Little Man at 18 Months

Well believe it or not, Logan is officially 18 months.  You certainly wouldn't guess it by looking at him though.  I think a lot of parents dream of the day their toddler turns 18 months but honestly, I was kind of dreading it.  I feel like now that Logan is 18 months it is much more apparent of his limitations and delays.  One big reason is nursery.  While most parents can't wait to finally have a break from chasing around their little ones for three hours at church, I was less concerned about keeping track of Logan and more concerned about how he would fit in and do with other kids in nursery.  I was even more concerned with how the teachers would respond to him, knowing that he requires extra care and attention.  I have this fear of others thinking of Logan as a burden and I never want that to be the case.  It's not everyday you see a child in nursery who isn't walking or even close to walking. The questions have definitely become more abundant recently. It never seems to get easier to tell people about what is going on and to see them struggle with a good response, because quite honesty, there isn't one.  There isn't anything that anyone can say to me to ease my worries and concerns for Logan's future, unless they told me they have a crystal ball.  The unknown is a very scary thing sometimes.  I feel there are not many people who can relate to what we are going through so I have to remind myself to not take comments from people the wrong way, even when someone says how nice it must be that he doesn't get into stuff or I don't have to chase after him.  It is definitely not nice or easy.  Logan is an 18 month old trapped in a body that can't yet do what he wants it to, which makes for a frustrated, unhappy boy a good part of the day. I dream of the day that he can cause mischief and I welcome it.  Yes I would love for him to pull everything out in the kitchen, get into the garbage, anything like that because it means he is walking and progressing.  I find comfort in knowing that my Heavenly Father is aware of Logan and has a plan for him.  There is a bigger picture that we cannot see and I have to just have faith that everything will work out.  Easier said than done sometimes. 

That being said Logan has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past couple of months.  A big milestone for him was learning to bum scoot around 16 months.  That was a huge deal because he finally figured out a way to get around.  I have never really seen a child bum scoot before and it is pretty dang cute and funny! Also around the same time he finally was able to transition from laying down to sitting up without assistance.  You should have seen the shock on my face when I went to get him up from his nap one day and he was sitting up looking at me when I walked in.  I had to fight back tears to see that sweet little boy upright on his own for the first time.  More recently Logan has started crawling, which is no small miracle to us.  I had resigned to the fact that he would just skip crawling altogether and then one day he just did it.  I was once again overcome with emotion to see him doing these things that we had been working with him on and waiting for what seemed like an eternity.  He still chooses to bum scoot most of the time, but he crawls a lot during the day too.  Just to get something not too far away and then he stops.  Hopefully he will figure out he can crawl exclusively and get around that way soon.  And if that wasn't enough awesome progress, he also can now pull  himself up from his little chair.  If you know Logan, you know that he has never wanted to bear weight or stand, so for him to be pulling himself to stand and staying up there for long periods of time is just amazing to witness.  The fact that he is doing that means that it is only a matter of time before he can pull himself up from the floor and *gasp* cruise furniture.  Seriously cannot even picture it, but I know that day will come.  

