More pics

Normally I don't take pictures of the backs of people's heads, but admit it - this is pretty funny!

This is what I call the "Dominic campaigning for husband of the year" shot. Vacuuming and caring for Cohen at the same time! Move over June Cleaver...

Pictures!

Here are pictures from the past few weeks.

Silly smile

Big bro and little bro

Not a newborn anymore!

Playing Superman with Mommy

Posing with his bear from Grandma Moll

Bathtime is serious business

Back to work

Last Thursday we took Cohen to his daycare, Little Endeavors, for about 4 hours for a trial run. Being the anal person I am (control freak as Dominic would say), I left a two-page document with his caregivers on how to take care of him. He's sometimes tough to get down for a nap, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to provide documentation of how we do it with as little fussing as possible. To my surprise, they were able to put him in the crib and get him to sleep with no fussing within 10 minutes after his arrival! It left me feeling very positive and worry free.

Monday was his first full day at daycare, and my first day back at work. I thought I could hold myself together based on Thursday's success, but I was a blubbering mess. It hit me that this is our new life, and that Cohen will be spending more waking hours with his caregivers at daycare than he will with us. I miss him so much when I'm at work! I avoided everyone at work because I knew if someone asked me about him, I would start crying again. He seems to be doing fine at daycare (except for a few bugs we need to work out with the gals who care for him in the late afternoon). He's happy and seems to be getting plenty of stimulation.

Dominic and I have talked a great deal about ways to reduce his time at daycare... one of us going part time, one of us quitting altogether, stuff like that. For now, we're going to keep it as it is. I changed my schedule so I'm off work at 3:30 so Cohen and I have more quality time together. Plus, my boss said I can work at home from time to time. We'll see how this goes for a few months... how Cohen is doing in this environment, how our budget is looking, etc.

Baptism

Cohen was baptized on Sunday, November 18. Grandma Alice made him an adorable satin outfit to wear. He only wore it for a couple hours, but we'll definitely hang onto it as a keepsake. Grandma and Grandpa Moll made the trip from Missouri (the second 8-hour trip on a month!) and aunt Alexia came too. Celestine is such a huge help around the house. Whenever I need to take care of Cohen, she jumps in to finish whatever I was doing - cooking, cleaning, dishes, you name it. She even did some yard work for us. Anyway, aunt Gail and uncle Doug are Cohen's godparents. Seeing how great their boys are turning out, we know we made a good choice. Aunt Elaine, Sarah, Chris, Lauren and Troy were also here. We're grateful to everyone for coming and for being so nice to Cohen!

Itsy bitsy spider

He hated wearing this costume!

Smile? Me? On camera? Forget it!

2 months

Last week was a special week for Cohen - he got to meet his brother Kraeton and Grandma and Grandpa Moll. Dominic and I were so pleased and impressed with Kraeton's interaction with Cohen. He has great instincts and is very patient and helpful with the baby. It was so great having him here! Grandma and Grandpa were helpful too, helping cook and clean (Celestine even asked if there were any closets that needed cleaning!). Unfortunately, it rained the entire time everyone was here, so we were cooped up inside. Cohen was having an extra fussy streak those few days too. Anyway, Kraeton left on Friday and Grandma & Grandpa on Saturday, and our house seemed very quiet afterwards!

Luckily, we think we turned a corner in terms of Cohen's fussiness. For the past several weeks he's been unpredictably crabby in the late afternoon and evenings. It wasn't uncommon for Dominic and I to battle him for a few hours at nap time. He just cried and cried, and fought any notion of sleep. We read the book Baby Whisperer and are following some of their suggestions, and the results have been amazing! Now we can put him down for naps and bedtime in 10-15 minutes with very little fussing. Turns out we were letting him get too tired. Not rocket science, but we needed to be educated. He's so much happier, and so are we!

Cohen had his 2-month appointment yesterday. He had 4 shots which he didn't like a bit, but recovered quickly. He weighs 11.5 pounds (50th percentile) and is 24" tall (90th percentile).

Developmentally, he's doing great. He continues to coo nonstop and smiles easily. His hand motions seem to be more purposeful, and he swats at the swinging parts of his play gym. It's so much fun getting him up from a nap and being greeted with that ear-to-ear toothless smile!

7 weeks

Cohen is talking! Not really, but he knows 3 consonants and 4 vowel sounds. His favorites are "g" words (goo, gah, geeh, and guh). He also does variations of l and b words (la and buh, to name a couple). His favorite thing in the whole world is partying on the changing table. There, we explore his entire vocabulary, smile, practice bicycling, and enjoy frolicing with his naked bottom. He is also becoming a tummy time champ (see video below). He holds his head up like a big shot, and scoots around when we give his feet a base to push off.

Yesterday Grandma Alice came to visit for a couple hours, Then last night, aunt Gail and cousin Luke came over to babysit and gave Dominic and I the luxury of having a date. We went to HuHot for dinner and got a new digital camera at Target. Woo hoo! It was awesome getting out of the house alone together (no offense, little man) and Cohen was in excellent hands with Gail.

This week Cohen finally gets to meet his big brother Kraeton and Grandma and Grandpa Moll! They'll be coming on Wednesday and staying a few days. We're all excited for the visitors.

The cats Buzz and Rudy have finally accepted Cohen and permanent fixture in the family. At first they wouldn't even be in the same room with him, but now they actually cuddle up next to me when I'm holding him. They're not crazy about the lack of attention they're getting, but somehow I'm sure they'll survive!

Enjoy the video and photos!




Little man is trying to roll over!