Toy Storage

I just had to share my new find.

So I have been super annoyed with toys lately. The toy box we have is great BUT all the little pieces from toys fall to the bottom and sets of things don't stay together, which makes finding all the parts to a toy terrible. So I have been looking for something to put in Logan's room that would be fun and can keep things more organized.
I have been eying it for a bit, but knew the quality was not gonna be the best ever.
This is a closet maid cube shelve unit and you buy the canvas cubes in what ever colors you want to go with your room. The cube unit came in what or natural. Like I said not top quality but perfect for a kids room or a play room. I paid around $70 with all the cubes too.

Naming the New Baby

WOW, this is a challenge! Rob and are are not even close. We are so far from choosing a name that I worry 4 months will not be enough time :)

I liked names like Rowen, Collin, Cole, Landon, Brayden.
He likes names like Maxwell, Samuel, Hunter, Brady.

This morning before he left the house this was our conversation:

Rob "Casper."
Me "I don't even know what you mean!"
Rob "The name."
Me " It's a ghost."
Rob "It's a boy."
Me "It's a friendly ghost."
Rob " The ghost was named after a boy."
Me "I am NOT naming my kid after a cartoon ghost."
Rob "Logan and the new baby will probably never even see the show in their life times."
Me "No!"

This is pretty much how every conversation has gone so far.

Or the other conversation has been this:

Me "Landon"
Rob "Everyone I talk to hates it."
Me "Rowen"
Rob " I work with someone named __________."
Me "Brayden"
Rob "You can't just make up names. I am not naming my kid something you just made up."

Or this:
Rob "Max"
Me "I hate it."
Rob "Rodney"
Me (giving Rob a dirty nasty look of disapproval)
Rob "Buster"
Me "That sounds like a a bunny."

So now that you can all see what is going on here, I can bet you have a better idea why this little guy is still baby X.

sign confusion

I taught Logan three signs. more, eat, and all done. Of those he has learned to use "Eat" and "All Done"so far. He uses "Eat" often but will tell me "All done" most days too. I thought everything was perfect and my kid was super smart until the other day when I realized the flaw in my teaching. We were outside playing, and I was pushing him around in his new car (I think we got it cheaper then the one I linked to, so if you are looking for one shop around), and I stopped pushing and asked him "Do you want more?". He looked at me and signed "eat". :) After I had a good laugh I realized when I was teaching him "more" I would sign and say "more" and then "eat" in the same sentence. So to him "More" and "Eat" are all one :) Oh man he is a little sponge.

Head Banging

Since Logan was about 6 month old or so he has been a head banger. Not all of the time, but enough to make me wonder.
Anyway, I found an article about it and I felt much better.

It started when he was bored I think.
He did this in two ways.
He would be looking for attention; bump his head on the ground or table leg and look up crying for someone to come to him. As soon as I figured out his trick I stopped responding. He upped the anty at that point.. When he did not get a response he would hit his head again only slightly harder. Sometimes he would do this 3 or 4 times still waiting for a response, but always gave up shortly after.

The other way was for his own self stimulation in some way. He would commando crawl over to the edge of his crib, the coffee table or other object and bounce his head off of it. It was more rhythmic and soothing for him, I think.

At a year old Logan already head bangs much less, but has picked up another way to use the motion.

If told "No!", "Stop!", or if you call his name firmly "Logan!" he will often give you a head bang either to the side or front (normally in the air)in refusal or to show his displeasure in your request. I feel like it is his way of saying "Piss off" or "Oh ya? Watch me!" I get a laugh out of it every time. I try to keep it silent because I don't want to encourage him but it sure is cute. He does do this to Rob sometimes too but I get it WAY more often. Just a small glimmer of what is to come I guess.

Lunch With Logan

First off every meal is an adventure with him..

• He touches each piece of food, half squishing it, to check and figure out which piece he wants to eat. If he mistakenly grabs the wrong piece he will quickly spit it out.

• He loves to throw food over the edge of the tray and try to see where it lands or if the doggie got it.
  
• He signs all done by shaking his hands over his head. and sometimes will say it as well.
  
• If he is frustrated he pulls his hair with his greasy fingers or covers his mouth.
  
