NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Chris O’Brien takes his son, Cooper, to sit on the stoop in front of his family home every morning<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Chris casually decided to share this morning ritual with TikTok, where it quickly took off and brought in millions of views<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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The family reveals they’ve secretly been grieving a loss offline, and how the videos have helped them process<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Every morning, Chris O\u2019Brien<\/a> takes his son Cooper outside to the front of their Southern California home while his wife, Hailey, makes breakfast inside.<\/p>\nThe pair settles into Cooper\u2019s little toy car and watches vehicles pass. Chris, 32, uses the time to point things out \u2014 \u201cThat\u2019s a blue truck, that\u2019s a green van, that\u2019s a yellow bus\u201d \u2014 turning it into a playful way to connect with his 1\u00bd-year-old son.<\/p>\n
In July, Chris decided to share the quiet ritual on TikTok. He\u2019d already been posting about his photography side business, but thought this sweet father-son moment was worth capturing. When he uploaded a short clip of Cooper sitting on their driveway curb, he never expected what happened next.<\/p>\n
\u201cI figured, well, I\u2019m out here every single morning anyway, so maybe I\u2019ll just start posting as part of the routine,\u201d Chris tells PEOPLE exclusively.<\/p>\n
But what began as a simple pastime quickly grew into a viral phenomenon. Within weeks, millions of people were tuning in daily to watch \u201cCoop on the Stoop,\u201d as Cooper plopped down on the family\u2019s curb, rain or shine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even come up with the name \u2014 someone commented it, and it just kind of organically became what it is now,\u201d Chris says.<\/p>\n
Chris O’Brien takes his son, Cooper, to sit on the stoop in front of his family home every morning<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Chris casually decided to share this morning ritual with TikTok, where it quickly took off and brought in millions of views<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
The family reveals they’ve secretly been grieving a loss offline, and how the videos have helped them process<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Every morning, Chris O\u2019Brien<\/a> takes his son Cooper outside to the front of their Southern California home while his wife, Hailey, makes breakfast inside.<\/p>\n The pair settles into Cooper\u2019s little toy car and watches vehicles pass. Chris, 32, uses the time to point things out \u2014 \u201cThat\u2019s a blue truck, that\u2019s a green van, that\u2019s a yellow bus\u201d \u2014 turning it into a playful way to connect with his 1\u00bd-year-old son.<\/p>\n In July, Chris decided to share the quiet ritual on TikTok. He\u2019d already been posting about his photography side business, but thought this sweet father-son moment was worth capturing. When he uploaded a short clip of Cooper sitting on their driveway curb, he never expected what happened next.<\/p>\n \u201cI figured, well, I\u2019m out here every single morning anyway, so maybe I\u2019ll just start posting as part of the routine,\u201d Chris tells PEOPLE exclusively.<\/p>\n But what began as a simple pastime quickly grew into a viral phenomenon. Within weeks, millions of people were tuning in daily to watch \u201cCoop on the Stoop,\u201d as Cooper plopped down on the family\u2019s curb, rain or shine.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t even come up with the name \u2014 someone commented it, and it just kind of organically became what it is now,\u201d Chris says.<\/p>\n