Happy Halloween Part 2

Scary pair, huh?
Lions and Tigers
Girlfriend Payton in the candy bowl
Monster Man

We had a great time at Abby's last night. There were tons of kids, of course mine was the most well behaved of them all. We only made it about four blocks trick-or-treating with the group. Logan didn't care, it was cold and I figured I had better bug out while I can. Next year he'll be going ninety miles an hour.

Happy Halloween Part 1

We had a lazy morning at our house this morning. Last night was probably one of the best nights of sleep I've had since Logan was born. He slept from 10:30-2:45 then 3:15-7. He went right back to sleep when he did wake up after eating. We are heading to a friends for a get together tonight after we trick or treat. More pics of the worlds cutest baby in his tiger costume later...

Something To Say

I think the video says enough for today...

Blessed

Here was the scene at my house this morning. Mom came over for a brief visit and Logan was up, around and begging to be played with(I'm boring, he sees me all the time). He was full of smiles and giggles and even talked a bit for Nana.

We are so truly blessed to have such joy in our lives. As I sat down to write this post I also planned to check all my "pages" as I call them. At least twice a day I faithfully sit down and check in on the few blog pages that I follow. As I opened MckMama's blog this a.m. my heart was filled with sadness and worry.

Stellan went into SVT again last night and is in the PICU at Children's hospital once again. This poor baby has endured so many hospital stays, Dr. appts, IV sticks...you name it. Now he is once again fighting for his life, this time more sick than ever before and is on the ventilator. Please pray for this family, for baby Stellan and his doctors. You can leave any encouraging thoughts or prayers in the comments on MckMama's blog. I'm sure she would love to know how many people around the world are embracing them and lifting them up in prayer right now.

After reading MckMama's post from this morning I had to go in and check on Logan. I had just put him down for a nap. He was of course snoozing peacefully, pink and breathing without any problems as I knew he would be. I am so blessed...

Not Me Monday

I think this will be my last not me Monday post as sadly I must return to work next week. So, sit back, enjoy and feel free to chuckle...

Laundry...let's talk about the laundry. I did NOT wash half a basket of clean clothes this weekend after getting to the basement and discovering that someone had thrown ONE dirty shirt on the top of the nicely folded clean laundry just so that I wouldn't have to go put it all away right at that moment. Not me! Not this energy saving and water conserving woman of the house.

As my husband would probably assure you, it was not me who upon sucking boogies out of Logan's nose with the bulb syringe during a bath proceeded to squirt them out right there in his bath water. Nope, not me! (Okay really folks, he was all clean and it was the last thing left to do!)

Sunday while visiting some a friends house I did NOT use the fact that my infant child was awake and ready to eat as a politle reason to excuse my family from the boring conversation and head home early. Not me! If you know me you would also know that I'm not afraid to throw on the wrap and feed the kid anywhere.

This morning when I woke up I did NOT eat sugar cookies instead of fixing myself a decent meal for breakfast. Good thing Logan isn't big enough to notice yet!

If you enjoyed this mini-not me Monday post head on over to MckMama's blog and check out all the other Not me Monday Moms and their stories.

Look Who's Smiling!

Logan started smiling this weekend...actually I think it was Friday. Don't get me wrong, he has been cracking grins and smiles for about a month but prior to now you couldn't tell whether they were intentional or gas. Now he smiles over and over again when you do something he likes. My baby is growing up! While it fills my heart with joy to see him smile and hear him do his cute little baby cooing it also reminds me that this time is flying by. I have to go back to work next week. So, what will our last week of maternity leave bring? Hopefully lots of smiles...

Brothers

This is the scene I walked into when I came down from upstairs this morning...not sure I really want to know what kind of conversation they were having. You never know with two ornery boys!

What's Up?

In case you were wondering what we were up to today...we are hanging out at the house, lounging around in our sweats and trying to stay out of trouble. Logan is starting to love his tummy time. The first few times I laid him on his belly he just kicked and screamed. Now it's actually an enjoyable experience! I'd love to stay and write more but the little man just fell asleep, I heard the dryer shut off and I'm gonna try to get a few things done before he wakes up!

Not Me Monday

What an interesting yet completely boring week to write a "not me" post about this week...

I did not go to the pumpkin patch with a fever on Thursday simply because I wasn't going to let not feeling well ruin all of our fun. Not this nurse who preaches about when to stay home and know when it's time to take a time out. Not me!

I also did NOT on two seperate occasions this week place my infant child on the bed to take a nap with me so I could catch some shut eye. Not only does this break the #1 rule we teach parents about not sleeping with their children but my husbands #1 rule of no kids in our bed as well. Nope, not me!

Then last night at 3:00a.m. when I was just about to my wits end with the screaming baby, the coughing 12 year old and the barking dog I did NOT close the 12 year olds bedroom door to muffle his coughs(after medicating him with cough syrup of course), kick the dog outside and curl up in the rocker with the baby for just 10 minutes of peace. Not me! Sleep is so overrated anyhow!

While my "not me" post is rather subdued this week, head on over to MckMama's blog to read everyone else's "not me" adventures!

