He laughed, which made me laugh, which made him laugh.....

November was a good month for watching Cooper doing new things, nearly all at the same time.

At the start of the month, Cooper started to laugh properly. The first time he did it I cracked up, and he laughed at my laugh, and I laughed, and he laughed again, and we kept going for a couple of minutes. It was so cute, and we could’ve gone on like that for ages!

Not long after that Cooper started to roll from his tummy to his back. I realized that I hadn’t been putting him on his tummy much for fear of him losing his feed, and when I put him on his tummy I was surprised at how strong he was. We usually put him on his tummy before his bath so that when he has no-nappy time he will pee onto the towel and not all over the room (we're lucky that he can't roll from his back to his tummy yet), and if he is impatient for his bath he can even crawl about 50 cm until he gets off the blanket, when he screams!

Cooper - November 2008

Cooper met his great-Poppy from Beerwah in Queensland, and no sooner had Poppy walked in the door than Cooper and his cousin Alison were put in his lap for much-awaited cuddles. He also experienced his first traditional Melbourne Cup day with our family, where we all go to the local park for chicken and champagne breakfast, and basically eat and drink the day away. This year we were able to celebrate with great-Poppy and Uncle Bardie.

Towards the end of the month Cooper’s legs got even stronger, and all he wants to do is stand up on your lap. I put him in the walker for a few minutes a couple of days ago and he loved it, but he hasn’t got the hang of bouncing and jumping, so when I put him in the Jolly Jumper he just stood there with stiff legs and a funny look on his face.

Just before Cooper turned four months of age I noticed that he was kicking so much in the baby bath that he was making a huge mess, so we moved onto the big bath, which he loves. The only trouble I have now in the bath is trying to stop him from turning his head to drink the bathwater.

Cooper had his second lot of needles, the four month ones, and by the time the doctor lifted the edge of his pants on the second leg, he knew what was coming and started crying even before the needle was anywhere near him. Smart kid!

At his four-month check up with the maternal child health nurse, Cooper weighed 6.66 kg and was 64 cm long.

Three nights to remember.....

I got to meet Andre Rieu, and play in his concert. Not that I was part of his talented orchestra, but I got to stand on stage with them all and play the side drum with approximately 100 other pipers and drummers in the finale on the 13, 14 & 15 November 2008.

The Australian Federal Police pipe band was the only band touring Australia with Andre, but the University of Ballarat Pipe Band was picked along with the Victoria Police Pipe Band, Hawthorn City Pipe band and Rats of Tobruk Pipe band to perform in the Melbourne concerts held at the Telstra Dome. We marched in playing Scotland the Brave, starting in two groups on the stadium ground, marched to the front of the stage, climbed up the steps to the stage (trying to avoid tripping on balloons and flower planter boxes and face-planting right at Andre’s feet), and I walked along the left side of the stage and up the steps to the ‘ballroom’ floor, standing on the balcony in the front row. For those of you watching the replay on DVD, I was directly behind the bass drummer with the leopard skin on the left.

Once on the stage we joined Andre and his orchestra playing Amazing Grace, which nearly had me in tears, then the rest of the cast came on stage and sung a song in a different language, we sang Waltzing Matilda, danced a funky dance with maracas, and then played Road to Gundagai as everyone else left the set. It was an awesome experience to be standing on stage looking out at 40,000 people in the audience, and one that I’ll remember for a long time.

With our ‘Guest Artist’ passes we were able to access most of the stadium and watch most of the performance, and were able to go to the after-party each night, the one that die-hard fans paid $1,200 each to attend. A few of us from our band spent a bit of time talking to Andre’s son Pierre, who is the Production Manager and designed the whole set, and we managed to get autographs and photos with some of the big stars, including Andre himself.

Meeing Andre Rieu and his crew

Fingers crossed that we’ll be able to perform in Andre’s concerts when he returns next year!!

Trying not to cry because he's gone, but to smile because he lived...

Sadly, Adam's father Peter died on 29 October, close to midnight.

Not long after returning from the Hunter Valley, Peter had a fall and was rushed to hospital. He seemed to come good after that, but was still kept in hospital. He was transferred to a palliative care suite at Bacchus Marsh on Tuesday 21 October, and Cooper and I spent that Friday afternoon with him. Peter held Cooper on his knees and had a good conversation with him "(ooo) and then.. (coo) .. really. .. (goo ga)... then what happened?...". That was the last time that Cooper was held and cuddled by Peter.

Over the next few days Peter's health declined, and Sarah and Alison arrived for a pre-arranged visit, and Peter's children Melissa and Scott and Melissa's two-and-a-half year old son Brandon came from Perth. The family had time to spend with Peter alone, even though Peter was sleeping most of the time, and on the Monday night when Adam thanked him for everything and told him he was proud of him, Peter said "What are you talking about? I'm proud of you". When Adam told him that he just wanted him to know, Peter said, "Don't be silly, I'll see you tomorrow". The next day, Peter woke when we arrived and said hello, waving his hands and fingers at us. For the rest of the day, he barely woke, and on Wednesday, he didn't wake at all.

Sadly, on Wednesday night, Peter passed away. The funeral was held at the Police Academy Chapel in Glen Waverly, which seats about 700 people. Being such a prominant person in the Ambulance service, the chapel was nearly full.

Farewell Peter 2008

I spoke on behalf of the family and was glad that I hadn't looked to see how many people were there until I got to the podium. I shared some favourite memories of Sarah and Adam, such as when Sarah was little and went to a pony club, the kids there were encouraged to decorate their ponies to celebrate the pony’s birthday. Sarah was sad that she didn’t have a pony there to decorate, so Peter let Sarah put a saddle and bridle on him and dress him up as her birthday pony, letting her ride on his back.

When Adam was growing up, he tried to run away a couple of times on his bike. One time Peter walked the streets of Melton looking for Adam, and when he found him, just picked up his bike and started walking home. Another time, Adam rode his bike a bit further away, and Peter drove around in the ambulance looking for him. When he found Adam talking to a bus driver he just picked up the bike, and put it in the back of the ambulance before taking Adam home. Not too many words passed between them about it, but it was by his actions, that Peter showed Adam how important he was to him.

The service ended with friend and colleague Don Ormiston playing Amazing Grace on the bagpipes, and a guard of honour led by the Ambulance Service that Adam proudly stood at the head of in his ambulance dress uniform. As the hearse passed through the guard, the Ambulance helicopter did a fly-over.

Peter was someone we will never forget. He meant so many things to so many people, and it was his love of life, and eagerness to live it to its fullest, that inspired and encouraged us to be best that we can be.

Rest in Peace Peter.
10/09/1953 - 29/10/2008