Cliff Hanger resolved

King Eoin Dean reigned for the day!

October included two lonely little blogs about Eoin and one of them left a huge cliff hanger! Well, it wasn't so much of a surprise if you tuned into Facebook at all, but anyway! Eoin had a wonderful second half of October. He was named the Little Jewel's Homecoming King on October 16th and was able to ride in the Illinois State University Homecoming Parade on Saturday, the 17th! The parade was very long, but he was well-behaved for the most part. The Homecoming theme this year was 'Rock the Red' and Little Jewels take on the theme was that of The Flintstones. Eoin and his Queen were dressed as Bam-Bam and Pebbles respectively. Eoin rocked the parade and even though the cold temperatures made for some creative costumes, the royalty looked very sweet. Since Eoin is so young, Jordan and I rode with him. One of the most fun parts for us was throwing out some tasty McDonald's cheeseburgers to friends and family :)

My birthday happens to fall in October and Eoin helped me blow out my massive amounts of birthday candles this year. He is so sweet!

Halloween celebrations began with Eoin's Fall Festival at Little Jewels. He was able to show off his costume and have fun with some friends. We moved from classroom to classroom, with each stop having a different Halloween themed activity. Due to inclement weather (this was basically the trend for the entire month of October!) our dinner that evening had to be inside as opposed to bonfire roasted. Just as we took off Eoin's costume, the flu bug came to fruition and the poor lil' man was out of the commission for awhile. The bug proceeded to rapidly go through our little household, but thankfully we were all well for the next weekend, which was actually Halloween.

We began by carving a pumpkin. We were incredibly surprised by Eoin's negative reaction to the pumpkin 'guts.' He hated it; being the typical 'boy' we thought he would love it. He didn't want anything to do with it! As you can tell by the pictures, he was rather grossed out. As evening began to fall, it was time to put on his costume once again and seek out some treats. We trick or treated at Aunt Dawn's, Aunt Terri's, the McGee's and Aunt Cindy's. He had a little too much chocolate and got some on his cute lil' costume! I might be slightly biased, but I think he made the most adorable little Mickey Mouse. He LOVES Mickey Mouse and the reaction he had when I showed him his reflection was priceless! Halloween ranks up there as a favorite holiday of mine and it seems as though Eoin might be beginning to share in my delight, I think the candy might have something to do with it for now, though!

Belle Memoire did it again!

We were so thankful that Kim Hewerdine was able to fit us in again this year! She did such a beautiful job with Eoin's pictures last year, it was no question we would use her talents again. Well, the preview is posted and they are great! I can't help it, Eoin is adorable! It is going to be so difficult to pick the pictures we want prints of!

go to: www.bellememoirephotography.com

choose: my website

then: clients

the password: kohn 2009

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year begins

This weekend was packed full of fun! Just how weekends should be. We attended our first ISU basketball game of the season! Eoin behaved really well; we were a little worried how sitting during an entire game would fare out, but he was amazing and really seemed to enjoy watching the Redbirds play! It should be a great season with the Redbirds proving to victorious by large margin over North Florida. We're hoping for much more excitement when conference play begins.

Eoin enjoyed playing with his animals for some of the game!

Eoin "rawred" with his animals :)

Grandma and Papa Kohn were unable to attend and so we had some open seats next to us. Eoin took full advantage and loved having his own seat! Probably have to get him his own next year!

Auntie Tina went to the basketball game too and joined us for the second half. We all attended the Festival of Trees afterwards for a quick glance around and then headed for some dinner. Eoin was definitely our entertainment for the evening! He was Aunt Tina's little sidekick, though, and didn't really want anything to do with anyone else! Auntie "Tee-ta" loved it!

Sunday morning, we headed back over to the Festival of Trees with Grandma Kohn. We enjoyed walking around leisurely and Eoin was again very well-behaved. He allowed Grandma and I to take our time with each and every tree, which worked well for The Baby Fold, the charity benefiting from the festival, as Grandma and I each ended up having the winning bid on items; Grandma took home the blue-ribboned Most Elegant Tree, and I a Dicken's village. We also had Eoin's first run in with Santa Claus of the season; and I do mean 'run in.' We have been practicing meeting the big man by reading a book about Santa and Eoin has his impersonation with the "ho, ho, ho" down, but it didn't really help . . . the above picture is Eoin running from Santa after receiving the customary candy cane! Hey, he didn't leave the candy! I held him to meet the Big Man and as you can tell, he was curious, but a little nervous.

The Christmas Village, or Jingle Bell Junction, was so cute and if I had have realized there were so many photo opportunites, Eoin would have been dressed in something better than sweats :)

I, once again, had the pleasure of designing a tree this year. The theme was Merry Merry Mocha and paid homage to the McDonald's McCafe drinks with a brown, gold and bronze color theme and little McCafe ornaments placed throughout the tree.

