A Few Pictures

3 Generations of Roberts men

Our friend Isaac hanging with his buddy Cole

Emily and Cole napping together

Cole loves to eat his hand

Cole sleeping in pajamas that Ryan
used to sleep in when he was a baby.

2 Weeks Old!

As I type this, Cole is officially just over two weeks old.

It seems like it has been two years. We are absolutely pooped! Only about 950 more weeks until he goes off to college.

We did some celebrating on Sunday as my old man turned....well, you can do the math for yourself. Here's some birthday cake video action...

Hey Cole! Where do you want to eat?

You can tell when we have been having a tough time with Cole when you don't see a new post on here every day or so. So, indeed, the last few days have been rough. On Friday, Cole decided that he didn't want to breastfeed anymore. We could only get him to feed twice that day and we shoot for 7-8 feedings a day. When things didn't look better Saturday morning, we decided he needed to eat, so we gave him some breastmilk in a bottle. We continued to try to get him to latch-on, but to no avail. So we continued to give him bottles with breastmilk.

On Monday we took a trip back to the hospital to sit down with the lactation specialist that they provide as a free service. Within two seconds, she had Cole latched on and eating like a champ. Emotions of reliefs, awe, joy, and frustration ran over us as we watched our little man chow down. Nancy showed us some great new tips and we went home feeling better about things.

The last two days have not been complete successes, but we think we are headed in the right direction. Cole is latching on a few times a day, and we supplement with bottled breastmilk the rest of the time. It is a learning process for all of us, and we are just glad that we have such a great support group around us that is covering us in prayer. I ask that you all would continue to pray for patience and endurance for Emily and Cole as they continue this awkward dance. We already sense that prayers are being lifted up and answered. They do make a difference.

Patty Cake!

Mom used to sing "Patty Cake" to us when we were kids. Here she continues the tradition with Cole...

Happy Birthday Papa!!!

Mom & Dad Roberts came over from Orlando to hang out with Cole today. It is also Dad's birthday, so Happy Birthday Dad!

Papa and Cole hanging out.

Cole pee'd on dad's shirt. Mom and Emily found this to be hilarious.

Enjoying their grandson :)

Healthy Baby, Happy Baby

I have spent a lot of time researching baby products recently. It is amazing how much stuff we put on ourselves and on our children. Soaps, shampoos, lotions, diaper rash cream, baby wipes, sunscreen; the list goes on and on. And unfortunately, not all of the things that we put on ourselves are as harmless as companies would like us to think. Nice smelling baby products are full of chemicals that really should never be put on a human being, but especially a young child. One website that has been a blessing is The Environmental Working Group's "Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database". This is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help consumers find out what they are really putting on their skin. They rank thousands of products (about a quarter of the products on the market) on a scale from zero to ten on how harmful products are to your body and specifically explain why each ingredient is or is not harmful. If you're not too scared, type in some of the common skin products you use and find out where they rank. The website is www.cosmeticsdatabase.com. This information has been crucial in determining what we decide to put on Cole. We have also made some changes in what we put on ourselves as well.

Not sure how "healthy" black ink is on your skin, but doing Cole's hand and footprints is a one-time shot, so I think he'll survive. Grandma and Grandpa Bentley helped Emily out with this task. Here is the video:

"Urine" The Splash Zone

Well, we made it through our first week of parenthood, and I must say that we are doing fairly well for ourselves. Sure, there have been late nights and I'm averaging about 4 hours a sleep a day, but I feel like we've already learned a ton about ourselves and about Cole. As much as God has used our marriage to refine us, I am certain that parenthood will be just as much as a refining tool. I'm strapped in and enjoying the new ride.

Emily and Cole are sleeping before the next of what seems like endless feedings. And I am enjoying a few quiet moments of not have urine all over me. Yes, I said urine. Cole is one of those boy babies that prefers to do most of his urinating once we've taken off his diaper. We need to get a "Splash Zone" sign and hang it up next to our changing table. Earlier today his pee cleared 3 feet (yes, I measured it), and may have gone further had the wall not been there. I have since moved the changing table further from this wall so Cole can break his record.

