1st Cold

My poor baby...he has his first cold. Not sure where he got it, but on Saturday, when we were at my parents house, his nose was running and he was coughing. Saturday morning he was coughing in the morning and John said 'oh, I don't like the sound of it', but I said oh don't worry I'm sure it's just a morning cough. Wrong.

So his runny nose is still clear - the snot sucker is my best friend - but Logan is not a huge fan. I have sat with him in a steamy bathroom a couple times so his cough doesn't get too tight. We have him sleeping with us so if he wakes up with a cough and can't get back to sleep then we are right here for him.

Our poor little guy...

He found his tongue!

In the last few days, Logan has been sticking his tongue out, but today he found several uses for this new-found tongue. He has learned that the tongue can help him spit, blow bubbles and it can make noise! I do have pictures and a video or two that I will post later - it is too cute! When he makes noises he looks so proud of himself!

A Day in the Park

Logan and I met up with some other Moms and their children from the Mom group we belong to.  It was a GORGEOUS 72 degree day yesterday - perfect for a picnic in a park.  As I have been waiting all winter, I threw Logan in a short-sleeved top and shorts.  It actually wasn't that bad - the sun was nice and warm and Logan had some blankets while in the swing.  Right now there is not much Logan can do at the park...but he sure can swing!  At first he was very laid back and serious....then he threw out a few smiles....then he fell asleep!  How cute!

He loved it!

Another little girl came by to help push Logan in his swing, how sweet...

Aaron, the other baby around Logan's age....both swinging and having a good time!

Cereal

Cereal is going very well.  He loves rice, oatmeal and recently, oatmeal & banana.  He eats a lot of cereal for one meal of the day.  Typically I give him cereal for dinner - he eats cereal around 7 and has a bottle around 8 then goes to bed shortly after.  However, I noticed that since he's been on cereal, he wakes up at 1:30am (almost on the dot) and I need to either pop the pacifier back in a couple times or as of late, stand there and let him hold my hand for 15 minutes while he goes back to sleep.  Now I thought cereal was supposed to help babies sleep through the night?  He slept through the night before, it seems to have an adverse affect.  

On Saturday night we went to a friend's house and I didn't give him cereal....and wouldn't you know he slept right through the night?  As a test, on Sunday & Monday I did cereal at night - and he woke up around 1:30.  Then yesterday (Tuesday) I gave him cereal around lunchtime and only a 9.5 ounce bottle for dinner.  Poof - he slept through the night.

I wonder why this is?  Is it possible that he's too full and makes him a bit more restless when he's sleeping?  But, if that were the case why does it take about 5 hours to take affect?  Perhaps it is digesting and his tummy hurts and he has gas.

So going forward, I think that I will give him solids at lunchtime and we will slowly move back to giving them for dinner when he eats solids more than once a day.

In the meantime, here are some cute pics!

And sometimes he falls asleep...so cute!

Random Cute Pics

Tummy Time with Buddy

This wasn't close enough...

So Buddy scooted closer to be by his best friend....(or the toy that he so badly wanted).  :)

First Teether Biscuit

I saw some teether biscuits at the store and thought 'why not'.  I remember my nephews having them at a young age, so I thought I'd give it a shot...he loved it - all until Buddy came by while Logan was at Buddy's level, and Buddy snatched the delicious treat right from his hand.  Logan was sad, but only for a second.  We need to work on Buddy's food vs. Logan's food.  Now thinking about it, the teether biscuit looks really close to his dog treats.  Hm....

Realizing that this may be a messy venture, I threw a bib on him and placed him in his high chair.

Enjoying some toys

He loves to stare at his friend, the sun...

He's chewing his toy...with an angry face!!!

Face to face with his teether-dog...  :)

Where have I been?

I never realized how working on a different computer would affect my blog posting - but it sure has.  My pictures are all on a different computer than the one I use for teaching, so anytime I think to blog, I'm on the wrong computer.  And yes, while the other computer is just upstairs, apparently it's hard for me to go and get it!

Also, we have had some pretty amazing weather here in Chicago...so we've been going outside a lot more....taking some great 3 mile walks around the neighborhood  - oh, it's been wonderful!  I also recently joined a local Mom's group and have been attending a meet up here or there with them, it's great!

Teaching is going well....grading takes me a lot longer than I initially thought it would - essay questions....everybody has a slightly different answer.  I will get the hang of it though.

Okay, I will get on the ball with posting more pictures!

Logan in his winter hat

Visit with Great Grandma

A little over a week ago, Logan, my parents and I visited my Grandma at her nursing home.  It is nice seeing her - she has Alzheimer's, but is still absolutely the sweetest little old lady ever!

My Mom and I were asking Grandma some questions about Logan (weight and age)...and her answers were just great!  So, we decided to take video.  At first I thought, well we just asked her these questions, she won't give the same answers with the same funny reactions...but again, she has Alzheimer's so we did get the same reactions.  ;)

Paige:  Grandma, how much do you think he weighs?

Grandma: (thinks for a moment) Um....50 pounds

Paige: 50 pounds????  Whoa, no way.  He's 16 pounds.

Grandma: No...  (Then she'd giggle.)

However, when I told her that he weighed 50 pounds (just minutes later) she said "No, you're crazy.  I think he weighs 22 pounds."  Oh man, she cracks me up!  She did guess that he was 6 months old - and let's be honest, to most people he looks more like a 6-month old than a 4 month old.  Go Grandma!

We took a walk around the floor and all the little old ladies were ooh and ahh'ing over Logan.  They loved it.  Everybody commented on his cheeks - they are quite noticeable.  ;)

Grandma and Logan (Logan is sporting an outfit from Carrie & Nolan - it was so cute; he looked like he was on a safari and received many compliments on it)

Me, Grandma and Logan...

Chatting with the nurses at the nursing station.

Grandma was 'talking' to Logan...

New Floor

Whew...it's feels like it's been a long time since I've posted pictures.  At first I couldn't find the camera transfer cord....then I found it.   But then, I realized that my battery was dying and I tore my house apart looking for the charger.  Then Dorene (my mother-in-law) called and asked if I was looking for my charger - I had left it at her house!  I just got it back from her this weekend....so I am back to snapping numerous pictures throughout the day and will post them.  Another factor is that I've begun teaching online classes through DeVry and I use a different computer than the one that we keep our pictures on.  Oh goodness, so many excuses!

Anyway, a few weeks ago we got back from vacation (recall the cold Phoenix weather, so not the warm vaca we were planning on, but a nice getaway, nonetheless).  We got back Saturday evening on Valentine's Day.  Our dog, Buddy, was still at Bill & Dorene's so we figured we'd have a nice, relaxing Valentine's evening with Logan.  We always enjoy walking in our house after it's been vacated for more than a couple days...it usually smells so nice and new (even though our house is 17 years old).  Well, this particular walk back in to our house was different.  We were greeted with a moldy-water smell...not cool.  We walked into the kitchen thinking we'd left the garbage full...but nope, it was empty.  When John walked back into the entryway (he had taken his shoes off), he said...oh, it's wet.  I thought perhaps I had walked through something wet in the garage and tracked it in....but no.  He had a look on his face that I hadn't seen since our last house - a flood.

Yes, it appears that while we were away our hot water heater (which is in our laundry room right next to our carpeted family room) decided to leak....OVER HALF of our lovely carpeted family room.  About a week ago, I had noticed a small puddle in the laundry room.  I told John but we both just figured that the drain pipe had moved and wasn't going directly into the drain - sounded logical enough.  Erg...not so much.  Who knows how long before we left it had been leaking....slowly underneath the wall and into our family room.

We were not too happy - who would be?  In our last house we had a basement, which flooded plenty of times (one of which ruined all my childhood memories which were in boxes....tip: use plastic bins for everything!!!).  John did not want a house with a basement for this very reason...but now that it is clear that a house can flood with or without a basement, we may get one in our next house.  :)

So, now instead of a nice Valentine's evening with our son, we spent the evening doing a house project.  John drained and removed the old hot water heater while I got our steam cleaner and started sucking up water.  Approximately 2 hours after sucking up water and feeling as though I was getting nowhere, we thought we should pull up the carpeting.  We knew that this move would inevitably lead to replacing the flooring, but we had wanted to replace it eventually.  Well, under the carpet, the padding was just drenched - no wonder why I was getting nowhere.  I proceeded to suck water up that way - much better.

The next morning John went to Home Depot, got a new hot water heater and installed it himself - great.  I continued to suck up water for several hours until we needed to go pick up our dog.  Over the next several days, I steam cleaned with cleaner, then a rinse cycle, then just sucking up water, and repeat....several time (at least 7).  We'd let it dry over night with several fans.  It just wasn't enough.  Our carpet still smelled bad.  John described it as stinky feet...eewwww.

After making sure we had a free weekend, we went to Menards, got some laminate hardwood flooring and underlayment and went to work.  Last weekend we spent Saturday ripping up the carpet and padding and scraping the glue from the carpet-tape.  Sunday we  laid down the hardwood...Buddy was there every step of the way with his face very close to what we were doing...what a helper (that is debatable!).  It looks great!!!  We still have transition pieces and baseboards to install, but the floor is done and is livable.  We also got enough flooring to do our Living Room as well...that will be another weekend in another month or so.

