Christian David

My little nephew is here!!!  Blaire had him early this morning at 4:58am.  She had a very smooth labor and everyone seems to be doing well. Even though he is a bit early, any time a new baby arrives is a time to celebrate!  I am SOOOO bummed I couldn't hop in the car right away and go see him but I know I will get to soon.  I am pouring over my calendar right now trying to figure out when between ball games, first Communion, ballet performance and end of the year parties that I can get my hands on him.  Busy, busy time of the year!

I am so happy for Blaire and Josh as they embark on such a wonderful and challenging journey.  As all parents know, there is no love like the love you have for your child.  And, I must say, the love I have for my nephews and niece is pretty strong too. Congratulations Cohn Family!!!

CHRISTIAN DAVID COHN

MAY 1, 2013 4:58am

6 pounds 11 ounces 20 inches

St. Thomas, USVI

This year for our anniversary (11 years), Justin and I went to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.  It was awesome!!  We had the best time, just the two of us, for six whole days.  My mom and dad kept the kids for us.  Mainly my mom though and to say they wore her out is an understatement!  It was a much needed vacation for both Justin and I.  We both needed a break from the everyday grind of what we do and it was just so nice to only dote on each other.  Justin found a private house on the water for us to stay in.  It is actually the guest house of a main house that someone is currently renting from the owner.  We ran into the owner a couple of times and he was a super nice guy and gave us a few tips on where to eat and which beaches to check out.  While we didn't have direct access to the water, we only had to take a five minute walk to get to our own little private beach.  We also drove to two more beaches that were just as incredible.  I will break this up into a couple of posts to get through all the pictures.  We couldn't stop taking pictures and videos though.  We must have said, "That water is ridiculous." about 1000x.  Seriously, the water there is ridiculous.

First of all though, when we arrived, we were immediately offered a shot of rum...which would have been great, except that we had rented a car so we didn't think it was wise to drink and drive.  Good thing we didn't take the shot because we soon found out that they drive on the left hand side of the road with the steering wheel on the left hand side of the car.  Weird.  It is however, acceptable to drink and drive there.  Anyway, get the rental jeep and off we go trying to find our private little house.  It was about a thirty minute drive from the airport.  Once we got there though, heaven!!

The car.

 The view when we pulled up "our" driveway.

 House, pictures taken from sundeck. 

 Kitchen area and living room area which are all part of one room really.  And then in the other "room" is the bedroom and bathroom.  It was perfect for two people. 

The day we got there, after we arrived at the house, I curled up on the couch and slept for two hours.  It was awesome.  When I woke up we went to the grocery store and then out to dinner.  So, technically, these are pictures from Day 2, but it was our Day 1 at the beach.

 This tree was awesome as it provided a great deal of shade.  The owner had chairs and a cooler there for us but there were also chairs that had been left on the beach.  So easy to get down there without kid stuff!

 Our view from our porch below:

 I loved the mountains in the distance as opposed to just the flat landscape on the Gulf.

Will put some more pictures up soon!

Easter!!!

We had a great Easter!!  The kids had a wonderful morning hunting eggs and going through their baskets.  I took Anna and Brice to church while Kyle stayed home with Justin and took a morning snooze.  Then we hustled down to my parents' house for a lovely lunch-Aunt Blaire was there!  Yea.  And then Justin and Brice went over to his parents' for a visit and "round 2"!

 "Shake" to hear the candy inside!

 So proud of his basket.

I came home from church and this was the sight that greeted me...

 Handsome little dude that did NOT want to put this outfit on.  Justin said he picked it up by the hanger and Kyle looked at it and said, "No"!  Might be the last year I get him to wear a shortall. :(

 At my parents house before lunch...everyone is smiling and looking at the camera, way to go Dad for taking an awesome picture!

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!!!

Neighborhood "Hunt"

Every year our neighborhood has an Easter egg hunt along with a petting zoo, an Easter parade, the Easter bunny and face painting.  We have had cold weather in the past but I don't think we've ever had cold AND raining.  Anna knew this was coming up last weekend and so she was so excited to go.  In other words, there was no way out of it for us.  I probably could have talked Brice out of it (he claims this was his last year doing the hunt either way) but not Anna.  She had gone with me to drop off the eggs so she was going to get some back!  The day before the scheduled event we all knew it was going to rain so the neighborhood sent out an email saying it was going to be inside our clubhouse and that we could have our kids sit on the Easter bunny's lap (not no, but Hell No!  Are Easter Bunnies not creepy??!) and then they could receive a package of eggs.

So, I got the kids all dressed and we headed to the clubhouse.  The animals were outside and I think that was the kids' favorite part.  Kyle LOVED saying "bunny" over and over again and then when we were leaving he waved and said, "Bye bunny"...that was the cutest part of the whole morning.

 This is when we first arrived and we were checking out all the animals:  bunnies, goats, ducks, a piglet, pretty cute and Kyle even pet a baby bunny!

 Anna was not too happy with me in the below picture.  I had just told her that there was no "hunt" due to the weather.  She just gave the Easter Bunny a high five and received some eggs.  She wanted to know when she was going to get to hunt the eggs.

Kyle was all about some popcorn.  I had to take it away from him.

