Bolts

So much to report:

• We have been doing tons of stuff since Don is out of school. It is much easier to get out with two adults. And we only have one kid! I can't imagine wrangling a bunch, but obviously it can be done. We have been to the zoo, the beach twice, and the pool. Last night we went to a Charger's practice. It was fun (and free!) and we got to see our favorite players up close. The trip was almost foiled by the distance of our parking space to the event, but we persevered. Logan made a couple friends and enjoyed the cheering, which is a nice change from last year



• The boy is starting to really understand simple commands. "Take off your hat," "Get the ball," "Come here," etc. can be followed when he chooses. It is pretty cool that he comprehends this information. Two weeks ago he wouldn't have known what we were talking about.



• "Yeah" This word just started today and it is universal in its usage. Mostly he uses it correctly though. Too cute.



• The pucker. He is going to melt hearts. He has the funniest kissy pucker I have ever seen.



• Teeth. Yes, they are still coming (swear this one has been going on for over a month) and are wreaking havoc with the sleeping. Naps are in flux. Just in time for our big trip!



• I am in denial that we are traveling to the east coast. In just a few days. Gulp!

Evidence of our Bolts love...

Prey

Sunshine is a hunter! When I was pregnant, she got outside right before bedtime and caught a mouse. She dropped it in what was to become Logan's nursery, but at the time was a wasteland of boxes and yet-to-be put together furniture. It took us about an hour to catch the darn thing and we were able to get it outside alive. Sunshine was then banned from going out after dark.

Well, Don and I were enjoying the cool night air last week and she was outside with us. We haven't been quite as rigid with our "no outside after dark" rule since we moved into the new place, and she has been taking advantage. I saw her focus on something in the front and then dart after it. I noted to Don that I thought she might be stalking something, but, silly me, I didn't think she would actually catch it. Wrong. Sunshine ran back toward us and Don yelled, "She caught something! It's in her mouth! Don't let her in!" I was waaaaay too slow, and only served to make her run faster toward our bedroom. We found her under our bed with a small animal under her paw that looked like a bird.

We shooed her out of the room (in retrospect, this might have been a mistake, as she could have helped us catch the thing), and used our broom to get said "bird" out from under the bed. Then Don looked at me and said, "I think it is a lizard." Oh, my heart sunk. Mammals I can handle. Birds? No problem. Reptiles not so much. They really creep me out. I knew Don was going to be even more freaked (he detests snakes, so I figured this was just the same) so it fell to me to catch it. It went behind my magazine carrier so I moved it out and screamed, "It's a SNAKE!!!" Not my finest hour. It really did look like a snake, and a nasty one at that. Don flew around the bed, grabbed the trash can, and trapped the animal. It really was an alligator lizard after all, but it was pretty big. Maybe 7-8 inches long and fat. Ugh. Don totally stepped up and I so didn't. Unfortunately, the reptile didn't survive the encounter, and Sunshine was mighty pissed that we took her toy away. Logan slept through the whole thing.

Here is Don trapping it



Here it is on our back patio. *shudder*

Jibber jabber

Hanging out over the weekend...

Done

I can't believe it. Purchased, read, and over. *sigh* I love Harry Potter. Now off to read the whole series in order...

The day after

The party has come and gone. It went well for the most part and the turnout was good. I wish we would have had more food, which usually isn't a problem for us, but this time we didn't estimate correctly. Oh well. Logan enjoyed playing with the older kids and was totally over stimulated. He slept past 8 the next morning! Unheard of. My sangria turned out pretty good and Don grilled like a champ. We got a bunch of new plants as housewarming presents, hooray! They are all so pretty.

Sunday was a waste. Poor Logan was completely bored as Don and I crashed. He was very happy at daycare yesterday, I am sure he was thrilled to be doing stuff again. I took him to the local community pool for the first time in the afternoon and we had fun. He decided that he didn't want me to hold him after a while, but, alas, he is not ready for that yet. I have to sign him up for swimmy lessons, but all the slots conflicted with our August vacation so I couldn't do it this summer. Hopefully in the fall it will work out.

I turned 32 yesterday and it was pretty low key. We really didn't do much of anything besides the pool and I liked it that way. H is going to babysit next week so we can go out to dinner. That will combine my birthday with Don's "school's out for summer" celebration. Two for one! We have a few plans for the weekend, but are mostly looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing special. So exciting, eh?

Here are belated pics...

Logan in front of his closet mural



At the car show



And eating blueberries

Busy busy

We are in full prep mode for tomorrow's party. So far we have:

• New shelf in the living room
• Pictures matted, framed, and hung all over the house
• Two new shelves in the bedroom
• New curtains in the bedroom
• New hardware in the bathrooms
• New doorknobs on all inside doors
• Unpacked more breakables (that we can't put out due to one wee family member)
• Drawings in Logan's room

And outside...

• New hummingbird feeder and post
• Tablecloth on outdoor table
• Trimmed Dogwood
• Mowed, raked, and whacked lawn

Whew! Don's tired... (hee hee! I participated too...)

Logan's motto is "a new day, a new bruise." He bumped his head, has bruises on his leg, and seems to get more by the minute. Little bodies are amazing in their accident tolerance levels. He has also started hitting. Did I mention the hitting? He only does it to me. Not Ms. T, not Don, just me. Booo! I am seriously not liking this turn of events. I am using a consistent method to curb this behavior, but dang, who wants to get wailed on every day?

Not to jinx it or anything, but he also fell asleep the last two nights right away with no crying at all. Heaven!

Hmmm. I can't make a title for some reason. That will get fixed later.

I know I haven't posted in a while, but we have had paci withdrawl, crazy work, new computers, a summer cold, and a variety of weird occurances. Lame, I know.

We did get a grill and Don is very happy now. The fourth was spent at H & M's new house and we could see fireworks from their backyard. It was lovely. We are doing all sorts of sprucing up to the house since we are having a big party on Saturday. Neighbors, coworkers, and friends are all coming to celebrate. Hooray!

Logan is doing great. He is dancing like crazy, no longer using the paci, loves the outdoors, and is working on a fake laugh that has us giggling every time he does it. He has added a few words to the list including:

• what's that
• door
• ball
• bird
• Tere (Ms. T)
• Te (M, Ms. T's daughter)

Please note that there is still no word for me. No mom, mum, ma--nothing. I get eh eh eh. So special.

Pictures soon, I know it has been a while.

A huge congrats *late post*

My cousin E and his new wife L were married two weekends ago, and my other cousin S and his new wife D were married last weekend. I wish them all the best and I hope they grow together and continually learn from one another. Both couples are extremely happy and I am only sorry that we didn't get to attend either event.

I can honestly say that my marriage to Don has made me a much better person. Weddings always make me all mushy for my beloved and these are no exception. He is a great dad, caring partner, gifted teacher, and wonderful friend. I feel lucky to be the one he chose. *swoon* Ok, yeah, this was supposed to be about my cousins and their new wives...

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...