Haircut

Logan got his first haircut today. Technically, it was his second because Carly and I cut off his little rat tail a few months ago. I was shopping at Schnucks, which is a cool store, and noticed the hair cuttery next door. Logan has gotten increasingly shaggy over the past months, and even though I want to grow his hair out, Carly was ready for him to get a cut. And truly, he was getting a little wacky. The hair on top of his head was getting really long, and the back was short, and the sides were just coming in again. Anyway, I wish I had my camera at the barber shop because he looked adorable in the little black cape that they used to protect him from the cut hair. He was good and didn't wiggle too much. After 11 dollars, we got a little certificate and an envelope full of his hair. It was a painless procedure.

I got to thinking about it at home though. Why didn't we just cut it ourselves? Why did I go to a "chop shop" to get this done? It makes me a little sad to realize that I am not as self-reliant as I think. What happened to the good ol' days when people did for themselves? Why aren't I more "jack of all trades" as I imagine myself? It probably would have been a much more satisfying experience to cut Logan's hair myself. I guess I'm overthinking it, though, because I am scared of what the results would be if I did cut his hair. It takes a village to raise a child, I guess.

Thanks for the feedback on yesterday's post. It's nice to know that I haven't bored everyone to death. I'll keep it up.

Moments

Today has been a good one. Logan and I have had a number of moments worth recollecting.

I fed him apple and banana baby food. He really likes it. His face puckers initially when the sweet/sour hits his tongue. He actually eats most of this instead of like rice cereal that gets all over him. Have you tried baby food? It is delicious. I had quite a few spoonfuls myself.

Logan pulled on my chest hair today real good. I let out a howl and it really scared him. He started to cry and I felt bad, but ya know, what can you do when little baby attempts to claw out sensitive hair?

Logan was going crazy in his bumper jumper. I set him up in the closet and he bounced away happily for at least 20 minutes. He really enjoys this contraption and I am so happy I bought it despite Carly's reservations.

So these are some moments that we shared today. Entertaining, huh? I'm having a bit of a crisis with this blog. I like writing it every day, but I sometimes feel as if it is boring. Maybe if I wrote less frequently I would have better posts? I don't know.

There and Back Again: A Baby's Tale

Logan had a sweet return journey from down south. He slept the first two hours, woke up crying, but was quickly soothed. We stopped in Bloomington and fed him and ourselves. Carly spent the last two hours of the trip in the back entertaining the boy, and for the most part, he was entertained. I got a chance to listen to Bears' pregame shows, and Carly got to spend some quality goofy time with Logan. We are back at home and it feels good. Hopefully Logan will settle down and stop skipping naps. We don't want a repeat of last night. Let's just say mommy was at her breaking point. Anyway, I'm ready to plop on the couch and watch Da Bears. Until 'morrow.

Trampoline is an Olympic Event

Someday, Logan could be an olympic athlete. In fact, if we become insane parents we might even get him ready for the 2016 olympics in Chicago, yeah! What event you say? Trampoline. Right now Logan is bouncing on Grammy Rene's ottoman. Up and down, up and down, the kid is really attempting to get some air. He doesn't get tired, and has the goofiest, happiest look on his face when he's bouncing. Logan likes motion. You could say he has Loga-motion. (Wow, terrible pun). But seriously, he enjoys to squat and then thrust himself upwards using the power in his mighty quads. Maybe he'll be a professional weight lifter--a squatter. Maybe we need to start doing resistance training with him. Maybe I need to stop embellishing his physical accomplishments and stop writing. Maybe I've lost it.

On the Road

Carly, Logan and I took a road trip down to East Alton, IL to visit Carly's family. The four hour drive went really well. He slept for 30 minutes at the start, and was awake for the rest of the trip. He was a bit fussy, but really a good baby considering that he missed his naps. Right now he's entertaining Uncle Greg and Grammy Rene. Logan's awfully excited to be here because he gets to watch dogs! He seems to really like animals. Maybe we have a future veterinarian in the making.

