Mr. Trouble

Stinka' Man is into everything lately...I mean, everything. We can't turn our heads for more than a second. Cohen should be walking soon - we hope! He loves cruising, and he can balance on his own for a while. Here are some pictures of Mr. Trouble causing trouble...

Cohen loves pulling all of his neatly folded clothes out of his dresser.

His new favorite "toys" are the air vent covers. He rips them out all over the house.

Cohen loves unrolling an entire roll of toilet paper.

He loves dirt.

Not pictured: Cohen pulling all the books off the bookshelf, Cohen pulling my purses out of the silver chest, Cohen pulling the dog bones out of the closet (and chewing on them), Cohen going through David's dirty clothes basket, Cohen playing in the dog food/water bowl...the list goes on.

Jesus, Mary & Joseph

Our church held a tree lighting ceremony for the neighborhood this evening, and guess who played the part of little Baby Jesus...only the best baby in the world, our Cohen! We were honored Pastor Mike asked us to play the part of Mary, Joseph and Jesus for the live nativity. It was such an amazing set - live animals, angels, shepherds, wise men - the Christmas story was narrated along with holy music as we all took our places. The local news even showed-up! Little Baby Jesus stole the show, pulling hay out of the manger, playing with the gifts from the wise men and clapping. It was a great night spent with all of our wonderful friends and neighbors.


Side note: Cohen was scared to death of David in his wig and beard. He had a huge meltdown right before show-time. We didn't realize we were going to have to do two performances either. Cohen was such a trooper! The sweet little children kept calling Cohen "Little Baby Jesus." Our friend's daughter, Addison, was a little bit starstruck around Cohen. It was too cute.

Cohen's First Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year, and we are reminded of that every time we look at Cohen. Yesterday, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Charlotte with Laura, Mike and Brian. We were blessed with a beautiful day filled with good weather, laughter, delicious food and love.

We decided to forgo the Charlotte Turkey Trot and opted for our own 3.5 mile run around Plaza-Midwood. It was so peaceful running through the thick fog early in the morning. We were the only runners out, and it was a great way to start the day. Here is Cohen bundled-up for the stroller ride.

The sun broke through later that morning, and it turned into a beautiful day! We were so excited about Cohen's birthday present that we gave it to him early. He LOVES it!

We watched football, played outside and cooked the rest of the afternoon. Here are Brian and Katie throwin' down in the kitchen.

After we stuffed our bellies and put Cohen to bed, we enjoyed some late night bonfire time...


and I had to get my snuggles in with "Biggie."

We were worn out by the end of the night. It was a great Thanksgiving!

Pre-Thanksgiving

Cohen is ready to chow down tomorrow! Here he is eating his new favorite fruit, cantaloupe.

Tomorrow will be Cohen's first Thanksgiving, and we've had a great day prepping for it. This morning, we took Cohen to ImaginOn to play with his girl, Lillian. After he got his wiggles out, we headed to Harris Teeter to pick up our turkey and other ingredients for our dinner tomorrow. Cohen loved riding around in the grocery cart, looking around at all the craziness this holiday brings. During Cohen's nap, I made two peanut butter pies, pumpkin bread and prepped the stuffing. Cohen then enjoyed a boys trip to Home Depot. We finished off the day by pushing Cohen's fire truck down the street, eating dinner and story time.

It is hard to believe a year ago, my belly was about to pop. I went to the hospital late Thanksgiving night because I couldn't feel Cohen moving. I knew the nurses had to be laughing at me, thinking, "Here's another first-time mom who ate too much on Thanksgiving." Sure enough, while we were there, I started having contractions, three minutes apart. Luckily, they stopped after a couple of hours, and Cohen held off another week in my belly. I'm so happy that this time of year will always remind me of the joys and excitement of being pregnant with my sweet, sweet boy.

Slootsgiving

We finished our relaxing weekend by attending the Fifth Annual Slootsgiving Sunday night, hosted by Cohen's sloot aunts, Laura, Courtney, Sarah and Chelsea. The food was unbelievable - I'm not sure how I'm going to eat that much again on Thursday. Good times and good friends!

