Things we were never told...

Ok, so becoming a parent is an absolute miracle in itself... we are learning new things everyday! Some we knew we would have to learn and others took us a little by surprise. For example, Cooper LOVES his car seat and sleeps very well in it, but if you lay him on his back in his crib, he can go from sound asleep to wide awake in 5 seconds flat! Anyways, here are a few pictures with a few more pieces of knowledge we've gained over the last 10 weeks...


Bouncy seats are a godsend!

Formula poop is NASTY!!!
(FYI - that's a scented bag on Matt's face, not just a random plastic bag...)

Cooper looks so stinkin' cute in camo!!!
(ok, I said it, now let's move on)

What an amazing story...

Over the years I've gotten to know a girl at work, Jeni. We've worked closely together and have become good friends, which has been great for me because coming back to Middlebury after college hasn't been the easiest transition... anyways, Jeni and her husband Jimmy have been praying for a baby and this last weekend they got a little baby girl and named her Alyah. Here is an email Jeni sent around. They've been on such an amazing journey, I couldn't help but share it... it's such a testament to God's perfect timing and sticking it out through tough times. I am so excited for them!!! After the email are some pictures I took yesterday when I visited! She's such a cuddlebug!

Jimmy and I adopted a little girl on Sunday, Nov. 16 - Alyah (a-lee-ah) Dee Anderson. She was born on Monday Nov. 10 and is 6 lbs. 3 oz. The whole process has been a whirlwind but God's timing is always perfect and we are so thankful to Him for allowing us to love her! It took us 6 months to go through the homestudy process and once you are approved they start showing your profile to birthmoms. Well we were on approved on Monday (same day Alyah was born!) and I got the call on Friday that a birthmom chose us and wants to meet us that day! Of course Jimmy was out of town so we moved the meeting to Sunday (which gave us a little more time to get ready - as best we could) So on Sunday we drove to Indianapolis - fully prepared to become parents or to have the birthmom change her mind. We meet the mom at noon and by 1:15 we were holding our new daughter!!! It is/was so amazing! To say that we were in shock is an understatment and we just keep thanking God for our beautiful baby girl! We are home now and all doing very well. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement over the last few years! It's been a rough road but SO worth the wait!!!

Proud daddy Jimmy!

What a little sweety!

Our babies! Cooper looked like a giant next to Alyah. Oh and by the way, this is Cooper's girlfriend :)

Proud momma Jeni!!!

Check out those eyes!

I really am still here...

It's kind of funny... after Mom & Kim finally returned to the continent, I find myself out & about a lot more and less time having to blog! What was I thinking? Here are a few pictures to help us catch up...

This was actually before Halloween, I tried to put Cooper in a basket of nice, warm, clean towels! He was obviously really impressed.

Ahhhh our Bontrager family get-together at Aimee & Jason's house last Sunday... a preview to the madness that will be our Christmas this year! It's going to be a BLAST!

Cooper & I headed to Petoskey with Mom on Tuesday night to go check on the house projects that they have going on! We had a good time and it helped me figure out how to take a road trip with our little guy! He did pretty good for his first one... we're heading to N. Carolina in about 2 weeks, so hopefully he'll get better at them by then! But of course, grandma couldn't resist giving him a bath! He loved playing in the water!


Cooper's new camo hat... don't worry - he has matching gloves. His daddy is proud!

Highlights from the week!

So I actually had a really exciting week! We had a lot going on, which you've probably noticed because I blogged like a crazy person... but here are a few things I didn't blog about but probably should have...

On Thursday, my awesome sisters Katy & Aimee came up with Emma & Tristan and kept me company since Mom & Kim left me high and dry and flew to Australia & New Zealand :) It was great to see the look on the waitress' face when we all walked in to El Maguey's to eat... fun times! Here are a few pictures of all the cousins together!

Cooper was out - the other two were kicking, cooing and laughing like crazy!

They really appreciated us doing this to them... Cooper isn't quite big enough to hold his head up and Emma & Tristan can't quite sit up by themselves... they all kept sliding down the chair. It was so cute!

The next order of business is my husband... on Tuesday night he got a deer!! Matt is an avid bow hunter and was very proud of his accomplishment, as he should be! This was only (I think) his 3rd time out this year... and he got a new bow last winter, so he was really pumped! Here are some pictures of my handsome husband and the nasty dead deer - I'm proud of him regardless :)

Here's Matt showing Jadyn & Ethan the deer's foot and was telling them about it. Jadyn was SO impressed! haha

Matt & the deer... and his NEW bow! GO MATT!

Hope everyone else had a great week as well!