Vacation Bible School & Kate's 1 year Check-up

This week we have been having vacation Bible school at church.  It was Monday-Thursday in the morning from 9-11:30.  Our Bible school starts at age 4 so this was Cohen's first year to be a participant.  In the past I have helped and she has just been in the nursery, which is where Kate went this year.  Cohen had so much fun!  She loved every part of it, singing songs, Bible stories, games, snack (of course), and the imagination station which was where they got to do little "experiments".  Our Bible school was Sky so they got to make things fly, explode, soar, etc...It was all very neat.  I was Cohen's crew leader so I got to see her in action all week.  I took my phone to snap just a few pictures and I did take my camera one day but I really was too busy to take many pictures.  Game time was when I could get some fun pics.  The kids played with a parachute one day, and they played the "scream" game several times which is where someone runs from one end of the grass to the other to see how far they can scream using just one breath.  Pretty funny!   The one thing I noticed about Cohen that was pretty funny and cute was how much she enjoyed being around boys!  She was sure to get close to her friend Wyatt on several days, and she loved being around the bigger boys!  She talked about Evan, Keaton and Eli several times :)  She knows a lot of these boys since they are Brock's age and Keaton is Josie's brother, but I think we will definitely be watching her :)

Cohen & Annabel

Playing with Wyatt at snack

Parachute games

Screaming loud!

For one game, the kids were divided into teams with one person being blindfolded and another person had to tell the blindfolded one where to go to find their bag.  Carson had to direct Cohen where to go.  Once she got the bag she could take her blindfold off then they had to put the puzzle in the bag together.  Puzzles just happen to be Cohen's specialty!

Cohen liked playing with Eli

Back beside her favorite, Wyatt!

This was the "exploding experiment"

Here are 2 links to videos, one is a game they played which they had to put Vasoline on their noses to try to pick up as many cotton balls as they could.  The second video is of Cohen singing and doing the motions to one of the theme songs, "I'll Fly Away".  It is a little dark because the lights were out so that their glow bracelets would show up a little bit better.
Click HERE for a video of the Cotton Ball Game
Click HERE for the video of Cohen singing I'll Fly Away

One last thing, Kate had her official 1 year check-up and here are her stats at 12 months:
Height-30 inches
Weight-21 pounds
HC-18 1/2 inches

She has 4 teeth and 1 more is starting to break through.  She loves to walk now and will spread her legs so wide when she does.  She starts going so fast and then will get a little off balance.  It is so cute to watch her.  She just laughs!  I love to walk in a room and her see me and just start walking so fast to get to me.  She loves to wave and will wave bye-bye and has started to blow a kiss.  She just yells and babbles when she sees someone she knows.  If she wants you to hold her she will just lean to you and gets a good grab on whatever she can find!  She is too precious!

Waving "hey there" to the camera

Our Garden

This spring/summer we decided to have our very first garden.  It has been a lot of fun to watch everything grow and now we are starting to get vegetables from the garden.  I have cooked my first garden green beans and we have had some squash as well.  My mama has really been my go to person on gardening.  She has to tell me when things are "officially" ready to be picked and helps me with recipes and putting things up to freeze.  I remember having a garden when I was a little girl, and mainly I remember helping with butter beans and green beans.  I always thought that was fun to do!  Cohen has taken interest in our garden.  She helped plant the seeds and she has helped pick our green beans and squash.  After the first few times of picking she gets bored and tired with it, but she loves to talk about what all is growing with anyone.  She also likes to show it off.  I wanted to have some pictures of our "first" garden so here are a few.  I know as more things come in I will have more pictures and stories.  I am searching Pinterest and cookbooks for recipes.  I laughed and told Kelly that I think this would have made my Daddy proud, because I'm really the last person I would think of for working in a garden.  I don't eat many garden vegetables but it has really been fun for all of us to see what we can produce!

Our garden

Green beans to freeze

Red Peppers only they haven't turned red

 

Baby watermelons

squash

Okra blooming

Corn...and anyone who knows me knows I do NOT like corn

Green beans

Lima beans...a first for all of us

Cantaloupes or we hope it will be :)

Random Summer Fun & Cohen the Ladybug Girl!

We are really in full summer gear now and its hard to believe that today is officially the first day of summer.  I LOVE summer and all the fun that comes along with it.  It is so much fun to be able to enjoy the warm weather and play outside.  I have some cute pictures that I've taken that I want to have when I make my blog book so I'm doing a post that's full of random summer pictures so far.  Cohen loves having summer play dates.  Last week her friend Rylie came over to play.  The girls had a tea party outside, played in the pool, dressed up, colored and just enjoyed seeing each other.  This week Cohen got to see another friend from school, Madison, at the library puppet show.  Cohen is doing the summer reading program.  This week we saw a puppet show that she really enjoyed.  She has a certain number of books to read and I think the goal is 100.  Cohen has completed 32 and the next goal is 50.  I  think she will have that goal after this week.  If I would, she would sit and let me read all day long.  I do enjoy reading to her though and it is fun for both of us to go pick out new books.  Our days stay pretty full and we also love having those days with no where to go but to be able to play in the "pool" here at the house.  I also have a list of things I want to do here at home like organize different things so that is on the list of things to get done.  We are really enjoying our summer so far and I hope we have more fun days ahead.  I feel so blessed to be able to spend this time with my girls!

Kate has learned how to get on to the picnic table bench 

Loves the water!

Brock cooling off!

Hopscotch!

Cohen even shares her popsicle becau

Kate is walking so much now!!  Here she is practicing!

She is so cute walking!  She is still a little wobbly but I love it!

More play time fun with Kendall and Juliette

Kate enjoys the water table

Before long Kate decides to join the big girls!

Tea Party with Rylie

Sweet sisters!

I have a cute story about Cohen.  Cohen is so silly and so funny.  She really keeps us entertained!  Our sweet neighbor, Grace, brought over a birthday present for Kate.  Part of the gift was the cutest pair of ladybug wings.  Naturally Cohen thinks she should go ahead and play with it first so she decides she is going to be Ladybug girl.  If you're not familiar, there are children's books about Ladybug Girl and Cohen loves them!  She has a few here, so she went to look at the book to get her "costume" just right.  She had Grace help her and Grace did Cohen's hair, which was done very well!  I know who to go to when Cohen needs her hair fixed and even better, she didn't cry for Grace.  We were having dinner with some friends later that evening and Cohen insisted on wearing her costume so everyone could see how "fancy" she was.  We said she could but Kelly did make her wear sandal instead of the boots :)  This was the finished costume...

Cohen & Grace (we love her)

Cohen's Hair compliments of Grace