So to begin, here are the photos from 2009, 2010, and 2011…

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!  I am just hoping for one that does not involve snow!

On Thursday evening, we were out at a local furniture store, and Cohen tripped on a rug, which launched him directly into the corner of a padded ottoman.  I didn’t think much of it because this kind of thing happens all the time with him, but  then I heard Josey say, “It’s bleeding!”  I was not expecting that.  Thank goodness we were the only ones in the store because I’m sure we caused quite a scene.  The mini first aid kit I had put in my car over two years ago came in handy, for sure.  Poor guy.  Lots of blood, tears, and band aids later, it seems to be healing pretty well now.

In other news, he is starting to really talk a lot more and it is so much fun hearing him repeat our words in his tiny little voice..  On this day, we were playing “peeeeee doh.”  He’s a little banged up, but that doesn’t take anything away from his sweet little face.

These are Oreo dipper things with scrapbooking paper wrapped around them.

Of course, Rory Jean wanted nothing to do with my ideas.  So, we ended up going to Target and I just let her pick out three things of her choice to put in her treat bags.  She LOVES Tootsie Rolls, so that was no surprise, and then she picked out some mini card games and Blow Pops as her other two things.  I’ll share more of the images from the mini session I did for the images on her cards tomorrow!

Some photos of her addressing some of her cards.  She is getting so good at writing her letters!  This weekend, I spent a couple hours in my office getting my things together for my taxes, and she spent the entire time in here with me.  She had a pile of paper, various pens and crayons, scissors, and two paper punches and she went to town! 

In the last month, we’ve finally made a break through, and he now has several more teeth.  I am not even sure how many now, they all seemed to have come in at once.  I didn’t think it would ever happen!  He has also become pretty talkative, and while maybe we are the only ones who understand him, he is trying hard to master his words.  He likes making animal sounds, his favorite being a big raaawrrr for lions, bears, and dinosaurs (you’ll see)!  Every night at bed time, he climbs up in Rory’s bed with her to give her a big hug and kiss, which not only melts my heart, but Rory’s, too.  She loves it!  And, knock on wood, he has willingly gone to bed in his crib on his own for the first time the last two nights.  I have been putting this milestone off because I love rocking him, and I’ve worried it was going to be an event full of tears, which has worried me, considering his sister needs to get her sleep, too.  But he surprised me.  There were no tears, and it was not that painful at all.  Let’s hope it continues!

His Uncle Zachie gave him these slippers.  I’d say he loves them; right?  He will wear these all day long if you let him; sweaty feet and all!

A new big boy carseat.  I’d like to report that he loves it, but alas, not much has changed.  He still hates being strapped in 99% of the time.  I’m not sure what I did to deserve the 20 minutes of quiet time when he passed out back there the first time he rode in it.  And I’m not convinced it will ever happen again.

And today, his first hair cut!  It was long over due, but I refused to get it done until after he turned one.  He just looks way too grown up for this mama’s heart.  After looking at these, I will go right back to the one of him sleeping in the carseat.  Because when he’s sleeping, he still looks just like he did as a newborn.  I hope it stays that way forever.

Not sure about this…

Before & After

I hardly saw Rory the entire time.  She was having so much fun at the playground with all of her friends.  She came out for the pinata and treats, though!

I loved how the invites turned out…

Lots of little monsters and polka dots!  Cohen LOVED the big balloons!

It was a great way to end a great year!

The next big piece of news is that he is walking!  The kid was holding out on us for this one, too.  For several weeks, he could stand in the middle of the room.  Play around, almost fall, catch his balance, squat down, stand back up.  He could do it all, but he would not take a step.  Finally, one night I bribed him with the suncreen bottle that he is so attached to, and he did it.  Rory and I both let out a simultaneous “YAY COHEN!”  We were both so excited, and I was so happy that I was home this time around.  When Rory took her first steps, of course, I was gone.

So, here we are in the eleventh month, gearing up for a big first birthday party, and wondering where in the world the time has gone.  I love rocking him to sleep and looking at his little profile.  He still looks exactly the same as the day he was born.  And looking back on photos and videos of Rory at this age, I see a ton of similarities that I don’t see every day. Mostly in their expressions.

He’s much too busy to pay much attention to me these days.  But I love those sweet little lips.  The purple eye lids that are a sure sign that he’s tired.  The slightest red tint to his hair that only shows up in certain light.  And that middle finger. 

This girl loves playing outside and loves the water.  No doubt about that.

He is constantly crawling on something, falling and hurting himself.  And no matter where she is in the house, if you hear Cohen crying, you will immediately hear, “I didn’t do anything!” from Rory.  And I actually believe her.  If Cohen is crying, you can bet that 99% of the time it is self-induced.

He thinks I’m pretty funny!

I don’t know why, but he is always doing everything with that middle finger stuck out.

That or, his hand is in his mouth, creating an even bigger puddle of drool beneath him.