I feel that soon I can start letting Cohen write his own blog because he has SO much to say these days. Our little broken record started saying "what ya doin" a few weeks ago, although in Cohenese it sounds more like "what n doon." Just this week he has become very concerned with mommy and daddy's whereabouts at all times and if one of us leave his sight it is "where mommy go" or "where daddy go" until we get back. Neither one of us have any excuse for ever running out of gas, because we can't pass a gas station without hearing "mommy get gas" or "daddy get gas." His grandma tries to keep him as clean as possible throughout the day so he is very aware of any areas with "muhee ottah" aka muddy water...you'd be suprised how many bodies of water are muddy these days!
He is all boy and loves to see a moto (motorcycle) or who-who (fourwheeler). Daddy has a long 45-minute ride to work in the morning since Cohen usually likes to point out every school bus and inform him that "keeds (kids) on bus."
After months of denying it, I finally accepted that Cohen was showing the signs that he was ready to be potty trained at 22 months old. While we are very far from being fully potty trained, we couldn't have asked for a better start since he has been happy to pee in his "pot-T" from day one with very little encouragement from mommy and daddy. We started out with a huge jar of animal crackers that he could have as a reward for using the potty, but after about a week he didn't even ask for those anymore....it's a good thing, too, since he only wanted the animal cracker kit-cats (cats) out of the jar and we would have run out of those really soon! A few weeks later and he only has about one accident a day when he "forgets" to go to the potty. We may cheat a little by letting him wear Pull-ups on the long rides to and from daddy's office every day, but maybe we'll work on that one when he turns 2! Going number 2 is a different story and he currently prefers to do that business either in the floor or just hold it until he's asleep at night!
Not afraid to use the big boy potty...as long as he has the appropriate reading material!
The first week of potty training required lots of indoor activities - first attempt at painting!
This is not the face of a painting fan!
But someone had to finish the work....
After a few weekends of hardcore potty training, we were all ready to get out of the house and Jeff's grandma's 92nd birthday party was the perfect reason! Jeff's aunts planned a luau party complete with leis, plastic flamingos, grass skirts, good food and ice cream sundaes. The evening before the party we took all of the great-grandkids to have a picture made for Granny B's birthday present. Since we decided this at the last minute, the photographer's only opening was at 7:00 on a Friday evening...right around Cohen's bedtime. I'm going to blame this scheduling conflict on Cohen's lack of cooperation for the pictures - he acted like he had never met his cousins before and stayed glued to my legs as tightly as possible! It took Jeff and I, along with his cousins, their wives and the photographer to get and keep Cohen in position so a picture could be snapped as quickly as possible. God bless that poor photographer for this work of art:
The gift was a success for great-grandma and all of the respective grandmas...altough the barefeet in the picture seemed to be a cause for concern! Here are some pictures from the party...
The birthday girl!
Enjoying the life of the being the "baby" of the family!
The "baby" gets his cake fed TO him by "AuntNan" (Nancy)
There's a lot going on in that hula hoop!
Cohen, of course, found a way to sneak outside! Picking flowers with MawMaw.
Finding sticks to throw in the creek...his favorite!
After a trip to a convention in Boston during the last week in March, where the high was maybe 50 degrees, I was more than ready to get back to our unseasonably warm spring. I left on a Wednesday morning and came back on a Saturday afternoon, and Jeff and Cohen stayed with Jeff's parents while I was gone (to "save gas" per Jeff). Cohen seemed interested in the fact that I would be flying on a plane, but I really wasn't sure that he missed me at all while I was gone until we noticed when I got back that he got upset anytime I left room and had to know "where mommy go." But really flying on a plane is not that big of a deal when you can do it whenever you want...
We all enjoyed a warm Sunday outside when I got back. The typical outside trip for Cohen begins with putting on his "pay soos" (play shoes) and bringing mommy and daddy their pay soos too, which for me are often high heels! (A week after this particular outside trip, I got Cohen's feet measured and found out that his "pay soos" were a size and half to small...I'm making room for the mom of the year trophy on our mantle!) We don't even make it out of the garage before he has to stop to drive daddy's boat...he usually tries to make mommy and daddy climb up in the boat too, but we try to avoid this since the second we make it up there he is saying "down."
