10 Months Old

Hi Everyone!  Logan is moving around non-stop now so if you are wondering why my posts have become scarce it is probably because I am running circles around the house chasing after our little monkey!  But I hope to keep up with my blog more often.  It has become a great way to keep family and friends updated on what Logan is up to.

He is 10 months old now and there is no slowing him down.  He is now pulling himself up on everything!  His favorite things to get into right now are the dogs' water bowl, door stoppers, and the carbon monoxide detector.  These are all VERY fascinating.  It's just too bad we don't have any toys around here ;)

He discovered the stairs for the first time the other day and I sat by him at the bottom wondering what he would do or think of them.  Well he crawled up about 4 steps like he had done it before.  Then he looked up and then looked back at me like "yeah that's pretty far I think I'm done with that for today."

Logan has two top teeth now along with the two bottom ones.  They gave him some trouble sleeping while they were coming in but he has been sleeping better the last couple days.  And so have Mommy and Daddy :)

He interacts more with Kahlua and Oreo, our dogs.  He laughs when he realizes they want the toy he is holding and he just waves it around.  And he likes to follow them around.  We are working on petting gently because poor Kahlua lost a chunk of fur the other day.  The dogs are really good sports...  and they are Logan's buddies.  One of their favorite things to do together is look out the window.  It is the perfect height for everyone.

:) :) :)

9 Months Old

Logan is 9 months old as of Sept 21.  I always intend to get his pictures up on the 21st but now that he is on the move life has become a game of cat and mouse.  Logan is still army crawling but faster than ever.  He loves to crawl through things like his play tunnel, through his exersaucer, our end tables, kitchen tables and chairs, pretty much anything that remotely looks like a tunnel:)  He has gone up on all fours a few times but I think he may just move from army crawling to standing and walking because  just an hour ago he pulled himself up fully on our coffee table for the first time.  In the last week he tried pulling himself up in his rocking chair but that is on an angle, today was standing completely upright.  And it was so cute to see how proud of himself he was when he got there.  He had a doctor check up this month and he weighed in at 19 lbs and 28 1/2 inches long.  So the doctor said both are average but together he is lean for his height.  He is very healthy and right on target with learning new skills.  He has had his two bottom teeth for a while but now he has a top one that we can see too. 

 I am just loving his age right now.  I mean I say that at every stage but it is really fun to see him so animated and playful.  And I love watching him discovering everything.  He is so curious about everything!  

The Little Things...

This is what amazes me- Logan reminds me everyday that the best things in life can be found in the simplest places.  Its truly the little things that bring us the most joy!

8 Months Old

Sorry friends!  It has been a busy month but here we are.  It amazes me how fast a month can go and how much this little guy changes.  Logan is 8 months old now and I think the last 4 weeks were filled with the most changes yet.  For one, just look at how he looks more like a little boy than a baby now!

Logan is sitting up all by himself.  He has been doing that for about 2 weeks and it is so cute to see him sit and play with his toys.  He is so curious about everything and anything and I have learned the hard way not to stand too close to the shelves in a store because if it is in his sight he will grab for it.  He is eating pretty much all fruits and vegetables and cereal and soon we will be adding some meats to the mix.  He was getting around to where he wanted to go by pushing against something with his legs, he used his arms to rotate, and he was rolling like a pro.  Now just a couple days ago he added the army crawl and it looks like we are going to have a full blown crawler on our hands very soon!  

He babbles mamamamama.  

And he now has two bottom teeth! They came in at the same time and Logan couldn't be happier to have them.

He is such a happy boy and his smile just melts my heart.  

Big Family Reunion

I am a little late in posting about what happened this weekend but it took me a few days just to recover. Saturday was Logan's 7 months!  I actually took these pictures a day ahead because of all the festivities planned for the weekend.  He just started really sitting up on his own about a week ago and here he is not even leaning against the chair.  What a big boy he is getting to be!

 I LOVE this smile

Saturday was filled with a baby shower, a lunch, and a dinner with Bill's family.  

Sunday was a much anticipated event as it only happens every three years---our family reunion.  The reunion is my dad's side of the family.  I have two brothers and two sisters which today would be considered a big family in itself, but my dad was one of 13 kids!  That blessed me with 12 aunt and uncles and 31 first cousins just on one side alone!  But it doesn't stop there- the reunion actually starts with my Great Grandparents and down for a total of about 350+ people attending it this year.  I have always felt so lucky to be part of a big family.      

Just to give you an idea- here is our immediate family, my mom, brothers, sisters, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews.

The next step up and here are the 13 kids (My Uncle Wally and my dad watching from heaven), my first cousins, and their children.  Crazy huh?! That's one big family reunion.

 But there's more- a couple hundred more!  When you start with my Great Grandparents this is our family!  They had to take this picture in two sections and put them together just to create this photo.  

Like I said this only happens every three years so when it does it is a whole day event.  We eat, catch up, play games and our favorite--POLKA!  I had the best partner and Logan loved it!

Here he is dancing with Aunt Julie too!

And a good Polka means Uncle Jim is playing the accordion.  

But the best part is just spending time together.  And these two did a great job at that.  Look at these cute cousins.  I think Logan is wondering what is on his cousin's head.  Don't worry buddy, you'll grow some hair soon.  

Poor cousin- I think Logan thought he was a toy.

So Sweet!

Just lounging with dad.

And after all that fresh air and fun comes one tuckered out little guy.  

Finalization

Our final court date was on July 11th and we received word yesterday July 16th that the adoption is final.  It was a happy day to have everything legal even though we have been a family long before!  I remember sending in our initial application with the agency on Jan 1, 2011 with so many steps still ahead of us.  And now here we are a family of three!  We were meant for each other!

Our biggest dream come true...to be a Mommy and Daddy to this little guy.  He is the love of our lives and was worth the wait!  

Vacation Time

We were on vacation last week and had a great time!  We decided to take Logan to Door County, WI where we could relax and spend some quality family time together.  It was perfect for our first vacation as a family of three.  We stayed in Sturgeon Bay at a great hotel right on the water.  

This was the view from our balcony.  We talked to a few people there and they have been coming to this hotel for years.  I can see that it is a little treasure.  

The first thing we needed to do was plan out what we wanted to see.  Logan really helped me plan out our itinerary. 

We did some shopping and Logan found this police car that has lights and sounds.  

We did some hiking at the state parks. Here is Bill with a little monkey on his back :) Hehe  

Logan just loved this backpack.  Thanks to our friends for loaning it to us for this trip!  It was awesome.  

At the Peninsula State park there was a look out tower.  We only made it to the second big platform before the height got to us.  Even on the ground you are already looking over the water so climbing the tower made it feel even higher.  

We went to the beach on Lake Michigan.  

But as much as Logan likes the pool he was not to sure of the waves at the beach.  His face says it all.  He did not like it.  I think the sound scared him and when we dipped his toes in the water and he saw the water rolling in he did not enjoy it.  Maybe next time.  

And in the evenings we got to enjoy some beautiful sunsets on Green Bay right from our balcony.  

We loved it so much here that we are hoping to come back over time and experience it in all the different seasons too.  

We had so much fun taking Logan on his first family vacation!