The web now has a solution to my biggest pet peeve EVER! Check it out.
(Casey, I know you'll appreciate this too.)
And thanks, Turtle Parade!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Mommy's Little Bookworm
We have been reading A LOT lately. Logan has always loved books, but recently he has really acquired a love for reading. We read several times a day, but always before naptime and bedtime. We usually read one or two books before naptime - the goal is two but sometimes getting to sleep becomes more of a priority, and two books before bedtime. I let Logan pick the books most of the time, with a few of my suggestions thrown in here and there. Logan definitely has his favorites, which is why I throw in suggestions every once in a while. There are times where I just don't want to read a particular book for the 50th time that week. And I would really like him to be exposed to all kinds of books, even at an early age.
With that being said, here is a list of Logan's current favorite books:
With that being said, here is a list of Logan's current favorite books:
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Big Thanks
A great BIG thank you goes out to my wonderful mom and dad...
...for choosing to spend their free weekend with us.
...for helping me paint and hang curtains in Logan's big boy room.
...for finishing up random odd jobs around the house that Todd and I haven't had the time or energy to finish ourselves.
Thank you,
Thank you,
Thank you!
You are the BEST!
Woo Woo!
Today we took Logan to the Rossford FD pancake breakfast. The trip served dual purposes, as the proceeds all went to help Lake TWP's tornado relief, and Logan LOVES "woo woo" trucks! Since we know a few guys on the fire department, Logan got to drive one of the trucks wearing his new fire hat!
Oh, and my favorite part of the breakfast? We got Logan a FREE bike helmet! Thanks Mercy Health Partners!
Recent Pictures
I just got around the uploading my pictures from the last few weeks. Here are some of my favorites:
Check out the hairdo - Daddy gave him some gel!
Aren't kitchen tools fun?!
Mommy's little helper
Backyard fun
Swim trunks are a little big - they don't stay up very well...
...so we have to pull them up a lot!
4th of July weekend - swimming at the lake
Logan and cousin Lilly
Jumping off the dock!
Nothing like relaxing on the boat with a few cheeseballs!
Logan and Daddy
Driving with Papa
This is quite the outfit
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Hap-pee News!
If you saw my Facebook page, you probably already read the news, but Logan peed on the potty for the first time tonight! He was trying so hard to pee that he even squeezed out a little poop to go with it! Way to go little guy!
Here's the story:
Logan was getting a bath, and at some point during the bath he told me he peed. I asked if he peed in the water and he told me yes. This totally grosses me out by the way, but I know it happens, probably on a daily basis. At the end of the bath, we were cleaning up the bath toys, and Logan was standing up in the tub. He told me he was going to pee in the water, but I didn't believe him. I figured he had already done it and that was it. But sure enough, a few seconds later, he started grunting and squeezing (I was afraid he was going to poop instead of pee) and he squeezed out some pee! I had no idea the kid could pee on demand like that, but I figure he drinks so much milk throughout the day that he probably has an almost-constant stream of pee coming out of him anyway. I let him finish, again thinking how gross it was that he was peeing in the tub, but I didn't want pee on my bathroom floor either. I dried him off, and then he asked me to pee on the potty. I told him I thought he had squeezed all the pee out, but I would let him sit up there anyway. I sat him backwards because he's so little and I didn't want pee squirting all over my bathroom on the off-chance that he went again. After a few more seconds of grunting and squeezing, he did it again - this time in the right place! I was amazed! And like I said, he squeezed so hard he even got a tiny little poop out too.
I have mixed feelings about this whole experience. I'm so proud of my little boy, and he clearly was too. But I'm not sure this is something I want to take on with a new baby coming in six weeks. I hadn't planned on starting potty training until closer to next summer, when it wouldn't be an added responsibility for my father-in-law/baby-sitter to have to deal with. Logan isn't even two yet, and I really don't know that he's quite ready at this point. I'm not ready to deal with a child who has to use the bathroom at inconvenient times, such as when we get in the car to go somewhere or in public places. (I'm totally repulsed by having to let my child use a public toilet, but I just think thank goodness he's a boy.) But I guess, as with most parenting, I don't get to decide when my child reaches this developmental milestone. We are going to get out his little kid potty this weekend and set it up for him. I figure I'll let him try before bath/bed each night and whenever else he asks to go on the potty. I'm not going to push this issue very hard right now, though I am excited for the day that I will only have to buy diapers for one.
