Punishment From the Gods

Logan had a terrible, terrible, terrible night. He first woke up at 10:45, just as we had fallen asleep. No biggie, right? I cuddled him a bit and he went back down. For me, the night wasn't so terrible because I guess I slept through the 11:00 p.m. through 3:00 a.m. crying (although I was having dreams which involved crying children in them) but for Carly it was horrific since she couldn't sleep through it. I guess he woke up every half hour or so, whining/crying enough to wake Carly up and then proceeded to be quiet for another 20-30 minutes. Carly finally got around to relaxing and snoozing and then he would stir again and wake her up. This happened over and over and over again. I got my fill of it during the early morning hours. From about 3:30 to 5:00 he was constantly stirring around. (And oh yeah, you have to love two cats scratching at the mini blinds wanting to look out). I thought sitting up with him would calm him down. He had ants in his pants the whole time he was resting on me. Everything would seem so comfortable and quiet and then he would feel the need to kick his leg or shift his head or flail his arms and readjust his position. It was maddening. Why oh why oh why is this happening? Can antibiotics have this sort of side effect? Are his ears bothering him? Is his diaper rash making sleeping uncomfortable? Is he sprouting a tooth? A combination of all of this? It feels like we are being punished for past karmic deeds. Perhaps we are. Well, Carly is off to work...

Fever Has Broken!

Last night was not a fun one, but Logan's fever broke this morning which was good. He was his happy, energetic self in the morning. After failing to take a morning nap he became increasingly crabby. Perhaps it was because I stopped giving him tylenol, or perhaps it was because he was just tired. He managed to go down for all of 45 minutes around 1:00 and proceeded to drive me insane for about 2 and a half hours of crying and general fussiness. I was happy that Carly came home. That is all I have to say right now. Sorry my blog has been atrocious for about two weeks. I've lost my verve...but I'm working on getting it back soon.

Hopefully Not Like Father Like Son

Logan has an ear infection--his first. The doctor gave us a ten day prescription for antibiotics and we were on our way. She also said he had "icky tonsils" and did a throat swab, but then threw it away because? she didn't need to test it since he was getting antibiotics for the ear infection, I guess?

It was a bit gross since she was able to scoop out some ear wax that looked sort of bloody. I feel bad for lil' Logan because I'm sure it doesn't feel good. When I was a kid ear infections were my thing, so much so that I had my adnoids taken out and tubes in my ears. Hopefully Logan can avoid that fate.

It feels better to know what was causing the fever, but his whole sickness thing is still frustrating. He's been sick for nearly a month now. And the last time I took him in they said he had a bruised ear drum...hmmm...sounds suspicious...perhaps it was the infection starting? Anyway, hope the fever goes down and the antibiotics do the trick.

Worried

Logan has had a temperature all day and it is worrisome because we don't know why. 104.3 is not the oldie radio station, but rather what the thermometer said the first time. Scary! Carly and I both freaked out and were frantic for a bit. We gave him tylenol, put him in a lukewarm bath, and put some cool towels on his forehead. An hour later his temp. went down two degrees, but it's pretty obvious Logan isn't feeling well. He can't sleep or nap, isn't too interested in food, and is entirely cuddly. He's with his Momma right now, head nestled on her chest.

We contemplated an E.R. trip, but after some internet research and phone calls to parents and the doctor, cooler heads have prevailed so to speak. I'll take him in tomorrow and he'll probably get a blood test to rule out a bacterial infection.

It's been a bit of a crazy day. And I turn on the t.v. and see 86 people have died in Mexico from the swine flu. Yikes.

Day of Firsts

Today I changed Logan's car seat from rear facing to front facing. Very exciting. He seemed to really enjoy seeing me and I nearly got into an accident from looking at him in our rear view mirror.

Logan also had a serious tantrum today. Not his first tantrum I guess, but I suppose it's the first tantrum that I've fully recognized as a tantrum. He was inconsolable. Ok. Gotta go now. Playing poker tonight.

