Happy Birthday Mommy

Christmas came and went and then we celebrated my 25th birthday. We flew home early on the morning of the 26th and so we spent a lot of the day catching up on sleep and household stuff. We debated over and over whether or not to take Logan with us out to dinner because she'd been fussy most of the day and also because sometimes it's nice to actually be able to enjoy a meal out without worrying about finishing quickly to get a fussy baby out of the restaurant. We decided to go ahead and take her with us because it was my birthday and I wanted a family celebration and because we didn't want to have a babysitter deal with a teething, fussy baby who hadn't had enough naps during the day.

I was SO glad we did take her, though! She was such a good girl, smiling and giggling with/at everyone and didn't fuss a bit. She sat sweetly in her high chair the whole time and tried some mashed potatoes and had quite a bit of water with her meal.

She also hit another developmental milestone while we were at dinner and it just MADE my birthday! She learned the difference between yes and no and also learned how to communicate them to us. She signed for more and I assumed she meant more potatoes because that's what I had just given her but she quickly shook her head no and said "na!" and then signed for more again and when I pointed to the water she said "ya" and when I gave it to her she signed thank you. This continued throughout the rest of the meal, it was so much fun!

I think this is my favorite picture of Logan and I to date.

She was a little weary of the guy who took our family picture and this was the best I got, but I'm so thankful that we were able to go out and celebrate as a family.

Merry Christmas (part 1)!

Since the airlines started charging for luggage, we decided to bring a few of the gifts that we had gotten for L with us to Ohio and to leave the rest and have a second Christmas when we got home. It worked out really nicely and we got to stretch Christmas out almost an entire week!

Again, we had the wonderful ability to use a very nice camera while we were there and so I used the chance to snap and have snapped some more artistic photos like this one: (if you look into the ball you can see L and I)

Logan wasn't much interested in Christmas trees this year, she pretty much ignored ours with the exception of a couple of incidents and so on Christmas morning before we did gifts, I held her close to it so she could check it out.

Logan was our Christmas present this year! Last year I was so miserable at Christmas with contractions and just pregnancy discomfort that it was a gift to have her out and enjoying it with us this year.

(this is out of order) We got Logan a vacuum for Christmas in hopes of getting rid of her fear of my vacuum. She LOVED it! We had to take it out of the box for her because she was so excited about it.

Logan got her daddy this book to read to her. It's "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw, the pictures are GORGEOUS and the story is just precious. They'll enjoy this book together for many, many years, I'm sure.

The next few pictures are just opening gifts. By the end of the event Logan knew what to do with the gifts and had more fun ripping paper.

It was such a fun first Christmas with Logan! She was just old enough to enjoy tearing through the paper and playing with some of the gifts that she got which was nice. The next few Christmas mornings will be even more fun, I'm sure!

Trip Recap

We've been home for a couple of days now and I'm FINALLY getting around to updating the blog. We've had a busy two days since getting home with birthdays and more Christmas presents and just getting life back together after almost a week away. SO, you'll get lots of good reading today as I have several posts to make. First, I figured we'd do a quick trip recap in pictures from our Ohio trip this holiday season (Christmas morning pictures will be up on another post).

Logan got to spend a lot of quality time with her grandpa Don:

And her nana Kathy while we were there.

We were very spoiled with a much nicer camera to snap pictures with while we were there so enjoy the amazing quality, as it will only last in a few posts and then we'll be back to just a regular digital camera:

After we arrived, Logan was given one of her presents a little early so that she could enjoy it while we were there. At first, she was a little skeptical, but she LOVES her little walker and can't wait to get it in the mail so she can play with it here at home:

Logan also got a good taste of what this snow thing is all about. Before we left we had a light snow and I took her out (post to come) and showed it to her, but she really got to play in this snow! It was nice and white there all the way up until Christmas Day. We had so much fun with it!

This one is a little out of order, we were getting ready to go out into the snow when I snapped this precious picture. Logan was not a huge fan of her hat (though, once we got out in the cold she changed her mind), so we threw a little headband around her ears to start with.

Family picture:

And out came the hat after a couple of minutes when she realized it was much warmer with it on.

Then she was ready to have fun!

Logan had a great time watching her Aunt Kim's dog, Lucky, play around in the snow. Whenever Lucky was around, Logan ignored the fact that people wanted pictures of her and just focused in on the puppy.

Again, focused on that dog!

Logan also got to meet her very first cousin, baby Benjamin while we were in Ohio. We drove out to her Aunt ZZ's house for a day to celebrate Christmas with them as he is just a little too tiny to travel yet. Isn't he sweet?

