Two of my friends had babies last week. Wow!
Welcome Oliver Isadore D.! Nicknamed Ollie, born on Thursday. Looks just like his dad, is sleeping well, and got home from the hospital on Saturday morning. Yay!
Welcome Miles H. G.! Born to one of Matt's fellow grad students- she went into labor a few hours after formally graduating and had Miles at 5am the next morning. This is a kid with a good sense of timing, to be sure. Lucky mom not only has all of her family in town, and had the baby the day after graduating, but also had a successful home birth. Talk about a good weekend!
I'm so excited for everyone. I need to go make muffins or something.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Four things
The bruise on his face isn't spectacular, but it is noticeable. It is about what you'd expect from a kid falling hard and fast, face first, onto a hardwood floor. Nice and round and purple, just under his eye.
On Saturday morning, something clicked in Cooper's head and he now knows how to do "High 5." He's great at it! He puts his hand right up to yours and grins broadly. Very charming. Matt apparently has been working on this for about a month- I did not know that- and so Matt is feeling very proud of himself for successfully teaching Cooper a cool baby trick.
I'm sad to report that Cooper has officially grown out of his totally awesome car shoes. His little booties with cute tiny red cars on them were getting pretty tight in the last few weeks, and finally yesterday I noticed that he had started to wear holes in the toes. Fortunately, I bought a really great pair of very cool shoes on super-ultra-clearance ($8 for a $40 pair of shoes! Score!) in his next size, sometime maybe two or three weeks ago. I pulled them out on Sunday, thinking of course that they'd be comically too big, and instead they fit pretty well with ample room in the toe. Farewell adorable little car zip-up boots! Hello brown leather sneakers with awesome red flames and racing stripes!
Lastly, Cooper's climbing skills have dramatically, and dangerously, improved in the last few days. He now can very quickly hoist himself onto the kitchen chairs, the coffee table, the footrest in his bedroom, the adirondack chairs on the deck, and perhaps most alarmingly, up onto the baby gate at the base of the stairs. Once on a surface, he immediately stands up. This means that in the last day I've already found him walking casually across the top of the coffee table, standing on a kitchen chair while leaning over to grab a large glass of water from the table, and one or two other gut-dropping unsafe maneuvers. It is amazing and scary. His last frontier will be the couch and chair in the living room, which are about one inch too high for him right now. I bet he'll figure it out in another week or so. Yikes!
On Saturday morning, something clicked in Cooper's head and he now knows how to do "High 5." He's great at it! He puts his hand right up to yours and grins broadly. Very charming. Matt apparently has been working on this for about a month- I did not know that- and so Matt is feeling very proud of himself for successfully teaching Cooper a cool baby trick.
I'm sad to report that Cooper has officially grown out of his totally awesome car shoes. His little booties with cute tiny red cars on them were getting pretty tight in the last few weeks, and finally yesterday I noticed that he had started to wear holes in the toes. Fortunately, I bought a really great pair of very cool shoes on super-ultra-clearance ($8 for a $40 pair of shoes! Score!) in his next size, sometime maybe two or three weeks ago. I pulled them out on Sunday, thinking of course that they'd be comically too big, and instead they fit pretty well with ample room in the toe. Farewell adorable little car zip-up boots! Hello brown leather sneakers with awesome red flames and racing stripes!
Lastly, Cooper's climbing skills have dramatically, and dangerously, improved in the last few days. He now can very quickly hoist himself onto the kitchen chairs, the coffee table, the footrest in his bedroom, the adirondack chairs on the deck, and perhaps most alarmingly, up onto the baby gate at the base of the stairs. Once on a surface, he immediately stands up. This means that in the last day I've already found him walking casually across the top of the coffee table, standing on a kitchen chair while leaning over to grab a large glass of water from the table, and one or two other gut-dropping unsafe maneuvers. It is amazing and scary. His last frontier will be the couch and chair in the living room, which are about one inch too high for him right now. I bet he'll figure it out in another week or so. Yikes!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
That's gonna leave a mark
My home office is upstairs, and I can faintly hear whatever is going on downstairs while I work. I can hear crying, laughing, stomping, and other loud noises fairly well.
