2 months already!

We've reached the 2 month mark with little Boone! Just for the record, I started typing this on November 5, 2012, but am just now getting around to finishing it! I'm already falling behind on my motherly duties! Needless to say we are still in awe of the little wonder that the Lord blessed us with! Sometimes Jeff and I just look at him and we both say "Gosh, I love him so much!"

In the last month, we've gotten out and about a lot more! It's starting to feel more normal to get the diaper bag ready, bundle up Boone and head out for errands or a meal out! We've made it back to church and have actually been able to sit through a whole service with him!

We also started attending  the birth and babies class through Alberta Health. Originally, the class was designed for you to come for 5 weeks before your baby arrived and then bring your baby for the last 5 classes. Well, Boone showed up the day before the first class, so we ended up skipping all the classes about childbirth and labor and started attending the postpartum section of the class. We've met some great first time parents and also have learned quite a few things for taking care of Boone!

Some stats: Boone weighs in at 10 pounds, 12 ounces and around 22 inches long. He's now wearing 0-3 month clothes and we've finally moved into the regular cloth diapers. Up until this point, we had just been using newborn cloth diapers, but Boone is too big for them now! Boone is sleeping anywhere from 5 to 7 and a half hours a night at a time (which makes us feel like we are getting tons of sleep!) Also, Boone sleeps in his crib in his room... a little earlier than what we anticipated, but he was having a crabby night, so we just decided to place him in the crib and he fell right asleep!

Also, Boone is an official Canadian citizen! We applied for and received his Canadian birth certificate, and his Canadian passport is being processed as I type this! Once we have all the Canadian documents, we will take a trip to the American consulate to get all his official American paperwork figured out! We've heard this is quite the process... so I'm not exactly looking forward to it!

Here's a few snapshots of his second month:

Still not really enjoying the car seat! Although he quiets down once we get going!

Two month old. Getting so big.

month 1

It has been one month since Boone Samuel Robertson decided to surprise us all and come into the world 6 weeks early! What a crazy month it has been...

Our precious Boone,

What a sweet surprise when we found out you would be entering our world in early September! As your dad and I sat at the hospital hearing the plans for your delivery from our doctors and nurses, we were scared, excited, anxious and nervous all at one time! We thought we had another month and a half of preparation, but you had other plans!

As we heard your first cries in the delivery room we were relieved, but could tell by the many neonatal doctors rushing into the room, we had a long road ahead of us. You spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, but I'll always remember the Saturday morning when we walked into the nursery and saw your NICU resident, Desiree. She looked at me with a huge smile and nodded. She didn't have to say a word, but I knew... you were headed home!

Since, then, it has been a fun rollercoaster of craziness. The smiles, the cute sounds, and the sleepy cuddles have all been so sweet. Of course, you've had your fair share of screamfests, but I'm sure when we look back on this first month, those memories will fade away.

A few stats about you:

You weighed 5 lbs, 13 ounces at birth. You lost weight while in the hospital, but by the time you left, you were almost back at your birth weight at 5 lbs, 12 ounces. You steadily gained weight, and as of yesterday, you weighed 7 lbs, 8.5 ounces.

You are still swimming in your newborn outfits. That's part of what makes me remember that you are still pretty tiny.

You've officially met both of your grandparents. The Robertsons came September 12 and the Sutterfields arrived on September 22. You are the absolute light of all of their lives. It's amazing to see them love you!

You love laying on your tummy on anyone that is available, riding in your car seat, and laying in your dad's arms. You dislike taking a bath, getting your diaper changed, being cold (you are going to have to work on that Mr. Canadian) and any delay in eating when you think it's meal time.

What a ride it has been so far. We are blessed by you and so thankful that you are healthy.

We love you!

Ok... one more picture. Just had to do the official one month photo.

Robertson, Party of THREE!

Well, we are a bit behind on all of this, but in the time since our last post, we have added a new member to our family, Boone Samuel Robertson!

Handsome... isn't he?? Our lives changed forever on September 4, 2012 when this guy arrived into the world! 

To back up a bit, we found out last February that this little guy was on the way! We were completely overjoyed when we found out!

Me, with the two tests that we took! 

The pregnancy progressed very normally and my belly began to grow...

and grow...

and grow...

And... then about 2 days after the above picture, the little one in my belly decided to make an arrival into the world, 6 weeks early, but at a pretty hefty 5 lbs, 13 ounces (for a preemie!)...

Here is our first photo as a family of three!

Our little one spent 12 nights in the NICU at Rockyview Medical Center in Calgary. We were blessed that he didn't have to be on oxygen or get treated for any infections, but doctors wanted to make sure that he gained weight and was stable enough to head home! We definitely had some rough times in the NICU, but the nurses and doctors took great care of our baby and we are so thankful for the care he received.

Baby Boone in his isolette to help stabilize his temperature. The little cast on his arm is a bandage wrapped around his IV in his arm!

After he got transferred to an open-air cot. 

Hanging out during his first round in the car seat test. He had to have consistent oxygen levels while sitting in his car seat for an hour and a half before he could be discharged. It took him three tries, but on September 15, 2012, Boone was able to go home! 

Our little Canadian in his "Made In Canada" outfit to head home!

One last picture with his nurse Jen that had been with him for his last week at the hospital!

So, Boone's arrival into the world wasn't quite as we had expected: We didn't have a hospital bag packed, we hadn't even started our labor and delivery classes, and our family had planned trips later in October to meet our little guy, but we were so blessed with how everything turned out. Some of the blessings of his arrival was that: I was able to receive antibiotics and steroids for Boone to help with his health before his arrival, we had amazing labor and delivery nurses that talked Jeff and I through a natural, unmedicated labor and delivery and our little guy was actually a good size and thrived during his time in the hospital.

We've been home for 2 weeks now and it has been a HUGE blessing... a tiring time, but a blessing nonetheless! We can't thank our family and friends enough for all the prayers and support. Boone is already growing, and as of last week (he was three weeks and three days old) he was 7 lbs, 1 ounce! Crazy how fast they grow!

Get ready for lots of updates about our new family of three! 

Love from the three of us,

Jeff, Emily + Boone

Sweet Home Canada!

We've been in Canada for THREE MONTHS! Hard to believe that it has been that long, but at the same time, it feels like we've been here for a lot longer. People keep telling us that we have completely lucked out with our first Canadian winter... Apparently it is usually much, much worse weather-wise, but hey, if Canada wants to go easy on us this year, I'll take it! :)

We are nice and settled into our place here, so I thought it was about time for some pictures. It's a pretty basic townhouse. It is three levels: basement and garage on the first floor, kitchen, living room and dining area on the second floor, and two bedrooms and a little office nook on the third floor. It works out well for how much space we need, but we have had to make some adjustments from all the room we had in good ole' Tennessee.

So... here are the pictures:

Here's a shot of our living room, nice and cozy

Here's our little dining area. 

Our kitchen! Hard to take a picture, because we have a 

big sliding door to the right of this picture.

We have a HUGE island, which is so nice for making meals 

(and catching all of our random stuff throughout the week!)

Just had to get a shot of all our Christmas cards! Love seeing 

all our friends and family's faces each day... 

I need to take them down, but it is so hard!

Stairway up to the bedrooms! Love having space to hang up 

pictures. Clearly, the cats enjoy the stairs.

Our bedroom. Looks like our bedroom before,
except in a smaller room.

Our master bathroom.

Our guest bedroom... Ready for visitors! And it has its own en-suite bathroom.

So, that's basically it...Nothing fancy, but it's perfect for us. We'd love to have visitors, so if you are interested in coming up, let us know!

From north of the border,

Jeff and Em