Babysitting

I spent a few hours tilling the garden today with an electric rototiller. Thankfully my mom was able to watch Logan. It's nice being able to do once in a while without the little rugrat around. Tilling a garden with a mean ol' rototiller is not something you want to try with a crawling/walking baby around. Anyway, Logan got along well with my mom and she even put him down for a nap. He was tired and put his head on her shoulder after a big bottle.

Battling the Bottle

It's around that time when we should be starting to wean Logan off the bottle and formula and on to cups and whole milk. He seems to do fine with the whole milk and is literally getting a handle on the sippy cup thing but he does enjoy his bottle and I'm wondering if it's going to be a difficult process this weaning. Just a few minutes ago Logan was being a morning crab and was ready for his nap. Since we're out of formula and we had some milk in his sippy cup already from breakfast I thought I'd break the routine and give him some nice, cold refreshing whole milk to put him down for his nap. I think it was the delivery method via the sippy cup that set him off. He thrashed and cried after a few sips and I could read what he was thinking: "this is not a bottle, Dad...I WANT A BOTTLE!!!" He didn't eat much, all the while showing off his mighty fury, but as I calmly held him and then put him in his crib he stopped crying and quietly went to sleep with his newly-washed blanket. I am not deterred despite the unwelcome change in behavior this morning. I think I will try the sippy cup all day today. I hope the next attempts go better.

Doctor Visits

Doctor visits are a waste of time, except when they aren't. I took Logan to the doctor today because he has had a cold for close to three weeks now. He never had a fever (that we know of) and he has never been so terrible that we were freaked out or anything. It has just been a nagging cold that won't go away. Symptons: snotty nose, phleghmy cough, sneezing, goopy eyes, etc. I don't know why I decided to take him to the pediatrician because I knew that they weren't going to do anything, but I did and guess what: they didn't do anything. It still made me feel better though. I did learn that he has a bruised eardrum, perhaps from coughing too hard. Doesn't sound like fun. Anyway, I wish that I could magically make my child unsick but it doesn't work like that. Bummer.

DooDee on the Floor-ee

We had a rather comic moment a few minutes ago as our naked baby proceeded to doodee on the kitchen floor. Mom made Logan a really good dinner and he ate well, black bean burgers and lentils and mandarin oranges and milk. Logan spilled a lot of milk on his clothes so he was due for a change. He was awfully squirmy and suffering from a bit of diaper rash so I thought it would be alright for a little naked time. Naked baby was crawling around enjoying the freedom and feel of his nudity and decided he felt like pooping...right on the floor. He seemed awfully proud of himself, giggling as his Mom and Dad chuckled in disgust.

Great Grandma's 75th

Logan is doing well and likes the new crib George and Rene got for him. He slept alright last night and is taking a long nap right now. Um...I don't think I want to write anymore right now.

Logan's New Trick

Logan has been throwing his blanket out of his crib and then refusing to nap. It's a dirty lil' trick because when he doesn't have his blanket he cries and when he is crying he's not sleeping. Anyway, he pulled that trick on the car ride down to Alton as well. He was in his car seat and would throw his blanket on the other seat, then whine that he wanted it back.

Strange Day

It's been an odd day here at the Hill casa. Logan took a really long nap in the morning, over two hours, so I got the chance to clean the garage and start on Paulo Coelho's book, The Alchemist. I was very much absorbed in this "international bestselling phenomenon" and actually just finished it. It's a little over 150 pages so I shouldn't be so surprised, and yet, it always does surprise me when I finish a book in a day or two...I guess it's just the soul of the world working through me. I haven't really been reading lately so it felt good to do so. Anyway, Logan is napping again (sort of)...perhaps he is finally fighting off this cold that he has or perhaps I wore him out from playing in the backyard. The weather has been tremendous and Logan and I have spent a lot of time hanging outside. We both enjoy basking in the sun although I was starting to wonder about the whole "sun is evil" thing so I put a hat on him. I strung the clothesline outside and dried a load of laundry in the sun and breeze...how do you stop things from wrinkling on a clothesline? Anyway, time has sort of inched along today, and yet I feel as though the day has also gone quickly. Perhaps I too am throwing off the funk that I've been in. We could all use some spring cleaning, I think.

