Almost back to the norm

Logan was convinced for most of this past week that Santa would be coming again. He is still being taken care of by his lovely Nana while school is on break. To him, this meant that Christmas would continue.

In an attempt to get life back to normal, Logan and my mom spent yesterday taking down the Christmas decorations. As I got home from work last night, Logan announced "It's almost Easter." He is delighted that the Easter bunny will be bringing him treats soon...

Life Lesson 386: the Dog has died

Keri, our family dog, died the weekend before Christmas. We were all getting together as a family in Bellingham on Saturday and Logan and I were driving there when my dad called to inform me that Keri had died. Keri had been with our family for 15 years and died in her sleep although she had not been ill or showing her age. Her death was a big shock.

Logan usually searches for "Keri girl" upon arrival to Bellingham and he wanted to give me the opportunity to tell Logan Keri would not be there.

As we drove up Logan and I discussed that Keri was gone. I told him that Keri was in Heaven now. Logan was quiet for a long time in the back of the car and then said "Maybe Jesus will give Nana Keri back for Christmas"

I explained that Jesus would not be bringing Keri back for Christmas and fortunately Logan did not ask his usual 30 "why"s.

The loss of Keri was huge for my family, particular my mom. Logan was very sensitive about how sad my mom was because Keri died.

A few times throughout the week Logan asked where she was or thought he heard her and was delighted. Those moments when he thought she was back broke my heart. He seems now to be accepting that she will not be returning.

This morning, during a game of hungry hungry hippo, Logan stopped and said to me "Is Keri with the new Jesus in Heaven?" The "new" Jesus? I asked. Logan said "Yeah, the new Jesus that was just born." Ahhh, that one... Perhaps I will save the existential explanation for a different year.

Nap time

Logan is supposed to be napping. However, for the last half hour he has been coming up with creative exits from his bedroom as he marches down the hall. I am failing at not laughing and have started to bite my cheeks to stop.

1 - he marched down the hallway with big high knees

2 - he walked down the hall saying "chuga-chuga-chuga-chuga-choo-choo" while rolling his arms like a train

3 - he came out wearing a ski hat and a giant grin

4 - he came out running full speed

5 - he came out being a shark (wide open mouth and growling, as sharks are prone to do)

He always saves his very best smiles for this time too so it is almost impossible not to grin back at him. Trouble, Trouble, Trouble!

There's a big possibility I will be ringing the door bell when we get home

Last night in the car on the way home from dinner Logan declared "There is a big possibility I will be ringing the doorbell when we get home."

I said "Definitely or Possibly"

Logan "A huge possibility"

So much insight from the backseat

So many uses for one thing

Recently my physical therapist sent me home with a long piece of tubing for doing rehab exercises.

Logan promptly discovered said tubing and used it as pictured above.

Who knew it was actually a seatbelt for the airplane (aka my bed)?

Swim Diaper

This morning, Logan kept getting up repeatedly after 5 a.m. despite my repeated attempts to get him to go back to bed.

Shortly after trip three back to his room, I heard him head down the hall into the bathroom, the definitive sound of a diaper being removed, and a lot of slamming. However, I thought it was good for his sense of independence to let him be until he sought me out again.

A few minutes later Logan came back into my room (which was pitch dark). As is customary for us, I leaned over the edge of the bed to pick him up. Instead of a fleecy pajama clad baby, I hit baby skin...

As I picked him up he said "I think I lost my pajamas. My diaper was dirty. I used the potty. I am wearing a swim diaper, okay?" all in one continuous breath.

Apparently, after the journey to the bathroom, he could only locate swim diapers and he clothed himself as best as possible. I guess it is time to put pull-ups somewhere he can reach.

How will it get out?

Logan's preschool posted a picture of a very happy - and very alive - Turkey on the wall at school.

So, when Logan talked to grandma and she suggested we were going to EAT turkey for Thanksgiving, Logan promptly responded with "We DON'T eat the turkey!!"

Although we talked about it a bit, we then went and ordered our Thanksgiving turkey from Whole Foods. Logan was so excited and talked about our turkey quite a lot.

When we went to pick up our turkey, the employee brought it out in a box. Logan looked at it and said "How will it get out?"

I explained we intended to cook this turkey - Confirming once and for all we were not actually bringing home a pet.

The eye's of the lady next to us nearly popped out of her head.

And a few more...

Halloween Extravaganza

Last year at Halloween I remember writing that Logan's social life was better than mine. Once again he has attended at least four Halloween parties... I am sensing this is going to be a life long pattern. :)

Here he is with friends at a few of the parties so far.

Best sayings of the week

"We are going to a new church because our old one is moldy."

Logan: "Mommy?"
Me: "yes logan?"
Logan: "love you forever"

And it just doesn't get better than that...

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

Tonight as I put Logan to sleep I sang all the usual songs a million times... Baa Baa Black Sheep, Row, Row, Row your boat, etc.

