Southern Tea Party Baby Shower for Ashley

In October I had the pleasure to throw my good Friend, Ashley, a baby shower. I worked with three of her other friends (Kristin, Meg, and Liz) and I think it turned out well! We had a Southern Tea party themed baby shower. Kristin did the amazing flowers, and Liz and Meg made some amazing food! We were a good team! Ashley had her baby a few weeks ago. I'm just so happy for her!

Disney Cruise 2016: Disney Castaway Cay

After a day at sea, we went to Disney Castaway Cay (Disney's private island). Of all the ports, I think this one was my most favorite. Sharon, Kari, and I went parasailing! I don't have any pictures, but it was totally amazing and I would do it again in a heart beat! We then spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. Honesty, I would love a cruise that would just take me from NYC to this island and back....I would be one happy camper.

Well, that's it! Those are all the pictures from our Disney vacation extravaganza!

Disney Cruise 2016: Third Stop.....Falmouth, Jamaica

Next we spent half a day in Falmouth, Jamaica. The port is a gated community with a bunch of shops. We really didn't do much in Jamaica. Sharon, Ben, my mom, and Kari did a little bus tour of Falmouth, which from what I hear was very enjoyable. Jeff, Cohen, and I looked at a few of the shops, but then spent the rest of the day on the boat in the pool/splash pad.

Disney Cruise 2016: Second Stop...Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands!

Our second stop was Grand Cayman! I REALLY REALLY liked this place. We did this amazing glass bottom boat tour of the reefs and then we grabbed some lunch at a nice little place right on the water. It was a very relaxing day.

Disney Cruise 2016: First Stop...Cozumel, Mexico!

After a day at sea, we stopped in Cozumel, Mexico! We did exactly what I wanted to do....lay on the beach! It was amazingly hot for the first couple of hours we were there, but then it cooled off and there was a breeze....IT WAS PERFECT. Cohen has been afraid of the water in the past, but Grandma Anderson worked with him and by the end of our day at the beach, he was totally into the water!

Disney Cruise 2016: Sailing on the Fantasy

After a very hot week at Disney World, we set sail for the western Caribbean on the Disney Fantasy!

If you remember, we went on an Alaskan cruise a couple of years ago and fell in love with cruise vacationing. We were so excited to see the Caribbean and sail with Disney (we are totally Disney people....well, except for Jeff...he's not). We went with my fam (Mom, Dad, and Kari) and Jeff's sister and her family (Sharon, Ben, and Atticus). We all had balcony rooms right next to each other, so we could combine balconies. It was fantastic! Cohen could go from room to room to visit some of his favorite people!

Cohen couldn't swim in the pool (they have strict potty training policy), but they had a fantastic little splash pad called Nemo's Reef. Cohen loved playing down there and didn't seem to mind not going in the pool.

We really enjoyed our cruise, but I think we will wait to sail with them when all kids going are older than three and potty trained. They have so much for kids to do, but most of it wasn't for toddlers. Cohen still had a fun time seeing the characters and going to the dance parties, but most of the programing was for older kids. We for sure think this cruise was better than Norwegian, but we actually weren't so fussed with the food. Not as good as we remember Norwegian being. All I can say is that I can't wait for our next cruise!

Disney World: All Days! - All Star Sport Resort

I think this was the first time in all our family trips to Disney that we actually spent everyday at the pool (for at least a couple of hours.) IT WAS HOT! Last time we were at Disney World we stayed at All Star Music, but Grandpa Anderson decided this time we would stay at the sport one. It was a nice resort and you can't beat the price!

Cohen Turns 3!...Celebrating at Turtle Back Zoo!

Last Saturday Cohen turned 3! It's been an amazing year and I can't believe how old he is getting. I feel like every night Jeff and I sit and tell stories of the funny or cute things he did during the day. He sure brightens up our lives.

