Family, Family, Family!!

Tonight we managed to spend time with both sides of the family. Mike picked up our 2 nephews and they came over to my parent's house for awhile. He had planned on the 3 of them going to a movie. I was planning on just staying here since I knew Shelia, Al, Jody, & Laura (aunt, aunt's boyfriend, uncle, and aunt) were going to be coming over for dinner and cards. This afternoon though Gavin (nephew) kept asking if I was going to go to the movie - I said no, but he kept asking - so I caved. Dad & Taylor volunteered to babysit Logan for us. So me, Mike, Gavin, & Austin (other nephew) went to Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire. I was a little worried that it would scare Austin since he's only 5 - but he said it wasn't too bad. He just didn't like the bad guys!! hahaha We then met Mike's mom & brother Chris for dinner at Applebee's, from there we went to Best Buy to see if Mike would be able to convince his mom to buy us a camcorder. It didn't work - she wasn't "sold" on the $700 one he found, so I guess he's going to try again tomorrow - hopefully the outcome will be in our favor!
After finishing up at Best Buy we had to stop and pick up some Nyquil for myself. Of course it's the perfect time to start getting sick, I mean we only have a 1500 mile drive to look forward to!! Oh, and the passes have been closed because of the snow/rain they are receiving - so Mike will probably end up driving most of the way. After that we came back to Mom & Dad's where the cards were already beginning. We didn't do too bad tonight (granted, not as good as Mike made out on Christmas), we made about $2.50 more than what we started with!! And hey, you can't find much that gives you 3 hours worth of entertainment for only $2.50!!

Christmas is Over

We all got so many nice things for Christmas - too many to list. I'll give you the Cliff Notes version, hahaha. Mike got a Poker chips/table from my mom & dad - he already won $40 from my aunt's boyfriend. He also got some new SouthPark slippers, some new Dean Koontz books, and lots of money. I got a nice big clock to put in our living room, chenille socks, Bath & Body Works shower gel, a hair straightener, money, some yummy smelling Pier 1 candles, a windchime, and a beautiful diamond & peridote necklace (Logan's birthstone). Logan made out like a spoiled brat. He got so many clothes - too many to name, a tumbling Tigger, a LeapPad learning table, books, and some really cute stuffed animals. I'm getting worried about how it's going to fit in the truck for the way back. We might be paying a visit to the UPS store - hahaha.
I can't believe Logan's first Christmas is over - I'm so glad though that we were able to spend it with family. It was kind of disappointing that we didn't have a white Christmas - but it's making up for it now!! I think we've got over 4" of snow on the ground. I just hope it stops before we have to drive back to WA - I hate driving when the roads are crappy. We'll be watching the weather forecast to determine if we need to leave a day early or not.

Logan's First Christmas

Logan had such a great first Christmas! He received so many cute clothes and so many toys!! We are truly lucky to have such great families! It's going to be hard to go back to WA, especially since our son has been SPOILED by all of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins here! He had a fun time opening gifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He was able to rip the paper (pretty good for only being 4 1/2 months old) if we got it "started" for him. He also did very well considering both days were very long for him and his schedule is a little out of whack now. Oh well, we got so many cute pictures of him on his First Christmas. He even slept through the annual present game, and 6,5,4 dice game.
His baptism also went very well. Logan along with another little boy were both baptized on Christmas Eve right before the church service. Neither of them cried and they both looked so cute in their little christening outfits!
Sorry I'm not writing anymore but last night we didn't get to bed until after 1:30 and this morning Mom & I had to go and see if we could find any great deals! I don't think we found any great ones but we definitely didn't come home empty handed!!

Merry Christmas!

