The Living Planet Aquarium

On Saturday November 5 we went to

The Living Planet Aquarium

in Sandy with our friends, Cade and Nicole and their daughter, Cayla.

Logan and Cayla had so much fun, and, of course, we adults enjoyed ourselves as well!

We got to pet the stingrays...

...watch the penguins play...

...capture moments with some really big fish...

...sort of watch the sharks get fed...

...check out a cool-looking eel...

...and (*gasp*), some of us got our first kiss!

"Oh no! They caught us on camera!"
(Totally picturing front page of the tabloids)

We were fairly impressed by this aquarium and hope to go back in January when they bring in the sea otters! :)

Pumpkin-Walk, -Patch, -Carving, and Trick or Treating

Benson Grist Mill
Pumpkin Walk
(October 8)

Benson Grist Mill does a Pumpkin Walk every year and businesses and organizations can compete for the best pumpkin displays. This year the theme was Dr. Seuss and there were some pretty creative displays!

A local dance group also performed dressed as characters from different Halloween movies (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, Chucky, etc.). They did a great job with their dancing and their costumes!

They also had some fun activities for kids and there were a lot of vendors there as well. Logan had a lot of fun in the hay maze and he was actually posing for me!

Pumpkin Patch
(October 15)

In Tooele there is a small pumpkin patch. Since none of us have ever been to one we decided to go and get our first "Pumpkin Patch" experience.

It really wasn't super impressive, but what can you expect from a small town? We did, however, get picked up by a tractor once we picked out our pumpkins, but that was the extent of creativity there. And, as you can see, we had to really search for a good pumpkin since the patch was overtaken by weeds. Oh well. We found some good pumpkins and we still made it fun.

Logan and I cutting a pumpkin from it's vine

Pumpkin Carving

Kenny and I were both wondering how Logan was going to do with pumpkin guts. The following pictures show that he had no problem with them! First thing he grabbed was the "scooper" tool and he got to work.

Logan and I painted his little pumpkin...and he had a little too much fun with the paint I think. :)

Logan's pumpkin says "Bōgs". This is a nickname giving to him by one of his many girlfriends. :) Our babysitter, Jordyn, has a daughter Logan's age and Jordyn would call Logan "Logey Bogey" and then her daughter shortened it to "Bōgs". So, now that's his nickname.

Trick or Treat!

I had to work from 10am-8pm on Halloween (bummer, I know), so Kenny took him to Cottage Glen Assisted Living for a Trunk or Treat, then they came to visit me at the hospital, and then Kenny took Logan to Downtown Tooele where all the shops had trick or treating. After I got off work we all went around to a few houses and did the "old-fashioned" trick or treating. Logan had so much fun even though he really didn't know what was going on!

By the way, Logan was a hunter for Halloween.

"Here, hold my gun. I have some business to attend to...candy, that is."

Overall, Logan's Halloween candy bucket was completely full from the day's haul. I told Kenny to take it all to work with him and let his co-workers have at it. They were all very appreciative of the candy, Kenny said. :)

Logan at 18 months old

This pretty much sums it up...

Logan turned 18 months old on Sept. 19, and I ask myself:

Should I be excited or scared?

The answer is both.

Why I should be excited:

• He is becoming more independent
• He is old enough to go to nursery in church
• He is using more words
• He is singing his own version of the alphabet
  
• He is building a more definite personality
• He can watch us do something once and figure out how to do it
• He knows what he wants
• He can crawl into his crib
• He sometimes likes to give me kisses
  
• He wants to be like his daddy

Why I am scared:

• He is becoming more independent (*sniffle* he doesn't rely on me as much)
  
• He is old enough to go to nursery in church (This means I have to sit with him in nursery for two hours)
  
• He is using more words (pretty soon I know I will wish for the days when he didn't speak at all)
  
• He is singing his own version of the alphabet (there really isn't anything wrong with this)
  
• He is building a more definite personality (he has my stubbornness and Kenny's determination--look out world!)
  
• He can watch us do something once and figure out how to do it (this can be dangerous)
  
• He knows what he wants (tantrums, galore!)
  
• He can crawl into his crib (it's when he can crawl out that worries me)
  
• He sometimes likes to give me kisses (I hope this doesn't carry into high school with his girlfriends)
  
• He wants to be like his daddy (infatuation with guns, flashlights, knives, and blowing stuff up--I'm going to have to have my cortisol level checked quarterly...)

Overall he is a wonderful little boy and we are so grateful to have him in our lives.

Here are his stats from his 18 month checkup:

• Weight: 19.0 lbs (<5%)
  
• Height: 31.5 inches (40%)
  
• Head: 17.7 inches

He is a happy, healthy boy and makes us laugh every day. We love him so much!

Family Pictures 2011

As promised, here are our family pictures. I think the first one is the one we will enlarge to put on our wall and the one that will go on our Christmas cards.

I love this one! I think he looks like my cousin, Jack, in this picture.

Now I need your help. I am trying to decide which of these of Logan and I that I want to put up on my wall with the other family pics. So, please, put in your vote so that I can, hopefully, decide more easily.

Picture #1

Picture #2

Picture #3

Logan absolutely loves his daddy!

In this picture, Logan is signing "more". Cracks me up!

We also had Julie take a family picture of all of us there in Arizona. We are missing my sister Adrea and her family, and my brother Brandon. We did four poses, but these are my two favorites:

But, I think I like this one the best.

Also, a couple of updated pictures of my parents: