Easter Night

After coming home from Great-Grandma's house, we tried to put the boys down for naps, but Cohen wasn't really in the mood for sleeping today and Ryan didn't finally fall asleep until 4:00. We had to wake him up at 6:30!  On most Easter afternoons, you would find us playing in the backyard, going for a walk, or maybe even visiting a park. However, this is what Easter looked like this year:

 No, we did not get white field turf in our backyard, nor did we fill our play area with white sand. That is snow. SNOW! Yuck! We are so ready for Spring! Since the weather wasn't cooperating, we did some indoor things puzzles, a silly game Ryan made up, and coloring his new Giant Bible Story coloring book.

 Daddy read Cohen his new book.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Easter at Great-Grandma's

I look forward to Easter brunch at my Grandma's and this year's meal did not disappoint.  Egg bake, chocolate chip muffins, cinnamon rolls, fruit, smokies and Sunny D have just the perfect amount of breakfast/lunch/dessert all rolled into one to make it a perfect meal. We had fun seeing some cousins, aunts and uncles as well.

Jackson checking out Cohen

Saylor and Jackson too busy to pause for a picture

Ryan thought this made a perfect resting place...

...Saylor did too!

Ryan also got a hold of my camera and had fun snapping photos. I'm not sure everyone was aware he was actually managing to take some pictures, but here is his candid view of Easter, including a few floor shots.

Happy Easter!

Ryan came out of Kingdom Kids this morning shouting "Jesus is Risen!" He also did an Easter craft with stickers and explained the Easter story to us. He did pretty well explaining how Jesus died on the cross, then was in the tomb, and then he was alive again and went up to heaven! Although, I think he slipped the "rode on a donkey while people waved branches" in after the cross.  On the van ride to Hull today, he told us more about the Easter story, but this time it included bats in the "cave/tomb". Although...good news...he told us the bats were friendly to Jesus.

Cohen's First Easter

Easter Egg Hunt

Grandpa and Grandma put together an Easter Egg Hunt for Ryan again this year and he had a blast running around the backyard.  This is probably the last year that he won't have to share the "hunting" but Cohen didn't have much interest in finding eggs yet. He's just starting to get used to what it feels like to be outside with a breeze on his face!

It was fun to see Ryan's face light up each time he spotted another egg. He even had to switch pails after filling one all the way up! We were also glad it's finally been nice enough to be outside a little bit.

Opening each egg was like a brand new surprise for Ryan, declaring that each one was his "favorite". He did say he would share his jellybeans with Daddy and M&M's with Mommy. He knows us too well!

Thanks for the fun Easter egg hunt and for all the treats!

Easter - Saturday

On Saturday night, we went to Adam's parent's to celebrate Easter and spend time with Adam's Aunt and Uncle. This was their first time meeting Cohen!

Great Aunt Connie

Great Uncle Chuck

Ryan and Cohen both were blessed/spoiled with some fun Easter gifts and they were our favorite kind- books!

Connie helping with Ryan's new firefighter book.

 Ryan also got in plenty of playtime with Grandpa. Here he's being bossy and explaining to Grandpa the right way to count.

We all enjoyed some pizza and chicken from the Ranch (where else?!) and had a fun night of conversation. 

Bath Time

Cohen enjoys his baths, kicking and splashing and smiling. He also likes his nice soft towel that we got as a gift from someone as work. So cute!

Boone Bros

I need a name for these "bro posts" because I'm sure there will be many to come. If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments for me!  Here's a few pictures of Ryan and Cohen interacting lately.

Watching Curious George or Jake in the morning "to-geh-der".

Ryan giving Cohen a horsey ride.

Insisting that Cohen learn how to play Angry Birds.

Giving Cohen a ride on his shoulders (with a little help).

It is one of my greatest joys seeing how much Ryan loves his brother. He'll spontaneously give him kisses and hugs, will encourage him when he's doing something new, and says, "Cohen, I love you sooooo much!" Whenever people come over, even if they've been over recently, the first thing he says is, "Did you know I have a baby? His name is Cohen! Do you want to see him?"

