Granddaddy's Dream!

This past weekend we got two trips in one!  We were so lucky to get to visit with Melanie, Scott, Jack and Baby Anna.  Jack and Anna were precious and Jack already loves his little sister!  Every time he saw her, he had to give her a kiss, which meant putting his head to hers.  It was really sweet.  Jack and Logan had a great time together and Logan already misses cousin Jack. 

After spending some time with them, Logan and I headed to meet my Dad and Barbara, in Alexander City, Alabama.  I was taught, if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all, SO....I'll just say, Walmart, the most exciting place in Alex City, was a fun place to go and people watch kill time while we waited for Granddaddy and Barbara to arrive. 
The second best thing about the town was Wendy's.  We decided to share a vanilla frosty.  I use the word share loosely, once Logan got his little paws on that cup, that was it.  He carried it around for over 2 hours!

My dad has been dreaming about living on Lake Martin in Alabama ever since I can remember.  Although he has talked about it for years, he has seriously started looking over the past few months.  Several of our family members live on the same lake, so that's just an added bonus! 
After looking at literally hundreds of houses, he thinks he found "the house", so Logan and I were able to go check it out.  We drove over Saturday evening and barged in on some poor family that is currently renting the house.  They were very welcoming and allowed us to look all around and even go inside.

The lot is beautiful and I know these pictures won't do justice, but here is a sneak peek:

Sunday, Granddaddy decided to rent a boat so we could see the house from the water.  We got all loaded up on the boat, and quickly realized, we had no damn clue where we were going.  So in the middle of the lake, we stopped, got out our lake map, our trustee GPS on the iphone and a little over an hour later, we arrived at the very quiet, very peaceful, and carefully tucked away famous "House on Brittany Lane".  My dad was beaming and I am so glad Logan and I were able to spend this time with them.  I love the idea of Granddaddy having "the lakehouse" where we can all go and spend time together.  I have pictures of me when I was about Logan's age looking at minnows in a bucket from when my Granddaddy went fishing, and I can't wait for Logan to have similar memories of his Granddaddy.   

 

"Seriously Mom!  How am I suppose to nap with all of this on?"

And...out!

Driving the boat!

Guess we'll keep our fingers crossed that Granddaddy's dream comes true!  He deserves it!

Love Shutterfly

Once again, I LOVE Shutterfly.  They sent an email for free cards, so I decided to make these cute little Thank You cards.  Head over to shutterfly and check out the cute products and specials!  Thanks Shutterfly!

Your Baby Can Read!

HEL* NO, I didn't buy that crazy program, but my baby can read!  Several times a day, Logan goes to the book basket and goes through all 43 books that are in it.  He certainly has his favorites, but he loves to open each one "read them".  Watching him tonight, it was almost like he was speed reading through them, and then tossing them to the side, like he was looking for a certain one and unable to find it. 
He is so into animals right now, and loves to find all the different animals in each book.  Once he finds the perfect one, he comes over to my lap, backs up and plops down for me to read it to him. 

I am so proud of my little reader!

Wordless Wednesday!

Vegas Baby!

No, we're not in Vegas, we're just in the basement.  Yes, we realize that slot machines are not ideal for 1 year olds, but do you really think we can keep him away from flashing lights, spinning wheels, and a magical, musical box that spits out gold coins? 
So, while Logan is busy getting himself addicted to gambling, Mommy is in his ear trying to teach him a lesson on colors, numbers, directionality, and probability.  I can turn anything into a teachable moment, that's what I do for a living.  So, next time you're holding a quarter, think of Logan and the lessons he is learning in our basement on a slot machine!

Nothing says "I Love You" like vomit!

