End of April

Its hard to believe April is already over! We had such a busy month - time really went quickly. Now its only about a month until we get to meet Baby Kumquat, so we're all getting pretty excited! Logan has been a helper in the baby's room during the afternoons while I've been organizing. He loves to play with the baby stuff and help me put things away. We talk a lot about getting ready for "baby".

The last couple days have been great! My mom came over on Wednesday after Logan and I both had great naps. I had another OB appt (where my OB said, "Yes, I think its another big baby!") and a few errands to run. Today Logan had another great nap and I got lots done in preparation for Baby K. I feel like the countdown has really begun!

This is Logan today, post-nap! Look at that bed-head! I love it because the curls really come out.

Mr. Fix-It

Taking after Daddy

Logan turns the ottomans over all by himself and hammers the legs - just keeping this place up-and-running, I guess!

Water and Sand

Last weekend we got some sand for Logan's new table from Eiselts so we've been waiting for a warm day! Today was perfect so I pulled the table outside and loaded it up with water and sand. It was awesome! Logan had so much fun and I just got to sit in a chair and watch - it was great! Its getting a little hard to run around and sit on the grass, etc.

The table was also a huge hit with the neighbor kids who came over as soon as they saw what was going on. Logan was great at sharing, but when 3 other big kids were around the table, there wasn't much room for him, so I felt a little bad. I think we may have to put it on the side of the house sometimes so we don't attract too much attention! But, its great to have neighbors to play and share with!

Thanks, Baggie and Bopbop!

Our 20 month old

Logan is 20 months old - we cannot believe it! He is such a little man, changing so much, learning so much, and really growing up! Logan has been sleeping in his big bed for over a month and is doing great. On certain nights, he struggles more to stay asleep and stay in his bed, but for the most part, he's doing a great job adjusting!

Some of Logan's favorite things:

Puppers - he loves to nurture and care for his stuffed animals.
Music - he loves to sing, dance, and play music. Logan even sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Ring Around the Rosie"
Puzzles - he can put them together faster than me and is quickly learning colors and shapes from working on his puzzles.
Bikes - Logan is obsessed with bikes and loves to ride! He can sometimes pedal himself a couple feet on his little trike from Baggie and Bopbop.
Yogurt - this continues to be Logan's favorite food! A few new things he also likes are: cereal with milk, noodles, and fruit snacks.
Playing outside - once we're out, its a battle to come inside! Being outside is the BEST!
Other kids - Logan has really started to enjoy seeing other kids and has started playing and interacting more with them on his own. Its been really fun to watch at Playgoup and Bible Study.
Talking - he talks all the time and we can mostly understand what he is saying. He has started to put words together, so that is exciting, too!
Reading - Logan still really loves to read books and has started to take charge and try reading them to us (and his animals, of course!).

Logan also likes to be naked...

And run!

Some of our favorite things about Logan at this stage:

Love - he says "love" and gives us hugs ("ug") at the most random times. He still loves to cuddle and we are enjoying every minute because we know it wont last forever.
Saying prayers - Logan makes sure we don't forget to pray before meals and bedtime. He folds his hands and says "Thank you, Jesus. Amen" ("sank-ooo, Deesoos"). Its the cutest thing!
Bedtime - he really loves his routine at bedtime: bath, pjs, brush teeth, drink water, books, lights-out. Since he's in his big bed now, we love the snuggle time before leaving the room.
Talking - its so fun to figure out all the new words Logan says. Thank you, please, you're welcome, and bless you are so cute to hear come out of your toddler's mouth! Love it!
So much more! - As all parents know, there is so much to love...what a blessing children are!

The Family Band

We have our own family band these days! Logan loves music so much! He always runs over to the Bose (sometimes first thing in the morning) and says "Song!, Song!". He still loves to dance to Metro Station's "Shake It" , Miley Cyrus, or pretty much anything else! In addition to dancing, Logan likes to play piano, guitar, and drums. And - just a word of warning: he will want to you participate if you are in the same room!

In the last week, Logan has taken to climbing into the toy bins in the living room and sitting in them. I'm not sure what this is all about, but it makes us laugh, so I am sure he will keep doing it!

As you can see, John has lots of fun with Logan's cool guitar, too!

Sometimes in music class we get to play drums and Logan loves that he has permission to hit something with a stick! So, here's Logan playing the drums at home, too! This is his "rock n' roll" face!

Garage Sales!

In our neighborhood, spring is marked by a crazy weekend full of garage sales and all that comes with it. Its fun to have the neighborhood bustling and busy, to see all the neighbors (many for the first time since snow covered the ground last fall), and to walk around people watching and checking for any deal too-good-to-pass-up. Truthfully, we are not much of "garage salers" in this family. However, when John woke up this morning he decided we should set out a couple items we've been wanting to get rid of and see what happens. So, we set up shop in the driveway for a short while and made a little cash! Logan was fully entertained watching all the cars and people go by and - in this photo - by his granola bar!

