What's New with the Fam

Okay, I don't know if I've updated on some of these topics lately, and I'm too lazy to go back and look, so here goes:

Cooper -- We took him to the doctor last week for something (I think it was his ongoing Gershon issues and his congestion.) Anyway, they weighed him and he was 10 lbs, 6 oz. That's up 22 ounces in two weeks! We had noticed he was getting noticeably heavier, but even we were surprised by that number. The weight is nicely distributed, though. He has definitely gotten longer (taller,) but we don't know exactly how much. Unlike his sister at the same age, he is staying closer to the Winston end of the Churchill-Shriver scale -- his cheeks are wider than his head at any other point, and he still has a nice collection of chins going.

He's not as low maintenance as the kid in the NICU who didn't even cry when King Peter lost his crown. First of all, he's almost always hungry. And when he's ready to eat, he loses any semblance of a sense of humor. Once, I made the mistake of not getting him his bottle right when he wanted it, and I got my hand too close to his mouth. I know babies aren't supposed to eat meat at this age, but somebody forgot to tell Cooper that, because he was going for a finger sandwich. I think any other cranky behavior is due to the Gershon.

The cool thing about him is how sweet he is most of the time. He still sleeps a lot, but whenever he wakes, he typically spends the first several minutes smiling at us. This morning, something I said or did made him do a sort of giggle that was so cute I forgot how little sleep I had gotten. He also has a knack for smiling at me whenever I pretend to fuss at him. I think this is going to be his strategy for getting out of trouble -- winning 'em over with cute.

The Fridge -- In case I didn't mention it earlier, Sears fixed the fridge just in time for Thanksgiving.

The Car -- After spending over a thousand bucks on repairs, I worked with my dad for a couple of days to finish the repairs and get the engine purring again.

Thanksgiving -- Did I mention a thousand dollars spent on car repair? And the fact that I spent Friday and Saturday working on the car? It was, as usual, not a good Thanksgiving. That morning, my dad -- influenced by his negative experiences working for car dealerships -- decided that we had paid all that money for them to do no work at all. He shared this sentiment with Kelli, which put her in a great mood. She shared her mood with me. True to form, I overreacted and managed to piss her off, piss my dad off and ruin my day all within a span of a few minutes. (And I wonder why I have so many ex-clients and so few current clients...)

On top of all that, we decided to order our meal this year. We thought we were getting fresh, deli-cooked food. Instead, we got pre-packaged, factory food -- including a pre-cooked turkey. Overall, it was pretty terrible. What's worse is that I could have spent my day cooking, and it would have put me in better spirits. Instead, I just sat around watching football all day with nothing better to do.

I've officially sworn off this holiday in its traditional form. Next year, Disney World!

Work -- I've spent the better part of the last week working with my friend Chris Tomberlin at his company, Outpost Pictures. It was cool working with Chris again. I've got a pretty large project for the old alma mater coming up soon.

Kelli -- She's beautiful, sweet, strong and sexy. What else is there to say? I'm the luckiest man in the world! Last week, we celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. It was pretty low key with a new baby, but we at least got to go to the movies, which is a rarity these days. Kel's trying to put a few pounds back on. The rapid weight loss took a toll on her, and she's ready to get back to normal.

Savannah -- She's beautiful and sweet as always. She's still crazy about her brother and is always in his face. She really enjoyed her time with her grandparents last week. She also got to see her 8-month-old cousin (actually, 2nd cousin) Ian. She was enamored of him and kept him smiling and laughing most of the time. She actually got to feed him, which I missed unfortunately. I hear it was quite the adventure. Savvi's really into learning how to read now, and is sounding out words all the time. She'll be reading very well by the time she starts Kindergarten.

Health -- Kelli and I are getting back on the Body-for-Life bandwagon starting tomorrow. I don't know if she's going to do the workouts or not, but I'm going full bore. I'll start a new blog tomorrow with my current measurements, my goals and the sheer humiliation of my before photos. Don't eat for at least an hour prior to viewing.