b e r r i e s

 Today, Cohen and I ate berries and peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Delicious.

We talked about nothing, and laughed.

He is such a good friend of mine these days.

We also talked about how yummy berries are and how good they are for our bodies. 

Cohen LOVES learning about anatomy/nutrition.

Maybe he'll follow in his father's footsteps...

Cohen @ 2.5 years

weight: 30 lbs {50%}

height: 34.5 inch {18%}

When the nutritionist was about to check his iron she was so nervous that he was going to cry, which he never has. She had me hold his wrist tightly and she told Cohen to watch what color comes out of the poke....he waited then saw the blood and excitedly said RED! I don't think he even realized he got poked. She was impressed.

Lately, Co has had an obsession with "zippy" jammies. 

He only wants footsie jammies, which we only have 4 pair as of now.

When he goes to bed or down for a nap, I've started to do something my dad did to me when I was a kid and couldn't sleep. We call it RELAX. I start at his head and go down to his toes and softly touch or tickle his hair, eyes, cheeks, nose, lips, chin, chest, belly, arms, hands, fingers, legs, knees, feet & toes. Saying "relax" before everything I touch. He thinks its magic, and so did I. It has worked every time so far. Let's hope the magic stays. My favorite part about it is he calls it "Belax".

 He has been loving to learn new Christmas songs. He knows 'Rudolf' and 'Santa Claus is coming to Town' really well. He thinks he is so funny when he starts singing one song, then switches to the other in the middle of it.
After washing Co's hands after lunch I picked him up and slowly said "You...are..." then I paused, and Co finished and said "the...cutest...boy...in...the...whole...world".

A few of my favorite phrases from his mouth lately:

- "Let's get on my motorcycle. We're going on a date mom."

 - When he does something naughty he'll say "It's ok mom, don't get mad." 

Stinker. It only works sometime.

- "I'm just teasin' mom." or "I was joking!".

He's quite the tease these days.

- In his prayers, he's grateful for the lights, and that Daddy could study at home, and that Brendon's here. His prayers are precious.
- I love the way he says the word remember, "reNember".

 He is still my baby boy.

And he's a spit-fire.


P.S. Three days until we are in UTAH!

Christmas ornaments.

The boys usually go down for an afternoon nap at the same time, but Cohen wakes up about an hour before Brend. That is "our hour". We try and make the most of it and do something fun for Co. Yesterday, I came up with the idea of making salt dough ornaments. He thoroughly enjoyed it.

He is one determined little/big boy.

 He wouldn't stop trying to fill the 1/2 

of cup of salt until it was full.

 After insisting on tasting the SALTY dough, 

I said GO FOR IT. He gagged it down then yelled

for water. That was his first AND last taste of salt dough I'm sure.

 Showing me he's strong enough to lift the rolling pin.

 "C" for Cohen, colored very nicely by Co.

Happy Holidays!

Brendon

 I love your gummy smile.

I love when I kiss your forehead you close your eyes and get sleepy.

I love your long fingers and feet, just like mine.

I love how content you are playing/talking by yourself.

I love you in yellow.

I love the way you jabber in your crib every time you wake up.
I love the way your hold your breath and 
smile when I put your shirt over your head when getting dressed.

I love that I can't remember life without.

 

Boy, you keep your mama happy and spoiled.

 I LOVE YOU.

baby it's cold outside...

When it's a LITTLE bit too cold for the babies 

to play for too long outside what do we do?

Well, here are a few things we've been up to:

 Our ward Christmas Party

Cohen playing with his girlfriends from Nursery,

Lucy, Audrey & Violet  

Family Home Evening

Writing a letter to Santa and a birthday card for Jesus.

Cohen is doing well at understanding the meaning of Christmas.  

Eating. Of Course.

Brendon has now tried Bananas and Sweet potatoes.

These pictures are from about a week ago, but I've been mixing the food with rice cereal and a little water and he eats a whole jar of the food plus rice cereal. He's an eater. And he hasn't grabbed the spoon. Such a different experience than we had with Cohen. I'm enjoying this. He is very impatient while waiting for his next bite to come. I have a feeling this kid is going to tower over his big brother quicker than we think.

Baking.

Honey Whole Wheat bread.

And Cohen "helping" me clean up afterwards. He played in the sink for almost an hour. This boy just needs water and dishes and he's good for awhile.

Building forts.

I have to admit, Brock is a WAY better fort builder. He's probably had a lot more practice than I have. Both boys LOVE doing these. 

Kids Christmas party @ Lucy's house.

Cohen LOVES his friend Lucy from Nursery. He talks about "Wucy" all the time. She is darling. When they see each other they light up, smile and say HI, in a shy way. Flurting? Maybe. He keeps talking about "that one time" he went to Lucy's house.

We ate Mac 'n' cheese and chicken nuggets for lunch, decorated surgar cookies, watched Rudolf and played with toys.

Heavenly for the children AND moms. We had a great time visiting while are kids entertained each other.

Daddy getting tricky with the boys.

Brendon standing on Brock's hand.

Ironically, we have a picture of Cohen a little older than Brendon now and he's wearing the same outfit. HA. 

 

I've been trying real hard to keep having good, fun days, EVEN when it's chilly outside. This month of December has been wonderful so far. 

If we can make it through January I think we'll be ok.

P.S.   Five days until we are on a plane to ST. GEORGE, UTAH!!  

Slodkie Snee

 A few phrases and things I've heard from this cheesy grin lately:

> "what did you say to me mom?" - when he can't hear me.

> "I want to go on a date Mom."
>"Oh sorry mom, I didn't mean to."

> "Does that sound like a good idea?"

> "Slodkie Snee!" When we tuck him in bed at night, he says Goodnight, I love you, Slodkie Snee {which means Sweet Dreams in Russian}

> He is one amazing player of MAKE BELIEVE. He is constantly going to school, the store, the library, the dentist, Grandma's house. Every day is different. 
I love his imagination.

> He is the only one that can make Brendon laugh.

> And he is still singing his ABC's with the K and J backwards.
> "I like mac 'n' cheese all day long, Mom."
> One of his recent favorite songs to sing, "Old McDonald's had a farm", he adds the S the McDonald's just like the restaurant.

 Brendon is Mr. Smiley, always.

And oh so mellow. A bit different from his brother.

{at least for now}

 Brotherly bonding. They are getting better at that.

 We've been working on the lyrics to some Christmas songs...

Santa Claus is coming to town is his favorite I would say,

And he is reminded PLENTY times a day that Santa is watching.

This boy is Fire & Ice at times...

but I love everything about him.