We have a roller...

***It feels really good to be blogging about normal everyday life here in the Giese household and all things Cooper, rather than Sean in the hospital. ***

One of the reasons that I became a teacher are those "lightbulb moments." Those moments when all of the pieces finally come together and you see a moment of recognition on the child's face. I've seen many of those moments in the seven years that I taught but perhaps the greatest moment was the first time that I saw the recognition and understanding from my own child. To illustrate...

In the past month, Cooper has rolled over about four times from back to front - just enough to let us know that it wasn't an accident that he ended up on his stomach but he was still wary and cautious getting there. The first time he did it, I heard a funny cry coming from his crib in the wee hours of the morning. I rushed in there upon hearing the weird cry and found him stuck on his stomach. Smiling, I rolled him over and he went back to his sound sleep.

Yesterday though it's as if he through caution to the wind and became a little rolling machine. Every time we put Cooper down, he rolled to his stomach. It was so fun to see him finally gaining the ability and understanding to roll and roll and roll. Now, mind you, he has yet to roll from his stomach to his back without help. He cries when he gets stuck on his stomach and can't get back but hopefully rolling the other direction is not far behind.

He is also sitting some without assistance. He can sit for a short time but once he starts leaning back or to the side he gains momentum and just tumbles on down. Of course, I'm always there to cushion the fall but it's neat to see him gaining more independence - one step at a time.