Before and after

From this...



To this...



We are officially in parentville now. Sorry Uncle R, we had to sell it. The 2 doors were killin' us. Don is in mourning. I bought the Matrix all by myself. I am feeling very proud.

PANIC! AT THE CONDO

Well, we were supposed to go out for a nice evening with dear friends who we haven't seen in a criminally long time. Instead we spent the night with a cold compress on the Hoagie's forehead.

Yes folks, he fell off the bed. A king size bed. Seems he is rolling faster than we anticipated. After the initial cry-fest (meaning all three of us) he was fine. A little sad perhaps, but nothing that a good buzz, quack, or armpit snoogle couldn't fix. And bonus, he landed on a rug. A call to the ped left me sufficently freaked out about head injuries, but he woke up and responded fine when we awoke him every two hours last night. I think we all need a nap. In all honesty though, once the 1 am wake-up came around, the rest of the schedule was just like any other night, so it wasn't so bad.

On top of the accident, I think he is getting a cold. Woot!

Camping and push-ups

Last weekend Hoagie and I went camping with a group of lovely folks. Originally we were headed to Idyllwild but it would have been waaaaay too cold for us San Diego softies. So we ended up at Agua Calliente it was really fun and Logan took to it wonderfully. I am pleased that it went so well and glad that we can now go whenever we want. It was chilly at night, but not too cold, and it was neat to hear the coyotes yipping. I am not sure how much I enjoyed the ghost stories we told around the fire, but it did make me check on Logan and conquer my fear of, well, anything spooky.

Hoagie and Auntie H...



Hanging out while we load up the Element...



Our campsite...



I should mention L slept great while I slept like crap. Isn't that always the way? I was too worried about the sleeping bag going over his face, his temperature, etc. He was fine. I should have just slept. Of course the in-daytime-voices conversation our neighbors had at 3 in the morning didn't help.

The other piece of news is that Logan is starting to do push ups. He is getting up on his hands and toes. Doesn't quite understand that putting his knees down would be easier, but I am sure that will come. He is rocking back and forth when he is on Don as well, so I think it is time to start baby proofing. Yikes!

Where we've been

Don and I have been to all these states...




Logan has been here...



create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

Not bad for 7+ months...

Thanks to Insane Animals for the link!

Peas and thank you. Or not.

Well, like mother like son. Techincally, it is like grandmother, like mother, like son. There is a veggie we all hate. Peas. They seemed to go down ok, but they ALL came back up later. Wow. Did they ever. Logan hasn't puked in a long time, so it was quite a shock to have a massive green splat this evening. He didn't seem any worse for it, as he got to take a bath so he was happy. Maybe we will try them again in a few weeks.

I guess it's not just cats...

He likes goats too!

We went to a pumpkin patch today and let me tell you, it just isn't the same out here on the west coast. We had a few choices and decided to skip the one next to T*rget because it is in a parking lot in retail hell. The others seemed kind of far away so we decided to head to Bonita. I am glad we went, but it was disappointing. Small, cheesy, and really not that many pumpkins. There were hundreds in boxes next to the patch, which seemed odd. Whatever...

Here is the photographic evidence of the outing...

Meow

Logan has a new obsession. The cat. He follows her every move and I am thankful that he can't crawl yet or she would be hiding under our bed all the time. She really doesn't want anything to do with him, so when she granted him close proximity today we had to take pictures to document the occasion. Logan was thrilled and Sunshine got a good scritch so she didn't mind. The little ones unite!

The most wonderful time of the year

Oh, autumn, how I love thee! I really miss fall so much. Here it is just a (sometimes) cooler extension of summer. Not that I am complaining. Really that is why we moved here. But I am sad that Logan will never grow up with memories of flaming leaves and a crisp smell in the air. Of turtlenecks, apple cider, halloweens with winter coats over his costume, frost covering the tips of the green grass, raking piles of leaves and jumping in them. (Truth be told, I hate raking, and there were always too many bugs and spiders in the leaves for me to enjoy jumping in them, so that one is just popular culture nostalgia.) We are going to a pumpkin patch this weekend to take some pics and purchase an overpriced pumpkin. I already have two large ones and one baby one, so this one will be the last. I love lining them up on the steps.

