a weekend with grandma. . . .

My cute mom came up to play this last weekend, and we had a blast! Pretty easy to have fun all weekend with her. We did some hair cutting, shopping of course, and went to a Christmas Expo. She's one amazing person. If I can be half the woman she is at her age I will be happy. She is such a great example to me, and has taught me all I know about taking care of a child. Cohen adores her and misses her when she's gone.

I love her with all that I am.
Thanks mama for being my role model!

Always smiling at Grandma.

Almost laughing as well!

And he still loves the bink. Although, he seems
more interested in his thumb now a days.

Hopefully Cohen will inherit my fetish for hats....

My favorite hat of Co's -- The Moose hat!
Given to him from Uncle Brett & Aunt Danna.

The russian hat.

The golfer hat....I guess.

My mom was making Cohen
giggle over and over again.

Cohen's First Buddy.

My wonderful friend Char and I had a little play date today.So fun! Our darling little boys had a blast exploring each other. Troy is almost 8 months old, 3 months older than Cohen. They are little buds. I can't wait until they can chase each other around and play ball together, and Char and I can continue having girl talk and what not.
Thanks Char and Troy for being our best buds!

The boys playing in action.

my sweetheart.

I AM MARRIED TO THE GREATEST MAN ALIVE.
Not just because he sent me flowers randomly, just to tell me he loves me and thanks for being a great wife and mommy, but because he treats me like a queen always. He works so hard for our family and makes all my days so much better because he's in my life. He is an amazing example to me in many aspects of life. He's my best friend and a wonderful daddy.
I LOVE YOU MY SWEETHEART!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And here's a few pics of Cohen's new favorite
thing to do--chomp on his two fingers all the time!

HALLOWEEN post......of course.

Cohen's first Halloween was so much fun! He had such a good night and so did we. We had a fun Halloween party with some great friends which was held at the Allsop's home (thanks again for hosting) We had a yummy soup and croissant dinner with fruit and salad. We made caramel apples and played Battle of the Sexes, so much fun always. I wish I had pictures of every couple there: Ryan and Stephanie Coyne, Mandy and Braden Boyer, Scott, Heidi & Brinley Chavez, us and the Allsops. Everyone looked so cute, and we had a blast!
I'm SO grateful for great friends.

My little tiger......Rrr!

I thought the costume would bug him,
but he thought it was great!

Of course no smiles in the costume.
Just serious stares.

Brock as a mad chemist/surgeon/astronaut.
He couldn't decide, so he was all three.
I love that man--so so much!

Oh I love my little TIGER!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Cohen's 4 month mark......WOO!

Cohen is 4 months! yikes.
He is such a sweetie, I fall more and more in love with him everyday.His darling personality is coming out so much.

At Cohen's 4 month Dr. appointment:
weight: 13.0 lbs (11 %tile)
length: 23.8 inch (9 %tile)
head c.: 16 inch (23 %tile)

Just a little guy, but he's healthy as a horse! Good job buddy. Oh we just love him love him LOVE HIM!

=====================================
BYU Homcoming Parade

So we walked down to the parade, which was a little chilly at first, but we survived til the sun came out. They served free chocolate chip pancakes that were DEE-LISH. And on our way home, we saw pretty much the last of Fall. (BOO!) It was a fun morning.

A parade isn't a parade without the marching band, right?

Co refuses to keep his arms and hands covered.
This winter will be interesting.

What a smile. He is ALWAYS super happy outside.
He didn't even mind the loud cannons and horns
that kept going off in the parade. He did good.

The fam.

Yummy BLUE chocolate chip pancakes. YUM.

1955 convertible T-Bird, my dream car, except
it needs to be white with red rims and red leather
interior, WITH a bench seat in front. (one day.....)

I believe Fall is coming to end quite soon.
BLAH.

FALL. . . .

Oh how I love Fall! Utah has the prettiest Fall weather. Every color of leaf everywhere you look, the big mountains covered in color, fall smells are the best, fall clothes are even better. I've been wanting to take some fall family pics since fall started, and we finally got to it! My good friend Char was just as excited as I was so we all had a little photo shoot. It turned out not to shabby for inexperienced photographers and for taking them in our apartment complex....










Yes, that's spit up. Couldn't help myself.
I had to post it.


Couldn't get a family pic with Co smiling,
but he did pretty good. We had a blast,
and we LOVE Fall!

GET AWAY TO ST GEORGE

Last weekend Cohen and I took a little get away to St. George. WOO! Brock was up in Heber hunting with the boys, and we definitely didn't want to sit at home alone all weekend, so we got out of town! We saw family & friends, ate yummy food, relaxed and did a little shopping. It was a quick trip, but SO GREAT! We love St. George and can't get enough.
Didn't want to worry much about taking pics, so there are just a couple:

Pretty Aunt Loni getting her baby fix.

Aunt Jenn and Nana K playing with Co.

a 23rd birthday.....

Weird....I'm 23. Birthdays are so much fun, and I have to say, I GOT SPOILED! Birthdays seem to come again so quickly the older you get. Which is fun, but I'm going to be 50 before I know it! I will also say that I love life and when I think it just can't get any better, it does! To sum up my day, I had a blast all day with Cohen. He was extra good just for me I know it! My cute parents sent me a BALLOON BOUQUET with yummy chocolates from Europe tied to them. Aunt Tiffy made me a fun fetti cake and tended while I went and got a FULL BODY MASSAGE (a well needed piece of Heaven). Co and I then did a little shopping, and after Brock got off work we went to dinner to my favorite, CAFE RIO of course. What a perfect day. THEN--the day after we went to PARK CITY for the day to SHOP! I got a killer SHOPPING SPREE from family, which was well needed.
Thanks everyone for making my 23rd birthday ROCK!

