Toddler Schedule

Notes from Logan's teacher when I picked him up today:

Logan is on the toddler schedule. :) He had an excellent day and he drinks only from his sippy cup now. :)

I thought about posting the entire toddler schedule on here but frankly, I'm tired and want to get to bed. ;-) So, the major change is more rigid eating times (morning snack, lunch time, and afternoon snack) along with one nap a day instead of two or more. And, as noted above, his bottle is pretty much cut out during the day (and night time if we wish) and instead starts using a sippy cup and feeding himself....

Once he moves over to the toddler room (which could be soon I guess), he'll also get to do a lot more outdoor play and indoor activities with interactive games, which I think he will just love.

Logan's really actually transitioned himself to this schedule on his own, so there hasn't been any disruption because of it which is nice. We'll probably need to be a little more careful about following the same schedule on the weekends so that his life runs "smoothly" but I think it'll be fine.

The saddest part of it all is how quickly he's leaving baby-dom in the dust.

Kick Back

Logan spent some time hanging out with his buddy Robert (and Jarrod) while Jenn and I went to our Weight Watchers meeting tonight. Here's a pic Jarrod took of the two boys just chillin' in their kid sized chairs in front of the tv.... :)




(Update: Added a couple more pics that I grabbed from Jenn's post. Too cute!)

San Diego Summary

My son is off to bed and my husband is off to another country (more on that later), so I finally have some moments of quiet in the house to blog a post on our recent trip.

Jon's old high school friend, Ryan, got married this last weekend. Since Jon was in the wedding party, we had to go. We contemplated about leaving Logan here with my parents but finally decided it was better to bring him with us. It wouldn't have been right visiting San Diego without him, especially since he hadn't yet met either of Jon's grandparents!

So, we woke up bright and early on Thursday morning for a short flight down to San Diego. It was pouring here in San Jose so it was nice to be greeted with some sun once we landed. The flight was fairly uneventful. Logan was pretty tired and should have taken a nap, but he was way too distracted with everything around him to fall asleep on me or Jon. However, by the time we got to our rental car, he finally DID conk out on me (in the Ergo carrier) which was great news. So, I quietly swayed back and forth letting him sleep while Jon quickly loaded up our car, messed with the car seat to get it buckled in properly, gingerly loaded our snoozing son into his seat, and then plopped ourselves in the front to take off.

Only, when Jon started up the engine, we discovered the brand new spankin' - I only have 500 miles to my name - rental car was dying. The poor thing was shaking and shuddering and sputtering like a beat up old Chevy truck (rather than the sporty red Chevy Impala that it was).

GREAT.

So, we got another car, took all our luggage out, transferred it to the new car, gingerly pulled our sleeping son out of his car seat, took that out and installed it in the working car, and loaded him back up again. He was exhausted and thankfully, never woke up during the transition. :)

We took off to see Jon's Grandma Negrete first, who lives in Coronado. Since Logan was still sleeping, I waited in the car with him while Jon went to get his grandmother, and then we all took off for a late breakfast/early lunch. Logan woke up once she joined us in the car (I'm sure the new voice is what did it), but at least he got about a 45 minute nap or so....

We had a nice lunch. Well. Nice minus Logan throwing up all over himself in his high chair because we gave him a tortilla chip to munch on, which then proceeded to get lodged in his throat (because he SHOVED THE ENTIRE THING IN HIS MOUTH all at once) and caused him to gag. Thankfully, I had packed a change of clothes, shoes and all, in the diaper bag. So, we stripped him down right there at the table, washed everything with millions of baby wipes, and then went back to finishing our lunch. Eeks.

After lunch, we visited with Jon's grandmother some more at her apartment (and Jon did a little bit of work) which she absolutely loved since it meant some extra time with Loganito. And, then took off to drive up to Murrieta, about an hour north of San Diego, where Jon's grandpa Negrete and step-grandmother Maryann live.