We are really looking forward to the Holiday Season that is quickly approaching; we will be going up north to see Nana, Auntie Kelly, McKaylah and Kennedy the weekend after Thanksgiving after spending Thanksgiving Day with the Kohn's. Eoin is so much more aware of what is going on this year so he participate in the Holiday activities well!

Since Eoin is really the reason for this blog, I figured an update on his little happening is well overdue. Every day he lights up our lives and we see him doing it for others now too and it warms our hearts! He had adjusted to the daily grind at Little Jewels very well! I can't believe the things he does there, he seems so grown up. He now 'sings' and motions to 'Wheels on the Bus,' 'If Your Happy and You Know It,' and 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider.' The motions include putting his fingers and moving his head for "you face should surely show it!" and stomping his foot! He cracks us up! He LOVES reading! LOVES IT. He loves all of his books and we read most of them daily, but the most read has to be 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear,' hands down! We sit on the floor to read books and he plops himself in the lap of whomever is going to read to him!

The little man is talking non-stop. Sometimes we understand what he is saying and other times we smile and nod! "Hot" is one of his favorite words and he often uses it to describe his food; he uses it over and over and over, even when the food isn't hot, I think he uses it as an excuse not to eat :) "Hi" is often said to strangers and to break the silence! "Aspen" and "Aspen, no no no" are also frequently used. Little Jewels has a cute tradition of having warm cookies ready for the children to take as they leave on Friday afternoons, well, Eoin hasn't quite received the only on Fridays memo and asks for a 'cookcoo' everytime we walk out the door . . . he also mentions it everytime he spots a McDonald's bag :)

As you can tell, he is learning and growing every single day! I can't believe my baby is a toddler!

We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit, how 'bout you!

"Toga, Toga, Toga"

It's Illinois State University's Homecoming week; remaining true to the fact that it is, indeed, my alma mater, I was thrilled that Little Jewels celebrates the week as their Spirit Week!! Buzzin' in the Hive this week (Eoin's room is the "Bee Room") were themed days for each day of the week . . . Monday was your Favorite Football Team Day and Eoin wore his ISU Redbird Jersey. Tuesday was Crazy Hair/Rock 'n Roll Day; this one was a little bit of a challenge as Eoin lacks the hair part of the Crazy Hair, but we worked with what we had, spiking up each little strand and he wore a shirt that was gifted to him by his Auntie Helena that stated "Mommy's Star" on the front in gold, tres Rock 'n Roll! Wednesday would have been Class Color Day (well, it still was) but Eoin had to show his spirit from home as he had a rattling cough. Eoin persisted on going to school today as it Toga Day! He looked adorable in his navy blue toga, although he was sad that mommy was leaving him. Tomorrow is Red/ISU Day and he will be sporting his Redbird Hoodie! Tomorrow is the crowning of King and Queen also (yes, I realize he is 16 months old!) and we all have our fingers crossed for Eoin . . . obviously we will update everyone with the results tomorrow :)

Construction Zone

What I expected to be a small weekend project has become a rather lengthy construction project at the house; it is going to look fantastic and I can't wait to see the finished product. In the meantime, Eoin enjoys helping Grandpa Kohn and Daddy.

sorry for the poor quality of the picture, it is from my phone :)

Abandonment . . .

. . . of the blog!

This poor, abandoned, pathetic excuse for a blog. I promise, as much as this blog has been neglected, Eoin Dean has been spoiled! I'm going to get everyone up to speed with this post; it is almost guaranteed to be a long one, but I hope to keep you somewhat entertained :)

We last updated in July and have been busy living life to the fullest ever since.

August was the apparently the month to get married! We were honored to share in Drew & Nicole's special day in Florida and Kathleen & Jack's special day in northern Illinois. Both weddings were beautiful and a great excuse to dress up! Eoin is a phenomenal little traveler and it is a pleasure to take him places! While in Florida we visited Busch Gardens. Although he had a blast, the little man was worn out by the end of the day. Many special visitors from Ireland arrived for Kathleen and Jack's nuptuals. Eoin got to meet mommy's Aunt Katrina once again and her beautiful family as well as mommy's cousin Helena and Granny Annie!

August was also a month of change as Eoin left Aunt Terri's at home daycare for Little Jewels Learning Center. He began on the 17th and although it was quite a transition for him, he is doing incredibly well now with smiles instead of tears at drop off! Little Jewels is an amazing center (and I'm not just saying this because my boss owns it!) Eoin is in the Bumblebee Room and loves all of his teachers!

August involved another change for The Kohn Family. Whilst it seemed like everyone else was gearing up for another school year, I got to sit back and wait for my diploma to come in the mail. I finally finished up my master's degree and it feels great to spend my evenings at home instead of in a classroom. I am so glad I finished it now, before Eoin could say "Mommy, please don't go!" because, seriously, I don't think I could have said anything but "okay!" I also ran my first half marathon on August 22nd . . . I never thought I would consider myself a runner and, well, now it is definitely apart of my definition of self ;)

This month began with a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Aunt Tina, Aunt Krystal, Jordan and myself helped Eoin experience his first camping trip. Although it wasn't too far away, only about 20 minutes from home, it was far enough to get the full experience while still permitting the contingency plan of going home to be in effect. The two nights spend at Comlara Park were great! Eoin was a great little outdoorsman! We cooked, slept and played outdoors. We even took Eoin on a paddle boat ride, which he enjoyed and mommy and daddy might have developed a few grey hairs from! It was a wonderful first experience and now we know how Eoin reacts we definitely won't hesitate to camp again and might even venture a little further from our back door.

