The many faces of Cohen

We had some pictures taken by a good friend of ours, and they turned out amazingly!  Because they are all so good, I couldn't just choose a few to post on the blog!  So be warned...there are a lot of pictures!

Christmas Tree

Picking out a Christmas tree this year was a new experience.  I am used to wearing shorts (capris if it's cold), going to Home Depot, and getting our Christmas tree.  Not this year!  We went to a Christmas tree farm, drove all around looking at all the trees (and almost getting stuck a few times), and chose the Christmas tree we wanted!  They (the owners) actually came looking for us (like I said...we almost got stuck...really stuck) and they helped us out.  It was getting dark and rainy.  We had our saw to cut down the tree but didn't get that far.  We went back to the main area and they took Sterling on one of their 4 wheelers and took the chainsaw too.  I waited in the car with Cohen, and they brought back our tree! And we paid about half what we used to at Home Depot, and they had free cider!  

A picture with the tree and the snow outside...so pretty!

And a random one that I really liked.  =)

Grandparents

Last Sunday we had Cohen's blessing.  My parents were able to come up the Thursday before and stay for about a week, and Sterling's parents came up the Saturday before and headed out with my parents.  It was great to have them all here, and I know Cohen loved all of his cuddle time!  

I hope my mom doesn't mind this picture, but it's a classic! (This was their first day in town.  I won't say how long she stayed in her PJ's holding the baby)    =)

I had finals while they were here.  Not fun for them, but I was very grateful!  It allowed me to finish projects and take exams, and now I'm finished...with my degree!  Yea!!!

All of the happy grandparents

The SEC championship game was on Saturday, and Cohen was very supportive!

The blessing.  It was so nice to have both families here for that!

The Priesthood restoration site is about 20 minutes from our house, so we went there.  It was really nice!

Pictures

Here are some random pictures I decided to post

This was in the hospital...it's a normal stethoscope compared to the baby stethoscope.  So tiny!

There are a lot of great trails to walk on around here.  We decided to get out of the house and explore.

I just love this picture! Ready to go for another walk.

Caught a smile...or half of one anyway.

Thank you

Cohen received a package in the mail the other day.  It was nice muslin wraps, but there was no evidence of who is was from!  Hopefully, whoever sent it reads this, because we want to say Thank You!!!  Cohen (and we) are loving them!  They make the best burritos (that's what we call being swaddled)!

And a few random pictures: 

We thought maybe he'd arrive in time to wear it for the game, but he'll just have to sport it now.  It was an unfortunate game this year, but hopefully next year the outcome will be better!

We think these next two look pretty similar!  He definitely likes his hands right up by his ears.

 After our first walk outside.  It was pretty chilly!

Welcome baby boy!

 Cohen Davis Haring joined our family on October 29th!  I went in on Sunday evening to be induced.  It was supposed to begin around 8:00, but when they started monitoring him his heart rate dropped.  They had me on oxygen, flipped over on the bed, head down.....guess he wanted to start things off with a bang!  Everything was fine, but it changed the doctor's orders.  We started the induction at midnight, and that's when our sleep deprived life began!  I didn't have a set "birth plan" but wanted to see how long I could man it out.  I lasted until about 3:30 Monday afternoon and 7 centimeters.  Finally, my stubbornness gave way to the pain (and some convincing from Sterling) and I asked for an epidural.  Well, apparently the anatomy of my back made things difficult.  It took 45 minutes, and 4 or 5 tries (at the end of which he had run out of lidocaine) and it didn't completely work.  But it did cut the pain in half, so I'd say it was still worth it.  A little less than three hours later our little one arrived!  6 lbs. 15 oz., 21" long, and perfect! (As I'm sure all parents feel).

Watermelon

So, there were a few requests for one last belly shot.  I have refrained from taking any over the last couple weeks, and would normally not give in to such requests.  But...maybe I'm turning soft....so here ya go!

I was telling my brother the other day that the nurses have been so nice to me.  They always tell me how cute and small my belly is.  While I was telling him this, I remembered that Binghamton has the 2nd highest obesity rate in the country.  haha!  Maybe that's why my belly is "so small"!  Oh well....I'll take what I can get!  =)

5 more days

So, after being monitored for preterm labor for 4 months, going to the doctor every 2 weeks, getting ultrasounds every two weeks, and being told to "just make it to 37 weeks" this little man is going to be stubborn (not sure that was really escapable).  =)  It has made the waiting seem even longer though!  Luckily I guess, the countdown is right.  Unless he decides to come sooner, I will be induced Sunday night, with an expected arrival on Monday the 29th! 

On a side note, I guess once you get to the end of your pregnancy the What to Expect app. finally tells the truth...but I will still admit I was surprised to see Watermelon on there.

Nature Trail

Before General Conference on Saturday we wanted to get out of the house.  Unfortunately it was cold and rainy, but we decided to go for a walk anyway.  We went to a nearby nature preserve, and it was beautiful! We found a small trail down to a lake, that is our new favorite spot.  

I was pretty excited to get my jacket (non-maternity) zipped up at 37 weeks!

Then it was followed up by grilled cheese, hot chocolate, and a nice warm fire with great words of wisdom at Conference.  A perfect day!

Pictures

 We decided to take advantage of the Fall colors, and get a couple family pics before the little guy arrives.  These two were our favorites.

This was the original:

This was after playing in photoshop (this one's my favorite):