Learning the art of anticipation

There is a "popper" toy at Logan's school which essentially scares little kids in anticipation (think a baby version of Jack-in-the-Box). Logan has learned exactly when the toy is nearly done, making the most hilarious faces ever in anticipation of the final POP.

I borrowed the toy from his school so we could play with it over the weekend, and so I could capture a few of his expressions for everyone to see. Enjoy!

All choked up

I've noticed since I was pregnant, I've become increasingly emotional during various events. I've always been a pretty emotional person anyway, but boy when those crazy pregnancy hormones kicked in, I found myself weeping at bubble gum commercials for God's sake! And, while I wasn't too interested in babies beforehand, I suddenly had this enormous love and affection for the little one growing inside of me, who I had yet to meet.

So it was no surprise, that once Logan was born, that emotional bond I felt with him increased ten-fold. Suddenly, any little event would trigger a surge of love, pride, affection and happiness.

And, I would get choked up.

Any new development of our little man. A smile, a laugh, sitting up, wearing a brace, then not wearing a brace, rolling over, jumping, kicking, finding his voice, finding his hands, finding his tongue, finding his feet, finding his penis, watching the dogs play, pulling my hair, reaching out to me, laughing uncontrollably as he swiftly crawled to the dogs' water bowl to splash in, pulling up and trying to walk or contemplating how to get back down.

You name it, I get choked up.

But, it's not just those "little" things that Logan does, that gets me choked up.

Seeing a hip-hop popper from Texas break down in tears of joy when he got picked to compete in Vegas, and eventually move his way through to the finals - and actually WIN "So You Think You Can Dance" - was touching, endearing and just made you want to give the kid a big hug. Sappy, I know. Yet I couldn't help but get choked up.

Watching Phelps ROAR when his teammate swam the fastest split in history; I guess you could say my motherly instinct kicked in. I swelled with pride. For Phelps, for Lezak, for the United States of America. For all boys, young and old, who work hard to make their dreams come true. Yes, I got choked up.

And, listening to Michelle talk the other night, both lovingly and respectfully of her parents, her children and of course, her husband. That entire family is nothing but hope and inspiration. And, I got choked up.

Logan and I, together, watched Barack's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention tonight. I realize he doesn't even have the faintest idea how we were witnessing some of the most powerful history in the making. Still, I looked down at my son, gave him a quick little hug, and told him that man speaking on the screen that he was watching so quietly and intently; that man was going to be the next President of the United States for the next eight years.

The first eight years of Logan's life.

And he was going to make a difference.

And, I got choked up.

Another Breakthrough

Over the last 4-5 days I've noticed one of Logan's upper teeth starting to come through - a little bit more swollen gum and you can kinda see the pearly whites somewhere underneath said gum. Yesterday I was pretty sure I saw a corner of the tooth finally poke through, but wasn't positive. Jon claimed he was "super bitchy all night long" (he had Daddy-duty last night so I could take a few hours off), and fell asleep a bit earlier than usual.

This morning, Jon held him upside down so I could do an official inspection and sure enough! We have another tooth that's broken through. It's still in the beginning stages, but given our experience from the first set, I'm sure it'll be a sharp razor before we know it.

Chihuly

Today we took a trip up to the city with my parents and Kai to see Chihuly at the de Young. For those of you who don't recognize the name, Dale Chihuly is a world-renowned artist who has taken glass blowing to a whole new level. He creates MASSIVE collections of glass sculpture (usually with a team that works under his vision), combining the most intricate pieces, lines and colors and turning them into beautiful works of art.

The exhibit at de Young is enormous. Showcasing eleven galleries, it is one of the largest exhibits of his work I believe. If you have a spare afternoon and can get tickets, I would highly suggest going to see it!! :)

As you can see, I went crazy with the camera, but his work was so phenomenal and gorgeous, that I had to attempt at capturing it all! Still, most of my pics don't do his work justice. It's just one of those things "you have to be there" for. And, as you might imagine, flash isn't allowed inside the exhibit, and it was pretty dark, so I don't have many at all of us or Logan, but trust me when I say Logan was a trooper!! :) He hung with Daddy the entire time (in our Ergo Carrier since strollers weren't allowed inside) and only fussed a couple times when he got bored or tired.

