Happy Birthday Cohen!

 sleepy

 loving

 cute

 fearless

 brother

 smiley

 silly

 excited

 gamer

 tough

 boy

messy

just a few descriptions of Cohen at age 3, excited for what 4 will bring. 

Can't forget a few baby pictures!

Happy Birthday Co!

It's official!

Registration for Cohen's homeschool program, classical conversations for the fall!! We are so excited to start this journey :)

Almost 4!

We got to celebrate a little early for Cohen's birthday (which is Tuesday).

The way Caleb gets so excited and claps at the end melts my heart. he love his big bro!
(awesome cake made by erin. it was angry birds space cake (requested by cohen of course) :)

Time to

Move down the crib! (Explains how her crib toys were on the floor this morning) :)

Snow!

We had our first real snowfall of the year this past week, the kids (actually just Cohen) really enjoyed it! One little boy woke up from nap to see the snow and couldn't even contain himself!

Then we got geared up to go play :) z was still at work, we missed him but the boys told him alllllll about it when he got home!

The verdict

The boys liked the yogurt! I put them into snack baggies and froze them so they wouldn't be messy and somewhat like a go gurt! I made a raspberry flavored, strawberry and strawberry raspberry and banana! It ended up being 22 snack baggies!

bath time interview

I don't know about most of you (who have children that takes baths) but bath time can be... so boring to me. I usually use this time to read to the boys or we sing but I decided to give Cohen an interview on my phone. For some reason it only let me upload 10 seconds :( but here is a clip of Cohen : ) (look at his little rolls)

that is a fake knife he is holding. we were playing pizza shop (in the tub) before the interview so he had been "cutting tomatoes" grammy, i knew you would call me and ask :)

Homemade yogurt

 

I am attempting to make our own yogurt since the boys consume sooooo much! This kind is so much better for you because it doesn't have the added sugars, coloring etc. I will let you know how it turns out, or if the boys will even like it! AND it's also cheaper! Normal go yurts go for .56 a tube where this will end up being .09!

--8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk--pasteurized and homogenized is fine, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized. (Debbie recommends starting with whole milk until you get the hang of yogurt-making)
--1/2 cup store-bought natural, live/active culture plain yogurt (you need to have a starter. Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter)
--frozen/fresh fruit for flavoring
--thick bath towel
--slow cooker (scroll down for the ones that I recommend)
The Directions.
This takes a while. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor.
I used a 4 quart crockpot. This is so exciting. My fingers are shaking!
Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Unplug your crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.
When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Stir to combine.

Put the lid back on your crockpot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation.


Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.

In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened---it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt, but has the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.

Blend in batches with your favorite fruit. I did mango, strawberry, and blueberry. When you blend in the fruit, bubbles will form and might bother you. They aren't a big deal, and will settle eventually.

Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.

Bros

They share a room, now they have chosen to share a bed. Man I love them.

Melody Makers Fun!

The boys started back at Melody Makers this week. It was very exciting because the boys haven't been since Cohen was 2 and Caleb was only 10 months! They really enjoyed it. Presley even got involved and had fun! 

Classic

The boys on top of their "fort". Trapped inside, their baby sister.

Our Christmas photo

Belated I know. I took this Christmas Eve at church. This is really how any picture I try to take of all 3 turns out. Cohen loves the camera, Caleb in a daze (sometimes with a finger in his nose), and cute P who is now on the go!

PJ

I had a feeling Presley would be that little girl in a tutu playing with cars :) and I bet with living in the woods she will be playing in mud with her brothers one day! Love her!

That's a Wrap

Here is a brief glimpse of 2012......

 Caleb went from crawling to walking!

We started preparing for a baby girl in this house

We celebrated Cohen turning 3!

Cohen was in preschool!

We celebrated other friends turning 3!

Zach finished the new body on the car

We anxiously awaited a special little girl :)

We began to "homeschool" cohen for the preschool years

A little girl came!

We became a family of 5!

We went to the beach with Papa Denning!

We began to celebrate another birth, Hank!

Began to school both boys at home

Zach and Popaw at the Richard Petty driving experience

A little girl grew...

We said farewell to another TV

Zach helped coach pee wee football

Hank came!

That same day a very special man left this Earth

Caleb turned 2!

AND potty trained!

Grammy and Papa Bill got MARRIED!

And shortly after Grammy beat Cancer!

Amy and Lena came!

Lena turned 2!

We celebrated another birth, Christ. 

And a wonderful Christmas with friends and family!

We had so many things to celebrate this past year and will continue to this coming year, 2013. Presley turn 1, she will learn to walk, Cohen will play on his first sports team, basketball for the Y, Caleb will continue his wonderful twos! Official homeschooling will begin this fall with Cohen in kindergarten program through Classical Conversations, we will fellowship with many friends and celebrate many more birthdays!