A couple of weeks ago Cohen and I were going down in the elevator to go to the park. A women got on and Cohen said, "My name is Cohen and you are a person." This started a conversation between the two of them. Cohen told her how old he was. I told her that he would be three in a couple of weeks. She then asked Cohen what he was getting of this birthday. He looked at her and said very confidently, "A DIGGER." Luckily Grandma came through. Grandma sent me everything I would need to make a "digger" cake. Cohen LOVED it! He has been carrying around the little tractors from the stop of the cake for the past couple days.

Celebrating with Friends at the Turtle Back Zoo!
Once again we did a very low key birthday with the Kalrin Family (Oskar and Ben were born 6 days before Cohen), but this year we went to Turtle Back Zoo! We invited the Klems and Veras. We had a blast! It was cold, but totally fun riding the train and the carousel and seeing all the animals. Beth and the kids made some AMAZING cupcakes!

Highlights from Cohen's 3rd Year!

Top Memories:

• Trip to NYC for Christmas to the Rockefeller Center Tree (2015)

• Grandma, Grandpa and Kari coming to visit for Christmas (2015)
• First time to Turtle Back Zoo (Christmas Lights)

• First time playing in the snow...Thanks Winter Storm Jonas

• Celebrating Grandma Anderson's 60th Birthday in Washington!

• Dyeing Easter eggs for the first time....with Auntie Harmizzle

• Making Sugar Cookies with Grandma Anderson (March 2016)
• Working in the yard with Grandma Anderson and planting onions (March 2016)

• First trip to the Enchanted Forest (March 2016)
• Going to Cousin Chris's wedding in Utah
• Celebrating Grandpa Anderson's retirement in Washington/Oregon
• Trip to Minnesota for Uncle Jons funeral. Visit family and play with cousins.
• The older cousins were playing a game where they would throw a ball and say a number. Whoever caught it would get that many points. Well, Cohen would stand in-front of the person throwing and copy them by throwing something and yelling a number. He still does this at home. :)

• Going to Disney World and on a Cruise with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kari, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Ben and Cousin Atticus.
• Meeting Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Chip and Dale, Mickey, Minnie, Woody, Buzz, Donald Duck, Daisy, Goofy

• Moving to a toddler bed!
• Moving to NYC. Our broker was named John. We kept telling Coehn we were going to the city to see John when we were looking for apartments. After we found one and I was packing the house, Cohen kept asking about seeing John in the city. Then when we moved into our new apartment, Cohen turned to me and said, "Where's John?"
• He was Peter Pan for Halloween
• Whenever we ask Cohen to do something he shakes his head and says, "No, No, No, No, No" really quickly. (Totally Cute)
• Mixing (he learned this from Daniel the tiger) - Cohen is now into making cake, cookies, pancakes...anything that allows him to mix. 

Disney World: Day 5 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

We spent our last day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The special treat was my friend Elizabeth and her two daughters met us there! I was so excited to see Elizabeth and spend some quality time with her girls. It was a short day for us. Of course it was hot, but it was our last day before we left for our cruise, so we had packing and laundry to do.

Cohen and Kari went to visit Donald and Daisy and then we watch the March of the First Order.  It was really cool. The stormtroopers march in and have an "inspection of the guard." The sound of their boots on the pavement and the Star Wars music in the background created an amazing atmospher.

We then went to Toy Story Mania and visited with Buzz and Woody. It was a short but good day!

I can't believe Cohen is 3!

Cohen turns 3 today! He's not my little baby anymore. He's turning into such a big kid and I'm loving watching it happen. My dad and sister gave Cohen this monkey when he was born, so I could take pictures of him with it and we can see how big he's getting.

I made him a cake and had him open presents in the morning and now we are heading down to the Turtle Back Zoo with our good friends the Klarins, Klems, and Veras to celebrate! (Klarin boys turned 3 last weekend!) I will post pictures of the festivities and list of Cohen's stats on Monday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COHEN!

Disney World: Cohen meets Peter Pan and Tinker Bell!

