Sunday, October 28, 2007

Oklahoma Week 12

October 21st-27th
Holy Toledo, I can't believe it's really been 3 months already that we've been here. I guess some days it seems like we've always been here and other times it feels like we just moved. It's crazy how we humans interpret time. Well, on to the good stories. This week was a major break-through in solid feeding, my boy LOVES Peaches. We've tried several different fruits and vegetables and he does okay, pulls some weird faces, and sometimes won't even open his mouth (he really hates green beans right now). The other day I let Morgan pick the next food to try and he's been wanting to give peaches to him since the beginning, but I wanted to start with veggies...I should have listened to Morgan, Logan ate the entire serving of peaches, a task that usually takes at least two days and 2-3 feedings. Then later that evening I was trying to get him to eat his rice cereal..wasn't interested, so I mixed in a little bit of the peaches, and he ate it all, and then continued to eat 3/4 of the rest of the peaches serving...in one day!! It was great. He has since slowed the pace down, but I hope he approaches the rest of the solid foods with as much excitement. We have yet to try pears, peas, & squash, but the only thing I can truly say he likes are peaches. He tolerates the applesauce and bananas and I'm sure he'll eventually come around to the green beans and carrots.
Another funny story that happened this week was when I was finishing up work and Morgan was done studying for a while. He needed a break because he was getting tired, so I asked him to play with Logan for a bit. Well, I guess Daddy must have been really tired, because he fell asleep. Haha, man's idea of watching the baby.
In all reality though, Morgan is the best dad in the whole world and loves his little Buddy. They have a lot of fun playing together and Morgan can't wait until he can play catch, go hiking, and teach him everything about being a kid, who knows better than the young at heart. :)
I don't know how many are familiar with the Hungry Little Caterpillar, but it was one of my favorite books growing up, so I was so excited when Logan finally fit into his caterpillar outfit that his Grandma gave him. Logan is really starting to grow up, I can't believe he's 6 1/2 months now. He really loves to stand up and he can almost sit by himself. It's fun to watch him learn new things, I can't wait until he starts crawling and walking, although it has been nice to be able to put him down on a blanket to play and not have to worry about him crawling into a big mess, we're still in the process of baby-proofing the entire house.
I guess I can say something now because it is official: I got called to be the Primary Chorister. How fun! I'm excited. This will be an interesting challenge, it's very intimidating to think that next week I'll be teaching the primary kids (there are only about 8) the primary songs and I will have to get up there and sing in front of them. I'm nervous, but excited, so if any of you who have ever served in this calling...or primary...or just have some create ideas on how to teach the songs, please send them my way. I am very excited that we are getting into the Christmas season though, because those are my favorite primary songs of all. It will be fun to teach them my favorite songs. I think that pretty much sums up the noteworthy events of this week. Life is still good and fun and we love being parents. Logan is daddy's little puppet, and he's my little dress up doll. The other day I was experimenting with what hair he does have. We'll end with a few of those pictures of "Spike" That was his nickname for the day after I loaded his hair with my mousse. :) Have a great week and we'll try to have some great adventures this week to write about next time.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Oklahoma Week 11


October 14th - 20th
"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things."
There was an awesome storm the other day and Morgan and I turned off all the lights and opened the windows and cuddled on the couch to watch the lightning. It was awesome. It was so nice to just relax, take it easy, and enjoy one another's company, our little buddy was asleep for the night, so we got to just talk to each other for hours. We didn't get any pictures though, but it was really cool.

