Bless you!

Dear Logan,

Recently you have learned when and why we use the terms "Excuse me" and "Bless you". Just now I sneezed and you ran in from another room and said "Bless you, Mommy!", turned around, and ran back to what you were doing. You are awesome.

Love, Mom

Oh geez...

I'm not sure if it a bit of "terrible twos" or just a touch of possessiveness when it comes to Mommy, but Logan had an argument with a little girl today at Gymboree (the store), whom couldn't have been older than 8 or 9 months old.

This is how it went:

Logan: (glaring at the girl - from stroller to stroller) "That's MY MOMMY", complete with wagging finger and stink eye.
Girl: (nothing)
Logan: "NO! That's my mommy!" (points at me). "THAT'S your mommy" (points at woman sifting through the 99 cent bin.
Girl: (still, nothing)
Logan: "NO! NO! NO! MY MOMMY"

Up to this point I had been paying for my items, so I had only been half paying attention to this, ah-hem, "exchange". I explained to Logan that, yes, I am in fact his mommy, and no, I am not in fact that little girl's mommy, and if he could please not yell at strangers that would be swell.

All good things must come to an end.

Dear Logan,

As we are winding down from your second Christmas, I am trying to remember all the little details that made this day so special. Even though it was your second Christmas, I have to admit, it felt more like your first. Last year was great, but you were just ending that "Sack of potato" stage of infancy and just beginning to embark on toddlerhood. Hardly the stage that understands Santa. But this year....

You loved every moment. We baked cookies last night for Santa. You are so serious when you bake. I wouldn't be surprised if you one day have your own Food Network show. You really get into using the cookie cutters and decorating. Maybe you will be the next Cake Boss?

You picked out four particular cookies for Santa, and set them on your special plate. You wore your Santa jammies, and cuddled on the couch until your eyes were falling heavy. You talked about Santa as I put you in your crib. I don't remember being this excited about Christmas morning since I was a kid myself.

This morning was great! You got up, and for a moment, forgot what we would be doing. However as soon as we reminded you, you ran to the gate at the top of the stairs ready to see the loot! When you got to the tree I think you were so overwhelmed, you didn't smile or make a sound. First you checked to make sure Santa had eaten the cookies, which he did. Then you looked in the empty glass of milk, satisfied. Finally, you picked up the crumpled napkin, gave me the stink eye and asked, "Um. WHAT is THIS?". Evidently you expected Santa to throw away his trash. Noted for next year.

Your favorite gift had to have been your kitchen since you played with that for about five hours today. It's a good thing too since your Dad spent over 3 hours last night putting it together.

We spent the day eating, cuddling, watching movies, and playing with your new toys. We never got out of our jammies. It was just the three of us, and it was so relaxing. You ate your body weeight in ribs, mashed potatoes, and veggies tonight. Finished off with a cookie.

So, my sweet, this Christmas must come to an end. Right now I am watching you play with your new CAT skid loader. Daddy is so proud!

Love you to the moon and back. Merry Christmas my sweet boy!

Mom

Dear Logan,

Dear Logan,

I love hearing you and Daddy in your room in the evenings getting ready for bed. Most especially, I love hearing you say "I do it! I Zoooop!". This is some serious business for you, I know. You get into position, grab the zipper from all the way at the foot of your footie-pajamas, and pull with all your strength saying "Zooooooooop!" all the way up, ending with "I did it!".

Seriously, could you be any cuter?

Love, Mommy

Two Year Pictures

In just a few short weeks, my baby will be two. We had a photo shoot in our home on Saturday morning with Heidi who did Logan's first birthday pictures. She is so sweet, and really does a nice job. Logan was border-line crabby that morning, so we tried a few "tricks" like playing catch and dancing around with a stuffed alligator. Hey, whatever gets a smile, right? Last year we got a nice family picture with Wrigley included. This year's family picture with Wrigley was more comical than anything.

Bam Bam

So Logan has a new way of "expressing anger"... and I am not thrilled about it. We really try to work with Logan on teaching him how to express anger and frustration by teaching him to "use his words" and try to control his body when he is upset. Most of the time, he will stop and realize he is not acting in a nice way and will try really hard to use nice words. But... of course, he is a toddler, so he does have his moments!

The past couple days, Logan has devised a new way of expressing his frustration. He will make a fist, and pound it on whatever is around him: table, floor, me.... and says "Bam, Bam, Bam!!". Oh, no. No, no. That is NOT going to fly! So, we are working on redirecting that one. My goodness, Two is going to be interesting!

On a different note, however, Logan learned how to start earning his keep around here. My little helper LOVES letting Wrigley in and out! It has really come in handy for me, since often times I either don't have the extra hands, or I finally just sat down on the couch for the first time all day and just don't want to get up... so all I have to do is say the magic words; "Logan will you please be my big helper and let Wrigley in?" His face lights up as he runs to the door and uses all of the strength in his little body to open and shut the door. The look on his face is priceless. He is so proud of himself! I am so proud of him too.

Two for today

Santa has been a very frequent topic in our household the past few weeks. Ever since Logan got a message from Santa via the PNP (thanks Katy Brown!), he has not stopped talking about the big guy. Today we went to see Santa at the mall. Logan was so excited! He danced around while we waited in the line. Finally when we got up to see Santa, Logan was similar to when we saw Mickey Mouse. Stunned. Still. But happy!
Don't let the pictures fool you. He really was happy!







