Dear Cohen

Wow, Daddy and I CANNOT believe you are 6 months old today. It doesn't seem like just 180 days ago you made your much anticipated entrance into our lives. You are worth every prayer, every single tear shed, every trip to the fertility clinic and just plain everything.

Just today you laughed the entire time at the grocery store. All I had to do was look at you and you'd burst out laughing. Everyone that heard you grinned from ear to ear. And now I'm tearing up just thinking of your beautiful and contagious laughter. I hate putting you to bed at night because I just want to spend more time listening to that sound.

In the last few days you've started rolling over without Daddy's help. And now you don't mind spending time on that belly of yours.

You've also started sitting up by yourself for 2 or 3 minute stretches. Good thing you have those abundant thighs to anchor you to the floor.

And the stories you tell us. You start them as soon as you wake up and don't finish them until we put you down at night. I cannot wait until your babbling becomes somewhat understandable words. And my love, you have the cutest voice, especially when you start to squeak. I wonder what you're trying to say. Hopefully you're not telling off-colour jokes after the talk we had.

When you're not talking you're shoving anything and everything in your mouth. Papers, toys, your feet, your hands, my hands, my elbow, and wooden spoons just to name a few.

You love rice cereal. You demand more almost every night. And today you tried vegetables for the first time. Green beans to be exact. You must have enjoyed them because you didn't make any funny faces. You ate half a jar willingly but then promptly closed up shop and wouldn't let me feed you anymore. Soon we'll get to the good stuff. I promise.

You're doing great at "school" and your "teachers" say you're a little sweetheart. That's our Cohey Bear.

Oh, and for the last 2 nights you've slept 11 hours straight each night. We knew you could do it!

Life was great before you invaded our lives but you have made it SO. MUCH. BETTER. Exponentially better (you'll know what that word means in 10 or so years). I am so in love with you it drives me crazy sometimes.

I cannot wait to see what the next 6 months have in store for us.

Love,

Your biggest fan, Mommy

xoxo

Well, well, well

Guess who decided to sleep 11 hours straight last night?

That would be this kid.

 

6 month stats

Little c was incredibly brave whilst getting jabbed 3 times today. Some small tears that the promise of a trip to the ice cream parlour soon fixed.

He even sat up on the exam table for a couple of minutes all by himself to show off how much of a big boy he is.

Here are his 6 month stats:

Weight - 16.9 lbs (I thought he was well over 17 lbs. It's those thighs. Very deceiving) 35th percentile

Height - 27.0" 73rd percentile

Head - 17.5" 73rd percentile

Thighs - OFF THE CHARTS!!

When I informed little c's doctor of his inability to roll over (which we aren't worried about at all), she shrugged and said that sitting unassisted is an even more advanced milestone than rolling over, so he's pretty much brilliant. Then wouldn't you know it, the little goof rolled over all by himself at school today. And then proceeded to roll across the living room floor tonight all by himself. Rolled and laughed so much he wore himself out and we put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual. He was so tired he just laid in the tub without kicking and splashing.

So it was a big day at Hancock Manor. An even bigger day is fast approaching as little c gets to try vegetables for the first time on Wednesday. (We've decided to wait until his 6 month birthday to try solids other than rice cereal.) Lots of photos will be posted of all the faces I can imagine he'll make. I wonder if he'll like the pureed brussel sprouts with eggplant coulis...

 
  
Finding Nana & Papa very entertaining.

Ummmmmm. Beer.

Cheeks so cute even a 3 year old boy came up and couldn't stop pinching them!

 

 

 

Off to get poked

Little does little c know that he's going to get 3 needles in an hour. Poor thing. It's time for his 6 month appointment and those darn shots are part of the fun. Good thing he has some killer thighs to absorb all the needle juice. (see evidence of thunder thighs below.)

 

I'll post his 6 month stats later today so we can see how he measures up.

He's been such a delight lately-we are enjoying him so much. However we're not enjoying his 6:00 a.m. wake up.

If we could keep him at this age for awhile, I think we would. He's not mobile so he's not all over the place (we haven't Cohen-proofed Hancock Manor yet so we're hopeful he won't be going anywhere for awhile). He's not telling us in words what he thinks of us (although he does a good job of babbling and I think he's getting in some jabs here and there). And he's all smiles and laughter. 

Funny to think that a mere month and a half ago I was wanting to sell him to the highest bidder. So glad the sale fell through.

 

I'm still here

We've just been super busy with Nana & Papa's visit from the land of beavers, maple syrup, one year paid maternity, and the Tragically Hip.

More soon. But now I need to pump, go to bed, and get ready for little c to wake up at 12:30 and cry for an hour.

Little c's best friend

Little c will have many best friends in his life but his current best friend is Hootie (we're so original when naming his toys). Hootie was made by the same person that made my apron and his bedding, Laurie, who is such a special woman in our lives.

Hootie can be found by little c's side or in his mouth or clutched in his pudgy little fingers at any moment of the day.

 

 

Little c and Hootie hope you have a great weekend.

Absentee Mum

Yesterday and today I had a work retreat that was only an hour away but it was imperative that I stay with my colleagues for a little team bonding. Therefore, last night I spent my first night away from little c. And it was rough. And I hope I don't have to do it again for a long, long time.

The good news is he and big c did great without me. They even called and left a message of the wee one laughing and laughing. I will never erase that message. And I will probably listen to it several times a day until they leave me a new one.

But I'm back now and ready for my 4:00 a.m. booty call with this character. I can't wait for our alone time!

Seven years ago today...

...I married my favourite person in the entire world.

Happy anniversary big c!

 Man you're handsome!!

Our little oliver twist

Watching him eat the other night reminded me of when Oliver Twist said "Please sir, may I have some more?" Here's our little o.t.