At Grandpa Negrete and Maryann's house we visited with the two of them plus Jon's aunt and younger cousins. Jon's Aunt Diana and Uncle Donald also drove down from Sun City to visit and meet Logan as well. We had a really nice time visiting and ordered in pizza for dinner. Logan got to bounce on a trampoline for his first time which he seemed to really enjoy for about 5 minutes. Jon was on it with him, doing most of the bouncing, and Logan was laughing up a storm - until Jon got a little too aggressive and suddenly Logan's face turned green and he stopped smiling all together and wanted off. :) He also loved playing with Izzy's drumsticks, and watching Izzy do some serious damage on his Rock Band game.

We finally took off and headed back to San Diego to stay with our friends Eric and Jill (who we traveled to New Zealand with). It was really great to see them! And, even though my back was killing me (stressful week at work and the traveling/kid juggling), we all stayed up for a couple of hours after putting Logan down so that we could hang out and catch up on the last few months of life.

Friday morning Eric and Jill both took off for work, and unfortunately for us, their electric company was doing maintenance in the neighborhood so power was out for the entire day. We couldn't really sit at the house doing nothing, so we decided to hit up the mall - which actually worked out well since Jon found out that morning that the rehearsal dinner that night was business casual - no jeans (since when does business casual mean no jeans? is what I want to know...). I'm pretty sure the bridesmaids all knew well in advance the required attire, but alas, the last minute planning is what you have to put up with when it's two boys talking to each other.

So, we got some nice pants for Jon (luckily I had packed two dresses for me), and walked around the mall until it was a little too wet and rainy for us to hang out in anymore. Plus, Logan really needed a nap and we all needed to get ready for the rehearsal. So, we headed back to Eric and Jill's and all three napped for a couple hours like the lazy bums that we are, before it was time to head to the church.

The rehearsal was supposed to start at 5pm but this is a Filipino wedding and everyone was operating on Filipino time. :) The bride and groom didn't even show up until about 5:20pm or so I think. So what's the first thing the rehearsal coordinator (yes, there was a coordinator just for the rehearsal) tells the wedding party?

Tomorrow you must be here NO LATER THAN 1:15pm American time. Not Mexican time. Not Filipino time. American time people.

Heh. The poor woman.

The wedding was at The Immaculata Parish on the University of San Diego's campus. I actually have been to a wedding here before - when I was pregnant with Logan! For my good friend Scott and Karen's wedding. So, I knew the layout well. But, this time with a baby, it was oh so different.

And, I really shouldn't have gone to the rehearsal. I'm not sure what I was thinking, other than, oh! if it starts at 5pm then we should have the dinner around 6pm so maybe it won't go too late and we can take Logan afterall.

HA.

Although, I suppose being at the rehearsal was a blessing in disguise. Since, it quickly made me realize just how antsy Logan was REALLY going to be on the big day.

So, we spent an hour hanging out in the back of the church, climbing the pews, pulling the bibles out of the book racks and throwing the donation envelopes on the floor. We also walked up and down all the aisles, explored the side chapels, and hung out in the church's narthex (vestibule), before finally wandering outside to the fountain and central plaza in front of the church.

And, when I say WE, I mean Logan.

*sigh*

It was exhausting and by about 6:12pm, when the rehearsal was still in full swing and Logan was nearing his melting point, I finally texted Jon with something like....

Leaving now. Find a ride home.

Saturday morning we got up early and went out to breakfast with Eric and Jill at the Hash House a go go. Their plates (particularly the french toast) were gigantic and we all ordered WAY TOO MUCH and stuffed ourselves silly. Luckily, Logan passed out once we got home which allowed me to rest and Jon to get ready for the wedding (he had to take off early). Logan woke from his nap with just barely enough time to get himself and myself dolled up for the big day - enough time, anyway, to arrive to the wedding on Filipino time. ;-)

Of course, Logan and I missed the majority of the wedding since we again, spent most of our time hanging out in the church's narthex, screaming at the top of our lungs, because didn't you know, churches with high ceilings are PERFECT at echoing small childrens' voices? Since it was gorgeous outside, we spent some time at the fountain again, and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get some great pictures of my son dressed up with a beautiful church in the background. Only, he did not feel like cooperating ONE BIT with me and the camera ALL DAY LONG.

