One month shy of a full year

11 months old

Logan turned 11 months old yesterday--I can't believe how fast time has flown! Not a whole lot has changed with him in the last month, just a few things:

• He is more persistent about wanting to eat what Kenny and I are eating.
• His lateral incisors on the top have pushed through so he has been much happier!
  
• He loves to mimic noises we make. His newest favorite is making a gurgling-type noise in the back of his throat.
• He has taken well to the formula and has been gaining weight! He is slowly growing out of his 6-9 month clothes and is fitting better into his 9-12 month clothes.
• He loves passing objects back and forth between his hands and ours. He can be pretty adamant about putting something in your hand when he wants you to have something and you're not paying attention.
  
• He is also very good about giving you an object that you might not want him to have by just putting your hand out (I usually try to give him something else in return so that he feels like he's getting rewarded for giving up his "prize".)
  

Valentine's Day
Unfortunately Kenny had to work the night before and the night after Valentine's Day but we tried to make it extra special anyway. Kenny bought me a rose on his way home from work that morning and he made me breakfast in bed (crepes and a berry smoothie)! Then he went to bed for most of the day and I made Rosemary-Garlic Chicken with Lemon for dinner before he went back to work. It was delicious!

Books
I have been reading a lot of books lately and one I just recently finished was The Phantom of the Opera. I was curious as to how it differed from the Broadway/movie and I found that it was fairly different. It did clear up a few confusing parts for me, and overall I enjoyed it. I still like the Broadway/movie version of it--reading the book did not ruin it for me as other movie-book combinations have.


I have also been reading:
I haven't finished it yet but so far it has been very informative on what foods are good and what foods are very bad for you. It is crazy to think of how many foods on the shelves of the grocery stores contain such harmful ingredients. She is big on eating whole and organic foods and to absolutely stay away from processed foods.


And, for the kid in me, I have also started reading the Percy Jackson series
(I know, I read too many books at once, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood for certain books so this gives me a variety). So far it's good, but I'm not very far into it yet.

I never thought we'd have to do this...

WE LOVE YOU MAGGIE AND JOEY!
For the past month we have tried to decide what to do with our dogs. The house we are renting does not have a fenced yard therefore Joey and Maggie became inside dogs. The way our house is set up there just is no room for two large dogs plus a baby crawling around, and they were constantly underfoot. So, Kenny and I made the decision to find a different home for them. It was one of the hardest decisions we've had to make because these dogs have been two of our best friends for the last 4 1/2 years. Fortunately, my friend, Shelley, knew of a family from Idaho that just purchased a home with 2 acres and they wanted to take both of our dogs together. This was a dream come true for us because not only would they not be split up like we feared, but they would have room to run and two little boys who will play with them.

So, this last weekend we met the family in Odgen as they were passing through. It was really hard to see them go, but the hardest part for me to think about is that they are not our dogs anymore. I am sure this family will take good care of them and we can visit anytime we want. We love them so much and are happy they are going to great home.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER OF JOEY AND MAGGIE:

• They love, love, LOVE the water
• Joey could catch a snowball in his mouth
• Maggie always had to be a step ahead of Joey to prove she was just as able
• They loved going on hikes with us
• Joey could always be content chewing on a log
• Maggie was always so sweet and gentle with Logan, even if he pulled her tail or bit her ear
• They loved riding on the four-wheeler
• Joey climbed into Kenny's kayak while swimming in the lake at Williams Lake
• Maggie was very protective of our family

OUR TINY, LITTLE 10-MONTH OLD
Logan turned 10 months old in January and he is constantly making us laugh, cry, and rip our hair out in frustration. But we love him anyway!

