Baby's First Gift

Even little Baby Kumquat had a present under the tree from Papa and Nana. Actually, we did receive a few cards in the mail addressed to "John, Jill, Logan and Baby Kumquat"! We loved this gift because it reminds us of how small new babies are! Yes...even a 10 lb. baby is small and cuddly. We're getting so excited as we watch my belly grow and I feel the baby moving quite often now. Even Logan lifts up my shirt and points to say "Baby" (actually: "beebeebeebee").

Snow!

We've had so much snow this year! In fact, we've had far more snowy days than "non-snowy" days in December. Its beautiful and it was nice to have a very white Christmas, but the temperatures have been so cold that we haven't been able to enjoy the white fluffy stuff very much. Logan has sleds just waiting to go and his build-a-snowman kit is waiting in the wings!

Hopefully we'll slide into some warmer temps in 2009 so we can play outside a little more!

Eiselt Christmas

After a couple days at the Holbrook's, we took the five minute trek over to Eiselt's house where Jenny was already home from West Virginia and Scott and Jessica were home from North Carolina. A full house! It was so nice to have everyone together! We were lucky to all be together for Scott's wedding in North Carolina in October, but this was a much more relaxed time to spend together, so it was great!

Logan did such a great job of acclamating to all the commotion and people - and even the Eiselt's dogs. It took a little while for him to warm up, but by the time we left, he was petting them on the back and trying to pick them up (not really the dogs' idea of fun!).

We even took a trip to Blue Earth, MN, where both Bob and Deb are from. We visited Bob's parents (Great Grandparents Wayne and Marianna) and had a lovely time! They reminded me how much they love the blog and all the photos of Logan!

Logan's Christmas outfit!

Such a snuggler!

Family photo!

Playing with gifts...Logan was pretty "gifted out" by the time we were done opening presents. He only was interested in opening about two gifts - then he just wanted to play!

Cooking with Auntie Jenny! Logan sure loves Jenny and always recognizes her right away. She is really good with him and always offers to help out a ton, which we really appreciate!

Thanks for the lovely Christmas everyone!

Holiday Fun

We spent a couple days with the Holbrooks over Christmas, enjoying relaxing time together and watching Logan with all of his cute tricks! He sure is one busy boy, exploring and keeping everyone on their toes. He loved all the Christmas energy! It was great to see Kyle and Ali and Amy and Andrew for Christmas - we all had a great time! Holidays should happen more often, I think!

We had the traditional Raclette dinner one evening - always a highlight of the holidays for most of the family! We went to church together and spent time playing Joker Rummy, Wii, and watching movies. Just what a holiday should be! Logan has caught on to "Papa" and "Nana"...but has abbreviated them to "Pop" and "Nan"! So cute!

John, Jill, Logan, + baby


Logan sure explored the Christmas tree and all the presents! He loved moving them, delivering them, and shaking them!

Logan even shared his Christmas cookies with Mommy.


The prince in his throne...

Having fun with presents! His sled from Papa was a hit...he liked riding it around the house!


My matching boys!

More presents! Logan's very own camelback water bottle (so he can stop using ours!); his own big boy backpack, and his new farm.

Special time with Nana!

What a great visit! Thanks so much to all the Holbrooks for such a lovely holiday!

Christmastime is Here!

Today we will begin our journey to MN to spend time with both my family and John's family for Christmas. We've been in full swing at home this Christmas, with decorations, books, etc. Logan has been learning all about Christmas and its been so fun! He loves to point out Baby Jesus, especially now that he can say "baby". We're looking forward to the trip! Of course, we are getting another HUGE dumping of snow (a fluffy 3 inches overnight and another 3 inches expected by noon), so its hard to say how the journey will be...

I realized last night that we haven't taken any photos of the Christmas tree in its new home (downstairs by the fireplace), so I thought I would try to tackle the task this morning.

Logan loves the Christmas tree and the ornaments! We only put ornaments on the tree this year that would be "Logan-friendly".

His favorite: so sparkly!

I wanted to have Logan sit by the tree for a picture, but this is what happened when I tried....

Jumping, running,

dancing...anything but sitting still!

Finally I got Logan to sit in his chair when I prompted him to smell the Christmas tree...mmmmm, yummy!

Merry Christmas everyone! Blessings!

Let It Snow!

We have gotten so much snow in December! I haven't been keeping track, but lately it seems like its more likely to have a snowy day than a clear day. The drifts are really piling up around the house. JOHN LOVES IT, of course! Today he was out early, in all his glory, to plow our driveway, the sidewalks, the street in front of our house, and (YES, its true...) the neighbor's driveway as well. Its not uncommon for John to be out for HOURS when he says he going out to "clear the driveway". Really, I know that means that he'll be clearing all the unplowed driveways on the entire block. What a neighbor!

Pure joy!

Logan just loves to watch! Unfortunately its been too cold lately to spend much time outside. The nasty sub-zero temps have us just looking out the windows, wishing we could make a snowman!

Keep warm, everyone!

At 16 months...

