Monday, March 27, 2006

Birthday pictures

Cooper likes Elmo.

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He didn't quite know what to do with the cake though. By the look on his face he was very confused as to why all the strange people were looking at him and singing.

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Cooper and McKenzie. Cooper was a little wary of sharing his Mommy with another baby. It's certainly something with which he'll have to become accustomed.

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Cooper called the cops on us before his birthday party. He got his hands on Micole's car keys which also contains a remote controller for the security system. He pressed the panic button and about 10-15 minutes later two police officers arrived on our doorstep. Micole knew instantly what had happened and explained it to the officers. Both officers wished him a happy birthday.

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Sunday, March 26, 2006

A Year


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It's been a year. It's been a strange year. I feel as if I've lived two years in the last year, a happy one and a sad one. In that year I became a parent and lost a parent all within 39 hours. 38 hours and 51 minutes to be exact. They were just two souls passing by each other. Doesn't seem possible.

We went to the cemetary today. Looking at her tombstone like that only made the loss seem so much greater. I fought back tears. I'm tired of crying. We didn't stay long, but a few sprinkles fell down. I imagine these were tears from heaven. How fitting.

I've never known such heartache and tragedy. My life has been charmed in that way, at least until that day. If I were to face facts, I might have to admit that this is as good as it gets. I'm probaby at a point where I'll always be a little haunted by the way things went down, but I'll also find just enough strength to keep moving on. I'll find the strength because I must and because the mother I lost taught me to find strength in myself.

So often I am reminded of the bond between a mother and a child. Cooper is a Mama's boy for sure. Sometimes I am an acceptable substitute. Sometimes I'm not. Those times he only wants his Mommy and no one else. I can certainly relate. That bond doesn't break.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

Cooper,

Happy birthday! It has certainly been a priviledge to be a part of the first year of your journey on earth. I can not thank you enough for the joy you have brought into our lives.

One thing I remember was the fear I had of holding you. I was so afraid that I would drop you. Then the nurses put you right in my arms. I looked down at you and said "Hi there, little guy. I'm your daddy." I've never had that fear since.

I'm sure you won't remember this birthday or your party or the toys and clothes you receive for it. I hope you will read this blog someday and understand how you are truely loved and blessed. So for this very special day I wrote a poem for you, with love and a tear or two. The poem says everything I feel and everything I would say to you right now if you could understand. It's every emotion I've felt in the last year put succinctly into words.

I Don't Believe in Magic (aka Cooper's 1st Birthday Poem)

"I don't believe in magic",
Is what I'd always say.
I didn't find it tragic,
As the world grew colder by the day.
Few things seemed
still worth living for,
But there's a golden child I now see.
I couldn't possibly want more,
and Nothing means more to me.
It's just a beaming smile,
A giggle or a laugh.

It lasts just a little while,
And sometimes only half.
By my side with my little guy,
Even when the world is rough,
I know that I will get by.
It is certainly enough.
When my world was most tragic,
You were born on a cool March Day.
"I don't believe in magic",
Is now what I used to say.


The happy birthday boy this morning.

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Thursday, March 23, 2006

1st Birthday Eve

Cooper has nearly completed his first full trip around the sun. It doesn't even seem possible. Sometimes I wish I could stop time or go back in time. Perhaps that is the reason why I blog. All of the pictures I've posted over the last year allow me to go back and remember when. In each individual picture he'll always be the same age, frozen in time.


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Sunday, March 19, 2006

First Haircut

Cooper got his first haircut yesterday. It went fairly well. It was a shop that caters to small children. Cooper was fine as long as he could see Elmo on the television. When he couldn't, it was fussy time.

Before the haircut.

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Before the haircut.

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At lunch after his haircut. He looks so much better. I didn't get any pictures of it getting cut, but I do have video that I hope to put up later this week when I get it uploaded.

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Some photos from today.

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Wednesday, March 15, 2006

A Week Goes By

It amazes me when I write something and someone takes me seriously on this blog. I've gotten a lot of feedback on my post about toys. It seems that no one wants to buy Cooper a toy for his birthday because they think I'll get mad or something. I was half serious when I wrote that. True, he's got enough toys, but at the same time babies need toys, especially not the kind of toys that get stepped on which lead to new combinations of swear words being invented.

