Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!!

Well, we are down here digging ourselves out of the biggest snow storm that the Hampton Roads has seen in a decade!!! We got hit with the snow on Saturday, followed by sleet, then more snow on Sunday. It closed the schools down for 3 1/2 days (which Nicole didn't mind because she got to stay home with Logan). But, just as everything is beginning to melt away, they are calling for more this weekend. So, maybe the groundhog is right - 6 more weeks of winter!!! We will wait and see....

Logan is continuing to grow and blossom every single day. If he could be outside all day, running around he would. When we took him out to play in the snow this weekend and he just wanted to run around - he didn't care much about the snow itself. So, we would bundle up and go outside for a little bit each day for some fresh air and exercise. He has finally learned to go down the stair safely and not just continue walking off the top step! He still loves to spin the toilet paper roll, so all bathroom doors are closed at our house. He is also learning how fun it is to flush the toilet (maybe this will help when it comes time to potty train). Logan is completely off formula now and our next step is to move from the bottle to the sippy cup. He can stack 4-5 blocks himself (and of course loves to knock them down). He loves emptying out his drawer in the kitchen (with his bowls, cups, etc) and lining them up in the doorway - it's rather funny to watch. He is great at helping us clean up his toys. His communication is still a challenge - he still only says dada and then yells for everything else he wants. We are waiting to see if he qualifies for speech therapy through the city's Early Intervention Program. During our initial meeting we had with them, Logan is above average in all areas except communication (he is right on the border line of below average and average). So, we were pleased to see his development and progress since we have been home with him. Logan also loves to dance to music. His dancing isn't a lot of moving around though - it mainly consists of him waving his arm back and forth, with an occasional head bob and maybe some swaying in there. You'll have to ask him to show you his moves next time you are with him. We are still waiting for his molars to come through - it would be so much easier if they would all just come in at once, right?!?

I think we mentioned that Dennis is getting transferred back to Northern Virginia this summer, so we will be renting out our house until it is better for us to sell. Work is going well for both of us. Nicole is starting a new semester - which means the year is 1/2 way over and Dennis is holding everything down at the training center. We are enjoying the month of February where we have nowhere to travel and can have some good quality family time.

We hope all is well with you and your family. Check out http://adaywithlogan.shutterfly.com for some new pictures (and older pics I forgot to post from Christmas. Love you all!

A Belated Merry Christmas & Happy New Year's From the Merz's

I've always thought that the holiday season was an extremely busy time for us - but it seems like it was even more busy this year. But, I mean busy in a GOOD way. Christmas with a child seems more special. Since our last post at the beginning of December, we continued to enjoy each day in amazement at the new things Logan is learning and doing. We met with our "regular" pediatrician and learned that Logan has increased on the growth charts in each area by 25 or 50% from the time we brought him home. We had a hearing screening done on him, to be told that everything is clear and good with his ears. We made our first road trip to New Jersey to visit with the Maguire family, where Logan met his Great-grandfather and cousins. We got a chance to visit ChristmasTown at Busch Gardens (not with the grandparents since it snowed in NOVA that weekend). But, it was nice to go together as a family - Logan loved the Sesame Street Christmas show, meeting Elmo and seeing all of the beautiful lights and decorations. We spent Christmas Eve, just the 3 of us, going to the Children's Mass and then having a nice family dinner. Christmas morning we drove up to NOVA to spend the day with the King and Merz families. Logan was showered with many gifts this Christmas, that we had to leave some at the grandparents house because there was no room in the car! On December 26th, we had Logan's baptism by Fr Peffley and enjoyed a celebration with family and friends. Then we were off to TX to visit with Nicole's families. We loved seeing Logan play with his cousins Rylee and Jack (just a little younger than Logan). Logan did great on the flight down (of course this was a piece of cake compared to the last time we flew!!). While we were in TX, we were excited to be able to visit the Gladney Center (who we adopted Logan through). The emotion that we both experienced as we walked through the beautiful facility is hard to put into words - there is nothing we can say or do to thank them for bringing us our son - the gift we have prayed for for so long. We brought in the New Year's with the wonderful Hall Family at the Sullivan's house and then headed back to Virginia to get back into our normal routine. Logan came down with a cold the first week we were back. Even though he wasn't feeling well, we enjoyed all of the cuddling that he wanted to do. Now, we are dealing with teething again (his back molars are coming in). So, he's not feeling to well or sleeping through the night. But, we know that this too shall pass. Some new things that Logan is doing now - slowly learning how to safely come down the stairs, giving kisses and blowing kisses, loves to open and close drawers (as well as empty them out then put everything back in), he has discovered the toilet paper and loves to spin the roll so it all falls to the ground, he loves to play peek-a-boo and "come and get me", he can point out animals such as a cow, duck, dog, cat and sheep and continues to be a typical active boy. At 15 months, he is right on track developmentally in all areas except his speech. He continues to only say Dada (we're still working on Mommy), but his babbling and making different sounds has definitely increased. I'm sure it's a matter of time before he is talking up a storm. I guess that catches all of you up on our lives. We hope you and your families are all doing well. I have posted a couple of pictures on the blog, but don't forget to check out http://adaywithlogan.shutterfly.com for more pics. Love you all!!!

