May I officially introduce... Cooper Cole Allen

Toby and I recently (Dec 22) had to go back to the hospital for a follow-up ultrasound regarding the "markers" the doctor saw at our last appointment 4 weeks ago. If you need a refresher, we met with a genetic counselor who explained to us that the baby had some choroid plexus cysts, an echogenic cardiac foci (or something like that), and his kidneys were a little "brighter" than what would be considered normal. So, knowing what to expect at this next appointment, we went in hoping that the markers would be gone, but with full acceptance if they weren't. Needless to say, we had good news and bad news... the good news is that his kidneys seemed to functioning properly and there were no additional markers / findings. The bad news - everything looked exactly the same. The doctor verified to us that even if the cysts and the foci were gone, the odds of a chromosomal abnormality such as Down's Syndrome would not be reduced. We're still confident (as confident as possible) that he's going to be completely fine, but I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind everyday... how will I react if he does have Down's Syndrome...
Anyway, onto more exciting news... Toby and I have officially given him a name. Drumroll please... dddddrrrrruuummmmm rrrrrooooollllll....

Here is COOPER COLE ALLEN at 24 weeks - about 1 1/2 pounds:

In case you were wondering, that's his hand by his mouth... not sure what's going on there. We decided on Cooper because from the list that we had, that was both of our favorites. And Cole is Toby's middle name, so we're just passing on the goodness.

And me... and my belly... at 24 weeks:

Feeling him move around and kick and punch, or whatever he's doing in there, has been absolutely amazing. He's pretty active just before I'm getting ready to go to sleep, so I find myself regularly yelling at Toby to come and feel my belly. Just recently, we've discovered that we can actually SEE him moving around as my belly moves also. Now that is quite intriguing, to say the least. Nonetheless, we are enjoying these moments as the time seems to be flying - only 3 1/2 more months. I find that I am smiling more at what some people might think is nothing, but I know it's because I feel his little hands and feet moving about. Toby has also become quite the communicator - he likes to talk to Cooper through my belly button. hehe... And I adore him for that. He often starts his talks with, "Cooper! Cooper, this is your dad."

So that's my news for now. Thanks for all your prayers and support throughout our journey! It's been a bit of a roller coaster, but I wouldn't change any of it, as it's made us appreciate the blessing we have coming more and more each day.

So long December... So long 2009...

Well, it was my original intention to post a blog on a weekly basis - or at least every two weeks - but clearly, that isn't happening. So now I find myself trying to play catch up. December... what happened during the month of December... Well, Toby and I had both of our Christmas parties. At my Christmas party, I must confess that we (though Toby would say him) won over $200K at the craps table. Yeah, so, it was fake chips; but, as our luck would strike, we had over 200 raffle tickets that we put in a raffle prize bag and actually did NOT win anything. We never win. EVER! So long $100 Starbucks gift card. So long spa package... maybe next year. **Toby would like me to add that he did not want those raffle prizes. There Toby... it's been declared. He wanted the iPod; however, since we have 3 iPods currently (2 of which are out of service), he did not win that battle.

Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to reminisce from Toby's first Technip Christmas party. This is us in 2007:

And here we are this year - 2009: (Not sure what the Hollywood theme has to do with Christmas)

Time sure does fly when you're having fun! Notice my growing belly... And to think, in 2007, Toby had no idea what he was in for. :)

Other than Christmas parties and the end of my 2nd to last semester in my MBA program (yay for 3 A's this semester!), we've done nothing more than work on baby Allen's room. Toby had this grandious idea to paint stripes on the wall - and not just any stripes, these are meticulous stripes. He's been doing a wonderful job and I'm so proud of him for taking on this task. I'll definitely be posting more pictures of his room soon, but for now, this is all you get...

Here's the proud dad...

I guess the "theme" would be monkeys. I was determined to not have a bedroom that looked like a zoo threw up in it, so we've managed to just scatter some monkeys here and there. I absolutely LOVE the bedroom... it really is perfect. I was so motivated last weekend that I actually managed to redo the bathroom as well. So now, baby Allen has a monkey bathroom. Gotta love it!

OH! And for you northerners (you know who you are) reading this... I would just like to say... it snowed in Houston this year. I think it came down for a couple of hours and was entirely melted within another two hours, but nevertheless, it felt just like Christmas - a little early. Here it is - our big snowfall - isn't it gorgeous???

And that's about it for our December. We had a wonderful Christmas break; we managed to spend a little bit of time with my parents, Toby's mom and step-dad, and Toby's dad. For Christmas, Toby got me a fancy sewing machine. I'm VERY excited to use it; if only I could figure it out. :) Someday... someday...

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!!! Happy New Year!