Snow

Well its about time!  January is almost over, and we finally got some snow up here.  I think most people have been enjoying the snow free weather, but the 4" we got on Saturday proved to be just enough for a little fun for Shayna.  I'm pretty sure we spent more time getting dressed than we actually did outside, but all that gear was worth it for this smile!

Getting pulled on the sled by Daddy.

Digging in and trying to build a snowmman

Look closely, its there.  Its a tiny little snow-baby... with a baby carrot nose.

And of course, we had to finish with some hot cocoa :)

Winter Break

We were fortunate enough to have a couple days when all three of us were off from school/work.  We mostly took the time to relax at home and catch up on some housework.


Shayna and her new doll Ella in their matching pj's (thank you Mama Mel and Papa Jeff)
cuddling in bed.



But we also took a day trip to Brian's old stomping grounds (circa '00-'01), Norwalk, Connecticut.  We spent some time walking around our old haunts, and then visited the Stepping Stones Children's Museum and the Norwalk Aquarium.  Here are some cute pics.



Shayna turtle!




Shayna in the meerkat exhibit




Hey!  There's a meerkat on my head!

 We all had a great time getting away for the day.  Shayna is back at school today.  Mommy is back to work, and Daddy starts his new position Wednesday.  Sorry to see vacation go, but glad to have had some quiet time together.

Happy Hanukkah!

This picture was taken from Friday night at Mama Mel and Papa Jeff's house, celebrating the 4th night of Hanukkah with Uncle Marc and Sarah.  The generations of Cohen ladies wishing you all a very Happy Hanukkah!

The Circus

Shayna's Mama's and Papa's took all of us to the Big Apple Circus for the first time yesterday.  I'm not sure if the adults or Shayna had more fun, but what a great show!  Shayna was blown away by how big the Big Top was.  The entire time we were walking in she kept saying, "I didn't know the tent could be this big!"  She enjoyed all of the acts, but could not wait for the animals to come out!  We saw three dancing horses, some doggies, a pig, a porcupine, and an unknown animal that Shayna says is a bunny and Mama Mel thinks was a really big rat :)  I'm going for an anteater.  Regardless, it was a fantastic way to spend our day, followed by a celebration for Cousin Ezra's 14th birthday!  It was hard to get picture inside the circus because of the lighting, but here is one of 'Shayna the Clown'!

Shayna's Big Announcement

Birthday Party

Here are some long awaiting pictures from Shayna's firetruck birthday party. We used www.hireafiretrucknj.com to have a real firetruck and fireman come visit us. They arrived at the house with lights and sirens on to the expectation of 20 very excited little ones! They got to try on some fireman gear and play on the truck. Then, of course, it was time for pizza and cake!

Shayna was so excited all her friends came.  Even Gabi from her old school!

Happy girl!

Here it comes!

Fireman Gary

Junior Fireman Chase trying on the gear

Everyone on!

Watch out, coming through!

Uncle Marc, the party is for the kids!

Daddy got in on the fun too.

I love this pic with Papa Jeff!

Cake!

A new guitar from Uncle Matty and Faith

We had a family paty later in the day... with another cake!

Smooch

Pre-party chaos, room for 20 kids + parents

More videos

Ok, so clearly I am enjoying my new iPhone's video function and ease of loading things to YouTube.  But besides that, videos really are the best way to capture Shayna at this stage.  She is ALWAYS talking, and always surprising us with what she has to say.  First up is a video with three of her classmates and neighbors having a playdate in our newly renovated basement.  For those of you who don't know, we had a freakish winter storm here in Northern Jersey that took out our power for awhile.  The basement was relatively warm, so we camped out down there.  Ends up, a mattress is the best toy ever so we haven't moved it back upstairs yet.

And here is Shayna's first attempt at reading :)