Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Super cool baby shower gift

Again, why didn't I think of this? And why didn't someone get this for me? Just kidding on that, but I really wish I'd had a set of these before little c's arrival. Not that I could have used them. You'll notice that there's an absence of monthly birthday photos on this blog. That's because little c didn't really comply with the photo shoots on his 1, 2 or 3 month birthdays. Hence, there are none posted. But maybe for little c's brother or sister...IF we decide to give him a sibling.


Check out the sure-to-be-the-best-gift-at-the-shower gift!


And don't worry about getting them for me. I'm trying to find a silk-screening class and hope to make my own (and if it turns out I don't need them, guess someone else will be the lucky recipient).


 



Monday, August 30, 2010

Dear Cohen

Well, well, well, look who's growed himself up to 8 months old today!


Daddy and I had a hard time believing it when you turned 6 months, then 7 months. Now that you're 8 months old, I guess you could say we're flabbergasted. The time really is flying way too fast.


Not too many updates this month. You still prefer to sit in one place and play with what's surrounding you. A lot of people keep telling us that you'll be one of those kids that goes from sitting to walking without crawling in between and we think they're right as you refuse to spend any time on that belly of yours. You do like to hang onto the coffee table and balance for a little while, but haven't figured out how to pull yourself up there. I bet by your 9 month birthday you'll be an old pro at it.


You are such a GREAT eater, my love. I think peas will be your nemesis though. And homemade sweet potatoes, although you love the store-bought kind. Just yesterday you downed more hummus and it made me so excited to see you eating one of Mommy's favourite foods. I wonder if you're ready for Baba Ganoush yet. You've gotten so good at picking up the puffs with your little pincers and getting them in your mouth. I wonder if you're ready for little bits of food yet. Maybe not until those 2 bottom front teeth come in a little more.


Oh how you love raspberries, and not the kind you eat but the kind you make with your mouth. You will stop nursing or drinking your bottle JUST to do a raspberry. And then you'll pick right back up with eating just as quick as you stopped. You also take a break to say "Da-da" or "Ma-ma". I think you're figuring out the difference now between Dada and Mama too because you seem to say "da-da" when Daddy's not around and "ma-ma" when I'm absent. You're such a smart little boy.


You are still a pretty good sleeper, although lately you like to wake up around 5:00 every morning. Unfortunately that's too early for me and I make you stay in your crib until 6:00, but you always fall back to sleep again and wake up at more civilized time after 6:00. You continue to take 2 or 3 naps per day and that makes for a much happier little c. You love your bed just like I do.


Your current best friends are Orange Boy, Blah Blah, Sophie the giraffe, Whoosie, Hank and the zebra. Oh, and that basket that is wrapped in a plastic bag. You can't get enough of that. We haven't given it a name yet as we don't know how long you will play with it.


For some unknown reason, you do not like to get dressed or undressed lately. You put up a big fight and howl when we do either. You would much prefer to wear the same thing all day and all night and not have to change out of it for a week. And when I tell you that it's socially unacceptable for me to comply with your request, you shriek and bat my hands away from the snaps on your sleeper. Silly Cohey.


You and I are off on another adventure in a couple of days. We're going home to see your crazy Canadian relatives and to get Mommy's fix of Swiss Chalet, Tim Horton's and lots of games nights with the cousins. I'm thinking this flight is going to be a lot different then the last one when you were 9 weeks old. I'm sure you'll be just as entertaining!


Well my boy, you are the light of our lives and a delightful addition to our family. When I do "walk around the garden" with you, you anticipate the tickles and you squeal like crazy. And when I pick you up from "school", you make my day with your high-pitched hollering when you see me round the doorway.


Daddy and I can't wait to see what this month will bring with our little Cohey Bear.


Love,


Your biggest fan, Mommy xoxo


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Thursday, August 26, 2010

You know why I heart my blog?

Because when I'm working late and miss my baby so much, I can open it up and see this...



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A self-portrait by Cohen Gray Hancock, aka Baby Richard Simmons.
 



Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Is it a miniature nun or a smurf?

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Whatever it is, it's pretty cute, especially fresh out of the washing machine!


On this day 101 years ago...

...Rosa Margarite Louisa Murtaugh Blissett was born. Without her birth, I would not be here today. Nor would dozens and dozens of other people be here, including my wacky sisters Andra & Heidi and cousin Kristi.


Happy 101st Birthday to the most amazing woman you could ever have the opportunity of calling Grandma (although she scared the crap out of me when I was a kid).


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Busy, busy, busy

Big event at work this coming Saturday. Just 427 of my closest friends joining me for a little fundraising gala at the Salt Lake Country Club.


