End of an era

Well, Ms T felt that Logan could lose the pacifier any time. He only uses it for naps and bedtime, so it isn't like he is totally attached to it. I had been waffling getting rid of said paci, but only for my own selfish reasons.Like wanting to sleep. This weekend we bit the bullet and got rid of the plastic sucker for good. I have to say that it went much easier than I expected. He has a little bit of trouble with going down, but overall it has really been painless. Night wakings were nonexistent, which was a huge relief. He did cry out a few times, especially in the early morning, but nothing that required going in and settling him. I think it was actually better than usual. Let's see if it lasts. Next is the bottle. Yes, he is still on the bottle. We are taking things one step at a time.

I joined a local evenings and weekends Mom's group and went on my first outing. We walked around Lake Murray Sunday morning and I met 5 moms. It was great! One mom lives within 100 yards of our house. Hooray! I am all about making mom friends. It is high time I start building a support network for myself, as I am sorely lacking socially. It was getting downright depressing, but things are looking up.

Logan has added "doggy," "nose," and "shoe" to his vocab. He can find his ears, mouth, nose, and eyes. Every day he does a belly button check on me and Don--we think it is just to make sure we (still?) are human. He really loves that belly button. He also learned to push buttons this weekend with consistency. Pretty neat.

We went to the beach on Saturday and it was so windy. I didn't have a great time but Don and Logan seemed to enjoy it immensely (despite Don getting peed on, our swimmy diapers were too small--oops!). I don't know which part Hoagie liked more, the sand or the water. Either way, he was covered in both when we left. I hope next weekend is a little nicer so we can spend more time there.

Other than that life is just chugging along. I am having one of "those" days, but I am hoping that the afternoon will turn around. Positive thinking, right?

The latest

Ah! So much to report. I will do bullets so I don't miss anything...

• Logan has figured out how to spin around and make himself dizzy. It is pretty funny, especially when he tries to do it sitting down.
  
• On Thursday nights La Mesa holds an old car show right off our street. Last week was the first one and it was so cool! We ran into another family from the neighborhood and it was fun to hang out with them for a bit. They have a"wagon" that looks like an old VW Bus. It is really neat, but looks like a workout to pull around. Logan was kind of serious as he took it all in.
  
  
  
• We walked to a co-worker's house on Friday just to see the outside. She was out front and was kind enough to invite us in -- it is AMAZING. So neat with a mish-mash of funky styles. We also met her whole family as they all come over on Fridays for dinner. We were invited to stay, but Logan had skipped his afternoon nap and we feared a spectacular meltdown that would leave us permanently uninvited so we declined. I am happy to say that we will be going back very soon.
  
• The stucco repair is done! Hooray! Don cranked it out like a champ and it looks nice. He said he swore a lot, but we couldn't hear him so I don't think it counts.
  
• This blog is officially a year old. Oh, how time flies. I can't believe I have stuck with this, I thought it might fall by the wayside when I first started. Glad it is a source of information for those of you far, far away.
  
• I talked with S on the phone last night! It was great and we had much catching up to do. As usual it was like we just talked yesterday. Lucky for Don she lives far away or I might just ditch him and marry her instead (of course we would have to move to MA).
  
• Logan puked twice yesterday. That kid has a strong gag reflex. Figures, I can barely tolerate puke, so this is the universe telling me to get over myself. Or not let him put so much in his mouth.
  
• We saw the craziest scene when walking around Lake Murray last weekend. We came upon a lizard on the path and a squirrel a few feet away. I stopped to look at the lizard and Don noticed a baby rattlesnake inches away in the grass. A small creature trifecta! I took a picture with my phone, but didn't get the squirrel. You will just have to believe it was there, and evidently only around to witness some drama. Silly rodent.
  