Once the wedding ceremony was over, we were able to find Jon to visit for just a little bit before he was swept away again for a series of pictures and hoopla. During this brief time, I captured my favorite picture of the entire weekend. :)

After the ceremony, hundreds of guests poured into their cars to head to The Westin, where the dinner reception and party was held. I was really looking forward to it because I thought okay, finally. Jon will be done with his wedding party duties and I'll have a little relief.

HAAAA!!

I walked into the hotel and read the board directory for the wedding. 4:30-5:30pm was cocktail hour, with the dinner reception to start at 6:00pm. Jon was nowhere in sight - off participating in the millions of pictures that the 6 hired photographers and 1 videographer were shooting. So, I was left to fend for myself, juggling a quickly tiring baby amidst a sea of faces I did not know, all drinking and partying it up at the bar while my son was trying to topple down the grand entrance staircase with a few other boys at the wedding.

These boys, Jacob and Jeremy, were probably the only reason why Logan lasted as long as he did that day, being quite the entertainment for my son. He was fascinated by the "big" kids - watching them run and play and laughed anytime they came near by to make a funny face or give him a hug. And, they in turn, were completely in love with Mr. Logan. Jacob (a mature 5 yr old) turned to me and said, I just love babies. I said, Really? And, why is that? He said, because they are so fun and tiny.

So true Mr. Jacob, so true.

I'm proud to say we lasted until about 8pm, which was a really long day for Logan (he woke from his nap at 1pm and the wedding started at 2pm). So, he and I took off early (at least I got to eat dinner this time) so I could put him to bed.... when I picked up Jon later that night, I got to hear how the rest of the party went (it was probably one of the most expensive and lavish weddings we've ever been to - so there was a part of me that was really disappointed I couldn't enjoy the party and dancing with my husband), and was glad to hear Jon had a good time.

However, I also told him, under no uncertain terms, would I ever - EVER - agree to doing that again. That day was one of the most exhausting days I've had - and I'm not exactly sure WHAT I was thinking when I said Logan and I could join Jon at this wedding, but I definitely was not thinking about cranky kids and no nap times and quiet serious ceremonies and echo-y churches and formal dresses and late parties and early bedtimes.... Yeaaaaaaaaahhh.....

I must've forgotten for a split second that I am now a mom.


Our Sunday was uneventful - we had a nice leisurely brunch out with Eric and Jill and then hung out at their place the rest of the afternoon, enjoyed a dinner together and then headed out to the airport to catch our flight home. Our flight wasn't too bad - it was pretty late in the evening, well past Logan's bed time, so the last 30 minutes or so we played multiple distracting games to pass the time and keep him from disturbing any of the other passengers. He conked out on the ride home - which was great since we quickly moved him to his bed, and then passed out ourselves.

Yesterday was a blur as we caught up with work and visited with friends from out of town all night. And tonight, we had a quick couple hours as a family before Jon took off for the airport, on his way to the Dominican Republic for a work conference the rest of the week.

I'm beginning to think that for every trip we take, no matter how big or small, I need an equivalent number of days to recuperate and catch up with life back home. Having your husband turn around and leave the country less than 48 hours later doesn't quite work with my "decompress and recuperate" philosophy. Heck, some would say it's downright stressful.

But, what can you do? I'm trying not to think too hard about how hairy the next four days will be without him, juggling chemo appointments for Lola, PT appointments for myself, daycare drop offs and pickups, busy work duties and oh, a cranky teething toddler who's bottom left molar is starting to come in. It's not going to be easy, but I'm sure I can do it.

I'm a mom now, afterall.

