Logan Meets The Mouse

Today we took Logan to meet Mickey at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I was a little apprehensive because:

A. We've never taken Logan on an all day outing where she has no chance of a long morning/afternoon nap.

B. It was a mostly outdoor outing, which we also have not done.

C. I was a little nervous that the characters might scare her.

However, she was a champ! We totally killed her schedule today but she didn't have any major meltdowns and she just talked and giggled the day away. Now, many of you may not know this, but this was not Lo's first trip to Disney. This was:

Yes, her first trip to disney was while she was still cooking. This WAS her first trip that she could really enjoy. She had such a great time. I'll stop writing and let you see what I'm talking about.

I'm going to meet the mouse today!

I'm all ready to go!

We're finally here and ready for fun.

Meeting Mickey for the first time.

Meeting the Incredibles.

Disney does it right for nursing mamas. They have a really nice station where you can go and sit and nurse in private with rocking chairs and dim lights and a tv for the little ones to watch. Here she is hanging out in the nursing station.

Getting ready to for the playhouse Disney show.

Logan loves the Little Einstein kids.

She was completely enthralled with the show.

She danced and played along with them.

Tigger and Pooh were there too!

She met Handy Manny.

Not quite sure what to think about this guy holding her hand.

But after a while, she didn't want to let go.

Then she met June, a Little Einstein character.

June had fun with Logan, too. Logan was absolutely fascinated with her.

After meeting the Playhouse characters we headed off to lunch.

Where Logan passed out.

Until I put the first bite of food into my mouth. Then she was wide awake.

Later in the afternoon we went to ride the new Toy Story attraction. Logan loved looking at all of the different decorations on the way in. We felt like we were inside of a giant toy box. Here she is with Rachael, my college roommate.

And with daddy, the birthday boy!

We had dinner at Hollywood and Vine, our favorite restaurant at the park and were shocked at how empty it was. Usually we have to wait to be seated (even with reservations) but we showed up early and got right in and were probably one of only 6 tables with people at them. Logan sat in a high chair for the very first time and loved it!

These are our Disney friends, Rachael and her husband, Drew. Mike and I have been going to Disney with them at least once a year for the last 3 years and we have such a great time. It's going to be so strange living outside of Florida and not just being a hop, skip and jump away from them.

I love Disney mommy and daddy, let's come back when I can remember what I saw.

Passed out at the end of the day.

We wanted to get Logan a nice keepsake to have in the future. I know, now that I have one of these I'm going to have to get one for each subsequent child that we have. This is why we picked something relatively inexpensive and useful. I'm sure we'll get years of use from it and will enjoy adding to the collection as we add to our family.

I can't end this post without giving some credit to a few creative geniuses. The adorable pillowcase dress with the Minnie and Mickey heads was made by Marci, she does incredible things with a sewing machine. I got so many comments on Logan's dress, I can't wait to put her in it again. The big Minnie bow was made by my sweet friend Shannon, she also does some crazy wonderful things and we love her work! She has definitely been my inspiration with the bow making. Thank you, ladies, for making Logan's Disney wardrobe so cute and special!

Summer Days

I've always loved summer. Something about lazy lounging by the pool, reading tons of books, sunny days, the smell of sunscreen, and no school (which I think I enjoy more now, as a teacher, than I ever did), makes my eyes light up and my skin tingle with excitement. Now, I get to enjoy them with my baby.

There's something wonderful about the simple things that excite children. I remember thinking before I had a baby that I'd never enjoy those things that I loved as a child again. I think I enjoy them even more, now, as I watch my little one excited about them. I get so much joy out of thinking of different things that we can do as a family, or just the two of us, to allow Logan to explore the world.

For example, next week we're headed off to Disney for Mike's birthday. Now, I know she won't remember this visit (though, I plan on taking many pictures so that one day she can see what we did), but I've still had so much fun looking into the different things that they have there for her. I don't care about riding the big rides or seeing some of the shows I used to look forward to. Instead, I'm excited about going to see the Playhouse Disney show and taking Logan to meet the Little Einsteins. It never ceases to amaze me how much my mentality has changed since becoming a parent.

Another new found love of mine is the kiddie pool. I remember being young and visiting my grandmother and looking forward to using the splash toys and kiddie pool in her backyard. Getting to share that experience with Logan is even more fun. Tuesday, we filled up the pool and headed out back for some water fun.

