Potty Training Report

Halfway Done

I was just looking at the calendar and realized I'm now halfway through my maternity leave. MAN! Time is flying by. It's a bit depressing to think I'll be back at work so soon. And, the crazy part about it is, I get A LOT more time off than most women out there!

This past weekend we had another fun filled few days with friends. We spent Saturday hanging out with the Jodoins. Logan was in love with the fact that he got an entire day of "My Robert" all by himself. IN LOVE I tell ya! The boys played for an hour or two at the park to burn off some energy in the morning (I stayed home with Callum), then came to our house running around enjoying the many random toys we have spread out all over the place, "shooting" bubbles at each other in the front yard, and finally calming down enough to watch a little "Footoomama" (Futurama; don't judge.) before taking a nap.


The Chouns met up with us for a delicious dinner before we decided to try and get all 6 kids down for the night at the Jodoins' house so that we could have a little more adult hang-out time. I'm happy to say it was a success! We got all 6 kids down and kicked off an intense and very competitive game of Alhambra. The men were fiercely fighting for first place, while the women snuck in unannounced and stole the show (I won but Jenn was only a few points behind!). Winning against the guys makes the night that much more fun. Mwahahahahahahaha!

Sunday, we had grand plans to trek up to the city for Jon's company picnic, but ended up staying home instead when both Callum and Logan were being punks that morning. Our impatience with them could have also been because of the lack of sleep we got the night before, since we had stayed out late and Callum was up for awhile in the middle of the night, but oh well. It was also ridiculously hot out, so we pretty much holed up in our house with the A/C and a few movies.

That afternoon, we took off to Max's 2nd birthday party at The Jungle. It was our first time there and I can't say I'm a huge fan (reminds me of Chuck E. Cheese). Logan was a little intimidated by all the big kids pushing and shoving, but he slowly warmed up to the place. I would say he had an okay time - he dragged me around everywhere, not brave enough to venture anywhere on his own. And, since he didn't really know any of the kids at the party (we don't get to hang out with Max and his family as much as we should), I'm not sure he fully grasped that we were there to celebrate a birthday. BUT, the two of us did get a couple of hours of bonding time while Jon and Callum visited with Yevgeniy and Marina (Max's parents). The highlight of the outing, I think, was cashing in his bazillion tickets for two teeny weeny measly little army dudes. However, he loves them, so all is well in Logan's world.


Pics in this post are courtesy of Jenn, because I'm too damn tired to shoot photos these days. And, holding Callum 24x7 doesn't make it easy either! ;-)

Mission Accomplished

Someone's a little more mellow and, dare I say tired, after swim class this morning.

Squeal!

Yummy!

I saved aside a couple of cupcakes for our dessert tonight. Logan and I shared one and he proceeded to lick off all the frosting, so I guess he liked it? ;-)

Going Away Party

The Director at Logan's school is retiring. Off to the goodbye party, almond cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting in hand.

No Accidents!

Until we got home that is. *sigh*

Logan had a great first day at school wearing his new big boy underwear. He did awesome with no accidents all day. Of course, I'm not used to it and waited a bit too long once we got home before checking if he needed to pee.

Oh well. Maybe this will help him realize peeing in his pants is not cool (hey, a mama can dream). And, overall, still a great first day! :)

Two Loganisms of yesterday

Ow!

What happened mommy? Did you step on a rock?

No buddy, I hit my toe on the table.

You have to be careful. You'll get more owies.


[When Jon got home last night...]

Hi Daddy! What's your name! Go Sharks! Go Sharks!

(Don't ask me where he gets this stuff)

X-Rated

Callum has this habit where he wraps his arm/hand into my shirt and pulls it over his face while nursing or sleeping (don't worry, he's just sleeping here!). It's pretty funny.

Is this a sign of a "player-to-be"? ;-)

Editor's Note: I forgot to mention Callum's conked out here after a traumatic morning, where he decided to shit so hard he blew out his diaper, onesie and the side of his car seat....aaaaand then fell asleep.

I'll spare you any details or pics ;-) but let's just say I cut my PT appointment short, raced home, took apart the car seat, climbed into the tub with the little guy and proceeded to wake him up (and piss him off) while hosing everything down.

Yay! for blowouts. Not a part of parenting I enjoy.

Loganism of the day

I'm hungry.