So on the drive here I was contemplating road trips. It would be really fun to buy a small camper and travel the country. Logan seems to handle travel well, so maybe we could do it. Now all I have to do is somehow convince Carly.

Daddy Don't Like the New Poop

Logan has learned how to purse his lips together and make a flubber/farty noise. That little trick of his has been very appropriate today.

In the past five minutes, Logan has gone through two diapers and a changing table cover. Most of you know that we are now feeding Logan a 50/50 mix of formula and breast milk. Well certainly that new formula has affected his poops. They are gross! Formula poops are thicker and more like, well, poop. Logan pooped a lot and it was not a fun clean up job. I didn't notice an odor, but the consistency, man, ughhh! While he was solely breastfeeding, I didn't see why changing a diaper was such a big deal. Now, I can totally understand why diaper changes are not a fun experience. Even though I want to go into all the gory details, I think I'll spare my readers. Needless to say, Daddy don't like the new poop. Logan seems satisfied now, so maybe he does. Did I say I was looking forward to new foods? I take it back.

To Grandmother's House We Go

Logan and I spent some time at Grammy's house today. He was being pretty adorable and Grandma got a kick out of feeding him, playing with him, and watching him crawl backwards.
My mom also took out my baby book and it was interesting to compare my development with Logan's. I got my first tooth at 7 1/2 months. I was crawling around at 6 months, and I ate all sorts of food by the time I was Logan's age. There were all sorts of interesting things about me, but they are escaping me at this time. Anyway, what was memorable was that we fed Logan a slice of mushed up banana. He really seemed to enjoy the banana and licked most of it off the spoon. I can't wait to let him try all sorts of new foods. Well, I think that's all for tonight. I almost forgot to blog today. Can't say this is much of an entry, but what are ya going to do?

Attack of the Praying Mantis

Don't ask me how I got this picture...but I did. Pretty cool, huh?

Half n' Half

Logan had a bottle of half breast milk half formula this morning. I had to tickle him and move him to keep him awake, but he took all four ounces of the mix. We're using Enfamil Lipil which is a milk-based formula from powder. He definitely could taste that something was different, and at the beginning I thought he was going to completely reject it, but I think my half n' half potion did the trick. Last night he wasn't really going down for bed and Carly asked if I could try to get him down. We made up a bottle of formula but he wasn't really hungry and wasn't about to eat this strange new tasting milk. Anyway, we are still going to breast feed as long as Carly and Logan want to, I think, but it's time to supplement with formula because he's eating more than our supply. I hope that his tummy works alright in digesting this, but I have a feeling we're in for a few explosive encounters.

Yesterday, I also let Logan gnaw on my honey crisp apple. It was a tad sour and his face puckered up like an old man. He seemed to like the apple though and I did give him the tiniest chewed up bit. He ate it, so I guess that qualifies as his third solid food behind rice cereal and a small piece of banana. Oh the foods this boy will eat!

Crawling in Reverse

Logan is beginning to master the reverse crawl. It's pretty humorous actually because it puts him into interesting positions such as underneath the entertainment center. He's just low enough to scoot undeneath the t.v. stand. This morning I put him on his play mat and went to make myself some cheerios and when I cam back sure enough he was hanging out under there. Under where? Ha!

I don't know if babies are supposed to be reverse crawling first or if Logan is doing things backwards. It makes sense this way, however. As I've mentioned before, Logan can do push-ups now. And so when he pushes with his arms, it makes his back side scoot backwards. Hence, reverse crawling. It's exciting seeing him move around even if he doesn't know where he's going. On the other hand, now we have to start seriously thinking about baby-proofing this house which is a task that doesn't seem all that exciting to me.

In unrelated news I ran a 5:50 mile yesterday to see if I could run under 6:00 minutes. It didn't feel good, but Logan and Carly were impressed. I guess this 30 year old body can still move like it did when I was in 8th grade. Sweet.

Hangin at Papa G's

Went to Papa G's in Elburn and had lunch for Great Grandpa's birthday. Thought I'd do a photo montage for this entry. Enjoy!

