Love

I've always heard that it's hard to experience what loving someone really means until you have a child of your own. I mean, I love the Lord, am in love with my husband, and love my family and friends.  How could I love more?  It wasn't until that final push when I saw Cooper for the first time did I understand this.  Instantly I was lovestruck.  I could barely breathe while this surge of love, thankfulness, and adoration came over me. I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  Three weeks later, not much has changed.  I stare at Cooper all day long.  I watch him while he eats, while he sleeps, while he cries.  I want to protect him and spoil him at the same time.  I want him to be strong and a world changer.  All of these emotions in just 3 short weeks.  There's not a moment when I am not entranced by Cooper (except maybe in the middle of the night :) ).  Michael and I are head over heels in love with our new son.  And interestingly enough, this new type of love has deepened my love for the rest- the Lord, my husband, and family and friends.  I am so excited to watch Cooper grow up and share some of our moments with you.  Thanks for being a part of our lives!

We've enjoyed so many visitors who have come by to love on our little Cooper, including my Mom who stayed for 2 weeks, and Michael's mom who stayed for a week.  We're so thankful for all of you!

Here are some pictures from the last 2 weeks:

First sponge bath

I mean, seriously, could he get any cuter?!!

Nana loving on Cooper!

Uncle Mike was a natural!

Pops enjoying some cuddle time with Cooper.

Enjoying the carrier Michael's sister, Jenny, made for us.  Thanks Jenny, we love it (and the sling!)  Cooper slept so well in it.  I can tell it's going to be one of his favorites.

Cooper meeting his cousins, Josiah and Rachel!  We can't wait for him to meet his 4 other cousins and 4 soon-to-be cousins in the next few months! 

Oops, Cooper had his first accident on his name sake (middle name), Roger Lee Beahm (aka, his Opa...grandfather).

He loves being on his tummy- he is so strong already!

Cooper - Week 1

With Cooper being 2 weeks old tomorrow, we thought we'd post some pics on the blog to document his growth. He literally puts on about an ounce a day at this point, so it's exciting to see him grow in front of our eyes. He is a constant mover and kicker, and thankfully has been eating well and sleeping good chunks at a time!  More pics to come over the next few weeks!  

 

Showered With Love

Michael and I have been tremendously blessed during this pregnancy by family and friends who have thrown us showers for little Cooper. We've had a total of 5- five!  And we did not even ask for a single one!  One of them was thrown by my mom, sister, and sister-in-law in Greensboro for family and family friends, and the other 4 were all in Charleston.  We were incredibly humbled by the people who offered to shower us with love here.  We have realized that although we don't have family in Charleston, our friends have treated us like family and made us feel at home.  It's hard to believe I am going into my 5th year living in Charleston, and Michael his 3rd. Time sure does fly!

Here are a few pictures from our showers!

My sweet mom and mother-in-law!

Priscilla, Sarah and Rachel

Our small group shower at a park.  Look at all those kiddos!

This cute baby carriage was made out of a watermelon!

The ladies from my job- Water Missions International. They rock!

Also thought I would throw in 2 pictures from our maternity photo shoot.  One of Michael's friends from work asked us if she could take these for FREE for her portfolio!

*Unfortunately I don't have any photos from my first shower in Charleston, which was thrown with some girlfriends in Charleston.  And then Michael's co-workers also threw us a shower too.  Talk about being blessed!


We're on the countdown to Cooper's arrival. I am at 37.5 weeks so he could come any day now!  We'll try and keep you posted on here.

Pregnancy Funnies

It’s so hard to believe we’re only 5 weeks away (or sooner!) from meeting our little angel. Although I have felt prett good for the majority of my pregnancy, the last trimester has made for some funny moments.  I thought it would be fun to share:  

·         “You’re so small” or “You’re only xx weeks?” statements take on their own anxiety-ridden feelings.

·         Your belly (your whole body, for that matter!) is no longer your own.  You have a swimmer, kicker and puncher to keep you entertained all day long.

·         Speaking of kicks and punches, my ribs have gotten their share of the pregnancy beating.

·         Sleeping is a pastime.  Perhaps I’m getting prepared for not sleeping at all with a newborn.

·         You don’t have a bladder.  It just doesn’t exist anymore!

·         Walking is limited to 20 minutes, coupled with the sensation of a baby making its way out into the world!

·         Mood swings are a regularity.

·         Bending down to paint toe nails is now a risk hazard – I can’t breathe!

·         I dream of the day when I can sit, stand, and lay down comfortably.

·         Swimming is one of God’s greatest gifts to a pregnant woman- it’s the only time she’ll feel “light” during those 9 months and be able to move around freely!