Pic from 2 years ago, these really freaked out the neighborhood kids so last year we made them happier...



I leave you with two autumn quotes that fill my heart with longing for this magical time of year.

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

Picture as promised

No, Don isn't turning into "The Man" (ha ha, thanks for that one Hope!). Logan was grabbing like crazy so he chopped it off. Here is the picture, he is so tired right now that I couldn't get him to open his eyes any more than this. He is burning the candle at both ends...

Gone baby, gone

Don cut off his goatee. Not all the way off, but the braided part is G-O-N-E. Pictures to follow...

Oh, and Logan likes peaches. Yummy!

A little live action

Here is a little live action from this morning to tide over those who live far away (which is, um, pretty much everyone who reads this...). Enjoy!

Officially official

Well, the day we hoped for has arrived... Don signed his contract with Zamorano Fine Arts Academy this week. Hooray!!!! Really, this is a wonderful event for both Don and our little family unit. Don has taught there for over five years now as an "artist in residence" aka slave labor. Just kidding, it provided flexible and interesting employment with the age group he loves the most. So now he is on staff as a credentialed teacher and reaps all the benefits therein. Not the least of which is healthcare that requires no employee contribution beyond co-pays and whatnot. Woo hoo!

The other officially offical thing is Don and my 6th anniversary, which is today. I can't believe it has been 6 years already, yet I can't really remember life without him either. Maybe it is that I just don't like to remember. Life got much better after we partnered. And what, you ask, are we doing to celebrate? Well, nothing really. We are going to a party tonight where there will be two big dogs that I am severely allergic to so I will most certainly be leaving after about 10 minutes. Don will stay and exchange home-made CDs with his boyfriends. Sounds like a romantic evening, no? Oh well, we will make up for it later. We have a book and a painting in mind to commemorate the event.

In Logan news (which is most important, I know) he turned 7 months this Monday and is looking sharp. He loves rice cereal and is pretty much over his cold. Did I mention the cold? It was not fun, but we are on the other side of it for now. And even better, is that he slept from 7:45pm to 3:45 am last night. Woot! Seriously, I feel like a new woman after all that consecutive sleep.

My parents have come and gone since the last post, and below are a few pictures from their wonderful, and too short, visit.

First though, is a pic of the boys in their Eagles garb. Thankfully they won last week...


Here is us in the hotel pool. Hoagie loved the water.


Grammy reading him a book...


And finally, Grampa feeding him a bottle of EBM.

Loving the avocado

Logan had his first "solid" food today, avocado! He was very receptive to eating and enjoyed the soupy mess. Honestly though, he was quite neat about the whole thing, even though I put some in front of him to fool around with. The bib hardly got any on it. He ate more than I expected and I am very glad we waited until he was ready.

Here he is before the big event, just looking cute.



Here is his first bite and more...




And finally, here is a picture of me at the wedding with my new haircut...

Quadruple + 1

Logan is 17 lbs! Considering he started out in this world at a mere 4 lbs he is doing great. He was a real champ at the doctor's office today, especially since we were there over 2 hours. *sigh* I love my peditrician but I am not fond of the looooooong wait times. I do believe we will be switching soon...

The wedding weekend was great. It was such a whirlwind I barely remember what happened. I do know C and M were married in a wonderful ceremony, I saw all my college friends, and I witnessed a spectacular recreation of "High School Musical" in my friend's living room.

Don survived the weekend nicely. Logan behaved well both during the day and more importantly at night. Whew!

I promise to post pictures of a) Logan and b) my new haircut. :-)

Only 4 more days until Grammy and Grampa visit!

Passing

Don's grandmother (and last living grandparent) passed away last night. Unfortunately Logan was never able to meet her. These are the times when living on the other side of the country from family really stinks.

No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Well, make that Rhode Island. Things have been a bit dicey in the sleep department here in Hoagie-land. My formerly wonderful sleeper is now waking up several times a night. I figured out (belatedly) that he is simply hungry, so now he is a night-nurser once again. It has been so long since he woke up in the dead of night to eat that I was expecting the marathon sessions from the newborn days. Now it isn't even a big deal since it only takes him 15-20 minutes to eat.

