Logan Laughs

Baby laughs are infectious!

Lego Creations

Evan's LEGO creations have become more and more elaborate lately and they have also really started to look like what he says they are.  Here is a plane that he built today.  Love to see his little mind at work.

The zoo keeper as a pilot

My Comfy Place

Last night after putting Evan to bed numerous times, I told him to get back into bed one last time.  Well unbeknownst to me until I went to check on him before I went to bed, he had made himself a little bed in his "comfy place", the corner of his bedroom just behind his door.  He brought his friends...George, Ladybug, Wally and Fitzy...and his Red Sox blanket, made a little bed and fell asleep.  I thought about moving him but then decided that it was going to be a warm night and he was comfy and asleep so I left him.  I figured I would move him back to bed if he woke up in the middle of the night.  He was perfectly happy sleeping there in his "little comfy place" all night.

Sound asleep on the floor

Amazing Changes

Over the last three and a half weeks, we have seen amazing changes in Logan.  He has started talking a lot and found a new, non-screechy voice with lots of ma-ma's and da-da's and tongue flipping.  His movements have become much more deliberate.  You can almost watch the gears turning in his head..."I'm going to grab that ring.  Got it.  I'm going to put it in my mouth.  Done."  He studies his hands in the same way that Papa describes Danny doing when he was little.  He loves to grab his toes and try to get them into his mouth, especially when you are changing his diaper and he has no pants on.  Logan has started sitting up more and more on his own.  He is still quite wobbly and falls over quite often but he can sit for a minute or two unassisted.  He is also, finally, getting the hang of eating from a spoon a bit better.  Then, just tonight he rolled over twice from his back to his belly.  He has been rolling from his belly to his back, when he feels like it, since the beginning of December but not the other direction.  Although I must say, I have not actually seen him roll from his back to his belly.  Twice tonight he was on his back when I left the room to go to the kitchen for something and when I came back he was either on his belly or no where near where he was when I left, leading me to assume that he rolled.  He has been close for a few days so I guess he finally put it all together.  Growing up so fast already!

I found it!

Anyone that truly knows me, know that I am OCD operate on the philosophy of a place for everything and everything in its place.  There is a "right" way to load the dishwasher, there are specific places for things in the fridge, there is a particular way to fold the clothes, etc.  I have been forced to tried to loosen up a bit after having two children but I still try to maintain as much order as possible.  As such, each night after the boys are in bed, I reorder and reorganize their toys, making sure everything is put away and accounted for.  (To date, we have only lost one screwdriver, which I am pretty sure ended up in the diaper pail when Evan was just starting to be on the move.  Everything else always turns up after a couple of days.)  Last week, after cleaning up, I couldn't find a little blue gear for our Playskool Busy Gears toy.  This drove me nuts!  Everyday I would ask Evan if he knew where it was and everyday he would say "I don't know!"  Everyday until today!  We were playing with his train set and as he was pulling out pieces of the train, he found the gear.  He pulled it out of the bin and said "I found it!" and was so pleased with himself.  Probably even more happy that he wouldn't have to hear me ask him where it was any more!

I found it!

Wheeler Play Date

We had a play date with the Wheeler's today.  Everyone was healthy, or healthy enough, so that we could get together for the first time since the middle of October!  We had make your own pizzas and lots of fun playing with all of their toys, especially the Jake and the Neverland Pirates toys.

My Monkeys

Evan asked me to take a picture of him with George and Logan.  

My Two Monkeys!

Lunch at Dan's Place

When Bruce and I went to Mohegan Sun at the beginning of December for the Dave Matthews Band show, we stumbled upon Dan's Place in West Greenwich.  It was a pizza place where we decided to stop for lunch that is so much more than a pizza place.  At our visit we received a coupon for a future visit that was in a sealed envelope and for anywhere from 10-50% off your total bill.  Today, we went for lunch with Uncle Dan, Auntie Karin, Danny, Sean and Bumpa.  Unfortunately, Evan was just getting over a cold, Logan was just coming down with it and Uncle Dan was still sore from his hernia surgery so we didn't stick around after lunch but it was still a nice afternoon with good food.  We will go back for sure!

Eating it or wearing it?

Logan, are you eating your dinner or wearing it?

Well, you're happy so I guess it doesn't matter either way!

Private Concerts

Evan has been putting on performances for us recently.  He is always entertaining us but here are two of his more "formal" performances.

This first one was one night just before we were ready to have dinner.  Evan insisted that we go into the living room so that he could put on a show for us.  He instructed us where to sit and then began his karate/dance show.  Later on that night we all had a dance party, dancing to "Daddy's song", Some Nights by Fun.



This second show was a private viewing for Logan (and me behind the camera).  Logan looks like he is watching a tennis match as he watches Evan move across the "stage".  There is nothing Logan loves more than to be entertained by his big brother!

Pirate by day, rock star by night

The map doubles as a spyglass                     

Not a very intimidating pirate, but a cute one for sure

Visiting the Holmes'

Today we finally did something that we have been talking about doing for years...We went to visit Ethan and Stacey and the girls.  We planned to get together a few weeks ago but we were sick with the stomach bug so we had to reschedule.  It was wonderful to see where they live and to see Sofia, who is getting so big, and to meet Emily, who is just as cute as her big sister.  Evan loved playing with all of Sofia's toys, it isn't very often that he gets to play with many girly things, and Sofia loved being "Mother Hen" to Evan...it was quite cute!  We didn't get to see Emily too much because she was napping for most of our visit.  Guess we'll just have to do it again soon, especially seeing as we left a bit early to get home for the Pats game (which they lost)!

