Cohen is 1....say what?

Cohen is ONE today!  I cannot believe it.  I know it is so cliche to say.."time flies" but it totally does!

Cohen is a great eater.  He will pretty much eat anything I offer him.  I think our days of baby food are numbered....he wants whatever we are eating.  He is done nursing.  Nolen was so attached to nursing and it took forever to wean him.  Cohen could care less.  I could tell he was starting to get distracted and would only nurse for a minute on each side so I started cutting feedings.  I have this fear of him suddenly quitting and me getting Mastitis (which is what happened with Gavin).  It has been 2 days since he nursed and he just doesn't care.  It is kind of sad....he isn't a baby anymore.

He is very busy!  Always in to some sort of trouble.  He has almost eaten dog food and has played in the toilet.....twice.  It is hard to keep that lid down....just ask Gavin and Nolen.  He can climb out of his walker and climbs in to and on top of his toy basket.  He can stand for as long as he wants but has zero interest in walking.

He is still in a size 4 diaper and weighs just under 23 lbs.  He has definitely slowed down on growing.....and still wears mostly 12-18 month clothes.  

He has nothing to do with a pacifier but will not go to sleep without sucking on his elephant.  I ordered 2 more of them and I now have a rotation to keep them from getting stinky.

He jibber jabbers....a lot.  He will try to say most things I ask him to if he is in the mood.  Most words sound nothing like the actual word but at least he is trying.

He is definitely not shy and will go to anyone who will take him.  He reaches for everyone....even strangers in the grocery store.  

I have to tell a funny story about the birthday boy.  One night last week, Gavin and Nolen went to spend the night with Eric's parents and we took Cohen and went to dinner.  We went to this little Mexican Restaurant and it is so yummy but the tables are on top of each other.  We were sitting really close to a table with 3 younger women at it.  Cohen would not quit staring at them.  He kept turning around and smiling and waving at them.  He was totally flirting with them.  There was an empty chair at their table and he kept grabbing it and pulling on it.  Eric got on to him a couple of times and he didn't stop, so the 3rd time he smacked his hand and told him "NO".  Cohen looked at Eric and then looked at the girls, turned around and gave Eric this look that said, "Daaaaddddd, you totally embarrassed me in front of these pretty girls!!"  Then he started crying his pitiful--you hurt my feelings cry.  He was so mad at Eric, he kept giving him dirty looks....it was so funny.

Anyways, Cohen has had a great first year of life and we all feel so blessed to have been a part of it.  He is just the happiest most lovable little boy.  I love him so much!  

Stay tuned for pictures of his 1st birthday bash and his 1 year pictures!

Team

Gavin is in the middle of his 3rd season of flag football.  Eric is his Coach and has always taken his "job" very seriously (that may be an understatement).  He is a great Coach and the boys learn so much from him.  It's no secret though, Daddy does not like to lose.  In past seasons, Gavin has not been very passionate about winning.  He wanted to play but he would tell Eric, "Daddy, it's not about winning, its about having fun!" A little role reversal going on you think?  Gavin just didn't care if they won or how well he did.  I think he did it more for Eric than "love of the game".

Well....things have changed.  Gavin is serious about football these days.  He is always outside "practicing".  He gets really upset with himself if he doesn't play as well as he knows he can.
We had planned on going to Florida for Fall Break this year.  That meant that Gavin and Eric would miss Saturday's double header.  Gavin informed us that we couldn't go to Florida.  He said that his team needed him and that he didn't think they could win without him.  I was so blown away.  My 6 year old is part of a team....and he didn't want to go play on the beach (one of his favorite things ever) because he wants to be here to play with them....win or lose.  I am a proud Mama.

The Beach

Have I mentioned that my kids love the beach?  Well, they do......

Eric was hunting in Canada over Labor Day so the boys and I headed to Florida.  There was a tropical storm so it wasn't exactly the best beach weather.  We only got to go one day and it was cloudy but the boys didn't seem to mind.  They had a blast.

 Nolen and Ayla....they looove each other!

When we got there, Gavin was pouting because I wouldn't let him bring his I-Pod down to the beach.  That lasted about 5 seconds.  As soon as his feet touched the sand, he forgot all about it.

Sand does not bother this little guy one bit.  When he was a baby, he hated the sand.  I am sure I have said it before but you could sit him in a chair and he would not move for hours because he did not want to get sand on any part of him.  I would say he got over it.

My big boy....he looks so grown up here!

Nolen being silly.....

Oh Mom, seriously.  Can you get me out of this thing?  I wanna eat some sand!

Gavin Boogie Boarding

Little toes in the sand.

This was the first time that I sat Cohen in the sand and just let him play.  Of course, he had to taste it.....

Want some?



11 Months! + 2 days

Cohen is 11 months old!  I cannot believe that in less than a month we will be celebrating his 1st birthday....crazy! 

He is a mess!  In.to.every.thing.  Gone are the days of cuddling on the couch.  He does not like to be contained.  If I put him behind the gate, in the walker or the bouncy chair....he throws an awful fit and really shows his little attitude.

If I put him down and let him explore, he is happy as he can be.

Little sample of the attitude....

I thought Cohen was going to be my earliest walker since he crawled and pulled up pretty early.  Gavin walked right around his first birthday and Nolen didn't walk until he was 15 months old.  However, he doesn't seem to be in any rush.  He crawls so fast and if you try to hold his hands and help him walk he just collapses his legs.