Today was such a fun day!! My brother didn't have school and my mom didn't have to work. My dad did though, but he has all next week off - Yay!! Logan slept horribly last night but thank goodness it looks like he might be back on schedule for now. He took a 2 1/2 hour nap this morning. When he awoke from the nap me, my mom, and Mike took him to go and see Santa. I'm not sure if he really notice that he was sitting on Santa's lap - he was too preoccupied with his feet! We did get a really good picture of him & Santa - I'll try and get it posted once we get back to WA. After seeing Santa, Mike took him to see Grandma Charlene for a little while. Tonight for dinner my Grandma & Grandpa came down - it's so nice to see them and I'm glad that they are now living in Bismarck. It makes it so much easier since my Grandma has dialysis 3 times a week. My mom made her famous lasagna - it is the best ever!! It has the simplest ingredients in it but yet when I try to make it it never tastes quite right. After dinner we played some cards. Mike & I only lost $2 which is not too bad.
It's been so nice getting to spend so much time around family - it makes me really appreciate them, but in another sense it's going to be hard leaving in a little over a week to go back home. I just wish we lived like 800 miles closer!! Oh well, you go where the jobs are - maybe someday we'll get to move back to ND - it would be nice for Logan. And of course for us too but I hope he's able to have a good relationship with all of his family. I don't want him to grow up and when we come back to visit he doesn't know anyone or worse yet screams when they try to hold him.
On a lighter note, I hope all you have a wonderful Christmas with your families and make some great memories with the ones you love. I know I will, tomorrow we will be heading up to Center where Logan will be baptized in the church that Mike & I were married in. How special is that, to have your baby baptized on Christmas Eve? And he will be baptized by one of the pastors that married us 5 1/2 years ago.

Baking, Baking, and more Baking

It is now Day 3 of the baking marathon. I'm not sure if there is an end in sight - have you ever started something thinking it will be a blast and when you're halfway done you want to just give up but you don't cuz then you wouldn't have all the stuff you wanted?? That's how I'm feeling right now. Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. I'm still having a fun time, I just forgot how long it takes to make caramels from scratch. I think the damn candy thermometer has been stuck at 200 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours and it needs to reach 240. But the end result is definitely worth it!! I somehow managed to overflow the pot the caramels are cooking in so it made a nice sticky, stinky mess on the stove and filled the entire house with a lovely burning smell. Here I thought I would get a head start and get the caramels out of the way before Taylor got home from school, but here I am still making them and Taylor is now home and napping on the couch. Oh, well.
Today Mike & I took Logan up to Taylor's high school so he could show off his little nephew. All the ladies at the h.s. office just loved him! (who wouldn't though when you get a nice toothless smile) When we were done there I dropped Mike & Logan off at where Miike's mom works so she could see him some more today. When I finished running my errands I came back to get Mike so we could go to lunch and Matthew was there. Matt is Mike's youngest brother who is on Christmas break from the military. We haven't seen him in two years so it was a nice little surprise. We went out to eat, then came back and got Logan from visiting Grandma Charlene, and went back to my mom & dad's so Logan could get his nap in. That about wraps up our day so far. I'm sure more baking adventures are to come. As I finish this up the candy thermometer now seems to be stuck at 225, only 15 degrees to go!! YAY!!!!!

Day 2 of Baking = Much Better

Every Christmas when we are able to get together with my family, my brother Taylor & I always bake. And it's not just "oh, let's bake some cookies tonight" we have a huge list (that we give our mom) of stuff we will need for the baking at least a week before we are set to begin so that she can get the kitchen stocked. This year we have a list of about 15 items we would like to make for the holidays. We've been making stuff for the past two nights and have about 6 goodies made so far. Tuesday night we made the dough for sandwich cookies (which I messed up and put in 2 tsp. of nutmeg instead of just 1), fudge (which Taylor messed up and didn't put in the pan soon enough so it got crumbly), and caramel shortbread squares (they turned out). Tonight we made peanut butter balls, dipped pretzels, and sandbakkles. All of these also turned out - hahaha. Tomorrow night I think we'll be baking chocolate chip cookies, caramel chocolate chip bars, and finishing up the sandwich cookies (baking and filling with frosting).
Needless to say with all the baking going on we are beginning to go to the mall to walk so we can enjoy the goodies! hahaha
On another note we went and saw Logan's Great Grandma & Great Grandpa today (my mom's mom & dad). He did so well up there, he even managed to take a nap while we had lunch and we were able to get in a game of Cribbage before he was up again.

Taking Over Grandpa & Grandma's

Aaaaahhhhhh, it's so nice and relaxing knowing that we don't have to drive a long ways for at least 2 weeks! We are getting all settled into my mom & dad's - it's starting to look like there's a baby here , my mom forgot how much stuff you need to take when you vacation with a baby. I guess that's why my brother & I are almost 10 years apart - hahaha.
Logan slept very well last night, I think the trip was catching up with him - he only woke up once in the middle of the night. He's currently taking his first nap of the day and he's been down now for over 2 hours. I'm happy that he's pretty much back on his regular schedule already. He sure is a great little guy!!

