I can see it now...

Over the past few weeks Granddaddy (my Dad) has had his backyard completely redone. He used a family friend of ours, Jesse Woodruff, with Property Masters. This is the same guy who redid Susan and Ronnie's backyard a few years ago, which looks equally as beautiful!

We moved into Dad's house when I was just two years old and up until two weeks ago it had a backyard that had been stepped on about five times. It basically was just a huge hill covered in trees, rocks, and random weeds. As you can see, it now looks beautiful! Granddaddy wanted to make sure he had a fun place for his grand babies to play when they came over! I'm sure that is not the ONLY reason he finished it. Sitting outside every morning, listening to the water fall, has to be quite relaxing, but it thrills me to know that my dad made his backyard plans with the grand kids in mind. He even has been talking about and shopping for a big swing set for them!

For years he has been getting rid of, or let me put it more delicately, "decluttering" his house of all of mine and Josh's things. Your hard pressed to even find a little toy for Logan or Mackenzie to play with, so knowing he designed the yard with them in mind makes me smile! So, I can see it now... camp outs in Granddad's backyard, catching lightening bugs in coffee cans, slip n slide to mess up his lovely grass :)

I can't wait and I know he can't either!

Homemade always tastes better

One of my many summer projects is to make some of Logan's baby food. While I was pregnant, I thought about how I would like to do this, and thankfully since I am home for the summer I have a little extra time to do it. I am not one of these, "all natural, no chemicals or preservatives for my baby" kind of people, but I do think that the fresh fruits and veggies have to taste so much better not to mention IT IS SO MUCH CHEAPER! While it is cheaper, it is time consuming. I have found that certain fruits and veggies go a LONG way while others (pears for example) make hardly anything. For most of the veggies, I have steamed them, and then used my handy dandy Cuisinart food processor () to puree them. I then store them in the little cups or in ice cube trays until they freeze then transfer them into freezer bags.

I'd love to say that I will make ALL of Logan's food, but I know that is a pretty lofty and unrealistic goal, especially when I go back to work. I will however, enjoy making his food for him for now, and use jarred food as I need to.

So far I have made and frozen: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, sweet peas, mangoes, apples, pears, peaches, bananas, and sweet potato/squash combo.

He has devoured two containers of sweet potatoes and two containers of green beans. We are trying squash tomorrow! I can't wait to see how he likes it...Who am I kidding?...He will eat anything!

Finally visiting Baby Jack

After 5 really long weeks, Logan, Mimi and I finally made it out to see Scott, Melanie and Baby Jack. Josh, Megan and Mackenzie came Friday, so we had all the babies together. It was so much fun! Jack is so handsome and looks so tiny next to Logan. It's crazy how you think your baby is still small and "little", but when we put Jack next to Logan, Logan looked like a giant. Melanie looked great and seemed to really have the hang of being a "Mommie". I am so glad that we were able to spend some time with them and we were already on the phone today, planning our next get together.

I bought them matching outfits! They were so cute together!

All of the cousins together. Logan (5 months), Mackenzie (17 months), Jack (5 weeks). I can't wait to take this same picture every few months to see how they change. Mackenzie loved her cousins! She couldn't stop kissing them!

Logan loved sitting out by the lake. Uncle Scott has these really cool misters on the boat dock that keep you cool, even on a really hot day.

Best of all, Logan got to go on his very first boat ride! He was sleeping when we decided to go, but I got the life vest on him, he feel right back asleep and slept the 30 minutes we were gone. I know that is the first of many boat rides to come.

Logan eating rice cereal - day 2

5 Months!

Is it really true? Have 5 months already gone by? My little bitty baby has suddenly grown into such a big boy who can do so many things. I am enjoying every single second with him especially since I am able to be with him all day. I know it is probably bad, but I can't stand to be away from him at all. I had to go to work last Friday and it killed me to be away from him. I am trying not to think about going back to work in the Fall and just enjoy every minute I have with Logan.

