And one more makes four...

Now that we've seen all our family and friends, we'd like to show your Logan's special t-shirt...


Logan really liked his shirt because of the train ("choo-choo")...

but he couldn't quite figure out what made the shirt so exciting for everyone else...

Yes, it's true! Logan will be a big brother this summer. We almost can't believe it ourselves, but we're so blessed to have another baby to join our family! We'll keep everyone updated!

Lovey

Logan has really started to be attached to his puppy, who we have so creatively named "Puppers". I figured that Logan could name him when he's older, so "Puppers" will do for now! You will often find Logan wandering around with Puppers, hugging him, cradling him, and even sitting with Puppers on his lap while he looks at books! Its the cutest!

Nice Puppers

And yes, these are my favorite jammies, so you'll see a lot of them! :)

Spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's

We got to spend a couple days with Grandma and Grandpa Eiselt after Thanksgiving and our time included getting their Christmas tree! Logan loved it and is already so excited about all the Christmas novelties. Here are a few pictures from our time at Axdahl's in Stillwater...

Logan helping Grandma pick out a wreath...

Taking a walk with Grandma...

Checking out the tree the guys picked out!

Christmas is just around the corner!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice Thanksgiving at the Holbrooks this year while the Eiselts visited Blue Earth to see John's grandparents. It was a good couple days of relaxing and enjoying each other's company. This year, Kyle and Ali are married and Amy and Andrew are engaged, so we felt like the table was bigger than ever! So exciting! Here are a few pictures from the holiday....

All snuggles!

Logan is getting so big. He loves playing with anyone and doesn't really show "favorites" anymore. It was great to see him so interactive and playful!

We played a lot of Wii...it was a little addicting!

Logan enjoyed Auntie Ali's gluten-free crackers!

And even learned how to play bumper pool with Papa!

Hope everyone's holiday was restful!

Helper

I think the title says it all!

Fall Camp '08

We were lucky enough to spend last weekend at Castaway Club for our annual Fall Camp weekend. John was Camp Director again this year, so he was really busy making sure the weekend flowed smoothly. Logan absolutely loved camp, all the kids, the action, and especially the music! He was a crazy dancing little toddler all weekend long! Everyone loved to see his moves (and he knew it), so he was quite the show-off!

When we arrived at camp on Friday, it was freezing and snowing, but by Saturday morning it had warmed up a little and the sun was blazing. Logan loved running around outside, all bundled up! We got to be at meals, go to club to sing, dance and watch the crazy characters up front. Most of all, it was a great weekend for several hundred high school kids who heard about Jesus from our friend, Carey Hendricks, from Peoria, IL.

Camp is so beautiful...even in the winter!

Logan was enamored with our friends, Meredith and Steve. They were at camp leading music all weekend. Logan couldn't help but beam a huge smile every time Meredith walked in the room. He even would get up from my lap and run over to sit with her at club. So cute!


This was Logan's first experience with a fill size basketball...


It was a hit!


Our friends, the Exsteds were at camp, too, so the boys got some good play time tog
ether! Caedon is almost two and will become a big brother this spring! Exciting!


Logan and Caedon each had their own stash of toys along, but they only wanted to play with eachothers toys. We were working hard to teach them about sharing...not sure they really got the concept yet!

This pretty much sums up how Logan felt about the weekend! He LOVED it! It was so fun to see him so engaged and interacting with everyone at camp. We made lots of new friends and spent lots of time with old friends...all the best part of YL!

Uh-Oh!

We haven't taken many photos lately, but that's mainly just because its hard to keep up with Logan! John and I had a very special weekend last weekend because my parents watched Logan from Friday afternoon through Monday evening! It was such a quiet weekend for us at home. We accomplished a few projects (and started a few more!) that we weren't able to do while Logan was around. My parents said they weren't too tired after the 4-day-3-night babysitting stint, but they sure kept Logan busy! They went to see the Macy's Christmas Display, visited friends, entertained for dinner, and taught Logan all kinds of new things! I think the long weekend worked out well for everyone and we were sure excited to see Logan on Monday evening!

I don't think my parents taught this to Logan, but he sure has been interested in opening and closing doors lately. He can even reach the knob! Uh-Oh!

You can tell he isn't quite sure if he should be doing this...

Logan often gets himself inside the room by himself...but we're always right on the other side of the door, paying attention.

Such an innocent face! this game wont last long, as we'll have to teach Logan not to play in the doors!