Finally, when we left Santa's House, Logan looks at me and asked "That's it?". Ummm. What did you expect, son?

***


Logan was exhausted after our day of fun today. Santa, then lunch, then the Children's Museum. He fell asleep on the way to the car. We were hoping he would continue to nap when we got home, but a situation "code brown" disturbed his nap...

I was unaware of the dirty diaper, and was really enjoying listening to him in his bed. He was singing "twinkle, twinkle" over and over, and clapped and said "YAY!" each time he finished the song. I decided to try to videotape the concert, so I crept up the stairs. He must have sensed me coming because this is what I heard about half way up:

"OH. What's that? Who's there? Mom? Dad? Oh... I POOPED!"

Guess who's awake!

"I need help!"

"I need help!"

This is what I heard coming from Logan's room today about 3 minutes after I put him down for nap. I went sprinting up the stairs thinking there is something terribly wrong with the boy. I am thinking an arm stuck in the crib, bumped his head, or encountered a toddler-eating spider.... Luckily it was none of these things, and when I entered his room, there was Logan in the corner of his crib, whimpering, and pointing to his blankets.

Logan: "I need help"
Me: "You need help with your blankets"
Logan: "Yeeeaahhh" (insert pouty face here)

So I wrapped him in his blanket, tucked him in with Puppy, Sheep, and Dino, otherwise known as the "A Team", as well as Moose, Alligator, and Dolphin, otherwise known as the "B Team". He's good to go now.

"I need help" is just one of a few new phrases Logan has picked up in the last week. He has also been saying "What's that noise?", "who's here?", "What happened?", "I wanna snuggle", and "That bed!". Oh, and don't forget "We don't do that", "She needs a timeout", and "NEW COUCH!".

For real. This kid is chatty. And I LOVE it.

Whoopsie...

Ok, so mom of the year award will not go to me! I am cleaning the pantry, and Logan is sitting on the floor near me reading a book when a glass bottle of corn syrup falls out on the floor and breaks. I didn't even think about it and said "SH*T!". I held my breath realizing what was coming:

Logan: "sh*t" (wait for it) "SH*T!" (wait for it again) "OH SH*T".

whoops.

SNOW DAY!

Me: "Logan, do you want to bake cookies with me today??!!!"

Logan: "Ummmm.... uh-uh."

Me: "WHAT?! You don't want to bake cookies with me?"

Logan: "Nope."

Last night he also tried to push me out of my chair saying "mooooove!".

Is this what having a two-year-old is going to be like?

Indentations in the carpet.

My Dearest Son,

You little weirdo. You have a bit more than a causal interest in indentations in the carpet left by toys and furniture. When you see a mark in the carpet left by a toy, you will walk straight to it, glare at it, and start rubbing it out with your foot. I never taught you this. I have no idea where you got this from. The anal-retentiveness, yes, but this particular habit... no.

Then there was today - the ottoman was removed from its normal spot, which happened to leave rather large indentations in the carpet. I walked over to assess. You looked at it from different angles. You started your usual "foot rub" to get them out. This was not successful. You started to stomp on them. Nope, not working. You grabbed a plastic ball and started hitting them with the ball.... nada. Finally you walked over to me and said "Mom. The floor has owie".

Dear Logan,

One day when you read this blog, maybe in book form, you will read this post and call me and say:

"Mom, I can't believe you did that".

Being a parent means learning to roll with the punches. More specifically, it means knowing some tricks to achieve desired outcomes. Lately, my desired outcome has been for you to try new foods, or foods that your haven't cared for much in the past. I have tried so many different ways to get this accomplished - rather unsuccessfully. Don't get me wrong. You are a wonderful eater. You eat three solid, healthy meals a day,enjoy a wide variety of foods, are rather unpicky, and you sit calmly in your chair and share good "family dinnertime discussion". Usually you talk about Wrigley. Or your love for condiments.

So back to the trying of new foods - like I said, I have tried many different ways, and I just happen to have discovered the only one that works:

Me: "Logan please take a bite of your pineapple/pears/broccoli/lima beans/etc."
Logan: "Ummmmmmm... no"
Me: "But Mickey Mouse brought it here!"
Logan: "Mickey mouse eat pipebapple"
Me: "He sure does!"

BINGO! You now have a love for all these foods. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

You are welcome.

Love,

Your Genius Mother

Milestones

When Logan was born, we busted out the "Milestone Calendar". It is a little calendar with stickers for all those fun "firsts" that baby (and mom and dad) will experience int he first year of life. There is a little sticker with a giraffe on it that says "First Dr. Visit". There is a sticker with an elephant on it that says "First Smile", and another that says "Slept through the night". There are 12 months full of "firsts". I love looking back at this calendar and remembering all of those amazing moments.

At the beginning of Logan's second year of life, I wondering, hmmm.... how come they don't have a milestone calendar for Year Two? Well, I had a lightbulb moment the other day. The reason why they don't have a milestone calendar for budding toddlers is because this is what the stickers would have to say:

"First time screaming NO!!!!!!"
"First time pushing over the neighbor girl and making her cry"
"First time saying "NO I DO IT!" when mom/dad are trying to help you with something"
"First time screaming MINE!"
"First time ROLLING YOUR EYES AT YOUR MOTHER BECAUSE SHE ASKED YOU NOT TO FEED YOUR DINNER TO THE DOG".

You get the picture.