Thanks mom and dad for the balloons.
Co loved it. He just wanted to grab it!

Here are a few pics from Park City:

Cute little boy in his beanie. He did not care it
was freezing. He just loves being outside anytime.

A face I love....double chin-very serious.

Snuggley boy getting tired.

It was freezing outside so we hung out
in the car for a little to take a break.

Co trying to punch the cam.

Eating the hands of course.

Little smile.

That night he was being so funny and so
serious. Couldn't put the camera down.



Eating the hands some more......

and acting like he got caught as if
eating your hands are bad. HA.

CONGRATS TO GRANDMA TAMI, UNCLE CORT, NANA K & GRANDPA TODD

for running the st george marathon! We are so proud of you. We had such a great weekend in beautiful st george, and we miss everything about it.


minor injuries but they finished. WOO!

Co cheering them on as they passed.

Cute cousin buddies. Corbin is getting so big!

He did so good for being outside ALL day Saturday.

Brothers being cute great daddys.

Brock and Uncle Dean playing Corn in the hole
at my early birthday party at my parents.

Corb & Cort practicing their swing.

The amazing cake Em made with love for me and the runners.

Once again--St. George made Cohen crash...big time.
We had a blast!! THANK YOU ST GEORGE!

oh the many faces of cohen kitchen. . . .

"aww...my tummy is full" face

surprise face

silly face

serious face

yawner face

slap happy face

talking to mama face

HE'S A THUMB SUCKER

Yikes! My boy is a thumb sucker-taking after he's daddy. I'm sure I'll hate it later if I'm the one that has to break the habit, but as for now....
IT'S THE CUTEST THING EVER!

Co's 1st BYU football game

He had spit up all over the carrier and Brock before we even left the house.

On our way--totally looks like the carrier is choking Cohen.
He LOVED being in the carrier for the first time.

My boys watchin' the game. Cohen thought it was great entertainment.

Can't get enough of this pic.
He was mesmerized by the game.

Then slowly started to slump down, getting very relaxed.....

Then WHAM--he was out.

Aunt Tiffy, Uncle Josh and cousin Kai got to sit by us. So fun!

This is how close we were. We had KILLER seats!

mid-autumn festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, or in Chinese, 中秋節, is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people, dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. It's held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October. It is a date that parallels the autumn and spring Equinoxes of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties. It is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the other being the Chinese New Year, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos together.
ANYWAYS...
Our stake held a mid-autumn festival and there were booths (like a mini fair) for the kids and very yummy food. Brock and I were in charge of the bean bag toss.





Co really enjoyed it.

A few things I've been missing....

my best friend--so hard living away from you

vacations with the love of my life

my DARLING nephew CORBIN

my wonderful FAMILY

ASH--I miss our "wednesday night dates"

My MEL--Texas is way too far away

KALZA.

THE LAKE--but I'm super excited for FALL

Discovering his hand and LOVING it!

Here is a funny video clip of Cohen finding his hand and LOVING it! He was being so serious and wanting to put his whole fist in his mouth so badly--I couldn't stop filming I thought it was so hilarious, so it is about 2 mins long. Might I add, he only does this with his left hand, and not once has he even tried it with his right. Maybe he's a lefty like his mama!
Check this funny boy out....

already 3 months....

Cohen is growing up way too fast! I used to hear moms say that all the time and think to myself "oh I'm sure it's not that bad...". It really is kinda sad! But, I do have to say he getting so fun! Growing up can be very good for many reasons--Here are a few:
::Cohen sleeps better and longer the older he gets. (2.5-3 hour naps always)
::He smiles and talks so much now.
::He loves playing with toys, which I thought that day would never come.
::He eats in 15 mins. Wow, who would of thought?!
::He is taking relux medicine now that is helping so much; It's like I have a new baby!
::He is still a snuggle bug. Thanks goodness. I'm going to miss that when it ends.
::He doesn't need his binky at every waking minute.
::He is getting more used to his daddy, which has taken some time. (weird little boy)
::He has learned how to turn his head just enough to drink the bath water.
::He holds his head up perfectly, and is getting stronger at sitting and standing up.
::He loves watching me dance and attempt kick boxing.
::He's a mama's boy for sure, which at times is not the best thing.

my all time favorite thing he does--he's almost getting too big. :(

boppy helping him sit up--love the bib and the mean football face.
Just kidding, he's about to cry but it sorta looks like a tough football face.


I also love these overalls he's now big enough to wear.

He obviously doesn't like them as much.

Melts my heart!! He's the best dad ever.

Here's a little playing with toys video...

COHEN's Blessing on BROCK's 24th Birthday!

What a special day! We had two parties in one. We decided to bless Cohen on Brock's birthday, which turned out to be really fun. Brock's birthday will probably be more fun next year, when he doesn't have to share all the attention on HIS day. He was a very good sport about it though. What an amazing husband I have. He gave one of the most beautiful blessings I have yet to hear. (not just saying that-ask anyone who attended) and even better, Cohen did not make a PEEP the whole sacrament meeting. That's a first! It was such a wonderful meeting, and we are so lucky to have such great family and friends that always come and support us, especially when our sacrament meeting starts at 8:00 AM. Only at BYU! The day was just perfect. After the blessing, we had a get together outside our house for some "to-die-for" orange and cinnamon rolls, fruit, muffins, and juice. All our family left us shortly after that, and Me, Brock and Cohen took the best nap of our lives. Later that night, our friends Ben & Char came over to celebrate Brock's birthday a little more. We played some cards games, ate more sugar cause we didn't quite get enough that day and talked for hours-which we find ourselves doing everytime we are with them.
Thanks everyone for making September 13, 2009 one we'll never forget. We love you all!

