Giggles, Rolls, and Bums

While it took a while to get going, winter is in full force in New England.  We have had some really cold nights which are followed by cold days.  It was so cold that Matt's side of the garage door (we have two doors) froze shut, and he had to take my car to work!  We have also had snow storm after snow storm.  Matt is really getting his money's worth out of the snow blower.  I think this is Mother Nature's be careful what you wish for after my complaining in December that we had not had a good snowfall yet.

Proof of the coldness.  And with the wind, the wind chill was around -25!  Yes, Matt get's up that early.

Rocky in his bathroom path.

We are hoping that one of the icicles does not impale us.

Logan laughed for the first time in the evening of January 19^th. This is something that I have really been looking forward to and have been trying to draw out of him for a while. Like his first smile and “words”, you could tell that he really wanted to laugh. Finally, I got that sweet sound out of him. He continued the next day, but will not offer up the giggles since then. He has decided that he is not my puppet.

Logan has learned how to roll from his back to his side with ease. While he can roll to either side, he very much prefers his right side. In fact, the other day he rolled over to his right side, hugged himself, and immediately fell asleep. It was too cute. Of course, he fell over to his back before I could get the camera. 

Rolling action shot

Made it!

This past week, Logan developed a diaper rash that looked painful, but seemed to cause him no pain. I will not describe the rash for his sake and yours, but it worried me enough to call the doctor. The nurse recommended soaking his bum in a baking soda bath 2-3 times a day and then trying to air out his bum. Dangerous to let our little guy not have a diaper on, but whatever it takes. So, for two days, I cranked up the heat (remember, it's been really cold), gave Logan his “baths” and aired out his bum. It is a good thing that he likes his tub and being naked. The reason I mention all of this is because it explains the pictures of my naked little boy, minus socks (he has naturally cold feet like his Mama). Who can resist a naked baby bottom?! 

Logan would kill me if he was old enough to know that I released this picture to the world.  But come on, it is too cute!

Logan and Daddy

He is supposed to be working during tummy time.  He would rather drool on his hand.

Reading with Daddy

Wa-hoo!  Tummy time pays off!

With Mama

Ode to the Bouncy Seat

I knew that some things would change when Logan was born. However, there are two things that I love that were made much harder with Logan around: cooking and taking long, hot showers.

I love to cook. Pre-Logan, I would put on the i-pod, pour a glass of wine (or water while I was pregnant), and spend hours in the kitchen cooking dinner. I loved it. I knew once he was born, that it would be hard to cook for the first few weeks. But I was prepared. I had my mom in town for a week, so she cooked. About a month before he was born, I filled the freezer with meals that were easy to defrost, heat and eat. That got me through another two to three weeks after he was born. In between, I would cook on the weekend when Matt was around to care for Logan. Then, after about a month, I had to cook with Logan by myself. It was rough for a while. He is always more active in the evening and cluster feeds. Both of those make it hard for me to cook. I found myself doing prep work while he took his long nap in the afternoon. Overall, it became a stressful time for me.

I love long, hot showers, especially this time of year, when the thermometer reads 20 degrees on a good day. Again, with my mom in town and Matt home for the first week, I was able to take those showers without a problem. Then mom left and Matt returned to work. My strategy each day was to wait until Logan went down for his long nap (2-3 hours) and then move him upstairs with me to his bassinet and try to shower and dress before he woke up. The problem with that was either I mistook a catnap for the long nap or I would wake him up trying to move him. In the case he woke up while I was in the shower, I would get out of the shower and my baby would just be fussing. But then, by the time I was dressed, he would be full out crying. Many days I would wait until Matt got home and take a shower at 8:00 or 8:30 pm. I hate showering that late. My long, hot showers became a thing of the weekend. Showering became stressful for me.

This was all before Logan fell in love with his bouncy seat. The bouncy seat vibrates and has a few toys that dangle in front of him. He was not a fan for a few weeks, but now he loves it. And it is great because I can carry it up and down stairs and into other rooms with ease. The bouncy seat now frequents the kitchen and the bathroom. He will either sleep in it or be completely content just vibrating, bouncing, and studying the bug-eyed insects in front of him. While the shower is not as long as the weekend ones, it is of decent length and hot. As for preparing dinner, the i-pod has returned. Sometimes Logan will even sing along with me. The stress that used to accompany these daily tasks are a thing of the past.

Bouncy seat, I love you!

Yay Bouncy Seat!  Yes, Logan is sleeping like that.

Logan's view of his buds Johnny, Leroy, and Skeeter (Daddy named them)

"I love my bouncy seat, really."

