To My Little Man

Dear Cohen,

You'll never know how much you have changed your dad and I. This past year has been the best year of our lives (some days the most challenging, but definitely the best), and I know it will only get better from here. When you look up at me with those bright blue eyes, I melt everytime. You have no idea how hard it is to tell you "no" and discipline you when you look at me that way. Ahhh!

Sometimes I wonder how it was that God chose me to be your mommy and I can't help but feel humbled and honored. Like His grace, we have done nothing to deserve you but He gave you to us anyway. You're a precious little gift that He has entrusted to us for a short period of time. We can't say that we will always be the perfect parents because we won't. But I promise that we will ALWAYS love you unconditionally and we will do our best to raise you to be a Godly man. So, today on your very 1st birthday I want to tell you that I LOVE YOU LITTLE MAN!

Here are a couple of things that you are doing these days that I want to be sure to remember:

1) All cups, bottles, and sippy cups are "jiss" (juice)


2) You think it's very important to gather all the shoes out of our closet and hide them strategically throughout the house.


3) Anything and everything that is round is automatically a ball, or "bah" as you like to say.


4) You have 5 teeth, plus 2 more popping out at this very moment


5) You love to play on our bed and jump face first into the pillows. Then you look back at me hysterically laughing at yourself.


6) You hate to have your diaper changed and you absolutely hate to go down for a nap.


7) Your favorite toy right now is your big blue ball.


8) When I say "give me a kiss" you open your mouth as wide as possible, grab me by the cheeks and lay one on me. I love it!



9) You have recently discovered belly buttons and you love to raise up my shirt and stick your finger in my belly button. Then you do your cute little giggle!



10) You are a ball of energy! We can hardly keep up with you. And you are independent. Did I say that you have a lot of energy?

Not much here...

We have been doing a lot of nothing around here. Just relaxing and enjoying a few last days of summer before Chad goes back to school. We've also been getting ready for the big day... Cohen's 1st birthday that is! Can you believe it's already been a year. That might be a multiple post event. We're just doing a small family party at the lakehouse next weekend, but I'm sure we'll have a lot of stories and pictures to share.

Here are some events from the past 2 weeks:

Cohen loves to "help" us fold laundry.

Last week we were at the Rangers game and we ran into the Ocheskeys so I was able to get a couple of pictures of Cohen and Camden.

Last weekend we had a birthday party at the Dickersons house. We did a family concert on Rockband. As you can tell by the look on Cohen's face, it was past bedtime.

This week my 2nd cousins came over to see Cohen. Yes, those are triplets. We have TRIPLETS in our genes!

To Grandma's We Will Go!

The week before last Chad and I went to Camp with the youth at The Branch. I was the camp cook (note to self... never do that again! I loved being around the kids, but cooking 3 meals a day for 70 people was not the best vacation I've ever had) and Chad was a counselor. So, we left Cohen with the grandparents and headed off to Eastern Oklahoma for Camp Thr3e. He stayed with my parent's (Grammy and Papa) the first half of the week and he stayed with Chad's parents (Nana and Big T) the second half. I know Cohen had fun, but 8 days without my baby was a little too much for me. I asked both sets of grandparents for pictures from the trip so that I could blog about it, but neither one of them took pictures with themselves in them (I guess I need to be specific next time.) They were too busy taking pictures of him by himself.

Here he is playing with all of Nana's toys.

Grammy and Papa bought him a little frog swimming pool for their backyard. He's my little waterbug!

Soaking up the sun with Aunt Chandy.