We love The Buddy more than anything in the world, but for you parents out there, it's really nice to have an adult conversation without talking about poop, or "this little piggy" :) Logan is our joy and happiness in the world and his smile can melt away the worst day. We were playing around the other day with the buddy. He grabbed his feet and pulled his socks of and they just looked like perfect ear warmers for daddy.The Buddy wanted to play too. It took us a couple tries with the camera to snap it fast enough that both socks were on his ears. Logan is also starting to roll over like a champ now. He gets as far as his tummy and then sort of gets stuck there, but we're working on it.This weekend was quite an eventful one. Morgan went to Salt Lake on Friday because his friend Justin was getting married on Saturday. Logan and I stayed home since we already had one flying adventure, and we probably wouldn't have all made it over and back together anyway. Here are a few cute pictures of the wedding.While Morgan was away at the wedding I got to spend two nights by myself in Oklahoma. It took me a really long time to fall asleep the first, because of course I heard every little sound and was worried about my little baby. Good news: we're all safe and sound :) On Saturday I went to a Relief Society Craft Activity and we made these really cool tile decorations. Basically it's a vinyl type sticker that gets put on the tile. I used the quote at the beginning of the blog. It's really cool and someday when we're in a more permanent establishment I'd like to do some more decorating to that effect.


So, when Nola (Morgan's Aunt) was in Utah over conference weekend, she picked up a baby sling for Brayden, it's a very simple design so we got the crazy idea that we could make them ourselves. I got all excited and went to the craft store and bought a whole bunch of fabric...but I got a little confused on the instructions and bought a ton of it way too small, so this week I have to go back and try again, I did attempt making one, it was too small and quite the little disaster, but I figured the first one would be. When I finally get a good one make I'll take a picture and show it off.


Today (Sunday) Morgan was supposed to come home early afternoon, but the flight was full and he was flying standby and the rest of the flights didn't look good either. Neither one of us had an especially great day and we both just really wanted to be with each other, so I called Nola to see if we could work something out to get him home, she works for Southwest Airlines, but in the meantime the biggest miracle happened. There were about 4 standbys waiting to get on the flight and a connecting flight from Seattle was delayed and there were exactly 4 people who weren't able to make the connection and they shoved Morgan on the plane last minute. When he didn't call me back when we planned I figured he either went back home, or got on the flight, so I called the airlines and they confirmed he made it on the flight. He would be home at 5:00, it was 4:30, so I hurried and fed the baby and picked up my wonderful husband from the airport. I've never been so excited and happy in my life and it just made today the best day in the world. The Buddy was so excited to see his daddy. Morgan put him on his shoulders when we got home and Logan laughed for almost 10 minutes straight. It was the best thing in the whole wide world to hear such laughter. If you're ever having a bad day, find a baby and make him laugh, it's a miracle healer.

So, now that both of us have traveled to Utah without the other, it just made us realize how true it is that Home is Where the Heart is. When I came home from my trip, I felt like I was actually missing Oklahoma, and he felt the same way, but it all came down to we just really didn't want to be anywhere where we wouldn't be together. That's why there was such a delay on the blog. And of course we'll end with another cute picture of the cutest little baby in the whole world.


Sunday, October 14, 2007

Oklahoma Week 10

October 7 - 13th

This week has been filled with fun little tidbits here and there. First we'll start off talking about Logan, actually we'll probably talk about him most of the time because he just so darn cute, but what's childhood if you don't have a few naked baby pictures. We've got to keep some sort of blackmail for the future when he starts dating. :)

Just look at that cute little tush. Logan looks forward to his bedtime baths, we can't wait until he's sitting up more on his own and have him splish splash in the big tub with bathtime toys. Logan loves to give his mommy and daddy kisses. They are a little slobbery, but still bring a smile to your face...

...or he might have just been really hungry. We've started feeding Logan solid foods now...very slowly. He's starting to understand a little bit better what he's supposed to do with them. This was one of our attempts at rice cereal.

I think he prefers just milk. This next week is sure to be a colorful mess when we give him some other fruits and veggies too. Speaking of fruits and veggies...well mostly fruit, we had some extra bananas that were really ripe and we wouldn't have been able to eat them soon enough, so I thought to myself, hmm, I should try making some banana bread, so I did. The best part was that it actually tasted like banana bread, perhaps all is not lost in baking for me! And now that Logan takes a 2 hour nap in the morning (YAY) I can actually start trying some more cooking/baking/craft experiments.So, in other news, the bishop of our ward pulled Morgan aside today and gave him a calling and we ended up sustaining him and he got set apart today too. He's the second counselor in the Young Men's Presidency. We're excited, it will be a good opportunity to serve....then the bishop said he would need to probably meet with me next week, so we'll see what else he has up his sleeve.