These last few weeks have been very exciting. Logan is now sitting by himself, grabbing everything in site, chomping on anything he can fit in his mouth, eating rice cereal, trying to scoot when he's on his tummy, sleeping with out the swaddle ...I could continue, but I don't want to go on and on about my baby... (oops, already did!) :)

Weight: 17lbs. 10 oz.

Length: 26 1/2 in.

Eating: Logan is still nursing 6-7 times a day, and unfortunately still waking up once during the night for a little snack. We are working on breaking this, but at 3:00 am, it's so much easier to just pop him on, rather than try for 20 minutes to get him to just fall back asleep. He also started rice cereal yesterday (see below!)

Wearing: Logan is wearing 9 month clothes now. I told Chris I think he grew an inch in a week. I put an outfit on him last week, and again this week and the pants suddenly became capris! He is finishing up the last few size 2 diapers that we have in the house and then we are moving on to size 2-3 and 3's.

Sleeping: He is taking a few cat naps during the day that last anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour and half. He goes down for the night around 8:30 or 9:00, wakes up around 3:00 am, to eat, again at 7:00 am and goes back to sleep until about 8:30. It's nice being able to sleep in with him and snuggle in the morning. (Yes, I put him in the bed after he eats at 7:00) :)

Social Skills: Logan is a F-L-I-R-T!! I took him with me to the dentist today and he was flirting with all the ladies there. He loves for people to talk to him, then he smiles and coos back. He is reaching for everything, including hair, noses, lips and fingers. He is still talking like crazy. Chris and I recorded it the other night. I am going to try to figure out how to post it on here. He is just started to belly laugh. It is really cute to get him going with tickles or kissing his feet! He has also recently noticed Lilly and is a little obsessed with her. He loves to watch her and he gets so excited when she runs around. Lilly is still pretty unsure about him and keeps her distance.

Motor Skills: Our biggest accomplishment is sitting. I am still amazed that he can sit by himself. He sits for several minutes and you can tell when he gets tired because he starts to lean forward. He then realizes he can suck his toes so he doesn't mind too much! He is not only pushing up on his arms, but lifting his whole chest off the floor. He has gotten so much better about tummy time. He seems to like it so much more now, because I think he has figured out he can move when he is on his tummy. He even started to tuck his legs up under himself, but hasn't figured out how to propel himself forward. I'm sure that will be coming soon. He is still getting a little bit of prune juice a few nights a week and loves to grab the bottle. He also tried grabbing the spoon tonight when Daddy fed him his cereal. He is still working on getting the paci back in his mouth once he takes it out, but quickly gets distracted when he realizes his hands are just as good.

I love this picture because this is what he does all day. Hands go straight to the mouth.

Sitting like a big boy!

My first taste of rice cereal!

Logan first tried the cereal yesterday, and you could tell he was a little unsure at first, but was really into it after a few bites. When we gave it to him tonight, he finished a whole bowl of it and was whining for more. I made it a little thicker tonight and he seemed to like it. He was taking big bites, and swallowing it right down. We are going to do the rice for a few more days, then try oatmeal!

What a busy weekend!

Saturday, we took Logan to his first wedding! He got to see Daddy all dressed up in a tux! The wedding was beautiful and it was nice to have a fun night out with friends. Logan was a trooper and we stayed until the very end!

Although Logan tried to party the whole night, he ended up taking a few cat naps along the way!

Of course, Mommy had to take his picture in the wagon.

Chomp! Chomp! Logan loves to chomp down on knuckles right now.

The handsome boys at the wedding...It was hot!

All of us at the wedding, did I mention how hot it was?

Sunday we went to Granddaddy's to see his back yard that is being redone and see the pictures from his and Barbara's Alaska trip. We had a great time with everyone and Logan and Mackenzie had a ball together. She loves her "Ogan".

