Cohen Update

Cohen is six months old! Can you believe that? And as you can tell he is a total ham - making faces to make us all laugh, egged on by his brother of course! He is sitting up, laughing at Cole, doing tricks with his paci, and generally entertaining us all (when he can steal the spotlight from Cole that is).

This has easily been the fastest six months of my life. I am still reeling over the loss of Kaci and thinking all day every day about Ryan, the kids, her parents and siblings. But while there has been heartache, there has also been growth. I continue to be grateful that God is in charge so I don't have to be.

So let's talk about those all important STATS!

Cohen weighed in at 17 pounds, 11 ounces! That's 50th percentile which surprised me b/c I think he's pretty chunky and that sounded pretty good sized. He is 28 inches tall which was in the 90th percentile. His head measurement was in the 70th percentile. So not as symmetrical as he was at 4 months but also a marked growth spurt! I just love that my mom still has my growth charts and when Dr. Mix shows me the boys' I recognize those same shaded curves!

Ok, so in addition to stats we've had a lot of development recently. Cohen has been sitting up on his own really well for a while. We attempted to give him some rice cereal at about month five but that DID NOT take. Hehehe - he just couldn't swallow it or understand what he was supposed to do! So last week we tried again and that kid was HUNGRY! He wolfs down 3 meals a day and from what I can tell has not backed off the regular 4 hour nursing schedule! So he has had rice cereal, sweet potato, squash and applesauce. Cole thinks it is pretty hilarious that he sits at the table and eats with us. And it is pretty hilarious....b/c he sputters and spits and makes a huge mess and the Cole laughs at him and he laughs at Cole and NO ONE really eats much so they are all hungry right before bed - ha! But the "cuteness quotient" is pretty high when these brothers laugh together, or snuggle or play with the same toys, so their daddy and I overlook things like pre-bedtime snacks!

We dont' have any crawling yet. He doesn't mind tummy time, just kicks his arms and legs really wanting to go someplace. He still LOVES the tummy pack - in fact he was in it for a few hours tonight while I cooked dinner and made some casseroles for the week and cookies for a party tomorrow and I can feel that little 17 pounder in my shoulders now! He is a big talker! He has this beautiful low foice and he really mimics us - he says "dadadadadad" which Cole recognizes and mimics. A few weeks ago when you asked Cole what a baby said he would say "waaaaaa", now he says "dadadadada" - pretty cute!

New posts this week!

Well once again the time between my posts has exceeded a month. I argue with myself some days over this dilema between capturing the moments (in both pictures and words) and living in the moment - with no camera or computer to interfere. Clearly the "living" has won out lately. Combined with the craziness that is two kids, a job, a husband, two dogs, friends, family, travel, food and all of the things that make our lives full and fun! So now I need to swing back to the "capturing" side and work on some blog posts, memory books, etc. Look for new posts this week!

Kaci

I know that most of my blog readers are friends and family. And I have posted this request a few times in the last 5 months. But just in case there is anyone who happens by this blog and hasn't heard Kaci's story I wanted to bring it up once again. Kaci is such a precious part of so many lives. Her husband, Ryan and their 3 small children love and cherish her. She is a daily part of the lives of her parents, siblings, neices and nephews. She has been a shining example in her church, her community and the community in Albania where her family spent almost two years ministering.


She and I grew up as next door neighbors and best friends, we were college roommates and maids of honor/bridesmaids in each others weddings. She is battling cancer as I post this and her family is surrounding her with love and faith in God. Please pray for she and her extended family as they weather this test of faith. Their blog is "The Ronne's" at the top of my blog list.

Brothers

I've been thinking alot about brothers lately....

Mainly because I'm raising some....

and although I know some......

I don't have any......

but I think it's going nicely so far......

and from what I can tell.....

brothers are a lot of fun......

and getting more fun......

every day!

Transportation PJs take two!

I cannot believe it!!! Cohen is in my favorite pair of PJ's the "transportation PJ's". This is part of the "first year of PJ's" that Aunt Biz sent us long before Cole was born. And I can remember looking at them thinking how amazing it was going to be when Cole was big enough to wear them - they looked HUGE to me! And now HE is too big for THEM and Cohen is wearing them! It's strange to think back to that time and know that even though it wasn't that long ago a LOT has happened since then! So here are the pictures! And Cole's for comparative purposes (click on "Cole" to go to that old post)!

Cohen's dedication May 2010.MOD

Yesterday was a special Mother's Day - my first as the mom of TWO boys and also Cohen's baby dedication at church! He did great, no crying at all! And Cole did pretty good too. We had a great weekend and thought some of you might enjoy this video!

Mother's Day

A happy Mother's Day to all mothers and all women who "mother" someone!

I had an early Mother's Day celebration today. Cory and Cole went together to run errands around 11:30 so Cohen and I could nap! Then this afternoon we worked outside, mowing and washing windows. Finally the boys cooked me a delicious Mother's Day meal and gave me a box of beautiful organic soaps that have all different ingredients and purposes! It was soooo cool, I didn't have a chance to take a picture b/c naturally Cole and I immediately chose a soap with lots of bubbles and hopped in the tub for his nightly bath! But I'll post one later!

So I had a great Mother's Day thanks to a wonderful husband! Cory, you are an amazing daddy and an even better husband and I love you!

Pray Now!

Kaci needs your prayers as she gets her MRI! Pray for a miraculous shrinking of the tumor and even a complete disappearance!

Heavenly Father, be with Kaci and Ryan right now! Pour down your healing grace and give her the treatment that only the Great Physician can give. We pray that you re-energize and re-invigorate the whole family in this, their new "mission field". We lift the kids to you and pray that you are providing them the ultimate parenting experience while their parents are fighting and working for Christ! Be with them now, in Jesus' name we pray!

