Graham is a Stud!

Barrett, Natalie and Graham would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! We hope your 2008 is as good as our 2007!

Graham pimping!

Graham Barrett Cohen

Graham Barrett Cohen was born at 1:16 pm on Tuesday December 11th, 2007. He weighed in at 6.9 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Both Graham and Mommy are doing well. They are expected to stay at hospital until sometime late Thursday morning or early afternoon if all goes well.

We will post pictures and stories either Thursday or Friday. Sorry for the delay.


Love,

Barrett, Natalie and Graham.

.................................STILL WAITING

Happy Weekend!! Nat is still on semi-bedrest and has been instructed to do as little as possible. The baby still doesn't appear to have any plans of coming out in the next year. We go to the Dr. Monday to see where Natalie is medically speaking. Another "decision day", as have been the last two appointments. I'm starting to figure this whole thing out, I think.

Most of you know that Baby Cohen's father was a steller GCL standout in baseball at Division 1 LaSalle. So whether it is a boy or girl, I got it's first jersey today for Kings High School Baseball, the Home of the Knights....Class of 2026!!

The 2nd picture might be my favorit of all time. It is of Natalie way back in 1984 impersonating a pregnant woman. In 2007, she IS the pregnant woman. Her mother made this for her at the family baby shower. Pretty Cool!

It's Christmas Time!

As you can tell, this is Baby Cohen's cousin Nolans first contact with SANTA!!!
Santa envious of Natalie's belly
First snowfall at the Cohen's happened overnight!!!

Well, tomorrow is a rather big Dr's appointment for us. Due to some of Nat's recent minor problems, the Dr. has requested another ultrasound for tomorrow. None of the problems are considered harmful to Nat and the baby and most likely, he will dismiss us tomorrow to wait it out for the next 13 or so days.

However, one solution could be to schedule a time for Natalie to be induced. It is quite up in the air at this point and will come down to tomorrow's findings. In the meantime, enjoy some of the recent pictures we have taken around the 'Nati. Hope your holiday is going well!!!

-Cohens

Are you kidding me?

Ok, the new due date given by Natalie's Doctor's is January 12th, 2008. The baby is now 21 years old and Natalie supposedly has a gestational period of 3 years. Oh wait, is that just what it feels like to me?? Wow, this is taking forever! Sometimes, I think I will be the only parent with a child who got his/her drivers liscense, high school diploma, college degree and married....all inside the womb!!! You can see that CJ and Sully are tired of waiting too!

Natalie, get a phone book!

Natalie pimping with Reds Ace Aaron Harang at the A.J. Cohen Memorial back in April

Probably our last time to relax

It seems Natalie and I have been on the go for months now in preperation for this little guy/girl. But the other day, my brother-n-law Robby was nice enough to ask if Nat and I wanted his Bengals tickets. Well, heck yea we do! I was able to get off work 4 hours early and headed home to pick Nat up. It was the first time in a long time that we were able to "get out" and do something. It was very very nice. We know these days will be few and far between so we really enjoyed ourselves.

I must tell you a little about the pregame parking however. Now Natalie is a pretty smart cookie, but when it comes to directions, she rides the short bus. Being as money tight as we are of late, we bypassed a couple of $10 lots to park over in Kentucky. Our goal was to walk across the bridge. Yes, Nat is almost 9 months but she loves walking. Now when she said Kentucky, I thought Covington, because the Suspension Bridge is right there. Natalie however insisted on Newport on the Levee. She was certain it was closer to Paul Brown. Now prior to her becoming pregnant, I would have no patience with this, but I have gotten so much better. So I said ok honey, let's park at Newport. As we turned the corner on the plaza level near the Aquarium, she asked me where Paul Brown was located. I said "turn around the other way"....Yup, we were about 4 miles from the stadium. She said 2, but trust me, it was 4! So we walked and we walked and we walked and got there just after they did a tribute to Joe Nuxhall :) Anyhoo, it wasn't that bad but Natalie felt her first strong contractions on the way back so I think the baby didn't like it. Oh well, enjoy the pics!

Dr. Update from Today.

The Dr. performed a strep test, which is routine for a mother at 35-36 weeks. 40% of mothers have the strep bug, and if a mother tests positive for this, she will be given antibiotics during labor.

The good news is that Natalie is now measuring 1cm dialated and 50% effaced. That means she could have the baby tonight, or 3 weeks past the due date. That's great, right!!? :) There have been documented cases of both. Bottom line is that the baby is starting his/her thoughts of coming out. If it is like Natalie (stubborn), it will be here in January. If it has ADD like me, it will be out tonight. We shall see!

More baby room photos

We keep adding features to the baby room. Here are the pictures we recently hung in the room. We have a couple shelves to get for the wall, but besides that, it is ready to go!

Week 34 Cartoon!

