months.  i tend to have withdrawals and get cranky when he's not around.  his love is my drug.

7.  have i mentioned we live in THE STATE OF HOCKEY?!  it doesn't matter that it's spring, going into summer.  hockey in minnesota NEVER stops.

8.  i'm ready to feed my phone to the garbage disposal.  i hate it, i have a palm pre...it's my 6th one!  the phone has ISSUES!  it's current problem, it won't charge or hold a charge.  so annoying and frustrating!

9. my bestie and i were debating whether or not to get tickets to the britney spears concert and we came to the decision that we were both going to renew our zoo memberships instead.  i guess that means we are growing up and have different priorities now, our little boys! :)

10. it is going to snow today...weather man said it just depends on the part of the state you are in for how much you'll get.  it's half way through april, it should NOT be snowing.  it's supposed to be in the 50's and sunny this weekend so i'm just looking forward to that. and Easter! :)

welcome to the family....

No, not Cullen ;)

I wish!

It is not new news that gas prices are out of control these days.

They are affecting everyone, including our family.

We had to make a tough decision and get rid of our SUV. 

Billy goes through so much gas!!

Although I have no idea what he does during the day or where he all drives to.

For all I know he is a clown and makes balloon animals for children as a day gig.
His work is mostly all in the evening/night, he coaches/skill trains kids for hockey.

I, on the other hand, hardly go through a tank a month!

I ride the bus to work and my Dad picks me up from work.

Target is a mile down the road, my parents house is 2 miles down the road.

I don't venture out much further than that these days. 

Without further ado, I introduce you to Billy's new (to us) car.

It's a Lexus IS250.

It's one cute little sporty car and Billy really likes it.

The mpg is obviously much better than the suv. 

The major downside is the trunk.

It's just going to be interesting to see how B totes around all his hockey stuff in there.

Baby Cullen's car seat fits just fine in the car behind the passenger seat.  

I've heard/seen on many blogs lately that cars just don't work for babies.

There are millions of people with babies/kids who have cars.

I'm sure we'll make due just fine :)

The Saab 97X will be greatly missed.... 

bye bye

stock photos taken from bing images.

although both of the vehicles are identical to the ones we have/had.

38 Weeks...

How Far Along: 38 Weeks!

Size of baby: Baby C is around 19.5 inches long and weighing around 6.8 pounds.

(all according to babycenter.com)

Total Weight Gain: 36 pounds! Yikes! Up 2 pounds in a week!!

& I feel HUGE.

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing a mix of everything, although mostly maternity. Just regular jeans.  I'm at the point where I don't feel cute in anything .  My favorite shirt is a long sleeve black shirt from Gap Maternity.  I kind of wish I could just wear it every day.

Gender: BOY!! Baby Cullen!!

Movement: Feeling lots of little feet kicks up high, they are not in my ribs or uncomfortable.  I still just love feeling him move :)

Sleep: Sleep is still pretty good. I can only sleep comfortably on my left side. 

What I miss: This past week I've felt about as large as a house and I'm kinda missing being in shape, working out and wearing regular clothes.  I want to look and feel good about myself again and I know that is far off.  I'm sure all these feelings are normal.  And nothing brings a smile to my faster than just thinking about my baby boy.

Cravings: Nothing in particular, all food is still appealing to me! Hence the weight gain! ha!

Symptoms: Still having braxton hicks, although not very often.  I have some ligament pain and sharp pains down there at times as well.  After sitting at work and then standing to walk, it's a bit uncomfortable but that's expected.  Cramping has started as well, not often or for long periods of time though.

We had a doctor appointment this afternoon, no progress has been made and doc is just sticking to his word that Culley could come any time.

Although technically he could come anytime between now and 42 WEEKS....

I really want to have him sooner than later! 

I have no patience!!

What I’m looking forward to:

Meeting our little man!!!

weekly fuzzy phone pics...

I finally got my iron-ons from Etsy and made these two bibs and two onesies!

Cullen has the hiccups right now! He has them usually 1-2 times a day.  Poor little baby. 

SHOES and a purse...

I realized not long ago that my priorities have changed and buying BABY stuff for our Cullen is where I choose to spend most money these days ;)

I haven't bought any shoes in many months.  SO, I decided to get myself some new shoes for Spring/Summer and I finally got to wear a pair of them today.

From Kohls

Vera Wang wedges. 

yep, my foot is up on my desk ;)

I got the wedges for $3.74 after using some Kohl's cash and a 30% off coupon! 

I got these Elle shoes at Kohls as well!  They were on sale and I had the 30% off.  I have a couple of work shirts in this color and some dresses and jewelry I plan to wear them with.  I just love the color and ruffles and they are perfect for work!

I also ordered 2 pairs of sandals from Target, they were buy one get one half off a few weeks ago.  

These 2 pairs are sitting in my basement just waiting to be worn.

Can you tell wedges are my favorite!?!

I also got this pair of Steve Madden boots for 50% off.

I went on the Steve Madden website to order Billy a pair of boots and ended up getting a better deal if I bought a pair as well and we got free shipping.  I had to have the boots ;)  They might be more for next fall to wear with leggings and if I get back in shape I might wear them with shorts this Summer.  I can always wear them to work with capris too. 

Lastly, my new purse!!  

It holds a lot but is quite heavy without even having anything in it, ha!  

I need a new black purse as well or maybe a brown one...

I just haven't really seen anything I like recently. 

Have any of you?!

Keep in mind I'm a major bargain shopper and don't like to pay full price for anything ;)  

Spring/Easter decor....

Easter wreath I made!

I really dislike Easter grass after making this, I will never buy it again.  haha!

I thought the wreath turned out cute though.

Pretty flowers from my Mom...

kick-knacks, Billy's favorite ;)

All the candy now resides on top of the microwave because of a little puppy decided to get chocolate wasted.

He carefully unwrapped and ate about 10 dove chocolate eggs last weekend while I was napping.  He had been sleeping next to me but I guess he got up once I fell asleep.  He must have jumped up on the ottoman to grab each piece, then got down on the floor opened and ate the candy then jumped back up for another and another....

He was one sick pup after that :(

I didn't have to bring him in or give him peroxide because he was getting sick just fine on his own.

Thankfully, he was back to his normal spunky self the next day.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!