Relaxing with Granddaddy and Barbara

Drool Monster

As you can see from the newest picture Logan has some what of a drool problem! He either has something in his mouth, or this river of drool is running out constantly. It's pretty cute, although I'm running out of burp cloths! A word to the wise....don't hold a drooly baby above your head with your mouth open. Oops! Thanks Logan for the mouthful of drool!

In the blink of an eye....

Logan went from trying to sit, mainly leaning on his belly, to sitting up and catching himself as he falls to the sides. The first picture was taken on June 3rd and the second picture was taken just 5 days later on June 8th. Look at the difference! Several times today he sat for more than 10 minutes without falling over. I can't believe how quickly he is developing and learning new things. He's sitting up and he's not even 5 months old! Where is my baby going? He's such a big boy!

Cheese! Some of my favorite pics from this Summer

Mommy keeps making me do Tummy Time...

And more Tummy Time....

And More....



Here I am trying really hard to sit up!

Trying again and doing very well for 4 months old!

Here I am with my cousin Daniel! We had fun playing together!

Holy Blowouts!!!

So, I guess this is payback for being so worried about him not pooping for so many days. After not going for 11+ days, I called the doctor to see if we should do something other than the old thermometer up the butt trick. They suggested giving him about an ounce of prune or pear juice everyday and to also try a suppository. We bravely got Logan ready, gave him a pep talk about the "little" cone that was about to be stuck up his hiney, and luckily, Mimi volunteered to do it. Whew! What would we do without Mimis?
Ever since that first "movement", Logan's system has been pretty regular and he has been going about every other day.

Blowout #1:
We went swimming with Josh, Megan and Mackenzie last weekend on the opening day of their pool. They had a nice baby pool that we took stake in. I had Logan in his adorable surfer shorts, swim diaper, swim shirt, hat and sunglasses and he was just as happy as can be sitting on my knees playing in the water. I could feel him passing what I thought was gas and he ripped a few good ones (bubbles and all!). Next thing I knew my hand was COVERED in slippery, wet, brown poopy!! I yelled for Josh who was closest to me and he grabbed Logan so I could get out of the poop. Thank goodness, no poop actually made it into the pool. (I would have died if we were the ones to shut down the pool on opening day!)
Megan and Chris came to the rescue and we quickly got Logan cleaned up and back into the pool with a new diaper and a washed suit! Oh well, as they say, Shit happens!

Blowout #2 happened today...Logan and I were playing in the living room and I heard his tummy rumbling. I sat him in his Bumbo chair, where most of the "movements" seem to happen. After several "ggrrrrs" and red faced "mmmmms" the explosion happened. Imagine bum against diaper against plastic seat...There is quite an echo. Anyways, I picked him up and yes, of course, it was all up his back and all over his clothes. It was bath time after that and then of course laundry had to be done. YUCK!!
In case you are wondering, yes I did take pictures, but no I won't disgust you with those. Why, I don't know....just so I could prove to Daddy that he really did explode!!

I think we are going to lay low on the juice for a few more days to make sure the explosions stay at bay.

Round 2 of the sickies!

So, my little love bug is sick again :(
He started with a little dry cough last Saturday and the cough has now turned into a wet/juicy cough and he sounds pretty congested in his nose during the night and morning. He seems to get some what better during the day, but we just can't shake it. I took him to the doctor yesterday to make sure it wasn't developing into what we had last time. The doctor said she could hear a little in his chest and to go ahead and try the Albuterol before bed and during the night if needed. She said just like last time, it will either get better or get worse, so just to watch him.
While she was examining him, he was happily chewing on her fingers and giving her forearm a nice hickey. She noticed his drool soaked bib and I explained that he is not so much drooling, I like to say he has rivers flowing out of his mouth. I can seriously wring out his bibs after he has worn them for about 30 minutes. I also told her about him chewing on everything especially his hands. She felt his gums and said that his bottom two teeth may be getting close, but she wasn't certain. Hopefully, those little guys will stay put for awhile. I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with teeth yet! (Ouch!)
Anyways....Hopefully he will be feeling better soon! On a side note, while we were there, he was weighed and now weighs a whopping 17 pounds!
Geezz Logan, I'm glad you are growing so well, but could you slow it down just a bit, so you can wear all these cute clothes we have for you? Thanks! Love, Mommy

One Year Ago Today...