• When he wants more to eat he signs eat by bringing his hand to his mouth over and over. Sometimes he says "num num" for yum yum.
  
• After he takes a drink from his cup he catapults it off of the tray, needing it to be completely out of his line of vision until he requires more liquid :) This annoys the crap out of me to no end.
  
• He will eat fruit till he explodes.
• He is always in a rush and has forgotten to chew more then once (including this morning) and scared the crap out of me while flailing around trying to breath. (we are signing up for CPR this week)
• If you are not quick enough he slams his fists on the tray to let you know.

What a joy he is to eat with :)

Why Must My Dog Be Odd??

My pup is an adorable little Bichon.
He is about 3 years old and his name is Ben. Since he got old enough to have an opinion he has been a bit odd and afraid of men that he does not know. He is frightened by many things and often acts out barking and lunging when he is nervous. He nips pant legs and once nipped a person that he is afraid of. Never hard enough to leave a mark but enough to scare people away. He will only get you when you walk away and never head on. He hates delivery people, landscapers, and the postman. Well, pretty much he hates anyone who comes here to do anything.

He is skidish but has been great with children (prefers to chase then be chased). He is afraid of most larger dogs but seems to love smaller ones. He loves his kitty friend but chases neighborhood cats and other small animals.
Here is the worst part. He is protective of food, bones, and treats. Not the normal attack mode dog but in an odd way. A few times he has growled and gone after the cat if she dared to walk by while he had anything special. Of course we yelled at him and now he either shakes when he sees it, too afraid to go near it or goes and hides under our bed in fear and refuses to even make eye contact with the item.
He will still eat any human foods and tries new things (until he freaks out). So today he is eating the baby's left overs out of a bowl and I lean down to take it.. he snuggles up to me, stops eating and growls when I touch him too much.. It is sort of comedic. He snuggles closer and licks my face then growls if I touch him too much while the food is still around. Nothing more and he gives it up without a squeak but it is like an automatic reaction that he has to let out the snarl. Then when I tell him "no" or "stop" or even call his name firmly, he becomes deathly afraid of the food. It is as if he knows the food makes him crazy so he can't allow himself to even look at it. He runs the other way. What an odd dog. He allows the baby to take things from him, toys and bones and such. But I don't dare give Ben anything good while the baby is down walking around.

Picking a New Pedi

So, we are officially switching pediatrician's. I left the release forms at the doctors office this morning and now I am searching through a sea of names at the new office. Here are my thoughts. Logan is a boy and I am having another boy (could be a girl with super swollen genitals). Well if I like the doctor I choose then we will keep him or her for the duration. That is the hope at least. So would it be unfair to pick a women for my two little boys to grow up and have to see. I am assuming at one point they are going to feel uncomfortable and wish they were seeing a male. I know I prefer to see women doctors.
Ok, so with that in mind, here is my next dilemma. I had two names of Drs. that I heard great things about at this new office. The only male is a name I have difficulty pronouncing (never mind spelling). I think that is my hesitation about asking for him. Whenever you have to check-in and fill out paper work for labs or something they ask you for your doctors name for insurance reasons. I think it would be a huge pain in the butt that I could never remember the spelling of it or say it correctly.
The last issue is this. If I get over the whole name thing being an issue; all of the doctors who have great reputations are all only taking new patients for well visits. For sick visits you see who ever.
I guess that will have to do. When I think about it, it might be better because then I get to meet the other doctors and find out if I like someone else better :)

Never Ending Illness

OK so Logan is still sick!!!! This started back about July 5th. This cold has transformed and traveled to us all. Yesterday we went back to the doctor for his one year check up and the loony toon doctor who first said it was teething is now saying allergies. He is trying Claritin. Not too sure why because I explained that we had all caught it one by one so how could it be allergies. I have to go back on Friday to have them recheck his arm (where he got the shot for TB) so I will be handing them release forms to release Logan's info to his new pedi. Oh and he has had a mild temp for the past two days (which I am blaming on the shots) and this morning woke with a rash on his cheeks.. I have had enough!!!!!

