Joy in the Journey

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything. Once I get behind on something, I just put it off more and more. It's a terrible flaw I have. Anyway, I'm finally attempting to catch up.

On Memorial weekend I went to our ward's girls camp. It was from Saturday to Tuesday so it worked out really well since Scott could watch Logan every day except Tuesday. Thanks to Scott's family for helping out on Tuesday : ). By the way, much to my surprise, Logan did great and didn't even notice I was gone. This was the first time I've been to girl's camp since I was in young womens. I had forgotten how fun girl's camp really is. It was like a 4 day slumber party with skits, good food, games, crafts, dancing, singing, hiking, and of course some spiritual uplift. The theme was Find Joy in the Journey and I'm pretty sure everyone did. Honestly I didn't have too much responsibility when it came to camp and it was actually a nice little vacation for me. I had great food that I never had to prepare and I didn't have to worry about cleaning up the house or changing diapers. It was wonderful. The only thing I can say is I was having a huge insomnia problem and literally didn't sleep more than about 2 or 3 hours a night. I remember the good ol days when I could do that and not collapse. Well lets just say I'm too old for that now and I almost died from exhaustion by the time I got home.

They made the most wonderful doughnuts I've ever eaten...and boy did I eat them. I think I had 4 or 5. I wasn't the only one that went overboard. Some of the girls were eating like 10 doughnuts. Needless to say, that was the beginning of mayhem. They were all high on sugar and went bonkers...wrestling, giggling, screaming, and playing pranks on each other.

We had Sacrament meeting on Sunday which was really cool just being out in nature, feeling the Spirit, and not having a toddler climb all over you chatting your ear off. It was a really spiritual, relaxing day. Yes, we wore dresses at camp.

This is where the leaders slept.
This is one of the tents where the girls slept. Sometimes you get special privileges when you're a leader.

Our ward has a goal to make a certain number of bears ( I can't remember how many. Maybe 100) so one of the things we did on Sunday was this service project craft.

13 months

Logan's been 13 months for over a week now so I figured I better get on the ball and post some updates on our little man. As for his size, I don't think he's grown at all since his last doctor's appointment. According to our scale he weighs about 19.5 lbs. I think last time he was weighed and measured he was around the 15th percentile. It's gotta be because he's so active cause he eats like a large man even though he's itty bitty.
New Tricks:
*Logan is still not walking. He actually seems very uninterested in it. He walks holding our hand perfectly and has been standing up in the middle of the room for awhile now but he just chooses not to do either almost all of the time. When we try to get him to walk he just sits down. He knows what he wants and is very determined to get his way even in regards to refusing to walk.
*He's getting very talented at climbing. He loves climbing up the step ladder like mom so he can reach things that are too high. He's also found out he can climb on our taller couches and onto the window if he climbs on the leather chair first. One of his very favorite things to play with are the blinds. He loves banging them against the window so I try to keep them out of his reach.
*Logan still doesn't say any words seems completely uninterested in doing that as well despite our efforts at pointing out things and trying and get him to repeat us. He does, however, know how to shake his head "no" whenever he hears that word...which is all the time.
*Logan is becoming quite the dancer. Not only does he bounce and rock when music comes on he moves his head to the music. He also likes to "sing" by making loud noises when we sing to him or when we're singing at church.
*We have a refrigerator with the freezer at the bottom which I absolutely love except for now Logan has discovered how to open the freezer and get into all the food. He can open packages, bottles and many containers we didn't think he'd be able to open for years. (just ask Grandma Bair)
*Logan also loves opening and closing doors which is pretty fun until he locks himself in a room. He loves to push those doors at church that have no door knobs and escapes Sunday school whenever he can.
*He also has started playing hide and seek with everyone. He'll crawl behind a door or duck down behind something and peek at you to see if you're coming to find him. He's also using this new found talent of hiding when he doesn't want to be social with other people. He just hides his face when he's being shy...which I thought would never happen but lately has been kind of common.
*I seriously don't understand people with toddlers that have clean homes because I'm literally following Logan all day long just picking up after him. Whatever room he's in is completely terrorized in 2 minutes. He empties drawers, cabinets, boxes, closets...you name it. It's exhausting. He can make a complete mess quicker than it takes me to walk over to wherever he's "playing" at the time. By the time I get done picking up that mess there is, of course, another one. He has started to love playing with all his toys by himself in his room so, for that moment, the mess is somewhat confined.

*Sometimes I let Logan run around the house in his diaper if we're not going anywhere and it's hot. Well the other day I went to get him up from his nap and he had his diaper off. I thought I had just put it on too loosely because he had just slid it right off. I didn't think much about it because there was no mess and I figured I'd just put it on tighter from then on. A few days later Scott went in to get Logan up from his nap and this time he had unvelcroed his diaper and there was a HUGE mess. So, yeah, he can take off his diaper which means no more sleeping in just a diaper anymore.
*Logan graduated from his baby car seat and got a big one. I actually thought he'd be pretty excited about it since he sits up higher and faces forward so he can look around but he doesn't seem any more excited about it than he was his old car seat. I really miss the days he loved riding in the car all the time. He did love playing with the seat after we bought it and the box it came in.

