For Uncle Chris

and this one is for Uncle Chris...

For the Grandmas

Here is one for all the Grandmas...Great Grandmas...and wanna be Grandmas :)

Feeding Cooper = Dad has to itch?

So why is it that every time I feed my little man that I have to itch? It never fails that when I have one arm holding Cooper and the other hand is holding the bottle that I have to itch my nose, ear, back, forehead or wherever else it's impossible to reach when both of my hands are full. It's truly the craziest thing that happens to me when I feed him...that is besides trying and trying and trying to get him to burp of course. I have now become accustomed to balancing the bottle on my chin or forehead to itch when the problem arises!!

It's been 29 days since Cooper James was born. I can't begin to tell you how much love I have for my son! He has completely changed my world and everything in it. I have a hard time leaving for work in the morning because I just want to hold him. I know that he has the best mother in  the world taking care of him when I'm working and Candice sends me pictures daily of what they are up to and that they can't wait for dad to get home. From the time I get home until Cooper goes to bed, he's in his dad's arm and I love every minute of it!!!...that is even though my left arm is permanently asleep from holding my best little friend, Cooper.

My favorite part of any day is spending time with Cooper and Mommy and I truly love having our Wednesdays and Sundays to spend as a family together. I also love the fact that I get to tuck my little guy into his crib every night and pray over him and my family for the blessings that God has given us.

I was thinking last night how much God loved the world to have sent His only Son to atone for our sins. I can't begin to imagine the amount of love that God had for his Son, but these past 29 days gives me just a small glimpse of what He has done for us because of the love I have for my son. God I "Thank You" everyday for this little boy who can melt my heart!

Mommy Monday

Becoming a Mom...

Before Cooper arrived I did a lot of thinking...how would I know when he was hungry or wet or tired, how would I know if his diaper needed to be changed or if he "had to go", what if the bath water was too cold/hot, what if the bottle was too cold/hot, would he eat too much or too little, would he sleep good, would I be able to get up with him in the night and still function the next day - so really I guess you could say I was worrying!

But God's Word tells me to "not be anxious about anything"...God provides!!  God provides a mother's instinct.  The instinct does not just result from carrying a child for nine months and birthing him.  That instinct comes out of the love for your baby!  I know just when Cooper is hungry - probably because that is really the only time that he crys.  I know when he is wet (because Huggies has the cool little strip that turns blue after he goes).  I know when he is tired because his eyelids get REALLY heavy.  I know when he "has to go" because he grunts and grunts and grunts.  My hand knows just when the bath water is the right temp and he will eat his bottle right out of the fridge if that's how we give it to him.  He eats lots - eating us out of house and home already.  He sleeps great - up to 4 hours at a time at night already.  And I absolutely love the night feedings.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes I can barely function through them, sometimes I doze off and end up with a bottle leaking all over my pj's, but what a special time to spend with my guy and I'm getting more than enough sleep to get through the days with him.  So really why did I worry - God provides!!

Let me tell you a few more things I have learned-

Everyone will oogle over your little one - want to touch him - or hold him or just comment about how good or cute he is (especially grandmas)...

Moms wash their hands WAY more often than others and hand sanitizer makes them extremely DRY (except for the great stuff from Goldbond recommended by Normalshmormal!)...

The over-the-head onesies are really hard to get on the first few days, but your figure it out and it gets much easier... 

Burping a baby is an art form - one that takes serious patience...

Something that takes even more restraint is not picking at those little whiteheads that appear when your little one has baby acne...

Boys will pee on you (it has already happened more than once)...

Baby poop is very runny so you definitely need extra protection on the changing pad...

We have way more than enough clothes, just enough burp clothes and Swaddle blankets, but never enough diapers or wipes :)...

Washing bottles is a never ending job...

Going from 2 people to 3 people increases you laundry ten-fold...especially when the 3rd is an infant...

Your heart changes when you have a baby...even through adoption.  I told myself to guard my heart, but as soon as I saw him - it melted!!...

When you see your child learning something new it evokes emotions you have never experienced before... 

When you see your spouse with your child it evokes emotions you have never had before...

When you pray for your child it is something all together new...

These are just a few of the things that I have already learned - but most of all my heart is fuller because of my son!!  You can see why :)

 

So for all you soon to be moms out there...NO WORRIES!!

