Fotofly Pictures

We got the boys pictures taken this past weekend at Fotofly.  Logan is 7.5 months and Nathan is 2 and a half.  Logan was pretty unsure about the photographer, the loud noises and the bright lights but did pretty good all things considered.  I love the way they turned out, especially the brother pictures!  Enjoy!

Topaz 2013

We headed to Topaz at the beginning of May for our yearly camping trip.  After a lot of coaxing from Matt and a lot of tears from me we decided to leave Logan at home with my mom for the four days that we would be gone.  It nearly killed me to leave my baby but am really glad we did.  Logan had a blast with my parents and it gave Matt and I a good opportunity to spend one on one time with Nathan.

Matt took a half day on Wednesday and we left right after I got off work.  We actually made killer time by not having to stop and give a baby a bottle or diaper changes and made it in record time.  Even still it was about 9:00 when we got there so we just set up camp and headed to sleep.

In the past camping trips have been really difficult because Nathan wouldn't go to sleep.  It was so awesome when he was thrilled to get in his sleeping bag and fell right asleep!  Camping is definitely easier when they are older.

The next day we got up early and Matt made us all breakfast. (I love being married to a man who cooks!)  Then we headed out riding and I got to try out my new ATV.  The point of leaving Logan at home was so that we could actually ride as a family.  Matt spent months before the trip building Annie a bed (that she was harnessed into of course) and a harness for Nathan so that no one would be left back at camp.  

Getting to ride again was probably my favorite part of the trip.  It had been three and a half years since I had driven a machine and I was so nervous!  But my ATV worked out perfectly and I loved how much easier it was to ride then a bike.

Annie did absolutely amazing, I couldn't believe it.  If we were going under 30 mph she would get mad and start to bark.  And her goggles!  Oh Matt found those on amazon and she actually wore them.

Nathan was such a trooper, especially because we would ride for several hours at a time.  There were a few times were he would get bored and want to sit on the front of the four wheeler or ride with his dad but overall he did great.

Annie and Nathan totally bonded on this trip and she insisted on sleeping with him.  

The rest of the time involved taking naps, sitting outside to enjoy the warm weather, yummy food, and of course smores.  We had a great time but by Saturday afternoon we were so ready to get home to Logan. So we headed out around 4:00 and as soon as we hit cell phone reception I started getting pictures of my sweet Logan.

We got home, unloaded the trailer and showered and then headed over to pick up Logan but by this point it was after 9:00 again!  Logan was adorable when we got there to pick him up, I have ever seen Logan so excited in his entire life.  He was jumping and laughing and giving us big hugs and kisses.  Nathan and Logan totally missed each other too and just kept laughing at each other.  My mom had a present waiting for boys and Nathan was so excited to open Lighting McQueen jammies.  My mom is so thoughtful.

Both kids are such a wreck in this picture!

The trip was really fun and it was so good to get away from work but it was nice to come home and have our family together again.

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!