[Nicolas] Cooker Baby

nicolas and sophia at the aquarium , originally uploaded by nolafilm . after spending much of the week with grandma and grandpa, nicolas returned home friday in great health and high spirits. we spent a fun late morning yesterday at the world-class Aquarium of the Americas with, who else? Our good friend Sophia.

nicolas kicked off father's day weekend with a persistent saturday afternoon stomachache that developed into full blown midnight and 1:30 a.m. vomiting. the good news is, in between those icky-feeling moments, he was in high, if not sometimes delirious spirits. hopefully this is something that will pass quickly and isn't contagious. until then, here's a clip of him from earlier today, having some "medicine" (i think it was some soda water and gatorade) while feeling pretty good (or at least not awful):

we had a nice conversation with nicolas before bedtime earlier this week - on the porch, while he enjoyed some peanut butter and jelly: peanut butter and jelly porch talk from Jeremy Cooker on Vimeo .

so, nicolas has recovered from that horrible cold (i've fought a losing battle with it since last weekend) and his follow-up visit with the doctor who put his tubes in was yesterday (Thursday). A+ on his hearing test and NO infection this time - just a little blockage which had to be cleared with a huge, extremely loud needle-like device that scared him tremendously (I wasn't there, but Mary said it was awful, and that he actually turned green - even the nurse seemed a little concerned apparently - his blood pressure dropped, he went limp in Mary's arms, etc.), but he recovered fine after resting there at the doctor's office for a bit. before all that excitement however, we spent a lovely Saturday at the Zoo with Nicolas' friend from school, Sophia. You may remember her from our birthday post back in April. we didn't do a whole lot there - playground, carousel, lunch, then an elephant show (which included some elephant petting), and a visit with the flamingos o...

Nicolas was back at school last wed and fri, and this monday and then he got another really nasty cold that kept him (and us) up all night Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and last night. He stayed home from school Wed and today as well. Fortunately, after 4 sleepless nights, he's turned the corner on this one and was in high spirits today despite some lingering congestion, but it's remarkable that he literally can't make it a full week in school (and he only goes 3 days a week) without catching something awful. Or maybe it's just par for the course. I think we both realized he'd be more exposed to germs and bacteria and viruses in that environment, but you'd think the CDC or WHO was running some kind of sick experiment at his school if you didn't know any better. before he got sick though, he did have time to put together a quick lamb costume with some old pull-ups: which apparently inspired him to flip through our wedding album: tomorrow we have a play date ...

so, finally I have some time to post a few things here for you. a few days before nicolas had surgery, we spent some really nice moments together: I took him to his primary doctor for a follow-up visit about his ear infection: then we rode over to his gymnastics class. this is how he likes to roll: I took him to the doctor and gymnastics class that day so Mary could work on a tv commercial with some Saints players and Coach Payton (and Jon Gruden) for Madden 2010. She said it was fun, but then again, she didn't get to witness this in person either: that weekend we did some gardening: karaoke / rock and roll practice: actually it was more like mardi gras indian practice - remember "handa wanda" from previous posts? and we even had some time for a little plate walking: then he had his surgery: and now seems to be doing great. we spent a beautiful Friday evening on the bayou last weekend at Bayou Boogaloo: he loved dancing to an amazing B3 Summit set which featur...

sorry for the brief hiatus blog readers. it's been 10 days since Nicolas had tubes put in and his adenoids taken out. yesterday was his first day back at school in about 2 weeks (he spent the week prior to his operation with his grandparents in Oxford), and despite some initial resistance, he had a great time and can't wait to go back. he's kept us so entertained this past week and a half, and his ear pain seems all but gone. pics and movie clips coming soon. just wanted to let you know all is well and he seems to be feeling much better.

Fwd: , originally uploaded by nolafilm . I'm at work wondering how Nicolas is feeling and Mary sends me this pic right around lunch time.

we're home from surgery - he did great. and now that the codeine is kicking in, he's feeling fine. he wanted to say good-bye to me as I headed in to work so he and mary came over to my car and i snapped this pic with my phone: more pre- and post- surgery pics are on the camera at home - the battery is charging, so i'll update things tonight.

we got up at 5:15 this morning and waited til almost 6 to wake nicolas. he was a little groggy, but totally fine and actually pretty entertaining in the car on the ride over. when we got to the hospital he was dancing and playing. once we got into the pre-op room, he put on his gown: and played with the stickers and magnets the nurses brought for him. he's being operated on right now, but Oschner has been great so far. the staff made him feel comfortable, and they even had a cool little car for him to drive: after they gave him an anesthesia cocktail, we told him he might feel a little sleepy in a few minutes. it actually took 10-15 minutes, but he thought it might be kicking in a lot sooner than that: I only wish I'd filmed him driving back for the operation - his anesthesia had kicked in and he was smiling and waving to everyone like he was riding in a parade. Camera battery is dying and I couldn't find the charger this a.m., so we may just have text updates from ...

after numerous consultations with doctors, friends and family, and even more numerous ear infections and ear pain for nicolas, we've decided to move forward with tubes and an adenoidectomy for him. we go in tomorrow at 6 am. today, he took a tour of the hospital with his mom and nona so he could get oriented and be prepared for everything that's going to happen with the operation. we'll keep you posted on how everything comes out.