Here's the story:
Logan was getting a bath, and at some point during the bath he told me he peed. I asked if he peed in the water and he told me yes. This totally grosses me out by the way, but I know it happens, probably on a daily basis. At the end of the bath, we were cleaning up the bath toys, and Logan was standing up in the tub. He told me he was going to pee in the water, but I didn't believe him. I figured he had already done it and that was it. But sure enough, a few seconds later, he started grunting and squeezing (I was afraid he was going to poop instead of pee) and he squeezed out some pee! I had no idea the kid could pee on demand like that, but I figure he drinks so much milk throughout the day that he probably has an almost-constant stream of pee coming out of him anyway. I let him finish, again thinking how gross it was that he was peeing in the tub, but I didn't want pee on my bathroom floor either. I dried him off, and then he asked me to pee on the potty. I told him I thought he had squeezed all the pee out, but I would let him sit up there anyway. I sat him backwards because he's so little and I didn't want pee squirting all over my bathroom on the off-chance that he went again. After a few more seconds of grunting and squeezing, he did it again - this time in the right place! I was amazed! And like I said, he squeezed so hard he even got a tiny little poop out too.
I have mixed feelings about this whole experience. I'm so proud of my little boy, and he clearly was too. But I'm not sure this is something I want to take on with a new baby coming in six weeks. I hadn't planned on starting potty training until closer to next summer, when it wouldn't be an added responsibility for my father-in-law/baby-sitter to have to deal with. Logan isn't even two yet, and I really don't know that he's quite ready at this point. I'm not ready to deal with a child who has to use the bathroom at inconvenient times, such as when we get in the car to go somewhere or in public places. (I'm totally repulsed by having to let my child use a public toilet, but I just think thank goodness he's a boy.) But I guess, as with most parenting, I don't get to decide when my child reaches this developmental milestone. We are going to get out his little kid potty this weekend and set it up for him. I figure I'll let him try before bath/bed each night and whenever else he asks to go on the potty. I'm not going to push this issue very hard right now, though I am excited for the day that I will only have to buy diapers for one.
Monday, July 12, 2010
My Kid Is So Smart
I'm going to sound like one of those parents here, so if that annoys you, please stop reading now.
My kid is smart. Yes, I'm a teacher, but I do not push him in any way to be learning above average concepts for his current age (he's 21.5 months right now). But...he knows five letters of the alphabet already! It amazes me how quickly he picks up on these things without us even really trying. Now I understand why they say to teach kids a foreign language when they are little!
Anyway, about a week or two ago we started bringing back out all the things that were too annoying to keep putting away every time our house was being shown while it was on the market. This included our magnetic fridge letters and numbers. I got them out, showed Logan how to stick them back onto the fridge (magnet side against the fridge) and let him go. Around this same time we had started attending Toddler Time at the library (see that post here). They have the kids check in every week by finding the letter their name begins with and showing it to everyone. So I started showing Logan which letter was L for Logan. It didn't take him long at all to recognize that letter, and then he even started bringing it to me randomly and telling me it was "L Logan."
To make a long story short, now he knows these letters, each of which we associate with someone he knows:
L for Logan
J for Jenn Jenn
P for Papa
M for Mommy and Go Blue (he has always associated the M with Michigan and started saying "Go Blue" every time he saw an M)
Today he randomly brought me the W...and told me it was a W (pronounced dubba-oo)! This one he learned very quickly only because he was mixing up the M and the W and I would correct him by telling him it was a W and not an M. So now he knows that one, too - no association needed.
Now, I'm not dumb or naive. I understand that the reason my not-even-two-year-old knows these letters is primarily because he remembers which color each one is. I know this because I tested him with our bathtub letters tonight, and he didn't know any of them. But I still think he's doing pretty well for his age, especially since L and P are both yellow, and M and W are both red. He knows the differences despite their identical colors. And it's not like every letter is a different color - he still has to know what the letters look like.
So you can humor me or not, but I think my kid's smart, and I'm proud of him! And he is proud of himself every time he gets one right, which is absolutely the most important thing to me right now.
Next on the list are T for Troy, D for Daddy, and B for Bubba.
My kid is smart. Yes, I'm a teacher, but I do not push him in any way to be learning above average concepts for his current age (he's 21.5 months right now). But...he knows five letters of the alphabet already! It amazes me how quickly he picks up on these things without us even really trying. Now I understand why they say to teach kids a foreign language when they are little!
Anyway, about a week or two ago we started bringing back out all the things that were too annoying to keep putting away every time our house was being shown while it was on the market. This included our magnetic fridge letters and numbers. I got them out, showed Logan how to stick them back onto the fridge (magnet side against the fridge) and let him go. Around this same time we had started attending Toddler Time at the library (see that post here). They have the kids check in every week by finding the letter their name begins with and showing it to everyone. So I started showing Logan which letter was L for Logan. It didn't take him long at all to recognize that letter, and then he even started bringing it to me randomly and telling me it was "L Logan."
To make a long story short, now he knows these letters, each of which we associate with someone he knows:
L for Logan
J for Jenn Jenn
P for Papa
M for Mommy and Go Blue (he has always associated the M with Michigan and started saying "Go Blue" every time he saw an M)
Today he randomly brought me the W...and told me it was a W (pronounced dubba-oo)! This one he learned very quickly only because he was mixing up the M and the W and I would correct him by telling him it was a W and not an M. So now he knows that one, too - no association needed.
Now, I'm not dumb or naive. I understand that the reason my not-even-two-year-old knows these letters is primarily because he remembers which color each one is. I know this because I tested him with our bathtub letters tonight, and he didn't know any of them. But I still think he's doing pretty well for his age, especially since L and P are both yellow, and M and W are both red. He knows the differences despite their identical colors. And it's not like every letter is a different color - he still has to know what the letters look like.
So you can humor me or not, but I think my kid's smart, and I'm proud of him! And he is proud of himself every time he gets one right, which is absolutely the most important thing to me right now.
Next on the list are T for Troy, D for Daddy, and B for Bubba.
Down the Home Stretch
See my little baby ticker on the side of my page? Today it says 45 days. 45 DAYS! That's only a month and a half to go, and I couldn't be more excited (and if you're thinking of Chandler from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. when you read that, I love you!). I think I'm more excited for this baby to be born than I was for Logan. I attribute that to a lot less nervousness and more excitement, though. And...it's no where near as fun to be pregnant the second time around, if you ask me. I'd sound like a whiner if I listed all of my current complaints, but basically all the discomforts of the first pregnancy have been multiplied and have come earlier with this baby. I'm ready. Bring on the challenges of having two - I'm (currently) feeling very up to it!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Loganese Volume #3
1. (May) - Todd asked Logan what he wants to name his brother. Logan happens to be looking at two books - one with a cat on the cover and one open to a page with Elmo playing at the playground. So Logan responds, "Meow Slide." And, yep, this has become our nickname for the baby until he has been properly named.
2. (May) - We are at my sister's church. This is only Logan's second time ever going to church. (I know, we need to go more!) We start singing, and Logan puts his fingers in his ears!
3. (May) - We're at the mall, and Logan points to an older man standing near us. He says, "Guy!" Todd tells him, "OLD guy," so Logan yells "OLD GUY" and points at the man. Such manners!
4. (May) - We got home late from the mall, and it wasn't bath night, so when I was putting Logan into his pajamas, I gave him a "white trash" bath using a baby wipe. Logan repeats the phrase "white trash" about a million times for the rest of the night. Todd has it on video!
5. (June) - Logan starts walking from the family room to the kitchen, telling me that he is going to "drink coffee."
6. (June) - Sophie lays down on the floor next to where Logan and I are playing. He offers her his "love love."
7. (June) - Logan is climbing on the chair in our family room while I'm making dinner in the kitchen. I see his little head poke up over the back of the chair, he looks at me and says, "Careful!"
8. (June) - Logan is in the family room and I am in the kitchen. I'm washing dishes, and I hear Logan sneeze twice. I'm only half paying attention, so when I don't say anything, he says, "Bless you!"
9. (June) - Todd and I are laying in bed, telling Logan about the zoo because I had planned our first trip of the summer for this particular day. Todd is naming all of the various animals that Logan could possible see at the zoo. For each animal, Logan asks "Touch?" and Todd says "Touch what?" Then Logan attempts to repeat the name of each animal, saying "Touch [animal]?" When we tell him no for each animal, he then asks "See [animal]?" for every single one. This goes on for about 15 minutes, and I swear we covered about 50 different animals!
10. (June) - We are at the zoo looking out over the African savanna, and I'm pointing out the zebras and the giraffe, knowing that Logan recognizes these animals from his bedroom. I ask, "What else do you see?" and he points and says, "BUFFALO!" I think my mouth dropped open in disbelief. I had no idea he knew this word, though I found out later that he and his Papa see them frequently while watching Animal Planet.
11. (June) - Logan is getting ready for a bath. We are in the bathroom, and I take his diaper off and run to his room quickly to throw it in the diaper pail. When I come back, Logan is standing, facing the toilet holding his "boy parts" and trying to climb up the side of the toilet. I ask him what he's doing, and he says "Pee potty!" Impressive - I guess we'll start potty training earlier than I had planned.