And it begins

His first day as a one year old and he already is into trouble! I would have taken a picture but I might have puked in the process. Somehow the cat had poop stuck to her bum after going (a rather large piece) and carried it upstairs (unknown to me). Well, while crawling circles through the dinning room, kitchen and living room SOME ONE found it!!!!!!!! It was smeared on the walls, floor and toys; in his hands and yes I am more then sure he had a taste too. EWWW!!!!
Possibly one of the most disgusting moments of my life just happened! Welcome to the start of year 2.

My Baby is 1 Today!!!!

What a monumental day! Rob and I have managed to raise a child for a full year today!!!!!

• From that mini, little, skinny creature that cried non-stop and you could hold in one arm (but didn't dare for fear of dropping him). To this little boy who has an opinion about everything (especially diaper changes and tooth brushing).
  
• From the baby who needed to have constant physical contact to the little boy who barely gives a quick hug and is on the go.
  
• From a tiny baby who would lay in my lap and listen to stories to a little boy who throws books and jumps off my lap.
• From a little thing that threw up all day to a little man who can't ever get enough food.

At one year old: He is on the go ALL the time. He says "mama", "dada", "buba" (though we gave those up, for good, a week ago), "all done", "num num" (yum yum) and "nanana" (banana). He makes strong attempts at saying Kitty, Doggie, and Binky. He signs "all done" and "eat". He has 6 teeth (3 on top and 3 on bottom). He stood for a solid 3 seconds on his own yesterday. He crawls and pulls up everywhere. He cruises a little but mostly screams to get what he wants. He hates to crawl in the grass so he does more of a crab walk. He loves to eat sand and throw toys. He would be naked all day if it was his choice. He sleeps through the night (in his pack n play only) for the past month. He dances with his head to music. He gives hugs and kisses. He really loves buttons on all Robs stuff (and secretly I find it funny so I don't stop him). He takes 2 naps (1-2 hours) a day and sleeps 10 hours at night. I am looking forward to all the fun moments and chaos he will cause over the next year!!! Happy Birthday Logan!

BePe

One last free gift left! I have sold a ton of booties over the past two weeks :) Thanks everyone!

Poor Kitty.

This has nothing to do with anything except for what a terrible cat owner I feel like.
As we are gearing up for the arrival of our second child we have had to make some changes to our living area. The once office/study/ cat box room is now being redone into Logan's new big boy (he is a year old tomorrow :( so sad. ) room. So the office found a smaller space in the living room and lots of things were boxed and stored. The cat box had to be relocated to the basement too.
Well here is where it gets bad.. I bought a cat door for the basement so she (the cat) can go down there and use her box. it has a lock so the baby can't trow himself or toys down it too. She (the cat) wears a magnet on her collar, which deactivates the lock and then she (the cat) can push through the door. Rob installed the cat door and put the box in the basement. The cat hated the whole idea of it and the magnet freaked her out, because it would stick to the deactivate spot on the door for a moments and scare her. We let her deal with it and continued to show her how to use it that day and night. The end of the night she ran to my glass and took a never ending drink from my water. That was a bit odd for her.
The next day she was a bit off and acting rather quiet. She also had not used the box all day. By late afternoon we were all in the living room and she was trying to drink Rob's tea. About an hour later in the kitchen she attempted to get a drink from the animal bowl (which is inside of a metal frame) and her magnet stuck to the frame and scared the crap out of her. We realized that she had not been able to get a drink all day due to sticking to the bowl. Poor kitty.. I got rid of the frame and she sat drinking for close to 10 minutes. She returned over and over to the bowl for the next hour and then started acting herself again..
She is now using the cat door like a champ and filling her box as normal.. But we felt soooo terrible.. Poor kitty!!
We are normally great cat owners. She is spoiled too with her cat toys and perches. I dropped the ball this week I guess.

Can I just add....

That my OB, a doctor who does not even subject herself to the top half of my body. Saw and heard me for 10 seconds today and wrote a prescription for the Z-Pack today. She did give me the whole viral story "If it is something viral then this will do nothing.". But she also said my baby boy IS sick and mother's know best and the doctors should listen more. I love this woman :) I go in for one thing and she handles all my problems in one go. Can I say it again? Yes? Great! She is really my hero today. I love her!