Today Logan is 16 months old! Where has the time gone?! Logan is certainly a busy boy, learning so many new things we can hardly keep up! Here's my best attempt at an update on Logan for all who are interested...

We just finished our swim lessons today and Logan was a superstar! He really got used to the water, kicking, splashing and even loves to jump in! Mexico will be a whole new ballgame this winter! How fun!

Logan is talking non-stop. I know he is saying a lot more words than I can decipher, but some of his newest are: baby, clock, car, apple, down, out, and puppy. He loves to use baby sign language and has been really quick at picking up new signs, too.

We've been trying to keep broadening Logan's taste for different foods. Some of his favorite things are grilled ham and cheese, cooked broccoli and carrots (or any steamed vegetable!), apples, pears, bananas, yogurt (always a winner!), toast, sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, cereal...the list goes on and on! He loves to eat whatever we're eating (especially John) and we've had such fun meal times all together lately.

Throwing the ball is Logan's best skill. He's going to be quite the athlete! Now we're just trying to teach him that we ONLY throw BALLS (not books; or rocks at Mommy's head). I've always heard mothers of boys say "He's 100% boy" or something like that. I never really knew what they were talking about, but I think Logan fits that description. He is strong, determined, and fearless!

Logan loves to sit on big chairs all by himself and will climb down all alone - just to show you how independent he is! He also loves to go up and down the stairs - all day long! For now, I don't mind, but as I get more and more pregnant, this could prove to be tiring!

Lately, Logan has been more cuddly than ever and John and I have been relishing in it! We know this won't last forever! He loves to snuggle and cuddle to read books together at any time of the day. He also gives the best hugs a mom could ask for - such a sweet boy! We feel so lucky to have Logan be so healthy and strong. We're praying for baby 2 and anxiously following his/her development.

Logan's Hat

These days, the first thing Logan wants when he gets up in the morning is to put on his hat! Not just any hat, this specific hat! Its so funny! He will wear it all day, if we let him!

I tried to do some baking with Logan (well, the "open the bag, punch out the pre-made cookies" kind of baking) this week. The weather has been soooo cold that we haven't gone out and we've been trying to think of everything new to keep us busy. So, I thought maybe Logan would like to out the sprinkles on the cookies after I frosted them.

Turns out, I was wrong. This was not a very interesting project to Logan!

So, he ate a cookie instead!

Logan in "the hat". "Enough photos, Mom!"

Everything Daddy does I can do too.!

Logan thinks he can/should do everything John does! John has been hard at work on finishing the final phases of our fireplace project and Logan is quite the helper! He has to hammer, screw, and measure just like Daddy. Despite the extreme cold, Logan also insists on going out in the garage with John, so he created a little spot for Logan's booster seat on the workbench.

We wish you...

A Merry Christmas! By now, most of you have received our Christmas card in the mail, which has prompted a lot of people asking about our photos...

Our good friend, Ben took our photos in October in Minneapolis. Check out more of his work at his website, bdphotography.blogspot.com.

Ho Ho Ho!

Early this week we decided the beat the rush a visit Santa Claus at the mall on a weekday morning. We were nearly the first to arrive and that made it easy to get it done quick! Logan recognizes Santa and likes to chime "Ho Ho Ho" whenever he sees him! Still, Logan was not super excited about sitting with Santa. He didn't put up a fuss, but he wasn't very smiley, either.

Last year we just bought a jump drive with the photos on it, but this year they did not offer that option so they asked if we just wanted to take our own photos - for free! I couldn't believe they let you do that...so we took them up on the offer. The photos aren't that great, but for this year, they will do!

"Dear Santa, I've been good all year....just ask my mommy."

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Sunday was John's 29th birthday. It was a great day! We had a nice time together through the morning as a family. At 2pm, I had arranged for my parents to come over and watch Logan for the afternoon (of course, they obliged!). John and I got to see an afternoon movie and go out for coffee for some quiet time together. It was great! We rarely get out alone for much more than YL, so its always a treat to spend quiet time together.

Then we enjoyed pizza and birthday cake with my parents before they headed back to Stillwater for the evening. Happy Birthday, John! We love you!

Santa, Reindeer and More!

On Saturday, we met John's parents in Hudson for a little Christmas festival. Deb had heard about it from someone and it sounded like something Logan would like. It was also good timing because we got to celebrate John's birthday with his parents a day early. So, we all enjoyed a delicious warm lunch at Pier 500 and then walked across the street to the park.

There was a craft tent for the kids to make ornaments, reindeer food, and other Christmas goodies. Logan was a little too young to really take advantage of the fun, but we spent a lot of time in the crowed tent because it was heated!

Grandma and Logan keeping warm near the tent!

Logan loved the reindeer...he couldn't stop laughing!

This was too much fun! We all had a good time playing peek-a-boo through the cut-outs. Logan was a gigglebox!

Finally we got to see Santa! Logan was pretty good on his lap, just checking out that long beard and red coat. He even got his photo taken for the Hudson paper (did anyone see it?!).