Everything

In two weeks I'm going to be taking a break from blogging. Other than my closest friends and family members, I don't think anyone else has been reading every single post I write, or even complete posts (and I've gradually been losing readers), so for those who are still reading, there's plenty to catch up on before my return.

I don't want to conform and make my blog like everyone else's, but when I come back I won't be writing updates anymore. It's been hard since the minute Logan was born, but I still stayed up late or chose to blog rather than do other necessary things because I felt it was worth it to record our day-to-day life (which is what I've been doing since I first started blogging [privately] in July 2006). But now with (My Update On My Writing) and (New Hobby), I'm only going to blog about specific topics or spontaneous stuff going on in our lives. I will still throw in Logan's most major milestones/developments (because I do think that's worth it!), but as I said in my last update post three months ago titled, Finally, I'm not even going to write about Logan's daily life, either, like I did in my posts titled 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, etc.

The reason why I'm not taking my break today but rather waiting two weeks is because in three days (August 10th) will be the year anniversary of when I started transferring my posts here. A week-and-a-half later all of my posts from the past two years will finally be finished being transferred, and so I will finally blog here "live" (after I'm done with my break).

So, until I take that break in two weeks, I'll still blog the way I always have. Which means, in this post I'm going to write out our life since my last major update, and then my next post will focus on Logan's changes. Thanks to those who read!
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This was originally written on Saturday, July 11, 2009:

Month Twelve was not one of my fav's. Although Logan's temper tantrums stopped after my post about them starting, Terrible Ones? (so they only lasted the first half of his twelveth month), it was still one of the most exhausting months ever. I'm sure the virus' didn't help. (Thankfully Logan hasn't had any illnesses since my post, Fifth's Disease.)

Due to our sicknesses, we missed Joe's boss' wedding on May 16. Other than Chris, I haven't met anyone who works with Joe or their families since he started there two years ago, so hopefully I will soon!

On May 6th I had my first massage from my massuse, Deb, in two months so that was heaven - and I had another on May 21st. I haven't been since, though, so I'm hoping this week!

We didn't really do anything on Mother's Day (May 10). . .I'd been wanting a table for our entry way so we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart and bought one which completed my decorations for our living and dining rooms. (I've mentioned here a few times that I'm very slowly working on decorating all of the rooms of our house since moving here in Aug. 2007.)

You might remember that we were going to take Logan to the ENT on Monday, May 18 to have his neck drained if the infection hadn't healed - but praise God it had! So we were able to cancel the appointment. There's been no problems with his brachial cleft fistula area since April. Joe & I have noticed, though, that it still goes in when he drinks (what the dimple always did when it was a complete hole) so I'm planning to call the ENT to find out why it would do that if there's no longer a hole.I can't remember which day, but we went over to Jenn's (my neighbor's) for scrapbooking (she spent the next month in Utah with her family while her husband was gone for the military. Dave recently returned and so they are back in Utah right now. Her 4th child is due in two months)! Anyway, both times that I went over there with Logan after he started going to a babysitter's 8 hrs a week (3.5 months ago), he took off with the older boys and followed them around, leaving me in the dust, haha! This happened at the grocery store as well (no, he no longer stays by my side). It was cute to see him feel so comfortable with all 4-year-old boys, just from being around that age-group at his sitter's.

Whenever we drop him off he smiles and reaches for Babysitter, and then when I arrive he smiles at me but ignores me and keeps playing - and then when I try to pick him up he walks away from me toward the other kids!!! So, I usually talk to Babysitter for 5-10 minutes and then Logan comes over to me and waves to her so I know he's ready to go home.

As of today's date, Logan has gone 28 times. The group changed when school let out - no more brothers Matthew & Joshua until the fall (the 4-year-old and the boy who is two months younger than Logan). Instead, Babysitter added three girls and four boys! Her youngest daughter and son help her out in the summers. . .I get the feeling that's their arrangement so that they can live at home for free and not have a job in the summers, haha. (One is going to be a junior in college and the other is going to be a freshman. They both seem nice and the kids love them.)

Babysitter told me that I could switch days if I want because now Thursdays are her busiest day (with 7 other children) and some parents prefer their child with less amount. I said I would do whatever seemed best for Logan - does he act like he prefers one over the other? (Because when he's there on Tuesdays there are only three other children so that day is quieter).

