A year in reflection: Happy 1st Birthday!

12. January 31, 2011

We've come full circle and today is our baby turns into a big boy.

1st Birthday Parrrr-tay!!

Logan had a wonderful birthday party. We slaved away all day getting food, decorations and the house ready & aside from me walking around like death from overindulging in cake batter the night before everything went perfectly :) We had tons of food - Logans birthday dinner consisted of a pork shoulder that Kevin smoked for 8hrs to make pulled pork sandwiches, homemade mac n cheese (a Logan fav) , and homemade applesauce (another Logan favorite). and of course homemade carrot cake with homemade icing (yummmmm) in the form of small cupcakes, big cupcakes and regular cake. Thank goodness Grandma & Grandpa managed to still make the trek into town despite all the snow because all of this homemade goodness that I had full intentions of making got passed onto Grandma while I worked on getting out of bed.

before

By nights end his little belly was stuffed sooo full we had to unbutton his jeans & then ultimately put on the good ole stretchy pants. He was spoiled with lots of gifts - only half of which he managed to open - birthdays take it out of you!!

during

Thank you to everyone who helped make Logans first birthday party wonderful. Although there were over 200 pictures taken I wish I had more of the decorations and everyone who came - I just wasn't on my A game :/ and therefore didn't have the camera attached to my eyeball. But within a day I'll have the other pictures posted in our Picasa photo album.

after

Happy Birthday Baby - we love you, lots.

A year in reflection: December

12. December

A day late but for a good reason: I haven't been sick since I caught the first case of swine flu way back when. And go figure the night before Logans birthday party I was up all night getting sick :/ I was pretty much outta commission all day leading up to the party but mustered a shower and a smile for the birthday boy. Thank goodness Grandma & Grandpa managed the trek up after all the snow cause we put them to work. But...of all the 365 days of the year - why that day? Mrrrrrr...

Speaking of mrrrr - how could I pass up this picture. Logans first wound & it happened cause I couldn't hold on to his wriggly little body :/ All sorts of people tell me from here on out he's going to banging his head and boo boos as he figures out what his body can and can not do. But the first big one is never easy. The pain for him was fleeting but my heart felt heavy all day. Dylan came through big time with lots of kisses and big brotherly love which help ease everyones pain.

A year in reflection: November

11. November

As Logan gets older I can see more & more of both Kevin & I in him. I'm anxious to see his little personality develop more but if I had to guess he's going to be a little thinker just like Kevin is. He (Logan that is) will just sit and stare, you'll think he's in a daze, but he blinks really slow and deliberately then raises his eyebrows as if something in his brain has just clicked. It cracks us up - what Kevin doesn't know is that he does the same thing. Logans little piece of me shows through in his cheery disposition and winning smile :) Even when he was a wee baby he always did well in the hands of strangers, he loves looking at all the people when we are out at the stores and has just recently taken up giving strangers the most "I'm gonna ham it up big time smile" Even the crabbiest people that look like they haven't smiled in a decade can't help but smile back...and I feel we did a good deed. Annnnd from the looks of it, it would appear Logan has snagged the perfect combination of our funny sides - I love how often he laughs and how there are days that go by without a cry. He finds the silliest things hilarious & loves a good scare.

He is beautiful inside & out.

Foto Friday

I'm thinkin Jeep should take me up on my advertising suggestion.

TGIF. post your foto friday pics!!

A year in reflection: October

10. October

Waitin for Daddy to get home

My top 10 must haves for the first year (in no particular order)

