Welcome to Red Sox Nation (Offically)

Cooper went to his first baseball game on Sunday, June 24th.



We traveled down to Petco Park to watch the Boston Red Sox play the San Diego Padres.



It was a pitcher's duel. Beckett vs. Peavy.



Varitek tripled and homered. Lowell had a base hit to right to score Ortiz. Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth.



Giza and Carrie came with. The Sox beat the monks 4 to 2.

The Diego fans were very nice, even when we were winning. Petco Park is stunning. It's all state-of-the-art wachity schmakity doo, but also has character. It's a park, not a stadium, which I like.



The Boston fans loved Coop. "You raisin' him right!" They kept saying.

White Height

Look at my child. At this rate, he's going to be taller than me by year's end!



He's 31". That's TALL! (95th percentile). Cooper, you get that from Daddy's family. Momma's family is a combo of short Irish legs (mcstubby limbs) and hairy Canadian legs. (bristly, eh?)



Cooper had an excellent day in the park today. He played with an 18 month old named Danielle and a 2 year old boy named Ray. At first, Cooper did not want to share. But playing in the sand fixed that. There was enough sand for everyone.He liked being with other kids. He's a social dude.

It's better than the other day in the park where Cooper kept falling down on the grass. I wondered what the deal was. I figured he was just having a bad balance day. Then I noticed that I put his shoes on the wrong feet. Ooops! Sorry, Coop. I think I need more sleep. How's about letting me snooze until 6:30am? That would be heaven. Thanx.



Cooper now eats scrambled eggs, hot dogs, fish, ravioli and (drum roll, please) mushrooms! Finally someone else in the family digs on mushrooms.

The piano is still the fave toy right now. He loves it.



His compositions are very 'Philip Glass.' He enjoys contemporary minimalism.

Goodbye, Aunt Karen



My Aunt Karen passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. She had been in a lot of pain recently. Her suffering is over now. I'm sad that she's gone.

This blog is usually loaded with pictures of my kid and my goofy musings, but today I'm just going to post a few things about my Aunt Karen.

She used to live down the street from us in Falmouth, MA.
She used to make me nachos with microwaveable cheese.
My mom never bought cheese dip, so this was exciting.
She'd let me watch cable tv.
She used to cut my hair.
She gave me my first perm.
I looked poodle-esque, but at the time (1988) it was rad.
She had a wonderful Boston accent (like most of my family) and said things like, 'Oh my gahhhd! No sah!"
She was hilarious.
She had a great laugh.
She had fun at the family reunions.
She'd drink, smoke and play cards.
She'd sing.
She had a beautiful singing voice.
My whole family is loud and when everyone would start yelling at family funtions (joyfully--not in anger. we're a happy, loud bunch) she'd turn to me with a smirk on her face and say, "Is it loud enough in here?"
When I was 10, I had a Halloween party for my birthday and she came as the wicked witch and her husband, my Uncle David, came as a nerd. Their costumes were perfect!
She did her whole face in green make-up with a big fake nose with warts and everything. I was impressed.
She was kind.
She had a good heart.

Goodbye, Aunt Karen. We'll miss you.

More Birthday Fun

Here are the Muppet Tablecloths and some more birthday photos. (Thanks, Auntie Edy!) Enjoy!









Happy 1st Birthday

Dear Cooper,



Congrats on a year of life. How was it? In my opinion, it was stupendous.

Each day I look at you and think to myself, "How did I get so lucky?" I must have done something good somewhere in my wacky life to get a kid as sweet and smart as you.

Many of the folks who met you the day you were born came to your first birthday. You're loved by many people, Coop!



The celebration was a Muppet-themed event. I made ordinary white tablecloths into Muppet tablecloths with some Crayola magic. We wore Muppet t-shirts. You had Rowlf on your shirt. You like his songs. This one seems to be your favorite:

"It's not where you start, it's where you finish,
It's not how you go, it's how you land.
A hundred to one shot, they call him a klutz,
Can outrun the fav'rite, all he needs is the guts.
Your final return will not diminish,
And you can be cream of the crop.
It's not where you start, it's where you finish,
And I'm gonna finish on top!"




Speaking of favorites, Aunt Karen and I made a Cookie Monster cake that came out pretty darn AWESOME if I do say so myself.



You got your own little cake to destroy.




And DESTROY is an understatement. You gleefully wrecked that whole cake until there was nothing but a few stubborn, mushy crumbs and stray frosting. Here's the bib following the aftermath:



You had so much cake smeared on you, that a bath was essential. But why take you away from the party? That's no fun. We brought the bath to you. We lacked a hose, so we filled your inflatable duckie with bottled water.



Yes, my little prince, you bathed in the finest H20 that Arrowhead Spring has to offer. You were naked in a duck full of sugary cake water in a park surrounded by friends. That probably won't happen again until college.



The day was made even better with the arrival of Violet, a lady just 3 weeks younger than you. You were smitten. It was love at first gaa gaa goo. Fear not. I'm sure you two will meet again.



You made out like a wee toddler pirate! Oh, the massive amounts of Fisher Price treasures and Sesame Street goodies. Daddy bought you a little piano and you haven't stopped pounding on it. You even use your feet on the keys! GOODNESS, GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!



Look at you! You're such a tiny hipster with your old man hat and your 'Rushmore Bee Keeper' shirt.

After you finally came down off your sugar high and went to bed, your father and I stayed up talking about the day your were born and how far you've come. We laughed and we cried. You take our breath away. You are an incredible boy. We can't believe how cool you are. We love you so much. So, so much.

Happy Birthday, Cooper Kingsley White. Bravo on all your growing and learning. You done good.

-Mom

For more photos of Cooper's First Birthday, click here to visit Flickr.

Coop's Random Reference from a Mid-90's Mini-Series



Have you seen Cooper's Bill Fagerbakke impression?



"M-O-O-N. That spells moon."

It's pretty good, isn't it? You should see his 'Pacino.'