Here are a few things he's been up to:

• He has been pulling himself up on things for about a month now
  
• He can stand on his own for about a second
• He does good walking while I hold his arms up and guide him
• He had his two front upper teeth cut through a month ago and he has two more on either side of those pushing through now
• He is having issues with going to sleep for naps and at night (as soon as we walk away from the crib he screams bloody murder, so we just have to let him cry himself to sleep)
• He has been eating more and more table food and loves being able to eat what Mom and Dad are eating
• He still loves bath time
• He loves shutting doors for some reason--he thinks it's funny to be able to shut Mom and Dad out of his room (hmmm, already...that's not good)
• He has found the stairs, so up goes the gate
• He is infatuated with pulling our nightlights out of their outlets
• He is starting to open up cupboards and drawers, so time to buy child-proofing materials
• He can't get enough of pushing buttons on our DVD player, surround sound, and our remotes
  

Also, he had a weight check a week and a half ago and he weighed in at 15.0 lbs. Still less than 1%, so the doc recommended trying different formulas to add to his diet. So far he does pretty good with Similac and Good Start, but does NOT like Enfamil. This will be good since I am starting to wean him anyway.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
(Better late than never)

Jamie

• To lose 20 pounds of fat and gain some muscle tone by Logan's first birthday (From January 1-March 19)
• Learn how to be better at couponing
• Catch up on my Continuing Education Credits

Kenny

• To lose 30 pounds and get in shape by April
• Become First Responder certified
• Get welding certification
  

Together

• To pay off 10% of our debt by December 31, 2011
• Be better about reading scriptures
• Enrich the lives of the Primary children we teach on Sundays :-)
  

November & December

8 Months Old
On November 19 Logan turned 8 months old. At this time he was learning how to crawl and his two bottom teeth cut through. He had also caught a nasty cold and gave it to Kenny and I, so we were all miserable together.




Christmastime is Here
After Thanksgiving, as always, I put on the Christmas music and get started on the Christmas decorations. I love this time of year and it is always sad for me to have to take everything down after the holidays.




The Valley of the Sun
On Wednesday, December 8th, the three of us packed up and headed south to the warm and sunny Phoenix to see my sister, Julie, and her family along with my mom and stepdad who drove over from New Mexico. On our drive down we stopped at Glen Canyon Dam to stretch our legs and capture a few pictures.




While we were down in Arizona we had Julie take some family pictures of us. I think she did an excellent job, especially considering we had to keep a constant eye on her three rambunctious boys and our very tired and cranky Logan.



On the Friday night of our trip, Julie and Craig offered to watch Logan so that Kenny and I could have a date night. I had the brilliant idea of trying sushi for the first time, so we went to Ah-So Sushi and Steak Bar. I ordered two types of sushi rolls and was really excited to try them. They seemed bigger than the ones I've seen before and I asked the waitress if I was supposed to just pop the whole thing in my mouth. She said yes, so I did...um, big mistake! I sat there and gagged on it until I was able to chew it up swallow it. Honestly, I don't think it was the raw fish that bothered me, it was the seaweed. Kenny, of course, was safe and ordered steak which he thoroughly enjoyed. After dinner we went to the theater to watch The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Narnia) and it was really good!

Wishing I had thought of this before we had our family pictures done, I decided it was time for Logan to have his hair cut for the first time. Kenny was hesitant because he thought Logan looked "innocent" with his long hair. Well, Julie and I outvoted him so Logan got his first haircut and I love it!

Julie is always looking for fun (and inexpensive) things to do and she found a light parade in a neighboring town, Carefree, that we could all go to. I couldn't get very good pictures of the floats but the ones of us turned out good! :) (Peyton and Ethan really were excited to be there, they just weren't excited about having their picture taken).

We took the kids to Cabelas where Santa Claus was there with his ATV. There was a photographer who took pictures and made you a 4x6 copy for free, so we took advantage of that! Peyton, Ethan, and Caleb gave Santa their letters which they were excited about. Logan wasn't exactly thrilled to be sitting in a strange man's lap, but hopefully next year he'll be more excited.

