Eleven Months!

Ahhh! One more month! Cohen will be 1 years old next month! Ahhh.! It's just too crazy...

Cohen at 11 Months

Crawling!
Yes, Cohen finally started crawling! He still prefers rolling (he's so quick with the rolling), but he's getting better everyday at the crawling. He is also good at the army crawl :)

Sitting (Up)
Cohen can now go from a lying down position to a sitting position and then onto his knees! He's just so cool! This new skill totally aids him in getting into things. He's already started climbing the stairs. Blah!

Standing (with help)
Cohen can now stand by himself if he's holding onto a table or a couch. He's event started walking, but he doesn't get very far before he falls on his but. :)

New Jersey's BEST Apple Cider Donuts?...Springdale Farms

The third farm that Cohen and I visited was Springdale Farms in Cherry Hill, NJ. I have to be honest, this one was the lease memorable for me. The market was very charming, but no where near as cool as Delicious Orchards. They did have a section where they sold gifts and garden stuff. I think if I had actually done the corn maze I probably would have appreciated this place more. It looked pretty cool. The farm just didn't seem as festive as other places we visited.

Springdale Farms Apple Cider Donuts: $4.25 for half a dozen

1. The donut was kind of like the farm. Not that memorable. It was actually very similar to Duffields, but just not as good.
2. Ok, flavor, but the donut was a little dense for my preference

New Jersey's BEST Apple Cider Donuts?...Duffield's Farm Market

The second place Cohen and I visited on our little apple cider donut journey was Duffield's in Swell, NJ. Let's just say Duffield's is very different than Mood's!

Of all the places we visited, Duffield's had the best pumpkin display or "Pumpkin Land." A lot of the places just have a few tables with pumpkins, but Duffield's has a whole area fenced off with pumpkins on display. You could also take a hayride out to the fields to pick one (other farms do this as well).

The market was ok. Nothing compared to Delicious Orchards (as of right now I haven't found its equal), but it was nice. They had some tasty treats that I really wished I would have brought home with me (besides the donuts).

Duffield's Apple Cider Donuts: $4.50 for half a dozen

1. These reminded me of traditional apple cider donuts (shape wise)
2. Decent flavor, but they were a little on the dense side (for me)

New Jersey's BEST Apple Cider Donuts?...Mood's Farm Market

Apple cider donuts are so popular here in New Jersey. I can't really remember ever eating one on the west coast, but maybe they are big out there too. A couple weeks ago I started looking into farms for Cohen and I to visit this fall in an attempt to spend more time out of the house. While researching, I found a lot of bragging about "the best apple ciders donuts in New Jersey." This got me thinking..."who sells the best apple cider in New Jersey." Well, "challenge accepted!" For the next month Cohen and I are going to try and find the best New Jersey apple cider donut. To get started I used this list, but I'm totally open for suggestions! Please let me know if you think you have had the best apple cider donut.

Last Saturday, Cohen and I traveled to four farms in south Jersey to kick start this quest. Mood's Farm Market in Mullica Hill, NJ was the first farm we visited.

The store at Mood's Farm is quite small. They don't really offer very much, but that's ok because most people there were buying/picking apples or buying apple cider donuts. One thing I liked about Mood's is that they offer warm, freshly made donuts. However, since the store has two large doors that they leave open, there were a lot of flies, especially around the donuts. Since the donuts were in plastic bags and they were making them in a room with walls covered by screens, it didn't bother me too much, but I think I should mention it.

The fall festivities were not as fancy as the ones at other farms that I visited, but once again I think people were there more for the apples.  If you look at the pictures below you will see a picture of a sign that says petting zoo, and yes, that's a wood horse. Not the best petting zoo if you ask me. :)

Mood's Apple Cider Donuts: $3.80 for half a dozen

1. These donuts were a little smaller, but fatter than the other donuts I've had.
2. They have amazing apple flavor. It wasn't overpowering, but just right!
3. The thing I liked most about these donuts was probably the texture/density. They were a lot lighter than other apple cider donuts I've had.
4. The sugar and cinnamon on the outside was perfect (in my opinion), but Jeff said he could have done without it.

Ten Months!

I know this is late, but I've been waiting for some new studio equipment! For my birthday I got a backdrop support, soft box with stand, and some backdrops. I'm still practicing and figuring things out, but I think it's going to be fun. I tried to do this photo-shoot by myself again and it was totally a disaster. Cohen is just moving everywhere! I can't stop him! You would think I'd learn not to do the photo-shoots by myself.

Cohen at 10 Months

Moving Around!
Cohen still hasn't figured out the whole crawling thing, but he's getting soooooo close! He has also turned into a bit of a house explorer. He can now manage to get from one end of the house to the other using several different "moves." 

Pounding/Kicking
Since Cohen is traveling all over the house, he's discovered his love for pounding on doors with his feet. He likes to roll out of his room and pound on Jeff's office door. He also pounds on the bottom of the crib in the morning. I think it's his way of telling me to get up. :)

Feeding Himself
We are still working on the whole eating thing. Cohen goes through phases of when he will eat and drink. It's actually kind of stressful. However, he's become good at feeding himself some finger foods! He doesn't always swallow (an important part of eating), but he does pretty good.

Crying for Daddy :)
Cohen now has the tendency to cry whenever I take him away from Jeff or Jeff leaves the room. It's not a whinny cry, it's a full on breakdown! It's kind of cute, but I feel bad for Cohen. Cohen LOVES his daddy.

First tailgate party and football game for Cohen

I love football! High school and college is my favorite and I'm so excited to take Cohen to some games this fall. We took Cohen to a Rutgers game a couple of weekends ago for his first game! Apparently the only way to kick off a game is with a tailgate party, so we joined some friends in parking lot before game for one, which was a first for the whole family. It was ridiculously hot, but we had a great time! I hope it's the first of many for us.

Alaskan Cruise: Victoria, British Columbia - Whale Watching

One of the items on my moms "bucket list" is seeing an orca in the wild. She has tried on a couple different occasions to go whale watching so she could see one, but has had no luck. Well, Jeff talked my mom into going on an orca whale watching cruise in Victoria, British Columbia and to my great surprise we actually saw some! I'm so happy my mom can cross this off her bucket list finally!

Alaskan Cruise: Skagway

Skagway was our last stop in Alaska before heading to Canada. The weather was perfect! We went for a little train ride on the White Pass railway and enjoyed the scenery.  "The White Pass & Yukon Route has been designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, putting it in the good company of such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Panama Canal." 

Dad and Jeff were not overly pleased with the train ride, but I thought it was fun and relaxing. Cohen seemed to enjoy himself and didn't really get fussy until the very end. Jeff and I didn't get a chance to wander into the city of Skagway, but dad said it was his favorite place on the trip. It looked very quaint.

Alaskan Cruise: Juneau and Sawyer Glacier

Juneau, Alaska was our second stop. We didn't stay here long, but we got a chance to go up the Mount Roberts Tram. It was a fun little trip with some very beautiful views.

After our short stop in Juneau, we made our way to Sawyer Glacier. It was absolutely beautiful.  I was so glad that Jeff got a room with a balcony, because we just hung out in our room and on the balcony all afternoon while we made the trek up to the glacier. We passed by some beautifull countryside. This was my favorite part of the whole trip.

Alaskan Cruise: Ketchikan

After a day at Sea, we landed in Ketchikan.

My family and I (sans Jeff and Cohen), went to the Saxman Native Village Totem Pole Park. While it was cool seeing the totem poles and learning about the history, I really wouldn't recommend this little excursion. It was a lot of money for a 10 min video and a show that comprised of a bunch of kids swaying (and half of them didn't know what they were doing).

I really liked Ketchikan and wish we could have spent more time there.

We then boarded the ship and headed to Juneau. Jeff and I had a room with a balcony, so we hung out there most of the evening and enjoyed the country side.

ALASKA! - Leaving Seattle

This is quite a year for the Anderson family. My dad turned 60 in January, my parents will be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in September, and I will be turning 30 in September (I can't believe I'm announcing that on the web).

So, to celebrate these important dates we decided to go on a cruise as a family. While we discussed the Mediterranean, Jeff suggested Alaska (since he can't wrap his head around a cruise in the Mediterranean). Well, when my mom heard that someone else wanted to go to Alaska (something that she has been wanted to do for years), there was no turning back. My parents, Kari, Great Grandma O, Jeff, Cohen, and I jumped on a cruise ship for Alaska last month. We left Seattle for a 7 day cruise on the Norwegian Jewel to see some of the beautiful sights of Alaska.