A sad shadow cast itself upon the family last week. Grandma Wilmoth died. Micole didn't like her. She says that's not true, but I know her well enough to know when she's lying. Of course, I'm just kidding. Micole got really mad at her one time when she kept calling Cooper fat. He's not even in the vicinity of fat and as anyone who knew Grandma Wilmoth knows the lady liked to talk. She kept calling Cooper fat. "Look at those fat legs. He's a fat baby. Marty had little bird legs when he was a baby, but that baby is fat." After 20 minutes of that refrain set on repeat, you probably would understand why Micole was a little angry.

Grandma talked a lot. When she got going, you had a better chance of getting a bone away from a starving Rottweiler than you did getting a word in with her. Now the silence is deafening. I will miss her. I feel bad for my grandfather. He's lost a daughter and a wife in just less than a year. He must feel like time is closing in on him.

Before we went to the funeral on Friday, we stopped to pick up Pappy. Now that Cooper is a very mobile child, he likes to explore. I either have to keep a watchful eye on him or follow him around to make sure that he doesn't get into any trouble. I let him walk around Pappy's house while I followed behind. Cooper walked around the corner to the bathroom where Pappy was getting ready. He looked up at Pappy, who then said "How you doin'?". Immediately Cooper screamed hysterically "aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" and went running, yes running, in the opposite direction. We got a good laugh out of it.

I don't know if I'll ever feel more fulfilled in my life than in those few seconds each evening when I get to carry a sleeping baby to bed. What will I do when there are no more babies?

Pictures for Grandma Stella, who reminds me every time I see her that I'm not doing my blogging job well enough.

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We expect to get the boy a haircut sometime this weekend.

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That's mommy's little piggy! Oink, oink.

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Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Lil Vampire

I wasn't going to post tonight, but I got this picture and I felt like I just had to put in on the blog. Micole was showing me his new teeth and I said, "Wait a second. I'm going to get the camera. The boy looks like he has fangs.

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I'm so amazed at the intelligence he is already showing. Anytime the gate isn't up Cooper wants to climb the stairs. Tonight the gate fell and he was trying to find away around the obstacle. He was looking under it and over it and beside it, hoping to find a way up the stairs. You could see the wheels churning in his brain. He was checking out all the angles and he definitely practices caution, because he doesn't want to get hurt.

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Monday, March 06, 2006

Twas The Night Before Surgery

Cooper is having tubes put in his ears tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, he won't be able to drink or eat anything when he wakes up, so he will likely be a very cranky baby.

This looks like a real conundrum. He has two binkies, but only one mouth. What to do?

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We saw McKenzie yesterday. She is so tiny. I don't remember Cooper being anywhere near that size.

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Here is her hospital picture.

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Sunday, March 05, 2006

The Very Rare Pictureless Post

Since moving to Kentucky we've allowed our dog, Dobie, to have free run of the lawn. Well, tonight it rained. I let him out and when he returned he managed to drag mud and grass all over our living room carpet. I managed to get him into the bathtub or should I say fought him into the bathtub. Now the bottom of the tub is covered in mud, silt, and grass. How is it possible for a small dog like him to bring in so much mud? He only has four paws.

It all seems to be karmic retribution for my latest guilty pleasure. Lately,I've been picking Cooper up and spinning him around in a circle 3 or 4 times. Then I'll put him down and watch him try to walk in a straight line. It's a very cheap laugh, but I also get a nice little headrush out of it. Sorry Cooper. It was actually your mother's brilliant idea. I've just happened to really enjoy it.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

They Say It's My Birthday

It doesn't feel like my birthday for some reason. This day kind of snuck up on me. There have been so many other things on my mind lately. I've been thinking more about Cooper's 1st birthday than I have of my 32nd.

I don't know why we buy Cooper toys. Our living room looks like a used toy store. It's impossible to walk into the living room with out one of his toys lighting up and then breaking into song. At this age he doesn't really need them. A cardboard box is fine with him. The Tivo remote is fine. The telephone is fine. He can and does have fun moving cans of Diet Coke from their case to a case of Diet Dr. Pepper. The newspaper is made to be ripped into pieces and spread across the floor. We don't need toys, but we got 'em.

People ask me what they should get him for his birthday. I tell them just to donate to his college fund. At least please don't get him any more toys. Clothes okay. Picture frames okay. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds okay. Toys not okay. I don't know what we'll do when we have two kids. Will we have twice as many toys? I hope not.

I've been thinking about the new baby's arrival which is now less than 2 months away. I can't even imagine loving another child, but I know I will. It's so much different the second time around. Been there, done that. So much of our time is focused on Cooper, whereas last time it was just Micole and I wondering what Cooper would bring into our lives. There was much more anticipation last time. Like I said, been there, done that.