The "Twinkies" - Laura and Katie in matching sweaters

Cohen had enough Sootsgiving fun and was ready to go.

Cohen ready for the Jags game

Gimme Sugar

Cohen had a fun Friday! First, we went to Polka Dot bake shop with Ms. Kim and Brady to taste cupcakes for the upcoming birthday parties. The strawberry cupcake was the best! We were on a sugar high, so we walked to Chick-fil-A to play on the playground. Cohen and Brady held their own with the big kids. In the afternoon Ms. Paige and Ms. Kim brought Lillian and Brady over to our house for a play date. We're so lucky to have such amazing friends!


Cohen loves giving Brady hugs.


Brady had enough Cohen love.

NYC Recap

We girls had a blast in NYC! Despite the overcast weather and sweeping wind gusts, we hit the streets Friday afternoon for some shopping. After finding some goodies, we had the most delicious dinner at the most cozy restaurant, Market Table, in Greenwich Village. YUM is all I have to say! After digesting, we hit a village dive bar, Automatic Slims, or as I continued to say, Virginia Slims. We had a blast dancing to 80s music and catching up with one of our best college buddies, Amelia. Saturday morning, we wandered around Macy's and then strolled the streets of SoHo. The weather was pretty yucky, but we didn't let it stop us from having fun. Saturday night, we had another unbelievable dinner at another precious restaurant in the village, Dell' Anima. Amazing dining experience, and hands-down the best pasta I've ever tasted! After dinner, we stopped by Extra Virgin, another adorable restaurant, for drinks with Amelia. Later on, we strolled through the village and stopped by the famous Magnolia Bakery for a late-night cupcake. We also ran into a celebrity - Sophia Bush! Pretty cool. After our sweet tooth was satisfied, we met our friend, Kenny, at White Horse Tavern for more drinks and fun (and ran into Ms. Sohpia Bush again)! Needless to say, we were exhausted Sunday morning. It was a fabulous girls trip, but I was more than ready to get home and see Cohen and David! I missed my boys to pieces, but I know they had fun with Nana while I was gone.

On our way to dinner. Pretty much the only picture we snapped all weekend because the weather was bad...and we were busy having fun!

Cohen after his shots on Thursday. He handled them like a champ! He got his second seasonal flu and first H1N1.

I'm not leaving my sweet boy again for a LONG time!

This and That

So, tomorrow I leave for a girls weekend in NYC with Laura and Mom. I can't think about it right now because I will burst into tears at the thought of leaving Cohen for more than a few hours. I really am excited, but I'm going to miss my little man (um, little men) like crazy!

On to Hathaway news...this week has been fun, but the weather has been terrible. It has poured most of the week. David had Veterans Day off, and we got to play as a family! We met Cohen's best buddy, Brady, and his mom, Kim, at Toys & Co. and let Cohen check out all of the cool stuff. After an hour of playing, we headed to lunch, where Cohen and Brady proceeded to decorate the entire floor with fruit, chicken, pizza and pretzels. The boys had a blast watching their moms pick up the mess! Also, Cohen and I have been hosting play group at our house every Wednesday this month. It is a lot of fun...crazy, but fun! Cohen goes to get his second flu shot this afternoon. We'll see if he is as brave the second time around!

Here are a couple more pictures Courtney snapped last weekend.

Hallelujah!

We went to church this morning...AND...Cohen stayed in the nursery room the entire service without crying! We are so proud of him. Hopefully this continues!

The weather was beautiful all weekend. Friday night, Aunt Laura came over to play and eat spaghetti. David had to work Saturday morning, so Cohen and I played at ImaginOn, then we all watched football together in the afternoon. We wanted to go to an Oyster Roast and Pig Pickin' down the street, but we quickly realized that it wasn't exactly kid friendly, so we headed to Hawthorne's for some pizza. After church, we relaxed, played at the park and watched the Jaguars win!

Here's a picture that Courtney took of the fam at the park this weekend...more to come soon!

11 Months

Sweet baby Cohen is 11 months old today. This time of year is reminding me of my pregnancy. The last couple of months of having the huge belly were trying at times, but I loved being able to relax, eat and feel Cohen moving and kicking away in there. This week, Cohen has taken a liking to the pregnancy picture of me hanging in his nursery. Just about every time we're in his bedroom, he points at the picture, and we have to get closer for him to look at it. This morning, he waved at the picture. I think it's his way of thanking me for bringing him into this world. So sweet.