Logan's favorite toy is his bouncer. He loves to play the little piano on it. Each of the four keys contain two musical tunes that replicate classical tunes (i.e. the William tell overture). Logan even knows the songs. The other day Morgan and I were humming the tunes and then all of the sudden Logan pushed that key for the song that corresponded to the tune we were humming. It happened about 3 other time right in a row. Our child must be a genius...or really lucky...or both. :)

I guess it's my (Morgan's) turn to write. Annie needs to get a serving of fruit for the day via Kelloggs fruity strawberry fruit snacks. Annie loves candy. With Halloween approaching I'm not sure whether the candy we buy is for trick-or-treaters or for her. Well, they're all kids it's all the same. Those that know me know that I love cookies and brownies, but I don't really care too much for candy. Hopefully our children will land somewhere in between where they will occasionally enjoy a treat, but not require the 12 step program to relinquish their addictions to sweets. We're on the "pre-12 steps" with Annie's candy cravings, and step -1 for Morgan's cookies.

Few things can match the joy that comes from spending time with your family. I love spending time with Annie and Logan. The other day, I had Logan in the child-carrier and I noticed that his head wasn't doing it's usual visual scan around the room with his head darting around in all directions. It wasn't quite bed time, but apparently he was really tired, and just fell right asleep in the carrier.

When Daddy is home and when Logan isn't sleeping, The Buddy and I play together. Logan especially likes the song, "Old McDonald had a farm." One of his favorite toys right now is the See & Say. Whenever he sees and hears this toy he becomes entranced and will just stare at it while you play. Logan's favorite animal on the wheel for the see and say is the barn owl. (Actually it's mommy & daddy's favorite animal sound for the old McDonald song, but Logan likes it too.)

Logan is starting to get the hang of his binky. He is able to grab on to it, pull it out of his mouth, and put it back in again. Well...most of the time anyway.
On occasion when he doesn't get it quite right, he doesn't want help from his momma.
He's really going for independence now. Logan will have the binky the way he likes it.
Even if the binky is turned sideways and upside down. Sometimes he just puts the entire thing in his mouth.

Well this week our blog comes to a close as we run out of photos and other things to mention about our week. Just remember to keep your chin up and "roll" with the punches.
This photo was taken after Logan's first official 360 degree roll-over all by himself.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Oklahoma Week 9

September 30th-October 6th

It's actually been quite an eventful week. We are both very glad that it is general conference weekend and we can relax a bit. I guess I'll start out with my adventures. I flew in to Salt Lake early Monday morning on the 6:20am flight. With the time change, I ended up there about 8:00am. I stayed with Morgan's parents in Sandy. I was coming in for a few days to do some training for my job and to help get some things taken care of that I had started there. A little side-note about my job. I still work about 5 hours a day from home. It's really nice to have a little income and also have the flexibility to be home with Logan....well, and now Morgan too :)

So, at about 9:30am Logan and I headed for the office for what ended up being a very full day of work. Breastfeeding saves a lot of money, but there are strings attached (aka the baby), and he's not on solids yet, so he gets to go everywhere with me in case he gets hungry and that in itself can be quite tiring. We got finished with work pretty late in the afternoon, but everyone at worked loved to see the little guy again.


This is Nicki, she's sort of taken my old position at the office, so we work pretty closely on things.This is Augest and The Buddy. I shared an office with her in Sandy. She was the first person at work that kept my pregnancy secret. I figured it would be hard to keep it a secret when I was sharing an office with her. :)


And, this is my boss Bob. Even he held Logan for a while when we came in to work. I worked as his personal assistant for two years until I had Logan and we moved away, now I'm sort of supervising the position while working on the training program that he has been developing over the past couple years. This has probably been the best job I've ever had, even though it is still filled with a lot of stress and everything that comes with working, it's nice to have a boss that realizes the importance of family and is willing to work around that with me.