She said that Logan actually likes when there's more children! This was apparent to me as well when observing him, he loves watching the other children run around and all of the noise! (There it is again: action-action-action!) So, I said as long as she didn't mind and that many wasn't too much for her, then I would keep my Tuesday & Thursday mornings. She said it was no problem because Logan has turned out to be one of her easiest, least-maintence kids. He's really attached himself to one of the little girls (who is 6), her name is Jackie. She's a cute little blonde girl - Joe teases him and says he's going after older women! :p Babysitter said all three of the girls spend the whole morning playing with him and he follows them around. I guess one of the days he wouldn't eat much for lunch and so Jackie fed him and Logan was happy and ate all of his food, LOL! It's too bad they won't be there in the fall. . .all three are such sweet girls (there's also Madeline who is 7 and Josie who is 8).

One of the new boys is a baby named Zay, 3 months younger than Logan, so I would assume he's staying in the fall (he's there right now with his two brothers, one who is school-age so he will be leaving in the fall). There's also another new boy who is almost two, so he seems close to Logan's level (although he can already shoot baskets in a basketball hoop that to him the same level that a real one would be to us - because his dad was a professional basketball player)!

Otherwise, there's still Henry the 4-year-old who was there in the spring (I can't remember when he's turning 5 - for some reason I thought he was starting kindergarten this fall; his sister is Josie), Jackson the 3-year-old, Ryan the 2-year-old (who is close, if not already, to 3; his sister is Madeline), and Ryder the 4-year-old. Everyone is still part-time, though, so there's no day that all 12 of Babysitter's kids are there (she's required by law not to have more than 10, but because her kids are helping her and at most she has 8 in one day, it's okay - and she will have a total of under 10 again in the fall/winter/spring).

It's still amazing to me that she does this job so easily. She's in her 50's and looks better and seems healthier than me. (Here's a pic of Logan's hair - have I mentioned that it's curly?! Joe & I have the straightest hair on the planet so this is fascinating.)Chris asked me if I would be her baby's nanny (her son was born in February). I was really honored. . . it would be too much pressure for me. I'd put even more pressure on myself with Gregory than I do with Logan. I really wish I was the kind of person who could. . .I would have loved to help them out, but I sadly declined. Fortunately, she had another friend to ask who agreed and started the last week of May and it has been going well - I'm really glad it worked out!

On Tuesday, May 19, Joe's mom came to visit with one of Joe's nieces. I don't think I ever wrote that Joe's nephew who is due to have a baby in September is having a boy (they're the ones who had a girl two months before Logan)! (I wrote in my post, 8 Months Old, that his nephews want to have six kids.)

Joe's mom & niece were on their way to Colorado (where Joe's sister's family lives) so we went out to eat at The Summer Kitchen Cafe (where Logan had his first kid's menu with crayons - he had his first resturant food: mac & cheese) and then they left the next morning.

On Wednesday, May 20 my brother flew to Omaha from California. His flight didn't get in until 11:30 at night so we didn't really have time to chat, but we went out for breakfast at Wheatfields the next morning and then I took him half-way to Des Moines so we caught up in the car. He has the possibility of a real TV show this fall! They shot the pilot episode and now pray that the TV executives choose to pick it up. It's a teen drama (similar to Dawson's Creek) called All At Once.

On Saturday, May 23 Joe, Logan, and I went to Iowa because my youngest cousin graduated from high school. We drove 5 hrs from Omaha to Eastern Iowa (where my stepdad's family lives). We split up the time by stopping at my dad's near Des Moines so he could dogsit Bella & Cosmo.

That evening we just hung out at my step grandparents' place and had supper and played games; my great uncle George was visiting from Texas (my step grandma's brother). Logan loved the new environment and new people and was having a blast so he wouldn't go to bed until we did at 11 pm (his usual time is 7:30-8 pm). Thankfully, he slept well in the pack n play in the same room as us.

The next day (Sunday, May 24) was Caitlin's graduation. (The picture below is where Logan decided to sit during the ceremony.) It was neat for me to see some of the other kids in her class, too, because my second job ever was a Bible School Teacher Assistant two summers in junior high - at their church! I helped with the three year olds when Caitlin's class was that age and so I saw some of those same kids all grown up now! :) (My first job was a swim instructor aid when I was 12.)Her parents (my stepdad's brother & wife) had a party at their house and I caught up with her brother, Marcus, who had just graduated from college (UNI). He's going to be a teacher this fall.