Cohen and I had a little photo shoot at home and some of the pics actually turned out pretty cute!






Our little family

Kitchen Fam

Mathews Fam

Our 'second fam' The Allsop's

My parents and their grandkids

Nana K and Co

Food table

Brocky's birthday cake

Ok so before the photo shoot I was practicing setting a good spot up and of course Cohen was smiling so good for the practice shots. Silly boy!




While we were waiting for Allsop's to come play games that night we took Cohen to the park in front of our house......his first time at the park. He loved it, as you can tell. Ha. Really he was womdering what the heck was going on.



Happy Birthday SWEETHEART and Happy blessing day Co!!
I LOVE MY BOYS.

LABOR DAY in the Park

Can I just say I absolutely LOVE days when Brock has no school OR work!? They are always good days. We had a blast on Labor Day! It started out with Brock going on a 5 mile run out of no where (which I think he regretted going so far afterwords) and Cohen and I went for a nice little walk. Brock met up with us at the end and we all walked home. After getting cute and ready for the day, we went to the BYU Women's Soccer game. Sweetness! I could watch soccer for hours, but at the same time it kills me cause I miss playing a lot. The game was great! And BONUS-Cohen slept the whole game. The Cougars won in double overtime, 2-1, against Oklahoma State. After the game, we headed up Provo Canyon for a picnic. It was great. It also got me really excited for Fall that's on it's way. We just relaxed up past Vivian park with the other hundreds of people that had the same idea. Ate yummy lunch, and played some frisbee. Cohen was being so cute and fun, when he wasn't sleeping.
It was an all-around good Labor Day for the Kitchen family!

Sleeping at the soccer game. Good boy.


Here's a hurt player--these ladies play rough, it's great.

Yummy yummy Italian subs.

Cohen sleeping some more at the park.

Cohen waking up at the park VERY
mad cause he wants to eat NOW!

Cohen slap happy after getting a full belly.
He loves to eat just like his parents!

Little glimpse of Fall on it's way.

He was loving being sprawled out on
the blanket outside just relaxing.

Here Cohen is telling Daddy stories. Love my boys!

It got a little chilly so we snuggled Co up in his new jacket.

Family pic! Brock and I took a bunch of these
cause we thought they were so funny.

Me and my little bud. I love him!

Tubby Time!

Cohen LOVES the tubby. He could sit in there so relaxed for hours! He's so cute and looks so chubby in the tubby. Last night Brock was being the cutest dad ever and telling Cohen stories in the tubby. He loved it. I tried real hard to get a smile pic in the tubby but failed. Darn. I love my boys!

BABY WISE & PROCRASTINATION.

=
So I just finished reading Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo, M.A. & Robert Bucknam, M.D. and I've been trying to applying it to mine and Cohen's schedule. The past two days I've tried a few things diligently to see if he would sleep better at night and during the day, and WOW it has worked. He has learned how to calm himself down and go to sleep, and he takes 3 naps a day. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! It was on my list of things to do BEFORE Cohen was born, but I put it off til a month before his due date, which was when he was born. Oops! Little late. Yet, another lesson to me about learning not to procrastinate.

Simmons-Larson Family Reunion 2009

LOVE family reunions, but they don't happen often with my far out extended family. It was fun to go and get to know a few more relatives, and have some relaxing time. It was a beautiful day to play outside, and there was even a snow cone machine! Cohen got plenty of SNUGGLES of course. What a lucky little boy.

Here's my close fam. LOVE them.

Grandpa John givin' a snuggle

Frisbee!

rice bag horse shoe game. Go Brock!!

of course we had name tags

Corb driving his car on his dad's head. Ha

Sexy Cort & Em

Grandpa snuggles!

LOVE snow cones

mad game of frisbee

aunt danna snuggles

He looks so much chubbier than he is

he loves his tongue now

and still dazes a lot

eatin' some din din


cute little smiley kids

Grandma Ann and Grandpa John

Grandma snuggles!

Bad times.....and Smile times!

Ok, so all you moms out there know there are good times and bad times of motherhood, right? Well the last couple weeks have been quite the bad times. No, I do not have a devil child that is naughty just to be naughty. My poor little guy has had some reflux problems with him tummy. Sad. Dr. Anderson gave him some medicine three days ago, and I THINK it may be working. (don't want to jinx it) Cohen is sleeping during the day again, AND sleeping at night without me holding him for hours. Wow, what a blessing. Well, even through these past couple weeks of HARD TIMES there have been plenty of SMILE TIMES. Smiles times are what get me through the hard times! Definately. Cohen is smiling SO much lately and just wants to blurt out big sentences but only tiny little COO's come out. Oh I love him....even through the hard times. Here are a couple fuzzy pics off my phone camera, a photo shoot with Mr. Monkey, and a cute little video:

Oh yes.....love him and the smiles

Mr. Monkey & Co

This is his new favorite friend

Co's serious face

Of course he stopped smiling as
soon as I got my real camera out

OH....love him. I can only catch the end of the
smile so far. I'll get it one of these days..