Today, I was hard at work while below me, I could hear Cooper and Nicole having a lot of fun. The sound of a toddler running back and forth, punctuated by loud shrieks of glee, indicated that Nicole was probably chasing and tickling him, if I had to guess. He was clearly having a blast. And then, I heard, "THUD" and then, of course, wailing. Loud, hurt wailing. More wailing, and then sniffles and Nicole's calming voice "You are OK, poor guy, you are OK..." Maybe five minutes later, Cooper was back in action- yelling "Doggie!" and banging on pots and pans. I didn't really think much of it.
Around an hour later I crept downstairs. Nicole was doing homework on the couch, and Cooper was napping in his crib. She looked at me apologetically and said, "He's gonna have a really big bruise when he wakes up." I told her I had heard something to that effect, and she confirmed that he had tripped and face planted, and seemed to have smacked his face on the floor a bit harder than usual.
He's still napping. I'm really curious if he's going to have a big black eye or what when he wakes up. I guess only time will tell, but I am sort of perversely hoping that he's got a really nice bruise. It'd be a shame to take such a painful face plant and not have anything to show for it.
Today, I was hard at work while below me, I could hear Cooper and Nicole having a lot of fun. The sound of a toddler running back and forth, punctuated by loud shrieks of glee, indicated that Nicole was probably chasing and tickling him, if I had to guess. He was clearly having a blast. And then, I heard, "THUD" and then, of course, wailing. Loud, hurt wailing. More wailing, and then sniffles and Nicole's calming voice "You are OK, poor guy, you are OK..." Maybe five minutes later, Cooper was back in action- yelling "Doggie!" and banging on pots and pans. I didn't really think much of it.
Around an hour later I crept downstairs. Nicole was doing homework on the couch, and Cooper was napping in his crib. She looked at me apologetically and said, "He's gonna have a really big bruise when he wakes up." I told her I had heard something to that effect, and she confirmed that he had tripped and face planted, and seemed to have smacked his face on the floor a bit harder than usual.
He's still napping. I'm really curious if he's going to have a big black eye or what when he wakes up. I guess only time will tell, but I am sort of perversely hoping that he's got a really nice bruise. It'd be a shame to take such a painful face plant and not have anything to show for it.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sleepy buddy
Cooper is a champion sleeper, and I know we are really lucky. He's started taking only one nap a day around half of the time, which sounds like a bad thing until you learn that his one nap is often over three hours long. He goes to bed every night right about at eight, and (knock on wood) hasn't woken up during the night for several months now. Yup- months. He gets up for the day between 6 and 7am, and sometimes when he's feeling snuggly he sleeps an extra 30 minutes or so in bed with Matt and I. That means that sometimes he sleeps 11 1/2 hours at night. And then takes a 3 hour nap. Wow.
Today is a rainy and cold day, which has translated to a sleepy day. He napped for 2 1/2 hours this morning (9 to 11:30), and now has been asleep for another hour (3 to 4) with no sign of waking up. I get soooo much done on days like this, which is awesome.
Sleepy kid!
Today is a rainy and cold day, which has translated to a sleepy day. He napped for 2 1/2 hours this morning (9 to 11:30), and now has been asleep for another hour (3 to 4) with no sign of waking up. I get soooo much done on days like this, which is awesome.
Sleepy kid!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Everyone gets a Bye Bye
Everything in the world needs to be waved at lately. Dogs across the street (Hi!) Car driving by (bye bye!) Daddy goes into the bathroom (bye bye!) Mom walks up the stairs (bye bye!)
It is a waving party around here. I'm glad the waving is so exciting, and takes place at appropriate times of hello-ing and bye-bye-ing. It is very charming. This morning, as Matt left to go volunteer downtown for a bike race, Cooper waved bye-bye to him as he went out the back door (to grab his bike) and then Cooper ran to the front window, hoisted himself onto the step so he could peer out, and waved bye-bye to Matt as he rode through the front gate onto the street.
