One Year Old!

Didn't get around to monthly pics today, but still wanted to get this up. I'll add them in tomorrow.

Our first year with Logan came to a close today. 

Our little boy is one year old. 

Throughout the day today I cherished each moment with him, and remembered how much he has changed in the past year.The differences between a newborn to a one year old are remarkable.

For Logan's birthday he got to go to the pediatrician and get two shots. Isn't he lucky?

He is 31 inches tall and weighs 19.7 pounds. He is in the 20th percentile for weight, which is the highest his weight percentile has been since July. So, we were glad for that. He is around the 80th percentile for height. We have a tall and slim little boy!

It seems like in just that past week Logan has shifted from baby to toddler. He is walking more and more now. Probably about 40% of the time. Maybe more, but it increases every day.

He comes out with new words all of the time. At the pediatrician today they asked if he had at least two words. "Um, yea." He has tons of words! He also uses several baby signs. Books are still a favorite. I finally realized this past month that books are the perfect thing to give him in the car! Other toys end up thrown overboard, but he will sit and happily flip through a book. 

We have successfully made it through a year of breastfeeding and a year (almost) of cloth diapering. With no end in sight for either one. He still nurses 4-6 times a day. I wouldn't mind if we dropped down to two times a day, but I am definitely not ready to quit altogether. We are on Logan's time table as far as weaning goes. I don't even like to use the word weaning, because I don't plan on it. We will nurse until he decides he is done.  Barring him wanting to nurse til kindergarten. ;)

Monday is finally, finally, finally the procedure to close the PDA in his heart. I am so ready for that to be past us! I wouldn't be surprised at all if his nursing dwindles a little after he recovers from that. We shall see.

As far as sleep goes Logan has been doing pretty well. He still gets up in the night occasionally, but not every night. This past weekend he decided that before six was the best time to start his day. Luckily today he slept til 6:45. Let's aim for past 7 tomorrow, little man! If I could sleep til at least 7 every day I would be ok with that. Naps have been easy for a while now. It is so wonderful to know that everyday I have two almost guaranteed periods when I can things done (or get nothing done, depending on the day) without my little one tugging on me. 

This year has been absolutely amazing. I always knew I wanted to be a mother. And now I know how wonderful it really is. Through all of the ups and downs, sleepless nights, the crying and whining, smelling like soured milk for the first four months, it was a joy and a blessing. I've heard someone say that it is a privilege to be a mother, and I think I am inclined to agree.

Here's to enjoying every moment and savoring the next year as much as the first.

11 Months Old!

It is so crazy that my little boy's first birthday is less than a month away! He is growing up so, so fast!

Lately two people have asked me when he is going to be two. Slow down people! We are still working on one! It will be interesting when we go to his one year appointment to see what his percentiles are now. I imagine his height is still quite high, and that his weight has raised a bit. 

His catheter procedure to close the hole in his heart has officially, for real, been set for May 20. We have to check in at 11:30, and he can't have any food or nurse any after 5:30. That's going to be hard for my little one. He still loves to nurse and often tugs on my shirt asking for it. Luckily we will have family members with us and they can help distract him. 

I have probably said this every month, but Logan just continues to be more and more fun. The weather has been back and forth here lately, as far as temperature, but we have been trying to soak in every warm and pretty day. We have been to a baseball game, the zoo, and to the park many times.

This month Logan has become a pro at getting a spoon and fork into his mouth. He isn't to the loading stage, but if you hand him a pre-loaded fork or spoon he doesn't delay getting that food down!

We have been using several baby signs for a while, and now Logan signs "diaper change!" He only uses it after you say "diaper change," but he does if almost every time. We do lots of clapping around here. Any time someone says "yay," even if it is just in conversation and not directed toward Logan, he will clap his hands. He also claps his hands when someone sings "If you're happy and you know it." He also points and waves now! He is very observant and loves to copy. When Logan saw Matt snap his fingers he rubbed his thumb and middle finger together just like Daddy! Except his didn't make any noise. ;)

Logan has lots of fun out and about. At the park he absolutely loves the swings the best. Sliding is ok and all, but could you please just put me back in the swing, please. From his swing he can see cars driving by and he loves to watch them. One day we made a dash for the park before a thunderstorm was going to hit and lower the temperature for several days. It was almost deserted, but the maintenance guys were mowing. Logan really enjoyed watching them work. His love for machinery is starting up!