On to Cohen's progress report: He is pretty close to walking. Cohen balanced on his own for almost 10 seconds yesterday. His favorite activity is walking with his push carts - around the house and up and down the street. He pretty much waves on cue, and sometimes, with no cue at all. If he senses we're leaving somewhere or someone is leaving us, he'll start to wave. He's such a smarty pants!

Here's Stinka' Man's birthday invitation!

Trick-or-Treat, Birthdays, Football & Friends

Cohen had a memorable first Halloween in Jacksonville! His golfer costume was adorable. He looked like a little Payne Stewart. Cohen had a blast hanging out with all of his grandparents and trick-or-treating!


Cohen hated the hat, but we squeezed it on for a picture or two

Cohen clapping after removing the hat

It was a big weekend for birthdays as well! We celebrated David's 31st birthday with our family at Sticky Fingers Friday night. Afterward, we made our way to Ragtime to hang out with friends and celebrate Michael Brennan's 30th birthday. Saturday was definitely one to remember. David and I attended the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," Florida/Georgia tailgate. We partied in true Florida Gator fashion...between a dumpster and porta-pottys. Jorts and tanks were in abundance. All joking aside, it was a fun time spent with close friends!

David, Becky & Katie

Michael, Clay & David

Check out those shoes.

Friday afternoon was extra special! Cohen and I had a Jacksonville play date with some of my best childhood girlfriends and their babies. We had a blast visiting with Carrie and her little girl, Isla, and baby boy, Leo, Kim and Jack, and Jessica and Carson. I have a feeling our guys will be best buddies playing on the Jax Beach All-Star baseball team (just like their moms!).

Isla & Cohen

Our Jaguar fan, Grady Gainer

Cohen did great in the car during the drive down to Florida and back to North Carolina. He had a few bites of my Oreo Blizzard and didn't nap but five minutes on Sunday. I guess he was on a sugar high...oops! I think it worked out well in the end, though, because he went to bed early AND slept an hour later Sunday night - daylight savings didn't mess up his schedule!

Fall Crawl

Cohen had a blast with his "Aunt Brooke" and "Uncle Michael" this weekend. Friday night was the Oyster Roast at Carolina Club. Cohen loved the band and clapped after each song. He discovered a hill and had so much fun crawling up and down, up and down. Cohen was the hit of the night! Saturday was the Annual Midwood Fall Crawl. Cohen and I walked in the costume parade and went to the Trunk or Treat at Kilgo. That afternoon we all went to Midwood Park for beers and band. Again, Cohen loved the music and clapped between songs. Saturday night I went to the Oktoberfest block party with Brooke and Michael. It was a fun-filled, exhausting weekend! We're so lucky to have wonderful friends and live in such an amazing neighborhood.

Cohen and Mom dancing at the Oyster Roast

Cohen crawling down the hill

Cohen on the way to the parade

Cohen playing ladder golf with the boys

Cohen relaxing at the park

Cohen playing with his best buddy, Finn

Dad and Cohen (he was ready for dinner)

Big Boy Shoes

I took Cohen to Nordstrom on Tuesday to get fitted for big boy shoes. It was a challenge holding him still enough to measure his feet and try on different shoes. We were there for 15 minutes, and I was worn out by the time we walked out the door. The shoes are adorable (size three), and Cohen is getting used to them - I just hate covering up his sweet, chunky feet.

The weather has been beautiful this week! Here is Cohen on the way to story time at the park. Check out the new kicks!

Pumpkin Patch

Cohen, David and I volunteered to work the pumpkin patch at our church this evening. It was an absolute blast! Cohen ran the whole operation. He waved to everyone walking or driving by, talked to people at the top of his lungs and thoroughly examined all of the pumpkins. Our good friends, Kim & Brady, Amanda & Graham and Heather & Finn stopped by to hang out. What a fun way to end the day!




Stinka' Man in his adorable vest at ImaginOn on Monday...