Never say never

There are a few things I've learned since becoming a mother. And the biggest thing has been to never say never. Before having kids, I swore I would never have kids. I would never stop working. I would never breastfeed. Well today I went against one of my never rules. I broke down and bought a leash for Jacob.


It all started out as a joke. We went to Wal-Mart with Karen and after a while Jacob wanted to walk around the store with me. I didn't mind at all so long as he held my hand. So we went down one of the kid isles and while I was browsing through socks, Jacob spotted what he thought was a cute little stuffed animal.
I realized what it was so jokingly asked him if he wanted to try it on. I thought for sure he would fight me right then and there but he happily obliged. In fact, he even helped me buckle him in. So we test-drove it. He liked his new found independence. Until he went too far and I pulled him back in. After I found my items, I took off the lease and put it back on the shelf. But no sooner did I go to grab for his hand, and the little stinker took off running. And I'm talking running. Forest Gump running. I finally caught up to him and that's when I realized something. I was going to break my golden rule of no children on leashes!
So now after all those years of laughing at people who put their kids on leashes, I have come to join them. And I now realize that it has nothing to do with the fact that the parents are too busy to watch their kids. It comes down to the fact that kids can run fast. Really fast. And right now I have it pretty easy with only 1 child who is mobile. I shudder to think what my life will be like when Jaelyn starts to walk. Certainly I will be investing in another leash. Or as I will now refer to them: harnesses.

Record Nap

I think Jacob broke the record for the world's longest afternoon nap today. The kid slept for five freaking hours! Yep, 5 hours. My mom put him down at 12:15 and he was asleep within 5 minutes. He stirred a bit around 1:30. Then again at 2:30 and 4. At 5:15 I started to panic and went in the room to make sure he was still breathing! But then 15 minutes later, at 5:30 the little monster woke up. And yes, he was a monster for the first hour after waking up. Grumpy like his Mommy when she naps too long. So in a 24 hour period, Jacob slept over 16 hours! I thought for sure the kid was going to be up until midnight but once again he surprised us and was sound asleep by 9:30! I'm hoping it's a growth spurt and not a sign that he's getting sick.

Then there is my other darling child, Jaelyn. She seems to be making up for where Jacob left off with staying awake. Last night she woke up 3 times. She did take a good 2 hour nap this morning and then had two cat naps in the afternoon that lasted about an hour each. But the night wakings are driving us crazy because after she is done nursing, she seems to think that it's social hour at Casa De Cohen. She tries to get my attention by smiling and babbling at me . I try not to encourage it so most times I won't even look at her. I know as soon as I look, she'll shoot me that precious smile of hers, my heart will melt like it always does and I'll smile back and she'll think it's time to play. So after she realizes that I'm not interested in her games, she rolls over to Daddy and starts smiling and babbling to him. Daddy's not a hard ass like myself and always ends up smiling back. Thus play time begins at 3am.

And one last note. Today I finally dropped the crib down to a lower setting in Jaelyn's room. Not only has she perfected getting herself from her belly into a seated position, but she's also perfecting the art of pulling up on things. It's just a matter of time before she realizes she can pull herself up in the crib. Another sign that my baby girl is growing up so fast.

King of the Gym

Jacob has a t-shirt that says "King of the Playground." Well, today he should have been wearing it. Back in November, we joined My Gym. It's a children's fitness center. Basically, it's a big room with a bunch of gymnastics and climbing equipment. I joined it for a few reason. Primarily, it was a way to get out of the house during the cold months. But it was also to give Jacob and me some one-on-one time. And by one-on-one time, I mean I am wearing Jaelyn in my Moby Wrap.

Our first few trips were interesting to say the least. Jacob loved running around and playing on all the equipment on his own terms. But when it came to circle time at the start and end of the class --- well, that was just a nightmare. He didn't quite understand why we had to sit in a circle for 5 minutes for stretching and a warm up. I can't blame the kid. I don't even warm up when I go to the gym. So for the first three classes, I was battling a child who wanted to just get up and play. And I was mortified because my child was the only one doing this. All the other children were sitting quietly during circle time and participating without any trouble. But not my child. Oh, and did I mention that I had my 2 month old strapped to me in the Moby Wrap?! I can only imagine what people were thinking. I know I felt like that Mom that you see out in public with and feel sorry for but then wonder what she was thinking doing that with two small children. By our fourth visit, Jacob finally got the circle thing down. Sort of. He didn't actually participate in the stretches. But he didn't try to run away either.

Aside from the circle time issues, Jacob did fairly well with the rest of the class in the beginning. We started the class during the peak of his fascination with balls. And there were plenty of balls there to play with. He wasn't into trying all the group activities. He enjoyed watching over participating. And I was fine with that. When he did participate in an activity, he always had a ball in his hand. It really became a joke with the instructors. They would bribe him with balls to get him to try new things!

So fast forward almost 4 months later. I still cart Jaelyn around in the Moby Wrap. Jacob has opened up quite a bit during class. He doesn't carry around a ball with him during the entire class. He rarely fights circle time. In fact, he actually participates in the warm up and stretches. Reaching and stretching. Bouncing him arms. Touching his head, shoulder, knees and toes. Waving hello to his classmates. Our biggest step has been participating in the group activities without being bribed. And he actually enjoys it! I no longer feel like that Mom in a bad way. Now I feel like that Mom in a good way because it is rare for either child to cry or give me a hard time. I've actually gotten a few compliments on how content the kids are and how put together I am. If they only knew how put together I really am. Looks can certainly be deceiving.

Milestones and Crackers

After a busy day down the shore yesterday, we thought for sure both kids would sleep well. But Jaelyn had other plans: to practice the tricks the she learned the day before! And today Jaelyn reached another milestone. She waved bye-bye to Mom-Mom today! She did it last week but we thought it was just because she was excited. Today she did it three times in a row so we were certain she knew what she was doing!

It was another hot day today. So after Jacob's nap, we headed out back. Once again, we lathered him in sunscreen. The boy has Mommy's fair skin. And then had a snack before playing in the yard. And then our favorite neighbors stopped by to hang out with us: Jess and Baby Ben. Ben is just 6 weeks older than Jaelyn and quite the heart breaker. We've already caught them kissing so it wasn't a surprise when Jaelyn offered him a cracker.

Going down the shore

The kids let us sleep in until 6:30 this morning. And since the weather was supposed to be hot again, we decided to take up an invite to go down to the shore for the day at the last minute. We told Jacob all about the beach before we left. The sand. The ocean. The seagulls. Or as I like to call them, rats with wings. And of course we told him all of the people who were going to be there with us. Uncle Paul, Aunt Dawn, Jenna, Adrieanne, Aunt Amy, Uncle Les, Kaylee, Mason, Uncle Sam, his friends Nycole, Aunt Judy, Uncle Dan. And of course his favorites: Grandmom, Grandpop and Aunt Katie.

The drive normally only takes a little over an hour or so. But with 2 kids under the age of 2, the trip took us closer to 2 hours. Three rest stops. Yes, three. The first was to hit the ATM. The second one was to feed me, Jay and Jacob. And the third was to feed Jaelyn. But we finally made it to the LBI Fishing Club.

After enjoying some lunch and a quick cat nap, we headed to the beach. The water was cold. Bone-chilling cold. But the girls and Aunt Katie managed to take a dip. The boys were a bit smarter and just played in the sand. Jacob was a bit apprehensive of the sand at first and insisted on being held. I think part of it was the second day in a row with no nap. But Jaelyn loved the sand. After attempting to stand up on her own for the first time in the tent, we decided to let her explore the sand for a bit. I never realized just how interesting sand can be to a 7 month old. In fact, it was so interesting that it required a taste. Which then resulted in a not so happy baby girl!

