Okay, knock wood, Cooper has slept at least 7 hours straight for the last three nights. In each case, we've been in bed for 6 of those hours. Unfortunately, last night our neighbors across the street had a big party for their teenage son following his spring formal. I've never seen this kid have too many friends over, so I got the distinct feeling that his parents were buying his popularity. Maybe I'm wrong.
What I know for sure is that waking up at 2:30 in the morning to the sound of squealing teenage girls and testosterone-charged high school boys screaming profanities is not the most pleasant experience in the world. It can only be matched by the time we awoke in a hotel in Germany with German vendors screaming at each other in the market below. We thought we were in a WWII movie. Also not pleasant.
When we awoke this morning, we noticed that there were still at least a dozen cars outside from the party. If the kids were drinking, (which I'm sure they were) then I'm glad they stayed. I went to parties in high school, but I don't ever remember staying past midnight, and I sure as hell never stayed overnight. I looked outside and saw not only boys, but also girls leaving the neighbor's house this morning. I have four words for that: No Daughter of Mine!
Savannah asked on the way to church why there were so many cars outside. We explained that the neighbors had a party. "A birthday party?" she asked. "No." "What kind of party?" Kelli and I didn't miss a beat, "the kind of party you're never going to."
Aside from the teenage debauchery, we've been sleeping pretty well for a change. Kelli and I both seem to have aged in reverse over the last week. Now we only look 5-7 years older than we are, rather than 10-15. I'd post pictures to prove how old we were looking, but they're too mortifying.
Starting a little over a week ago, Cooper is now laughing for real. He looks for reasons to laugh, sort of goading us on whenever we do something that he thinks is funny. The poor little guy gets the hiccups every time he starts to laugh. That doesn't deter him. Just looking at him brings a smile. Unless he's hungry, he's always in a good mood. But he is hungry a lot.
Cooper is eating about every two hours, typically 4-6 ounces. We're really hoping to get permission from his doctor to start feeding him real food. He watches us whenever we eat, longingly staring at each bite. We tried giving him an empty spoon to see if he could handle it. He opened and bit down at the corect times. This kid wants to eat.
He's holding his head up really well. He should be able to sit up, since he is basically a pyramid from the waist up. Alas, all that squishy body mass just won't hold him up.
Sorry I haven't been posting much, but we're working on several speculative projects that might substantially change the way we work, so I've been a little distracted. I'll be setting up a new blog to track my progress in the Body-for-LIFE challenge, including some behind-the-scenes looks at the documentary I'm making about the effort.
