Fluke

Big c and I agree: the 3 steps at daycare a couple of weeks ago must have been a fluke because that boy cannot walk. And we are SO okay with that. He is busy enough already with crawling and crusing. Walking can take it's own sweet time in arriving.

All I have to say is that kid had better not take his real first steps this coming weekend when Mama is in Vegas. You know he'll take his first steps then, right?

 

P.S. Get ready to say goodbye to those lovely golden locks. Little c is going in for his first haircut very soon. Of course I'll take a million photos of the occasion. Perhaps I'll even throw a party to celebrate!

Red and Turquoise Winter One-derland Party

I've heard that having a birthday so close to Christmas can be tough on kids and adults. They get forgotten amongst all the craziness of the season. That is the absolute LAST thing I want for Cohen Gray. I want his birthday to be a real celebration every year, due to the circumstances surrounding his birth.

So many people say the first birthday shouldn't be a big deal since the baby won't remember it. I disagree. And as I've scoured the interweb for ideas for little c's birthday party, I've found countless people that think the same thing as me. When I compare what I did for the Winter One-derland Party, I did half as much as many mothers do for their kiddos' parties. No joke. We'll blame it on the fact that I work full-time, that I don't know anything about design, and that it came at the busiest time of the year. Ok, now I'm not feeling as guilty for not doing so much.

And so I present to you the Winter One-derland Party for Cohen Gray Hancock.  

 
 Because the party was from 2:00-4:00 (conveniently sandwiched in between the birthday boy's morning and afternoon naps), I decided to do a dessert buffet rather than food or simply cake.

 
Here's a tip: don't bake the cupcakes 2 days before the party and not cover them. They'll turn rock hard and people will lick off the icing and not eat the actual cupcake. Not that I did that or anything. I've just heard. The runner is wrapping paper. The cupcake toppers were easy peasy with a snowflake punch I grabbed at a scrapbook store going out of business and selling everything at 50% off. I snagged the pinking shears there too. A little tape and a toothpick and voila! Instant cupcake toppers.

 
 
 

White popcorn containers from Walmart with scrapbook paper and my snowflake punch again. I really liked how they turned out. I wish I'd had double the popcorn as there weren't enough savoury things. Things to remember for next time.
 

Turquoise turds a.k.a. French Macaroons. Tasted great. Looked like poop.
 
 
The AWESOME cake pops my friend April made. These were the absolute hit of the party and everyone asked about how she made them. If you live in northern Utah and want amazing cake pops, let me know and I'll put you in touch with her. Not only did they look great, they tasted great. She's not just a pretty face!

 
 
And what first birthday party would be complete without a photo for every month that the birthday boy has graced this earth?

 

Scrapbook paper, Currency font, pinking shears and ribbon.
 
And the garland that has inspired me to make Valentine's Day garlands, St. Patrick's Day garlands, President's Day garlands...the list goes on and on. Fun with sewing machines.

 
I also sewed doilies together and hung them in all the windows and put some individual ones on the mirror. The hanging snowflakes were for the birthday boy as he loves to walk down the hallway at "school" and try and touch all of the kids' artwork hanging from the ceiling.

 
And of course, the birthday boy before he slipped into his cupcake coma. I love the red velvet goatee. 

 

Dear Cohen

Well my boy, you are now a toddler. I don’t think I can still call you a baby now that you’re a one year old. Well, I suppose I can call you anything I like, but technically you are a toddler. Daddy likes to call you "Todd."

I can’t believe we made it to a year already. The first 6 months dragged by as I adjusted to my new role as your mom, but the last 6 months have flown far too fast for my liking. And here we are today.

As your first birthday approached, I would think about what life was like right before you were born. It was certainly easier but it wasn’t as fulfilling as it is now. You have taken Daddy and me down a road we could never imagine walking. But enough about us. Let’s talk about you!

You are still an amazing eater.  Your eating skills are most impressive not only to Daddy and me, but to Phyllis and most people that watch you shove food in that wide-open mouth of yours. You will still eat anything and everything we give you. In the last month there hasn’t been one thing you haven’t eaten, save for your 7 day hunger strike. Even Phyllis told me this morning how much you loved your chicken fettuccini the other day and how you were double-fisting it in so quickly she had to take some away to slow you down. And as of a couple of days ago, you’ve now had ice cream and were very upset when it was all gone. And how you loved your birthday cake and birthday cupcake!

You are also still a great sleeper, sleeping 7:00 to 7:00 every night. You seem to have dropped your morning nap at “school” but continue to take 2 long naps at home on the weekends. You love to cuddle up with your blanket whether it’s in your crib or on the floor. Wherever it is, you pounce on it and rub your head all over it. Sometimes I put your blanket on me just so I can have a quick cuddle as you’re not the cuddly sort. There’s far too much to do rather than hang out in my arms. There are balls to throw, books to pull off the bookshelf, knobs to turn, toilets to flush, and drawers to open and empty.

