Logan - Speak

5/29/08 - Logan, commenting on his shorts: "Camo shorts. Clouds on it."

5/29/08 - Logan, talking to me about his cousin Josi: "I love her. She has hair. She eats food. She sleeps."

5/23/08 - "Daddy fly up in the air." (James was not able to oblige, but he and Logan did jump together. Logan was able to get his feet off the floor.)

Logan, when Sophie paused in her piano playing: "PRACTICE!!"

While banging on his scooter with a block: "Fix the van."

Me: "The sausage is yummy."
Logan: "Chloclate is yummy."

Logan: "Monster coming"
The family: "Oh no! Scary!"
Logan: giggle, giggle

Logan' comment when enjoying a bite he was eating: "This tastes gross." (He must have older siblings!)

Logan, to Evan practicing piano: "COUNT!"

James: "Can you say 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'?"
Logan: "Okay. Docious."

Logan catching sight of mountains as we were driving: "Mountains. Wow! Blue."

While looking out a window: "Mama doesn't eat grass."

Running the Gauntlet

One of these Sundays, we are actually going to be on time to church. It will be shocking!

Last Sunday, we were getting into the van ahead of schedule. Things looked promising. Then the kids started yelling that Logan got ahold of some lipstick. I put my purse next to him in the car, because it was more for him than for me. It held some toy cars and a snack for church. However, I didn't realize that there was an old lipstick still in the purse. Sigh. I took him inside and tried to pull the lipstick color out of his shirt instead of rubbing it into the cloth. His sleeve was stained pink, and his vest had a pinkish wet splotch on the front. He didn't much like having his face wiped. I did the best I could and then off we went. We weren't terribly late, but still late.

This Sunday, to make a long story short, an emergency bath took place at the time we wanted to leave. When we finally arrived at church, there was still a row of chairs available. As we sat down, I noticed a black plastic square on the floor, but it looked harmless. Just minutes later, Logan walked up to James and me with ink smeared on his hands and face. The black plastic square was an ink stamp pad! Gak! Who brings an INK PAD to church?! Logan had also stepped on it and smeared ink on the carpet. James ran Logan to the bathroom to wash him up as I used baby wipes to get ink out of the carpet.

Sunday mornings can be hectic!

Bottoms Up!

Long, lean legs are the genetic norm in this family, even for the babies. After cloth diapering four babies and taking in the leg openings on diaper covers to avoid leaks, I have found a diaper cover that fits skinny-legged babies without alteration: Blue Penguin Pull-On Snap-Off Diaper Covers.

The Blue Penguin POSO covers are similar to the popular Mother-ease Air Flow covers, but they adjust to a smaller circumference in the leg. Works for me!

Logan's "Baby Book" Entry

Logan's Favorite Activities:

Logan entertains himself frequently by "driving" his little cars along a variety of surfaces in the house. I am amazed at how long he is occupied with his cars. He has far more cars than the older children ever had at this age, because he has access to all the matchbox cars that are technically for older children. Happily, since he is not in the habit of putting toys in his mouth, and since he is always around people to watch him, we let him play with big boy vehicles. "Oh no! Crash!" is a frequent refrain we hear from him as he drives his cars.


Lately, Logan is almost obsessed with drawing. He draws more than Sophie did at this age, which is saying a lot! He obviously doesn't have trouble with his vision or fine-motor skills. We let him draw on paper at meals, because a lot more food ends up in his mouth with that distraction. We also keep a large newsprint pad beside the desk which he can haul out himself and draw all over. He draws zigzags which he calls a "fence" and long, skinny ovals which he calls "sausages" or "carrots" as well as spirals. I am just hoping against all hope that Logan won't draw on the wall. So far none of our kids have tried that trick, but the odds are against us when it comes to Logan. Recently he drew on a table with a crayon that Mr. Nobody left out. Fortunately crayon comes easily off of a glass tabletop, and pen can be wiped off of a little hand...



Logan is also into pretending to be a dog. He often crawls around the floor panting. Amusingly, the dog often spontaneously develops an opposable thumb when pretending to eat. He likes to pretend to grab invisible food with his hand and shove it in his mouth to "chew" with lots of lip-smacking.



Logan is like a big doll for the older kids, and fortunately he likes it when they dress him up. Before our hike on Saturday, Sophie decked out his many overall pockets with "baby equipment." He had crayons, a little guy, a little pig, a small car, a paintbrush, a phone and two sets of keys in and hanging out of his pockets. He seemed to think he was big stuff, striding around jangling his keys. The same day, the boys put his daddy's hard hat on him and took his picture. Yesterday, Evan dressed him in a costume fireman coat which caused Logan to beam with pleasure (until I got the camera out of course so no picture.)


Talking:

We can carry on simple conversations with Logan now. He loves to talk. Last night he heard a helicopter and talked about the airplane "up high in the sky." I clarified that it was a helicopter, and he told me, "No, no have it. No, no touch it. 'Copter up high."

