The Fam

I admit I am not good at pictures; I try, I really do.  I forget the camera, hundreds of pictures end up on memory cards never to be uploaded (they will someday, I promise). At this point my amazingly talented friends step in and take pictures!  Melissa held a shoot with us last Friday and although it was exhausting (read:  Liam wouldn't smile, or look at the camera, or do anything but scream if he wasn't on my hip!) the results are amazing! 

Dr. Doctor

I have spent quite a bit of time recently at Bloomington Pediatrics!  My co-pays alone might be keeping them afloat :)  This was our latest visit; Liam was sick the day before and so this was our 2nd visit in so many days.  Liam was back to his regular self, playing on the floor amongst books (his latest obsession) and Eoin was questioning my well-being playing the doctor.  "mama, have you taken any medicine today?" was repeated about 13 times! 

I love these boys and hope that we are all on the path to healthy; I could use NOT visiting Dr. Weaver for awhile!

5 years!

Five years ago we became The Kohns!  No longer individuals braving the world, we became a team.  We've added a couple of players and we're on a pretty strong winning streak (enough of the analogy!).

 Five years ago . . .

The Kohns, established September 22nd, 2007 . . . 

Jordan and I celebrated our anniversary with an intimate picnic for two at the Mackinaw Valley Winery.  It was EXACTLY what I wanted (I explained I wanted a quiet dinner where I could drink wine and not worry about anything).  Since the five year tradiational gift is wood, Jordan and I settled on our dining room ceiling as our gift to each other, although since he did all the manual labor, it is definitely more of a gift to me! 

Do you know what this means?

The boat in the driveway can only mean one thing . . . hunting season is right around the corner! 

We came home to it there yesterday afternoon and Eoin could hardly wait to get out of the car.  He is alligator fishing in the picture above.  Liam, although new to the 'hunting boat experience' was walking around it like a little pro - he has to do anything and everything his big brother does! 

Side note:  This morning while snuggling in bed, Eoin sat up and exclaimed "Get me Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, please."  Liam was lying down and popped right up and said "pease!" Jordan and I just laughed!  He is so stinkin' cute!

The things they say . . .

I used to title my posts of this nature "Eoin says," but now I have two very vocal little men in my life!  Liam has been talking up a storm in the recent weeks.  His vocabulary has taken off and in hopes of remembering some of those mumblings here we go :)
Purple, Blue and Yellow! Some of the more difficult colors to say in my mind, but hearing him sound out the two syllables in 'purple' melts my heart!

Hockey, Eoin, Mama, Dada, Ball, Book, Walk, Papa, Banana, Nana, Grandma . . . hey if a kid wants any of his favorite things, he usually has to vocalize them! 

He is starting to put the words together and the sweetest words we have heard him say are definitely "I love you!"  ... sometimes followed by "uh oh" :)

Goodbye week{end}

This past week was quite a busy one for our little family.  It appears that fall is creeping into the air and activities have begun and life is just back into a routine that summer lacks. 

Eoin began the week with a nasty little illness that we finally got defined as pneumonia by Friday.  The pneumonia diagnosis came on the downswing of the illness so he wasn't slowed down too much!  Eoin's activities are at an all time high as of this week and while it will be a little hectic for a couple of weeks, he really really enjoys every minute of organized activites and is quite the little team leader!  On Tuesday's he swims, Wednesday plays soccer and Saturday morning consists of hockey once again.  Hockey will become a twice a week thing come October and we are looking forward to our little athlete actually taking part in games! 

As for Liam, there are few things this child loves more than a book; one of the few things he loves more is his blankie that is never far away!  He is constantly reading to himself, pulling out books, and flipping throught the pages - these are just a couple of the pictures I took of him this week and he rarely looks up!  In the first picture he is playing with a no-longer-in-service phone and he has become quite the mimicker.  He walks around saying 'allo?' It is truly very sweet!  He is also very proud of his new shoes he is sporting in the first picture.  Eoin has the big boy version and the run very fast in their new, bright shoes (or so Eoin tells me!). 

We are so blessed to have very sweet little men.  This weekend was a somewhat low-key weekend.  Besides a race on Saturday morning and knowing we would be spending some time with Nicole on Saturday, the weekend was virtually unplanned.  We fit in some park time and a walk on Sunday along with breakfast and snuggles.   Although there is rarely a dull moment with two little boys, we really are learning to soak it all in while we can because it all goes by way to quickly! 

Mom Win!

We have had a crazy week.  Getting back into a routine after Labor Day proved difficult and my house has been 'under construction' for about 2 months and it is finally coming to a head!  (really it is just the dining room, but it spreads everywhere, like my dining room table in my living room, etc.).  This weekend we had nothing on the agenda and thank goodness because both the boys were rather sick. 

Saturday morning began with me waiting for a medical supply shop to open so I could get a nebulizer for Eoin.  When I got back (2 hours later, no nebulizer, but grocery shopping complete!) I got Eoin set up on the couch for a day of rest.  It is so difficult to explain to a sick little 4 year old that lying on the couch all day is not a punishment - also, the difference between 4 and 29, I would give an arm to lie on the couch all day!  After a few shows of the tried and trusted Disney Jr. On Demand, I browsed through a few other 'Kids' channels and found . . . FIREMAN SAM! 