Not sure what happened to my pictures but they are not so great this time.  It could be the fact that he will not be still so most of them were blurry.

Cohen's new favorite thing to do is climb the stairs.  He can go all the way to the top and is so proud of himself.  He thinks it is hilarious and giggles the entire way up. 

I think he has slowed down a bit on the growth.  He is wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes with some

18-24 mixed in and size 4 diapers.  He still has 6 teeth.

He is only nursing twice a day now.  He nurses when he wakes up in the morning and right before bed at night.  He is very busy and is all over the place while nursing....if you know what I mean. 

He has taken a huge interest in table food.  I think it all started when my Mom fed him waffles on our last trip to Florida.  He wants whatever we are eating and loves every thing I have given him.

He continues to be a great sleeper most of the time.  He did have a few nights where he woke up several times but fortunately he went back to his 12 hour sleeping stretches.

He really wants to talk.  He is constantly blabbering.  He still says several words but his favorites right now are "YES!" and "HI!".

He is just the sweetest little ball of energy!  We all love him so much!

Cohen's Nursery

So....I have been meaning to do this for the last 10 months.  I wanted to have pictures of Cohen's nursery
and I finally took them.

I love his room.  I looooovvveee the wall that Eric painted.  Every time I go in there, it is a reminder of how much he MUST love me to do that.  The circles on the wall are fabric in little cross stitching hoops (I think that is what they are).  It was a VERY cheap project and I think it turned out pretty cute.

The picture over the glider is of me when I was pregnant.  The matting around it is signed by all the girls from my shower.

The glider was from Gavin's room.  It was a honey wood and had denim cushions on it.  We sanded it and painted it black.  After deciding that my sewing skills were not up to re-covering the cushions....I found some online and ordered them.

The letters are from my favorite store, Hobby Lobby.  I also made the canvas monogram sign.  I actually did that just a few weeks before he was born....I thought it turned out really cute.

The picture over Cohen's bed was taken just a few days after he was born.  So sweet.

I know I am ridiculous but I totally put his bumpers back in his bed just for these pictures. The thought of him getting his face stuck in them while he is sleeping terrifies me so I took them out when he started sleeping in his crib. He sleeps with NOTHING in his crib except for his little lovie....which he shoves in his mouth...which also makes me nervous.  His crib looked so cozy yesterday with all the cushioning in it.....but I just know I couldn't sleep with them in there.

So....I have a question.  Do you have bumpers in your 10 month old's crib?  At what age do you let them sleep with a blanket?  Yes, this is my 3rd child.  Yes, I am paranoid.

Where did my pants go?



I forgot to write about something funny that happened on the cruise....and I want to remember it. 
The last night of the cruise, Eric had a really hard time sleeping.  He had been in the room sleeping pretty much all day because he had a stomach bug.....so he wasn't really tired.  Since he was so restless, I was having a really hard time sleeping.  He decided to go for a walk and so I was trying to go to sleep. 
All of a sudden I hear Gavin moving around.  He climbed out of his bed and slowly got up and walked to the bathroom, fiddled with the door for a few seconds and then walked in the bathroom and closed the door behind him, without turning on the light.  Keep in mind that we are in a tiny room with NO windows, there was no natural light, it was completely dark. 
I am wondering how he could possibly be going to the bathroom in the dark.  I get up and open the bathroom door and turn the light on.  There is Gavin, peeing all over the closed toilet lid!  It is just rolling off the toilet back on to him and all over the floor.  I said, "GAVIN, what are you doing?" and I quickly lift the toilet seat.  He continues to pee and says, "I'm going to the bathroom." 
His pajama pants were soaked, so after he finished, I got him out some clean underwear and he put them on and got back in the bed. 
The next morning when I woke him up to get dressed, he sits up in the bed and says, "Ummmm......where did my pants go?"  He doesn't remember anything.

10 Months Old!

 Our photo session did not go so well at first.  Cohen has learned that when he gets put in his bed.....most of the time it is to go to sleep.  He did not want to sleep.....and he freaked out.

He really wanted out of there.....so we had to change locations!

Cohen is learning so much.....I cannot believe all the new things that he is doing.

He is right around 22 lbs and is wearing 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.

He has started communicating quite a bit.  I am just blown away....I think he is a genius! HA!

While we were on the cruise, Aunt Sara taught him to wave and say "HI".  He does it all the time, mostly to strangers....he has the cutest wave EVER!

I'm just really gonna brag now and list all the things that he says and does:  he says "dada" and "mama" but doesn't relate them to us so I'm not going to count those.  He points at my eyes and says "eye", if I ask where my nose is he points at my nose, when I ask him where his mouth is he says "aaahhh" and sticks his finger in his mouth.  He also shakes his hand at me and says "nononono" when he gets frustrated or I get on to him.  He also waves and says "diedie" which we find hilarious.

He LOVES to have his teeth brushed.  He giggles the whole time....not sure why it is so funny but it is to him.  He is all over the place and in to everything.  He can climb out of his high chair while buckled in with the tray on...crazy kid!

He loves Gavin and Nolen and he wants to play with their stuff so bad.  He gets really mad when they take anything from him.  He will "tell them off" in his own way.....pretty funny.  He is quite the entertainer....repeating any behavior that gets a laugh out of us.

He still sleeps great and naps great.  He is just so happy and smart and funny.  We cannot imagine life without him.