Shoes!

Anyone who is close to me knows, I'm obsessed with shoes. And in our ginormous house, I still don't have enough space to store my collection.

Jon has been nagging me forEVER about getting rid of some. The majority, like these probably, I pick up when walking through Nordys. But I have a hard time letting go to some that have great memories attached. There's the pair I bought when I learned to tango in Argentina or the time I found a steal (or two) when living in D.C. (and on the lonely rebound after breaking up with my boyfriend). Or a pair made of soft Italian leathers bought in, where else? Italy. Because of my back, I've stopped wearing most of them but I still look at them longingly, remembering the good ol' days.

All that said, I was pretty proud of myself this morning, putting aside about 10 pairs that I'm finally willing to say goodbye to. Which is a good thing, since I need some room as I say hello to three new 'friends', just ordered today. ;-)

Mice

They evidently belong on the toilet, don't you know?

Fortune

"A four-wheeled adventure will soon bring you happiness."

How fitting.

Indy 500 Eat Your Heart Out

We have this new "game" now, when we get home and park in the driveway.

It all started one day when Logan decided to leap out of his car seat onto the other side of the car so I couldn't reach him. Rather than fight it, I left him to drop everything off inside the house and let the dogs out.

I came back and didn't see Logan in the back seat which freaked me out for a split second. Then all of a sudden I see a patch of brown hair poking up from the window of the driver's seat. I peer inside and sure enough, Logan is all smiles - waving to me through the window, steering the wheel, pushing every button and flipping every switch in sight.

He absolutely loves it, and could probably spend hours in there. :) In fact, he throws a bucking fit when I finally need to tear him away. *sigh*

We're doing a "double date" with my parents tonight and getting a "real" (aka paid) sitter. Chinese takeout for dinner and Julie & Julia the movie. Should be fun! :)

20 months old

Logan celebrated his 20 month birthday by sleeping in this morning, taking in a whopping 12 hours last night, which is amazing and unheard of in our household. Generally, Logan's a 9-10 hour kind of guy.

The full night's rest must have done his body, and mind, some good. Since, he hardly batted an eyelash when I dropped him off at school and said my goodbyes. He was way too interested in his morning snack, saying hi to his classmates, and flashing a glowing smile to all of the women teachers standing around.

Logan is continuing to develop his own little personality. He's demanding and impatient and his emotions flip on a dime. He'll be charming and gorgeously happy one minute and then sulky and moody the next. He wants nothing to do with you, insists on doing things by himself (like drinking out of a big cup or cutting his food with a knife and fork) and then 4 seconds later he screams out your name and comes running up, THROWING his arms around your legs asking to be picked up.

When do we get to the stage where they stop being so fickle and start making up their damn minds?

Normally, when we put Logan down for the night, we rock him while he drinks a bottle of milk. He doesn't fall asleep in our laps anymore, but definitely calms down and begins to relax. Once he's done with his bottle, he'll sit up, point to his crib, and say "Night night" which is his way of asking us to lay him down for the night.

Tonight (and the last couple of nights) however, he's been the exact opposite. He'll finish his bottle and instead of asking to be laid down, he'll nestle his face into my chest. All four limbs splayed out in every which direction, turning his head from side to side trying to find a comfortable spot, no more room for a growing toddler to curl up in my arms. I'm not sure why we've been getting the extra cuddle time lately. But I know it's not going to be this way forever so I'm trying to drink in every memory he allows, one precious moment at a time.

When he's not cuddling with Mommy and Daddy, he's on the move. And I mean, he's ON THE MOVE. You know how I haven't been blogging as much as usual lately? That would be because of the 20 month old ON. THE. MOVE.

He runs, for no reason but to run. He chases the cats, the dogs, butterflies, house flies, us (or begs us to chase him). He's even been known to gallop!! (where he learned how to do that, I have no clue). I know, I know, it only gets worse from here.

And, he continues to develop his throwing arm. We should start placing bets on whether he becomes a pitcher, point guard or quarterback. He's learning how to catch a (foot)ball, in addition to throwing it to you, which delights him (and us, quite frankly) to no end.