Sunday Brunch

Just finished a leisurely brunch with Eric and Jill and enjoying the
beautiful day before we have to start packing up to fly back home.

Lazy bums

Any time *not* spent doing wedding stuff this weekend was usually
spent lounging at Eric and Jill's watching tv. :)

Sunny San Diego

Flew down to San Diego early this morning for a wedding this weekend...

I'm currently sitting with a very tired snoozing baby in the rental
car, waiting for Jon and his grandmother so we can head out to a late
breakfast.

This is just a quick snapshot of what's next to me. A little overcast
but it sure does beat the rain we just left behind! ;)

Kaleidoscope Stripes

Capturing some Logan and Mommy playtime moments....

A new president

Today is a big day Logan. I know you won't remember it 20 yrs from now, or 20 days from now, or even tomorrow. But, it impacts your life in more ways than we can even imagine.

Obama has a tough uphill battle ahead of him - he's inheriting a handful of broken pieces left behind by the previous administration. And, the hype and expectations that the people have of him are astounding.

Still, I'm hopeful that he will change a few things in this country. I look forward to it, because I know that he will make a difference. Perhaps not right away, but at least within your life time buddy.

And, it's all your mama could ever ask for.

What a big day indeed.

Full of hope and pride,
Mama

Another tat

Holding Daddy's hand while he gets inked again.

The last time we were here, I was pregnant with Logan. This time, Jon
has a small tribute to our baby boy hidden within the overall tat.
It's very cool. :)

18-25 Mbps

Our install date was pushed up a few days early - woot!! We now have one of the fancy schmancy AT&T U-verse packages, complete with VoIP phone lines and ultra wicked fast Internet access. Who's your Daddy now, huh?!?

So of course, what's the first thing I do? Hop on my mac and start uploading all the pics I've taken over the last couple of weeks. Yeehaw!

It seems like ages since the holidays (when we found out Lola had lymphoma) or our visit to Marine World.... But I'm finally catching up. Here are a few teasers that are my faves.

Click on any of the pics to get to the album for more.

Oh, and in baby news, Logan slept another record 13.5 hrs last night!

He woke up a couple times in the middle of the night but still! We actually got to sleep in this morning (well, until 8am when the AT&T guy arrived but I'll take it!). I'm currently fighting another fucking when will it end annoying head cold, so any extra sleep is super key.

The last pic actually has a bit of a story to it, so I'll tell it before ending this post.

Logan has found a whole new world has opened up to him now that he's walking. He's able to get into a lot more things and explore the house in ways he never knew possible before.

During one of his explorations, he found our small kitchen stool (left out by Daddy most likely) and immediately started to climb up on top of it. It was interesting watching him figure out how small the surface of the top of the stool was and how he'd need to balance more carefully once he had all limbs on the top (since from there, he was trying to stand up).

So, what does he do next? He PUSHES THE STOOL over to the oven. You know, that thing with the handle bar that's at perfect height for a toddler to grab onto and pull himself up. And proceeds to pull himself up onto the stool, standing there on his tippy toes, trying to grab anything from the counter and stovetop that he could lay his little grubby hands onto. He tested out his new "perch" several times, up and down, up and down, as if to say Yesssssssss. Yes this will work verrrrrrrrry well.

I watched on with that sort of OH SHIT WE'RE SO SCREWED feeling at the pit of my stomach (which didn't stop me from taking a few pics of course).

He looked at me as if to say - yep, you are so screwed Mom. Because he actually grinned. To him, this new discovery was AWESOME.

Another beautiful day

We've been having record highs (in the 70s!) all week and it's been great! Mostly because it means Logan gets to play out on the playground at school during the day, and he LOVES it.

In fact, he got pissed when it was time to go inside because he wanted to keep playing in the sun and sand (can you blame him?) - so mad that his teacher let him stay out the longest and was the last one to come back in.