A Year in Pictures

Every month we took a picture of Logan and put it into a frame. I got very excited as we filled each space and now that it's done I find myself sad. Logan is really a year old and we've got the photographs to prove it.

Acrostic Poem

How 'bout an acrostic poem using Logan's name.

I'll call it: Monkey Boy

L-over of blueberry flesh, refried beans, and graduate puffs,
O-rangutan of the hill household, clinging on to Dad as snot drips down his nose,
G-ah, gah, gah, mah, bah, dah echo his calls through the jungle of our house,
A-nd he explores fervently, intelligently examining colorful toys and wooden blocks.
N-ow walking on two feet, evolving as we speak: our monkey boy, our Logan.

Wow...what a terrible poem. Haven't tried that in a while. I'm embarrassed to post but I'll do so anyway.

The Ol' Blueberry Trick

I just got finished bribing Logan. You see, he loves blueberries...will do almost anything for them. Aside from getting him to sit, rollover, and speak, blueberries are also good for getting him to eat foods that he is not the most thrilled about. I wanted to feed him some garden vegetables and sweet potatoes and chicken but he wasn't into it. So, I gave Logan a few blueberries, then proceeded to hold them in front of him while simultaneously holding a spoon full of garden vegetables. He has played this game before, with his Mom, the inventor of blueberry bribes, and so Logan gulped down the garden vegetables and then eagerly used his sophisticated pincer grasp to capture the blueberry. Once he devoured that it was onto the next spoonful and the next blueberry. He ate the whole bowl of food that I prepared for him and got a bellyful of blueberries. Lunch is finito!

Easter Marathon

Logan barely slept a wink yesterday. Easter is no time for napping, I suppose. He didn't nap before church, he didn't nap in the afternoon at my folks' house, and he didn't even fall asleep on the car ride home which was at his normal bedtime. It seems he really wanted his bath before sleep. Anyway, the only nap that Logan took yesterday was when we were driving to my parents' house--and that took about 30 minutes. One would think that Logan would be crabby without napping, but that's not the case. He was a happy and content baby, being sociable and awfully cute. Sure his eyes were a bit droopy, but that only added to his charm. It was a nice Easter.

In Quest of an Easter Outfit

We went to the outlet mall in search of an Easter outfit for Logan. We went to OshKosh, Carters, Baby Gap, and all sorts of other places seeking out the elusive cute Spring get-up. We finally settled on a green plaid shirt with khakis and a sweater vest. So it looks like Logan will be all pimped out for the Easter festivities. Yeah.

It's a Good Friday

Logan decided to forgo his two a.m. wake up last night (he's done it all week) so Carly and I got a full night's sleep. It was a nice weekend surprise and we got a good start to the long Easter weekend. We made eggs benedict this morning while Logan grumpily cried and drooled, begging to be picked up. I don't know why but he's been crabby in the morning despite how well he slept the night before. I think it's his teeth. Anyway, we have his 12 month appointment today at the doctor. Carly is worried about the MMR vaccine, I think. I don't really share her concern. I don't like the idea of shots, but then again I don't think they will give him autism either. And I don't feel like re-hashing the arguments for and against either so I'll just end this blog post with a few Logan pictures. Enjoy!

Hey, Dad

Today, Logan distinctively said, "hey, Dad" amongst all his baby babblings. I tried to get him to repeat the sweet phrase, but he didn't.

