Our Weekend

I hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend - I know we did! Saturday we just relaxed at home and had Mike's brother over for dinner. On Sunday we got up and went to the lake to spend the night at my Mom & Dad's cabin. It turned out to be a pretty nice day at Lake Sakakawea. Logan got to see the tree that Mom & Dad planted for him last year. It seems to be doing pretty well, but might have a little frostbite on the top. Logan also got to put his hand print into some cement that my Dad poured to hold the new flagpole that they purchased. I was surprised that he didn't freak out when his hand got a little dirty from the cement.

Logan went on his very first boat ride and absolutely loved it. He didn't even fuss that much over the life jacket that he had to wear. I think he's going to become Grandpa's little fisherman!

I was worried when it came time for Logan to go to sleep. Last year when we went up there he didn't sleep at all during the night. I definitely did not want a repeat of that! Thank goodness though that it did not happen -we put him in his pack n' play and he fell asleep after fussing for a couple of minutes. He woke up around 4:30, took a bottle and fell back asleep in our bed. Mike moved him to the pack n' play and he slept until about 9:30. I am so happy that he didn't have a hard night since I think we might be going up there quite often this summer!

The Zoo!

We decided to buy a zoo membership this year. It was just a smart thing to do – we knew we would go there pretty often this year and since it is $6/adult to get in why not buy a yearlong membership for the whole family that only costs $50?? We have already gone twice (we've had it for 2 weeks) so we've only got 2 more visits to go before the membership is "paid" for. The other great thing about the zoo membership – it's good at over 180 other zoos across the U.S. Logan has really enjoyed going to the zoo so far, he especially loves riding on the train. Right now is such a fun time to go too since most of the animals have had babies. When we went the first time a baby reindeer had been born the day before and there was a baby goat whose umbilical cord stump was still attached. (OK, that was a little gross but it just shows how young it was!) I'm so happy we bought one since now we don't feel the need to walk the entire zoo every time just to get our money's worth!

*No, I'm not employed with the zoo. I just think it's a great way to spend a couple of hours and help your kids learn more about animals. And most zoos make their money from donations and paid admission so it's a way to help ensure that they will be around for awhile J

Saling Here We Come

On Saturday I went garage saling with my Aunt and my cousin's girlfriend. I think almost every sale we hit we found something. I got some great deals, including a radio for my Dad to take to work, some new paperback books, and a Little Tikes workbench for Logan (I can't find a picture of it online, I think it's an older model. It's the one that has a work table and pegboard and is two sided). I'm thinking of saving that for his birthday. It didn't have any of the tools but it was only $5!! What a steal! I also got an electric wok for only $1 – I tried it out today and it worked great. I struck out when it came to clothes for Logan though. I think I only found one shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of shorts. Not that he really needs anything but I was hoping to get a couple things that I can leave up at the lake cabin. I also got about 2 dozen canning jars for only $4. Hopefully I'll be making some salsa this summer J OH, I almost forgot I found a glass microwave tray that fits our microwave! Here is the back story on that: when we moved we packed the glass plate in a box, we have no idea what box we put it in. I have been searching on the internet to try to find a replacement plate for our microwave and had no luck at all. I found it at one of the last garage sales we stopped at AND at the same one where I got the wok. Both items were only $1!

New Vocabulary

It's been a little while since I've made a list of some of Logan's newest words. Here goes:

Nice – anytime he sees a truck or cycle go by he usually says, "nice truck" or "nice cycle"

• Pretty – this is another word that accompanies the words truck or cycle
  


• Diesalaur - dinosaur
  


• Read it – if he would like you to read a book
  


• Elbo – elmo
  


• COOKIE – he says this in a very deep voice. It cracks me up every time!
  


• Hode you – he says this while raising up his arms to be held
  


• Wogan - Logan
  


• And this last one we are so very proud of. Logan has begun to say any and all words that begin with "f", but instead of making the "fffff" sound he makes a "sh" sound. So just imagine our joy when something doesn't "fit" and he decides to repeatedly tell us that it doesn't "fit". And if you don't acknowledge that it doesn't "fit" he just continues to say it louder and louder. He let the ladies know that the train didn't fit together when he was getting his picture taken a couple of weeks ago. To say I got a little red in the face is an understatement.
  

I know that there are a lot more, but that's all I can come up with right now. He's also begun to string two or three words together. Our little guy is growing up!

Friday Funny

Such a Boy

In case there was any question, we have a boy. And he is ALL boy! He is completely in love with trucks, boats, motorcycles, trains, and tractors. The neighbor below us has a motorcycle and Logan finds the need to point it out to us. Every-single-time-we-go-somewhere. If we're at the park and a motorcycle goes by he lets us know. Most of the time it reminds him that my Dad has a Harley, so he'll usually say, "Grandpy's cycle". If he sees a tractor he'll point that out too and usually follow that with "Daddy's tractor" – since Mike has a lawn tractor.

There is a road that we frequently take that goes by a "bus barn" (where the school buses park). Logan usually anticipates that the buses are coming up so he'll repeat "bus, bus, bus, bus". He loves seeing the trains go by when we're out and about. We can usually hear the train whistle when we're at the park, when he hears that he'll proclaim loudly "choo, CHOO!"

