I’m not too big

Cohen had been waking up from his naps early but not really ready to wake up. Instead of deal with his crabbiness when mom was gone, Troy put him in the swing. (not to say I didn’t try it once recently too, just didn’t work) He decided that after another 15 minutes nap in the swing he was ready for the afternoon. Thankfully he has figured out sleeping a little longer in his crib is the better option these days.

Sevea I think appreciates Cohen sleeping a little longer at naptime as well. Naturally he would wake her up by the time I could get him. She wasn’t always a fan of the little nap and on this day decided to rest her crabbiness away in the chair. I remember her as a newborn in this chair and now she barely fits.

Both of them are getting so big, but not too big!

So how is that “diet” going?

What? You aren’t supposed to give the kid the whole box of crackers? Oops!

I get around

We have a walker!!

At the beginning of this month Cohen took more of an interest in walking. Troy and I would have him stand up and practice walking between the two of us. He was hilarious. He would get so excited. So much fun watching him be so proud of himself. I have some video I will try to post but I’m not sure it captured it to the fullest. He would grunt with excitement and grin from ear to ear. Then on Sunday October 14th we went to the Witzel family house for a house warming party. Cohen decided then that he was going to “show off” and was walking more than he ever had. It was like he found his confidence. Maybe the mariachi band really put a pep in his step :) So from that day on he would trust himself more and go from one thing to another more freely than before. He could walk across the room pretty well. Then on Saturday October 20th we headed over to a birthday party for one of my daycare kids. Cohen may be trying to tell us he is going to be a performer because again he decided that since there was a large crowd he would show off his walking. He choose walking over crawling if possible. He was on the go go go. And from then on he hasn’t stopped. He still crawls since he doesn’t know how to stand up without holding on to something. But if he is standing he will walk to where he wants to get. He will crawl to things to stand up so he can walk. So we’re officially labeling him as a walker. You can see in the pictures that he thinks the Frankenstein walk is soooo cool. And we love it.

He reminds me how different kids can be. Sevea had started crawling much earlier (8 months) than Cohen (10 months) yet they ended up walking at the same time (turning 14 months). Sevea never really practiced her walking. She would rarely hold her hands and walk around a room. She didn’t take a few steps and figure it out that way. She took off. Literally the day she started walking she walked across the room and then never quit. She had balance and seemed like a pro. Cohen as you read was much different. He still has balance issues but gets better every day. And is already more of a climber than Sevea ever was. I am very thankful that I get to experience all of these fun moments twice!

Corn Maze 2012

We ventured to the corn maze last weekend for our annual trip. It would have been nice to fit it in one of the weekends before seeing as the weather is now a little cooler but it was still a good time for all. With each year the kids get into new things as they grow. Cohen of course was just a itty bitty newborn last year and this year was able to enjoy the fun of the corn pit. Sevea was TOTALLY into the magic show this year. It was so fun to watch her be amazed by what the magician was doing and interacting when he would ask things or even volunteering to help. We really love having such a fun place to go so close. Sevea just wishes a year visit was instead every weekend.

I remember when we first started coming. She could barely stay upright. Totally a pro now!

He LOVED the corn pit. Thankfully he thought it was fun to play with rather than eat. Ok he did try once or twice :)

If you look closely you can see the little joey in the momma’s pouch. We always enjoy getting to see the different animals and this year was no different.

It is fun to compare year to year especially when the kids are young. They change so much. Love every little inch that he has grown this past year.

We’ll see you next year Sever’s Corn Maze!!

Tools

Remember when I posted about Grayson and his baby doll? Well he knows what the tool bench is really made for as well!

Cuddle Time

It was so cute to see Cohen cuddle into his sister. She enjoyed it as well. I hope the stay fans of each other!!

