Coop Comes to Visit - A Good Time Is Being Had By All

I am really busy today helping Heather babysit our new cousin, Cooper who will be three months old tomorrow. Coop is no problem to take care of. He's a sweet baby with a good disposition....and a crib. I'm just sayin'. The hard part of today is keeping up with Bailey the Almost Four Year Old. Heather is concentrating on the baby, while I hobble around "chasing" after Bailey. She's being a little toot and I feel like slappin' a knot on her head so tall she'll have to tiptoe to scratch it, but she can outrun me and later on down the road, she'll have considerable input into deciding what nursing home I'll end up in, so I can't be too mean to her. Dammit. :)

Uncle Tobe and Coop...some day.

Back to Cooper...Coop and I are already good buddies, so I am really looking forward to the day when he can do "big kid" stuff. When that time comes, I have a feeling that we'll be on the water a lot, looking for the "Big One That Got Away From the Ordinary Fisherman". You know that Fish. Fear. Me. After I pass on my fishing knowledge to Coop, he'll be known as Fish. Fear. Me. Too. I'll have him t-shirt made up that has that written on it. I know I am probably sounding like I'm Coop's Daddy, but I just love the boy and want to teach him lots of things about fishing and camping and gardening. Besides, Coop has a fine young man for Dad, so being Uncle Toby (even though he's technically my cousin) is just fine with me. He'll be like a third son to me for sure, but he'll also be kind of a Rent-A- Kid. I get him for the day, have all the fun we can possibly have, wind him up like a cheap clock from Family Dollar Store, then send him back home to Mommy and Daddy. See? The shit works out right.  :)

In spite of all the joy that Coop brings into our lives when he gets to visit us, there is some backlash. Every time the boy leaves to go home to his parents, Heather tells me how much she'd like to have another baby, hoping it would be a son. Look, I love kids and kids love me; it's always been that way. I guess they can see the "Big Kid" in me. I am blessed that way. I hope it buys me a few Bonus Points with the Lord. Hear that up there, Lord? But, I digress. So, when Coop leaves to go home later today, I'll hear "Let's have another baby" like it's being played on a loop. Then I remind Heather of my considerable age advantage over her. She's only a few years older than my Number 1 Son. Enough said.

I guess, I'd better get back to Cooper, I've got a mess of redneck ways to teach the boy before I'm too old to do it. In the meantime, if anything Update Worthy crops up, I'll chime in and let you know all about it.

I gotta go now. I have to have a conversation with the Lord about those Bonus Points.

Maine Minutiae: Coop Comes to Visit

Coop - My Newest Fishin' Buddy

I usually write a Texas Tidbits post before everything else, But Maine Minutiae takes precedence today because Coop is coming to see us!!! A quick refresher: Coop is my newest fishin' buddy from my wife's side of the family. He's two days shy of being a month old, so I figure he's ready for lessons on how to pitch a plastic worm on top of a lily pad. Since I don't have a lily pad to pitch to, we'll use a gimme cap. Easy money. Anyway, this will be the first time we've seen Coop since the day he was born and I'm looking forward to it, Heather is thrilled and Bailey the Three Year Old is going ape shit with anticipation.

I'm glad Coop gets to stay with us for a little while. Babies are kinda cool. They're a great audience for stupid faces and silly noises and it just so happens that I am a Master of Stupid Faces and Silly Noises. At least the Coop will be entertained while he's here. I'm searching through my memory bank for the most recent baby boy that I have spent more than a few minutes with. I guess that would to be my nephew Hoss. And Hoss is in his late 20's, so it's been a while. Otherwise, it's been a steady parade of baby girls in my family, including Bailey the Three Year Old. Since Coop is now here as a full fledged member of the male persuasion, I hope that I can teach the boy about bass fishin' and stuff like that. After all, Fish.Fear.Me. Technically, Coop is my cousin, but since I am 54 years old, I'll be like a third grandpa or something...maybe a crazy uncle kind of dude. It really doesn't matter to me, just as long as I can take the boy fishin' once in a while, all with be right with the world..

