11 Months Old and A Trip to Nashville

Ahh time is moving so quickly I can't even keep up with getting Logan's monthly pics up on time!  Here is his 11 month picture.

He pulls himself up on everything and anything now and is cruising around all the furniture.  He loves seeing the world from this new height!  He says mama and dada and gives the sweetest kisses if you ask for one.

We spent a couple days in Nashville for an early anniversary/ Thanksgiving trip.  I had stayed at the Opryland hotel when I was younger with my parents and after passing through a couple years ago Bill and I had wanted to go back to stay for a few days.  We heard about a special when you stayed in the month of your anniversary and then saw all the beautiful decorations and events for what they called their Country Christmas and it was booked.  The hotel is beautiful any day with its many atriums but then add Christmas decorations and it was gorgeous.

We took a carriage ride around the grounds enjoying the lights and Nativity scene.

There was a hall of trees and craft show.  They also had a display called ICE where artists use over 2 million pounds of ice to create sculptures.  This year's theme was Shrek the Halls.  Everyone put on parkas because they had to keep it 9 degrees in there to keep the sculptures.  Thank goodness they had parkas for us because Bill didn't even bring a coat.  It was so warm outside that day that he thought he would just cool off inside.  Uh freeze is more what he would have done.  

It was very "cool" to see.  And at the end they had ice slides you could slide down but Logan is too little to go by himself and they wouldn't let me go with him.  Sorry Logan, maybe next time.  

They also had a room that had a Nativity scene carved in ice too.  It was beautiful.

My favorite part of our trip was going to the Holly Jolly Town Square where Logan got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time!  This is not his first Christmas but it was his first Santa visit.  We were excited to take him and when we got up to the front of the line the helper asked if this was Logan's first time.  We said yes and she then said to the photographer "you better get ready we have a newbie on our hands.  Ok honey put him on Santa's lap and then move away quick so he can snap a pic before he gets upset."  Well this helper was obviously doing her job in making sure the photographer snaps one good pic before any breakdowns, but she does not know our Logan.  Logan is easy going and all smiles in most situations and this was no exception.  

He looked right at him, gave a big smile, and enjoyed his time with Jolly Old St. Nick.  

The helpers were all pleasantly surprised.  It is going to be a fun Christmas:)    

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!