We had a great time down in AZ! Thanks Julie and Craig for hosting us and thanks Mom and Dad for coming and seeing us (and for the gifts)!


Logan's 9 Month Checkup
On December 20 I took Logan in for his checkup and here are his stats:

Weight: 14 lbs. 1 oz. (less than 1%)
Height: 28 in. (50%)
Head: 16.7 in. (3 %)

He looks and acts very healthy and is very active, however we will be going in for a weight re-check at the end of January. No vaccinations this trip = happy mom and happy baby! :)





The Baum Farm
December 21-23 we went up to Ashton, ID to visit my Dad and his side of the family. My Grandpa had flown up from Arizona and my Aunt Camille and her family drove up from California for the Christmas. Tuesday night we went out to dinner with my Dad, Chi Ann, and Rachel. On Wednesday all of us cousins snow-suited up and went snowmobiling! We tied a huge tractor tube up behind the snow machine and took turns driving and riding. It was a blast! We were also able to visit with my Uncle Alan and Aunt Shelley about their experiences living in Ethiopia for several months this last year (they were over there helping plant more nutritional crops for the people over there). It was also great being able to visit with my Grandpa and my Aunts Camille and Kristine. Thanks everyone for the great gifts, great food, and great time!

We were able to stop and see Aunt LaDean and Uncle Wayne on our way through Pocatello. It was nice to be able to visit with them. Thanks for the gifts! We were also able to stop and see our friend, Jane Magee, and introduce her to Logan. She had a very cute and soft teddy bear for him as a gift. She also gave us a compilation of all of her wonderful and delicious recipes (she is a fantastic cook)!

Christmas Weekend
Kenny had to work December 24-26, so Kenny's mom, dad, and brothers, Calvin and Jayse, their brought Christmas down to our house so that Logan and I wouldn't be alone. Kenny was able to take a few hours off on Christmas so that was nice. Christmas morning was fun as always. Logan had a great time pulling the paper off the presents! Kenny's Aunt Marion bought Logan a Santa suit and he looked so cute in it. We were able to talk to Kenny's brother, Travis, who is serving a mission in Oregon and he is doing great and enjoying his mission. I got Kenny a smoker for Christmas so we smoked our turkey for Christmas dinner and it turned out yummy! A big thanks to Kenny's family for coming down and being with us for Christmas!

Tidbits
One night I was washing the dishes (I do them by hand and use the dishwasher as a drying rack since our dishwasher doesn't work very well) and stacking the bowls and cups on the top rack, therefore they were dripping onto the door of the dishwasher. Well, Logan decides to scoot on over and start playing in the pooled water, meanwhile water was dripping onto his head from the top rack. Silly boy!

Also, he has been pulling himself up onto the edges of chairs and the couch. His two front teeth have also cut through as well. He has become less picky about his vegetables and he still loves fruits. He can't stand bottled meats (nasty!) and gags on them every time I try. He loves bath time still and looks forward to it every night. He loves saying "Dadda" and he is working on saying "Mamma".

I had my wisdom teeth out on January 6 and they have been healing pretty good since then. No dry sockets--YEA!

End of October Fun

Kenny's Birthday

NOTE: I am new at making collages for Blogger, so that is why this post is a mess.

Kenny's birthday was on October 27th and unfortunately he had to work. Originally he had the day before, the day of, and the day after his birthday off, but his work scheduled training on his birthday. :(

When he got home from work we ate Hooters style hot wings that I made, potato skins, and I can't remember what else. And I made him his favorite cake, Skor Cake. Logan was fascinated by all the lit candles!