Connor's 3rd Birthday Party

What started as a disaster of a day, ended up being a fun one.  All before 11 o'clock we had a 2 AM wake up feeding, a crooked hair cut and a cut ear, a blow out diaper, a bloody nose, a stained carpet and no gift for a sweet little boy for his birthday. (I ordered it but it didn't arrive in time and of course it was on our front steps when we arrived home.)  Thankfully I knew the Cenotti's wouldn't care if we showed up without a gift today and so we went to the party anyway.  A disaster of a day immediately turned into a great day as we were able to spend the afternoon with some of our favorite people, those crazy Gilbreath's, celebrating Connor's third birthday.  Plus this way, we will have to get together again soon so that we can get Connor's gift to him.  Evan had a great time playing the XBOX Kinect and all the kids loved Logan.  Happy 3rd birthday, Connor!

More Forts

Not only have we been making blanket and pillow forts, we have expanded our fort making skills to foam and snow as well.  Yesterday, Evan and Logan enjoyed the snow fort that Daddy made yesterday after the snow and today we had fun inside the foam fort/house that was big enough for three of us (and some stuffed friends) at once.

Baby Burrito and Geography Wiz

My smiley little baby burrito! 

Looks good enough to eat to me!

Evan got a US map game from Papa & Gramma for Christmas.  He has been learning where all the states are and what they are famous for.  He can locate quite a few states and knows where some of the national landmarks are.  He's a little sponge!

And over here, Mommy, is Washington state, where Omi and Grandpa live

Do you want to see where Mount Rushmore is?  It's here in South Dakota! 

(Yes, he really knows where Mount Rushmore is.)

Winter Golf and T-Ball

Today was a beautiful spring-like day so Evan and I headed outside for some spring-like activities...golf and t-ball.  He is getting really good at hitting and should be a slugger by the time he turns three!  He was even hitting lefty some of the time.  Loving the taste of what is to come...just have to get through the rest of winter first!

Snuggle Time with Tara

We had a very small (3 guests), low-key Patriots party today for their first playoff game.  We were expecting three people but two of the three who were here were different than we expected.  We were happy to see Tara, who is the ultimate trooper having just gotten back from Hawaii last night, and for her to finally meet Logan.  I am fully aware that Logan is the real reason she made the trek!  Either way, it's nice to have smaller gatherings sometimes so that you have more of a chance to catch up...and always nice to have a Pats win!

PB&J

Most days for lunch, Evan will have either a turkey or ham sandwich, a grilled cheese sandwich or mac & cheese.  For some reason I never think to make him peanut butter and jelly.  I don't know what made me think of it today (or maybe there was nothing else seeing as I hadn't been shopping) but today Evan had his first PB&J sandwich and he LOVED it!

PB&J!

Brothers Gotta Hug

Brothers gotta hug

Or face rake

Or pull hair

So many ways to say "I love you, brother!"

Five Months Old

Five months old!!  Growing and thriving!!

Last night as I was putting Logan to bed, going through the bedtime routine (bottle, read, more bottle and songs) in his room, I began to realize that we haven't really established a bedtime routine with him yet.  For the most part, we have been keeping Logan downstairs with us until he is ready to go to sleep so that he doesn't wake up Evan.  I also realized a couple of other things.

He is a wiggler not a snuggler.  When Logan starts getting tired, he doesn't snuggle in to your shoulder the way that Evan used to.  Instead he wiggles and wiggles as if to say, "Just put me down."

He is unpredictable whimsical (it sounds better).  We have yet to find a pattern or schedule with Logan's sleep habits, day or night, or with his eating habits.  Just when we think we have something figured out or things have been roughly the same for a few days, he changes.  He always keeps us guessing.

One thing is for sure.  He is lovable, happy and sweet and we love our little guy very much!

Popsicles and Pears

The last couple of day have been rough ones in our house.  Thursday night Evan and I came down with the stomach bug just before 9 pm.  I wasn't feeling well while I was making dinner but I thought maybe I was just too hungry.  Then Evan didn't feel like eating and I thought it was because he was really tired from not napping that day.  Well soon enough we found out what was really going on.  Thursday night and Friday were really rough but thankfully Bruce wasn't sick so he could take care of us and Logan dodged the bullet for the most part too.
There was a lot of TV and movie watching, loads and loads of laundry, and lots of sleeping.  We were all feeling a bit better last night and had a special treat...popsicles!  Not generally something you eat in the winter but certainly just what the doctor ordered for today.  Earlier today, Evan was certain that Logan wanted to try some pear from his baby safe feeder so we let him try it.  Did he like it?  I'll let you be the judge.

Still Fun

Some games never get old...

Peek-A...

...BOO!!!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated the end of 2012 and rang in 2013 as we usually do - at Auntie Karin and Uncle Dan's house with lots of good food and drinks and great friends and family!  NYE celebrations with kids are a bit different than our NYE celebrations without kids but I wouldn't trade my boys just for one night of paying too much and getting too little at a crowded bar.  We had a great celebration complete with some Gangnam style dancing and a white elephant gift exchange full of laughs.
Happy New Year everyone!  Looking forward to what 2013 has in store!