February 2020

Even though February was technically a short month (#leapyear), we still squeezed in a whole bunch of FUN and even a big guy's birthday at the end. Here's the miscellaneous good times in February!

I truly truly hope that these 2 are best bros for life:

yee-haw!

just a couple of cool kids on the block

PJs and Pizza Shabbat for Preschoolers was a hit:


It was cold for a couple of days in February. Warm snuggles were warranted.

Gabi was in on the snuggles too!

Gabi chose a rubber-band bracelet loom for her birthday present from Aunt Mandy, Uncle Mitch, and crew and beautifully shared her creations with friends and family.

Speaking of cold - Blizzard 2020 arrived in Austin while we were sleeping one night. We survived. Ethan was brave enough to assess the situation.



More Ethan:

Ethan used Gabi's loom to make his own bracelet.

"Can you take a picture with my smile?!"

Ethan's autobiography

With the arrival of February 6th - yes, the same day that we woke up with snow on the ground - it was time for our 4th annual "Team Cohen goes to Menchie's because the calendar says so," aka National Frozen Yogurt Day.


Gabi's school participated with Apex Leadership Co. for a couple of weeks which culminated in a "Fun Run." She enthusiastically ran all 36 laps in the short time and helped raise more money for her school from generous family members than anyone else in her class!

BEFORE: ready to go!

AFTER: proud of her effort!

Gabi had a whole cheering section rooting her on!

More Gabi:

breakfast buddy

She may have turned 7, but she'll always be my baby.

keeping the tooth fairy busy

walking home from school

Spencer William turned 3 at the February, and his gifts kept on giving. He was pretty grateful for the love and presents he received!

still loving his big boy bed from Grandma and Grandpa

using his new electric drill from Nana and Zayde

He received a LOT of awesome cards, but Gigi's was the one that received the most attention from the birthday boy.

Now that Spencer enjoys being tucked in his bed, he can expertly tuck in "Putty" nice and cozy too.

showing off his new handy skills

over-excited about it all

More Spencer:


Special times with some special people:

Ethan and Gabi joined Joey on a tour of Southwestern University where Uncle Craig works

girls' time in the car

You gotta selfie when the spirit (or 5-year-old) says selfie.

Spencer holds hands with his bestie cousin.

I bet Zayde didn't play PJ Masks with his Zayde.

special Daddy time!

Public Service Announcements:

Spencer was not the only Cohen with a birthday in February. Big girl Maggie turned THIRTEEN at the end of the month.

We are most likely sending our elementary kiddos to a brand new IDEA charter school next school year. We are hopeful and excited about the program. This picture is from a "We Said Yes!" celebration at the end of the February.

We end the month with three sweet smiles:

Little Man Becomes a Big Boy

A child's 3rd birthday is especially exciting because it really is the first one that he can anticipate eagerly and really understand the hype and attention. And our family certainly knows how to give a birthday hype and attention! Big Spencer William is another year older, but not SOOOO much bigger. The little peanut is holding steady at 34" (2%) and weighs in at 26 lbs 3.5 oz (4%). Once again, he gets his measurement genes from his Mommy.

Even though his birthday was on a Monday, nothing stopped us from having a full weekend of celebrating starting with Shabbat dinner before hand. On Friday afternoon, he helped mix together batter for a delicious banana cake.

Cake decorating was a team effort.

When Nana showed up, she was ready to keep the party going and gifted Spencer a BIG Olaf card which excited him. Like Olaf, Spencer loves warm hugs too!

After a delicious, Spencer-friendly Shabbat dinner, it was time for that cake we made earlier!

When turning 3, there is no such thing as singing the "Happy Birthday" song too early or too often.

On Saturday morning, we had plans for Spencer's birthday party with our favorite Austin family. The only problem was that the party started at 11:00, and five kids were ready to go at 8:00. Gilden energy was combined with Cohen energy, and that kept us going until the next adventure.

GROUP HUG!

Spencer got to open his brand new PJ Masks Headquarters with all his favorite characters from Aunt Syssa, Uncle Craig, and crew.

PJ Masks mania erupted at Chez Cohen!

The next adventure took us to Foodie Kids for Spencer's birthday party where each kiddo made and decorated their own cake.

showing off their finished masterpieces

a collage from the morning's fun

Spencer's Birthday Party Crew

Time to eat the sugars of their labor!

After a restful nap, Mommy snuck big kids to a different birthday party, so Spencer got to open his brand new electric drill construction set from Nana and Zayde without sibling competition.

OOOOOH AHHHHH!

He figured it out pretty quickly.

Cousins returned. Siblings returned. There was really great collaborate Duplo teamwork, and all was good in the birthday world.


On Monday, February 24th, 2020, it became official! Super Spenceman was 3. First thing in the morning, presents were opened. Celebrations, hype, and attention continued.

Gigi and Nana/Zayde together gifted Spencer more construction site Lego Duplo blocks and vehicles than he could ever imagine!

Aunt Mandy, Uncle Mitch, Noah, and Sammy sent Spencer "traffic light" ooze tubes. He had been hoping for just 1 like his big sibs, and he got THREE with 3 different drip speeds!

Grandma and Grandpa must have understood Spencer's true love for floor puzzles and gifted us a brand new one!

And this was all while we were still in pajamas!

Mommy and Daddy were able to spread cheer with Spencer's friends at school (and his brother) when we brought cookies to his classroom.


On a gorgeous afternoon, we took the party outside to a local playground.

(And also, kids, don't throw rocks.)

At night, Joey and Shayna (and their parents) returned once again for a birthday dinner and ice cream cake treat.


All that hype and attention came to a calm end with Mommy and the Birthday Boy snuggling in bed to say "Lilah Tov" to a sweet celebration...