This one is a close up of the glass "Chandeliers" which was Logan's favorite of them all. He really enjoyed looking up at the huge glowing blobs of different colored glass :)

Afterwards we all headed off to Ti Couz, a favorite restaurant of ours, and stuffed ourselves silly with scrumptiously decadent crepes. Yummmm....

We had a fabulous time today, what a wonderful ending to a beautiful weekend!










Click on any of the pics for many more shots of each gallery!

Not a Genuine Black Man

For our 2nd theatre night out (my parent's gift to us when Logan was born), Jon and I enjoyed a local play, a hit solo show, a comedian and now celebrity: Brian Copeland.

His show, Not a Genuine Black Man, was fantastic. But don't let people like my father fool you. He told me "It's a comedy". And so, I sat through the first 15 minutes of the play thinking, "Well this isn't very funny". And then I sat through the next 15 minutes thinking "When's the comedy going to begin??" and another 15 minutes later I thought "The playbill says he's a comedian, but this shit is pretty dark."

I finally realized, the show is perhaps more akin to your Shakespearean problem play. There WAS (finally) some comedy sprinkled in here and there, but it was disguised amidst the heavy themes of racial prejudice and stereotypes, physical and emotional abuse, community and sense of belonging, inspiration and respect, and of course, family.

Still, it was poignant, touching, ever heart wrenching. Particularly as a native Bay Area kid, and now parent.

Tomorrow (Sunday the 24th) is his last day at San Jose's Hoover Theatre. He will also be back for two matinée shows the first two Sundays in October.

If you're local and haven't seen his show yet, go buy your tickets now. If you're not local (sucks to be you), go buy his book instead. You can thank me later.

Gymboree

Today we tried out a Gymboree class - and since the class was in the afternoon, Logan was a lot more active and willing to explore (especially when we put a colored "whiffle" ball out for him to grab). We had him try pretty much every cool ramp or ladder or ball or slide that we could find, and he seemed to be game for anything, until the end when the singing lady's songs finally got to him and he decided it was time for a nap (I think all three of us were ready for a nap!)

I'm still undecided if we should sign Logan up for a series of classes just yet. And, will probably observe the next/older class that Jenn's going to next week to help make my decision (since that is the class we'd probably enroll him in anyway).

Afterwards, we had lunch at my parents and while hanging out Logan decided Gymboree wasn't quite enough activity for the day, and proceeded to climb up THREE stairs!! All. On. His. Own. Making it look like a breeze and something he's been doing forever.

I guess it's time to get a baby gate for the stairs now. :)








Editor's Note: Apparently my previous post was a little misleading. We don't have to pay the full $20k for my injections, THANK GOD. Insurance is still covering the bulk of it. But, we do have a higher set of deductibles we owe, because the surgery center is out of network. :(

Out of Network Providers

Note to self: next time, check if the surgery center that's doing my injections is "in" or "out".

Who knew three little injections would cost ~$20k?

In another life, I think I'd like to open a surgery center.

Or two.


On a totally unrelated note, I had the wildest dream last night, where I discovered, at the dr's office, that I was pregnant. And, I honestly can't say if I was more excited, or more freaked, about the news.

Don't try this at home

We three stayed home sick yesterday. Jon and I are both still queasy but doing better and I figured no use infecting anyone else with the awful wave from hell. Today, however, we had to work. I dropped Logan off, giving the school instructions to call Jon today if anything went wrong, since I was going to be in an all day meeting that I couldn't get out of. mwahahahahahaha

No more than 15 min. after I dropped him off, they called Jon. Logan's running a fever (100.3) - you'll need to pick him up and take him home.