It's "MY" bathroom Daddy!

Mommy put that shampoo in the bathroom, the kind that doesn't make me cry!
And this is Mr. Frog who will hold all my toys while I get a bath.
And for those aftershaves, razors and shaving creme...I moved them too! Sorry.


Daddy,

I heard through the grapevine that when you and mommy bought this house, that she staked claim to the master walk-in closet as well as the dresser's in the room. I heard you moved all your clothes into the room which I will soon take residence in as my new bedroom! HAHA!! And now, I am taking your bathroom too!

Love
Baby Cohen

Woods Baby Shower

On Sunday, November 4th, Natalie had her side of the family along with her girlfriends over to her grandparents to celebrate the coming of Baby Cohen. Kim Woods (Nat's mom) and Angela Woods (Nat's sister and law) did a great job putting this together. Once again, Baby Cohen was spoiled with many clothes and other items. Natalie said she had a really good time!!! Thanks to all who attended!

Baby Growing!

5 pounds!!! Can you believe it?? Natalie had her 1st of two bi-monthly check-ups. Thankfully, all continues to go well as the baby has put itself in the head-down position, which is the first step of the final stage. The heart beat and everything else is where it needs to be and Natalie is certainly feeling like she is in the final stretch. She also probably feels like punching me in the face as my patience, as well as hers, is tested often :) I got this awesome picture of Natalie last night. Still looking good at 34 weeks!

Week 33 Cartoon!

Halloween and Tailgate Party Weekend

SWP- Shopping While Pregnant

Final Monthly Appointment

MY FAVORITE PIC OF NATALIE - "FISHING IN SARASOTA!"
Wedding 2005 "On the Red Carpet"
"Snowy Lebanon"
"Crash Course"
Aunt Nat and TJ

Natalie had her Final Monthly Appointment the other day. From now on, it's every two weeks. The Doctor confirmed that the baby is what I call, "In launching position", head down and NOT breached which is great! The doctor even asked if I wanted to feel the babies head. "Well of course", I said. So he placed my right hand below her belly and facing upwards and sure enough, THERE IS A HEAD! I have now confirmed our child does have a head, details at 11!

Of course, most of you know that Natalie and I have said we would like to have 4 children. But with as easy as this has been on Natalie (knowck on wood), I fear she may start asking for 10. The only problem which has recently crept up is the acid reflex and heart burn. It has become so bad, that she is having trouble sleeping. The TUMS company owes us a cut of their annual income! We have a very big weekend with the Woods Halloween Party on Saturday and the A.J. Cohen Memorial Tailgte Party on Sunday. So check back early next week for a lot of updates and pictures!

The pictures from this post are "Blasts from the Past"

Baby Shower hosted by Candi and Sarah

Diaper Cake: Is this chocolate or vanilla? Depends if new or used diapers I suppose.

STYLIN!
"Uhh Emi, what are you doing?"
This could only come from one person, THANKS BRI!
The Gang

On Saturday October 13th, many of Natalie's close friends as well as neighborhood friends showed up to again spoil Baby Cohen. Candi Crain (Nat's Matron of Honor) and Sarah Baker (College friend and now neighbor) hosted the party and what a job they did. Natalie said she was so happy to have her friends there to celebrate the coming of Baby Cohen. Emi Lowry came all the way from Chicago. Bri Hutchinson from Lexington and of course Candi from Columbus. We thank everyone for all the gifts and well wishes. We have said it before and we will say it again; we are so lucky and blessed to have this many GREAT FRIENDS!

Baby Room Update

In life, you must always watch out for the tiger behind you.
Even when making every attempt to block him out.
WHO DEY!?
Dreaming of a Chad Johnson Touchdown and a Bengal Win!
Keep Dreaming!

If you like the Bengals, you will love the baby bedding. Now I must admit, when Natalie told me about changing the color accent to orange, I was a little skeptical. But baby bedding isn't a big concern to me and I knew Natalie would make it look great. For those of you that know Natalie, when it comes to swimming with the current, Natalie won't be one of the fish. She likes to try new ideas and styles. You will not see butterflies in the baby room or Winnie the Poo. You won't even see Mickey, Minnie or Donald Duck. Natalie always swims in her own current of water, so when she chose orange, I knew the other fish were no where around! :) But as with anything else decorating-wise that Natalie touches, it is turning in to a pretty cool looking babies room! If we have a boy (which according to our latest USA TODAY GALLOP POLL, 66% of you think it is) he will for sure be a Bengals Fan by the age of 4. In fact, by that time, he may be the ONLY Bengals fan. If it's a girl, Natalie has some great ideas to "feminize" it up, if that's a word. The other 2 pics of Natalie were taken yesterday. Baby Cohen is getting bigger and Mommy is feeling it too but both appear to be doing well.