"Does this diaper make me look chubby?"

11 Months Old!

Dear Cohen,
Hey big boy! Today you turned 11 months old! You are now a mover and a shaker! No more "Cohen Shuffle," you crawl on all fours now! We had to do some major baby proofing and gate you in where it is safe! You are getting around a lot quicker and are getting better at entertaining yourself and exploring. (Yeah!) It is so fun seeing you maneuver your little body from room to room. You think the baby gates are toys just for you and you pull yourself up to stand and hang on them and you have even stuck your little toes in the holes and tried to climb it! You have gotten your entire body off the ground a couple times. You have been really busy exploring and having fun! You and your daddy have been building forts, laughing and playing together all month long! You have finally decided that dad is just as good as mom and love when daddy comes home from work and is here to play with us! You give him big hugs a lot and slobbery open mouthed kisses, which he just loves! The doggy door offers plenty of amusement, but even better are the dog food and water bowls! You get pretty upset when I grab you just before you put a huge handful of food in your mouth. You have dumped over the water bowls soaking you and the entire kitchen floor a couple times. When you get a cold wet rush like that you scream for help. I am teaching you to stay away from them now that you are understanding the word NO a little better and you hesitate before going over. Most of the time we just have the kitchen gated off so the temptation isn't there!You can now walk all the way across the front room while pushing your walking toy all on your own! Good job!
You love visiting your cousins Mia, Zoe and Kya who live down the street! They keep you very entertained and you love watching all three of them bounce from room to room. You decided you are too busy to take two naps anymore and now take one 2-3 hour nap, if I am lucky. You go to bed between 7 and 8 pm and don't wake up at night anymore which is wonderful, but you wake up between 5:45 and 6 am EVERY SINGLE MORNING! I have tried putting you to bed later to see if you would wake up later, but I still hear the same "Da, da, da..." noises from your room promptly when the birds rise and just before the sun! You soon demand breakfast or I would leave you in there to play. Oh well, we are making improvements in the sleeping area. Soon we will be throwing a huge kink in our routine by weaning you from nursing... that will shake things up a bit I am sure!
Your Great-Grandma Tibbetts came up for a weekend to play with us! We had so much fun shopping and spending time with her and she just loved all the personality you shared with her! Grandpa Green also came from California to help your daddy with a couple things and you loved playing with him! You thought he was great fun! We went swimming for the first time and you didn't really know what to think of it. There were other kids splashing and you thought that was quite rude! We only stayed in the pool for about ten minutes. We will try swimming again soon and see if we have a better reaction!
You figured out how to spit food out that you don't want, so it is all down hill from here now! The food you do like you make the "Mmmm!" sound while you eat. I think it is so cute! You want to help feed yourself and you love finger foods. You also like to hold your own spoon and you love when we have a "sword fight" with the silverware! Your Grandmommy said she thinks you should eat more mashed food and I told her you like to be able to do it yourself. This seemed to bother her and when I got to the bottom of it, I realized it's because she doesn't want you to grow up so fast! So slow down for your Grandmommy's sake!When you hear music you move your little body to the beat and bob your head. I love to watch you when you get excited! You squeal with joy when we get down on our hands and knees and chase you!
This has been such a great month! We have so much fun watching you each and everyday. You are a joy to be around and your laughter brings us so much happiness! It just keeps getting better!
Love, Mama

My First Mother's Day!

I had such a great first Mother's Day! Scott let me sleep in and he also made me a delicious breakfast in bed and gave me a gift from him and Cohen! That afternoon we spent time with my family and celebrated my mom and what an amazing mother she is. I also went on a walk with my fur babies and Cohen in the beautiful summer weather!

I was so excited to be celebrating this holiday as a mom! There were so many years for me that it was bitter sweet, where I tried to focus on my mom and all that she has done for me, but saddened by the miscarriages we had had. And now I am so thankful to be a mommy to my beautiful baby boy! I love being a mother, there is truly nothing I would rather being doing more at this point in my life than spending each day with Cohen. Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms and Mommy-to-be out there!Cohen with his Grandmommy and my wonderful Mom and friend! Happy Mother's Day, again Mom!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

Check out this video: Twilight in HD



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I loved the Twilight books and had a really hard time putting them down. I don't remember the last time all I wanted to do was read! There is nothing like a good book and now there with be an amazing movie too! If you haven't read the Twilight books (there are three so far) I encourage you to do so, no matter if you are male or female, 14 or 84! Can't wait until December 12th!!!