*One of Logan's absolute favorite things to do is read books. If Logan won't go to sleep or won't stop crying or is super hyper, all we have to do is sit him down and read him a book. It's the absolute only thing that he'll sit down for.
*Logan also loves pushing things around the house. Even though he loves to ride his four-wheeler, he loves to push it around almost just as much. He pushes chairs, boxes, people, and anything else that's big. The heavier the better, it seems...such a boy.Well I think that's about it. Here's just a couple more random pictures.

3 Happy Years

Scott and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary. I remember on the day of our wedding feeling so peaceful and so sure and thinking that I couldn't possibly be happier or more in love with Scott than I was at that moment. (Scott on the other hand was about to pass out he was so nervous). But I was wrong...and so was he. I've never been more in love with Scott or happier in my life than I am right now. And now Scott knows there was nothing to be nervous about...right honey? Three years seems so short considering how much we've grown individually and as a couple since that day. We have overcome differences that I thought would take a lifetime to figure out. We have so much fun together and we really are becoming better people because of each other. The two of us together, no matter how different we are, makes so much sense. I feel so blessed to have him in my life and I'm so excited to see what forever brings us.

A special thanks to Scott's parents for watching Logan last weekend. We saw movies, went to dinner, got frozen yogurt and even slept in...or attempted to sleep in. 8am is as late as we got. Even though I really missed Logan, it was wonderful.

Party Time

Apparently according to some people we had quite a party for just a one-year-old. Well, if you've read my blog before you know birthdays are a big deal. You only turn one once, right? It really wasn't a big deal. We just had some of Logan's favorite foods strawberries, bananas, oranges, cheese crackers and, of course, cake and ice cream. About 30 friends and family members came (including Scott's sister Christi on Skype). Logan was extremely excited to have so many kids to play with and so much attention from everyone. He was overwhelmed with all the fun new toys and books that everyone got him. He actually was so distracted by everything he didn't hardly eat any of his cake. Here's some pictures of the big event.

This was my first time decorating a cake. Luckily I had my mom, the expert, to give me some tips.

Logan was more excited about the candle than the cake.

Here's some of the many people including Christi on the TV.

Present time!

Logan decided he needed to play with sidewalk chalk with the big kids. He, of course, tried to eat it and got it all over himself.

I'd say it was a pretty Happy Birthday. We're so grateful to everyone that came and made his birthday so special.

I know I've posted a couple extremely long posts with all these pictures but don't forget to check out the video of Logan riding his four-wheeler. I just recorded it today and I think it's hilarious to watch him ride around the house running into everything.

Fun With Nana and Papa

My parents came in town for Logan's birthday. Since they don't see him as much as they'd like, they always spoil him extra when they do get to see him. They took him to toys r us to pick out a birthday present. Just when we were about to leave with a rocking/bouncy horse, Logan started playing with another toy so, of course, they had to get that one too. He also got to go on walks every day to his favorite places, the park to swing, or to see the animals by our house. We got to go out to lots of yummy restaurants and even Scott and I went to dinner and a movie so they could spoil Logan even more while we weren't watching. (As a side note, if you haven't seen Date Night, you have to see it. I laughed so hard it hurt.) Anyways, one of Logan's favorite things that we did was go to the zoo. We saw lions, bears, monkeys, giraffes, rhinos, tigers, etc. but I think Logan's favorites were the animals we see by our house all the time...the goats and horses.

We had so much fun with them and, as always, the trip was just too short. And hopefully Uncle Jared will be able to come for the next trip.

Four-Wheelin

Uncle Jared decided to go birthday shopping for Logan to find him the coolest gift a one-year-old could possibly get and ended up buying him a four-wheeler. According to Jared, it's his job to spoil his nephew and so far he's doing a very good job at it. I have to say, though, Logan absolutely loves it. Every time he gets on, he has a huge grin on his face. It only took him a couple days to figure out how to get it going, only he has no idea how to steer it yet. Please ignore my very annoying laugh. I seriously need an editing program so I can cut myself out of these videos.

12 Months

Things have been really busy around here so I'm kinda behind on my blogging. This is all I have for Easter pictures. No, he didn't get chocolate. The Easter Bunny brought the big kids something too. Logan got a pail and shovel, some balls to play in the pool with, some bubbles and something else I can't remember.
My parents sent his Easter gifts in this huge egg. It was before he got sick, so he had a good time with that. Logan was very sick that whole weekend. He didn't sleep pretty much for 3 days straight and his fever got up to 102.7. Logan doesn't sleep when he's being held, rocked or is in the same room as people. He is just too social, too excited, and too wiggly to cuddle. Obviously this was a once in a lifetime occurrence. I'll admit I was a little jealous.

Logan turned one last week. I still can't believe how fast it's all gone by. Here are some updates...
He's almost 20 pounds (19 lbs and 14 oz to be exact) and 29 inches long.

