Life With Logan.....: 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

PICTURE TIME

Here's some more recent pictures of what we've been up to! ENJOY!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

My how time flies when you are having fun!

So, as you can see my regular blog posts have made their way down to one post every month - month and a half (or 2 months like this one)! It seems like each week, when I am making my to-do list, "UPDATE BLOG" is on the list, but I never seem to find the time to actually do it! But, that's life...what you don't get to today, will be there for you tomorrow!

So, I think at our last post, we had just moved back North and were getting settled in. Since then, Nicole started working part time at Sandia Ceramics (her parent's company), Dennis is still making the daily commute to Arlington WAY too early in the morning and Logan is growing up right before our eyes each and every day. While Nicole is at work, Logan is staying with our friend who Logan absolutely loves! We are so lucky and blessed to have found someone who loves and cares for our son just as much as we do...THANK YOU PAM!!!

For the remainder of our summer, we had playdates with the Gaskill's and Carter's, family time, weekends out in Luray, Nicole's 30th birthday celebration, our 1 year post placement visit (can you believe it's been 1 year already??) and ended the summer with a VT football game at FedEx Field (what a sad loss...we were so close to winning!!).

Now that fall has arrived, our lives seem to have gotten even busier. We had a weekend in Myrtle Beach, this weekend Nicole is heading to the Hamptons for her sister's bachelorette celebration, next weekend Nicole is hosting a shower (along with her aunt, Pati and sister-in-law, Michelle) for her sister, then we have weddings and weekend meetings and doctors appointments and whatever else comes along the way! We have to remind ourselves to slow down sometimes and just take a breath...Logan is such a trooper, though. No matter what we are doing, where we are going, how long we are in the car for, he still smiles and laughs (with an occasional meltdown). We truly have been blessed with this child.

So, what has Logan been up to lately? As I mentioned, he spends 3 days a week with Pam - they go to the park, play outside, draw with chalk, learn about planes and butterflies (some of Logan's favorite things) and many more fun activities! We are still working on his language, but it is really coming along. He is trying to say words when he wants something, so to us, that is a positive sign that talking is shortly behind! He can tell you what a cow, sheep, cat and horse say (I will try to post a video of him doing those animal sounds). He still loves his shapes. He can find ANY airplane in the sky (even the tiniest speck of one) and points it out to you until you see it. He points out every truck and bus on the road. He loves to buckle himself in his carseat, in shopping carts and anything else that buckles. He likes to do EVERYTHING himself now (drinking out of a cup, pushing his stroller, drinking out of a juice box/water bottle, anything...he pushes our hands away). I guess he's becoming a big boy, now! His favorite books right now are "Goodnight Moon", "Good Morning, Good Night", "Love You Forever", "Moo, Baa, La La La", "Daddy and Me" and many others. We have also had to transition into a toddler bed because that little monkey started climbing out every morning. At least now, if he wants to get out, it's a shorter distance to the ground and less of a chance of him hurting himself. For Nicole's birthday, her parents got her a bike with a trailer for Logan - so we have enjoyed taking bike rides around the neighborhood. Logan loves spending time with both sets of grandparents and we love it too! As I have said in the past, seeing your parents as grandparents is incredible...very hard to put in to words!

So, we have hit some special anniversaries that will always hold a special place in our heart for the rest of our lives. One year ago, June 18, our hearts melted when we met Logan for the first time. I remember so clearly how he cuddled with us, how he could barely sit up on his own at that time and his huge toothless smile! One year ago, August 14, Gladney called us with our court date! That's when it really set in for the both of us...this was it. We were going from DINK's to a family of 3. One year ago, September 15,we sat nervously in the Kaluga Court room as a judge made the decision that we would be Logan's parents. I remember feeling butterflies in my stomach the entire day. I remember how the actual court seemed to go quickly, but the wait seemed like eternity! And then I remember the emotion that overcame us as she said "Logan Christopher Merz" was our son. I couldn't wait to get back and hold him in my arms again - to hold our son - I couldn't believe that day had actually come. Now, here we are 1 year later, chasing after a toddler. A little boy who had no clue how much his life was going to change on September 15, 2009. A little boy who has brought so much joy and love into our lives. A little boy that is a gift from God that we couldn't be more thankful for.