  

15

Can you believe Hoagie is 15 months? Amazing. I compare him to a batch of babies that were born on time, which means they are currently 13 months,about to turn 14. So weird that he is ahead. In a short time this difference won't matter, but right now it seems like quite a jump. To commemorate 15 I figured why not do a list of the things he likes right now.

Books: That he likes books at all is so wonderful. For a long time he would squirm away because books were apparently too boring. This broke my heart,as I am an avid reader (That book you left mom, you know the mystery/school shooting one? It is terrible! I am suffering through, but cursing you along the way.) and I wanted Logan to like reading as much as me. Anyway, he is now interested and had definite preferences. Right now (and this could change tonight) he likes Five little ducks, The wheels on the bus, Mr. Brown goes moo (still), Splash!, I love you through and through, Hug, Cleo the Cat, and Kiss good night. We read all of these before bed.

Food: Yo baby yogurt, American Chop Suey (my version), pickles,strawberries, pineapple, pear, oatmeal, olives, tomato and basil hummus,salmon, mashed potatoes, fish, and sometimes grilled cheese sandwiches.Really he likes anything. We are lucky and I fully expect this to change.

Toys: Boxes of any kind (why do we even buy the toys?), Sunshine (does she count?), any shoe he can get his hands on, the watering can, the fancy watering hose nozzle I bought Don, and anything that Don and I have--especially travel coffee mugs (I have to give him his own "coffee" on weekend mornings or he totally melts down with envy).

Sleep: He's doing it. From 7:15 pm-ish till 6 am-ish straight. He naps twice a day (for now) equaling at least another 2 hours. Very little getting up unless there is teething. Speaking of which...

Teeth: He has five. Three on top with another one s-l-o-w-l-y making it's way out, and two on the bottom. Not looking forward to eye teeth or molars.

Words: Well, there aren't too many yet, but he did start saying "uh oh" when he drops stuff. So we have balloon, hi, zsa zsa (which is sounding more and more like Sunshine), light, thank you, daddy, and mum. Oh, and ball sometimes. And he has said no once or twice. Really the last bunch are very sporadic, so they don't count so much. But he does say them. Mum only when he is really upset,and light is only understandable by me and Don. He does a TON of pointing and is really interested in hearing what things are. When you ask him to take items out of his mouth while he is walking he will comply, and he understands both yes and no (can shake his head for both). He also understands hi and bye and will wave. All in all he is so darn cute.Hooray for 15!

Phasing out

A frightening new situation has appeared in the land of Hoagie--nap refusal. I am loathe to admit that he may give up that morning nap sometime soon. Actually, it would be easier to go out and do things as a family if he drops the nap, but I fear the process could get dicey. He skipped the afternoon one yesterday and was in rare form by 6:20. Poor kid, poor parents.

I left Don to deal with bedtime and went to an Indigo Girls concert last night with a delightful group of ladies. Fun was had by all and I only wish that they were playing again tonight so I could see them one more time this year. The last IG concert I attended was right before I got pregnant with Logan. I think that is a sign (um, a good one I mean). Not to sound too hokey, but I have loved them since high school and their music has helped me through many a tough time. I have seen them with beloved friends and remember dancing to them at bars, parties, concerts, and weddings. They hold a special place indeed. Yay for fabulous music!

New week again

Alas the weekend is over and we are back to the grind. The stucco went well enough, though there isn't any actual stucco on the hole yet. Turns out there was more prep than we were anticipating. I was totally correct about the cursing though, Don dipped well into his extensive dirty word vocab while chipping away at our outside wall. Next weekend we will spend Saturday arm-deep in quick-set stucco. Woo hoo!

Logan had a very busy weekend. Saturday he went for an early morning stroll,then he was rudely awoken from his nap to catch the Flag Day Parade. He watched with all seriousness and we think he had a good time. It was kind of hard to tell... He really liked the Pug and St. Bernard rescue groups, cause you know, animals are fascinating. Clowns, old men riding around in little cars, bands, drum lines, and waving ladies were only so-so in comparison.