Speaking of Cole, here is a video of his routine when he wakes up from each slumber. It involves lots of stretching and usually some interesting noises.

My three favorite guys on earth

These are my absolute favorite guys on earth. What a crazy week and a day this has been. Truly, I had no idea what we were in store for. Everyone says that having a child is a life-changer but I never could have anticipated to this extent. Never have I felt more helpless, cried more, relied on my wonderful husband more, wanted answers more...the list could go on and on. In the midst of each feeding, wake-time, and nap I find myself in conversation with our Lord. No matter how much I think that I love these guys, my love for Jesus surpasses them all. I am thankful that it is free to call Him (because I do so often) and that I can yell, pout, rejoice, praise, give thanks and be frustrated and still His love for me won't change. What a God we have! Praise Him...easy times, tough times...He is faithful.

A Picture Is Good, But.....

Why simply see a picture of Grandpa Bentley holding Cole for the first time when you can watch the video? Have at it!

Playtime with Cole Video

This is Cole's first time playing on his play mat.

Baby Cole goes home!

We brought Cole home from the hospital yesterday...


...and it has been a lot of fun using all of the "baby stuff" that has taken up every spare square inch of our apartment for the past five months. Here, Grandma Bentley takes care of Cole on our changing table.

Cole and Emily have been working very hard at this feeding thing, and I am very proud of both of them for sticking with it (no picture -- sorry).
Grandpa Bentley also showed up today and got to hold Cole for the first time.

Cole is my buddy :)

Happy Birthday Aunt Colleen!

Today is Colleen's birthday, and when Paige and Alexia were over at our place last week, we had Paige sing Happy Birthday to Colleen. I'd say she did a pretty good job.

Grandma Bentley

Hey, it's a post from Emily. Last night was definitely different from night number one. Cole didn't want to sleep as much as he did when he first arrived. Luckily, my mom is here to help us! (my dad Albert, Cole's middle name, will be here soon) Ryan slept back at our apartment and mom and I were on our own. Ryan is such an incredible dad and very attentive so I was a little nervous when he left but my mom is a champ. Not only is she a dynamite grandma but she sure is teaching me a ton. She has a great way of soothing Cole with conversation and lots of love. I am so thankful that she is here. At 1:30ish this afternoon, we finally made it home!!

Grandma Bentley holding her first grandchild. She is very excited. Also beautiful flowers on left from Corcorans, Cooks and Thompsons and the cute bear with hospital name and wonderful flowers to right from Brizzolaras, Browns and Mike Sawicki. Cole is very loved!

Mom and I ready to go home after a long night.

You guessed it! More baby pictures!

Paige and Alexia LOVE their new cousin, Cole!


The happy family :)

Cole and Daddy

Cole and Mommy

Cole is a straight up baller!

He's Here!!!

Cole Albert Roberts made his worldly entrance at 11:48 this morning, weighing in at 5 pounds 15 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. Emily did great and both her and Cole are doing well. Here are some pictures:

We are at the hospital!!!

Isn't technology wonderful?

We are sitting in the hospital room, watching National Treasure 2, and I am updating our blog on my laptop through the hospital's wireless internet action. Hopefully we'll have more pictures to post after Baby Roberts makes his worldly entrance, but here is one of Emily eating her room service meal.

A Little Beach Action

Even at 39 weeks pregnant, Emily was still willing to go to the beach last week. We stayed for about 3 hours with our friends Randy and Tiffany. I worked at a camp with Randy 6 years ago and this was our first time seeing each other since we left camp. He's doing an internship at a hospital in St. Pete for the next year.

Look at that HOT momma!

Ryan & Randy. A Gator & A Volunteer.

The nieces come to visit!!!

Rex, Ashley, Paige, & Alexia came to visit us today. We had lunch together. The girls loved the strawberries and blueberries. Mmmmm......

In The Beginning...

Greetings from inside the Roberts Portal. This is our modest, yet extremely awesome, little corner of the world wide web. Since we are about a few days from bringing our little boy into this world, we thought a blog would be good to keep all our friends and family in the know. We'll post pictures, videos, and moderately humerous and informative tidbits about the things we think you would want to know about us. Enjoy the show.