He's also slept a HUGE amount of hours last night and today... About 14 hrs last night (but not uninterrupted unfortunately) and then a long 2+ hour nap this afternoon (that I had to wake him up from to take him home). Either the outside play is wearing him out, or he's sick again or he's having another growth spurt or he's teething. Who the heck knows...

(behind Logan is our brand new wine cabinet, woohoo!)

Playing Outside

It's been beautiful outside this week, so Logan's teacher decided to take a few of the "big kids" to the playground today, Logan being one of them. And, he had a blast. :)

Apparently he couldn't get enough of the sand box - was fascinated watching the sand trickle down from one of the funnel toys (which Kim commented was super cool since it usually takes her awhile to get the kids to understand that the sand will fall down and out the funnel, but with Logan she didn't even show him, he just picked it up all on his own). He also had fun riding a few of the rocking toys and walking around picking up and carrying the big bouncy balls.

The playtime must've worn him out too, because we got home and an hour later, he was fast asleep in bed. WOW! Here's hoping he worked out enough to sleep through the night (something we've been struggling with again lately and let me tell you, it's frustrating as all hell).

Cuddly Bear

A few snapshots of Logan and his favorite things to cuddle.....

First, his birthday hippo (thanks Kimmy!).


Next, his Christmas froggy (thanks Zafu and Zabuton!).


Finally, his best friend Lola.

13 months old

Yesterday Logan turned 13 months old. It doesn't feel like such a big milestone since the big one last month. Still, I thought I'd post a short blog on the recent developments of our little star (with a handful of pics I was able to s-l-o-w-l-y upload via our wireless card).

Of course, the biggie has been his progress on the walking front. I'm still amazed at how quickly babies will go from one day not knowing how to do something at all, to the next day, sitting up, getting up on all fours, crawling, standing, cruising and now walking. Though he took his first steps a little over a month ago, his walking has really blossomed just this past week. He favors walking from toy to toy, couch to couch, person to person in most instances. He'll still crawl - but it's usually when he's impatient and wants to get somewhere really fast, or he has fallen down and is just tired. :) Generally though, even after falling, I'll notice he will stand back up to try again. What a determined little trooper we have!

In addition to walking - he's also learned this neat little trick of crawling backwards (which is HILARIOUS if you've never seen it before). He generally does this when he sees you coming for him and wants to get away. :)

Our monkey is quite the climber - pretty much anything that looks scalable, he'll try. Luckily, he's kept to places like the hearth, which isn't too far of a drop if he falls. However, next to the hearth is Lola's crate which I did find him climbing up onto one morning.

The crate is no longer next to the hearth.

Logan's always been one for feeding himself, even since the early days. He gets very frustrated when I spoon feed him, since he can't do it himself. Lately, his teacher Kim has started letting him eat with his spoon at preschool. She usually does this toward the end of his meals after she's fed him the majority of his lunch, since it becomes quite a mess the minute he takes over the driving. He definitely understands the concept, though he's still struggling with the coordination. :)

Along with the self feeding comes the straw. He's a master at the sippy cup, but is still always more interested in Jon's or my glasses at the dinner table. So, while at Marine World, Jon gave him a few sips of his soda, through the GIGANTIC boba-sized straw. It was like turning on a hose to the poor guy. :)

Since then, we've gone small, introducing him to smaller sized straws and kid sized cups (usually when we go out to eat). And, he loves it. A few times he'll suck too hard and you see a fountain of juice or water spilling down his front, but he's quickly caught on and can't get enough. Now the only trouble is not letting him think he can just grab at the straw whenever he wants!

His dexterity is getting better at other things. He's very familiar with opening the safety gate to the laundry room now. Jon jumped out of his chair the other morning, running to "catch" him (he thought Logan was going to fall once the gate swung open). I had forgotten to tell him that Logan's been doing that for awhile now. ;-) Luckily, Logan's only interested in getting into the laundry room when I am in there. Otherwise he has no interest. Still, we're going to have to start using the actual lock on the gate soon I think.