We left Eastern Iowa that night and picked up my dogs in Central Iowa and then spent the night at my mom & stepdad's place. On Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day), we went back over to my dad's and were able to see my brother more before heading back to Omaha.

Logan had good moments & bad moments in the car. To refresh: Logan LOVED the car from birth until 7 months old when we went to Colorado. When I say loved I mean that he was really at his best! Most of the time he slept, otherwise was just perfectly content and happy. But, after our huge road trip, he changed his attitude. For the next month he let us know that he did not want to sit in a car for 9 hrs again.

By 8 months old he realized that the majority of the time we drive for less than 20 minutes, so he was content again until 11 months old. At that point he was used to running around and so to be confined was the worst thing we could do to him! Any trip over a half an hour would make him fussy unless I entertained him non-stop (and included food and milk and/or water). During this Memorial Day weekend, he was still sitting in the rear-facing carseat because our brand (Chicco) doesn't switch when they get to be a year old (if they're 20 lbs) like other brands. So my parents bought us the carseat that he'll now have for the next several years (a Graco). They gave it to us on June 8th, so since then Logan has been able to face front. I was surprised - his first reaction was NOT to like it! He kept trying to turn his head to face backwards and whimpered. . .it was so sweet. I showed him that this way he could see more. . .then he seemed to agree and has been easier in the car since 13 months.

He's still not exactly back to how he was from birth to 7 months or from 8 to 11 months, though, because sleep is out of the question. He can't sleep in this carseat for some reason, and so he only takes 10-20 minute naps. If he stays awake all 2.5-3 hrs to Iowa when he's tired then I still have to entertain him or else he throws a fit. Sometimes I sit in back with him and sometimes in the front, it doesn't really seem to make a difference.

He's starting to be interested in cartoons though, so when he gets to the point of actually watching our portable DVD player then I will finally get a break in the car. The other day I turned on Sid The Science Kid on our home TV which I thought was a really good show :) Until now (almost 15 months old) Logan looked at the TV for a couple of minutes - but nothing more. This week he watched about 10 minutes, the most he ever has of any cartoon in his life. Since four months old the only thing he has watched was his Baby Einstein Head To Toe (I highly recommend Baby Einstein DVDs because it is stimulating to their brain - I don't agree that TV is unhealthy if it's watched just a little amount, infrequently. By that I mean 1-2 hrs a week or less before the age of two, and after that not more than 7 hrs a week.) I wrote here back when Logan was 4 months old that it was impossible not to let him watch TV because Joe & I watch TV and Logan would stare at it, so I preferred having a DVD to put in rather than him catching scenes from Law & Order SVU. I've also blogged before about how it's been obvious to me that Logan has truly learned from his DVD, but there have been months that he didn't even watch one minute at all. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan to ever plop him in front of our TV at home and use it as a babysitter - but for road trips the portable DVD player is perfect because it takes his mind off of being stuck!

On Wednesday, May 27, my stepdad's uncle George was heading back to San Antonio, TX (who we had seen at Caitlin's graduation) so he stopped to see our new house (he'd visited our old one in 2006). We took him out to eat at Nebraska Brewing Company and then helped him learn the ropes of the internet because he bought his first laptop.

Joe's mom came back on Friday, May 29th and stayed thru Sunday, May 31st. The first night she made us nachos for supper, the second night we ordered Gambino's Pizza and rented Seven Pounds which none of us liked, and then after she left on Sunday is when Chris, her husband, and Gregory came over to grill out, which I mentioned in my post Fifth's Disease. They have decided to move to Washington DC next year. We will be sad to see them go! :(

Month Thirteen was a lot better/easier than month twelve - in fact Logan was a perfect angel except for two fussy days when his molars came in (which I wrote about in my post Lots of Firsts!)

On Thursday, June 4 we met my parents half-way to Des Moines so Logan could stay with them for the first time since his birthday in April. On Friday, June 5 I went over to Lisa P's because Sara T was visiting from California (where she moved last August). I hadn't seen Max since he was 11 months old. . .now he was 21 months! Heather V and Sarah S and Sara B came over as well and it was a really fun night. We had girl talk while our husbands played poker.