Later on he went to the beach with Don for dad-to-be's Man Show-er, where he played in the sand and refereed a very intense volleyball game. Then he went out to eat at a local brew pub where he ate like a king. I think he had more of my meal than I did.

Sunday Hoagie hung out with me while Don did the above mentioned swearing.We had a good time despite a nasty fall that left the poor boy with a(nother) H*rry P*tter scar. All in all it was a great weekend. Unfortunately, it went by waaaaaaay too fast. I am still in disbelief that it is Monday, despite having gone to work and come back home.

One last item of note: I run into old JNI coworkers EVERYWHERE. I saw three this weekend alone. So bizarre, I haven't been working there in almost four years(!) so it isn't like I still run in those circles, or even that the company still exists. Weird.

Huh?

One of the wonderful benefits of living a block away from a cute Main Street is that we have a prime location for all local events such as street fairs, fests, farmer's markets, and parades. But one has to scratch their head when a parade takes place almost two weeks prior to the actual day it is celebrating. And the holiday, you ask? Flag day! Hmmmm...ok...

Now I must admit that Flag Day holds a very special place in my heart as it is also Beckie M**** Day in the state of Rhode Island. My wonderful friend won a national poster contest and the Governor of the state actually declared June 14th to be her special day. Amazing!!! Unfortunately, that very same day went on to hold a much sadder anniversary for her and her family, so it is bittersweet. Nonetheless, while acknowledging the grief that surrounds the date, I like to celebrate BMD with gusto. So a parade is perfect! Now I have to work on getting her in the parade somehow. A Mistress of Ceremonies perhaps? Waving politely from a borrowed convertible? Most excellent.

TGIF

Friday, sweet Friday. I can hardly wait to have Logan crawl all over us in bed tomorrow morning, that is one of my favorite parts of the day.

We are set for a wild weekend of stucco repair, so I think that means I will be watching Logan while Don curses endlessly at our outside wall. Please cross your fingers that it turns out well and actually matches what is currently there. I am slightly nervous that it will look "patchy."

Logan has started saying "thank you." Well, we recognize the words, but I am not sure they are decipherable to anyone who isn't in the know. It is so neat to hear him learning new things. His favorite books right now are 5 little ducks and the wheels on the bus. Really, anything with singing. I think he tries to sing every once in a while, but for the most part is a very attentive and appreciative listener.

In big milestone news, we are no longer bouncing the kid on the exercise ball to get him to sleep. My back is all messed up from holding him on it because he is so big. I think parental pain is as good a reason as any to ditch the ball. Last night I rocked him in the chair while he drank his milk and then put him down awake. I had no expectations for immediate sleep, but I was pleasantly surprised by his ability to drift off completely on his own. Hooray! I seriously thought this day would never come. I mean, I dreamt about it for sure, but the reality? Never.

I have a baby shower to go to tomorrow. Wish me luck, I think I would rather gnaw my hand off than attend, but I said yes before thinking. I like all those who will be there, I just hate baby showers. And the games. Ugh, don't get me started...

