Girls Nite Out

Overall we had a great spring break. I loved spending all week with the boys and between playing trains and changing diapers, I managed to get the taxes done (HUGE accomplishment). I even got to go out at the end of the week with some of my friends. Here are some photos of us from dinner as we closed down the restaurant...

Azaleas

Our azaleas bloom every year during spring break. I love azaleas and they have grown in pretty nicely in the 7 years we have lived in our house. Believe it or not, when we bought the house we did not even know there were azaleas there as they were cut back to the ground and completely covered with overgrown ivy. Their hardiness makes them a perfect plant for us!

A big storm was coming last night and I was worried the blooms wouldn't survive the rain, so I made Kent pose in front of all the flowers right as it was starting to rain. These are for you Grandma!




I took this one right at the same time as a loud thunderclap startled Kent! Too funny!


I love this huge red one in the backyard.

Pajama Day!

Spring Break was pretty lazy for this mommy and her boys. Here are some photos from our pajama day!


The boys are interacting so much these days. I like to take pictures when they aren't looking so I can remember them playing right from the beginning. Kent calls Cohen "my Cohen" everytime he says his name.

Cohen is a very, very active baby. His antics just amaze Pete and me, sometimes leaving us scratching our heads. Case in point, wardrobe changes during the night and naptime. There doesn't seem to be a pair of pajamas that Cohen can't get out of- even at 6 month old. He kicks out of snap up, footed pajamas every night. Sometimes in the morning I will find him with just the arms of the pajamas on and ALL the snaps undone. So then we tried separates. I'd find him after a nap or in the morning with the pants completely off!!! These are snug fitting pants too! I guess he just kicks and kicks till he breaks out of them or gets them off. We then did a compromise- footless pajamas that only have snaps at the bottom. Here is Cohen before his morning nap:

And here he is after:

Pete has nicknamed him our little "Houdini". I think I will just start putting him in long sleeve onesies- the cold obviously does not bother him!

I have posted before how Kent can fall asleep anywhere. Here he is at 1 in the afternoon (early for his naptime) under Cohen's bouncy seat. Notice the beads in his back hand and his feet on top of a pile of trains. Comfy, I'm sure! Now this is all coming from his mom who is known to frequently fall asleep sitting up with her laptop on her lap. I wonder where he gets this from!?!

Laughing

Kent was playing with his trains today, as always, and Cohen was scooting around on the floor nearby. Cohen became very interested in what Kent was doing; all of the sudden Cohen started laughing and laughing and laughing. I recorded this video so you all could see and hear it. I love the look Cohen gives me in the middle, it's like he's saying, stay out of this mom- Kent and I are playing! Cohen is beginning to interact more and more with Kent. Kent loves making Cohen laugh and Cohen laughs at him all the time.

Cohen's Pajamas

Here is Cohen in his cute crayon pajamas. At our house, we don't think you can start learning your colors too early!

A Song from Kent

Kent really wanted me to take a video of him singing everyone a song. He's quite the performer- deciding to switch keys and then speeds in the beginning and a big finish at the end.

Doctor Day

Friday was doctor day for the LaQuaglia boys. I took the day off from school and thought I would kill two birds with one stone by taking Kent for his 4 year checkup and Cohen for his 6 month checkup at the same time. It sounded like a good idea in theory, but in actuality-let's just say I don't think it will be happening again.

Kent started coughing non stop about 2 hours before the appointment, so he had to have a breathing treatment. Anyone with asthma knows that the medicine you have to take makes you jittery and your heart beats faster. Little boys who can be a little hyper on their own turn into little energy machines who can't sit still or be quiet...at all. But, it helps Kent breathe and stop coughing so it is entirely necessary.

Mom went to the pediatrician with me to help wrangle the boys and remember all the questions I needed to ask the doctor (thanks Mom!). It all started calmly enough with both boys in their skivvies getting weighed and measued. Here are the stats:

Kent at 4 years:
height- 41 1/4 inches
weight- 38 1/2 lbs

Cohen at 6 months:
height- 27 1/2 inches
weight- 17 lbs 3 oz

Kent at 6 months (for comparision):
height-28 inches
weight- 19 lbs 1 oz

Both boys grew by leaps and bounds. They had to measure Kent three times to make sure they had it was right; he grew three whole inches over the past year! I tried to tell them that it had to be true based on how I had to buy new pants for him every other week last fall. Kent didn't mind- he just ran back and forth from the room to the scale with me chasing him explaining why we don't run at the doctor's office and telling everyone we passed that he had taken his asthma medicine and didn't normally act like this.

Kent is ezcema free now with his food allergies well controlled. He did have to get three shots, which I kind of avoided telling him because he is so traumatized from the flu shot/allergy testing ordeal every November (14 total shots over a three hour timespan). I fooled myself into thinking that Kent would show Cohen how shots are done and hardly cry- NOPE! He threw a fit, had to be held down and wailed for the next twenty minutes about flu shots (he thinks all shots are flu shots, but he calls them "blue shots".)

