Cohen's 1st haircut

Cohen got his first haircut on October 11.

This was just 2 days shy of his 15 month birthday.

15 months of hair growth.

I would say that he gave it a pretty good run!

I would have let it go a tad bit longer, 

but we have family pictures coming up in a few weeks 

and I didn't want to go into pictures with a fresh cut.  

This is my 3rd first haircut.

I know the drill.

Baby walks into salon.

Boy walks out.

Just like that with a few snips of the scissors your baby is gone.

Without fail,

that is exactly what happened again.  

He may look like a big boy now,

but he sure is a cute big boy!

(and will always be my baby)

Just as we walked in.
Cohen was rocking the "business in the front..."

"...and party in the back 'do!"
Yeah, yeah, yeah, his hair had a slight resemblance to Joe Dirt.

He was not sure about this hair cut thing.

Ummm, safe to say he didn't love it.

"Hey Ma.  Help me."

Boy, that was rough!

Once loaded in the car he realized it wasn't so bad after all!

And he's off...

As of September 13, 2013 Cohen is officially a walker.

This marks his 15th month birthday.

He has been "able" to walk for quite some time.

I believe he just really enjoys being lugged around rather than walking on his own will!

What can I say?

He is a smarty pants!

Once he took a few steps on his own he was so incredibly proud of himself.

I must say, we ALL were!

He would walk. Grin ear to ear. Then clap wildly in celebration.

Crawling is still his preferred mode of transportation. 

He is quite quick and efficient as a crawler.

While his steps are still slightly wobbly and unsure. 

Each day he takes a few more steps.

We are so proud of our baby boy! 

Pee-Pee is working!

So many of my friends with children older than mine all said, "wait to potty train until the child is ready."  I really took this advice to heart.  Even though Griffin was 3 he showed no interest in potty training.  I knew that he could do it because he had tremendous control over his bladder and bowels, but he just wasn't quite "there" yet.  In the back of my mind my goal was to have him potty trained over the summer.

The ball started rolling the week that he took swimming lessons.  Our schedule was a little different and all of a sudden it just seemed like the right time to give it a whirl.  Like everything in life that I do I went all or nothing.  We went straight from diapers to big boy undies.  I was on the fence with pull ups.  I mean really folks... it is a diaper.  I decided to skip the pull ups and deal with the potential mess.  :)

Pee-pee was not really a problem.  We started taking him to the potty every 30 minutes and each day stretched it a little further.  Now poo-poo was a little tougher.  Luckily he is extremely regular and routine with his poopy habits.  He went into the playroom and closed the door.  This mean showtime!  I followed him in and he asked several times for a diaper.  I stood firm with the answer "no" but rather offered him to sit on the potty.  Eventually he realized that it was potty or underwear and I am proud to say that he picked the potty!  I knew that it would take him once on the potty to realize that it was not so bad.

From that point forward he was done an excellent job!  Over the past 2 or so weeks he had 1 pee-pee accident during the day and 1 pee-pee accident at night.  AND... no poo-poo accidents as of yet.  I still periodically take him to pee-pee during the day and ALWAYS a few times before bed.  I also keep a very close eye on his liquid intake.  (it was of no surprise his night time accident)  He now initiates going to the potty on his own.  My favorite is when I hear him in the bathroom saying.  "It's working... pee-pee is working!"

I can not even begin to explain how proud we are of Griff.  He has done such a wonderful job with this potty training thing.  He has been handsomely rewarded  with hugs, kisses, praises, high fives, running around and cheering like lunatics, his own personal poo-poo potty song that he LOVES, stickers, gummy treats, and his beloved Toy Story lunch bag.  At the end of the day it is worth it.  HE is worth it.  I'm sure there are many accidents to come, but he is off to an incredible start!  Way to go Griff!!

Walking=Independence

And he's off... 

Roman has mustered up the courage to take his first steps.  

Mobility AND independence were both gained with that step.

Over the past few days we have watched the transformation of baby to toddler.

These changes have been pretty amazing to watch.

Roman no longer wants to sit in the high chair,

he has learned to open doors in the house,

he goes off on his own and plays independently,

he watches intently EVERYTHING that his big brother does

and then mimics him,

and he points to what he wants.

I am so proud of my baby boy!

Roman brings so much joy to all of our lives.

He is a beautiful and lovable child that you can not HELP by want to cuddle with.

He has a way of bulldozing his way into your life 

and your heart...     

1st Haircut

Today was a monumental day.

A round of hair cuts for the boys.

1st for Roman and kinda sorta Griffin too.

Griff has gotten several haircuts,

but today was the first time that I said...

"cut it."

Here is Baby Bear on his way to the main event.

He could no  longer see so I had a hair band in to clear his line of sight.  :)

 Here is Griffin once we got to the place.

He was watching the "big boy" in the chair before him.

I am proud to say that he took good notes

and was EXCELLENT!

(another first)

Here I am taking a picture with my baby moments before he would look like a boy.

 Daddy and flopsy Baby Bear.

Yes... I know the haircut was about 6 months past due.

 It was time to show off Baby Bear's baby blues.

Griffin went first.

 All for the love of the lollipop.

I say... "Let him have it."

 Ta-da!

 Next up....

Baby Bear

 Goodness...

Heart breaking at the sight of my boy.

One last look at hippy hair.

 Yes, he was this good the entire cut.

 And this serious.

I sure hope he has not lost his adorable smile.

Could this be his professional look?

I mean he does look like a dude now.

 The hairdresser is THAT FAST!

 "Hey Ma, what'cha think?"

