Eight Months!

It's July!? Where has all the time gone?!

I have been super busy over the past month, so I have so much to catch up on! I flew to Washington with Cohen to surprise my sister for her college graduation, then we celebrated with her with a quick weekend trip to DISNEYLAND, then I spent a couple weeks with my fam, went to Annie's (friend from High School) wedding (in Oregon), then I flew home just in time for Jeff's family to come visit for a week....or two, then drove down to DC for my nephews wedding, spent some quality time with Jeff's family, had the missionaries over for dinner, then had some friends over for dinner, which brings us to today. CRAZY, but I have A LOT of pictures to show you. I'm just starting to get back into the grove of life, so I should be getting some pictures up over the next week or two.

Oh, and while all that happened, Cohen turned 8 Months!

Cohen at 8 Months
19 lb 4 oz
28.5 in

Reaching

Cohen is now reaching for anything and everything that is in his reach. He currently really likes reaching for my glasses and cell phone. Maybe if I didn't play with my phone so much Cohen wouldn't have such a fascination with it.

Moving
Cohen is probably the laziest baby alive. He has been since day one. He has no interest in crawling and really won't do much it it requires extra effort. That includes eating. He really has no desire to eat solid foods when formula is just so easy for him. Lazy little guy. That said, he has been moving a lot more in his crib. I will put him down one way and then find him completely upside-down!

Listening
I'm a little late on posting about this, but I figure better late then never. Cohen is a huge fan of music. Jeff and I both sing to him at night or when we are putting him down for a nap. Song selection includes: Puff the Magic Dragon, On the Lose, I Heard Him Come, House At Pooh Corner and a section of Children's primary songs and Christmas songs that Jeff sings him. Cohen's favorite song is "When Will My Life Begin" from Tangled. I'm not really sure why he likes it so much, but when he is fussy I can turn that on and he just calms right down. Certain songs from Frozen have a similar effect, but nothing like Tangled.

Traveling
I just have to brag a bit here. I flew with Cohen by myself to Washington and he was amazing! He is totally a great traveler (which is good considering all the places we will be dragging him to) Not only did he totally rock the 5.5 hour flight, but he also did amazing on the 18 hour drive down to Disneyland!

Teething
Cohen got his first tooth on July 12th! Then his second popped up the next day! He won't let me see them (he sticks out his tongue every time I open his mouth to take a look), but I know they are there! He has bitten me enough times to know for sure!

I had some little helpers with Cohen's 8 month photo-shoot! Special thanks to my lovely nieces!

Seven Months!

I know this is ridiculously late. I've been doing some traveling so haven't had much time to blog. I do have some fun adventures I will share with you next week!

Cohen at 7 Months

Chatting

Cohen has started saying "dada."  He sits in his crib and says it over and over again. When we say it to him he just smiles and laughs! It's the cutest thing.

Eating Solids...kind of

We are having issues with solids. Cohen won't eat enough. Our Doctor told us that Cohen should be eating three 6 oz meals by the time we see him in July. Well, I can barely get Cohen to eat 3 oz. He's just not that interested. I'm not sure what we are going to do. So far Carrots, Squash, and Sweet Potatoes are his favorites! I say favorites because those are the ones I've gotten him to eat the most of.

We're doing another CSA! - Bag #1!

Jeff and I decided to do another CSA this year. We did one a couple of years ago (you may remember), but decided not to do it again since we couldn't really eat everything we got and it was going bad. This year we are trying a different one and we're both really excited about it!

Unlike last time, where we went and picked out our share from a local store (and the farm was several hours away), we're going with Silver Forge Farm which is in Freehold, NJ...a lot closer! Jeff is particularly excited about this CSA because we are going to be getting eggs!

The next few months are going to be crazy busy for us, but I will try to share our CSA journey with you!

Seven Month Photo shoot FAIL!

