Over Half Done With Winter!

I mentioned on Monday that my writing retreat was extended - so this post is to say that I will be back to daily blogging on Monday, February 15th. But because it has already been a month since my last update, I decided that today I'll do the kind I used to do so that my posts will be short when I return!

Let's see. . .good news: Logan stopped hitting. I had mentioned that he'd started hitting in early January, Joe & me (no one else), up to 100 times a day! But, as I wrote in my post The Discipline Book--Part Two, within just one week we were able to help him decrease that that number to 5-10 times a day, and a week after that he was only doing it once a day. Now it's been two weeks since any. Yeay! I mean, I'm sure it won't be the last time forever, but I am glad to have my sweet & gentle Logan back and am proud at how proud he acts with himself not to hit! I've always loved his desire to want to do what is right and hope that he keeps that. I'd mentioned that we'd started doing "time out" in January but we haven't had to do it for awhile because I just say, "do you want to go to time out?" and he shakes his head and says "no no" and then stops whatever misbehavior he is doing. So no more throwing food, either, whew!

I really believe it helped that his last three teeth came in (it's amazing how that has always made a difference - there's no doubt when I look back on his life his hardest months are the months his teeth came in)! I was thinking he was going to get his two-year-molars (the final-final teeth) before all of his main teeth since he hadn't had any pop up since June when he was 14 months old, but his last three came in all within the same week in January.

Despite his teething, Babysitter (where he goes all day every Wednesday) says he has been the best one with the new baby (a six month old girl) that started in January. She said none of the other kids care about her, but Logan comes over and pets her head gently and when she cries he runs to get her comfort item for her. I am able to witness this side of him each week when I get together with Brooke for "stay at home mom day." Logan likes to pet her 9 month old daughter's head, too, and he also caught on right away to what is her favorite toy to give her when she cries. I hope this means he'll be good with baby #2 (he's never acted jealous whenever I hold or play with other babies) -- but when I hold one of the dogs or give them extra attention he often tries to break in so I'm glad we're still waiting, LOL.Speaking of "stay at home mom day," Brooke & I didn't end up getting together on Friday, January 8th as originally planned because there was bad weather. But that weekend, as I said in my post, And Now For The Drumroll, we chose our new vehicle! (You can see a pic in that post.)

We didn't end up buying it that Tuesday as expected because we decided to go with a different dealership. The one we had been working with kept lying to us! For example, on Monday afternoon they'd promised us our perfect Santa Fe - a brand new, black SE with gray interior and their top package - heated seats, sun roof, etc. for a specific price. When we went in on Tuesday to buy it, apparently they'd sold that car on Monday night. Joe told them that sounded suspicious and actually called them on all of their lies (he was not being friendly to them which is not like him so I was uncomfortable - staying silent throughout the entire process - but inside I was cheering Joe on, haha)! They tried to sell us a black SE with brown interior without the extras for the same price which we almost bought, but thankfully time was up (we had to pick up Logan at Babysitter's where he went twice that week) and so we told them we'd have to come back.

The reason we were still considering them despite their being jerks is because we'd gone to the only other two Hyundai dealerships in our area and they'd told us that they didn't have any black Santa Fe's. We had the choice of red, white, or blue but Joe and I really wanted something different. My first vehicle - a 1991 Chevy Blazer - was blue and white, my second vehicle - a 1994 Ford Tempo GL - was teal, and my third vehicle - a 2001 Ford Focus SE - is red. Meanwhile, Joe's first vehicle - a 1984 Toyota Tercel (yes seriously!) was gold and his second vehicle was his 1997 Pontiac Grand Am that was white. So neither of us had ever had black which was why that was the only color that appealed to us.

However, Joe decided to e-mail the other two dealerships that night just in case the sales guys with whom we'd previously spoke had been wrong. It's a good thing he did because one of the dealerships said yes, not only did they have the exact vehicle we wanted but they would sell it to us at a cheaper price than what the original dealership had offered! We couldn't refuse. We checked out their Santa Fe on Wednesday, January 13th and loved it AND the sales people. Joe drove it home that night while I drove my car for the last time. Well not the LAST time, but since Joe's car was towed to the junk yard the following Monday (January 18), now he is driving my car to work and I drive the Santa Fe :-)

We moved Logan's old rear facing carseat that had been in Joe's car to my old car (it goes up to 30 lbs so since Joe doesn't drive Logan around very often we keep it in his car for those rare occasions), and we moved Logan's front facing carseat from my old car to the new one.