Breaking Old, Creating New

I’ve heard it takes 21 days to form a habit. You could definitely say Sevea had a thumb sucking habit since she had been sucking her thumb since the age of 1. At Sevea’s 4 year well check we talked with the doctor about her thumb sucking habit. He had mentioned before that it probably wouldn’t be an issue until age 5. However we had been telling Sevea almost her whole 3rd year that when she turned 4 she would need to give up her thumb sucking habit. Well she sort of reverted in that she started sucking her thumb more often in that year. So when she turned 4 I didn’t feel right about taking it away cold turkey. We compromised and she said she would only suck it in her bed or the car. This was going great for the week between her birthday and her check up. At the check up the doctor ended up saying that her teeth might be moving a little and the habit should be broken sooner than later. Before the appointment Sevea had been requesting vitamins. I took this as an opportunity to try to help her stop sucking her thumb. We agreed that she could have vitamins if she didn’t suck her thumb. (Vitamins are an acceptable bribery right?!?!) Night time came and the true test if words would become actions. She got her vitamin and happily agreed to not suck her thumb. However her tune changed a few minutes later when she actually had to try to fall asleep. She told us she didn’t know how to fall asleep and needed her thumb. We talked again about what the doctor said and that she just needed to close her eyes. She could do it. There was a little more talking and a little while later she was asleep…

without having sucked her thumb. We didn’t celebrate success just yet. Would she suck it in the middle of the night? How would naps go? What about the next night? Sevea certainly isn’t perfect but we have had a pretty easy road with her. And breaking the habit of thumb sucking was no different. She hasn’t sucked her thumb since and we couldn’t be more proud. She makes this parenting job seem easy. Which is good because Cohen may give us a little more work. He’s creating a new habit…

sleeping in bed with mom and dad. He was battling a cold that turned into a double ear infection and just had the worst time falling back to sleep in his crib in the wee hours of the morning. Second kid syndrome kicked in and into bed he came with us. Sevea’s slept in our bed less than a hand full. We’ve allowed Cohen into our bed more than two hands full already. This is a habit we need to break asap. It is just so nice to squeeze out another hour from him in the morning…and who wouldn’t want to snuggle next to this guy!! It is supposed to be 21 consecutive days right?!?!

Looking Good

It is hard to switch from such a sad post to something fun. But the reason I write this blog is to be reminded of all the little things in life I am thankful for. This blog really helps me focus on all the little moments I am blessed with my kids. So back to normal posts I go.

One weekend in September we attended a wedding in Alexandria for a cousin of Troy’s. We had a lot of fun, even though the night in the hotel wasn’t a lick of fun :) Sevea enjoyed getting to play with her second cousins and other kids there as well. Cohen was such a sport even though he was up way past his bedtime. And he couldn’t have been cuter in his borrowed outfit from cousin Grayson.

So handsome. I could just eat him up. I guess I am referring to them both :)

Sevea trying to keep up with the shuffle but just not getting it. She wanted to play with the other kids again but couldn’t find her new friend.

She was certainly happy once she found her new friend again. It is so great when older kids are nice enough to entertain the young ones. This girl was great and so nice.

Precious

Most of the blog posts I write are about happy times. Happy times with my kids. I most definitely feel blessed. Life isn’t 100% rainbows and sunshine for our family but we certainly don’t have a dark cloud over our heads and you could even say we don’t see much rain. We are happy and again very very blessed. Did I say blessed? I try very hard to recognize all the good in my life on a daily basis. And I hold on even tighter to those good things when faced with extreme sadness. For those of you that don’t know my daycare was expanding. Today was the first day for the brother of Eloise. Then in March I was supposed to welcome another baby boy who was due to be born late September. I just received an email from the mother I most certainly know she never thought she would write and I never ever wanted to receive. They went into the hospital to be induced on the 28th and the baby had no heartbeat. No words. There are no words. Except to count your blessings. I certainly am reminded of how precious life is. I’ll squeeze my two kids a little longer in honor of little Bradley.

Chuck e Cheese Fun

Sevea had been requesting to go to Chuck e Cheese for some time. We told her that we would go for her birthday. So we kept our promise and went on the night of her actual birthday. Sevea is learning more and more about the calendar and birthday’s so she was a little confused about celebrating twice. She kept thinking she would have all her family and friends at the restaurant as well. But once we got there she didn’t care a bit. She had so much fun and we really enjoyed our time. One positive…her birthday was on a Monday. The place was pretty quiet. The staff made it really fun and not many kids to dodge. It was definitely great to make her actual birthday special.