·         I’m hungry every hour, but can only eat ¼ of what I used to.  I guess it evens out!

 
In reality, these are so minor compared to the joy we are about to receive.  I would do this all over again for the blessing of a healthy, baby boy.  We just cannot wait to meet little Cooper Lee Beahm. He is so adored already!

Celebrating Michael

Last weekend, we celebrated another year of Michael's life...all weekend long!  With a Sunday birthday, we turned the whole weekend into a birthday celebration and it was completely worth it!  We did nothing work related, baby related, cleaning related, etc.  We just played...all weekend long! I know that in a few weeks we won't get to do that for a long time, so we wanted to make the most of one of our last baby-free weekends! 

We hopped around Charleston to eat at some different restaurants, enjoyed some outdoor activity, hung out with some friends, and relaxed as much as we could.  

Dinner on Friday night consisted of Jack's Cosmic Dogs, a famous hot dog joint that was featured in Diners, Drive-ins and Dives!

After a nice morning workout, we headed to Village Bakery, a quaint coffee shop/bakery in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant. This is one of our favorite spots.

We took a long walk along the Pitt Street Bridge where you can see the COOPER River Bridge, Downtown Charleston, Sullivan's Island, and Isle of Palms.  This is a secret gem of Mount Pleasant!

Michael took a bunch of pictures of me and the belly, so I wanted to add 2 of them to show just how big I'm getting!

We then met some friends for lunch at Vespa on Daniel Island, afterwards heading to the new Westbrook Brewery in Mount Pleasant. We made it just before the tasting room closed, but unfortunately missed the last tour.  We also discovered that we left the camera at home, so we didn't get a chance to capture Michael and his friend Bob trying the different brews. 

We finished that off with some frozen yogurt and then were so full that we didn't even make it out for a birthday dinner! 

On Sunday (birthday day), I made Michael a birthday breakfast made for champions.  Biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs, fruit and coffee. My husband is definitely a breakfast guy!

We relaxed for the afternoon at the pool and then grilled out steaks with our friend Josh.  Michael requested pecan pie for dessert so I tried my hand at it for the first time...not too bad! Paula Deen didn't let me down!

Overall it was a fun weekend celebrating the best person I know, who is also the best husband I know and soon to be the best dad I know.  I love this man more with each day, and I am so excited to see how he is going to love our son.



We're back to organizing, preparing, and cleaning this weekend, which I hope this nesting doesn't mean I'll be in labor next week!  34 weeks today, and we're so ready for our little Cooper to join our family!

DIY and a baby shower

As I mentioned in my last post, my biggest dad duty the past few weeks has been working on the baby room. Last week I did some brainstorming on what to put on the walls and almost pulled the trigger on some cool handmade artwork off the website Etsy, but after being inspired by a co-worker, decided to make some artwork myself! I feel extremely accomplished after pulling this off considering I was thinking of a plan B during every brush stroke in case it didn't turn out! Sticking with the soccer and basketball theme, here is a pic of the finished product. It's acrylic paint on 12x16 canvases.

While I was putting the finishing touches on the art for the baby room, Lynn was at a baby shower which was put on by a good friend of ours she used to work with at Arcadia. Carrying a baby tub and a wreath made of diapers, I realized that things are about to get a little different around here... :)

I think I have the same shirt except about 20x bigger.

All kidding aside Lynn had a great time at her shower, got some great tips and handy supplies for the upcoming months. Often times we miss not living closer to family, but with so many of our friends loving on us and Cooper, it makes me confident we will have a great community here in Charleston for him to be born in to!

Baby to BEahm

As most of you probably know, Lynn and I are expecting a baby boy (Cooper) on July 22. Lynn is feeling (and looking) great these days and we are overjoyed about being only a couple months (11 weeks to be exact) away from the due date now. With Lamaze and prep for parenting classes in full swing this week, I'm realizing just how close we are to Cooper being here, so naturally I've focused all of my attention on getting his room ready. Last weekend we bought some block letters and I painted them green to hang over the crib.

My gracious parents let us have a dresser/changing table they used with us growing up, and my brother and I refurbished it over Easter weekend in Raleigh. Chris polished up the hardware and extended the changing table a couple inches to fit a new changing pad. It turned out better than we could've expected! My dad also definitely wins "Opa" of the year for driving it all the way down to Charleston this weekend!

 

While we are definitely anxious for July to be here, we are trying to soak up all these experiences that come along with expecting your first baby and we really appreciate everyone's encouragement, generosity and wisdom along the way! (MB)