I leave tomorrow for a weekend trip to see two beloved friends tie the knot on the East Coast so I will actually be able to catch up on some of my missing ZZZZZs. Poor Don however will be warming up a bottle at 2 am and again at 5 am all by himself. He will need some serious down time when I return. I feel guilty for looking forward to me time, and I feel even more guilty that Don will have a stressful weekend while I am having fun. And I feel very sad that I will be away from Logan for so long. Oh the torture of being a parent. I know it is silly, but the feelings are there nonetheless.

In other news Logan is sitting better than ever and has been continuing to do well at daycare. We have noticed a big improvement in his social skills since attending, which is nice. The wonderful Ms. T continues to be all we hoped for and more.

Sunshine is still on a weird eating strike, we really hope it ends soon. More attention really isn't doing the trick, nor is dry food, though it is helping some. She is running around like crazy though, so it hasn't affected her energy level...

I know there are about 1,000 other things to write about but I can't think of any of them right now. Wish us luck on our weekend apart and I will let you all know how it went when I return.

Rolling over

Here is Logan rolling over. What a week!

OMG - Sitting

Logan is sitting more and more. Crazy.

And he is 6 months today!!!

Day One Complete

The day is over and Logan was a superstar! I picked him up and he had drank both bottles, napped for an hour (which he never does at home), and smiled at everyone who walked by. Hooray! Man, do I feel A LOT better. This daycare thing is hard.

New Stuff

So lots of new stuff has happened since I last updated. Nana and Pop-pop visited for a glorious week. We had a great time and Logan took to them wonderfully. Nana taught Hoagie to blow raspberries, well really how to perfect them. Her legacy lives on in much pllltttting, especially while nursing, which is very cute but not so efficient. We did many fun things together, and here is a picture of us picnicing at Sunset Cliffs close to my work. It was a great day and the wind kept us comfy (unlike the wild animal park, which was sooooo crazy hot).



Logie is also starting to sit up. He can balance for a few seconds on his own, and he is straining to sit when he is on his back. Ah, the boy is growing up...

In other exciting news, Logan rolled over, from front to back, this morning. Twice! So it wasn't a fluke (sadly Don missed it, and luckily I was at home because our Mini broke and had to go into the shop thus taking some leave from work), but I am not sure when it is going to happen again.

I broke down and bought (off craigslist, oh how I love thee craigslist!) an exersaucer for the boy. He loves the jolly jump up, but it is hung up in a spot where he can't see us so he gets fussy after a little bit. I don't blame him, as who is cooler to hang with than Mum and Dad? So here he is in it for the first time...



Tomorrow he goes to daycare, the wonderful Ms. T's, and I am a bit of a mess. Rationally I know a) we have no choice, b) he will be fine, and hopefully even better off for it, and c) Ms. T is the best provider we could hope for. Still, it is huge and I just can't stomach the fact that he will not be the number one focus. *sigh* I forsee many tears tomorrow, at least Don is dropping him off instead of me...

Other things of interest, we had 2 walk throughs on our condo this past weekend (woot!), Sunshine is on an eating strike, Don is finished with his credential program and turned 35 (gulp!). It certainly has been a busy week...

Smarty Pants

Singing our abcs has really paid off!

Johnny Jump Up

Sorry it has been soooooo long since the last update. I started back at work and time has become a precious commodity.

The big news around here is that Logan has a cousin! I am an auntie and Don is an uncle. WOW!!!! KRM arrived 6 weeks early and she and Mom are doing great. We couldn't be more excited, and can't wait to see pictures of her. Word has it that they turned off the lights and heat in her crib and she is eating with an NG tube. Go KRM! She was actually 10 oz heavier than Logan when born. Woot!

Around here, Logan spends the mornings with Dad and then the afternoons walking or driving around to look at houses. Yes folks, the Hoagie will hopefully be moving soon! The time has come to jump ship from the condo that has served us well to a place with a yard.



