Decorating....(and a bit of controversy).

There is something that I love about dreary, raining days. I don't feel guilty for going all day without make-up and staying inside. (Well maybe a little guilty). I have been busying myself decorating for Christmas and playing with my boys. Our Christmas tree is from Chad's parents. It is the one that Chad grew up with. It is a small tree, and somewhat Charlie Brown-esque, but I do love it. It has such special meaning.  One day, when we have more space, we will get a taller tree, but we will always keep this one:) Cohen loves to point and say "lights on" if I don't have the lights plugged in.
(I tried to upload a picture of the tree, but I don't know how to rotate it, so I left it off).
I also hung up this framed chicken-wire thing that I saw on Pinterest and bought it at Christmas Village. It would've been easy to make, but for $25 I bought it instead!

It is perfect to hang birth announcements and Christmas cards. Then when the boys get big, I can hang their art work on it.

Sutton will be 2 months old on Wednesday! So crazy how fast it goes. His 2 month appointment is Wednesday. He is supposed to get 5 shots that day!! That's crazy to me. I would never get 5 shots in one day, so I refuse to put my babies through that. It is not that I think he will get autism, ADHD, or something else, it is simply that, to me, it is unnecessary to pound their little, immature immune systems with that many vaccines at one time. Thank goodness our doc is okay with us getting one or two at a time. That means we go back to the doctor more frequently, but I sleep better because of it. I know this is a HUGE controversial issue with many people in this country. My children will definitely get most of the vaccines before they start kindergarten, just not on the CDC recommended schedule.

When Cohen was a newborn, I asked my pediatrician if he would allow me to get the vaccines spaced out. If he had said "no" I would have been forced to choose another doctor, but thankfully he allows it. First he asked though, "why do you think it is necessary?" I told him my reasoning, and he said "I think there is no link between autism, asthma, allergies, etc and vaccines, but if it makes you sleep better then we can space them out." Great! I think docs need to be flexible with moms, because ultimately, the mom is the one raising the child, not the doctor.
Regardless of whether you choose to space out vaccines or not, I encourage everyone to be an advocate for their children, themselves and their family when it comes to medicine. Doctors and nurses are only human, not the ultimate authority. Ask questions about your health care:)

 BTW, this is probably the last blog I will do in my twenties!! Sniff, sniff. I will be 30 this week. Wow!

Almost two months!



Have a wonderful, dreary, lazy day!!





Oh, Happy Life!

Since it is such a beautiful, rainy, cloudy day in Nashville, and the kids are napping, I thought I would update the blog. Sutton is almost seven weeks old, and Cohen is almost 21 months.

The colic is much improved over the past 3 days or so. I cut out dairy and added probiotics to Sutton's milk on the advice of my friend Meghan, and after 3 weeks of this, we are beginning to see a new baby! I have had a bit of cheese here and there and haven't noticed that it bothers Sutton, so it seems to be mostly milk, yogrut, and ice cream. However, I am not going to eat any mac-n-cheese or queso anytime in the next year or so because I don't want him to become super fussy again, just in case:)

I am super proud of myself for making it to the Y yesterday for the first time since Sutton was born. I love the Maryland Farms Y the best because there are several designated spots up front for "Mothers of 2 or more children." Score!! I dropped both boys off at their respective nurserys and ran 2 miles, then did a bit of walking and abs. I found that I stayed there longer than I expected because I enjoyed the "alone" time so much! It was a bit sad that Cohen cried when I left him in the nursery. He has NEVER cried when Chad or I have left him anywhere so I was sad to see him cry. But I walked by and checked on him about 2 minutes later and he was smiling and playing.

Sutton laughs out loud in his sleep. It is so cute! Cohen smiled a lot in his sleep, but never laughed. I can't imagine what is so funny to a 6.4 week old:) He also LOVES watching the mobile on his swing. He will stare at it for about 40 minutes before he gets fussy. When he does get fussy, Cohen now thinks Sutton needs some of his milk. So he will put his cup in Sutton's mouth and say "Shhhh, Susson." Cohen also has started lining up his stuffed Donald Duck, Tigger, dog, and monkey and giving them some milk from his sippy cup. He puts the cup up to each of their mouths like they are drinking it. He asked me for some gold fish the other day, when I gave him a handful he went and tried to feed them to each of his stuffed animals. Silly kid! He is such a delight. He always makes us laugh. As of now, this is my favorite age so far. He is talking and signing enough that I usually know what he wants. Life is great at the Cochrane house. I cannot thank God enough for the many blessings!