It started out with just Logan and I.

We were having so much fun...

That daddy decided to join us! (or I made him get in...ha!)

We've also been spending a lot of time away from the hot sun inside. Another thing I love about summer is flip flops! I'd wear them all year long if I could, and in Miami, I have been able to. I have a feeling, though, that I'll have to retire them come winter this year. I've really been enjoying that Logan is fitting into baby shoes, now. I love to accessorize her little outfits with baby flip flops, I think they are so cute!

C'mon mom, more pictures?

Ok, I'll smile for this one.

But, now I think I'm more interested in my shoes. Happy Summer!

Happy Birthday, Happy 4th and a few not so happy incidents

Well, the weekend started off with a bang....literally. Friday, as I was driving to pick Mike up from work my AC went hot so I quickly got to the safest place to pull over (less than half a block away) and parked to figure out what was up. No sooner had I parked the car, it started smoking pretty good. We (Lo and I) got out of the car and called my parents (who just happened to be less than a block away from us at the time...coincidence? I think not.) and they came to help with Logan so that I could take car of the rest. My dad and I got a tow truck to come out and take the car to the dealer, where Mike met us. Come to find out that the AC compressor locked up (why my car got hot) and then in just the time it took for me to drive that half block to park, that problem caused a bunch of other things to go wrong. It ended up costing us a pretty penny--but we have an emergency fund for this kind of stuff (thank you Dave Ramsey) and were able to cover it.

Friday night we went over to my family's house to celebrate my mom's birthday. We had a great dinner with great fellowship. We're really going to miss having them so close when we move. It's such a blessing to be around family, especially with a new baby, they help so much and we are so grateful for them and all they do. They even lent us a car for the weekend to help us out while we waited for mine to get dealt with. Brings me to the rest of the story.

Logan and nana on her birthday.

So, Saturday rolls around and Mike got up bright and early (at 3:30am) to head out for the opening shift at Starbucks. After work he packed up the rest of our house and headed back toward us. About halfway, he hit a bad patch of rain and ended up spinning out on the turnpike and hitting the inside guardrail. He's ok, the car...not so much. We're waiting to figure out what the damage is but it's not looking good. My family is being very gracious about it. I know that we're inconveniencing them quite a bit because they're down one car and it's just a pain to have to re-arrange schedules to work around that.

A while back, I made Logan a pillowcase dress for the 4th. Unfortunately, it was stuck in a bag in the car that was in the shop on the 4th so she didn't get to wear it. Oh well, maybe our next little girl will get use out of it, right? :) Here is a picture of it, anyway.

I'll end the post on a happy note, with some pictures of the princess. She's wearing another mommy creation. I'm really into making a lot of these sweet dresses for her because:

1. Diaper changes are SO EASY in them.

2. They're really cute.

3. They breathe really well so she doesn't sweat like crazy in them.

4. They slip on and off very easily (making clothing changes while sleeping nice)

5. It's SO MUCH cheaper to make them than it is to buy them.

P.S. Notice how she stands in first position? I think we may have a ballerina. :)

Sweet feet and a big 5 months old

This really has nothing to do with Logan turning 5 months old, but I LOVE chubby baby feet and find baby shoes, specifically baby sandals, to be perfectly charming. How sweet are these? Logan doesn't like to keep her big toes in the toe holes but I think it's because they don't quite fit her yet, we'll see.

On with the 5 month post. Again, when the 28th of each month hits, I can't help but remember the anxiousness I felt the morning of January 28th as I went in for a scheduled induction to meet my baby. Was I ready for this? Would I be a good mommy? What if I didn't know what to do? But ready or not, she came, and the rest has just been a wonderful learning process.

I have to admit that since finishing with work and starting to stay home with her, things have really started to look up. I feel happier, more fulfilled and much more accomplished at the end of a day at home than I ever did at work. It's truly a blessing to be able to be with her like this and we can only attribute it to God because without Him this wouldn't be possible.

Enough of my musings!

Little girl, you are a whole 5 months old! What can you do this month?

- You have discovered your little feet and you can't keep your hands off of them! You are constantly grabbing them and pulling them close to your face. They haven't quite made it in your mouth but I'm keeping them extra clean for the day that it does happen.