Eoin experienced his first Labor Day parade and loved it! Eoin and I met Grandma and Grandpa Kohn in downtown Bloomington to be sure we got prime real estate for the LONG parade! Eoin learned to pick up the candy and he was great bait for the candy! I guess people just can't pass up giving candy to a cute, chubby, lil' boy :)

Eoin and Aidan were decked out in full Illinois State University apparel for CommUniversity Day, a tailgating event for ISU football. McDonald's as well as BNAHBA had tents this year. Eoin helped mommy set up and was great all day! Just as the game was beginning, Eoin, developed a fever, so unfortunately we were unable to witness the Redbird victory as we made sure he got home to take a bath and some tylenol. It was just a side effect from his 15 month shots that he had the week before, thankfully! At his 15th month well baby check up, Eoin was still bringing in some big, yet proportional, numbers, ranking both 75th percentile in height and weight . . .tipping the scales at 26lbs 11oz. Daddy took Eoin to the appointment and I hear we are still doing alright as parents :)

So here we are at the end of September and the beginning of fall! My personal favorite time of year . . . it is the beginning of so much! We are still slowly making improvements on the house we have made a home; it is so hard to believe we have almost been at our little abode on Savanna Road for six months! Eoin completely fits in and rules the roost at LJ's . . . funny enough, the owner says that he walks around and waves to people like he owns the place. LJ's consistently has events and programming aimed toward the enrichment of the children. Eoin has Kindermusik and other activities during the days. He still loves music and loves to dance. One activity that was held in September was a Grandparent's Day. Grandma and Grandpa Kohn attended; Nana Brown was busy celebrating her birthday with Auntie Hannah, Auntie Miriam, Uncle Trevor, Paul and Grainne in Tuscany! It was very sweet; the grandparents joined the children at the center for their afternoon snack and then had an activity back in the classroom. Grandma and Grandpa Kohn decided that they needed to spend the rest of the afternoon with Eoin and took him for the day after the activity.

Well no more for now from me . . . I hate to promise that I will update more often and blah blah blah . . . I mean, how many times have you heard that? Right. I will try to neglect the blog less, but for now please be happy with the occasional update and if I get to this more often than that? Fantastic :)

I hope you enjoy some photos of our last few months (this is without me emptying my very full memory card)

Updates

Well, I'm going to blame the beautiful weather for my lack of posting, but I figure that a few updates are sorely needed to our little blog; unfortunately this will be one update sans pictures for no other reason than I am not very close to my camera ;)

Eoin is constantly bringing new joy to our lives; he is so happy and usually has a smile on his face. We rarely meet anyone that isn't greeted with a great big toothy grin. Although I am late to announce the results from his 12month well-baby visit, the numbers are in: our little pudge tips the scales at 25lbs (80%) and measures in at 31.5 inches (80%). The great news is that although he has become quite the picky eater (won't let anything touch his lips unless he is one to put it there) his growth has not slowed down one bit. He is very proportionate.

On the mobile front, Eoin continues to break the sound barrier with his crawling and bear crawling; for this reason, he has been so slow to walk, although he takes quite a number of steps at one time now. I am pretty sure that until he can run, walking on a full time basis isn't going to come, he just will not be slowed down!! He remains very affectionate and has now taken to giving kisses . . . to say I enjoy this would be a major understatement!

We are still loving our new house and the neighborhood is fantastic. Our neighbors (no houses in between us yet, fingers crossed) Ronnie and Allison have two little boys (Gage and Gavin, 2 and 7 weeks respectively) and Eoin enjoys playing with them and especially splashing around in our neighborhood pool! I know these boys are going to grow up together to be the best of friends!

We still have lots to look forward to this summer . . . I have just a few more hours to complete on my practicum experience and I am completely finished with my Master's degree; we have a number of weddings coming up in August; and, of course, we are excited for Eoin to meet many members of his Irish family in a few short weeks, especially Granny Annie!

(I promise pictures very soon! I really have some to post :))

Kennedy Marie Inman

Kennedy Marie ... absolutely beautiful!

After the festivities of Saturday, I was free to make the trip to Lake Forest to see my beautiful neice. I was very mad that I missed seeing her when she was first born, but I was able to meet her on her second day in this world and fell in love immediately! Mommy and baby are adjusting incredibly well and even Big Sister McKaylah is now in love!!!! Isn't she just a natural big sister! Kennedy looks a lot like McKaylah as a baby. Eoin has yet to meet his beautiful little cousin (only siblings are allowed in the rooms) but we will be making a trip up north very soon!