Logan apparently has a need for personal space. This weekend, when Sophie touched him, he frowned at her and said, "Naughty. Boy." to her great amusement. He often tries to push people away, saying, "Go away." or "Leave alone." (We have begun the ongoing process of training him in politeness and kindness.)

He sometimes calls the living room couch "Grandma's couch" because that's where she most often sits when visiting. After his cousin Elijah visited several weeks ago, he said, "Elijah's cup" every time he saw a cup that Elijah used.

Logan can't quite say the "er" sound which ends up sounding like "ey". Recently he stumped the rest of the family by repeating what sounded to them like "Pee pee. Pee pee. Pee pee." His mommy came to his rescue and translated, "Paper." "Diaper cover" is "dipey covey" in Logan-speak and "More water" comes out as "My watey."

Logan has the disconcerting habit of saying "Ow!" about anything that bugs him. He first started saying, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" when I changed his diaper one day which caused me to try to pinpoint (no pun intended) what might be hurting him about his diaper. We don't take him very seriously anymore when he exclaims "Ow! Ow! Ow!" every time we change his diaper, or get him dressed, or put on his shoes...

When we went hiking last weekend, James carried Logan the whole time in the backpack. Logan apparently felt a little out of control when James took him into a cave and when going downhill. He kept repeating, "Careful. Careful. Careful."



Click HERE to view several short video clips of Logan talking. The first one up is my favorite where he says dramatically, "BIG BITE!"

Don't Have a Cow, Man!

Last night, while looking at a picture of cows, Logan started "mooing" then said, "Have it? Have a cow?"

James and I cracked up which Logan enjoyed so that he kept repeating, "Have a cow!" and laughing at his own "joke".

Logan Lately

When the older are naughty, they must stand for a time with their nose in the corner. As you can see, it is not an effective discipline strategy for a toddler. Logan goes and stands in the corner for fun!

Sticker Fun!

Mmmm, Mmmmmm Good!


Thanks for carting me around, Big Sister!


Grrrrrrrr! Scary!!!!



Logan sat on my lap while he got his first haircut with a solemn expression on his face as in the first frame. He didn't move or utter a peep, even when the stylist used clippers on his sideburns and on the back of his neck, and when she used a hairdryer to blow away the clippings. (At home when he hears a hairdryer, he yells, "Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow!")

A nearby stylist oohed and aahed over Logan and compared him to:

I'm relieved that no one has ever compared him to:

Warms a Mother's Heart

Logan to me when I sat down beside him to watch him play: "Away. Walk. Walk. Stairs."

Logan, pointing to me: "H-h-h-h-h-heavy! H-h-h-h-h-heavy!"

Logan to Sophie who was lying down: "SLEEP! SLEEP!"

I've taken a cue from him, and now instead of asking him for a kiss, I command, "Kiss! Kiss!"

Wordless Wednesday

(To replay the slideshow, click on the x in the upper right hand corner of the annoying "Add an image" screen at the end.)

Quote of the Week

Me: "Can you say, 'I love you Mama'?"

Logan: "Stop it p'ease."

Caught Big-Handed in the Book Basket

As Wordy As I Wanna Be Wednesday

Logan was actually making the tiger say "Hi" as it was biting the bear's bum. The tiger also kissed the tow truck in this episode of Toddler Imagination.

Sledding in Style

• Picture of Piper from Baby Hiccups courtesy of my cousin John

Talkin' on the T.V. Clicker

Toddlers and Shoes: 1999 and 2007

Fa la la la Loo

Friday evening, our family and nine other friends braved the cold to go caroling in our neighborhood. After singing at eight or nine houses, we sat by the fire, warming up with hot cider and popcorn.

Logan apparently liked the idea of caroling. We caught him the next day singing in a rather unorthodox setting...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Marvelous Milestones

Please indulge me while I muse over Logan's latest milestones. I'm his mom and this is my blog.

What baby book?!

Logan is 17 months now and a delight to our whole family. He is saying many understandable words, not strung together, but plenty of them. He calls James "Daddy" and calls me "Mom." Just this past week he started saying "Matthew" quite clearly. Today he examined the, um, shiny things on my shirt design --I have no idea what exactly they are-- and said " 'parkle." He likes to poke people in the face, saying "no'e" and "eye." Today he said "water." When he wants something, he knows now to say "P'ease." For awhile "no" meant yes and no, but he switched to saying " 'kay" for yes.

He certainly warmed my heart this week when he began giving us kisses. Real kisses, not just slobbers!

He climbs up on chairs, benches, couches, testing me to see if I'll let him stand on the furniture, then sitting tall as if he's thinking, "I'm such a big boy!"

The piano teacher even noticed Logan's singing recently, remarking that he bobs in time to the piano music, but also sometimes softly cooing along with his baby voice.