So, Jon got to babysit Logan all day today and boy was he RACING to leave the house for his D&D nerd night the minute I walked in the front door. Complaining about Logan "being super bitchy" (seriously, his words, not mine) and wanting to be held all day long. You mean, he's acting like he's sick?

OHMYGODTHEHORROR.

So, I picked up smiley little Logan and we hung out and played and had a grand ol' time tonight while Daddy took off to decompress.

And, just when I was thinking, what the hell is everyone talking about, Logan doesn't seem bitchy or fussy or sick - he starts to cough, and then choke. I pick him up, give him a couple whacks on the back and he gives me this in return.

You can see a couple of Jon's books got splashed as well. Good times.

So then I changed him and finished cleaning up the floor, and what does the little stinker go and do? He discovers this coooool water dish that is so fun to splash in Mommy, see?

Check out how big and full the water container is folks. It holds 5 gallons. Five gallons. That is a LOT of water to have fun playing in....

And, because apparently no one noticed the fish baby post (I figured I'd get at least a couple comments. C'mon people.) I guess I'll show you his other favorite face - we call this one FISH LIPS.

Uncle Skawt, The Flying Machine

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Scott, came to visit us early one morning in the middle of the week (almost two weeks ago - I'm behind on my pics!). We usually get these odd hour visits from him since he's a pilot and is only briefly in town between trips, but we still keep in touch after all these years (he was the dorky new kid who moved into our middle school mid-year, much shorter than me and I loved to tease him about it. But I never ever hurt him or made him bleed. Boy wouldn't that be a good story to tell Logan. hmmmmm.).

But I digress.

This was his first time meeting Mr. Logan - very excited to hold him and show off his "kid" hat. There's a story behind the hat too (always with the stories, aren't you Scott?). Apparently he wears this bright yellow thing whenever he visits with ANY kid because they love it so much. So now Logan is going to know his Uncle Skawt as that weirdo with the neon yellow cap. *sigh*

Anyway, just wanted to share a couple pics from our visit. Too short as usual, but we had a great time catching up nonetheless. Scott is very much a kid at heart - so I had to include this last pic even though it's blurry. Does it make you feel any better knowing this freak flies you around the country?

It will be a momentous day when Scott becomes a Dad himself.

Any day now, right Skawt? ;-)

Fish Baby

The most hilarious facial expression he's learned yet.

He started doing it a week or so ago during feedings and I thought it was due to the food (like sour apples or pears?).

Now he does it wherever he goes.

And, I crack up every time.

Who takes care of the kid when you're BOTH sick as dogs?

Friday morning, I was hustling around getting ready for work, late as usual. Jon was helping me get Logan ready, feeding him in bed. When all of a sudden I heard him yell "GODDAMNIT. SHIT! FUCK! SHIT!"

You never like to hear Jon cursing angrily from the other room, especially when your baby is in his arms.

I run in to find Logan, Jon and most of the bed, SOAKED in milky puke. I told him to calm down, it's just a little milk.

J: Yeah right - he PUKED on me!!
B: Jon. It's just a little milk. He didn't even have a chance to digest it yet.
J: But it got all over my pants and on my leg. Ugggghhhh.
B: Just be thankful it wasn't a crotchful of diarrhea.

Ahhh, so goes most conversations about general baby caring, in our household these days. Guess who's the more squeamish of us two? ;-)

Anyway - I changed Logan, rushed around to finish getting ready, shoved a few Cheerios in his mouth to get something in his stomach and dropped him off at school - yelling to the teachers on my way out "oh yeah, he hasn't really eaten much today because he threw everything up and if he continues or gets worse, just give me a call", as the door slammed shut right behind me.

I'm at work for no more than 20 minutes when my cell lights up with the school's name.

SHIT.

