Logan Went Down to Georgia: Family Trip Part I

Logan made his first trip to GA recently to meet family and friends and visit Daddy's hometown, Commerce. First trip south also meant first time on an airplane. Our little boy did great. He fell asleep before the plane even took off, and I was able to nurse him on the way down to help with the pressure on his ears.

Ready for my first plane ride

We got to Nana and Papa's house on Saturday, and Logan got to meet Aunt Jenny and Uncle Adam for the first time. We had a nice relaxing evening after a day of travel with a 6 month old.

Papa, Logan and Nana

New toys!

Papa's funny

Napping on Nana

On Sunday, the whole extended family and a few friends from college were invited to Nana and Papa's house to meet Logan. There was a special meet and greet with great-grandpa, who Matt is now calling Big Papa. It was great to show off Logan who was happy to ham it up for the crowd. He did really well being passed from person to person before needing familiar arms.

College buds Matt and Jon are now dads

We got a chance to have lunch with Kristin on Monday. Logan had not seen her since he was 6 weeks old. He is a little bit of a different baby now!

With Kristin

The rest of our time was spent visiting Nana at school where she teaches 6^th grade followed by a trip to visit Papa at CVS where he helps the people. Nana and Mama took Logan shopping at the outlets. The whole family went for a stroll, which gave Logan a chance to get in a quick nap.

Roll out

Logan kicked Papa out of his chair

Getting in some time with Nana before leaving

As a side note, there were a ton of pictures taken from these few days by Aunt Jenny. Once they are ready, I will post many more pictures from our Commerce visit.

Life's a Beach at Mackie's: Family Trip Part II

Logan's ready to relax

After Commerce, we headed further south to visit Mama's side of the family in Naples. This meant flight number two for Logan. It was a repeat of the first. He fell asleep before we got off the ground and nursed on descent to help with his ears. He did great! We arrived on Wednesday and were able to spend another relaxing evening after another day of travel.

Logan and Mackie

Logan with Hurley and Lexie

With Uncle Bryan

And Uncle Kyle

On Thursday, Logan met his great-grandma and great-grandpa in the morning. Afterward, Mama really wanted to take Logan swimming, so we waited for Uncle Kyle to get a break from work before heading to Mackie's pool. Since I was a swimmer and because Logan loves his baths, I had high hopes for the pool. However, once Logan's big toe entered the water, the pout lip came out, and a few tears followed. There had been some rain in southwest Florida before our arrival which cooled off the pool. Logan did not really warm up to it (pun intended). That afternoon, Mackie got to show Logan off at work before we headed to Uncle Kyle's work where we watched him workout The Real Housewives of Naples.

I'm going to the pool!

I hate the pool!

Family Fun (for most)

Tuckered out from all the trauma

The next day, Logan met Uncle Bryan and his girlfriend, Dre, who had arrived the night before after the little man had gone to bed. Despite the failed attempt at the pool the day before, we wanted to take Logan to the beach. After all, you cannot go to Mackie's and not go to the beach. Unfortunately, we got the same reaction once Logan's toe hit the salty water as we did when it hit the chlorinated water. However, since high tide had just passed, there were warm pools left in the sand. After sitting in the water for a little while, Logan started to act like he does in the tub, kicking and splashing his legs. We then ventured into the water, and Logan kept his pout lip put away. After all that work in the water, Logan needed a little nap at the water's edge.

Dre, Logan and Uncle Bryan

To the Beach

I hate the beach, too!

Now I love the beach.

More family fun

Playing in the Gulf

Protecting our very pale skin

Nap time

Saturday, Logan hit the beach again and did even better than the day before. He was able to get into the floaty that Mackie bought for him and even managed smiles and laughs. After another beach nap (swimming is exhausting) followed by baths and showers, the family headed over to great-grandma and great-grandpa's for an amateur photo session. We then visited the apartment Uncle Kyle recently moved into.

Wa-hoo

Nap time, again

Four generations

The whole family

We headed home the next day via two fights because we had a layover in DC. These flights went the exact same as the previous ones. Upon landing in Boston, a woman behind us remarked “I did not even know there was a baby in front of us.” As a parent traveling with a little one, you cannot get higher remarks than that. Logan rocks at flying.

Our family trip was great but went by way too fast. We were so glad that Logan had an opportunity to meet family members that he had not met before. Seeing four generations together on both sides of the family was something very special. We are also thankful that Logan got to spend some quality time with both sides of the family. A special thanks to the grandparents who helped to make our stays with them so comfortable.

6 Month Doctor's Visit

On Friday, Logan had his 6 month doctor's visit. This appointment came 3 weeks after he turned 6 months old. He weighed in at 17 lbs and measured 27 inches long. Our doctor is not very good about giving you the percentiles, but I think she said Logan is in the high 20s for weight and the mid 50s for height. His growth has slowed down a little which the doctor said is normal since babies become so much more active at this age. The boy rolls all over the place!

The doctor continued to be impressed with his development as Logan showed off all his moves and held a great conversation with the doctor. Then it was time for the dreaded shots. Like the previous two times, he took them like the little man he is. Logan has never had any adverse reactions to shots. The only side effect we ever see is that the boy sleeps FOREVER, which is my kind of side effect.

Sears Portrait Studio

Logan had a rite of passage the day after he turned 6 months old: cheesy department store pictures. I wanted to have them taken when he was 6 months old because I thought I would really enjoy having the pictures when he is older. For the past 1 ½ months, Logan has had a blowout diaper problem. I tried everything in my power to make sure that we did not have an attack either in his photo outfit or during the session. I won that battle, but lost the war when he blew it out while we were on the computer in Sears selecting pictures for purchase. I am so glad that it happened afterward. Below are the pictures we selected. 

My favorite

Just to let you know, Matt and I had no intention of being in the photos.  This is why we did not care that we were dressed alike.  I swear, it was not planned.  Matching outfits for department store photos are even too cheesy for me.

Logan's Bedroom

We closed on our home exactly three months to the day before Logan was born. Of the many things on my to-do list when we moved in, number one was getting Logan's bedroom decorated. I had a vision of how I wanted to paint the walls and found nursery decorations that fit the colors on the wall, instead of the other way around. The one I found was an underwater, sea creature theme titled “Bubbles” which I thought was really cute. After that, the rest fell into place.  The paint job alone took over 40 hours, all of which were third trimester hours. So I hope that he is able to live with it until he goes to college. But I will be willing to change out the sea creatures before Logan hits puberty. 

All of the items on or above the shelf have special meaning to us.

There's Logan GA football.  You were looking for it, right?

Handprint and footprint

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day.  The two things I really wanted:  to sleep in and to not have to change a blown-out diaper (currently a big problem in our household).  I got both by 10am!  What more could a Mama ask for?