Logan's First Play Date!

Today my friend, Jill, came over for a visit to meet Mr. Logan and to introduce him to his new, best buddy, Easton, who was born three weeks later.  Although the boys slept for most of the time, I think that we have a budding friendship in the making!  Can't wait to see what they look like and act like in two years!

The two boys just chillin' on the couch.
 

An upset and annoyed Logan next to a very relaxed Easton.  I hope this isn't an indicator of their future personalities! ;-)  Although Logan's legs are fully extended and Easton's are carefully tucked up into his body, please notice the difference in their size.  As I said in my previous post, we breed 'em tall and we breed 'em big in the Hartland...

My Growing Boy

Well, it's official.  At six weeks old, Logan has definitely grown out of his 0-3 month clothing!  We apparently breed them pretty long here in the Hartland as Lia just measured in at the 95th percentile this week for height at her 4-year doctor's check-up!  Here is my LONG boy relaxing in his pajamas after his bath tonight!  It's one of the few times of the day that he is just content to lay there for several minutes while his papa and big sister are upstairs in bed.  It's currently my favorite time of the day....just my boy and me hanging out before his final feeding of the night.

My relaxing Logie...
 

Now isn't that one adorable face?

V is for Volcano

This week, Lia is learning the letter "V" during our preschool co-op at my friend, Megan's house.  Today they made "volcanoes" using baking soda and vinegar.  Lia had so much fun that she had to come home and make two more with me.  I just love how this girl is so interested and excited about every learning opportunity that comes her way.  She's like a sponge!  Oh, if only this kind of enthusiasm would continue through high school...

Pouring in the vinegar...
 

and watching the explosion!

Our Little Fish

There are a couple of things my family is known for and one of them is that we LOVE water!  My parents raised my brothers and me spending the majority of our summers swimming and skiing on Lake Samm.  I want my children to develop this same love of the water and one of the ways that this is achieved is through many hours of swimming lessons.  Since my little Lia recently turned four, I decided that the time had come to get this process going!  So, I signed her up for classes a few weeks ago and we started them today.  It was so much fun to watch Lia and her three, little classmates following their instructors in the kiddie pool.  Lia had so much fun and can't wait to go back next Saturday.  In fact, she keeps on asking me how many more days til her next lesson...

Lia waiting for her instructors to show up before class started.
 

Hanging onto the edge of the pool!

Lia going for a "swim" with one of her teachers.

Lia practicing the "starfish" float.
 

Just chillin' at the side of the pool.
 

Lia and her entire class.

Practicing her kicks with the teacher's help.

And kicking away!!

Until next week...

Splish Splash,

Logan finally likes taking a bath!

This is the sweet face...

I found staring up at me yesterday. 

I just couldn't resist grabbing my camera and capturing the moment. 

Little Miss Independent

One day last week, my parents asked me if I would like them to take Lia to Montana for the weekend to attend the baptism of her cousin, Sarah Mae.  Since Lia has spent the majority of the last month since Logan's birth cooped up in our house, I jumped at the opportunity for her to go on a trip and have some fun with her cousins!  In addition, I was secretly looking forward to the extra sleep and relaxation that would come by going back to a one-child family for a few days!  So, after receiving both Ron's and Lia's approval, I packed up Lia's little bags on Thursday night and  sent her out the door.  Although Ron and I have both left Lia for our own vacations, she has never left us before!  It was very strange and a bit sad being on the other end.  I must admit that I had to fight back a tear or two as I watched her run up the driveway to Ron's truck Thursday night wearing her beloved Hello Kitty jamma dress and carrying her "comfy cozy" (a.k.a. her favorite blanket) while shouting, "I love you, mama!  I'll miss you!"  I was amazed and impressed by how brave and grown-up she acted!  As I had hoped, she ended up having a great time in Montana and I am so grateful to my parents for providing this wonderful opportunity for her to get out of the house and do something fun for a few days!  Thank you, mom and dad!

After driving to Montana with my parents and two of her cousins, Brynn and Callie, Lia attended Sarah Mae's baptism on Saturday.  Here is my big brother, Brent, with Sarah before the big moment.  I'm so proud of her for making this very important step in her life!

My brother and his cute family.

Sarah newly baptized and glowing in her beautiful, white dress!

Lia then enjoyed some quality cousin playtime on Saturday evening and most of Sunday.  Here she is working on projects with Callie and Sarah Mae.

The girls moved into the living room at one point to build a large nest for the tiny bird in Callie's hand.  Here they are looking rather silly--especially that Kelsey!

Hanging out on the stairs with the bird and his very large egg (that would be the balloon in Lia's hand).