Logan really wanted to get her hands on him and so it was hard to get a good picture with the two of them together! She loved to look at him and repeat, "baby" over and over...and over and over and over. Her nana Kathy was in seventh heaven with her two grandbabies together!

I found a wonderful website that sells these sweet onesies and when I saw them I knew they were perfect for this trip! Though it's hard to see because my little one is such a mover, they say "grandma's answered prayers" and just fit for the occasion.

Christmas Eve

Well, her stocking is hung:

And she's all nestled snug in her bed, waiting for Santa's arrival:

The day started out a bit rough. L has a bad cold and she's just been such a trooper this trip, all smiles and giggles but I know inside she feels miserable. You can just hear it when she breathes. So, this morning she took a big nap with mommy and this afternoon, she took one with daddy (she normally takes the two anyway, she just got some extra cuddles today):
After her second nap, she got up and in her Christmas Eve outfit, which also happens to be the same one I wore for one of my first Christmas'. It was so fun to see her in it, though, I'm sure that my parents will get even more pleasure from it. Here she is with daddy:

And one with mommy:

We went to the Christmas Eve service here in good old Findlay, OH. Logan had fun singing the Christmas carols, but, of course, she decided to CONTINUE to sing once everything else got quiet. Consequently, she and I spent the service in the hallway watching it on one of the TV monitors. Life has changed, hasn't it?
I made a couple of valiant attempts to capture the cuteness of her outfit, but she's such a mover now that it's hard to catch her still unless she's sleeping! She has had such a blast with her Aunt Kim's dog, Luckey, they're just about the same size and so they play together very well. Or...Logan acts really brave until Luckey gets near her and then she strikes this pose:
(ummm....are those shoes not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Baby shoes are the BEST)
So, anyway, we hung out, ate some snacks and then opened some presents! Tomorrow L will open the presents from mommy and daddy and Santa and then when we get home we'll have another little Christmas bash and open all of the gifts from my family. She's had Christmas ALL WEEK long! (I have to add that she's uninterested in opening any present that is her own, she only wants to do it if it's a gift addressed to Mike or I.)

Little Friends and THREE Years

Wednesday was our 3rd wedding anniversary. What a special day! Two days before, I got a call from someone who had found my name in the seminary talent pool and needed a one day babysitter for her 10 month old son. It was perfect because it provided us with a bit of cash so that Mike and I could celebrate our anniversary out somewhere nice.

Logan had SUCH a great time with her new friend! I was a little nervous about having two 10 month olds for an entire day (he's 2 weeks younger than L), but it actually went surprisingly well. They got along great, shared the toys, played together, babbled to each other and had a really good time until about 40 minutes before his mom picked him up-- then they both wanted undivided attention and that wasn't happening. This little boy is already walking, so I was incredibly thankful to have just purchased the play yard to keep him in one place.

We watched the My Friends Tiger and Pooh Christmas special, because at a crisp 38 degrees, it was too cold to take them out, and it had both kids just captured them:

Later that afternoon, we received a big ol package from L's great grandparents. I think she was more interested in the box and popcorn than she was with all of the wrapped goodies inside:
Our wonderful neighbors came over and hung out with Logan while Mike and I went out to dinner for the first time, by ourselves, since Logan was 4 months old. It was glorious! We went to an all you can eat, create your own stir fry, Mongolian restaurant. You pick your meats, veggies, sauces, load them up and watch them grill it for you. SO YUMMY!

We sure did miss our little monkey, though! We were happy when we got home and got to snuggle her.
After she went to bed, we devoured this chocolate cake that was in a package Tita sent to us and we watched the new Harry Potter movie. It was just the perfect day!

Life Just Got A Bazillion Times Easier

So, we've turned a new leaf in the life of mobility here at the Kayle house. Yesterday, after we had an incidence of spaghetti sauce being spilled on the carpet, something being thrown into the toilet causing it to clog , this:

And some of this:

We decided it was time to invest in a play yard. We would have just done babygates but with me taking on other kids in the house...I need somewhere I can keep them all wrangled. Mike was a little concerned with how Logan would react to being restricted because she becomes a bit of a screamer when she's put in her pack and play to play, but so far, she LOVES it! She just crawls in circles over and over and over again. I tell you what, all of the sudden little things like going to the bathroom and checking on dinner have become easy again! And the best part? Her mess is contained! Hallelujah! I can keep the rest of the living room and kitchen clean.

Pigtails

Oh yes, those are pigtails. And yes, she kept those in all afternoon without even noticing them.