So, I have tons of pictures to post, but just for memories sake...here's some "Then and Now pics" to celebrate our 1 year anniversary :)

JUNE 18, 2009 - the first moment we met Logan

June 18, 2010

September 15, 2009 - The day we were named Logan's parents!

September 2010 - Myrtle Beach, SC

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

YES......We are still here!!!!

I know, I know....I am slacking in the "blogging" department. People are asking me for updates and new pictures all of the time and I am now FINALLY getting to it. To say that our life has been busy the past month, would be an understatement. A lot has changed (for the good), and we are slowly getting back into a normal life (whatever that may be). So, I will QUICKLY try to update you on what we have been doing and of course, include pictures of Logan :)

Since our last post, which I can't believe was around Mother's Day, we enjoyed our last few weeks in Hampton, VA. In the month of June, we took Logan to Busch Gardens, celebrated Dennis' first Father's Day, Nicole finished up the school year (and teaching for a little while) and we packed up our house and moved to Northern Virginia. For those who do not know, Dennis was reassigned back to the Coast Guard Recruiting Command and we are renting out our house in Hampton and are now back living in Northern VA. Nicole's parents graciously worked on their basement and that is now our new home (a 1000 sq ft little abode). We love it and it allows us to save money and for Nicole to be home with Logan. And of course we love being back up here for Logan to be around both sets of grandparents (and I think they are loving it too!!). Once we got settled in, July came along with the dog days of summer (man it's been HOTTT). We celebrated the 4th of July in Luray with all of Nicole's siblings and their "mates" (as Phil called them). It was a wonderful time with family and from there we went to Dennis' parents for a cookout. We discovered that Logan DOES NOT like fireworks (small or big). Maybe next year! We have enjoyed catching up with old friends now over playdates and spending time with family. Just last weekend, we took Logan to Sesame Place on our way to visit Dennis' family in New Jersey....he had a blast and loved seeing all of the characters! We also enjoyed visiting with Dennis' grandfather and other family members for the weekend. So, we are now home and trying to get Logan back on his schedule. He is still sleeping through the night (anywhere from 10-12 hours/night) and I have gotten him used to taking 1 LONG afternoon nap (2-3 hours). We get up each morning and go for a walk with Maggie (our dog), then are home for breakfast and playtime. We tried to go to a local park for an animal show a couple of weeks ago, but Logan had NO interest in sitting through that, so we went and played at the park instead. He still loves to be outside and run and play as much as he can. We are still lacking in the speaking department, but he definitely has become more vocal over the past couple of weeks and is making lots of noises (ba, da, ma, na). He loves to point out his shapes and counting is a new thing (he doesn't say "1, 2, 3", rather points with his finger as I count for him. We are still battling the throwing of toys and food and are now entering the stage of temper tantrums....all things that I am reading are normal for this age. So, even though he is a sweet boy most of the time, he has become trying at times as we are entering this "independence" stage. This too shall pass :) As far as for us (Logan's parents), Dennis took his servicewide (advancement test) and scored 12th out of 230ish. So, this means that in the next year or so he will be advancing to Chief. When that happens, there is a possibility of us moving again, but we will have to wait and see what is available at that time. There was also talk at his office of him going down to the gulf to help with the oil leak, but now with the cap working, we don't know if that is still going to happen. Again, we'll wait and see what we are told! As I mentioned earlier in the post, I (Nicole) will not be going back to teaching in the fall. I have decided to take a break and be home with Logan. I'm sure it will be an adjustment when August comes around and I won't be having to prepare lessons or wonder what students I will see again this year. But, I am ready for a break and need to be home with our son. So, that pretty much sums it up! And now for what you all have been waiting for.....PICTURES OF LOGAN.......