Our Big Boy Turns 2

I can't even begin to believe that I have a TWO YEAR OLD!!  My baby, is a toddler.  He talks, walks, plays, prays, runs, smiles, cries and loves.  My baby isn't such a baby anymore. 

He woke up the morning of his "Happy Birthday Day" very excited.  He walked to the living room and saw all his gifts on his table.  He didn't even ask; he just started tearing into them.  You would have thought that he had won the lottery.  With each gift he opened, his excitement did not change.  "Wow!  Look at this!!!"



All of his gifts were opened by 6:45 am.  He was pretty excited.  Cohan's sitter was out of town this day, so her husband watched him in the morning, and I took off to watch him in the afternoon.  He wanted a bagel for breakfast, so we stopped at B & B, where he got his favorite, an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese.  He was excited!! 

When I picked him up at lunch, he was ready to have McDonald's for lunch.  The rest of the afternoon he spent playing with toys.  He loved his tool belt and measuring tape.  He was excited when Dad got home to play "bes-et ball" with him!  

"I play bas-et ball with Daddy!!"

"Fixing things"

It was such an awesome day outside, so why not bust out the BUBBLES!!!

 One of Cohan's favorite meals is PIZZA!!!  That night, we made homemade pizza and he ate like a champ.  Since he was going to have a big construction birthday party Saturday, he didn't need a cake, so a cupcake was a perfect treat for the night.  He sang himself Happy Birthday and then dug right in!



For his birthday, he also got bath colors.  He had gotten some for Christmas, but we ran out pretty quickly.  They are little pill looking drops that "dye" the water.  He chose a yellow bath.  It's not pee, I promise. 

Cohan had such an awesome birthday and I was so excited that I got to spend it with him.  We are lucky parents to have such an awesome son!

Another Cousin

Cohan had been so excited to meet Baby Lincoln, his new cousin.  Scott's brother, Mark and his wife, Beth, welcomed a beautiful little boy to our world last Monday.  He is adorable and perfect.  Monday, when we went, we were not able to hold him since he was still in the nursery. 

Tuesday we went to visit, I was so excited to hold my new nephew.  I could have sat forever snuggling him.  Cohan is so lucky to have so many cousins so close to his age to play with.   

We went out this week to their house for dinner and to let the kids play, and this perfect little man slept through all the squeals, laughter and playing of Avery, Cohan and Macklin.  He is another perfect little Watson baby!

What's In a Name?

Choosing a name for your child is tough.  We always started a list, then slowly started weeding names off, added middle names and tried all combinations.  We always knew we did not want a name that someone else in a classroom would have.  Thinking of all the nicknames they could get, the initials, the rhyming words and ways it could be made fun of is tough. 

Cohan's name was not on our list.  My sister, Abby, works in a hospital and constantly texted me names she liked.  We usually vetoed most of them.  I remember the exact time we got her text.  We were on our way home from St. Louis.  We had just visited my friend, Allie, her son and husband.  Abby's text said she had a patient named Cowan.  As I read the text to Scott, we couldn't figure out the name and how to pronounce it.  As we figured it out, we both realized we LOVED the name.  That was it.  We then, just needed to figure out how to spell it.  I remember telling my grandpa, who was 96 years old, the name, Cohen, that we had chosen.  His exact words were, "Isn't that a Jewish name?"  I don't think he meant anything by it, but it made me think... Are there more ways to spell it? 

I told my family the name and we were trying to figure out a different spelling.  My aunt and cousin were in a bathroom (weird, I know) discussing the name.  A woman overheard them talking and stopped them.  She was from Ireland and told them that if we were an Irish family, Cohan was a popular name in Ireland and changing the e to an a in Cohen/Cohan made this an Irish Gaelic name.  His middle name was never a discussion.  My brother has my mom's maiden name, my nephew has my sister-in-laws maiden name and Scott had the idea to give Cohan my maiden name. 

Cohan Schmidt Watson it was. 

Just like with Cohan, when we found out I was pregnant, we started our list.  This time, however, I knew the name I wanted.  Since I was little , I have always wanted a little girl named Ireland.  Not only do I love the name, how it sounds and what it represents, I think it's unique and different and special, just like I dream our little girl will be.  Scott and I have always wanted to travel to Ireland, my mom's side is extremely Irish and goes there often and this name represents all of this.  A middle name, to me, represents something given down or passed on.  My grandmother's name is Norene.  Scott's grandmother's middle name is Noreen.  His aunt, who never had any girls' middle name is Noreen.  It would only be right to pass that name to our little girl. 

Our little girl's name is going to be Ireland Noreen Watson.     

It's funny how you remember people's reactions to names you share with people.  I totally understand why some people don;t share names until the child is born.  Both of our kids' names might not be everyone's favorite names, but they are Scott and I's favorite names and that's all that matters. 

 These big names will represent the awesome little people that we call our children. 

Ready to be a Big Brother?

My mom sent home with us last weekend a little baby for Cohan.  It says the nighttime prayer that we say together every night before bed.  Cohan thinks this is his baby.  I came into the kitchen to find his baby all buckled in Cohan's highchair.  I asked Cohan why the baby was there, and he told me to eat.  I started doing something else and noticed that Cohan had gotten a bowl, spoon and started to feed the baby.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  Sometimes I worry how he will do with a new baby, then times like this and when I see him with friends' new babies, I know that he is going to be the best big brother a little sister could ask for.   

I asked him to say cheese with his baby.

Kid Free Weekend

Last Friday, Scott and I dropped Cohan off at Scott's parents' house and headed to Springfield. My cousin, Noreen, got married. It was an adults only wedding. We were sad to leave Cohan for an entire weekend, but excited to have a weekend away together. My sister was in town, so I was even more excited. Friday, we had rehearsal and dinner.

On Saturday, after a breakfast out, my mom and I ran errands and got lots of things to decorate Ireland's nursery. After this, we went for manicures and pedicures. It was a fun day! The wedding was beautiful and the reception was really fun.

I, of course, was not able to drink like everyone else, but they had the next best thing... a candy bar!!!

When we got home, we had LOTS of clothes, bows, coats, socks, pretty pants and hats to put away. My mom and sister were very excited about all the purchases!!

Three (almost four) Watson Grandkids

These three cousins have started to have so much fun together. They play, talk and laugh all the time. Monday, another baby Watson will join this crew. We are so excited to meet him!!!

Valentine's Day

We used to be the couple that sent flowers, exchanged gifts and went out for dinner ON Valentine's Day. Since Cohan was born, our priorities have changed a little bit on this day. We still use it as a day to do something special, but we do this as a family. This year, we decided to cook in. We made crab legs, twice baked potatoes and enjoyed each other.

Cohan and I made this sweet little sign at the end of January so we could enjoy it around the house.

These are not the best pictures, but we loved this shirt he wore for Valentine's Day. It says, "This guy is a ladies man." I think this picture is hilarious. He always sits like this on the couch. Props up his leg and relaxes !

My homemade card to Scott, Cohan's card he made at day care for us, and Scott's card to me.

I found this idea on pintrest. Cohan gave a sand shovel filled with Valentine's Day candy and I note attached that said, "I dig you. Happy Valentine's Day" to his cousins and his friend at daycare.