1. Crib - obvious reasons. Got ours from a friend of a friend. Best $50 spent.
2. Washable nursing pads - If I had to listen to the crinkle, crinkle of one more disposable nursing pad.....
3. Blue hospital pacifier - We only used a pacifier for the first 4months but it was a life saver. All the other pacifiers Logan didn't like.
4. Bjorn or other front baby carrier - When Logan wouldn't sleep on his own I'd plop him in there and go for a walk, it was lights out for him after 5mins
5. Water bottle with straw - I was a thirsty moma, the second Logan started to nurse it was as if if was sucking my hydration right out of me. Kevin got me these cheap waterbottles from Wally that have a straw & they were perfect. I've now upgraded to the fancy pants ones Camelbak makes.
6. Burp Cloths! - A must have for this family. Best if they are personalized by your crafty sister
7. Swaddle blanket - For 5 months Logan slept in that thing. Awesome.
8. Breast Pump - Luckily Andrea & I have timed our pregnancies accordingly and we've been able to give that thing a work out. I was bad at pumping but when I did it was nice to pass the bottle off to Kevin on the weekends at night.
9. Nursing Cover - Kevin had one in his diaper bag and I had one in mine. I nursed everywhere and the general public is probably happy I had this, and therefore so am I
10. Zutanos booties - better than socks, 'nuff said. We received the 0-6months ones as a gift and he still wears them now.

And cause it's hard to pick just 10...her are the 5 runner ups

1. Pack n Play - Logan was in the pack n play for the first 2 weeks next to our bed. We don't use it on a regular basis but it's clutch for travel purposes.
2. George - Or one favorite "go to" toy. Even now this is his favorite. We take it everywhere with us and it's a guaranteed distraction
3. Space Saver High Chair - Even when Logan was itty bitty we put him in here in the fully reclined position just as somewhere to set him & it allowed him to join us at dinner even though he couldn't participate. Love how there are different recline positions.
4. Baby Tub - We had a different one originally but it wasn't working well for us. We now have this one and LOVE it. It's a bit bigger so it's definitely not a space saver but it works really well for infants and there is tons of room on the other side for when they are older and can sit and splash.
5. Bouncer/Swing/Exersaucer - Whatever you fancy. But you need somewhere else to put the baby other than your arms.

But thats me & my 1st year must haves :)

Are you kidding me?!

We got another than a 12+ inches of snow last night ?!!

This is getting a bit ridiculous.

Dylans favorite time of day

Breakfast!

A year in reflection: September

9. September

The night before this picture was taken I told Kevin we were pregnant, again :) I flew from CT to meet up with him in VA Beach with the double lined pregnancy test in my pocket cause I knew he would want some proof.

A year in reflection: August

8. August

Birth - 5 months old

* I nursed Logan anytime he was cranky if it had been 2hrs since the last time he ate
* His naps resembled nothing of a pattern. I tried to put him down or get him to rest if he had been awake for 2hrs
* Bedtime routine (bath, lotion, jammers & nursing) started at 6:30
* Bedtime 7pm
* I progessively eliminated feedings at night. At 4 months he was still nursing 3 times a night. At 5 months we quit cold turkey.
* Woke up for the morning between 5am-7am

5 months old - 10 months old

* I attempted (with success!) a 4 hour schedule: up for 2hrs, down for 2hrs
* He never really napped for the entire 2hrs but we stuck with the routine of him feeding every 4hrs
* Bedtime beginings (bath, lotion, jammers & nursing) started at 6:30
* Bedtime 7pm
* Slept until 6:30-7am :)
* I quit nursing him a month after we found out we were pregnant about 9 months and we made the switch to formula. It took 3 stressful weeks to make the switch....took him a while to take to the bottle
* We started solids at 5 months. At first it was just very liquid rice cereal after his morning feed. * By 7 months he was getting breakfast & dinner along with nursings and by 9 months we were doing breakfast, lunch/snack & dinner.

10 months old - present

* Wakes up at 7-7:30am
* Morning 6oz bottle of whole milk (started the switch at 11 months. At 11.5 month completely on whole milk)
* Breakfast at 8:30
* Nap 9:30-10am
* Up at 12pm
* Lunch at 12:30pm
* Nap 2:30-3pm
* Up 4:30
* Afternoon bottle 5oz
* Dinner 6pm
* Bedtime routine begins 7-730pm (bathtime optional, lotion, jammers, book, 4oz bottle)
* In bed 7:30-8pm

He is in a very predictable routine right now which I'm loving! During the week I have always tried my best to plan around his schedule because it's easy for me to do. On the weekends though we toss it up a little, which we pay for sometimes - but when Daddys home we like to do as much as we can :)

Our world is flowing well can't wait to rock it come May ;)

23 weeks!