 

"Listen Daddy-o, when do I get the good stuff, like beans and sweet potatoes? I mean, this stuff is passable but I'm going to need some flavour one of these days."

 
 Showing off the Sydorko tongue, as big c says.

 

"Must. Not. Take. Eyes. Off. Camera."

 

Guess who loves rice cereal?

That would be little c.

He has been showing a lot of interest in eating lately. Always grabbing our hands as we eat. Mimicking us as we open our mouths. Sticking out his tongue and begging until we throw him some scraps.

So the other night we were at our friends G&T's and T suggested we give him some rice cereal to see what he would do. Little did we know that he would LOVE it and get really greedy.

We gave him some more tonight and he gobbled it up like I do when presented with butterscotch pudding (side note: doesn't that sound good? The cooked kind, not the instant. I think I'll go make some).

His doctor recommended we wait until he is 6 months old but we figure he's close enough. Going to stick with it for a few weeks and then gradually introduce vegetables and then fruit.

Anyone know a good book I should read on feeding my baby? T recommended a book called "Super baby foods" but it says to start out by giving them fruit and that doesn't make sense to me. (then they're going to want sweet things all the time, won't they?)

The adventures of baby brain

Running late for work.

Grab sweater off bedroom floor (don't ask).

Get out of car at work.

Attempt to put sweater on.

It's not a sweater.

It's a skirt.

Popular baby names for 2010

Deciding on a name that your child will carry with them for the rest of their lives is hard. I've heard from a lot of people that selecting a boy's name is harder than choosing a girl's. We found that to be the case before little c was born. We went through so many names. I'd love one (like Harper) and big c hated it. He loved the name Ryan and I'm not so much a fan (no offense to those Ryans out there). Finally, after roughly 30 suggestions, Cohen was brought up, approved of, and signed off on, no changies.

I've already started thinking of names for baby numero dos (don't go assuming that there's a reason for it). I'd like something as cool as Cohen Gray. I love the name Campbell for either gender but then we're THAT family who's names all start with the "K" sound. Not going there. Next thing you know I'm looking like a polygamist and shooting out 19 kids and counting.

I decided to look through the obituaries today to see what fabulous finds I could discover in the name department and here's what treasures I discovered:

Male

Cloyd, Burnell, Farlan, Royal, LeMuell, and LaMar

Female

JoLayne, Clea, LaRue, HayDee, Icey, Jalene, and Veon

I swear you won't find anyone with names like this outside of Utah.

So, if anyone needs any ideas, feel free to take from the list above. If you're looking for something unique and not on any popular name lists this year, how about Cloyd or Clea? But I will not be naming little c's brother or sister Burnell or HayDee anytime soon so they're all yours!

Mama's back in the saddle

Just got back from a beautiful but tiring mountain bike ride up in Park City. Not sure why I thought that riding at that elevation for my second ride of the year sounded like a good idea, but I did and barely survived.

I went with my friend Kari, who I met in my natural childbirth class. She gave birth to a boy 10 days after Cohen and she too had a c-section. (Incidentally, her sister-in-law is my new boss.) She's an AMAZING biker. AMAZING. She used to race and is on a team that teaches other wannabes like me how to ride and how to get better at it. I have a girl crush on her and her mad biking skills. Anyway, she left me in her dust...well, not really. Don't you have to be riding close to someone to be in their dust? I was not in her dust.

It was great to get out and breathe. And I think it's motivated me to get myself back into shape.

Don't laugh but I honestly thought that I'd be back to my pre-pregnancy body at 8 weeks post-partum. Silly girl. While I fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes and am a 1lb or two less than pre-Cohen, my body is nowhere near what it used to be. Not that I was a machine, but I had nice abs and some muscle definition.

The only challenge is this. When to exercise? Walking with Cohen isn't cutting it. I cannot get out of bed before 6:45. Simply cannot. Humanly impossible. And I don't want to miss a minute with Cohey Bear after work. And when 7:30 (C's bedtime) rolls around, I'm ready to relax, not get my heart rate elevated.

So I need to figure that all out. How to get my body back but not compromise my time with my favourite boy ever, my husband, or my favourite past-time, sleeping. Maybe I need to get myself a jogging stroller and get out and run.

Those of you faithful readers that have kids, when did you get your body back? Or should I just face that fact that I might never get it back to where it used to be?

Anyway, here's proof that mama is back in the saddle.

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Here's my list of my favourite things that Cohen is doing as of late.

-Sneaky McSneakerson tries to sneak his thumb in his mouth while he's nursing or having a bottle. We're constantly removing it. Constantly. It's like he thinks he's so sneaky...that we're too dumb to notice.

-Puffing his cheeks out and letting the air go through his tightly pursed lips. It makes a BIG noise and scares him every time, yet he continues to do it. He's a sucker for punishment just like me.

-Checking our teeth for cavities, gingivitis and plaque build-up. When he's feeding or being changed his hand is constantly in our mouths looking for something. Spare change maybe.

-Attempting to roll-over, but not quite being able to do it. And when we assist him in getting all the way over, he hates being on his belly and cries until we push him back over onto his back. The grass is always greener Cohen.

-Laughing hysterically when I make a fart noise on his belly. I wonder where he gets that from?

And finally...

-Telling us the same stories over and over again. I don't care how many times I hear the one about how at daycare, Cohen switched William's breastmilk for Reese's breastmilk and neither one found out until he told them and "you should have seen their faces Mum". His constant chatter is wonderful and is the highlight of my day.  

Because he's doing new things almost every day, I'm sure in a month from now I'll have a brand new list of my top 5 faves.

 

Admiring himself in the swing's mirror.

 

Cohen, I will give you everything that you've ever wanted. All you have to do it look at me just like this.