Joe & I didn't do anything the rest of the weekend. We had gone out to eat after dropping Logan off on Thurs (to Margarita's, our new fav Mexican restaurant where we also ate last night), but that was it because I was still recovering from Fifth's Disease. My rash & sick symptoms both went away on June 11th, but Logan's eczema (what he got as his rash) stayed until July 6th (even though his sick symptoms had ended on May 30th)!

I was just about to take him to the doctor last week because I was worried it wasn't going to go away - when then it did overnight, as if it had never been there at all! Whew.

I'd always been glad not to have any skin issues with Logan before. Our pediatrician and his partner at different times had commented about what incredible skin he's always had without us ever putting any lotion on him. But then the eczema came and even bled the last weekend of June so his shoulder area especially looked so pathetic. :( I read about eczema and was left feeling helpless because apparently there is no cure! Nobody even knows what causes it because there seems to be so many different causes (for example, one theory is an attack on the immune system which makes sense for Logan since his came when he had fifth's disease; but for other babies it is allergies or something else entirely. We already use "all natural" products on Logan and give him organic milk & food, and he shows no other signs of allergies, so I'm convinced his wasn't for any other reason aside from the viral infection).

Some kids have it so bad they have to go on prescription lotion from the doctor - but even this doesn't make it go away forever. It sounds like once a kid gets it, they will probably get it again. I really hope Logan doesn't get it again!

It's strange because apparently it's a "new" thing - I never had it as a child, Joe never had it, but three other babies I know in Omaha had it the same month Logan did. According to Wikipedia, there were no known cases before 1945 and a huge increase in the late 1990's/early 2000's. Experts believe that for some reason now our skin is more fragile than it used to be. There are also so many different types of eczema that has attributed to why there is currently no cure.

I started putting lotion on Logan for the first time (Burt's Bee's Organic) when the eczema first appeared, but I think the reason it went away was just that his immune system recovered, since the fifth's disease is said to live in the body a month.

In brighter news, on June 11 I got my hair cut - as in to my chin! It was just looking unhealthy after my disaster in April (Baby's Neck, Mommy's Hair) and so I wanted to chop it off and start all over except that this is the shortest I'll ever be able to cut my hair because I don't have a face for shorter hair. I really liked it until now - unfortunately with no highlights or color since April, my growth is now showing and so I think I am going to have to color it one more time. :( I was planning on being done with highlights and color in April, which would have worked had I gotten what I asked (brown hair with blonde highlights mixed subtly through). Instead, my stylist covered the top of my hair blonde (which is not my natural color), so I have an appt. scheduled (with the lady who fixed my hair in April and cut it in June) for this Tuesday to dye it my original color. THEN I can give it a rest until it turns gray (hopefully not for at least ten + more years) and it should get healthy again.

On Friday, June 12 we went to Iowa because my friend Melissa (she's the one who moved to Arizona from Omaha in April 2008) was visiting Joe's hometown (her husband Jake went to high school with Joe). So I was able to meet baby Axton! (Born April 9.) He was such a cutie and looks just like Melissa!

Jake's family was having a big dinner with their family (Jake has two brothers and a sister who are married with kids) and also invited Joe & Jake's mutual friend Andy (he was both of their best men) and his wife since September Ashley (and their two children). It was cute to see Logan run off and play with the other kids because I don't get to really see him play at his babysitter's or his personality in a group setting. I was surprised at how easy-going he was. Andy's daughter Karlee (who will be 6 next month) kept snatching the toys out of Logan's hand but he didn't care, he just grabbed another in its place.

On Saturday, June 13 I met my college bff Christy at the movie theater in Des Moines to see The Hangover. I hadn't laughed so hard, non-stop, at the theater since Knocked Up. Afterwards we went to The Cheesecake Factory and then it was a really nice night so we sat outside and talked. She is visiting Omaha for the first time July 24-26 - I can't wait! Andy & Ashley are coming as well to see our new house (they haven't visited since spring '07 before we moved), and Joe's other high school friend Grife and his fiancee (they're getting married August 15th - Joe is the best man) haven't been here since we moved, either. It should be a fun time!

Meanwhile that day, Joe, Logan, and his mom all went to one of her friend's pool parties. (Joe grew up playing in her pool every summer and I always wished I had a private pool, so as soon as our kids can swim we plan to build an in-ground pool in our backyard)! (Here Logan is at Joe's old house wearing Joe's old outfit!)On Sunday, June 14 we drove home to Omaha. That Tuesday, June 16 I went over to Heather V's house for breakfast (Panera bagels and we rented Bride Wars). Her daughter (Eden, who was born March 25) had started daycare the day before, so I kept her company while Logan was at his babysitter's. She has been trying to find a job in a different profession than the one she'd done since college, because she was let go just a few weeks before her baby was born (in a really unprofessional way). So we made the best of the situation and had a fun morning.

