Amateur.

There are many days that I wish I lived closer to Leah, but since Cohen has been here, my jealousy for the people who live within her "shooting distance" has grown. Her talent is unspeakable. For the life of me, I can't find a good photographer in this town who wants less than $250 just for the sitting fee, and that doesn't even include prints. Is that outrageous or is it just me?

Anyway, so I decided taking Cohen's newborn pictures was going to have to be done by me-myself-and-I. It's gonna have to be good enough, because with Christmas around the corner, we just cannot afford the price of a professional.

Here's some of my fav's...

I hope I can always remember how tiny he is, how his fingers wrap around mine when he's holding my hand, his amazing fresh-baby smell, his hairy arms and shoulders, his tiny body that drowns in newborn-sized clothing, and his smiles while he's sleeping.

I love my newborn. These are the days I hope I never forget.

Hilarious.

If you're in need of a good laugh today, check out this video of my not-so-little brother doing a remix of the popular song "From This Moment On". I can't watch it without almost peeing my pants from laughing so hard.

The only sad part about it, is the fact that it takes away from my sister in law's beautiful voice in the background. Thanks Kaela for being a good sport :)

What can I say ... our family is just beaming with talent.

Cheeeeeeeeeese!

Monica, you were absolutely right. Every time I am nursing Cohen, Jaxon immediately needs me. So I have taken your advice and once I know it's time for Cohen to eat, I grab a snack for Jaxon. It's the perfect way to divert his attention from "I need Mommy" to "I need fruit snacks".

In that same way, every time I am taking pictures of Cohen, Jaxon immediately needs me. He starts crawling all over me and sticks his face right in front of the lens.

Enter exhibit A:

Instead of getting frustrated with him like I typically do, ::hangs head in shame::, this time I decided to play along. Snapping a ba-jillion pictures of him... most of them out of focus, blurry, and with most of his face missing... but here's a few of my favorites.

You just can't help but smile.

Not bad for an impromptu photo session, eh?

How's it going?

This is the question that I keep hearing from so many people. It's amazing the amount of love and support we have felt from so many people, 99% of them hours upon hours away from us.

The answer? It depends on the day...

Yesterday? Great! Cohen was easy-peasy. Jaxon was happy. The weather was beautiful. We went on a long walk, Jaxon played for hours outside, Cohen didn't make a peep unless he was hungry. Daddy came home from work... and a great way to end my day? Grey's Anatomy was on.

Today? Not so hot. I am overwhelmed. Stressed. Tired. In pain. Feeling sorry for myself missing my friends. Staring at my dirty house wishing I could clean it, but can't due to my c-section recovery. Thinking about the groceries I need to get, but can't drive for another week. Honestly scared that it will never get easier.

I know we all have our good days, and our bad. Today just is the ladder of the two.

Overall though, we are doing good. Cohen really is a great baby. He nurses well, sleeps for 5-6 hour stretches at night, ::knock on wood::, and is a very quiet and laid-back baby. Jaxon seems to really like his brother, he is constantly all over him, which makes for some stressful times worrying about the safety of the baby... especially when Tyler walks into the room as Jaxon is pulling Cohen out of the bouncer with one arm... yeah, mental note to self: never leave the two of them alone in a room. Ever.

I can't wait for Thanksgiving when my family comes to town. My Mom is the only one who has met Cohen, so I can't wait for the rest of the clan to meet him. Like I told my friend Karalie, having a baby is so fun and exciting, but it's even more fun and exciting when you're surrounded by people who are excited for you, and about the baby. Hence the reason I really really really miss KC. See... told you I was feeling bad for myself today.

Anyway, if you're not my friend on facebook, here's a link to view all the pictures we took while we were at the hospital, in case you're interested: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=563684&id=500320088&l=799dcc28a3

Now, here's a little sneak peek as to what we've been up to since getting home from the hospital:

Lots of "supervised" big brother holding little brother moments

Lots of time spent sunbathing, trying to get rid of jaundice.

Nana and Papa came to visit to meet Cohen

Papa and Tyler made Jax a sandbox while they were here! We've already spent hours upon hours outside enjoying it. Now if I could just teach Jax to leave the sand IN the sandbox ...

Jaxon and his Uncle Cooper shootin' the breeze... in their matching Hawks gear. The only difference is Cooper's says "I'm a hawkeye, like my Dad" and Jaxon's says "I'm a hawkeye, like my Grandpa".

Lots of time spent in the swing ...

Brotherly love ...

Went on our first outing ... to the park and out to dinner.

Jax spotted a dog while we were there ...

Swinging ... love his smile :)

Cohen's umbilical cord came off, so it was time for his first bath ...

Not a peep out of him ... he loved it! Much different from Jaxon's first bath, ha!

My Mom bought me this wrap, it's called a "Sleepy Wrap", very similar to the Moby. Cohen has spent lots of time in here each day... it's the only way I'm able to still help/play with Jaxon and hold Cohen at the same time. He loves it, I'm sure it's very comforting for a newborn to be wrapped up tightly against your Mom's chest. Oh, and it's handy for times like now when I'm blogging... much easier to type with two hands than one. ;) Thanks Mom... and yes, I promise he can breathe in it... you can quit worrying about him now. :)

Oh, and just lots of time spent being adorable ... which, I guess comes pretty natural. ;)

We've also been going on a morning walk each day... here Jax is holding Cohen's hand during the majority of our walk. Swoon... :) Even though most days I don't feel good, I keep hearing my doctor's voice telling me the more I can get up and move around, the better and quicker my recovery will be. So... on walks we go!

How about that for picture overload?

Well, I guess "mommy time" is over for the day... I hear Jaxon crying up from his nap, Cohen is whimpering needing to be fed, I still haven't showered... oh.. my phone is ringing, and the dog is barking.... {just kidding, we don't have a dog.}

Where's my diet coke.

And... here I go!

Snail mail.

I love getting the mail each day. It's not a long walk for me to the mailbox, considering the postman drops my mail into a slot that drops the mail into my living room, but every day I get antsy when I hear the mail drop, hoping there's something fun in there instead of just bills and credit card offers. Getting the mail is about to get a lot more interesting as we are approaching the holidays ... I love love love getting and receiving Christmas cards!! It's so fun to hear how everyone is doing, getting updates on their lives, and most importantly seeing the cute Christmas card they send.

I have been itching to send out birth announcements for the little guy, but instead I'm going to try and refrain and wait until Christmas when I do a joint birth announcement and Christmas card combined. Considering almost everyone I'd send a birth announcement to is either on Facebook or reads my blog, I think everyone knows about Cohen's birth anyway. :)

But, that doesn't stop me from looking at and dreaming about which Christmas card I'll choose. Here's a few I've been crushing on, compliments of Shutterfly.com ...

Love the "traditional" side of this one (the red and green colors) and wrapped in a chocolate color? Yes ma'am! Love it.

I love this one, because of the non-traditional colors, and the spin on the traditional letter that you get. It's quick and easy to read, instead of being long and way too over-detailed, like some letters you receive.

I love the formality of this one, the fonts, and the overall layout. Love!

I mean, really? What's not to love about this one? It's cute and fun.

Again, love the formality of this one and the simplicity of it. It's classy and pretty.

Now, for the good stuff! If you're a blogger and would like to get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly this year, click here for more information! Be sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

Stay tuned to a mailbox near you to see which card I choose ... and if you need my address to send me a card this year, let me know. ;)