I thought the Santa Fe would take some adjustment but it hasn't. I feel I was made for it - or I should say, the car was made for me. I hope it lasts a really long time. Especially since we have our first payments of our life (not counting our house) and will probably have to trade my car in for a minivan in a few years! Until now, we've always paid for all of our purchases in full, no loans etc. (we have a 4 yr loan now). Thankfully, we had the best credit our sales guy had ever seen - he said he didn't even know someone could get our number, so at least we got a great interest rate. But I'm still looking into the stay at home mom jobs that I mentioned in Andrea & Julie/Julia!I had my first "real" drive with Logan to Brooke's on Friday, January 15th. We had a fabulous time as always! The next day (Saturday, January 16th) we went to Lexi's 3rd birthday party! She is the daughter of my friend Lisa; Lexi's sister Riley had her first birthday party in November that Joe took Logan to (I didn't go because I was sick, see Kicked Our Colds). This one was a Little Mermaid Theme and it was so cute to see the little girls dressed up in fairy tale dresses and all of the pink! Of course Logan loved the different toys - and food! Logan only has juice and a treat (i.e. cookies/brownies/cupcakes, etc) once a week at our house (he gets them both again at Babysitter's on Wednesdays because she told Joe that he knows where she keeps the cookies and every day goes over to them and says, "[Her name], can I please have a cookie?" We were like, WHAT?! The little stinker - we never taught him that, it's amazing how kids catch on to something to get what they want! Most of his sentences don't come out very clear). Anyway, he got his fill of sugar at the birthday party by eating three rice krispy bars (thank you Lisa's mother-in-law, haha) and two juice boxes. (Plus, fun jello, gold fish crackers, and he had a couple of pieces of fruit & veggies - as long as he eats them every day at home, I don't stress. Especially since snacks aren't a battle anymore - he finally learned a couple of months ago that I only give him crackers, etc. if we're in the car or in public so when we're at home he eats a balanced diet and doesn't bang on the pantry anymore.)That evening Joe went to the ISU Cyclones vs Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball game - and ISU won, yeay! His friend from work with whom he went is a huge Nebraska fan so it was a good game because it was close. Meanwhile, my mom and stepdad came over Sat night to Sun early afternoon (January 17th) to see our new vehicle. They'd come the previous weekend as well so that my mom could stay with Logan while Joe & I looked at the dealerships with the help of my stepdad.

On Monday, January 18th Logan turned 21 months old! Usually there isn't a pediatrician check-up between 18 and 24 months, but since we spread out Logan's vaccines he went the following Monday (the 25th). They were so impressed because he didn't make a peep. Nothing. Nada. Just furrowed his eyebrows at the nurse, but by then it was over and I gave him an animal cracker so he happily ate that as we walked out.

They say that generally kids who don't get all of their shots at once do better because it happens so fast they don't have time to process it, rather than when you get them all at once there are repeated stabs, the kid has to be restrained for longer, etc. That has definitely been Logan's case - he's only made a noise at the doctor's office ONCE in his 21 months of life and that was just one time when they held his arms and legs down, he got scared because he couldn't move and didn't know what was going on. I doubt he understood me, but the whole way there this time I had explained to him what was going to be happening and that he would feel a quick "owe" in his legs but then he would get a BANDAID!!! :-)

Also, thanks to spreading out the shots, he's continued his pattern of never having any side effects - staying in the best mood all evening/week, no fever or diarrhea, not having any pain, redness, or swelling, etc. (The shots he had were his final DTaP and second to last Polio. So all that's left are his final polio, 2 hep b's, 2 hep a's, 1 mmr, and we don't plan to ever give the chicken pox shot. No flu shot either at this point. He'll be caught up to the standard schedule by his three year appt.)

He's also continued to have a strong immune system - only one temp above 100.5 and one ear infection in his 21.5 months of life, all of the rest colds (except Fifth's Disease which was no biggie for him, either). I had thought this winter was going to be brutal since during his first year he only had 3 virus' but then once he started going to Babysitter's 8 hrs a week last spring he was averaging one virus a month (which is average for those who are under six years). However, this winter has been better than the summer! I had thought he was coming down with a cold around January 21st but that didn't end up being the case and so he went the entire months of December and January with nothing (so he's had 8 virus' total this year). Also no eczema now that we put Aveeno on him twice a day and he doesn't wear polyester more than twice a week.

These days he's 26 lbs and 35 inches tall, making the 50th percentile for weight and 90th for height.

