Summer Fun!

I CAN NOT believe it is July already!  (I also can't believe I haven't blogged since April.... Sorry about that....)  Logan's June schedule kept me very busy!  Between open gym at the local gymnastics studios, library time, Parents As Teachers playgroup, and trips to the pool, Logan and I are worn out! (Nap insurance!) We have also spent a great deal of time working on the lawn and garden, playing in the little pool, taking walks in the stroller and rides in the wagon, watching Elmo and Barney, and dancing in the living room.  Believe me, there is rarely a dull moment when Logan is around! Here are some pictures and video of our summer so far. (Most of these pictures and videos are from my cell phone so I apologize for the quality.)

Filling up the pool......

Logan wants to put everything in the pool. His truck, balls, plant stands, etc......

Riding into the sprinkler......

(He quickly abandons the truck and runs away laughing once the water hits him!)

Filthy dirty after "helping" me plant new peonies.....

Taking a wagon ride with a grumpy little guy one evening.....

(We have to take a ride up to mailbox every day!)

Dancing to Stevie Wonder on Oprah's Finale.....

(He has to dance to this quite frequently!)

These Better Help!

Last May was the beginning of the end for us. At 9 months, Logan got his first ear infection. Since last May, we have had one month, November, ear infection free. He has had 2 rounds of Amoxicillin, 2 doses of Omnicef before a head to toe rash quickly told us he was allergic, and 7 rounds of Augmentin. Honestly, Logan lived in his swing for months because the poor guy couldn't lay down!  At his 18 month appointment, we finally asked his doctor for an ENT refferal. She, of course, thought it was a good idea and sent them an email right there. Logan went to the ENT office that week and with one look in each ear, the doctor suggested ear tubes (which we kind of figured he would). We set up an appointed to have them inserted 2 weeks from the appointment, Logan failed both hearing tests, received some financial information (or course), and we left.

Fast forward 2 weeks...Logan had to be at the Surgical Center by 7:15 AM. By 8:10, we were called back into a little curtained room where we waited for a surgical room to open. While we were there, Logan got into his little hospital gown........

......unhappily watched Dora the Explorer while trying to change the channel to Elmo.....

.......and inspected every inch of the hospital bed.......

By 8:20, Logan's anesthesiologist and doctor came into our little curtained room, answered our last minute questions, and took him away. The "who are these guys and where are they taking me" look was heartbreaking! Brian and I then went back out to the waiting room and by 8:35 a nurse came out and called us back to a conference room. Logan's doctor came in a few minutes later, chatted with us about the procedure, and handed us some ear drops. Brian and I had to wait just a few more minutes and then another nurse came and took us to Logan's recovery room. Oh boy, oh boy......  What a nightmare! I hope to never see my child like that again!  He was NOT HAPPY! Oh boy, oh boy..... 

When I first went in there, he was screaming bloody murder and fighting 2 nurses who were trying to calm him down. When I got in there and sat down with him, he calmed down. 

Until he saw "Dad-da".... and then this happened....

......until I gave him to "Dad-da" and then they spent the next 10-15 like this.....

......of course Brian didn't complain a bit!!

After about 35 minutes, Tylenol, peach yogurt bites, water, and a little Jungle Junction, we were good to head home!

It took him a little while that day to get back to his running/climbing self, but so far everything has been fine! He spent a lot of time in the back yard this weekend....

....and ate us out of house and home! Here he is scarfing down pancakes in his Elmo jammies....

We have high hopes for these ear tubes!  It may be a coincidence, but since Wednesday, Logan has gone from saying "na-na" to "na-na-na" (banana). I don't know, but I am guessing it is because he can actually hear the first syllable!!  I can't wait to see how the rest of his speech develops after this!

A New Favorite

A friend recently introduced me to my new favorite meal--Bierocks! I loved them so much I've made them twice in the past two weeks!  The great part about these bierocks is they are super simple (blame Sandra Lee...)!  They are so wonderful I had to share! 