Right before I turned my camera on he was talking to Mr. Monkey like crazy. I guess that's how it goes!!

2 months already!

At Cohen's 2 month Dr. appt. here's the results we got:

* 10 lb 7 oz - 17.1 %tile
* 21 inches long - 1.2 %tile (he's a little shorty)
* 15.3 head cir. - 22.9 %tile

Dr. Anderson said he's looking great, right on target. He does have some reflux problems, so he grunts and gags at night, which wakes him up. He should grow out of pretty quick. If not, there is some good medicine he can take. So we'll wait it out and see what happens.
Little Cohen is getting big! Well, to me at least. These pictures make him look bigger than he is. Everyone else sees him and says "he's tiny!". He's getting a little chub and his personality is starting to come out more and more everyday.

*He is starting to smile like crazy and
make the cutest little noises ever.
*He focuses very well now;
He'll look you straight in the eyes.
*He's getting very strong! He holds
his head up with no problem now.
*On a good night, he only wakes
up twice to eat. (LOVE those nights)
*He still LOVES taking a 'tubby'. He
would stay in there all day if we'd let him.
*He hates being cold, and doesn't seem
to be able to get too hot ever.
*He recognizes Brock and I's voices
and faces. Such a fun thing!
*No matter how upset he is, walking
outside ALWAYS calms him down.
*He loves going on walks with his mama.
*He loves riding in the car, but
hates getting in his car seat.
*His eyes are still pretty blue,
but seen to be getting darker.
*He is the biggest snuggle-bug
EVER....which I can't get enough of.
*He loves when we sing him to sleep.
*He is starting to grab toys in front of him.
*He's still the gasiest baby I know! But, it
doesn't seem to bother him anymore. YAY!
*I hate to say it, but he is a pooper!
I call him Pooter- cause he toots and poops lots.

We love him so much, and can't imagine life without him. Weird how quickly your life and family changes. The adjustment has been pretty easy thanks to a darling baby boy. Brock sometimes says "this baby thing would be a lot harder if we had an ugly one!" Ha, probably true. We are so happy with life right now and wouldn't change a thing about it. (even the hard times)
Oh Pooter....WE LOVE YOU TO THE MOON & STARS & BACK! --love, mom & dad

love the naked baby

and he loves it too!

he swings his arms and kicks his legs like crazy

he dazes quite a lot - which makes me laugh

I had to post this crazy eye pic....so funny!

oh precious!

Cohen's 1st trip to ST GEORGE

OH I MISS ST. GEORGE! This last weekend we had a blast taking Cohen down for the first time. We went to a Snow Canyon high school football game to see our families and were able to see many good friends. We had a blast showing off our sweet little boy. He did SO good all weekend, even riding in the car for a totally of 7 hours. Didn't make a peep. Thanks buddy! St. George is always refreshing and makes me realize that I am 100% a st. george girl.

our little family

Grandpa couldn't get enough

Here's one proud Uncle Cort

I adore this little big boy...my nephew Corbin

OH.....cousin buddies.

i love to see the temple....

Last night was the first time Brock and I have been to the temple together since Cohen was born. It was SO much fun! I forgot so quickly how peaceful and refreshing it is to be in the temple. We are so blessed to have the Provo temple only steps away from our house, and also to have Cohen's Aunt Tiffy so close and willing to babysit while Brock and I go. Thanks Tiffy!
salt lake temple

st george temple -- my favorite

provo temple

GIRLS NIGHT OUT!

I LOVE girls night out! Don't get me wrong, I love my two boys, but every now and then a girls night out is very needed. I'm sure all you women out there (especially mama's) will agree with me. My sweet mom came up for the weekend and surprised me by bringing my best friend Loni with her! That was the best surprise EVER. Loni and I were inseparable until I left her to move to Provo, and I miss her like CRAZY. We all had a great weekend, but it went by way too fast--like always.

Girls night--Mac Grill
Loni, me, Char, mom, Em

My Loni & Me

Grandma couldn't get enough of little Cohen.
He misses her already.

Sat night Brock, myself, Cohen and my mom went
to dinner at Brick Oven then went to the BYU
women's soccer game, which was sweet!

It was a little chilly...

So we had to bundle up and snuggle.
**Thanks mom and Loni for the perfect weekend!

Cabin Fever....

We took Cohen on his first weekend away from home, and he loved it! He did so good. We went up to Brock's family's cabin up past Woodland (which is close to Heber City). Ben Char and Troy came with us and we had so much fun. (but we missed the Garza's and Marriano's too much) It was a weekend well needed for all of us to get out of town and out of our daily routines.
**Lots of pics**

We played a few very intense games of Ticket to Ride..

Cohen took his first bath in the sink..

He didn't know what to think of it.
He liked it but was a little cold--
which is his least favorite thing to be.

He would much rather be snuggley in jammies.

We ate like kings and queens.. Blueberry pancakes..

and Crepes of course.

The boys had "daddy time"..

Love this pic...Cohen was just staring at Brock.

Ready to go for a walk with Nature..

Cute little Troy was a trooper, and I just LOVE his hat.

Pretty pond on our walk..

The swing by the cabin..

So we went to this meadow so the boys could let some of their energy out and play, which started out a great game of football....but then turned into my favorite part of the weekend! I have never been so entertained by two men, a pile of rocks, and a frisbee. The pics below will explain....I picked a few of my favs. WAY better in person. Might I add, I was watching and taking pics for over an hour.

The 'run and reach' trick..


The 'dive'..

