Cooper on his little gymboree thingee. See the post "Cause and Effect" for details.

Cause and Effect

First off, today, Cooper met his second back-up prom date (first back-up is Emily Milton, and his prom date will be whoever he wants). We went for brunch at Lauren Bachenheimer's parents house. She's Abbie's old high school friend. Lauren was down from New Jersey with her daughter, Sam, who is one week younger than Cooper. Abbie and Lauren went through their pregnancies at the same time, sharing those details with each other that only a pregnant woman going through it right then could understand. While we didn't get any pictures of the two kids (we forgot the camera), just know that Cooper wasn't jealous that Sam had tons more hair than him. (Or so he says.)

Secondly, Cooper showed us that he's learning cause and effect. He's got a gymboree type toy, with a mat he lies on, and a St. Louis arch over him with toys hanging off. Well, the toys play music and move around when he hits either the arch or the toys. We put him on it, and derned if he didn't just take a big ol swipe at one of the toys to get it working. He even rolled his feet over to the edge of the arch to give it a swift kick to get the music working. Abbie verified that he's done it before and that she realized in the last week that he's learning cause and effect. He's even becoming more cognizant of multiple colors and patterns and is fascinated by it...so if you come to visit, pull out those gaudy shirts from the early 90's and late 80's that you have hiding in the back of your closet for retro-Wednesday at work and see how he responds. Of course, he may just spit up on you...not that it would show up on that shirt.

To my son, I say "You are learning well, Grasshopper."

Talking With Cooper

Well, it's Cooper's 11th week (12th hits on Wednesday 23 March) and he's now talking. Okay, he's not using words, per se, but rather, he's cooing and giggling, and even laughing out loud. I wanted to bring this up again because this is what I recieved in my weekly email about baby's development.

"Cooing is your baby's way of showing he's happy. This pre-speech exercise lets him play with sound just as he plays with his fingers and toes. Show your approval by cooing or talking in response; see if you can have an extended conversation. While you're at it, set him down in front of a tape recorder and preserve his first sounds for posterity. In a few years, both of you will love listening to that early baby talk."

So when you see Cooper, don't hesitate to have a conversation with him. If he's enjoying it, he'll smile and give you his rapt attention.

Cooper's First Vacation

We finally decided to take Cooper away from home for longer than a few hours. Both Abbie and I were feeling the stress of lack of sleep and having to stay awake during the day, not to mention, for me, the stress of work. So we took a trip up to Coolfont Spa and Resort in the mountains of West Virginia (about two hours from Centreville). From Sunday to Tuesday, we tried to relax and rest.

Abbie and I enjoyed relaxing massages, although, my pedicure and her scalp massage had to get cancelled because the lady that took the orders when Abbie ordered them mixed it up and scheduled them for the wrong days, which really threw things out of whack. But being out there in a cabin with no radio and no TV was very relaxing. We managed to get a lot of reading done. I got to make a fire (would've made Brontosaurus burgers if I had the meat). And we just enjoyed not having to really stress about anything (mind you, though, I still did some real estate work...my stupid gene kicked in and forced me to want to work still).

Below are four pics of Cooper and us during the trip. If you're interested in Coolfont, you can check it out at www.coolfont.com. Highly recommended if you're interested in some relaxing days away from the hustle and bustle.

We took a hike on Monday. Cooper hung out with us the entire time. He napped, mind you, but he hiked with us.

Dad and Son sharing a moment with each other. Can't give this boy enough hugs and kisses.

Cooper at Coolfont getting ready to head out to dinner. This is just toooo cute.

Abbie having a moment with Cooper at Coolfont.

Three Generations of Monihan men.  

Grandpa Gene took this photo of Cooper having a blast in his car seat. This photo is too good to not share. It's the one I use as the background on my computer. There's nothing better than watching Coop laugh and smile. 

Men and Women Are Different...