I duck out of my meeting to answer the call and sure enough, Logan wasn't getting any better. He continued to puke up whatever they tried feeding him and was only able to keep down an ounce of milk before passing out. I told them since he was sleeping, I'd stay at work a bit longer and check in later after my next meeting. A few check ins later, he finally woke from his nap, having puked up the one ounce he had just before falling asleep. And, he had a minor temperature (99.7), so I said I'd be right there and packed up my stuff to go.

Of course, when I came to pick Logan up, he was his usual cheery smiley self, no indication of being sick whatsoever. But, I took him home anyway. I was really concerned about the lack of fluids in his system, so I gave him some Pedialyte once we got home, in small doses, every 15-30 minutes, watching him carefully in between feedings. Luckily, he didn't have any more vomiting spells and was quite content just hanging out with mom, playing with his toys or crawling around the house. You'd never know he was sick earlier that day! (I did call the doctors and they said a stomach virus has been going around)

Saturday he continued to behave just fine, other than being out of it during our early morning visit to The Little Gym. I, on the other hand, was feeling a bit crummy, and worse as the day progressed. I thought perhaps it was just a lack of sleep, since I got up early that morning and never went back to bed (like I usually do when I put Logan down for his morning nap), so I took a nap before dinner. When I woke, I wasn't feeling any better - mostly queasy and super nauseous.

We had dinner plans with the Hicksons and Jodoins at Habana Cuba that I had been waiting for all week, so I was determined to go, dismissing my uneasiness for hunger instead. Unfortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong. Literally, the minute my food was set in front of me, a WAVE washed over my entire body. Not the good, this is an awesome killer wave let's ride it all the way back to the shore type of wave. No, it was the bad, you are SICK and I'm taking over your entire body with SICKNESS so you might as well wish you were dead type of wave.

I broke out into an unbelievable rapid sweat and chills with a feeling that I needed to puke RIGHT NOW. I stumbled to the bathroom, sat on a chair with my head between my legs for about 20 minutes before finally feeling better. When I got back to the table, I had a couple bites of dinner only to get that same wave of nausea wash over me again. We were getting ready to leave soon so I just stuck it out, looking lame with my head between my legs, taking deep breaths and watching the sweat trickle down my chest.

I vaguely remember someone (Jenn?) commenting that I could be pregnant.

SHE BETTER NOT BE Jon said.

Thanks babe.

Jon put me to bed with some saltines and Gatorade and I stayed there, curled up in a little ball moaning all night long, switching between cold sweats, chills and shakes to burning up super hot get this smothering blanket off of me. But, without a fever or any abnormal temperature at all. Jon, unfortunately, caught whatever bug Logan and I have, in the middle of the night as well. So, the three of us (and mostly Jon and I it seems!) have been in pretty sad shape all day today, fighting nausea, diarrhea, achiness, headaches (probably from the lack of food), you name it. No fun.

And, what has been MOST challenging about this more than the illness itself, is the caring for Logan while we're both under the weather. I think if just one of us was feeling a little uneasy and not well, it'd be another thing entirely. But, when the two of us are completely incapacitated like we have been last night and today, it's all we can do to make a bottle, shove it in his mouth, and pray he gobbles it down and falls right back to sleep.

It's weekends like these where I'm just starting to realize what the impact of having a child in your house will do - once he gets sick, we get sick. Once one of us gets sick, the kid gets sick. It's a never-ending vicious cycle.

Logan actually did really well today, all things considered. Mostly he's just been bored because we've been trying to entertain him in bed since the two of us haven't left the bedroom save to feed the dogs/cats and do a Gatorade/Pepto Bismol run. And you wonder why the kid who just learned how to crawl is bored when all he can see are the tempting cool things that are all on the ground that he could be putting in his mouth instead. He's also been more cranky than usual (what a surprise, he's sick!) and started having a few diarrhea diapers which Jon had the luck of discovering at 5:30 early this morning, right about when he was starting to really get sick himself.