New Zealand Hat

Way back in 2000 when I was in New Zealand for my student teaching, Carly and I felt the need to socialize so we went to a local photography club meeting. They had a raffle there and I won a basket of random stuff. Among the things in the prize was this little multi-colored stocking cap. It was wool and it was hand-made. I thought it was a cool little hat and decided to hold onto it until we had a kid. As it turns out, Carly and I did have a baby boy, and I must say, I'm happy I held onto the hat for all those years. Logan on the other hand, seems a little upset at having to wear this scratchy rainbow hat.

Hangin' in the Hammock

Logan and I like to hang out in the backyard hammock on sunny days like this. It's a very satisfying and relaxing thing to do. Logan enjoys the movement and being in the open air, and I do too. It's funny. Before the baby, I had a hard time finding the time to relax and simply "be." Now, I feel like I'm twice as busy, but I also have time to literally "hang out." It's nice being at home with the boy because I get the chance to do this type of stuff. Jealous?

Cry, Baby, Cry

Logan has a variety of cries and I thought it might be fun to classify them. Here are a few of the more notable cry types.

• Cranky Cry: non-negotiable type of cry, grunty and raspy sounding, pierces to the soul, happens in the middle of the night and the morning, calls for quick attention, may be caused by upset tummy, lack of sleep, or just plain baby nastiness.
• Fussy Cry: more of a warning type cry that may lead to the cranky cry, can take the form of shrieking or small bursts of "ehs" or "uhs," best solved by an embrace, bottle, or breast.
• Cry of Pain: happens on rare occasions but when they do they break your heart, doctor's office is a common place for this to occur, been known to happen when nail-trimming, and clipping into baby swings where vulnerable baby thigh flesh may get pinched.
• Belly Cry: short bursts of whining that occur for reasons of attracting attention, Logan flips onto his stomach and proceeds to do a banshee impression for no good reason, if ignored the belly cry can morphe into other cries, or just go away as mysteriously as it came.
• Halfway Cry: generally an affable and good-natured baby, Logan often attempts to cry but doesn't really want to, so if you kiss his feet or tickle his ribs or make a goofy face at him or just pay attention to him, you might just be able to turn the halfway cry into a laugh or uncontrollable giggles.
• Help Me I'm Alone in My Crib and No One is Coming to Get Me Cry: this type of cry has happened rarely in the Hill household, but is starting to gain in popularity, it can last from 2 minutes to 45 minutes and varies in pitch, intensity, and tone, often characterized by excessive saliva, gasping for breath, and a red face this type of cry is difficult to let happen, but sometimes necessary, this type of cry involves body contortions as well, Logan thrashes his arms and legs, and often scoots around or flip-flops in his crib.

So these are a few of the cries I've noticed. Which ones have I missed?

A Tale of Two Nights

Wow...was last night different than the night before. As I mentioned, Logan slept really well the other night...nearly a five hour stretch. He also napped really well yesterday too. He took a two-hour nap from 2:30 to 4:30. Carly and I were hoping we were establishing new sleeping patterns. How wrong we were!

Last night was pretty horrific. He went down easily and slept for two and a half hours initially, but after that, he was up nearly every hour. And it wasn't just that he was up, he was up and crabby and awake. There's nothing quite like a shrieking, grunting child who is demanding to be walked around at 3:00 in the morning. Now that should be the end of the story. However, you'd be wrong. We have cats, and Earth and Moon have been known to be rather annoying at night too. Boy, were they on their game last night. Earth sometimes scratches at closed doors and won't quit until you get up and chase her. She did that last night many times. Moon has a tendency to jump all over you in the bed and knock over things on nightstands. Yup. That happened last night. Our poor Earth also tends to yack her half-digested food up. She puked three times last night accompanied by those horrible cat-throwing up sounds. Between a tough to soothe child and frisky felines, I bet Carly and I were awake at least ten times. Sucks for me, but is even worse for Carly who has to face five classrooms full of angst-ridden teenagers at work. She really needs a vacation from all this. A week of sleep would do her wonders, but she's too devoted to her work and her son to do that for herself. I think she should put in some earplugs at night and sleep in a different room. Maybe.