Anna recovered and decided to find a corner so we could open her eggs and she what was in them.

 She also decided she would pose for a picture with this blow up bunny who wasn't so scary looking.

Overall, it was a fun morning and I was glad I took the kids so that we got out of the house.  The weather here has been less than desirable, cold, rainy and very windy.  We are very ready for real spring and to celebrate Easter!!!  My favorite holiday!  Hope you all have a wonderful Easter!!

Without Pinterest

I am not on Pinterest. Surprised?  I mean, I think it would suck me right in and I see all these other people commenting on how addicting it is and then how they waste time on there.  I waste enough time being on Facebook.  And, I am not real crafty.  I enjoy doing crafts, sometimes but not enough to go searching for things to do.  And, if I need to know how to do something, there is always Google.  I know there are other things to read and find on Pinterest but I just haven't felt the need for it.  Maybe when Kyle heads to preschool next fall, I will give it a try but I would rather just work on the kids' scrapbooks.  Point being, I know Pinterest has been life savers and given great ideas from everything from recipes to birthday parties but this crafty idea I did Without Pinterest.

I have fall wreaths and I have Christmas wreaths.  Both sets, I found at Sam's and felt like I got a great deal on some beautiful wreaths that I love hanging up at those times of the year.  Well, Easter is my favorite and I really wanted some spring/Easter wreaths.  I found some at Tuesday Morning and while I thought I loved them when I first saw them, the more I looked at them, the more I was regretting my purchase.  I thought they were kind of pricey but I do not like spending money on house "fluff"!  As pretty as it makes the house look, ugh, it kind of pains me to spend money on dust collectors.  And, these wreaths did not portray EASTER.  So, I thought up my own wreath but that is always dangerous or frustrating.  Do you ever dream up an outfit or dress or something only to search high and low and discover it's not out there???  Yea, me too.  And, in my mind the wreaths were the crown of thorns, with some white and a cross with some Easter lilies.  Not too hard, right??  I even thought some store might make these....nope.  I had to do it myself.  And, I did.

They didn't have anything with thorns on them so I just settled for some nature looking wreaths.  Used some white burlap, flowers and the cross, all bought at Hobby Lobby.  Here's hoping my glue gun with hold these together.

This Boy...

I tell you what, this boy is something else...

Silly, obviously, and crazy...

and loves to be naked and show off his guns...

but all of these are not the reason for this post.  A few weeks ago, at nap times and at bed times, he would let me put him down in his crib and rub his back for a few minutes and then he would pop up, lay his blanket on my chest while I was standing next to his crib and then lean in for a hug.  I didn't think it could get any sweeter.  And, then this past week, he stood up, gave me a hug and whispered, "I yuh oo.".  I couldn't believe it!  Isn't this what every mother needs to hear everyday??  Then, he did it again last night and I posted it on Facebook.  One of the comments said I should record it and so now it is recorded on the blog.  I also had to do it because tonight while Anna was hugging him goodnight, he told her too, as well as Justin.  So, we are all puddles in this house.  But, for the record, he told ME first and I feel this is perfect payback for all these kids saying "da da" before "ma ma".  I am just a little obsessed with how sweet this little boy is right now.

Cub Scouts

I don't really talk about Cub Scouts on here because it does take a back seat to sports, however, Brice has really enjoyed it this year and I'm glad we joined.  Since Justin handles 99% of sports, I am in charge of Cub Scouts.  This is kind of difficult though because there is only so much I can do and let's be real here, I'm not a camper.  And, so, my Dad has jumped in quite a bit, especially when it comes to building things.

A couple of weeks ago, Brice was awarded his Wolf badge which is what he has worked for this past school year.  He didn't do it last year which was Tiger but caught up where he was behind.  So, there was a dinner and little ceremony for the awarding of badges and then the fifth graders earned their Arrow of Light plaques.  But, since the beginning of the school year we have had weekly meetings, my Dad built a birdhouse with Brice that I had trouble with (laugh if you want) and Pinewood Derby car.  Brice also participated in a clean up day at our neighborhood.

I tried to be good and take pictures because he looks so cute (he would die if he knew I used that word to describe him, but it's true) in his uniform.

 At lake clean up day.  He really had a great time and found an old gas tank.

Pinewood Derby cars.  Brice and my Dad worked hard on his car.  Then, on the original race day, they had to postpone the race because we had "ice" and school was canceled the day before.  I blogged about that before.  Anyway, the weekend they rescheduled it on was the weekend that my parents, Kyle and I went to Charlotte so we didn't even get to see it!  Thankfully, Justin took some good pictures for us.  Brice's car would have placed 4th so they did a good job!

 Brice's is the red car, #2.

 Sorry these are so fuzzy, Justin took them with his phone and the lights were dim in the gym at school.  This is when he received the Wolf Badge.

 So proud of our Cub Scout.  And, tomorrow is his first game as a "Boston" Red Sock, so I will leave the Cub Scout background up for a little bit and then change to either baseball or my favorite, Easter!!!  Probably Easter, this is MY blog after all.  Also our Cub Scout baseball player is 69 lbs. (86%) and 54 inches tall (93%).  Three more inches till he doesn't have to use a booster seat in the car...think he'll get there before next school year??  I do!