You're hungry?

Yeah.

Why don't you eat your apple sauce then?

No, I want my fishies. (goldfish crackers)

Smiles

It's so hard to capture Callum's smile, let alone his dimples. This was the best of several attempts. He's a real cutie!

Turn it up to eleven

We've had a really nice weekend - full of activity but less busy, if you can believe it, than most of our weekends! :) Yesterday we got together with the Hicksons and Jodoins to see Toy Story 3. It was so much fun! And such a great (and emotional) ending to a wonderful series. I wonder if Jon and I enjoyed the movie just as much as Logan.... ;-)

Afterward, we got together at the Jodoins' house to let the kids get some extra energy out of their systems and catch up with each of the families. The Hicksons left just before bedtime but we decided to stay a bit longer so that the adults could play a match of Carcassonne (I won - mwahahahaha!) while the boys slept.

This morning, Jon decided he wanted to spend Father's Day hanging out with Logan for some special Daddy-Son time. They took off early for their favorite weekly donut run, hung out at a local game store and then went to catch another viewing of Toy Story 3 (Logan had been asking to see it again all morning). Unfortunately, Logan got scared during one of the scenes about half way through, so they left early to come home (strange since, he didn't seem to have any issues the first time around!).

We also got Daddy a few fun gifts; matching Volume 11 tees for Daddy, Logan and Callum, as well as a couple of books for Jon to begin studying and get ready for when the boys are a bit older - Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share and Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do). After reading the Table of Contents of the latter, Jon commented he'd done most of those things, and should just rename the book "Fifty Things You Do Growing Up in a Small Town in Texas". Ha! ;-)

My gorgeous boys:


Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day!

What a mess!

After naptime, Logan, Robert and Molly decided to demolish Robert's room. They happily let us know "we're making a mess!"

2 months old

I already wrote a significant amount of updates on Callum's growth yesterday - but today is his actual 2 month birfday, so why not add a few more to the list? :) I'll keep this short because HEY! We have Toy Story 3 to go see in a little bit!

I'm starting to see Callum set a sleep schedule. Slowly but surely. He's taking between 1-2 morning naps and 1-2 afternoon naps. Similar to Logan, he seems to like going to sleep for the night somewhere between 8-9pm. He actually starts getting really tired around 7:30pm but he really takes awhile to go down these days. I think it has to do with this other development of his - awareness and staying awake for longer periods of time - because all he wants to do is be in the middle of all the action, with everyone in the family! :)

Once I'm able to finally get him to sleep (which, let me tell you, is a feat when I'm also trying to get Logan ready for bed at the same time, and Jon is usually still at work or driving home), he'll sleep for about 3-4 hours at a time. It's not bad, I'm definitely getting more sleep than I was with Logan, but I'm now looking forward to longer periods of sleep. ;-) Last night was one of those times, as he finally fell asleep about 9:30pm and didn't wake up again until a little after 3am. I, of course, didn't get to bed until about midnight (oy!) but still. I'm glad he's starting to sleep for longer stints! (it could have also been because of his rough day after his shots yesterday)


He's also got the grabbing reflex down pat - snatching a fistful of my hair and holding on tight. He can't grab things purposefully of course, he doesn't have that kind of control, but when anything brushes up against his little fingers, he clings on for dear life. He has also started smiling more and more - it's so fun to see! He particularly lights up whenever I'm on the phone - I'm not sure why, perhaps my voice sounds different to him when I'm talking into the phone vs. to him? But he seems to like it. Now that he's getting more comfortable smiling at me, I've noticed him doing it with others too, like Jon, Logan, and my mom and dad. It's fun to see him begin recognizing the family!


The other day my mom was over visiting for my Stella & Dot Party and stayed a bit afterward. Callum was having one of his rough episodes where he was clearly exhausted, but just couldn't fall asleep on his own. She took a turn at trying to soothe him but it just wasn't working. When she finally gave up and handed him back to me, he just rolled over, turning his head into my shoulder with the most relaxed and calm look on his face like he was finally home (so says my mother). I could tell he immediately relaxed once he nestled into my chest too though, and it was awful sweet. I do worry he's getting so used to me that he's going to have a hard time being with, or falling asleep with, anyone else. But I guess we still have time to get him accustomed to others. ;-)


