Enjoying summer

June is finally here and we've enjoyed a few warm days between the rainy ones. We're going to be painting our house this summer, and we've just started the priming, caulking, etc. Unfortunately we've discovered that the siding on the east side of our house needs to be replaced. I'm sure the project will be a lot of work, but we're so looking forward to getting rid of the pink-tan. The new color is brownish gray.

Dominic visited Kraeton over Memorial Day, when he played in a tourney near Schaumburg. Cohen and I stayed behind and went to Abby's graduation party. I also got a sitter and went to the Kool and the Gang concert at Valley Junction with Jack and Theresa. June looks pretty quiet for us, which is a welcome change from most summers.

Dominic's garden is coming up nicely. We've been eating freshly picked lettuce, and the radishes and onions are not far behind. Later this summer we'll have beens, peas, peppers and tomatoes (I'm sure I'm missing something). He could play in the dirt all evening long!

Cohen is doing well. He's crawling and babbling like a normal 9-month old. He can stand without holding onto anything for as long as 10 seconds (and has the proudest look on his face!). He seems so steady and confident, which makes us think he'll be an early walker like so many people have predicted. Just when we finished baby proofing for crawling... He's also getting sharper at identifying things. "Where's the kitty?" (or book, ball, etc.) is usually followed by him stopping what he's doing and crawling over to the item. This age is so fun and rewarding. He's literally changing before our eyes.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the past couple weeks. I'll check back in soon. Hope everyone is having a great spring/summer!

Pictures

Cohen is 8.5 months old and I'm behind in blog updates. He's doing great and is more fun every day. We went to Chicago to see Kraeton a few weeks ago and celebrated his belated 10th birthday. Cohen thinks Kraeton is the coolest person ever! Luke made his First Holy Communion last Sunday. Isn't he handsome? Cohen had his first ear infection and we mistook it as teething. Thankfully he made a huge improvement during his first day of antibiotics. I'm sure there's more to report. I'll try to be better at keeping things current.

Enjoy the pictures and video!

Crazy Hair Day at daycare

When Cohen is playing in this room, we say "Where's Kraeton?" and he scoots over to the end table and pulls himself up to look at this picture. We're pretty sure his "Ay-tah" is an attempt at saying Kraeton's name.

He would stand upright during every waking moment if he could!

One last thing. Here's a closeup of Cohen's mouth (sorry if this is gross). He periodically gets white ridges on his tongue as shown here (the ring-like shape on the right). His pediatrician says it's Geographic Tongue. We'd never heard of it, but it's nothing serious. You can learn more here.

Cohen's 6-month professional pictures

Karen and Eric Smidt (http://www.kandeproductionsonline.com/) came to our house Sunday for a photo shoot. We were SO happy with the experience! Seriously, you should hire them for your next photography need! Here are a few sample photos.

March update

Sitting like a champ.




His Jumperoo is like crack. The kid goes nuts.





"Daddy, don't stop reading. It was just getting good."

Kraeton and our neighbor Mitch

Crib shot.

Superman saves the world!

February update

In just a couple weeks, Cohen will be 6 months old. Unbelievable! He's eating solid food, but still loves his bottle best . No crawling yet, but he gets an A for effort. The kid is determined! No teeth either.

Kraeton was here the last weekend in January when he had a 4-day weekend from school. Of course, it snowed (as it does practically every day), but he and Dominic still found fun things to do outside.

That's about it for excitement at our house. We're so anxious for spring and finally being able to get outside!

Enjoy the pictures.



I think Cohen looks like uncle Gary on this picture.




Is anything more precious than a baby holding his own bottle?
Dominic and Kraeton playing snowy football.



Buzz looking as handsome as ever.
Cohen's hugs involve nearly strangling your neck, sometimes using your ears as handles, and trying to insert your nose into his mouth. And if you happen to be wearing jewelry, forget it. Still, they're the best hugs ever!

New wall decor in our entry hall.

Funny face

January update

It's been awhile since I posted so let's see if I can recap what's new around here....

Cohen's blocked tear duct is better. It's been plugged since he was born so we were constantly having to wipe the "crusties" off his eye. One day it was magically better!

We may have a lefty in the family - Cohen seems to be more agile with his left hand than his right.

He had his 4-month check-up last week. He's 14 lbs 5 oz (50th percentile). Can't remember his height, but he's still in the 90th percentile for that.

He picked up his first daycare bug a few weeks ago and battled diarrhea and vomiting for a few days. Which sucked because it caused us to miss Christmas at the Langels. Sounds like we missed a fun one!

We did however make it to Christmas at the Molls. It was definitely a full house - besides us, Yvonne, Wendy, Lisa, Joey, and Alexia all made it home with their families or significant other. It was awesome seeing everyone and having a few relaxing days at the farm.

Kraeton is here during his Christmas break. He had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's driving the 3-wheeler by himself, fetching eggs, and running around with his cousins. Back here in Ankeny, he's almost inseparable from our neighbor, Mitch.

Here are a few recent pics of Cohen. I'll post more of the rest of the family soon. Happy New Year!