Grandpa took the kids out Sunday afternoon to get some exercise and sunshine!  Lia and Sarah enjoyed playing at the park.

And so did her older cousins, Kelsey and Brynn.

After the park, the group moved on to the carousel where they enjoyed a few rounds on the horses!  Here are Sarah and Lia!

And Brynn and Kelsey!

Ever since Hawaii, Lia has loved staying in hotels.  When I asked Lia what her favorite part of the trip was, she responded that it was staying in the hotel.  Silly girl!  Here she is eating fishy crackers in bed.  What were my parents thinking?!

Although Brynn and Callie stayed at my brother's house the first two nights of the weekend, they joined Lia and my parents in the hotel room the last night.  Here is Brynn reading Lia her bedtime stories.  What a nice, older cousin!

One Month Old Today!

Believe it or not, my little Logan officially turned one month old today!  In some ways, the time has just flown by, but in other ways, it feels like foreeevvveeer due to the fact that I haven't had a decent night's sleep in four weeks.  Besides losing all of the hair on top of his head in the past week (yikes!) and chunking up big time, Logan really has not changed that much since we brought him home from the hospital.  He is a great eater and a pretty good sleeper, giving us 2-4 hours of sleep every night in between feedings.  When awake, he is usually happy when he is being held and sometimes happy when on his own in the bouncy chair, swing, or on a blanket, but, boy oh boy, does he have some lungs when he is not happy.  His pediatrician commented that he screams with the volume of a four-month old at his two-week check-up.  Oh dear.  We definitely are never left wondering what he is thinking and feeling when he is not content!  Regardless, we sure love our Logie boy!

Sleepy Boys

This is how I found my two boys on the couch the other night.  

Lia's First Ballet Recital

After two months of ballet lessons, Lia had her first recital tonight. Although her class' dance only lasted a total of two minutes, it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen!  Here are a few pics of the big event:

Lia and her friend, Rachel, in the back room before the recital began.

Lia and her class following their teacher at the beginning of the dance.
 

Lia front and center.

Pointing their toes in the middle...

And walking in a circle...

And putting their arms up high before taking a bow.

After the recital, the girls all received little certificates of completion.  Here is Lia accepting hers from Miss Call.

Lia and Rachel waiting on the sidelines while the rest of the class received their certificates.

A group photo of Lia's first ballet class after the performance was over. 

 

I can't wait for the spring session and Lia's next recital!   

The Princess Tea Party

A few months ago, I saw an advertisement for a "Princess Tea Party" in our town's Parks and Recreation brochure.  I immediately jumped at the opportunity to sign Lia up since she is in LOVE with the Disney princesses right now and because it would provide some quality mommy-daughter time just weeks after Logan's birth.  Well, the day finally arrived today and Lia was so excited that she kept on asking me all morning long if it was time to go.  She decided to wear one of her Cinderella dresses and off we went to spend the afternoon bonding with some of her favorite princesses.  It really was such a cute affair and Lia had the time of her life.  She enjoyed every aspect of the event--meeting the princesses, participating in the tea party, completing the craft activity, and dancing with the princesses.  Normally the shy one around strangers, Lia was so brave around these lovely ladies and kept on asking me if she could have her picture taken with them or dance with them.  I just loved watching my daughter in "her element" and couldn't hold back a huge smile when she said, "Mama, let's go to this every day now!"

Lia meeting Cinderella upon our arrival.  I think it was love at first sight when Lia first spotted her.

Lia and the four princesses at the party:  Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora.

Par Lia's request, I ended up in this group picture looking GIGANTIC next to Sleeping Beauty.
 

Mommy and daughter!

Lia drinking her "tea" (fruit punch) from her Snow White tea cup that we brought with us.

It's tea time!

Belle and Cinderella stopped by for a visit while we were snacking and crafting. 

Cinderella helping Lia with her activity.

My own little princess working hard on her craft.  This kept her busy for a good half-hour!

After munching and mingling, all of the girls were invited out onto the floor to dance with the princesses.  Lia was so brave and just waltzed from one princess to another the entire time.  It was so fun watching her! 
 

Lia dancing with a group of girls and Cinderella.
 

Lia found Snow White alone on the dance floor two different times!  As a result, she got to enjoy some one-on-one dancing with her for several minutes. 

This little girl's wildest dreams just came true.  Check out that look on her face!
 

Dancing with Aurora...

And dancing with Belle.  Now her day was complete!

We finished up the party with a big, group photo.  Notice how Lia managed to sidle in next to Cinderella!  There was no stopping this princess-in-the-making today!