Mini Coop

We took Cooper to his two-month-old doctor's appointment this morning, and we were absolutely right that he has been in a colossal growth spurt lately.... He now weighs 11 lbs 1 oz! Incredible! Impressive weight gain in only four weeks time, and also measures in at a lofty 22 1/4 inches. Apparently he is determined to catch up to where he should be if full-term!

Vaccinations were on the agenda today, and even though we opted only for three (2 injections and 1 oral) inoculations, it was not as though Cooper felt he endured anything less than pure hellish pain. Poor kid. Have to say that with all things considered - he really did well. A few hours later he was very out-of-sorts and cranky, which is not his modus operandi at all.  Children's Tylenol came to the rescue. He is sleeping now, and hopefully he won't have too rough a time this evening.  

This was a gift from Nat and Jerry.  Love it! 

Defying Inequality

Maria interpreted 'Defying Inequality' with Lou last night.... And after they ran around the apartment, ate chinese food with each lap, decided what to wear, got the wrinkles out, and a bottle of red wine later - they both were thrilled they had the opportunity to be involved with this performance. An amazing ensemble of B'way performers gave up their night off to partake in this event that raised funds to help fight the discrimination happening in this country. Some other actors involved last night were Nathan lane, Allison Janney, Cyndi Lauper, Harvey Fierstein, Judy Gold, Carson Kressley, David Hyde Pierce, Jane Fonda, so many more, and then probably casts from 10 different Broadway shows. 

These three guys were FAB, and the video does not do them justice!

A huge highlight (for me!) was when cast members from Sesame Street came out and sang 'Sing a Song' - Maria, Luis, Bob, and Gordan. (i was totally star struck!) No one has posted anything on YouTube as of yet, but YA KNOW that will be posted on this blog when/if someone does. :-)

An improv group called Don't Quit Your Night Job did a thing called 'Musical MadLibs' which was so funny. Audience members called out nouns, verbs, etc etc, and then the big surprise was the fact that Bebe Neuwith came out and sang our creation to 'All That Jazz'. Found a video!

Unfortunately, Clara called in sick today.  So Maria contacted the agencies she had booked with for the day so she could hang out Cooper instead.

Juggling

Today will be pretty hectic, but (have no fear) we will be able to accomplish it all!

We were babysitter'less today, and kind of stuck with Maria due at Columbia for a couple of hours.  But thankfully Suzanne and Arlene came to our rescue, and hung out with Cooper until Maria could get back home.  He is such a good boy, and the only "issue" was that their dog Lucca wanted to explore this new thing that was taking his attention! Suzanne took these pics while Cooper was hanging at 7H.

Maria is home trying to make piles of clothes needing to be donated..... Maternity and outgrown baby clothes to an organization that specializes in those items, and everything else to a Salvation Army or the like.  The second bedroom's closet is a "work in progress", but there is definitely light at the end of that tunnel.  

Lori is headed out to dinner this evening with the HRC dinner committee so she and Bryan can show their appreciation for all their time and hard work that made the dinner such a huge success.

Michael and Christina are coming by around 6'ish to watch Cooper for the night.  Lori will be at her dinner, and Maria got this cool gig interpreting for a big B'way fundraiser called 'Defying Inequality' at the Gershwin Theater.  The script/show flow goes on for pages and pages..... Looks like it will be a fun experience! 

Lou is interpreting as well, and she coming over before the event.  Will eat something and partake in a little "courage" before we venture downtown. LoL Oh, and perks of being involved in this include a comp'd pair of tickets for each of us for Wicked next month, and we get to attend the after-party tonight.  

* COOPER IS TWO MONTHS TODAY * 

Sunday Stuff

We started off this morning by  going to services at the United Methodist Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on the Upper Westside.  We wanted to speak to the pastor about what we need to do to set up Cooper's baptism.  And we have gotta say.... Those Methodists are SO nice, and it was like we were magically transported outside of NYC! 

Cooper wore a special outfit for his first time in church.

Liz had a bunch of friends over to her apartment for brunch, and it was so great to see her. (and her chest)

Later on we went to an Oscar party at Maria's friend Cathy's place, and it was PACKED with people.  Lots of food, friends, and drinks - and it was the first introduction most had to Cooper. Had a great time!  Fun to hang out and catch up with everyone.  

Bath Time

Low-key day today.  Errands around the neighborhood and organizing in the house.  Nothing too spectacular, so pretty boring stuff to post on the blog, huh?  :-)   

Bath time!

Cooper actually enjoys the water.

Although he does have a habit of sucking the water off of his fists.

So much hair!  

He is ready to be all lotion'ed, pajama'd up, and fed before retiring for the night. (or at least 4 or so hours)

Valentine's Day

Poor Lori!  She spent Valentine's Day this year watching a cheerleading tournament!  Maria was staying at Lexington with her team all weekend, so it was Cooper and Lori at home and hanging out.  A little "excitement" did ensue.... Cooper had to see the doctor on Saturday afternoon for a concern we had, but all is well - and we can now move ahead to the next thing that worries us! 

Both of Cooper's grandparents sent him his first Valentine's Day cards. 