Family Weekend

Another quiet weekend...knock on wood...here at the Taylor house. Friday I took Logan to meet his Great-Great Granny Carver(see pic above). She was absolutely delighted with him and it was a surprise visit as Grandma Wilma was sneaky and didn't tell her we were coming!

Saturday was mostly spent at home. We did go out for a Mexican dinner. Things just haven't been quite right in Logan's intestinal world and I assured Steve it must be because I hadn't had ANY Mexican food in 6 days. Of course, this cured the problem...for awhile. Now we're back to square one again...we don't need to talk about that anymore! Then we played a few quick games of Pinocle with Nina and Papa.

Sunday lunch with Nina, Papa and the Great Grandparents(Newmans of course). Then big brother Christopher came home from his mom's on Sunday. Now I have all my boys back and the chaos resumes!

Fall Fun

Logan and I joined Abby and Peyton for an afternoon at the pumpkin patch. It was chilly but the kids were so adorable. I'm starting to think with this new camera of mine that I could do photography on the side, in addition to my real job. I love it!

Happy Fall

I hope that the rest of week goes as smoothly as the last two days. Yesterday I spent the entire day baking and hanging out with my mom. I'm so lucky to have such a great woman for a mother...and even more lucky that we are such great friends. Don't get me wrong...it wasn't always this way. It's amazing what a little bit of space and a few years of wisdom will do for an unruly daughter. Heh, heh...I'm sure she thinks the same thing. Love you mom!

These pictures were taken today. Another first! Can you believe it? I waited an entire five weeks to have Logan's first professional photos done. I had them done at Portrait Innovations which I must say was very cost effective as long as you can stick with one pose. I had to have two of course. Even then, it was cheaper than me taking the pics and then printing all the different sizes I needed at Wally World. I couldn't believe it! Although I was much more pleased with the photos I took when he was 1 1/2 weeks old I can't blame it all on the photo place. That's the beauty of taking pictures at home. You can wait until they are fed, changed, happy and awake before you start shooting. At the studio you take what you can get.

At any rate I still think they are very handsome photos. I know, I'm some what biased but oh well. Happy Fall everyone. The rainy cold weather and the chicken noodles we had for dinner have finally convinced me that fall is here.


P.S. I forgot, Logan's new weight it 8 lbs. and 10 ozs. He gained 20 ozs in the last 14 days! The milk truck definitely stops at our house...

Not Me Monday

Hmmm...where to start? Since I am such a wonderful wife and always concerned about providing wonderfully well-rounded meals for my family, I did not ask my husband to eat yet a second meal at my mom's yesterday consisting of only broccoli and sweet potatoes. Not me! We always have protein at dinner.

While cleaning the maternity clothes out of closet to move to storage I did not secretly save a few maternity shirts on the side. Lord knows I would never wear maternity clothes now that I am almost back down to my pre-pregnancy size simply because they are more comfortable. Nope, not me!

While rearranging the kitchen this a.m. in prep. for a day of baking with my mom I did not find something unidentifiable splattered all over the wall behind my coffee pot. Not me! My kitchen is always clean!

And I certainly did not call the dog into the kitchen to clean up the cookie dough that I dropped on the floor so that I wouldn't have to bend over and pick it up. Not this responsible dog owner!

Speaking of my oh so clean kitchen, my mother did not comment on the amount to stuff spilled on the shelves of my refridgerator and then continue on to clean the outside of the fridge as well. Not my mom and not in my shiny clean kitchen!

Want to join in on the not me Monday fun? Head on over to Mck Mama's blog to see all the other not me Monday posts and find everything you need to create your own!

Happy Early Birthday Aunt Kati

Hmm...which card to play?

Nope, that's the wrong one.

It's just too exhausting.

Hanging with Nana and brother

The Birthday girl

My mommy had fun dressing me today

Dad your whiskers feel funny!

Logan had a couple firsts today. We got up and went to church for the first time this morning. In fact, I'm very proud of the fact that I got the entire household out of bed, mobilized, fed and dressed for church in forty minutes. That has to be a record for us!

He also got his first taste of Ding Dong cake...second hand through my tasty milk of course. He played his first game of Pinocle. The last time we played he slept the entire time. This time he was wide awake and taking it all in.

He wore jeans and a real shirt for the first time. I have to say he looked very handsome dressed up like a little man. Good day, but long day. Hopefully we will all sleep well tonight.

Sleepy Baby

Although he's sleepy today, don't let that fool you! I had an all day conference on Friday. Thursday night he didn't go to sleep until about 1:30a.m. Then he was up again at 2:30, 4:35...I don't have any idea what the problem was. It presented a bit of a problem though because that meant I got about 3 hours of sleep total. Not good when you have to go sit in a chair and listen to someone speak all day. He slept much better last night though and for that I'm thankful.

While I was at the conference I met a nurse who is a member of La Leche League here in Wichita. I set up a time to go meet with her Tuesday after Logan's Dr. appt to see if she has any other miracle tricks to help us out with the feeding issues. She has eight kids, all of which she breastfed probably until they were three. Okay so really I'm just making that up. I have no idea how long she breastfed them but the point being she's done it a few times. Logan has actually been doing better but I can only feed him in one position without pain...a position that is not easy to hold him in, under my wrap in public. Hopefully she can help us out!

