:: monkey see monkey do ::

My little monkey.

In Co's room I have a picture wall where I have simply taped pictures in an odd shape. I am not sure when he actually saw me put them up. Yesterday I walked into his room where he was playing and he found an old picture of Brock and I that stays in his toy box, and he was trying to make it stick to the wall. Hilarious.

I smiled so big.

 He cracks me up, and keeps me on track at all times, reminding me how important my actions are to him. Yikes. Pressure.

 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 

We went out for ice cream last night.

Oh, how Cohen loves ice cream! He MUST have his OWN spoon to DIP in our cups.

{I love this picture. Neither boy knew I was taking it.}

  {He takes a bite then says Mmmmmm! Every bite.}

:: slide all by myself ::

 Dear Cohen,

I love you so much Buddy, but will you please stop growing up?

At least slow down for a bit. You are turning into a big boy right in front of my eyes. I love watching you learn, and your sense of humor is just as big as mine. Your smile melts my heart to pieces. Your laugh makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Today you climbed the stairs, scooted to the slide, and went down all by yourself. The picture above is right after you came down and your face expression says it all. You felt just like a big boy. I was so proud of you! Then you kept wanting to do it over and over again....climbing right back up the slide rather than using the stairs. 

You are making so many animal sounds - monkey, chicken, dog, cow and elephant. We're working on the cat sound. 

Thank you for being so patient with me everyday as I learn how to be a mommy. I think we're a pretty good team. I love watching you wrestle with Daddy. He loves you Bud. He works SO hard for our little family. Thank you for being brave and wanting to try new things and progress each day. You make all my days good.

I love YOU Co.

 

:: a day I've been looking forward to ::

 Yay! Life is good. Why? Because now

I can see my child's face while driving, I can easily hand him snacks and toys, 

and it's like he's in a new world seeing so many cool new things.

He is loving car rides even more than before!

As you can see by his face, he's a little shocked.

I love this new seat, and so does Co. 
{p.s. These pics make him look WAY bigger than he is} 

{My little boy in his big car seat}

:: a LABOR DAY weekend to remember ::

My wonderful parents came to stay with us for the long holiday weekend.

They are the greatest. One of my favorite things about this cute couple is they know how to laugh. And they keep everyone around them laughing too. I think is it very important to always laugh.

Of course we had SO much fun. We had a Jimmy John's picnic. YUM. My sweet mom bought JJ's bread on her way up to Provo so we could make our own, and see if we could make them as good. And we did. So the secret is out -- Jimmy John's is definitely good for their bread.

 Saturday my mom and I and Co went on a killer shopping spree. {well needed}

I have not been shopping in I don't know how long. It made me giddy-happy, almost like I didn't remember how to shop.

We found some rockin' deals and had SUCH a fun girls' day out.

While we shopped, Brock and my dad went to the BYU football game. Go Cougs! The boys had a blast, but I think I had a little more fun.

On Sunday, we made our way out to Tooele, where my sweet Grammy lives. It was her birthday on Monday, so we went out to celebrate a day early.

Dad made his famous BBQ RIBS {TO-DIE-FOR} along with baked sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar and melted mallows. {like dessert}

For dessert we had Turtle Brownies, my personal favorite.

We chatted, relaxed, and of course....swung on the tire swing.

  Co loved being pushed high.

We would all laugh when he would try and talk while getting his breath taken away.

My cute little Grammy turned 87 yesterday.

She has out-lived all her friends, and many family members.

She is as healthy as a horse, still runs around and plays with her grand/great-grand kids, and goes dancing twice a week.

I hope I age as well as she has. I have said this before, but she is one pretty woman.

What is her secret???

{Grammy and her baby, my daddy}

Grammy lives on 20 acres of land, with a farm behind her house. We had fun exploring in Grandpa's old shed with "treasures".

{the baby goats sounded like real babies}

Grammy's house is always so peaceful. So peaceful that Cohen even held still for more than a minute. Wow. 

