"Cheese Please"

Logan has been talking in phrases here and there for a while now, but he is saying more and more lately. A couple of nights ago he was so cute sitting in his high chair saying "cheese please" over and over again! The more we laughed at him, the more he said it! A couple of weeks ago I started noticing him babble for a bit and then say "you Daddy" or "you Mommy". I thought I had heard him say "I love you" in some of those, but last week he clearly said "I love you Daddy!". One morning this week he woke up and from his crib started calling out, "I want you Mama!". Of course I ran right to him and gave him a hug! It seems that everyday for about a week now I've been able to distinguish at least one sentence out of his babbling.

Logan has been practicing stacking blocks lately. He usually stacks three and then tries for a fourth, but knocks it down instead. Today Logan stacked five small wooden blocks on top of each other!

Tonight when I was giving Logan his passy before bed I asked him what color it was, and he said "orrge" or orange! I couldn't believe it! I had no idea he was starting to understand the colors I keep talking about!

Some of the pictures in the slide show are of one of Logan's favorite things to do for the last several weeks. Stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, and then of course..sit! Not only does he do this in his cute little chair, but he also does it on a shoebox, Daddy's guitar case, the stairs, or anything else he can find. Another thing I realized recently that he's been doing for months now is that anytime I hang up the phone with someone, Logan echoes my "bye". So if you've called in the last two and a half months, Logan has probably told you "bye" too! One other thing that has been very sweet to watch is Logan's love for books and reading. He routinely asks to be read books after breakfast and before bedtime, but also all through the day he loves to either "read" on his own or be read to.

Logan is growing so quickly, I thank God daily for every second I get to spend with him. Hopefully I can track some of the precious things he does on this blog.

Fun and Busy Week!

This past week was very busy, but fun-filled!  On Sunday, we finally made it to the fair after everyone recovered from being sick.  We had a great time hanging out with Shelley and JJ, riding rides, and eating lots of yummy food!  Sunday night we went to a Reformation Celebration with our friends Dave and Beth.  The party was on a farm so when Logan saw the animals, he ran over and starting making all of their sounds at each animal as soon as he saw them.  We just missed the horse rides, but Logan did get to sit on top of one of the friendly horses.  Monday we went to a Halloween party at Red Hat where Logan seemed to be right at home running around where Daddy works!  Tuesday was spent catching up on errands, then Wednesday we made it back to Storytime at the library where we made some new friends!  Logan gets so excited about going to the library.  He walks in and says "book, book!"  He's actually said "storytime" before too!  One of his favorite things to do is read books.  He has a great attention span, sitting and reading several books at a time.  He showed off for our friend Beth the other day by getting out his baby word book and naming tons of pictures, then pointing to the ones we asked him about along with all of his body parts (he knows hair, head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, fingers, hands, arms, elbows, belly, belly button, legs, toes, feet)!  He doesn't always "perform" when you ask, but then sometimes he surprises you and counts to three or sings his ABCs to E!  Beth asked him to go get her keys for her in the other room, and he went and brought them to her.   He is following directions really well now, but Logan is always a ham for Beth!  

Back to our week though, Thursday is music day where Logan loves to dance, then Friday we went to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences with Logan's friends Grace and Natalie (unfortunately we forgot to take pictures, but I'm sure we'll go back!).  Logan loved all of the huge globe exhibits...he kept exclaiming "ball, ball!"  He also loved the butterfly conservatory where the tropical butterflies fly all around you.  Then Friday night for Halloween we went over to the Scotts' house to go on a "hay ride" (hay on a trailer pulled behind the 4 wheeler!) and trick or treat.  What a blast!  When I told Logan we were going on a hay ride he repeated hay, but it sounded more like he thought I was saying "hey".  He repeats words constantly now, and builds his vocabulary more and more every day!  Then Saturday we went to Cary Band Day which was a parade of bands through downtown Cary.  Logan LOVED it!  We are definitely going to have to put him in a music class soon!  That will probably be one of his Christmas presents.  He asks to play music at home every day  (he usually dances with Mommy around the house!).  You'll have to check out the video of him dancing.  

Blogging Again...

A couple of weeks ago we had a chance to see lots of good friends that we hadn't seen in a while!  We packed in the fun starting in Greenville getting pictures taken (if you want to see those you can go to capturedmomentsbykaren.lifepics.com and enter event code radez), then catching a pampered chef party at the Johnston's, then coming back to Apex for my "little sister's" wedding.  It was so much fun to see Logan and Sadie playing together again, especially since the week before we went Logan said "Sadie" for the first time!  They had a blast staying up way past their nap times!   Logan has been talking so much lately that I actually made a list of all the words I could think of that he says on a regular basis and there are over 50!!  He also readily repeats words too!   Then off to Chris and Danielle's wedding where we had a photo shoot with the Delzers.  I'm sure Logan and Miles will be playing together soon!  Logan went out with the bachelors to catch the garter, but he must have realized what was happening right before it was thrown because he ran away just in time!  

Settling In

I'm not quite sure where to begin, but I'll do my best.  We have been super busy over the last 2 months.  We are settling into our new home in Apex, NC.  Thankfully, I still feel that this has been a good change for our family.  I think that the transition has been as smooth as it could possibly have been.  God is so gracious!  We have begun the process of finding a new church family, and are quite excited about the new family we have started to get to know.  Radez and I do tremendously miss our family from Greenville though.  