At this point Cohen has the two-year old version of MTV cribs in our backyard...you know, the "whips, rides and dubs!" I think Jeff and I are becoming "those people" though...you know, the redneck ones with all the stuff in their yard - at least none of Cohen's cars are up on blocks!
Anyway, he usually picks the orange car first - he can drive it Flinstone-style but he prefers to put his feet up like this and have Jeff or I push him up and down the driveway:
And with all the miles Jeff and I rack up with all that pushing, the car needs a lot of gas...
This kid obviously does not appreciate the cost of gas these days!
The Little Tikes flinstone-mobile really should've taught him all he'll need to know right?!
When he's done with the car, he'll usually pick up the basketball and throw it a couple of times or get one of us to hold him up so he can pretend to make a basket. Then he'll run back to the garage and point to the shelf because he's ready to "pop bubbles." He'll usually let me blow a few, but he mostly prefers to eat bubbles and will proudly tell you "I eat bubbles." I am now beginning to rethink this since he ate so many bubbles in the bath tongiht that he threw up the oatmeal he ate for dinner....gross! Anyway, after the bubbles it's then time to sweep since he has yet to outgrow his fascination with brooms and vacuums. Fortunately, we have 2 brooms so either Jeff and I get the pleasure of sweeping as well. Next it's on to the blue car with the big handle, so the three of us can take a trip down the road...things he likes to see in our neighborhood are: Bo, the dog that hates Howie; a dumptruck, a backhoe and jet skis. When we make it back to our driveway, Cohen is ready to swing...this lasts for approximately two minutes. He then moves on to what may appear to be a powerwheels firetruck...unfortuantely we have the redneck hand-me-down version that needs a new battery. So Cohen finds other ways to entertain himself on the firetruck:
Next is the jungle gym in our yard and my explanation alone couldn't do justice to what this 22-month old could accomplish there:
We finish our outside trip by jumping in a hole in the backyard, looking for the neighbors "pup-pups" through the fence in their yard and looking for his favorite kit-cat. Most people might think that this all sounds like a nice day outside, but in all reality it all takes place in what seems like a matter of minutes! But at least we have take time to stop and smell the flowers, lol!
I love this tree in our yard and my boys really make it a pretty picture!!
Nothing beats a beach sunset or a sunset from the balcony of a cruise ship - our back porch is close second though!
After a long day of playing, there is nothing more comfortable than a dog bed!!
So when it comes to winter, I think it takes about 3 or 4 uneventful weeks to finally come up with a post-worthy blog. Again, this may be just another excuse from a neglectful blogger!
One of the big events that has passed since my last blog was Valentine's Day, also known for Cohen as Second Christmas! He woke up to presents from mommy and daddy including new books about trucks and tractors, a new pair of sunglasses, an Elmo balloon and a Mickey Mouse that dances while he sings the Hot Dog Dance. He came home from his grandma and grandpa's house that evening with a new dump truck toy and treats from his great aunts like animal crackers and coloring books. He had Valentines in the mail from his great-grandma and from his MiMi who sent him an Elmo shirt and the Lady and the Tramp DVD. Our baby is very loved. For Valentine's, my mom and dad gave Jeff and I a night out including babysitting for Cohen. We had dinner out at Olive Garden and saw the new Denzel movie - this was Jeff's choice because I think Denzel might be his Valentine! We ended the night with Yogurt Mountain and shopping in the childrens section of Books a Million for new books for Cohen. Looking back, I'm not sure this even qualifies as a "date" but we were both thankful for the night out!
Cohen surrounded by Valentine's Day love!
When Cohen is not being showered with gifts, he spends a lot of time riding his horse. I guess technically he spends more time getting on and off of the horse than actually riding it, since he doesn't stay on longer than 30 seconds at a time. He also prefers it if mommy or daddy will ride the horse with him and makes this request by patting the back of the "saddle" while saying "mama" or "dada" in his sweetest voice with a big smile on his face. This may sound cute, but it is a harsh leg workout for mommy and daddy who have to avoid putting full weight on the springs of a horse that I know was not made to support up to 200+ pounds (referring to Jeff not me)!
