Shaved Cats, July 4th, and Poppy (unrelated)

Happy July!

To view some new photos of Cooper AND our newly shaved cat, click HERE.

We decided to get our cats shaved because they are long-haired and black, so they're always terribly hot in the summer. I took them to a grooming school around the corner from us and was pleasantly surprised that they looked adorable and more comfortable! Matt and I had a good laugh when I brought them home. As you can see from the photos, they left fur around their face, on their feet, and on their tail. Umm, it looks funny but I bet it's better in this intense summer heat! I think we'll do this again next summer (or again in the fall?).

We made a trip up to Vermont with Cooper this July 4th. It was super hot so we spent a lot of time by the swimming pool, and even took Cooper for a dip! He was confused at first. What's this big bathtub, I'm sure he thought. He didn't really laugh but he also didn't cry so I guess he liked it? Or didn't hate it. Matt even dunked him under the water! I suppose it's like amniotic fluid which he's very familiar with, so maybe he was just like oh, this liquid stuff is fun. We ventured back to Flatbreads only to find that he wasn't very agreeable yet again. We tried everything: holding him, putting him in the high chair and feeding him, giving him to the waitstaff, asking him to refill our water glasses - just short of throwing him in the Flatbreads oven (which by the way, made the place a toasty 1049320 degrees).

Matt continues to work hard at his (not so new anymore) job. He's been working a few Saturdays to meet deadlines but finds the train is empty and much more pleasurable than the weekday commute. I've been very busy at work, too. But the good news is that the commute to daycare and then to work has been fabulous because schools are out and people are on vacation. My commute has been cut in half! So I've been getting to work early and taking my time.

New things Cooper is up to:

• He's sleeping for 6-8 hours in a row now! It's a freaking miracle. I put him to bed around 7:30pm so he's getting up super early, but it's still better than before. And I've realized that maybe I need to start doing stuff in the morning, like exercising, reading, etc.
• He's rolling over onto his stomach. He usually can't get back to his back, but oh well! I even found him sleeping on his stomach one morning!
• He can hold objects in both hands. He used to only hold one object at a time.
• He's eating two meals of solid foods a day. He seems to like the savory better than the sweet.
• His hair is getting longer. Oh my god it's so blond and pretty.
  
• He's saying new syllables like "gaga, dada, baba." All of a sudden he's discovering new things to do with his mouth (although he seems to have very little interest in putting stuff in his mouth - fine with us).
• He's become fluent in French. Just kidding!

On a sad note, since my last post my grandfather, Poppy, died. He got sick and worsened quickly. I flew down to Florida for the funeral and it was a very moving ceremony. He was in the army many years ago, so there was a bugle and flag ceremony. I'd never seen this in person before and it was amazing to watch. It was also wonderful to see the rest of my family, some of which I see once a decade. If you're reading this blog, even though it was a sad occasion I am grateful that I was able to visit for short time.

I'll always remember Poppy's quick wit, his sense of humor, and visits to Florida as a child (into my adulthood). I am sad he never got to meet Cooper, but I'm glad he knew he had a great grandchild, and that he'd seen photos of him. I'm sure they would have gotten along well and that Poppy would have gotten a real kick out of him.

Poppy, wherever you are, you will be greatly missed.

Visits, Vermont, and Other Stuff

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted. Here's what's been happening:

1. Visit from Dad, Dana, and Lucy. Two weeks ago, Dad, Dana, and Lucy (the dog) came up for a visit. We had fun hanging out at the house, going out for brunch, walking around Harvard Square, barbecuing, and going to see Avatar/out to dinner (just me and Matt). Good times!!
   
2. Trip to VT. We took Cooper on his first overnight trip, up to Vermont. We had some great highs (two nights of sleeping with only wake-ups once, fresh mountain air, fun at the farmer's market), and some stinky lows (constipation followed by a gigantic crap, acting "bad" at flatbreads, first night waking up every hour). We can't wait to bring him back again! It was our first family vacation.
3. Visit from Lou. Matt's dad, Lou, came to visit us for a weekend. We had a wonderful time! We went out to dinner and brunch, had Katie and Manny over for a BBQ, walked around town, made a fun trip to Target, Costco, and Babies 'R Us, and hung out at the house. Cooper got to meet his grandpa and spend some quality time getting to know him.
4. Vocalizing. In the last few weeks Cooper has learned to "vocalize" - he's making interesting sounds. It's very amusing to us and him. It almost sounds like he's trying to talk. Very cute.
5. Update on sleeping. He's learning how to fall asleep on his own. We begin the bedtime routine at 7:30pm and put him in bed in whatever state he's in, sleepy, sleeping, or awake. Even if he's crying we say "Good night, Coopie," and walk away. If he's still crying in 15 minutes we'll go to him and pat him and say it again. He usually falls asleep! However, he's still waking me up about twice a night to nurse which is really annoying. We need to wean him off these night feedings! There have been a few instances where he's only woken me up once and they have been miracle nights of joyous slumber from the Goddess of Sleep.
6. Eating. We're feeding him either rice or oatmeal cereal in the evening. We've also fed him some baby food like squash, carrot, and prune (hello, poop!). It's amazing how quickly he's learned to open his mouth to the spoon.

Click HERE to view recent photos!