Logan at Six Months

Logan turned six months old last Friday and also had his check-up visit with his doctor.  Logan is actually looking like a normal six month old these days instead of the mammoth child like he did when he was three months old.  He weighed 16.75 pounds ( 38th percentile) and was 27 inches (65th percentile).  He is actually smaller than Nathan was at this age!  The doctor said it was fine that he hadn't grown as much in the past two months because he must have just had his growth spurt early.

Logan did really well getting his shots and only cried for a few minutes.  Luckily I had taken Nathan with me and no one can cheer up Logan like Nathan can.  Logan was screaming and crying so Nathan  climbed up on the table and started pulling funny faces at Logan.  Logan just busted up and started laughing at his brother at that was the end of that.

He did pretty good too as far as shots go.  He had a fever and looked pretty punky and just slept but by Sunday afternoon he was our little guy again.  His legs didn't get swollen like they have before because he moves and jumps so much now so that helped a ton.

The Dr also gave us the green light to start Logan on foods so he got his first taste of sweet potatoes.  To say he liked it better than the rice cereal was an understatement.  First time trying it and he ate the entire package and cried for more!

Logan is now rolling over from stomach to back and back to stomach and is so close to sitting up that I think he will have it any day.  He is working on the backwards scoot and can make it about halfway across a room before he gets so mad and frustrated because he isn't going forward. He is also talking up a storm and loves to hear himself make noises.  He isn't shy and will give anyone and everyone a big huge grin.  He has also learned how to give big open mouth slobbery kisses which are the best ever!

Logan is sleeping a good solid 10 hours at night and it would probably be more but we have to wake him up in the morning to go to daycare.  He is an awesome napper and we can usually get three good two hour naps out of this kid.  His personality has just been exploding lately and I can't believe what a fun, loving, happy baby he is!

Easter

This was such a fun Easter because Nathan was old enough to actually understand what was going on.  Nathan kind of has to let things sink in for awhile so we have been talking about Easter at our house for probably a good two months.  So when Easter morning finally rolled around he was so excited he could barely stand it.

Logan's basket is on the left, Nathan's is on the right

We had the Easter baskets and plastic eggs out and ready to go so that when Nathan woke up he would find them all on his own.  So that morning I woke up to Nathan excitedly talking to Logan saying things like "Logan look at the eggs" and "Logan did you see your present!"  So I got up and went in to the living room and Nathan was actually in Logan's crib with a handful of Easter eggs.

Matt was still sleeping and I wanted to wait to do baskets until he got up but I did let Nathan play with the eggs for awhile.  At about 9:00 Nathan couldn't stand it anymore and snuck into our room to wake up Matt.  The first present he opened was the Pokey Little Puppy book that he had been asking for.  I didn't think he would care too much about a book but he opened the paper and screamed, "The Pokey Little Puppy! I love this book!"  So cute.  We also got him a planes book and three planes from the Disney movie Planes which he is absolutely obsessed with.  Nathan then was so nice and helped Logan open his gifts.

I didn't get any pictures but the boys wore really cute matching outfits.  We went to church at our ward and then headed over to my mom's house for Easter lunch.  She made ham, turkey, potato salad, fruit salad and rolls.  Brittany, Shawn, Emily, Paisley and both of my parents were there.  Lunch was awesome and it was fun to eat early and then spend all afternoon hanging out with each other.

That night we headed back home and spent the night with Matt's parents and brother.  The kids were exhausted from not taking naps and so Easter ended early when Nathan asked to go to bed at 7:30.  Which was really nice because Matt and I got a ton of time to spend together that night.  It was such a fun day with my husband, kids and family and I'm so grateful that because of Jesus Christ I get to be with them forever.

Nathanisms

•  Nathan has always loved monsters, especially Monsters, Inc. but the last few weeks or so he has become terrified of them.  He psyches himself out so much that multiple times a day we have the same conversation about how monsters are pretend and that there are no monsters in the house.  Well last week I was cooking dinner and Logan began to cry in the bouncer.  Nathan ran down the stairs faster than I could, bent down in front of Logan, held his hand and calmly and softly kept saying, "Don't be scared, don't cry there are no monsters in the house."  
• My parents are in Disneyland for the week and so we keep talking to Nathan about how grandma and grandpa flew on a plane to go to Disneyland for a vacation.  He let that sink in for a few days and then came to me and said, "Mommy I go on a plane but I go on a plane to the moon.  And I see the moon and stars and planets!"  
• Matt was trying to get Nathan out the door and off to grandma's the other morning.  Nathan had his arms full of cars and there was no way he was going to make it out the door without dropping them. Matt told Nathan to pick two cars and put the rest away to which Nathan responded, "No, I bring five!"  Matt again told him no to pick only two cars to which Nathan said, " Okay three then!"  Matt was so stunned by our child negotiating with him that Nathan won!
• During the Sunday morning session of conference the choir sang "Child's Prayer".  Nathan had been playing with his toys and running like crazy all morning but heard them start singing, put down his toys and came and grabbed me from the bedroom.  He pulled my arm into the room where conference was playing and excitedly yelled, "I know this song!"  He then proceeded to sing along the best he could.
•  Last night I was getting Nathan ready for bed when he loudly exclaimed, "Mommy I see a monkey!"  I looked around and there was no toy monkeys anywhere so I asked him where the monkey was.  He excitedly responded, "He is chasing the weasel!" 

Gotta love two year olds!