I think that Cohen should possibly by wearing a helmet!
Here is another one of the calm, safe indoor games that Jeff likes to play with Cohen:
I've called my turn but am still waiting!
One of his other favorite games is "get" as in "mama get or dada get" when he likes to be chased. I've also heard him say "Howie get," but Howie does not seem to cooperate with this game nor seem interested in being Cohen's real-life horse! Cohen insists on getting out his coloring book and crayons every day. Note that I did not say Cohen "colors" every day because at this point it involves more of making a few stray marks on 4 or 5 pages, giving a crayon to mommy and daddy and saying "mama car (color), dada car (color), and then being done! He's very good at putting the crayons away though! We get out the Playdough occasionally and he has inherited his mama's talent of making great snakes! We usually put the Playdough away when he starts saying "bite, bite" and putting it up to his mouth! Cohen is very good at naming colors as long as everything you point to is green! On occasion he will show you or find something that is black, blue, pink or blue but he does not prefer any of the other colors! He also likes to play with the alphabet letters on the refrigerator, but like all the colors are green, all the letters are B. He has his favorites! Cohen's grandpa says that his grandma should be teaching him the letters during the day, but she reminds him that Cohen is not even 2 yet!
Most of the rest of Cohen's time is spent looking out the doors/windows for the neighbors cat (aka KitCat). Even though it's still been cold outside, he gets SO excited when he sees the KitCat that we can't help but open the door for a few minutes to let him pet it. You will notice from the next videos that Jeff and I often to refer to the KitCat as it...I also say something that sounds like "hiiieeerr" and in some of the videos the KitCat is called him and others it is a her. When Jeff and I moved into this house, I guess he assumed the cat was a boy and started calling it Mr. Kitty. Two years later one of the neighbors mentioned in passing that the cat is a girl. Hence our confusion!!
A KitCat call!
In full disclosure, this is what happens when we close the door:
He obviously throws some classic tantrums. As proof, this an actual injury that resulted from one such tantrum...Cohen is very dedicated to his work!
I was very nervous that someone would be coming to take our baby the next day since in a matter of a few days he had sustained a legitimate black eye while walking into the corner of table, this large knot on his forehead and huge red bruise on his cheek that resulted from falling into the corner of an open cabinet!
After a week of researching snowsuits back in December, several days of checking Ebay to find out if our bid had won, several opportunities to brag about the fact that we got a $79 LandsEnd snowsuit for $17, and months of getting Cohen excited for his first trip out in the snow, I'm so sad to report that I missed the big day. What I assume to be our first and only snow of the winter suprised us on a Monday morning when I just couldn't miss work. Cohen is lucky, though, to spend his days with a fun grandma who took him out in the snow to pull him around the yard in a sled and help him build a snow man. I guess Cohen was not a big fan of all the snow gear, especially the mittens, and taking it all off was probably his favorite part of the snow day. This news made it a little easier to know that I had missed his first trip out in the snow. Seeing his reaction to the snow was more than enough for this mama for the whole winter. (You'll need subtitles for this one...Ah-too is Cohen's word for snow - it was adapted from snowman and also means Santa!)
Once upon a time we had a six month old baby that we could lay down in the evening and he would sleep straight through the night until at least 5:30 the next morning. Then one day when he was 13 months old there was an evil vacation monster who took our sleep trained baby away and never brought him back! Yes, almost every night since July, Jeff and I have been taking turns sleeping in the recliner with Cohen on our chest. I also blame the evil Internet monster for stealing our sleep, since after way too much reading, I determined that Cohen was possibly having nightmares. I was very susceptible with my lack of sleep, and I failed to consider the fact that Cohen would lay in his bed and scream (never opening his eyes or moving) until one of us came in and picked him up...however, as soon as he was laying on one of us, he went RIGHT back to sleep. So after six months of sleep walking, we finally decided that it was time to re-train him...3 days later we were the proud owner of a 20 month-old boy that we could lay down at 7:45 in the evening until 6 or 7 the next morning! Victory would taste so much sweeter if it wasn't so obvious who is in control of this house!