I just felt like sharing that with you today. As I get older, it seems that I like kids more and more. Don't get me wrong, I have always loved children and I have been the "crazy uncle-type"to dozens of kids over the years, but they are now all grown up and don't need a crazy Uncle Toby, so Coop got here just in time. :)

I gotta run, Coop will be here in a few minutes and I've got rig up a plastic worm on the Mickey Mouse Fishin' Pole. It's never too early to learn about fishin' and soon, Fish.Will.Fear.Coop. :)

Blog Heads Up for Tuesday, 10/19 - Live Blogging the Birth of a Baby? UPDATED (scroll down)

I am not sure about new blog content for Tuesday. Ashley the Cousin By Marriage Who Could Have Been My Next Ex Wife But Chose a Young Handsome Guy Instead is going into to labor with her first baby. We could get a call at any minute saying that we need to head to the hospital to be part of this big event. We know that the baby is a boy and his name will be Cooper, we are just a bit iffy on the time of arrival. If it looks like a go for tomorrow, I'll probably have my laptop with me and if it's OK with the parents-to-be and the hospital staff, I'll do as much as I can to live blog the arrival of my new fishin' buddy. Obviously, I won't be in the delivery room, but I'll be in close contact with those in the know. In the meantime, I'll just play it by ear to see what is going on. Say some prayers, if you will, for Ashley, Shawn and Cooper as well as the first-time grandparents to be, Arthur and Mary Ellen. Hasta la baby, y'all.

UPDATE:  Baby Cooper is still hidin' out in his Mama's tummy. No word yet this morning on the progress (or lack thereof) of Ashley's labor pains and all that baby-havin' stuff. We (me, wife & kids) are on stand-by to make a mad dash to the horse pistol in Waterville, about 25 miles from here. When this all happens, I will try to post from the horse pistol as events unfold. If I can find my laptop battery. :)

UPDATE #2- Just got a phone call from Grandma-to-be. She told us that Ashley's water broke and she was administered something to induce labor. The Miracle Express with baby Cooper aboard will arrive late this afternoon or early this evening. Much fun and ooo's and ah's will ensue.

UPDATE #3 - Baby Cooper came in kickin' and screamin' a few minutes ago! (It's 6:25PM EDT now) 6lbs. 8oz, 20in. long. Congrats to the parents, Shawn and Ashley and to Grandma and Grandpa, Mary Ellen and Arthur!

Coop: My Newest Fishin' Buddy

Special Delivery

I think it was Isaac Newton who said "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". Turns out that not only does that fact apply to science, but to every day life as well. Just as the Cloud of Doom and Despair (metaphor for my mother-in-law) was about to envelop the Toby Dome, the silver lining of said cloud suddenly appears, as if by Divine Providence. Even the presence of  the Swamp Creature (another metaphor for the MIL) can't dampen the spirit of what is about to happen. My cousin by marriage, Ashley, is in labor and about to bring forth into the world Cooper Dow. Cooper is Ashley's first baby so this is an exciting time for her, Shawn (the baby Daddy) and her parents, Arthur and Mary Ellen, who will be first-time grandparents. My wife, Heather, is very close to Ashley so she is elated as well. Me? I am very excited too in anticipation of a new fishin' buddy. Me and Coop are gonna be big time buds. As I type this, it's just shy of 11AM EDT, so by tonight we could have a new addition to our extended family.

I am the father of four kids and have seen two of them being born. It's an amazing thing to witness the birth of a child and to anticipate how he/she will turn out years down the road. Will Coop be a doctor, lawyer, baseball player, Priest? Where ever life leads Coop, I know he'll be a helluva fisherman because he'll learn from the best, me. :) Looking a few years ahead, Coop will be known as FishFearMeToo. I will be honored to be your fishin' buddy, Coop.


Coop, you are coming into the world with something that nobody can take away from you, your family. You have a great Mom who will continue to love and nurture you for the rest of your life, no matter what. She's a good chick who earns the Redneck Seal of Approval. :) Your Dad is a good young man who will guide you through life's journey with the strength and assurance that you'll pass on to your son someday. Your Grandma and Grandpa are two of the finest people I've ever met, and believe me, Coop, I've met millions of people. They are rock solid folks with great values and an unconditional love for their family. I guess what I'm trying to say, Coop, is that you'll be a member of a family of good, decent, God-fearing people.

Coop, you're getting a good start to your life with so many of us who love you. But I think all of us are the ones who are getting the good end of the deal - we will have you in our lives. Welcome aboard, Coop. Now let's go fishin'.