So the differences in this pregnancy compared to last are becoming more and more apparent to me. I'm definitely not enjoying this pregnancy nearly as much - I don't feel pretty or sexy right now. My jeans aren't fitting around my hips and butt, my hair has turned dry & brittle, my face is breaking out differently & I'm my own personal emotional roller coaster. ALLLLLLllll of this is day and night compared to my pregnancy with Logan. I had my moments of feeling ugly and being emotional while pregnant with Logan but all and all I felt pretty and I was in pregnancy bliss for most of Logans pregnancy. But I shouldn't compare. Every pregnancy is different - I'm stuck in this frozen tundra instead of walking and exploring jolly ole' England. I have a baby to care for...yada, yada, things are different now.

I have an appt. next Monday, just a check up but I'll find out then how much weight I've gained so far. Whatever it is, it's all landing on my butt and hips :/ For giggles I decided to wear the exact same outfit that I wore for my Logan 23 week picture. I could barely get my jeans up. It might not look like they are tight but I did about 500 squats and wore them for a solid 3hrs prior to the picture & I removed them almost immediately after. ho hum. Can't be getting all Eor on myself now, we's gots a long way to go

Logan/Reagan

A year in reflection: July

7. July

This kinda cheats the rules a little - here are 3 of my favs in one collage :) How could I decide between these 3??

I want to remember that Kevin was convinced we were having a girl. He wore pink to the doctors office the day we found out and that very same day we heard the Star Wars theme song in the car on the way into the appt. and because of the girl name we had picked out... this, to Kevin, was the icing on the cake, we were having a girl. He just about had me convinced. But then - there you were sure as the sky is blue, you were a boy. Kevin even had the ultrasound technician check a second time. All boy.

This little studs name, had he been a girl would have been: Leia Isabelle Hawk

For the record, I knew the day I found out I was pregnant that you were a boy :)

Just an FYI

We woke up to temps of -2 (yes, negative 2), wind chill temps of -10 and the forecasted high is 12. Oh and we still have probably 10inches of the 19inches of snow that got dumped on us almost 2 weeks ago frozen to the ground. With another snowstorm on its way. Annnnnd all the weathermen are quick to remind us that we're only halfway through winter?! Awesome.

Have I mentioned how much I love Connecticut.

I need sunshine & warmth.

A year in reflection: June

6. June

It's tough turning 4 months old - this was taken at the doctors office while Logan got his round of shots. And if this picture doesn't just about break your heart then I don't know what will. I look at it & I can hear him crying. From day one his cries have always been able to break through every inch of my skin and go directly to my soul.

Which makes me notsogood at doing the whole let him cry it out thing. I think the longest I've sat and listened to him cry is 30mins....30 of the longest minutes of my life. It's strange how I sit here now and I can barely remember .... but this little baby CRIED A LOT in the first 4 months of his life. I lived on the big blue yoga ball because he was happiest when he was held and bouncing. I called Kevin at least once a week in tears when all my best efforts to stop his crying didn't work. But we survived :) And like I said, it's kinda hard to remember those tough times because now Logan is an extremely happy baby. He hardly ever cries, so when he does he does for a good reason (or at least thats what I tell myself). With one exception: the car. From very early on we knew Logan didn't like the car and from very early on car rides with the baby are probably the single thing that has tried my patience to the max. You wanna see a grown woman cry harder than a baby - put me in the car with Logan for an 8hr trip. I'm hoping that in another year - when Kevin & I are on another long road trip with Logan & he is in the backseat being content at looking out the window - we will once again strain to remember just how bad Logan use to be in the car.

In the meantime - I've got at the very least another week to baby my baby & give him love when he cries.

