Pick It Up

Tip to all that are going to have children.

You know how we toss things into the trash can? We'll be about four feet away, and basketball toss it over there, hoping we make it in? You know how that doesn't always happen? Well, now, imagine what you do when its a small piece of something...oh, say, a small piece of that plastic tag holder you get on new clothes...and it hits the rim and falls out. Do you leave it there? I know I usually do until I have to put something bigger in the can and then I'll pick it up.

Those days are over. The next time you see that little piece of whatever-it-is, it'll be in your baby's hands making its way to his mouth.

So, my tip is this...take the extra effort to put that little doohickey into the trash otherwise it'll become lunch for the little tyke.

It Was Just A Trim

Soooo, if you've seen Cooper in person lately, you know that he's got a lot of hair on the top of his head and the sides of his head. When it gets wet and sticks out, he looks like either Bozo the Clown or Young Einstein. Abbie's been telling me that he needs a haircut for some time now.

So, I cut it this Saturday. Abbie had wet his hair to comb it, and i snatched up a pair of scissors and proceeded to hack away.

I didn't get any hair while hacking away.

If you've never tried to cut a 11 1/2 month old's hair...it's impossible. He was looking around the entire time, constantly moving his head. And I have this habit of snapping the scissors open and closed, which would unfortunately cause Cooper to look around for the noise.

All I wanted to do was trim around his ears so it didn't stick out so badly. Well, it was a failed experiment...nearly impossible to make it look good. It'll grow back in time. For now...keep yer yap shut unless you say "Hey, his haircut looks great".

Now I know why so many parents just stick a bowl on their child's head and cut around it...it turns out to be an even and straight cut.

Are They Words Or Just Sounds?

We think he's truly talking now. He says "Mom-Mom", "Dad" & "Da-Da", and "Hi". At least, we're sure that he's saying that, but one can never be too sure. :-) For all we know, he may have just discovered a new way to make sounds that stop us cold b/c we think he's actually talking.

To Stay At Home or Not To Stay At Home

Have I ever told you that staying at home with your infant is probably some of the hardest work I've ever done? Have I ever told you that it's also one of the most rewarding types of work?

This week, now that Cooper's healthy and not communicable, he went back to day care. I know I speak for Abbie when I say that we miss him so much. Being at home with him for the past two weeks really made me feel the wish to no longer work (or to at least work from home). I feel sorry for my broker because he relies on me to be at the office for four of the five days of each week...and quite frankly, I'm just not feeling it. I'd much rather stay at home and be with my child. Ain't that right, Abbie?

For those of you that don't have children but plan to in the near future...work hard at your job now...put in those late hours...because you're going to want to be at home with your child. This is why I tell Abbie every week that we need to retire by 35. Of course, her answer always is, "Well, make it happen." Oh sure, I'll just snap my fingers and a pension will just fly out my butt. Mmm-hmmm.

Fun Stuff

Granted the last few weeks haven't been the easiest. We think Cooper must be teething because he's biting like crazy and wouldn't sleep for more than an hour at a time last night. But lost of fun stuff has been happeneing! He climbed up 2 stairs yesterday trying to reach me. He got distracted by a pair of shoes or I'm sure he would have climbed more! He's also starting to stand by himself. Almost by accident he'll just be standing there looking at you not even realizing he isn't holding on! He drinks out of your cup now like a champ. You would die watching him chow down on a peice of turkey. He will eat the entire peice! He actually ate turkey, broccoli, and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving :-) He is talking up a little storm. Cooper loves to scream out "be-be" sounds like baby and "gwey" and a few times he's even said "mom-mom". Of course we have no idea what he's associated any of these words with but he sure does like to scream them. The other thing he loves to do is to stand in front of the mirror and talk to himself. He may be covered in chickenpox and have his eyes covered in goop but he's still smiling and having a good time!

Can Cooper See What's Going On?

Well, his chicken pox cleared up. Some remaining scabs that may leave scars, but nothing too bad. Thankfully, he didn't have a bunch of pox on his face where he could scratch and leave big pitted scars for kids to call him crater face when he's a teenager. :-)

By the way, A BIG SHOUT OUT to Dawn! She saved Abbie and I on Saturday the 26th when Abbie and I had to go to her company holiday party. She babysat Cooper for the night as last minute assistance. Abbie's mom, who was originally our babysitter for the night, had to bow out b/c of Coop's illness, and so we had to brainstorm. It was probably going to be me that would have had to stay with him, and normally, I'd be okay with that. But they were doing a casino night, and I love casino nights. So Dawn came to the rescue. She had the Pox before, so she wasn't going to get it. And she was willing to come to our house. Thanks, Dawn.

So, now there's something else.

On Monday, Abbie and I noticed that he had some goo in his eyes. We thought it was just sleep in his eyes still. But, when it came back later on, we got a bit curious. Turns out he has conjunctivitis. Both eyes began to "ooze", for lack of a better term. Goo in each eye. When he'd sleep, they'd get all crusty. And as Monday wore into Tuesday and then Wednesday, his right eye would seal shut as he slept. The goo would essentially turn into glue. Nothing a washcloth and hot water wouldn't take care of. But, of course, he absolutely can't stand having his face and eyes wiped down. Maybe its because I have to almost scrub his eyelids and eyelashes to clear the goo off. We researched, and concluded that it was definitely pink eye.

To be sure, Abbie took him to the pediatrician on Tuesday night. Result: bacterial conjunctivitis (which explains why both eyes are gooing). We got drops for him. It's taking time. I've had to take another week of working at home...which during this time of year, isn't that big a deal since the market is SLOOOOOW!

He's getting better at letting me clear his eyes, which the best way seems to be to flush them with warm water. And while he hates the drops, there are ways to get them in. Best way seems to be to wait for him to close his eyes while screaming...he can't see the drops, and if I put them on the corner of the eye, they drip in when he opens them. Ta-Da! Simple.

So, we're expecting it to clear up soon. I'll keep you posted. But damn, what's next? I'm just glad he's a baby now and won't remember any of this.

This was Cooper on Wednesday after giving him some drops. You can see the redness around the eyes where the conjunctivitis is causing irritation.

This was Cooper on Tuesday. You can see the puffiness on his right eye where the conjunctivitis hit the surrounding tissue. Our research had said that bacterial conjunctivitis will spread into the surrounding tissue and cause reactions such as this...this was our first clue of what type of pink eye he has.