So February 3rd was pretty historic for this mom. I think I had become the boy who cried wolf when it came to telling people that I wanted to cut my hair and no one believed that I would actually ever do it...not even me! When I asked my boss' wife for her hair lady's number, she basically took matters into her own hands and made the appointment herself. She's just the kind of bully I need in my life! During the three weeks I had to wait for the appointment I had many second thoughts, but when that Friday rolled around, I sat down in the chair and never looked back...here's what happened:
The style I picked
The before
ELEVEN inches later - now that's a rattail!
The finished product
Haircuts were kind of the theme of the weekend since we also took Cohen to be tortured...I assure you that's what everyone in VIP Styling Center thinks we are doing to our child when we bring him there. There are definately no pictures from that event and leaving with hair that is even a centimeter shorter means that me, Jeff, and Cohen's personal stylist Shantelle have endured a hard fought battle! We made sure to have lots of fun for the rest of the day to help Cohen cope with the tragedy! We made a return visit to the indoor inflatable center, this time with Jeff's friend Billy and his son Jayden who is just a few months younger than Cohen. Unfortunately, Jayden was not as impressed with the inflatables as Cohen was and he spent more time getting out of them than getting into them! Jeff was so impressed when Cohen even conquered the big kid inflatable obstacle course that we were sure that we would have to recuse him from...I'm pretty sure he was trying to show off for a little girl who was in the obstacle course with him! Cohen actually seemed to enjoy having dinner out at Five Guys with our friend Anthony that evening...he wasn't hating the ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery afterwards either and I think he got a bite from everyone's bowl at the table!
We were hoping for enough snow this past weekend to be able to take Cohen's sled out for the first time. Instead we just got just enough to make the roads so icy that we couldn't make it all the way out of our road on Saturday morning...Cohen was very confused as to why we were turning around and was upset that we were not going "bye-bye." When we were finally able to make it out later, we took Howie to the vet (where Cohen wanted to pet all the little "pup pups") and then went to eat Mexican with my family. I think it may have been Cohen's first Mexican experience, but he didn't get too authentic besides some tortilla chips. It was another suprisingly well-tolerated restaurant trip by Cohen, which could have had more to do with his MiMi being there!
We attempted a mall trip on Sunday - this is another form of torture for our child. This time we tried renting one of the cars at the mall for him to ride in instead of his stroller, but the excitement wore off basically as soon as he was strapped in. To reward him for staying in his seat while we shopped for a few hours, we got $5 worth of quarters so he could ride all of the "amazing" toys that they stragecially position at the entrance/exit of the mall. We usually try to avoid this pit of destruction at all costs, because whether he gets to ride the toys or he doesn't, there will always be a tantrum involved. And this one was definately some of his best work!!
Although our weekends sound pretty boring, we get all the entertainment we need from our little boy. One of his new favorite things is sitting at the table like a big boy, although when he is going to be doing serious eating he still prefers his high chair!
He thinks it's so amazing that he can walk over to Jeff or I, grab our hand or fingers and lead us to where he wants to go. He loves to put on ma-ma or da-da's shoes and try to walk in them. This does not always work out well!
He does A LOT of dancing.
And the funniest thing that he just started last week is saying "I cool" when he is wearing a hat or sunglasses.
Here are just a few of the other things Cohen is doing to entertain us this month:
Saturday morning "breakfast" with Da-Da
Nothing says nutrition like powdered sugar!
Learning to color - only a few stray marks on the floor!
Building trains
Of course ma-ma thinks this is the next Bill Gates!