Lately, he's been trying really hard to figure out how to click belts closed (or open) on his high chair, car seat, stroller, etc. It drives him crazy that he can't figure out how (or has the strength) to do it.

And finally, another small achievement the other day that really made my heart swell. After dinner I made the sign for "all done" since I recently learned that Kim uses baby sign language with him (and her other kids) throughout the day. This isn't a requirement at the preschool, in fact she's the only teacher I know that does it in Logan's classroom (you'll remember I thought I'd take up signing with Logan myself but never really got into it like I had hoped). So, I can't tell you how much I love having her as Logan's teacher! :)

Anyway, when it seemed like Logan was finally done with his meal (adamantly throwing food down on the floor is usually a sign, right?), I made the sign for "all done?" and what do you know.

He signed "all done" back. :)

All kinds of walking!

Since Logan returned back to school this week from the holidays, his teacher Kim has happily reported on how much walking he is doing. In fact, it's pretty much all he does - from one toy to another, one kid to another, one side of the room to another.

I lamented that he's been taking more steps with us too, but almost always with Jon and usually never with me. He reverts back to a super fast crawl straight for my pant leg the minute he sees me. She said the same thing was happening with her - but not with the other teachers.

However, the last couple of nights after we've gotten home from school, I'm happy to report Logan is walking all over the place!! It's amazing to see. And so funny to see him work at it (he's still a little slow and rickety when he's off balance). :) I took a number of videos but will have to post one up later after we get our DSL back up.

And, since I had the video camera out, I also took a number of captures of Miss Lola running around the house. Seriously, she is still nutso and YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW she had cancer by just looking at her (or watching her play).

In fact, Tuesday afternoon, after we picked her up from her first chemo treatment, the oncologist left us this wonderful one-page report of how she did for the day, what side effects to look out for, and what treatment to expect next week (+1 for seeing a specialist!! my kind of write-up!). In her report, she noted:

Some dogs will be quieter than normal for a day or two after the first dose of chemotherapy as her body clears dying cancer cells.

So, that evening when I came home, who came to greet me at the door? but a BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS Lola...

Hi-Mom! Hi-Mom! Hi-Mom! Hi-Mom! You'll never guess who I met today! sogreattoseeyou. What's for dinner? Can we go out to play? Can we take a walk? Can I jump up to touch your nose with my nose?

Yeaaaaaaaah. I guess Lola doesn't fall under the "some dogs" category. The vet will learn soon enough. ;-)

(her lymph nodes have also returned back to normal size after the first 24 hrs or so of treatment, which is expected, but still amazing!)

Imelda Marcos for Men?

I didn't quite realize how many baby shoes I bought tonight until I
got home and went thru all the bags.

You know your shoe obsession is bad when it starts bleeding into your
barely one year old son's life.

Hmmmm.

Purple Majesty

If only I had seen these beauties while shopping for the YouTube 80's
holiday party last month. *sigh*

Chemo has begun

We visited a Veterinary Oncologist and started the chemo treatment on Lola this morning. She didn't have any allergic reactions right off the bat, but we'll have to see how she takes to the meds over the next few days. Our follow up is next Tuesday, with weekly visits for the first few months and then every other week after that (the treatment program they run is 25 weeks long). The oncologist says that since she hasn't been showing any signs of debilitation, fatigue, loss of appetitie, etc. we have a good chance of controlling the cancer from advancing further.

We'll see - it's still a depressing scenario, since they can't eradicate it completely, and it will come back eventually, even after successful treatment. :( But, the time we're buying is well worth it to me - we're not ready to say good-bye to Lola just yet, and Logan is just starting to get to know her.

New Shoes

We just bought new shoes for Logan because it's a struggle anytime I
try to get his current Robeez or Keens on. He has wide feet (at least
it seems so to us, the sales lady said they weren't too bad) which I
think has been part of the problem. So, we got him sized and he wears
a size 4.5-5!!