Don't get me wrong, the second year of life is amazing actually. From 12 months to 24 months kids change from baby to full-blown toddler. It is pretty spectacular. Another big change is once they hit 24 months, they are no longer counted in age in terms of months! Can you believe that? By age two, you are just two.

The best thing that Logan has started doing in his second year of life is the hugs and kisses and cuddles. I wonder what the third year of life will hold?

Another one in the book of "Logan-isms"

"MOM! Does Grandpa have boobies?"

Dear Logan,

Dear Logan,

You are so much fun. You brighten my everyday. Today we spent the day at the park. We took a picnic lunch and sat side by side at a picnic table, ate our sandwiches, and talked. We talked. Do you know how amazing this is to me? You are old enough to start having conversations. Of course, we conversed about topics such a choo choos and birdies, but still.

After lunch, I was in awe of you discovering things for the first time. You gazed in wonder at the height of an oak tree. You stood in skepticism at the feeling of the crunching of leaves under your tiny shoes. You held back exploration with the touch of sand for the first time. You hugged a tree. You inspected the details of the ladybug that landed on your arm. Watching you learn and experience has to be the best gift of parenthood.

We took a drive to lower city park and walked along the river. "Water! Water!" you yelled in complete amazement, and just stood still for so many minutes looking out at the water. Wow, I would give a lot to know just what you were thinking in those moments. We visited the statue of Loss of a Child and you were so careful and sweet with your questions, words and touches. You always know when it is the right time to give me a hug.

We saw a huge sculpture to which you asked "what's that?". I replied, "oh, that's neat". You took that quite literally, and when we couldn't see the sculpture anymore you asked "where neat go?". You were still talking about "neat" tonight at home, and when you see a picture of it you yell "that neat!".

On the way home, you sang "twinkle twinkle little star.." just that verse, over and over until you fell asleep. What a perfect end to the afternoon. Thank you for being so much fun. I love you forever.

Love Mommy

More reasons to love the second year of life

You know that song "I like to move it, move it..." You know, old school type song? The other day, Nile, who comes to daycare here, was singing it around the house ALL DAY LONG. He was singing it to the point that I was singing it as well. At the lunch table, he was singing it and was interrupted when Logan proclaimed:

"I like to move it too, Mommy!!"

Whereas Robin argues:

"No I move it!"

I had to explain that there is enough time in a day for us all to move it.

***

Yesterday when naptime was coming to an end, I could hear Logan babbling up in his room. I stood outside his door for a minute or two listening to his "conversation". He was explaining to "Puppy" what all those things were on his sheets. It sounded like this:

"Puppy! That is football, baseball, soccer ball, and beebee ball!" This went on for a while, and when I finally opened the door, he was sitting in his crib, looked at me, pointed to his nose and said:

"Mom, I've got a boggie"

5 Reasons to love a 22-month-old

1. Today Logan and Nile were playing "Handy Manny" (tv show from the Disney Channel). They had their soft tools - a hammer and a screw driver, and were "fixing" the rocking horse. Logan would crouch down to asses the situation. Do a little hammering. Look at it from a different angle, hammer some more. He stood up to proudly proclaim "MOM! I'm Mandy Manny!". He was so proud. Then when Eliza came over to steal the horse, Logan screamed, held on for dear life, yelling "but I'm Mandy Manny! I'm Mandy Manny! NO ELIZA! I'm MANDY MANNY!!!!"

2. Last night when we put you to bed, you just chilled in your crib until you fell asleep. But you were not silent.... you were saying "duck, duck, duck, duck, GOOSE!" over and over. We did, in fact, get it on video.

3. You have started proper usage of the words "oh" and "um?". I love it. Yesterday we had this conversation:

Logan: Daddy home?
Me: Nope, not yet. He will be home in 45 minutes.
Logan: OH!

Then we also had this conversation:

Logan: Where is football?
Me: I don't know, Logan. Where is football?
Logan: I don't know!
Me: Where did you put it?
Logan: Ummmmm....?

Great. (note to the concerned: we did find the football. THANK GOODNESS!)

4. Today while I was making lunch, you sat at the little kid table looking at books. You picked up the family photo book, opened to the middle and said this:
"Oooo! Oooo! Oooo! MOM!! It's GRANDMA!!" you had an Epiphany. Then you turned the page and said "OH! OH! OH! OH! MOM! It's Grandpa!". I think you just made your Grandparents day.

5. Today I taught you how to say "what up, dawg?". It is my right. As your mother. I birthed you and can do stuff like this. I also taught you how to say "transcendent" for no other reason than the fact that it comes out trafffhhehhot... and that makes me giggle.

A man who knows what he wants.

Dear Logan,

Last night we tortured you by forcing you to wear a Firefighter costume. You were not happy. Then we put you in the wagon and made you carry a basket shaped like a pumpkin. The horror. Finally we made you walk up to a door of a friendly neighbor, stand there and say nothing, while the neighbor puts candy into your basket. How could we? You retaliated by crying, removing said candy, and putting it back in the bowl. What, you don't like M&M's?

Love, Mom and Dad

Perhaps I drink too much coffee.

I don't think I drink too much coffee, but would it be a sign that I do when my not-quite-two-year-old walks around with a plastic toy cup stating "this is my coffee, Mommy"? He has been walking around with it all morning, and warning others not to touch it because it is is "hawt". As long as he doesn't start walking around with an imaginary glass of wine or beer, I think we are ok ;)

Directions from a toddler

Logan's new phrase:

"go that way..."

