Michael & Liz are Bloggable

This week Liz started bottling so that I can help with the feeding! I am very excited about it!!

Hopefully we can get Mom a long night's sleep this weekend.

Yesterday was an awesome day. It started at work, granted, but I took a half day and met Liz for lunch. We enjoyed our lunch outside on a restaurant patio and then came home where I gave Liz the opportunity to take a long nap.

It has been 2 days since Liz's Mom left, and she has been completely alone with Cole. He sleeps well at night, better than to be expected, but even that is difficult for anyone to handle. Not getting long night sleeps does take it's toll. So I came home at lunch with them and took Cole while Liz slept. He and I snuggled on the couch until he fell asleep, giving Liz about a 3 hour nap. During that time I was also able to read 50 pages in my book, A Clash of Kings, which was awesome as well. So we all got what we wanted!

In the evening Liz cooked her first home cooked meal in weeks, veggie tacos. Because afterall, "when Mom gets sleep, the whole family benefits". We then took a walk around the neighborhood and watched a little TV before bed. Here are our pictures of the day:

Incidentally, Cole is seriously the loudest yawner/stretcher I've ever heard. People don't need to amplify their bodily functions, and yawning is included in that. I tend to think you shouldn't vocalize your yawns unless you intend on making it a topic of conversation. Like following it up with "*YAWN* I AM SO TIRED!" But Cole loves to grunt and moan while doing his yawn/stretch, and he makes it super cute too. He's also very timely, there he goes again.

It's going to be a pretty awesome Saturday too. We're hanging out with our friends Jon, Julie, and Ethan.

That is quite a bold title for a blog post, but I think it's true. The last two weeks with Cole, Liz, and Gramma have been the best 2 weeks of my life. People warned me of both how hard it was to have a child and how rewarding it was, and both are 100% true. It's not easy but already the time spent with him and  experiencing that rush of emotion when Cole was born, that alone made it all worth it.

I went back to work today and that was not easy at all. I brought a digital picture frame with pictures loaded, so that helped, but it was still difficult to leave the house. Had to get back to real life sometime, right? I'm sure every new Dad (or Mom) can relate, but you begin to realize how much you are going to miss of his life. You can't be there all the time to see the new stuff. At least I get to hear about it from Liz. I can't help but be a little jealous though.

Lets see, what have we done for 2 weeks? Lots of little trips outside the house, like errands and lunches. Last weekend we went to see Cole's best friend Ethan for Easter. I don't think they've had their eyes open at the same time, so they may not have actually seen each other yet, but they will in time! We also went to the Farmer's Market last week. It's amazing how easy it is to park and walk around on the weekdays when it's not SWARMING with people. The only time we've ever been there is on the weekend. Here is a picture of me "bjornin' it" at the market (baby bjorn):

I've only done it once so far, but I loved carrying him in the baby bjorn. It's so incredibly easy and your hands are free to carry things or tickle feet or whatever! And he was as happy as could be too, sleeping right through.

And here are a couple pictures from the last couple days. Oh we got a stretch-smile:




And tonight he was a little hot, so he got some diaper-only time. He LOVES his pacifier!


There's so much to look forward to, but I'm already in shock that 2 weeks has come and gone so fast! I can't wait for the days to come.

Wow, I can't believe it has been 2 days since we got home from the hospital. I don't think we were fully prepared for just how little sleep we would be able to get. Cole likes to eat ALL the time, which makes it hard on Liz. She is turning into a vampire, staying up all night and trying to sleep in the day. I try to do my best to take duties during the day and Liz takes duties at night. One thing I did not expect is how little a dirty diaper would bother me. Liz told me this morning that it was the first time she had changed his diaper. I guess I'm doing something right then! There is nothing I can't swaddle or diaper.

I wanted to post some pictures from our first couple days. Here are Daisy and Gryffin meeting Cole for the first time:

Daisy wants to lick him, but all Gryffin wants to do is smell him. Yesterday Gryffin dug into a short trash can we have and tore apart a dirty diaper. Liz walked in and he was tearing into the diaper and the diaper wipe. We plan on switching to cloth diapers soon, but in the mean time I went out and got a cheap Diaper Pail trash can to stop Gryffin and help with dirty diaper smells.