Anyway, he's now sporting some cool new Etnies... Which I have never
been crazy about Jon wearing (he looks like he's 12 whenever he pulls
out the skater shoes) but on Logan, they are just so damn cute!

Like father, like son. :)

Lymphoma Update

I wanted to post a quick update on Lola's current condition, for those who are wondering. We took her into the vet's yesterday for an ultrasound and x-ray exam, so that they could determine how far the cancer has taken a hold of the rest of her body and organs.

I'm happy to report we actually got some pretty good news (the best news you can get given the circumstances anyway). It appears the cancer has only taken a hold of her lymph nodes in her neck and hind legs (which we knew already, due to the physical exam and biopsies we've already done), but has NOT yet attacked the other set of lymph nodes in her chest (apparently dogs have another set that we can't see).

Further more, it doesn't appear that the lymphoma has started attacking any of her other organs yet either. Which is all good news, because it means we've caught this at a pretty early stage, and have a much better chance of successfully treating her and kicking this into remission. :) The vet also took a closer look at her heart during the ultrasound, to make sure it's healthy enough for the upcoming treatment (one of the meds that we may potentially need to use is actually really hard on the heart). Good news there too - her heart (along with all her other organs) is super healthy and strong and looks great (I never had a doubt, given the crazy running she does!!).

We're going to be seeing an oncologist next week for a consult, and then from there, will start treatment as soon as possible. Since Lola is so young (4.5 yrs old) and it appears the cancer is still in the early stages, we're really hopeful that with treatment, she'll have a few more years left to enjoy with us.

24

Yesterday while I was at work, Jon called me to let me know Logan had taken another record number of steps - this time twenty!! Jon was a proud papa of course, and also wanted to gloat a bit that our little guy was doing all this walking for Daddy but would have none of it with Mom. *sigh*

What's more, when I got home from work - Jon reported that shortly after that record 20 steps, Logan did another big walking session - this time taking TWENTY FOUR steps, all the way from the front door to the middle of our living room (so, spanning almost 2 rooms!). Amazing stuff. :)

Still, on average, he probably only takes about 3-4 steps at any one time and prefers to crawl when he wants to get somewhere quickly. But, we've noticed he's taking more and more steps on his own to get from one object to another (or one person to another) in the room. It's fun watching him get better balanced, coordinated and figure it all out!

As you probably noticed from my previous post - we spent New Year's Day freezing our butts off at Marine World (I packed more than enough to keep Logan toasty warm, but forgot my own jacket in the process! Aiiieee!!). We went with the Chouns and Jodoins and had a lot of fun watching dolphins, elephants and stuffing our mouths full of kettle corn (not surprising, a food that Logan couldn't get enough of). Unfortunately, half of the park was closed because of the holiday season, but that didn't stop us from walking all over the place and even taking the kiddos down the snow hill on sleds! :)

We all upgraded our tickets for season passes, in the hopes that we'll visit again when the weather is MUCH warmer out. I took a number of pics, but will have to post those sometime later when we get our DSL back up and running (and I can login from my own computer rather than stealing a few precious minutes from Jon's work laptop).

After such a long day, Logan passed out pretty quickly when we got home. So, instead of meeting my family for dinner, we had my parents and Kai over for take-out at our house instead, to celebrate my Dad's birthday. We had a wonderful meal and a nice time visiting before everyone headed home to crash and get ready for work the next day.

Happy Birthday once more Zabuton!

Happy New Year!

Enjoying a late morning nap while on our way to Marine World for the
day. :)

Curious George

Our monkey has also taken to climbing up on the hearth and just
hanging out.

(I realize the recent pics aren't the best, but posting from my iPhone
instead since our DSL is out)

Quiet in the house

It's getting to where I get a little worried if it's totally quiet in
the house and I don't know where Logan has run off to.

He has this obsession with opening and closing things (mostly doors)
lately. So I guess it should come as no surprise when I found him
hanging out in Lola's crate, with the door shut behind him.