Let's just say I heard a few more expletives coming from Logan's room early this morning in my achy nauseous woozy haze. And, later found dried poop smeared all over the changing pad reminding me why maybe he was muttering those expletives so early in the morning.

When he's not groaning in the bed next to me, Jon has been living in the bathroom most of the day, poor thing. We've both been guzzling down Gatorade and nothing else, which I'm sure is going to wreak havoc on my diet. But, I'm finally feeling a tad bit better, and looking at the clock, it took about 24 hrs before I could get anything "substantial" in my stomach (Top Ramen to the rescue!).

I guess that means Jon will be ready for some blueberry pancakes about 5:30 tomorrow morning?

The Little Gym

Last week, a few of our friends had signed up their little ones for The Little Gym classes, so Jenn and I decided to check it out for ourselves. Unfortunately, the only class during non-working hours is bright and early Saturday morning, right smack at the start of Logan's first morning nap. So, he wasn't exactly crazy about me waking him up to go exercise (who is?!). To top it all off, he also wasn't feeling too hot (see next post). But, we made the most of it - and he actually started crawling and exploring a little bit at the very end of class which I was glad about.

Ah well. We had fun, and I love the idea of starting gymnastics at an early age since he's a born tumbler. But, with only one time available to choose from for a working mom (why are all kid-related activities today so "stay-at-home-mom centric"??), the schedule won't work out for us right now.

Good thing Daddy wasn't there to see him going after the PINK ball! hehehehehehe

Hips still normal!

Just got done with Logan's orthopedic follow up appt and everything checks out ok. His hips are as normal as any other person's!

This is a relief since he's been crawling funny with his left leg jutted out, that had me a little worried. The doc said his crawl was fine and some babies just crawl weird. :)

At any rate, we don't need to come back again unless we start noticing anything unusual once he starts walking.

Or, I get ultra paranoid. ;-)

Welcome Keira

Another baby has just been added to Logan's circle of friends today (yes, we're surrounded by a bunch of procreating fools). Our friends Mike and Vicki had their little baby girl today - Keira Riley - we're very excited for them and can't wait to meet her.

Congrats guys! Welcome to parenthood.

Now, try to catch a few zzzz's.

Happy Birthday Robert!

Logan's friend Robert turns one today - and my oh my how time flies!! I still remember the days when Jenn and I were big and pregnant and tackling yoga classes together, getting ready for these crazy little boys to ruin come into our lives. ;-)

Jenn and Jarrod put on a great birthday party for Robert yesterday and invited all of their family and friends to the festivities. I was "backup photographer" of the day (Nathan was prime), so I have SEVERAL pics uploaded for folks to enjoy. Many of Logan, of course, and of the Man of the Hour Robert. As well as shots from most of the folks who attended the party.

The Birthday Boy enjoys a cupcake with green ("rainforest") frosting! Yikes!


The Happy Parents and Hosts. Thanks for a great party guys!! Congrats - you done good.

Child-proofing

We plugged in a few of those child proof plugs around the house - but I didn't have enough (need to buy more) - so for a few of the outlets where we have night lights, I just plugged them into the bottom plug, since the top plug was covered by the night light. Thinking that was good enough for now.

HA!

What a newb.

It took Logan about 1.2 seconds to pull the night light out this morning.


Luckily, he's more interested in the night light than the outlet. :)

8 months old

Today Logan turned 8 months old. And, a lot has happened in the past month, that it feels like so much longer! I would say the biggest turning point, of course, is how MOBILE he has now become.

And, he truly does love his new found independence. Exploring the house in ways he never knew he could before. Like, why go around the stroller like Mom does, when you can go under it?

At first, he started sitting up on his own, which was so great! We felt like that brought on a whole new independence for our little guy and we didn't have to worry that if he tumbled over after setting him down, that we'd have to be there to right him back up.

