Monkeying Around

It was a relatively quiet end of February...not much to report...just a bunch of cute photos to share.  Enjoy!

Surrounded by Friends

Dear Logan,
My hope for you is that you will always be surrounded by great friends just as you are here! I love you!
Love,
Mommy

PTE with the Wheeler's

Yesterday we planned a trip back to Playtown Express with the Wheeler's.  Everyone was healthy and everyone was free so it worked out.  It was a bit of a rough start but once the kids got settled in they all had a great time!  Evan and Madelyn had a great time "playing" the games, especially Dance Dance Revolution!

Happy Birthday, Sean!

On Tuesday, Sean turned three!  Today we celebrated with a Jake and the Neverland Pirates themed party at Kidz Castle and some cousin time at Uncle Dan and Auntie Karin's after the party.  Hard to believe that it has already been three years and that Evan will be three in less than three months!  Where does the time go?

School Vacation Week

Even though I'm not currently teaching, school vacation weeks are still some of our busiest weeks.  I have quite a few friends who are teachers that we don't get to see when school is in session.  This week we got together for play dates at our house with Emily and Annalia and with Jenna and Isabelle.  It was fun to see the girls and catch up with the moms.



Feeding Lia some fruit loops.  I love how patiently Lia was waiting.


Playing with the cars and trucks that Jenna and Belle brought over today.
Logan sure does think his big brother is funny...just ask Evan...he'll tell you.

Clap, Clap, Clap

Logan has a new trick/skill.  He is very proud of himself when he does it and the doctor said that clapping is more of a 9 month skill.  He's ahead of the curve already!  Must be because he has such a good big brother to teach him all sorts of things.

Big boy clapping

Six Month Photos and Stats

I left for Florida on the day that Logan turned 6 months old.  He was all smiles when we woke him up to go to the airport but later that day, after a trip to the pediatrician, we found out that he had pink eye.  Poor little guy!  Thankfully, he kept this pink eye to himself and miraculously only one eye and after a little ointment, he was better in no time.
Today we went back to the pediatrician.  This time for a well visit.  Dr. Gonroff was quite pleased to see how he is developing...gaining weight and growing like a champ, sitting up, clapping, talking, etc.  His six month stats once again measure up quite closely to Evan's and are as follows: height 28.5 inches, weight 20 lbs, 8 oz, head circumference 46.5 cm.  Evan's and Logan's stats have been so close that I had to do the nerdy thing and graph it. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?  All of the measurements are really close but the weight simply amazes me.  I wonder what the 9 month stats will show...will Evan pull ahead or will Logan stay on track now that he is eating more???  Stay tuned!

Puffs

For quite a few weeks, Logan has been drooling and drooling and drooling.  So much so that we keep thinking he must be getting teeth.  But as usual, he keeps us guessing.  Still no teeth but we gave him a few puffs anyway.  He wasn't sure what to do with them and didn't quite like the texture but soon I'm sure he will.

No Logan, the puffs go in your mouth, not on your face!

Just like your brother

In this video, he knows that he needs to get the puff into his mouth, but he isn't quite sure how to do it.  If you look closely, you can see his mouth moving as he lowers his head.  Silly boy!

Bubble Heads!

More fun in the tub for the Skarin boys!

Daddy's Buddy

After spending 5 straight days with just Daddy, you may think that Evan got enough "daddy time".  Quite the contrary!  This little guy absolutely adores his daddy and follows him EVERYWHERE he goes! This weekend was filled with daddy time...fixing, forts and lots of fun!

Eating...Again!

We started spoon feeding Logan at the beginning of December.  After numerous attempts, where he just kept pushing it out of his mouth and not really opening up, we stopped.  A few weeks later, we tried again.  Same results.  So here we go again...third time's the charm, right?

Are we really doing this again?

Are you crazy?

Ok, fine, I'll try it

I think it's safe to say that he likes it!

(Seeing as I am posting this a week later...the third time was the charm.  He has really taken to it this time and is enjoying lunches and dinners consisting of rice cereal, green beans, carrots and applesauce.  The fun has begun!)