 I do believe we got our moneys worth on this cut.

Yikes it is short!

 Sniff....Sniff....

 Me and my serious boy .

 Could he be posing like a male model?

Possibly his "Blue Steel?"

 I kept turning around on the drive home.

Who in the world are these boys in the back seat!?!

Baby to boy with the snip of a scissor.

Haircut, but not a "Haircut."

Both of the boys REALLY needed a trim.

I called to make an appointment.

The call went like this.

Ms. Happy Scissors: "Hello.  Happy Scissors."

Me: " I am calling to make an appointment for a haircut,

you know the kind that doesn't really look like a haircut?"

Ms. Happy Scissors: "Sure, how about 6'oclock?"

The boys have their birthday party this weekend and professional pictures next weekend.

Who in their right mind attempts a cut this late in the game????

Me...

The appointment was really for G, but Ro-ski was in dire need.

Poor baby could no longer see out of his left eye due to his scraggly long locks!

I was in NO WAY prepared to lose my baby today to a haircut

so we did the next best thing.

Allowed the nice lady to oh so delicately snip a hair or two

ONLY in the bang area.

I will mentally forget that this ever happened

and not count it as his first haircut,

but in the meantime my baby can see again!

Next up,

Big Bro G!

A haircut AND visit to the dentist in the same day.

Mommy Dearest strikes again!

Bwahahaha.....

Thanks to Ms. Happy Scissors 

for cutting, but not really cutting

2 boys hair!

1st trip to the Dentist

This morning I took Griff for his first visit to the dentist.  

It was well..... a trip to the dentist!

 Upon arrival G thought it was pretty cool.

Cartoons!

Doesn't he look so small

yet so big in this picture!

 It didn't take him long to figure out that something was brewing

and this place may not be so fun.

"MOMMY.... what are we doooing here?"

 What?!?  A new toothbrush.

This is fun!

 After looking at this picture you would probably assume that his 1st visit was a walk in the park.

Once again pictures can be VERY DECEIVING.

I don't have pictures of the actual visit

because I was having to restrain my child.

Yeap, it went that well. 

Good news,

everything looks great!

Bad news,

dentist informed us to set up 2 funds.

(1) college

(2) braces due to his "bite" :(

He couldn't get out of that joint fast enough!

See you again in 6  months!

Hey Lady... Get me out of here!

I am not one to push my children to the next stage ahead of time.

The world is fast enough,

I believe in letting them "BE" their age.

Until now...

Ro-Ro was D-O-N-E with his infant seat.

I can't say that I blame him.

The thought of riding in the car backwards makes me ill.

Here he is yesterday in his infant seat

climbing over the front.

I believe he stated his case.

Loud.And.Clear.

Here he is today
riding in the car facing the front,
for the first time.

It was adorable.
He was giggling as we drove down the street.
He was taking in the world from the backseat.
Such a cute little back seat driver.

Little does he know that he will be in the car seat facing the front for a very long time... ;)

The sweetest sounds...

Roman and I have been secretly rehearsing something over the past few months. That would be him saying the word, "Momma." I know, I know... but I can't help it.

He has been on me all day today because of his mean and nasty front tooth. This tooth is giving him a really hard time. Anyway, I randomly decided to take a little video while we were hanging out. Can you believe that I actually recorded him saying "mom mom mom" for the first time! Waaaayyyyy cool if I do say so myself! You may detect a little excitement in my voice. Come on people~ this is what us mommas live for!

A baby saying "mom" for the first time is the sweetest sound. Roman just made my day/week/month by simply uttering that one little syllable. Now THAT is music to this mommas ears...

Roman's 1st day with Miss P

Today I dropped off Roman, my baby, to the sitter's house for the first time. Sniff, sniff... I knew that this day was coming, but choose not to think about it. I placed the though to the back of my mind until it was time to just do it.

I brought him in and chatted a bit with Miss P. I guess I was just dancing around the situation at hand. I put Roman down on the blanket that she had for him on the floor. (this made me smile on the inside. I sure hope that she didn't really expect for him to stay put on the blanket) As soon as I put him down he tried to climb up my legs. I quickly picked him back up. I didn't want him to start yelling and then have Miss P change her mind on babysitting my SCREAMING child. Just like she with the blanket, we were also trying to make a good first impression! ;) I walked with her to the kitchen to give her instruction on how to thaw breast milk for his bottles. In the kitchen he became intrigued by the girls playing on the floor. He wanted in on the action. YES~ I was able to put him down. Once on the floor he began to explore this new and uncharted territory.

I talked for a minute longer, but knew that it was time to cut the cord. Even though I was sad to say good-bye to Roman this was NOT my first rodeo. I knew to make a quick exit for the sake of both of us. I blew a kiss and headed for the door. He figured out my game and took off after me.... double time! He gave me the pathetic look of, "Mommy aren't you forgetting something VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.... me?" Trust me when I tell you that I left a little piece of my broken heart with him today.

I worked all day and tried to keep my mind occupied. I was so happy this afternoon when it was time to finally pick him up. I had no idea what sort of progress report I would receive on the day. In typical fashion baby had a better day than the mommy! She said that he did just fine. He took both of his bottles, took 2 naps, and crawled all over the house. Sounds like the way that he spends his days at home!

Once home I had to take the obligatory first day of school picture with my sweet baby. Roman will only be with Miss P 3 days a week and I will have him all to myself the rest. Hopefully each day will get a little easier to walk away. This evening he was happy to be home with all of his favorite people. I happily nursed him once we were home and snuggled just a little bit longer and a hugged him a little bit tighter when it was time to say night-night....