Uh-oh...mommy already dropped the ball on her blogging resolution. Uh-oh is actually one of Cohen's favorite words right now, so I feel that it's a very appropriate time to use it! Cohen says uh-oh anytime he sees an accident, especially ones on TV. Anytime a football player gets tackled or otherwise falls to the ground, it's an uh-oh. My favorite is a Subway commercial where the people are apparently so fat that buttons blow off of their pants and they pop intertubes when they sit on them...those are all big uh-ohs! And when Cohen says uh-oh, everyone has to say uh-oh or it will be on repeat until someone does! Repeating is currently a common theme in our house and we hear a lot of "uh mama, uh mama, uh mama, uh mama" and "uh dada, uh dada, uh dada, uh dada." Cohen has recently started calling us mommy and daddy on occasion...he started this all on his own and while it sounds adorable, it makes me a little sad because I feel like it starts a general progression to a time when my son will call me mom. A lot of our time at home these days seems to be devoted to finding Cohen's milk cup....he LOVES some milk and takes his cup with him everywhere. The problem occurs when he can't remember where he lays it down. We then hear "uh mulk, uh mulk, uh mulk, uh mulk" until it is located, but it's totally worth it when he finally finds it and says "Hi Milk!!" This morning we spent at least five minutes turning the house upside down to find the cup so he could take it with him in the car...we ended up sending a different cup with him in the end. I found the cup later when I opened the door... to the laundry closet!
Last weekend Cohen and I got a visit from our best friends Sarah and Ben. Cohen and Ben have not yet figured out that they are destined to be best friends, though! Sarah and I spent the weekend as single moms while our husbands advertised their fishing business at the annual hunting and fishing show in Charleston. We did see glimpses of potential friendship from the two boys, but usually not long enough for photo or video evidence. I would have loved to have a picture of the two of them riding together on Cohen's spring horse to use as blackmail when they get older. Especially the injury and tears that resulted when they both fell off! Ben spent most of the weekend showing Cohen some death-defying stunts like jumping off of the couch into the Mickey Mouse ball pit. Cohen spent most of the weekend crying and hiding from Ben after we witnessed Ben squeezing his fingers in the car and later pushing him down when we got home. I think one day Ben will explain to Cohen that he was just trying to teach him the ways of the world, so that he could grow up to be tough and defend himself! We took the boys to use up some energy at the Chik Fil A playplace and then to see their dad's in action at the hunting and fishing show. Cohen was excited to see all the deer there, but Ben was not too impressed with the whole idea. The show was a huge success for FYAO, with lots of sells and interest in the company...Jeff's still getting calls from customers this week! Sarah and I spent most of our weekend planning trips for our families for the rest of the year, including our second annual family vacation to Lake Norman. So even though I was sad to see them go on Sunday, I knew that there are lots more fun times to look forward to!
Chik Fil A playplace = germs = cold.... for babies who stay at home with their grandparents every day anyway. So our little man was sick by Monday morning. Fortunately, this one wasn't too bad and hasn't lasted too long. We've survived with Vicks VapoRub and a humidifier. Cohen was well enough on Friday to see his Aunt Manda who was in from Virginia and also to visit his Grammy and Pa. Cohen and his cousin Harper shared some toys there, but mostly ate all of the food at their great-grandma and great-grandpa's house including a brownie from Pa's secret stash, crackers and mass quantities of cheese popcorn! Cohen was very interested in Harper's baby sister Scarlett and demanded that she be taken out of her carrier. Once this happened, though, it wasn't clear if he actually wanted to see the baby or to have her out of the carrier so he get in it/play with her toys!
I think I may have been infected with whatever virus caused Cohen's cold because I was literally exhausted all day on Saturday...no cold symptoms, just exhaustion and muscle weakness. I had actually convinced myself that the only possible explanation was that I was pregnant. I blamed this on my best friend and the allergy nurse at my office, who both had dreams in the last two weeks that I was pregnant. Oh and also my mom, who keeps dropping unsubtle hints about a granddaughter. So I sat in the bathroom on Sunday morning, listening to Cohen scream/cry to get out of his crib and hoping/praying that the pregnancy test I was staring at would say NO!
We spent a family day at home on Saturday and Cohen played so hard that he actually climbed up in my lap (with the "dibbie" that I gave in a let him have) and fell asleep at 6:00 in the evening. This has NEVER happened!
I am actully awake in this picture... but try to remember that I had a virus!!
