SNOW day!

We had a big snow storm that Cohen was so excited to wake up and see. Here he is looking out the window in our bedroom.

 "there's lots and lots and lots mommy"

 he couldn't wait to get outside in it, even it if meant helping to clear off the deck of all of the heavy snow

 with the size of his little rake it would probably only take him about 5 days

 but he still had tons of fun

 And wouldn't you know, the afternoon of the big snow storm is also when I hosted Brooke's shower for baby girl Chesebro. Since it was baby #2 and she didn't need much we did a frozen meal or restaurant gift card shower. I love this idea and stole it from another friend's baby #2 shower.

It looks like we coordinated outfits for the event!

 after the shower we took Cohen for some sledding, a lot of the snow had already started to melt and blow away

 he still had a blast

 Sam even got in a few runs

 and the classic family shadow shots

Oh Cat!

Cohen likes to snuggle his Cat when he wakes up, either in the morning or from nap time.

Megan

My friend Megan came to visit. Last time she was here she and Cohen were quite the little buddies so he was excited to see her again. We made a sign to hang in the frame in the guest room...here are a few of the takes:

I don't know how I don't have any other pics of the vist since we played and played and played but here are Megan and Cohen at the zoo. They shared some cotton candy and watched lots of the animals. We look forward to more visits.

29 months with frog guy

Our little man is already 29 months old! I now have to stop and actually calculate how many months old he is as after 2 you tend to just say 2...but for the purpose of frog guy he is 29 months old.  

Cohen loves his CAT, he sleeps with him always (I think his little mind would be blown if he knew there are actually 5 cats in our house!)

Cohen loves playing trains, building tracks, and has started making more of his own train sounds and coming up with who is riding certain trains. He and daddy have often created fancy new tracks by the time I get home at night.

Cohen is really starting the "by myself" phase of his life and one I am sure we will be in for some time. Teachers of classrooms of kids this age are SAINTS. :)

We love this little kiddo, the more he understands and talks the more laughs we have as he is figuring out his world around him.

Stock Show

I had a bunch of free tickets to the stock show from a work event we did so we gathered some friends and enjoyed checking everything out.

 Cohen and Lincoln enjoying the tractors

 then the petting zoo

 that Cohen LOVED!

 I was surprised because I thought he'd be a little freaked out but he loved feeding the animals

 and petting them

 there were pigs and goats and alpacas

 they had brushes that the kids could brush them with

 then we did the pony ride

 so cute!

 loved this pic of climbing in boots!

 here are the boys waiting for the train ride

 Cohen and Lincoln raced to the engine

 and Griffin grabbed the caboose

 they all waved every time they came around

 Cohen also had his first cotton candy, which he LOVED, thanks to Lincoln for sharing

 checking out the llamas

 I had to wear my new cowboy hat that I got for my work event

and here is my fun with photoshop pony pic

Meeting baby Levi

Ok so this photo isn't even in focus but my stupid camera died and it was the only one I could get at the hospital. We were so excited to add a new boy to our growing gang of boys. Levi Joshua Helland arrived on January 4th to proud parents Jesse and Sparrow.

Cohen was very excited to go to the hospital to see him, but we soon realized that Cohen and Grace and Griffin at the hospital won't last long...to many busy busy bodies.

We are very excited to see this little guy grow and be part of his life.

Grace is ONE and New Year's Eve

To end the year 2011 we celebrated a birthday...

of this cute little one year old- Grace

a little birthday party

some cake

some frosting

Cohen has a dot of frosting on his tongue, as much as he would taste...baby steps

there was some bouncing

will ALL friends!

then we move on to phase 2 of the night...new year's eve...which means SLEEPOVER!

so we got the boys jammied up

Cohen and Eli in matching ones!

let's note in this picture that Eli is not even ONE yet!

and of course lined them up for a photo

then had some more snacks

the first prego one to hit the door...

followed by the 2nd

the girls

amazing pictures of Bri will NEVER not be funny to me!

almost midnight...

a few fun beverages to toast with

3-2-1...

welcome 2012

yay

yay

yay

yay

and the one little munchkin that rocked until about 2am!

Which was longer than his mom made it. (hands down my favorite photo of the night)

This night also marks the 10 year anniversay of my BFF Jill and I hanging out and getting ready for the good old Resolution Ball in Copley Square in Boston.

While I wish I had a photo of that actual event loaded on my computer...these will have to do.