In other news, I'm doing well myself. Within this last month, I had my 6 week post partum checkup with my OB and all is well. The meds she prescribed for me to beef up my milk supply have helped a little, but not near enough that they should. So, after my last prescription ran out, I didn't bother renewing (my insurance doesn't cover the meds at all, so it's an expensive "drug experiment" that isn't giving us much reward). She wanted to try one more time, bumping up the dosage on the meds a bit higher to see if that would give me the extra kick I needed. It did increase my supply a tiny bit more, but again, not enough (especially since Callum's appetite has also increased!). I'd say I produce about a third of his intake, which really isn't all that much unfortunately. :( So again, I ran the course of the prescription but have opted not to renew. I'm continuing to nurse however, and will do so until my milk supply runs out all together.

A few days after Callum was born, I had a really rough time sleeping at night. It wasn't because of Callum, but rather, my body going through emotional and hormonal ups and downs. But I also noticed that when lying on my back at night, and sometimes sitting up, I would get these piercing pains in the middle of my back and around a bit to my chest. It was favored on the left side, and as I lay quietly on my back, I noticed the pain would increase with the beat of my heart. It was a little worrisome, since I didn't have anything like this with Logan and seemed to be linked to my heart....

So I went in for a couple visits to see my OB - both times, she checked me out and said nope, your heart is fine. You probably just sprained a muscle or perhaps bruised your ribs (which apparently can happen after a strenuous labor). She didn't think I had broken my ribs (which has also been known to happen in labor), since she thought I'd be in more pain than I was. But regardless, there's not much you can do for broken ribs anyway but wait it out, so it didn't really matter. I was told to just take it easy and try not to not lay on my back (which I had stopped doing) since that seemed to aggravate it more.

After about 5-6 weeks post partum, my lower back pains were also returning. Not as painful as before, but I could feel it. I decided to go see my back doctor and ask him to send me back to physical therapy. I just visited both of them a week or so ago, and mentioned the strange mid-back pinching I've also been experiencing since Callum's birth.

Long story short ;-) it turns out I have about three discs in my mid back that are rotated out of place. When lying on my back, there's extra pressure from my ribs and rotated discs to irritate some nerves, and cause my muscles around there to contract, trying to protect the area.

Luckily, it's not a heart issue. Unfortunately, it's another back issue! They think that the injury most certainly happened during labor, but leaving it to fester the following 6 or so weeks didn't help. And, hey guess what, hunching over to pump or nurse ALSO doesn't mesh well with a bad back. *sigh*

Thankfully, my PT is able to work wonders and she's already improved the area about 50%. So, I'm back to seeing her between 1-2 times a week to work on my trouble areas. I'm continuing to go out on walks with Callum and Grover or, if Callum lets me, do a more active workout at home. All of this combined SHOULD get me back into tip top shape! We can only hope. ;-)

2 Month Check Up

Today was Callum's two month check up and he's looking great! He gained a whopping two pounds (11 lbs, 5 oz - 50%) and grew 1.5 inches (23.25 in - 60%) over the last month. His head is also bigger at 39 cm (25%)! Dr. Safir says many of the same things about Callum as he did about Logan: he's stout, muscular, strong, alert and aware of all around him. He's a healthy happy little kid. :)

He had a couple shots today which he handled pretty well, but has seemed to make him unusually cranky and clingy the rest of the day unfortunately. :(

We're still battling his weepy eye but there's not much to do. We stopped the antibiotic drops after about a week but I continue to do hot compresses and massages to the duct to try and clear it out. It's apparently one of those things that will just heal on its own.

At least three times now this past month, Callum has given us a real scare. The first time, with Jon, he was laying on his back getting a diaper change when Jon noticed he was turning bright red and violently kicking his legs and arms. Jon then noticed he wasn't breathing. Luckily, he recovered right away, but just hearing the story upset me (especially how Jon chose to tell me: oh yeah, and Callum stopped breathing today...)

The second time was with me. I had just buckled him into his car seat and ran Grover back to our room to put him in his crate. I came back and found Callum kicking violently in his seat, turning bright red and gasping for air. The look in his eyes was horrifying. He was scared. And so was I.

Faster than I knew was even possible, I had him out of the car seat and was patting his back while trying to calm him down. I thought if I could get him to just relax a little (and stop arching his back, fighting for air) then he'd be able to breathe again. Thankfully he was able to get a grasp of air and recover. After I could tell he was alright, I then flipped out, calling Jon to tell him about it. I strained every muscle I had to listen to him breathe in the back seat of the car during my drive.

