September Update

I know my blog is ugly right now but we've had computer issues and apparently the host site changed it's server, knocking my cute background off.  I will work on fixing that but wanted to give some updates in the meantime.


Logan is growing like a weed.  He is such a big boy and has made some great advancements over the last month.  He now has six teeth (4 on top & 2 on bottom) he crawls but prefers to walk holding on to our fingers.  He is VERY active and wants to move constantly.  Logan has recently started a phase where he feels like he needs to be able to see either Rick or me in order to be okay.  It was cute the first couple times but now we're hoping it's a phase he gets over quickly.  His new favorite words are "No. Nope, and Uh-Oh."


He is 25 pounds which makes it hard to hold him for long.  He's wearing 18 - 24 month clothes. He is a solid little guy so he fills out his clothes much more differently than Lincoln ever did. Logan's still on formula and baby food but wants to eat whatever we're eating.  He loves when we give him little bite of whatever we have.  For the most part he is a happy boy, sleeps and eats well.  I know Lincoln is waiting for the day that they can really play together.  For now Logan continues to admire his brother and watch his every move. They already know how to push each others buttons.  Logan purposely screams to get a reaction from Lincoln.  Lincoln will try to resist but can't help the urge to scream back.  Then is starts.  A screaming match until we can find something clever enough to distract or calm them. Lately, when this happens in the car, we've turned on the radio....really loud. We have a nice system in the truck that we never use but now we're finally getting some use out the sub-woofer.


Lincoln is loving his part time pre-school.  He is excited to go every morning and his teachers say he is doing really well.  He is now potty trained with the exception of naps and bedtime.  We've had to do a lot of bribing but it seems to be working.  Not sure though why his teachers get away with bribing him with stickers and we get roped into giving toys?!  Lincoln loves helping with projects around the house and going grocery shopping.


Auntie Calee came to visit us over Labor Day weekend and we had a fun time shopping and visiting.  Michaela and Jared came over for dessert and games one night.


Aunt Genesis came to visit with her finance Forrest.  It was the first time that we got to meet Forrest and the first time Genesis has seen the boys. It was a nice, short, sweet visit and we were happy to have them come.

                               

We've been busy with all the normal day to day activities like work, projects around the house, playing with the water table, cleaning, day-to-day errands, etc.  There's always something to do!

Ricky tried a new Southwest Tangy BBQ recipe that he put on chicken. It was yummy!

When you put a sharp chip clip on your lips and then pull, this is what you get. Unfortunately, Lincoln learned the hard way.

 We loaded up Logan's pack-n-play with these balls.  He wasn't to sure what to think the first time we put him him. He learned to have fun with them.

 Brother Lincoln was quick to show Logan how much fun they are!

 Learning to enjoy being brothers! (Daddy dressed them.)

 Logan's first ride at Chuck E. Cheese.  He loved it!

Our city had a local event at the Stadium nearby.  This is the first time Lincoln rode a horse!

A Quick Visit to Grammy's House

Over July 4h weekend we actually drove back down to Logan, Utah to visit Grammy and Aunt Talicee. It was a quick trip, we got there mid-afternoon on Saturday and left mid-day Sunday. It was enough time for a field trip around town to see the temple, the Utah Festival Opera Theater, and a fun toy store. Mom just moved there a few months ago so it was the first time we'd seen her house and her office at her new job. It was a nice visit and we got to see Susie, a long time family friend who also was in town for the weekend. The boys loved going on a walk with grammy and playing with the animals. Since it was July 4th, Grammy did buy some sparklers for Lincoln to try. It was a bright Sunday morning so I don't he thought they were all that cool because he couldn't see the flashing colors. No fear from that little boy though. It was a great visit. (Minus the fact that they forgot/intentionally didn't tell us that Talicee's snake had escaped it's cage just two weeks before we got there and that it was still missing!)

Logan, Utah Temple

Lincoln's First Sparkler

Grammy's House

A Month Away

We decided to get out of the Arizona heat and head up to Idaho for a month to see Grandpa and Grandpa Tutu and Aunt Natalee. I needed a vacation from work and the boys needed a change of environment for a while. It's hard to recap an entire month of constant fun and activities but I will try to go over a few highlights.

Because my work schedule has been so crazy, we ended up driving up in one day. Yes, 16 hours in a car with two little boys...but we survived. Thank goodness for portable DVD players, snacks, and a few new toys. We stayed at Tutu's new house in Inkom, just south of Pocatello. It was the first time we had been back to see the house since it was completed in spring of this year. It was beautiful! Lincoln's favorite part was the spacious loft that's been designed as a playroom. He spent many hours up there.

All the fun things we did included: swimming, driving the tractor, digging in the dirt with Tutu, playing with the kitty cats, playing Settlers, Ticket to Ride and Boggle, cooking lots of yummy desserts, going to the Inkom hometown July 4th parade, taking baths in Tutu's huge jacuzzi bathtub, date nights, movies, shopping, playing at the park and much more. We also went to Logan for a night to visit Grammy and Talicee. It was fun to see them, their house and the town.

For one of the weeks we were up there Ricky and I went to Salt Lake City for a week without the boys. It was a nice little vacation for us - within a vacation. Tutu and Natalee were so nice to take the boys for a week and Lincoln and Logan were spoiled.

One of my favorite things was watching Lincoln and Logan interact more. With so much space in the great room at Tutu's, Logan would race around in his walker chasing Lincoln on his tricycle. They thought it was so funny and I couldn't believe how fast they could get going. They are really starting to play more together. Logan wants to be wherever Lincoln is and he watches his every move. Lincoln likes to share when he's in the mood and tries to help with brother when needed.