Cohen was so squirmy the doctor and nurses could hardly hold him. You should have seen my dive action save when the nurse laid Cohen on the bed thing and then walked back to the counter! The doctor seemed really shocked about how active he is and said that he will walk early- can I just ever have a calm, laid back baby?!? It is really helping me lose all the baby weight and then some- can't complain I guess. Cohen's ezcema is better on his body, but not his head, which is why he wakes up so much at night. He now is on Benadryl daily and it has helped for sure! Cohen has now gone the last four nights without eating and hardly waking up!!!! It was pretty difficuly asking the doctor all the questions I had with Kent's hyperactive sideshow of singing and dancing going on.

Cohen did pretty well with his shots; (he had one oral vaccination and 4 regular shots) he only cried for a few minutes. Kent did stop crying from his shots long enough to come over and see what the nurse was doing to his brother. He was very concerned- such a protective big brother! I was trying to keep Cohen from flipping on his stomach and Mom held Kent back so he wouldn't try to jump in to save Cohen from the nurse. Cohen calmly went back into his infant seat and Kent had to be carried out of the office while he screamed about hating blue shots... 20 minutes later we were at McDonald's and all was well! Kent played and played and Cohen ate half of Kent's applesauce.

I had good intentions of taking pictures while at the doctor's office, but I forgot somehow!

He's Getting Closer!

Well, it is only a matter of time people. Here is a video of Cohen's crawling or hopping efforts- silly boy!

Not What I Expected

I got a haircut today- thank goodness! It had been a while and was long overdue. Nothing too drastic, but it is quite a bit shorter and darker. When I walked into the house, Kent turned around and exclaimed WOW!! with a big smile on his face. I was glad, it seemed like a hit. The next thing Kent said was, "wow mommy, kinda like hot dog hair!" I'm not exactly sure what hot dog hair is, but I know that it is definitely NOT what I was going for!

Prom...Again!

As a high school teacher, you have to chaperone prom. It's pretty fun to get dressed up for a night out and see all the kids in their dresses. We have such great kids at my school, much better behaved than some of the kids I remember at my own proms. They definitely make me hopeful for the future! Well, Pete and I got all dressed up...Kent was completely facinated by the panty hose (I guess I don't wear them much). Mom and Dad took advantage of the photo op and Kent could not understand why we were taking pictures without him, so he ran up to be in them with us- incredible hulk pajamas and all.

Movin' and Shakin'

Ok, I think we are in for it with Cohen. He wants to crawl so bad and one of these days he just might figure it out. This is his latest strategy- up on the tip toes. I promise no strings or wires were used to create this photo, just sheer determination!

Do they look alike?

Sometimes I think they look very similar and sometimes very different...what do you think?

Kent at 5 months:


Cohen at 5 months:

Grandpa and his grandsons

My dad loves his grandsons and they have lots of fun together!

Grandpa and Cohen with big brother's hat:

Grandpa and Kent working outside:

Dinner Time!

Cohen loves his cereal, but sometimes it's a little difficult to feed him. I have to compete with his other favorite thing to put in his mouth...his big toe!

The Dog Returns

Thursdays are always a little hectic at our house. Pete has a networking meeting and has to leave extra early. This leaves mommy to get both boys and all their stuff to grandma's so mommy can get to her own meeting- all by 7:30ish, hopefully. Well last Thursday, I missed my meeting completely.

Pete left like normal and I was doing well time wise. I was ready and all the bags were loaded in the car (laptop, purse, my school bag, breast pump, Kent's school bag, Kent's bag with his clothes for the day, and the diaper bag- yes 7 bags!!!) My second trip to the car was with a still asleep Kent who is getting way to heavy to carry. I then lock the car with Kent inside and run back in the house to get Cohen and lock up the house. Well, I was just turning around to head down the front porch stairs to the car when I was greeted by the dog! Yes, the same dog from two years ago that has caused all the chaos in our lives that I told you about in my recent post. He was bounding up the stairs at me and kept trying to stick his head into Cohen's infant seat. I stumbled down the stairs screaming, trying to hold the infant seat (18 lbs) high in the air away from the jumping dog! I can hear Kent screaming from the car as I run around the yard from this dog who continues to chase and jump all over me. As I am putting Cohen in the car, the dog is pushing against me trying to get in the car himself-I was not going to let that happen! I finally get in the car myself screaming "BAD DOG, bad dog- go HOME!" When I get in the car, Kent asks me happily, "is that my doggie mommy? I love my doggie!" Shaking and still yelling I say, "that is NOT your doggie, that is a bad, bad doggie!" As we leave the driveway, Kent cheerfully says "bye-bye bad doggie, I'll miss you bad doggie!"