Two weekends before his birthday Kenny went hunting and I told him that would be his birthday present this year since we wouldn't be able to afford much else. But I felt bad that I didn't have anything tangible to give him for his birthday. I had wanted to make him a "Carhartt" blanket (as opposed to a "Levi" blanket) for a long time, so I thought this would be the perfect time. So about a week before his birthday I started cutting out squares from all his old work pants from when he did construction. I had everything done except for most of the binding. But I was able to give him a mostly-done blanket on his birthday. He was pretty surprised and excited about it. Over the next few days I was able to finish the binding on it and now it's at the foot of our bed. :)

Halloween

Our Halloween weekend wasn't too exciting since Kenny had to work the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Halloween. However, Friday night we were able to carve pumpkins. We don't have any pictures of Logan as we carved the pumpkins because he was tired and cranky so we just put him to bed. Anyway, here are our pumpkins (I drew all the designs, and we didn't have a pumpkin carving kit so these are all done with knives we had around the house).

A cat face

A witch

A Haunted House

On Halloween I decided to make a special Halloween dinner and invite a our friends/neighbors over. I forgot to take pictures of all of us and all of the dinner I made. I made an elk stew in a pumpkin, some orange cranberry bread, some pumpkin fruit dip, and for dessert I made an apple cider topping for vanilla ice cream. All of this was from scratch and it turned out delicious!

And here are the pictures I'm sure you've all been waiting for. Logan was so cute in his pumpkin costume.

Look Who's Sitting!

LOGAN!

Logan is now 7 months old and he has finally (almost) mastered the sitting position. He is still a little wobbly at times but he is getting better every day.

Here are some other things he has been doing:

The "goods":

• He is recognizing his name really well.
• We will ask him, "Where's the dog (or cat)?" and he will look around until he spots Maggie or one of the cats.
  
• He has learned he can get around on the floor via rolling and scooting (no crawling yet).
• He LOVES fruits, but he's not a fan of veggies. We have to mix the veggies in with the fruit and rice so he'll eat them.
  
• He can stick his binky in and out of his mouth
• He will grab for anything within reach and is so excited if he gets it (my glasses are one of his main attractions).
• Even though he is 7 months old, he still fits into most of his 3-6 months clothes (some of them are even still too big for him). I can even put a few of his 0-3 month outfits on him still. He is just so skinny that his pants fall off him, so I have to safety pin them.
  

The "bads":

• Lately he's decided that he needs to wake up 2-3 times during the night again (Grrrrr!) He was doing so good for the past 5 months too. :(
  
• To add to waking up at night, he's also decided he doesn't want to take 2 hour naps anymore...they are usually only 45-60 minutes. Occasionally he will sleep 2 hrs, but not often.
• Also, he isn't as interested in nursing right now. I don't know if he's weaning himself early, but he is only eating about half as much, and sometimes after his naps he won't nurse at all. I planned on going the full year, but he may have other plans in store. ???
  

Maggie is so good and patient with him! One time Logan was playing with her and then I heard her whimpering so I looked down and Logan was biting her ear. Poor Maggie! But she took it so well. :D

Logan loves this little playground so much. This is usually where he plays when we're upstairs and he has such a good time.

Of course, we had to get a picture with Logan and his Daddy with the elk. :)

It's about time!

Kenny was originally not going to go hunting this year due to finances, but I decided that for his birthday present this year I would let him go. His 7 days off in October landed on the starting day of the elk hunt in Palisades so it was perfect. I talked to his mom and his parents bought his elk tag as their contribution to his birthday. I've learned over the years to never expect to come home with a kill (this is my method to avoid disappointment). I knew that Kenny was itching to go hunting so I thought it would be a good present for him. And it was a good present because...
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.
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...he shot his first bull elk!

One of Kenny's best friends, Cade, with Kenny and the elk:

It was a pretty good year for the guys at camp this year (3 deer and 3 elk):

Kenny didn't tell me that he got an elk until he got home after midnight Saturday night. He had me come out to the truck to help him get some things inside and he pulled out the elk head. I was pretty happy and thought that it was well worth it to let Kenny go because now we will have meat in our freezer! He and Cade dropped the meat off in Malad to be butchered and packaged.

This elk had some kind of genetic defect where the antlers were displaced on the skull. You can see it in this picture: