a little bit more birthday

Bryton being so kind to help Cohen open his presents...

Showing him how it works...

Cohen is enjoying himself playing with his new toy...

Bryton steals the toy and Cohen has to fight back :)
Just a typical day in our house here lately!

A "real" birthday cupcake for Cohen!

Finger lickin' good!

What a year!

Happy Birthday Cohen Hunter!

 I can't believe that one year ago today we welcomed Cohen into the world. I never imagined that his first year would have been the roller coaster that it has been, but look at him now! Some days it feels like he has been part of our little family forever, but other days it feels like he just joined us. Over the last year, we have had many ups and downs, doctors appointments, and therapy sessions that have brought us to today. I am so thankful for this little guy! His little smile and giggles light up the room and can make anyone's day. He adores his big brother and they are really starting to interact and play together. Cohen has taught me patience like nothing else ever has. In the last year, I have really learned to embrace each day and not to worry about the little things. As I have been looking back at his "month" pictures I can't believe the way he has changed and progressed. He is doing new things all the time, and has definitely become our more adventurous one. He is very inquisitive and loves getting into everything. Cohen is truly a Daddy's boy and I love the way he lights up (and squeals!) when Scott walks in the room. I am so proud to be his mommy and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him. Cohen Hunter, we love you sweet boy! 

We have goals for him to try to achieve and a big one was for him to be hands and knees crawling for his first birthday. He woke up on Sunday morning and made up his mind he could do it!
He took a tumble into the bookshelf and gained a birthday bruise on his forehead.

Randomness

Bryton grabbed the camera when I was helping Cohen ride on Rody and took this picture, didn't he do a great job :)

With Cohen climbing stairs, we have had to install gates! Bryton was helping get them all ready to put up. 

The weather out here is great. We have had  2 rainy days in the last 2 months, and it has been in the 60's every other day. You can't beat it!  Taking walks and going to the park entertain us in the afternoons.

Bryton loves pushing Cohen in the swing. 

First Haircut

I finally broke down and took Cohen to get a haircut. It was over an inch hanging over his little ears and it was driving his daddy crazy. I had been hearing about a little place here in town to take kids and I am so glad we went there. Cohen sat perfectly still in his red race car and didn't shed one tear! I had been putting it off because Bryton's first haircut was kind of a traumatic experience :)

Getting ready!

I was a little nervous when she pulled out the clippers, but  it didn't phase him one bit. He giggled!

All done! She did an awesome job and he looks so big!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Yesterday, we had Cohen's first birthday party. We did the Very Hungry Caterpillar theme and had so much fun. We had a few families over to help us celebrate our little man. Cohen was a little overwhelmed from all the activity, but he had a good time! 

The birthday boy!

All set up and ready for our guests

Cake....the best part!

We made caterpillars and butterflies as our crafts. 

We all enjoyed some Chick-Fil-A platters for dinner!  What kid doesn't like Chick-Fil-A :)

Cohen was smiling at everyone as we sang to him. Of course, he didn't look at me  so I could get a picture.

It took some time, but he finally enjoyed his special cupcake.  He ate every drop of icing off it...just like his brother!

A little "pin the antennas on the caterpillar" fun for the older kids.

Bryton and the birthday boy! 

Last week...

Cohen started climbing stairs, and he is sneaky about it!

Bryton giving Cohen a check-up :)

Unfortunately, last week was full of doctor's appointments again.  Both boys are finishing up another round of antibiotics for ear infections and are both scheduled to get tubes in March.  This cycle of sickness must leave our house soon...

Cohen is into everything...especially the cabinets!

We made a stepping stone with the boys' footprints on it. 

We had our friend Tate over to play. 

Bryton was doing a little "cooking" while he was camping and using his mess kit. 

Progress!

Cohen is making great progress right now! In the last 2 weeks, he has starting getting up on his hands and knees and pulling up. All his hard work at therapy is really paying off! He is making his mommy proud!



First Visitors to CA

We were so excited to have my mom and Dana get here last week. They are our first visitors since we moved and it was so nice to see them! We stayed busy while we were there and had so much fun!

Taking a look at all the boats down on the waterfront after a yummy lunch at the diner.

We got a sitter for the boys and went and spent a day in Napa. It was wonderful! We did wine tastings and had a picnic at the winery with some delicious food.

Mom had her birthday while they were here, and so I took her out for a girl's day of manis and pedis. We wrapped up the afternoon with a trip to the cupcake store :)

Happy Birthday Honey! Bryton thought he needed a candle too :)

We spent a fun day down in San Fransisco. Bryton and Honey were checking out the sea lions on the pier.

Cohen was there along for the ride too!

It was a bright sunshiney day on the pier. We walked around Fisherman's Wharf and had a blast!

The highlight of Bryton's day was getting to ride on 2 street cars around San Fran.

Bryton loved looking through the telescope out over the Pacific and Alcatraz.

Bryton's Wall Art

I finally got Bryton's art done! I have had the supplies since we moved in, but hadn't taken the time to actually get it all done. We have all white walls and so I knew I needed to do something big and with lots of color. Scott is the one that recommended doing the 16x20 size....while I was painting them I wasn't so sure because it was taking FOREVER, but now that they are hanging up I am so glad I listened :)  The best part was Bryton's reaction, "OH Mama, these are the best! I love them!" Yep, made all those hours at the craft table worth it :)

Daddy's days off

Scott had some time off over the holidays and it was wonderful! We got to just hang out and do nothing :) We had lots of pajama days and lots of time to just play. But you know that Daddy is always teaching new tricks...

I turned around while cooking breakfast and found Scott teaching Bryton to climb the banister....Really?!?!

The boys rode in the stroller while Scott ran a few times over the break. Cohen loves to ride and this particular ride wore Bryton out :)

Lots of tummy time with our little army crawler! He is such a Daddy's boy :)

We did some camping using all the fun gear that Honey and Poppy sent Bryton for Christmas.

New Year's Eve

We had a laid back New Year's Eve with a couple of our neighbors and their kiddos. We had a fun evening watching the crazy kids play and enjoying each others company.

We had a special treat for the kids...smores!

Happy 2012 from our family to yours!
We hope that the new year brings you all many blessings! We are looking forward to see what this year has in store for us!