A year in reflection: May

5. May

Erin:

Kevin:

Best advice given when we were pregnant:
Erin: drink lots of water
Kevin: stay grounded & keep your eye on the prize
Best advice given from pediatrician:
Erin: "never wake a sleeping baby"
Kevin: "keep an eye on it"
Advice I'd pass on to other first time parents:
Erin: Every age & stage comes with its on set of worries and concerns
Kevin: Keep your eye on the prize
Biggest first year hurdle:
Erin: The last MRI
Kevin: The first cold
Best part about being a parent:
Erin: Watching Logan take in the world.
Kevin: Having a family of our own.
Worst part about being a parent:
Erin: Anything involving the car & the baby.
Kevin: Cleaning poo out of the tub.
Favorite comment from a stranger:
Erin: "You have such a happy baby"
Kevin: "Such bright blue eyes"
Word to live by:
Erin: Routine. Babies & adults thrive off routine and predictability.
Kevin: Patience. Sometimes you've got to step back & remember the big picture.
What do you think Logan is going to be when he grows up:
Erin: An athlete and a musican...are there professional xylophone players?
Kevin: Rocket Scientist
What has surprised me most about myself as a mother/father:
Erin: My energy...this ain't no 9-5'er
Kevin: That they let me leave the hospital with a newborn
I never want to forget:
Erin: Logans baby smell.
Kevin: His first laugh.
Whats the best part of my day:
Erin: When I get Logan up in the morning & when Daddy comes home.
Kevin: That look Logan has that says "Ha! I know you" and then he smiles : )

Foto Friday

Snapped this one last night: A lil Q.K.F.T

(Quality Kitchen Floor Time)

Post your Foto Friday pic!

A year in Reflection: April

3. April

Ohh this picture was hard to choose from. But I picked this one because it was a turning point in our life for more than one reason. For starters- we moved into our first house! Logans room was the very first room that was completely finished. He must have known we were home because the very same week we moved in he started napping. in his crib. for more than 30 mins. Thank the Lord. I remember being so shocked that I would go in and check on him every 30 mins & take pictures to document the moment. I remember just sitting. No tv on, no radio - just sitting & taking a deep breath and after a short amount of time I kinda missed him and found myself just waiting for him to wake up.

Kevin & I had such high hopes that we would have a great little sleeper on our hands - we wanted him to be able to nap in random spots with any amount of noise, in the bright sunshine or in the darkness of the night. But it turns out when the going gets tough you do just about anything to get them to sleep, eat & not cry. We have since purchased black out curtains, and a noise maker and when you're upstairs while the baby is sleeping you best be on your tiptoes using your whisper voice.

A year in reflection: March

3. March

mrrrr. If there is one thing that having a baby has made me miss more than ever it's family & friends or better yet those who are both ;) Motherhood has been a very trying experience. This first year, Kevin has been my only local outlet. He has been wonderful but lets be honest his logical, sense making responses or solutions while they do the trick - what I'm craving is the ear that can empathize with me so much it brings them to tears & the lets shake it off with a bottle of wine, a trip to target or a pint of ice cream - kindof girlfriend solution.

Weird how adding to your family makes you more lonely sometimes. Guess I just realize how much I want others that we love to share in the little moments of us growing up. It's been yeeeearrs since I've lived near/with family & friends and I swear one day in the future we will again.

Room transformation, again

Befores:

room when we first moved in

what the old playroom closet looked like

So this room started off as just an office & storage/junk room, then it transformed into the playroom and now it has hopefully taken on it's final look - a guest room/office. We started this project the very day we got back from our Christmas vacation. It required us to knock out part of the closet wall, put up some drywall, re -frame and 2 coats of paint on both the trim & the walls. Complete for now - aside from the few luxury items that I'd like to buy for the room one day (ie: new bedding). We might dabble in making a DIY headboard for the bed this weekend......

