Big Helper

Ryan has been anxious to help feed Cohen lately and volunteers to feed him by doling out Cheerios, puffs, and whatever pureed food is on the menu. It gets a bit messy, but fun that he wants to help. He even knows the "Allll done, alllll done, you ate it all, you're allllll done!" song that makes Cohen smile instead of get mad when the food runs out!

He also loves feeding him a bottle and burping him afterwards. 

Does Cohen look huge in this picture?

Saylor's Party

We were excited to celebrate Saylor's 2nd birthday by watching her open presents and eating lunch, including cake...

  ...and ice cream.

Then, the kids had fun playing together outside.

Saylor's Aunt Whitney had quite a load to haul.

Cohen LOVED Saylor's push car.

Happy Birthday, Saylor! Thanks for a fun party!

Happy Birthday, Adam

We went out with Adam's parents a few days after his birthday at Los Tulipanes. Cohen had a great time, even though he didn't get any delicious Mexican food.

 I sported the necklace Ryan had made me at preschool out of Froot Loops. I think it fit in well with the decor.

We don't have any pictures of Adam even though it was his birthday...it's funny how guys do not often beg to have a picture taken at a Mexican restaurant...or wear necklaces made of cereal.

9 Months

At 9 months, Cohen is much more mobile. He can crawl very fast and will make it from room to room before we even know what's happening! His favorite things are to bang Nika's metal bowls on the ground (and try her dog food) and navigate among the chair and table legs in the kitchen. He can pull himself up on chairs and the couch and is so proud when he's standing up! He loves to walk holding on to my fingers and can even walk behind his lion toy a little before he resorts to walking behind it on his knees.

He loves to smile at us but prefers Ryan over anyone. He will laugh at just about anything Ryan does--one fun game lately is that when we are walking in the stroller, Ryan will walk ahead of us and any time he turns around, Cohen will giggle so loud! He experiments with other sounds like blowing with his tongue out and even does an "elephant sound" with pursed lips. He'll say the syllables "dadadada" and "mamama" sometimes but not in reference to us. It's fun to hear him talk, though!

Cohen has gotten over any sort of anti-vegetable feelings and now will eat pretty much anything. In addition to pureed fruits and vegetables, he's also had some chicken, beef, and is just starting finger foods like Cheerios, bread and noodles.

We've decided to stop letting him get up at night to eat so if he cries, we just give him a little bit of time to calm back down or rub his back a little for comfort.  If he's tired in the morning, he'll squint at me and lay back down, covering his face, but if he's ready to wake up, he'll sit up and put his hands on his head, or pull himself up to standing in his crib.

The blond hair is getting longer but still has that cotton-candy consistency that is hard to tame. His eyes really stand out with the blond hair. He's getting into 12 month clothes and looks like such a little man with his jeans and shoes!

First Day of Preschool

First day of 3-year-old Preschool

Photos before school

Superman backpack

So independent.

Excited for to meet new friends!

Ready to play and learn!

Mirror Fun

Cohen usually smiles when he sees himself in the mirror...but wouldn't you if you were this cute?

Labor Day Weekend

On Saturday, I had to work at the LifeLight festival over lunch in the Pizza Ranch hospitality tent, so I decided to knock out some shopping too. I hit Nearly New Town in Rock Valley in the morning and got quite a bit of stuff for the boys for fall. I was hunting for family picture outfits and the only miss is that I found a super-cute casual blazer for Cohen that ended up being way too big.

After serving pizza in the hospitality tent, I headed into Sioux Falls to Once Upon a Child. I actually found some nice stuff this time but am always super-confused why they insist on lumping all the boys and girls pajamas together. It's not like there are gender-neutral pj's for the most part, so it's a waste of time sifting through all sorts of Dora and princess sleepers.

I went to Plato's closet and found a new-with-tags cardi and some purple jeans. I usually don't buy trendier clothes, but I wanted some colored pants for pictures and figured this was a good place to buy something that might be out of style soon.

After a Target run, I was so sick of shopping, so I just went home. I did reflect on why it is that I have much better luck/enjoy second-hand shopping more than regular shopping:

1. I can usually afford anything in the store so I don't have to limit myself to the "Sale" rack. I only buy things if they are good quality/look new, so I'm willing to pay what they're asking, which is usually half or less than retail.
2. Everything is sorted by SIZE  so you don't fall in love with an outfit only to find that they only have XS and XXL left.
3. Everything is displayed by TYPE, so if I am looking for long-sleeve shirts, everything in my (or my boys') size is right in front of me, maybe even sorted by COLOR.
4. There is limited SELECTION. For me, this is a plus. I don't like shopping and get overwhelmed. If I go to Kohl's, I could make 4 full sweeps/times in the dressing room. I want to see everything that is available and then just pick the best one.  Need slicks for Ryan? Here are 15 choices in his size. Just pick the best one!  Most stores only have 1 style of, say, black slick pants, so if I don't like the style, I have to go to a whole other store!

I still buy new things, but for play clothes for the boys, dressy clothes that kids don't wear often, and certain items for myself, I really like buying from some of these quality second-hand stores.

While I shopped, Adam brought the boys to play with Emily and Lincoln and then hung out at home. I was home in time for their bedtime and was glad to take advantage of the last Saturday before football games start.


On Sunday, we had lunch at my parents and took the family picture. Adam's parents came to pick up Ryan that afternoon for a "sleep-over." They hadn't seen the boys in about a month and wanted some time to play with Ryan where he wasn't having to share the attention with his brother. Ryan had a great time, but had a little trouble going to sleep on time. (Sorry, Sue!)  The next day, the rest of us joined them for lunch. Ryan loved bouncing Cohen on the fun horse toy.

That evening, the Raiders had their first JV game and we enjoyed watching my cousin Colin and the rest of the team while Adam coached. Adam's parents, my dad, my grandma, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins were there and it was fun to have a big "Boote/Boone" section.  There was even a hot-air balloon fly-over! 

It was a nice holiday weekend and we enjoyed having a day off to spend with family! Looking forward to our next holiday....Thanksgiving? :-/