I had to take a picture of our mailbox when we got home. Gramma went out and got some balloons. It was kinda cool, when I walked out with the camera to take a picture, a neighbor walked by and said congratulations. I'm still getting used to the concept of being a Dad, and getting that recognition and having these balloons on the mailbox is helping with my realization.


He has had a few smiley moments while he's been sleeping or drowsy. Obviously he isn't smiling at anything in particular, but it's cool to get a glimpse of our future with him.


Daisy and Gryffin are clearly having trouble with jealousy. They recognize the fact that Cole is a little thing living with us and he's getting more attention than they are. So every chance they get, they snuggle up on us just so they feel included.


The last picture I'm including is one we snapped this morning and I CANNOT get over how dark his complexion is. It's almost like he has a tan! I joked at the hospital that he is so full of muscle and bones and not as much baby fat, that he practically has a 6 pack of abs. Now with a tan, I guess he's getting ready for some Summer beaches!!


We had our first doctor's appointment on Friday and he passed with flying colors. We have another one on Monday, although I'm not quite clear on why it's so soon after his first appointment. Oh well, I guess doctor knows best.

We are getting ready to head home this morning, and here is Mr. Cole in his go home outfit:

He's got the Austin Powers look going: "we hold the world ransom for... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"

Funny thing is, we may not make it all the way home when we leave. I think Momma wants a treat from Chick-fil-a.

Our house has been living in limbo for a couple months now with so many baby items for only the dogs to tear apart. We can't wait to integrate him into our life!! Not only that, but we can't wait to see him and the dogs interact. Lets be honest, it will mostly just be the dogs trying to lick his face. A few unauthorized licks and our concerns about germs may fly out the window.

Most people hate hospitals, but I really enjoyed our stay. I have a lengthy blog post to write about things I have learned from the birthing/hospital experience, but that can come later.

Thanks for all the kind words, emails, and blog comments!!

It's so great being new parents, but Cole is making it incredibly easy on us so far. I keep on saying, I'm just waiting for the storm to hit! He's still just as easy going, relaxed, and quiet as can be, but he was worn out by the days activities so fast, that those wide eyes have stayed shut for the most part. He had a rough first day in the hospital, with lots of pricks and irritating procedures being done to him. Other than the situations where he's forced into crying where blood is involved, he's as happy as a clam. Most importantly he's perfectly healthy and progressing the way a baby should.

This morning Liz filed his nails a little bit, but even so, he couldn't avoid scratching that gorgeous face of his. Daddy is a big fan of baby mo-hawks and Cole knows how to redefine "awesome":

Momma is still recovering well, and I must say looking as beautiful as ever. Cole and Mom have the feeding thing down pat. So far he's only lost 1 ounce of his baby weight, which is fantastic! The only thing that is getting in the way of him and food is his exhaustion.


We snapped this quick shot of him napping:

"Ya know what, after a while, excellence can get pretty boring."

I gotta send a shout out to our visitors today. It was so nice having friends come and see our little man. Thank you to John and Allison for visiting.


And Cole's new best friend Ethan came by to give a "What up!". Day 1, diapers, Day 2, forts and castles. Thank you to Jon, Julie, and Ethan for coming by and then dropping off the best Chipotle we've ever tasted!!


And thank you to Matt and Meg for visiting.


The shot of the day goes to John, trying to prove he is not afraid of a baby and that dropping Cole wasn't as easy as randomly dropping his water bottle.

His official name is Michael Allen Fulton III, but his adorable nickname is Cole. He was born at 10:03AM this morning and was a whopping 8lbs 8oz. Liz was in labor for 36 hours and unfortunately she revealed her secret super hero powers. I never even knew. I could not be more proud of all of who she was: her composure, her strength, her perseverance, and her heart.

Here is our first family photo with our little guy:


Alright, fine... we'll take our teary eyes off him for 1 second:


Every parent thinks they were given the perfect child. We are DEFINITELY one of those parents:


He is so calm and relaxed and go with the flow, at least for now, we just can't believe how he's not phased by anything. The only time he's cried is during his bath and when he got his foot pricked. Other than that he's just eyes wide open looking around. Here he is getting the pleasant part of the bath done, the hair washing:


Happy and proud grandma and grandpa, meeting their daughter's first born:


Can you tell I don't hold babies very often? I better get used to it, because all I want to do is hold this little guy:


He smells so baby-licious and his skin is so soft!!


We can't wait for you all to meet him.