We all sat outside for hours and hours chatting.

{A moment I don't want to forget. Rocking with my Sweetie.}

And that was a weekend never to forget.

Thanks Mom & Dad.

We love you.

:: getting BIG ::

My little baby is a big boy.

It's such a bittersweet thing.

I absolutely LOVE him walking, almost running.

He keeps me smiling, even when he doesn't want to obey.

I love his jabber. It's like he has his own language--that or he's catching on to our Asian neighbors next door. {wink}

What a stud muffin.

We play in his room daily. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.

I can see his imagination going wild.

The things he thinks of amaze me.

  One minute, he's playing trucks and tractors...

the next he sneaks up behind me and is in his swimming pool.

Full of energy and loves life.

And that makes me happy.

:: petting zoo @ Thanksgiving Point ::

{goat, llahma, fat pig & horse}

What a fun place this is to take little ones.

Laura and Abigail invited us this morning, and we loved.

There was so many fun animals.

COWS

petting the baby cow

COWS & PONIES

TURKEYS, CHINESE GEESE & BUNNIES

{that's a brand new bunny in the bottom right corner}

ALPACA

{pronounced al-pak-ah}

This guy was my favorite! He was by far the ugliest animal there. He needed a bang trim so bad. He would throw his head back to move the hair out of his eyes. Smart dude.

We even got to go on a wagon ride pulled by pretty horses. The driver was a cute old cowboy, and the horses names were Hannah and Gloria.

{cohen "people watching" just like his parents do}

What a fun day!

I highly recommend taking your little ones there is you haven't already.

:: ducks on campus ::

Last weekend we took Cohen to see the ducks again on campus.

They were a big hit now that he's a little older.

He just wanted DOWN and to chase them all.

Good thing they are very nice and used to people poking at them.

We fed them break crumbs, and tried to imitate their noises.

At first Cohen wasn't too sure if they would hurt him, but that only lasted seconds.

He wanted they to play with him.

This little guy was taking a nap in a pretty tricky way...

on one leg all curled up in a ball.

First glance at the water, and he wanted IN.

Successful evening with the ducks.

:: my knight in shining armor ::

 MY KNIGHT is always blowing me away. Look at him -- He can handle two one year olds at the same time, and keep them interested in the same book. 

Magic.

We tended Abs last night.

My favorite thing that I saw happen while the babies played was when Abs yawned and Co copied her seconds later, opening his mouth as wide as he could and 
making an "ahh" whisper noise. Two little copy cats.

I laughed so hard my eyes watered. (guess you had to be there)

Two peas in a pod these two babes are.

:: 14 months and WALKING ::

 

As of yesterday, Cohen is walking! 

He is taking 10+ steps.

He will walk to you and stop and stand to grab a toy.

He is still a little wobbly.

This kid moves as fast as lightning these days.

Never stops to breathe.

And I must admit, I like it.

I LOVE my little/big baby boy FULL of energy.

Cohen still eats anything you give him, besides eggs.

He now LOVES whole milk.

He can say some new words: 

wa-wa (water), keys, vac-doom (vacuum, still his fav), aaah-i-mal (animal), bye-bye, hi.
He prays. He will fold his arms, bow his head, and whisper for 5 seconds.

Starting to take just one nap a day.

Still sleeps 10-12 hours a night.

As of now, has 1 one year old molar. (I see others coming)

He is my little bud, and we love to play trucks and trains.

I LOVE HIM. O, how I love him.

Happy 14 months Co!

::rainy bike rides::

Last night we went on a bike ride. We borrowed Laura and Ab's bike. {thanks so much Sommers} Co just couldn't get used to the helmet. He has never liked hats, weird boy. But needless to say, he LOVED it. Anything outside is in his element. He thought it was pretty cool that Daddy was riding next to him on his bike too.

We made it home just in time....before THE HUGE RAINSTORM came. We got a little wet.

And we loved it.

  CLASSIC.