10 weeks

Logan had his 2-month checkup today, including his first shots. I hate when they have to get shots, but he was a trooper. I cannot believe that he will be 10 weeks old on Thursday. It seems like time is going by so quickly, but at the same time, I can't imagine what it was like before he was here! He really is such a good baby. If he cries, there is a definite reason for it! We are still working out feeding issues, but the medicine seems to be helping a lot with the reflux. With as much rice cereal as we add to each bottle, I feel like we might as well be giving it to him on a spoon!! He weighed in today at 12 lbs (58th percentile) and 22 3/4 inches (30th percentile). He's becoming a little chunk. :) I have managed to catch his smile on camera a few times, especially when he is laying down on his back. He loves the play mat Nana got for him, and his favorite place to sleep is the swing. Like his big sister, he sleeps the best on his tummy (much to the despair of my pediatric nurse). He is a big fan of the pacifier, but I have recently caught him locating his thumb. We have had a few nights here and there where he will sleep for 6 or 7 hrs straight, so I'm hoping this becomes more of a regular occurrence. :)

Abby is madly in love with her "baby brudder," and she tells anyone who will listen that he is her "baby brudder Logan." She gets very concerned when he cries and promptly informs me that I need to get him a bottle almost every time. The girl knows the importance of food. ;) If people try to be funny with her and ask if Logan can go home with them, she will respond with a very stern and serious, "No you can NOT take him home! He goes home wif ME!" at which point most people fall over themselves reassuring her that they will not be taking Logan home with them. She's very persuasive.

Logan, you are such a sweet boy, and we love you very much!!

Potty talk

I wrote down this conversation so I wouldn't forget it. She was just so matter-of-fact about it all! It was too funny. Do you think she'll forgive me someday for recording conversations about her bowels?? ;)

Potty training with Abby. 3/15/11

Me: I want you to try to poop, Abby.

A: I can't. It's stuck.

Me: Well, just try one time.

A: I cannot try! It will not come out!

Me: Can you toot?

A: I can't toot. There are NO toots!

Me: Well, let's just try one time.

A: (in her very serious voice) Mommy, sometimes it works. Sometimes it does not work. Right now, it is NOT working.

Well, ok then. :)

It's March already?!

I'm not really even sure where to begin, so I'm just going to rattle off whatever randomness pops into my head. Ready? Go.

Logan went back to the doctor yesterday for some tummy pain he seems to be having. It's tough getting everything regulated with his reflux, but I think we're moving in the right direction. The Prevacid seems to be helping, and we're using formula that has added rice starch in it PLUS we're adding rice cereal. Needless to say, the boy is getting big! He will be 8 weeks old tomorrow (what?!), and he weighed in at 11 lbs 12 oz yesterday. He's finally in the 59th percentile instead of the 11th! My babies might start out small, but I can get them chubby pretty quick. ;)

I started meeting with a group of girls for a weekly yoga session for the first time Monday night, and it was wonderful! I'm still fairly sore today, so I think that's a good sign. We had a lot of fun, and it was nice to be out of the house for an hour or so without the kids (thanks, honey!). I'm looking forward to meeting with these girls each week and (hopefully) getting back into some pants that have been sitting on a shelf for a while.

Merely 3 weeks after we had Logan, we moved into a duplex across town. It's actually a little bit smaller than our apartment was (if that's even possible), but it's a LOT cheaper so we couldn't pass up the opportunity. The transition has been insane--I'm not sure what we were thinking with the timing--but I think we're finally getting settled. The next goal is to go through everything in our storage unit so we can downsize. We have a family yard sale planned for the end of March with some friends, and I am so excited to do that! I think we have quite a bit to get rid of, and we're going to try to eliminate the need for the storage unit. I've already been purging a lot of the kids' clothes at consignment sales, and it has been wonderful. It feels so nice to have the (much needed) money instead of the (not so needed) stuff!

Casey was informed last Monday that the clinic he works for isn't doing so well and that he no longer had a job. Then on Thursday (his "last day"), they told him that half of the staff complained that he was being laid off instead of another coworker so they decided to fire her instead and keep Casey on for 4 days a week. So to sum up, the good news: Casey still has a job; the bad news: it's only part-time now. Awesome. Let the job search resume...

I am supposed to start a part-time job doing developmental therapy soon, but we're waiting on paperwork to go through so there's no telling how long that will take. Yes, this is the same job I was supposed to start a year ago. I was planning to start at the end of this month or beginning of April, but Casey's job situation bumped up my timetable a little bit. I thought I could just start right up, but apparently it's going to be a while. Again--awesome.

I am 28 years old today. Again--what?! Here are my hopes for the next year: enjoy my time with my two sweet children while they are still this young and at home, spend more time with my husband who would also like some of my attention and time, start this new job to help my family financially and help the kids who are in need of therapy, finish my masters degree (I should graduate in May of 2012). Is that too much to ask??

Abby has now been potty training for a year. She will be 3 in August, so I know there is still time..... however, I fear that she will still be in Pull-Ups when she is 16. She knows how to do it, but she lacks the motivation. Her teacher informed me this morning that maybe I should offer her a car. I might've considered that option for a minute. Don't judge me.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for... pictures! :) My pretty princess and sweet little man:

Toddler observations

Abby, noticing a squirrel in a tree as we were driving down the road: "Look, Mommy! That squirrel is way up in that tree! Just like Zacchaeus was way up in the tree and Jesus said, 'You come down from there!'"