So, I attempted to do Cohen's seven month photo shoot this morning, but it was an EPIC FAIL! I thought it would be easier when he got older, but oh how I was wrong! He has become very fascinated with the monkey and will not look at the camera! It didn't matter what I said or did, he would only look at the monkey! Blah! I'm going to try again tomorrow, but recruit Jeff to see if he can help. Maybe I will get some decent pictures! Hopefully I will have some decent pictures tomorrow.

Chillin' by the fire pit...

You may remember me mentioning Jeff having a fire pit built in our backyard. He repurposed the bricks from the garage we had taken down. I loved that we used the bricks because they have been on the property for a long time (originally used for an arch and wall or something like that).

We spent some time down there last Sunday with my parents and Cohen. I think I'm really going to enjoy using it this summer!

Cohen's first haircut!

My parents came for a short visit last weekend. It was a lovely visit and I really enjoyed watching my parents play with Cohen. However, Cohen's long hair really bothered my mom. Several times a day she would pick up his long hair and say "we just need to cut right here (cutting the hair with her finger scissors)." By the last day, I decided to let her have the real scissors and cut his hair. She really didn't take much off. She basically gave him a trim.

The before shots. Please note...Cohen is drooling with anticipation.

The Cut!

It was a family affair. Mom enjoyed styling Cohen's hair when she was done.

Six Months!

Baby Cohen is six months! Sigh. Time is just flying and I wish it would slow down.

This has been a big month for Cohen!

Cohen at 6 Months
17 lb 10 oz
27 in

Sucking on His Feet

While Cohen was chilling on his changing table, he decided to analyze his little feet with a difference sense. He just stuck those little toes in his mouth and sucked and smiled like it was the best tasting thing ever! Now he frequently does it while he's waiting for me to finish changing him. :)

Rolling! Cohen's Rolling
So, literally the day after I posted the 5 month stats Cohen rolled over for the first time! Now he's a pro! Tummy time is a thing of the past! Cohen rolls right back over onto his back when I put him on his stomach.

Sitting
I'm not really sure when it happened but Cohen figured out the whole sitting thing without me even looking. He's still working on balance, but he's pretty darn good! He sits on his blanket (with me sitting behind him just in case) and plays with his toys. I love it!

Playing
I love watching Cohen play with his toys. He generally shakes them for awhile and then promptly puts them in his mouth. :) It's fun watching him smile every time he picks up a toy that makes noise.  Cohen now sits in his high chair and plays with his toys and a burp cloth, you know...as you do, while I get things done in the kitchen. We generally have a nice conversation too. :)

We're going to start Cohen on solids next week and I'm totally nervous, but he's totally ready! He's been staring at us eat and just started reaching for the food.

Five Months!

FIVE MONTHS! Time is just flying by! Cohen is getting bigger and bigger by the minute and it's driving me crazy!

Cohen at 5 Months
15 lb 12 oz
25 in

Grabbing His Feet

Cohen has discovered his feet! He now likes to grab them and hold on! It's really cute.

Staring at His Hands
Cohen likes to stare at his hands. He opens and closes his fist and just watches very intently.

Throwing Things

Cohen has started taking his pacifier out of his mouth and throwing it out of his crib. :) When I walk in his room in the morning I almost always step on it :) He also likes to throw his toys. He will hold it (and generally chew on it) for a while and then just throw it.

Making Sounds

Cohen has started making sounds that sound like "Yeah" and "Hey." The first time he did it I really didn't think anything of it, but he has done it on several occasions now. We think he's just trying to make the same noises that he's hearing.

We are still working on rolling over. He's having a hard time with that. He hates laying on his stomach, so it's slow progress.

Another Broadway trip with Kari

Back in the day, Kari would come to visit me in NYC and we would do our traditional "five shows in five days." I think we did this at least three times. While I'm sure we will never get to do five shows in a row again (tragic, I know), we did relive some of our old Broadways days with a Broadway weekend! I totally miss broadway! It was so much fun having dinner and seeing a couple shows in the city with Kari.

Gotta love Broadway Selfies

I know I haven't done this in a while, but I figure I would give my two cents about the shows.

