Tomorrow (Monday) morning, I'm leaving for a four-day legal writing conference in Indianapolis. Without Cooper and Alan. The conference will be fun, but it will also be the first time I've been away from Cooper for longer than a business day. I cried when I made the plane reservations two months ago. I cried today when I was packing. It could be a rough week on Mama. I'm sure Cooper and Daddy will have a ball here eating berries and jumping on the couch.

And so this blog post is more self-indulgent than the rest. It's cute videos and pictures so I can log in from Indy and watch my boy in action.

First, how Cooper will most likely spend his evenings with Daddy:

Looking for his favorite playmate:

This is Cooper saying "please" (and the hand across the chest is sign language for please). I'm telling you -- it's so sweet that once he starts this, I almost always give in. In this video, for instance, you'll notice he's playing with the cast iron fireplace log holder standing right next to the sharp brick hearth. I lose all Mommy-sense when he's so cute and polite!

And finally, two of my favorite recent pictures: