An Infant Needs a Passport... Seriously?!?!

So we are planning on going to St. Kitts this summer. I can only imagine what that flight will be like with a 3 month old Cooper, but that is irrelevant. My real issue here is the fact that an infant has to have a passport. I completely understand why both parents need to be aware of the fact that the child is going out of the country, but seriously, a passport.

We spent 2 hours at the Post Office in Waxahachie trying to get all the odds and ends taken care of. The biggest issue was the photograph. Now, keep in mind, Cooper is 6 weeks old right now. When we travel he will be 3 months. Call me crazy, but as much as he is changing DAILY, there is ABSOLUTELY no way that the picture we took yesterday will resemble him! Oh, by the way, it is good for 5 years. I guess you update the photo monthly or something.

Ok... I am almost done ranting, but let's talk about the photo itself. The restrictions that the government puts on those things is RIDICULOUS. It has to be just the right size, his eyes have to be open, he has to be facing straight ahead, you need to be able to see both ears. For the average adolescent or adult this is no big deal, but for a 6 week old this is DIFFICULT.

The people at the Post Office were awesome. They were very patient and enamored with Coop. However, Cooper was not thrilled with the amount of time that it took to get a picture that worked. During our little stay Cooper ate a bottle, fussed, blew out a diaper, and slept a little. I am just glad it's finally over. On a positive note... Since it took 4 different tries, we did get to take the pictures that didn't work home!

Even though I gripe about all this, it was actually a fun experience and a great opportunity to get to spend some time with Amanda and Cooper. He is changing daily and every single day holds a new surprise. He has began to make noises at the weirdest times, smile a little, and his diapers are becoming serious works! This is one heck of a ride and gets more fun by the minute (even if I am deliriously tired most of the time)!

This is Not For the Faint of Heart

Tomorrow marks the 6 week mark with Cooper. I have to admit that this whole parent thing is not the easiest thing in the world. Now, understand that I never expected this to be easy and I am openly admitting that Amanda does significantly more than I do most of the time.

Last night I got home about 6:30 and Cooper had been awake for a little bit. He ate his bottle and then Mimi and Pop came and visited for a little while. When they left Amanda and I ate and Cooper kinda played in the floor. All that sounds like a normal day. However, it was the first time that I got to see Cooper just really be fussy.

The part that is hard for me when Coop gets fussy is that I just really don't have a clue what he needs me to do. I know that he is uncomfortable or unhappy but I can't seem to figure it out. I want to make him more comfortable so that he isn't screaming, but that just never seems to happen. I guess we will just keep trying to figure him out. He is starting to be able to kind of manipulate us a little bit.  I don't know if he knows what he's doing, but he is doing something.

Maybe Being 2nd Isn't So Bad...

Let me start this off by setting the record straight. I know that at times throughout Amanda's pregnancy I may have given grandparents a little grief about Cooper having to play second fiddle to Baird and Evan. I didn't really mean that stuff. In fact, I am beginning to find out that being the second one on both sides of the family has really got some benefits.

Here's some proof:

Now let me describe what you are looking at. On the fireplace is a scale that we borrowed from Maggie and Griffin. This came in very handy after Cooper's hospital stay and we were very lucky that they had it. Those five grocery sacks? Well those are clothes that Evan can't wear anymore and since Hillary is having twin girls, she didn't need them anymore. So we figured we would take them off her hands. 

The second reason that this is a good thing is that Cooper has one cousin that can kind of teach him the ropes, and another cousin that can help him cause a little mayhem. 

Baird and Cooper hanging out.

Cooper and Evan napping at MiMom's and D-Daddy's

So if I haven't made it clear by now, let me do it once and for all. It is absolutely no big deal that Cooper will have to live up to the standards that Evan has set or that he will always be just a little younger than Baird. We understand that he will not be the first to do anything out of the three, and we're OK with that. We are just thankful that we have been so blessed to get to experience awesome nephews and a wonderful son. 

R.I.P. Peace and Quiet... Hello CHAOS!

On Saturday, we resumed our normal, break neck speed life. We got up early and drove to Denton to attend a graduation party for a former player of Amanda's. It was the longest car ride that Cooper had taken to date. Being the AMAZING parents that we are, we didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the sun since it was kind of chilly. Well... that was a mistake! Turns out that Cooper got a little sunburn on his cheeks.

When we got home the circus came to the house. It wasn't Ringling Brothers or anything like that, but it was still a ton of fun. Amanda invited some friends of hers, Lissa and Neeley. For those of you that know Lissa, you know that if she comes, that means that Baylor, Larin, and Mailey James, come with her. And Neeley brings Max and Ace. To add to the fun, Clint and Hillary came over with Evan. Those of you that are still asking questions, that is 7 children ages 3 and UNDER!

