"Git-R-Done!"

This happened today...

and it was by far one of the most memorable experiences ever. We haven't been to the movie theater in more than a year. Seeing a movie in the theater for the first time, through the eyes of a 2 year old, could be one of life's best pleasures. We (I) have been looking forward to Cars 2 for months. We, of course, had to go on opening day...and we went to the Uptown EpiCenter Theaters! Cohen was mesmerized by everything - walking around Uptown, the escalators leading up to the theater, the love seats in the theater, the popcorn, pizza and Stellas (for David and me), the Toy Story and Winnie the Poo previews. Everything. We stayed until the very end of the movie. Cars 2 was a bit of a letdown, but don't tell Cohen that. He loved it. And a BIG thanks to Aunt Laura for babysitting Henry so this whole day could happen. Hendog had the best time hanging with his Auntie.

"Cheeezzee!" - He was so excited.

"Ka-Chow!"

Splash!

Swim lessons this week for Cohen! He is my little fish. He is jumping off the big diving board all by himself!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Father's Day Weekend

Let me start off by saying Cohen and Henry have the best dad in the world! David is the most devoted father and husband. He makes every day fun, adventurous and meaningful. This weekend was no exception. In the dead heat of summer, we lost our power for more than 24 hours. David made the most of the experience, smiled the whole time, kept me calm when I was about to lose my mind in the heat (and I did the same when he came close to losing his), and he made sure the boys didn't even notice that things were different. We are so lucky he takes such good care of our family!

David played a long round of golf on Saturday before the storm came through Charlotte. Once the power went out, we headed up to Smokehouse for dinner with the boys (along with the rest of the neighborhood), then played with Cohen in the dark until he finally fell asleep at 10 pm.

We did our best sleeping in the heat Saturday night. We all woke up bright and early Father's Day Sunday. We headed to Starbucks for much needed coffee then took a long walk through the neighborhood. Thank goodness for friends who are like family, the Brennans. We totally crashed Michael's first Father's Day and spent the entire day with them (fortunately, their house didn't lose power). We all went to the pool in the morning then hung out in their cool AC during the boys' naps. We grilled out and watched the US Open. Our power was finally restored around 8:30 pm (right after we put Henry to bed at the Brennans'!). It was a nice, relaxing day spent with the boys and our closest friends. We made the most out of the power outage and had a Father's Day we'll always remember! It was so much fun, we might just have a faux "Power Outage Party" every weekend!

Some pictures of the boys...

Henry likes to fly in the air now. It took a while for him to enjoy this.

Boy, does he enjoy it!

Cohen's new "thing" is eating popcicles in his Cars chair while watching Bubble Guppies.

Happy Father's Day!

City Boy

Cohen is still recovering from a bout of croup he caught early this week. He is back to his old, rambunctious self, except for a horrible, lingering cough. He has woken up the past two mornings, begging me to take him to see "Daddy at work." So, Cohen and I headed Uptown today to see David, and Liz watched Henry at home. We had the best time walking around exploring, riding escalators, watching the trollies, buses and trucks go by and discovering all of the different fountains. We went to The Green and had fun running around and eating lunch.

Tiger Woods...

Of course, Cohen HAD to run around in the splash fountains. Good thing I brought a change of clothes!

This statue is unreal.

I couldn't capture a great shot of the inside, but this is the ceiling of the statue. It was amazing.


We are so lucky to live in such a wonderful city!

Yumm-O!

I think it comes as no surprise that our Henry is an eater. He is a big boy, and Hendog hasn't met a meal that he doesn't like. Now that he's nine months, he doesn't have food restrictions except for honey. Henry is loving that he now eats what we eat for dinner. It's his favorite time of the day! This week, he has enjoyed braised chicken with carrots and tomatoes, roasted potatoes, meatloaf, twice-baked potatoes, spaghetti, creamed corn and pizza. He also loves snacking on fruits and crackers.

Henry loved the spaghetti so much, I had to serve him seconds. And he continued to pick the noodles off his body and eat them in the bathtub.

Cohen said, "Mommy, take one of ME!" as I was taking pictures of Henry tonight. He doesn't typically show signs of jealousy, but I thought it was funny because Cohen hates having his picture taken.

Catching Up

It has been a WHILE since our last post. Cohen and Henry are keeping us very busy! I'll do a quick recap of what we have been up to lately.

We hit the road to visit David's family in Atlanta over Memorial Day weekend.

Cohen did very well in the car, but Henry didn't like being strapped down for four hours.

We had the best time catching up with cousins.

These two girls are so awesome. I wish we lived closer so we could hang out every weekend! We love you, Amy and Krissy!

Cohen had his first ice cream truck experience. He was so excited to pick out whatever he wanted, and he finished the entire popsicle.

Henry wanted in on the action too.

This past week, we drove down to Jacksonville to listen to Uncle Hank's band, Fish Out of Water, play at Ragtime. The drive was pretty easy, but the drive home was a little bit tougher. Traveling with two boys is a challenge, but we had a good time!

I swear, we have the coolest uncle!

I had WAY too much fun with my cousins. Here's me with Lil' Hayley at Ragtime.

Saturday night, we celebrated GG's retirement at Beach Diner. It was so much fun visiting with old teachers and close family friends. GG is not going to know what to do with all of her free time! Teaching for 36 years at Seabreeze Elementary is one amazing fete!


While were were in Jax, we saw as many friends and family as we could possibly squeeze in. Cohen and Henry had the time of their lives playing on the beach every day too!

We all survived the long drive home, and we look forward to a few relaxing weekends at home. We are embracing the hot summer weather, playing outside and splashing in pools to stay cool. I love all seasons, but summertime is about fun in the sun with friends and family.

Cohen's new obsession is the Mater bubble lawnmower GG and Papa sent him.

The splash park down the street is one of our favorite spots...

and so is the cool indoors.

Watermelon is a staple during the summer.

Our Hendog turned 9 months on June 4. He now weighs 23 lbs and is 30 in tall. He is a BIG boy and is moving all over the house and pulling up on everything. Dr. Ball said he is probably going to be getting his molars soon. Poor buddy is teething, putting everything he can find into his mouth.

Hopefully we'll get to see a lot more of our old buddies this summer! Cohen had so much fun playing with his long-time friend, Brady, last week.

Happy summer everyone!

School's Out For Summer

Cohen's last day of preschool was Thursday. He has graduated from the Tuesday/Thursday Toddlers class, and he will move into the Monday/Wednesday/Friday Twos class in the fall. We are so blessed that Cohen has the opportunity to attend Myers Park Baptist. Last week was emotional for me, thinking back to last September and how much Cohen has developed since then. We have made lifelong friends at this school, and it will be sad not seeing them twice a week during the summer. It was especially hard to say goodbye to Cohen's teachers, Mrs. Sanders and Mrs. Gupta. They have been so amazing and supportive this school year.

Cohen and Hunter

Cohen loves the playground.

It's amazing to look back and see how much our boy has grown-up. From this sweet little baby...

to this smart and funny two-year-old.