I couldn't sleep and jumped out of bed at 4:30am to go take the most important test of my life. This test involved no studying, and I didn't even need a sharp pencil or scratch paper. One year ago today, I saw the one word that would change our lives forever....PREGNANT.

The night before I had taken a test with the lines, and we thought we saw a VERY faint line, but we weren't sure so we decided to take a digital test. I remember my hands shaking as I waited for the results. After waiting what felt like 45 minutes, my shaking hands somehow picked up the test and just started crying. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I was trying so hard not to be too loud with my tears of joy. I didn't want to wake Chris up yet. I had planned something special to tell him the news. I really wanted to just start screaming and wake him up that way, but I knew it would be better to wait and surprise him the way I had planned.

It's so hard to believe that it has already been a year from that amazing day, and boy have we had some equally or more exciting days in this past year...finding out Logan was a boy, seeing our baby's face and body before he was even born, his birth, first smiles, it seems to get better with everyday that passes and every new thing he does.

I feel truly blessed! I will NEVER forget May 26th or the feeling I had the day I found out I was getting to start the job I was put on this earth to do....Be a Mommy!

4 Month Doctor's Appt

Thursday, we had Logan's 4 month appointment. at PAMPA with the nurse practitioner Debbie. Mommy was much stronger at this appointment and didn't even shed a tear, although I got really close to it!
Logan was 16 pounds 9 oz. and 25 inches long. He was in the 75th percentile for height and weight and 50-75th percentile for head circumference. They were very impressed with his growth!
We discussed his bowel movements, or lack thereof, and Debbie suggested we give him prune or pear just once a day to get things moving! We tried it last night and he took about 1/4 of an oz. No poop yet, but things are brewing! Isn't it strange how once you have a kid, you instantly become so interested in poop!

We also discussed starting solids. I told Debbie, I was in no rush to start them and hoping to hold off until closer to 6 months. She explained that the AAP recommends that you wait until 6 months, but they can be introduced a little earlier if they child shows definite signs of being ready. She explained I would know this Logan is having a fit to have some of the food we are eating. We talked about how he now watches us eat and will even open his mouth when we take a bite of our food. She said to keep watching and it was recommended to wait until closer to 6 months. Since Logan is developing so well, and our nursing has been so successful, we have decided to put off solids for the time being. I hate to mess up something that is going so well.

Although Logan is not the biggest fan of tummy time, we are now in Operation Tummy Time! He already spends some time each day on his tummy, but after about 5 minutes he begins to cry. Debbie explained that babies develop on their tummies and he needs to spend as much time as possible on his tummy while he is awake. She said their frustration on their tummy leads to discovery and learning. So, Logan is now spending more time on his tummy and although he protests a little, he is handling Operation Tummy Time fairly well.

Logan got his shots and took the oral medicine and the first shot without making a peep. The second shot however, made the little guy scream! Mommy scooped him up right away and a little time with the "Twins" fixed him right up! He did however, run a fever yesterday. He slept most of the afternoon and seems to be feeling back to himself today!

Have I mentioned how lucky I feel to have such a beautiful, healthy baby or how lucky I feel to be his mother? I love him so much! I must still have some of the pregnancy hormones in me, because some days I just stare at him and tears run down my face and feelings of joy and happiness overcome me.

4 Months!

Our precious boy is 4 months old! Can you believe it? How is time going by so quickly? I hope it slows down. I feel like if I blink my eyes one more time, he is going to be walking.

4 Months:

Weight: We have Logan's 4 month check up on Thursday, so I don't know his exactly weight, but last Monday he was 16 lbs. on the nose, so I'm going to guess that by his appointment he will be close to 16 1/2 lbs.