Afters:

Some Behr Ultra Koala Bear paint color on the walls in case anyone wanted to know ;)

A year in reflection: February

2. February

Ahhh going home! As a whole I disliked our stay at the hospital. Logan was in the high risk nursery which meant that we had to travel down a couple floors and get buzzed in everytime we wanted to see him. I was having difficulty breastfeeding as I imagine a lot of new moms do and the nurses in the nursery weren't symphathic to that. I didn't cry when Logan was born but I was in tears almost everytime we left the nursery. I was asked by the nurses things like why I was picking up Logan? Do I need a reason?!! arg. I get fired up just thinking about it. The doctors wanted to keep Logan in the hospital for extra days but Kevin & I knew everything was fine with him and we pushed and pulled and jumped through hoops to get him out in normal time. Successs!!! So while our stay at the hospital wasn't exactly peachy you couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces as we walked out :)

We left the hospital February 2nd & I sat in the backseat with the baby all the way home.

A year in reflection: January

12 months of reflection in 12 days & then the baby will be a big boy. Each day(month) will include my favorite picture from that month & any wise tidbits or little snippets of my mind for memories sake.

1. January

This picture brings back a flood of memories. Labor & delivery was nothing of what I had mentally & physically prepared for.

I will never forget that in this picture I still had my sneakers and socks on - that the shirt I'm wearing I borrowed from Andrea and, in typical Erin fashion, I ruined it. I remember watching you get cleaned off behind the receptionist desk. And I remember being so completely and utterly exhausted I could barely open my eyes to look at you when they put you on my chest - thankfully your Daddy made me cause I got to see your little scrunched up face for the first time. My legs shook uncontrollably, I had the chills and everything around me seemed so surreal. I had been tough like everyone thought I would be when giving birth but from that moment on I completely put myself in everyone elses care. It wasn't until then that I thought - holy cow, what would I have done without Kevin. I absolutely could not picture anyone else in the world being with me. He knows me so well - he knew exactly when I needed silence, when I needed a joke, and when I needed to focus ...that kind of stuff you don't learn in a birthing class.

Reflecting makes me nervous & excited for your baby sisters birth. I'm hoping her labor & delivery will provide a completely different experience and still be equally memorable for it's own reasons.

This is the picture that forever changed our lives & for that reason alone, I love it.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

so technically we're killing two birds with one stone if they share an apple, right?

All done & then some

We've been doing a few baby signs with Logan for 6 months now. So far he has only done the sign for milk on random occasions BUT he definitely recognizes all the signs and what they mean. He has always been a verrrrry vocal baby but recently we've been able to catch what we think is the start of a couple words

• Doggie
• Dada
• Blanket - I know, strange but he is obsessed with all the blankets in our house
• And ... All done - see below :)

Foto Friday

Had to go check on the little tyke - his usual 1.5 hr morning nap has now been over 3hrs :o Probably recouping from a rough week of being sick. Anywhoo - I could look at pictures of sleeping babies all day. (sorry for the poor quality...used my phone so the click, click, clicks of the big camera wouldn't wake him)

I still have hopes one day Foto Friday will be big time :) Come on peeps...
Post your Foto Friday pic:

Escaped!

Normal Logan speed is about two shades above a turtle trudging through peanut butter but this afternoon he must have moved at mach 10 speeds.... I left him in the middle of the playroom to go get his juice & I come back a mere 20 secs later to find:

Might have to start thinking about investing in a babygate.

Fun for some, not for others

Little ole' Connecticut got dumped on last night and today. Last measurement we took put us at 19 inches of the white fluffy stuff :o With that kind of snowfall you have to suit up and go play - so thats what we did. 20 mins of gearing up for 7 mins of play. Logan didn't like the snow very much or maybe it was the snowsuit he didn't like? Either way we were back inside shortly after venturing out. Maybe Mommy & Daddy will go back out when Logan goes down for a nap?!!

Ugh.

Yesterday Logan didn't nap well for either nap & again when I went to get him up from his 2nd nap he was hot. I took his temperature 100.7 :/ It's been a battle ever since. He was up and down until 1am when he woke up screaming bloody murder. I went in - he definitely had a fever. Between 1am - 3am Logan & I slept in 20min increments. Finally at 3 I took him downstairs. We haven't slept since. We've tried. He no longer has a temperature but he certainly looks like .... well, you be the judge:

Had to give you a close up of the bottom right picture. One tired lookin baby. Today was suppose to be our first Baby & Me Swim class - but because he had a fever & he hasn't slept we're not going to go :( mrrrrr. Hopefully they'll let us hop in on another days class to make up for today.