Logan now has four teeth! The bottom two are almost fully in, and on top, the right incisor and the right lateral incisor are both just barely through the gums. He isn't always the most graceful teether, but I think he is getting better, because the first of those two just appeared one day!

I think we may have a little climber on our hands. He loves to climb all over Matt and me. I often sit in the floor with him, and he uses me to try to climb onto the couch! For a few days we had a mattress in the floor for guests, and he LOVED climbing onto that thing. Not so good at the climbing off part.... read: face plant. He has started to let go sometimes while he is standing, and stand for several seconds on his own. I predict he will be walking by his birthday.

There is no doubt we have a very smart little boy on our hands (we are not biased at all, no way, not us). He has several words now. He says, uh-oh, blueberry, Mama, Da-da, banana, num num(our word for nursing), Mmmmmimi, cheese, and a few more. At Easter Mimi got him a little egg that a little chick popped out of. When I played with it with him I would say "BOO!" every time I made the chick pop up. He started saying it too. The same thing happened when I was blowing bubbles with him and saying "Pop!" 

Another little cute thing he does is jump. When someone holds his hands while he is standing you can say "Logan, jump!" and he will widen his stance and bounce up and down. My favorite part is how he has to spread those little feet out before he can get his jump on.

He also has many animal sounds. He does monkey, donkey, horse, cat, dog, roars for a lion, makes the elephant sound with accompanying arm/trunk raise, and wrinkles his nose and snorts for pig. He gets very excited reading animal books. That played a large role in our decision to go to the zoo!

Whenever Logan comes across any form of clothing, hat, socks, shoes, pants, tops, he loves to try to put them on, and he knows where on his body they belong. I'm not sure if he is trying or pretending, but either way it is adorable.

10 Months Old!

Double digits! Can you believe it!

Logan continues to bloom each and every day. His language skills have definitely been developing lately. He loves to mimic and will often do it on command. Aka: "Logan, say 'da-da.'" 

He makes the "b" sound for blueberries and knows what a kitty says. 

I am also pretty certain I heard him say "kitty" also, well, his version anyway. 

He has been a very oral baby all along, but now his babbling feels very conversational.

This month he also started clapping his hands and doing the "roll 'em up" motion from patty cake. There is a lot of "Yay!"-ing accompanied by clapping going on around here these days. 

Logan can also answer several questions like, "Where are you hands?" , feet, toes, a book, etc.

Speaking of books, they are a favorite right now. We keep a basket of toys and a basket of books in the living room, and lately he is more often looking at a book than playing with toys. 

He loves to turn the pages, and lift the flaps, too. When you sit down to read to Logan you better have a stack of books ready, because just a couple is never enough!

This month he also got his first tooth! (Finally!) The second one is working hard on popping through, and his gums are so puffy that they almost swallow the one he already has!

Lately sleep has been a bit rough. After so much traveling Logan became very accustomed to nursing to sleep, and would want me to nurse him to sleep multiple times during the night! We are currently working on disassociating nursing and sleeping, by nursing after naps instead of before and reading a few books after our bedtime nursing session. We are only a few days into this, and I am still nursing during the night, but it is already getting better.

Coming up this month we have Easter with family and cousins! 

If only Logan would start walking within the next two weeks so he could hunt eggs too. ;) 

I can't wait to see him play with his cousins again!

P.S. Yes, all he owns are white onesies. :P 

9 Months Old!

Logan has had personality from day one, when he was giving us the eyebrow and asking, "are you the ones who dared to remove me from my cozy womb?" 

But these days? Oh my, how the personality doth bloometh. 

Accurate depiction of 9 months:

This boy wants to be standing at all times. However, since that isn't possible(yet!) it is handy that he is now a crawling PRO. He can get where he wants to be and pull up on almost anything. Except for the spinning red recliner. That one still gives him the run around. 

Last month I wrote that I wouldn't be doing these monthly photo shoots without my assistant.

Wish I would have read that before I took this month's without him! Luckily I caught little Lo-Lo every time he dove head first off the chair. Sitting still is not an option when you have just learned how to make your body work for you!

At his 9 months well-baby visit Logan weighed in at 17.2 lbs and was 29.3 inches long. That puts him in the 10th percentile for weight and 84th percentile for height. From birth to six months his weight percentile dropped at every appointment. At his six month well-baby visit he was down to the 5th percentile. We were glad to see it has raised to 10%. PDA can make it difficult for babies to gain weight.

Speaking of PDA, he will be undergoing a catheter procedure to close the hole in his heart next month on March 22. Please keep us in your prayers!

Logan has always loved books, and now he can turn the pages and lift the flaps on his own! It is so much fun to see his understanding of language grow. He knows what the phrase "turn the page" means and where to find a book when I ask if he wants to read one.

Not only does he understand things we are saying, he is starting to try to say a little of his own! He has been babbling for several months, but now he is starting to say "Mama" and "Da-da." Last night while we were reading I am pretty sure he said "dog" too! He also has a strange little sound he makes when he sees Molly. 

He is turning into a little ham. I love it! Whenever we laugh he laughs right along with us whether he gets the joke or not. And if I say "cheeeese," he makes this face:

This adorable wrinkled nose smile is his new favorite face to make. It started last weekend, and I don't see an end in sight. 

When it comes to meal time, this boy can put away the food! He loves to feed himself and is very good at it. So far there isn't anything that he doesn't like. Cuties are a definite favorite. Although they are a teensy bit labor intensive for me, but I don't mind. ;)

This past month sleep has not been the best. At nine months old Logan has 0 teeth. They are on the way though, and I blame them for the poor sleep. I study his gums daily and am convinced that he is working on four at once. 

I can't believe Logan's first year is already 3/4 of the way over. It has flown by so fast. I imagine the next three months are going to be a blur, and I am trying my best to savor every day. 

As with every prior month, this is the best one yet.

*YES! I finally have a new charger for my camera! However, I have never claimed to be a photographer and never will. :)

8 Months Old!

(Yes, these pictures are YET again taken with my phone. A new camera charger is on the way!)

These pictures aren't getting any easier to take, but they are definitely getting more fun! Just like Logan!

He has recently started rocking back and forth on his hands and knees. Crawling isn't far behind!

His little personality just continues to bloom. Now he will hide behind a blanket or other object to play peekaboo with us. He also has a new game that has been dubbed "Flop Neck." He flops his head to one side or the other and waits for you to mimic him. It always cracks him up.

Speaking of cracking up, Logan is laughing so much more now! Sometimes he will be laughing at seemingly nothing. Although I am sure we just didn't get the joke. ;)

Last month he discovered the letters, this month that poor tiger got some serious abuse.

Who knows what the next four months will bring! I probably won't be taking them without my assistant (Matt) anymore though!

7 Months Old!

Still phone pictures. :(

Let's note a few things shall we? 

1. Those eyes!

They are the first thing everyone who sees him mentions.
So big and so blue. We just love them.

2. Those legs! Do you see those legs??
How could you miss 'em!?

This month Logan discovered the letters. Haha. Oh boy. 

He also started sitting unsupported while we were in Texas for Thanksgiving! Just in time for his photo shoot for our Christmas cards!

Note to self(and anyone else): This is a little closer to 7 1/2 mo. Oops.

6 Months Old!

Disclaimer: My camera charger is seriously MIA. So these pictures are from my phone. :(

Halfway to a year already??? I can't believe it! This little guy's first year is flying by way too fast!

We didn't get very many great shots, but I had so much fun taking these pictures. He was giggling a lot and being such a little flirt.

Happy Half Birthday, Logan!

Five Months Old!

Little man is growing and loving life. He has started eating solid foods! He loves to eat. Applesauce is probably his favorite. The only thing he has turned down is peas. He rolls all over the place, but still has trouble getting from tummy to back. He loves to be loud and will yell, squeal, and scream.

I just can't get enough of him, most of the time. ;)

This is what 5 months looks like:

Hehe.

Four Months Old!

(..and five days)

 Our little man is getting more fun all of the time. I have a feeling each month is going to be more fun than the last. We just love spending time with him every day.