Logan is very smart and doesn't miss a beat.  He seems to understand everything that we say and tell him, even though he doesn't talk to us.  He wants to be doing anything and everything that Addie is and always want to be included, which makes things challenging sometimes.  I try the best I can to facilitate things for him, but I can only carry him around so much. He has hit the age where he wants to do everything himself and throws a fit if i try to feed him or hold a cup and let him have a drink.  He wants to hold everything himself.  He also has mastered the tantrum.  Seriously, it's like a switch has been flipped turning my sweet, mellow, easy going boy into a little spitfire who gets mad over everything.  I am hoping the new found frustrations will be a motivation to him.  As I mentioned before, Logan doesn't talk.  This has been a huge adjustment for me because Addie was blending words and saying any word you asked her to at this age.  I am amazed at how much he understands and how well he can communicate his wants and needs without talking.  We have been working on signs and he now signs more and all done.  He is still a pretty good eater, but some days he gets really picky.  Despite his recent crankiness, he is still the sweetest boy ever and loves to cuddle with his mommy.  He has started to get a little bashful and will turn into my shoulder when someone tries to talk to him.  He loves cause and effect toys and will sit and play all day with his toy where you manipulate different types of buttons to get the animals to pop up.  He is obsessed, I mean literally obsessed, with watching TV. I have no idea how things have gotten so out of control, but if we are in the family room playing and the TV isn't on he throws a fit.  His current favs are Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Super Why, Curious George, Micky Mouse Clubhouse, and he loves Elmo. But really, he will watch just about anything as long as it is animated.  Sometimes when Nephi isn't home at dinnertime I will let the kids watch PBS while I am making dinner.  At 6 it switches from Cat in the Hat to The Brady Bunch and every time without fail, Logan starts crying the second the Brady Bunch comes on!  I can't remember the last time I have watched a show of mine during the day!  We have been trying to capitalize on his obsession of TV with Signing Time DVD's and he loves them.  He loves to play peek a boo and be tickled, but his absolute favorite thing is to be right at Addie's side playing with everything she is playing with...Addie has been less than thrilled about this and most of our days are spent trying to keep the peace between these two!  We love this little boy more than words can say and are very hopeful that he will begin walking sooner than later.  Until then, I will be hauling around a 24 lb toddler, pray for my back! Enjoy the pics, I think he is absolutely to die for. Little boys sure do have a way of stealing their momma's hearts!  

Seriously, those eyes. Never thought I'd have a blue-eyed child.

This picture was very special to me, because it is the only picture we have ever had of Logan standing, and he is even smiling while doing it, double win!

And then he was done!

S & S Shortline Railroad Park and Museum

Last month I took Addie on a much needed girls day. I had been feeling like she had been a bit neglected with everything going on with Logan so just the two of us went to this awesome railroad park in Farmington.  I had passed this place everyday on the bus ride to junior high but never realized how cool it was.  We got to ride on this little train and no joke, the train ride lasted for over 15 minutes and none of it was repeat track.  This place was massive and so stinking cute.  They had a playground, a play train to climb on, miniature golf, pedal karts, a cool museum, and much more.  We will definitely be going back next summer. I am grateful for chances to spend one on one time with my little girly. I took a video on our train ride that unfortunately isn't loading very well, but I thought it was the cutest thing because the whole train ride Addie kept saying "I can't believe it"! 

First Day of Preschool

Addie started preschool at the first of September and I still cannot believe she is old enough to be going.  She has been so excited for a long time and I kept telling her that she had to be potty trained before she could go to school as motivation, so as soon as she was potty trained, about five months before preschool started, she thought she could go. That's what I get for telling her about it so early. Needless to say, she was thrilled for the first day of school. On the way there she told me she was scared, but she went in like a champ and has loved every minute.

It has been fun to see her excitement about going to preschool and her love of learning. She has made so many friends, is learning so much, and loves to show me all the things she did at school each day.  It has been a big change going from no schedule, to having preschool two days a week, dance one day a week, and Logan's therapy once a week. I am beginning to realize how quickly these little ones grow up and precious time is taken away as they get busier and busier with school and activities.  I hope I can treasure every moment while I still have them at home most of the time.

Logan's MRI Results

Well I know a lot of people have been wondering what is going on with Logan. I figured I would do a quick (or maybe not so quick) blog post explaining what he has been dealing with an what the MRI told us. 

Pretty much from the time Logan was about 3 months I was slightly unnerved about his muscle tone. He couldn't/wouldn't bare weight on his legs and I knew from when Addie was little that he should be baring weight.  As time went on I started to notice that he would do really weird things with his muscles when you pick him up and would kind of distend backwards and arch his back and it was kind of hard to pick him up.  He sat late and started rolling really late. At six months old we were referred to the Early Intervention program through the school district and he has been receiving physical therapy in our home each month to help.  Up until about his 15 month well check, nobody was super alarmed because with babies, time frames for reaching milestones are so relative and vary so much that even walking up to 18 months is considered normal. I, however, was very concerned when at 15 months he was totally immobile and still wasn't pulling up to stand or choosing to bare weight (unless I forced him to do it). Luckily his pediatrician was finally alarmed and referred me to a specialist. We had blood work done and everything came back normal and they diagnosed him with having Benign Hypotonia, which is just a fancy way of saying he has low muscle tone and he will hopefully get stronger over time and catch up. I wasn't satisfied. So I find a neuro-developmentalist pediatrician and got him in there. She said that an MRI was a must, to at least be able to rule things out and possibly find a reason for his delay in gross motor skills. She scheduled an MRI up at Primary Children's and we went in on Monday.  Logan did amazingly well and everything went really smoothly. I did have a minor break down during the time that I had to hold him while they administered the medicine to him that would sedate him, and he literally went lifeless right in my arms...that was hard, really hard. But he came out of it just fine and we went home with no complications and he was back to his normal, happy self within a few hours.

