Our First Thanksgiving as a Family of Three!

This week has been really fun! We've really got to spend a lot of time together as a family.


Thursday was our first Thanksgiving without an insane schedule and traveling all over GA and TN. We decided to join some friends, Josh and Taylor, who also didn't have any family gatherings and have a nontraditional Thanksgiving dinner. We had Crab Bisque, Salad, Crab Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Red Lobster style Cheddar Biscuits, and for dessert Chocolate Pie and Key Lime Pie. It was really, really good! The boys watched a little football while us girls cooked up a storm. I had lots of fun just chilling and not going by any one's schedule but my own!

Friday Brent and I went out in the craziness called Black Friday and did a little shopping. Brent was thinking that Athens wouldn't be crowded since UGA students were gone for the holiday. I just said ok, even though I knew in the back of my head that he was in for a big surprise! The first place we come up to is Toys R Us, which is right beside Best Buy. It was about 6:45 a.m. and the parking lot for both, of course, was packed and people were fighting for parking spots. The whole town was crazy but it was nothing like the craziness of Hamilton Place and Gunbarrel Rd. back home. We did see two busted in rear windows at Toys R Us where people were probably breaking in cars and getting previously bought Christmas presents from inside the car. That was a little disheartening. Why would people do that?! I guess these desperate times call for desperate measures, but it's still uncalled for! I went ahead and let Logan know that Santa isn't real and I let him see all his Christmas presents early! Poor baby, I'm sure I've ruined him for life. Once again we did too much shopping for ourselves (the deals were just too good, ya know!) and not enough on everyone else so we barely put a dent into our Christmas shopping. I finally found the jumperoo I have been searching for all over Atlanta! A little background about the jumperoo...I put it on my registry and it was my favorite thing that I had found. It's a jumperoo shaped like a horse and it neighs and gallops when the baby jumps. It's sooo cute!! Anyways, I didn't end up getting it at the shower so Brent and I decided that we would get him that for Christmas since he wouldn't be able to use it before then anyways. Well, Frito Lay threw us a baby shower and they got us a jumperoo but not the horse one so I took it back to Babies R Us to get the horse one but learned that it had been discontinued! My heart was almost broken, I wanted him to have that thing so bad!! So I had given up hope until we walked into Wal-Mart and there it was, even in the right color (I wanted the one with the real horse colors and not the bright blue one)! Not only was it at Wal-Mart but it was only $35 when it was either $69 or $79 originally at Babies R Us! Santa is also bringing Logan and red wagon with seats, seat belts and even a sippy cup holder, so we can roll him around the neighborhood next Summer. Brent got a home gym for Christmas. He already has it put together and set up in the garage. We can work out every body part with this machine, it's really neat. Now all we need is a treadmill for some cardio so if you know of anyone trying to get rid of one, let us know!!

Saturday we finally put up our Christmas tree. We had been trying to get to it all week! Brent also put up some lights outside. I decided to make the lights on the tree flash this year since Logan enjoys lights so much. He sat in his chair by the tree for at least an hour last night, just staring at the tree! He loves the flashing lights!! I've already got some presents wrapped and under the tree. The mantel and fireplace are decorated as well. It's really starting to feel like Christmas around here and I'm really getting in the Christmas spirit. There's something about Black Friday shopping that always gets me in the Christmas mood.

I'll post some pictures of the outside lights and the Christmas tree as soon as I get a chance. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

We just got back from doing our rounds for Thanksgiving late last night. We really had a good weekend and we're glad everyone got to meet Logan. We headed to Chickamauga early Saturday morning. Logan did really well during the car ride and we only had to stop to feed him once. We got to my parents just in time to unpack the car, change clothes and drop the dogs off and then we headed out to Brent's grandmothers. She had cooked potato soup and sandwiches which was really good. She even left out the onions so I could eat it. Larry was there as well and he got to spends lots of time with Logan. The boys were watching the football game and Larry kept telling Logan "shoo nasty Vols", it was cute!

Later that evening we went to Julie's side of the family for their Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone just went on and on about Logan. Everyone is so excited about him! He was really good and didn't get upset unless he was hungry.

After we left there we went to Cindy and Ernie Howard's so they could meet Logan. Brent and Lauren were there too, so they also got to meet him. At this point Logan was over being out and about and being held so we didn't stay there long. Plus it was his bedtime and he let us know he was not happy being awake! I was glad they got to see him though, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Once we got home, Laura and I decided we'd have a deviled egg cook off tomorrow instead of fighting over who got to make them. So we made two batches of deviled eggs after Logan went to bed. We always seem to fight over who gets to make the deviled eggs for some reason, it stems back to when we were little.