Some funny things he's said/done recently: I never knew the word "ketchup" could sound cute but Logan is definitely part me because I've always liked ketchup (as has my entire dad's side of the family - eating it with nearly everything) and now Logan requests it so I actually have to put a limit on it or else he'll want to eat it and nothing else!

One day he pointed to my face and said "uh-oh." I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I had a big pimple! I informed him that in the future women will not want him to point out their flaws :p (He has also said this when I'm getting into the shower so I'm hoping "uh-oh" is referring to the fact that I'm not wearing any clothes!)

Logan is better at saving energy than me. If I leave a light on as I'm leaving the room he reminds me to turn it off - same for the television. He also likes to push all chairs in when leaving the table and close every door when he leaves a room. He still insists he needs to clean up any mess (even a drop of water) that he sees, and he picks up the smallest piece of lint off the floor and takes it to the trashcan. I've had to put a limit on how many paper towels and cotton balls he can have per day because he begs for them and will literally clean all day. Oh - and they have to have a little water on them (I've come to figure out his specific amount) because otherwise they don't clean as well. Too much water is just as frustrating for him because the paper towel breaks apart.

The other day I asked him, "What do you want to do today?" He said, "Baby." I said, "What do you mean baby?" He ran to the refrigerator and pointed to the Christmas picture of Brooke's daughter Kaelyn and said, "I want baby!" I nearly cried - I couldn't believe he said/did that! It's great to know that he enjoys our stay at home mom days, too!

Speaking of which, Brooke came over with Kaelyn on Tuesday, January 19. Logan was being silly that day and kept acting like a baby. As a baby he was never clingy so I think he was copying Kaelyn because every time she would cry Logan would cry and every time she was picked up Logan wanted to be picked up! Thankfully he acted like his old self again at our next "stay at home mom day" on Monday, January 25 at their house.

That day I realized how handy it is to have a 21 month old: We were walking out the door when Logan stopped in front of me, turned around, and ran back in. I was thinking he was just trying to stay, but instead he went over to our bag that I had accidentally left inside Brooke's house! He carried it over to me like, you forgot this, Mom! He was being so good we could have stayed longer but it was 1 pm so I didn't want to get his nap all out of whack. He often still takes a 3 hr nap each day. Even at Babysitter's where they are down for 2 hrs (the older kids watch a movie and the younger ones sleep), she says Logan is the last to wake up - he continues sleeping while the other kids just step over him as they play!!!!

His bedtime is still 8 pm and he wakes up anywhere from 6 am to 8 am. If he wakes up at 6, some mornings we've been able to bring him in our bed the past month and he'll sleep with us 'til 8 which is nice.

As I've written here before, he slept January 2009 to November 2009 without waking up at all during the night, but then over TG he was sick. We were hoping it'd be another 10 months before it happened again, but then he had some nightmares in mid-December (by the way there haven't been any for several weeks so hopefully that has taken a break again)! Then, over Christmas he didn't like the different beds while traveling. . .and then in January during his teething/harder behavior which lasted a couple of weeks he woke up a few times again. They all resembled his old pattern of just a few minutes, and since he's okay with co-sleeping nowadays we did that a few nights. Once he went back to his normal self during the day he has since been sleeping in his crib all night long again. So hopefully this January to November will be like last January to November with consecutive sleep again! My friend Chris whose son Gregory is 11.5 months old has been sleeping thru the night for over a month now (I had last mentioned her in my post Happy New Year!), and he's been healthy and happy which has made life a lot easier for her. They came over on Saturday, January 23 for a playdate. Brooke's daughter has never put anything in her mouth which is a foreign concept to me having had a baby like Logan, but it's amazing how easily you forget because since she's the only baby who had been to my house in awhile, I hadn't realized how un-baby proofed my house has gotten!!! Gregory reminded me that it's time for a carpet cleaning. :p

On Sunday, January 24 I went with my friend Andrea to finally see The Lovely Bones (which I'd been talking about on this blog since I read the book in the fall). I thought it was good - and she thought so to, even having not read the book. (Andrea is the woman I mentioned in my post Happy New Year that is pregnant, she is another stay at home mom due this June!)