Jumping Bean

We recently pulled out the jumper for Logan.  He liked the jumper and would play with all of the toys in it but didn't jump a ton.  Well this was just unacceptable to Nathan and he took it upon himself to teach Logan how to bounce.  For two days every time we put Logan in the jumper Nathan would go sit with him and "train" him on how to jump.  And the best apart about it is he really did teach Logan to jump.  Within those two days Logan learned how to catch some serious air and Nathan couldn't be prouder.  I just love watching them love each other and play together.   

*Side note: Nathan has decided he is scared of monsters now and has been so freaked out that we have had many conversations about how monsters aren't real and there are no monsters in the house.  So in the video he is reassuring Logan that there are no monsters and that he doesn't need to be scared.

No More Meds

A big part of December was taking Nathan off his seizure medication.  We started right after Thanksgiving and it took until the beginning of January for him to be completely off of it. And I'm not going to lie, there were good days but there were many more bad days.

Because seizure medication regulates brain waves you have to be really careful when adjusting dosages and especially careful taking them off the meds.  So we would take him down 15 ml every two weeks.  There was always a very distinct pattern so at least we knew what to expect but it was hard.  The first 2-3 days he acted normal, then the next several he would be exhausted.  This is when the nightmares would start and we would be up with him 2-3 times a night.  After a few days of exhaustion he would get really angry and frustrated and sometimes even violent.  He would constantly throw tantrums, be extra stubborn, and was terrified for me to leave him.  After a few days he would slowly start acting like Nathan again and then it would be time to change his dosage again.

The hardest time was definitely the first four weeks.  The last two weeks he still struggled but not as much as the first four weeks.  We could tell his body was getting used to the lack of medicine in his system and we started seeing more of the Nathan we used to know.

I don't know how to really describe it.  He was always our Nathan but putting him on the seizure medication a year and a half ago changed our little guy.  He became more irritable, more stubborn, more frustrated and more short tempered.  Once we got through the first four weeks we started seeing more sweetness and less temper.  More happiness, less irritability.  I think Nathan could see the change in himself too because once he got off the medicine completely he just seemed relieved.

Because Nathan was put on the medicine so young we had no idea how much it had been affecting his moods and behavior.  He is still a two year old who throws tantrums and challenges everything but its amazing how much more mild is moods are now.  Matt and I are so grateful this road is behind us and that Nathan is still seizure free and not expected to have seizures anymore!
 

Nathan's last night taking the seizure medicine!

Christmas

Christmas was amazing.  It always is but having kids makes everything so much more exciting and fun.  We spent Christmas morning at my mom's house with all my sisters and their families.  Even though there are so many people and it gets chaotic I love that we can all still spend Christmas morning together.  We spent the afternoon with Matt's family and by about 4:30 the kids were exhausted and lost it!  They pretty much cried through the Jackson Christmas party that night and we ended up leaving and going to bed early.  But hey they did way better than expected.  It was a wonderful Christmas!

Gardner Village Elves

I had been planning on taking Nathan to see the elves at Gardner Village all through December but the majority of the month was too stinking cold to even consider it.  But Nathan was so excited for Christmas and we had been talking about it so much that I couldn't let it go. So two days before Christmas I bundled up the kids and we braved the freezing cold and let me tell you it was definitely worth it!

This will definitely be a tradition in the future. I only took a few pictures in comparison to how many elves there were.  Nathan went crazy for it and talked about the elves for weeks after.  It was just the thing to really put us in the Christmas mood and get Nathan so excited for Christmas morning.

December

Because I was on maternity leave during the holidays and having way too much fun with my cute kids I barely blogged and now I'm trying my best to play catch up so everything is just getting rushed.  But hey, its better than nothing right?  Mostly I'm continuing to blog so late because I want to remember all the fun memories we made this year. So here you go a Christmas season update in April.  

Christmas jammies, is there anything better?  Up until this point Nathan would look at Tiny but kept a few feet of distance between them.  This was the first morning that Nathan woke up and decided that Logan wasn't all bad.  And then he couldn't get enough of him and begged to hold him!  And they have been inseparable ever since.

Nathan was my #1 helper this Christmas season.  He patiently shopped the malls with me all month until the Christmas shopping was done.  He was such a trooper and actually might have enjoyed it more than me.  

The boys in their Christmas shirts.

 Logan pretty much slept through the Christmas season.

First snow storm!

More darling Christmas jammies!  

This Christmas season was so fun!  Definitely the best I've ever had.  I love having a brand new baby at Christmas time, there is nothing that helps me feel close to my Savior than to hold a sweet little baby in my arms.  Logan has been such an easy baby and a good sleeper too that I really felt like I got to enjoy the season instead of hustling through it like normal.  We spent many days at stores buying gifts but even more time at home watching Christmas movies, playing in the snow, and talking about Santa.  Oh and listening to Christmas music, Nathan LOVED Christmas music!  I couldn't have asked for a better time to be on maternity leave and get to be home with my kids!

Nathan's Birthday Party

We had Nathan's birthday party on the Saturday following his actual birthday so that more people could come.  I let Nathan pick the theme for his birthday party this year and he picked Mickey Mouse (of course).  We decided that because of the new baby we would just do cake and ice-cream this year for the party but it still turned out really fun.

Nathan absolutely LOVED his birthday party.  He was so excited opening the gifts and couldn't seem to open them fast enough.  Luckily Braxton was there and helped open gifts or it might have taken several hours.  Oh and the singing.  Nathan now thinks "Happy Birthday to You" is the greatest song ever written and loved that everyone was singing to him.  I love that Nathan has so many aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents that came to celebrate with us and show their love for Nathan!