Larin, Mailey James, Evan, Baylor, Cooper, Ace and Max

It was so much fun to watch the kids run around and play with each other. Even though they don't get to see each other often, just met them that day, or whatever... they all just kind of fall in together. There is so much that we as adults can learn from children! It is also amazing to watch kids run around for hours without a break and never slow down. Baylor held court and kept everyone in check since she was the oldest. Larin was kind of shy, but I am betting that she is kind of used to how Baylor operates. Mailey James spent most of the night just trying to keep up with the older kids but that is hard when you're 30, much less 11 months. Max enjoyed his time here as well. He played baseball a little outside and was absolutely not shy even though he was little bitty the last time we saw him. Ace was still working on figuring out what was going on most of the night. Cooper did what Cooper does. He pretty much slept through the whole thing. (I guess it's good that that child could sleep through a hurricane!)

And the Doctor Says...

Cooper went to the doctor today. It was not a check up that the doctor normally does but, due to Cooper's rocky start, she wanted to see him again. When he was born he weighed 8 lbs 3 oz. He got down to well into the middle of the 7's during his time at Cook's. Two weeks ago, when we finally got to meet the doctor, he was back up to 7 lbs. 13 oz. Not too far from where he started but still not where we needed him to be.

Today the doctor was amazed! Cooper weighed in at 8 lbs. 15 oz and has almost caught back up to that 75th percentile where he started. He does have a blocked tear duct so his eye gets a little gooey every now and then. Overall that's not bad when you consider all this little boy has been through in such a short period of time.

Thankfully, there is no reason to go see a doctor again for a month. That is awesome! Of course, he gets a LOT of shots next time we are there. Keep checking in and we will keep you updated!

Amanda's First Mother's Day

Amanda's first Mother's Day was Sunday. We went and visited with Deda and Pawpaw, Maggie and Griffin, Mallory, and met Aunt Dea. We had lunch at Lucile's in Ft. Worth. On Sunday we woke up and gave Amanda her gift, a gift certificate for a massage at Soyokaze. (She used it on Monday!) Then we went to Mimom's and D-Daddy's. Everyone was there so we snuck off and took a nap while everyone else looked after Cooper. Overall it was a great weekend. It was really fun to see Amanda enjoy her first of many Mother's Days. I would say we have pictures but, like I said, we took a nap.

So This Is What Sleep Deprivation Looks Like.

There are only 24 hours in a day! However, there are also 24 LONG hours in a day! Cooper has made a habit of sleeping mostly during the day and then being awake most of the night. Last night was a little different however. After eating at 12:00, Cooper slept pretty soundly until 3 a.m. when Amanda woke him up to eat. Then, he slept until 7 a.m. when I woke him up to eat.

Now to be honest, Amanda is definitely working on less sleep than I am. She does an amazing job of taking care of Cooper no matter what time it is, day or night. Yesterday she got some much needed rest. She took a nap in the middle of the day from about 1:00 to 4:00 and then Mimom and D-Daddy came and picked Cooper up at 5:15 to babysit so Mommy could sleep. I picked Cooper up at about 8:00 pm and we woke Amanda up when we got home. She felt significantly better and it was good that she got to rest.

Cooper is getting much bigger and is eating a TON now. We thought we were doing a great job of feeding him by giving him 2 oz every few hours, but he is now regularly eating 3 oz and sometimes even taking 4. He is growing like a weed and is back up to his birth weight of 8 lbs 3 oz. After the scare the first day we brought him home and the stay in the NICU, this is great news.

His bellybutton looks normal now since the last little bit of his umbilical cord fell out last night. That is pretty cool because now he can take a real bath and not just a sponge bath. I'm pretty sure that since he is "so advanced" as Amanda says, that he will start walking by the end of the week and talking by the end of the month! :)  (I know I shouldn't say things like this since he will grow up to fast as is but, let's be honest, I can't wait until he can tell me what doesn't feel good instead of having to guess.)

Have I Mentioned We Model?

Ok, so we don't really model, but our friend Jason Taylor came to the house took some pictures of Cooper. Jason is starting a new photography business of his own after doing some work for others for a while. You can find him at jtaylorstudios.com where you can see some more of his work.

Cooper is on his website to help him build his portfolio so we had to sign a release to use his images. That's where the whole "model" thing comes in. This photo shoot was a lot of fun and Jason had some really neat ideas.

Here's some of what we came away with.