Cohen at age 5

Our Cohen turned 5 yrs old a couple of months ago.  It has been a whirlwind of a 5 years, but I think Chad and I look at him almost everyday and marvel at the amazing gifts God has given this child.  He is so smart, affectionate, empathetic, observant, determined, focused, discerning, and wise beyond his years.  Mine and Chad's prayer for him (and all our kids) is that he can use these talents God has given him to bring Glory to HIS name, that he would grow in a deeper and more intimate relationship with HIM everyday that he gets older, and that God's grace would fall on him and God will lull him to HIS heart.

Here are a few things I love about Cohen:
#1- Our Bible time
Every morning (or at least most mornings) he and I spend some time in the Word together.  Over the past year we've read through Matthew, Mark, Luke, Exodus, and we're currently in Leviticus.  I love how he looks forward to this time with mommy each morning, and how he brings the Bible over to me after he's finished his breakfast and taken his dishes to the sink.  In the summer time we'll set out on the back porch and try to take in the coolest part of the day before the Texas heat comes in.  And in the winter time we'll cuddle up together on the couch and snuggle under a blanket.  I love how he asks questions (some of which I don't know the answers to.)  And I love how he points out things in the word that I've never noticed or thought of before... through the eyes of a child.

#2-His determination and goal setting
The week of his birthday we started him in piano lessons.  Now, I don't think Cohen has some freakishly amazing, inherent music skills (although he's not bad.)  But I do think Cohen is going to do very well at piano because of his determination and drive to get better at everything he does.  The boy practices everyday... and he's 5!  He loves to look at the end of the piano book and set a goal for the date he will finish the book.
He's the same way with Teeball.  He loves to get in the backyard and hit the baseball over and over again, or put his glove on and have Chad or I throw him grounders over and over again. 
Cohen has an incredible ability to invision the final result of whatever he is working toward, and he takes every little babystep toward those goals with the end in mind.

#3-His sweet talk to his sisters
Yes, there are times when he is a typical 5 yr old boy toward his sisters, but there are many more times when his sweet talk toward them melts my heart.  Like when we're in the car toward the end of a long ride and Campbell is getting restless and starting to cry.  He'll lean over and rub her arm and say, "It's ok Campbell, see, we're almost there."  And, "Oh, Campbell, look!  Do you see that horsey over there?  What does a horsey say?"  Or when Channing brings him a book to read to her and he'll stop whatever he's doing to crawl up on the couch and read it to her.  Which brings me to #4...

#4- His reading
This past year, when he was about 4 1/2, he started reading.  And I mean really reading.  Since he's our first child, Chad and I didn't really have any reading expectations set, but he kind of blew us away when he took off with it.  We think, based on the stated levels at the library, that he's reading at about a 2nd grade level.  He loves to read, and I hope it stays that way.  He and Chad read together every night.  First they read from the family Bible and then they read a chapter from the Hank the Cowdog Series.  There are about 60 books in the series, and I think they've read about 10.  This is perfect for Cohen because, of course, he's set the goal of reading all 60!  Every other week we go to the library and check out a new one.

#5- His singing
Now, compared to Channing, I wouldn't really call him our singer.  But I love to listen to him sing when he doesn't know anyone is listening.  He sings in that sweet little falsetto voice.  When I hear him sing like that I just want to freeze that moment in time because I know that precious voice won't stay that way forever.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Cohen from this past year:

This was his family birthday party on the weekend of his birthday.  I made a basketball cake out of Reese's Pieces.

This was on the first day of school this year.  Cohen in TK, Chan in 2 yr old class, and Campbell in 18 month class.  They were getting a little silly and excited to be going to school!

For Cohen's bday this year, instead of having a big "friend" party, he wanted to invite Jake into town and go to a Rangers game.  This was their pre-game picture. 

One day this summer we were playing in the backyard early in the morning.  The kids still had on their jammies.  Yes, Cohen is wearing his Christmas PJ's in July!

This was in Galveston for our vacation with the Lawson side of the family.  Cohen is sporting the summer shag!

This was at the end of school.  He graduated from 4 yr old class.  He got the award for "Best Bible Knower".  The teacher said he was always right on top of all their Bible lessons and even corrected the teacher some times... Oops!  Need to work on that respect thing!!

Cohen holding Nana's hand at MeeMaw's funeral.

This was our family portrait session.  I love how the photographer caught this typical situation.... Chad and I handling the girls while Cohen waits patiently. :)

Love this!

I think I'll have this picture framed for the rest of my life!  Can I keep him this way forever??!!!  Time machine, freeze now!!

We went to Colorado this summer for Chandy and Tanner's wedding.  Which was such a wonderful trip!  Here are some precious pictures of Cohen from that day....

He practiced his wedding reception dance for weeks!  He stole the show!

He was excited to suprise Tanner with this sign.

Typical Cohen!

This was an old one from almost a year ago... Christmas 2011.

Cohen, your daddy and I love you more than you will ever know.  Thank you for the things you've taught us, and thank you for loving us even when we mess up! 

Love, Mommy

Thanksgiving in the Boonies!

We always try and see both sides of the family during the week of Thanksgiving. This year we headed down to southeast Oklahoma to hang out with my side of the family, then we went to Gainesville to see the Lawsons. I forgot my camera so I depended on everyone else to take pictures for me on this trip. I haven't gotten pictures from our time at the Lawsons yet, so I'll try and fit those in another post. Here are a few pictures from our time at my Meemaw's house...One of the big events of Thanksgiving week was Cohen getting to have his first hunting experience. He's finally old enough to walk quietly through the woods and be still while waiting for a deer, so we finally let him go. My Brother, Chaney, killed a deer the day before Thanksgiving. I think Cohen liked to pretened it was his deer... we let him pretend!