Though he's still not walking, he climbs on top of everything! Once he gets on top he stands and raises his arms like he's the king of the world...very scary since his balance isn't spectacular. Some of his favorite things to climb on are the leather chair sitting right by the tile floor and some curtains he loves to pull on and the dishwasher where he loves to pull out all the silverware (including the cutco knives) and throw them around the kitchen. If he's too short to climb on top, he just uses something else to boost himself up. I can't believe how smart he is. I literally have to watch him like a hawk and yet he still finds ways to destroy things and injure himself. I know. You don't have to tell me, experienced moms . It'll only get worse.
Logan also finally got his top two teeth. It seems like he's been cutting those suckers for months.

Logan is completely weaned. He only drinks whole milk from a sippy cup now. Which, can I just say, no one warned me how emotional it would be on me. I was worried about Logan having a really hard time and, though it wasn't easy, I think I cried more about it than he did. I miss that snuggle time and my little baby.

Logan's new favorite food is strawberries. He could eat them for every meal, every day, for the rest of forever and I think he would be completely happy...but I don't let him. He still eats like a champ with both fist fulls going at once and pretty much any food I give him.

I'm realizing this is very unique. He still takes three naps even after sleeping 11-12 hours a night. I'm starting to see he gets a lot of traits from his mama.

He knows how to get off furniture by himself...though sometimes he forgets and tries to get down head first.

Logan LOVES kids. He will follow them around and try to be involved in everything he can. His cousin Grace stayed the night a couple weeks ago and he literally followed her everywhere like a little puppy dog.

There's probably more new things but that's all I could think of right now. He still loves music, animals, books, being outside, going to stores to meet new people, squealing very very loudly, and being naked.

Everyone who meets Logan says he's just the happiest kid they've ever met. If he's not sick or tired, he's smiling, laughing, squealing or bouncing for joy. You just can't have a bad day hanging out with someone like that all the time. I cherish every moment with him. It's a joy and love I've never known until he came into my life and I thank Heavenly Father every day for blessing our family with him. Being a parent is amazing and having a kid like Logan just makes it that much better. (I know, we all think we have the best kid but humor me.)

Here's some of Logan's many faces...

Stay tuned for zoo and birthday party pictures!

I guess we all have our quirks

Just a little about my husband... He LOVES ties. He has about 50 of them. Yes, he does wear them to work every day but 50? Really? Not only that, but it's a regular occurrence for him to ask out of the blue "What do you think of my tie today?", "What's your favorite tie?", or "What's your favorite thing about this tie?" With a little eye roll, I humor him and answer his questions. I gave Scott one of those revolving tie hangers for Christmas one year that holds about 70 ties so he, of course, thinks he "needs" more. Using this fancy tie hanger, he has developed a system (don't ask me what it is) where he makes sure he wears every tie once before he wears the same tie again. Since everything is coordinated with the tie, sometimes this means I have to wash certain dress shirts or pants so he'll have the outfit to match the tie. Another thing about my husband...He LOVES numbers/statistics/facts. I can't tell you how many times we (by we I mean he talks while I try really hard to listen) have talked about probabilities, statistics, trends, etc. of anything and everything under the sun. Scott literally makes spreadsheets for everything from info about all our bank accounts and our medical expenses, to his test info on what he's studying and info on houses around the Phoenix area... Some of this he does for organizational purposes and some he does just for FUN. Well the other night, these two passions collided and I was stuck right in the middle of it all.

We were going to bed (I was already in bed actually) and Scott proceeds to put all his ties on our bed because he needs to reorganize them. We discussed color or print order. We discussed ties from his mission. We even discussed the origin of each tie. These exact words came out of his mouth and are the sole inspiration for this post, "I wish I could make a spreadsheet for all my ties." 45 minutes later, he decided to mix them all up and randomly organize them. I tried to convince him of what a great wife I was and that if I even began to talk about my shoes like he does about his ties I'd lose him in 30 seconds. He'd die before we ever saw 45 minutes. He just doesn't see the similarities in those two situations. As much as I HATE numbers and spreadsheets and statistics, I just can't help but love my husband more for it. We could not be more opposite. I love to talk about how I think and feel and he loves to talk about facts and numbers. I'm chatty. He's quiet. I love to dance around and sing to music and he hates dancing and listens to talk radio. I love reading. He hates it. After the tie organizing incident, he just made me realized how perfect we are for each other. I love that we're so different and can learn from it. Though we don't understand each other sometimes and probably never will in some instances, we can love and appreciate each other's quirks and differences.

Logan videos

Okay so these aren't the most exciting videos but I figured I should post some since it's been a little while. As soon as the camera comes out usually he stops what he's doing and comes after the camera so the first one is really short. He walks around the whole living room but wouldn't do that when I was recording, of course.



This one is really long but I wanted to show how this animal eats. He actually slowed down significantly once I got out the camera. There's always two fist fulls of food going in his mouth at all times.