He loves playing with stickers

I am envious of his eyelashes

This is him saying "cheese."

Playing the drum for Sutton

Happy baby now. 6 weeks old!

He loves to put on everyone's shoes.

Poor Sutton:)

Hope you have a wonderful day and a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with love from family and friends!

Sutton is One Month!!

My, oh my, where does the time go? I wish I could ask God to make days longer and my babies grow slower. I may have said this before, but I am so grateful that I was given this advice when I was pregnant with Cohen....it was something like, "hold your babies all the time, don't ever wish they would be bigger, mobile, eat solid foods, etc. Enjoy each moment."
I think I do a good job of this. When both Cohen and Sutton wake up in the middle of the night, for feedings or bad dreams, I cherish the time. I know it won't last long and then Sutton won't wake up anymore at night, and I will miss it. Cohen rarely wakes up in the night, but when he does, I get a bit excited to go get him out of his crib and soothe him or cuddle him until he falls asleep.
I love it that Cohen still wants to hold my hand whenever he goes up and down stairs. I get to hold Sutton much less than I got to hold Cohen, but I wear him in a sling a lot. He loves it, and so do I.
Cohen still loves his little brother. If I put Co in the car before Sutton, he says, "baby, baby" as if he is reminding me to get Sutton.
I will admit though, I think the first month is my least favorite stage of having a baby. They don't show any personality. Sutton has started purposefully smiling now, and I LOVE it!

We still aren't sure who he looks like. Not Cohen or Chad.
Maybe me

Cohen wants to hold his brother sometimes. He doesn't support
his head well yet:)

Halloween and Other Fall Fun!

Halloween was a four-day long event for us! On Thursday night we went to Fairview for Trunk or Treating with my parents. Chad wasn't able to go because he was feeling puny.

Sutton, the banana.
(I don't know how to turn it:()

Cohen, the monkey, sitting with the "bumpunks."
He loves pumpkins!

Papa with his boys!

On Saturday we met my parents in Franklin for the Pumpkin Fest. The boys wore their costumes. It was such a beautiful day. Cohen and Papa went into the mini petting zoo there so Cohen could feed and pet the animals.



Then he got to ride the horse. He loved it. When it was time to get off, he said "No!"

The banana slept the whole time.
I love this sleeping age where you can just do whatever and they sleep through it!

On Sunday we went to a birthday party after church at Monkey Joe's. Cohen was one of the smallest kids there. He went up and down this slide for over an hour. There were 4 four year olds going up and down it too, but Cohen just jumped right in and did whatever they did. I had my first "Mom moment" where I wanted to get this kid though.... Cohen was climbing up the entrance to the slide, and the big kids were trying to push past him and one of them said, "Get out of the way, baby!" in a really mean way. I felt like my heart was breaking, but so mad at the same time. Good thing Cohen had no clue what they meant though. He just went on his merry way up the slide.

After the party we went to Trunk or Treat and dinner at our church. We only stayed for a short time and went to Chad's parents' church for their Trunk or Treat. Cohen had a great time, and Sutton slept. Imagine that.

On Monday, we went to our first "kid" party with kids Cohen's age. My friend Jennifer and her boy Brandt invited us to a Halloween party. Cohen played outside with all of his "friends," then we ate lunch, then painted "bumpunks," and decorated picture frames. Cohen had a great time. He ate 2 cookies, then went up to Jennifer's mom and asked for "more cookie" and she gave him 2 more. A few minutes later I heard him in the kitchen again asking for "more." I found him asking a different lady for more cookies! He was trying all he could to get cookies. He got a cup of goldfish instead. He loves to eat!

 

Crazy hair after jumping on the mini trampoline.

 

Painting a "bumpunk" with his friend Mason



Cohen (3rd from left) and all of his new friends at the party.