Summer at The Marshall House

Well, a couple of months has passed quicker than I could ever imagine they could. I thought time was fast with an infant. I was wrong. Time flies when you've got a walking/running toddler!

Here's a couple of shots of the "haps" here at the Marshall casa. :)

The remodel of Cohen's bathroom and our office is under way! We are almost done with the bathroom (pics to come) and this is the office (more pics to come as well!) It has been a lengthy process, but we are so thankful for our Dad as he has done  most of this work himself. Thank you, Chuck!

 We've played in the pool this summer and Cohen loves putting his face in the water. I showed him how to blow bubbles and now he does it any time he's in water, especially the bath tub!

We held Sylvia's retirement party luau at our house at the end of June. It was so fun and great to see her partying it up with her friends after 32 years of teaching Special Ed!

 The fourth of July was awesome! We were a little concerned that he'd have a much harder time staying up for the fireworks this year because he was only 2 months old last time. He's a very 7 p.m. and a "night night" to Momma and Daddo kind-of kid, but he did great. The next day if we talked about the fireworks with him he'd say, "Boom!" and point to the sky. 

 In June we also welcomed little Jacob Christopher or as we call him Jake to the Brown family. We love little Jake so much! He is such a laid-back baby and is so sweet and snuggly! Gotta love those newborn yawns...so precious! It won't be long and this little guy will be wrestling with Cohen and Liam!

 This summer we've been supporting our Redlegs, of course! Here's Cohen running to his Aunt Emily yelling, "Em! Em!" in his new Votto jersey onesie. He does love baseball so much already! He likes to press his little face to the fence while we watch Daddo play on Sundays and points to baseballs wherever he sees them. This also applies for basketballs and footballs. He's got a pretty good throw, too, I must admit. I think he's going to be Daddy's boy when it's all said and done. :) 

 Ayden and Cohen hanging out in the hammock out back....silly boys. I just love seeing our babies together!

 We've been doing lots of little projects to make the summer a little more fun (it's hard to turn off the "teacher" in me sometimes :) ). So far we have done this "truck painting," chipped away at a block of ice with plastic army men in it on one of those hundred plus degree days, used a piece of wood as a ramp to throw all things that roll down it, built forts, obstacle courses with the couch cushions....the list goes on and on. Cohen can't help it that his mommy is a bit of a Pinterest addict and loves trying new crafty things with him!

Summer, please slow down! I love love love getting up every morning to the sound of my sweet baby calling for Momma and Daddo in the monitor instead of an alarm clock (the fact that he calls for us three hours later than the alarm is also a plus!) and I adore spending all these hours upon hours with my Cohen John.

He is growing and changing so quickly. His 15 month appointment last week weighed him in at 24 lbs. 8 oz. 31.5 inches long and he can say over 60 words and counting.

He talks like crazy! Cohen's favorite words are hose, flowers, hammer, bird, out, and melon. He knows that my coffee is hot and lets me know it every morning. He tries words that he picks up when we talk and repeats them.

He's so smart and learning every day. He knows most of his shapes, a few colors, finds the number 1 whenever he can and lets us know LOUDLY that he's found another 1.

He has just come out of his shy phase and just today decided he would walk back to the church nursery on his own and join his friend Henry playing with the bubbles!

So thankful for this life and hoping for new and exciting things to happen each and every day. This is such a wonderful time in our life and we are beyond grateful for all the Lord has given us!