Quick Update

Logan is a bit fussy this a.m so I will make this brief. The appt. with the specialist yesterday went fine. They pretty much told me what I already knew. No, he isn't latching correctly. Yes it's the cause of all my pain and discomfort. We were there for an hour trying different positions and holds and only got him latched on the left side CORRECTLY one time...he does fine on the right. Wish I could just feed him on the right but that side doesn't produce enough. The good news is, even when he latches on wrong, he gets plenty of milk. I guess I should be happy about that! Somehow it's difficult to be happy about pain though. I have a few more weeks until I go back to work so I'll keep trying.

No News is Good News

Nana and Me
I love my uncle.
Speaking of love...

The doctors office called late yesterday afternoon to say that she wouldn't be in today so we are rescheduled for next Tuesday. Maybe I should take guesses on how much Logan will weigh by then!

For all the men who read this, and yes I know you're out there, I will spare you all the hairy details. However, Logan and I have an appt. with a lactation consultant(aka breastfeeding specialist) tomorrow to find out why he is tearing up my poor nipples! Hopefully we will both get some relief. I have a new found respect for all women that breastfeed to say the least.

AJ and Kristen came over for chili and some Pinocle last night. Good times...good times. Other than that no news from me is good news! We are enjoying the beautiful fall weather and trying to stay out of trouble.

Steve said...
Just to add to what you have said. He is starting to smile and notice voices. It is so amazing how he touches my heart each time I hold him in my arms, he is awesume. He is so worth all the pain and strugle it took to get him here with us. Hope your day goes well, Love Ya both.....

Not Me Monday

Okay, so many of you may have visited some of the pages I follow listed on the right hand side of my screen. Due to my recent but temporary career change of becoming a stay at home mom(for a short period of time) I will attempt to participate in this all to hilarious game MckMama plays. Feel free to visit MckMama's page and link up as well!

This week I did not become frustrated at 1:30 a.m. when my child refused to latch on and whip out the nipple shield purely for my convenience...nope, Not Me!

Speaking of breastfeeding, I did not also conveniently forget my breastpump at home so I would have a reason to leave the hospital at a decent time on Sunday, Not Me!

I did not leave a load of laundry in the washer for greater than 48 hours which is a personal pet peeve of mine that I routinely gripe at others in my household for. Not me!

And Lord knows that I always change my nursing tank top at least every other day. I would never where the same one for three days straight regardless of the fact that all my others were in the previously mentioned load of laundry in the washer. Not Me!

A Weekend On the Go

I'm a bad blogger...I know. Silence all weekend is not what you'd expect from me. Where shall I start? Friday I took Logan to the mall, just he and I. I thought I had it all together. I didn't even forget anything at the house! All my efforts were in vain! Logan screamed all the way to and from Wichita, was a complete pill in the mall and I didn't even find what I went for. How frustrating. Friday evening we enjoyed some peace and quiet at home.

Saturday we were up bright and early. Steve had a date with my grandpa to go split wood. Honestly, I know that someday soon when I get pics of all of them I will do a grandparents post. But today I couldn't resist sharing these photos. It was the first time Logan had met his Great Grandma Wilma and Great Grandpa Kenney. We are so blessed.

After the boys got done splitting wood we had a delicious lunch and enjoyed a few games of cards before heading home. Saturday night Logan was a bit crabby. I probably jinxed myself by thinking we had established any sort of routine.

Today it was lunch at my parents. Then I was off to Wichita to the hospital. I volunteer on our Perinatal Bereavement Team and today was one of two of our annual memorial services we hold for all the babies we lose at Wesley. The service went great. I couldn't wait to get back home to my boy!

Logan has already outgrown most of his "newborn" size outfits. He is getting to big, so quick. I bet he is close to nine pounds when we take him to the Dr. on Tuesday. Okay, that's all I can manage. A brisk walk and then chicken noodles for dinner are calling my name. Here's a pic to keep you wanting more. As you can see, the child can sleep anywhere.

This is How Our Days Go!

This expression says it all
Cuddling with Aunt Kate

Peace out dudes!

Okay, so I'm a big slacker...no post from yesterday. What I really can't believe is that I forgot to give you the update after taking Logan to the doctor on Tuesday. Not only did he gain weight, he gained 13 ounces in one week! That puts him up to 7 pounds and 6 ounces. He is now 21 inches long. Logan has been nursing with the help of a nipple shield due to some difficulties latching. No one ever really tells you how crappy breastfeeding can be until your newborn is nursing well. We're still working on it. Our goal for this week is to lose the nipple shield.

Aunt Kate came over and hung out yesterday all day. Today it was just Logan and I at home. He was in a weird mood. The look he has on his face in the top photo was there much of the day. I'm not really sure what the deal was. On a great note, he slept from 10:30-2 and 2:30-6 last night. These good blocks of sleep at night really cut down his daytime naps. He didn't sleep more than an hour at a time today. I'll take my sleep in 4 hour blocks at night over 2 hour blocks during the day anytime though!