 This month he discovered "standing," and love it! He wants to stand up all of the time now. He also discovered that he can squeal and scream happy screams. For about a week or two he did it all the time. That novelty didn't last very long. 

He always keeps us guessing and smiling. We wouldn't have it any other way. 

Three Months Old!

Another month has passed, and our little man is still busy growing and changing.

Logan is much more interactive with toys now. He holds them and chews on them. He absolutely loves sitting  straight up, which has made his high chair a really handy place to put him while we are eating. He may not be eating solid foods yet, but we are already all enjoying meal time as a family at the table, a tradition I plan to continue as long as we have kids living at home. 

Logan enjoys being read to now. He will stare intently at the pictures. He also introduces more sounds to his "vocabulary" very often. Sometimes they surprise him more than us!

His sleeping pattern is usually pretty consistent. Bedtime is around 8:30 or 9 and he generally wakes up between 5:30 and 7. However, last night he woke up at 1:30 and ate for quite a while! I think we are hitting that three month growth spurt. He still has three to four naps a day, ranging from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. 

He is so close to rolling over (back to front), but that dang shoulder keeps getting in the way. He has very strong legs and uses them to push his booty off of the ground and hold it in the air.

I feel like my rambling is very boring, so I will let you just enjoy some pictures of the baby now!

I call this "Skepticism." 

Two Months Old!

Logan has changed so much in the last month. He is becoming more of a little person every day. 

He was very interested in the tiger. Even knocked it over a few times!

Now he smiles and enjoys being talked and sung to. 

His favorite song right now is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." He starts smiling as soon as I start singing it. I think he likes it mostly because of the cheek pokes and nose boops that go with it.

He is almost always moving. He flails and kicks a lot. He gets very excited on his play mat, and now he has even started trying to hit the toys himself!

Just this week he has started noticing his feet. I have caught him several times watching them move. 

It is already clear that he is a very oral baby. He "talks" a lot and keeps his hands in his mouth. He has also started working his tongue and even clicking it sometimes.

"Hello Mr. Tiger, I have a secret for you."

I can't wait to see what the months ahead will bring!

One Month Old

It is hard to believe it has only been a month and it seems like he has been here forever all at the same time.

Logan had a rough start to life, when he was admitted to Arkansas Children's Hospital at five days old. Everyone there was so wonderful to us. We went to the emergency room because he was refusing to eat and dehydrating very quickly, like babies that age will do.

Feeding my baby poor little baby, with an iv in his head because his hands were too dehydrated. 

They ran a wide battery of tests and discovered a heart condition called PDA. It is common in preemies, but rare in full term babies. And Logan was 5 days past his due date! I am so glad that I was not induced on May 10 like my doctor wanted me to be. He needed those extra days in the womb!

Holding Daddy's thumb with one hand and the tech's with the other during an echo.

He got a lot stronger in the hospital and has continued to do so once we were home.

As a result of his heart condition, we stopped nursing and switched to pumping and using bottles. Last Wednesday we visited a lactation consultant and started working on going back to nursing.

Our first successful feed was Sunday morning. I was very impressed with how quickly he was able switch back over. He would still get very frustrated in the middle of the night and I would end up pumping. Last night was our first night to not pump! Success! He still fights at the breast some, but I have to remember that we aren't even a week in yet!

At Wal-Mart - "You took me WHERE!??"

We have had a few firsts in the past month.

First tummy time

First bath

He wasn't too crazy about it, but I am hoping that after a few more he will become a fan.

We have seen lots of smiles, but are still waiting on that first deliberate one. Mostly sleepy ones like this one:

As far as sleeping goes, it could be better. We have good nights and bad nights. I can't even imagine how productive I could be on a solid eight hours of sleep! Or even six! 

However, I know this won't last forever and remind myself that daily, or maybe nightly. ;)
Just because I'm not sleeping doesn't mean he isn't!

Logan also met his two girl cousins this month! One from each side of the family.
We learned that he has some big ol' feet!
Below, Logan's foot (on the left), compared with his eight month old cousin, Brooklyn.

Below, Logan's foot at two weeks (on the left) compared to his cousin Aubrey's at seven weeks. 

We are having a lot of fun with our little man, and we are looking forward to all of the fun developmental stages along the way!