Today Was MUCH Better

We have officially arrived in Bismarck safe and sound. We left Billings around 10:30 and got to Bismarck at 4:30 - so we made pretty good time. Logan did really well today, I think we've found the solution. I drove, Pooh Bear sat up front with me, and Logan & Mike rode in the back. It worked pretty well since everytime that Logan started to fuss Mike was back there to help him. When we got here my dad was the only one home so he got a little bit of "Grandson" (or as he refers to him - "mini-me") time all to himself. My mom got home from work shortly after. They couldn't get over how big he's gotten - and they love the fact that now he's more responsive and smiles at them when they talk to him. Logan & I had flown back at the end of September and at that time he was only 7 weeks old.
After dinner we went to my brother's high school Christmas concert. Everyone sounded amazing, but Logan didn't agree - during one particular solo when the girl hit the high note he started screaming. Thank goodness my husband had a quick exit strategy!! I'm sure it was mainly because he was so overtired - I mean come on, he hasn't had a "real" nap in 2 days!! Sorry to cut this short tonight but I'm beat. Hope you all are having a great Monday!!

We made it to Billings in one piece and with SOME sanity left!

Why oh Why did we think it would be a good idea to drive half across the country with a 4 1/2 month old and a 100 lb. Yellow Lab? I think we're CRAZY!!
The trip has gone PRETTY well so far. Logan did really well until we hit Butte, MT. That was his breaking point, after that he did not want to get in the carseat again. Of course though we had to keep driving because I reserved a room for us in Billings - and if we were to cancel they would have charged us for it anyways. We arrived in Billings at around 9 pm - only 3 hours behind schedule according to hubby. We got into the room and as soon as I layed Logan down into the pack n' play he was out - I hope he sleeps through the night, he needs it since he didn't nap too well in the car.
We will be on the road again bright and early in the morning and HOPEFULLY in Bismarck by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Wish us luck!!

We Leave in the Morning...and I haven't even packed!! (but yet I find time to blog)

I'm such a proscrastinator - we will be on the road for the frozen tundra of ND in less than 18 hours and I don't have ANY of our clothes packed - OK I take that back, I do have Logan's packed. But I haven't even started on mine & Mike's laundry yet. I always tell myself that I'm not going to wait until the last minute and yet it always happens!! I do have the Christmas presents packed up and a nice big pile of stuff that we have to take back in the living room. Thank goodness Mike will be home from school early this afternoon. He has his finals today and his last one started at 10:30 this morning. I ran to the store this morning to get some snacks for the trip and finished doing all the rest of the errands before we go on the road. That's right everyone we are driving back to ND - it's about 18-20 hours worth of driving. We'll be stopping in Billings, MT to stay with my relatives and then Monday morning we'll head to Bismarck. So far the road/weather conditions are looking good - I hope it stays that way.

Sand Art Brownies

These are great!! I gave these to some friends and neighbors this Christmas. They're a good thing for last minute gifts too and they are so YUMMY!! Write the additional ingredients on a nice recipe card along with the directions to prepare the brownies.

Sand Art Brownies

1 cup + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup holiday M&M's
1/3 cup baking cocoa Additional Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar 3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. In a 1 quart glass container, layer the flour mixture, cocoa, sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and M&M's, packing well between each layer. This can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.

To prepare brownies: In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla. Add brownie mix and mix well. Pour into a greased 8x8" square baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 26-28 minutes or until center is set (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack.
ENJOY!!

Things I've Learned Being a Mom

Even though Logan is only 4 1/2 months old I have learned a few things already (in no particular order):
1. You HAVE to cover everything you lay your baby on with blankets - if you don't that will be the one time they will decide to spit up ALOT!
2. You MUST dress your baby in layers - it makes it much easier when they spit up - just undress one layer (it's much quicker this way)
3. I never knew I would love having this many one-sided conversations.
4. No matter what you say to a baby - if you are saying it by singing or having a big smile on your face they will love it!
5. Peek-A-Boo is the best game EVER!!
6. A baby will put anything in their mouth but the second you try to feed them with a spoon out comes that big ol' tongue!
7. Baby sneezes are so cute!
8. When running out for a "quick" errand you better make sure to grab a diaper, wipes, burp cloth, binky, bottle, and a toy.
9. There is nothing more precious than seeing a baby smile for the first time or laugh for the first time.
10. You can NEVER have enough kleenex, paper towels, burp rags laying around the house.
11. I never thought I would have whole discussions with my husband about Poop!
12. Even though I get spit up on, peed on, and sometimes even pooped on on a regular basis, this is still the best job - I wouldn't change it for a minute!
I'm sure there are many more things I will learn - I would love to hear what yours are!