Jacob finally warmed up to the beach after an hour of being there with the help of some Ritz crackers. Soon enough, he was stomping in the water with his Aunt Katie and rolling down the sand dunes and collecting seashells with his cousin Kaylee. He even had a sand fight with his cousin Mason. And yes, it was Jacob that started the fight. But both boys were laughing the entire time!

Before we knew it, our bellies were rumbling so it was time to pack our things up. Jacob was not ready to leave by any means. In fact, he ran away from us and Aunt Katie had to chase him down. Toddlers can run really fast! After a quick bite to eat, we headed home. And no sooner did we pull out of the parking lot, our sand-covered children were fast asleep in the car. There were a few tears throughout the day. But mostly smiles and giggles. All in all, a wonderful day. Thank Uncle Paul for letting us visit the fishing club!

And so begins the BBQ season.

There is nothing more fun than having a BBQ with some of your favorite people......

Good company.

Yummy food.



Some music to dance to.

A splash of water.

And a little cat nap.

Spring days are here....

There is nothing quite like a beautiful spring day. The fresh air. Birds chirping. Sun shining. A nice blanket to lay out in the grass on.....
A bowl full of water. A few measuring cups. And a curious toddler....
Throw in a visit with the neighbors followed by dinner with friends and you have the perfect day.

Savoring every moment…

I came across a few pictures on my computer at work this morning from last summer of Jacob. It’s funny to look back at them. He had almost no hair. Only a few teeth. And still had some baby chub. Well, baby chub for him. It got me thinking about how fast things have gone. Some days it’s hard to remember him as a baby. But looking back at the pictures, it brings everything back so clearly. Maybe it's because I’m going through some of these things with Jaelyn. Rocking him to sleep. Giving him a bottle. Getting peed on during diaper changes. Listening to him babble. Fast forward to the present. He talks himself to sleep. Wouldn’t dare allow me to feed him. Runs from diaper changes. He still babbles. But now it’s understandable. And it’s 2 and 3 word phrases. Hi, Mama! Dad-EEEEE! And the ultimate: NO!

Everyone talks about how fast time goes once you have children. And it does. But until you live it, you have no idea. At times it’s like a double edged sword. I get so excited when either of my children reaches a new milestone. But then it saddens me because it’s one step closer to growing up. And when they grow up, they won’t need me as much. Right now I am their every thing. And I want to savor every moment of that. Every hug. Kiss. Nursing session. Midnight waking. Maybe not the diaper changes. I could do without those.

It's funny at how things change...

It's hard to believe that just 3 short years ago, I was in the midst of a life altering decision. And it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. Three years ago, I had just finished working my 7th tax season in public accounting. I was overworked. Underpaid. And just drained. And so I decided that I was done. But I was scared to death of leaving. Public accounting was all that I knew. I started working at my firm in college. Never had to look for a job when I graduated. I felt safe there. Comfortable. But miserable. And so started my job hunt.

What I found seemed too good to be true. A job that nearly doubled my salary, didn't require over-time and was less than mile from my house. Oh, and 4 weeks of vacation to start off with too. Really, I pinched myself after I got the job offer! My life settled down tremendously after that. I felt like a new person. No stress. No financial worries. Nothing. I felt like I was living a dream. Except something was missing from my life. And one day while shopping for vitamins in Target, I realized just what it was: children.

The funny part about this whole thing is that I never thought I wanted children. Everyone in my family knew that. I even told my husband that I understood if he didn't want to marry me because of it. I wanted my career and nothing else.

And now here I am. Three years later. And two children later. Happy as could be. If you told me this is where I would be three years ago, I would have laughed at you. But now I can't imagine my life any different.

And so it begins....

The world of blogging. I've followed many blogs. Friends. Family. Strangers. But now it's my turn to join in on the fun. And why not? I mean with friends and family living far away, it's my little way of keeping everyone up to date on things going on in our lives. So here it goes.

Welcome to the Cohen Family Chronicles. Hope you enjoy the ride!