Coast Guard Festival 2012

So even though it was a hot one today, we decided to venture down to the Coast Guard Parade as a family.  We parked in the Bekins store lot and walked our way down to the art fair.  Along the way we ran into Aunt Mick and Uncle Jack.  It was a warm one even in Central Park with all the shade.  So we headed over to the Bekin's home off Sheldon.  It was nice and shady there and there was a nice breeze, but it was hot getting there!!  Right before the parade the Scottsville Clown Band played right down the street...



Donkey came too :)



Enjoying the music!

After the "show", we got a bite to eat (Mom and Dad enjoyed the good stuff supplied by Scott and Tracy but Cooper only got formula...maybe next year Buckaroo).  Then the parade started - we enjoyed about the first half and then it started to get pretty hot again. 

Little Firecracker!

Ruthie the Country Fresh Cow

UPS is on fire...

good thing there was a Fire Truck right behind

Cooper and Daddy

Hey Cousin Allen - Go Buc N Gear Robotics Team!!

So we made our way back to the car and ran into some more friends and family (Millers, Tarnows, Liles, the Miracle girls, and the whole Nelson clan).  "Uncle" Donnie was pretty excited to meet Cooper. 

Once we got back to the car, we started it up to cool it off and hung out under the Bekins tree - check it out...

Now we are home and showered and staying cool - thinking all of us will have a nap :)

Celebrating Cooper...

This past Tuesday my (Candice's) family and friends got together for a baby shower to celebrate Cooper James.  The celebration was hosted by his Great Grandma Dot, Grandma Teresa, Aunt Amanda, and Aunt Ashley.  It was a really fun evening and Cooper was a real trooper...he got passed all around and didn't make so much as a peep!(Thanks to Aunt Mickey for breaking the ice and coming to get Cooper from me because I wasn't so sure about having everyone hold him)  Richard originally planned to bring him home around 7:30 but there were so many ladies who wanted to hold him they ended up staying until the end :)

Here are some pictures of the night...

 

 

 

 

A bunch of grandmas and great grandmas...from left to right...my Dad's wife, Grandma Sara, my grandma, Great Grandma Dot, my paternal birth grandma, Great Grandma Sue, Richard's grandma, Great Grandma Veldhuis, Richard's mom, Grandma Hulst, my mom, Grandma Teresa, and finally, my dad's mom, Great Grandma Mary DeYoung
- Sooooooo much love!!

It was really a GREAT night.  I am so thankful for all the family and friends who came to love on us and for all the wonderful gifts!!  Also a big thank you to my grandma, mom, and "sisters" for all your work making the celebration a success...the food was wonderful, games were fun, and the seeing everyone hold Cooper - PRICELESS!!



Dad's Back!

I can't believe my little guy is 3 weeks old already, where does the time go? As I sit here and write my blog post today Cooper is in his bouncy seat on the couch and taking a nap. I didn't get a chance to post last week because I was out of town in Madison, Wisconsin. I was training at Sub-Zero/Wolf Appliances corporate head quarters. It was a tough week for several reasons. 1) I was away from my Candice & Cooper. 2) After the training ended each day, everyone would go out and drink and I would go back to my hotel room so I could call home and talk to Candice and see if Cooper had grown! Don't get me wrong the training was very good and will be beneficial for my job...it's just that I missed my family very very much!

I must say I have the best wife and Cooper has the best mom in the world for sending me pictures and taking care of our son by herself while I was gone. I now know for a fact that parenting is a full time job within itself.

While I was gone Candice's Mom and Gus came to visit baby Cooper for the week (they live in Florida). It was great to have Cooper meet his Grandma and Grandpa and spend time with them. However, I know Candice and I are very tired as it seems like we have running around for weeks now. We are looking forward to Friday and Saturday night when we can do NOTHING but rest and hold our favorite little guy!

Grandma Teresa and Grandpa Gus

Candice's family has left for home today and it was a sad goodbye from Grandma, but she will be back soon. We are heading out to Holland to see my Mom and Dad and also take Cooper to Candice's work so they can see our special little man. 

By next Wednesday my son will be a month OLD! WOW.......Until next time.

Proud Dad and Husband...............