Another Sign of Summer

On Mother's Day we went to our hometown to visit Mike's side of the family. While we were there Mike, Logan, and some of the Aunts went to the farm where Pooh Bear is staying. Logan had a blast over there since his great great Uncle Louie has TWO big tractors, nine cats, and of course Pooh Bear. While they were gone, the rest of us were talking about ticks and how they were getting bad already. I didn't think anything of it when they got back to Ma's (Mike's Grandma).

Yesterday I was snuggling with Logan when I noticed he had a black mark behind one of his ears. I thought it was some dirt or chocolate so I went for a closer look. Any guesses as to what it was?? A TICK!! Eew, eew, eew!! I called Mike in a panic; thankfully he was on his way home from work. I waited for him to get here and then we began trying to get the tick off of Logan. Thank goodness the tick wasn't inside Logan at all. We had a tweezers to try to get the bugger off of him. At first Mike tried but Logan was squirming and screaming too much. So we switched, Mike held Logan while I had control of the tweezers. After the third try I finally got him off of Logan. Now all that remains is a little red mark behind his ear. I guess it's just another sign that summer is coming to ND.

And speaking of Mother's Day – I had a great one. I was treated to breakfast in bed which consisted of waffles, sausage, and scrambled eggs. I then received a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble and another one to a day spa here. I cannot wait to go and get a massage!

The First, True Sign of Summer

The other day Mike noticed a huge red circle on the back of my knee. He asked me what it was and I said I didn't know since I hadn't noticed it until then. I reached back and touched and felt a huge bump. And that's when it began…….the itching. I could not stop, every time I thought about it I itched at the bump. Thankfully by now, the itching has subsided but I had forgotten that that is the one, true sign of summer in these parts. The M word – mosquito – yuck!

I spotted the first one in the house today while I was vacuuming. I thought about taking a picture of the little pest but instead I sucked him up into the vacuum.

There are some other things we're getting used to since we moved back to ND. Some examples:

-it already stays light until after 9:30 pm (in WA it didn't stay light that late until July)

-a "big" rainstorm is considered over an inch, within a 3 day period (last November there were records set in WA – some areas received over 15")

-people think Mike will tire of his "commute" soon, it is about 12 min. long (in WA his commute averaged at least an hour – each way)

-even though houses are less around here, groceries are more expensive. In WA I could buy a gallon of milk for $2, here it is at least $3.65

-I've managed to get two sunburns already. I am not used to the sun being out this much. I think I'll have to put a bottle of sunscreen in both vehicles so I'm not looking like a lobster all summer long.

-when we mention our hometown someone always knows someone from there. We have to be careful of our facial expressions when they say the name. I don't think it would be polite to say, "You're related to them???? Eeeewwww!!"

Changes!

Don't you love the fact that I once again have a blog banner?? And sidebar icons??? We finally have our server set up again. It's only been down for the last 3 months but who's couting right? Anyway after seeing the blog banner I've come to the conclusion that it needs to be changed. Does anyone have suggestions for some great imaging/clipart software? I currently have Microsoft Image Editor but can't find any new images that fit the theme of my blog (not that I really have a theme but whatever). So, hit me with your best/cheapest suggestion!

Also, I have updated the "blogs I read" sidebar on the left. Check them out and also while you're at it give me some suggestions for new blogs to check out. I know most of you have a blogroll listed somewhere on your site but since I have most of you in my RSS reader I don't get notification/notice when these change.

A New Pet

Logan has a new pet. I decided a couple of weeks ago that since Pooh Bear isn't able to stay with us right now that we would get Logan a fish. Yes, I realize they are nothing alike but it's still a little pet for him to talk to and watch.

Logan calls him "shish" (for some reason his f's have a sh sound). He'll walk up to the fish bowl and say "Hi shish" – and when he says it his voice is very high-pitched. It is so cute! If we ask him if he's said hi to his fish, he'll walk over to him and just keep saying "hi, hi, hi, hi" to him.

Since I didn't want the work of a tank we bought a beta fish. He is a beautiful blue color and is very well behaved. We haven't had any problems with his so far – but check how I'm doing after the first cleaning of the fish bowl ;) BTW, does anyone know how often their little bowl should be cleaned?

Sorry for the blurry picture - he wouldn't stay still :)

We’ve Moved!

We are finally all settled into our apartment. We've been staying here now for about 2 ½ weeks and just now got internet access. I have been going crazy! But I guess not having the net has helped me get everything unpacked so that we're no longer living out of boxes J

It is nice to have our own place again – but it's taken some getting used to. It's also strange being back in an apartment. We haven't lived in one for over 5 years. I was worried about it since we live above an older couple, I thought for sure they would be able to hear Logan running around and crying – but they said they haven't heard anything. Thank goodness! Another blessing – Logan has been sleeping through the night since we've been here. He's been going to sleep around 9 pm and getting up between 7 & 9 am. I'm not sure what changed that made him sleep better but I'm not going to jinx it by questioning anything!

Logan absolutely loves where we live. I think it might have something to do with the fact that we live right next to a park. It is the cutest park too – it has a castle theme, with flags atop the slides and dragons. And there is a purple dinosaur (not quite sure where that fits in), every time we drive by the park or walk over to it Logan has to point out the dinosaur (diesalaur) and he says this constantly. It is so cute that he pronounces it this way! The other day we went to the dollar store and I lucked out because they had dinosaurs. We bought three of them – what a deal!

I hope everyone has been doing well while I've been gone. I'll be by to visit all of you soon!