For example, when we were at the doctors office Tuesday night, and he just knew that someone was coming in soon to poke, prod, and pinch he kept pointing at the exit door crying "GO THAT WAY!!!"

When it is time for bed, and we are holding him near his crib, giving him goodnight kisses, he is pointing towards the hallway saying "go that way..."

When he sees the freshly baked cookies on the counter, and can't quite reach them, he asks to be picked up and points to the kitchen with a smile saying "go that way!"

He also says "I did it!", which is super adorable.

Anyone have the Tooth Fairy's phone number?

Do you think I can find it in the yellow pages, because we NEED IT! Logan's tooth... the one that was jammed up so far in his gums it was practically coming out his nose.... well, it just POPPED OUT! Just popped out. He was sitting in his chair at the table while I was making lunch. He had his head laying on his hands on the table and suddenly started whining. He was saying "mommy, hand, mommy hand" over and over. I though maybe he had some snot or something on his hand, as he usually complains when there is ANYTHING on his hands. He doesn't like to be dirty. Hmmm.... who do you think he gets THAT from... anyways, so he is holding his fist out to me and I go over there expecting to wipe of a boogie when there it it. Just laying on top of his hand. HIS TOOTH! Root and all.

I am just shocked. Here we are thinking we will have to wait up to 6 months, and potentially face Oral Surgery. SURGERY! And now... no waiting! The dentist was flabergasted. She could not believe that it came out, and actually questioned whether it was a different tooth. But no! It is that tooth that was jammed up to the edges of the earth and space and all that is unseen.

And my sweet boy lets out a sigh of relief! Can you even imaging how much better it must feel for him? My goodness! He must feel SO MUCH BETTER! YAY!!

I have been walking around the past few days in a daze of panic and anxiety because of the pain that he has been in, and the unknowing future of this tooth. The bad news is that he will need a baby denture, but this means no surgery! Have I mentioned that? NO SURGERY!

We go to the dentist on Tuesday morning so the dentist can oooo and ahhhh over the amazingness of the magical flying tooth. In my head, call me an optimist, but I am thinking that since the baby tooth spent minimal time jammed up into the permanant tooth bud that maybe this means the permanant tooth will be spared any severe harm. FINGERS CROSSED EVERYONE!! Hopefully we can get his baby denture soon and don't have to go through the holidays and his birthday with our Billy-Bob-Baby. Even his gums are looking so much better.

Perhaps I can cancel the order I placed for the bubble I was planning to have him live in for the next ... oh.... 23 or 24 years.

A little hand holding goes a long way

My poor baby. My poor, poor, baby boy. Sunday night was "the accident" as we have been calling it. He was standing by the end table in the living room and stepped on a toy that was on the floor. As Brian and I were telling him not to stand on his toy, it slipped out from under him and he slammed his mouth on the side of the table. I reached over and grabbed him out and there was a chunk of wood from the table in his mouth - he hit it that hard. I realized that his tooth was missing, he was bleeding from his nose and mouth, but his tooth was not there. Brian and I rushed him to the dentist who gave us the shocking news- his tooth has been push up into his gum - completely. The bottom of his tooth is 5mm above his gum line. The gum tissue in his mouth is very damaged, and he has exposed bone, potential damage to his baby tooth and permanant tooth, and will be "toothless" for up to six months. We have been devestated over our poor baby's pain. He has been such a trooper, and will give us a big grin filled with one less tooth. He will ask us for smooches even though his lip is swollen, and he will walk over to the table and say "table owie, no stand on boat". Ugh, my heart is just aching for him.

Last night, about 4am, Logan woke up in pain. It had been about six hours since he had some meds for the pain, and he was moaning and crying "owie". I gave him his motrin, cuddled with him and rubbed his back until he relaxed. He finally curled up next to me and said "mommy, hold hand". He just wanted me to hold his had. I held it tight and rubbed his hand until he fell asleep. It is, by far, the least I could do, but yet that is all he needed from me.

Dear Logan...

Dear Logan,

You will often lay in my lap and look up at me. I can really see your blue eyes, but what others can't see are the flecks of brown that are mixed in with the blue. If I look for long enough, you start to giggle and cover your face like you are embarrassed. You bat your mile-long eyelashes at me and are ready to move on to something else. That's fine, because you gave me just a little time to gaze into those sweet blue eyes with brown flecks that are half me, and half your Dad.

Love, Mommy.

Mr. Manners

It is my job as a parent to instill those important life lessons in my son. You know, like always look both ways before you cross the street, always wear clean underwear, open doors for people in public, say "Thank You"... you know, stuff like that. I figure the easiest way to do these things is to just start doing them. Sounds simple, right? You would be surprised how many kids I have encountered in my days that have been a little older than Logan, and a lot older than Logan, that manners and life lessons have been lost on.

Well, I am so proud to say that Logan has mastered "Thank You". When he says it, he has this adorable little tone of his voice and it sounds more like "Take Two", but I know he gets it. What really blows my mind, is that it is one thing to say thank you when prompted, but it is another thing to say it because you know it's right. It amazes me that at 20-months-old, we can give Logan his plate, hand him over his sippy, serve him some more carrots, put on his shoes for him, change his diaper... and he says "Thank You". Even this morning, after he had been up screaming for 3 hours with a sharp object piercing his gums, I gave him some Tylenol and a hug and he thanked me. Makes the four hours of sleep completely worth it!

