Bump Day: Real tears

 

Colton just turned two months old last week so to celebrate we took him to the doctor for his two month check up and shots. (wow, terrible parents, huh?!)  This was the first time I saw real tears.  They absolutely broke my heart.  It was at that very moment that I began hating real tears because I can't stand to see something hurting my baby boy.

He hasn't cried since.  

But I still hate real tears. 

I know I'll see more.

I'll still hate them.

Fortunately, we have a really happy (and apparently tough) baby boy. He cried, I held him, that was the end. (He gets his toughness from his dad, I'm a wimp.)  Within hours after his shots, and a good nap, he was happy as can be - talking, playing and smiling.

Such a handsome little bugger, huh?!

Bump Day: Colton's newborn pictures

Two weeks after Colton was born, we got his newborn pictures and our first family pictures taken by my friend Julie from Julie Leuth Photography.  I couldn't be happier with the pictures she took.  I like that they capture our lifestyle and us in our natural state which makes them timeless!  Here are some of our favorites!

Colton has grown so much, just since these pictures were taken! I guess that is good but everyone is right when they say it goes too fast.  He is still this peaceful when he sleeps and is all boy when he is awake because he is a mover and a shaker! :)

If you would, do me a favor, stop over at the Julie Leuth Photography Facebook page and give her a like! I know she would appreciate it as she builds her business, plus her pictures are really fun to see!  Julie also took my maternity photos.  You can see those here.

Babies make people happy

I believe that babies are an extra ray of sunshine from God.

Every time Colton and I are in public I am stopped by at least one person who asks about the baby, smiles, says "he is beautiful" and then begin to share stories of their own children when they were babies. All of their stories are happy stories.  For some reason I've become drawn to these stories and no matter if I am in a hurry or not I stop to listen.  Really, truly listen.

Last week I noticed two specific instances where Colton shared his ray of sunshine.

I have become a frequent WalMart shopper. (The nearest Target is an hour away and I have learned that I just need to get out of the house, for my own sanity.) While I was in WalMart there were a group of handicapped gentleman shopping with their aid.  I walked past them with Colton in his car seat in the back of the cart.  They all said, "Oh, look at the baby!" and headed toward me.  I had two choices, act like I didn't hear them and continue my shopping or stop, let them meet Colton and tell them about him.  I chose to stop and let them meet Colton.  They touched his hand, asked his name and wanted to talk to him.  I let them and took as much time as they needed to without being in a hurry. They were so happy and all said thank you for letting them meet him.  This sweet baby boy of ours has taught me how to stop being a rush and take time for those who need the happiness.

We also took a trip to Northern Iowa and then on to Southern Minnesota last week so that Colton's grandparents could spend time with him and we could introduce him to his great grandparents. The trip was a success and he proved to be a good traveler.

While in Minnesota my dad so badly wanted a picture of four generations of his family that included my grandma, my dad, Colton and I.  We made a special trip to the nursing home to get this picture.  My grandma now lives there after a severe stroke.  While Adam was feeding Colton in the lounge area he had a lot of "old folks," as we say in Minnesota, stop to ask about Colton and share stories about their kids and grand kids as babies. Even the residents we past in the hall wanted to see the baby.  We stopped to visit with each one of them simply because we knew that he had the power to make their day a little brighter.  This proved true for my grandma too.

While she may no longer know who we are.  She recognized Colton as a beautiful baby she just couldn't take her eyes off of.  It felt pretty magical and just for a moment we felt she probably understood that this was her great grandchild.

We always hear about how happy parents are with their new babies but this love and happiness goes beyond just parents.  It extends to way beyond that and they ray of sunshine they bring to others can sometimes reach the most dim corner.

I want our son to know the true power he has to bring sunshine to others on, what may be, a cloudy day.

Bump Day: Meet our sweet baby boy

Happy Bump Day! You  may have noticed that I haven't updated by blog in a few weeks.  That's because this little man has occupied my time and I'm not going to complain. :) 

Our beautiful and perfect blessing, Colton, was born June 21 - 16 days early! I had a hunch he would be early but I didn't think he'd arrive more than two weeks early.

When my husband woke up on Saturday June 21 I was looking straight at him and said, "Today we are going to have a baby!" By 5:22pm the most handsome baby we had ever seen was born and we fell in love instantly and deeply.  He is absolutely perfect.

Adam is thrilled to have a boy and I couldn't imagine having it any other way. Although, the doctors had us thinking we were having a girl based on the baby's heart rate, hair and his eye lashes prior to being pronounced a boy. 

Here are a few pictures from his first couple of weeks.

 Adam is probably the most proud dad I know and this melts my heart.  

Colton still has all of his hair, has gained nearly a pound since he was born, and lets us sleep 6-7 hours a night. Overall, he is a really good baby. :)

I just love his eyelashes...