I browned 1 pound of beef with a small onion, pepper, and garlic salt in the skillet. In the sauce pan, I melted a half stick of butter and wilted 3 cups of fresh shredded cabbage on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. (The recipe called for 2 cups, but I like a little extra.) After both were done, I mixed them together.

The first time I made these bierocks I used a loaf of Rhodes bread, but this time I decided to use individual Rhodes dinner rolls and it worked ssoo much better!  I had to roll each one out individually of course, but I didn't mind. I had my handy dandy Pampered Chef roller!

After I rolled out the dinner roll, I put 2-3 T. of the meat and cabbage mixture in the dough. My friend added a little Velveeta to each bierock and it tasted delicious so I did the same. (Can you really go wrong with Velveeta?) Then, I pulled each edge to the middle and placed it on a greased cookie sheet.

I only set out 16 rolls to rise, but had enough mixture left for 2 more bierocks. (Don't they look nice all lined up on the pan?)  I baked them at 350 for 15 minutes, took them out and buttered the tops, and then baked them for 5 more minutes.

They turned out as perfect as I knew they would! I wish I had the better camera out so you could see just how perfect they looked inside!  You will just have to try them out for yourself! 

Because I know that all posts are better with pictures of Logan, here is a picture of him playing in snow for the first time a couple of weeks ago. He refused to take his pacifier out, but he enjoyed himself. (You'll notice the broom in the background...Katy wouldn't go outside unless I swept her a path...)

Here is a quick video of Logan making his elephant sound. You have to listen closely or you might miss it! He doesn't "perform" very often so I am glad I caught it!

Good Morning, Katy!

All right, all right....   I know, I know....

There are mornings where Katy is the first one out the bedroom door to get Logan out of bed. There are other mornings when Logan attacks wakes up Katy. Sometimes he will try and play peek-a-boo with her and gently lift up her blanket and other times he will just plop right on top of her. Sometimes Katy will leave her bed for a minute and Logan will lay down in her spot.   Logan will just lay there and wait for her to return knowing she will want it back. Logan thinks he is pretty funny!  Katy is actually pretty tolerant of Logan in the mornings and will play along.  It is funny to watch their interactions in the morning. Here are a few pictures where Logan is waking up Katy.......

 Logan was nice to Katy this morning.  He layed down and then pulled the blanket off of her.....

Can you feel the love??

How about now??

Poor Katy.......

Pathetic

I am pathetic. August 31st?  In my defense, the beginning of school has been hectic and completely exhausting. Trying to balance school and home with a lil' man on-the-go has been easy and difficult at the same time. It is surprising how easily I blow off school work/planning to hang with the family. But, that has left my school work/planning piling up. Literally. I, like most teachers I'm sure, have also been battling a pesky cold and sinus infection. I finally feel a little better and like my head is a LITTLE above water at work. A day at school without kids sure helped!  Enough about that.

I have had issues getting my computer(s) to open my pictures of Logan's birthday so when I get that figured out I will get those up (a month late). My mom let me download her's so I can always use those. That would take WAY TOO long to upload to Blogger tonight though. (Has anyone else had this problem?)  However, I did want to share a quick video clip I took tonight of Logan!

Walgreens had a Mickey Mouse pumpkin that Logan couldn't resist...  :) Ok, ok... I couldn't resist for Logan!  He loves it!  Brian had put it out before Logan and arrived home tonight and Logan noticed right away. He started running up to it, yanked out it pacifier, and was pointing and yelling!  It was almost as if he was mad that Brian had put it up without him. It was quite hilarious!  Tonight he was watching it through the front door window so we took him out real quick to see it lit up. It isn't the best video, but we think it's cute. You be the judge. (You can even hear him singing what he can of Mickey Mouse's "Hot Dog" song.)