2 months home

Hello everyone - we can not believe we have been home with Logan for two months now. Since our last post, we have continued to adjust to our new life as parents of a toddler. We had a great Thanksgiving with our families up in Northern Virginia. Logan finally got the chance to meet his Uncle Ben, play with the Gaskill twins and meet all of the horses out in Luray. Logan is finally walking and defintely keeping us on our toes. He began taking a few steps right before we left for Thanksgiving and then over the holiday weekend (with lots of practice and encouragement from us and Mimi). Now, he is walking all over the house and even climbing up the stairs. We're on a whole new level, people!!!!! Logan is also "testing his boundaries". When he knows he is doing something or touching something he shouldn't, he will do it and then look back at us and smile. He definitely knows what he wants and will not stop until he gets it! We are continuing to sleep through the nights and still wake up smiling and wanting to cuddle. We have another doctor's appointment on Friday, so it will be interesting to see how much he has grown and to discuss a few things with our new doctor/pediatrician. Today, Logan also turns 14 months and continutes to amaze us and make us laugh every day and teach us an unconditional love that is hard to explain - you just have to experience it for yourself. We are looking forward to a road trip up to New Jersey to visit Dennis' family this weekend. The following weekend we are excited to go to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens with the grandparents. And of course we are excited to celebrate Logan's first Christmas and our trip to Texas!! We hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the holiday season.

A long, overdue NOVEMBER update

It's hard to believe that the month of November is almost over! It seems as if ever since we've been home with Logan time is going WAY to fast. He is literally growing up and changing every day - almost too fast! But, we are all doing great and enjoying each and every moment that we have together. Since going back to work, we have all gotten used to our new schedules. Logan is a real trooper about getting woken up at 6:15 in the morning to go next door to the babysitters, waking up every morning with a smile. This month, Logan met Aunt Lauren - her and Mom came down to babysit, while we went to a wedding. Logan had a BLAST with Mimi and Aunt Lolo and it was nice to have them here to help out. We also survived the Nor'easter that hit our area pretty hard. We didn't have any damage to our home, but had some pretty bad flooding in our neighborhood (the water came up to the top of the first step of our porch, completely covered the yard and the streets were impassable). But, we survived and enjoyed having a day off of work to spend together as a family. We also enjoyed a trip up to NOVA for a wonderful shower that Ginny Murphy hosted for us. It was so fun to bring Logan over to meet everyone and we were touched by everyone who came to celebrate with us. This weekend we took Logan to his first football game (Nicole's school won the regional game) and he loved it. There was so much for him to look at, lots of people for him to wave to and plenty to keep him entertained. We are looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving and taking Logan out to Luray for the first time. He is continuing to learn new things all of the time - he loves to wave "hi" and "bye", he says "dada", "dog", "mama" (not to Nicole, but when he's eating), he copies sounds and motions, still loves tires (or anything that he can spin with his finger), gives "high 5s", took a couple of steps by himself the other day (still not walking, though), gives us kisses at least once a day, loves kisses from Maggie and so much more!
We were talking this weekend about how special this Thanksgiving will be for our family this year - we have SO much to be thankful for, we don't even know where to begin. It's hard to believe that this time, 2 years ago, we were just starting the process. We were overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork we were being asked to complete. We had no idea what our journey was going to be like. We were touched and blessed by all of your kind words, encouragement, support and continued love. We never would have thought that 2 years later, we would be blessed with such a perfect child to help us start our family. We knew all along that God would lead us to the child that was meant to be with us - but having Logan is truly amazing and we pray every day that we are the parents that he needs. Those of you who are reading this and have children, know exactly what I am talking about. My adoptive family friends who I have met along the way, I know can relate to the variety of feelings and emotions that we are experiencing on our first holiday together. My adoptive family friends who are still waiting for your child, stay strong and know that your time is coming. I can't wait to read about your first holiday with your child and how much they will change your life. So, thank you all for always being there for us and we couldn't ask for better family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving! We love you.

Loving a visit from Aunt Lauren

Playing at the park with Mom

The beginning of the effects of the Nor'easter - this wasn't event he worst of it

Logan's first football game - GO WOODSIDE!!!

"Can you believe that play, Mom?"

Logan playing INSIDE the toybox

Hanging out with Uncle Ryan

One month already?!?!

Well, it's been awhile since our last post, but we've been busy chasing around a now, 13 month old! That's right, today Logan is 13 months old and as of tomorrow we will have been home with him for 1 month - TIME IS FLYING!!!! Since our last post, we enjoyed the rest of October, hanging out together each day, visiting with Logan's grandparents and other family members and of course, celebrating Logan's first Halloween (which as you can see from the picture, he was lion and didn't quite understand the concept of giving the candy away to other people!!!). We have also successfully made it through our first week of Mom and Dad going back to work and Logan staying with our wonderful neighbors! He has done so good and it has been SO hard to leave him every day, wondering what new thing he is going to do or learn that we have to hear about instead of see for ourselves. But, he is in excellent hands and is so loved by our neighbors. The favorite part of my day is when I come and pick him up and he sees me through the door and this ENORMOUS smile comes across his face and he starts crawling toward the door. I LOVE THAT MOMENT!!! But, he's doing really well - he is definitely growing, he is getting more hair, he is teething again, he is going to start walking on his own very soon, we have noticed that his "thumbsucking" has stopped, he is sleeping better through the night, and he just keeps us busy - always on the go! Anyways, we hope you are all doing well. In case you didn't know, we have another website strictly for pictures of Logan and the website is http://adaywithlogan.shutterfly.com. We will still keep the blog for updates and some pictures, but have the other one as well.

PICTURES :)