Sunday, June 21st was Father's Day and also Logan's first swimming experience which I posted about in Lots Of Firsts! Logan gave his daddy a subscription to ESPN magazine. . .I'd been approached in the Hy-Vee parking lot by a college student selling magazines for a vacation. I've never bought from them before but this was just a few days before Father's Day and I hadn't bought a gift for Joe yet. Joe said he's looking forward to it.That weekend I started a detox for a cough that I've had off & on for 2 years. Yes, seriously. The first time I remember it was the spring of 2007 - I had a very quick cold, but the cough hung around for three more weeks with no other symptoms (no phlegm, no sore throat) - it was very annoying. Then, it went away but came back with my next virus in Feb. 2008 when I was pregnant. Once again, even after I recovered, the cough hung around for three more weeks without any symptoms. The next time I caught a virus was September 2008. The exact same cough returned and stayed for another three weeks. It returned with my next three virus' this past spring & summer 2009 - only in May it lasted for 4 weeks - the longest it ever had and so I reached the end of my rope. (I'd tried both organic and non-organic over the counter stuff and nothing had ever helped.)

One night I was at Hy-Vee and saw their 24 Urgent Care sign. I called Joe and told him I was going to go to the doctor. I decied to go to Alegent Health's 24 hr place instead (down the street) - I'd been there once in 2006 because one of my toes turned black one night. I hadn't remember bruising it but that was my diagnosis and it did go away, so whatever.

I had to wait an hour, but they got me in and I had the exact same doctor as 3 years before. She said I was right for coming in - nobody should have a cough longer than 1-2 weeks, especially one that has been recurring for 2 years. I explained that prior to 2007 I'd never had this kind of cough in my life - it was from my chest, like an itch that couldn't be scratched. Since then, that's the only kind of cough I get. I can't control it and it's worse at night. In fact, it was non-existant every morning when I woke up because I often thought it was gone and then around noon I'd start coughing and the worst would be at night before bed. Sometimes I would wake myself up in the night, still coughing, but at some point in the night it would go away.

I had an x-ray taken of my chest which I'm not a fan of since this made three in a year (my wrist last summer and routine teeth in the fall/early winter). A couple of weeks ago I learned that every single person in my dad's family has died of cancer! I didn't realize this because all but one were in their 80's or 90's. So, on the one hand it's not a huge deal because everyone's going to die of something by the time you get that old, but on the other hand it is definitely a pattern in my family history that I don't want! There's been every single type, too. My dad's sister was the most serious because she was only 40 (breast cancer). His only other sibling, my uncle, thankfully has beat prostate cancer. But their dad (my grandfather) died of bone marrow cancer. His two sisters died of leukemia and colan cancer. My grandma had four sisters and three of them have passed away from thyroid cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer. On my mom's side most people have died from heart-related issues.

But, the x-ray was necessary and this way I had peace of mind that there wasn't a mass or anything serious in my lungs. My results came back as "lungs look great." (This was nice to know because my mom had an x-ray of her chest when she was about my age and her doctor didn't believe she wasn't a smoker because her lungs looked like that of a smoker since both of her parents smoked and my dad did at that time in their marriage.)

The doctor recommended I make an appt. with a physician to have tests done to see what their theory was. My cough stopped soon after and so I have yet to make an appt. Judging by my history, though, I know it will come back next time I catch the slightest virus, so I'll go to a real doctor at that time.

In the meantime, I looked up online what it could be and my symptoms don't fit anything except possibly a parasite. It's totally disgusting to know 1 in 10 in North America have worms living inside our bodies. We get them from food and water intake, through a transmitting agent such as a mosquito, through sexual conduct, or via the nose and skin.

Who knows how I got it, if that's what I have, but it would make sense if there is a parasite in my lungs (it wouldn't show up in an x-ray) and why it's only noticeable when my immune system is lowered (that's when parasites thrive - they attach to your organs and suck out the nutrition). So, I bought a detox kit at No Name Nutrition store (because even if I don't have it, it won't hurt anything), but after three days had to stop because I had bad side effects. Fortunately they took it back and gave me a refund.