The hardest part about having a baby at the office with you is finding a place to put the sleeping baby. I didn't really bring any big toys with me since we flew over and were already packed to the limit, so we improvised. There was a little extra room on my desk, so we shared. I had all sorts of good intentions to visit friends while I was out there, but after three lllooooonnnngggg days of work I was exhausted every day that I came home. I usually put in about 5 hours over the course of the day, but when I was here I ended up working close to 9 hours a day. So, to all of you that I had tentative plans with, I apologize. I did get a chance to visit some family though, that was a little easier since most of them just came over to the house and I didn't have to go anywhere, except to visit Great Grandma Hadlock.This is Logan's Great Grandma Hadlock. We went to visit her and Logan was so happy to see her.

This is Logan's cousin Derek. Derek is just a little over two now, so when Logan gets bigger he'll have some cousins close to his age.


This is Logan's cousin, Audrey..Derek's sister. She came over to get some fabric for a school project, which was perfect timing while I was there so I got to see everyone.



The last night I was in Sandy, Wade(Morgan's Brother) & Sandra came over with their little boy Josh who is just over 2 as well. He had fun playing with his cars, Logan's just not quite old enough to play yet. Wade and Sandra ran the St. George Marathon yesterday. I was training with Sandra for a marathon for a while until I got pregnant with Logan.

This is Logan's Grandma Hadlock and Great Grandma White holding him. Grandma Hadlock is holding Brayden. Nola and Brayden flew into Salt Lake on Wednesday and came over to visit Thursday morning just before we headed to the airport.


Great Grandma & Grandpa White wanted to come see Logan again before he flew back to Oklahoma.


So, all in all, it was a very exciting, tiring, and fun trip. I'm very grateful that I have such great in-laws that let me stay with them and made me feel like it was a home away from home. However, I'm still very glad to be home. I flew in on Thursday evening and Morgan picked me up at the airport. That is the longest that Morgan and I have every been away from each other since we met!

Since we can't really watch the BYU Football games on TV, we have also been cheering for Morgan's new school. Go Sooners! OU beat Texas in the notorious Red River Shoot-Out. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the rivalry, the Shoot-out is the equivalent of our "HOLY WAR" between BYU & UTAH. At least that's what I am told; however, I still feel the BYU / Utah rivalry is more intense.

I spent most of the day Friday relaxing and unpacking...it's amazing how much extra stuff you have to pack for such a little baby. Morgan was so happy to have his baby boy and wife home safely. Logan really missed his daddy.


So, while I was hardly working..ahem, I mean working hard in Salt Lake for three days, I obviously had the camera with me so Morgan couldn't take pictures, but he was hard at work putting the FINAL touches on the kitchen. A little touch up piant here, some minor fixes there. He also had a big test in one of his classes that he got a 97.5% on!! (He doesn't really want me to broadcast that, but I'm really proud of him!) The time here is flying by so quickly and Logan is growing so fast. We are having a wonderful experience here and hope this adventure continues. However, we could do without some of the things that go with living in Oklahoma. All the oversized bugs, critters, and spiders is really getting old. In addition, we captured our first mouse in the garage yesterday. We put out the traditional mouse traps all around our garage one evening. The next morning we had already captured the one mouse that we saw. We don't know for sure if there are others involved. Our next "home-improvement" is to replace the entrance to the garage. We have two doors, a traditional one-car garage door, and an additional door on the side. That additional door is old, and is really an interior door and not an exterior door. There is a huge gap on the bottom making it easy for mice to enter our sure to be warmer than outside garage. All these random little things give us more to write about in our blog. At least the traps work well.


Aunt Diana...this one's for you! :)