I know what you're thinking and YES, I set him down on his own without watching him. Quite often. So I can run over and feed the dogs and cats, run to the bathroom, switch over the load of laundry, start dinner, wash the dishes, make a bottle for Logan. You name it, time is precious and any little second I can steal to get a chore done while Logan entertains himself is GOLD in this here house.

Within a week, literally, Logan started crawling. How these guys learn the skills on their own (usually overnight) is just amazing to me. We were, of course, ecstatic. And a little nervous too. With more independence and mobility means we've got to be on our toes much more!! Long ago were the days where I could set Logan down and know that he'd still be in the same spot on the living room rug, playing with his toys and laughing at the dogs.

Now, he crawls out into the foyer to peek around the corner at me in the kitchen and say HI MOM!

Or, perhaps it's crawling down the step over our threshold and onto our porch.

Just this weekend, I was running out to the car to load it up with all our gear, getting ready to make a run to the store with Logan, and apparently I left the front door wide open. Lola runs out, as usual, to race in circles around the front lawn. So, naturally, Logan wants to see what all the commotion is about, and crawls from the living room to the front door in a matter of seconds. I'm walking back up the walkway toward our front door and am greeted by my son grunting, balancing in mid-air, trying to figure out how to get his legs to follow his hands, down the step. He made it, without any face plants or help from me. No fear.

He's also quickly learning how to pull himself up onto things. He doesn't yet use anything tall like furniture or tables. Yet. Usually it's something lower to the ground and his height. Like my own body - since I'm laying right next to him as we play on the floor and he sees something on the other side of me THAT HE HAS TO HAVE NOW and proceeds to use my body as leverage to push his legs straight and half stand up, peering over me, to calculate how far the toy is and how much effort is going to be involved in GETTING that toy. He makes it every time of course.

His hand-eye coordination is getting better and better every day. He's recently started clapping and smiles when his hands make a noise. Although, I'm not sure he associates HIS clapping to MY clapping, since he hasn't yet learned to mimic me, but seems to be content clapping on his own nonetheless.

You've probably noticed I've stopped announcing the new foods we're trying with him because basically I try ANYTHING that he'll eat. Just this past weekend I got a food grinder so we tried out some of my spaghetti for his dinner too - he seemed to like it (duh Mom. They're carbs!) :) He's eating a lot more food now - usually two solids a day (one veggie, one fruit) and a TON of cheerios, puffs, crackers, you name it. These are all in addition to his bottle, which he loves and has taken on a horrible habit of throwing a FIT anytime he sees it and realizes he's hungry.

He's taken to BITING me too, whenever he's hungry. My legs, my knees, my arms, my chest, my face. Usually they are little nips, but sometimes he'll get a good grip with those two razor sharp teeth of his and I jump and yell. Of course, that's just the more funny to him.

He sorta does a half ass attempt at reaching his arms out at me. I'm really trying to get him to learn that one since it's a lot easier on my back if he helps me. But, we're not 100% there yet. He does get EXTREMELY excited when he wants up or down and bounces like a madman tho. Very entertaining.

Luckily his "separation anxiety" the other day seems to have been a one time fluke. However, he will still throw a fit if he's not quite in the mood to play, and you put him down to play. Or not quite in the mood to eat, and you put him in the booster seat to eat. Or, not quite in the mood to sleep, and you lay him down to nap. You get the picture.

I keep reminding myself patience is a virtue.

I'm sure I will be chanting that for the rest of my life.

Whoever said babies shouldn't play with plastic bags obviously didn't know what they were talking about. Especially when they are super big Toys R Us bags sitting in the hallway to discover, and crinkle and swish and make all sorts of neat new sounds to play with.

He loves playing with his teeth and sticks his tongue down to scrape across the tops of them. He continues to growl, he's just a lot louder now. Ahh, if only we could have the first days back where his little cry was so little. Now he has some lungs and he's not afraid to use them. In fact, he believes I must be deaf, so the louder the better. Yelling, laughing, squealing, crying, banging, clapping, pounding.