As I put Logan down in his crib, I decided to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. And, he SANG too. It was by far the cutest thing he has done thus far. I have never heard him actually sing an entire song. It turns out he knows all the words to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

My favorite night as a parent yet. :)

Sit down... watch me... relax

Tonight I was giving Logan a bath and it was almost time to come out. As we were negotiating the bath exiting time frame (I said 1 more minute, he said 3), Logan asked if he could brush his teeth in the tub. I happily handed him his toothbrush.

To this he replied - "sit down mommy, watch me, just relax"

Catching up

I do not have a camera right now so I am woefully short on photos. And, I have a tendency to get so wrapped up in playing and interacting with Logan that I forget to take photos even when I have a camera. However, I have good stories...

About a week ago, I had a terrible day at work and came home really late - just in time to read Logan stories and put him to bed. As we were singing our goodnight songs, he threw his arms around my neck and said "I love you so much." Amazing how one little gesture makes everything better.

Logan thinks that peek-a-boo is actually "peek-a-doo" so he runs around, puts his hands over his eyes, and then gleefully shouts "PEEK-A-DOO" to everyone and everything. He particularly loves to do this with Ollie.

While Keri, my parents dog, was staying with us, he chased he around trying to tickle her and make her laugh.

Mike brought Logan home a promo mini-frisbee from Austin which Logan promptly decided to bathe with and has dubbed "my friserbee."

Favorites from our Canadian Trip

1. Hi Baba, Hi Guido - Logan to his great-grandparents by the end of the weekend.

2. Logan found a baby doll at Grandma Lou's house. He proceeded to wrap her up in a blanket and then take care of her. He feed her a "water bottle and a snack." But, the best was when he rocked her back and forth saying "shhhhhh" and "I know" in this sweet and sympathetic voice. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

3. Logan hitting too many hours without sleep and starting to do gymnastics tricks all over the place - somersaults, flips, etc. All with the help of Auntie Keely.

4. Putting Logan to bed in his big boy blow up bed and he sang me a song to help me sleep. "I love Mommy, I love Grandma, I love Grandpa. Good night"

5. At Grandma Lou's, Logan also discovered a doctor's kit in her box of goodies for the great-grandkids. He promptly began giving everyone shots and when his beeper went off (after Auntie Keely told him once it was the hospital paging him) he would announce it was the hospital and run.

6. In his element at the end of the trip, Logan had us roll down the window so he could yell "bye-bye guys" and blow kisses out the window at Auntie Keely, Baba, and Guido.

Overall we had a terrific time in Canada and Logan loved spending time with all our Canadian family.

Genetically destined to love...

Clearly this boy has been raised in the city that created Starbucks...

1) He asks all the time - "Do you need coffee? Let's go to Starbucks"

and

2) See photo

Three Summers Worth of Sunglasses

Logan + Noah = best buddies

Noelle and Maureen came down to visit and brought Noah who is 2 just like Logan. The two boys hit it off and had a great time together. They visited the beach and discovered small sand crabs (they still pinch though). They also went to the park a million times, to another beach, and played in the baby pool on the back deck.

Photos of the weekend's fun:

My favorite thing this weekend

Logan and I were sitting in the rocking chair reading books before nap. He pulled out his favorite book of the moment "Curious George and the Rocket," opened it to the page where the rocket blasts off, and yelled "three, four, five, sixen, ROCKETSHIP!"

Things Said Recently at Our House

Tonight:
"I'm going to use the tines and stab it" (Logan referring to his fork and the poor mac and cheese)

"I'm turning the monster spray back to water and then I'll drink it" (Logan)

"We can't brush teeth tonight because you accidentally peed on your toothbrush" (Jillian - did I really say that?)

Other recent favorites:
"I'm not a grow-me-up" (Logan)

"Holy Cow" about just about everything

"Oh man" - after he spilled aforementioned mac and cheese all over the floor

"Let's close the door. The breeze is cold" (Logan)

"Let's go to the water beach and bring a pail, and a shovel, and a rake, and a bucket, and a rake, and the blue shovel, and the black shovel, and the green shovel. Okay?"

Guess what?

Logan's new favorite question.  Which I respond to by saying "What?" and tonight he said "I love you mummy."  

Pretty sure he could do any bad thing he wanted to after that.  :) 

Rocks and bark chips

Somehow we have become the proud owners of most of the playground rocks and bark chips in the neighborhood.  Every time we go to a local park (almost daily because of the lovely weather) or Logan plays outside at school (daily), he comes home with pockets full of bark chips or rocks which he proudly displays on the living room coffee table.  

These have been added to our collections of lizards, frogs, and fish which line the bathtub edges. Two months ago I started giving Logan small plastic animals as a reward for sleeping through the night.  We now have about two million of them floating around the house but most of them are in the bathtub.  I collect them nightly and each morning Logan throws them back in.  So funny. 

Mother's Day

So belated but here goes...  

On Mother's day Logan, my parents, and I took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island.  We had so much fun - despite getting kicked off the ferry.  Who knew you had to disembark even if you were just riding round trip? :)

Before we left, I helped Logan get his backpack on and he started strutting around the house with his hands in his pockets.  He looked so sweet so I had to take photos.  

Walking with hands in pockets is still one of his favorite things.

Parks, Picnics, and First Ice Cream Cones

Lately it has been gorgeous in Seattle - ranging from warm to the truly hot.  (Rumor has it Seattle was warmer than Las Vegas one day last week).  Logan and I have been having picnics in the backyard almost every evening lately.  By the time Fall rolls around I do not think that Logan will ever agree to eat indoors again.

We were having a "grumpy" evening at our house the other day so I took Logan to the local park at the elementary school down the block.  It has since become our favorite location.  

On the ride home, I asked Logan if he wanted to try something special and took him to dairy queen for a kiddie cone.  He was so delighted he just stared at it for a full two minutes until it started to melt down his hands.  Attached is a photo.  I wasn't able to capture the pure moment of astonishment that froze on his face for that time but this smile is pretty great too. 

Too many birthdays

Since the first week of April we have had a birthday party either for Logan or to attend for friends and family every weekend.  (In the last thirty days we have had two parties for Logan, one for all PEPS babies, one for Abby and Alexa, one for Nana/Maman, and one for Grandpa Lorne)

This Saturday I walked into Logan's room when he woke up and said "Good Morning!  It's Saturday."

Logan replied "Oh, Yeah!  Cake!"

Ummm...  too many birthday parties!

Biting...

Toddler biting, hitting, pushing, and throwing tantrums are my least favorite things right now. Like lots of parents I know, I worry about Logan doing too much of any of these activities at school and getting kicked out. So far they assure me none of that is really happening...

However, Logan bit Mike hard enough to leave a red mark the other day prompting the following conversation.

Me: Logan we cannot bite people

Logan: Why?

Me: Because it hurts.

Logan: Why?

Me (hoping he likes this explanation better): because it feels like when you just hurt your toe (referring to recent tow stubbing incident)

Logan: Hmmm...

Me: Do you bite kids at school?

Logan: Hans eats my strawberries.

Me (thinking OMG he bit Hans!): We can't bite people even if they take our strawberries.

Logan: Oh! Okay! (and runs off to play)

Work Treats

Necessary backround information: 1) Logan calls his backpack for school a "pack," 2) I frequently bring large bins of files home from work. I leave it by the front door in the morning so I can grab it on the way out.

The other morning as I got ready for work, Logan was eating a banana and drinking milk. We were checking in with each other periodically and over the course of about 15 minutes, everything with Logan and the banana seemed to be going well. (small amount of parental bravery required to allow Logan to wander around with a whole, unpeeled banana)

About five minutes later, Logan comes back without either the banana or the milk. I asked him where his food and milk went. His reply "I packed it in mummy's pack."

Sharing lesson from my toddler completely worth getting banana all over a subpoena. :)

The best of this week

1. Let's just wear jamas. No mommy work. No school.

2. That's not chicken!! (Logan's response to chicken marinated in a new flavor)

3. Pig - get down from Baby Jeje (Logan's response to a pig in a picture trying to see baby Jesus in the manger.

Choice words from the little one

"lellow" (pointing to the dinosaurs in the new dino book)

"baby jeje" (pointing to a picture of baby Jesus on the mantel on a Christmas card which clearly I need to put away soon because it is mid-February)

"I pooped" followed by a hand gesture from his mouth to actually indicate that he threw up

"playdough" (because every 22 month old should know this word)

First Sleep Over

Last night Mark and Diane kindly agreed to watch Logan so Mike and I could go to the policemen's ball for my work. We brought Logan to their house where he could play with Charlotte.

The kids even took a bath together. Logan was not amused by Charlotte's splashing and immediately wanted to get out. So funny.

Mark and Diane gave Logan a stuffed bulldog wearing a british flag coat with a leash as a parting gift. Today, he dragged that poor puppy all over the house saying "walk, walk, walk."

When Mike said he wanted to take Logan's picture, Logan stopped, looked up at Mike, and said "CHEESE!"

It doesn't get much better than that!

Relrow and the other colors of the rainbow

While changing Logan's diaper the other day, he was playing with his color wheel (a series of colored disks attached together at the center that we got from pottery barn kids).  We have been working on colors so as I changed his diaper I was naming colors and he was repeating.  Blue - blue, red - red, yellow - relrow.  Ummmm...  I asked him again - what color is that?  RELROW!  He happily repeated.  And, so it is.

Cheese is for dogs

Right up there with "Jesus pees" - "cheese is for dogs" is Logan's latest declaration.  

Logan spent the day with Nana today and had a fantastic time.  He is talking in full sentences most of the time.  His language is increasingly more clear so now it isn't just me that understands most of what he is saying.  (So much more fun to have a conversation without having to translate the majority of it!)

I am tempted now to follow him around with a recorder to try and catch stellar statements like those above.