The week of June 22nd Logan's babysitter went on vacation and so that Thursday, June 25 I took Logan to the zoo - we met Andrea and her 22 month old. (She is a friend of Lisa P's) She is the only other woman I know here aside from my neighbor who is a stay at home mom, too; we had a fun time on our first outing together. It was super hot, though, so we only stayed for a couple of hours and Logan fell asleep for the last 20 minutes. It was the first time I'd taken Logan to the zoo by myself. Joe has taken him 4 or 5 times since the three of us went the first time together on March 31st - we hope to go several more times this summer.

On Friday, June 26th we went to Iowa for my dad's retirement party. (In the pic he's sitting across from Joe who is next to me.) He completed 33 years as a Special Agent for the Division of Criminal Investigation. It was really entertaining to hear the funny stories about my dad from over the years. They gave him a mild roast :) The main point that all of his co-workers shared was that my dad made their job enjoyable. He's always had a good sense of humor so he made them laugh a lot.

The best story was when my dad shot himself in the butt - haha! I guess 25+ years ago he was protecting an informant's house with another agent and as he reclined in a chair his wallet got caught on the trigger of his gun and it went off! Only everyone in the house thought the informant was being shot at and so the other agent drew his gun and the informant dived under the table and his wife came running out of the bedroom screaming. . .meanwhile, smoke was billowing up around my dad and his fellow agent started laughing - realizing what happened. When my dad went into the bathroom to look at his wound he said that he "decided to lay down on the floor". . .right :p I guess if there is any place to get shot that is the best place!

There were almost 100 people at his party and my dad was given a few awards and then played some good music (a few years ago some of his friends got together as a hobby to form a band and play shows a few times a year; my dad plays the bass guitar).

My Uncle Jim (dad's brother) came from Houston, Texas so it was nice to see him, and my stepmom Seb had good food catered so we enjoyed a nice meal. The guy who threw the party made a funny slideshow of my dad from over the years and I also met one of my dad's co-workers who I've e-mailed with a few times because she had a son born three months before Logan and she reads my blog and I read her blog :) (We also have the exact same nursery stuff and her son's pediatrician was my pediatrician when I was a baby!)

My mom & stepdad watched Logan on Saturday, June 27 while Joe & I went down to Grant City, Missouri to visit my paternal grandmother. She is doing excellent! I am so glad to be proven wrong - you might remember me talking about her over Christmas not doing very well. I was preparing myself to say goodbye this year but she looked great, acted great, and would have beat us at Rummikub except she had one bad hand. She's been living at an assisted living home down the street from her house and I think it has made her life a lot easier.

We ate lunch at the Drive Inn and then hung out at her house with her neighbor Judy (my dad & uncle plan to keep the house where they were raised for many more years).

Joe & I headed back to Iowa around supper, so we stopped at a small town Pizza Hut on the way. Andy & Ashley just moved to the same town as my mom & stepdad a few weeks ago so we called them when we got back - Andy was at McDonalds with Ashley's almost 4-year-old son Logan (Ashley and Karlee were at a Taylor Swift concert) so we chatted with Andy for an hour.

On Sunday, June 28 we drove back to Omaha. . .and on Tuesday, June 30th my dogs had an appt. at the vet. Thankfully there have been no incidences since my post, A One-Year-Old and Two Dogs. Shortly after that, I attempted to give all three of my kids a walk at the same time again - and it wasn't bad at all. Maybe they realized after making it hard last summer that the only way they were going to get to go is if they walked properly. Bella and Cosmo have no problem walking behind the stroller and so I've been able to take them regularly! The Dog Whisperer says sometimes getting dogs to behave is that simple - that's how important dog walking is. I hope he was right and that incident was just a one-time thing.

