Nana and Papa's 50th Anniversary Brunch Cruise

Aboard the newly-docked ship in South Boston Harbor, the Yacht StarShip, 16 of us celebrated Lorraine and Harold's (aka Nana and Papa) 50th Anniversary with a delectable brunch spread. We boarded the ship at 11:30 am, departed the dock at 12:00 noon, and cruised around Boston Harbor until 2:00 pm. This is the first year that the ship has come to Boston. Usually, it operates out of Tampa, FL. I had been dying to go on one of these big ships for a lunch or dinner cruise for many years. Finally, we had a special occasion in which to take the plunge (so to speak, on my parent's anniversary of their plunge!) We brought a cake, a wedding photo, a balloon, and gifts aboard with us. The kids had a terrific time on the ship, especially after brunch, when they found the "secret passageway" to the upper deck and when they were invited into the Captain's area (aka The Bridge) to see how he operates the ship. What a fabulous view from the front of the ship! Jon and I being the big kids we are, went too! The kids were delighted to receive their Honorary Captain certificates! Samantha, being the little flirt she is, made a friend named Alex who is 6 months her junior and one named Jess who is 6 months her senior. They were there celebrating their grandfather's 70th birthday. Again, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Ma and Dad! Thank you for being such an inspiration to us!

Temple Beth Abraham - New Member BBQ

We had such a great time tonight at the New Member BBQ. We just joined Temple Beth Abraham over the summer in order to enroll the boys in Hebrew School. It's hard to believe, but it is only about 4 years until Benjamin's Bar Mitzvah! Yikes! I am reflecting on what a very small world it is. We saw many people we know and we met many new people. Turns out some distant cousins of ours, the Davis Family, joined last year AND their older daughter is going to be in Joshua's public school classroom as well as his Sunday Hebrew school...And, there is a Kessel family there, which is my father's twin sister's husband's last name, and they are somehow related. Also, saw someone from our neighborhood who I had met a few years ago when they only had one child; now they have two. And, saw a woman whose sons went to Cole-Harrington Preschool and School Enrichment Program with our boys, one of whom will be in the same Hebrew class as Benjamin. We met Ben's teacher, Mrs. Langmead, who seems very nice, and in talking with her, it turns out that she knows quite well one of our neighbors on the street from growing up in the area. Jon always makes fun of me for knowing so many people whenever we go anywhere. It's just how I am. I grew up in this area and I pay attention to who people are. He, on the other hand, grew up in Framingham, and kept to himself mostly, reading books while walking down the school corridor! Anyhow, here are some photos...Enjoy!

Can you tell which child this is?

A comparison of the Cohen children between 4 and 9 months. They all look alike. Jon always says that this is the model we make, just different trim lines, hahaha! See if you can figure it out...

Roger Williams Zoo

Today, we ventured to the Zoo with another mother and her four children. It was slightly chaotic, but very nice to be out enjoying the sights and sounds of a lovely zoo. We spent four hours walking around, spying spotted leopards and giant anteaters. It was Samantha's first trip to the zoo (and Zachary's too, though for him it was just another place to eat, get diapered, and sleep!) She loved it! She kept saying, "animals, look at the animals, i see doggie (which was really the anteater, but so what- at least she knew it was an animal!) Take a look below to see for yourself.

Palladium Group Summer Outing Awards

At the company's Summer outing, on August 15th, Jonathan received an Award on behalf of Benjamin and Joshua. As you can see below, he received the Most Competitive Sons Award. They played volleyball and kickball with a great deal of enthusiasm.

Benjamin helped to win the kickball game in the last inning. He also pitched and played first base. It was a close one, and when Benjamin was on third base, Mr. Dave Wheeler kicked the ball at the plate, but before the outfielder caught that ball, Ben stepped on home plate, to score a run, and win the game!

Joshua helped to score the winning point in the volleyball game by digging up the ball, handing it off to Jonathan who was playing right next to him who then spiked it over the net. This quick-acting play scored the winning point!

Go, boys, go! And, to win bragging rights was not the only benefit; we also scored some Dunkin Donuts gift cards... Mommy really won there, since she will be getting free coffee for some time now!

Zachary clapped his litlte hands together!

This was very exciting to see. He was just sitting on the floor, when suddenly he put his hands together. He liked the way it felt and did it again. Samantha and Mommy saw it happen. Daddy and Big Brothers were away for their Father-Son Camping Trip. Ah, well... I am pretty sure he'll be doing it regularly now, yippee!

The Tooth Tales... Terrible Times for Zachary...

Poor Little Zachary...He is getting two more teeth at the very same time...They are the bottom two adjacent to the middle ones that he already has. Once they pop out, he will have 8 teeth! That seems like alot to me at only 9 months...But who knows, it's hard to remember what happened with the others, really...My memory isn't the best for these things, though I could look it up in their Baby books, if I wanted...Nah...Too much else to do.

Little Zachary and I are alone tonight, since Aiya took Samantha overnight, and Jonathan and the boys are away at a Father-Son Weekend Camping Trip...in Maine. It feels so weird to only have one child in my care. I am so used to being like an octopus making sure everyone has everything they need. Ah, well...I will just have to relax, hmmm... how do I do that again, is that when I sit on the couch and do nothing?! We'll see if THAT happens... Probably will do laundry and cleaning late into the night!!!

Benjamin - Our Little Musician

Benjamin has been taking guitar lessons from guitar teacher extraordinaire, Uncle Jeff, since the Winter of 2007. In 6 months, he has improved dramatically. Jeff says that for an 8 year old, he is picking things up rather quickly. Must be the musical ear from his ancestors... Great grandpa Bob was able to play music by ear; he never used a book. Great grandpa Joe loved to dance the monkey dance. And, the beat goes on... He even played the "Happy Birthday" song at little brother Joshua's 6th bday party...We are so proud of you, Ben!

Zachary is on the move!

Zachary has finally figured out how to get his little legs up underneath him. He can now crawl! He is a fast one too! He also has taken to pulling himself up to stand. Now, it's a whole new world to explore, and for us to childproof...! That's ok, Big Sister Samantha is always at the ready, with an ice pack when he falls down...She is such a sweet girl...