Indoor Activities

One wonderful thing about living in Texas with two little boys is that the weather very rarely prevents you from going outside. Aside from your occaisional rainy day, we have mild, warm weather almost year round. However, from December to February we sometimes experience a "cold snap" and that is what we are doing this week.

It started out with a fluffy snow on Sunday that started while we were in Sunday school and was just enough for playing outside in the snow but not so much that we were snowed in on Monday. Perfect. But b/c of our very high level of activity at the moment (Cole is now quickly approaching 2 and a half and Cohen is 10 months), by Tuesday we had to start seeking out indoor activities that were outside our own house. So we ventured to the mall and the boys had a WONDERFUL time at the "play place".

Now don't get me wrong, we have been there many times. But just lately has it become interesting for Cohen. He is crawling so well, pulling up, standing on his own sometimes and REALLY wanting to walk so the soft floor and tons of running, screaming kids are so fun for him that I think he would have stayed all day. Cole will stay interested in it for quite a while, however, there are little "car ride" toys just outside the play place that he always wants to play on. I don't like them b/c (1) they are outside the walls of the play place so I have to stand and watch like a hawk (2) they cost money (which of course I don't put in) and (3) They are on a little platform and I can't let Cohen down so I hold him while we watch Cole get in the car and just yank on the steering wheel and pretend he's driving. Anyway, all of that to say that Cole has finally figured out my trick of letting him play in the cars without depositing quarters. So after he had played in the play place for a while he came over and said "Mom, I need money". I laughed and said "you do? Why?" He looked up at me, grinned mischieviously and said "for the cars". hehehehe - man they are too smart for their own good aren't they?

So I finally convinced him that instead of putting money in the cars we should go home and put it in our piggy bank. That actually was a great excuse to pack up and head home for naps so it worked out well.

Looks like we'll continue to seek out indoor activities for at least the rest of the week so stay tuned for more pictures. (PS - these aren't great b/c I took them on my iphone but they'll do).


Cole playing with Taz

Cole and Cohen on Taz

I love this one - oh that brotherly love!

Cohen on the Pepe le Pue slide (this was his first real sliding experience and as you can tell, he loved it!)

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!