We had Cooper's make-up birthday party (he came down with a high fever on the morning of the first one that we had planned) and it was great! Cooper played with his toys, the adults chatted and hung out at the BBQ, and then we all ate cake. Well, almost all.
As suspected, Cooper utterly rejected his cupcake (he's become really picky most of the time) but I think I still got some good shots of him staring in horror at the single tiny birthday candle in it. He was wearing his super cute birthday boy shirt that Aunt Pam gave him, and ran around happily for about 3 out of 4 hours of his party. The last hour he got tired and cranky so Matt, Nicole and I took turns holding him to keep him happy. You know you have a nice babysitter when she voluntarily comes to your kid's birthday party, and even brings her very pleasant boyfriend.
We asked people not to bring gifts (both for them to save money, and because we don't need any more stuff) but one friend still got Cooper a really adorable little stuffed owl, and Nicole brought him an organic avocado with a bow on it. That is an inside joke between us, as avocado is one of Cooper's favorite foods and I offhandedly joked one day that I should ask all our guests to either bring avocados or frozen blueberries as gifts, because that is why Cooper would really want for his birthday. And frankly, that stuff is not cheap when you go through it as fast as we do.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Bye-bye!
Yesterday, Matt was getting ready to go to school and I was holding Cooper. Matt walked into the entryway of our house, where he was out of sight because of the angle of the wall, and Cooper raised his left hand, waved, and said "Bah-bah!"
I was very surprised. Cooper has never done that before (or since). For a second I thought maybe it was just a wild coincidence, but then again we've been waving bye-bye for months now. Upon thinking about it, I think it is actually more likely that he was testing his "bye-bye" and waving skills out during a fairly typical bye-bye waving scenario.
I can't wait until he tries it again. So exciting!
I was very surprised. Cooper has never done that before (or since). For a second I thought maybe it was just a wild coincidence, but then again we've been waving bye-bye for months now. Upon thinking about it, I think it is actually more likely that he was testing his "bye-bye" and waving skills out during a fairly typical bye-bye waving scenario.
I can't wait until he tries it again. So exciting!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Balancing
Cooper recently has taken a big interest into how things balance. He especially seems to enjoy balancing his stacking rings on their edges, which is quite challenging for him. Matt and I are pretty amazed that he learned to do this himself (we did ask the babysitter, and she denied teaching him how to do it) and it is funny to watch him balance one or two, and then act really proud of his work. He get soooo frustrated with the purple and tan rings (the two biggest ones) because they are the toughest ones to balance- he sometimes stomps off in a huff when they finally drive him nuts. We let him fail to balance these all the time, and try not to giggle at his little tantrums, because Matt and I agree it is very good for him to try and fail at this sort of baby-learning task.
He also likes balancing big things on little things. Like empty milk jugs on top of coffee mugs, or a book on top of a toy. And he like to stack his cars on top of each other, which makes me giggle because they often look like they are mating. Yes, I know that is all in my head, but it is still funny.
Last but not least, he's learned that he can climb stuff by throwing his outstretched foot onto the edge of it. As opposed to the technique he employs for the stairs, which is all about his knees, this is more versatile and allows for conquering taller objects. The two things he most often climbs onto using his new foot-stretching technique is the back and front deck. Which is cute, but of course then he has to get down. We are still working on safe methods for getting off the decks!
He also likes balancing big things on little things. Like empty milk jugs on top of coffee mugs, or a book on top of a toy. And he like to stack his cars on top of each other, which makes me giggle because they often look like they are mating. Yes, I know that is all in my head, but it is still funny.
Last but not least, he's learned that he can climb stuff by throwing his outstretched foot onto the edge of it. As opposed to the technique he employs for the stairs, which is all about his knees, this is more versatile and allows for conquering taller objects. The two things he most often climbs onto using his new foot-stretching technique is the back and front deck. Which is cute, but of course then he has to get down. We are still working on safe methods for getting off the decks!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Leaving Lake Wobegon
Cooper has his one year well-child checkup yesterday and, as always, received only the highest praise from our doctor and nurse. One thing, though, was really different. He's no longer above average weight.
In fact, the kid is skinny. So skinny that I demanded he be weighed again in case there was a mistake. He's only at 20% percentile for weight, in fact. I was a bit worried about this- remember, he was born at 90%, and then stayed steady at 75% since then. Until now.
Well, I brought this up with the doctor and after watching Cooper run around in the exam room for a while, she asked when he learned to walk. He got good at it before he was 10 months old, I said, and has been going faster ever since. And so the doctor kindly informed me that early walkers tend to not gain a lot of weight after they learn to walk- far less weight than average age walkers that are still mostly sitting and crawling at this age. Which made perfect sense to me, when she put it that way.
For height, he's at 50%. Cool. Matt and I are both only a tad taller than average, so that makes a lot of sense to me. He's actually been most consistent with height of all his measurements, ever since he was born.
As for his other skills, he continues his regular trends. His gross motor skills (walking, running, squatting, balance) are far, far beyond his age. His fine motor skills are somewhat above average (picking up little objects, using toys, using a spoon, pointing, grabbing). His social and verbal skills are totally normal (a few words, some gestures, being a bit shy with new people and places, lots of babble and nonsense sounds).
