Tooth #1 & Florida pictures

Ok, before I forget: Logan finally cut his first tooth 3 days ago! He is now sporting one little tooth on the bottom! It has been a miserable, slobbery journey, and I know this is just the beginning. Casey's mother informed me that they never knew when Casey was about to get a tooth--the teeth just popped up with no warning. How nice for them. :-P Both of my kids, however, run a low-grade fever, cry a LOT, drool incessantly, and are basically mad at life through the whole process. How long does teething last? I think I've blocked that part out of my memories from Abby's first year or two of life...

For those who might still care, here are a few pictures from our family vacation in Florida last month. There are about a million, so I'll try to just sum it up with a few highlights. For the whole shebang, checkout the album on Facebook or Snapfish. :)

Abby & Mommy rocked the back seat of the rental suburban

We ate at Toucan's (on the beach) for Peter's birthday

We played in the ocean and made some awesome sand & seaweed creations

Logan started rolling consistently from back to front and sitting on his own!

Abby dug into Nana's craft box and made these amazing hats

Tara, Peter, & Dad chartered a boat and went deep-sea fishing!

We got back into Nana's craft box to paint frames & glue on seashells we found

We played pool a little

We rested... a lot :)

And we took a few family pictures on the beach at sunset

A good time was had by all. :) Sorry that took so long, but there they are. If I can find another moment to sit down like this soon, I'll try to get a few pictures posted from our trip to Ohio this month!

6-month check up

Logan is 6 months old today! This is completely ridiculous, by the way. I'm pretty sure he was just born yesterday. I was eager to make sure he was better today since we found out he had strep on July 4--not fun. He had his first fever of 101 for 3 days over the weekend before we could get him checked out on that Monday. Most doctor's wouldn't have even checked for strep since it is so rare in babies this young, but his throat looked awful! The test was positive, of course, because this poor baby is a member of the Cochran clan. Bless his heart. :) One round of antibiotics later, the strep and ear infection in his right ear are all cleared up! He still has a lot of congestion and seems to be having allergy problems that won't clear up, so we are going to try a nasal steroid spray to relieve some of that inflammation. I just want him to be able to breathe!

At the appointment today, Logan weighed in at 20 lbs 3 oz (87%ile) and was 27 1/2 inches long (83%ile). Big boy! He just started having to wear 12 month clothing over the past week--crazy! I think we're going to have to move him up to a bigger car seat pretty soon, too. We're barely squeezing him into the one he has! Thankfully, I think we can give him Abby's car seat and get Abby a new one for only $50. I found a new one for her that has great ratings at Walmart and Amazon.com. Not bad!

Even while he has been sick, Logan is a very happy baby! He loves to laugh at his big sister--she is so funny! :) He can roll from front to back and back to front, so he is starting to maneuver his way around a room. He wants to crawl so badly, but we're not there yet. He is getting much more stable with sitting on his own. His torso is just a little too big for his short legs to manage, so he still topples over sometimes! ;) So far, he loves to eat baby food that is mixed with rice cereal. If it's not thick enough, he doesn't want it! Favorites include green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears. The only one he hasn't cared for so far is applesauce, but we'll try again soon. We are just trying out Puffs for the first time, so he's learning how to chew. The boy loves his food!

Happy 6-months, sweet boy! We love you!!!

June (minus the big FL trip)

I'm home with a sick baby this morning (Logan's first fever of 101) , so I actually have time for another update! He is drugged and sleeping in the swing, so I'll do what I can while he's resting. Make sure to read the previous post about May--it took a while to get it all on here. :) I'm saving the big vacation trip for another post, but here's what happened the rest of June:

Abby got her first ride on a four-wheeler... that didn't move.... in the middle of the mall. Ok, so I'm not that brave of a mom. Sue me.

Another one of Abby's friends turned 3--it's an epidemic! I am not ready for her to join the 3-year-old crowd in August, but I know it's coming up soon. She had a blast at Adalyn's princess party with swimming, jumping and sliding in the castle bounce house they rented, and eating the castle cake made by Sassy Sweets--it was amazing! Of course, I have no pictures of any of those events, but here's one of all of the party guests. Precious!

Logan had his first "swim" in a pool, but he's not a huge fan of the bright sun. Maybe if we could find an indoor pool... :) And one of his new favorite things is to read books with Daddy and Abby. This makes Mommy very happy!

Abby is learning to write her name! She explains it like this as she writes it: "Up, down, over. Stick and around. Stick and around. Then a 'y'." :) I wrote her name on the sidewalk, and she wrote it right underneath that!