Bonus Entry

Logan got a chance to change his first tire today. Poor mommy drove into a pothole and popped the two passenger tires. Turns out the wheel rim was also bent and needed to be replaced. Anyway, Carly's carpool friends actually got her to work, and Logan and daddy came to the car's rescue and attempted to feed the car some donuts. Too bad the Pontiac Vibe donut didn't fit the Hyundai Elantra wheel. Can you picture it? Logan in his car seat on the wide shoulder of the road, and Daddy showing him how to unscrew lugnuts while cars and trucks whiz by, laughing at the poor schmuck with blown tires. Well, I had to get the car towed to Discount Tire, and there I got the good news that the rim was bent. All in all, we didn't really need that 500 dollars, right? Could have been worse...our house could be under 10 feet of water right now. It was a memorable morning, so I wanted to get it in the blog for posterity. I'm sure, "Bumps," I mean, Carly, is happy about that.

Night Time Miracle

You know that song, "oh what a night....do do do do do, do do do do do...late December back in '63, what a very special time for me, as I remember what a night."

I feel like singing that song this morning because last night was a night to remember at the Hill household. Logan actually slept!!! The answer to how long is as follows: he slept for 50 minutes the first time he went down, (8:45-9:35). He then was asleep from 9:45-2:30. Guess what, people? That's over a four and a half hour stretch! And it coulda, shoulda, woulda been longer had not Carly and I woken up and checked on him. We are so conditioned to waking up in the night that we woke up and were worried that something was wrong. So I tried to sneekily peek my head in Logan's nursery to check to see if he was breathing. He was comfortably sleeping on his tummy, and turned his head and whined in a way that was like, "who's opening my door?" Anyway, Carly nursed him again and he slept from 2:45 to 5:10. She said he was almost asleep again at 5:20, but Earth, our cat, shook her collar really loud at an inopportune moment and woke him up. No worries really. He went back to sleep at 6:05 on my shoulder. Hopefully he sleeps until around 7:30. We could definitely get used to only two interruptions in the night. Oh, what a night...do do do do do, do do do do do, late September back in 20-08, what a very special time for Logan, as I remember what a sleep.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

It was hard to let Carly go to work this morning--hard for me and for Logan. So we decided to go and visit her at 3:00 today. I showed up during the last few minutes of her last class period. It was funny because we caught her off guard a bit. Her freshmen students, which seemed really young, got a big kick out of seeing their teacher's baby. Once again, Logan brought out the smiles from nearly everyone. He is a very sociable lil' sprout.

I didn't actually "surprise" Carly at work today. We had planned it that I would stop by because she has a meeting tonight and didn't want to be away for the whole day. But still, she didn't expect me so early. We had a nice meal at Chili's and Logan was perfect. He really does seem to know when we are eating and adjusts his fussiness accordingly. Carly mentioned that in the past five months we have only been out (just the two of us) twice. Pretty crazy. Having a Logan around really changes the dynamic of a relationship. We are good with it, but plan on having a date night soon. Anyway, Logan slept well on the car ride home, and now we are going to read a book, play a little, have a bath, and drift off for night-night. How long will this initial sleep last...? I'll post the answer tomorrow.

Da Bears!

Logan watched a bit of da Bears game today. He wasn't all that interested, although to be honest, it was sort of a dull game. Let's see, what else did he do? He challenged Mike Ditka to an arm wrestling match, ate a polish sausage, and kicked a 55 yard field goal in the back yard. He then took a nap at half-time. When he awoke, he ate a large pizza, drank a case of Budweiser, and had triple bypass heart surgery. A day in the life of a Bears fan, I s'pose. As you can see by our little one's hand gesture, he was not happy with the final quarter of the game. Ahh, da Bears, such lovable losers.

What to Blog About?

Today has been a grumpy daddy day. I'm not sure why, but it's probably the weather. I shouldn't complain because people in the path of Hurricane Ike have it a lot worse, but our dumb basement has water in it. The window wells filled up and I actually bailed them out with a bucket. It's been raining for the past two days and will rain tomorrow. Rain, rain, go away!