BEFORE (you can tell where our L-shaped couch was...on the left)

AFTER

Logan's New Ride

Logan received a Buggy from Sandy, Troy and the kids (John's sister and fam) for  a Baptism gift.  Even though Logan can't sit up on his own just yet, we were able to buckle him in and he did very well.

4 Month Checkup

Thursday, March 5th, Logan turned 4 months old (man, time is flying by).  On Friday, March 6th, we went to the doctor....here are his stats:

16 pounds 10 ounces (80th percentile) - gained almost exactly 3 pounds

27.25 inches (98th percentile) - grew almost 2 inches

head: 16.5 inches (40th percentile)

The interesting thing about his height, is that John was the same exact height at this age (Dorene keeps John's baby book close by so she can compare when I call)....however, John was 18 pounds 5 ounces at this age....so a bit chunkier!!!  But I think it is crazy that they were the same exact height...even that it is a 1/4 inch.

Anyway, the checkup went well.  They didn't scoff at all when I told them that he's been eating rice cereal regularly every night for 2 straight weeks (the last doc said no solids prior to 4 months...but this doctor seemed to not be so strict).  She mentioned that since he has done great on rice cereal to try the oatmeal cereal...so he's trying new things...exciting!  (We did try it Saturday night and he LOVED it.)  Soon, we will start adding vegetables and fruits...slowly but surely - one week at a time.

At the beginning of the checkup they run through a list of 'does he do this'...of the things I remember....Does he...

...put weight on his legs...YES, he ALWAYS wants to stand - anybody that has ever held him can vouch for that one

...grab for objects out of reach...Yes, in his swing there are 2 toys on the tray that are attached to it.  He can now reach them and holds them in his hands as if to say, "Hey Mom, look at me - I can hold these toys!".

...hold his head at a 90 degree angle....YES, he has been able to do that since the first month

...bring his hands together...YES, I mentioned that he was doing it right then - he does this all the time and it looks like he's praying...so sweet.

...roll over...Not yet, but when he lays on his back, he rolls back and forth onto each side and does kick his legs, but he hasn't fully rolled over just yet.

So he's doing great.  He had to have an oral medicine and sucked it up just like a bottle!  He also had to have 2 shots...one in each thigh.  He cried for about 5-10 seconds and then was fine.  What a guy!

Heartbreaking-Mommy moment....I forgot to give him Tylenol when we went to the doctor's office (I have been given this piece of advice by many people).  I later went to my parents house and about 4 hours after Logan was given the shots, he started crying.  Typically the best way to get him to stop and go to sleep is to hold him very close to me and pat his bum or tap his pacifier - those 2 things soothe him quickly....typically.  On this particular day they did not....in fact, he was screaming harder - I had never seen him like this.  My Dad and I each took turns holding him (My Mom had had a minor surgery that morning so she was sleepy herself)...and then about 10 minutes into the screaming I remembered...duh, he had shots this morning.  I was probably squeezing his legs and that was probably hurting.  Luckily I remembered to bring the baby tylenol - so I quickly gave him the dosage....and 15 minutes later when it kicked in, he went to sleep.  Poor baby.  Never will I forget to give him the tylenol immediately before or after getting shots.  He kept looking at me as if to say, Mom, what is going on...make it stop.  Oh, how it tugged at my heartstrings.

All in all....great appointment, he's growing just fabulously and he's getting older....ah, I can't take it!

Stayin at Home

I just realized that I never posted about this - I think I was waiting until things became official...but they have been for a while. I am a stay at home mom....and I love it. I really liked the job I left, but John and I were able to make it work and it is what I really wanted. I am still working though....I just started teaching online courses at DeVry (where I not only went to school for my Bachelor & Master degrees, but I worked there for nine years as well).

So it is nice, I get to keep my mind sharp by teaching an introductory business course, but I am able to stay home with Logan all the live long day. It is wonderful. I am so blessed to do this. Not all women can be stay at home Moms and I wondered if I was too career-oriented...but not so much. I have adjusted well. My Mom said that when she quit her job to be a stay at home mom she adjusted well...and same with when she went back. So I hope that the same goes for me.

Right now it is a bit harder because it is still so cold outside. Had Logan been born in the summer months, we would've been outside a bit more. We have been in the house - and he has slept a lot. So I fully expect the Spring/Summer to be super exciting - we'll be able to be outside a bit more and he'll be playing a lot more. We still have made it outside dodging freezing temps and lots of snow this winter. I am glad that it is warming up and we'll be going for more walks.

I also recently joined a local mom group, so I am excited to meet other stay at home moms and working moms and have our kids play together.