Mom and Mo Time

I have been making an effort to spend some one on one time with Marcus during Logan's longer nap times. This past week we planted some sunflower seeds and dyed eggs.

The sunflower was a kit with a Mickey Mouse pot, dirt, and seeds. Mo wasn't quite sure what we were doing but once the seeds start to sprout I'm sure he will get a little more excited.

Adding the dirt pellets.

Pushing the sunflower seeds down into the soil.

Checking out his handiwork.

Egg dying went much better than expected. He did get a little grabby with the dyes and was a little rough with the eggs but we just had some minor splattering. Mo's belly is still dyed a few different colors from that day.

After the dyes dried, we decorated the eggs with some markers. Mo was more excited that he was allowed to use the sharpies than anything else.

Our finished product!

Spontaneous Family Reunion

I have a huge extended family and many of them live pretty far away but on a random Saturday in April a bunch of people from my father's side got together for a little reunion. And for most of them, it was the first time they could meet Logan. We all met at my grandparents's house for some games and dinner. In attendance were my grandparents, my dad (Tim), my stepmother (Bev), my little brother (JJ), Aunt Trish, Aunt Tracy, cousins Alyssa and Carter, Uncle Terry, Uncle Todd, and Uncle Trevor on leave from the Navy. My sister and nephew came out with us.

Before getting there we stopped at an Easter egg hunt for the boys. It had to be held indoors due to the rain and so it was pretty crowded but the boys seemed to have a good time collecting eggs.

Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa's the boys were entertained by all the relatives. Trevor chased them around for nearly an hour. Trish tickled them to death. JJ and Mo went to town doing some serious WWE wrestling. That wouldn't be too crazy except JJ has 4 years, almost 12 inches, and more than 10 pounds on Mo but he was keeping his own.

 Not to mention everyone passed Logan around, getting some much needed baby time. 

All the while the rest of the adults were taking turns playing Uno Slap. It was a fabulous day and a much needed get together. 

Current Obsessions

Toddlers are pretty infamous for finding one or two things they like and becoming obsessed with them. Well Mo is no different and right now LOVES shoes. It doesn't matter who they belong to or what they look like, he wants to wear them. Just this week Mo figured out how to get his own crocs on his feet, which is a pretty big deal because those things can be a pain. 

He is also in love with going outside now that it is getting warm. Usually we will kick the soccer ball around, play with his trucks, blow bubbles, or take walks. Lately Marcus wants to play with the sidewalk chalk. He isn't usually a fan of coloring but he seems to really like the fact he is allowed to draw on whatever he wants outdoors.
          

 Last but not least is Mo's love of books, which to those that know me is probably not surprising. We now have to read a story before both nap and bed time. And he has an entire collection of Disney books downstairs that he browses through during the day.

My current obsession with Marcus is teaching him manners. He knows how to say please and thank you but doesn't quite get exactly when to say them. So now when he asks for something, we remind him to say "peas." And when we give him something, we remind him to say "tankoo." We will work on you're welcome and excuse me once he gets these down. Some people spend time on colors and numbers at this age but I think there is plenty of time for that. People with good manners are few and far between lately and I think it is disrespectful and rude. My child will not be that way if I can help it.

Logan has really started to follow me with his eyes when I'm walking around. He also loves to stare at Mo, makes him smile every time. His new favorite place to nap is his swing and will occasionally hang out in the bouncy chair. He really isn't a fan of his car seat or the sun but here is a picture we got of him hanging outside with Mo and I yesterday.

Still Waiting for the Sleep Through the Night

Lorenzo and I are running pretty low on our reserves of sleep around here. It is expected with a 9 week old. The part that is killing us is with Mo. Eight days ago we successfully weaned Mo from his pacifier. It was actually a pretty painless experience overall and he is doing exceptionally well without it. But in the past few weeks he has become afraid of the dark, refusing to sleep unless his bedroom light is on. He is also continually waking up anywhere between 3 and 5 and will only go back to sleep if someone sits in his room with him. It happens so often that Lorenzo has moved an air mattress into Mo's room so he can actually get some semblance of sleep. I'm not even sure where to start to begin fixing this problem. Mo has always, and I mean every morning for the past two years, woken up crying. No playing quietly, no yelling for momma and daddy, just wailing like someone is pinching him. I would consider the cry it out method but then the only person that can sleep through that is Logan. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Logan's sleep schedule is all over the place but he is getting there. He has had quite a few 5-6 hour stretches and the night before last actually had his first 7.5 hour stretch of sleep. The only problem with that is he goes down between 7 and 8pm. I don't go to bed until 11. After his first stretch of sleep he will usually only go down for about two hours at a time. This has had me getting up every night around 2, 4, 6, and up for the day by 7:30. We have also moved Logan out of his cradle and into the pack n play. He is a real wiggle worm and that thing was rocking all over the place. I feel much safer with him in the sturdier bed.

Here is our little burrito during nap time. He loves being swaddled and actually starts smiling and laughing when we begin wrapping him up.

Recap of the Last 2 Months

Seeing as Logan is  two months old now and many people have yet to meet him, I will do a photo recap of our time with him so far.

Logan Ezekiel Garcia was born on Jan 31, 2011 at 11:01am via a natural birth. Weighing in at 7lbs 9ozs and 21 inches long. Daddy and Aunt Brittany were there to meet him.

 Big brother Marcus was a little overwhelmed by Logan at first. But he got used to him pretty quickly and is a very loving and helpful brother. 

   

 Daddy of course still emits special baby sleeping powers in which children instantly calm and pass out on him.

We are doing the monthly onesie project again. This is Logan from his first and second photo shoots.

For St. Patrick's Day we were stuck at home but we still had some fun in special outfits.

Mo is in love with all things on wheels and this is his favorite toy right now. 

Now that it is finally getting a little warmer Mo has started to refuse to come inside. He has also learned that getting muddy isn't the end of the world.

 

Logan has mastered smiling and does it about every 10 seconds lately. 

Trying Again

I've decided to try to do the blogging thing again. I figure if I can stick with it, we will have an amazing thing to look back on to remember the times that our little ones were still little. The plan is to write whenever something new or exciting happens but to be honest who knows if I will have the time. Logan will be 9 weeks old tomorrow and Mo is almost 23 months. It seems like just last week we celebrated Mo's first birthday and Logan was only a thought. Day to day life with two under two is hectic to say the least and stressful on many occasion but there always those moments that make it all worth it. Today it happened as I was feeding little man. He was looking at me while gulping down his bottle. He grabbed one of my fingers in each hand and then tried to smile. Milk was running right out of his mouth. At that moment I actually felt my love grow. I'm sure there will be 10 more moments like this with both my boys today and thats what makes the craziness of it all worth it.