We had big plans to go to the lake for Father's Day with my family, and see my brother's new boat.  We enjoyed a nice dinner with Chris' family on Saturday and celebrated Pop, Chris and Brian, and planned to head to my brother's right after church on Sunday.  We I got the normal wake up call from Logan at 5:30am Sunday morning, but quickly realized something was wrong when I gave him a few kisses and smelled the smell of death on him.  I flipped on the lamp and realized he and the ENTIRE crib were covered in vomit!  Now, I now Logan wanted to do something special for Chris on Father's Day, but really!  So, while I bathed him and cleaned up his bed, I explained that while waking daddy up extra early was sweet, the sour present was unnecessary.  Although the upchucking seemed to cease, I could tell he wasn't feeling well.  We decided it was best to skip church and my brother's house, and just take it easy at home. 
While hanging out with Daddy and watching a little Mickey Mouse, Logan snuggled right up and took a little nap.  I was able to snap this sweet picture.

After the nap, Logan gave Daddy his card and present.  We are really trying to conserve money, and Logan being the helper that he is, he thought of something really special to do for Daddy.  He (with a little help from Mommy) made Chris a daddy/son time capsule.  Daddy and Logan are going to work on filling it this week, but once it's sealed we are not going to open it until Father's Day 2026, when Logan is 16!!!  (Boo Hoo...  insert Mommy tears).  Logan told me he thought it would be fun to fill with things they both really like right now and memories of special times and funny things that have happened.  Maybe a few pictures, and a few little trinkets that tell about them right now.  I can't wait to see how they fill it!

We decided to run out, grab lunch and try the park on the way home for a little bit of play time.  This was actually the first time we had been to the park in a while and it was HOT!!  Since Logan was not feeling great, we decided to just stay for a few minutes.  He still loved the swings, but was not so happy about the slide.  He tried to stop himself from going down! 

 Hopefully, we will get to see Granddaddy and Uncle Josh soon to tell them Happy Father's Day!

We had a great Father's Day and hope you did, too! 

17 months!

"17 months?!? Are you serious, Mom?"

We will have to wait until Logan's 18 month check up next month for current height and weight, but he's definitely still growing like a weed!  He is wearing 24 month clothes and a few 2T things.  He is still squishing in his sandals, but I think we might be getting close to time for new shoes.  He has several pairs that we have tried, but his feet are so wide and thick they never fit.  Looks like we will head back to Gymboree for extra wide shoes later this summer.  He is still wearing size 4 diapers and I think he can been in those for a while.

I am a little concerned on Logan's lack of vocabulary.  Have you noticed I tend to get overly worried about things I don't need to?  Yes, I am aware I do this, but I just want to make sure he's on track.  He has several words he uses, but not consistently.   The words he does use consistently are: Mama, Dada, ish (fish), da (dog), moo,.  The words we have clearly head him say several times, but not necessarily on command are: Pop, cat, eyes, up, no, ball, and hello.  I already mentioned this concern at Logan's 15 month check up and the doctor said as long as he was understanding us and following commands we were okay, so we'll discuss it further next month.

Logan is officially registered for Mother's Morning Out/ Preschool starting August 16th!  I am so excited for him!  He is with his cousin one day a week, and spends an hour or two at Gymboree per week, but other than that he doesn't have any other peer interaction.  I think he will love being with some little friends two days a week and I know he will benefit from it.  I'm a little sad I won't be there to drop him off and see how he does, but honestly, I think it's probably better for me if I'm not there.  :)

In the circus?  Why yes, our little gymnast must think he is on the way to the circus.  He loves to tripod and try to stand on his head and flip over.  He thinks it's really funny.  He loves to run now and we have recently tried jumping.  Chris and I were trying to show Logan how to jump the other day and he was trying so hard, but his efforts results mainly in a squat dance.  He likes to spin and really loves for Daddy to spin him up in the air.  The big boy has decided that going up or down the stair on his knees discredits him as an advanced toddler, so he now insistants on walking up and down the steps all while holding onto the rail like a big boy.  (Of course, we are right behind him or beside him.)  Our house is three levels, so needless to say, we spend A LOT of time going up and down the steps. 

Sleep has once again become an issue!  Surprise surprise!  Ever since our Disney trip, Logan has not wanted to sleep through the night in his bed.  No, he can't crawl out of bed and come get in ours, but some nights most nights it has just been easier to bring him to bed with us.  Last night, I decided I was just going to let him cry it out.  Luckily, he only cried twice and it was no more than about 6 or 7 minutes.  When he woke up at 5am, I went ahead and brought him to our bed, since he went the whole night.....I KNOW.....I should have let him cry it out, but selfishly, since I am in school during the day right now, I am stealing a little time to snuggle!  (Insert your judgements....)

