Our weekend!

I am back to living for the weekends, and boy did we have a fun one!  Here are a few pictures from this past weekend. 

Logan is still really good at crawling backwards.  I walked in the kitchen for about 30 seconds and came back to find him like this!

Logan started to have a little fit at Publix, so I picked him up for a while, but after 5 minutes by arm felt like it was going to break off.  I put him back down sideways like this and he just laid back and relaxed for the rest of our shopping!  Everyone that walked by smiled, laughed and commented about how cute he was!

We spent Saturday at Josh and Megan's and got to visit with Uncle Scott.  Mackenzie was such a big helper and loves her "Baby Ogan" so much!

Are words needed for this?  Precious!

Love those cheeks!

School has taken over my life, so I really haven't had time to blog, but I am going to try to keep up!  Can't believe how fast time is going by.  Logan is almost 8 months old, Jack is almost 4 months and Daniel is about to turn 1.  Where is the time going?

Something's Gotta Give

Let me start this post by saying I have the sweetest bunch of kids this year at school!  They are so cute and I love working with them....BUT, the paperwork, planning and preparation is about to kill me!  I am a very anal and organized person and can't stand to have something on my to-do list for longer than 24 hours.  I feel like I am drowning paperwork and things to do, but I REFUSE to be away from Logan longer than the 6:45-3:00 I am required to be at school.  So normally that meant, working through lunch and specials, and bringing bags of work home to do after he goes to bed.  I'm still bringing bags of work home, but unfortunately I'm not really able to work through lunch and specials because I am spending my time in the closest with my pump!  I do not want to stop pumping or breastfeeding by any means, I just was so used to getting to use that time to get more work done.  I have quickly come to realize that that time is so easy to give up knowing I am still able to provide Logan with my milk.

  I find myself getting overwhelmed with work and getting so frustrated that I can't even come home and spend time with my husband because I am STILL working!  When I got home yesterday, I was able to spend a few hours playing with Logan, feed him dinner and give him his bath.  As we're laughing at the fish that squirts water out of his mouth, this sweet smiley face reminds me that work is not everything and I can only do so much.  "Something's gotta give" and it's not going to be my family time! 

I've decided to work smarter, not harder at work.  Logan came to school with me this afternoon and we planned and worked with a few of the girls until 7:00pm.  Although it was not fun being there that late, we got about a month of plans done which should help get me home and work free for the next few weeks!

That was a whole lot of complaining, but I feel much better knowing I will be able to scoot home from school as quickly as possible each day! 

Cousin Time Anytime?

Thanks to the best invention EVER....Logan and Mackenzie now get to see and talk to each other every night!  The new iphone has something called Face Time, you've probably seen it on tv.  Basically you can see the other person you are talking to.  Josh and I have been calling each other and letting Mackenzie and Logan "talk".  Their converstaions usually are the same every night:
M: "Hi Ogan!"
L: "aaaaahhhhhhh"
M: "Hi Ogan...Hold you Ogan....Hi Baby Ogan.....Hi Jess"
L:"aaaaahhhhaaahhhhhh"
M:" Bye Ogan, Bye Jess, Love you, Miss you!"

Look at these sweet cousins!

She's gonna make such a good big sister one day :)

Tales From the Crib....

I decided last weekend that something had to be done about Logan's midnight, 2:00am, and 4:00am snacking.  Not only did he not need the food, his momma was waking up like a zombie most mornings and knew it would be really bad once the alarm clock started dinging at 5:00am.  I really wasn't sure how to begin to fix things, so after some reading, I decided to just not pick him up and not feed him until 5:45am.  I am not a big fan of letting a child just cry it out, but I knew that is probably what it was going to take.  The first night was definitely the worst!  He woke up right on schedule at 1:50 am.  I went in and tried to put his paci in, and walk out.  Of course he spit it right out and the crying became much louder.  I tried back rubbing, butt rubbing, his aquarium, the mobile, more paci, and after 45 excruciating minutes of crying, screaming, and mommy ducking and trying to stay invisible, he FINALLY fell back asleep!  He was so pitiful!  He would push up and lean his head back and look at me with these eyes that just screamed....."Momma, why won't you just pick me up??"  It was so hard to have to watch him cry, but I knew it was what had to be done.  The next few nights went about the same, but it only took 5 or 10 minutes to get him to go back to sleep.  Last night, he went to sleep at 7:00pm and he fussed a little around 3:00am, but after putting the paci in, I had to wake him up at 6:30 to eat!  Hopefully this will keep up and he will go a full night without waking up at all.  I am pretty anxious to get a full night's sleep without any wake ups!  Speaking of sleeping, I guess I should put down the computer and go to sleep while I have the chance!  Sweet Dreams!