12. (June) - I'm sweeping the kitchen. Logan looks at me and says, "Good job!"
13. (June) - Todd and Logan are wrestling on the floor. Logan loves it and is giggling hysterically. Todd puts him in some kind of hold on the floor, and Logan yells, "Tap out!"
14. (June) - Logan is coughing, which he finds funny for some reason. He continues to "fake" cough after he's done "real" coughing, then looks at me, smiles, and says "Faking!" Such a vocabulary!
15. (June) - Logan and I are eating lunch. He asks to "Touch Mama," which I let him do, then I ask to "Touch Logan," which I do too. This goes back and forth a few times, and then Logan looks at me and says, "Hold hands," so we hold hands for a few minutes while we eat. Precious! This kid will make a great husband someday.
16. (June) - I have a few phrases that Logan has started using pretty frequently this month. The first is when he wants to be held. Instead of saying, "hold me," Logan asks by saying, "hold you." It's so cute! The other I hear every once in a while when he wakes up in the morning or after a nap. Logan will sit up in his crib and ask, "Mama coming?"
2. (May) - We are at my sister's church. This is only Logan's second time ever going to church. (I know, we need to go more!) We start singing, and Logan puts his fingers in his ears!
3. (May) - We're at the mall, and Logan points to an older man standing near us. He says, "Guy!" Todd tells him, "OLD guy," so Logan yells "OLD GUY" and points at the man. Such manners!
4. (May) - We got home late from the mall, and it wasn't bath night, so when I was putting Logan into his pajamas, I gave him a "white trash" bath using a baby wipe. Logan repeats the phrase "white trash" about a million times for the rest of the night. Todd has it on video!
5. (June) - Logan starts walking from the family room to the kitchen, telling me that he is going to "drink coffee."
6. (June) - Sophie lays down on the floor next to where Logan and I are playing. He offers her his "love love."
7. (June) - Logan is climbing on the chair in our family room while I'm making dinner in the kitchen. I see his little head poke up over the back of the chair, he looks at me and says, "Careful!"
8. (June) - Logan is in the family room and I am in the kitchen. I'm washing dishes, and I hear Logan sneeze twice. I'm only half paying attention, so when I don't say anything, he says, "Bless you!"
9. (June) - Todd and I are laying in bed, telling Logan about the zoo because I had planned our first trip of the summer for this particular day. Todd is naming all of the various animals that Logan could possible see at the zoo. For each animal, Logan asks "Touch?" and Todd says "Touch what?" Then Logan attempts to repeat the name of each animal, saying "Touch [animal]?" When we tell him no for each animal, he then asks "See [animal]?" for every single one. This goes on for about 15 minutes, and I swear we covered about 50 different animals!
10. (June) - We are at the zoo looking out over the African savanna, and I'm pointing out the zebras and the giraffe, knowing that Logan recognizes these animals from his bedroom. I ask, "What else do you see?" and he points and says, "BUFFALO!" I think my mouth dropped open in disbelief. I had no idea he knew this word, though I found out later that he and his Papa see them frequently while watching Animal Planet.
11. (June) - Logan is getting ready for a bath. We are in the bathroom, and I take his diaper off and run to his room quickly to throw it in the diaper pail. When I come back, Logan is standing, facing the toilet holding his "boy parts" and trying to climb up the side of the toilet. I ask him what he's doing, and he says "Pee potty!" Impressive - I guess we'll start potty training earlier than I had planned.
12. (June) - I'm sweeping the kitchen. Logan looks at me and says, "Good job!"
13. (June) - Todd and Logan are wrestling on the floor. Logan loves it and is giggling hysterically. Todd puts him in some kind of hold on the floor, and Logan yells, "Tap out!"
14. (June) - Logan is coughing, which he finds funny for some reason. He continues to "fake" cough after he's done "real" coughing, then looks at me, smiles, and says "Faking!" Such a vocabulary!
15. (June) - Logan and I are eating lunch. He asks to "Touch Mama," which I let him do, then I ask to "Touch Logan," which I do too. This goes back and forth a few times, and then Logan looks at me and says, "Hold hands," so we hold hands for a few minutes while we eat. Precious! This kid will make a great husband someday.
16. (June) - I have a few phrases that Logan has started using pretty frequently this month. The first is when he wants to be held. Instead of saying, "hold me," Logan asks by saying, "hold you." It's so cute! The other I hear every once in a while when he wakes up in the morning or after a nap. Logan will sit up in his crib and ask, "Mama coming?"