Oh Happy Day...

The week is over, we own our condo finally, and the sun is out. In honor of these momentous and wonderful events, the following list of Logan-isms are an additional pick-me up for me:

1. I have a spot right here (running his hand down his left side) where I can put the raspberries after dinner.

2. As long as you don't be super super bossy I will get you something for your birthday.

3. School is gonna love how I smell!!!

4. Can you tell me the nut critter story? (that would be nutcracker)

5. There was a dragon upsetting my belly so I woke up early to fight him off with my sword and saw. I won and he didn't even burn me with his fire!

6. When we get to heaven will you ask God if we can be in the same area?

7. This is de-freshing! That's another word for delicious.

8. When Ollie grows up will he be a Mastiff?

9. Charlotte's going to be my baby's mama. She'll be the boss of our baby.

And my favorite:

10. I like to stop talking a lot but then I forget and talk again (at 5:30 a.m.)

Logan fits in a cubby and other things he has learnt at school

The other day I came to pick Logan up and he wasn't quite ready to go home. So, he climbed into his cubby... Hopefully this isn't a premonition of the years he will spend inside lockers in the future.

Logan is just starting to draw identifiable objects and allow them to be seen. Up until now, although he would draw them, he would instantly scribble it out. His teachers lately have convinced him to leave the drawings as is so I finally have identifiable objects to exclaim over. For the record, in the weekend news from school on the left, Logan notes that "Nana is the boss." On the left, he notes that we drove to Nana's and grandpa's and it took "like 80 days." No flair for drama, that boy. None.

Whale Watching on the Victoria Clipper - Our mini-cation

After a great many
"cations" had happened so far this summer (Charlotte-cation and Nana-cation), it seemed time for our own mini-cation. So, I booked a day long whale watching tour to the San Juan Islands.

It started out great (albeit somehow freezing due to the delightful wind), with us happily residing on the top deck of the Clipper. Approximately three minutes into the trip, Logan and I were pretty much the only people left up there. We ventured down below and spent the next three hours with Logan asking "Where are the whales?!?!" and walking up and down between the three decks of the boat. The scenary was gorgeous and the sun was out so it was thoroughly enjoyable anyway. (See happy Logan above in the Strait of Juan De Fuca shortly after Deception Pass).

Upon finally arriving in Friday Harbor we went out on our whale watching tour which was conveniently re-titled "Whale Watching and Sea Life Excursion." Note to self - when sea life starts to get included and includes an island populated by sea gulls this is not the best option for your child who has been discussing the "J-Pod" for three hours. Another three hours later and all we had to show for it was an overtired boy who has seen one Minke Whale and a few harbor seals at such a distance he assured me they were "just rocks."

What is a minke whale you ask? (I am not making it up - I swear) Minke Whales are solitary whales (not so awesome) that are shy (even less awesome). Fortunately for us it was a juvenile whale so we saw it's tiny fin 4 times. Yay! Seriously though, Logan was a little heart broken by the lack of Orcas and insisted that we sit inside the boat for the last hour of the sealife tour. He only missed the island of sea gulls anyway...

Once in Friday Harbor it was hot hot hot. Finally a little bit of summer! We walked the little town, ate ice cream cones, and went to a great book store where I had enough sense to buy a Richard Scary book.

When it was finally time to board the Clipper back home trauma struck our family. Logan's beloved (tiny) stuffed crocodile (which he had not looked at in a year but suddenly fell in love with at five am today) fell overboard amidst some wild hand gesturing as we waited at the dock. Logan began to wail as if his arm had been broken to the point where he was gasping for air and there was nothing I could do. The crocodile had fallen 15 feet into the water below us and all we could do was watch it slowly sink as there were at least 100 people in front of us on the pier blocking the way to the single file ramp to the crocodile's watery grave. Grown men around me were trying to figure out ways to rescue it but it simply could not be done. A lot of consoling and a small stuffed orca whale toy later (and perhaps a slightly illicit game downloaded onto my iPhone) we embarked on our trip home. Somehow the trip home was the best part of the day.

