Cooper's Firsts: Wide Swaths of Giggles & Disappointment

This weekend we had all kinds of Firsts for Cooper, but to begin I must say, we haven't had much in the way of web access, so it's hindered our transparency.  We'll make up for it this week!  We were in the second week of a giant purge-fest in my grandfather's garage in St. Louis and this weekend, the Pack of Three stayed down near Forest Park to hang by ourselves for a couple of days after the cleaning was done.  So, a list of Cooper Firsts:

1. Dinner on The Hill (Happy Birthday Aunt Margie!)

2. Staying in a hotel (Gotta love free stays on points!)

3. St. Louis Bread Co (a Community Cafe at that!)

4. Fire Fighters in Action

5. Service at Winds of Pentecost

6. Missouri Botanical Gardens

Now, I want to set the stage here for a moment.  We'd had a great Saturday with the family digging through the remains of Grandpa's garage-cum-hardware store and an evening of celebration on The Hill.  Sunday we visited Winds of Pentecost in St. Charles and picked up some Bandana's for dinner.  Monday morning dawned cool and sunny, nary a cloud in the sky.  We packed up our bags and Cooper's, um, semi-trailer load of gear and walked over to Bread, Co for brunch.  About mid-way through juggling Cooper over a cup of Chicken Tortilla & Bacon Turkey Bravo (Pick Two!), the manager comes running all in a tizzy about a building on fire.

Yep.  A big one.  To the tune of 6 different engine companies, a snorkel and a raft of EMS... throw in a news chopper courteously hovering overhead and you can understand how brunch got cold pretty quick.  Let it be known that before I wanted to be anything else in life, I wanted to be a fireman.  Of all the blue collar professions on a city's payroll, there's no cooler job.  Sure, cops get to carry weapons and yell at people, but when it comes to downright unbelievable gear and a warrior glint, a bunker coat and axe headed toward towering infernos just cuts the mustard every time.

 

Do you see why I had my 5 month old son on the street pointing out Rescue Squads, Captains and air tanks?  Why, when the street filled with smoke from the rooftop, it was so difficult for me to step into clear air away from a prime viewing spot?  How thrilled I was when one of the St Louis Hook & Ladder guys offered to hold Cooper while I TAKE HIS PICTURE IN FRONT OF THE TRUCK!?

You'll also understand the depth of my disappointment when I realized I didn't save the picture on my phone.  Yes, while we're a world away from 35mm cameras with forgotten film loads or overexposed pictures, it seems LG must create a phone that asks you TWICE if you want to save the picture you JUST TOOK.  And just like that... a memory to cherish a lifetime has no physical evidence.  There's a moral to this story, but I haven't worked through it long enough to conjure one up.  I will say that as we plunged into the rest of our day, the thought that kept me from tossing my LG into the Mississippi was that I got to talk it out with all you.  So, I leave you with this... the precursor to the coolest shot in Cooper's life: