Great Grandparents 12/23

I'm still catching up on all of my Christmas pictures. They're coming, I promise!!!


After we got back from Houston on Sunday 12/21 we took Monday to rest. Tuesday we loaded up early and headed out to see Shane's Grandparents. (This is about an hour away from where our families live.) Luckily both sets of Grandparents live close together so we were able to see both of them!


Here is Shane, his Grandpa (his Mom's Dad) and Logan

Shane's Grandma (his Mom's Mom) and Loganme, Logan and Shane's Grandpa (his Dad's Dad)


Logan laughing at his Great Grandparents house

Shane's Grandma (his Dad's Mom,) Shane and Logan
After we left there, we went to Shane's parents house to open presents with his sister, brother in-law and his nieces and nephew. What fun! Here are a few pics...

This is Shane's nieces and nephew (Tabi, Gabi and Cole) with Logan

The big twenty-nine

This is me on my first birthday
Another first birthday pic. You can see that I loved clothes from early on in life!!!

Today I'm officially twenty-nine. It's hard to believe! But, I'm excited as I inch closer and closer to turning thirty. I have another friend who just had a birthday and posted some early pictures of herself on her blog. I thought that was such a fun idea! So, I've decided to share a few pictures of mine. My Mom has been scanning on all of the slides that they have. I'm lucky that I am here on her computer with access to all of the pictures of my early years. Shane and I were just looking at a few that remind us a lot of Logan. 

It's been a wild few days. I have so many wonderful Christmas pictures to share! I'll have to get caught up on all of that once we get back to AR. Poor Logan is recovering from a stomach bug right now, so we're staying in TX for one more night. We went out to dinner for my birthday last night and he projectile vomited (I did say projectile right?) ALL over the table and floor. Shane and I were both calm and thought, "Okay, this sucks but we can deal with this." We made sure he was alright and started cleaning it up. Then, here he goes again. This time it went ALL over Shane and everywhere else. Everywhere. At that point, what can you do??? Logan had no idea what was happening and Shane took him into the mens room to clean up. Luckily, we had our truck there so we just wisked him out of there. No more birthday dinner for me : ( My brother was laughing today saying they probably have wanted signs for us outside of the restaurant!!! 

He got sick a few more times last night and we had a pretty rough time until about 1am or so. After that, we finally got him to sleep. He's been doing better today and is able to hold down bland foods and water. I'll have to get caught up more on the blog later on in the week, but I just wanted to share a little bit.

Please add my Granddad to your prayer list since he is back in the hospital following his hip replacement surgery last week. 

Trip to Granny D's

We're safe and sound in Texas! We drove in late Wednesday night with our entire entourage. It is amazing what you can fit into a car. We brought both dogs (for those of you who don't know, they are each 70 pounds,) our cat, Sebastian (who does NOT travel well,) and Logan of course. All of this in the cab of Shane's pickup. Crazy! About 45 minutes into the trip we decided that we were officially crazy. It was super foggy and just got worse the closer we got to Mom and Dad's. Kitty went "mewwwww, meowww, mewwwooo...." for about the first hour and a half! We were about ready to put him in the bed with the lugguge but since Shane has a bed cover, we were afraid he wouldn't get enough air. (Okay, we wouldn't really do this but we were so desperate!!!) We did finally take him out of the cat carrier and he went to sleep on the floor with the dogs. We just couldn't stand to leave him at home alone for 10 days. We're such softies!!! Once, he started sleeping the trip went fine. I even got to watch a movie on the dvd player while the rest of the truck slept (all except poor Shane who had to drive.) We pulled into the house about 11:15pm.

My Granddad (my Mom's Dad) had total hip replacement surgery on Tuesday of last week. He is 84 and we were all very worried about the surgery and praying that everything would go well and that he would have a smooth recovery. My Mom had driven to where the surgery was on Monday and stayed until last Friday night. He is still in the hospital and will probably be there until Wednesday, but everything is going well. I know that there are some reading my blog who were with him during this and I'd like to say thank you for keeping him company and being with him. Please give him a big hug for me!!! I wish that we could have been there. We will miss Granddad and Jean terribly this Christmas as they are usually here at my parents house. I will be so sad not to be looking for them to pull up on Christmas Eve.

We had planned to take Logan to Houston to see my Granny D (my Dad's Mom) last weekend. So, Friday morning we loaded up the car again (with Booker and Lucy safely at a Doggie Hotel) and headed out. My Dad came too and we had a ball. (Just so you do not get confused-Logan calls my Dad Granddad so when I refer to Granddad from here on out I'm talking about him, lol.) Logan ran up and down the halls of Granny's nursing home and brought cheer to everyone. He had so much fun!