Very Sweetly, as we walked off the boat in Seattle, Logan decided that one of the "sea life" creatures we saw today would probably really enjoy his stuffed crocodile to play with and declared that he did have fun today. Thank goodness because it was a long day and there were not enough whales! :)

First Sleepover

Charlotte came to spend the weekend with us so her parents could move into their new home and she could practice having a night away before her new baby brother is born.

Day one - a trip to the park for Logan's school picnic and BBQ

Time at University Village getting books, playing on the playground, and trying on silly diver costumes.

Then home for pizza making, watching Tangled,and bath time together (scandalous, I know!)

Day Two - A trip to the aquarium, adoption of two new sea otters (brown for Logan and pink for Charlotte), and a ride on the carousel at the pier.

Finally it was time to go home and play on the new playground and treehouse at Charlotte's new place before saying goodbye. Logan had a great time with Charlotte and can't wait for the next sleepover!

And June rolled by too...

Each month keeps rolling by so quickly these days. Getting into the new place, getting it set up, dealing with the drama of its continuous failure to close due to things outside my control, and suddenly it was July.

We had lots of fun in June though too. We took advantage of the sunshine, biked to the new park, and went to the aquarium with the beloved Charlotte who demonstrated her love of the whale.

May is for Moving

After a year in our little apartment in Eastlake, it was time to find somewhere more permanent to settle into. Lots and lots of hunting later, we found a terrific place. It is in the University District, has a huge patio, and a bathroom for each of us. Logan has declared that we are going to live here forever! It is pretty great that he is so happy here and for me it is like real estate heaven.

May also brought with it Logan's first experience horseback riding at his friend Charlotte's birthday party. He had so much fun riding the pony.

Birthday, Easter and Birthday

Logan is four and since his birthday it has been a whirlwind of activity in our lives.

Logan had a firefighter birthday party and the amazing firefighters on Mercer Island brought their truck to our party place for the kids to explore. It was pretty fantastic and the kids loved having the chance to climb in the truck.

After the group festivities, we went home and had a family party. Quynh-An Phan found a video tutorial for me to make a firetruck cake and here it is. Thanks Quynh-An for the tip!

Then after the birthday festivities it was Easter. And, after that, we were off to California as a family to celebrate the 60th Birthday of the Beloved Nana and the 61st Birthday of the Beloved Grandpa. Good sports that they are, we had a family friendly birthday celebration at Disneyland with the whole family. It was so great to all be together and Logan loved every minute of the trip.

After a few days at the happiest place on Earth we spent a day at the beach in Hermosa. My happy little beach baby dug in the sand, ate dinner at the Kettle, and hung out on the sand with Grandpa.

April was an amazing month for all of us and I am looking forward to our next family vacation extravaganza.

Dear Dreamcatcher

Tonight as I was saying goodnight to Logan he turned to the dream catcher hanging on his bed and said "Dear Dreamcatcher. My dream is to be allowed to watch t.v. every morning and every night. Please make my dream come true.... Oh yeah. Can you also help me sleep through the night? Thanks dreamcatcher!" Not exactly the right concept but worth a try!

Sweetness

The last few days I have been reminded that I have the sweetest child around. From coming to see me "just to pat your cheek mama" to telling me "I sure love you!," I could not be luckier.

Today at nap (the new loft bed is so much easier to cuddle Logan in than the toddler bed - and yes I did curl myself into a tiny ball to cuddle him in the toddler bed), he turned to me and patted my cheek. Pure kindness.

It is hard to remember sometimes amidst the bustle and chaos that is our regular life that the underlying kindness and gentleness of Logan is always there. He is decidedly three sometimes - aggressive, hyper, and challenging.

But, if the kindness and helpfulness I have recently begun to see more often is what four is going to be like, I am in for a lovely year.