 Happily playing before the MRI, despite being on an empty stomach for 6 hours.

 Post MRI. Trying to wake him up from the deepest sleep of his life.

Fast forward to the next day when they called with the results. I think deep down I knew they were going to say that everything came back normal, so I was pretty shocked when they said they did find an abnormality with his brain. I spent the next half hour talking to the doctor and trying to wrap my head around what she was telling me, because I am not exactly literate with the brain. Before anybody gets all panicked, what they did find was pretty low on the totem pole for problems they could have found and for that we are very, very grateful. He has what is called delayed myelination, or he doesn't have as much myelin in his brain as he should. If your like me, you have never heard of myelin before, so it is kind of hard to explain it to people, but I found this description online that I think explains it well. "To put it simply myelin is the insulation which surrounds the nerve fibers in the brain which enables the messages to travel from one part of the brain to another smoothly and easily and if it isn't thick enough the messages don't get to their destination as easily and sometimes the messages may get lost along the way. We continue to grow myelin up to the age of 35 and then when we reach our fifties it starts to diminish again (demyelination)." So the good thing is, that he can still continue to grow more myelin and hopefully in time he will be catch up. If you were to look at his brain right now, you would see myelin equivalent to about a 10 month old, which explains why that is about the level he is functioning at with his gross motor skills. He will have to go back for another MRI in 8 months to confirm that he is growing more myelin and not just maintaining or losing myelin...that is when things can be really scary. So while it wasn't the news we were hoping for, we are grateful to have a better understanding of why Logan is struggling with this. For the record, he only seems to be delayed in his gross-motor skills and his language. Cognitively he is right where he should be, just trapped in a body that limits what he can do. So for now it is just a waiting game and all we can do is pray that he will catch up and put our trust in our Heavenly Father that he has a plan for our sweet, sweet boy and focus on enjoying him just the way he is, he's perfect. I truly think that in time Logan will be able to do all the things that a kid his age should be doing. It may not be easy hauling him around and having him still be so dependent on me for everything, but I will do anything for my sweet little boy and we are so blessed to have him in our family. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well wishes. It means so much to us.  

Summer Part 2

For the remainder of the summer we spent most of our days at Cherry Hill, the splash pad or a park...if there was a lot of shade there! I took Addie to our first outdoor movie in Kaysville to see Brave and we had a lot of fun playing around until the movie started. She lasted for about half of the movie and then I got sick of fighting her to stay laying down and dealing with her meltdowns so we headed home early. 

 On the days that were too hot or the nights when Nephi worked late, we headed to any indoor playground we could find.  I had to document Addie conquering the "big slide" at our local Mickey D's. Seriously this little one has been petrified of going up there every since the first time we went there like a year and a half ago. I have had to climb up to the very top a time or two to retrieve a screaming Addie...not fun. Now when we go she just plays and I get a little break.

 My sidekick while Addie plays. Happy I let him hold the cup!

 My dad had been talking about getting Logan one of these mustache binkies and finally pulled the trigger.  Luckily Logan obliged and sucked on it while we were there. However, I have yet to get him to take it again. It is just not the same as the NUK's he is use to. Still so funny though. What is it about mustache's and babies...?

 Fun evening outside getting filthy with chalk.  Logan had so much fun and threw a fit when we had to go inside.  He may tried to taste a couple of them!

 Just had to throw in this picture so I wouldn't forget when Addie tried to listen to her seashell pasta noodles the first time she had them. She kills me. Now she requests seashells every time we have spaghetti!