The 'fake explosion run jump and dive'..

And last but not least, the famous 'Benjy flip'.

**Overall, great weekend. Nature is very needed every so often.
I love these men and thank them for the great show
and willingness to get plenty of scrapes just to entertain me.

Cohen's NEW CRIB!

Yay! We got a crib. Our sweet friends Ken & Babata Sonnenberg GAVE us a crib AND bedding. Yowzers...we owe them big time! They would NOT except money, but they would except some homemade oreo cookies. This crib was their darling daughter's and it's in PERFECT condition, like brand new.
Thanks a MILLION Ken & Babata........words can't express.

Here it is!

And a side view..

He looks like a little doll in the huge crib..

Cohen thought it was quite comfy..

We even got a yawn out of him!

**Here's a random video especially for the grand-parents to see.

Gettin' a little CHUB

My baby boy is finally starting to get more meat on those cute bones, so I thought I would post a few pics.
I love you to the moon and stars and back buddy!!

Croquet & Summer Nights....

Whoever invented Croquet is on my good list! What a fun game that I hardly ever think about until friends bring it over to play. (Thanks Ben & Char!) I forgot that I like it so much. Something else I really like..... Summer Nights in Utah. I'm convinced they are the best. We had so much fun out in front of our house playing with our good friends Ben & Diana Dewey and Ben, Char & Troy. Again, the babies LOVED being outside. And to top the night off, we had yummy yummy root beer floats. YUM! We love our friends, and we love that they also love to eat like us.

Here's Mom takin' a whack at it..

Cute hat Char..

Oh such cute baby buddies--they enjoyed each other..

Baby model material definitely.

And check out these "baby blue's".

Now this melts my heart. Brock is such a great daddy.

Father & Son..... these are for YOU Char.


Diana & Ben Dewey--I smelt a little baby hunger with these two..

Of course the boys were bored towards the end and were craving more competition--balancing the Croquet club around the big tree and back. Who knows who won..

Cohen was still enjoying the outdoors when it got a little chilly--What a cute little burrito!

**If/When we move out of Utah for med school....one of many things I'll crave will be summer nights.

Happy 24th of July

For the 24th we were in Spanish Fork for the day with Brock's family at Grandma Higginson's house. We had a blast and the weather was so great, so it wasn't too hot to be outside all day. I'm convinced Cohen LOVES being outside at anytime. He is always super relaxed and never makes a peep when we're outside. Here are a couple pics to show you what went on during our 24th of July weekend.....

This pic pretty much says it all....such a relaxing weekend!

Here's our little family at Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house.
We were so lucky to get to go Thursday evening. It is so beautiful inside, of course.

Cute little boy was so good in the car all weekend,
and we drove A LOT.

Here's the fam at the Spanish Fork parade.

We were a little late but we caught the end of it.
(perfect amount of parade watching)

Aunt Tiffy and cousin Kai enjoying the parade.

Here is Cohen's Great Grandma Carma, Daddy, Grandpa Todd & Great Great Grandma Higgy.

Josh, Jenn, Kai & Cohen--hangin' out at Grandma Higgy's.
Cohen and Kai--cute little cousin buddies.

Aunt Jenn and Cohen matched with their baseball attire.

After lunch we played "quarter games". All the little kids do races of all sorts to win quarters. Here's the big boys racing for quarters. Brock and Josh dominated. Way to make us proud boys!


Aunt Tiffy and Mommy enjoying the relaxing day.

Darling little boy. So content outside on Aunt Shelli's lap.
(Sorry Shelli, I cut your head off)

Cute Alyssa was a natural with baby Cohen. He definitely found a comfy spot on her lap.

This pic pretty much sums up the day....we were all pooped! But it was well worth it.

Cohen's 1st lake trip to UTAH LAKE

Cohen's 1st lake trip at only 4 weeks old.....What a fun day! Our sweet friends Reed and Mel Garza invited our family to Utah Lake with them to take the wave runners out. We had a blast! Cohen was such a good boy he slept pretty much the whole time. Our friends the Allsop's came as well, so we had the whole posse (Kalza) there to have fun one last time before Reed and Mel leave us to move to Dallas, Texas for med school (not very nice Garza's). The day was perfect. We took turns taking the wave runners out and the others stayed on shore where we had a very nice shaddy grass area to hang out with the babies, Cohen and Troy. The babies were in Heaven. I really think they LOVED being outside pretty much all day. What great friends we have. Never a dull moment. Garza's will be missed more than they'll ever know. Brock and I are saving up our pennies to fly to Dallas to visit them ASAP. Oh and we also kept the party going all night long -- got Hot N' Ready pizzas (of course) and had dessert and games. Here are a few pics of the lake........Enjoy!

Lovin' the lake so much!

KALZA - Mel, Reed, Benj, Char, Brock, Lis
(if you're wondering what kalza is --too bad, it's top secret)

Lis & Brock out for a romantic ride

Here are the babes! Troy, Cohen, and soon-to-be Brooklyn

Cohen just couldn't relax enough! He was lovin' life.

Daddy and Cohen snuggling.