Heres hoping he naps well today

Foto Friday

The Ball Popper: Not our favorite toy

Post your Foto Friday pic:

Stomach Bug

So the baby was sicky, sick, sick on Tuesday. This was a first for him and a first for us. Not sure when it started for sure because he didn't nap well for either nap -but I noticed it when I got him up from his 2nd nap because he was just screaming. The minute I picked him up he felt hot. I always doubted that I would be one of those moms that, by touch, could spot a fever. But lo' and behold my motherly skillz have impressed me once again. Under arm temp was 101.7. He's never had a fever - the few times I've taken his temperature he hasn't even reach the "normal" 98.6 he's always in the 97's. I immediately felt bad for being frustrated that he wasn't napping well. I had already given him motrin for his ever growing teeth - so he was already as medicated as he could be. He seemed to perk up a bit after being up ...but then very quickly went downhill. He couldn't keep his eyes open and only wanted to be held. When Kevin got home we put a cold wash cloth on his head & decided to see if he wanted to eat some dinner. Mac-n-cheese & applesauce (his favs). Ate like a champ and then puked like a champ. He immediately went limp in my arms as if it had taken everything out of him to get it up. He was pitiful looking and acting from there on out. We gave him a bath, got him in some jammers and attempted to put him down for bed. He was up and down and feverish for half the night.

Thankfully the next morning....
he was fever free and happy as pie:

Wouldn't wish our baby ill again but it kinda felt nice to know we made our baby better with just love & a cold wash cloth. Sometimes there are moments when you really feel like a parent - this was one of them.

The Future Little Miss

Coming soon: 05/23/2011

20 weeks!

5 months - Halfway there!! Holy super fast first half :o

My pants are tight.

Christmas was good to me, real good - I was a constant food grazer at the 'rents house. And I fully prepared myself to step on the scale at the doctors this morning and cry. Alas it seems I only ate 2lbs of chocolate, cookies & dip. But I'm ready for my big belly, bring it.

In the past 2 weeks I've felt the little lady movin around. And just last night I saw my belly move....she's gettin bigger!!! I feel like I've been more moody/emotional this time around which leads me to wonder if this little girl is bringin her own set of drama filled girl hormones into the mix of my already heightened hormones. A good glimpse for Kevin I suppose. haha.

Hokies play in the Orange Bowl tonight. Gooooo Hokies!!

11 months!

All these posts are a few days behind but we've been busy little bees. For starters a certain someone has been busy growing. We've hit the point of no return...in one month our baby will be 1 year old :o What?! I can't believe it.

• He grew two new teeth (total tooth count: 6) over Christmas break
• Is now somewhat mobile :)
• As of yesterday is now getting a bottles with half formula and half whole milk
• He has been informed there will be a little girl twirling around in less than 6 months
• Annnnnnddd....drumroll please.....he has a new playroom!!! (During our 8hr drive home from Christmas Kevin and I talked of switching the playroom & the guest room/office downstairs - the guest room use to be the bigger of the two rooms. But with all the new toys Santa brought and the little baby in my belly we figured that a playroom would benefit from a larger space.)
  

Soooo that very night we got home after driving for 8hrs we got to doing the switch. The new guest room required us taking down part of the wall and re-framing so those pictures will be coming perhaps next week when we finish with a fresh coat of paint BUT aside from a few more things needing to be hung on the walls the playroom is complete!

Christmas Miracles

5. We survived our midnight escapade down to WVA. Survived is the key word implying it wasn't pretty, fun or easy. Trip home was dare we say close to perfect?!!4. These pictures. You try getting a better picture with 3 babies.3. Babies.2. Family. Friends. And Holiday cheers. It's hard to get everyone under one roof at the same time .... but on occasion everything lines up just perfectly - smiles all around.1. The number one Christmas miracle: Logan is a mover!!!!!! It's a hybrid inchworm- army crawl motion & right now he's motivated most with food... but it gets him places!!
Merry Merry.