Mohawk!

You may remember this picture of Evan from this blog post.

Well now it's Logan's turn.  Not quite as much hair (or baby chub) but still awfully cute!

Best Buds

With each new stage comes new challenges and new rewards.  Now that Logan is sitting up (mostly unassisted) and playing more, he and Evan have been having more fun together.  Evan has been requesting to have Logan play with him in a particular room or with a certain toy.  Just in the last two days, Evan has requested that Logan sit with him in his "little house", a place that he usually doesn't want anyone.  Evan has also been learning to share toys with Logan and trying to understand that Logan's attention span is quite short and he will only play with something for a few minutes.  Evan also played a special song for Logan..."playing a king song to the beat" and singing in his "super microphone."  What a great big brother!  It is clear to me that these two special little boys are already forming quite a special bond.  One which I hope will continue throughout their lifetime together!

Love Bugs

Happy Valentine's from my little Love Bugs!!

A little note about the love bug project.  I saw these at Michael's and thought it would be a fun little project to do with Evan and to send to a few special people for Valentine's day.  He was excited about it when we first started and Evan put the hearts on the wings while I put the wings on the body...well for the first 5 or 6 anyway.  The remaining love bugs I assembled by myself.  Maybe next year he will be more into it...we'll see.  

My Valentine's

I have three wonderful Valentine's...not just today but everyday!  We had a fun Valentine's day with music class at Gymboree, a special after lunch treat, a little Valentine's Day gift from mom and takeout Chinese food for Mom and Dad after the boys were in bed.  A bit different than fancy wining and dining but I wouldn't change it for the world!

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Today was a wonderful day!  Evan, Logan and I finally made it out to see Jackie, Evalyn and Genevieve.  We had been planning this play date since the beginning of December but due to busy schedules, the holidays, illness and my trip to Florida, we kept having to reschedule.  Today we finally made it and had a wonderful visit, complete with delicious cupcakes from the Queen's Cups.  After nap time, we went to Northworks for dinner and had a very nice evening.  My boys then surprised me with homemade flowers and some new perfume.  All in all, a great way to turn 34! 34...really!?!?!

Solo Daddy Days 4-5

The next visit to the snow cave was a lot more fun. Evan helped to dig it out further and give us a bit more room inside. Both boys continued to be at their best until the final day when Logan decided to grab the bottle as I was making it first thing in the morning. The result was a sticky mess all over the carpet in his room. I guess we finally had all the reason to get that steam cleaner we had been talking about. With some more help from Evan we picked one up at the Depot and got it put together so that Daddy could clean up the mess before Mommy came home. All in all it was fun to have so much one on one time, but I also gained a whole new level of appreciation for all the Diane does to take care of these wonderful boys. Love you hun! Hope you had a great vacation.

Solo Daddy Day 3 - Nemo

With Logan's run-in pink eye we missed his six month photo shoot, but now that it was all cleared up we started the day with some fun shots on the couch. Then after a picnic breakfast, we headed outside to see what Nemo had dumped on us. It was quite impressive to say the least. Evan had fun trying to just move around in the snow and the drifts were so deep that we could build a snow cave without piling up any additional snow. Of course by the time it was finished both boys were pretty spent. The finally tally was 28 inches and it took me all of the boy's nap time to clear off most of the driveway (I left the snow cave intact in case they wanted to play in it tomorrow).

Solo Daddy Day 2 - Indoor Fun

Well with Nemo arriving it was a good day for doing things inside. What can be more fun than bubbles in the basement? And thus it begins with Daddy doing things that simply aren't practical on a daily basis. Once again though, the boys were great, earning a movie night while winter storm Nemo got cranking outside. We ended the night with some bath time fun and wondering if we'd be buried before the storm let up tomorrow.

 

Mommy Gets a Break

While Mommy was enjoying an early birthday celebration here...

The boys and Daddy were here...

I think Mommy wins!!  Stay tuned for Daddy's updates of the fun boys weekend with Nemo!