Well, Logan is now one!!  In the process of posting pictures, I figured more people look at Facebook than our blog, so that's where the 1st birthday pics went first.  I've just recently been reminded of my desire to continue blogging.  It seems strange how God uses people and events in our lives to remind us how important friendships, and keeping in touch with other people are.  Logan's first birthday was just as exciting as I had hoped for.  I documented on camera almost everything he did throughout the day!  It was so much fun to watch his excitement even though he didn't realize what was going on.  We'll definitely have to work on the cake eating for #2.  Both parties he had, he dug right in with his hands but hardly ate any cake. Even after trying to force him to eat a little, he seemed not to like it.  I guess that could be a good thing!  Playing in it was definitely more fun than eating it!    

I think in the slide show posted below are pictures from my brother's wedding and our vacation to Cape May, NJ with family.  Brian and Wendy's wedding was beautiful, and I'm so glad to have a wonderful new sister-in-law.   We've really enjoyed spending time with them since they've come home, and are looking forward to many more memorable times with them since they'll be staying in America!!  

Our time in NJ was amazing!  We drove through the night right after Brian and Wendy's wedding so Logan could sleep through the entire trip...mostly.  We had a great time sitting out on the porch and on the beach relaxing and hanging out with family.  I think we had ice cream 4 nights in a row, and Radez and Molly had creamed chip beef 3 days in a row (kind of like biscuits and gravy...not my fav)!  Good thing we go for walks every morning!  Logan LOVED the beach!  An unending sand box can entertain him for hours!  One of the cutest things he did was try to chase the birds down the beach!  He kicked his crawl into high gear, and followed a couple of birds as long as they would let him!  The water was unusually cold even for NJ, so he wasn't thrilled about the ocean until it finally warmed up...the last day we were there.  Thank goodness for video cameras!  We were able to capture his excitement.  

Other minor exciting things we've been doing around town are going to the library for story time, going to Bruegger's Bagel Shop for music time, and we recently got a membership to Marbles Kids' Museum in Raleigh.  Logan and I love getting out during the day.  It's been a great way to meet new people, and I think the social interaction has been wonderful for Logan!

Click on the picture to see more.  It's a little long.  I'm still trying to figure out how to select a few without selecting all.

First Steps...

Logan took his first three consecutive steps Friday night! He wanted to get from one chair to another on the back porch of his Grampa Radez's house. We've noticed his balance greatly improving after walking in the baby pool so much recently. He is able to take several steps independently in water up to his chest. He usually progresses gradually in major milestones, so in the next couple of weeks we expect he'll be walking around everywhere! I'll post pictures when we get home (we're in Raleigh), and video whenever we can capture him in the moment!

We also took our first steps to moving into a house in Apex, NC. We signed a contract yesterday on a house that we are hoping to buy in a couple of weeks! Time is flying by! God is so faithful to provide all that we need for life and godliness! We are so thankful that although plans did not come together in our timing, His timing is much better. He used this circumstance to grow and teach us in several areas. Patience was a big one! Due to the last minute timing, we were also able to get a better deal on this house! I'll post pictures soon...or you can view it on Radez's blog.

Summer Fun!

Logan has had a busy week playing with friends! We've been trying to make the most of our time left in Greenville by spending time with friends. Logan had a blast playing in the sand with Sadie. Sadie just learned to share, and had a busy couple of days trying to teach Logan how. He tried to imitate her sharing by holding a toy out to her. But when Sadie tried to take the toy, Logan did not want to let go. That didn't stop Sadie, though!! She can pull pretty hard! Logan also had fun playing at Barnes and Noble and at the pool with Bryce and Molly! He's so excited that Bryce is starting to like the water as much as he does! And today, he had fun playing with Mallory Kate and Connor. Mallory Kate was pretty upset that he wasn't staying so she could babysit him! They had fun playing anyway.

We've been trying to adjust Logan's nap schedule, so he's been quite tired in the mornings.  I thought he would at least wake up for lunch when we got home this morning!  I was wrong...I did wake him up to feed him.  

Click on the picture to view the slideshow!  By the way, Logan did not actually drink the beer!

We're back...for now!

It feels good to be home!  I'm not sure how long it's been since we've spent an entire week in our house, but hopefully this week we'll be here all week!  We have been super busy trying to find a house in Apex.  We are under contract on our house, but there are still details to be worked out before we can make an offer on the house we like there.  We should be able to make an offer in the next few days though.  We are excited about the upcoming move, but we are starting to realize how short of a time we have left with our friends here in Greenville that we will miss so much!

Our new favorite activity is going to the pool together!!  Logan absolutely loves the water!  He has no fear.  He loves to walk around in the baby pool, play with other children (he tries to "talk" to all the kids), and jump up and down in the water.  When we pull him around on his tummy, sometimes he kicks his legs and paddles with his arms (check out the video!).  He even tried to blow bubbles in the water after watching us blow bubbles today!  Logan had a great time swimming at the pool in Granny and Grandpa Ellis' neighborhood when we spent the night with them this week!!

Logan has been crawling now for a couple of weeks!  I've been trying to capture a good crawl on video, but of course he doesn't crawl long distances when I'm video taping him.  I expected him to be into everything, but he's learning his boundaries well for the most part (especially at home).  He responds fairly well when told he's not allowed to do something... most of the time. 

Logan is beginning to become more snugly!!  We love it!!  He's starting to give hugs and cuddle longer.  He even went around his room one day hugging his stuffed animals!  It was the cutest thing ever!  When I was giving him a hug and rubbing his back before bedtime, he started rubbing my back, too!  The funny thing is that my mom loves to tell the story of when I used to pat her back when she patted mine too.  We hope we can continue to teach him to be loving and kind, and that he would understand what that means. 

Click on the picture to see the slide show!