 If this isn't a legit face-painted cat, I don't know what is. Just another night at Station Park!

 Phi and I love demolition derby's and use to go to them several times a summer when we lived in Logan. We hadn't been to one since we moved and finally decided to go to the derby they had at the Davis County Fair. We had a lot of fun but were definitely a little disappointed that each heat only had like 4 cars at most, so the action was less than we were use to at the Cache County ones. At least we got to see a car flip over and have another car on top of it...right?!

 Kev spent hte summer in Jerusalem doing a study abroad. We were so excited to go to the airport and pick him up when he got home.  The second he picked Addie up she started bawling and has slowly started to warm back up to him again.  Seriously could she be anymore shy. Logan however loved him and Kevin loved using him to get extra attention from the ladies!

Logan got his first big boy haircut...finally.  He had been rocking a little mullet for too long. Can't believe how grown up it makes him look. I love trying to style his hair but am not so great at it...hopefully practice makes perfect!

 Bath time fun. These two love to play and giggle together in the bath and I love watching them get along.

 Addie was waiting all summer to finally go to the Davis County Fair.  She loved all the animals, but when I took her in to the petting zoo area with a cup of food to feed the animals, once again my over dramatic little girl started screaming bloody murder and wanted out of there as fast as she could...baby steps I guess.

 I can't complain too much though because she showed us how brave she was by riding the pony for the first time.  We met up with our friends, the Browns and Addie had a blast riding the ponies with her little buddy Easton.

 Of course she wanted to ride every ride there.  She had fun riding a couple of them with her friends.

I sure do love a good fair!

 We finally went to the children's museum at the perfect time...the week that all the kids went back to school.  Everyone was in school and it was too early in the year for field trips, so we practically had the place to ourselves.  Both Addie and Logan had a lot of fun, especially on the helicopter!

 This last picture I just had to throw in.  Addie had her first sleepover at my Mom's and the next morning my mom took her out to garage sales with her.  Addie picked out the hat and dress up and just plopped herself down in this random persons chair.  I can't help but think she looks like such little old lady...priceless!

That's pretty much what we did this summer.  We tried to get out and do one thing every day and I think we did a pretty good job of staying busy and having fun.  We are looking forward to fall, the cooler temps and a little bit of structure and time to slow down a bit.  Up next...Addie's first day of preschool!

Addie Turns 3

Addie turned 3 on July 17.  She had been so excited for her birthday for months and we had such a fun day celebrating.  We started out our day at Boondocks where she got to do everything for free.  She did mini bowling, arcades/rides, and the playground.  Her favorite part by far was the prizes she got from my mad ski-ball skills.

Reminiscing about when my little Addie cakes was born

She insisted on wearing her rain boots.  If it had been any other day I would have won that fight...but it was her birthday!

Addie was lucky to have my big sis Mandi and her kiddos in town and it worked out for them to come hang out with us all day.  Lily is Addie's only girl cousin that is remotely close to her age and they played so cute together.  After Boondock's we met up with Crystal, my Mom, Mandi, and her kids at City Creek for lunch and a trip to the Disney store.

Hanging out by the fountains.

Summer birthdays really are so much fun!  We had a water party with a $5 slip'n'slide that everyone loved!

Even Logan got in on the action

Addie and Lily ended up having the same swimsuit and they had both gotten the same Rapunzel doll at the Disney store.  They thought it was pretty cool to be twins!

My mom got a cupcake pinata and it was an absolute hit! Everyone was able to have a turn and then we finally had to pull out a real bat and get one of the bigger kids to break it open!

Addie was spoiled rotten and go so many fun new things.  She loves her new table and tea set and got Logan to have a tea party with her the next day!

We just love this sweet, spunky, sassy, practically bald-headed little girl.  It is hard to believe she is already 3.  I adore watching her learn and explore each day.  She is so smart and has the memory of an elephant, literally doesn't forget anything...EVER! She loves all things princesses, pink, purple, dress-ups, books, collecting random things for her collection (just like Ariel), playing pretend, coloring, helping me with anything and everything, and is just such a joy in our lives. She is an amazing big sis to Logan and is always looking out for him and trying to cheer him up when he's sad.  Happy Birthday sweet girl, we love you!