I will get more excited. I'm sure of that. The excitement is just building a little bit slower this time.

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Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Introducing McKenzie Taylor Moffett

Cooper's Aunt Donna gave birth via c-section to a beautiful baby girl at 6:32 this evening. McKenzie is 5 lbs 14 oz and 19 inches long. The mother is reported to be in good spirits. We are very happy to invite one more into our already large extended family. We just wish she would have been born one day earlier, because there are too many of us, including Cooper and myself, who have March birthdays. It's already a busy month for buying birthday presents, that's for sure.


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Friday, February 24, 2006

11 Months

(Editor's note: For this post I invented the world's first time machine and traveled back in time two days.)

Cooper turned 11 months old today. It is hard to believe. The time has flown by. It doesn't seem possible that we're just around the corner from preparing his first birthday party.


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Aunt Kelly came over this evening. Cooper was very excited to see her. She chased him around the couch. In all of the excitement he did not fall asleep until after 11.

It was certainly much different than the last time he saw Aunt Kelly. The last time involved a lot of crying. It's funny how his mood changes. He can be shy or he can be very open.


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Monday, February 20, 2006

King Size Beds, The Gang, Music, and the Gated Community

Something I've been neglecting to blog. Cooper has slept in his own bed several times in the last week. Usually he'll still wind up in our bed sometime after midnight, but one night he slept in his bed the whole night. That's only happened once before, I believe. A couple of the other nights he made it until 4 or 5 in the morning, which is very good for him and me. I like the extra room.

This Wednesday our new king size bed will be delivered. Even if Cooper is in bed with us, I won't care because the king size will give me plenty of ample room. Atleast that is what I hope. I don't know if it will make any real difference because Cooper sticks to me like a magnet. I'm guessing that since Mommy absorbs heat and Daddy exerts heat he tends to stay near me to keep warm.


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Cooper's cousins, Thomas, Mason, and Logan, came over to play on Saturday for a few hours. The boys played and the boys did what boys generally do. Which is of course, make plenty of noise and knock things over.

It was fun to watch Cooper join in with the others. He had a rollicking good time. Not 11 months old yet, but he wants to play with the big boys and be a part of the gang. He doesn't know what the big boys are doing; he just knows that he wants to join them in doing what they are doing. Too cute.

One time they were playing with Dobie. Cooper just laughed when Dobie would bring the ball back. He even picked the ball up once and threw it. The ball only went a few feet, but I don't believe I had seen the young lad actually, intentionally, purposively throw the ball before.

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Look at that look on his face. I remember when he was just a lump in a chair. Now he's all boy.

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Proof for future generations that one time the Mini Cooper allowed Aunt Heather to hold him without him crying.

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My nightly confession: I'm really only blogging tonight because Grandma Stella's coming over tomorrow. Otherwise, I probably would've waited another day. I mean, I gotta blog. It's in my blood, but I've enjoyed stepping back a little bit from it and using it to spend more time playing with him. I want to catch every moment and hold it, then hopefully remember to blog about it later.

Just a little bit ago we were playing. He got this little Lion King scooter toy for Christmas from Pappy. It's got keys on it like a little 8 key piano. The notes it plays when you touch the keys make music that sound like something out of an old Dracula horror film. I showed Cooper how to get the keys to play a note. I'd press each key a few times, while he would watch. Then he'd hit the keys and play a note or two. Mostly he'd just get excited and smack the keys with his hands.

There's something going on in that brain of his. It's just starting to come out. It is an exciting time to watch. I'm glad I get to be in the studio audience for this show.

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Something else happened the other day. Cooper climbed the stairs. I had just gotten out of the shower and dressed when I came downstairs to watch him. I watched the television for a few minutes when I realized that it was quiet, too quiet. Just like it is in the movies, like just right before the serial killer jumps out of the bushes to slit the young couple's throats. So I knew something had to be wrong. I looked around and didn't find him at first, but then I saw him upstairs. Gasp!

Now we live in a gated community. There's one gate to the basement and one to the upstairs bedrooms. Living in a tri-level certainly has it's disadvantages.

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Tonight we went to a restaurant for dinner with Aunt Heather, Uncle Tom, and the boys. It was pleasant enough. Again, Cooper wants to be part of the gang. First, Thomas and Mason started hitting the table with their hands. Soon young Logan joined in, until finally Cooper joined the chorus. A sight to behold. A little annoying perhaps, but defintely interesting.

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