Bull Riding with Grandpa

With Grandpa as the Bull. Couldn't be a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The best of this week

1. This week I decided there would be absolutely no t.v. watching in the evenings. Logan was not pleased with this but it actually resulted in a nice week where he told me about school and his ideas while we ate dinner. There was less whining about it towards the end of the week too which was great.

On Thursday night I had music playing while cooking and then during dinner. Halfway through dinner Logan turned to me and said "you hold me and let's dance while I eat my chicken." Who could say no to that?

2. Logan to me: "Careful sweetie pie. You better hold my hand and follow me. We are about to walk into a parking lot."

3. Wailing at the top of his lungs "I just need one more kiss or I won't be able to make it until morning without you!" - undoubtedly the neighbors love us at 8 p.m. (At least I am not assembling a bed with an electric drill at 1 a.m. like they did last week!)

And, as an extra added bonus, he slept until 6 a.m. every single day this week. That, in itself, my constitute heaven.

So, in the immortal words of Logan - "We are so so so lucky!"

Your mommy's in Napa and you need to take a Nap-a

Last weekend I went to San Francisco and Napa for the weekend while Logan stayed with my parents. We both had a great time during our respective vacations.

When I came home Logan had many "treasures" he had picked up at Nana's house. (Apparently he went around her home with a grocery bag selecting items to bring home including but not limited to an airplane first class package with socks, "sleep goggles" (see photo for demonstration by Logan), miscellaneous tiny books, some unidentifiable plastic objects, and other assorted goodies).

He also came home with some great stories. First, he went to church wearing goggles. Goggles from his pretend tool kit. My parents are brave people. Second, and sweetest, when he woke up on the morning he was coming home he did a happy dance and sang a song to celebrate that he was coming home to me. Once home, he demostrated a bit of the dance and song for me.

And, bonus points to my mom for working "Your mommy's in Napa and you need to take a Nap-a" into her weekend dialogue with Logan. It doesn't get much better than that!

Penguins, Preschool and a Penchant for Words

The teacher from Logan's school shared this with me the other day:

At circle time, the teachers were asking the children "what do penguins do?"

The children before Logan in the circle answered "They waddle," "they eat fish and like to swim," "they're for watching."

Then it was Logan's turn:

"Toy penguins are not real. Real penguins are not the same. American penguins are not the same as other penguins, so they don't match. The South American ones are my favorite because they are so enormous, but dinosaur footprints are more enormous. But, you don't know them (dinosaurs) because they died. Fish is what penguins eat. Penguins eat fish, fish, fish, and shrimp, shrimp, shrimp. Penguins will do anything they want to do. They have their own life. The last thing penguins do is they dress up in pretend clothes and be firefighters. Isn't that silly? Penguins dressing up to be firefighters!"

Then the other children finished with "they bite," "they don't fly," and "they dive."

Needless to say I am raising a talker with a BIG imagination and lots of ideas.

I kind of love that.

For the die hard Logan Fans...

Here is Logan opening up his first Christmas gift of the year. It is pretty cute near the end.

The Santa Happy Dance

I only caught the tail end of the "Santa Happy Dance" Logan did when he opened his firetruck on Christmas morning, it was still pretty cute. (A million thanks to Quynh-An and Ed for the Flip enabling video capture of Christmas Morning)

Hope everyone experienced this much joy when they opened their presents!

Happy New Year!

Please forgive my bad videography. I am still learning and Logan moves a lot. :)

The Best things overheard this holiday season...

"Mommy I made you a dance party sign. It says "DANCE PARTY!' So, you better dance, okay?"

"Dinosaurs lived in a special place with lots of cake and cheese but they died before the humans lived."

"Good night Sweetie Pie. I might have to ask you for some more lipstick (chapstick)" [From Logan to me]

"My Friend God is really busy so He can only make one really special beautiful place per day"

"It's a good thing I have my firetruck because I have to rescue lots of animals from that mean fox"