Jon is counting down the days (only 1451 days left! no really.) when he can enroll Logan into football. Logan and his favorite Daddy, both get down on their hands and knees, forehead to forehead, nose to nose, counting off random colors and numbers (Blue-52! Blue-52!), before one of them decides enough is enough. And tackles the other in a rolling somersault, filled with laughter, to the floor.

It's adorable to watch, and I'm not sure which I love more; Jon playing the father, or Logan playing the son.

Jon, the baby amongst his brothers, at ~20 months old.

Logan standing on his new bench, because he can.
(a present from Zafu and Zabuton)

Robert turns 2!

Yesterday we spent the majority of the day at the Jodoins, celebrating Robert's 2nd Birthday! (he turns 2 on Tuesday) The first hour of the party, Logan was passed out in Robert's crib (he fell asleep on the ride home after being picked up from my parents, who had babysat Friday night to give Jon and I a free night out).


We had an excellent time - plenty of food, company, games and toys to go around for all. We even took the kids in the pool for a little bit (unfortunately, Logan didn't have as great a time as usual in the water, I think because the water was too cold for him), which was perfect since it was pretty warm outside.


Two highlights of the day (for me anyway) were when Logan tried eating with a fork and knife, something he's been all about these days. I’m assuming it’s because he sees us doing it and wants to do it himself. But still amazing to watch him try (sometimes successfully!) cut up his food and eat it. Just one more thing to remind us of how much our little guy is growing up!


Logan was also fascinated by Robert's new wooden train set - and it was wonderful to see him work out how to fit the tracks together on his own, and get a kick out of the train cars sticking together (via magnets). Jon and I have been thinking about getting him a train set sometime soon (if we can find the room!), so it was really fun to see him take to it so quickly!


Once cake and presents were done, most of the family and friends took off - and only the die-hards (the Hicksons and ourselves), stayed until the bitter end. ;-) We had about an hour break where the three kids were all napping, so we started a game of Settlers of Catan, but didn't get to finish before the kids woke up. I believe Jon, Nathan and Jarrod all declared themselves winners, but little did they know I had several points hiding in my hand. So, Internets, I think I was actually the real winner in that game. ;-)


We finally headed home after the kids started winding down, over stimulated from the day's events, I'm sure. Still, we had a blast and were so glad we could make Robert's big day. Happy Birthday again, Mr. Robert! :)


Today, Jon spent another handful of hours lying on his belly at the mercy of his tattoo artist while Logan and I did a little shopping and then lunched at The Counter with my parents before heading home to nap and do chores. With the wonderful summer weather, I've been trying to take advantage of our weekends as much as possible. The only downside is I'm totally whipped and need another two days to recuperate before work begins. Funny how that is.

(Click on any of the pics above for more from Robert's birthday!)

B is for Baby

Wowza - so where do I begin? I had a jam packed week last week, at a fun, but pretty technical, conference up in Seattle. However, the time I had getting to know my management and colleagues better was well worth it. I flew home Thursday night pretty beat but in time to see Logan for about an hour which was wonderful. It was the longest I had been away from him and I was really missing him after a couple of days. So, I was relieved and excited and choked up with motherly emotions, seeing him smile big and bright the minute he and Jon picked me up from the airport Thursday night.

I spent Friday morning cuddling and lounging around with Logan before taking him to school, so that I could get a few calls and work done later that day. I crammed as much work as I possibly could into a few hours before I spent the rest of the afternoon packing our family up to get ready for our trip down to San Diego.

In addition to the regular mountain of crap we bring with us anywhere we go these days, we also brought with us Logan's old infant car seat, two bases that went with it, and the stroller that the infant car seat snapped into. Eric and Jill are taking it off our hands to enjoy with their new little one, who will be arriving any week now! And we get to clear out a bit more space in the garage. It's a win-win for all. :)

None of us had quite thought through how much stuff it all added up to - especially when Eric and Jill drive a small 4-door sedan with not much room to spare! We somehow squeezed our two gigantic suitcases and backpacks in the trunk and laid the stroller bag across Jon, Logan and I in the back (I had thought ahead enough not to bring our own car seat, fitting Logan into the infant seat - barely - for the drive to/from the airport instead!). The stroller was so huge, however, that it literally covered me and Logan completely. Thankfully, Jon and Logan could see each other from Jon's side, since I don't think Logan would have been very happy could he not see either of us during the drive home. ;-)

For most of our visit, we just hung out with Eric and Jill, enjoying each others' company. Saturday afternoon we went to a nearby park to get some of Logan's energy out, however it was sooo ridiculously hot outside that we ended the excursion pretty quickly, stopping by a frozen yogurt shop on our way home. :) Saturday evening we drove to Murrieta to visit with Eric's family (some in from out of town) for dinner, which was very nice.