Rocky (SPOILER)
Disclaimer: Rocky is my favorite movie of all time so it's only natural for me to LOVE the show! That said....

Story: Have you seen the movie? Well, then you know the story. Yes, they did make some changes, but I don't think they were really that significant to the story (unlike other musicals). I guess the only two changes that bothered me were: One, they gave Apollo Creed three lady groupies. I know his wife wasn't in the first movie, but it bothered me that they didn't show him as married. Two: They also changed it so Gazzo (The loan shark that Rocky works for) is not as supportive. I love in the movie how Gazzo totally cheers on Rocky, but in the play he tells him he's a nobody and will always be nobody even after he fights. I know it's not that big of a deal, but it totally bothered me.

Music: I was a little disappointed by the music. It wasn't bad, and there were several songs that I really liked (Adrian has a powerful number in the second act), but I guess I was hoping for a whole show of Gonna Fly now proportions. Not the case, but maybe my expectations were a little ridiculous. Oh, well.

Set: AMAZING! I don't even know where to start! The fight with Apollo Creed was crazy insane. They moved the boxing ring out over the orchestra seating (moving the people in the first eight rows onto bleachers on the stage), so it was surrounded by the audience. I felt like I was in the movie!

Choreography: LOVE IT! The training scenes were out of control! They did such a great job! The fight at the end was really cool too.


If/Then
Honestly, I went to the show to see Idina Menzel (Some of you may know her as Adele Nazeem) and it was totally worth it!

Story: The story was kind of cool. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but basically it's about a decision that the main character, Elizabeth (played by Idina) makes in the beginning of the show and how it basically creates two different life paths. They show both of the paths in the show. It was really intriguing. FYI, there is a lot of swearing in the show, so if you're sensitive to that don't go.

Set: The set was ok, but nothing compared to Rocky. I was in the Mezz (my favorite place to see a show), however I heard from some people that if you sit in the back of the Orchestra you will miss a lot of the show (they have a two level stage)

Music: I really liked it and Idina did an amazing job, but I didn't walk away remembering any particular song that I LOVED. They were all good, but nothing really stood out to me.

Basically, I'm glad I got to see Idina and I'm glad I got to see the show, but it's the not type of show I would go see again and again.

I LOVE BROADWAY

Happy Birthday Mom!

I hope you have the best birthday ever! I can't wait to see you in a couple of months. I know Cohen is super excited too!

Four Months!

Four months! He's just getting so big and it makes me more and more sad. :( Time is just flying and I want it to slow down!

So, once again Cohen would not smile for me during our little photo-shoot. I really need Jeff or someone to help entertain him while I'm taking pictures. I just couldn't get him to smile while I hold my camera. I included a few pictures from my phone since that's when I actually capture his smiling.

Cohen at 4 Months
15lb 12oz
16.5in

Playing

Cohen has discovered the toys that we put around him and now interacts with them. He has a little suffed monkey that makes crunching noises that he really likes to hold on to. He also likes to swat at the toys that hang over him on the play mat.

Holding or Pulling
I've been wearing my hair in a bun because when Cohen gets a hold of my hair, he won't let go! Cohen also likes holding our fingers and squeezing them. He has a really strong grip and it takes him awhile to let go.

Stomping/Running
Cohen has started stomping his little feet while in his crib. He use to do this little running thing where  he looks like a turtle on his back, but now it's turned into stomping. When he's in his glider he totally stomps his little feet and actually builds up a quite a sweat.

Laughing
Jeff has started tickling Cohen and Cohen just laughs and laughs. It's just the cutest thing ever. I'm going to try and get a video of it soon.

Sitting....kind of
Cohen has actually been doing this for awhile, but I think it's been the last month that he's gotten really good at it. We can prop him up on the couch and he will sit there for awhile...then slowly fall over.  He has also been sitting in his high chair. I still can't believe how long he lasts in it. He will sit there and just watch me wash dishes, clean, or cook. I turn around every once in awhile and talk to him and he just smiles!