Grammy and Campbell enjoying the sunshine!

My Pepaw passed away last August. He was an important part of the community, so back in the Spring they named the baseball park in his namesake. We went to check it out. Here are the kids running the bases on EE Shelton Field.

Our whole family under the EE Shelton Field sign.

Campbell was excited to eat her first Thanksgiving meal!

A family photo where everyone is looking at the camera! This never happens!

Channing Turns 2!

We celebrated Channing's Big Day with family and a few close friends. Here she is trying out several of her presents at once... the keyboard, the hat, the purse, and the mittens!



After the party, family stayed around and we played Just Dance 2 on the Wii up in the playroom... my hubby has some serious dance moves!

Trying to get a family pic with 3 kids ages 4 and under is a little tough! Here is our best attempt. Please ignore the laundry room door being open in the background.

Channing is still at the age where she needs a little help opening presents. So I plopped myself down on the floor to be her "assistant."

Playing with Daddy.

In case you haven't seen Campbell in a while... her face is permanently like this! I've never seen a baby who grins as much as she does!

This child loves carbs! I had to stop her after two BIG pieces of strawberry cake.

A banner made of pics from her last 2 years of life... Thanks Pinterest!

Can you believe this is a homemade cake?!?! My mom and I experimented the night before and came out with this...

Channing,

You are our Chan-Chan, and there is not another like you on the face of this earth! We love so many things about you…Your contagious laugh, the way you instantly make friends with a stranger just by flashing that gorgeous smile and giving a wave with your “hiiieeee," the way you sing and dance to sound of every song you hear, your independence, and your passion…who can forget your passion!?! Even as a 2-year old, you are one of the most passionate people we know! And although you’re a handful sometimes, we wouldn’t change a thing about you. You’re a leader and you know exactly what you want and how you want it.

Our prayer for you is that God uses that to mold you into an amazing woman who will take these incredible talents you’ve been given by God, to have a huge impact on this world and do BIG things for His kingdom!

We love you Chan-Chan! Thank you for 2 wonderful and entertaining years! Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Another season come and gone....

Another T-ball season has come and gone! When the season first started I told Cohen that his new team was the Dodgers! He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and said, "But we don't live in L.A." The funniest part was that he was dead serious! Bless his heart, I haven't told him yet that this wasn't Major League Baseball.

I managed to get a few pics of his last game.

Here he is high-fiving his coach. He actually threw a kid out at first! If you have ever watched 4-year-old baseball... that NEVER happens! But his team managed to actually get a few of these outs this season!

He's so cute I can hardly stand it! Check out how baggy his baseball pants are.... He takes after his father, not his mother ;-) No "junk in the trunk" for this boy!

Go Dodgers!

More please....

Cohen got the Wii Super Mario Brothers game for his birthday back in September… since then it has turned into his favorite game! So it was only natural that our kids be Super Mario characters for Halloween. My sister, who always loves a good craft project and a good bargain, took on the task of making their costumes for less than $10 a piece. I'm not sure I thought it could be done... but she succeeded. As you can see in the pictures, Cohen was Mario, Channing was Princess Peach and Campbell was Toad.

About halfway through the night we noticed that Channing was lagging behind a little and her bag was a little heavy... she wouldn't let anyone else hold it so we decided we would empty it out and start over. It was when we began emptying it that we realized her entire bag was full! She had 3 times the amount of candy that the other kids had! How could that happen?!?! Then it occurred to us... Channing is getting better at her verbal skills but currently her favorite words are MORE PLEASE! As we watched her the rest of the night, each time we walked up to a house she would say, "Trick or treat... more please" She was so darn cute in her princess outfit that they continued to give her more. Then she would say "thank you, your welcome!" She has yet to figure out you don't say those two words at the same time. It is amazing how much candy that kid hauled in!
On another note... we definitely should have put a bow on Campbell's mushroom hat. She looked like a boy and after about 5 minutes of trick or treating I gave up on explaining to people when they called her a "he" or "him". I just smiled and we moved on.... my fault for putting my child in red and blue! Oops!

Overall it was such a fun night. Cohen is at the prime age to really enjoy trick or treating. He kept saying, "This is the best halloween ever!" Although I'm quite sure it is the only one he remembers!

Friday Night Lights...In a Suit!

Recently, Cohen was asked to be the crown bearer for Pearce's homecoming football game. A couple of months ago he received a hand-me-down tux from a friend. As soon as he was asked, he told me, "I get to wear the bow tie suit". He was all excited about the idea so he ran up to his room and tried it on... the minute he came down the stairs I knew that unless tux capri pants are a new trend then his bow tie suit dreams would be crushed. I promised him that I would buy him a really fancy suit, and that I did. Thanks Ross ($11.99). I mean, seriously, doesn't my son look like a million bucks?

Above is a pic of the little girl Cohen walked with.. They had only met once before, but they decided to hold hands through the whole thing!

About 30 seconds after this pic was taken, everyone ran off the field in excitement. There stood Cohen and Ellie, all by themselves at the 50 yard line... still holding hands. I always wondered what it would be like to be in front of that many people on the field (this is TEXAS FOOTBALL!) Now I know... I did my best non-chalant sprint out on to the field in heels to retrieve my little boy and his date. I am certain that had I not saved the day they would still be standing there as the second half kicked off!
Cohen and the Pearce Mustang! I'm hoping when he grows up he aspires to be a mascot as opposed to a football player. Sorry Chad! I get all panicky at the idea of him on the football field... unless it's the kicker, of course! Surely he can't get hurt as the kicker! I've brainwashed him into thinking the kicker is the most important player on the field!
Doesn't he look so grown up in this pic?!?! It kinda makes me get teary!