A conversation about Daddy

"Where's Daddy?"

"Africa? Where's that??"

"Oh man, that's really far away! I miss Daddy!"


"Even exersaucing isn't fun without Daddy."


"Hurry home -- she's dressing me in seersucker."


"And Uncle David is making me nap with a Barbie."

"Mama, do you have an old, funny-looking picture of Daddy to post so he sees it when he checks the website from the Johannesburg airport today on his way home?"

.

Why yes, Coop. I sure do.

P.S. Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Tastes like chicken

Prunes

More family!

This week, we drove down to Iola, which is way closer to Baldwin than I ever thought, to see Alan's grandmother Margaret and introduce Cooper to her.

Whew... lots of color in that picture! :)

And last weekend, we drove to Lyons to see some of my relatives, including...

Aunt Kathy


My cousin's daughter Morgan. She's 2 1/2, and going to be a big sister in six months. So snuggling next to Cooper was good practice for her.

And Cooper got to meet the Neufeld side of the family too.

Grandma Marlene

And Ellen and Kent

We also got to meet my sister Kelly's golden retriever Duke. Duke's very friendly and licky, and coincidentally, he's the same age as Cooper.

Breakthrough!

Cooper's first tooth!

A close-up, if you don't believe me:

This past weekend, Cooper met a bunch of my relatives. I've got pictures coming soon. Until then, enjoy these random shots from this last week.

A whole new world

We're getting settled into our new digs in Kansas. Still tons of boxes to unpack, but with major furniture in place and a fresh coat of paint on the walls, it's starting to feel like home.

Cooper never seems to slow down. Here are the newest things he's doing just this week:

1. Chewing on my hand. I'm expecting teeth soon, but who knows...

2. Finding and holding on to his feet (or at least his right foot).

3. Growing more -- this is the 22-week alligator picture in Cooper's new room. And yes, the carpet is pink. We can only afford so many remodeling projects at one time. But we're taking up a collection to de-girl Coop's room.

4. Sucking in his bottom lip. This is actually new today, and already I've taken a couple of pictures of this face.

5. Petting Mikey, who apparently is so starved for attention that he'll endure some grabbing and pulling.

6. Eating in his high chair. This was his first taste of squash. Yum!

We're packing up...

We've been to Kansas to close on the new house. We're back in Illinois for a few days packing up and finishing some last-minute projects. The movers arrive Thursday to pack the rest of our stuff, and they'll load the truck on Friday. And then we're outta here.

Hard telling when we'll have the computer out and our internet up and running, so I thought I should post a few pictures now. Enjoy....

I'm not sure why Alan and Cooper are always smiling, and Coop and I apparently spend our time passed out on the couch.

P.S. Anyone want to buy a house in Tuscola?

Rollover

Last month, when my parents were here, Cooper accidentally rolled over. Nothing planned, it just sort of happened. But now that he's figured out how to do it on purpose, and is thus semi-mobile, our lives will never be the same again.

Here's how it goes down.


Starting position:


Step 1: See an interesting toy you might like to chew on. Arch back and roll up on side in attempt to reach toy. (Note: Photo taken during last night's rolling-over practice.)


Step 2: Throw that leg over. This is harder than it sounds.







Step 3: Lift disproportionately large head off the floor.

Ta daaa! He's done it!

Green things

Future soccer player?

At last, Aunt Jill arrived to love on Cooper!!

See the brown-ish green puddles at Cooper's feet? Yes, that's what you think it is. And yes, we also realize we've reached a new low by photographing it and posting it here for all the world to see.

And continuing the green goop theme, we gave Cooper green beans tonight. He doesn't love them. I picked two of my favorite expressions, both look like he's being tortured.

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!