Nappy McNapperson

Logan has been sleeping up a storm today and that has been a good thing because when he's been awake he's been a clingy, snotty lil' monster. I was attempting to fix a computer issue with my anti-virus software and was doing a chat with the technician. Call me paranoid, but I let Harish take over control of my computer and then he proceeds to delete my anti-virus software, only to reload it. He eventually fixed the problem, but I stopped him a few times to ask questions. It seemed suspect, like I was on some sort of copycat site and he was infecting my computer. Anyway, it all turned out fine except when I was attempting to fix this problem Logan was crying and causing a general ruckus. I can't blame the kid because his teeth hurt and he's sick, but he wouldn't stop. And now he's awake so I got to go.

Balloons Can Go "Pop"

Logan and I have had a solid day even though I wiped his green snotty nose about a million times (he hates it). Although he does enjoy it when I try to teach him to blow out through his nose. Why he thinks that is so hilarious I don't know.
It was just him and me today since Carly had parent teacher conferences tonight. Anyway, he absolutely loves his birthday balloons and has been getting very friendly with them. He was really wrestling with them and being aggressive, attempting to bite them and I thought for sure they were going to pop on him, but they didn't because I took them away. I realized that he had no idea balloons could pop and I found that really amazing. He doesn't know a lot of things. This is both a good thing and something that will eventually change. Eventually, a balloon will pop on him and he'll probably get scared and then he'll know that balloons can pop. Lesson learned. But the cool thing about being a parent is that I get to create and manipulate this "learning environment." If I was all hands off I would let him pop a balloon by himself so it would scare him and then he'd be getting a lesson from the school of hard knocks. But instead, I think tomorrow we'll do an experiment in balloon popping. Together we'll pop a balloon; I'll be teaching him that sometimes unexpected things happen and that's ok. He won't have to go it alone on this nugget of experience.

Bun in the Oven

Our little bun came out of the oven exactly one year ago (to the minute). We decided to recreate the magical event in this picture. Ain't Logan a cute one year old?

First Birthday Bash!

Logan's first birthday bash was a success. A good time had by all, I believe. The house was a bit cozy and we had a bit too much pizza, but overall everything went well and we hope everybody had a good time. Logan definitely had fun because he was exhausted afterwards and went to sleep at 6:00. Wow, did he get the stash of toys, clothes, and other assorted presents. Even though we put "your presence is the only presents he needs," it seems everyone ignored our request. Logan thanks you. He's going to have all sorts of fun with the new stuff. Well, I'm posting some pics and crashing. G'night.

Caaaahhht!

Logan doesn't have the largest vocabulary in the world, but he does know some words. We hear "cat" quite frequently, as well as "Dad, Dah, DaDa," and other assorted "D" words. Logan can say "Ma, Mama, and Mom," and we've also noticed that he points and says "that". He likes to sing and go "yayayayayayayaya...lalalalalalalala!" Basically, this is the extent of his words as he nears his first birthday. Pretty cool.

Ye of Little Blogging

It's been a bit hectic around here because Carly and I are prepping for Logan's first birthday party. Haven't made the time for blogging. Sorry.

We all had a nice day today. We met Logan's possible baby sitter for next year. She seemed nice. She was a montessori teacher and actually will be having a class twice a week...my lil' cousin Kaleb will attend. Her house is gorgeous and her four little girls are all cute and well-behaved. Hopefully it works out. Let's see, what else did we do besides clean and prep? We went for a nice long walk to the bike store to look at baby helmets, then decided he didn't need one. Logan ate some thai food, skipped his afternoon nap, and did a little art project that will debut at his party. More substantial blog tomorrow.

Time With Grandpa

Logan was bathed and put to sleep by Grandpa Hill tonight. I had Rhetoric class and Carly got free New Kids on the Block tickets so she went to the Quad Cities with some friends to see them. I know....NKOTB? You've got to be kidding. But no, she went. Anyway, Gramps did a good job and Logan was happy and slept well.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Logan is the fairest of them all...or at least that's what he thinks. Logan has been giving his reflection kisses ever since his Mom left for her dentist appointment. It's really cute and very funny watching him lick the mirror. He seems to like looking at his reflection almost as much as attempting to pull the mirror down. He hasn't ever expressed too much interest in his reflection since recently.