It also seems like Bella is less scared of Logan these days. Maybe when he first started running around she got nervous because she didn't know what to expect. But now she doesn't even move out of the way when he comes over to her (something that had never happened in Logan's entire life). A few times she's even brought him toys to play with or let him try to kiss her. Of course I praised her tremendously!!!! I am so relieved - I would not want to give them away. Melissa said that she wouldn't think twice about her dog (she has a yorkie) if he bit Axton, but she grew up with a dad who took their Great Dane to the backyard after it bit their mail lady and he shot the dog! Yikes. :(

Their vet appointment went well except that Cosmo's going to have to have dental work done on July 16th. :( I guess his teeth are in pretty bad shape. You know how all breeds have an area that they're more likely to have problems with than another? Well, for maltipoos it's the teeth. Bella's are fine and I wonder if it's because I brushed her teeth religiously for two years. After about a year of having Cosmo, though, I got lazy and have hardly brushed either of their teeth the past two years. I give them greenies bones when I can (they're supposed to help) but they can only have one brand or else they'll throw up - and that brand is at PetSmart where I hardly ever go. But Cosmo has to be put under anesthesia and it's a several-hour thing (that is also expensive) so I'm going to be brushing both of their teeth religiously again after this so that Bella won't have to have it done and Cosmo won't ever again! Otherwise, their teeth will begin separating from the gums which is very painful and they will no longer be able to use them to chew. Sad. :(

Thursday, July 2nd, Chris invited us over for dinner. Her little boy is now 5 months old, I can't believe it. For dessert (after pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts which followed crackers & goat cheese, green tea, and bread), Chris surprised us with a chocolate birthday cake for Joe, complete with candles. We were touched by all of the work she went to.

The following day, Friday, July 3rd, was Joe's 30th birthday!!!! He had the day off from work, so his mom came over that afternoon with pork rites, and I picked up his traditional DQ chocolate extreme blizzard cake for dessert. For his birthday I wanted to get him a flat screen (we don't have one) but it wasn't something I felt comfortable buying without him, however I don't think he'll ever go with me to get one. Instead, I bought him a golf glove because that's the only thing he asked for. His mom gave us a vacation to Lake Rathbun in Iowa! We're going to stay at their nice, new resort this fall, I can't wait!That evening we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for supper and then played outside with Logan (as you saw from the cute picture in my post Like Father, Like Son). Sadly, Sandi learned that her dog (a boxer who was at a doggie daycare) had become really sick - was going diahrrea every few minutes. They had to put him in a cage for the night and when they checked on him in the morning, it was full of diarrhea. So, Joe's mom had to leave early Saturday morning, July 4th. It was too bad because we'd had a lot of fun stuff planned for the weekend, but Joe & I still took Logan to his first parade (which I mentioned in my post, New Hobby)! At first he was hesitant but then started clapping and waving and dancing! He had a great time :)

I don't know if Logan was going through a growth spurt or what that week but he ate every hour and went to bed at 7 pm every night. So, he slept through the fireworks for his second year which was amazing to me because they are legal in our neighborhood so they were going off constantly for three hours every night. Maybe next year he will see them for the first time!

On Sunday, July 5th, Logan ran through the sprinklers for the first time but didn't like it so that didn't last long.

Not much to report from the week. . .I signed Logan up for toddler time at the library which I'm excited about. It's on Mondays or Wednesdays. (Once kids get to be 13 months old they can participate in story time, so it's a way to meet other kids and moms.) I don't have a library card because it costs $40 a year for our neighborhood, but the librarian said we are free to read books there.

The new season of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant started on TLC Wednesay. Have you all seen that show? I caught it for the first time a couple of months ago and just stared at the TV with my mouth open as they played back-to-back episodes over and over. No matter how many times I watched the stories, I just couldn't fathom it! I can't believe how many women are out there who make it 9 months without realizing they are pregnant!!!

I don't know what's more unbelievable to me - that there could be women without a single symptom (while I'd never felt worse in my life) or that several of them just thought they had to go to the bathroom when they were in labor and then the baby came out while they were on the toilet (while I pushed for 4 hrs).

A couple of them even had twins - these women had made it to the hospital and the doctors informed them that they were having a baby - so they were just processing that when the first comes out and the doctor's like, "OMG, there's another one!" Nobody would believe it if I wrote a fiction novel with a story like that. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction!

This weekend (July 11) Joe went to Iowa for Grife's bachelor party but I decided to stay here. We met my parents halfway on Thursday night so they could take Logan for the weekend (for the first time since the weekend of June 6) and we'll pick him up on Monday - which will be the longest we've ever been apart: 96 hrs! I needed the break again, though. Month fourteen has been another exhausting month! On Friday I spent the day shopping at Westroads Mall, which the only other time I've had a chance to do that since Logan's birthday was the last time Logan went to my parents'! I bought my first item (a shirt) at Von Maur since the shooting. It has been nice the past two mornings to sleep until 10 AM!!!