When toddlers attack

We decided to go out to purchase a magazine last night at our local big bookstore. We had an hour before bedtime and no plans so it seemed like perfect timing. Unfortunately, the magazine we were looking for (the one with the stucco repair dad) was not there, so Hoagie and I headed off to the children's section. Oh the delights of the children's section! Hoagie could hardly contain himself. It was pretty empty and he was enthralled with the large train set that was set up in the corner. Another couple headed over with their two boys (one about 4 and the other around 2, plus one on the way) and the younger of the two had a major meltdown. Like monumental shrieking that would have sent me right back out the door to put my kid to bed. Alas, these parents decided the kid should play at the train table with his brother and Logan. As you are probably aware, a one year old has almost no sense of things belonging to someone else. Very, very little. So he tried to take the older brother's trains and I herded him away several times. The parents of the other kids were nice enough and we traded quips on what it will be like to add their expected child into the mix. Then Logan made a most dire mistake. He grabbed the younger boy's train. The shrieking! The yelling! In no time at all the boy had Logan around the neck and was strangling him. Well, not seriously, but enough to scare the pants off of our boy and send him into hysterics. I intervened along with the other parents and we left the train table. The strangler's parents apologized profusely and no one was worse for the wear. Personally, I would have left the store then if my kid had done that to someone else, but (you may detect a theme here) they decided to stay. We left as it was Hoagie's bedtime and many more apologies were offered. So that was our first experience with a physical altercation between our kid and another. Don assures me that I didn't freak out, even though I felt like my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head when I saw that little boy's hands around my son's neck. I think I said something like "Oh no, we don't do that!" so how bad could I have sounded? I always second guess myself when I am talking to or correcting other people's children. I wonder how T deals with it at daycare? I have much to learn today when I pick up the kid.

Oh my

A coworker just had her fourth child. Fourth! She is a well-oiled mother machine, and sailed through her pregnancy with apparently little drama despite dealing with some issues that would have sent me over the edge. Today she brought her two week old into work.

Oh my.

I am in desperate need of snuggling a newborn! Desperate I tell you! My uterus swelled with desire and my hormones swooned. Luckily my head is still on relatively straight, but dang that urge is powerful.

Logan was walking around last night with his hands in his pants pockets. Seriously, it was the cutest thing ever. Don said he was channeling his Pop-pop Boyko and all he needed was a little change to jingle.

'Cause I feel guilty

Pics!

Wow

It's been a long time.

But we're back! And doing well! With words!

New to our ears--balloon and daddy. No mama anywhere in sight. *sigh* We are quite impressed with balloon's two syllables, and he also calls Sunshine zsa zsa. We hear that one A LOT.

Logan is walking like crazy, so much that I had to buy him shoes. He loves them so much that he asked to wear them this morning. We tried them out at the local playground where he had a great time. We met some neighborhood kids (including triplets) who loved playing ice cream and flower stand. Both are much to complex to describe here, but let's just say we had fun with bark and leaves. I even met two moms! This is quite a breakthrough for me.

The renovation came and went, and phase 1 is complete. A window was moved and it looks fantastic. I have during pictures that I will post. My dad found some nasty wood paneling and some baaaaad faux brick wallpaper under the sheet rock. Thank g-d they covered that crap up. Next will be installing french doors. Woo hoo! Should be done by winter 2015.

Don's last night class is this Tuesday and I am wildly excited. Don 7 nights a week will be a welcome change. Now that The Office and Gilmore Girls is over I don't have Tues/Thurs obligations and I am ready for bedtime help. That, and I don't eat dinner on those nights because I am too lazy to make myself anything. Did I really just type that out? I did. Sad confession.

So there are about 8 million other things to catch up on, but here a video to smooth things over...

Hi, baby

We have words! Well only two words, hi and baby. He also makes a kissing noise and just today started puckering up for kisses (a big improvement over the open mouth tongue out technique he has usually).

We went out for pizza today and he said "hi" to a group of grumpy men who wouldn't acknowledge him and to a young woman who was kind enough to say "hi" back. Baby isn't consistent, but Ms. T is always telling the other kids to be careful of him because he is the baby. So, he has picked it up. He is also walking EVERYWHERE, which made the pizza dinner very, um, busy. We won't be going out again anytime soon.

He also just popped two new teeth. The teething is consistent and constant. Poor kid. Luckily the sleeping hasn't suffered too much (*knocking on wood*).

Our kitchen is undergoing major renovations next week so I will post before, during, and after pictures. My dad will be doing the work, so at least we can trust the contractor...

Before, after, and mobility

Don has been doing lots of work in the "yard" out front. I must admit that I was a naysayer, I really didn't think he had a plan for the plants. I knew he was excited to do stuff, so I thought he was going forward with the planting a bit hastily (is that a word?). I was wrong, he did a great job.