You have taken a step or two toward Daddy and me but are not walking on your own yet. You love to hold onto our hands and walk all over the house. And you still enjoy cruising around the furniture and walls. Now, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, you have a Thomas the Tank Engine walker that you like to push around, although you really do prefer to sit on it and be pushed around the house at a very fast pace.

You are a clapping and waving fool too. You will wave at anyone and I hope you continue to be so friendly. I think you get that from your Papa. While you are friendly in our arms, you are currently going through a “stranger danger” phase and much prefer your Mom, Dad, Phyllis and Toni to anyone else. You used to go to Aunt T but put up a big stink at your party the other day when she tried to give you a cuddle. You wouldn’t even go to Nana, Papa or your Aunts in Canada, you little stinker. I don’t think this phase will last long. Let’s just say this: it had better not last long Cohen Gray.

We are seeing more and more of your temper these days. The injustice of being told no. We get it. But it’s for your own good as you’ll understand in about 25-30 years. Fortunately you don’t do anything too crazy…yet. Just a lot of explosive crying and throwing yourself on the floor. No banging of the head or hitting. Which brings up another nasty little habit we need to break you of: biting. You are always biting us, you little beaver. You love to bite Daddy’s finger and legs and my shoulder. We try to discourage it but sometimes you’re really quick. Something we need to work on before you start biting your friends and earning a bad reputation.

You love to point at things and say “thisth.”. Your consistent words are “Mom” and “Dad” but most of your other words aren’t so understandable, except for “hot.” You love to point at the stove and say that. Good boy. If you start pointing at cute girls and say that, I think we might start to worry.

Cohen, I love you more today than I did yesterday, but not as much as I will tomorrow. I had always heard that the love for your child was mind-blowing but I had no clue how much love I could hold inside my heart for you, and this is still only the beginning.  Every day you do something that astounds me, impresses me, and makes me crazy with love for you. I still cry almost every day when I think of you and it’s due to overwhelming love and amazement for you. You are our little miracle and we are extremely blessed to have the gift of you.

I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for our little Cohey Bear.

Love,

Your biggest fan, Mommy xoxo

 
Your first Christmas. You were more interested in the bag than what was inside it.

 
Something must have been finger-licking-good! 

 
You were so fascinated with your cousins. I think Keaton was showing you how your digger worked.

 
"Yes Nana, I'll be right there. Give me 5 minutes. I'm talking to one of my girlfriends and she won't stop talking." 

 

 

Roll your shoulders and take a deep breath

Ah...what a different day today is from yesterday. Yesterday was pandamonium trying to pull the final pieces of little c's second first birthday party together, hosting the party, and then cleaning up. It was a wonderful day, spent with wonderful people, and photos and descriptions are coming soon, however...

I logged onto the computer tonight after a friend left (we had such a lovely visit, talking about the trials and tribulations of life with babies) and had every intention of writing about little c's Christmas and birthday parties but I decided to first check a blog that I read every day (thank you KD for showing me this site). Well, it had me crying for so many reasons I just had to share. Little c can wait. This cannot. Please click on the link to see how you can make a difference in the life of 400,000 individuals in the U.S. (Canadians, you can make a difference too)

Click here  (ignore the fantasy photo at the top...it's kinda weird)

Here's a teaser photo so you'll come back soon to check out my first dessert buffet.

 
Paper garland that I sewed on Saturday night. It's got me planning other creations for Valentine's Day. Maybe I should start now.

Thisth

Little c's favourite new word, when pointing to anything and everything: thisth. I'll try and capture it on video and post it so you can hear it. It's pretty darn cute.

Happy Friday to everyone from the little firecracker. Updates and photos next week on all things Christmas and birthday!

Catching up

I can't believe it's been a couple of weeks since I sat down and shared a snippet of little c's life. SO much has happened since then. Here's a recap:

-First flight with Daddy. I'd give it a 5 out of 10.

-Stranger danger. Wouldn't even go to my sisters, who look just like me. He eventually warmed up but sure put up a good fight at the beginning of the trip home.

-First Christmas. Who cares about the gifts! Just give the boy paper and bags 'cause that's all he'll play with.

-Calling a bathroom his bedroom for 9 nights. No explanation needed.

-Hanging out at the mall like a champion. Not much else to do in -8 degree weather.

-Watching his first hockey game. The first of many Mommy hopes.

-First birthday with 30 of his favourite Canadians.

-Taking first place in the Best Eater & Sleeper category (trophy coming soon).

-Second flight with Daddy where Mommy held an imaginary gun up to her head to blow her brains out. Again, 5 out of 10. No, make that 3 out of 10 due to the Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) look-alike who talked to me non-stop from take off to landing. If only I'd snagged a photo of her (yes, she was the female version of Steven Tyler).

-And last but not least, first steps taken 4 days after his first birthday. Sadly Mommy & Daddy were not present when this happened and little c has refused to impress us with his talent

More details coming soon. But his second first birthday party is coming up this weekend and Mommy has about 57 things still left to do on her list (with little boxes to check once they're complete). For now, a photo of the 1 year old.

 

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