I had recovered from my virus by Sunday and Cohen had lots of energy to spare, so we took him to an indoor inflatable play center. His smile was huge as soon as we walked through the door and he couldn't run fast enough. He started in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toddler area, but soon moved on to bigger and better things.
The perfect ending to our day was ice cream....and hearing my baby say ice cream for the first time!! Oh and that negative preganancy test!!
While my previous post stated that my New Years Resolution would be one post per month, I've decided to up my game and aim for one per week. While I was just going to use the blog to help me remember the funny things that Cohen does and says, I figure that at this point he probably does enough funny things in a week that I should share my entertainment with everyone. I'll include the less exciting details from his parents' lives as well!
Per usual, it was two weeks past Christmas and I was still sorting through all of our Christmas presents and trying to find a place for all the new things. It's a "probelm" that I'm grateful for because it just reminds me how blessed we are to have two big extended families who love us so much. I think everyone was sad to see the Christmas decorations get taken down in our house...Cohen did not want to part with all of his Christmas books and is still asking for the train that went under the tree! Luckily he got a new book to replace the others...his family in Virginia gave him a recordable Cars book for Christmas. We have a tantrum when the book gets closed at night and he has demanded to take it with him in the car at least one day this week!
Since Jeff has a big weight loss goal for 2012, WE are healthy eaters again! Luckily, I survived caffeine withdrawl after hitting the Dr. Pepper hard for the last 2-3 months! Jeff tells me daily how much he hates being on a diet, but depending on the scale he is using he has already lost five pounds. We had to have our first cheat day on Wednesday though, so we could eat wings from Hooters while we watched the WVU game...it felt worth it after the big victory. And I'm proud to say that this mom made it all the way to the end of the third quarter before falling asleep! We rejoined the gym (after only a two year hiatus for me, lol) and aside from his break on Wednesday, Jeff worked out three days last week. I worked out with a personal trainer for the first time tonight and I will just say that I am glad I lived to write this blog. Hopefully I'll physically be able to get off the couch to make it to the bed when I'm done!
Cohen started 2012 off with an injury...I hope that isn't a preview of what's to come. He got a toy called a Scoot and Zoom for Christmas from his Aunt Manda. It basically looks like a red plastic saddle that sits on wheels...when you push it on the hardwood floors it moves like its on ice - hence the "zoom" I guess! Cohen's responsible parents thought it would be fun for him if we pushed him back and forth between us down the hallway...and he did love it...until the "accident." During a "zoom," he tried to put his feet down which caused him to do a mega faceplant as in face to floor. Luckily his lip caught him...fail. He had an immediate fat lip with lots of blood. The lip was so fat that I couldn't even see his front teeth, but Jeff said they were still there. Jeff's sweet tooth actually saved the day because he had just insisted on buying popsicles at the store which helped a little with the swelling. Jeff thinks that Cohen might now attempt to injure himself just to get a popsicle!
We finished the first week of January playing outside...while I'm not complaining, it didn't feel right to be blowing bubbles in January!! Especially when I just bought Cohen a snow sled, snowsuit and snow boots for Christmas! This may be the only use we get out of the sled this year:
Cohen was happy regardless, although he was a little confused as to why we couldn't get out his pool! Luckily he got distracted by our shadows that he was very interested in...and all the other things there are to do outside like riding in his car, throwing the basketball and climbing on the wooden jungle gym in the yard. We also went to church on Sunday, which we have been meaning to do for months. Since Cohen's naptime is 11:00 (church time), this took some serious planning and everything finally fell into place this Sunday. It was our first time at the church and Cohen's first time in the nursery there. I stayed in the nursery with Cohen and we were happy to see our neighbor and her little girl there. Cohen was very interested in all the toys in the nursery, but mostly just watched the other kids. He didn't pay much attention to me so I should be able to leave him next week so he can make some friends!
