Our Blog

Look alikes or what?!

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:39:20 -0500

Teri or Sammy?!?!
In fact, I looked SO MUCH like a boy when I was a toddler, my mom had to get my ears pierced :)

Happy 4th!

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 22:37:20 -0500

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! We visited Grandma Linny and Grandma Mike and Aunt Sarah in Toledo!
Sammy had a BLAST swimming in the pool, walking around the pool outdoors, playing with toys, and especially playing with the 2 doggies (Wrigley and Charlie!)... It was a SCORCHER of a weekend in the 90’s, but luckily we could swim in the pool and cool off. We never left their backyard!! It was a blast!
We returned home to scorching hot weather here too, so we whipped out our baby pool. had some friends over, and continued to enjoy the holiday!

Sammy is 14.5 months and just being a REAL BOY! He is EVERYWHERE possible and doesn't sit still for a millisecond! He is trying SO HARD to talk, and has his own adorable little language, that just cracks us up! He enjoys having conversations on the cell phone... Just ask him a question, and he is SURE to answer you. His answer can be interpreted 1000000000 different ways. But if you listen carefully to Sammy, he is 100% confident with his answers :) I will get a video of that soon!!

Taking orders!

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:59:37 -0500

Just a funny video we took this morning of Sammy doing exactly what I asked of him :) What a good, smart boy :)

Tis the season.... of 1st Birthday Parties

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:11:53 -0500

I guess when you become friends with all new mommies, all the babies are born around the same time. Which means they all turn 1 around the same time... and boy have we been celebrating everyone turning 1 lately!! Last weekend we had 4 1st birthday parties!! And we went to all!! Sammy has been having a BLAST going to them, singing, dancing, climbing on all the equipment and eating cake!!

He is just getting more and more delicious and more and more funny as the days go by! Honestly, every month is so much better than the once before that we are just having the best time! He is walking EVERYWHERE, and getting into EVERYTHING!! He hasnt crawled now for about a month! If he falls down (which he does ALL the time), he gets right back up on those feet! Its the cutest thing in the world to see this tiny tiny person walking away (or waddling away)... and man is he getting fast! He is almost literally running sometimes! He just cracks us up with how he copies us, and its fascinating how much he really understands us. His favorite thing to do is to sing the “MORE” singlanuage sign. Except for Sammy it doesnt mean “more” it means, “I want”.... and he will get a bag of veggie sticks out of the pantry, bring it to me, hand it to me, and then do the “sign”... its hysterical!!

He isnt talking yet...but my mom and I swear he is saying “hello,” although it sounds more like “Aya” - so I will post more about that next time, when I am sure (and hoping) more words come out! Sammy and Harry about BEST BUDDIES - and play all the time. Harry is so gentle with him, while Sammy is not so gentle with Harry (although he takes it!)...he is getting BIG!

He is almost 14 months now, and we are just loving the summer here in Chicago, and JUST started swim lessons!!! Should be a fun few months in the sun :)

And we have a WALKER!

Wed, 12 May 2010 15:04:56 -0500

Sammy is officially WALKING! I swear it just like happened overnight! One day he took 2 steps...then the next day he would take 4 steps, then next day he was up to 10 steps... and then about 3 days later, he was walking EVERYWHERE!!! It is THE CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN! The little waddle walk. He definitely falls often, but never cries when he does so. And today I saw him go from sitting on the ground, to getting into a squat position and standing up not holding onto anything!! He doesnt do that all the time, but I imagine within a week or so here, he will! He is picking up speed everyday, and it is the best thing to watch!
OUR BABY IS NOW A TODDLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 year old!! HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY SAMMY!

Sat, 1 May 2010 12:04:20 -0500

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SWEET BABY BOY!!
Where on earth has the time gone and how are we were at Sammys 1st birthday!!!
This has been hands down the most incredible year of our lives, and Sammy is the absolute best, best, best thing that could have ever happened to us! Being parents is the most amazing experience, and we are so excited to continue on into his 2nd year :)

We had a fun little birthday party for him at Gymboree with 17 of his “buddies” and a few of their parents as well :) Sammy was a real trooper - being awake, alert, and happy for the whole time! We introduced him to cake...and well, he wasn't that into it... DEFINITELY doesn't take after his parents in the sweet tooth department! But as time goes on, we may not be able to say that... for now, hes is “eh” about it! Because I offered it to him several times after his birthday party, and he was also “eh” about it. hahaha! We were very thankful to have all of our friends and family celebrating his big birthday with us!