Grandma Anderson decided that we should dress Cohen up while we were at Disney World. (I guess that't the thing to do) She wanted to do a Jedi costume, but I opted in for Peter Pan in hopes that it would be cooler (I'm talking temperature wise...remember, it was hot!). Cohen made one cute little Peter Pan. He wouldn't wear the hat, but at least we got him in everything else.

When Cohen met the "real" Peter Pan, he was totally nervous and not sure what was going on. I realized after that this was the first human character that we introduced him to and he just wasn't sure about him. It was kind of funny. Tinker Bell was a different story. She was so fantastic. She got on the floor with Cohen and talked to him. She even asked him about the treasure and took him to the key to see if they could pick it up. At the end of the visit she kissed him and left a lipstick kiss mark. We left it there for the rest of the trip.

Disney World: Day 4 - Magic Kingdom...with Kari and Grandma Anderson

On day 4 Grandma Anderson and Aunt Kari joined us! It was a fantastic day at the Magic Kingdom. Of course Cohen rode the carousel several times with Aunt Harmizzle. He sure loves that ride.

For dinner we went to Cinderella's Royal Table. It was such a treat! The Princesses were so nice, but I think Jasmine was my favorite. She was fantastic with Cohen! She asked him if he was a monkey like Aboo. When Cohen said yes, she asked him if he spoke monkey.  After Cohen gave her his best monkey impression, Jasmine declared that Cohen was fluent in monkey and therefore was in fact a monkey!

We dressed Cohen up as Peter pan also, but I will put those pictures in another post. Since this one is already getting so long! We had a fantastic day at the park! I can't wait till we can take Cohen there again!

Aunt Kari bought Cohen a big stuffed Pooh bear and Cohen was thrilled beyond reason! He insisted on carrying it everywhere.

Disney World: Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

On day three we went to the Animal Kingdom! Cohen loved the safari and seeing all the animals. We really didn't do much at the park. It was sooo hot! We grabbed an early dinner (We ate with Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy) and then headed back to the pool. We spent a lot of time at the pool this trip. I don't think I will ever travel to Florida again in September.

Cohen's Hippopotamus (or Hippo-the-Potamus)
When we were at Epcot, Cohen kept saying Hippo-the-Potamus when we were in front of the Finding Nemo Ride. I'm not really sure why he thought there was a hippo there, but he totally did. Well, when we went to Animal Kingdom, Cohen saw a real hippo and he was so excited. By then he was saying Hippopotamus instead of Hippo-the-Potamus.  When we walked into one of the gift shops on the way to dinner, they had a stuffed hippo and Cohen started cheering, "Hippopotamus!" He then grabbed it and started cuddling with it.  I'm not the type of parent that buys Cohen a lot of souvenirs when we travel, but I totally bought the hippo for him (this is literally the only thing I bought him at Disney World). He cuddled with it every night we were on our trip. It was just too cute.

Disney World: Day 2 - Magic Kingdom!

On day two we went to the Magic Kingdom. I was so excited to take Cohen here since he yells, "CASTLE!" every time we watch an intro to a Disney movie. I think this was Cohen's favorite park because of the train and all the characters that he got to see! We took him on a lot of rides, but the carousel was his favorite (Isn't that awesome? We travel all the way to Disney World and Cohen's favorite ride is one we could find at a mall!). Cohen and dad matched which was totally fun!

Disney World: Day 1 - Birthday at Epcot!

In September, Dad, Cohen and I headed to Disney World for a week before heading on a Cruise with the rest of the fam. It was HOT! Too hot for my liking, but we still had a good time. Cohen LOVE it! He was so excited to see all the characters. We didn't really do much at Epcot because we flew in that morning and it's not our favorite park. Cohen did enjoy riding the boat over to France :) and grabbing some sweet treats. We then headed back to the Reef Restaurant for my birthday dinner.  It was a nice day and a fun way to spend my birthday.