Cohen is three!

 It was a big day on January 27th in our house. Cohen turned 3! It was a that was full of fun for our sweet boy. He got to play with friends at MOPS and then had his very LAST speech therapy session. It was a big day!

 Of course, he was willing to smile with his daddy for a picture!

 by himself, not so much!

 it's hard to be Cohen sometimes :)

 Cohen and Ms. Aruna were the perfect pair. Aruna has been Cohen's speech therapist since he was 15 months old. When he started with her, he wasn't making any sounds at all and on her last visit he was talking to her in sentences. She was such a marvelous part of our family's life. They were best buddies and he misses her dearly. She will always be a part of our team that got Cohen to where he needed to be.

 Happy Birthday to Cohen!!

We are so amazed by the little boy that Cohen has become. He makes us laugh more than you could ever imagine. Cohen's snuggles will melt your heart and I hope that he will never get tired of crawling in our laps to fall asleep. We are so proud of Cohen and are so excited to see what God has in store for him. We love you buddy! 

January this and that

 Scott gave horsey back rides around the back yard! His load his getting pretty heavy these days :)

 Bryton's 100th day of school project was due and he wanted to make a house out of straws. He worked on it a little bit everyday for a week. He was so proud to take it to school.

 

 A few months back, Scott had promised the boys that he would take them to Monster Jam when it came to Sacramento. The dates were announced and Scott was scheduled on a trip, so after church the boys and I went on a surprise adventure. They were SO excited when we got there! Monster trucks are definitely one of Cohen's favorite things right now.

 

 Bryton spent some of his piggy bank money to buy a whistle, but it hurts his ears when he blows it. His solution is to wear Scott's gun mufflers and he blows it all afternoon nearly everyday....I owe the neighbors some cookies I think :)

 

 We took some trips to the park and carousel.



Christmas part 2

After we left Mom's we headed to NLR to spend a few days with the Riley's. It is always a fun place to be. We didn't get to see everyone this visit, but we had a lot of fun. It was very cold while we were there and so we spent most of our time inside. The Sacco's also were in town to visit so we were able to spend a little more time with them. It was the icing on the cake to our great week!

 

Aunt Marilyn always lets the boys take gigantic bubble baths!

They made a gingerbread train with Aunt Marilyn one morning.

She had fun hats waiting on them to wear! You squeeze the strings and the ears move up and down...super fun!

 Haynes Riley has an art gallery www.goodweathergallery.com. He had a gallery opening while we were in town.

 Bryton loved sipping hot chocolate by the fire pit with Uncle Bryan and Camden.

Here we are bundle up in the gallery space!

 Some of my very favorite people! 

Arkansas Christmas part 1

A few days after Christmas we traveled to Arkansas to meet up with the Sacco's and Mom and Dana. It had been almost 2 years since we were all together and so the visit was long over due! The kids were so excited to get to play with their cousins, even though Car is now a teenager! It was such a fun week and makes us miss them even more. The boys have been talking about them non-stop since we have been back. Here is picture overload from our fun filled visit!

Mom was just in heaven having everyone together as we opened gifts on the first night we are there.

Bryan and Amanda :)

3 of the 4 munchkins

CareBear got a new karaoke machine from Honey  :)

We all played some crazy games of Rummikube!

The kids loved playing ball outside, even though after the first day it got COLD!

Bryton and Honey did some baking together.

At first the gingerbread house project was a little iffy :)

They turned it into a masterpiece!

Car and Cohen had a blast together. Hide and Seek was the game favorite!

We had a fancy Christmas dinner in the formal dining room. Bryton helped Honey set the table and get everything ready.

Oh technology...

We had a family game day on New Year's Eve....crochet, bocce ball, rock paper scissors, rummikube, and karaoke!

Nothing like burning a big pile of leaves!

My sister does not like being cold!!! Oh how I miss her!!

New Year's Fun! B tried to stay awake and he made it until 10 and crashed :)

So proud of this kiddo!

Dana was our New Year's chef. We grilled pizzas on the Green Egg....delicious!

Mom and her girls!

Love this!

Happy New Year SSL!

Walking the boardwalk to the Mississippi River

One last lunch date with his Honey before heading out of town!

Cohen wouldn't take a picture without Scott so he jumped in it too :) 

Christmas Day

 Since our Christmas Eve kept us out a little later than expected due to my key incident, everyone actually slept until 7:30 on Christmas morning! That was a wonderful gift from the boys :) Christmas morning is always so much fun! It is a guaranteed pajama day with no agenda. We slowly open gifts, munch on homemade cinnamon rolls and other deliciousness and put together toys! It doesn't get much better than that!

Cohen had a quick pouting session when he was told he had to wait before coming down the stairs :)

The Playmobil airplane and a recycling truck were the two things on his list!

Cohen thought passing out the stockings was fun!

Cohen asked for a fire truck!

Big smiles!

 Working together to figure it all out!

This was the scene all day...all of us sprawled out on the floor with toys all around us!