He is doing so many new things these days its just crazy!! He LOVES to eat food - but no more baby food! He only wants real food that he can feed to himself :) He is no longer drinking formula, and we are strictly on whole milk - which he loves as well. However, he does not love drinking it out of a sippy cup, so we still have bottles at night and in the mornings, and then we are working on the sippy during the day! He is taking a few steps here and a few steps there, but not really walking yet... I am sure, VERY SHORTLY, he will be :) He Loves his new brother harry, and opens his cage for him every morning. He climbs up the stairs with ease and can even climb down going backwards. He has lots of new riding toys that he loves, so we cant wait for the weather to be nice out and put them to use! This little man is definitely a boy and into EVERYTHING!! We love him to pieces!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all tuning in to Sammys updates throughout the year! I will try to be better at more posts, but having a hard time finding the time with a now toddler :)

xoxoxo
TERI

Mr. Harry Cohen

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:14:07 -0600

We are officially “CRAZY” and have added another little man to our brood! Harry Cohen! He is the cutest little puppy we have ever seen! Ben and I drove out to Indiana on Saturday, March 6th and brought this little guy home with us!!
Even though puppyhood is hard as HELL (basically a newborn, but harder) we decided to get him now to help us grieve us giving up Louie. I cannot talk about Louie or I will cry...but if you have ever read this blog, you know how much we cared and loved Louie... We miss him more than ANYTHING, but are confident with our decision to rehome him 2 months ago...
Moving onto Harry... We are so excited (minus the amount of work) to have him and mostly excited for Sammy to grow up as best friends together! Right now Sammy is not that into him - He smiles and laughes when Harry moves around, but isnt too eager to play with him yet... Harry has razor blade teeth at the moment, so we need those to dissapear before we can be comfortable leaving the 2 “kids” alone together!
We love him already and cant wait for all the fun he will bring!!!

My Valentine!

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:38:53 -0600

10 months later...here we are!? 10?! This is all just going WAY too fast for me :) But we are enjoying every second that passes us by to the fullest!!
Sammy has had quite the month of milestones :) He has finally learned how to crawl on his knees instead of army crawling, and 2 days after he picked that up, he now only wants to walk along furniture. The first time we saw him walk holding on was in his crib - and boy was that exciting! Then the very next day, he was on the go along furniture, walls, and from toy to toy! He pulls himself up on anything that is strong enough to hold him up, and has had his fair share of falls and head bangs on the floor :( But he is a boy, and I know this is going to happen more and more - basically we cannot take our eyes off him for a second now days! We had to have a baby proofer come out to our house and recommend a whole bunch of safety areas and how to fix them for Sammy.... what a little prince!
He is now eating EVERYTHING and whole! I still give him some pureed foods, because he loves them - and for me to make sure he is getting enough food, but he LOVES to have food spread out on his tray and pick it up and smoosh it either on his face, his hand, or hopefully in his mouth! He has had peas, beans, broccoli, carrots, avocado, turkey, chicken, cheerios, waffles, yogurt, and so much more! Meal time, is a whole new ball game now and WAY more fun!
Unfortunately being winter time, Sammy has definitely gotten ahold of the nasty colds going around. Its like 1 week he is clear, the next week he is sick again. And I cannot do anything really for him, except the obvious like steam shower, humidifier, propping up his mattress, plenty of liquids...its so sad. We are enrolled in a music class and a gymboree class right now (which is probably where he gets this from) as well as plenty of playdates to keep us busy...so I think this week we are taking a break from everything and all babies to get this little one back on track! The good thing is, being sick barely affects his moods :) I keep telling myself, its good for him to get sick every now and then; builds up the antibodies...
He is growing up so fast its insane. He even sometimes takes only 1 nap a day... which I thought that only 15+ months do... I guess normal is only relative now...
2 more months and we are celebrating the big 1st bday... ok, Im not going to think about that just yet- but so excited for it!!
xoxo

BABY CRANE!!

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:25:36 -0600

The word is finally out!! BABY CRANE is on the way :) That’s CRANE not COHEN! hahah a few people have mis-interpreted that! Aunt CC and Uncle Josh have their own little bundle on the way, which means Sammy is going to be a BIG CUZ (hence the shirt!).
My Niece or Nephew will be arriving around August 5th and we are so excited! Carly is 13 weeks along today, and feeling great! We are wishing her the best pregnancy!
Sammy and Baby Crane will be 16 months a part. In the beginning it will seem like a lot, but in a few years, they will be practically the same age and BFF’s!
CAN’T WAIT!!

9 Months old

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:04:45 -0600

Where is time going?! 3 more months and Sammy is 1?!? Ok, I am not going to think about that just yet..But it is weird to think that he is now the age of an entire pregnancy... 40 weeks!
He is now officially MOBILE... although, he thinks he is in the military by the way he crawls :) He gets to wherever he needs to and WONT sit still for a second! So he definitely keeps us on our toes and busy, busy, busy!
We have ventured into finger foods! Its definitely made meal time MUCH more fun for both of us! He is loving all these foods to chew (even tho he has no teeth)... Carrots, beans, peas, cheerios, broccoli, sweet potato, squash, blueberries, cantaloupe and a few others too! I am trying to introduce more and more new foods and hopefully he will not be a picky eater!
He is loving to just stand against anything! He could stand for an hour and be happy! He even stands with only 1 hand supporting himself! His new tricks are - spitting out his pacci on que, clapping his hands, spitting all his food out, and pulling himself up - thus the crib has been lowered!
We had his 9 month check up the other day... He is almost at 18lbs! He is 27 5/8’s inches long :) He is growing nicely on his own curve - still just above the 10th percentile :) We LOVE our little man!!