We're On Our Way

Before...
After!! On Tuesday some great guys from church helped Ryan to pack all of our things into the moving truck and the movers picked it up and headed off to Nebraska. This morning we packed up our last minute things and got on the road. We are stopped at a hotel in Iowa overnight--after getting caught in a bit of a snow storm--and hoping to get to Norfolk by mid-afternoon tomorrow. This may be our last blog for a few days until we get settled and get connected to the internet. Thanks for your prayers as we transition to this new chapter of our lives!
Sam is growing, growing, growing! He is 11 pounds and 23 inches! The poor little guy is having some severe congestion problems that the pediatrician hopes will clear up in a new environment. He seems to have some colic symptoms in the evening, but sleeps well at night, and is content during the day.
Alex chillin'...
More chillin'...
Poor Alex was getting very, very bored in the house the last few days. We saved out a few toys for him, but he was tired of playing with the same few things over and over again. He has really enjoyed being at the hotel and running up and down the hallways with his Grams following after him! He also had a great time with Daddy in the pool. I'm sure he is going to really enjoy exploring the new house over the next few days!

My Boys

Alex has been enjoying playing on, in, and around the boxes that are taking over our house!
"oh, yeah, I forgot I have a belly-button! Cool!!"
Sam is a really cuddly little guy. He's starting to spend more time awake and looking around at the world. He gets really wide-eyed sometimes and it's so cute! Alex actually "shared" his sippy cup with Sam today--apparently he has decided to start acknowledging Sam's presense in our family! He even "talked" to Sam (although rather loudly) when Sam was crying today. Maybe these boys are going to be friends after all!

Our Grams is the BEST!

Alex pretending to drink one of Grams's pops!



So, we've managed to survive 24 hours without Grams. I wasn't sure how it would work out, but somehow it did! We wanted to use this post to let Grams know how grateful we are that she gave up 3 whole weeks to stay with us and help us transition into the world of 2 children under 2!! Couldn't have done it without you!! Love ya, Mom!

Valentine Fun!

Grams got Alex a special Valentine. The fish's lips were chocolate!
It sure didn't take the boy long to get the Valentine open and eat the entire piece of chocolate! Have I mentioned before how much he loves chocolate? I have some great oreo eating pics to post later!!
Sam got to wear his special Valentine shirt from his Aunt Jen. It said "I have the hots for you!" Too cute. Actually, everyone in the house got Valentines yesterday: Mom got 2 cards in the mail from Dad, and Ryan brought me pink roses and we went out for ice cream in the evening (oh I got him his favorite Reeces Peanut Butter Cups). No terribly fancy celebrations around here, but we were all glad to be remembered by those we love!!
Sam is growing like a weed. He is already 9lbs. 4oz. and 21in. He is starting to sleep better at night--I got a full 4 hours out of him last night!! We both had our 2 week check-ups this week and got doctors' approvals with flying colors. The poor little guy's big hang-up right now is a very congested nose. We are having to give him saline drops in his nose and suction it out--yeah, that goes over well!! But it is helping, and he seems more comfortable because of it. Alex has actually started looking at Sam a few times a day, acknowledging his presence at least, and it's a start!

Brothers

This is Sam at one and a half weeks...
And this was Alex at one and a half weeks. Do they look like brothers?

Packing It Up!

It's a little strange to see almost all of your earthly goods packed into boxes. Alex obviously knows something is going on and the house looks strange. He has enjoyed watching a few extra Disney movies and even getting to eat some of his meals tv dinner style. He also enjoys occasionally trying to peel the tape off a box or two!

It has been kind of tricky some days to get the packing done what with two kids napping and eating at different times. Thankfully my mom is a packing wizard and we have been cranking them out, sometimes even 10 or 15 a day.

Boxes have so many uses!

This is what Sam does through most of our packing...snooze! He is such a good baby and sleeps really well, even through all the noise.

Big Brother Stuff

"Hey, new kid, I'm gonna borrow this cool balloon of yours for a while!"

Grandpa and Alex had a great time playing in the snow and even made a cute little snowman.

Grams has been a lifesaver with Alex this week, especially since I am not allowed to pick him up for a few weeks.

So, many people have asked me how Alex has been handling this new big brother thing. Well, here is a summary of his general plan of attack toward the whole situation: ignore the baby completely! I think the idea from the beginning was that maybe if he just ignores Sam, he'll go away! (Um, not so much!!) He is, I think, a little jealous and it's showing up in him being extra whiney sometimes, but overall, I don't think it's really hit him yet! Actually he has slowly been warming up to Sam, he even talked to him a little yesterday and wanted to push him in the swing, but in general he doesn't seem to even know the kid exists. We keep telling Alex, though, that some day he is going to love having a little buddy to play with and get into all kinds of mischeif together. I have this feeling these two little cuties are going to keep me really busy!

First Few Days at Home

Just along for the ride--Sam had no idea he was taking hi first ride in the car.

Mommy Love!

Uncle Matt & Aunt Amy came for the weekend to meet little Sam & celebrate Matt's birthday with us.

And so the balancing act begins...

An experienced Grams is already vry good at te balancing act, thank goodness!

"Grandma Kay" lovin' on the little man.

How cute is he?

Well, we've been home for 3 days now...I must say it seems like more! Probably because Sam has his days and nights mixed up and though it's getting better every night, it still really messes up your system to be up in te middle of the night. But he is a very content baby and a very good eater! A few little tidbits about my new little man: Sam coos a lot, has very long fingers and toes, likes to sleep with his hands up by his face, and so far does not enjoy bath time! He has dark blue/gray eyes and his skin is still really wrinkly, though he seems to have the same great complextion as Alex. Oh, and he has dimples!! Speaking of Alex, I'll post some pics and stuff about him tomorrow!

Pics from the Hospital

Peaceful slumber...
Grandpa is smitten again!
Grams is just soaking up her newest "peanut".
A very proud Daddy!
When the nurse walked in Uncle Matt said, "Don't be alarmed, I'm not the mother!"

We actually had a pretty calm stay at the hospital over the weekend. I recovered from the surgery even faster than with my first c-section and Sam took to life on the outside like a champ from the very beginning. Sam was born at 8:26am and I got to give him his first kiss. Ryan & I enjoyed a few hours with him and right after lunch my dad & mom were able to come up to the hospital. By Sunday morning, though, we were all ready to go home with our new little man. Thanks for all your prayers, they were much appreciated! God is good and we are so thankful to him for giving us another healthy boy!

A Few More Pics of Samuel

Here are a few more pictures of the little guy. He is doing great and so is mommy. They are due to come home today.

Welcome to the World Samuel Ryan Coon!!!

The anticipated day has come and at 8:26 am our little Sam was born.

He weighed 8lbs and 9ozs and was 20 and 1/2 inches long.

Both Mom and Baby are doing great. Alex is still unsure about this big brother thing. He went to the hospital to visit, but did not want to go in the room, we think it was just a bit scary in there.

Here are some early pics, more to come soon.