Look at me!

Logan is quite the little showstopper lately. He loves attention and puts on a good show! Here are a few photos from this week.

Logan has this little stroller and he loves to push all his animals around. This purple hippo is from the YL office and we don't really know where is came from, but Logan wanted to bring it home one day and its been a passenger in the stroller ever since!

My mom was here for a couple nights this week while John was away at Work Week at Castaway in Detroit Lakes, MN. She found these cute Sesame Street tees at Nordstrom and couldn't resist. Logan LOVED them, but it was a crisis because he didn't know which to wear first: Elmo or Grover. He is familiar with both from books he's had since he was a baby ("Baby Elmo", and "There's a Monster at the End of this Book"). Now he gets to watch Sesame Street sometimes, so that has certainly increased the interest. In this photo, Logan wanted a picture of just Elmo...

Logan's personality: crazy! He is especially funny with my mom around - she brings out the silly in him!

Logan loves glasses - he usually wants us to wear them, but he was pretty into these crazy blue glasses this day!

Elmo!

For the amount of time my mom spends with Logan, I don't have the photos to show it. I tried to get Logan to get a picture with Nana and this is what I got! He's just too busy to stop for a photo op.

The next day, Logan wore the Grover shirt - phew...crisis averted! Once again, he was super silly! We had a great day and John got home, so that was even better!

John brought this YL headband home for Logan from a previous work trip...Logan actually loves running around in it and is especially show-offy!!

And, of course, playing hockey....!!

Playing Golf with Dad

Ups and Downs

Our weekend has been full of ups and downs...hopefully we're all on the up-swing now. The weekend started out with our friend, Dave coming over late at night from White Bear Lake to help John with the final phase of our lower level project: crown molding. The guys were able to spend some time catching up on Thursday evening and then were up bright and early with Logan and I on Friday to begin the project. Thanks Dave! While the guys worked, Logan and I traveled to Menomonie to meet my good friend Carrie for coffee. Logan was super and loved playing with Carrie. She just graduated med school and is off to Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband, Josh (also a doctor) for residency.

Saturday this house woke up to a very sick Mommy...just a reminder that moms don't get built-in sick days. Luckily John was home and more than willing to spend lots of time with Logan. The boys played outside, worked outside, had a picnic outside - all of Logan's favorite things! I got some extra sleep that was much-needed! Since the resident photographer (me) was in bed most of the weekend, I don't have many photos to show...

Logan helping John pick weeds. Its amazing what toddlers find fun that we hate as adults! Last fall John removed all the landscape rock and material from the back of the house to dig the trench for the gas line for the fireplace...now I guess we'll have to put everything back!

"Water?" Logan kept running over to the faucet, pretending like he was going to turn it on, and then run back over to John for a hug. We can't get enough of moments like these!

Playing with Dad = big smiles!

Around 2am on Sunday morning, I went into the ER because of shortened breath and chest pains. I woke up and starting reading about it and decided I better get it checked out. So, after several tests, everything serious (blood clots, lung infection, pneumonia) was ruled out and it was concluded a side effect of my upper respiratory infection. So, they were able to give me some medication safe for the baby to help this infection pass as quickly as possible. The baby is coming so soon...I would hate to be sick! Once again, this morning John let me sleep in as long as I needed while the boys went to the park, ran errands, picked up my medication, and had lunch. It was great to get so much rest - hopefully I can stay far enough away from John and Logan to keep them healthy. A big thanks to John, he really is Superdad. He did all of this with Logan while still finishing the crown molding (with help from Bob), keeping the house in order, washing the cars, and so much more! Thanks honey!

John and Logan picked up this card for me and some yummy chocolate while they were out. So special - it made me feel better right away!

My tired boy...

This is Logan at 10:30 this morning. Already asleep on the couch. What a tired boy. Amidst a busy schedule, a new lingering cold, and the summer-like weather, Logan has been especially tired. (Me too...in fact, I'm on my way to join in on this lovely nap...)

Young Life 08-09

This is our outstanding group of volunteer Young Life leaders, committee, and advocates in the Chippewa Valley! This is an exciting time for us with lots of growth in the near future and we're blessed to have this group of people to walk with us, loving kids and Christ. THANK YOU to all who make Young Life possible!

Sure Sign of Spring

Its a sure sign of spring when Parks & Rec summer leagues start up! John is playing on a co-ed softball team with lots of friends again this summer, so it will be fun! Logan's fever broke on Monday, so we were on the mend. We got to get out and go to John's softball game on Monday night and it felt good to get out and run around! We even went to the ballpark early so Logan could play a little catch with John before warm-ups.

Feeling better...all smiles!


Logan is pretty good at throwing, but catching is a work-in-progress!

Pre-game hugs. The best kind of good luck! And, John's team is 2-0, so they're off to a great start!

Stillwater

Logan and I have spent a few days of each of the last two weeks in Stillwater. The first week of May, John had a regional meeting in Michigan, so I made the short trek to Stillwater from Thursday-Saturday for some help with Logan. This week, John was working on some projects at home, so we let him work in peace! We spent a few nights at my parents' house and John was able to tackle a few projects.