That was the weekend that I had planned to go to a local hotel and write all weekend - but I had to cancel because on Thursday night Joe had a fever (which never happens). He was up ALL NIGHT (something else that never happens). He was miserable and said there was no way he was going to be able to go to work on Friday. Thursday had been the day I mentioned earlier in this post that I thought Logan was going to come down with a cold (because it was the only day his nose had run since early November and also that was the last time he woke up during the night) but on Friday he was perfectly fine and so was Joe who ended up going to work after all. Still, I thought I better play it safe which was fine because then I thought I was getting sick! I felt nauseous off & on on Saturday and Sunday, but now I think it was stress-related. To make a long story short, I had thought I was friends with some people because I'd been getting together with them for six years, but I learned that was not the case, but it's fine now because we're all on the same page.

For the final week of January I had my "brow wax" that Wednesday, January 27 since the last one on my birthday in December (which had been my first time since my very first time at the age of 16) . I was hoping they would be complete, but my brows didn't grow at the same pace so although one is perfect now, the other still has a month left of needing filled-in, so I made another appt. for February. Even though she'd said no one is supposed to pluck their own eyebrows, I'm going to really try to follow the design because the salon is 25 min. away and it's $20 each time. But I'm SOOO happy that I decided to have the waxing done because my eyebrows do look way better than they ever have in my life.

I'd gotten my hair high lighted a couple of weeks before (and bought my first outfit since October and had the dogs groomed for the first time since the summer), as I'd said I'd decided to do in my post Happy New Year. I was nervous because I felt like my hair was finally looking healthy for the first time in two years and didn't know if I could have it both ways (I hadn't had an appt. in 6 months) - but so far, so good! I credit moroccan oil which my stylist started having me use!

So now my eyebrows are the way I want, my hair is the way I want, and my skin WAS the way I wanted once I switched to Sephora stuff in October, however in January it broke out and hasn't cleared up! Aside from that, though, it has never felt or looked healthier in my life so I really don't want to have to go back to my other products that I'd used for 12 years but I could tell were ruining my skin. So I'm planning to see a dermatologist in a couple of weeks. I've only been to one once in my life (when I was 13) but the recommendation for everyone is to go every 3 years (probably to look for melanoma)! So I'm hoping he/she can tell me exactly what I need to do with/for my skin because I don't want to worry about acne now that I'm THIRTY!!!!

As for improving my inside, Joe's job changed insurance plans this year which allowed me to return to my counselor on Jan. 27th (who I've been going to off & on for 3.5 years which makes me feel in top shape psychologically; I hadn't been since July 29th). That evening Joe & I went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse which was yummy - we had been trying to go since July to use a gift card that our friends had given us for our birthdays, but we could never get in! It's the first restaurant in our area that we had to wait at in the nearly 7 years that we've lived here! No matter what time of day we went, it was at least an hour wait, if not more. I even tried to make reservations once but they weren't taking them. I don't know how we got in the other two times we've eaten there since it opened near us. Finally it worked out to go on a weeknight which meant we only had to wait 20 minutes.

Back to improvements. . .I've been using progesterone cream since the end of August and there is no question it works (which keeps me in top shape hormonely)- I'm going to write a complete post on my experience when I return after the 15th. In a couple of weeks I'm going to my massage therapist who I haven't been to since December (but she keeps me feeling relaxed and stress-free every two weeks). Joe & I are taking a photography class this spring (to further learning/education). And, this Sunday, am finally returning to church (which helps me spiritually; the first Sunday after I last posted about making this a new year's resolution, my parents were here, as well as the following Sunday, then came that weird weekend for all of us where we didn't know if we were all sick, and then the last one Logan woke up at 6 am (without going back to sleep) which meant he wanted to take his nap at 10 am rather than 1 pm (services end at 10:15 and noon).

I'm still working on getting in shape, too. (Exercising and eating healthy falls under both "inside" & "outside.") It has been going very slow. I have lost 6 lbs which is better than nothing (or gaining) but I've been so inconsistent! In October I did The Five Factor Diet hardcore and lost 7 lbs (but gained them back over the holidays) so I guess this was just one pound less that that, but as I said back then - the first ten are easy, the last ten are the hard, noticeable, pounds :p So I really need to work hard during the month of February so that I will reach my goal weight (a total of 22 pounds lost) by Logan's birthday in April. It's my "set point" weight - i.e. my body's healthiest weight; the lowest I can be feeling good and not depriving myself. The weight that I became when I reached my adult height of five-foot-two-and-a-half at the age of 13. Aside from 1999-2000 in college when I weighed more and 2002-2003 when I weighed less, it is the weight I've most often been, although I haven't been there since the holiday season of 2005 so hopefully I can lose these last 16 pounds within these next two months! (I'm 4 lbs higher than my pre-pregnancy weight and 10 lbs higher than my post pregnancy a.k.a. breastfeeding weight.)