Oh, and he's discovered his penis.

Already getting into trouble

I can't leave him alone for a second!
Leaving the scene of the crime....

Just the two of us

Jon left for San Diego today, to help celebrate his sister Catherine's 30th birthday this weekend (Happy Birthday Catherine!). Logan and I decided to stay home -- my back's not up to another road trip this soon after LA, and we also have our buddy Robert's 1st birthday party to attend to this weekend! :)

Though Jon is never one for drawn out goodbyes, I know he will be missing us this weekend. He has these rare Daddy moments that are sometimes out of place for Jon, which just touches my heart. The other evening, Jon came home "early" (10:30pm) from his D&D game night, and of course, Logan was already down for the evening. Still, Jon pulled him out of his crib, laid him in our bed and laid down next to him for awhile, before putting him back in his crib for the rest of the night. Luckily for all of us (mostly Jon), Logan didn't wake the entire time Jon did this.... and as much as I didn't care for him risking waking our little guy up, it really melted my heart to see him bond with our son. I usually give Jon quite a bit of shit (on various things, it doesn't really matter, does it?), but we both know he's taken to being a Number 1 Daddy for Logan from the very start.

Our little guy has been doing great sleeping through the night - usually a full 10 hrs uninterrupted - which has been just wonderful for Jon and I. It started regularly about the time he started crawling, so I'm sure the extra activity is helping him sleep more soundly. At any rate, I hope the trend continues, especially this weekend while I'm on parent duty by myself! *knocks on wood*

We had a nice dinner with a number of our friends tonight (the Hicksons, Jodoins and Chouns) and then watched the 2008 Olympics' Opening Ceremony for a few hours before calling it a night. We're looking forward to the weekend where we can just relax and watch the many summer games that will be playing for the next two weeks! :)

All are outstanding, but here are a few of my fave shots:

Go USA! :)

Relaxed

We've gone from swaddling Logan as tight as possible so he can sleep,
to now this... :)

Separation Anxiety?

I'm pretty proud of the fact that Logan is turning into such a little socialite at such a young age. He has no problem hanging out with any, and every, one and doesn't seem to mind strangers holding him, even if Mom or Dad are out of line of sight.

In fact, I was telling my co-worker Andrea at lunch today what wonderful luck we've had so far, and how we haven't experienced or seen any signs at all of the separation anxiety that usually hits kids around this time. I think it's partly because we started taking Logan to preschool at such an early age. I think it also has something to do with us freely passing him around since he was born, to any sucker friend that will hold him and give us a break for 10 minutes, but that's another story.

Sure, there's the occasional whine, accompanied by the arms that reach out only half-ass at me when I leave. But, c'mon. I know a pathetic whine when I hear one and that's usually it. And then he stops about 30 seconds later because the flower toy that blinks lights and sings songs to him is sooooo much cooler than Mommy ever was.

Mommy who?

So of course, today Murphy's Law decides to prove me wrong (I should have knocked on wood earlier today - damn you fate!).

When I arrived to pick Logan up this afternoon, he was all play and not interested in looking up at Mommy. Not even to say hi. Typical.

So, I got down on my hands and knees so he'd know I was there, gave him a quick kiss and said "Hey kiddo!"

He looked up at me, eyes locked on mine and you could see the wheels turning as the realization hit him that it was time to go home. MOMMY'S HERE. And he gave me that 1000-watt smile that beams straight to my heart.

So, I patted him on the head, said "lemme go get your bottles and bag and we'll be off." And got up to go grab his stuff.

Apparently when I said "lemme go get your bottles and bag and we'll be off", he interpreted it as "Ha! I'm leaving you and never ever coming back you horrible wretched little kid! Who's going to love you now? Huh? Who??"

Because he immediately started crying. Mind you, I'm about 5 ft away and in plain view. But apparently that wasn't good enough. And, when I walked a little farther away, to his cubby (where his bag and bottles were, but still 100% visible from where he sat) he suddenly let out the loudest ear piercing embarrassing SHRIEK a mother has ever heard. Right in front of the New Dad too.