Our New Addition!

Scott and I have been thinking about getting another dog for a while and after watching the Oprah show on puppy mills (see post below) I constantly thought about how we could give a homeless pet a good home. So I started looking at both of our local animal shelters and also went to the Humane Society in Murray and an adoption center in Salt Lake to see what was out there. I looked on the website Petfinder.com which has lists of thousands of dogs and other animals available for adoption through rescue groups. I also looked through KSL classifieds online searching the adds for people wanting to find new homes for their dogs. There were so many lab, border collie, pit bull and other mixes and pure breeds like these in every place I looked. At first I wasn't sure what breed we wanted, but we like so many things about mixes like Izzy because they don't shed, they are a good size and energy level for being an inside pet and are generally great with kids. We saw quite a few smaller dogs that people had purchased for their kids, then the kids mistreated them by being too rough and the dogs got nippy so then they ended up in the pound. I thought it would take a while for me to find a dog that Izzy got along with, that would be good with small kids and one Scott and I felt good about. I put my name on a couple lists through the shelters to be called if any dogs that met what we were looking for were dropped off. I was really surprised that it only took a couple days to find an incredibly sweet puppy that seemed to fit right in...

*Meet Lilly!*(It is hard to see her eyes in this picture since her hair needs to be cut!)
We adopted her last Saturday from the Lindon Animal Shelter!
She is a 5 month old shih tzu/poodle mix. She loves to play and explore the world! She is a very sweet puppy and is doing well with potty training. She is great with Cohen and she loves to rough house with Izzy!
She has soft black hair, brown eyes and I love how her chin, chest, paws and the tip of her tail are white!

Lilly was surrendered by her owners because the girl that purchased her said she didn't realize how much her husband hated dogs until she got one. (I think they had her less than three months.) Having another dog is a huge responsibility financially and time consuming since I try to take them on a walk everyday and play with them and Lilly has a barking problem and I am trying to train her on basic commands and obedience. I have been watching a series on the Discovery Channel called the DOG WHISPERER and it has really helped, I recommend it to anyone wanting to understand more about dogs. He gives great incite and training advice!
We are so excited we adopted Lilly and we love having her as a part of our family! There still are so many more homeless dogs that would make great pets just waiting to be adopted... It was hard to pick just one! I wish I could bring them all home!

10 Months Old!

Dear Cohen,

The picture above wouldn't give you any clue in this, but this has been the month of screams (with good reason because of the following), constipation, diarrhea and one day of vomiting. What a great way to start your 10 month newsletter, huh? At times your daddy and I have joked about how you may be our only child because you are more than enough of a handful for us. And then we go and add another family member! We adopted another dog, who we named Lilly from the animal shelter this month. To my relief, she has been great around you. I was a little worried since she is still a puppy, but besides potty training and her barking problem, adding her to our family has gone well. Before Lilly and before the diarrhea and throwing up you became a world class sleeper! For almost two straight weeks you slept 10-11 hours straight through the night! I was in heaven and besides the constipation (stemming from your love of cheese, I think, which I had to completely remove from your diet for now... sorry) we were really having a great time! And then you got sick and since then you are waking up once a night again. I have to feed you and rock you for almost an hour every time too! What is this all about? I know you know how to sleep, you gave yourself away already and now I want it back! Most days start before 7 am now too. Yippy...
True, this month has been hard which all the other months have been too in their own way and generally I try to just look at all of the positive things I want to remember and to share with you. But, I also don't want you to have a false perception of what it was like to raise you, my beautiful boy! I feel like Heavenly Father prepared me for you with the years of trying to conceive and the three miscarriages we had. We had to learn patience and we had to learn how to support and comfort each other in times of emotional breakdown and extreme depression. When I look back on those three years of trial before you were born I think about how much we grew and now I look at how much we continue to grow through being your parents. I am constantly seeing things in myself that I want to better so I can be the role model, mother and friend that you need. I think we learn the most when we feel the most weak because we are humbled and have to turn to others and our Father in Heaven for help.You finally met your uncle Dustin for the first time! He was really cute with you and he gave a nickname to the way you get around. He called it The Cohen SHUFFLE. You get part way into the crawling stance and then keep one leg tucked and scoot all over the place. Of course, when you are on carpet it takes you a little longer because you don't slide as well. Your uncle had so much fun with you and he thought you were just adorable! Luckily he is now getting serious help for his drug addictions and will be in California at a rehab for the next year. We plan on visiting him sometime this summer if we dare make the drive out, lets just say driving isn't your favorite thing. (You can barely make it to Salt Lake and back!) I want him to be a positive example for you, he is such an amazing person and he has so much potential that hasn't been used, like other people in our family that have been consumed by addictions. I hope this is the start of his new life! I have learned a lot from the choices he has made, so in some ways I am thankful to him because I have learned what I don't want in my life without having to live it first hand. There is never a dull moment in being your parent. I am truly grateful for you each and everyday. I remember life before you came to us and now I can't imagine it without you and your sweet baby kisses. You are loved!!!

