New Stats for Nathan

Wow! It has been an entire month since we posted something on the blog. With that in mind, we wanted to post new information about Nathan after our 2 month doctor visit today.

Nathan is currently 23.23 inches long and 12 pounds, 5 ounces. To give you an idea, Evan was about the same length but only 10.9 pounds at this same time. Definitely a big difference and I can tell by carrying Nathan in his car seat. We did not think he would be over 12 pounds, but they proved us wrong today. We had shots today also so the visit ended with a few tears, by both Nathan (real) and Evan (sympathy).

Nathan's smiles and "coo's" are absolutely precious and he is doing great at home with mom. He is developing well and is getting very excited to be at school with Evan.  Nathan is sleeping wonderfully (about 6 hours straight before needing a snack) and is calm throughout the day.  The only time he is really upset is when he is hungry.  We are definitely blessed with two mild-mannered kids.

Liz continues to stay home and care for him while dad and Evan are at work and school. Liz is also busy fulfilling the role of "house manager" getting some of the house projects that require coordination.

We are having a good summer and we are ready for the College World Series to move to its new home, TD Ameritrade Park. We are going to the game on Sunday to celebrate Father's Day.  Honestly, it is going to be a good series with a lot of the top ranked teams appearing so the talent should be amazing.  We, like others in Omaha, will take the underdog and first-time series player, Vanderbilt as our team.

Here are a few pictures from the last month and more will be coming as we are gearing up for the annual 4th of July holiday in Brush, Colorado.  Watch out 4th of July parade, here comes Evan!



The past few weeks

Easter and Mother's Day have come and gone.  We are busy here at the Cook house with the boys and attempting to establish a routine that will work for everyone.

Easter was very low key for us with visits throughout the day from Uncle Mark, Aunt Ally, Joy, Jim and Rusty.  We had brunch at our house and made the best of enjoyng the relatively nice day by playing outside as Evan attempts to soak in all the sun he can get.

Nathan had a recent doctor's appointment and has already surpassed the 9 pound mark.  His features are starting to fill in on his face and he is progressing nicely.  He is different from Evan in that he is much leaner and appears longer.  But, he still very much looks like his brother when looking at previous photos.  Nathan is definitely a calm baby and we continue to be lucky as he sleeps relatively well at night and only waking a couple of times for a snack.

We had a recent visit from Karen Linnell and her magical talents in taking baby and toddler photography.  Her website has a ton of photos on it and if you ever need someone to take photos, she comes HIGHLY recommended. She is great with the kids and she got some great shots of Nathan and Evan (click on those links to see her blog postings).

Mother's Day included brunch with Rusty, Stephanie, Mac, Ally, and Mark and visiting the twins at the NICU with Joy.  We are hopeful that Mark and Ally's boys will be able to come home this week.  They are feeding well, gaining weight, and breathing on their own.  A true miracle!   They are excited to bring them home and get settled into their nursery and house.

Nebraska vs. Creighton baseball is coming up on Tuesday at TD Ameritrade Park which is always a good compeition between Nebraska's Division I rivals.  Graduation for Creighton is this weekend and congrats to all those that are celebrating this month including Lindsay Mikkelson, Stephanie's daughter, who is graduating from the University of Iowa and attending dental school at UNMC this fall.



Bruiser

Evan has had a pretty rough go at it the last week.  We will probably be getting a call from child protective services once I post this picture but I promise Evan is not out on Friday nights causing trouble at the local bar.

Evan was eating breakfast last Saturday and fell head first off the stool that is in our kitchen.  Yes, head first and from about 3 feet up.  He hit hard and the point of impact instantly became a purple egg.  Then, at school this week he proceeded to run into one of his friends in the same spot.  They made contact when they were dancing around in the classroom.  What are the chances, right?  Then after about 15 minutes of TLC from the teachers, he gets up to go and play and about 10 paces from where he started, trips on the concrete and falls on the same spot.  And, this was all by 10 a.m. on Friday.  Really?

We got a call from the school and the teacher said, "Well, I don't think he has a concussion, but we are watching him and Ms. Sharla is the only one that can comfort hime right now.  We will keep you posted on how he does at nap and this afternoon."  Comforting.....

The bruising has now moved into this eye area and will look great for Mother's Day pictures.  He is becoming much more adventurous which is scary and the neighbor, after watching him ride his scooter very fast down the driveway on Saturday said, "He is all boy".

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mom's out there, especially Liz, Ally, Joy, Stephanie, Sandy and Grandma Arla; we would not be able to get through our days without knowing we can depend on you for love and support.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday Mom!

It was our Mom's birthday Tuesday and we wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday!

-Love Evan and Nathan

Nathan is now up to 9 pounds as of Tuesday.  How the heck did he go from 6 pounds, 14 ounces just 2 weeks ago to 9?  Dr. Moore said is progress is great and he should start smiling next week.  We are continuing to manage having both boys in the house and how that works on a daily basis. 

Evan is doing great at school and loves his new room.  The teachers and kids are great we really could not ask for a better situation as he gets very excited each day to go and hang out.

I promise I have a lot of pictures to post but things have been a little more busy than expected.  There are some fun Easter pictures and I will make sure to include Mother's Day as well.

First days at home

Nathan and Mom are home resting comfortably and we are all attempting to get into a routine.  Grandma and Grandpa Cook are here right now and enjoying time with Evan and Nathan before they return to Colorado.  Evan has returned to school at FNCDC with hopes of regaining his schedule and routine.  He is doing great with Nathan around and is adjusting to not being #1 in the house.

We are definitely taking the advice we have been given from other parents who have 2 children in that it is a lot of work and instead of being 1 on 2, it is now 1 on 1.  This makes it a little challenging but we are quickly finding solutions to each problem that comes up.  With 2 boys at home it is going to be interesting and we may consider lowering our deductible on health insurance.

The plan is to have Shawn stay home through Easter with a quick visit to work next week and Liz with Nathan at home through the July 4th holiday.  We are so grateful to everyone that has sent flowers, stopped by, dropped off meals and spent time helping us out so that bringing Nathan home is as smooth as possible.  We have enjoyed the nice weather the last few days and are glad we are missing the snow but will welcome the rain.

Nathan Robert Cook

Nathan Robert Cook joined us on Thursday, April 7 at 7:53 a.m. weighing in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces.  Baby and mother are doing fine and we are excited to have him join our family.

Evan will be meeting his brother for the first time today and he is very excited to play the role of "big brother" for many years to come. We will be at Bergan Mercy Medical Center in Omaha through Sunday, possibly Monday.  Grandma Cook will be staying with us and helping us get settled with Grandpa Cook coming on Sunday.  Grandma Joy and Jim and Grandpa Rusty and Stephanie will be stopping by to welcome Nathan and cannot wait to spoil him rotten.

Mark, Ally, Leo and Parker are also doing well.  The boys are primarily breathing on their own and are growing very fast.  They are now at 3 pounds and we are very excited to have them home by mid-May.

4 boys, 3 of which the same age, running around and getting into trouble together will leave us with our hands full for years to come.  We are thankful for everyone's health and all the well wishes we have received.  More pictures and further updates will come on the blog, Facebook and Twitter as time allows.