Our Life This Week

It seems longer than just five days ago that I last blogged! After that post, Joe & I hung out in our hotel room and ordered room service (a pizza) for supper. On Monday we ate breakfast in our restaurant, then went to Bradley Hall - a really cool house that turned its 4 floors for shopping! It made my family's Christmas gifts easier for me this year! :) We went to a park for lunch (Subway) and then to a movie in the evening (a popcorn supper). The movie was All About Steve (I'm all about Bradley Cooper, lol) which was funny and sad at the same time! Sandra Bullock did a good job, so Joe & I liked it. On Tuesday we ate breakfast and then checked out of the resort. My mom & stepdad's house was about 2 hrs away (I finished the book I'd started on the trip) so we picked Logan up at 12:30 and he fell asleep in the car and slept 2 of the 2.5 hrs back to Omaha, even though he was in his front facing carseat - yeay! (The dogs did fine at my dad & stepmom's except one or both peed and pooped one day in the house while my dad & stepmom were there, what the heck?!)

All three mornings while we were gone Logan slept until 8 am - and he did that on Wednesday morning back at our house, too! He also took a 3 hr nap every day and took a 4 hr nap on Wednesday with me (and 3 hrs yesterday/Thursday)! But as of yesterday he's back to waking up at 7 am (which has been his wake up time for the past couple of months, he still goes to bed at 8 pm) so I'm guessing he'll go back to his 2 hr nap today. (That's what he's doing right now.) The time he lays down has been kind of unpredictable lately. Ever since the spring he's gone down at noon but the past month he's seemed to prefer 10:30 when he's home with me but 12:30 when he goes to Babysitter's or while at the grandparents'. But since being back home this week he has preferred 2 or 3 pm!
Today we went for a walk and he played outside (as I said in my last post it's been cold lately so I have no idea how many more opportunities for playing outside there will be, even though it wasn't freezing I still had to bundle him up).Wednesday was the first time we were able to go for a walk in a couple of weeks, and we also went to the park and to Target. At Target I ran into the guy who used to live across the street from us March 2004 thru August 2007. I did a double take which made him take notice of me and so he looked at me like, Do you know me? So I said, "I used to live across the street from you." He scrunched up his face and said, "Where was that?" I named our street (where he still lives) and reminded him of Joe & my names and he was like "Oh that was awhile ago." I said, "A couple of years. . .we had him in the meantime" and I pointed to Logan who was sitting in the cart. He was like, "You probably needed a bigger place?" I said "yes" and he was like, "My place is perfect now that my daughters are moving out" and then he just walked away. He was not that friendly. . .I shouldn't be surprised, that was one of the main things I used to remark about when we first moved into this neighborhood. I really wanted nicer neighbors and other than the people behind us (that were rude about our dogs) this neighborhood has been awesome. I've become friends with both couples on each side of us and anyone else that we see on our street waves and says hi. Anytime I take a walk and someone is outside they always smile and say hi and many times they even chat for a minute! But although Joe talked to this guy a few times while we lived there, he never once made eye contact or acknowledged me (for those not from the Midwest that is rare, haha).

Anyway, Thursday was freezing but we still went to Vala's Pumpkin Patch (this pic is of Logan on the tractor ride). I was sooo impressed! We met Lisa P, her two daughters, and a friend of her's who brought her daughter. I was in awe, I need to go back just so I can go without my mouth hanging open. I've lived in the Omaha area for 6.5 years and had heard people talk about what a spectacular place it was, but I had no idea it would end up being one of the coolest places I've ever been in my life! I had been there once in 2005 for work (they'd had a bonfire to roast smores and meet listeners of the radio station) but we'd stayed in one tiny area so I had no idea how big the place is and how much there is to do and see. I'm really shocked that it's not open for longer than one month. This could be a huge tourist attraction to our area, it is right up there along with our famous zoo. In fact, for people like me who adore the season of fall, I actually like it better because that's what it's all about: autumn! I'm definitely getting a season pass next year, Logan seemed to enjoy it already but I know next year he will want to go every day! It's too bad it's been so cold since it opened this year (we only stayed two hours, but thankfully Logan has gotten used to his coat now so he didn't mind being bundled up), I really hope I get the opportunity to show Joe! I called my mom right after I got home and told her that she & my stepdad have to visit next fall so they can check this place out! Of course it's best with kids, but I would go again with or without Logan :)

Last night I had my massage I get every two weeks which was nice. . .I had a routine dentist appt. a couple of weeks ago and all went great. . .my physical with a doctor was rescheduled to the 15th. In my post What's Wrong With My Car? I mentioned that my locks and windows suddenly stopped working. I have an appt. on Tuesday with the place I've been going here for 6 yrs to get it fixed, it sounds like the problem is the master switch.