Carly has been looking out for Logan most of the day. He's not napping, which is frustrating when you are trying to clean house and the like. He's just so animated and wide-eyed. He doesn't want to miss a second with us, which is endearing, but also exhausting. Carly got him to eat a tablespoon of rice cereal and he did really well. He is learning how to manage the spoon. Ughh. Even my blog entry is crappy today. Maybe I'll have something worthwhile to say tomorrow. Adieu.

Fresh Eyes

Logan and I went to Petco this morning to pick up some fish food for the goldfish in my backyard pond. It was an eye-opening experience for Logan. In fact, whenever we go shopping it seems Logan is awestruck. And when you stop and think about it stores really are interesting places. A myriad of colors, shapes, and lights assault our eyes, and we as adults have become desensitized to this baazar. Not so with a five month old. Logan was entranced by the tropical fish and birds. He smiled when looking at the turtles, and he was equally amused by the ferrets, although they were mostly sleeping. It made me want to buy all the animals and have a zoo in my home. Carly probably wouldn't be so keen on this idea though. Anyway, babies see the world with fresh eyes. Maybe we can learn something from them.

Bonus Blog Entry

Logan and I had a wet training run today and I thought it worth mentioning. We were about 40 minutes into the hour and 15 minute run when it decided to rain. Good thing the Chariot is luxurious and comes with rain gear. It was pretty cool because Logan slept through the driving rain all for the last five minutes. As a lot of you know, I am training for the Milwaukee marathon this October, along with my buddy, Adolfo, who will be running his first marathon. Since I have to train, Logan gets to come along. He seems to really like his jogging stroller, so we're happy about that.

Monkeying Around

In the morning, I've gotten into the habit of eating a bowl of multi-grain cheerios with a sliced up banana in them. Mmmmm. I usually plop down in front of Logan on his mat and eat my bowl of cereal all the while making funny faces and chewing noises at him. I'm sure he is going to grow up to have immaculate table manners. Today he was especially interested, and I wondered what would happen if I let him gnaw on a banana slice. At first he was a bit hesitant, but then once that banana flavor hit his tastebuds, he was like a little monkey. He only had the smallest little chunk, but he seemed to like it. Solid foods are going to be fun. I'm excited about that step. So in honor of his banana tasting, I staged a picture.

When You're Smiling...

I decided to visit school today because I was in the area picking up the dogs, (we are watching them for another three days). It was a bit strange for me to be back at Larkin High School, but not having to teach. Anyway, an interesting social/human phenomenon unfolded before my eyes. I knew of it previously, but never experienced it on this scale.

Logan was his normal chipper, happy-go-lucky self. He was in a good mood. And every time someone came up to us, he let out this huge grin in response to that person's smile. And it seemed every person that came up to us was smiling wide at the sight of Logan's cuteness. It was a crazy smiley good time. Logan got all this positive attention and he seemed to love it. It was really interesting in thinking about whether he was mirroring the people looking at him, or whether he was causing their smiles. I left with a feel-good buzz, so I can only imagine how Logan was feeling. Most people are attracted to babies and can't help grinning. It is cool.

Grasshopper

Logan and I have been enjoying the rest of our day together. Here we are playing in the garden.

Baby Resentment

I think Logan and I overdosed on each other yesterday because today we're getting on each other's nerves. I'm a tad frustrated with him. It's interesting how your mental state can color your perceptions. His little fusses and cries are not really endearing now. His desire to be held is sort of annoying, and his snotty nose, instead of raising sympathy in me, is a task that I'm resenting a bit. Not to mention that he's spit up like ten times today. He was up at 4:00 a.m. today and didn't want to sleep on the couch with me. It was maddening. He was asleep on my shoulder when we were standing up and walking, but if I was to sit down, get comfortable and relax, even though he was in the same position, he would tense up and let out a shriek. I had enough and gave him back to poor Carly who was understandably annoyed and cranky. I feel bad that she gets no sleep and has to work, but what's a poor, inadequate pop supposed to do?