A week ago, James took the day off to run the gauntlet get family portraits (yeah, yeah ~ the first time since Sophie was 6 months old) and to take the family to the zoo. We arrived at the zoo in late afternoon and had the place mostly to ourselves, speaking of humans, of course. Logan rode in the Ergo on my back and stared open-eyed at animals that he had only been introduced to in books. In the feline house, a tiger paced back and forth next to the glass. I matched the big cat's pacing in front of the cage with Logan growling on my back. I like to watch the baby watching the animals! We spent the most time with the giraffes, observing the feeding time and laughing at the baby giraffes cavorting about the the cage. Finally, when evening deepened into night, we strolled through the zoo admiring the thousands of twinkling Christmas lights decorating the park. Frosty, but fun.

Wordless Wednesday

Questioning Authority

As I have mentioned here in the past, Logan is quite pigeon-toed. Though the pediatrician had told us more than once in the past that Logan would grow out of it, I pressed the issue at a recent appointment. The doctor then said that Logan's legs were not aligned and that it was more drastic than what he usually sees. He referred me to a pediatric orthopedic specialist.

On Friday, I took Logan to his orthopedic appointment. Contrary to what the pediatrician thought, Logan's legs are completely normal. The specialist explained to me that the problem lies only with his feet. He has metatarsus adductus which just means that the metatarsals, or bones of the front part of the feet, turn inwards. Thankfully, Logan's feet are flexible and can be straightened to normal with correction. The specialist also said that he has some great toe atavism which means that the big toe flexes outwards. That may improve with correction as well, though it may always be a minor issue.

Thankfully, Logan doesn't need a cast, he just needs inserts to put inside his shoes to align his feet so that they will grow normally. Of course, this will make his feet look even longer, as his shoes will have to accommodate the extra length of the insert!

The specialist told me that it was a good thing that I brought Logan in so that his feet can be corrected. I'm glad that I listened to my "mother's instinct" instead of just going along with the pediatrician's diagnosis this time.

I have also needed to consult other sources of help aside from the pediatrician in the area of nutrition. The diminished appetite of toddlerhood plus "long and lean" genes plus allergy issues plus the uncharted territory of extended breastfeeding (past a year) have caused me to wonder if Logan is getting all the nutrition that he needs. While the pediatrician helped us to discover Logan's allergies, he is not knowledgeable concerning extending nursing and certainly not encouraging. I read the following book on Saturday which helped me to relax:

Good, good book! I wish I had read it when Evan was an infant! I appreciated reading some history of supplementation and gaining perspective on what types of food would be most beneficial to a nursing toddler (partly by inference).

Logan, by the way, has some adventurous food preferences. One of his favorite foods is hummus. I have tried giving him hummus on cracker, but he just sucks the hummus off and spits out the cracker. Now, I just skip the cracker and feed him bites off of a spoon. He also loves black olives (Which actually isn't too surprising for this family. Stop gagging Aunt Beth and Colleen.) And whoever heard of a baby who won't eat Cheerios? Logan won't touch them, but he does like Wheat Chex.

And here are two pictures thrown in for good measure:

Busy Baby

Edited: I removed the links to Dropshots. The site is not working properly. I think that the company is going down.



New Skills

Tonight at the supper table, we spent a lot of time laughing at Logan's cuteness. We joked that he was the entertainment for the entertainment (Sophie). Part of the time, he shrugged his shoulder to his chin, looking down with a little smile, then looking up as slowly as he could to fix his eyes on someone with a twinkle in his eye.

There is nothing more sweet than hearing the little guy sing. And he is now starting to enjoy pretending. When he brings me an empty container, we both dip our fingers in to "sample its contents" while "chewing" noisily.

October Update

This week is dominated by the Super Bowl World Series (like I care) and an upcoming church costume party and costume piano recital (to make it more complicated to make it more fun!)

Logan has added some new words to his repertoire: "go", "shoe", "ladder", "a-puw" (apple), "boy". Sometimes we find him standing in the corner behind the rocking chair. (The older children don't exactly think it is fun when they have to stand in the corner.) He likes to try to jump, but doesn't quite get airborne. Often after supper, Logan likes to walk a circuit waving his arms straight behind him. At times he nearly runs. He doesn't complain about getting wiped up after eating. In fact, he doesn't like being messy and presents his hand to get wiped if he gets food on it. The desire to be clean doesn't extend to his diaper, however. He cries pretty much every change.

I stumbled across this today...

Babies Don't Keep

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-- Author Unknown

...which choked me up for a minute. That poor moth.

Just kidding :)

Looking at recent pictures reminded me of the care that Evan and Matthew took to make Sophie's birthday special. They holed up in the basement weeks ahead of time, making special presents, cards and decorations for their little sister. To top it all off, they arranged a "treasure hunt" with clues hidden around the house leading her to the birthday bounty. I am so thankful to God for the love that our children have for each other.

Here is a slideshow of some October fun and take a look at some new video clips in the sidebar if you like.