Scheming

Last night as I was putting away clean laundry in our bedroom, Logan was playing quietly in his room. I could see him from where I was sitting on my bed. He would look at a book, then do a puzzle, then would look at his flash cards, then visit with his stuffed animals... it was very endearing to watch!

Then, then "incident" happened.

He was inspecting the knob on his dresser when the base to the new video monitor we just got fell off his dresser. It fell at his feet and he stood there stunned, the look of horror across his face. I didn't say or do anything because I really just wanted to see what he would do next - what he did made me laugh so hard, I think I peed a little bit.

So back to the scene, there was Logan, standing over the fallen monitor. Stunned. Then he starts pacing in his room whispering "oh no, oh no, oh no..." over and over. Then he walks over to his door, and you could tell that a lightbulb went off over his cute little blonde head. He moves the laundry basket out of the way, and reaches on his tip toes to shut his bedroom door, probably thinking to himself "If I can't see it, and SHE can't see it... there is NOTHING to see here!". He successfully closes the door and strolls into my room with his hands behind his back and in the most angelic voice says "HI MOOOOOMMMMM!!!".

I started cracking up, but then stopped the laughing, and got down on his level, and this was our conversation:

Me: Logan, did something happen in your room?
Logan: um. uh huh.
Me: Did you knock down the new monitor?
Logan: uhhhh huhhhhhhh
Me: Should we go pick it up?
Logan: yaaaaaaaaaa....

I explained to him that accidents happen, and all was well. I just couldn't believe that this little person, now has the ability to feel guilt, then conjur up a PLAN, act out the plan, admit fault, and rectify his actions. Oh my gosh, he is actually a person!

I Love When...

Dear Logan,

* I love when you need to put your football in a safe place, you always find me. Even if I am in another room, you will seek me out to give me the football as you know I will keep it safe, clean, dry, and know where it is when you need it. If I am sitting on the couch, you will walk up and toss it in my lap. If it is sitting on the arm of the chair, you will come up, grab it, and toss it in my lap. If I am not paying attention, you will stuff it down my shirt or yell "MOM!".

* I love that you are learning a bagillion words a day. Today you looked out the window and said "My daddy going bye bye in that truck". What? WHAT?! You formed a sentence. A SENTENCE!

* I love that you love your Grandma Claudia. Very few things make me happier than watching the two of you play.

* I love when you melt into my arms before bed. You just flop your head onto my shoulder and wrap your little arms around my back. If I could describe what being a mommy feels like, it would be a description of this moment.

* I love how you can make me laugh even when someone else in the room is throwing up... all over our table. "Mommy.... Nile spilled!". Yes, honey. Sort of.

Say what?

Last night at dinner Logan told us a very elaborate story complete with hand gestures, pointing, shrugging, and sighing. The only thing is we have NO idea what he was talking about.

It went something like this:

Brian: Logan can you take a bite of your dinner?
Logan: Bfth shiuoe youenw jusyhe puppy hoie football houw ih!
Brian: What?
Logan: (pointing outside) WRIBLEY hiuoh fhdeiuo hifoesy huirfh fernbygfv aahyes.
Me: What was that?
Logan: I want milk. Yhlie naience hneudne string cheese!

How can we argue with that!

I Love When....

Since I plan to turn this blog into a book for Logan, I wanted to remember to put this in here - dated July 11, 2009:

I love how Logan says "I poo poo'd" with a questioning sound in his voice everytime I change his diaper, and is very concerned if any of the other daycare kids poo poo'd at each diaper change.

I love how Logan gives the best smooches ever

I love how Logan likes to go up to each picture of me in the house and say "that's MY mommy"

I love how every sentence he says starts and ends with "mommy" - example "mommy I want mo milk mommy"

I love how he sleeps with his butt up in the air.

I love that he calls Wrigley (our boxer) Wribley

I love how each day he says something new - today it was "GOOD THROW!"

I love how he has a fake laugh

I love that he can actually understand what I am saying to him now.

Most of all, I love that I can soothe and comfort him unlike anyone else in the entire world. It is the most empowering feeling ever and I can never find the words to thank Logan for allowing me to fill that part of his life.

my husband came out of the closet...

... and showed his true colors. He loves 90210.

He will deny it, so don't even ask him about it. Let me set the scene for you....

It is a Wednesday evening, Logan is in bed, and I have the new 90210 on TiVo. I tell Brian my plans to watch in and he scoffs, grabbing his computer and pretending that he is irritated about being subjected to such mundane programming. Yea, well... this is what happened next:

Brian: who is that?
Lindsay: Mr. Man Hands
Brian: who is he dating?
Lindsay: Naomi
Brian: I thought she was dating that other kid
Lindsay: no he moved
Brian: oh. Nevermind, I don't care anyways.
Lindsay: mmmm hmmmmm

wait for it..... wait for it....

Brian: WHAT is she wearing?
Lindsay: Who?
Brian: Silver! I thought she was all grunge-blog-dark girl... now she is all trendy prep.
Lindsay: Just keeping with the times honey.
Brian: whatever, this show is stupid

wait for it....

Brian: Who is that?!
Lindsay: the new guy
Brian: is he supposed to be in high school?
Lindsay: yep
Brian: whatever, I'm not watching anyways
Lindsay: suuuurrreee

waiting ....

