What We Love Lately

Ben loves...


...especially the spinning classes. Cycling season is here again! He got a free 30-day trial through my membership (long story) and is loving it. I think we've spent every date night at the gym this month. Romantic, isn't it?

Caulk and mitered corners. ha. Ok, I think he'd be content never installing mitered crown molding ever again. Kitchen is under renovation... that's a whole other post.

Linc loves...

Huge leprechaun balloons that are bigger than he is. Anyone seen Lincoln?

(note: We went grocery shopping the day after St. Patrick's Day and instead of a regular balloon, the grocery lady gave Logan this balloon. Thank you grocery lady, for giving me a 3rd child. :-)



Sleeping with buns in the air.

Snuggle time with brother

Hoodoo.

What I love...

starts for the garden

parsley, garlic and lemon - yum!


green buds on my willow tree branches!

my blooming daffodils... Spring is here!

The day I actually beat Ben at Scrabble. Take a good, long look. This NEVER happens and will probably never happen again.

What Logan loves...

Microwave popcorn in a brown lunch sack as seen here.
We were playing counting games with pasta, oyster crackers and popcorn kernels and decided to pop them afterward.

Go Cougs! HUGE "U" doughnut from Provo Bakery. Logan lives for doughnut Saturdays with Dad.

His new best friend and favorite ap on Ben's phone: Talking Tom.
This cat repeats (in a high-pitched voice) everything you say and you can also pet him and make him purr.

Logan "played" with him for a VERY long time in his room. Logan was chatting up a storm with Tom. He played legos with Logan and even (somehow) helped clean them up.

And Tom , of course, had to be included in story time, repeating every. single. word.

His Jesus picture... as seen from Log's perspective.

Cowboy boots. It's always a fun surprise to check on Logan after he falls asleep to see who (or what) has made it into bed with him.

Helmets and Super Heroes

Linc's had his helmet for a few weeks and it has been going really well so far and I am so glad we decided (after MUCH deliberation) to get the helmet.

Here are the most FAQ's/comments:
Q: Why does he have to wear a helmet?
A: Because I neglected him when he was an infant. Ok, so I don't really say that, but I want to sometimes.

Q: He's so cute!! ( I think I heard that about 50 times during Relief Society last Sunday).
A: I just say thanks, (I mean, he is sinkin' cute afterall) but I think people feel bad for the little guy and aren't quite sure what to say.


Q: "Is that for protection?"
A: Why yes it is. He does have an older brother after all. Plus it offers a little cushion at times like this...

Q: Does he have to wear that all day?
A: Yes. Actually 23 hours a day.

Q: Doesn't it bother him? No, actually. He doesn't even try to take it off and I think he doesn't even know it's there most of the time.

Q: Does it squeeze his head?
A:You'd think by looking at all that matted, squished hair under there, that it would be squeezy, but it's not. It's actually formed just right to his head, with exception of a little space over the flat spot. As his head grows and expands, it will form into that empty space, rounding it out a bit.

Q: What are those holes for?
A: Ventilation.

Q: "I always feel so bad for kids who have to wear those. They always look so hot in them." (actual quote from our Golden Corral waitress).
A: um... thank you? How do you respond to that one? ha ha

But really, she's right. Bath time comes every morning now... when one's head sweats in a helmet all night, a bad case of stinky-head tends to develop.

Q:"Look at that baby with a helmet on!" (usually coming from an elementary-aged child :-) A: I smile at the embarrassed Mom, who just tries to avoid eye-contact and hush their child up. then I try to explain to the child (who's still staring at Lincoln) what it is.
(That's the velcro strap that we use to take it on and off.) While I was taking pictures of Linc and his helmet, Logan informed me that they both had helmets on. Logie's helmet...(Is it just us, or is anyone else collecting all the super heroes they have in Happy Meals right now? Logan has become obsessed with super heroes lately, so McDonald's is offering these action figures at just the right time.)

Then later Ben showed him how the handles could transform into a super hero mask.

Logan likes to make sure brother is outfitted with a cape as well. I made the one on the right and Katy (Ben's cousin) made the one on the left for Super Logan.

Super Lo and Helmet Boy

And of course Monk needed a turn with the super hero mask too.

"Look! I'm a Mommy!"

Logan was entertaining himself in the living room.
I walk in the room and hear him say, "Look! I'm a Mommy!" and turn around to see this...

Excellent. Looks like it's time to put those flanges away now that I'm done breast feeding. :-)

Get One Last Look

Here's your chance to get one last look ...

... at these adorable, fluffy, soft, whispy, light-as-a-feather, blond ( or "golden" as Logan calls it) locks of hair.

Tomorrow it will all be capped off with a helmet.


After our consult with the orthotist, we decided to get the helmet after all so we can say, when this is all said and done, that we did everything we could to give Lincoln a good head shape.

The bad news? It may or may not be very effective due to his slowed head growth...remember this recommendation is coming 3 months late.

The good news? Insurance approved it and therefore paying for this will cover a large portion of our annual deductible.

The bad news? My kid is going to get funny looks everywhere we go.

The good news? He won't know. :-)

The bad news? I won't be able to constantly kiss his fuzzy little head like I do at least 100 times a day.

The good news? He could be wearing this helmet anywhere from 3 months to 6 months.

The bad news? He could be wearing this helmet anywhere from 3 months to 6 months... :-)

The good news? My friend suggested we get some sweet vinyl decal for the helmet. I actually think we will.

And more good news? This just means extra protection from his older brother.


But in all seriousness, I am going to miss that fluffly little hair of his. He turned 10 months yesterday, so I thought it was a good last chance to snap a few shots of him (and by few, I mean 150 :-)

Unfortunately the ISO on the camera was set way high (1600) and I didn't realize it, so all the pics came out really grainy. Oh well.