Thursday, January 28 was one of my "off" days, LOL, as Logan and I went to The Amazing Pizza Machine!!! We hadn't been since we went with Joe our only other time back in August (my post was titled I Love This Age!). This time we met Lisa and her daughters 3-year-old Lexi & 14-month-old Riley, as well as Lisa's sister Sara, Andrea & her two-and-a-half year old son Drew, and another friend of Lisa's who had a 15-month-old daughter.It was SOOOO much fun. (Except for Logan peed through a diaper for the first time in, like, a year. I was surprised since this wasn't long after we'd arrived and I'd just put a new diaper on him before we'd left the house. So it's a good thing I had an emergency pair of pants for him. . .even though they were shorts! I'm switching to all pull-ups next week. . .I couldn't find any good potty training books (since my post 2010 Now In Progress) so we'll see how it goes doing the process on my own, hardcore, from next week on! He did well from 16.5-18 mos but since then just wants to sit on the toddler toilet and go through the motions with his clothes on).

I need to take Logan to The Amazing Pizza Machine as much as possible while he's free! Not only is the buffet incredibly yummy, but there was so much for Logan to do. I don't think he remembered the other time we went because back then (at 16 months old) he had no fear and ran to the top of the indoor playground and was doing dangerous stunts - this time he wanted me to go up to the top with him.I often wonder how far back his memory goes. I know it goes to Halloween because whenever he finds his bucket/pail or tiger costume he says "trick or treat!" and runs to the front door. So, September must be the "cut off." I am excited because my earliest memories are of being two years old, so pretty soon Logan might start having memories for life :-)

Anyway, his favorites were the train (pictured above) and carousel! That weekend he had the chance to ride another carousel because on Sunday, January 31st we went to The Omaha Children's Museum! He had a good time, but I wasn't as impressed. I think that in another year and all of the years after he will be in a good age group for it. But when we went the majority of the kids were older and were wild and loud and aggressive, pushing Logan, knocking him down, screaming, etc. He didn't seem to care but I wasn't able to relax like I did both times we went to The Amazing Pizza Machine or Vala's Pumpkin Patch last fall. It was just a very chaotic atmosphere. . .if I so much as moved an arm someone would run into it, kids were hyper and trying to grab every toy before someone else, etc.

Speaking of Logan not minding things - it's been interesting to watch him the past month whenever I get an opportunity to see him play with other kids because he's so "chill!" They will take toys from him and he just waits patiently because he knows they will lose interest in a matter of seconds (which, sure enough, they always do!) and so then he gets back whatever it was he was playing with. I keep expecting him to be bothered, maybe that will change once he reaches age two, but right now he seems to really be taking after my husband in the personality department. I think having a "no big deal" personality will save him a lot of unnecessary stress in life. I mean, I want him to stand up for himself when he IS bothered, but I think it's easier first to just not sweat the small stuff! He seems like a motivated person so as long as he keeps that up and is not lazy in life. :-)

We'd wanted to build Logan's first snowman this past Saturday (January 30th) but the snow wasn't compatible so he just played outside for the second time ever this winter. He got to go sledding for the first time - without a sled in our backyard, as you can see from this pic of a snow hill, LOL.On Thursday, February 4th toxicology results came back for my favorite actress Brittany Murphy, who I wrote about in my post RIP Brittany Murphy. Her death was due to a combination of things. She had pneumonia and had she gone to the hospital the coroner said there's no way she would have died. But because she stayed at home and took some prescription medication, it was too much for her body that was also anemic. For those who are other fans of hers, check out The Brittany Murphy Foundation.

That evening Joe went indoor golfing with some friends from work. . .this weekend Logan is taking a solo trip to my parents' place for the first time since Joe & I went on our Chicago trip in early November. We plan to celebrate an early Valentine's Day by going out to eat and to the movie theater to see Dear John, since I just finished reading that Nicholas Sparks book. It seems like a long time since we've had a date night, since Chicago doesn't really count and the month before was Lake Rathbun - so technically it's been since Labor Day weekend! I also plan to conclude my writing retreat since I've had to just write at home off and on since the weekend at the hotel didn't work out. Then I'll spend next week getting everything together to send off and, as I said at the beginning of this post, return to blogging on the 15th - with the exception of a Valentine's Day post coming soon to wish you all a happy V-day! :-)