Going "sast" and catchin' "shish" (weekend of April 13-15)

Just like Cohen likes to create his own vocabulary of words, he now seems to be revising the English language in general.  Paw-Paw "Daze" (Dave) says that it's because he's learning all these new letters and just wants to try them in different words!  I just hope that Cohen is using this as a scientific experiment and not something that we end up in speech therapy for...I've been there and it's part of the reason I picked a doctorate in Audiology instead of continuing down that speech pathology road!!  Here's what you'll need to know to communicate with Cohen:

All Ts are Ps - He loves to eat "ops" (see the video below) and he doesn't like anyone to wear "coaps"   

                      (coats) inside

Ops are good to eat and also make good boy band hair!

All Fs are Ss - Daddy's boat goes "sast" (fast) and you go out on daddy's boat to "catch big shish (fish)"

He's also added some new Cohenese to his vocabulary:

Nannies or BaaaaNannies - Bananas....for awhile they were also MaaaaNanas

Nighny = Go Night-Night...I don't feel that I was overly cautious about everything as the first-time mom of a 

               newborn, but I was borderline crazy about SIDs and wouldn't allow any blankets in the crib - I

               relied on thick pajamas with feet.  At almost two years old, he now refuses to be covered by a 

               blanket in his crib.  He does, however, like to play "nighny" when he demands that everyone get 

               under the covers in mommy and daddy's bed.  He likes it when we hide under the covers and 

               jump out to scare him...this is another activity I will have to rethink since this evening it caused him 

               to laugh so hard that he threw up in our bed (again)!

SideDown = Upsidedown...Cohen learned the word upsidedown in an Elmo book that we read every night
                    for at least a month.  He now loves to be upside down and can do a pretty impressive flip if I
                    hold his hands.

Last weekend is one that Jeff dreads all year...landscaping.  Since MiMi was coming to stay the night on Friday to help with Cohen while we worked on Saturday, I spent Friday cleaning our poor house that had been neglected for so many weekends that we've been away.  I felt so bad about how boring the day would be for Cohen, but he found ways to entertain himself.  The "bubbles" in this video is actually dust...I should be embarrassed that there would be so much dust in my house, but I just feel like it is solid support in a campaign for a housekeeper here!

Since Cohen's current favorite food is "p-cakes," we started Saturday at a Lions Club pancake breakfast in town.  He was less interested in the pancakes, though, and more interested in standing in his chair and watching and entertaining all the people.  Several older ladies behind us couldn't stop looking and pointing at him and talking about how he looks like "the baby on those commercials that eats the food"...we never figured out who they were talking about, but at least they thought he was cute enough to be on TV!  It wasn't the greatest weather day for outdoor work when we got home, but we got it done and I still have the thorns in my hands to prove it!  Since Cohen didn't get to spend much time outside on Saturday, Daddy made plans to take him out on the boat for the first time on Sunday.  In the meantime, this is how Cohen helped us recuperate from all of our hard work!

Apparently he thinks these looks better on him than Mr. Potatohead

This guy might have a future in the circus

Cohen and his "mush"

On our Sunday trip to get groceries at Walmart, Jeff picked out Cohen's first fishing pole...since he also had to pick out hooks and bobbers, this took a good a 10-15 minutes!  Cohen was very proud of his shish pole and held on tight to it in the shopping cart and all the way out to the car.  The fishing lesson on the boat lasted less than five minutes and he spent the rest of the time giving momma semi-heart attacks by using his own fishing technique - throwing cheese to the fish!

While Jeff spent about 30 minutes trying to catch a fish for Cohen to see, Cohen and I threw sticks in the water.  Oh and I think Cohen may also be in training to become the next SurvivorMan...

Cohen loved helping daddy drive the boat, but I think his very favorite part was going fast.  All the way home from the lake and for at least the next two days, Cohen told anyone who would listen "Go bye-bye on daddy's boat - daddy's boat go sast!"

This is what going "sast" looks like!!

Cohen's first fishing lesson

That's a proud daddy!

Daddy pulling the shish pole up from the bottom of the lake...the bobber saved the day!

Somebody has to teach Cohen how to catch the BIG fish!

Cohen had to try out every seat!

Can't miss an advertisement opportunity!

What ya doin? (March 10-March 24)

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!

Sorry for party rockin!

Welcome Spring (Last week of March)

Bring it on spring....



This kid is excited to see it!!

 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!!

Late February-Early March

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!)