Post-op Lo Lo Bean

Our kitty, Lo Lo Bean, had surgery early this week to have her front claws removed. She did well during the surgery and seems to be doing fine now too. I was surprised when I picked her up from the vet and she didn't have any bandages on! They gave me 2 days worth of pain medicine for her. She was acting normal and was jumping on things already. Sometimes she'll jump up on something and will have to take pressure off of one of her paws and will shake it a bit but other than that, she's fine. She's been sleeping a lot and being extra sweet, more so than she usually is. This is her new bed. She hasn't moved from this location in several days. Only time she moves is when I pick her up, when it's time to eat, and when it's time to go potty. Ahh, the life!

Sweet, but pitiful, Lo Lo Bean

IT'S A BOY!!!

100% Baby Boy

Giddy Up Little Dude!!

For the past couple of weeks, I have been scanning myself to see if I could tell the sex of the baby. Well, as the days went by, my "guess" became more and more clear. This past week, as I was getting closer to 15 weeks pregnant, I was able to come to a 100% conclusion that WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!! We go in for our official ultrasound in a few weeks on Dec. 11th to get confirmation.

Since we found out we were pregnant, we have been anticipating this moment so we could finally start buying things for a boy or girl. Last night, Jeremy and I were at Target and I found a couple of onesies that we specifically for a little boy. See the pictures above. Jeremy and I are really excited to be welcoming William Carter Cochran soon!! I've already started calling him by name even while he's in my belly.

A Few Pictures From A Recent Photo Shoot

I recently did a photo shoot on some good friends of ours, James, Lindsey, and Alexander McGreger. I really loved this shoot because of the location...you'll see why! An old Mill house, water wheel, creek with small waterfalls, and a large grassy area, can't get much better! These are just a few selected photos from that shoot...

1 Year Anniversary Week...October 13th!!

Jeremy and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on October 13th. We have officially been married for 1 year! It's hard to believe sometimes that time has gone by so quickly but then when I think of all that's happened in the past year, the timing seems just right. A lot has happened to us in 1 year! We got married, made a move back to Georgia, bought a house, made another move, got a new kitty, and now have a baby on the way! But if I didn't have so many changes in my life, I don't think I would know what to do with myself! These are a few pictures of our trip to the Atlanta Zoo and from the day of our anniversary...


THE ATLANTA ZOO


There were lots of flamingos and they were funny to watch!

This bird was my friend!! He followed me and kept staring at me!

I was so excited to see the elephants!!

Check out those big paws!!

We think he was hungry because he kept pacing!

These guys were so cute!! They were about 5 feet in front of us.

This gorilla was hilarious!! He was such a poser!!

These two were playing and having a good time! They were all so funny!

This lady's hat was ridiculous!! There was a little girl with her and her husband that called them "Oma" and "Opa." We thought that was funny! But not quite as funny as this hat!

I was really excited to see the giraffes too!!

My first time to ever see a Rhino! So cool!!

These meerkats were funny! They reminded me of Mama!!

My hand-made 1st anniversary card!

My anniversary display I found on my nightstand when I woke up!

After

During

Top tier of our wedding cake exactly one year later! I was surprised that it still looked semi-intact after all the moves we made in the past year! This is before.

Baby's First Ultrasound and more...

Baby's 1st ultrasound!! 8 weeks 2 days!
First positive pregnancy test!
3 out of 3!! Guess it's a YES!!!
Jeremy being silly with his organic something or other yogurt.

Baby's 1st stuffed animal!! MONKEY!!!
Jeremy practicing his first diaper change on Monkey!


YAY!! Jeremy did so good!!

Introducing Lo Lo Bean!!!

She was sunbathing in the window seal!

MACY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (oops, same picture twice!)

This is what happens when a white cat meets a chimney!! She turns black and grey! It was a nice surprise for her Mama when she got home!
She used to have white paws!!