Ok. Enough complaining. It's a nice day out today, the house is clean, I feel good so I'm going to change my attitude. Despite his protests, he actually fell asleep for this nap without being completely knocked out before being placed in his crib. That's positive. As for that Shakespeare quote I talked about in my entry yesterday, here it is:

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in [Daddy's arms]. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school....

- William Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

These are the Days of Our Lives

Carly has Open House at her school so Logan and I spent the entire day together. I just put him down for the night (hopefully). I have to admit, it was a great day. Despite the rain, Logan and I had a bright day. We were in a parent-child rhythm. I knew when he was hungry, when he was getting sleepy, and when he needed entertainment. He let me eat my meals in relative peace, go grocery shopping at Jewel, run some errands for Carly, and even prepare the basement floor for painting. On days like this it makes me wonder why we didn't have kids sooner.

Logan has eaten quite a bit today, but he hasn't had a dirty diaper. I wonder why the works aren't working. It's not a big deal, but it's unusual for him. As strange and twisted as it sounds, I've been sad not to see a poopoo diaper. What am I saying?

What else happened today? We had a fun experience right before bath time...Logan decided it was the perfect moment to pee on my moccasin slipper. Oh well. I guess it makes the slippers more native and authentic. And it looks like we're going to have to break into the freezer this week for some milkcicles. He doesn't seem to enjoy dethawed breast milk as much as the fresh stuff, but he'll get used to it. Oh...and Logan's cold is still hangin' on a bit. He's been snotty and I've been using the nose plunger a lot. Now he hates the thing for the most part, but Daddy knows best, because after you suck out a gross boogie, he can breathe so much better and feed without sounding like Darth Vadar. Well, I suppose I'll stop discussing baby fluids and the like. What is that Shakespeare quote about mewing, puking children? I'll have to google it.

Sleeping Beast

I really haven't blogged too much about it, but Logan does not sleep well. He wakes himself up with flailing arms and in turn, this wakes up his poor Mommy and Daddy. We have other friends who have complained about their child's sleeping habits. Those children wake up around 2:00 a.m., then again around 5:00 a.m., and that is bad.

Well, Logan tends to wake up nearly every hour on a bad night, and every other hour on a good night. We have created a monster with our accursed warm arms and soothing voices! It seems Logan needs to be close to us in order to sleep. He has a problem being alone in his crib or self-soothing at night, even when he is ridiculously tired. We try not to let him get tired, but the kid fights naps too. Co-sleeping is fine, but we want to get away from that for the most part.

Although we are making progress in the sleep battles, it's a bit frustrating because we never know what the night has in store for us. He has slept in three, four, and a heavenly five hour stretch before, but we don't know how to replicate those sleeping stretches consistently.

Logan's sleeping is on my mind because last night around 7:30 we put him in his crib and let him cry it out. We checked on him twice, but he was quite stubborn last night, crying for an hour before he was quiet--no doubt sleeping from exhaustion or a sore voice or just because we broke his little heart. There's got to be an easier way. I don't know. Tough love is tough. He needed to sleep and wasn't being soothed or feeding, so we let him cry. Sometimes enough is enough and you need to let the sleeping beast cry, I guess.

Five months ago...

Today, Logan is five months old. I can hardly believe it. I'm a pretty nostalgic person (even though I have a terrible memory) so I think this is a good opportunity to reflect on the past five months. I feel wistful and a bit melencholy that these past five months are in the past. Time has that annoying habit of moving quickly.

Logan is not independent by any stretch of the imagination, however, it seems like yesterday that he was a newborn. He was so tiny and vulnerable. He was so precious. A lot has happened in these past five months, and it feels like a blur. I hope that Carly and I can live up the moments with Logan and slow time a bit.

My writing isn't flowing well now, so I'll post an adorable picture of Logan instead. Until tomorrow.

Tooty: the 8th Dwarf

Logan can really pass the gas. You wouldn't think such a small baby could create the necessary force for such loud noises, but you'd be wrong. He is a champion farter. No one ever tells you that your child is going to make these noises. Obviously, you are aware on some level that they will fart, but being present when a massive rip occurs is something else.