He's doin' great, she says. Hooray!
In fact, the kid is skinny. So skinny that I demanded he be weighed again in case there was a mistake. He's only at 20% percentile for weight, in fact. I was a bit worried about this- remember, he was born at 90%, and then stayed steady at 75% since then. Until now.
Well, I brought this up with the doctor and after watching Cooper run around in the exam room for a while, she asked when he learned to walk. He got good at it before he was 10 months old, I said, and has been going faster ever since. And so the doctor kindly informed me that early walkers tend to not gain a lot of weight after they learn to walk- far less weight than average age walkers that are still mostly sitting and crawling at this age. Which made perfect sense to me, when she put it that way.
For height, he's at 50%. Cool. Matt and I are both only a tad taller than average, so that makes a lot of sense to me. He's actually been most consistent with height of all his measurements, ever since he was born.
As for his other skills, he continues his regular trends. His gross motor skills (walking, running, squatting, balance) are far, far beyond his age. His fine motor skills are somewhat above average (picking up little objects, using toys, using a spoon, pointing, grabbing). His social and verbal skills are totally normal (a few words, some gestures, being a bit shy with new people and places, lots of babble and nonsense sounds).
He's doin' great, she says. Hooray!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Happy Birthday!
Yeee haw Happy Birthday Cooper!
So far, he has celebrated by sleeping late, running around the house, eating blueberries (his favorite food), and taking a nap.
If only all birthdays could be this delightful.
We are having his party on Sunday for scheduling reasons. All are welcome! 4pm at Radwood Family Farm.
So far, he has celebrated by sleeping late, running around the house, eating blueberries (his favorite food), and taking a nap.
If only all birthdays could be this delightful.
We are having his party on Sunday for scheduling reasons. All are welcome! 4pm at Radwood Family Farm.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The big move
We did it yesterday- we moved Cooper into his own room. His new room, the downstairs bedroom, is a good (although not perfect) spot for him. Lots of natural light, nice closet, plenty of space for our futon, his crib, his changing table/dresser combo, his laundry, and other baby items.
We waited until now to do this for a few reasons. One is that I liked having him in our room. It was easy, simple, space efficient in our little house, and made nursing him at odd hours pretty painless. The other reason we waited until now is that I had one very important criteria for when Cooper would be moved out of our room- and that criteria was that he had to first be consistently sleeping all night. Adult standard all night, not this "5 hours is sleeping through the night" b.s. that the baby books claim.
And sure enough, as a result of a combo of dumb luck, Cooper's nice temperament, and a lot of hard work on Matt and my part, Cooper now can be trusted to sleep from 8pm until 5:30am. Sometimes he's even better- like the time he slept from 7:30pm to 7:15am, very much surprising Matt and me. That was glorious. But this new pattern, which is roughly 7:45 to 5:45 with variation at either end depending on various factors, has met the criteria for consistently sleeping all night. He's been doing it for about 3 weeks, so we are pretty sure he's got it down pat.
Last night was his first night in the new room. We followed all his usual routines and he was asleep snuggled under his favorite blanket by 8pm. He woke up at 6:30am daylight savings time, which I know was really 5:30am, but I don't care. It was great.
Of course, last night I was all worried about him all alone down there. What if he got cold? Miserable? Lonely? Yes, I admit this was a bit irrational. But I woke up repeatedly during the night, worried about him, and only fell back asleep after listening to the quiet whirring of his monitor. It was inches from my head- very reassuring.
Now he's asleep in his very own room again, napping. What a good little guy. I think he's taking this change more in stride then I am.
Last night Matt asked, "Are you going to get this worried when he has his first sleepover, too?" I think it was a rhetorical question.
We waited until now to do this for a few reasons. One is that I liked having him in our room. It was easy, simple, space efficient in our little house, and made nursing him at odd hours pretty painless. The other reason we waited until now is that I had one very important criteria for when Cooper would be moved out of our room- and that criteria was that he had to first be consistently sleeping all night. Adult standard all night, not this "5 hours is sleeping through the night" b.s. that the baby books claim.
And sure enough, as a result of a combo of dumb luck, Cooper's nice temperament, and a lot of hard work on Matt and my part, Cooper now can be trusted to sleep from 8pm until 5:30am. Sometimes he's even better- like the time he slept from 7:30pm to 7:15am, very much surprising Matt and me. That was glorious. But this new pattern, which is roughly 7:45 to 5:45 with variation at either end depending on various factors, has met the criteria for consistently sleeping all night. He's been doing it for about 3 weeks, so we are pretty sure he's got it down pat.
Last night was his first night in the new room. We followed all his usual routines and he was asleep snuggled under his favorite blanket by 8pm. He woke up at 6:30am daylight savings time, which I know was really 5:30am, but I don't care. It was great.
Of course, last night I was all worried about him all alone down there. What if he got cold? Miserable? Lonely? Yes, I admit this was a bit irrational. But I woke up repeatedly during the night, worried about him, and only fell back asleep after listening to the quiet whirring of his monitor. It was inches from my head- very reassuring.
Now he's asleep in his very own room again, napping. What a good little guy. I think he's taking this change more in stride then I am.
Last night Matt asked, "Are you going to get this worried when he has his first sleepover, too?" I think it was a rhetorical question.
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