My Birthday and Easter (from a month ago)

BIRTHDAY
April 21, 2011

My birthday this year was really great. Kenny got off the night shift that morning and had made me breakfast in bed, which was AMAZING! French toast stuffed with Nutella and topped with strawberries, powdered sugar, and more Nutella!

Kenny should have had to work that night but he surprised me and took the night off instead! I didn't really feel like cake for my birthday, so, after a fairly healthy dinner, we and a couple of our friends, Taylor and Kristi, went to Wingers for some asphalt and concrete pie.

The next day, for my birthday present, Kenny had reserved a cabin at Downata Hot Springs near Downey, Id for the night. We had arranged for Logan to stay the night at Kenny's parent's house, so we had the night to ourselves! We had a steak dinner reservation there at Downata and it was very tasty!

After dinner we got in our swim suits and went for a swim! It had been many years since I had been to Downata and since then they have put in a jacuzzi, a sauna, new slides, several cabins, and some yurts. We had so much fun!

Our tiny cabin

EASTER
We headed back to Malad late Saturday morning and then we all went to Portage, Ut for an Easter potluck with Kenny's extended family. It was good to see all the aunts, uncles, and cousins! When we got back to Malad we decided to give Logan his Easter basket and he thoroughly enjoyed pulling the mini M&Ms out of the Easter eggs and eating them! He also had a lot of fun playing with the sidewalk chalk we got him.

On Easter morning we went to church with Kenny's family, and after church we had a nice Easter dinner, and soon after we headed home.

With some of Logan's birthday money we bought him this ADORABLE suit! Unfortunately he wasn't feeling up to modeling, but I still think the pictures turned out cute.

Ryan's Leave

March 28-30
We were able to spend 2 weeks with my brother, Ryan, before he is deployed to Afghanistan in May. He flew into SLC Monday March 28 and he spent the week at our house in Tooele. Unfortunately, this time of year, there isn't a lot to do and the weather was not cooperating either. However we did take a stroll to our neighborhood park and got to play a little on the playground equipment.

March 31
On Thursday afternoon, Kenny took the afternoon off work so we all could go into Salt Lake City and went to the Gateway Mall, ate dinner at Jimmy Johns, then went to this chocolate shop on the hill above the temple and got some ice cream and fudge!

April 1 & 2
We picked up my mom and stepdad at the SLC airport and headed up to Idaho to spend time with our family up there. My sister, Julie, flew in from Arizona for the weekend, so Julie, Ryan, Kenny, Logan and I headed up to Ashton to spend Friday night and Saturday with our dad and his side of the family. It was so good to see my dad, stepmom, sister, aunts, uncle, and cousins!

April 3 & 4
On Sunday we all got together at Peggy and Arnold's house for a family dinner. It was good to see all the family on my mom's side and the food was delicious! Thanks everyone for the good time and for the birthday gifts for me and Logan! Monday we took Julie to the Idaho Falls airport and then did a little shopping (some of which was to gather supplies to put a light switch in Grandma's bathroom--no more pull string!)

April 5
On Tuesday morning Kenny and I took Logan and Grandma for a ride (mainly so Logan would take a nap) and Grandma wanted to show us where she grew up and show us the wash that saved her side of town from the Teton Flood. It was neat learning about her childhood and memories! That afternoon we worked on cleaning up her attic. It was quite a job we took on, but we were able to donate a lot of things to the DI and I got to see some neat old photos--plus I was able to go through my grandma's personal cedar chest. I felt very privileged! My mom said that Grandma rarely let's people go through her cedar chest so we needed to jump on the chance while she was offering. Tuesday night my other sister, Adrea, and her family drove down from Montana and I got to meet my newest niece, Elzie Rian, for the first time. Right now I am kicking myself because I completely forgot about my camera, so I don't have any pictures. :-(

April 6
Wednesday we all went up to Idaho Falls, mainly doing our own errands, and then met up at Arctic Circle for dinner since they aren't very prevalent in the places we all live. That evening we went and visited with Peggy and Arnold some more. Kenny, Logan, Adrea and I left early because Logan had some serious constipation and we had to use a few suppositories that Adrea gave us to use. Poor Logan, he was in so much pain! :(

April 7-10
Thursday, Adrea and her family packed up and headed back up to Montana, and Kenny, Logan, Ryan, my parents, and I packed up and headed back down to Tooele. Friday, of course, it was snowing so we couldn't really do much, especially since it was my stepdad's birthday. However we still tried making it fun and had a good dinner with strawberry shortcake for dessert, and then we played Karnaxis! Saturday morning my parents packed up and headed home and Sunday I took Ryan to the airport. It was then that I realized I hadn't taken very many pictures, so I was able to get a few before Ryan flew back to Georgia.

Ryan leaves for Afghanistan on Monday, May 2. We all love him and pray for his safety while he is over seas. Thank you, Ryan, for serving this great country!

All About Logan

He just can't help himself
Logan loves getting into our cupboards and one day I walked into the kitchen (he was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't hear me) and found this:

We have since bought child-proof locks for the cupboards and he is NOT happy about it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Logan missed St. Patty's Day last year by two days, so this was his very first one. I wanted to make it somewhat special and Kenny actually had this holiday off, so I got up and made green pancakes, ham, and green smoothies.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease
These last two weeks Logan has had HFMD so we've had to keep him home and away from other kids. It is a very contagious virus, however it's really not that bad. It usually goes away after a while; Logan just developed a rash around his mouth, on the palms of his hands, and soles of his feet. It hasn't slowed him down at all.

Logan's First Birthday
March 19, 2011
Since Logan had HFMD we couldn't invite anyone over (especially those with kids), so it was just the three of us. I was kind of sad that it couldn't be better for him, but we tried to make it special nonetheless.
Kenny had to work the day shift, but he was able to get off work a few hours early so we could celebrate before Logan went to bed. He brought home some bubbles for Logan, though I think we had more fun with them than Logan did.

I wanted to make Logan a birthday cake themed as something he likes, then I realized that he is only one years old and hasn't exactly shown interest in Thomas the Train, or Megamind, or How to Train Your Dragon. But then I remembered something...

...he loves bath time. I found this idea on the internet and it was so easy! We tried getting him to blow out the candle, but all he wanted to do was grab the flame, so I had to hurry and blow it out after we sang to him. It was a lot of fun watching him dig into the cake!

So, naturally, after the cake, Logan took a bath with his rubber ducky. He chased it around the tub a couple times until he finally caught it.

After Logan's bath he did not seem ready to go to bed--possibly had something to do with a sugar-high. So we thought we'd play with him a little more. We got Logan this little scooter about a week or two ago after he started pushing around our flour bucket while trying to walk. He is getting so good at pushing his scooter around and he can stand for a several seconds on his own, until he realizes what he's doing and then he falls down. We've had so much fun watching his progress!

I "Heart" Bananas!

Logan absolutely LOVES bananas! If I grab one off the counter, for myself, and he sees me . . . well let's just say I don't get to eat much of the banana. I will tear large pieces off the banana and he will gobble them right up (usually in huge bites). He just cracks me up!

Kenny has also given him pieces of 70% cocoa bar (I know, not good for a baby) and now Logan thinks that when we break ourselves off a piece that he needs one too. Silly boy. I guess he knows the good stuff when he tastes it. :)

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!