3 Days and we're on Vacation!

I'm making my list and checking it twice. No, silly, it's not my Christmas list - it's my packing list!! In 3 days we will be on the road for North Dakota. I'm getting so excited! Ok, not about the weather, but I can't wait to see our families. It's been almost 3 months since Logan and I were back - and get this - almost 2 YEARS since Mike was back. I started packing tonight and OMG!! how can a 4 month old need that much stuff??
Our Explorer is going to be loaded down - so far we've got a tote full of Christmas presents for the family, Logan's suitcase, our suitcase, and Logan's essentials (diaper bag, boppy, play gym, etc., etc., etc.). We're still debating if we're going to haul food for Pooh Bear or if we'll just buy some once we get there.
I've checked the weather forecast and it looks like we SHOULD have good driving conditions, there's only a 10% chance of rain (praying hard). I hope everything goes well - it's our first time traveling (driving) with the little one so if anyone has any advice I'm all ears!!

Just a typical Day for a SAHM of a 4 month old!

Yesterday was Logan's 4 month check-up and you know what that means..........more shots!! Poor little guy - he had to get 4 of them - OUCH!! He was a trooper though, he cried of course but the instant I picked him up from the exam table he started to calm down. We got home around 7 and Mike gave him a bath and bottle and he slept through the night. That makes it 2 days in a row - YAY!!! The doctor said he looks great - he's right on track for his age. 15 lbs. 7 oz and 25 1/4" tall.
I was a little worried about today - I thought he would probably be cranky from the shots since I'm sure his little thighs are sore from it, but I'm happy to report he's been pretty good today so far. He slept until 9 and is currently taking his first nap of the day
When I first started blogging I thought maybe I would just talk about Logan for the most part - and so far I've done just that, but now I'm thinking I might start talking about other things. What do you think? Does anyone even read this? (As you can probably tell from the last question I need to know that I'm liked by other people - one of my many flaws I guess) So if anyone is reading this leave me a comment! hahaha
So you might be wondering about how the typical day started? Well once he was up and dressed we came downstairs and I made him a bottle - he hungrily chowed it down. After that I was sitting, holding Logan since he was a little cranky and I figure today I can spoil him a little since last night was so rough for him. Well he gave me a nice sized burp but nothing followed (thank goodness!!), but no less than about 5 minutes later and my shoulder is feeling really warm. Oh yeah, you guessed it - he spit up! So I got myself cleaned up and turned Logan around and at that moment he decided to spit up again - Where did it go you might ask? Right down the front of my shirt - GROSS! I guess these things are going to be happening to me all the time huh? Oh well, I still love being at home with him and just seeing him smile or making him laugh makes all of it worthwhile.

Not Spit Up - It was Throw-Up!

**DISCLAIMER - - DO NOT read this if you get nauseated easily!**
OMG!! I thought today was going to be great. I mean Logan had slept through the night for the first time in weeks - he went to bed last night around 8 and slept until about 9:20 this morning. I heard him stir a couple times last night but he never woke. I went up to his room this morning and we had our normal conversation:
ME - Good morning Little Man!
Logan- (Screaming!!)
ME - Ugh! Let's change that diaper - STINKY!!
Logan - (Softer scream)
ME - (Snapping my fingers), Hey Logan no need to cry (giving him kisses)
Logan - (finally decides to open his eyes and gives me his big toothless smile)
ME - Ok now that we're done being cranky, What should we wear today?
Logan - starts doing his baby oohing