We aren't asking for much, and it's a good thing because the market here is pretty pricey. So far the Hoagie has been an angel while driving around, especially with Mom in the back seat.



In other news, the johnny jump up is a wonderful tool. Logan just kind of sat and spun around in it at first (we tried to bounce him up and down so he would get the hang of it but he wasn't there yet) but now he is bouncing like a champ. Especially when he is sick of it and crying. It is kind of hard to pull a drooly, whiney baby out of those things.



Sometimes the bouncing is just too much and he needs a break.



Nana and Pop-pop come this Saturday and will stay at H & M's place while they are on their Italian honeymoon. Logan is pretty excited to see them and hopefully they will bring pictures of his cousin. (hint hint!)

And, on the off chance that anyone reading this has used domperidone to up milk supply, pretty please fill out this survey for our good friend Hope...

If you have ever taken domperidone to induce or increase your milk supply, please take this quick survey!

Feet!

Logan made a recent discovery....

Feet! Ah, a whole new world.





Wish me luck, my first day of work is tomorrow... *gulp!*

Hoagie is a star!

We had professional photos taken while in Maine (thanks mom!) and he is up on the web site. Jeremi is sooooo talented and we love what we have seen so far.

One is him lounging on the couch (click on "laugh", click on the main pic, and then he is the bottom pic on the left), and the other is of our little family (click on "clients" and we pop up!).

Last week

So this is my last week of maternity leave. I am sad to see it end, but happy that Don gets some bonding time with the Hoagie. We are so lucky that Logan has daycare all set up at the wonderful Mrs. H's house in September. I feel great about her and Logan had a good time meeting and looking at R, who is now 8 mths and sure to be his buddy. I am conflicted about going back. Obviously I am going to miss Logan like crazy, but i am craving some adult interaction and a slice of my "old" life.

We have spent the week sweating like crazy and lamenting our lack of an air conditioner.



H and M are getting married this weekend so we have that excitement on our horizon. Logan will be attending the rehersal dinner and the ceremony. Here's hoping that he is well behaved! There was a whole babysitter fiasco, but luckily that is behind us.

Last weekend was soooooo freaking hot. Like over 100 at our appartment. This is unheard of here, so we went to Mission Bay. It was glorious weather and very good people watching (the folks next to us had not one, but TWO beer bongs! Woot!). We spent both days there and Hoagie even went in the water for the first time. He was unsure what to think at first, but with lots of encouragement he mostly enjoyed himself.



He also liked hanging out under the canopy. He has new sunglasses and found one of our Mike's Lemonades. He didn't want the contents, just the cool outside (yeah, right!).



More to come, I promise it won't be so long next time. :-)

London Bridge is falling down...

Except it wasn't the London Bridge*, it was me and Logan. Yes folks, I fell with my baby in my arms today. The worst possible thing I can think of happening at home (well, not THE worst, but pretty close) was a reality today. I tripped over the stupid bouncy chair while trying to give a very unprofessional customer service rep my credit card code number. As I was falling all I could think of was to protect the Hoagie. Luckily he was unharmed but very surprised, and not in a happy way. I hurt my tush, but that is a small price to pay. Once I got up I started crying right along with Logan. In fact, Logan stopped for a bit but I didn't and then he was sympathy crying along with me. It was bad. Anyhow, I called his pediatrician office and they called back to tell me unless he was acting out of sorts not to worry and that falling is quite common. So my experience wasn't as serious as the one at Addition Problems, but it was VERY scary and one I never want to repeat. I am glad his 4 mth check up is tomorrow so he will be seen within 24 hours of the incident. *sigh*

*I have been trying to remember the words to this song for weeks but have been too lazy to look them up.

And many more...

Logan hickey
Originally uploaded by targetgirl619.

Today I turn 31. Usually I am bugging Don about my birthday for months in advance. This year I didn't even realize it was this weekend until Monday (gasp!). Obviously there are other priorities.

