J Cooper Photography

Not that I would leave our new baby with my 5 year old. But A is CLEARLY not ready for any type of babysitting! The girls have been playing baby non stop since Sam arrived. They are constantly stuffing their poor dollies up their shirts…asking me if I want to feel them kick…and then letting them drop out on the floor at their feet. They lift their shirts to feed the babies, make huge burping sounds, and role play the best of diaper explosions. But babysitting a REAL baby won’t be happening anytime soon. This weekend the girls took their babies outside for a little backyard fun and this is how I found A’s baby brood.
Gingerly suspended from the trapeze bars…with no net!

Abandoned in the grass…can you say chiggers?

In a heap at the bottom of the slide…face first!

So clearly we have some educating to do before any real babysitting takes place!
And speaking of babies…I can’t post without a few updates of sweet Sam. He is doing great…such a fun little guy!
Here he is in his new bouncy seat…a seriously wise investment…he loves it!

Sweet little wrinkled baby hands!

And wrinkled feet too!

He is starting to really look towards voices…and has even flashed a few sweet smiles. I know, I know…it’s just gas…but soon he’ll be smiling for real!

And he is getting so much more alert! Here he is showing off his big melt-your-heart eyes!

The last of our visitors left this morning. It has been so wonderful to have so many willing arms to hold our sweet baby boy! He has certainly been content with so much spoiling! Both of my sisters were here this week (The Writer and The Librarian) and we had such a great visit. My sisters are my best friends…exactly the two people you would want around after just having a baby. They cleaned my bathrooms, folded laundry, fed me chocolate, and took me shopping. I wish they never had to leave! The writer brought her 3 gorgeous girls who kept A and J occupied and having fun the entire week. And even her husband (The Pastor) volunteer to coral the little girls while we went for an afternoon of outlet shopping.

I thought I would share some of the sweet arms that held Sam this week! Here he is enjoying his cousins!



The Librarian gets a few snuggles in!

Time alone with The Pastor

And The Writer gets her turn too!

Mommy time!

Finally alone…sleeping in his new super mod bouncy seat.

Our sweet guy taking a snooze.

Wide awake at last (and a bit “deer in the headlights”) but too cute not to include!

And a fun shot of the inseparable cousins!

Somehow I have managed to squeeze in a new ebay offering this week! A will be heading off to Kindergarten this fall and requested a special ~take a bow~ set to wear for her first day of school. Since IVYLANE is having a launch this week called Kindergarten Kuties…I couldn’t resist jumping in to join in the fun! I will only be making this custom set ONCE! And I’m also offering a sweet matching backpack! Stop by and check them out!

Click HERE to see both listings!

I have received some amazing gifts over the past few weeks from friends and family and must share one in particular that took my breath away as soon as I opened the package! This gorgeous necklace is from Erin of The Vintage Pearl. The simplicity and beauty of the design is something I will treasure for a very long time! A HUGE thank you to Erin…such a thoughtful gesture…and absolutely lovely! You can check out Erin’s blog here and her Etsy shop here! She is expecting her own little bundle of joy any day as well…can’t wait to hear! THANK YOU Erin for your thoughtfulness and friendship!

I have been savoring the freshness of my new little man. Wishing I could capture every little detail of him before he changes and loses that just born, curled up, meowing kitty, soft smell feel. It is times like this that I wish I was an acclaimed photographer.

Here he is in all his sweetness.

We are settling into our week with Sam home from the hospital! He is such a little sweetheart…full of snuggles and love. We came home from the hospital Wed. afternoon and have spent the remainder of the week relaxing around the house memorizing all the details of new life. The girls are adjusting well and Sam is eating and sleeping like a pro. We have more visitors coming this weekend…everyone is excited to meet our new little man.

Of course I have been happily snapping away trying to capture a few memories of his first few days at home! This is the picture I think I will use for our announcements. I’ve gotten several prototypes laid out on Tiny Prints. But if anyone knows any other great sites, send me a quick email or feel free to make a suggestion in the comments!

I’ll start with a few more photos at the hospital! Here P is enjoying his brand new son and both of us getting ready to leave the hospital! Here we are snug in the car…ready for the drive home. We surprised the girls by coming home early! They had made us a big sign on the door and special messages all over the driveway with sidewalk chalk. We tried to capture the driveway in a photo (I even had P stand on top of our car!) but the sun was too bright. But trust me…what a cute surprise to come home to!A enjoying some cuddle time with her new brother! She has been a huge help getting us diapers and wipes…she is definitely a little mommy!Sam enjoying a snooze in his moses basket. He has been sleeping great! My sister (The Writer) got him the super sweet little outfit…and I caught him with a funny grin I think he looks like a little golfer ready for his tee time!Last night we spent some time outside enjoying the gorgeous weather! The girls got out the sprinkler and Sam napped on his Daddy’s lap.
Other than a few extra trips to the Dr. to monitor his jaundice and a run to Babies R Us…we have had a wonderfully quiet week! More company is due today…more pictures to follow!

Another quick update…tonight Sam is officially 24 hours old…and we are still completely in love! Here he is all dressed up in his puppy outfit. If you remember this post it’s the first thing we bought for our new little guy! The day of our ultrasound we went to a sweet boutique in town and picked this little outfit out for him! I bought it in the newborn size…A & J were such little babies that I couldn’t imagine needing anything bigger. Sam better wear it everyday this week as it barely snaps around him! That’s our big boy!

Baby Sam is here and I couldn’t be more in love. He is absolutely perfect in every way!

Our induction yesterday was delayed so we spent most of the day waiting and wondering if we were actually going to get to go to the hospital. But the long wait was definitely worth it! We got to the hospital in the afternoon and they started the pitocin around 4:30. At 6:30 my Dr. broke my water and within an hour he was ready to make his appearance! He came out 2 pushes later at 8:02 pm. The girls were able to come up to the hospital right away to see him and they fell instantly in love with him too!The girls are getting royally spoiled by their “Mimi” and “Baboo“…they spent the day yesterday at the mall doing Build-A-Bear and riding the carousel. Today they are taking a trip to the zoo! We hope to be heading home sometime tomorrow!

Thanks to all of you who have sent sweet messages!! We are absolutely THRILLED!

My bag is packed and I think we are ready! My parents are coming in today and we are scheduled for an induction at 7am tomorrow morning! I have been having contractions all weekend but no baby yet.

I’m praying for a quick and easy delivery…can’t wait to share some photos of our little guy as soon as he arrives! The girls have their “big sister” tees all laid out to wear to the hospital tomorrow and I have some special presents for them hidden in the car from the baby too.

I’ve never gotten to experience the anticipation of waiting for the day you know you will have your child. It is exhilarating, scary, exciting, sentimental, exhausting, and so joyous all at the same time. My water broke with both A and J (well before my due date!) so this is the most pregnant I have ever been (or will ever be!) I’m trying to just enjoy my last day feeling him move and kick and hiccup…although the anticipation of holding him is killing me!

Hopefully by this time tomorrow we will have a new addition to our family!

I’ll be sure to post as soon as I can!

THANK YOU for all the sweet well wishes…they have meant the world to us!!