Sunday morning I helped mom with the last preparations. I don't know if you noticed, Mom, or not but I totally forgot to sweep the kitchen. I think Logan got hungry and I forgot all about it. I'm not sure it ever got done, I know it didn't by me!! Oops!! The rest of the family got there between 1:30-2:00. Dinner was delish. Sadly my deviled eggs lost the cook off cause Mom told me to cut olives in half and put them on top and apparently people didn't like that. I was just doing as I was told!! Geez!! Take the stupid olive off people! haha!! Later we had out usual marsh mellow war outside with the kids, which was a lot of fun but it was freezing so I didn't stay out that long!! For those of you that don't know about marsh mellow fighting, it's when you take 1/2 inch PVC pipe cut into 12 inch sections. Each person gets a pipe and a baggie full of tiny marsh mellows. You wad the marsh mellow up into a little ball and put it in the end of the pipe and blow and shoot it at people. This way, no one gets hurt since marsh mellows aren't hard. It's actually lots of fun and the kids really enjoy it, as well as some of the big kids-especially when we gang up on Jeff! Some of the kids do tend to use spit and then you have sticky marsh mellows stuck on you, but I think they are pretty much getting the hang of it and there aren't as many wet marsh mellows as there has been in the past.

Sunday evening we go to Brent's Mimi's so everyone could meet Logan, since we're not going to make it back on Thursday. Logan was a little fussy at first but calmed down after a few minutes. Of course he picked Mimi as his spit up target and boy did he get her good! She didn't seem to mind that much though.

We got home about 11 last night. Logan was good on the way back as well. We didn't even have to stop for him to eat. He slept sooo good last night. I'm sure he's worn out! He has only gotten up to eat today, he's pretty much slept the rest of the time. Luckily he hasn't been too fussy from being held so much and apparently he's not sore from it all. All in all, it was a great weekend. Now, I'm looking forward to the short week and spending the holiday as a family at home. Oh, and of course Black Friday shopping!! I posted some pictures below of all the festivities and at the very bottom are some Christmas photos I took of Logan. I'm trying to decide which one to use for Christmas cards.



Larry and Logan, napping on Brent's grandmother's couch.



Pawpaw and Logan.

Mawmaw and Logan.

Mimi and Logan

Lisa and Logan with the quilt she made him.

Julie and Logan

Here are the Christmas photos I took last week.

Julie's Pictures

Here are some of the pictures Julie took! I posted just a "few" of my favorites!

Olan Mills pictures are back.

The Olan Mills pictures are back. I scanned them in so everyone could see them.

Grocery Shopping With A Newborn

So today I finally broke down and decided to go to the grocery store since we barely had anything left in the house to snack on and no drinks, I was really left with no option. It's pretty chilly out here and a little windy so I bundled Logan up and made sure he was fed, had a fresh diaper and generally happy. My worst fear is going some place by myself and him have a fit in the middle of the store so I tried my hardest to ensure that didn't happen. Here's a pic of my little bundle of joy all bundled up for winter.