MOTHERHOOD

I can't tell you how much I love being a mom. It's something you can't understand until it happens to you. I never knew how much I could love my sweet little boy. It helps me understand a little bit more, how much our Heavenly Father loves all His children. I couldn't ask for a sweeter, more handsome little boy, and I wouldn't trade one minute of being a mom for ANYTHING in this world. -- Cohen, thank you for being my sweet baby boy, and for being so patient with a new mom. You make me smile every time I look at you. I love you more each day, and I can't wait to watch you learn and grow into a big boy.
I LOVE YOU Cohen. love -- mom

Four Weeks Old on 4th of July

(Heads up....it's a long one. 4th of July and lots of randoms)

Wow, my baby boy is 4 weeks already!! It has flown right by. Cohen is going to be 4 years in no time. 4th of July was extra fun this year having him with us. Cohen is the best baby, we are very spoiled.
A little about Cohen at 4 weeks:
*At 10 days he weighed an ounce more than his birth weight (5 lb10 oz)
*Also at 10 days, he grew a half an inch
*He loves to eat (he must be a Kitchen boy)
* He loves his 'bink' and keeps it in all by himself
* He loves his bouncer
*He takes the best naps in mom or dad's arms
*He is a big time squeeker and grunter
*His hair styles so cute-thanks to his weird hair growth
*He's like clock work-every three hours he wakes me up to eat
*He loves to go for walks to the temple
*He loves taking a bath
*He almost always has his hands up by his face
*He's smile is killer with 2 cute dimples (even if he's smiling just cause he has gas)
*He only fuses when he's hungry (we'll see how long that lasts)
*He is starting to stay awake longer after he eats-which I'm LOVING playing with him more
*He makes the CUTEST noise after he sneezes-like a high pitched sigh I guess you could say
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
HAPPY 1st 4th of July Cohen!!
We had a great time this fourth of July. We had our best friends Ben, Char, Troy, Matty, and Ash over to hang until the firework show. We couldn't live without our amazing friends. They keep us going, that's for sure. It was a double good party cause we also celebrated Ash's birthday and had cake and ice cream. I forgot candles (oops), but thanks to our creative-on-the-spot husbands we had "match candles". It was a flammin' cake, that's for sure. Ash loves fireworks and how convenient that the city gives her a firework show on her birthday.....sweet.
Brock and Ben kept themselves entertained by making dry ice bombs and setting them off like fireworks. Boys will be boys-always.

4th of July family pic (Cohen wanted to yawn in this shot)

This is how much Cohen enjoyed the fireworks

Part of our posse-the Allsop Family...love them.

More of the cute posse-Matt & Ash w/ Cohen
(looks like a cute little family if you ask me)

Cohen LOVES his bassinet he sleeps in every night.
(Thanks a million Brit, you saved us)

He is still in "ball mode". Hopefully that
habit won't stick, but it's so cute!

LOVES the bath, but hates getting out.

He loves his bouncer. (and tube socks)

On a walk to the temple.

Full belly and very happy.

Cohen LOVES his hands by his face ALWAYS.

Cute Grandpa adores this little boy.

Cohen loves his Grandpa so so much....but
I think Grandpa loves him even more!!


This little outfit kills me.....the bum is to die for.

I just want to nibble him every time he's sleeping he's so sweet.

He loves his daddy so much...but again- I think daddy might love him even more. There's something about seeing your husband with your baby boy-VERY attractive. (love you sweetie!)

Here is a little clip of his cute dimples. That's one request I had (just a joke) and it came true thanks to his handsome daddy's dimples.
We LOVE you baby Cohen! love - - mom & dad

He's HERE!!

Cohen Todd Kitchen
was born Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 9:05 am in Orem, Utah. He just couldn't wait to come play with us so he decided to come exactly a month early. He weighed 5 lbs. 10 oz. and was 18 in. long. He flew out with a full head of hair. (literally flew out....the Dr. had to jump back in his chair to catch him) The delivery was amazing...my dream delivery if there is such a thing. I woke up sat. morning at about 2:30 am feeling a little different but not know for sure if I was in labor. I watched the clock to find out my contractions were exactly 7 mins apart. I started getting so giddy and excited I couldn't stand it! I woke Brock up and in no time the contractions were 4 and 5 mins apart, or in other words I was movin' fast! We then sat for a few mins not really knowing what to do, so we decided we'd better get our bags packed. We were taking our time at first, having fun and getting so excited, but then I kept reminding brock "ok, now we need to hurry!" I had no idea how far into labor I was, when we got to the hospital I was mentally prepared for them to send me back home. Little did I know, they checked me and I was dilated to an 8! They hurried me to my room, gave me an epidural when I was at a 9, and a few pushes he was out! Such an amazing experience, and I loved every minute of it.
Cohen is the sweetest, most beautiful little boy I know and we can't keep our eyes off him!

On the verge of cracking a cute smile for the cam...

Dr. Weibell....one of the greatest men I know.

Victory....I made it!

This is one of my favs....Love the finger in the mouth.

The 'bink' is almost the size of his tiny head.

He was looking right at the camera for us.

Here are my sweet boys snuggling.

This is what Brock and I do in our free time now.

Mr. GQ already knows how to work it for the camera.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We LOVE this baby boy more than we ever thought was possible, and are VERY proud to be his parents.

*Baby Shower in St. George*

Baby showers are awesome! Though I have to admit, I felt so guilty and a little overwhelmed cause we got HOOKED UP!! Big time. Thanks to all my amazing family and friends who came to support baby Cohen. Oh, it was just great. I was just happy to see everyone from my beautiful home town. I miss seeing people I know.... THANK YOU to my cutest sister in law EMILY for making the shower darling, with her cute games and decorations. THANK YOU to my sweet mama and mother in law for hosting and all that you did to make this happen. I am one lucky girl, and baby Cohen is one lucky little boy!

cute diaper cakes and advice box--thanks em!

oh we're cute! Em is due in Dec. with her 2nd babe.