While reading a book about the birth of Jesus: "Look! Jesus is Mary's newborn son just like baby Logan is your newborn son! That is awesome!" (Yes, I was impressed she made that connection. Yes, I laughed out loud when she declared this to be "awesome.") :)

Casey and Abby were playing around together tonight, and this conversation resulted:

Casey: "Abby are we goofy?"

Abby: "Yes, we are goofy. Mommy! Daddy and Abby are goofy!"

Casey: "Is Mommy goofy?"

Abby: "No, Mommy is not goofy."

Casey: "Then what is Mommy?"

Abby: "Mommy is not goofy. Mommy is crazy. Angry and crazy."

Casey: *nearly falls on floor from laughing so hard

Let me just say... she is totally correct. In my defense, however, I think it is completely within reason to assume that moving into a new home with a toddler (who now has an ear infection) and a 4-week-old newborn (who now has acid reflux) might leave a mommy slightly short on patience and sanity. Right?? Right?! Oh, and clean clothes. We are definitely short on clean clothes...

Thus ends this session of my toddler's observations. Stay tuned for future wise cracks--um, I mean, wise words--from my sweet girl. :)

Day one...

We were SO blessed to have Nana with us for the past 10 days after Logan was born, but I guess it had to end sometime. Today was the first "Nana-less" day, and I have to admit I was a little anxious about how it would go. I knew there was no way I would get a shower this morning, so I got one last night in preparation for what (I assumed) would be a day of chaos. So here is how it has gone so far...

Abby got up around 7:45 this morning, and I was able to wash my face, brush my teeth, get dressed (in real "I could leave the house if I needed to" clothes), and put makeup on while she played in her room. I got her set up with breakfast right around the time that Logan was waking up and ready to eat. We had a nice breakfast together (well, they did--I ate later after feeding Logan a bottle), and then Logan sat in his bouncy seat while Abby danced around to Disney music, and I cleaned up and started a load of the kids' laundry (which I think might become a daily occurrence). Logan went back to sleep so I put him in bed, and Abby and I built a few tall towers with her blocks. I needed to wash bottles and a few pans, and Abby was quite content to sit at her table in her room and color for a while. I joined her in coloring when I was done for a few minutes, and then I even managed to get the load of towels and sheets folded and put away and switched the kids' laundry to the dryer. Lunch time rolled around, so Abby and I sat down together and had sandwiches. Casey got to come home for lunch today (hopefully a new trend that will continue), so that was an added bonus! We finished eating just as Logan was waking up and ready to eat again. Casey sat with Abby for a few minutes while I got Logan ready to eat, but then he had to go back to work. I had Abby bring a few "Fancy Nancy" books over so I could read to her while feeding Logan his bottle, and she was perfectly content with that. Logan pretty much drank himself into a formula coma and was out again, so I put him back in bed. Oh, look--it's time for Abby's nap, too! As I write all of this, both kids are asleep. At the same time. I plan to join them very soon--just wanted to make sure I recorded this first completely manageable day at home with my two kids. Especially since I'm fairly certain it will never happen again. :)

Here's the catch--we haven't had to leave the house today. Tomorrow, Abby starts back to school and has to be there at 8:30 in the morning. As soon as I drop her off, Logan and I have to visit my OB for my post-surgery checkup. This means we all have to be dressed, fed, and packed with all of the essentials by 8:15 in the morning. Riiiight..... Say a little prayer for me, won't you?

Logan Edward Cochran

On January 13, 2011, our family was blessed by the addition of Logan Edward Cochran at 11:25 a.m. He weighed in at 6 lbs 10 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. I am totally in love with this sweet boy, and I can't wait to experience life as a family of 4! Welcome to the world, sweet boy. Mommy loves you!!!

My big girl & baby boy

I know I'm supposed to do a big post on Christmas, but I'm still sorting through pictures so it will have to wait. Meanwhile, I do have a couple of things to update you on regarding my children. :) Abby is growing up way too fast! Here are her latest accomplishments that have really surprised us:

#1--She has learned to read her first sight word! She has seen it in different contexts on different items, and she reads it every time. With the Nana she has, it shouldn't really shock anyone that Abby's first sight word was...

Coca-Cola! :)

#2--We got Abby a new erasable activity table with some Christmas money she had (thanks, Grandma!), and she loves it! As she was drawing on it tonight, she said, "It's a happy face!" Casey turned around, and saw this:

What in the world?! I guess it just caught us off guard because we didn't slowly build up to her drawing a face with different parts... she just... did it! Here are a couple of other pictures from her drawing time tonight:

On the baby preparation front, we are down to the last 2 weeks! Casey assembled the crib the other night (and Abby helped... by popping the bubble wrap). :) She is very excited about sharing her room with "Baby Wogan" and changing his diapers when he "comes out." I just hope this enthusiasm continues once he arrives!

And finally, this is a week behind (I'm 35 weeks along now), but here is a picture of Mommy's new haircut and baby Logan at 34 weeks: