Riding the ducks Philly style

So, for some reason, these pictures posted in reverse order...oh well, I'll start the story from the beginning though!
Friday we took Ethan and kept him for the day so we could take the boys on "Ride the Ducks"...it's an amphibious vehicle that goes on a tour through the city and then plunges into the Delaware river for a short river tour...the boys had a blast, Aaron tolerated in, and overall it was a fantastic, albeit long, day! The above picture is the view we had whilst on the river

Charlie and Ethan with their duck whistles

This is on our front steps before we caught the bus down to independence mall...the bus ride went well although was alot with three kids...Alex was there too but it was hard for him to see on the bus so it was all me!

This is Aaron being totally adorable while we were getting ready to go...love how adorable he is, hate how grown up he looks!

After we rode the ducks, we went to Franklin Square and had lunch and played on the playground, the we took the bus home and the boys played in our "pool" in the back yard (first picture). It was a great time!

An afternoon with the prince and princess

On Sunday I took the boys out to Lititz to meet their newest cousin and to have dinner with everyone at Christy and Mike's house.
Aaron and Charlie met Kailani for the first time. Charlie was very busy doing things in the yard and playing in the playroom so I didn't get any shots of him with the princess, but Aaron pretty much does what we make him do, so we got a picture of him with her. He was gentle and didn't mind her, but gave me dirty looks when I held her!

I got to play dress-up and pick out an outfit for her, complete with head accessories. I can't wait for next year when she has braidable hair and can wear all the cute shoes and clothes I got her...yes, I already bought her many things for next year...all on sale of course...of course!

Look at her long feet!

She was nice enough to snooze for a bit while we ate dinner

Snuggled in a blanket I made her...

Bode and Charlie being boys...Charlie loves playing at Christy and Mike's because they have a huge yard and lots of fun outside toys!

Aaron trying to get into the mix...he wants to be big so badly!

It was great to have all the kids together...can't wait for this weekend at the beach...I'll try to get a cute shot of all the kids together...wish me luck on that one!

Family fun day

This past weekend we went to Franklin Square for a much needed day of family fun.
As a family, we took the bus and headed to the playground.
The boys had a blast, Aaron loved sitting on the slide just like this, and Charlie loved everything!


Aaron really loved the swings!
I love this picture! It was a great day and we all had fun! ooray for great times with family!

Kailani Reece Madara is here!

just found out she was 10cm and ok to push!
Michael coming out to let us back in the room!

And here is the beautiful baby girl! She is 8lb 8oz, 20 inches long and BEAUTIFUL and HEALTHY!

Holding my little niece for the first time!

I can't wait to do all kinds of fun girly things with her!

The family...Bode has no idea what has just happened!

If you give a mouse a cookie

A couple of weeks back, Charlie and I went on a date...and Charlie rode a city bus for the first time! One of the babies that I cared for in the NICU at work gave me a very sweet and generous "thank you" gift for caring for their little guy. It was a gift certificate to the Arden Theatre here in Philly. They put on adult but also children's plays and the idea was for me to take Charlie. So I did! We went to see "If you give a mouse a cookie"...what a fun time! Oh, the above picture is a neat shot I took while we were waiting for the bus!
Charlie got his face painted for the first time...he was squirmy but thought it was hysterical when a few hours later (long after he forgot that his face was even painted) he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror and laughed really hard at himself.
Eating a large cookie at intermission...
Yummy!
He got to meet the mouse from the play at the end. It was a really adorable show.

We then went to dinner and then home (where he proceeded to throw the worlds worst tantrum ever, over what I don't even know...I was angry that such a fantastic day came to such a crashing hault, but now only fondly remember the day...). The bus riding went well. There were several very rude people who swore loudly and profusely and luckily Charlie just commented on how loud they were, not on their use of language!

Ready to meet my niece!

