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".