Brian: why is the principals daughter sad?
Lindsay: her friends are mad at her
Brian: why?
Lindsay: she ratted them out
Brian: where did they move to?
Lindsay: a new house
Brian: Where?
Lindsay: I don't know
Brian: this show is dumb
Lindsay: uh-huh

Yep, you get the picture. This went on for the entire hour. I won't be surprised if he has the 90210 theme song as his new ringtone. If he starts watching Secret Life of the American Teenager, however, I may start getting nervous.

Dear Logan,

Dear Logan,

You just blew me the best kiss from across the room, then let out a huge giggle. That is EXACTLY what I needed. You are amazing, and we are beyond lucky to have you, our little man.

Love, Mommy

Better than a Five Dollar Footlong?

I have to say I encountered many "interesting" situations working in the Staffing Industry that yielded some pretty entertaining stories. Like the guy that left my desk, MID-INTERVIEW to ride his bike around the parking lot and DRINK A BEER! Or the story of the chick who, post-interview, proceeded to eat and entire business card at the interviewers desk. She ate it. As in, ingested the business card. Yep. While these stories were entertaining, and quite unique, NONE of them compare to the endearing stories I will be able to tell from being with kids all day.

Have you all heard the Five Dollar Footlong story?

This is a conversation I had with Ava, Alanna's older sister who is 4-years-old.

Ava: I have a piggy bank

Me: Awesome! How much money do you have saved?

Ava: 5 DOLLARS!

Me: That's great! What are you saving up for?

Ava: A Five Dollar Footlong...

Classic. I will never in my life forget the hilarity of that day because I laughed so hard that I thought nothing else a kid could say could compare to the humor of that story... that is, until today.

I have to preface the story with this YouTube video. Please go watch this now. Trust me, it is VERY important to the story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Ok, you back? Funny, no? Brian showed me this video about a month ago and understanably, I laughed pretty hard.

Ok, so flash forward to today. I am sitting on the couch with Alanna, reading a book. Logan, Nile, and Eliza are all sitting at the little table working on a puzzle when I hear Nile, in and ENGLISH ACCENT, say "Ouch, Charlie bit me" while Eliza pinches his shoulder. I slowly look up because I couldn't understand how Nile got my computer downstairs, found the YouTube video and pushed play, because, I mean, he is only two! I swear to you, it sounded EXACTLY like the big brother in the video. EXACTLY! I was in completely shock that I heard Nile say this, so I asked him calmly, "Nile? What did you just say?" and he's all "Charlie bit me!" in the best English Accent I have ever heard, while pointing at Eliza. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Mind you, this is the same child who, in the beginning of the week, was referring to Eliza as Baliza. Ba-Liza.

Consider this my "high five" to the internet for imapacting the life of a two-year-old. Love it.

My son, the Boxer

And not the Wrigley-dog kind. The fighting kind, because have you seen this poor kids face lately?



He seems to be taking it all in stride, actually. After the "train track incident" I thought his poor face would be spared from additional mishappenings, but then he had an unfortuante face meet staircase banister encounter, followed by a forhead to train table confrontation. Poor kid needs a helmet. There is a Christmas Gift idea for you.

Dear Logan....

Dear Logan,

Your favorite food is homemade Split Pea Soup. That's awesome.

Love, Mommy

OH NO! OH NO! OH NO!!!!!

Ok so you remember my post about the spider in the Congo?
http://myprojectmommyhood.blogspot.com/2009/07/good-bad-and-ugly.html

Well, the situation I had this morning might as well have been a 5ft spider encounter. I reacted the same as if it was!

I was the first to take my long commute to work - you know, from upstairs to downstairs - and immediately spotted the intruder. A HUGE black spider on the ceiling in the living room. He seemed to be either napping, or plotting his evil attack on the household - probably the latter - so I took the time to plot my own plan:

Step 1 - watch the spider
Step 2 - make sure he DOES NOT MOVE
Step 3 - wait very patiently for Brian to come downstairs to take care of said spider.

Brian came downstairs and I pointed out the spider and asked him to kill it. Well, that is where the plan went TERRIBLY wrong. What I should have done was give Brian a step-by-step action plan on how exactly to remove the spider, because as we know, they are known to ATTACK! Sadly, I did not give an action plan, and instead watched in horror as Brian stood on the couch and end table, teetering and reaching to get the spider when the beast JUMPED OFF THE CEILING, TRIED TO EAT HIS ARM, LANDED IN THE OVERSTUFFED CHAIR, and went missing. Did you hear that? IT IS MISSING! I yelled at Brian as if he had just lost our house and life savings in a poker game (sorry honey, really, I'm sorry) and made him scour the area for the missing intruder. He is nowhere ot be found. Brian of course had to leave for work, but I have to stay here!!! The first thought in my head was to EVACUATE, but I just can't do that! I have kids to care for! Do you think one of them will kill it for me when it shows its evil face - guns a blazing?!

That's my boy!!!

This afternoon, when I was about to reinact that scene from Overboard where Goldie Hawn is glassy-eyed and going "ba ba ba ba ba ba ba", Logan made me stop and realize, again, that it is worth it!