The third time happened in the middle of the night. We both woke up to Callum choking and squealing and sputtering. He sleeps in the co-sleeper next to me and again, with lightening speed I had him up and out of his swaddle and on my chest. He slept the rest of the night that night on my chest.

At that point, Jon had decided he had some sort of sleep apnea, which I was wondering myself. Except it seemed to happen whenever. He's also had trouble drinking from a bottle since day one (gleeking and sputtering all over the place), and tends to choke randomly on his own spit too.

Which all leads up to today's appointment when they asked if I had any questions and I said, as a matter of fact, I do.

Turns out, Callum has what's called laryngomalacia, where the cartilage of the larynx is underdeveloped and can collapse inward, causing an obstruction in the airway. It's actually very common for infants and will usually go away on its own in a few months as the larynx develops properly. Mostly we need to keep an eye on his positioning. Dr. Safir prefers we actually lay him on his side, since laying on his back causes the little flap of tissue to fold over and block his airway more frequently.

He also showed me what to do if Callum has another non-breathing bright red spazzing episode... Basically what I had done before was the right approach, holding him so he's on his belly face down and patting/hitting his back so that the airway can open back up. As scary as it all sounds, I'm just happy we now know what the cause is and what to watch out for from now on!

Wanna see a crazy comparison? Here's the two boys after their respective 2 month check up appointments. Can you guess who is who? ;-)

Dinosaur Hoody Towel

What's that noise?

That's a little boy.

What's he doing?

I'm not sure honey. But I think he might be growling.


Yes, don't mind us. Those loud obnoxious ROARS you hear coming from the dressing room would be my son. He thinks it's great fun. In fact, he gets louder the more I beg him to stop.

I don't know how I happen to attract such crafty friends, particularly when I am sooooo NOT crafty. But nonetheless, check out this dinosaur hooded towel that Amanda made for Logan!! It's A-W-E-S-O-M-E. And so timely for the summer, swim class, and the (Maui) beaches. Oh right, and bath time too.

She also made one for Callum. His has a very cool monster pattern on one side. So, to make sure Logan didn't feel left out, she cranked out this one for him. How thoughtful! Isn't it (and he) adorable?!?

Thanks Amanda! We love them!! :)

Wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round!

It took Logan a good 4-5 minutes (after the book sing along was over) to notice me. That's impressive considering he normally only sits that still, for that long, while watching a (Pixar) movie. ;-)

Loganism. Period.

"No no no no"

Logan has recently taken to using this phrase anytime he doesn't say quite what he means and/or is correcting me. I have no idea where he picked it up, but it's friggin' cute!

Summer swim begins!

Yesterday was Logan's first day back to swim class. I had stopped early in the pregnancy as it was getting harder carrying Logan around with a growing belly. But, the time off really hurt us I'm afraid. Logan was very hesitant in class, clinging to my body and begging me not to put his face in the water or make him float on his back. :(

Anyway, we're going twice a week so I figure the frequency will help get him back on track. And with our upcoming summer vacation to Maui (woo!), I'd like it if he felt more confident in the water than he is right now. I'm also taking advantage of my maternity leave by going to the early morning class. And OMG the difference! It was actually quiet and calm when we arrived, versus the screaming packed chaos of parents and kids after work hours. Our class is actually quite pleasant. :)

This morning while Jon was getting Logan ready for school, I heard him ask if he could go swimming (he asked again when I picked him up from school this afternoon), which was great to hear. There may be hope for us after all. ;-)

Bubbles!

Logan loves his (automatic) bubble blower. As I was taking these pics he said "I got your phone!" with glee. :)

The bubble "Buzz Lightyear Blaster" in these pics proceeded to break after about 2 minutes (way to go Disney!). Logan has been in mourning for the last couple of days, just WAITING for me to fix it. I couldn't get it to work, so I ended up replacing it with a couple cheapo generic ones from Target today and when I told him the news - as we were getting out of the car - he couldn't contain his happiness. He did a little skip, immediately turned to me and gave me the BIGGEST hug ever, exclaiming "Oh! THANK YOU Mommy!"

And that is why I spoil my kids rotten.