7 Months!

I know I say it every month and I will probably continue to say it, but I can't believe it has already been 7 months since I was holding my precious baby in the hospital for the first time.  I am so proud of him and the little man he is becoming!  It's crazy to see their his personality already forming.  We feel so blessed to have such a happy and easy going baby!

Logan is changing everyday and is about to take off crawling!  I keep meaning to get a video of him trying to crawl.  He gets up on all fours, rocks back and forth pretty quickly and will lift and move one hand forward, but hasn't figured out what to do after that.  I know it's right around the corner! 

Weight: 20 lbs 6 oz!!!

Length: 27 1/4 inches

Eating:  We are still breastfeeding and both still loving it!  I don't see a stopping point in the near future, so I think we'll keep going until one of us is ready to stop.  (Nothing crazy like 2 years or anything, but no sense in stopping something that is going so well.)  He has been trying to sneak in some late night snacks, which must stop now that I am back at work.  I made a "pumping station" at school in my closest, since there is really no where else to pump.  At the end of last year, I could just close my door and pump in my classroom, but I have a student teacher again this year, so I had to make something a little more private! 

Logan is eating solid food 3 times a day.  He normally has fruit and a little cereal in the morning.  For lunch he has a fruit and a veggie or yogurt and for dinner he has a meat with a fruit or veggie.  We  still haven't found anything that he doesn't like.  If peas are too thick he gags a little, but I have been mixing them with squash or sweet potato and he eats them right up!  I got my baby food books out to start making some new recipes, since I have used up all of my homemade freezer stash! 

Wearing:  Logan is wearing all 12 month clothes, aside from a few 9 month outfits I am still trying to squeeze him into, since I don't have too many 12 month summer outfits and it is still so dang hot here!   I hope it gets cool here soon, so he can fit into the 12 month outfits I do have that are pants and little zip up jackets.  Baby Jack is getting quite a stack of brand new clothes that Logan never even stepped foot in! 

Sleeping:  Logan is napping every day around 10 and 2 for anywhere from 30 minutes to an 1 1/2 hours.  He is in the bed at night around 7:30 and passes out within minutes, just like his Mama!  He sleeps great from 7:30 until 2:00am, but his little internal alarm clock is set for 2:00am, 4:00am, and 5:30am.  It was okay during the summer, but now that work has started I have to figure out how to get him to sleep through the night.  I know he is just waking up because he is use to it, so I have to figure out where to start.  I hate the idea of "Crying It Out", and I don't know enough about Ferber Method yet.  I think I may call and talk to his doctor to see what she suggests.  I have a feeling she is going to tell me to close the door, unplug the monitor and let him cry.  We'll see....  I'll keep you updated on the progress!

Social Skills:  Logan loves to play peek a boo and belly laughs when Daddy and I do it.  We duck down behind the bed or couch and he jumps and laughs so hard when we pop up!  He smiles ALL the time and is still trying really hard to talk.  He loves to talk when he wakes up in the morning and holds daily conversations with Lilly!  We're not sure what he's saying, but it's probably "Stop barking!" or "You better not lick my face today!" 

Motor Skills:  He's trying to crawl, loves to stand up with help and scoots all over the room.  He's working on the forward scoot, but is a pro at the backwards scoot.  We call him our Little Crawfish!  I give him puffs or yogurt bites at his meals so he can continue working on his pincher grasp.  He gets them so close to his mouth, but usually still needs a little help getting it in.  He loves to turn pages in a book, and feel his textured books.   Bath time pretty much turns into a shower for Mommy with all the splashing he does now! He's turning into quite the busy beaver!