Eoin watch Fireman Sam almost the entire flight home from Ireland.  Several weeks later he asked about it; I blew it off hoping he would forget and thinking how difficult getting the shows might be, but explained that perhaps he could get a few DVDs for Christmas.  I was astounded that Sprout had the shows (only 4 and they are 11 minutes long!) but really I shouldn't be!  He was very happy to watch them most of the day.  The funny thing is, it is definitely a British show, they even have difficult to understand Welsh accents and yet, Eoin LOVES it.  I was so happy something so simply made my sick, little man's day!  Mom Win :)

Ireland 2012 - Days 4 & 5

The day after the wedding would be a day for recovering in the United States, but not in Ireland.  My Auntie Hannah hosted a party at her home for about 40 people complete with a DJ.  Although many were up for the party, we just didn't last very long and called it an early night.  Jordan and I walked back around to my cousins house but stopped at the chippie on the way back.  A chippie is a fast food restaurant.  We had a curry chip, sausages and battered sausages between us!  Everyone else stayed on at my Auntie Hannah and Uncle Trevor's home and apparently had a fantastic time! 

Day 4 we headed over the mountain to Belfast.  My hometown is only 12 miles from Belfast, but it always seems like a much longer trip!  We headed there on Monday.  First we hit the Titanic museum/exhibit.  It was new, but we were lucky to not have to wait in lines.  The museum is build next to the Harland and Wolfe shipyard where the Titanic was built and focuses on stories of those on board and also history around the building of the Titantic and its sister ship, the Britannica.  It was an awesome exhibit. 

After Titanic we headed to a few shops!  Only a few, businesses tend to close very early in Europe and we only had about an hour before all of High Street basically closed down.  I still managed to do a little damage to my wallet :)

We then made our way to a pub and of course somewhere for dinner!  Shopping can make a family hungry.  We had a great dinner a Villa Italia.  After that we walked a few short blocks to Queens University.  The grounds and buildings are breathtaking!  We all boarded up (we traveled in a 16-passenger van) and received a guided tour (thank Uncle Trevor and Grainne!) through neighborhoods in Belfast; the history was so interesting.  Since the weather was phenomenal and the sun was still up at 9:00pm we made our way to Belfast Castle.  It was spectacular!  Belfast Castle is set into one of the mountains surrounding Belfast.  We ran around the grounds like kids.  It was so much fun! 

We really had so much fun on this trip; the views, the company, the food, it was all amazing.  Ten days can seem like a long time, but each day flew by, we were already half way through our trip.

Lisa is obsessed with all things Titanic!  This picture is so fitting!

Little Liam was such a trooper, the sun really started to shine this day!

Nana and her two oldest grandbabies!

Liam and mama

Eoin waiting in line for the 'Titanic ride'

Sampson and Goliath, the two Harland and Wolfe gigantic cranes!  This is the shipyard where the Titantic was built.  The 'H' and the 'W' on the cranes are larger than a bus!

Liam got his own seat on the ride!

Our driver, Uncle Trevor, and his co-pilot, Eoin Dean

High Street in Belfast, the courthouse is at the end; the Olympic rings were displayed for the XXX Olympiad in London; Northern Ireland is part of Team GB

What's Ireland without a few pubs?

Eoin and McKaylah; children are not allowed inside pubs (I'm surprised women even are!) so we stayed outside!

Eoin trying to lick everyone! 

He is such a lover!

Liam in a no parking zone

He was such a happy, good boy!!!

Ireland 2012 - Day 3

If William and Kate's wedding was the wedding of the year for 2011, then certainly Paul and Grainne's wedding was the wedding for 2012! 

It was absolutely beautiful! From the Rolls Royce picking Paul up at my Aunt and Uncle's house to the stunning chapel (their wedding was also on television!) to the amazing venue of the Galgorm Manor for the reception, every detail was nailed. We were so incredibly happy to witness their love and be apart of their day! 

Uncle Trevor set us up like royalty; we had a 4 bedroom cabin on a river on the property of Galgorm Manor and even had our own 'butler.'  We called and a LandRover would come and get us and take us to the main house; they brought us milk for Liam, basically whatever we needed.  It was amazing.  The day of the wedding the sun started peeking out from behind the clouds, but overall it was rather chilly, very Ireland.  Little did we know this would be one of the last times we would complain about being cold. 

The boys enjoyed the reception; besides dinner, we barely saw Eoin.  He was off having tons of fun!  Jordan's parents took the boys back to the cabin around 11:00pm (late night, but it was still light out!) and we were then able to enjoy the company of all my cousins I rarely see, it was GREAT! 

Little Liam all dressed up in his 3 piece suit!

Two of the most handsome men I know (besides Liam and Eoin of course).  My cousin Paul is like a little brother to me!  Cannot believe he is married! 

Uncle Trevor, Paul and Auntie Hannah!  The best hosts!

Lisa and her favorite daughter in law ;)

Handsome little devil

My gorgeous mama feeding 'baby' Liam.



Sisters!



Uncle Kieran (my godfather and namesake!) and Theresa

Uncle Paul and Bernie

Groomsman and Page boy

Bride and Groom, Paul and Grainne

Liam enjoying some icecream!  The food at the reception was amazing and the boys had an extremely child friendly menu!

Eoin and Grandma and Papa!  So happy we were able to make memories with both sides of our family

A little worse for the wear . . . the Page boy and Flower girl after some play time!



My cousin Rachael and I . . . we grew up very close as we are only 3 months apart!  Isn't she gorgeous!