Both Friday and Saturday night Logan had a really tough time sleeping in his tent - I'm not sure if it was because of the heat, the new/different place, the fact that we were in the room with him, or what. But, it caused for some restless nights for Jon and I. Both nights when Logan woke up we brought him to bed with us - but because he's gotten so big now, he doesn't sleep well in bed with us and moves around constantly. Saturday night, Jon finally gave up and left to sleep on the couch, while Logan slept soundly, using Mama's belly or thighs as a pillow while he rolled around on the bed (and me!) all night long. Aiiieeee.


We spent the majority of Sunday at Jill's baby shower. Her family really knows how to throw a great party! There were a ton of women at the party and a few kids too - one, Anna, is a sweet 9 yr old (going on 16) girl that Logan has met before and really loves. When he wasn't chasing balloons around the house he was by her side. Thankfully, she's wonderful with kids and really puts up with Logan like a champ. When she finally had to leave, Logan actually had a meltdown at the door, throwing a fit, asking to go outside to follow her, and looking out the window saying "bye bye". It was pretty damn cute. :)


Jill (and Eric) made out like bandits with a ton of awesome presents - the best from us of course! ;-) They have just a few more weeks before Amelia joins their small family and I think everyone is getting very excited to meet her. It was so much fun being a part of the celebration - I remember exactly what it was like for me, exciting and overwhelming all at once, and very grateful for the network of friends and family around me. I know Eric and Jill are in the same spot and though we're hundreds of miles away, we are definitely going to be there for them every step of the way.

In addition to fond memories of my pregnancy coming back, Logan caught onto a new word in a blink of an eye.

BABY.

And, he loved saying it, repeating it over and over. He was even calm and quiet around another baby at the baby shower, wanting to touch her, but not using his jerky erratic fast movements that he does with the cats or the dogs. Somehow, without me saying anything, he knew he needed to be gentle and calm with her! He was also interested in Jill's belly - particularly after we told him there was a baby inside and when Jon tried to get him to feel the baby kick. Luckily, Jill was very agreeable and didn't mind my kid coming up and lifting her shirt to touch her belly every few minutes. :) It's moments like these that definitely make me want to have another some day - since I know Logan will be a wonderful, loving and fun big brother.


Today we had a nice breakfast at a new place Eric wanted to try - the food was tasty but more than that, they were next door to a little nursery which also happened to have a number of different animals as well. It became Logan's own little petting zoo - complete with chickens, geese, turtles, bunnies, fish, butterflies, goats and horses. We headed home so Logan could nap while the adults had another round at Settlers of Catan (I won, mwahahhahaha), and then it was finally time to pack it up and head out. We stopped by Target before the airport - buying Logan a couple new pairs of shoes (his feet seem to grow 10 times faster than the rest of his body!!), jeans and socks. We bid our goodbyes to Eric and Jill - the last time we'll probably see them childless (wow!) and headed into the airport to check in.


Our flight over and back home were both pretty uneventful, which is always nice. The only minor snafu was the ride home tonight, where neither Jon nor I were keeping a close eye on how many pretzels Logan was stuffing in his mouth. And, before we knew it, he was choking/coughing them back up, and then actually managed to puke two handfuls onto Jon's shorts, the seat/floor and mostly my cupped hands. Ahhhhhhh good times. :) We cleaned him up and the area around us - I didn't dare look at the gal sitting next to me since I'm sure she was freaking out being so close to VOMIT - and then went on our merry way enjoying the rest of the ride home.

All in all, a wonderful weekend with our dear friends, which is always much shorter than it really should be. Amazingly, I forgot my phone at home and somehow survived without it for THREE WHOLE DAYS (it was tough). So, now I've got to catch up on a bajillion emails, prep for a hairy work week, and sort through a couple hundred pics from the weekend too! Ah yes, never a dull moment.