John and I often remark how we are glad we don't live too far from our parents' homes. Especially since the grandparents are always willing to help out now that we have kids! Its so nice to be able to jump in the car and see our families in just over an hour.

Both trips to Stillwater included shopping downtown, lots of time with Nana and Auntie Amy, and playing outside. My dad has been travelling internationally quite a bit, so its usually just been my mom at home. Amy works 4-day weeks, so if we're lucky, we catch her on her day off!

Amy and Logan at Leo's diner downtown Stillwater for lunch on Friday, May 8th. We go to have a yummy lunch in the window seat of this mainstreet diner. Logan LOVED watching all the cars, trucks and bikes go by. I think he could have stayed all day. He also really LOVED Amy! He only wanted to sit with her and have her push the stroller. The first thing he would say when he woke up was, "Amy?". So cute!

This weekend the highlight was seeing our friends William and Grace. My very good friend Sarah brought her kids out to Stillwater to play at my parents' house on Friday. I swear, she is supermom! It was her first week back at work, Mike was gone hunting, and she still managed to get both kids from Minneapolis to Stillwater by 10am for our playdate (both clean, and dressed, even!). She is my idol right now, considering I will be joining the ranks of two-kid-mommies very soon! Unfortunately, none of the photos I took turned out, but click here for a look at her blog to see our playtime with the boys (and Gracie, too!).

Saturday Logan came down with a virus and battled a fever for the rest of the weekend. So, I didn't take any photos of the sick little boy...I think he's on the mend! Hopefully we can all stay super healthy until Baby K arrives!

YL Golf Outing!

Once again, the skies were sunny (eventhough it was windy and a little chilly) for the Young Life Golf Tournament this year! All those prayers for nice weather must have been heard! John put in countless hours and long nights preparing for this great event and it was the best ever! Thanks to his office staff and some great volunteers, the event was exciting, smooth, and fun for all!

Grandpa Bob made the trip over with Uncle Scott (who came all the way from North Carolina to support John's event!), so Logan got to spend some bonus time with them during the casual dinner on the deck. This year was especially fun for us because in addition to Bob and Scott coming to the tournament, a large number of our friends travelled from the Cities for the day to enjoy a day off work and on the golf course! Its becoming a tradition for many of them and its always something we look forward to!

Logan got to run around on the mini golf course at the club - needless to say, he loved it!

The tournament offered a few new and exciting twists this year. One example was The Ultimate Putt...you'll have to participate next year to see how someone drove home with this scooter!

Grandpa Bob teaching Logan some golf tips.

Logan and Scott

Thanks to all our committee, friends, volunteers, and participants for making this event such a huge success!

Oh no...

Look at how cute Logan is in a hockey helmet! Our friend, Lisa, was going through her kids' old sports equipment and pulled out this hockey helmet for Logan. Of course, he loves it. And he's darn cute with it on!! But, NO, that doesn't change my feelings about being a hockey mom...

All smiles...

"Score!"

Even if I'm not a hockey fan...I'm a Logan fan!

This morning...

Logan has started to "pretend play" so much more! We can see his imagination growing by the day! This morning was so funny: after John left for work, Logan grabbed my wristlet/purse, put it on his shoulder, said "Bye Mommy", and gave me a kiss on the lips! Then he walked up the steps to the door and started to put shoes on, saying "work, work". Apparently, Logan was going to work, just like Daddy. It was enough to brighten my morning, that is for sure! So cute!

Logan now likes to walk up and down the stairs all by himself, holding onto the railing - what a grown-up!

"Bopbop Bike"

On Sunday we got a surprise visit from Bopbop (Grandpa Eiselt) when he was on his way back from a weekend motorcycle trip with some friends and decided to detour to EC and make a stop at our place. It was a fun surprise and Logan even got to sit on Bopbop's new motorcycle! Logan wasn't too sure about Bopbop's leather get-up or the noisy bike, but after Bob left Logan kept saying "Bopbop bike, Bopbop bike".

Biker Boys!

Olivia!

Today we got a visit from our good friend Olivia! She is home from Boston University, finished with her sophomore year, and about to start summer classes. So, she drove over to spend the day before she heads back to Boston. We had so much fun catching up and Logan LOVED showing off (seriously: how does a 20-month old know how to show off so well?!?). Thanks so much for the great visit, Olivia! We love you!

We had lunch, played at home, and went to the park...it was a great day!

A rare photo of Logan and Mommy!

May Day

May started with a beautiful day in Eau Claire! Logan and I had a quiet morning at home and then met John mid-morning to begin delivering May Day Baskets to some local friends of Young Life. We drove around delivering baskets for most of the afternoon and Logan was a champ!

After our May Day Mission was complete, Logan and I went off to do a few errands and visit my friends at Starbucks while John went to his track coach duties at North High School. Then we met back at home and gave Logan some much needed playtime outside. He even got to fly the kite with Dad!

Happy May!