Length: Again, not sure until Thursday, but maybe 25 inches?

Eating: Logan was sleeping through the night, but for the last week he has been waking up around 3 am to eat. I always wake him up to eat at 5 am before I go to work. He recently went up to a 6 oz bottle when he wakes up with Chris in the morning. Then eats two more bottles while I am at work. Then nurses a few times once I get home. Only 4 more days until Mommy is home for the Summer! YAY!

We plan to talk to the doctor at his appointment about when to start rice cereal. I was pretty sure I wanted to wait until 6 month to introduce solids, but Logan has really been showing signs that he might be ready to start before that. He is very interested in what we are eating, and actually opens his mouth when he sees us eating. He has great head control and is sitting with assistance. We'll see what the doctor says!

Wearing: Logan is wearing all 6 months clothes and even some 6-9 month things. He is wearing size 2 diapers, but as soon as we finish this HUGE pack I bought, we will move to the 2-3's.

Sleeping: He is so great about letting us know when he is tired and goes right to sleep as soon as we lay him down. He usually goes down around 8:30, but tonight he is was exhausted and went down around 7:30. He sleeps until around 2 or 3, wakes up to eat, goes back down until 5, eats again, and sleeps until about 8am.

Social Skills: pppppppppppppp......... That is Logan's new sound. He loves to "motorboat". He is also drooling like crazy! He loves to smile and is laughing out loud. He loves to be read to and talks to the characters in the book. I just ordered him a bunch of books from the Scholastic book clubs at school and went to the Scholastic Warehouse Sale today with Megan and Wyatt. I think Logan has about 50 new books!

Motor Skills: We have a roller! Logan started rolling from back to tummy overnight. He did it about 4 times today! As you can see in his picture, he is sitting up very well with assistance and can even sit by himself for a few seconds. He loves to grab his toys and put them in his mouth. He has figured out how to take his paci out and get it close to his mouth again, but he doesn't know how to get it back in. He has also found his feet. While he is laying on his back he curls his legs up and grabs his feet.

Here are some recent pictures:

His monthly monkey picture! Look how much he has changed in just 4 months!

Relaxing in my robe and slippers!

Look! I can sit for a few seconds all by myself!

Logan is now rolling from back to tummy. He tries to pull himself over by pulling his own hand. He shakes and his finger tips go white from the pulling. It's really cute!

Sitting with my monkey friend!

All dressed up after church on Mother's Day.

All warm and snug after my bath! How sweet is that face?

Another 4 month picture

Granddaddy and Barbara came over to eat hamburgers and celebrate Logan's 4 month birthday! Logan wore his camo outfit that Granddaddy gave him when he was born.

Mommy's famous lip!

As far back as I can remember my dad has always talked about my "pouty lip". He always said all I had to do was stick that bottom lip out and I pretty much got what I wanted! :) Well guess who else is working on that "pouty lip"? I've been trying to catch Logan's pout and I finally got it! It is the sweetest face and makes me want to scoop him up and kiss all over him! So now "Little Chris" has two things from Mommy, my eyes and the pouty lip!

Hot Babe!

We bought Logan a little pool for the back yard, for days when Mommy doesn't feel like lugging everything down to the neighborhood pool. We decided to try it out Sunday evening, since it was so nice out.

Chilling in my swing while we were waiting on Daddy! I love my swing!

Yum, Yum! Pool toys taste so yummy!

Chris came out with his bathing suit on and I'm not sure if he realized how small this "little" pool was. He hopped right in though and squeezed himself in! It was quite funny!

Relaxing with my shades on!

All warm with Mommy after my first swim!

Weeeeeeeee!!!!

Have you ever seen a happier baby? Daddy hung Logan's swing up the other night and we thought we would give it a try. As you can clearly see, he loves it! He would kick his legs really fast and smile and laugh at us.
Could I be anymore in love? I don't think so!