So off to the store we go. He does really well at first. He slept on the way there, as he usually does once the car starts moving. I was able to unload him and get him in a buggy without waking him, which is a miracle in itself cause I can barely get the car seat out of the car without causing a fuss. He slept til about half way though the store and then he wakes up but he doesn't wake up mad he just looks around as if he is curious and investigating his surroundings. Well, he starts to whimper just a little, so out comes passy. For some reason passy just makes him really mad. Not "leave the buggy in the middle of the store and run" mad but more than just fussy so off to checkout we go, me holding one hand on passy and pushing the buggy (that wants to drift right) with the other. As we progress to checkout he gets fussier and fussier but the line is short so I decided I might as well just go ahead and check out. Plus if I abandon the buggy in the front of the store someone is bound to see me do it. So at checkout I am unloading my groceries with one hand and still holding the other on the passy. By the way, Logan has yet to master the art of holding on to passy with his mouth while sucking at the same time, hence why it has to be held in place. While mastering the art of making one hand turn into many hands as mothers seem to be able to do, I am approached by a man behind me offering to unload my groceries for me. I tell him that I've got it but he insists. The whole time he is helping me with my groceries I'm thinking, "oh, gosh, he's going to try to hit on me." Not that I was one to hit on today, I had on a big sweatshirt and jeans and my hair had air dried and I had it back. I definitely was a sight for sore eyes, but the fact that I was a young mother with a crying baby probably made me a vulnerable target. Luckily I was wrong, he didn't hit on me at all. Turns out once he was finished helping me he walked over to his wife and family that were waiting on him. What a lucky woman, not only does her husband go to the grocery store with her but he's nice enough to help out another seemingly helpless woman in the grocery store. So Logan is getting increasingly mad, making me wish I had used the whole abandon buggy in the middle of the store and run method. I could feel the evil stares of other customers as I waited on the cashier, an old slow lady, ring up my groceries one by one. I use to hate people like me. Why don't these people wait til their husband gets home for work? Why don't these people make sure their kid isn't going to get hungry in the middle of shopping? Don't those people plan ahead for such events? Well, I did plan ahead, I fed him before I left. If I waited on Brent to get home, I would have had to get dinner ready first, then make sure Logan is fed so he doesn't do this to Brent while I'm 10 minutes away and have to rush back home, plus it would have been late before I could have gone. So needless to say, I was one of the people I use to not be able to stand. The more Logan fussed, the faster the old lady got. Apparently he was making her uncomfortable too. I only got $60 worth of groceries so you wouldn't think that would take but just a minute to ring up. I pay and head to the car, still pushing the buggy that drifts with one hand and holding passy with the other. I get Logan loaded up and the groceries in the car. As soon as the car starts moving Logan is out again. He sleeps all the way home and even long enough for me to get the groceries unloaded and put up. Then, as I'm putting up the last bag, he wakes and is hungry, AGAIN! I swear the boy could eat a horse if offered to him. So this is a day in the life of a new mom and her adventures to the grocery store with a newborn and even though it was a little stressful I still wouldn't change it for the world.

It's already been a month?

People were right when they said time flies even faster once you have children. Logan is already a month old. It's seems like we just left the hospital yesterday. According to my "accurate" method of measurement, he now weighs 11 lbs. Wow, what a big boy!! That's pretty much a pound a week!! He has all the required dirty and wet diapers and that along with the weight gain means that we are still breastfeeding successfully. He's starting to sleep better at night. He still has the occasional up every hour night, but they are coming less frequently. Two nights ago he only got up once and then last night he got up twice. It's nice to get a solid 3-4 hours straight of sleep every now and then! I read online that until 4 months it's normal for him to get up once or twice a night to eat, so he's doing everything like he is suppose to. He slept in his crib for the first time last night. My goal was to have him in his room by 6 weeks. I did better than I thought I would with him not being in arms reach and out of sight but I did manage to situate the monitor to where I could hear him breathe ;) .

Julie, aka Granny J, came down last weekend to visit. She got lots of time with Logan and I'm pretty sure there's no sugar left for Maw maw or Lisa this weekend. Friday night we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, which has become our favorite spot since Logan arrived. Logan was really good while we were there and didn't cause a scene. Saturday night we went to Shoki, a Japanese place, and I finally had my first glass of wine in almost a year and it was absolutely wonderful! She brought down her fancy camera and we had a little family photo shoot. I took some with my camera as well and they turned out pretty good and I can only imagine how well hers turned out. I can't wait to see them, hopefully they will be ready this weekend.

I finally found Logan an new pediatrician. I'm not sure if I wrote about the last pediatrician or not, but I definitely was not happy with her. Last time I took him in for his 2 wk weight check, I was the only person in the waiting room that spoke English and the place just felt dirty and rundown. Even the signs in the waiting area were in Spanish first, then English, if English was posted at all. The new ped is Gwinnett Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. They are in Hamilton Mill area which is a nicer area of town. Some of Brent's coworkers recommended them so I'm hoping it goes better at this office. Their website is very nice and from what I can tell from pictures it appears new and clean. His next appointment is Dec. 18.

Logan is doing some cute things now, well, they are cute to me anyways. He can recognize mine and his daddy's voice and will turn in whatever directions we are. He will follow us while walking across the room and will follow our hand with his eyes when waved in front of him. My favorite thing ever is when he's crying (well, not the crying part) and I go to pick him up and he curls up on my shoulder like it's his favorite place to be and immediately stops crying, it melts my heart every time. It's like he's saying "mommy, I love you so much!"