And just for the record: I'm a good mom. Really. (Don't judge me.)

And then there was May

Here's what happened in May (for those who might still check this blog once a month just in case I ever happen to update):

Abby "graduated" from the 2- & 3-year old class at Carpenter's Kids. They sang some songs for the parents, and we got to have lunch with them on their last day. Even Daddy got to come!

We got to join up with Tara and Peter in Memphis for Mother's Day weekend. It was so good to get the whole family back together! Abby even got to help Pawpaw make the shrimp skewers for our Sunday grill out--she was so excited to help out. :)

Logan turned 4 months old on May 13! He weighed in at 16 lbs 5 oz (77%ile) and was 25 3/4" (78%ile). He was already fitting quite comfortably into 6-9 month clothing! At this point, he could roll from front to back and was trying desperately to roll from back to front. He loves to push up on his arms and see the world around him, and he LOVES to laugh at his funny sister!

The kids and I travelled to Northwest Arkansas to visit one of my very best friends from HU and be there for her daughter's birthday party. I can't believe Hallie is 3 years old! Abby and Hallie are destined to be Harding roommates. We have gotten together enough over the years that both girls ask periodically when they get to play together again. Love it! Abby also came home from the party with her first tattoo. ;)

Linds & Tim

Happy birthday, Hallie Grace!

Abby and I were in desperate need of haircuts, so we both went in to chop it all off. This was our first time with Mrs. Betty, and we love her! She convinced me to give Abby bangs since her hair is always in her face, but Betty is in charge of keeping them trimmed every few weeks. I'm just not "that mom." My mom was "that mom," but she also has a steady calligrapher's hand so we weren't traumatized as children when she trimmed our bangs. :)

These are just a few extra pictures from daily life that month that I love and want to share:

Abby & Adalyn--best friends!

Their faces totally crack me up in this one. :)

Still to come: the month of June & the Curtis family vacation in Florida! I'm making progress, right??

Wrapping up April

I know it's June now, but quite a bit has happened over the past couple of months that I want to remember. For now, let's start with April and see how long it gets.... May might need a separate post. :)

Casey had his birthday at the beginning of April, and Abby picked out a cake at Wal-Mart that she just knew Daddy had to have! To this day, no one knows why she thought this, but it was pretty funny--and surprisingly yummy!

Abby's friend, Claira, also had her 3rd birthday party (a tea party) in April where Abby got to dress up and paint her nails for the first time. It was a really big deal. Since she loved it so much, we have used that as a motivator to stay dry and go in the potty. If she is dry for a whole day, we paint nails the next day; if she has more than one accident in a day, the polish comes off. "Only big girls get to wear nail polish, and big girls go in the potty!" Abby has now been dry for over a week, and she wears big girl panties everywhere we go! Her current favorite nail polish is purple. :)

In an attempt to be like Aunt Tara and Aunt Candy, Abby has been using her doctor's kit regularly... mostly on Fancy Nancy.

Abby got to do two Easter egg hunts this year--one at Nana & Pawpaw's church, and one at Carpenter's Kids (preschool). She still isn't overly fond of walking through grass or putting her hands down in the grass and dirt to retrieve eggs, but she had a lot of fun and loves the candy!

For those who know Keevin & Susan Gray, this is their granddaughter, Lyla (Rachel's daughter). Abby loves playing with Lyla! There's probably a picture similar to this somewhere of me and Rachel around this age... ;)

Daddy got to come to school for the egg hunt on his lunch break!

At the end of April, my sweet Mamaw turned 80! All of her kids got to come in town, and we had a lot of fun visiting. We had dinner at Colton's, and then dessert at Aunt Carol's house. I cannot tell you how much I love this picture:

Abby loved spending time with Great-Aunt Donna! She's so fun. :)

We didn't manage to get a picture of the whole family at Easter, but I at least got one of each of the kids, and Casey got one of me with Logan. Maybe we'll do better next year... ;)

The month wrapped up with warmer weather, playing outside, and starting my new job. I have started testing kids under the age of 3 for developmental delays. I start my first therapy patient towards the end of this month, so it looks like I'm going to be getting a little busier! I love that I can work on my own schedule, and I have a wonderful friend who watches my kids for me. When school starts back in the fall, she'll only have Logan, which will be a lot easier. I don't think I can get to May events yet (this took forever!), but at least I'm a little less behind. I'll end with my final favorite pictures from the month. Stay tuned for May! :)