Logan's Close-Up

Since my last name is not Dugger, I do not plan on being pregnant too many times. Since this was the first, I really wanted to do something special to remember the time. So, Matt and I had maternity photos taken 2 weeks before Logan was due. (I know, we were cutting it close!) Included in the sitting fee for that session was a sitting fee for the photographer to come back after the baby was born and take pictures of him. So, Logan had his first photo session when he was 2 weeks and 3 days old. We ended up buying the rights and digital copies of all of the photos. You saw two on the birth announcement. Below are some of our other favorites from the session. Looking back to two months ago, I cannot believe how much he has grown!!!

Snow, Swings, and Other Things

It is official – Logan is a swing man. It has not become a cure-all, but Logan's attitude towards the swing has done a 180. He loves the trio of bears that swing above him. He gets really excited to see the bears when put into the swing, throwing his arms and kicking his legs. He even holds conversations with the bears. He also sleeps in the swing. Up until this weekend, they had only been ½ hour naps. Over the weekend, he snoozed away for 3 hours in the swing. He has also come to like his bouncy seat. I guess he just needed some time.

Logan's life started to get a little more busy last week. We attended a Mother's Group sponsored by the hospital in an attempt to meet other moms and babies. The group is for mothers of babies that are up to 6 months old that is held every week. Logan and I enjoyed ourselves and plan to make it a weekly event. However, this morning we are home because of the amount of snow that has come down and continues to fall as I type. Better safe than sorry!

The storm that kept so many of our friends and family paralyzed in the south last week hit us last Wednesday. We ended up with 14 inches by the time the snow stopped falling, which is the largest storm that we have had this season and I think the most that Matt and I have seen at one time. In fact, it took Matt three hours to clean off the driveway, front walkway, deck, and to dig out the mailbox. And that is with the help of a snow blower! The snow for me meant another opportunity to get pictures of our adorable little boy in the snow. Below are snow pictures along with other random pictures.

Logan and his Trio of Bears

Daddy hard at work

Not so sure about this snow thing

In the snow with Daddy

Still not sure

Big Bro Rocky checking out the snow

Someone has found his thumb

Towards the end of a smile

Logan's new best friend, Doug

Snooze time

2 Months Old

On Thursday, Logan turned 2 months old. I know, I will probably say this for every age post, but I can't believe it has been two months already. Our little man is growing so fast!

With the 2 month birthday came the two month doctors appointment complete with a full round of shots, and not the good kind. He weighed 12 lbs, 5 oz which is the 70^th percentile for weight. He is 24 inches long which is the 86^th percentile for length. I do not know how infant length translates into adult height, but he may be tall. Matt jokes that Logan will tower over him. The doctor asked a lot of questions about his development and answered a lot of Mama's questions. The doctor said that he is developing great. Always what you want to hear as parents. Then came the shots. One was oral, and I think most of that ended up on Logan's face and chin(s) along with Mama's arm. Apparently he did not like the taste. Then he received three shots, two to one thigh and one to the other. He screamed, and Mama cried. I promised myself I would not, but I could not help it when he started to scream. Two seconds later he was in my arms, and both screams and cries were gone. I cannot believe we have to do this again in two months! At least then we will both know what to expect.

Here is what is going on or has changed with Logan over the past month. When he was born, he only had fuzz on the top of his head. He had real hair just in the back. I guess you would call it a baby mullet. But, he has been growing hair on top of his head. No more peach fuzz. He is grabbing objects, from ones that we put in his fist to those that he will grab on his own. He has finally begun to stretch out time between feedings. Thank goodness. Mama gets a bit more of a break during the day now. He is still sleeping for long hours at night. On average he now does 7 to 8 hours a night. He has become a chatty Kathy. He loves to talk. Even the doctor commented on how much he talks since he decided to hold a conversation with her. He smiles often. I love being able to get him to smile. Also, he smiles and talks each night now when Daddy comes home. Logan just grins and tells Daddy all about his day. It is so cute! Logan is now reading books. No, as much as we would like him to be, he is not a child prodigy (at least not that he has revealed). However, he does pay attention to the books in front of him as I am reading to him. We are usually able to get story time in during the day and then try again at night before bed.

His growth and development has been astounding to us over the past two months. Can't wait to see what he does next. 

Yes, Logan in the swing without crying!  He loves the bears on the mobile above him.

2 month old shot

Rocky felt left out so we included him in a picture.

Now he is sleeping in the swing!  This was the afternoon after his shots so I hope that is not just because he was so tired from the trauma.

One of Logan's battle scars.  There is a matching one on the other leg.

Proof of his hair (and that he can blow bubbles).

Happy New Year

Happy New Years to all! 2010 was such a great year for our family and we are really looking forward to 2011. This past week, Matt took the entire week off of work so we had a lot of family time which was great. Logan's Nana (Matt's mom) was in town for a few days and rang in the New Year with us. We had a good visit with her. Below are pictures from the past week.     

Ready for an outing

Time with Nana

Ready for the GA bowl game

Too bad Logan was more ready than the Dawgs

The Perry Boys hanging out

The start of Logan's football career.  He's telling me to go long.