makin groceries , originally uploaded by nolafilm . nicolas loves to go grocery shopping, or as they say down here in new orleans, "make groceries". he also likes pretending he's groceries.

wow. crazy week - tons going on. lots of new pics and stuff to share, but before it becomes a distant memory, I really want to wrap up our jazzfest experience here. bottom line: it's one of the greatest things in the world - something everyone should experience at least once (everyone that likes food, music and crowds), and I'm happy to say Nicolas has been 3 years in a row now - not bad for a just-turned 3 year old. we saw mardi gras indians: and danced to them before collapsing for a brief nap (that's herbal tea he's sipping): we even got up close: he was a bit sleepy there, but oddly enough, he wants that same song (ho na nae) on in his room now every time he goes to bed. a little while later, we enjoyed Third World right outside the Congo Square stage (and almost got run over by a few people): we bonded with mom: cousin mandy: and each other: as well as total strangers: but when you've got moves like this, is it that surprising? and amazingly, Ni...

Okay, so we're smack dab in the middle of the second weekend of Jazzfest, but I'm not sure we're going to go - we got our fill last weekend, and despite the gorgeous weather, we may save some money and enjoy some of the simpler things New Orleans has to offer. For those of you who didn't see the Flickr page or my Facebook page - here's some fun stuff from the past couple weekends: 1. French Quarter Festival - this event gets more amazing every year. the largest free music festival in the south - and one of the best, hands-down - packed over 400,000 people into the French Quarter over a beautiful Spring weekend for music, food, and fun. We rode our bikes from our house down Esplanade Ave on Sunday to the Old US Mint and caught some great performances by local Zydeco legend, Rockin' Dopsie: and the incomparable Wild Magnolias - a Mardi Gras Indian Tribe famous for its recordings from the 70s of Handa Wanda and Smoke My Peace Pipe. Nicolas loves their music and ha...

jazzfest 2009 , originally uploaded by nolafilm . It's festival season in New Orleans! Last weekend we took in the French Quarter Festival - along with half a million other people. This weekend we're at the 40th Annual Jazz and Heritage Festival. Today we saw Mardi Gras Indians, Third World, Irma Thomas, Rebirth Brass Band with Kermit Ruffins, and James Taylor - plus we caught some amazing gospel on the way out. We also had some incredible food - even for a gluten-free vegan like me! Nicolas skipped his nap, but actually did great and had a fantastic time. Tomorrow we get to do it all over again. Video and more pics from this weekend (and last weekend's French Quarter Festival) coming soon.

so first the bad news, nicolas has another nasty double ear infection. yuck. we're strongly considering tubes or taking him out of daycare for a little while. our new doctor here is concerned about nicolas' hearing and speech development ultimately, so we're trying to make a decision by early next week. it would be an easy call if he didn't have such a great time at school and wasn't really opening up with new friends and his teachers. we'll keep you posted on that, and in the meantime, we'll try to keep nicolas content with children's tylenol, a new round of amoxicillin, and garlic drops for his ears (the post-drop cotton ball application is his favorite part of that I think): and hopefully we won't have to resort to antibiotic shots like we did last month, though nicolas did get a new song out of that painful experience: the good news is we had a great time at french quarter fest here last sunday, and jazzfest starts tomorrow! pics and updates...

lunch with jk , originally uploaded by nolafilm . we may be fighting off another ear infection - we're not 100% sure - but we felt well enough to have a nice lunch at Lebanon's Cafe yesterday with our friends Brian and Julie and JK. Afterward, Nicolas and JK posed with their friends, Lammie and MoMo outside. trying to catch the last bit of French Quarter Fest today, if our little guy wakes up in time. will keep you posted. . .

**** Happy Easter - we'll post an update on today's fun later this evening or tomorrow. **** just two days after nicolas turned 3, we celebrated mary's birthday. and we did it in style, taking nicolas for the first time to one of our all-time favorite restaurants (right up there with Irene's), the mecca of new orleans cuisine and fun: jacques-imo's. he relished every moment, from the sweet buttery cornbread muffins to the oyster and brie soup ( note the spoon in EACH hand look at this dish: its rich, creamy goodness is enough to give even the most stalwart vegans pause, but i was able to resist. and just when we thought he might be full, nicolas promptly demanded whatever i had on my plate besides having some of the most amazing food in the world, jacques-imo's is an incredibly fun place to dine. especially when you have a 3 year old entertaining you in the main dining room: even vacuum pioneer david oreck came over to our table to comment on how much he and...

Sincere apologies for taking a week to update you on nicolas' birthday. the next day and the rest of that week got completely crazy with work and other commitments. but i'm thrilled to reflect here and let you know we had a fantastic time. the weather was perfect, city park's amusement park looked beautiful and wasn't even that crowded, and nicolas got to enjoy some quality time with his grandparents, classmates and some of our friends' kids. all in all, we couldn't have asked for a more perfect way for him to celebrate his 3rd birthday. despite the almost neon, stubborn blue icing that just wouldn't wash off (think lady macbeth at a kids' birthday party), the cake from Robert's (that's RO-bears for any non-New Orleanians reading this) was delicious, or at least that's what everyone told me - they don't make vegan cakes, so i was out of luck on that one. and even though nicolas specifically requested a chocolate cake, he seemed pretty co...

Happy Birthday Nicolas! , originally uploaded by nolafilm . from earlier today: