Look who just turned...1 month

Cooper's first month culminated in a weekend spent up in VT with his Uncle Ross and Aunt Heidi. Originally, Aimee and I were hesitant about the trip because we didn't want to subject Ross to Cooper's sleeping habits. Aimee and I have always felt something special for VT and after this weekend we think Cooper does too. He turned a sleeping corner this weekend and let us sleep for an unprecedented and uninterrupted 3 plus hrs. There were a couple of times this weekend where we had to check-in on Cooper just to make sure everything was ok because it seemed just too good to be true. I prefer the finger under the nose method to feel his warm breath. Anyway, Cooper loved VT and visited all his parents favorite haunts in the Mad River Valley. He spent some quality time at the Hyde Away Inn, stopped at the Big Picture to enjoy some fresh, homemade donuts, visited the base of Sugarbush, hiked 5 miles to enjoy a great view of the valley and experience snow for the first time, built his first snowman, and even took in some culture in the state capital. Our Montpelier visit took on a new and different feel for Aimee and I. Usually, when we pop into a city we find a local bar to grab a bite and some local beers. This time we traded in the bars for browsing in a couple of baby stores for winter gear, finding a quiet place in a park where we could feed and change Cooper, and enjoying our lunch in the car because Cooper wanted nothing to do with sitting and relaxing in a quiet restaurant. I'm not complaining about our new routine, simply stating the differences.

What else has Cooper been up to these past 2 weeks? He's been eating. He has gained nearly 2lbs since his birthday. As a result newborn clothes no longer fit. As do newborn diapers. Aimee and I had a slow learning curve figuring out that we needed bigger diapers. A couple days in a row we kept finding Cooper soaked through his clothes and couldn't figure out how/why it was happening. I believe it was one of our friends who have a couple of their own kids that said "diapers aren't supposed to stretch that way". Since the awakening.. No leaky diapers. He had a playdate with his new lady friend, Olivia. Olivia belongs to a couple we met at a baby class back in August. He's been sleeping in 1-2 hr bursts throughout the night. And he's been doing more and more baby like things. Making and keeping eye contact, baby noises, and even the occasional smile. He may be just farting which he finds amusing (our baby books say when babies pass gas (never thought I would be so technical) they can make smile like gestures with their mouths). I prefer to think that he is just a boys' boy and finds it funny, as do I.

It's been a wonderful month. Enjoy the photos!