30 months old

Well, it's official. We have a 2.5 year old on our hands now.

I keep thinking it can't get any better than this. But it can! I'm sure a lot of it has to do with Logan's language explosion. His personality development. And his curiosity in anything and everything we do. It's great to watch him growing into his own every single day.


That's not to say there aren't frustrating moments. There are PLENTY of frustrating moments. More and more Logan has become a defiant little kid. He's particularly disobedient with me. :( He's noticed, I am sure, that when the baby is stuck to my boob, I'm pretty much at the baby's mercy. I can't really chase a little kid down, let alone crawl under a table or bed to grab him (I can handle the defiance in the house, it's out in public, near a street when he starts running in the opposite direction of me, that scares the shit out of me).

So, no matter how nicely I may ask, or how stern I may yell at him, it doesn't seem to matter. Unless I put Callum down to literally GRAB Logan and give him a talkin' to - he's pretty much going to do his own thing. It's a delicate balance and I'm still trying to learn how to parent two children. Meanwhile, Logan's learning how to manipulate and "work" his Mommy as best he can. WHEE!

"Ok, I'm coming. Just a minute!"

He's also craving attention more and more. Often times he'll want to sit on my lap (asking me to feed him - a bit of regression or laziness? hard to tell) or ask me to come play with him or lay down in bed to watch a movie with him.


He has also really taken to having his Daddy do things with him. Since I'm typically on Callum duty, Jon is now primarily on Logan duty. Logan has not only gotten used to these roles, he absolutely loves it. Whereas he used to kick and scream with me, leaving the house for school in the morning, now he practically skips sunshine and rainbows, holding his Daddy's hand and letting the door slam me in the face. They are two peas in a pod - and while he definitely tests Jon's patience (whoooo BOY does he test Jon's patience!) - it's so fun to watch them grow close and wrestle and giggle and have fun together.

He also continues to be very affectionate and loving to his little brother. He constantly asks where his baby brother is, wanting to snuggle up close to Callum or point out to me how much smaller Callum's [fill in the blank with any body part] is compared to his or mine. I can't describe how warm it touches my heart to see him so interested in his little brother, particularly when I know it won't always be like this at times. ;-)

Loganism of the day

<The soap> is not for you Mommy. It's only for boys.

"Cooking" Cupcakes

Logan helped me make Snickerdoodle cupcakes for my Stella and Dot party today. As you can see, things were a bit messier with his help, but he definitely approved. ;-)

This is *my* rocket?

Logan now checks anytime he sees a new toy in the house to make sure it's his and not Callum's. ;-) A wonderful rocket play hut from the Chouns. Thanks guys! :)

Loganism of the day

Mommy! There's a booger in my eye.

Pooped out. Literally.

It's like Callum's car seat is his morning coffee. No more than five minutes after loading him up and buckling him in, he takes a nice stinky shit. *sigh*

"Buzz Iteyear"

I resisted buying this costume but did get a couple of other small Buzz Lightyear items for Logan today. Toy Story 3 better be hella good for all the marketing and hype that Disney's doing. ;-)

Visitors Galore

We continue to have visitors in and out of the house! Grover has found a new resting spot to keep an eye on the gaggle of humans invading his space ;-)


Friday, my Aunt Pammie drove down for a quick visit with me, the two boys (I kept Logan home from school), and my parents. We didn't take any pics or even hang out at the house - just grabbed lunch at a nearby delicious new spot my parents found, and caught up on family gossip. Still, it was great to see her and have her spend time with (mostly Logan) the kids! :)

After our visit, I headed back to the house for nap time. It was a FIGHT to get Logan down for a nap, but he finally succumbed, thank goodness. I then spent the afternoon hanging out with Callum and visiting with neighbors, enjoying the gorgeous weather on our front porch.

That evening the Children's Discovery Museum had a special "Members' Only Night" to showcase two new exhibits of theirs: Bob the Builder - Project: Build It and Run! Jump! Fly! Adventures in Action. We invited my parents along to check it out and Logan absolutely LOVED it. We're going to have to return because these two exhibits were really up his alley. :)

Mix and match the tools!

"Watering" the plants with Zafu

Zabuton (with Callum), Daddy and Zafu looking on at all the craziness and fun (the place was PACKED!)....

Callum can't wait for his day to get in on all the action.