Our family with Granny
Logan loved playing hide and seek in the closet at our hotel. This is right after he got out of the bath tub and I was trying to get him dressed.
Logan and Granny



Texas our Texas....

Texas our Texas/All Hail the mighty state/Texas our Texas/so wonderful and great....



This is what has been stuck in my head nonstop for the past few weeks. Maybe it's because I have been spending so much time there? LOL I should be singing Jingle Bells or other Christmas carols, but no.

We're getting ready for yet another trip down south. I am excited and looking forward to seeing the family and spending time there. But, there is a part of me that is a little bit sad that Christmas in my house is over. When we come home, it will be time to take down the tree and move on and that's a little bit sad. But, Christmas is about family and we're looking forward to spending it with ours. We're going to Houston this weekend to spend time with my Granny there. I can't wait!!!


I've been thinking a lot lately trying to figure out a way to bring in a little bit of extra income. We're making it fine, but we've had some unexpected expenses (why do cars really need brakes, anyways?) and Christmas, so it would just be nice to have a little bit extra every month. Plus, after a year of living really tight, we're getting a little ready for a tiny bit of wiggle room. Anyways, I've thought about a lot of things and at the end of the day I just can't bring myself to go back to work full-time. That's not even an option. I'm loving being at home with Logan too much and I think it's really where I'm supposed to be. Anyways, I have been saying that I am certain that I am on the absolute right path in my life, so it will all work out. (How lucky am I to be able to say that with such confidence?) I've just been having faith. But, lately, I've been seriously considering some part-time options with a lot of dread....THEN, I open up my email the other day and I got one from an old acquaintance that is looking for part time child care asking if I knew of anyone who might be interested. She has 2 boys ages almost 5 and 2 1/2 and lives in the neighborhood next to mine. She only needs someone on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-7:30pm. How perfect is that? I get to bring Logan or have the boys over at our house to play, and make some extra money for the family.



I met with them today and it went really well. The boys are both super sweet and loving. They gave me hugs the entire time! They were also patient and kind to Logan. I know that this will not be a breeze (when is taking care of 3 kids ever a breeze?) but I am confident that this is God providing for my family and rewarding us for taking a leap of faith to do what we think is right. I honestly feel that I'm taking care of a child anyways, so what's 2 more? (Remind me of this in a few weeks...lol)



I feel like I've handled the changes over the last few years pretty well so far and I'm looking forward to this new challenge in my life. I really believe that the most important job in the world is raising children and I hope that mine will grow up to know that being with family and having love is way more important then having "stuff." (I would feel this way even if I was still working and making good money.)



Here's a funny picture for you taken the night before last when we had spaghetti. Bath time??

First Haircut!!!

We finally broke down and got Logan's haircut! He did so well sitting in the firetruck chair. I don't think he even knew that he was getting a haircut! They gave him animal crackers, so his mouth is full in most of the pictures.
This is his before shot

Here's some of the first few cuts...He just smiled and had fun the entire time!Still cutting...


Here's his after shot! There was a train set in the hair salon that he couldn't wait to play with! We didn't want it to be short, so we left a lot of length on there. But, she cut over an inch off in the back!!! I love his little shaggy curls so I couldn't go short : )A little family picture before we leftAfter his haircut we had a birthday party to go to at a pizza party place. Here's Logan with his friend Cecilia in the car. They were going on a date! LOLThis would have been such a cute picture if only Logan would have looked up. Does anyone else feel that taking a picture of an 18 month old is impossible!?!So happy....Logan and Daddy talking on the phoneLaughing with MommyPassed out in the car on the way home. Whew! What a long day!!!

Okay...this is the marathon blog entry!

These pictures were taken this morning. We spent forever outside raking leaves. At least Logan had fun!!! It's not dark outside, it was just not a sunny day. Luckily it was in the 50's though.I couldn't resist putting this picture in here. Shane had blocked off the stairs to our deck with one of Logan's climbing gyms so that he couldn't climb up the stairs while we were raking the leaves. Booker figured out how to get under the slide and into the middle of it!!! Here he is poking his head out the little hole on the side. He is the funniest dog!

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Advent Calender

Here are some pictures of Logan hanging his ornaments on his advent calender. Shane's Mom made it for us last year and we love it! He wants to hang all of the ornaments on there at the same time. So, every morning I have to explain that we can only hang on one today.