In honor of tomorrow being my sister's due date, I thought I would share some pictures I took of her last month.
She is beautiful as a pregnant person, and I must admit, I am a bit jealous that she has such great pregnancies. Not that I don't want that for her, but I would have liked that for myself as well! When she is done being pregnant, she actually looks forward to and wants to do it again. There's no shots or bedrest or anything...and they are full term...totally full term! It's as it should be!
So I took some shots of her and her growing belly...she's due tomorrow and my camera is charged, the car has a full tank of gas, and I am off for four days in a row coming up...so come on baby girl! Auntie Sara has another new pair of shoes for you!

Good luck Christy!

Sorry, I've been a bad blogger!

We have been a little busy in the Cohen house, and blogging has not been at the top of my "to do" list! Alex and I both ran Broad Street on May2nd. We ran with Jimbo's Squad
in honor of my friend's father who died at a young age from cancer. She created Jimbo's Squad to raise money for Fox Chase Cancer Center. The race is 10 miles down Broad Street and it really was a good race. It was hot a humid and pretty uncomfortable at the end (the high that day was 90, but it was in the high 70's while we ran with 70% humidity!). It was the first time I have run it since the marathon so I felt so much more confident and capable during the race! My goal was less than 100minutes and I did it in 98:11. I was so excited! So we were busy with that!



We also have been busy chasing after this little guy. He is everywhere and doesn't take no for an answer! Part of the reason could be that he has moderate hearing loss (I will go into that more in another post)...his organ of hearing works, but the sound isn't getting there for some reason. We go see an ENT doctor in July (the earliest we could get him in!)...so he's in speech therapy, he's delayed with expressive and receptive speech but is perfect with cognition and actually a little advanced with some of his fine motor skills...aside from not walking, he's also right on track for gross motor skills. He's going to start wearing splints on his feet called sure steps

he was fitted for them on Monday. They fit inside his shoes and they will help with his weak ankles. Right now when he walks (cruises) or stands, his feet are wobbly and his ankles bow inward (pronate). These give him more stability and help him feel more sure of himself. He really is alot of fun though (except with meal times...he is picky, only wants to feed himself, and takes FOREVER to feed! If he could eat strawberries all the time, it would be easy, but since that isn't the case, he's a tough kids to feed!), he loves Charlie and they actually like playing together. Aaron also loves to climb and can get up and down the couch by himself. He's basically into everything! We are teaching him a few signs to see if that helps with his frustrations!



Here's my boys at a birthday party last weekend.

Charlie is doing really well and is super smart and creative! He knows all of his letters and numbers and can recognize some words by sight. His pictures and story telling are amazing, as is his ability to see things in an abstract way. I can tell that his concepts and ideas and some of his abilities are advance, I just don't know what it all means or where we should direct his interests! Lately, we've been letting Charlie ride his bike lots of places. He does a great job (with training wheels) and can make it to Rittenhouse square or to a few restaurants we go...it's easier for us (only having the umbrella stroller for Aaron rather than the big double stroller) and alot more fun for him!

Alex is doing really well in grad school and is at the midterm mark for his first round of classes. He spends alot of time on it but is doing a fantastic job! After his masters, he hopes to move on to the PhD program!

I'm still running, trying yo ramp up my distances and my number of days running overall. Some weeks are better than others, but I'm working at it! I've also recently lost some weight which is exciting (I have a more comfortable summer wardrobe now), but it is harder to run distances effectively when I am watching my calorie intake! I have to find that balance somehow. When I trained for my first marathon, I actually gained a few pounds (while losing a few inches) because I gained muscle weight. So far I have lost 12 pounds and toned up as well. So at some point soon I will get off the weight loss track and onto the endurance track. Maybe September or so...I'd still like to drop 2-5 more pounds over time.

So that is all. Hope everyone out there is doing well!

CHarlie's latest picture...my favorite so far!

This is a picture that Charlie made for me today at school. It is me (on the right, notice the skirt I am wearing) and I am watering the flowers and there are bees buzzing around me. There's also a sun in the sky...his artwork progression literally amazes me!

He also had the following conversation with me this morning:

me: Charlie, are you ready to eat breakfast?

him: no, I don't think so mommy

me: but it's time to eat before school buddy

him: But I'm just not very famished mommy, maybe later

Love this guy!

Playground fun with cousin E