Ryan always gives Cohen and big hug and kiss at bedtime and leaves him with these parting wise words: "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. If they do,  hit 'em with a shoe!"

Playing Pirate

One of Ryan's current favorite shows is "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." Similar to "Wild Kratts," he has to get up and sing the whole opening theme song with actions. My favorite part is when each character is introduced and Ryan says "Ahoy!" in their "voice."  He also assigns characters to all of us. He, of course, is Jake, I am Izzy, Daddy is Cubby, and Cohen is Skully (the parrot).

On Saturday morning, fresh off the rocket ship, Ryan decided we should search through the basement for things to make a pirate ship with.  We came up with a plastic table turned upside down for a ship, a tablecloth for the sea, a yardstick and fitted sheet for the mast and sail, and a Pizza Ranch Racing flag for our Pirate flag. He insisted the sides of the ship needed Cohen's bath towels and we tried to make a hull out of a cardboard box. This was mostly to make room for all the stuffed animals and blankets he put inside "to make it more comfy."A plastic spoon served as a sword and we even found a toy to represent "Tick Tock" (the croc).

Ryan wanted me to get a fan to make wind to push the boat around, but I gently broke it to him that this ship may not actually sail anywhere. He did his best to "put some wind in the sails," though.

Jake recruited a crew and even let Cohen pretend to be a pirate instead of a parrot this time.  

After getting bored just sitting in his ship for awhile and me nixing the "let's bang everything with my sword" idea, I decided he should go on a treasure hunt, so I scattered coins around the house and he went searching for the gold doubloons (which he calls "golden blooms").

 Once he found the coins, he said "Grab 'em, and go!" like they do on the show, and deposited them in his "treasure chest."

I made the mistake of taking the lid off the treasure chest without singing the magic words, so in case you're not up on proper pirate technique, you need to march around the chest singing:

"Yay Hey, well done crew!
Everyone knew just what to do.

Yay Hey, with help from you!
It's time to count our gold doubloons!

He had a fun morning playing pirate and I liked to see him use his imagination.  I think he makes a pretty convincing buccaneer.

Rocket Ship

When I saw the box, I saw something that needed to be crushed and placed in the recycling bin.

When Ryan saw the box, he said, "Mommy! I think it's a rocket ship! We need to paint it!"

So, we got out a tablecloth (the sky) and got to work painting with watercolors! Ryan decided I should "paint the fire red, orange, and yellow", while he painted the "rocket boosters".  Also, the front needed a round window cut out so he could look out and a plate and pencil turned into a steering wheel. Then, it was time to get in and take flight!

Ryan decided he could share the rocket and give others a chance to try it out. He was disappointed that he couldn't actually blast off and fly around the room (I told him he needed a seatbelt), but these guys got an actual flight around the room:

 Then it was time to give a few others a chance.

Some fit better...

...than others.

 

Thanks, Ryan, for seeing a rocket ship and for teaching Catty how to fly.

Cohen: 3 Months Old

Cohen grows so fast, it's hard to remember how far he's come in a month! He is smiling, cooing, and even semi-giggling, which makes it so much fun to interact with him now. He likes have you stand him up on your lap so you can look eye-to-eye. He also likes kicking his legs on the changing table, in the bathtub, or on the floor. He can sit when assisted and has started enjoying his Exersaucer too! It's nice having a few more options of where to put him when he's discontent because sometimes he just needs a change of scenery.

Cohen has a pretty reliable night sleep schedule, going down around 9:00 and waking up between 3 and 4am, then getting up again when we get up in the morning, around 6:30. He has not established any regular napping routine during the day, though. Some days he'll take more than 2-3 20 minute naps and other days he'll sleep for over 2 hours at a stretch in the morning, afternoon, and evening. You just never really know what to count on!

Although we don't have an official height and weight measurement, we know Cohen is continuing to grow at a fast rate since he's now in size 2 diapers and wearing 3/6 or 6-month clothes! His eyes are still blue, his chin is still dimpled, but his hair has diminished to a wispy mohawk on top and a triangle of hair in the back. I have a feeling he's going to be another blondie!

Cohen: 3 Month Photos