Practicing Downward Facing Dog.

Getting ready for the next boarding season! ;-)

Exploring out on the lawn in front of the museum.

Balancing and walking with Zabuton (I love this shot!).

BOO! He was playing a hide and seek game with me and my father (notice way down at the other end). He'd hide on one side of this wall and then peek out at the other end. I caught him here by surprise. :)

So what did you do this lovely Monday afternoon?

Assignment of the day: mix a little over a gallon of laundry detergent with a little dirt, kibble, dog and cat hair. Sprinkle in some kitty litter for good measure.

Let it splatter all over the doors and walls and really puddle up nicely. Make sure it gets underneath the washer, dryer and behind against the wall.

Text your husband with a picture or two. It's ok if you want to use some curse words in case the pics didn't already explain the gravity of the situation clearly enough.

Call your dad and ask him to come over to help watch the baby. Make sure to say "there's been an accident" while the baby shrieks in the backgound. He'll arrive faster than he's ever arrived before. Time it. Trust me.

Ready, set, go!

Grab as many spare towels as you can find to spoon up the tacky mess.

Fill several buckets of clean water and try "rinsing" the floor. Repeat.

Again and again.

Oh you thought you were done? I don't think so. Repeat again.

Now move the washer and dryer. Try not to cry when you see all the gunk still left to clean.

Grading is based on thoroughness, cleanliness and timeliness.

Extra credit awarded to those who do not complain about their back killing them.

Sadly, I did not get the extra credit.

The Negrete Family

So, two weeks ago (yes, I am THAT far behind in my posts!), Jon's parents ("Ita" and "Ito") and grandparents (Great-Grandpa and Grandma Negrete) drove up from LA/SD area to visit and meet Callum for the first time. It was also the first time Jon's grandparents had been up to see us and our new house, so that was fun too!


Friday evening, once they arrived and visited for a bit, we took off for dinner at Jon's favorite pizzeria. We hadn't been there in awhile, and hadn't yet taken his family there, so it was nice to go back after so long. Logan did extremely well eating his "BIG" pizza (whole slices - no cutting them into bite sizes any more for this independent kid!), once he sat down next to me and my patient watchful eye. It was pretty late and past his bedtime, so I'm really glad he did as well as he did. Callum slept through the entire meal, allowing me to eat a slice or two.

When we were done with dinner, we bid our goodbyes, with Logan joining his grandparents and great-grandparents for an overnight stay at their hotel that night. I was worried he'd throw a fit and "need" his Mommy or Daddy but he was great! He immediately waved goodbye to the two of us and didn't look back.


Saturday morning, Logan had a huge breakfast with his grandparents and great-grandparents before they all headed over to Happy Hollow for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, Jon was a saint and took Callum off my hands for THE. ENTIRE. MORNING. so I could sleep in. WOOHOO! He and Callum went to Jon's favorite donut shop for his weekend ritual of donuts and coffee and God knows where else (probably the game store, his other favorite haunt), before coming home to wake me up around noon.

Did you catch that?

NOON! I slept in until noon!


I rushed to nurse Callum, get dressed, and out the door to visit, and support, my friend's Stella and Dot coming out party. Callum slept for the first half of the visit while I got to gab with a couple of my old old OLD friends (Elizabeth and I go back to KINDERGARTEN people!). I also, unintentionally, got sucked into the purdy bling of Stella and Dot myself. Eeeps! So, fast forward to next week, where I'll be hosting my own Stella and Dot party with her at my house. hee hee :)

When I got home, Logan was napping which was perfect since Callum stole the show and center of attention from his grandparents and great-grandparents anyway (particularly the mothers). ;-)


Tia Catherine and Auntie Nadia also drove down from the city to visit with the family (Logan loved even MORE of the extra attention).


That night, we all piled into the cars and headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Milpa, to meet my parents for dinner. As usual, it was delicious and we all stuffed our faces.

Sunday morning, we met everyone for breakfast at Stacks, which I think is becoming a bit of a tradition on the last morning of Alicia and Paul's visits. ;-) We had a wonderful meal, as always, and then bid our farewells to the family, since they needed to get on the road to head back home.


Logan was not happy to see them go, thinking he was going to get to ride in their car again for another fun excursion somewhere. I think it was testament to how much he (and we) enjoyed their visit. Always a delight!