Logan and I did walk around the neighborhood this afternoon, but we didn't find anything we had to purchase. John and I have been purging more than buying lately - we don't have much storage space in our house and with the new baby coming, we're trying to find a place for everything!

We enjoyed being outside ALL DAY long - except for a short afternoon nap, Logan was pleased to experience the summer-like weather. I got a sneak peak of what summer will be like with Logan: outside before 9am; coax him in for lunch; nap from exhaustion of being out all morning; wake up; snack; back outside to play until its time to make dinner. Oh yeah...and the new baby will have to fit in there somewhere too! Whew!

Learned Behavior?

This morning I left Logan watch some of Sesame Street while I showered and got dressed before our music class. Logan was especially tired this morning after waking up very early and having a restless night. This is how I found him, watching Sesame, chillaxin' in his chair, having a mid morning snack. I just thought this was too funny! He must have learned this somewhere....hmmmm. I won't name any names! :)

"Whack"

Logan had a great day today! He was outside all day long with Nana, who came to visit for the day. I had an OB appointment, so usually my mom makes that an excuse to come over and spend time with Logan. Nana brought her Little Tykes golf set over so Logan could play with it and he LOVED it! Of course, he calls it "hockey" - just like anything else with a stick. Its all hockey...hopefully we can clear that up soon! The funniest part is that Logan likes to say "whack" when he hits the ball! Yikes!

Logan was just cracking me up today because he went outside with his new spring jacket, his new hat made by Nana, and he HAD to have his backpack on as well! What a goof!

"Ball"

"Whack!"

My mom will be over sometime next week, so we kept the golf set to see if Logan likes to continue playing with it. Then we'll have to get him one because it sure kept him busy today!

Bopbop and Baggie Visit!

We were lucky to have a nice visit from John's parents today and it was great because Logan loved the distraction on such a wet and cold day! Logan has affectionately taken to calling Grandpa Bob "Bopbop" and Grammy Deb "Baggie". None of us have any idea where or why he came up with these names, but they have stuck since Christmas, so I guess that's the way its going to be! They came bearing gifts...Logan is one lucky kid! We knew they were bringing Logan's Easter gift over, but we didn't know it would be so cool! Bob and Deb also brought orange juice, ice cream, and M&Ms for ME! Haha! Love it! I'm one happy prego mommy today!

Logan's new water and sand table! This is an answered prayer because Logan gets a little bored outside. I knew we would have to get something for him to play with when we're out since we don't have much for outside. Logan loved playing with it while it was empty indoors, so I can just imagine that it will be great outside filled with sand and water!


Logan also got this cool Radio Flyer trike! John and I are hopeful that he will be able to pedal himself by the end of the summer!


Logan showed G & G (or should I say "B & B"?) his farm and tractor - one of his favorite toys lately!

He also showed them all the birds ("buds") outside, the rain ("wane"), and "cars" on the street. Logan likes to show off his new bedroom, too. I missed this shot with the camera, but at one point he had Grandpa, Grammy, Dad, and all his stuffed animals on his bed - all reading a book together. It was so funny!

Thanks for the special gifts for Logan, the yummy treats for me, and for making the trip over to EC to visit us!

Its That Time of Year...

...when John goes on his annual "Tree Planting Rampage"! It began on Saturday, which was such a gorgeous, warm, sunny day. It was perfect to be outside. John planted a few small trees on the property line Saturday but didn't get around to planting the large Northwoods Maple we bought at the tree farm. So...even though this morning was wet and chilly, we went out to get the tree in the ground!

I'm not sure if Logan didn't want his photo taken, or if he was wondering why he had to be all bundled up after spending all of Saturday in just a t-shirt and jeans! Confusing!


Helping Dad dig...

The tree is in and it looks great! We're excited to enjoy this tree in the backyard this year!

This all happened at about 8:30am....so Logan has a killer outfit on: pj pants, winter coat/hat, and rain boots!

Nesting!

My parents offered to watch Logan for a couple days this week so that I could (1.) rest up and get rid of this cold!; (2.) get some things done around the house! I've been "nesting" a little bit, but not much of the work has benefitted the baby yet! I've mostly been trying to get the house super organized and get Logan's new room all set to go. I think Logan's room is about done...there are a couple more things I would like to do at some point, but for now, this will do! Here are a few photos:

We got Logan this magnetic chalkboard to show off his art work. At some point, I might let him use chalk on it, but not any time soon!


The big boy bed! We had this Queen size bed downstairs for guests before the big bedroom switch. Not wanting to spend the money for a new bed, we gave Logan the biggie! He loves his bed so much (and really likes to jump on it - good thing its on the floor!). We put pool noodles (those long spongy/floaty things) under the sheets to prevent Logan from rolling out.