More soon but expect the blog to be quiet this week until I get this event under my belt.



Thursday, August 19, 2010

When wooden spoons just won't do

After little c was born, a very good friend of mine, who is an amazing mother to 2 boys, sent us one of the best baby gifts you could ever receive. The box was filled with all kinds of goodies, including little c's very own set of wooden spoons, spatula and measuring spoons, because that's what babies end up playing with anyway. They might as well have their own set, right?


Little c has all kinds of other things to play with but lately has seemed bored with all of them. He has an exer-saucer that he likes for, oh, about 7 minutes TOPS but that's it for big toys. All of his other ones are rattles or ziploc bags filled with air (you think I'm kidding), or his Sophie giraffe. All little things he can grasp in his adorable hands.


Can anyone recommend some toys that maybe just might keep his attention for longer than a minute or is that just what 7 month old babies are like? He has a piano at "school" that he sits in front of and his "teachers" say he can sit there for a really long time and loves to play with it.


I read that stacking cups are good at this age. What do you think? Any toys that will aid in his development into the world's youngest Mensa member? I really am looking for recommendations from you experienced mamas out there, so please leave a comment if you've got any ideas.


Okay, I've got to get back to polishing off a bag of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (the raspberry flavour...oh my!).



Wednesday, August 18, 2010

For your viewing pleasure

Just recent photos today as I'm swamped at work.


Enjoy.


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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Whatever you do, don't call him picky!

Guess who loves hummus?


That would be this kid.


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The jury is still out on peas and avocados, but otherwise, everything else is fair game. Especially roasted garlic and roasted tomato hummus.


Now I wonder if he'll like octopus salad and blue cheese like my 2 year old nephew?



Got milk?

I do.


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41 ounces in the fridge as I type this.


My milk supply started to take a nose dive a few weeks ago and I decided to cash in on the prescription little c's pediatrician gave me for it "if I needed it."


I had tried the hippy route and drank this Mother's Milk tea which is filled with all kinds of yummy and not so yummy herbs and spices (not as good as the Colonel's blend) but I had to drink it 4 times a day and it didn't taste very good and only increased my milk a little bit. Enter Domperidone. And holy cow, does that stuff work.


Looks like we'll be able to make it to 9 months of nursing/pumping afterall, unless little c decides otherwise.


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This is little c after he raided the fridge and drank all 41 ounces in one sitting. Note the petite hands.
 


 



Thursday, August 12, 2010

A visit from the Tooth Fairy

I cried tonight.


Does that surprise you?


Big c and little c were out on the lawn playing horseshoes and big c said "Guess who has a tooth coming through?" I welled up with pride and tears and ran over and stuck my finger in little c's mouth. But he only allowed passage for a second before he batted my hand away and grunted in protest.


But I felt it. It's coming through without any warning signs, like pools of drool or raging diaper rash.


My baby is growing up way too fast.


Great, I'm crying again.


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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The best sound in the world

This is my favourite sound in the world.








It might be trumped by other things, like when little c says "Mama" for the first time and knows who Mama is (he's currently saying it but hasn't put two and two together yet). Or when he tells us his first joke. Or says something completely mind-blowing, which will probably happen next week.


But for now, I'll take this.



Monday, August 9, 2010

Our brush, er, handshake, with celebrities

Guess who are the biggest Rush fans? It's not me or big c, but we got to hang out with them last Thursday night.


Oh, and we got to meet Getty and Alex from the band too.


We're kind of a big deal.


My friend S from university contacted me a couple of weeks ago to let me know she was coming to SLC and would I like to get together with her. Duh. Of course I would. It's been 4 or 5 years since I last saw her and she's a pretty cool cat (she's a firefightress so that makes her even cooler. Or does that make her hotter since she's always around fire?). Oh, and would we like to go see Rush as her husband is the head of security for them. Duh. Of course we would! I knew 2 of their songs.


(Note: Not only is my friend S a pretty cool cat, her husband, K, is a very interesting guy. I guess you have to be if you're going to tour with a rock band that's been around as long as me.)


We took our neighbours who actually ARE big Rush fans and got to park with the tour buses, take a tour of the stage before the concert began, meet Getty and Alex (Neil heard I was coming and decided I was too much for him), go on stage during the concert, AND have front row MIDDLE seats. Craziness. Pure craziness. Oh, and when I was shaking Getty's hand, I yelled "I'm from Canada too. I'm from London!!" He wasn't nearly as excited about that information as I was in sharing it.


It was THE best concert I've ever been to and I've actually lost track of all the concerts I've been to. It was so great, we didn't crawl into bed until 1:00 a.m. and had enormous smiles on our faces as we giggled ourselves to sleep that night. We couldn't wait to tell little c all about it the next morning.


