Cooper's first road trip

We loaded up the car (man, babies require lots of crap!) and drove to Kansas on Friday. We stopped every 2 1/2 - 3 hours to feed and change Cooper and let him stretch a bit. And for being confined in the car seat like a Nascar racer, he did really well. He slept most of the trip, and still managed to sleep a decent amount during the night.

Anyway, this was the first time Alan's family had seen Cooper, and apparently there were extensive discussions about who got to hold him first. Grandma Carol pulled rank and got the first turn:


And then Grandpa Jerry:


And then Jennifer, Cooper's 5-year old cousin, who had been practicing holding her baby dolls:

And finally, Aunt Julie:

We drove back to Illinois yesterday, and after four days on the road, we were exhausted, especially Cooper. He couldn't even stay awake for tummy time:

Or to visit with Dad:

Lordy Lordy

Look who's 40!!

More pictures of the kiddo.

Just because I can.


Reading a game theory textbook with Dad.


His first bottle-feeding. Went pretty well.

In his swing.

Dressed as a Middle Eastern woman.

And with the beanie baby named Coop. (I already *gasp* removed the tag to save in his baby book. Guess we won't be funding his college education on beanie babies.)

Week 3

Just some random pictures before I head off to the kitchen to bake an apple pie for a cake/pie contest at the law school.

Does he look like he's growing compared to the alligator?



We google Cooper Grant and came up with Cooper Grant Commons, a housing development area "priced from the $180's" in New Jersey. Snazzy poster, huh?



Last week, we had a huge snow storm. The University of Illinois actually canceled classes, something I'm told they haven't done for 30 years. And they did it both Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. Alan waited until the snow was just right (or until he was so stir-crazy, he had to get out of the house), and then built an igloo in our driveway.

Faces my son makes

I'm telling you... I could watch this kid for hours.

New Friends for Cooper

A friend recommended that we take regular photos next to the same stuffed animal to monitor and share how big Cooper is getting. Here's the Week #1 photo with his new alligator (crocodile?) friend.



For Cooper's first Valentine's Day, his Daddy got him... wait for it... a rubber chicken. According to Alan, "It's never too early for gag gifts."

This weekend, more of my family came to Tuscola to see the new kiddo. And they must really want to see him because we're still in the middle of a bathroom remodel project that started the day before Cooper was born (he was 11 days early, remember -- we didn't plan this), so we have no shower in the house. They didn't seem to care, and were at least polite enough not to tell us that we smell.

Aunt Carmen with the bear she made out of fancy-schmancy polar-tec fabric.

Aunt Kelly

Uncle Toban

And, lest you think Cooper is always sleeping, here's a picture from our "awake time" yesterday.

So here's a second set of Cooper photos...

So Emily and I are now home with the little guy, and by all accounts it seems to be going well. Only one real set of tears (and they were Emily's, not Coop's, so they don't really count). The kiddo is eating well and at his first doctor's visit this morning he checked out fine.

Our friends Michael and Kristen from St. Louis drove up for the big event. They were the first folks to hold the little guy. They looked much better than Emily and I did that day; we're thinking about using their photo on the birth announcements...


And then family arrived! At 8:10 p.m., a new Grandpa and Grandma were born!

When you're seven pounds, everything is too big...

One thing that the little dude finds calming is being swaddled. Here, Cooper takes a nap next to what frankly is sort of a scary doll (or a cowardly lion, we're not sure). Burrito, anyone?

Cooper reads his first book! It's called "Guess How Much I Love You?" and it's about an insecure bunny called "Big NutBrown Hare" who always has to outdo his pal, "Little Nutbrown Hare." I think the moral of the story is that little boys can't get too much love, so we let it past the censors. L'il Coop loved it.

First bath!!! He hated the body-washing, but loved getting his hair done. Enjoy it while it lasts, kid--one look at pops should tell you what's in store...

One reason to have a kid is that new dads get to buy lots of fun toys. This is called a sling, and buried inside is sleeping baby Cooper. Look, Grandma, no hands!

Man, look at that hair! Dark brown with caramel streaks. Hope it lasts!

First doctor's visit, and ignoring a small episode where he emptied his little bladder all over the examing table (thankfully, he missed Dr. Lee!), he got two thumbs up!

Cooper has arrived!

Stats: Born on Tuesday, Feb 6 (11 days early, if you're wondering), 8:10 p.m. 7 pounds, 4 ounces, 20 inches. Named Cooper Paul Grant.

We made it home, we're adjusting to each other, all is well. Some pictures from the last couple of days:


Getting geared up for a full day in Labor and Delivery.




Bedside internet was a nice distraction.

We made it to the hospital before the weather got bad. This is how it looked most of Tuesday.

The "what shall we name him" conversation.

Holding his boy.

And trying to feed him Diet Coke, already.

Father-son chat. Apparently, during one of these conversations, Cooper told Alan he wants to be an engineer.

Ready to head home.

In the car.