Logan's best ones are in the morning around 5ish. The pressure in his belly actually rouses him from sleep and Carly and I help the process along a bit by pushing his knees to his belly. Another amazing feature of Logan's gas is the duration. Boy, does he have sustaining power. I've timed a quick succession of farts at just under 30 seconds...the longest ones can last for over 10 seconds. Truly, it is a natural wonder that such a small person can make such powerful noises. On the bright side of all this, his gas doesn't have an odor yet. But next month we introduce solid foods, so I suppose we will have to wait and see.

Cling-on child

Logan did not want to be put down today. He was velcroed to me and would whine if he was out of my arms for a moment. Is velcroed a word? It very much reminded me of those National Geographic shows where little chimps cling to their mothers or in this case, father. My chest isn't nearly as hairy, but he sure was grabbing at me.

It's been a soggy day of almost non-stop rain so perhaps Logan was feeling insecure. I couldn't even put him down for his naps. This is also day three of his cold. It's traveled from his nose to his chest back to his nose. It's terrible having a sick child. He had a good nap today...bonus.

Kind of a drab entry today. I suppose it's the weather. I wanted to get all Star Trekky with the whole kling-on thing, but I'm not witty enough to pull it off. Until tomorrow.

Downward Dog Master

Logan is into yoga it seems. Right now he is practicing his downward dog pose. Now that he can flip to and from his stomach with relative ease, he has decided to push up with his arms. It's totally amazing. I know, I know. Doesn't sound that exciting. I mean, who can't push up on their arms when their on their stomach. But really, it is such a cool development in the baby world. Logan seems a bit advanced. He is not even five months yet, and already he's got most of the precursors for crawling. Can't wait for that. So how do you babyproof a house? Have daddy leave it. Ha! Bad joke.

In case you can't tell, I'm really impressed with my boy right now. It's like he's willing himself to do as many repetitions as he possibly can. Every time he's on his belly he's doing a push up. I wonder what the presidential physical fitness standards are for five month olds? Look at the intensity on that face. He's feeling the burn in this picture!

Photo

I am playing around with the layout of the blog and was wondering if this way is better?

So many choices I'm not sure what I like the best.

I'm not sure if I even remember what it originally looked like. Oh well.

Dog Fighting at the Hill Household

We are dogsitting this week for my parents who are in Europe. Bindie and Nicky have invaded our kitchen, basement, garage, and backyard. So far it's been fun for some, and anxiety-ridden for others. Logan and I have been enjoying the dogs. They like to wrestle and snarl at each other, and Logan lights up when watching them. I hope I don't have a future Michael Vick on my hands. Then again, I'd like Logan to have the athletic ability of Vick...but no, it ain't a good trade-off.

So, the cats and Carly aren't all that enthused about the doggies. Carly is ok with them actually, but the cats seem full of angst. They just sit at the gate and hiss when Bindie approaches. They haven't been brave enough to enter the kitchen when the dogs are there. I felt like they weren't going potty enough, so I brought up a litter box from the basement. Why am I writing about this?

The moral of this entry is that Logan really seems to like dogs. I think we should get one. Logan has gotten more sick today and is really snotty and sneezy and coughy. It's nice having Bindie around because she licks off the snot and drool from Logan's face. Gross, but effective. A solid reason to get a dog, right?

Sneezes and Coughs

It looks as if Logan is sick. He's been sneezing quite a bit and he has this pitiful little cough that breaks your heart. It's almost as if he is pretending to cough. Carly put a small amount of baby Vick's Vapo Rub on his chest because he's a bit snotty. It looks as if the germs from West Aurora high school have infected our poor little boy. Carly is a bit under the weather too.

Logan seems to be in good spirits, although his naps have been a bit longer than usual. Maybe a little cold will have a bonus to it. Anyway, in honor of labor day I think this will be all I write for today. Hopefully tomorrow Logan will have had a miraculous recovery.