Enjoy the photos.


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$140,000 drum kit (not sure if that's CDN or USD).


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Hello Getty Lee's bass guitars. It's a pleasure to meet you.


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We were so close I could smell his aftershave. It's Old Spice in case you were wondering.


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See all those people out there? They should have been where we were.


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Proof that we are cool.


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I suppose we should put a photo of the world's best drummer in here, even though he didn't want to meet us.


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These senior citizens really know how to get down.


And one final parting image of Getty Lee's butt for the ladies. Not bad for someone who has been rocking and rolling since the year I was born.


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Poor Lefty

If you've been reading my rants for awhile, you know who Lefty is. If you are reading this for the first or second time, you probably won't know who Lefty is but I bet you're smart and can figure it out.


All I want to say today is Lefty is a little backed up again. I have a giant plug in her and am not sure how that came about. I didn't eat any crazy amounts of saturated fat this weekend, which is usually the cause of her backing up. We bought an enormous bag of basil at the Farmer's Market on Saturday and I did make homemade pesto last night and then made pizza, but took it easy on the cheese. The beauty of making homemade pizza, right?


So if you see me, please don't hug me too tightly today. Lefty and I will probably both groan in protest.



Friday, August 6, 2010

So grateful

Today I will be brief.


I just want to express how truly grateful I am to have a healthy and happy baby. So many things can go in a direction you don't expect during a pregnancy, delivery, or first months or years of a child's life. So far everything with little c has been perfect, and for that I cannot type how grateful I am for that fact without getting tears all over the keyboard.


I know I've shared how hard it was in the first few months and we joke around about him being lazy because he's not showing any initiative to crawl, but man I adore that kid and I know I am SO. VERY. BLESSED.


What are you grateful for today?


Have a wonderful weekend. I'll see you back here on Monday with some photos of the band I met last night. Maybe you've heard of them...


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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Reading between the lines

The following is a blurb from little c's daycare newsletter.


"The Koala class is becoming so mobile! Nathaniel can officially sit up from lying down and he can crawl as well! Campbell is getting so close to crawling. Lucy and Reese are starting to scoot around as well. Cohen is so content to sit and play with the toys around him. William loves to get a workout in the exer-saucer and he has also started jar food, which he loves! We welcomed Austin to our class recently. He is such a calm and cute baby. He is adjusting so well!"


Big c and I can read between the lines. What do YOU think they're trying to say? Leave your comment below.


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Monday, August 2, 2010

Burnt beets

Making more baby food. I wonder how long I'll keep this up. I hope for a long time but I get distracted and bored with things really quickly. You can place your bets below (kidding).


Tonight I'm making squash, carrots, blueberries and beets, which I just burned. I didn't use the Beaba to cook them since I'm trying to knock out so many things at one time. Burnt beets do not make a home smell very good.


It smells worse than the inside of a(n) Hungarian's boot.


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Broken-down bbq, weeds, and dead roses. But maybe you would have only noticed the cute kiddo with his Sophie if I hadn't of said anything.
 
 





A wonderful weekend for all

Little c and I had a lovely weekend together since big c was at his 20 year high school reunion in Jerome, Idaho (shout out to all those that attended that read this blog--I heart you and am sorry I didn't make the trek to meet you! Hurtful, I know).


Here are the highlights and the lowlights from the weekend:


Highlights


Dinner at G&T's house where little c was an absolute delight in his black muscle shirt. He and I had the best night in 7 months together 


Successful produce procurement at the Downtown Farmer's Market where little c sported his jaunty yellow and brown golfing cap and kept it on the entire time

Wine tasting with fun friends at Hancock Manor while little c slept despite the fact that he enjoyed 4.5 hours of nap time earlier in the day (growth spurt maybe?)


Spent most of the weekend making baby food from aforementioned produce. Little c enjoyed all of them, including the green beans which he had been iffy about before


Big c's return home


Photo shoot outside on the lawn of the Manor


Seeing a wonderful friend who is days (hours maybe?) away from delivering her baby boy


Little c discovered the "d" sound and now says "Dada" over and over



Lowlights




Huge baby strollers and huge dogs with diarrhea at the Downtown Farmers Market


Aching shoulders from little c strapped into the Baby Bjorn at the FM. Must investigate the Ergo Baby Carrier


Too much wine at the wine tasting. 8 bottles = too much wine for 4 people


Getting upset with big c because he couldn't get a shot of little c and mommy without the broken-down bbq being in every damn shot


So it was a fabulous weekend all in all. I'll include photos tonight. And maybe, just maybe, I'll show you one with the broken-down bbq!