My girls from high school! So fun to all be together again.
I'm the fat one in the middle....ha.

We couldn't stop talking....high school reunion.

cute baby sign made by Em. Love her!!

My darling husband with all his diaper changing gear on.
That was his gift from the shower, and knowing him I'm
sure he'll use it a time or two. Love him!

Ready or Not....

Ready or not, here comes baby Kitch! We are getting so excited we can't stand it. We finally got our car seat and stroller (gift from mom and dad Mathews, THANKS!) and we also were given a brand new, darling bassinet from our sweet sister-in-law Brit (thanks a million Brit! Baby Kitch can't wait to sleep in it). So I thought I would post a few pics to show them off cause I am so in love with them...




Oh and.... we have been really liking the name COHEN. Cohen Kitchen has a nice ring to it... We're testing it out. Every time we talk about him we call him Cohen and it seems to fit so far! I guess we'll see when he comes out. *Hurry up and get here already Cohen! I'm not sure if I can wait 38 more days.... I'm so excited!

2 YEARS....Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe it's been 2 years! Time keeps flying by faster and faster. We got married June 9, 2007, but this year we celebrated a few days early. This year our anniversary is on Tuesday and we actually have a birthday class on that day, which I think is pretty funny. So we decided to celebrate on the weekend! Brock got off work early and it was my day off so we were able to spend all sorts of time together! That night we went to dinner at my all time favorite, Cafe Rio. Can't get enough of it and I have craved it all day long my whole pregnancy. My pork salad tasted extra good, probably cause we were celebrating. :) We then went and saw the 3D movie "UP". Very cute show, and so sweet to see it in 3D. What a fun night we had!!

sporting our sweet glasses for the show

pork burrito and tres leches dessert

pork salad.....OH YUM!

finished the whole thing.....oh course.

Happy Anniversary Sweetie! What an amazing two years we have had together. I wouldn't change a thing about it, even the hard times. They have only made us stronger and closer together. We have so much fun together and what can I say...we make a dang good team. Everything is better when we're together. You make me one happy woman, and I can't wait for you to be the best daddy ever! You still make me laugh everyday and I thank you for that. Thanks for being by my side always. I LOVE YOU. FOREVER.

SUNNY St. George....

Over Memorial Day weekend us and our posse took a little road trip to Sunny St. George....oh how I love it there! Our families are amazing- they fed us and hosted us way too well. THANKS a MILLION DAD and MOM! We had an absolute BLAST! Nice HOT weather and plenty of sun, Zion's, sleeping in, relaxing and having FUN from the minute we got there until the minute we left -- literally. That's one of my favorite things about our friends is we don't know how to stop having fun. We don't waste a minute together! I want to let my cute friends know how amazing they are. Words can't express- they are the best examples Brock and I could have in our lives right now. They are truly "family away from home" and we WILL be friends for life. THANK YOU CHAR, BENJY, MEL and REED. You mean the world to us. Here is a few pics to show you how much fun we acutally had....

ben, reed, brock, josh hiking the narrows

tough boys dominated Zion

golf lessons with Ricky Mathews - thanks dad!

my belly didn't stop me from golfing!

boys ready to dive off cliffs

check out josh floating horizontally in the air

crazy boys got tricky

SUPERMAN BROCK

no comment about this pic....yikes!

posse in the pool

boys layin' on the beach catchin' some rays

we love st. george!!

ShOuT oUt To ThE sIsTeRs

So I ran into these two random pics on my computer the other day and thought I would give a SHOUT OUT to my darling sister-in-laws. YOU TWO ROCK and I just love you!

There's a first time for everything....

My belly is officially too large to paint my toenails. So my sweetheart husband gladly said yes when I asked him if he would paint them for me. Wow, does he love me or what?! I was quite impressed how great of a job he did...a lot better than I ever do. Thanks Sweetie!! My feet now feel pretty again.

BEFORE...

DURING...

AND AFTER!!

oh and here's a 31 week belly pic

Scootin' at the Park

The other day Brock and I decided to take our razor scooters to the park to have some fun. We found our new favorite park! It's so sweet. It's huge for starters... Has nice sidewalk all around, lots of different paths to scoot on.. It has little picnic pavilions all over.. A great playground for kids, and also a sweet swing thing that spins in circles.. A pretty pond with tons of ducks, even baby ones swimming behind their mama.. It has a green house.. Plenty of clean bathrooms.. Soft very green grass and beautiful landscape. Gosh, what more could you want at a park!

ready to pop a wheely

evil knievel

sweet spinning swings

pretty flowers

prego lady trying to balance on her scooter

Women's Conference @ BYU

here we are! Lis & Lon & Mamas

smootch from mama...LOVE HER!

had to get a 'funny' of lis & lon

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This HAS to be one of my favorite traditions that we have made in the last couple years...Girls Weekend @ Women's Conference @ BYU with Mom, Loni, and Tammy. All our classes we went to were just perfect for us. Gave us plenty of HOPE for the future. Since Loni is my sister and Tammy is like my second Mom, it's kinda like a family affair! As close as it can be at least. I had such a great weekend, and I miss Loni and Tam like CRAZY now that I don't see them often. One day we'll live in the same town again. One day... Mama, Lon, and Tam- Thanks for having such a fun weekend with me! I loved it so so much. Can't wait for next year!