Love the tippy-toes reaching for the aprons hanging from our door.
He pulls them down at least once a day.


Lincoln ADORES Hoodoo, and Hoodoo at least puts up with Lincoln. Best buddies.


PS) Lincoln got weighed again today and we found he gained 10 oz in the last month, which keeps him in the 8th percentile. I was hoping for at least a pound increase, but the Dr. was happy that he gained weight this month. This puts him back up to his weight at the end of last year.

Surgery

A member of our family under went major surgery today... an eye replacement.

What. You didn't know eye replacements were possible? Amazing, I know. And it wasn't just any member of our family... it was the beloved monkey. Logan's Monkey.

This monkey.

This monkey.

And this monkey.

Back in December, I was helping Lincoln back in my bedroom when all of a sudden I heard Logan scream bloody murder. When he came running and crying back to where I was, I expected to see blood dripping from his head or something. But when he busted through the door, all he could get out was, "MONKEY!... EYE!.... SCAAAAARRRY!!!". And he showed me this...



I must admit I was a little taken back too. There's something a little creepy about seeing the eye socket of a furry friend.

Our temporary solution was an eye patch so Lo would calm down.



Then the search ensued. Logan didn't have any idea where the eyeball went. (Thinking back now.. I think I actually threw it away not realizing what it was.) We looked frantically for Monk's eye, but we were in the midst of packing for vacation. We searched and searched and searched but to no avail.

We were distraught. We thought there was no hope. Then Jera informed me that they sell doll and stuffed animal eyes in any craft store. Really? Did you know that? Sure enough, after a lot of searching, I found Monk's exact eyes on Etsy of all places. They came in the mail today and the surgery was scheduled for after bed time.

Our bag o' eyeballs...

don't you get the feeling that something's looking at you?

Seam ripping the eyebrow

Monkey brains

Sewing up

Good as new! Well, ok maybe not. His ears are about worn through because Logan rubs them at least 100 times a day. :-)

Sunday Night Videos

Here are a couple videos of our Sunday night!

I knew our long and narrow living room was good for something...
We pushed the loved seat back and made our very own bowling alley!





Linc's first word!

We practice animal sounds during diaper changes (well, at least when Linc's not fiercely trying to wriggle away). I always ask him, "What does a cow say? A cow says, 'moooooo' " and then go on to other animals too. He usually just stares at me and then says, "da da da".

But after I fed him tonight, I was chatting with him and he was saying the usual "da da da" when I asked him out of the blue, "What does a cow say?" and he actually replied! It's a little squished, and looks nothing like the way Logan would say "moo" but nevertheless, it's his own way of saying Moo and Linky's first intentional word. Hooray!

Lincoln Update

Linc is already 9 months old. We had his well-check with a new pediatrician (hooray!) on Monday and reached some conclusions:

1. I have missed out BIG by going to our family doctor instead of a pediatrician these past 4 years. I can tell right away that our new office is much more detailed, careful and competent.

2. Lincoln has actually lost weight in the past 30 days and his growth has slowed majorly the past 3 months. Ok, so he only lost a few ounces this month, but that is still scary to me. Because Ben was a bean pole as a child I know my boys aren't going to be heifers or anything, but this is a little too little for me.

Weight:
6 months - 16 lb 8 oz = 75th %
9 months - 17 lb 6 oz = 8 %

Head:
6 months - 17.12 in = 90th %
9 months - 17.25 in = 12th %

Height:
6 months - 28 in = 100th %
9 months - 29.25 = 81st %

So we'll feed him more solids, at least one formula feeding each day and go back in a month for a weight check. Praying for an increase.

3. Linc is behind on some immunizations (because my last doctor has been out of them during at least two or three of Linc's well-checks) and was going to finally get caught up during this appointment. However, our new Ped held off on giving him the last shot because...

4. Linc actually has another double ear infection that I didn't even suspect. And a nasty cough. So amoxicillin is our friend for the next ten days.

4. Contrary to the opinion of our last doctor, the flat spot on the back of his head IS actually bad enough to get a consult from an orthotist and might need a helmet.

We've been trying to correct this since he was 2 months old. At his 6 month check up it was still there but not as bad. The doc said it wasn't as bad as other kid's plagiocephaly and to not worry about it.

The bummer part? Babies usually get fitted for helmets at 6 or 7 months and so his optimum growth might be over with... i.e. even if we get him fitted (and pay for) a helmet, not sure if it would do much good as it could have two months ago! Wonderful.

Well, we had the consult yesterday and his flat spot is noticeable, but not that severe, so the orthotist said it's up to us. We're waiting to hear whether or not insurance will cover it. Even if they do "cover it," our deductible is way high this year from last year... like $3,000 high. So this will be an investment if we go for it. How do you judge the cost of having a "normal" shaped head for your child?

5. From the ages & stages questionnaire we took, he's developing pretty good, but he's a bit behind in problem solving and communication areas.


Anything good come out of this appointment? It sure didn't feel like it two days ago, but looking at it now, yes.

He's still healthy.
He's moving and grooving like crazy (probably contributing to his slowed growth). He pulls him self up to standing on everything, is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. I pull something out of his mouth at least once every day.
He has crazy fuzzy blonde hair that gets comments everywhere we go.
He is so happy and smiley all the time.
He gives lots of good lip-smacking kisses and plays a cute head-shaking game. (I'll post videos later)
He still looks like a vampire with his lateral incisor teeth hanging down.
He has a brother who adores him and finally a great doctor.

(he LOVES this mesh thing)