...when it comes to how we handle our kids. Naturally, a mother is more nurturing. Men, we'll never, ever, ever understand what a mother feels towards her children. Men are more problem solving, and we want our kids to learn how to solve problems when they're faced with them.

Why am I writing this? Because I'm trying to justify my almost "killing" my boy last night. :-) I was playing with Coop in the living room on the floor. I was helping him learn to sit up. Now, his head, while not the 1/4 of his body it used to be, is still about 1/5 of his total body. That means, his neck muscles are still not strong enough to hold his head up for very long. Which means, other than lifting his head off the floor, the boy's not capable of holding his head up for anything else. I learned this while sitting him up, and taking my hands away and saying, "Wanna learn how to sit up?" He'd stay up for about a second or two, and then proceed to fall to the side, back, or front. One fall back was a bit more sudden than I thought, and when I grabbed him on his back to keep him from hitting the ground, I neglected to prop that big ol' melon of his. Oooh, if you could only see the look on Abbie's face. She thought I had given him whiplash. I did too. But he didn't say a peep.

So I tried to get him to sit up again.

Sometimes we as men are not too bright. But then again, if it weren't for men, no one would try those dangerous things first, get killed, and everyone else after them wouldn't learn how NOT to do something.

Betcha didn't think I'd blog this, didya', Hon?

He Got His Ticklishness From His Mama!

It's now confirmed...Cooper is ticklish on his tummy and sides. Almost to the point that its just cruel to keep tickling him. Let me give you some history. Abbie's ticklish to the point that she'll pee her pants if you don't stop. I'm not. Here endeth the history lesson.

Cooper and I were watching The Contender on Monday, and I was playing with Coop's hands like he was boxing. Well, to Abbie's chagrin, he liked it...especially when we did the speed bag. It was probably the first time I've heard him actually give a big laughing yelp. Toooo cute. Then I proceeded to tickle the bee jeebers out of his tummy, and man did he laugh out loud. I tried it again last night, and he's definitely got his Mama's ticklish side....or sides and tummy and feet as the case appears now.

So, for those keeping score...

From Abbie, he gets his hair, skin type, skin color, his chin, eye color, ticklishness & potential 6-foot+ size.

From me, he gets his nose.

Doesn't seem fair, does it?

Finally, An Update!

Hey everyone! I apologize for not posting earlier. Life with a baby and work have both been crazy hectic. Thanks to Abbie and Cousin Haley for really trying to push me to get this blog updated. I hope you like the pictures and captions I've included below.

Let's update simple stats on Cooper. He had a pediatrician appointment last Thursday (3 March 2005). While his length didn't change (and I even question how well the nurse measures because the number this month was 1" less than last month), he did gain some weight. He is at 12+ pounds now. So he's progressing along nicely. While I don't listen to percentiles, he's in the 73rd percentile for weight and length, or weight and head circumference, or something like that. Cooper's going to be 10 weeks on Tuesday, 8 March 2005. Can you believe that it's been 10 weeks? It may have flown by for you, and the days fly by for us, but those nights really have really made the 10 weeks feel like 10 weeks.

Week 7: Cooper found his feet. He grabbed them, and he's ticklish on the bottom of his feet. He's not ticklish on his torso yet, but this morning I was playing with him, and I think I hit a ticklish spot. If he gets it from his mother, then I KNOW that he's going to be ticklish.

Week 8: He's tracking his parents well. This week saw the first time he followed Abbie with his head and eyes. She went from one end of the room while talking to him to the other end, and he followed her the whole way. He actually smiles and is happy when he knows we're near.

Week 8-9: The boy is starting to roll. He can't quite get over to his stomach from his back, but he's getting there. His arms get in the way and stop him. Now, an update on that...Sunday 6 March, Cooper was with Abbie and a Creative Memories workshop, and apparently, he almost got over to his stomach. He's starting to realize that it's his own arm that's preventing him from going over. From what I heard, all the ladies there were chanting his name and encouraging him, but the little bugger didn't get there.