WICKED @ capitol theater in slc

WOW! All I have to say is WOW! Brock, my sweetie, got my WICKED tickets for Valentine's Day this year at Capitol Theater in SLC. Let me just start out by saying Brock and I are not "play people".... WICKED KNOCKED OUR SOCKS OFF!! Capitol Theater is such an amazing place to see any play I'm sure, but that's not what made the play so amazing. For one, the plot of the play is just great, very entertaining, and for two the actors that were chosen were OUT OF THIS WORLD! I'm positive they couldn't have been any better. We couldn't listen to the Wicked soundtrack on the way home because the voices on the cd just couldn't do it for us anymore. At intermission, Brock and I stood up SPEECHLESS, looked around the theater and realized everyone else was the same way. Those of you that have seen it or have read the book (which doesn't come close to the play, sorry) right before intermission was the scene Defying Gravity. Need I say MORE? Amazing. Absolutely amazing. After the play, I think the first thing Brock said to me was "when we are old and rich, we WILL have season tickets to Capitol Theater". I agreed. So thanks WICKED for turning Brock and I into "play lovers"!

HAPPY EASTER

Easter was so much fun! Us and our posse had our Easter tradition of coloring eggs. Also, had amazing root beer floats that hit the spot! It was such a great night. Ben and Char have a new addition to their cute family...Baby TROY! Can't get enough of him. He makes us SO excited for our sweet little boy to come. (well, hopefully sweet.) Brock and I are hoping that our kids don't get ANY of our egg coloring skills, or else they'll NEVER win a egg coloring contest, just like Brock and I. When everyone was done coloring eggs we all voted on the top 7 eggs. None of Brock and I's eggs came close. HA! Which was well deserved, we will both admit. We still had a blast.

HAPPY EASTER!!

brock, ben, reed, melis, lis, ash, matt, & char
here are the eggs! and the winning 7

my egg matched my shirt perf!

sweet baby troy

Happy Easter Sunday in our Easter dresses

oh... and here is a 26 weeks belly pic. 6 1/2 months baby!
notice the baby count down is down to double digits...99 day!

SLC @ Macaroni Grill

OH HOW WE LOVE GOOD FOOD! I highly recommend the Marsala Chicken Ravioli at Macaroni Grill. So YUM! We had quite the group at dinner and it was so great... My cute parents, my mom's cute dad and step-mom, my mom's cute sister and family, and my cute brother and sister-in-law and my adorable nephew. I LOVE my family and can't get enough of them. We went to visit and play in SLC for the day and hit up Mac Grill. Thanks again Grandpa for dinner! Myself and Baby Kitch just LOVED it!!

Sunny St. George

We LOVE St. George and miss it so much! Over spring break Brock and I went to Sunny St.George to visit and to watch Brock's little brother, Matt, play in a SWEET baseball tournament. Matt pitched amazingly. It was SO much fun watching him play, and made me excited to have a little boy to hopefully watch him play sports.

You ROCK Matt!!

We also had a BLAST playing kickball, enjoying the summer weather...cause it is April and SHOULD be warm by now. Provo hasn't QUITE received that memo yet.

OUR LITTLE BABY IS A BOY!

We are so excited we just can't stand it! I hope he's just a little mini Brock...looks and all. He's measuring right on target, not too big, not too small. Knowing the gender of the baby just makes it seem so much more real...It's great! I can't believe how much I love him already.It makes me want to meet him right now! I'm not sure I can wait 4 more months. Here are a few pics of proof that it's FOR SURE a boy....

He was moving like CRAZY during the ultrasound.
Smart kid....already doing flips!!

Prego x 3

So our good friends Reed and Melissa spilled the great news that Mel is prego now also!! All three of us are almost exactly 3 months apart. How perfectly planned! (not really planned) So we had to take a min and document this moment with a few pics of the 3 prego women. Congrats Reed & Mel, we're so excited for you guys!!

Viva Las Vegas!

Happy Valentine's Day! The day of Love....

This year for Valentine's Brock & I and our posse went to beautiful St. George and Vegas for the long weekend. We had a blast! The warmER weather was wonderful. I miss it! It was so nice to get out of town. I was so anxious.. I didn't even care where we were going to be honest, I just needed to get out of Provo! It was great and very relaxing.
Here are some pics from the trip.....

my sweet sister-in-law had this sweet idea of making chocolate ice cream bowls with balloons! So fun and yummy. You blow up a balloon, dip the bottom in melted chocolate, let it cool, then pop the balloon. Genius!

Reed & Mel gave us all sweet tats in our valentines. Brock's is a rhino mine is a parrot.

Sweet pandas made out of plants and things inside the Bellagio Hotel.

Chocolate fountain in Bellagio as well. YUM! Wanted to drink it. We thought about buying something to taste, but a dinky little piece of anything was about $32.00. Pass on that!

Matt & Brock in Paris. Ha. I wish. Ash & I with sparkly horse.

Here is a sweet acapella singing group that was entertaining in this cute little outside strip mall we roamed around while waiting for dinner at Cheesecake Factory. YUM!

Here we are in Caesar's Palace & here's the posse in front of the Bellagio water show.

We had a sweet bowling alley in our hotel and Brock ROCKED the HOUSE!! He bowled a whopping 164.
BAM!! What a stud and a VERY sexy bowler.

Our hotel also had a FABULOUS ice cream parlor that we just HAD to hit up a few times. YUM!
And last but not least... My sweetie gave me WICKED TICKETS!! AH!! Can't wait can't wait!!
We'll be going in April at the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City.
Thank you Sweetie, you are way too good to me, & I just LOVE YOU!