9 weeks

Here are some cute pics from the week...

Cole cracks up when he lays on the changing table and looks up at us playing peek-a-boo. The laughing picture is during the game, the pouting picture is what he did when we stopped!

I think he looks just like Jeff is this one below...


Hanging with the ladies at Bible Study on Wednesday...

Chub-o in the Bumbo!


The only major event from this week was that we had to take Cole to Urgent Care on Saturday. Ever since his surgery last Monday he has had crying episodes that can last several hours and he has been extremely gassy. They drew blood, catheterized him for a urine sample, and took x-rays. Needless to say, this was a very traumatic experience for all 3 of us! The x-rays of his belly showed an extreme amount of gas that was causing the pain. We were happy to hear that there was nothing majorly wrong, but bummed that our usually happy baby may be a bit colicky for the next couple weeks until his system gets back to normal. Apparently, this was a side effect of the anesthesia that no one warned us about!

Cole's Surgery

Just a quick note to let everyone know that little Cole is doing just fine. We stayed at the hospital until 3:00 today for observations, and since he was recovering ok they let us come home instead of spending the night as originally planned. He has been very groggy all day today as the anesthesia has been wearing off, but he doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort. Hopefully he will sleep well tonight and be back to his old self by tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your phone calls, emails, and prayers for him and us!

8 weeks old

Cole's hernia surgery is at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Please keep him in your prayers! We will be so happy to have it behind us so we don't have to worry about it anymore.

Cole is getting so big! We are guessing that he is about 12 pounds already. Jeff was excited that he finally fits into his UGA onesies that are 3-6 month size. I am amazed at the changes we are seeing each day. Cole is awake a lot now, which makes it a little more difficult to get things done around the house, but it is so fun to interact with him. He is smiling at us and Jeff and I compete for who can get the biggest smile out of him. I am jealous because Jeff seems to be getting more smiles than me!

We are enjoying the fact that he is still easy to bring along just about anywhere. We took him to our friend Julie's birthday party on Friday night and he slept the entire time we were there! What a good boy! I'm sure in a few months it won't be quite so easy to maintain our social life unless we find a sitter, but for now Cole is a real trooper!

Here we are toasting the birthday girl, Julie (behind me), and there's Cole sleeping like a rock!



The other birthday girl this weekend was Miss Ella Dunston! She celebrated turning 4 with a tea party. I must say that her mom, Staci, put together the cutest party I've ever seen. I took lots of pictures so I'll have some good ideas if we ever have a little girl one day!


Ella and little sis Karine had on adorable matching party dresses.

Ella in front of her table, where the girls wore white gloves, wide-brimmed hats, and drank real tea from a china tea set. Her teapot cake was made by our very talented friend Katie.

That's all for now...we'll be back with an update on Cole's surgery tomorrow!

Happy Easter!

Cole and I had a fabulous Easter dinner at the home of our friends, Gene and Michelle. Gene introduced us to a traditional Polish Easter with golabki (stuffed cabbage rolls), kielbasa, pierogis, and much more. The food was wonderful and the company was even better! Thanks for making Cole's first Easter a special one!

Here are the host and hostess in front of the Polish flag:
Kelly and Christine helping out in the kitchen:

The spread:

Kelly snuggling with Cole who was looking cute as a button in his turtle polo shirt:

Cole and I posing for our first Easter photos together. Unfortunately, Jeff didn't make it back from Austin in time for us to take a family photo.

Hope you had a very Happy Easter too!

7 Weeks

Nothing too exciting to write about this week, but I thought I should at least post a couple of new pictures since Cole changes so quickly!

This weekend Jeff had to fly to Austin, so Cole and I have been missing him! I know Jeff misses him a ton! He left Friday morning and comes back Sunday afternoon, hopefully in time to have Easter dinner with us. I've been sending him pictures on his phone so he can see Cole every now and then.


Notice Cole is finally getting a big round tummy! He's about 10.5 lbs now!


He loves his play mat and can bat at his toys. Every now and then, they make him smile and coo. I'm never quick enough with the camera to catch the smile though!

Quick update

We met with the surgeon this morning about Cole's hernia surgery. After 2 hours of waiting, during which Cole's diaper leaked and he peed ALL over me, we talked to the doctor for all of 5 minutes! Frustrating. Anyway...the surgery is scheduled for April 20. He will go in at 6:30 a.m. for the surgery, and spend one night in the hospital. Of course, Jeff and I will be staying the night with him. The doctor assured me that this is a routine surgery that is usually outpatient; the only reason for keeping Cole overnight is due to his young age.

He is able to eat up until 5 hours before the surgery, and after that he can only have Pedialyte, which is better than nothing, I guess. I was worried that I couldn't give him anything at all. At this point, he generally wakes up around 5:30 a.m. to eat, but I think between the Pedialyte and falling asleep in the car on the way there, we will be able to pull it off. Plus he'll be a little older, so maybe he'll be going longer between feedings by then.

I feel a bit more relaxed knowing that the doctor did not feel like the surgery was an "emergency" and that Cole is fine to wait a couple more weeks. He certainly seems to be feeling fine right now.

On a positive note, today he is 6 weeks old! He weighed 9 lbs, 8 oz at the doctor's office and I feel like he is literally growing before our very eyes! He has been smiling and cooing at us occassionally and he gets visably excited when it's bathtime! Every day is more fun than the last, and Jeff and I are loving every minute of being parents. If only he didn't have to worry us so much!!!

Hernias and Sweet Dreams...

Yes, I know these two things have nothing to do with one another! However, Cole is experiencing both right now. On Tuesday, Cole had his first trip to the E.R. We found out he has an inguinal hernia and has to have surgery! This is a condition that he was born with, but we are just now discovering it. We go to see the surgeon tomorrow morning to discuss the surgery, which hopefully we can get over with as soon as possible. Of course, I am worried for him, but as you can see, he is not currently in pain and has no idea anything is wrong! I'm including the pictures of him sleeping peacefully so that the worried grandparents can see that he is not suffering. However, it is a serious condition. I wish we could avoid the surgery and anesthesia, but we have to treat it before it becomes dangerous and painful. Please keep our sweet baby in your prayers that he can get the surgery quickly and that it goes smoothly!