TP

I now know why I woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning. No, not because Evan decided it was time to get it, but rather a "sixth sense" something was different. For some reason I just could not go back to sleep. So, after about 15 minutes, I got up to check on Evan and he was, of course, awake. And, like my wonderful mother, I look out the window when I have the opportunity, despite the time of day or night. (This has actually saved our house in Brush from burning down)

When looking out the window, I thought to myself, "My, the ground is white for some reason. I don't remember it hailing or snowing last night." I walked out of Evan's room and noticed even more interesting items while looking down at our front door from upstairs.. After further observation the trees, ours and the neighbors bushes, and our flower pots were covered in toilet paper. Additionally, there were some lovely feminine products "placed" on our windows.

I took the liberty of removing the "sticky items" and the TP before anyone could wake up this morning and see we had been tagged. 32 year's old and getting TP'ed just doesn't seem right. Does that make us old? Unfortunately, we can't blame it on Evan's friends because they can't walk or do much really. When I told Liz and when she observed the handy work, she made the comment, "1995 called and wanted their rolls of toilet paper back." I will say I was disappointed there were no forks and I expect them next time.

I didn't take any photos so that the people (this was not a one man or woman job) responsible get all the credit. I chuckled a bit at the gesture, but was surprised that someone could be quiet enough that we didn't hear them on the front step of our house. To those that are responsible, good work! But, revenge is sweet victory and I am currently scanning Facebook for evidence. (insert smile)

What is in the name?

Evan....many people have been asking us how we landed on the name as it is not a family one, rather a name that came to us by circumstance.

Evan was not on our original list which included a number of boy names, but just a few girl names. So, maybe fate had something in store for us. When we went to our ultrasound visit, both Liz and I were convinced it was a girl. So, we talked about a girl's name the night. When the ultrasound specialist asked if we wanted to know the gender, we said, "Yes". She then proclaimed it was a boy and I think Liz's jaw hit the floor. Actually, I think both of our jaws did.

So, as time went on, we had people asking us names and we remained tight lipped, but open to any names. Liz came home from physical therapy one day and told me her therapists sons name was Evan. We starting throwing it around and it really grew on us. On President’s Day, Liz was at home and we were having our furnace/ac serviced. When she answered the door, the name on the service man's shirt was Evan. She called me at work and said she could not believe it. It had to be a sign. AND THEN, in the operating room shortly after Evan was born, the nurse that was cleaning him off to ready for the nursery asked me his name. I hesitated because we had not for sure settled, but I said, “I think Evan” and her reply was, “Oh, that is my son’s name. Yeah, Evan Michael.” I just about hit the floor!!!! At that point we knew his name must be Evan Michael Cook.

According to Think Baby Names, Evan has many different origins, but is a variant of John. It has a long family history on all sides of my family, mostly from the Christensen and Petersen branches. Michael was a given as a middle name as long as it sounded right with the first. That is also my middle name and my dad's name.

So, needless to say, fate led us down the road to Evan Micheal Cook.

Moms

It's a week late, but hey, I have some good pictures and we can never celebrate moms too much! Moms take care of us unconditionally.

Liz surprised me when I got home on Monday night with a very nice, self-made, Mother's Day dinner; candles and all. Notice Evan joining us on the table for dinner.



We visited Grandma Joy on Mother's Day and she got to spend some quality time with Evan.



Grandma Cook is coming again in a couple weeks, but she got to talk with Evan over the phone on Mother's Day. Here is a picture of her from a while back with Evan when she was visiting.



We are now at 9 weeks. Evan kicked his cold very quickly and is back to normal. He actually got back to his normal self in just a day or two. He is SUPER smiley in the morning when he wakes up and is ready to take on the day. He continues to hang out with Liz during the day and is ready to have Dad home for the extended Memorial Day weekend. Liz will be going back to work soon (early June) after we take a short trip to Colorado for a wedding. It will be Evan's first, extended car ride and his first to the state.

The summer can now officially begin as the students I work with are on break. We have students periodically during the summer, but we are not near as busy as we are during the academic year. We are gearing up for the College World Series, celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends in Brush, and enjoying quality time at home with Evan.

Favorite Places to Sleep

Evan likes to sleep, but what newborn doesn't! He sleeps just about everywehere, but after looking through the pictures, I realized we have a TON of pictures of him sleeping.

Evan has his first cold. His cough is horrible to listen to, but there is no fever and he is still eating like he has been; ALL THE TIME. He is sleeping really well but is definitely not himself. My random thought for this post is, "Why do people not cover their mouth when they cough?"

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's our there, including Liz, her first.

A busy spring

Different things have been keeping the Cook's busy this spring. We took our first road trip to Aurora, NE for a wedding. Evan did very a great job sleeping during the car ride and only squeaked once at the wedding. At the reception, he was occupied by our friend Dorothy while we mingled with friends and former students from our days as advisors of the Greek organizations at UNO.

Liz is going to lunch during the day to have some adult interaction and we continue to do dinner with friends and family when time permits. Evan is very well behaved in loud and busy settings and is usually asleep in a matter of moments.

Evan has visited Grandpa Crossman and Stephanie and Grandma Crossman and Jim the past couple of weeks. They are proud grandparents and spoil him whenever they get the chance. Aunt Ally and Uncle Mark come over at least once a week and hang out when they can sneak away from work in the evenings. Evan cannot wait to meet all his relatives in Colorado and see Grandma and Grandpa Cook again in June.

The pictures are from our various "events" from this spring. There is the trip to Michaela and Cole's wedding with Dorothy in an outfit from the students I advise, the Chi O girls from all over at the same wedding, our house and a few nature photos, Liz's OB doctor and the man that delivered Evan, Dr. Kent Siemers, a great "Got Milk" expression of Evan, Liz's birthday cards from Lauren and Brett Radomski and most important, Evan's smile. He is a cutey when he smiles.



We are so lucky to have the support of great family and friends and look forward to all the "events" coming up this summer where you can hang out with Evan.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Mommy and I were hanging out the other day when Aunt Ally was over for a visit. This photo is from a while back, but I wanted to send a special Happy Birthday message to my Mommy! She is very special to Daddy and me and I appreciate everything she has done for me over the last 7 weeks.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!
-Evan

Tuesday News

Tuesday and the spring weather is here in Omaha. Evan is growing and has gained about 2 pounds and 2 inches since being born about 6 weeks ago. We had a good doctor's visit yesterday and all indications show that he is gaining and growing just fine. He is growing longer by the day and that seems to be where the most improvement is day-to-day. Liz continues to stay home throughout the day with visitors coming and going throughout the last few weeks.

We took our first road trip to a wedding for a in Aurora, Nebraska on Saturday. Evan did a fine job on the car ride there and back. Good preparation for our trip to Brush in early June for the Samples wedding.

I have pictures on my camera that I need to get posted. Nights have been busy with taking care of Evan and relaxing, but I will get them posted soon.