Solo Daddy Day 1 - Pink Eye

With Mommy off for some well deserved vacation time in Florida, Daddy gets to have five days flying solo. When getting the boys up early to take Mommy to the airport Logan's left eye was looking a little goopy and red. After getting back home it still didn't look good so we made him an appointment to see the doctor after Evan's music class. At class we all had a blast dancing and playing instruments to the Valentine's themed music and then headed over for Logan's appointment. After a quick checkup, Dr. Jamie confirmed that Logan had pink eye so she called in a prescription and we were on our way. Fortunately our CVS has a drive through so it made picking up Logan's medicine fairly easy later that day. Both boys were troopers and took it fairly easy on Daddy, all things considered. Of course the next days were looking to be even more interesting because winter storm Nemo was on its way!

 

PlayTown Express

Today we went to PlayTown Express.  We were supposed to meet the Wheeler's there but unfortunately Dylan was sick.  We decided to check it out on our own anyway and boy am I glad we did.  Evan loved it!  This is probably the first time that we have been to a place like this where he actually played on the equipment and explored on his own for the majority of the time we were there.  It usually takes him a while to warm up and then he plays for what seems like 10 minutes before we are ready to leave.  There were lots of things to climb on, jump on, bounce on, slide on, ride on...it was great!  We played for a while, had a snacky lunch and then played for a while longer.  We will certainly be going back and bringing friends too!  Well worth the price of admission, especially for active little boys!

Bedtime Routines

Having two children with completely different bedtime routines who need to/want to be in bed at the same time is challenging.  Especially when they are both completely dependent on you in order to get ready for bed and when you are on your own trying to juggle it all.  Somehow it always gets done but it often leaves me wanting to crawl into bed right after!

My monkeys!

Bath Seat

Logan got a "new" (aka slightly used) bath seat from Auntie Karin.  We tried it out tonight for the first time and he helps him sit up without being swept away by the current (aka the waves that Evan makes).  It is a great alternative to separate baths!

Hard Work

This playing stuff...

...Is hard work!

Super Bowl

We weren't really interested in the outcome of the game this year but Super Bowl is always a good excuse to get together with friends and have a party.  I couldn't tell you much about the game, other than the power outage, or the commercials, other than the Go Daddy kiss, or what the final score was but I do know we had two little boys who were extremely well behaved, had fun playing with Bishop (once he stopped licking), provided their own half-time entertainment while dancing to the actual half-time entertainment, were the big winners in the pool ($90 for Logan, $40 for first quarter and $50 for the half), and were up way past their bedtimes!  Congrats to the Ravens!

Annalia is two!

Today we celebrated Annalia's second birthday!  It was a fun party for a sweet girl and it was great to have a mini-reunion with some girls from high school.  Happy birthday, Annalia!

Chocolate!

Today while I was upstairs getting Logan changed and dressed, I knew Evan was being a little too quiet.  I thought maybe he was playing hide-and-seek and didn't even hear him go downstairs.  When I began searching for him and calling for him, I couldn't find him and he didn't answer...a sure sign of mischief!  When I did find him, he was standing in front of the fridge with the door open but closed on him (if that makes sense) holding an empty Hershey's wrapper!  I guess leaving a chocolate bar open and partially eaten was just a little too tempting for our little choc-a-holic!  When I asked him how much he ate, his response was "All of it!"

Good Mom?

**Warning: Not the typical lighted hearted, full of smiles and laughter post ahead.**

Some days I don't feel like a good mom. I find myself getting upset and aggravated quickly, I raise my voice more often than I should and like to, I don't spend as much time enjoying the moments, which I know are passing too quickly. I realize that all of this is happening right before my eyes and yet as hard as I try, on these days, I can't seem to do much to change it.  I know that I am generally a good mom but I also know that there are things that I need to work on. I love my boys so much and only want what is best for them but some days I think maybe we just all need a break. Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Why then does the thought of sending Evan to preschool leave me feeling empty? So many emotions... maybe it's cabin fever, maybe it's been a long week, maybe it's the reality of knowing I can't give my boys everything they need and that soon I won't have as much time with them as I do now. What ever it is, today has been one of those days...this parenting stuff is tough!