Logan is really starting to babble to everyone and anyone who will listen. Today he said something to me and then hung his had back and laughed. Whatever he said must of been pretty funny!  Also, while we were outside our neighbor walked by. Of course, Logan started yelling and talking to her. She started kidding around with him and said something like, "I don't speak Russian!" and he just started laughing. It really was too funny!

New Logan Videos

I HAVE A ONE YEAR OLD!  I can't hardly believe it!  Logan turned one last Friday and we celebrated at Clay Center's zoo park, but before I share those pictures I need to post a few of the videos I promised you 2 weeks ago!  Some of the videos are longer than others, and some of them are long. You can't say I didn't warn you!  (The weird thing is I look at these videos from just a couple weeks ago and think, "Wow, he has changed so much!")

The first video is very, very short, but by the time I had the video camera ready, he was finished. The video is of Logan brushing his hair.  It is funny because if we say, "let's go brush your hair" he knows we are going to brush it with the blue brush. He will grab it and "brush" it himself. (Of course he can't actually brush it quite yet.)


The second video is of Logan dancing. He is definitely and music man. He loves anything that plays music!  In this video, Brian caught him dancing to the Backyardigans (I think that is what they're called...).


Brian and I recently purchased a couple new toys off Craigslist for Logan's birthday; however, we didn't quite make it to and ended up giving them to him that night.... ha ha!  The third video is of his new $10 truck. He is much better at maneuvering it now!! (P.S. Our has is a disaster in this video...Ignore!)


The last video is of Logan playing "catch" with Katy. He has become pretty good at throwing Katy's toy! The chair is one of the Craigslist toys as well. We purchased this Fisher Price Learning Chair in perfect condition for $12!  (It retails for around $120!!  What a steal!)  He LOVES this chair! 

Logan's Favorite Things

I was fortunate enough to spend the entire summer with my #1 little guy. It was a wonderful summer and I wouldn't trade it for anything!  Logan turned from a baby to a little boy and is beginning to really form his own personality. It is quite hilarious to say the least! 

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks and I have so many things to share with you! I didn't know where to begin so I decided to share some of Logan's favorite things (right now).......

Logan LOVES the pool (and the bathtub)!  He will kick, squeal, and even constantly trying to put his face in the water (first picture). We will sit him on the edge of the pool and he will kick himself in (like the big kids do beside him) smiling and laughing the whole time.

Logan enjoys crawling up, over, across, down ANYTHING!

Logan spends a considerable amount of time at the patio door. When Katy (the god) goes outside, Logan goes to the door.

Brian started this "game" with Logan....  When I am in the shower, he thinks it is funny to let Logan "surprise" me by opening the shower curtain. I will admit it is VERY cute, but he now thinks the bathroom/shower is one of the best places in the house to be.

Logan likes to get into the kitchen drawers so we decided to give him his own drawer filled with toys and  books. He has had this drawer for several months and still loves it. He will sit at the drawer and play with the contents for quite a while.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a life saver. We have episodes on the DVR and let me tell you, we use them. If I need to take a shower--Mickey Mouse. If I any kind of distraction--Mickey Mouse. We have noticed that when Mickey says, "Everybody say 'Oh, Toodles!'" Logan says, "Ahhh". It is hilarious! I didn't realize he was doing it. I don't remember if Brian or my mom recognized it, but I will try to get it on video for you all. Logan also has a new activity chair. Brian and I had orignially purchased it for a birthday present, but could resist giving it to him early. (He'll never know.....) (By the way, we bought this chair for $12 off Craiglist and it retails for around $130. Hello!!) 

He is getting sssooo big..... :( He is walking ALL over the place (with his arms in the air), standing up by himself, eating some table food, "talks" on the phone (or remote, shoe...he'll pretty much pretend anything is a phone, brush his hair (or try anyway), throws and kicks balls, and still thinks Katy is the best thing ever.

I will try to add videos in the next post. I would have added them to this post, but they are taking to long to upload to YouTube. After a days worth or meetings and evening of Open House, my pillow is calling my name!  I will try to get the videos up this weekend.