Pray for Kaci

For those of you who may not know, one of my very best friends has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor and is fighting that cancer like a champ! I haven't posted about it before because I think most of my blog audience are family and friends who also read her blog. But on the off chance that there is anyone out there who reads mine and doesn't read hers, I wanted to be sure to spread her story.

Kaci is my childhood best friend, freshman year of college roommate and someone who will undoubtedly be a lifelong friend. Her high school sweetheart, Ryan, asked her to marry him during our freshman year of college. Together they have three darling kids, Tate, Mya and Jada. They currently live in Guymon after a two year mission in Albania. They live across the street from my parents (who live one house down from her parents which is how we became such good friends in the first place) and so I get to see them when I go home to visit!

If I had to describe Kaci in one word I would probably use loyal. Once she loves something - she sticks with it. She is a loyal, dependable friend, wife, daughter, mother, and follower of Christ. She has been unfailing in her faith during this trying time and I think that is pretty characteristic of her as she's never been one to like drama or make a big deal over things. I also see her as the type of person who is constantly moving forward. She doesn't like to sit still and isn't afraid of the future or sad about leaving the past. She used to always make me get up early in college b/c she didn't want to sleep all day and she had some adventure in mind!

So I won't go into all the detail of her story, her blog is the best place for that and its at the top of my list to the right so go to "Ronne Family" for more information. But today at 10:30 she has an MRI and we are praying that there has been some decrease in the size of the tumor due to her recent few weeks of radiation. Her husband, Ryan, has been the leader of what has become "Team Kaci" over the past two months and he is asking that we all pause to pray at 10:30.

I do believe that God hears all our prayers equally, so that the simple, unpracticed prayer muttered by the inmate on death row is heard with the same clarity as the eloquent prayer of the most adored pastor. But I do think God will be chuckling at 10:30 and saying "I knew you could do it". I think that he knew that this tumor would not be a TEST for Kaci, Ryan and family but would be a TESTament to their faith that would shine the light of his love to the blogger community, Facebook forum, and countless churches and homes as people learned of her story and her family's faithful reaction.

So please join in the prayer today (and everyday) that God will heal her and claim his power over all things!

Laughter is the BEST medicine

Just wanted to note a STRANGE phenomenon in our house lately. Since Cohen was born we have had NO illness. Now I know that I'm probably jinxing myself and I'm sure it has something to do with no daycare...but it is really nice! And I think that part of it is the constant hilarity around here. See Cohen's new beautiful smile for proof that we spend a lot of the day just laughing!

Can you tell who is who?

I thought these pictures are a pretty good match in age and activity so can you tell which brother is which?

Dallas Children's Museum

We had a very eventful day today! Cory was given some tickets to the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway today so the boys and I decided to go on our own outing. We went straight from church to the Vanderlick's house to meet up with Tatum and Peyton (Tim was with Cory). After naptime, we all loaded up and headed to the Dallas Children's Museum in Fair Park. Cohen enjoyed a very nice, uninterrupted nap in the stroller while Cole and Peyton ran all around the exhibits. They especially enjoyed the firetruck jungle gym, the water table (big mess - you guys know Cole and water), the farm exhibit, and the aquarium (full of snakes, turtles, fish, etc.). We had a great time, thanks Tatum for the idea! Unfortunately I forgot my camera and Tatum took hers but left the memory card at home. So we got NO pictures! So I'm just posting random pictures b/c people complain if I post without pictures!

Cole helping me with Cranberry muffins - he LOVES to help with baking!

Cohen trying hard to sleep through the mayhem!

Cohen Bennett

Up to this point my blog has been pretty quiet on the subject of Cohen Bennett. That is only due to the fact that life with "two under two" does not allow for a lot of computer time! But "blog silence" generally means "life loudness" so here's the latest on Cohen.

First, he is seven weeks old today! Yay! He is the perfect baby.....that's right....I've had two perfect babies! Lucky girl am I and yes, I've considered being a surragate for hire. He is already sleeping 4 to 5 hours at a time. He is awake and alert during the day, smiling and cooing at his big brother. He receives SEVERAL smacks, eye pokes, paci hijacks a day from Cole and rarely puts up a fuss. He is very snuggly and starting to be quite talkative, loves baths and being outside (good thing b/c Cole won't stay indoors at all anymore). I will admit that when something does upset him, he will let you know! In a very long and loud way! I attribute that to being the second child - you have to pick your battles so when you do pick one, its important to stage it appropriately! But I tell him that I understand and that despite certain disadvantages (like not having the dexterity to defend your paci against your older brother when you REALLY need it), second in line is a good place to be!

As of today, he is about 12 pounds 15 ounces and I can't tell how long b/c he's too long for my scale. He had his first road trip last week to OKC. And his next one is planned for next week - to Houston.

Ok, I think that covers the basics - enjoy the pics!

Blog Vacation

I've been on a bit of a vacation....no, not a trip, a vacation. A "blogging hiatus" if you will. It was sort of unintentional but things have gotten a little crazy around here. So what did I miss? Well, Christmas for starters. Then January which included a last minute babymoon to Las Vegas. Then busy season. Then the birth of Cohen on March 1st. And then the subseqent five weeks of life with 2 under 2!

So I know that's a lot to try to catch up on but I'm just going to give it a shot over the next few weeks. I'll try to include lots of pictures and fun baby Hohweiler anecdotes. According to my BIL I'll have to win back my loyal blog readers who have given up that I'd ever have a new post. But I'm pretty sure a call to immediate family to alert them to my return would do the trick!

So this is for Jarrod - I'm back from my sebatical - and I've got twice the baby news now so get ready for some serious blogging!