Week 9: Lo and behold, the boy's outgrowing clothes already. We had noticed before that his outfits with footies were getting a bit tight, and that he was stretching them out moreso, but in Week 9, we saw him pretty much outgrow the 0-3 month clothes. Abbie pulled out the 3-6 month outfits, but who knows how long those will last.

Last Friday, and throughout this week, we're interviewing day care providers. Abbie's not able to work from home two days a week like we had hoped, so we're doing one of the hardest things we've had to up to this point...preparing to let him go. I will be able to work from home two days a week, so our boy does get that benefit, and GiGi (G.G.=Grandma Goat=Wanda) will take one day when she can. Grandpa Gene and Grandma Kathy will back-up GiGi when she can't. Cooper's very lucky to have an extended family that wants to help out so much.

Since everyone likes funny stories, here's one for you. Abbie has found that the boy likes to dance with her. For some reason, he really likes Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" and "Mockingbird". She dances around the room with him and he squeals with joy and laughs out loud. He likes his music, and responds well to it. Play the Shrek 2 CD and he's all over it. Well, anyways, Friday morning, while Abbie was at the gym in the morning, I put on Carly Simon and danced with him a bit.........he doesn't like Daddy's dancing as much. The reaction I got was more like he was ready to throw up because he was getting jostled so much. I hope he gets his rhythm from his mother. Needless to say, I'll stick to getting him ready for sports and mud pies and bike riding and all those traditionally boy things he's "supposed" to do. By the way...if he wants to do ballet, everyone can keep their comments to themselves b/c I support him. Nyah!

The Jedi Knight Lives

There's nothing special about this picture that warrants it going on this blog. At least, not until I saw it and realized that my boy is a Jedi Knight. Look at the robe. He's even got the lightbinky. And his right hand's manipulating the Force. We'll call him Coomo Malee.

Q&A

Everyone wants to see the baby. Cooper was a big ham this night. I remember being on the phone with Uncle Chris, and everyone around Coop is laughing hysterically. I think it had something to do with him answering questions from Uncle John.

Auntie Suzanne

Auntie Suzanne with Cooper. Grandma Sue and Auntie Suzanne were angels and brought dinner for us. They even went back to the restaurant to get the dessert that the restaurant forgot to include.

Grandma Sue with Cooper

Grandma Sue came down from Minnesota to visit old friends and family in the area. She and Auntie Suzanne Stamos came to visit on 25 Feb 05. Cooper's now met all of his grandparents except for one grandmother (on Daddy's side) and one grandfather (on Mommy's side). Look at how he's looking at Grandma. Isn't that precious?

Uncle John's First Meeting With Cooper

Uncle John finally came home from Iraq after a year boots in country at the end of February. This was the first time he'd gotten a chance to meet his nephew, and likewise, the first time Cooper got to meet his uncle.

Mother and Son

Abbie with Cooper. We were just playing around with the camera one weekend, and this shot came out great with the soft lighting from the window on her right, the beautiful look of Abbie's and Cooper just hanging onto her.

He's such a boy. 

Cooper's First Valentine's

Cooper's first Valentine's Day. He's our little love bug. If you ever hear Abbie call him "Bug", now you know why. I'll say this...when you have a newborn during Valentine's Day, planning something big is not the first thing that comes to mind. Dad tip: make sure you talk with your wife in advance about what you want to do instead of surprising her...remember, with a newborn, she's been taking care of him/her all day long and may not have a bunch of energy for much.

Taking a Stand

Cooper's been progressing nicely. Here, I'm trying to help him use his little legs a bit. He can stand assisted for about 10-15 seconds now. The boy's got strong legs and will, if he chooses, be a very good athlete, in my opinion.

Updates Are Coming!

There are some of you that are very impatient people. Okaaaaay, I'm one of them too. I apologize to Cooper's ardent supporters for not having any updates in February. It's been a very busy month for Abbie and I and I'm afraid that paychecks don't come from Cooper's blog. I'll have updates coming soon. Just need to find a free hour to do so. Sorry for making you wait.