I knew in my last post I was forgetting some words that Logan says now. Along with those I wrote down, he also says "shh" to the dogs a lot by putting his finger over his mouth - after watching Joe when the dogs bark, haha! He loves to say "truck" whenever he sees a truck. He says "ouch" and "owie" when he gets hurt. And hat - on Wednesday the reason we went to Target was because he didn't have any hat or mittens. At first I couldn't find his size and so I was mumbling, "Where are more hats?" Logan pointed to his head and said "hat!" I said, "Yes, where is a hat for you?" So then he starts shouting, "Hat! Hat! Hat!" (Like he was calling for it) I had to stifle a laugh.

Since month 13 he has loved clicking his tongue when others do. Also, the other day I said, "uh-uh-uh" with inflection in my voice and he repeated it perfectly, it was cute. He sings "ee-i-ee-i-o" when I sing "Old McDonald." My parents said he said "eye" a few times when pointing to my old doll's eyes. He also says "light" a lot when pointing to lights. Yesterday he even said "light on" for me to turn it on and then said "light off" for me to turn it off! I'm excited that at 18 months old some babies start talking in sentences so maybe pretty soon. . .!

Even though according to books, the internet, pediatricians, etc. he's right on track with his age group (saying at least 20 words) it seems like all of the other babies we are around talk more than him. But I am convinced now that he is going to take after Joe and be more math-oriented than language-oriented. He really impressed us last night - he found three quarters. When Joe tried to take them from Logan, Logan decided it was a fun game and so he was making us chase him while he laughed. So we pretended to be done and then Joe was able to sneak one away. Well a little bit later Logan looked down at his two quarters and got a confused look on his face. Then he started looking around the room - searching for the other quarter! Joe was like, "Look, he knows that he's missing one!" So then Joe gave him two additional quarters (making 4 for Logan). A little bit later Joe snuck one away without Logan noticing. The next time Logan looked at his hands and saw only 3 he stopped what he was doing and began searching the room again. "He can count!" Joe cheered. We tried it one more time, giving him 5 total quarters. Sure enough, when one became missing Logan immediately noticed there were only 4.

Then, this morning when I woke up, Joe was getting ready in the bathroom and Logan was playing with about 10 q-tips. He started putting them all back in the box, as I told him "good job." I saw that one was left on the floor about a foot away from him but he didn't notice. I thought he would close the drawer since all of the obvious q-tips were back in their place. Instead he began peering his head around like he was very confident that he'd missed one. At first I thought "no way" could he be looking for that one last q-tip, but once he saw it then he made a sound of relief, put it back in the box, and closed the drawer, ready to move on to something else!!!

As for his mischevious side, in month 16 he began hiding. It started with Joe after bath time Logan hides behind the chair in his room when it's time to put on his pjs. :p Well now anytime that Logan doesn't want to do something, he finds a place to hide. At first this scared me because I wasn't expecting it and so Logan would be somewhere and then suddenly he was gone! But now I know to look in all of the hiding places :p I used to love to hide as a child, too (I wrote about that being the start to my rebellious childhood in my post The Truth About Spanking) but I hope he grows out of it soon because from a parent's point of view it can be dangerous!

In month 17 he has started trying to jump! It's so cute, he'll just be standing around and then he'll bend his knees and try to leap off the floor. I think any day he's going to do it!

During his month 16 he began climbing on our kitchen chairs which then allowed him to climb onto the table. I did not like coming into the kitchen and seeing Logan standing on top of the table! After a few times of saying "no" I think he has gotten the message that it is not acceptable so hopefully he's put an end to that dangerous stunt. (Here is a pic of him with his new playhouse)Last night it was cute - I was organizing his pictures on our computer and he indicated that he wanted to sit on my lap. So I was showing him the pictures and got to one taken last year of him crawling for the first time. I said, "Oh here's you crawling and then you fell down." So then he purposely fell off my lap onto the floor. I started laughing and told Joe what Logan had done, and as I said the words "he fell down," Logan (who was now standing next to me) proceeded to purposely fall down again. LOL. He's always seemed to have a sense of humor but it has really been coming out more and more lately.One of the pictures I came across last night was of Logan playing with the door stop (which he loved around last Christmas). I remember thinking I hope he grows out of this like Bella (my first dog loved them as well but could care less about them now). Sure enough, it was like one day Logan just decided they weren't that cool anymore. It's funny how there are similarities betweeen babies and dogs. I think Logan has finally passed our dogs intellectually. They say most dogs are like 18 month olds but mine seemed more like Logan at 16 months.

Speaking of pictures, Logan loves to point to photos and ask me who the people are (he doesn't really say words, just "is?"). Last Christmas Joe's mom got him his first photo album (one of those soft, cushy books) and he has always loved looking at it so I might try to find one to give him this Christmas.

