Aha! Caught on camera!

From the "What were we thinking?" file

Last August, we finally wrapped up remodeling the back room of our house. We love it, but the whole process wasn't exactly enjoyable. The general contractor was nice; the workers were timely and clean and efficient. But still the project was over-budget, took too long, and required me to use too many lawyer words.

But by October, we were already talking about starting another project -- the upstairs bathroom. It's functional (barely), but we knew that we might be going to Kansas and if we ever hoped to sell the house, we needed to redo that bathroom. It hadn't been remodeled for many, many, many years. When we bought the house, there wasn't a shower in it. We bought a "convert your bathtub spout to a shower" kit, duct taped a plastic shower curtain over the non-waterproof walls, and called it good. I'm guessing a potential buyer wouldn't be too pleased with that arrangement.

So in November, we met with a contractor. "I'm having a baby in February," I told him. "You will be finished by then." No problem, he reassured us. But he was in the middle of another project, and couldn't get to us right away. And then that other project took longer than he expected. And longer. And longer.

Finally on February 5 (you know where this is going, don't you?), he showed up to get started. "When's the baby coming?" he asked. "He's due Feburary 17, so you've got two weeks," I explained. But we suggested that he hurry because we didn't have another shower. (We were planning to walk slowly so we didn't sweat much and then just shower at the gym whenever we could.) So that Monday, the 5th, the contractor completely gutted our upstairs bathroom -- moved the toilet to the guest bedroom, took out the vanity and shower fixtures, and tore down the walls and ceiling.

That very evening, because God has a sense of humor, I went into labor and Cooper was born Tuesday, February 6. (We joked with the nurses at the hospital that we decided to come in that week just so we could take a shower!) So our first several weeks home with a brand new baby, we had no shower at home and the only functioning bathroom was at the opposite end of the house from our bedroom. On the upside, though, neither of us had to be anywhere in public for a couple of weeks, so we didn't offend outsiders with our lack of hygiene!

Despite the crazy timing (and the usual problems of being over-budget and taking too long), we are, once again, extremely pleased with the final result.

Here are the "before" pictures.

And the "after" pictures:

My kid has the cutest smile!

But you're just going to have to take my word for it for now. I can't for the life of me get a picture of his smile yet. My digital camera has just enough delay time that I end up with post-smile pictures, like these two:

I did catch this sort-of smile, but it was while he was sleeping, so he didn't really mean it.

Last week, we had a cold snap come through, which was good news for Cooper. He got to wear this fabulously cute outfit that we bought for him, but he hadn't yet worn and would soon outgrow -- cords, a red waffle shirt, and matching socks:

Babe: Kid in the City

This week, Emily and I both had things to do in Chicago. Emily had a legal writing seminar, and I joined the annual Econ majors' trip to visit Chicago financial institutions. Since we were both going to be there, we went together, and took the kiddo along for good measure!

Cooper racked up a whole bunch of 'firsts' on this trip:

First train ride. Slept dang near the whole way. Received many favorable comments from passersby on how well-behaved he was. "Good parenting," he replied.


First cab ride. Chicago cab drivers can be wild, but they're not nearly as fun as his under-the-sea swing at home. All in a day's work for this little dude. Mommy and pops were scared, though!

Scared of heights? Not this little guy! First time above the third floor--our room was on the eighteenth!

First trip to Ed Debevics with the Nugents (Mary, Joey, Timmy, and John, respectively). Ed Debevics is a 50's style diner where part of the waiters' schtick is to be rude to the customers. Cooper got yelled at, once, and calmly gave it right back by filling a diaper to overflowing. That's tellin' him, little buddy!

First Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza at Giordano's! True, he gets it secondhand. Next year at this time he might actually get it the first go-around!

The waitress at Giordano's (and most other waitresses most other places) said Cooper was very cute. "Good parentage," he replied. Smart kid, that Cooper.

Cooper's busy week

Lounged around looking cute. (Though Alan already made fun of me for dressing him in pastel green overalls, saying that he could join the fierce Easter Egg Gang. Apparently "real" overalls are denim. Whatever.)



Took a nap in the swing.

Lounged around looking cute.

Visited Daddy at Eastern Illinois University.

Helped Daddy clean off his desk.

Got a mohawk from Daddy. (One of Alan's co-workers suggested that Cooper's first words should be a plaintive "No, Daddy." I can see her point.)

Next week will be a big week for Cooper -- we're taking the train up to Chicago for several days! Time to explore the big city!

Funniest birthday card!

Alan received the following birthday note from my Dad, along with two quarters and three pennies taped to a notecard. Man, we laughed and laughed!



Alan,



Joan left me with the Honey-Do job of getting you a birthday card. Of course, I have nothing else to do except build my house all day. [Note: My folks were in the process of building a new house.] To save time, I called Dollar General and Teri [the manager and a friend of Mom's] said they have two choices of cards: 50-cent and $1.00 cards. She said there are only two Son-in-Law cards to pick from on the 50-cent side. I chose card No. A665, and it should cost you 53 cents. Go down the block and get your own card; you have as much time as I do. Besides, it saves me a stamp.



P.S. I would probably just read the card and then buy two 25-cent candy bars.



Sincerely,

Cecil


.

And just for fun, unrelated to my Dad's funny note, a cute picture of Cooper sleeping:

Back to Kansas

Because having a baby isn't enough of a major-life stressor for one year, we've decided also to change jobs, sell our house, buy a new house, and move to another state. Alan accepted a teaching position in the Econ Dept at Baker University (my alma mater!), and so we're headed back home to Kansas. We're excited to be going, sad to be leaving, and dreading the hassle of moving. But Cooper is anxious to be closer to the rest of his family. This is the cheer he does to demonstrate his enthusiasm:

"B"

"U"

And then he makes a handmotion for "wildcats," for the Baker University Wildcats, but that movement is difficult to photograph. So you're stuck with just the B and the U.


In other news, our cats have been (surprisingly, but thankfully, I suppose) uninterested in the newest resident of our home. This picture was staged -- Mikey was sleeping peacefully alone on the couch and I stuck Cooper next to him for the photo op. Neither looks particularly happy.



Here's the 6 week (already?!) aligator shot:

And last night we gave Cooper his first baby tub bath. As expected, he screamed most of the time. But he didn't pee on us or poop in the water, both of which would have been reasonable reactions.

Family visit

Alan's family, including two people who hadn't yet met Cooper, came to visit this past weekend. I swear, Cooper's butt never touched the ground.


Cousin Jonathan and Uncle David (sporting dashing overalls and a Grizzly Adams beard) took their obligatory turns holding the young'un.

Would it suck to be so little that you can't change positions when you have a crick in your neck?

Trying out a snappy new knitted blanket:

Sleeping peacefully:

And modeling a great new knitted cap:

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!!