We have a sofa table near the front window of the living room that has a few picture frames, and a small glass Kate Spade candle and candle holder. Logan often has a fascination with picking up the candle holder and practice putting the candle in it.... well, he knows better, people. Really, he does. I caught him red-handed and asked him nicely to please put it back. Well, he DID! But... that is not the amazing part. The amazing part is that he put it back, turned to walk away, caught the object out of the corner of his eye, turned back around, and ADJUSTED THE CANDLE HOLDER so that is was in the exact spot it should be - about one inch from where he had it. He was satisfied with the new placement, and went on to play.

Yep, if it were ever questioned, he is my son. Call it OCD, call is pure awesomeness.... whatever. Now there are TWO of us! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Back Off, Elmo!!

Tonight I was in the shower, Brian was mowing the lawn, and Logan was quietly reading a book and working on a puzzle in our bedroom. He realized he was a couple puzzle pieces short, so he went over to the basket that had the pieces, reached in, and UH OH! - woke up that crazy talking Elmo doll! Logan FREAKED out, backed up about 4 feet saying "Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh... I NEED MY FOOTBALL!". He ran over to the bed, and reached up saying "I NEED MY FOOTBALL!" (side note: His football is his security item. It is a little terry football rattle that he adores). I got out of the shower, gave him the football and asked him if he wanted me to take care of Elmo:
Me: Logan would you like me to put Elmo away?
Logan: Uh Huh!
Me: Do you like Elmo?
Logan: nooooo
Me: Should I put him in the closet?
Logan: UH HUH!

***

Earlier tonight, after dinner, Logan pinched his finger on the buckle -
Logan: OOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWIIIEEEE!!!
Me: Oh no! Did you pinch your finger?
Logan: (whining) UHHHH HUUUUUHHHH!!!
Me: Oh! Does it huuurrrttt!!??
Logan: (Crying) UUUHHHH HUUUUUHHH!!!
Me: Should mommy kiss it?
Logan: uh huuuuhhhh....
Me: (*Kiss* the owie)Is that better?
Logan: Yep.

I have no idea where he got his dramatic nature from... Brian I assume....

Lions, and Tigers, and... funnel cakes?

Today we went on our family "Daycation" (like that one Brian?!) to Des Moines. We started our day with a picnic lunch at the park near the zoo, then wandered in to see the animals! My personal favorite was the Giraffe exhibit. Logan seemed to enjoy the petting zoo, and I believe that Brian most liked the ginormous Bull-type-animal. It was not a bull, but rather a bull-type-animal that I believe is on steroids. As we walked away Brian did whisper to me "Hey did you see his - ".

Today was pretty much the first day that Logan took my hand and walked around with me, hand in hand, for an extended period of time. He grabbed onto it so tightly, and we walked around all looked at all the animals. This was probably one of my most favorite moments thus far as a parent.

After the zoo, we met Ben and Stacey at the Iowa State Fair! Not only was it ridiculously packed, hot, and stinky... it was also pouring rain at times. Ick. Regardless, I am SO glad that we went, and even more glad that we got to spend some time with the Heggen's. We miss those guys.

You can't visit the State Fair without partaking in some fair-food-eating. While we chose NOT to sample the chocolate covered bacon or deep-fried Twinkies, we did enjoy some cheese curds, BBQ pork, chocolate ice cream, and a bite or two of strawberry shortcake. Yum. Logan had a great time, and really took a liking to Ben! They seemed to hit it off, and Logan was even reaching for Ben to pick him up and throw him up in the air. Logan eventually fell asleep in the stroller, so he missed most of the animals, but he did get to see and hear all the crazy chickens and roosters - especially that all white one with the cotton ball head! Hey, anyone know why some of the chickens lay pink eggs? Anyone?

When we got back into town we went straight to Red's to grab some dinner. Poor Logan was STARVING, but that didn't hold him back from being entertaining at the restaurant. He started the dinner by grunting, turning red, and announcing "I poo poo'd". Awesome. Then he proceeded to eat a bite of food, and shake his head uncontrollably. Then he would look around the room and catch the eye of anyone that would look back at him, smile to grab their attention, then reach out to Brian or me with pucker faces to give us a smooch - just to showcase his cuteness. What a ham. He really captured the attention of one couple, and they couldn't stop watching him the whole time. When we left, the woman said, "you have quite the sweetie there". I thanked her and said, "We are pretty lucky".

I do have pictures of the day, but lets face it, I'm beat! Pictures will just have to wait.

"Meeeeooookkk"

Logan just got up from his nap a little while ago, and when we got down stairs he was all "Mommy, I want meeeeeoooookkkk, mommy". Now for those of you who don't speak toddler, Logan was requesting some milk. Clearly, I don't move fast enough for him, because he was impatiently waiting for me in front of the fridge - one hand on the handle, while bouncing up and down saying "meeeoookkk, meeeeoooookkk, meeeeooookkk" in a slight whisper. I got him the milk and he took it into the living room, lifted up the seat of his fire truck, tossed in the cup, closed the seat down, looked at me and is all "mommy? Where's my meeeeooookkkk mommy?". Hmmm.

Then he got a ball, threw it to me and says "good throw mommy. good throw MOM".

Thanks honey.

Dear Logan,

Dear Logan,

Sometimes when you run REALLY fast your cheeks jiggle. They literally bounce up and down. I adore you.

Love, Mommy

Shouldn't have done the math

I was changing ANOTHER poopy diaper this morning and thought to myself hmmmmm.... I wonder how many diapers I change in a day? A week? A month?