So we have already covered two of our family's resolutions: healthy eating/working out/weight loss and responsible blogging. I also plan to make some serious hair changes this year, but those who know me well have heard this all before. I also have a big goal of starting a scrapbook for Cohen, with pictures and other memories that I've kept since before he was born. I haven't heard Jeff make an official statement about his resolutions but I would guess it goes something like "fish more and hunt more!" I know he also has big goals and lots of work planned for FYAO, the business he owns with two of his friends. And of course there's always the garage that needs cleaned and the pool I want for our yard, and so many other things we could do to the inside and outside of our house. I think the main goal for 2012 is the same one we have every year: have fun and spend as much time as possible with our family and friends. I'll end this insanely long blog with a few of what I believe to be Cohen's resolutions for 2012:
Try new things
Try more new things...mostly junk food (from my dad)!
Watch my weight...literally! Also work on my six pack!
So at this point, I'm not even sure that you can refer to this as a blog since I am now averaging one post every THREE months!!! But in my last (first and only) post, I promised not to post anything "unless it's really good"...and so as promised, I have more funny stories from my sweet little comedian!
The title Cohenese (which Jeff read and pronounced as Cohenesis...he thought it was hilarious but I'm not sure what that would even mean) refers to my son's current vocabulary. I have convinced myself that my child is so gifted and finds the English language so dull and boring that he has created his own words and phrases. Below is the "Rosetta Stone" for Cohenese!
Da-Da Baby: Cohen no longer refers to Jeff as just "da-da"...he is now formally known as Da-Da Baby which I think has evolved from Da-Da B. This would be extremely cute if not for the fact that he refers to me as Ma-Ma No. I feel that this has some sort of reference to our parenting methods!
Co-Co = Cohen...Of course. Despite my best efforts Cohen has embraced the nickname that his dad and grandpa have given him. Every time I hear Co-Co I think about the gorilla who learned sign language. Jeff has since educated me about a wrestler from the 1980s named KoKo B. Ware. And so now when I ask my child what his name is and he says Co-Co, this is the image that flashes in my head:
Habbie = Howie...Cohen stays with Jeff parents four days a week and they have a crazy Pug named Abby. Abby was one of Cohen's very first words and he often referred to me as Abby before he could say MaMa! It really warms a mother's heart when her child refers to her and her dog by the same name, since poor Howie was called Abby as well. This has since evolved from Abby to Habbie, however when prounounced it often sounds like Habib...our sweet Middle Eastern lab!
Diddy = Star...Blatantly obvious right? This one has been ingrained in his vocabulary since at least nine months of age. Jeff thinks it's logical because "P. Diddy is a star." This is more a matter of opinion I feel.
See MoonADiddy = "I want to see moon and stars"....Just this weekend I've started to notice Cohen using a few two-word sentences - When pronounced in Cohenese, this sounds like two words although I guess on paper it's really more. For Christmas, Cohen's MiMi got him a turtle that projects a moon and stars onto the ceiling and so See MoonADiddy (often abbreviated to just MoonADiddy) is basically his job these days!
Ho-Ho=Flower...You thought I was going to say Santa, huh? This is ocasionally pronounced as O-Ho and can also refer to a feather that resembles a flower.
Ah-too=Snowman and Santa...This can be used interchangably to refer to either a snowman or Santa. When pronounced it sounds somewhat like a sneeze and somewhat like a possible Indian name.
Ammie=Meow...No matter how many times he hears "meow," "ammie" is always what comes out. When pronounced this sounds like a word that rhymes with grammy.
Dibbie=Pacifier...Since the first week of Cohen's life when I "accidentally" created a paci monster, I have refused to give the thing a cute name because I had hoped that it would lose its appeal. But it remains Cohen's prized possession and he gave it the name Dibbie around the time of his first birthday. This can also be pronounced as DB.
My advanced baby does find some of the English words to be acceptable, but likes to "remix" them as well. He currently refers to a cat as a "kit-kit," a dog as a "pup-pup" and a car as a "car-car." Ducks say "qak qak" and birds say "teet, teet." Here's some rare live footage of Cohenese...you may need to refer back to this list for translation:
Just like three months ago, Cohen is still keeping us smiling. If I blogged every time he made me laugh out loud, I'd never have time to do anything else...and this is how I excuse the neglect of my blog!! New Years Resolution = one blog per month!!