Love, Mama

Fight against puppy mills!

Yesterday Oprah encouraged animal lovers to unite! Using hidden cameras she exposed the sickening world of puppy mills. It was extremely hard to watch, but she asked for her viewers to not turn away because these dogs need us and after seeing what torture they endure she knew her viewers would not stand for it!

(I couldn't find the entire video so here is the preview...)

Puppy mills are dog-breeding facilities operated purely for profit, with little or no regard for the health or welfare of the breeding animals or their offspring. In these brutal facilities, dogs typically live in small, filthy cages, never receiving the human attention they crave and deserve. Many are forced to endure pain from broken bones, skin diseases and other severe conditions that go untreated for days, weeks, months and even years. A lot of these dogs spend their entire lives in wire cages and have trouble walking on the ground if they are ever rescued. Some have their vocal chords damaged by a pipe in order to keep them from barking. Others are completely filthy, with their coats overgrown and soaked in urine. Certain female dogs are repeatedly impregnated from a very young age until they are no longer fertile, at which point the breeders often abandon or KILL them. One cocker spaniel could have given birth to as many as 140 puppies. According to The Humane Society of the United States, there may be as many as 10,000 puppy mills operating across the United States.

The objective here is to raise awareness. People go into the pet stores, and they see these cute little puppies not knowing where they come from and what they go through. If you are thinking about adding a new pet to your family, make your first stop the local shelter or animal rescue office. "You can find any kind of dog you want, any age you want, at a shelter or rescue," Oprah says.

I bought Izzy at a pet store and it sickens me to think her mom could be somewhere being treated horribly. I will never support a pet store again. When I purchased Izzy I did ask the owner of the pet store about puppy mills and she said they would never do business with anyone like that, but the Humane Society says as many as 99% of pet stores purchase puppies from puppy mills. They continued to say how responsible breeders would never sell to pet stores. For people who would still like to use a breeder, they urge you to find one that is responsible. Quality breeders care about the quality of life their dogs will have when they go to their new homes and will often interview you about your home. They will even take their dogs back even if it's six or seven years later.

Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society, says there is an easy way you can turn your passion into action and help save the lives of animals. "Everybody can spay and neuter their animals. It's better for the animals, and it prevents the needless killing of millions of animals," he says. "Why are we churning out millions of dogs for the pet trade when this is happening in shelters all over America in every community? It doesn't make sense."
Taking care of animals is a duty that every person should assume. "It's precisely because we are intelligent and powerful that we have responsibilities to these animals. They are helpless before us, and they rely on our good conscience," Wayne says. "The terrible thing is the inhumane treatment of these animals at the puppy mills. It's awful. It's contributing to the larger pet overpopulation crisis, which is resulting in over 4 million dogs and cats being killed every year."
So what can we do to make a difference? "What we can do is we strongly discourage people from going to a pet store to obtain an animal. Go to a shelter. That's got to be your first stop," Wayne says. "A third of the animals are purebreds—go to a breed rescue group. And if you insist on going to a breeder, go visit the breeder, talk to them. See the condition of the animals, especially the breeding females."

Also, if you know of anyone who is interested in getting a dog or cat PASS THE WORD ALONG! Encourage them to spay or neuter them as well! We can make a difference if we all work together!

Below are a couple videos I encourage you to watch. It is hard, but after seeing this I know you won't be able to ignore what is going on.

This is a very informative video on puppy mills in Virginia...

Here is a video of a dog auction...