18 Month Check Up

We went to the doctor this morning for Logan's 18 month check up. Hard to believe it's that time again! He weighs 28 lbs and is 33 inches long. Wow! He has gained about 5 lbs since his 15 month check up. The dr said that he is proportionate in height and weight but just a big boy. This is soooo hard to believe since he was so tiny for so long! (Anybody else remember those baby pictures where he looks super super skinny??) She was impressed with his signing and very complimentary of him. I was so happy to be able to tell her that he was talking now!

Here is an updated list of his words:
Mama
Dadden (daddy)
Wa-wa (water)
Kitty
Uh-oh
Memaw
Mmm-dad (Granddad)
Booker (kind of sounds like Booger)
Hot
Cookie
Yeah!
Turkey

Signs:
Please
Kitty
Baby
More
Eat
Dog
Banana
Cracker
Thank You
Milk
Water
Horse
Diaper

We made it home safe and sound from Mom and Dad's last night. But, I came home to a broken dryer (anyone know anything about dryers??) and an empty house. Shane had to be gone last night for a meeting. Logan had so much fun last night playing with all of his toys. It was so funny because he was wanting something out of his crib and kind of pointing and yelling. I asked him what he wanted and he said "ruff!" He wanted his stuffed puppy! He didn't know how to say dog but so he barked instead. So cute!

Company Christmas Party

Here is a picture of Shane and I last night at the party. We had a great time! It was nice to have an adult event at our house! We had about 25 people over and it seemed like everything went really well. We had the Wii set up in the office which was a huge hit : ) The company had paid to cater the party and the food was wonderful. I had cooked a couple of things too and a lot of people brought dips or desserts. There was a TON of food!


We've been pretty sad without Logan this weekend! We're just missing him so much!!!! But, we're making it. The good thing is that it has given us time to talk and be together without a toddler banging pots and pans right there, lol. I think every couple needs that once in awhile. Yesterday was pretty nutty getting ready for the party but, the good news is we're all ready for tonight! Our goal is to relax and take it easy today. I even slept until 9:30am!!!!!!! And, I'm still drinking my coffee and it's almost noon : )
It sounds like Logan is having a ball with Granddad and Memaw. He's even saying Granddad now! It sounds a little bit like "mmm-dad." So cute!
This is a picture my Mom sent me this morning of him playing Mr Potato Head. Okay, so maybe it's getting time for a hair cut......

Putting up Christmas Lights

This has been such a crazy week so far! We drove home on Sunday and got in that evening. We had such a wonderful trip and enjoyed being with family. It is always an odd combination of chaotic and relaxing, but we love it : ) As you can tell from all of the pictures, Logan had a great time and was spoiled rotten by all of the attention.

Shane's been on "vacation" this week. (I say it this way because he's been working so hard here at home this week!) Monday, we sort of recovered from our trip but we had to do major grocery shopping to get ready for the TWO Christmas parties we're hosting this weekend. I usually meal plan and shop for 15 days at time, so making the list and grocery shopping is a chore alone without the additional party planning. Poor Logan was tired and hungry by the time we finally made it to Walmart. Shane wound up carrying him around the entire time! Uhh! Oh, and we put up our outside Christmas lights.

Yesterday, I had a hair appointment in the morning (I have bangs!) and then we had our family pictures done in the afternoon. This is the first time we have attempted this with all 3 of us, and I think we might have gotten a few good shots. I will say that short of strapping an 18 month old down, there is no way to get them to sit still for a picture. Impossible! So, the pictures of him by himself are not as good. Not to mention to fact that they made us wait 15 mins which is valuable time to a toddler! After this, we wound up running errends in town and didn't make it home until time to put Logan to bed.

This morning, I had an eye appointment, playgroup and have been packing for Logan. We're meeting my Mom halfway tomorrow and they're going to keep him for the weekend. This makes my heart race just a little bit. (No offense Mom and Dad! I just have never been away from him like this before!) I've been packing and making lists like a mad woman. Since we're hosting 2 adult only parties this weekend we felt like it was a great time to let Logan go stay with Granddad and Memaw. I totally trust them and know that they will do a wonderful job with him. My Mom is so good at making sure she sticks with our routines which really helps Logan. (I'm sure most of you know, this is part of the stress of leaving them with someone else. Will they do things the way you would do them??)

Well, I'm off to tackle the rest of my to-do list for tonight....

This is Logan outside while we were putting up the Christmas lights.


I finally got him to wear a hat!!!


Here's Shane on the roof....