Front before...



Front after...







I only helped a little, so I can take no credit for the transformation. Except I did suggest using the red mulch to differentiate the space up top. So yay me for that one.

In Hoagie news, he started walking on Thursday. The evidence is below.

Hoo Hoo

We were reading Mr. Brown Can Moo tonight and when we got to the page with the owl (He can sound like an owl... Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoo), Logan let out his own little hoo hoo. It was so darn cute, and, quite frankly, the first verbal communication we have seen that indicated he could put words to comprehension. It made his mama happy.

A couple of other things:

Yogurt=vomit
Alphabet bus=happiness
outdoors=heaven
teething=insanely slow

He is so close to walking, but won't stand if we let go. I refuse to predict when it will happen anymore since he clearly doesn't like the pressure.

Pictures tomorrow, as it has been forever since I posted any. You may have forgotten what he looks like by now...

And, Hoagie wishes his great grampa a very very happy birthday! We all wish we could be there to celebrate with you. Hugs and kisses from the west coast!

Weaned

Logan has self-weaned. He nursed for the last time at the doctor's office on Monday. It had always been a tough, hard earned relationship, but it got so much better the last few months. He was never the type of kid who asked to nurse, ever. I feel lucky, proud, and frankly amazed that we got to this point, but also sad that it is over. Last week I was forcing the night nursing (I know, I'm crazy) then realized I was doing it for me and not for him. *sigh* Being a mom is so hard sometimes.

Also sad is how quickly my boobs returned to their former (minuscule) size. Blah.

A small recap:

• Nurse at NICU with little tube attached to a syringe and nipple shield
• Visit lactation consultants and ditch the finger feeding
• Wash those stupid shields with limited hot water due to pipe issue at condo
• Lived through nursing a squirmy reflux baby
• Ditched the shield and nursing goes smoothly (ah, short-lived bliss)
• Nursing becomes possible only when I am not talking and we are bounding on the exercise ball
• Nursing possible only when no one is talking, white noise on, bouncing on the ball, and Logan is sleepy
• Keep this routine up for 6 months
• Stop pumping
• Start using impressive (if I do say so myself) frozen stash of breastmilk with regularity
• Nursing dwindles and so does stash
• Logan nurses for the last time and stash depleted almost simultaneously
• Don unplugs deep freezer and I cry

Backyard

We have one! And we worked on it this weekend. I trimmed branches and Don put bamboo up around the gnarly fences. We bought a new patio set and put it together (and oiled it) without a single argument. Amazing!

Hoagie very much enjoyed himself in the yard, managing to find small things to put in his mouth everywhere. Sunshine also had a great time, she is in heaven.

On the inside, we got the bedroom, bathrooms, kitchen, and spare bedroom cleaned up. We are t-i-r-e-d.

Happy belated birthday to my mom, we wish we could have been there to celebrate with you!

Moved

It's over. It went smoothly. We are living in chaos. But we are at the new house!!!!!!!!!! It seems so surreal and I am still trying to grasp the change, but we actually bought a house. We also bought baby gates and they are causing another bout of chaos, but I think both the move and the barriers will prove positive in the end.

Logan has been doing just fine, but he did have a moment of "um, can you please put me in my REAL room?" last night. Poor kid. He also has 3 lovely bruises on his head from various incidents. How can he get so many injuries on carpet? We went for a walk to the local grocery store yesterday (less than 4 blocks away!) and he very much enjoyed the trip. I am amazed at his charisma, I think we are in trouble. He is such a happy kid and (of course) so cute. People are always stopping us to make comments about what a sweet boy he is. I am very thankful to the universe for sending me this little man, and as much as I would like to take credit for his stunning personality, I fear I have very little influence over it. Another teacher who sends her son to Ms. T was saying that the Hoagie is the happiest baby she has ever met. This teacher told Don that she HAS to meet me because I must be the most laid back person ever. HAHAHAHA! Wouldn't she be disappointed?