We were able to see a lot of cousins while we were there which was so exciting for Lincoln. Many of them hadn't met Logan yet and we hadn't met a few of the newest cousins either so we were lucky to see them. We also got to visit with Micah and Kolissa since they had just moved to Pocatello the week before we left to come home.

We two a couple days to drive home with a stop in St. George. The worst part of the entire trip is the fact that when we came home we realized that despite the confirmation number we had from the post office to hold our mail, they didn't. We had no bills, wedding invitations, magazines - nothing!

Luckily my job allows me the freedom to work from wherever I need to. It may become a summer tradition for us!

Aunt Natalee took the boys in the tub for their bath almost everyday. They thought it was their own little swimming pool. Thanks Nat!

Lincoln loves playing with cousin Erica.  They kept each other well entertained.

Morning walk with Papa Tutu.

Lincoln was going to do his own project on the balcony.

4th of July Parade in Inkom - Logan wasn't too impressed.

Gotta love that tractor!

Conversations With Lincoln

Mom: "Lincoln, don't do that."

Lincoln: "Don't say don't do that."

Mom: "Lincoln, who makes the rules in our house?"

Lincoln: "Me, brother Logan and the refrigerator. "

As Ricky and I were sitting in the living room one night, Lincoln walked in pointing to the clock and in his best imitation stern low voice said, "Look at that clock right there and go to bed right now!" Of course, Ricky and I looked at each other trying to figure out who he was imitating and busted up laughing. I wish I had the video camera rolling for that one.

Lincoln: "Brother Logan, chase me on my bi-cyc-ick-le." (Spelled how he pronounces it.)

Mom: "Lincoln, it's bicycle. Say it - bi-cyc-le." (Lincoln repeated it after me.)

About 5 minutes later he comes running into the room.

Lincoln: "Mom look, Woody! (As he holds his Toy Story Woody figurine in front of me.)

Mom: "Yes, Woody."

Lincoln: "Say it, Wood-y."

I was drying my hair with my blow dryer in my bathroom. I was bent over with my hair hanging over the front of my face so that I could dry the underneath side of my hair. Lincoln came running into the bathroom, "Mom, where are you?" I responded, "right here." Lincoln said, "Where, I can't see you!" He then came and laid on the ground looking up at me so that he could see my face beneath the hair and replied, "There you are!"

Ricky: "What's the matter, how come your mad?"

Lincoln: "It's all jacked up!" (Referring to his train track that brother pulled apart.)

He also continues to remind us, that anytime we go over bumps, pot-holes or construction zones, he thinks we're driving off the road. He is quick to say, "Mom, get back on the road."

I Spy With My LIttle Eye...

Apolo Anton Ohno. Ricky and I were walking through Macy's at the South Town Mall in Sandy, Utah (we were on vacation and I will update later on the rest of the trip) when suddenly I see Apolo and his (according to Ricky) smokin' hot girlfriend. They were involved in a conversation with a sales lady about bed sheets. I quickly debated with Ricky if we should stop and say hi, take a picture, tell him he was robbed at the Olympics, etc. We ultimatley decided that we should let him shop without interruption and kept on walking out to the car. We were both big fans of his at the Olympics so it was pretty exciting to see him.

The funnier thing is that earlier in the week I saw an Apollo Burger and joked, " Oh look, Apollo Anton Ohno Burger." We talked about the fact that Apolo lives in SLC area and trains here. Ironic that we actually saw him. Ricky says he always sees famous people when he's with me because he can't believe how observant I am. I have to admit he's right, I love to people watch!

He was wearing a nice shirt and jeans. It was a little odd to see him in something other than USA Olympic attire or his speed suit. Ricky says he is a pretty boy - I have to agree.

Since I decided to not ask for a picture we will have to remember by ones already on the internet.

Doc Band Design

So we had all of these great ideas to decorate Logan's helmet - but then things changed. After reading others blogs about how much time and energy is spent painting the helmet I decided it wasn't a project that I wanted to commit to for the next 4 months. Also, the time is passing more quickly than I realized. He has already been in it for over six weeks. Then with all of that, I wasn't able to find the stickers that I wanted and didn't want it to end up looking cheesy. I wasadamantly against the plain white helmet but now it's growing on us. I played around with one little design after seeing a sticker I liked but we only kept is on for a day or two. The helmet is working wonders though.

He is hardly ever in this little pack-n-play so he was pretty fascinated with the netting.

He's mastered tummy time and rolling over.

His perfect little head is getting it's shape back.

Logan's First Tooth

On June 16th Logan's first tooth finally came in. The poor little guy was waiting for weeks for it to finally come through. Once the gums opened though it popped right up in about a day. It's the bottom right (his right) side. Since then, the second (bottom left side) has also come through. Hopefully the others will here shortly and the sweet little thing can get a break from teething for a while!

The tray holds all the tools that have helped him successfully get his teeth out.

No chance of taking pictures of his teeth. This is the face we get when we tried.

Height Prediction

Have you ever heard that if you measure a little boy when he is two and a half years of age, then double his height, that's how tall you can expect him to be as a grown man?

Well, we are going to try it. We measured Lincoln when he was exactly 2 1/2. He was 38 inches tall - making him 6 feet 4 inches tall as a grown man. Unfortunately that's only tall enough for him to be a guard in the NBA verses a forward or center. I guess we better work with him on dribbling in addition to shooting. Who knows we will wait and see if the myth is true for Lincoln.

We did start his training when he was just 8 months old.

This is his second basketball hoop (from infant set up to toddler hoops) at a year and 5 months old.

If he isn't tall enough for the NBA then we could always go with baseball. Given all of the Spring Training Fields, it's a big thing around here.