Well. That's new.

It's okay kiddo. I'm right here.

More shrieking.

Seriously? Do you really think you're going to be left alone? I'm right here.

Louder shrieking.

It's okay buddy. I'm. right. here.

And then he was saved from the horrible terrible evil thoughts that were coursing through that little head of his. And immediately he was bouncing and happy and smiley and burying his face into my chest as all those unspeakables vanished into thin air.

*sigh*

I really hope Logan was just having a crappy day and separation anxiety hasn't set in. In fact, that's what I'm going to think. Because, if I believe it was just a crappy day and nothing else...

Then, it was nothing else.

Right?

Summertime

August is the time for laying blankets out on the grass, cutting up lots of fresh fruit, breaking out the bags of chips and munchies, and hanging out in the sun (or in today's case, shade under a big tree).

There was no questioning who's diaper bag this one was (Hi Kim!). I loved the capture so much, I had to showcase it here on the blog. Not one, not two, but THREE bottles of sunblock. :-P


We got together this afternoon with a bunch of our friends, who all have babies close to Logan's age, for a little "family play date" (I suppose?) at the Vasona Lake Park. Logan was pretty content to just SUCK on pretzel sticks all day long and watch the action all around him. About the only time I could get him to crawl was when he was ready for another pretzel stick. I'm beginning to think our little guy is into carbs. Seriously.

As always, great company and all sorts of yummy food to munch on as the kiddos got to play with one another. And yes, we definitely had our hands full with all seven kids.

Starring...

*drum roll please*

Jamie (5 yrs) is one spunky little gal who cannot be contained. By far the eldest, she will be the model that all the little ones look up to. She will do what it takes to gain attention and approval from all, sometimes with a bit of a dramatic flair. She is the entertainer of the crowd, usually a silly little goose, yet is as lovable as they come (using her Aunties' laps as reclining chairs).


Robert (just shy of 1 yr!) is an active go-get-'em crowd pleaser. Loyal to his friends and an avid trendsetter (esp. for Mr. Logan who looks up to the only older boy of the crowd) in fashion, toys, new foods, activities, you name it. In your camera face, loves attention, can't be still and will be famous. Ambitious, stubborn, proud and honest.







Addison (11.5 mths) is kind-hearted and generous and will be a great listener. She loves to nurture and share (although sometimes NOT her chocolate chip cookies). She is caring, creative and shy but a natural helper around the house, and later to the world.


Molly (9.5 mths) is a lover, not a fighter. She is charming, easy-going and loves to please. When she's missing Mommy and Daddy's affection, she tends to be grumpy, having a rare off day (luckily, Mommy and Daddy have plenty of love to give). Balanced, constant, agreeable and polite. And definitely loves her raspberries.


Emily (9 mths): Calm as she may seem, there's a lot going on beneath the surface. Her need for a strong emotional connection (Mommy can never be too far out of sight) drives her intense, creative and magnetic personality. Loves to win and wise beyond her years, she will be a devoted leader.









Logan (7.5 mths) is a born adventurer and free spirit. Tons of fun, he is also impatient and gets into loads of trouble when bored (curiosity killed the cat?). Naturally athletic, which helps burn that excess energy. Loves to travel, particularly head dives off the couch. Optimistic, independent, honest, outgoing and happy.



and last but not least,




Jessie (3.5 mths), our little lamb. She's impulsive yet friendly. Adventurous, always pushing ahead of the pack and loves to rock the boat. She tells it like she sees it, never holding a grudge. Daring, competitive, self-reliant and outgoing. A promising lawyer or doctor, who knows. Bottom line, she's one tough cookie you don't want to mess with.


It's days like today where I really hate going back to work on Monday..... *sigh*

Hope everyone had a great summer weekend!