So, here is the math:

Monday-Friday 7:30-5:30, on average, I change 14 diapers a day. That is 70 diapers a week. That is over 300 diapers a month. That is not including the diapers I change "after hours", because, as you can imagine, my job does not end at 5:30pm!

AND, I have two more kids starting this month. So add another 8-10 daily diapers to that. Oh... my... goodness....

The moral of the story ... I should not have done the math.

Yawn.......

Logan took the opportunity to take a little snooze yesterday while running errands. I looked in the back seat and noticed that he tipped his hat to cover his face while he slept. I had to take a pic due to the cuteness, but when I lifted his hat, I saw this sweet and squishy face...

A little light reading...

Logan and Alanna are seriously BFF's. It is not only adorable, but super convenient! Twice yesterday I heard complete silence from the other side of the chair, which, with toddlers, is usually NOT a good sign! But with these innocent little sweeties, I had nothing to worried about! Both times I found the cuties reading together. At one point they were sharing a book and "reading" the pages aloud to one another. Oh... the cuteness.

Later in the day the energy level picked up a bit and they took some laps through the house wearing my shoes. They loved it.

Oh... the poop.

I must warn you, if you have a weak stomach, stop reading this now. Just click close. Just don't do it. Also, if you don't have kids yet, and don't want to taint your view of the rainbows and butterflies that is parenthood, well, then you may not want to read this either.

OK, everyone gone?

Well, for the two of you left reading this, I will tell you about my "crappy" day. Pun completely intended.

One of my little daycare sweeties was hanging out playing after snack this morning. I was going about my business doing the normal routine of cleaning each child before removing them from the chair. As I am removing the last kid from the table, I glance over at the little girl laying on my carpet ... with POOP ALL OVER HER LEGS!! Did you hear me? POOP ALL OVER HER LEGS!!!! It was like the scene from a horror movie - like cue the knife stabbing music right at that moment - as I look around the room and see poop on the firetruck, poop on my wood floors....s Oh God.

I pick up the poop covered child, and somehow with super strength wrangle the other 3 kids to safe spots and began to de-poo the poor girl. She was unphased, by the way. I am glad about that because a poop-covered, thrashing child is the only thing worse than a poop-covered neutraly charged child.

I begin operation bleach every freaking thing in my house - starting with my white shirt that I am WEARING that is COVERED in POOP! Oh God.

Then I moved to the wood floors. Bleached those. Then to the poor firetruck. Bleached the heck out of that. Then vacuumed the floors, inspecting every inch for poop. Then I just couldn't stop there and decided I better bleach every toy that was on the floor - just in case a poop particle landed on it.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I do not normally use bleach! I use all natural or homemade cleaning supplies, so the fact that I basically bathed in bleach HAS to show you the severity of the problem here.

Well, the afternoon has to be better than this. Currently, all the kids are sleeping - excpet for my son, the music-enthusiast, who happens to be upstairs in his crib singing himself to sleep. Twinkle, twinkle, little star to be exact.

Yep, the poop is worth it.

Everyone needs a Bristol

Often times Brian and I encounter another married couple that has a good mutual "guy" friend. Two of our neighbors have one. We have one too. His name is Bristol, and often times, we will actually use the term, "Oh, he's like their Bristol".

The last time Bristol was in town for the weekend, he not only tied a tie for me for use in Brian's Father's Day Photo Shoot, but he also made Logan laugh so hard I thought, numerous times, that he would shoot milk out his nose. The laughter doesn't stop there, because he has, many times, made ME laugh equally as hard. Never have I met another person like Bristol. Bristol was even the lucky recipient of these words from Brian: "If anything happens to me, I give you permission to marry Lindsay". Hey, it takes a big man to fill those shoes.

I could go on and on and on... but I won't. Bristol wouldn't want that.

So, three cheers to Bristol. Now go drink a beer.

18 Month Sleep Regression... You are NOT my BFF

Logan has decided to revert back to the old days when he would NOT sleep at night. Why, God, WHY?! We were perfectly content with the 8pm - 6:30am (OR LONGER) that he had been totally down with for months and months and MONTHS. But no. Two nights in a row he has been up at 11pm, tossing and turning when we bring him to our bed (yes, we are THOSE parents), and when I am finally about to lose my mind around 1am since I have yet to go to sleep, we put him back in his bed where he will scream until 2am. That is ONE HOUR of screaming. And the worst part? It's not a crying scream. Oh no... It is MOMMMMMMMYYYYY, sob sob sob, MOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM, sob sob, MAAAAAMAAAAAA. So, you know, just enough mixture of sobbing and calling for me to make my heart break into about 4 million pieces.

I have hope for tonight though... oh yes sir. This boy is TIRED and needs some sleep. Tonight HAS to be the night, right?

But isn't he cute?

Somewhere between and mullet and a rat-tail...

...was my poor boy's hairdo. So, mom got out the scissors yesterday and chopped it off. I have to say, it was bitter-sweet, and you better believe I put every last strand of hair that left his head into a baggie to save for all eternity. Yes, I did. (And yes Kelly Bartlett, I STILL have the positive pregnancy test from when I found out I was pregnant with my little mullet-head!).

I just tried to cut straight across the back and around the ears because we still want Logan to have that long, shaggy hair, but just not a do from the 80's.

The last pic on the bottom is Logan and Wrigley impatiently waiting Daddy to walk through the door after being gone for 10 days!

Oh handsome man...


Hmmmmm... not sure how this turned out, but he is mullet/rat-tail free!