Now Logan has a special place he can hang his backpack, coat and even his music bag!

I made Logan some new letters for his room (they are paper-mache letters covered with scrapbooking paper) and a bulletin board (I painted cork squares with craft paint).

We put some of Logan's toys in his room and he loves to go "play cars" on his floor. His rug has roads all over, so he drives his cars for hours (okay, not hours, but maybe minutes). I was a little worried the toys would be a distraction at bedtime, but so far it hasn't been a problem.

33 weeks!

Family Music Night

Logan and I have been taking a toddler music class every Thursday since January. We're learning a lot and enjoying our friends in class. I'm hoping to keep enrolling in the class as Logan gets older because I think he's just getting used to it and we only have class through May. Its been a special thing for us to do before Logan's new brother or sister comes in June!

Tonight we had Family Music Night when all the classes (the teacher has classes for babies, toddlers, and big kids, too!) gather together for a night with their parents, other family, and friends. Logan was pretty interested in what all the other kids were doing - and not too interested in all the songs. He had a "deer in the headlights" look for most of the night! John got to come along which was great because I still am not feeling very well (I feel about as good as I look in this picture - ick!).

I took some video with my flip camera, so if any of it is good, I'll post it!

Picnic with Puppers

Today was such a "Monday". Blah. I have a terrible head cold - yet again and couldn't quite emerge from the fog long enough to get Logan or I out of our jammies until after lunch. It was just one of those days (I know all mommies know what I'm talking about!). So, we stayed in, played as many goofy games as I could muster to keep Logan entertained. For lunch, Logan wanted Puppers to sit in his chair, so we decided to have a little picnic.

"Nice Puppers"

Nothing like your lovey eating yogurt melts, right?!

Logan made sure Puppers got plenty of snack and drink...he's totally exploring his nuturing side and its so cute! Lately, we have dressed his turtle and bear in coats, hats and even shoes to bring them in the car with us. Its kinda a pain sometimes, but I just think its so cute that the extra work doesn't even matter!

Eventually, Logan wanted a better seat, so he sat in a big chair across from Puppers and finished the snack.

Puppy love! My sweet boy - he's going to be such a good big brother!

Easter Morning!

Rejoice! What a joyful time of year to celebrate God's love for us all! We hope you had a beautiful day with family and friends!

We spent the whole weekend here in Eau Claire - just the three of us celebrating Easter together today, and it was great! We missed being with our families, but enjoyed the quiet time at home, too.

Logan woke up bright and early today. I had set out his Easter basket from Papa and Nana last night before going to bed. Sure enough, Logan found it right away in the morning when we headed into the kitchen for breakfast. I also put the little Easter Bunny at his spot at the table. Breakfast was rather delayed because there was so much cool stuff in his basket, but we still made it to church on time!

"Cheep, cheep"

John and I got Logan a couple small things for Easter: a bubble machine and a little wooden train set from Ikea. We saved them for after Logan's nap and had some evening fun with the "boobles" and "choo-choo"!

We rounded out the day with lots of time at the playground, lunch, naps, and a quiet evening. We couldn't really think of a better way to spend the day, remembering the reason for the holiday!

Easter Egg Hunt 2

Today we were up and out of the house early for the 5th annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt! It was our first experience with this impressive event - and so much fun! Neighborhood volunteers hide over 2000 eggs at the elementary school around the block. Some eggs contain candy, some contain slips to turn in for prizes. I was happy that they divided the kids into two groups. The kids 4 years and under were on one side of the playground and the bigger kids were opposite. I was a little worried about mass chaos with all the big kids, but this was great! Logan knew just what to do, of course, because we had round one of practice last weekend. He was more interested in watching the crowds than paying attention to what he was doing. Luckily, the weather was beautiful so we were able to spend plenty of time at the playground after the egg hunt was over.

Logan surveying the crowd


As you can see...our neighborhood is FULL of kids!


Off we go....


Logan finds his eggs...

Way to go, Logan! Keep 'em coming!

After Logan collected plenty of eggs, we thought, "Hey, its Easter, why not give Logan a taste of a chocolate bunny?" I don't think Logan has ever had straight up chocolate like this before...but I think we created an addict! Just look at that yummy smile!

We had to get at least one picture with Mommy, but Logan was pretty into his chocolate at this point.

Playtime! Logan LOVES the swings this year! We are going to be spending a lot of time at the school playground this summer! As you can see...Logan is still working on that chocolate.

We had to get this motorcycle picture for Grandpa Bob! Logan likes to go down the slide all by himself now - even the big ones!

We completed our day running errands around town, lunch out, followed by a great big long nap and dinner out with friends - it was perfect!