Then Cooper looked at me all sad, and waved to me. I told him he was correct, Daddy did go bye-bye for the morning. And then we had breakfast together.
It is a waving party around here. I'm glad the waving is so exciting, and takes place at appropriate times of hello-ing and bye-bye-ing. It is very charming. This morning, as Matt left to go volunteer downtown for a bike race, Cooper waved bye-bye to him as he went out the back door (to grab his bike) and then Cooper ran to the front window, hoisted himself onto the step so he could peer out, and waved bye-bye to Matt as he rode through the front gate onto the street.
Then Cooper looked at me all sad, and waved to me. I told him he was correct, Daddy did go bye-bye for the morning. And then we had breakfast together.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Signing starts
Cooper has started, all of sudden, to use the baby sign language that we've been sort of trying to teach him since he was around 8 months old. Matt and I have been working on just a couple of basics- waving goodbye, more, eat, spoon, milk... I think that is it. For the last month, Cooper has been using his own sign, that he invented, for "I want to nurse." This is a funny little thing he does- he runs up to me, gives me a big hug, and then taps me on the backs of my shoulders. Tap tap tap. I wanna nurse.
After I figured this out (and yes, it took me a long time) I started responding immediately because it was cool that he invented a sign. I think, and hope, that this sparked his interest in signs in general.
Now, he's into it. In the last three days, he's been signing "milk" when he wants more food, which is kinda funny because we've taught him "more" for that situation, not "milk." I don't care though- it is a darn close sign and really exciting that he's doing it. He also is starting to sign "milk" when he is nursing, which is encouraging in terms of getting the right sign for the right actual thing. He has yet to sign "more" or "spoon" but now is very good (and cute) at waving Bye. He also waves Hi, which I love. He likes to wave Hi at Matt when he comes and goes. Amusingly, Cooper is nondiscriminatory and sometimes waves Hi at the dog while he's sitting on the front stoop waiting to be let in.
I'm hoping that the more vs. milk thing starts clearing up, and I'm also thinking that now is the right time for Matt and I to learn more signs and start using them. If Cooper just put it all together, I want to encourage his little brain! So far, we've added "chicken" to the signs we are going to use with him. Fun!
After I figured this out (and yes, it took me a long time) I started responding immediately because it was cool that he invented a sign. I think, and hope, that this sparked his interest in signs in general.
Now, he's into it. In the last three days, he's been signing "milk" when he wants more food, which is kinda funny because we've taught him "more" for that situation, not "milk." I don't care though- it is a darn close sign and really exciting that he's doing it. He also is starting to sign "milk" when he is nursing, which is encouraging in terms of getting the right sign for the right actual thing. He has yet to sign "more" or "spoon" but now is very good (and cute) at waving Bye. He also waves Hi, which I love. He likes to wave Hi at Matt when he comes and goes. Amusingly, Cooper is nondiscriminatory and sometimes waves Hi at the dog while he's sitting on the front stoop waiting to be let in.
I'm hoping that the more vs. milk thing starts clearing up, and I'm also thinking that now is the right time for Matt and I to learn more signs and start using them. If Cooper just put it all together, I want to encourage his little brain! So far, we've added "chicken" to the signs we are going to use with him. Fun!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Growth charts
Did you know that in the USA, we don't use the World Health Organization growth chart? Nope. Wanna know why? Because that chart applies best to babies that are breastfed according to the World Health Organization guidelines. Which is about 2% of US kids. Yikes.
So I downloaded that chart, out of curiousity, and plotted Cooper's stats on it. Guess what? He's exactly at 50% for everything.
I can't say I'm surprised. But now I fully intend to ignore the growth chart at the pediatrician, because that chart is for a different demographic than my kid is.
These things are so interesting once you dig deeper, I think.
So I downloaded that chart, out of curiousity, and plotted Cooper's stats on it. Guess what? He's exactly at 50% for everything.
I can't say I'm surprised. But now I fully intend to ignore the growth chart at the pediatrician, because that chart is for a different demographic than my kid is.
These things are so interesting once you dig deeper, I think.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)