I procede to pick out one of his cute little Winnie the Pooh outfits - it's a blue and white striped one piece, I grab a pair of blue socks to put on him. We then make our way downstairs and I figure I'll make him an 8 oz. bottle today since yesterday after 6 oz. he was still hungry. I mix up the 8 oz. and add a little rice cereal to it. We then come down to the living room. I put his bib on him (my favorite one that says "It's ALL about Mommy & me!"), lay him back and give him the bottle. He hungrily eats it all in about 15 minutes, I sit him up to burp him, and about 2 minutes later I'm rewarded with a big, loud BELCH!! Oh, but wait! That's not all, after the burp he proceded to projectile vomit! He's always been a baby that spits up but today it actually launched out of his mouth and landed on me, him, the couch, the floor, the remote, and a little on the laptop! I can't believe how much force it came out with! Needless to say, he lasted about 20 minutes in his first outfit of the day.
He's now laying on the floor playing with his playgym as content as can be, as though nothing happened just 15 minutes ago - while I'm stuck wondering "How do you get baby vomit out of a microfiber suede couch??"

Solids.....Part 3

This afternoon when Logan woke up from his nap I brought him downstairs and laid him on the couch. I was sitting beside him talking to him when Pooh decided to come over and pay us a visit. He sat beside Logan and Logan instantly starting grabbing at him - this is one of Logan's new things, he grabs at everything. Pooh sat there and just looked at Logan like "what are you doing?". Logan tugged at him again and this time got a pretty good grip and in retaliation Pooh looked at him again and gave him a nice big kiss on the face! This time though Logan gave Pooh the look that said "what are YOU doing?".
Tonight was day 3 of having Logan try solids again. He still hasn't grasped the concept that the food is meant to stay in his mouth. The minute Mike puts the spoon to his lips he sticks his tongue out. It's frustrating but yet so cute at the same time. He makes the funniest faces when Mike is trying to feed him. I just stand there and laugh (I know - I'm a big help).
I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up!! Tonight while getting his bath ready we decided to take the cushion insert out of the tub to see how Logan would handle it. Mike laid him in there and he was fine - I actually think he enjoyed it more since he's now lower in the tub which means more water to cover him. He splashed in there and had a great time and the whole time I'm just thinking to myself "he's getting so big - pretty soon crawling, then walking, and before I know it getting a driver's license!!" Well, maybe I exaggerate a little .
Tomorrow Logan goes in for his 4 month check-up which means...............yup, you guessed it - MORE SHOTS!! I didn't have to go to the last appointment that entailed that, Mike had to go at it alone, but tomorrow I will be there holding my baby while he screams. I'm getting sad just thinking about it!

Christmas Is Almost Here!

I have all of the Christmas presents wrapped!! And I only have about 3 left to buy - and there are 2 weeks to spare - hahaha We have decided not to buy anything for Logan this year - we did put some money into his CD at the bank. Since it's his first Christmas we figure he's going to get so many things anyways that there was no reason for us to buy him another toy or another outfit.
On Friday night Mike sat up Logan's high chair and Saturday we gave it a try with him. He didn't mind sitting it (why should he, it's like another toy - it's got toys & music on the tray part). Since he was content in it we figured we would try to give him some rice cereal (he's been eating it with his formula for a couple weeks now). I mixed some up in the bowl and got out one of his baby spoons. I handed it to Mike so he could feed him while I took some pictures. Mike put a little on the spoon, put it in Logan's mouth and out it came! Logan instantly pushed it out with his tongue. Mike tried a couple more times but to no avail. I guess Logan is still trying to figure out how his little tongue works.
We tried again on Sunday but Logan did the same thing. I guess we'll just have to keep trying until Logan figures out this is the next step to getting bigger!

He got a new toy...........It's too soon to know if he likes it though

Last night Mike brought home a new toy for Logan. We're not sure though if he likes it. It's a cute exersaucer that looks like a jeep. It has all sorts of little toys around it - rattles, keys, cell phone, fan, steering wheel with horn, and a compass. All them either move around or make noise. We sat Logan in it last night and he was in there for about 2 minutes before he started crying.
This morning when he woke up I put him in it again and he seemed to enjoy it. He sat in there for about 10 minutes playing with the keys and holding the cell phone but as soon as I started showing him the rattle and the ball that has little balls in it so that it makes noise he started screaming. I took him out of it and sat him on my lap. I tried again to show him it and he enjoyed everything. Once I shook the rattle though he screamed. And not just a baby scream - it was a terrifying high pitched scream. I'm not sure if it's just too loud of a noise or something that he's just unfamiliar with. I guess only time will tell - he acted the same way with the play gym that we bought him but now he likes to lay on the floor and play with it.