L has a new face that is pretty funny. I will try to get a picture of it today. We can all bask in his cuteness together.

Sold

Holy cow. The condo is sold. As in no longer owned by us. Escrow has closed and money is about to be transferred *fingers crossed sooooooo hard for this one.* We are renters for the first time in 6+ years, but only for two short days. Please send positive thoughts our way for these two crazy days. Aye! Moving is stressful, but the payoff, oh it will be good. Woot!

In other "send positive thoughts" news, please direct your attention over to Babycakes, where a new little life is about to emerge. We here at Logie the Hoagie are truly exited for the Babycakes gals and hope everything goes perfectly with LB's arrival. Love from the west coast girls!

And because I know I will be disappointing the masses if I don't give a small Logan update, he is standing more on his own, and is doing great with the packing. Especially the part where he gets to play in all the empty cupboards and drawers with his measuring cup. Which, by the way, is his favorite thing right now. Who knew measuring cups would be so beloved?

Aaaaaand, one last but certainly not least thing, Happy Birthday Great Grammy Brown! We hope your day was wonderful and we wish we could have been there to celebrate with you. Much love!

Bathroom humor

Oh it was a wild weekend of packing and small repair work here in San Diego. Luckily we got lots accomplished and Logan was only slightly ignored. He did very much enjoy the exersaucer down in the garage, as he had never been down there before (you know, to spend any time). Once Sunday night rolled around, we were all a bit slap happy. Which led to the following two events--which are both, unfortunately, funny at Don's expense.

First, Logan needed a bath and Don decided to join him. I got Hoagie ready and brought him into the bathroom with just his diaper on (to avoid any accidents you know). I took said diaper off right in front of the tub and Don lifted him in. As I was wrapping up the diaper I noticed it looked, um, darkish, and I said to Don, "you know, you really didn't do a very good job wiping himmm ............... OH NO! POOP! There is POOP in the TUB!" Yes, we put a poopy kid into the tub with Daddy. I had to scoop the offending patty(s) out with my bare hands, and Don ended up with it smeared on his leg. Logan was none the wiser. He was just enjoying the show ("Poop? Really? I hadn't noticed.... hee hee hee!"). I was laughing so hard I could barely catch my breath. I mean, you know as a parent that things like this are going to happen, but I was unprepared for the hilarity. I love a good potty joke. Once things calmed down everyone was rinsed off, the tub refilled, and a good time was had by all.

Later on Don decided to cut his hair (!) ,which he mostly does by himself with the clippers. I usually come in just at the end to do some clean up. Last night, when I was called in for my part, I noticed his hair was shorter than usual. He looked at me and said "I am using a #1 guide instead of #2." And I think, ok, whatever you want. Then he turns his head. There is a wide patch on the side of his head that is shaved CLOSE. Evidently, he was doing his side burns and forgot that he didn't have a guide on and just kept going up into his hair. But he didn't want it that short because, well, it is really short. So we tried to disguise it, but the chances are pretty good some tyke at school today will notice Mr. M's weird hair and ask what happened. Luckily hair grows in fast, so this will be a memory in no time.

I really hope these aren't "you had to be there" type stories. They were sooooo funny at the time and I am glad there is now a record of them for Logie to look back upon. I am sure he will be so grateful.

They say they come in pairs

After massive teething action while the grandparents were visiting, another tooth is popping. Guess that's why feeding him was an absolute CHORE yesterday. Hhmmm....

In other news we are living among boxes and continue to pack for the big move. I know Sunshine will fare the worst for this adventure, and she is starting to show the stress already. For example she dug a hole in our area rug last night. Luckily it isn't too noticeable, and the coffee table will cover it, but I foresee a series of unhappy acting out incidents. Poor baby.