We have a busy week ahead of us but I'm really looking forward to everyone meeting Logan. Tomorrow I have to go pick up photos from Olan Mills. I hope tomorrow is warmer than it was yesterday and today, I'm not looking forward to getting him out in the freezing cold this winter but I can't stay couped up either. Friday I will spend packing for our first time traveling with a baby. I'm sure I'll pack way too much for him, but you never know how many outfits he will ruin with spit up. Saturday we will head out early. We are visiting Brent's grandmother and dad during the day and then heading to Soddy Daisy that evening for Brent's family's Thanksgiving. Somewhere I hope to squeeze in cooking with Mom since that use to be my favorite part of the holidays, the night before when we would cook everything. Sunday is my family's Thanksgiving at my parents and then that evening we are visiting Brent's Mimi's. We decided to squeeze everyone in this weekend instead of making two trips. This Thanksgiving will be the first holiday since we've been married that we get to spend at home as a family instead of doing insane travel, which I'm really looking forward to. We plan on putting up the Christmas tree and having a big dinner at home.

I learned a trick!!

Today I learned a trick! Logan was wide awake and a little fussy and DID NOT want to be put down. Needless to say I wasn't getting one thing done around the house, so I decided to get out his swing that we had yet to use. He absolutely LOVED it. He was trying so hard to figure out where the music was coming from. Below is a picture of my happy baby! Then.....



About 2 minutes later, he's passed out!! He hasn't slept all day except during the car ride to the grocery store and all it took was a little swinging. What a great investment. Below is a picture of my precious sleeping baby. Now off to do housework!

Logan's First Bath

Just posting a couple picture of Logan's first bath. He wasn't too fond of it!

Newbornness is fading...

I highly doubt newbornness is a word but you all know I tend to make up my own vocabulary at times. So this is my disclaimer to Laura J. (the English major) so she doesn't call and tell me how awful my grammar is, which I know is really bad most of the time anyways.

Today, Logan's umbilical cord stump fell off. It's the last of the things that happen in the first few weeks of life. These three weeks have flown by. I can't believe that he's already entering in the "infant" stage and leaving the "newborn" stage behind. He's growing out of most of his NB size clothes, his NB diapers are long gone, he can finally have a real bath today, his little head is not cone shaped anymore, and now his umbilical cord is gone. I know, this is really silly, but it's the little things that get lost in the everyday and I'm trying really hard to savor and remember every minute of this.

I weighed myself yesterday and then weighed while holding him and according to that "accurate" method of measurement, he now weighs roughly 10 lbs. I'm not sure I believe it though because it was just Monday that he weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz. He is a little piggy and eats ALL the time, so who knows. I must add that I am now down to my prepregnancy weight and back in my old jeans for about a week now!! Still got some work to do, but I'm glad to be out of maternity clothes (for the next couple months anyways ;) ).

I've found my calling in life. It's not to be a career woman, it's not to be a doctor or a lawyer...it's to be a mother. This is what I was made to do. People always thought I was crazy because I didn't strive to have some important sounding career. I didn't want a Master's degree or to be a corporate president, etc. Yes, I went to school, got a degree...but while getting that degree I made sure it would work around a family, because having a family was what I really wanted in the end. At 17, I decided to start college to get my Medical Transcription diploma. I told my mom that, that was something I could do from home once I had children. At 17, and probably even earlier, I knew exactly what I wanted and now I have it and I'm loving every single minute of it. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who is career oriented and has one of those important sounding titles and brings home the bacon so we can have a family.

Speaking of Brent, he is doing so good with Logan. As soon as he gets home, he pretty much takes over and spends every second he can with his baby boy. We did have a little situation the other day. He came home early to watch the baby so I could go vote on Tuesday. The news had be talking of extremely long lines and I didn't want to wait in line with a newborn. I left at 3:50. I was trying to get there before people started getting off work. I go right in and vote, no wait whatsoever, so I decided to run down to Dollar General for a couple odds and ends we needed. At 4:20, I get a frantic phone call from Brent. He's freaking out because Logan is crying and he can't get him to stop, he said Logan was crying harder than he'd ever seen him cry. So, to save Brent's sanity, I rush to the checkout and head home. I was about 5 miles from the house and got there in no time at all. He had finally got Logan calmed down for the most part, but Brent was a total mess. Sweat was dripping off his forehead and he was a nervous wreck. Turns out Logan was hungry, although I don't know how cause he had just nursed an hour before this (see, I said he was a little piggy)!! I'm not sure I'm allowed to leave the house without a milk stash in the fridge from now on, hehe!!

Picture Time

I took Logan to Olan Mills today to get his picture made because I had a coupon for a free picture package and no sitting fee (1-8x10, 2-5x7, 4 wallets). He did so good! He stayed awake and happy the entire time, even when I took his clothes off. Needless to say, the "free" picture package ended up costing me $70!! Shhhh, don't tell Brent! They will be available online tomorrow for all to see and once I get my user name and password I will email it to everyone so you can see them too.