Baby's Heartbeat

Today, I scanned myself, as I do pretty much everyday, to see how big "the black dot" had gotten over the weekend. But today, I had a pleasant surprise. Not only did the "black dot" grow, but I could see something inside of it. When I looked closer, I saw a flutter. I thought to myself, "Is that the heart??" I thought surely it couldn't be! Surely I can't see it already, especially trans-abdominally. Just to make sure, I put doppler to it and sure enough, it's the baby's heartbeat!!!!! I looked at all angles and it was definitely a little heart fluttering away!!! It made me tear up and it made things very real. I mean, I knew that the baby's heartbeat had already started beating but it's different to think it and to actually see it!! What a blessing!! I've been so obssessed with how sick I've been feeling today and this has helped ease it...a little! ;o)

On another note, we had our first doctor's appointment on Friday, Sept. 26th. When we arrived, we had to sit and talk to the nurse for a while so she could go over a bunch of stuff. When Dr. McLendon walked in, he said "Well, y'all don't waste any time, do you?" Of course, he had the biggest, friendliest smile on his face too! I love my doctor!! We had just gone to see him exactly 1 month earlier for a pre-conception appointment. We both said that I was probably pregnant when we came to see him, but just a few days or so. He was really excited for us and said everything was as it should be. He confirmed our due date of May 17th, 2009. I have an appointment a week from tomorrow for an ultrasound and then another one in 3 weeks for our 1 month follow up. I'll be anxious to see our baby up close and to see the heartbeat up close too!!!

I'm just so excited that I was able to see that precious little heartbeat!! He/She is growing like a weed!!! Yay heartbeat!!!!

Baby Cochran ON THE WAY!!!

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!

We found out 2 weeks ago, on Sept. 9th, that we are expecting our first little "Crying Carter Cochran," as KeithAnn calls it. We are going for our first doctor's appointment this Friday, Sept. 26th to get our bloodwork and first ultrasound, hopefully. It has been such a struggle keeping it from everyone, especially our families. We told Jeremy's family a couple of weekends ago and they are all so excited. Sheila is excited about finally being a grandmother. She thought she'd be "Granny" to our dogs forever. She cried and thought we were kidding. She's already bought the baby diapers and 2 monitors. We told my family this past weekend by surprising them with a visit to Mississippi. I bought a "Due in May" shirt to wear specifically to announce it to my parents. They were so surprised and really excited!! They're excited that their "baby is having a baby." While we were there, KeithAnn let me borrow about half her closet of maternity clothes, shoes, books, and all kinds of stuff. She is super excited for us and I'm excited that she likes to share! ;o) It worked out perfectly because she was pregnant during the same seasons that I will be.

Jeremy and I are both so thrilled that we're going to be parents in 8 short months! It's hard to believe but I'm trying to soak it all in. As this sickness moves along, I'm definitely realizing that IT IS REAL!! Since I do ultrasound and have access to an ultrasound machine, I've been scanning myself A LOT! The week we found out, I couldn't see anything except a noticeable difference in my uterus. Then the next week, there was a small hint of a "black dot." By the end of last week, it measured 0.9cm. When I scanned myself on Monday, I was surprised to find that the "black dot," (aka...the baby's home) had grown to 1.6cm!!! But I was even more shocked when I scanned myself this morning and it measured 2.5cm!!! This baby is growing FAST!! My motto for this pregnancy is, "Grow, baby, grow!" And it is definitely doing that!!

We've started telling more and more people now that both of our families know. I'm excited about making an announcement to all of my friends at choir tomorrow night!! And then again on Sunday morning when we see all of our Singles friends. The only people that I can't tell right now are the people at work. They will have to wait until we are either 4 months or when I start showing. It's hard to not talk about it with the people that I'm around for most of the day. Everyone has been so supportive and so excited for us!! We are truly blessed to have such great family and friends in our lives!!

The sickness I'm feeling right now is not fun though. It's pretty much the worst thing ever!! Before I hit 6 weeks, I had some achy/crampiness mostly at night with a little bit of nausea in the mornings. But once I hit 6 weeks, it was all over. I wake up feeling awful and it continues for the remainder of the morning and some of the afternoon. I will get hungry but when I try to eat, I can't because of the nausea. Sometimes I wish I could just get it over with and hug the toilet but somehow my body will not let me. Booooo!!! I'm also so exhausted and worn down now! I guess it's all just part of it!! I keep hearing that the 1st trimester is the worst, then it gets better, and then it gets worse again 1 month before your due date. I'm looking forward to the getting better part!! I told Jeremy the other day that I wouldn't trade this baby for the world but right then, I wanted to spank it! We love our baby!!

Please pray for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, boy or girl!! We love you all and are so excited to share this journey with you!!