Today Logan went to his babysitter's since he hasn't been since last Thursday (usually he goes 8 hrs a week but this week was 4.5). She said he fell asleep on her floor for 10-15 minutes which is crazy since she has other kids running around so I wonder if he's going through a growth spurt and that's why he's slept more lately! In my post, The End Of Summer, I mentioned that once he turns 18 months old I would see if he could start going 12 hrs every week, but since he's been back from the grandparents' this week it has been like months 15 & 16 again (which were super easy) so unless he goes back to how he was the first two weeks of month 17 then I can hold out.We had so much fun at the park on Wednesday, it was probably one of the last times in 2009 (due to the weather). There were two other boys there - all were 18 months (give or take a couple of weeks, Logan has 9 days until his official year-and-a-half birthday - as of today). It was neat to see their similarities and differences. Logan seemed to be exactly in the middle. The one who seemed older (technically he was, Logan was technically the youngest) has three older brothers! I enjoyed talking to his mom, they just moved here over the summer because her husband is in the Airforce. All 4 of her boys are 1.5 yrs apart - wow! The other mom just had the one boy and said he was going to be an only child because she went insane during the baby phase. LOL.

So I guess I was in the middle, too, haha. Because I can't imagine having 4 kids (of course the mom seemed so laid back and happy) but as you know I loved the baby phase so I am excited for baby #2. In fact. . .I have actually been feeling "the baby bug" the past month! If I wasn't someone who had to think carefully about big decisions, then I'd probably get pregnant this month! But even though I'm ready to tackle it all again - I clam up when I think about tackling it again WITH another child! I'm not good at a lot of things in life but I do feel I've done a great job with motherhood. If Logan could talk I don't think he'd have any complaints with me. :) But bring on a baby right now and I worry that I won't be able to do as good with TWO (especially since Logan was 15 months old I've been feeling like I have my own life again - but I'd have to say goodbye to that as soon as I get pregnant)!

Even though Logan is independent I know it's because he knows I'm 100% devoted to him and he can have me anytime he wants. I know that the older a child get the less they need their moms because they enjoy having their own life, so I'm still planning to wait until next summer to get pregnant because by then Logan will be two years old and so hopefully then he can understand a little more what is going on (he'll be three by the time baby #2 is here) and that way it won't be as hard for him to adjust to sharing me. My stepdad's mom had her boys pretty much exactly two years apart and said it'd be like if Joe suddenly brought home another woman and then I had to adjust to him having another wife. Thanks for the stab in the heart, Grandma! Not all kids have a hard time, some families do great with their kids being 1-2 years apart - but then also "I" am not yet ready to share Logan :pI can see how the stereotypes for birth order originate. I was even talking to the mom of 4 boys about this at the park. She was saying her first son is the classic first born: a perfectionist, structured, organized, etc. Her youngest is the classic baby: laid back, doesn't care about rules, etc. I now see this isn't just some random biological thing - it's due to the parents!

For example, using a 3-child family, most mothers are going to be "careful" with child #1. (Some say "overprotective" but that sounds unhealthy, however most all moms of first borns are more careful with their first than their last and it's usually a completely healthy thing.) When child #2 arrives, parents' attention on child #1 suddenly becomes about expecting them to be at a higher standard since child #2 is at a lower level developmentally. I now see why a lot of first borns have the pressure to really exceed and be "the best." When parents have that first child it is such a gift, the child surely has to be an above average citizen, haha! When child #3 arrives, child #2 just goes along with the flow. Already they don't have as many expectations placed on them as child #1 and are used to sharing the attention, so there isn't much of an adjustment when parents turn their attention to child #3. Parents usually know that child #3 is last and so they don't mind (usually subconsciously) spoiling or babying him/her. The parents are more relaxed, more tired, and allow that child to do things child #1 was not allowed to. Therefore, it's most common for the first born to be overachievers, leaders, etc, the middle to be peace makers, followers, and the baby to be fun-loving, carefree adults. (If you're an only child like me then you tend to rotate between these three.)

I would like to think that my kids can just be who they're meant to be without our environment placing them in these roles, but considering that we are about 50/50 when it comes to nature vs nurture I don't think that's possible. I can already see that Logan is showing classic first born signs - but they are traits I think are positive, so stereotypes aren't a bad thing. I don't want my next child to just be along for Logan's ride, though. So waiting until next summer might help with that.

So far everyone I've asked has said "three years" is the ideal age range between siblings (this coming most from people who have kids with a variety of ranges or those who have looked back and said three would have been just right). I even googled "when is the best time to have a second child" and the consensus seems to be three years apart as well.

Also, when I got together with Stacy (Jaxson's mom) a couple of weeks ago she told me that her hair is falling out again (side effect after pregnancy) because she heard that it takes 18 months for a woman's body to fully return to normal after having a baby. I can believe it (based on my post Can Progesterone Be The Solution?). So I'm also hoping I'll have several months of feeling normal (and lose 20 lbs) before I get pregnant and I mess everything up again! But as for that biological clock, yes it must be true because two months ago I was freaking out at the thought that I could be pregnant but the past month I've been feeling a longing! :p