Logan is still exploring body parts and learning all the parts of his face.  He loves to poke my eye balls like we are on The Three Stooges, and thinks it's really funny to touch my teeth ALL THE WAY in the back of my mouth.  Logan has become a SUPER DUPER kisser!  As soon as I say, "Logan, can Mommy have a kiss?"  he is right in my face giving me the sweetest kiss.  It just melts my heart! 

I guess that about sums him up for right now.  Here are a few pictures more pictures from today, just because it was too hard to pick my favorite.

That's Logan's kiss face!  (Do you like the hand on the belly, too?)

"Is that a plane, Mom?"

Not sure about the bush.  He kept looking at me to see if it was okay to touch the leaves!

Things are Heating Up Around Here!

If you have been around Logan in the last few weeks, you have probably witnessed his obsession with microwaves.  It's very strange.  He is fascinated with the buttons, the lights, the fact the object in the microwave spins, and especially the beep when it is finished.   If we are anywhere in the vicinity of the kitchen he whines and sticks his arms straight up, then proceeds to tug on me until I pick him up to see the microwave.  It doesn't stop there...then he practically lunges out of my arms onto the counter so that he can touch the GOLDEN BOX!

I took Logan into a toy store the other day and you would think that he would have run over to the ENORMOUS train table or the ride on bikes, NOPE not my son, he beelined it for the wooden kitchen (I will say, he did choose the kitchen in primary colors, not the girly one).  Amongst a wooden oven, cabinet, sink, and refrigerator, he found the little microwave and immediately got to work.  This one did not beep, nor light, no spin, but he was still obsessed!

So, after I bribed him away with animal cookies, we headed straight to Toys R Us, in search of a cheap little kitchen.  Well, the words cheap and kitchen apparently don't go together.  After deciding that my child's happiness was not worth $135 (or more), we I decided that I would look for one at a consignment store.  But then....WAIT....did I really just see that??  I wiped my eyes and looked again....YES.... It was true....the perfect toy for my precious little heater uper!  His very own microwave!  Not only did it look like a microwave, but it  had buttons, lights, beeps, and even a turn table. 

We raced home and riped into that bad boy as fast as we could.  Amidst WAY overcooking some pizza and a whole chicken, we were able to enjoy a few "bites" of some delicious plastic delicacies.

Because, who doesn't love hot Mickey Mouse band aids?

push the buttons

the yellow light means it's cooking, red light means it's almost ready

making sure it's cooking right

yep, looks perfect!

Yummy Chicken! 

Watch Me Wednesday!

Date Night with Mommy!

Daddy had to work last night, so Mommy and Logan decided to have a fun night out.  We went to the pool, went to open gym at Gymboree for some playtime, then headed to Chick-fil-a!
I love our little dates and will continue these for as long as my little man allows. 

Hey Mr. Sandman....

Let me start this post by saying all of those fancy blankets and little animal lovies were such a WASTE!  I bought several of them knowing that our baby would choose one as his "security blanket".  Well, we are just about 17 months in and while he occasionally picks them up and chunks them out of the crib, he rarely hangs on to one for more than a few seconds (aside from Scout who lives in the crib and sings Logan to sleep). 
What does our son insist on having to go to sleep?  Well it's changing weekly, but here's a peek at the last few weeks.  (I snuck into his room and snapped these pictures, all while praying the shutter sound didn't wake him!)

This is a book I bought Logan and it has become his favorite, even over Goodnight Moon, which says a lot!

Tonight I had to sneak back in and take this picture.  Logan has always been partial to remotes, but for some reason it had to go to bed with him tonight.  I tried to pry it out of his hands, but figured getting him to fall asleep peacefully was worth more than a screaming tug of war match with the toddler.

Notice the book is there, too! (Along with the lovies I swore he was going to love on)

And just  because it's so cute...This is what I came home to after class this morning.  His Pop is magical!  He always gets him to nap and as you can see, he was OUT!