It's never boring.

I've been amazed lately at how often something new happens around here. Truly, there's never a dull moment in the life of a 4-month-old.


Cooper is working on sitting up and he's getting steadier every day.


At our last doctor's appointment, the pediatrician said we could go ahead and start feeding Coop rice cereal, more for practice than actual nutritional value, at least for a while. It's going better than I expected, though I won't go so far as to say Cooper loves it.

Our friends Jay and Amy came down from Chicago to visit this last weekend. Their daughter Ellie is 10 months old -- what a different six months makes! Cooper looks a bit distressed, but only because Ellie wanted to love on him. Lots. And he was having enough trouble just trying not to slump over.

Coop and Ellie went swimming in our yard. Or, more accurately, Ellie sat in the water and spun in circles, while Cooper dipped his toes in. He was wearing a Speedo suit though, just in case he wanted to dive in.

We decided to have Coop baptized at our church here, rather than waiting until we find a new church family back in Kansas. I was worried he would puke or poop or, at the very least, cry. But apparently he sensed it was a holy moment -- he didn't make a sound.

And just yesterday, we put together Cooper's "exersaucer," so he can spend a bit more time upright during the day.

It's actually so eventful around here that we're contemplating buying a camcorder, as if Cooper's life wasn't being adequately documented already!

Happy Father's Day (tomorrow)!

Of discovery and happiness

Cooper now has a complete set -- he's found his right hand!

And three different reasons to be happy

1. Because Daddy tickles.

2. Because nekkid is good.

3. Because we played with all of those toys in one afternoon.

First Word!

Little Cooper has been getting more interesting every day. Lately, Emily's been communicating with him. She'll say "Ma-Ma" and Cooper will generally go "Coo!" in response. They can do this for minutes at a time.

Last night, they played this game again. And instead of saying "Coo!" back at Emily, my genious son consistently replied with a distinct, "Al-an."

Smart kid, playing up the one more likely to get him his first minibike.

Recent visitors

Grandma Burdette, who helped with bathtime



Grandpa Burdette (Cooper's having more fun that it looks. Trust me.)

Kristen, who's pregnant with Cooper's soon-to-be bestest friend (whether they like each other or not!)

Michael, who loaned Cooper some glasses

And an extra picture so you can admire his cute outfit and adorable smile without being distracted by someone else in the photo.

New things in Cooper's world

The left fist discovery is tough to top, but we've found some other new things this week.

Cooper can smile at himself (the orange thing is a mirror).


He can grab things and pull them toward his mouth.

He's reaching out for toys.

He met some new friends at a playdate with other babies born to ladies in my water aerobics class. (He's the second one in from the right.)

And he's doing great at pushing himself up when he's on his tummy.

Pretty talented!

LOL

He can giggle, chuckle, laugh... it's the most precious sound.

Look what Cooper found:

His left fist!

Always growing, always learning.

Here's Cooper's 14-week alligator picture from this morning.


We're practicing grabbing onto toys, and this ball is perfect. He can hook his fingers around it, even if by accident, and it doesn't hurt when he smacks himself in the face with it or tries to eat it.

We put dangling toys on his carseat, and he seems fairly interested in them.

And he's still really smiley, despite our experience at the Picture People studios when he failed to smile at all. "No really," I protested to the photographer, "he can smile. It's super cute." But I got nothing. Until the photographer left the room, of course.

Three months old

And so sweet and smiley!

His future's so bright...

In addition to smiling, Cooper has also recently learned how to suck on his fist.



And hold his head up when he's on his stomach.


We now are working on reaching out to grab toys and pushing up on his arms when he's on his stomach.



Last weekend, Cooper was a big hit at the EIU Econ Club picnic in his new overalls.

And he wasn't the only one:

We spent a few minutes one afternoon enjoying the sun.

And then decided we better get shades.