(don't have a pic, but GREAT GRANDPA KIRK wrote/sent a card too!)

The two also ventured out to Viceroy in Chelsea for brunch with the HRC Board of Governors on Sunday, and John couldn't wait to spend time with Cooper.

Getting in some quality time together. 

He is really starting to get kind of chubby!  Such a good eater, and we are guessing he is a good 10+ pounds at this point.  We have his two month old doctor's appointment next week, so we will find out then.  

ESDAA

The ESDAA tournament was hosted at Lexington School this past weekend. Both teams did a great job! The basketball team earned 3rd, and the cheerleaders placed 2nd. Five different people are promising pictures from the tournament, but have only received these thus far. Will post more as soon we get them!

This pyramid was really cool -
It went up in a progression of three stunts before this final result.

Shanika did a FABULOUS job in the individual jump competition!
She came in 2nd Place!
The cheerleaders were a little disappointed with placing 2nd, but they should not be at all! We already talked about the need of ESDAA to redo their scoresheets used by the judges.... The teams are being judged by very old-fashioned means, and Lexington doesn't get "credit" for their level of difficulty and the advanced stunts they perform.

But with their 2nd Place trophy they also brought home a special award for the team's dance (IT WAS GREAT!) as well as the Spirit Award. Bottom line? They did a kick-ass job! Maria loves this group of kids, and is truly satisfied and extremely proud of their performance. Looking forward to doing a couple of regular tournaments with hearing teams in March!

'Tis The Season

2008. December 29th.


Under the wire! Yeah baby!

Cooper

What would our blog be without more pictures of Cooper? LoL

So we got a couple of these "sack" outfits, which are truly great. The baby's legs get to be free/easy, and really perfect for a quick clothing change if the need arises. But? We have to admit they are pretty much dress-like. We are not at all interested in developing hangups regarding "gender appropriateness" for our son at this young age, but we still decided to go with calling the whole style the 'Boy In A Bag' look instead of a dress!
Love this picture. Such a peanut. But our "peanut" is getting huge! Just moved up to Size 1 diapers instead of Newborn, but Cooper still hasn't fully graduated into clothing that are size 0-3 months..... They swim on him! With the amount of formula this child is eating - it will be any day now. Don't worry, they will both be awake at 3am.....

Still Gala'ing

Again, the gala was a huge success.....
So many people are posting pictures, and we have to get some of our own uploaded at some point too.

The theme was 'Be = Live = Love = Believe' this year, and Heather had this made for Cooper to be a living advertisement!
Finally! A picture of us! :-)

Thanks to a gift from Rebecca and Patty, Cooper was following the black tie requirement!
Very cute, but also a tad dopey!

HRC Dinner Gala

Success!

This year's gala was absolutely fab! People were constantly congratulating Lori for her efforts, and the word on the street is that this event was the best HRC dinner yet! Many many politicians in attendance, and those who got some stage time were: Speaker of the Council Christine Quinn, Senator Tom Duane, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor John Corzine, Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, and Senator Charles Shumer. Probably forgetting a few!

How is this picture for Lori's ego!!!

Michelle Williams, former member of Destiny's Child, performed at the event. She was amazing, beautiful, a great voice, and the sweetest person ever. The crowd loved her!

Lori, Bryan Parsons, and Joe Solmonese with Mayor Bloomberg.

Lori fixed Tim Gunn's tie before they went out on stage. :-)

Another post soon! Have to upload a few pictures of the two of us, Ken Olbermann, general festivities, and OF COURSE a picture or two of Cooper!

Prom Date

So we went to go visit Susie and Miriam, and got to meet one-week-old Logan. She is just the cutest little thing, and quite a change to see a baby smaller than Cooper! Obviously, it was more of a playdate for all the moms than the kids, but we will have to show them both this picture right before they head off to prom together.

Still haven't retrieved our laptop from TekServe..... And we are experiencing withdrawl. Badly.

Maria's parents are headed into town for the weekend to hang out with Cooper while we run around to all the weekend festivities of the HRC Dinner Gala. Lori has a GREAT outfit for the event, and Maria keeps checking her closet with the hope that the Fashion Fairy has miraculously bestowed something fabulous upon her. Still waiting!

KaBoom

Ka-Boom! Our laptop met with quite an unfortunate demise last week. The damn thing wouldn't boot up. Dead hard drive. Even though TekServe will be $900 richer - we will at least have our pictures and data recovered. Moral of this story? BACK UP YOUR INFO!


Random thought:
Wasn't 'KaBoom' the name of an Atari game in the 80s?
Have got to google it right now.....

Hey, it was! :-)


Weekend was busy! Lori had an HRC meeting on Sunday to arrange seating for the dinner gala that is coming up on Saturday night. Trying to organize tables for a 1000+ person black-tie event is like planning a wedding from hell. Maria took the baby and went to brunch with Alan and Brian, and it was so great seeing them. After all of this, we met up and headed to Van's, then home to make dinner and watch the game.

Cooper rooted for the Steelers on the Boppy Pillow.


We are putting him on his stomach a little each day, but we think he likes sitting up the best.

One more random thought:

February 2nd.

TODAY WAS MY ACTUAL DUE DATE!