From the Past: August 3 - August 9

While I was on the Man Trip, Emily and her mom spent the week taking care of Cole and packing up our apartment. They did a great job getting things ready for the move. It's amazing how much stuff we were able to squeeze into our 1-bedroom apartment.

Here is Grandma Bentley taking care of Cole.

Cole is getting much more animated these days. He's pretty darn cute.Jeff finally got a chance to meet Cole after being gone most of the summer.
Emily admist the massive wall of boxes.
Mom and Dad Roberts came to town to help us finish packing and load up the moving van. Oh, and to see their grandson as well ;)
Cole still recognized me with my Man Trip man beard. I only got to see Emily and Cole for a day before they flew to Houston to spend a week in limbo while mom and I drove the moving van 2,000 miles to Denver. Cole did a great job on his first airplane flight. Here he is at the Houston airport with Grandpa and Grandma Bentley.

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:

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!

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 :)

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.