Just Like Daddy

One night this week, John was installing the thermostat for the new fireplace on our lower level (still not all finished with the facia, but we'll post photos when its all done!) and Logan just had to help. He was so interested in everything John was doing, especially the tools he was using. So, John made sure to keep Logan included and the two had a ball! It was fun to watch and I just had to get a few pictures!

Discussing the best route for the wire...

And such nice hugs!

I can just hear it, "I wanna be just like my dad!", Logan will say in a few years! He loves to help Dad, eat with Dad, play crazy with Dad after work, and read stories in Dad's lap. What a lucky little family we are to have Logan...he is so sweet!

Welcome to the last two weeks...

of our lives! I apologize for the lack of blog posts lately - I just haven't been able to keep up with daily life, let alone find time to sit at the computer. We had such a busy October, with not much time for rest and November will prove to be just as busy. Plus, Logan (now almost 15 months) is quite a busy little boy, always keeping us on our toes with his new developments and discoveries...here are a few of the latest:

new words: up, banana, mama (finally!)
other sounds: woof-woof, meow, moo, roar, car sounds, bumblebee
new tricks: throwing the ball, passing the ball on the floor, climbing anything, puzzles
songs: itsy-bitsy spider, head-shoulders-knees-and-toes, if-you're-happy-and-you-know-it

We will be keeping busy in November with swim lessons (we just started up again and Logan LOVES it!), the YL Banquet, Fall Camp at Castaway, SAMmy's, finishing the cosmetic work on the fireplace downstairs...and so on. We will enjoy a couple weekends at home for now and hopefully feel like we can catch up on life a little bit!

Oh, and a special thanks to Josh and Kim for coming to Eau Claire for such a lovely visit on Saturday amidst busy schedules!

Trick or Treat!

We had lots of Halloween fun on Friday! I'd been anxiously awaiting the day, just to see how Logan would like his costume. We've been playing with it for about a month, getting to know the dragon, and I think it paid off! Logan was not super wild about having paws on his hands or having his head covered, but for the most part, once he got over the initial shock ("MOM, WHY are you making me wear this?!), he enjoyed watching his feet and tail move!

We decided to make a special stop at Donnellan Realty, which is owned by our friends, Ned and Lisa. They were great friends to John when he was here in college, recently had two kids go through high school who were involved in Young Life, and now Lisa watches Logan every Monday night when John and I go to Young Life club. They have been such great friends to us and great supporters of Young Life - we love them! So, they were thrilled when we brought our little dragon over for a visit to the beautiful new office building.

John and Logan outside the Donnellan's new building - Logan was not so sure about having his head covered.

Logan enjoyed exploring the long hallways and seemed especially taken with the plant.

Since it was so warm out - at least 65 and sunny, I decided it would be special to take Logan for a little ice cream break at the Dairy Queen. It was so fun! Logan was so excited and so cute. Because it was so warm and he had just been in his costume for a while, I let him run around in just a onesie. Love those little legs.

Yummy!


Big bite!

Logan walked all over the Dairy Queen like this. We were the only ones there in the mid-afternoon. The workers had a blast watching Logan run back and forth, checking everything out.

Once John got home from work, it was time to have a little dinner and suit up for the big night! We were so lucky to have such a nice warm evening for trick or treating - such a change from last year's freezing wind! It was nice not to worry about a hat or mittens for Logan while we walked around the neighborhood. Its great because Eau Claire has specific hours for trick-or-treating. Kids can only be out from 6-8pm on Halloween and it works great because you know exactly when to turn your lights off. I know this is a long post, and I will admit, its mostly for the grandparents who didn't get to see Logan in his costume at all, so we won't feel bad if you skip right through!

Little Dragon

One of Logan's favorite things was digging through the candy bucket. Good thing we got a special Halloween toothbrush from the dentist! (Disclaimer: we didn't really let Logan have any candy...some neighbors had special bags for little kids that included graham crackers and animal cookies - what a good idea!).

Such a beautiful night!

Logan enjoyed walking up to our neighbors' front doors, checking out lots of Halloween decorations along the way.

Our next door neighbor and friend, Will, handed out candy at home while Anna was out with their kids. By this time, Logan was feeling pretty brave, reaching into the candy basket himself.

I think this was Logan's favorite part of the evening: seeing all the trick-or-treaters in their cool costumes and helping to hand out candy. Logan was surprisingly content to stay in his costume while we handed out candy.

Mommy's little monster


Watch out! This dragon attacks!

This is officially my new favorite picture ever! My boys, so cute together!

Wow! So many treats for such a little boy!

Checking out his loot!