Here are a few other pictures I took today!  (Tried out the black and white setting on the camera!)

Lilly tries to kiss him all the time!

3 weeks vs. 30 weeks

Wow!  Can you believe the difference?  It's amazing to see how quickly they change!  Logan looks so different!  He looks like a little man now!

Working Mother Once Again

I've already had to go back to work once, and it was pretty rough having to kiss my 11 week old good bye.  At that time, he was sleeping a majority of the day and just beginning to show his sweet little personality.  This morning was much more difficult.  Having to leave my 7 month old little man who now screeches with glee when I walk in the room, and holds little conversations with me, was so much harder than a few months ago.  I think I kissed him goodbye about 15 times this morning.  I would go downstairs and then think of something else to go back up stairs for and steal one more kiss!  I got pretty teary when I was leaving, but luckily I rode to work with my friend Megan, so that was a good distraction.  Work was pretty busy, and I had a ton to do, but it still seemed to go on forever.  Everyone says it will get easier, but I'm not sure I see that yet.  I absolutely hate being away from him. I love being the one to make him giggle uncontrollably, and I love being the one to soothe him when he's cranky.  I know I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and family support system, so that Logan can stay with family and not have to go to daycare. 
So many of my thoughts lately are wishing I was able to stay at home with my baby, but being back at work today made me realize something.  As I was looking at pictures of my past classes and students, I realized some of these kids really need me!  For most of my students, I am with them longer than their parents are each day.  For a select few, I am the only stable and supportive person in their life.  Realizing this, makes me proud to say that I am a teacher and that I am able to say I have a career that makes such an impact on my students' lives.  Of course, I would rather be home with Logan, but I hope one day Logan realizes just how special my job is.

Daddy reported that they had a great day together!  I am so proud to say that Chris is an excellent Daddy and really steps up to the plate when it comes to taking care of Logan.  Here is a picture Daddy sent me from Logan's nap today: 

Stretch Armstrong?

Logan was explaining to me in his baby babble that he was finished eating, so I put the bowl of baby food out of his reach, or so I thought, while I grabbed a wet paper towel to wipe his face.  My kitchen is not that big, so you can imagine my surprise when I turned around after 2 seconds and saw that Stretch Armstrong had grabbed the bowl and done some very artistic face painting!  Even when he's a big mess, he is still so darn cute!  He thought this "finger painting" was so much fun.  I ended up dumping a little on his tray and we "painted" for a few minutes! 

I snapped this picture the other morning and it's too cute not to share.  Like I said, the onesie pj's are too small, which you can clearly see.  A few minutes before this picture he had popped a few of the snaps open, hence the legs hanging out of the pj's!  He looks so cozy on the couch.  I wish I could curl up and sleep like that!

Danonino...Dan..Dan...onio

My friend Megan, told me about Danonino yogurt and how much her little boy Wyatt likes it, so we had to give it a try. Just like everything else...Logan loved it!

Lactation Cookies!

Despite how it sounds, these are NOT made with breast milk!  These cookies are my new breast best friend.  I go back to work at the end of next week, and I have been a little worried about keeping my supply up once I go back.  I have been stock piling the freezer just in case I need a little extra!  I always seem to have a little worry in the back of my head that my supply is a little low, but in the words of my doctor, after looking Logan, "Girl, you don't have any supply issues, look at that baby!".  Since coming home from the hospital, I have tried to do EVERYTHING that is suggested to keep your supply up like drinking TONS of water, eating oatmeal for breakfast, etc.  Well, I read about these cookies called "Lactation Cookies", that supposedly help increase your supply.  They have oats, almonds, breawer's yeast, and flaxseed meal, among many other yummy ingredients.  (Basically, they are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies)  It's suggested that you eat 4 a day.  So, of course I have been making these yummy cookies for a few weeks now.  How can you turn down 4 cookies a day in exchange for more milk for the babe? 

Logan was such a big helper while Mommy cooked!