Don gave me great presents, including the shirt in the picture above. Sadly, I wore this out today and didn't realize until he took the pic a few minutes ago that I left the size strip on. Neither did he. What a duo. We are not working on all cylinders as I spent last night at an informal b-day party at H's place, and Don was at M's (H's fiance) Bachelor Party. We planned poorly as we were too tired to even go out for dinner. Luckily the nice folks who were going to babysit Logan are able to do it next week instead. *sigh* How times have changed!

Logan also gave me a nice present, the hickey in the picture. I didn't realize he was sucking that hard on my arm as I bounced on the exercise ball. He decided napping was so totally passe today, and was a little cranky because of that. Fingers crossed that this is just a phase...

Wide open spaces

Darn. I just lost a whole post. Grrrr.

Anyway, I promised pictures from Balboa Park and here they are. We had a nice set-up (unfortunately under a flowering tree that dropped all sorts of goodies onto our stuff) and it all fit over my shoulder on on/under the stroller. Oh, and you can see some of Balboa Park in the background. We are very fortunate to live by such a wonderful open space.



Here is me and Logan sharing some love...



Logan has been batting at things for a little while now, but he has just started grabbing. Now he can shake his own rattle, though I am sure he is much more excited about being able to eat it...



Finally, here is a picture of J and Hoagie...



You may notice Logan is wearing a different outfit in the last picture. We had a blow-out that was quite explosive. Changing and much washing off ensued. Mmmmmm...

Home Again

It has taken me a long time to do this post because there is so much to report. Logan flew like a champ both to Maine and on the way back. He was kind of over flying on the second leg of our flight into Manchester, but it was only an hour and he was asleep by the time we landed. I had a panic attack while waiting in line for curb-side check-in after discovering that we left the bjorn at home. That was going to be my secret weapon on the plane to combat fussiness, but no such luck. And I didn't have it on the list, so that is what I get for not-so-hot planning. See, I really am bad at packing! We also forgot his sunglasses, and those would have come in really handy.



When we arrived we stopped for dinner in one of my all-time favorite cities, Portsmouth, NH. The next day three of my wonderful college friends, one husband, and three kids came to visit. Logan officially met his friend C, as the last time we saw them he was still in utero, though just barely. Fun was had by all and I am happy to report I will see all of them again in September for a wedding that should be absolutely beautiful--not just for the location, but the couple is perfect for one another. Hooray! Unfortunately Logan and Don won't be able to attend, so it will be a bit bittersweet for me.

We spent lots of time with my mom's family and my great-aunt J even came down to meet Logan. My mom's parent's passed on quite a while ago, so Aunt J has filled in as a surrogate g-ma for us. She is wonderful, so it was a real treat to see her. We had a faboo time hanging with my cousin A, she kept us very busy and the Hoagie LOVED her. This cannot be overstated! We also had a new addition to the clan, with cousin K born just shy of two weeks ago. It was amazing how tiny she is at a little over 7 lbs, and that Logan was sooooo much smaller than that when he came home. K's mom looks great and we were all more than happy to snuggle with the little girl.

My dad's family came into town for a reunion of sorts, and that was very fun. Hoagie was a superstar and his great grandma was very in love. Nothing like a baby to bring out the spark in everyone.

We boated,



played on a new mat,



looked at the water while nursing,



and smiled, cooed, giggled, and generally LOVED on his cousin A.





Today we hung out at Balboa Park and had lunch with our friend J at the Japanese Tea Garden. More pics to follow.

Glad to be home, but missing everyone back east. Hoagie agrees...

The friendly skies

Tomorrow is the big day. We fly xcountry to visit my family in the northeast. The weather here was just a prep for the mugginess to come. I am pleased to report there will be 2 air conditioners at the cottage/house.

I am a bit nervous for our 7 hours of flying, but we are almost all packed so I am confident we will be ready. I am not much of a packer, so this process is pretty nasty. I usually bring way too much of the wrong things. This time there are lists. And things are getting crossed off. That is such a nice feeling of acomplishment.



Hoagie is starting to really grasp and swat at things. Really he is just too cute. Here is a photo of him konked out after a particularly grueling session.



And I moved our bunny mobile over our bed instead of sort of near our changing table. So far, it is a total hit. And he loves the ceiling fan. Life is good.