- Your voice has much more than one inflection now. You get a high pitched, sing song, voice when you are content. Your voice dips into it's lower, more whiney inflection when you start to get upset. You also seem to have a singing voice- when the radio is on, or you're watching praise baby you like to make all kinds of noises like you're singing along.

-Speaking of Praise Baby, your Nana Kathy brought you one the last time she visited and it's your favorite video. Mommy and daddy know that if we put it on, we've got a full 28 minutes to get things done before you fuss. We need to ask her where she got it so we can get you some more.

- You're almost sleeping through the night. You go to bed around 8:30pm and you sleep (usually) until 3:30am and then you go back down until 8:45 or 9 in the morning.

- You recognize your toys and are playing with them a lot more. You love the little horse your Tia Carolyn gave you and want to have it around all the time. You like to play with your keys, your rattles and your teething rings.

- You're still trying to cut that first tooth. Your poor little gums have been swollen for a couple of weeks now and it just doesn't want to show it's little face but we know it's coming.

- You are learning to use all of your limbs, now. You know that kicking your legs in the bathtub makes the water splash. You use your hands and arms to bring your blanket over your head when we're playing. You've learned how to use your arms and legs to roll yourself from your tummy to your back and you rarely will just stay on your tummy anymore--you roll as soon as we put you on it.

- You can play on your own for longer periods of time. If mommy sits you in your pack and play you'll entertain yourself for about 10 minutes before wanting to be picked up and played with.

-You really like being read to. You will sit still and help hold whatever book mommy or daddy is reading to you until it's over.

- You can sit up on your own. You don't actually sit up by yourself, but if your put in a sitting position you'll stay there for quite a while. You have very good balance.

- You have moved into size 2-3 diapers, are 15 lbs and 12 oz and 25 inches long. You also are wearing a lot of 6 month clothing, especially sleepers.

You are such a joy to us and we are so happy that we get to be your mommy and daddy. We look forward to continue watching you grow and helping you learn to be a woman of God. Here's your comparison pictures:

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Is this my kid, or what? :)

4 month well baby checkup

It's actually closer to a 5 month checkup since she'll be 5 months on Sunday (can you believe it?!) but we finally made it in to the Dr. (after 2 cancelled checkups for schedule conflicts). Logan is 15lbs 12oz and measures a healthy 25 inches. She's right at the 50th percentile for height and is just above the 50th percentile for weight. Perfect for her age!

We talked to the Dr. about her eating and she wants me to continue exclusively nursing until 6 months and then we'll slowly start introducing solids. She said that as long as Logan continues to gain weight and is content then we need not mess with trying to get her to eat other things too early. Ok by me. The 600 calories a day I burn doing it aren't so bad, either! ;)

Lo becomes intensely focused on things that are going on around her. TV, someone talking to her, or the dogs at my parents house. She loves to just focus in and be a part of the action. Here she is focused on Clifford.

She has also found her feet and can't keep her hands (or her mouth) off of them.

She loves to talk to people (and herself, and her stuffed horse), she can roll from her tummy to her back, she can sit up unassisted for several minutes without wobbling, and she grabs things and pulls them directly to her mouth. This definitely includes her fingers.
The result? A pretty advanced baby. The Dr. says her developmental milestones are more on track with a 6-7 month old than a 5 month old. She advised us to go ahead and lower our crib and to babyproof the house because mobility will probably show up sooner than what is normally expected. She's growing up so fast!

Our Bags Are Packed...

Well, phase one of our move is complete. We have packed up our little townhouse here in sunny FL.

And all of our belongings were moved into our PODS unit. It sat outside of our house for a week. Mike, my brother and a friend of his worked hard to load it all up so that it was ready to be picked up and transported to NC.

Tuesday morning we woke up and finished packing up Mike's car so that the could head up to meet our stuff at our new apartment. Here's Logan getting ready to say goodbye to daddy for a few days. That stroller is just about all we have left for her to sit in at home.
Needless to say his car was packed to the brim with all of our little leftovers that we needed to help us survive one more week in our own home. We'll be moving in with Tita on Tuesday or Wednesday and that's where we will be living for the remainder of our time here in FL.
After we loaded him up, we headed to Starbucks and had a quick breakfast with Mike before he headed off.
Logan and I stayed with my parents while Mike was gone. It's nice to have family so close by, they have been such a huge help to me the last few days. I really can tell what two extra (daddy) hands do, though. I have missed Mike tremendously and look forward to having him back tonight.