Logan - October 2011

A poor excuse for a mother sits down to write this letter tonight because I can't even use the cop out of just pictures and their captions - because I have NO pictures of you from this month. Yeah I'm pretty ashamed of myself buddy. I did get this video of you tonight though - hopefully it works. It won't do much for you if you are reading this in the book I plan to make, but it is pretty stinking cute. I taught you a song I remember from a TV show when I was little that goes like this... "I love you in the morning and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening and underneath the moon! Skidamarink-e-dink-e-dink, skidamarink-e-doo. I. LOVE. YOU!" We sing it at night, and the best part is when you start singing it to me through the car window when I drop you off at school. Ah you melt my heart when you do that, blow me a kiss, and then turn and run down the sidewalk in your big white skater shoes and your Transformer backpack bouncing along behind you. THAT is what I need to get a picture of. I will take my camera tomorrow and try to get that moment saved forever.

You LOVE school, which makes this momma so proud. I hope you stay that way. I hope it continues to come easily for you because I know that you have a pretty strong trait in your DNA that makes you discouraged if things don't come easy right at first. No, we aren't quitters in this family, but we don't like to do things unless we are GOOD at them and right off the bat too. You've got this preschool thing down pretty dang good though. You love to come home and do your homework right after school. You only have one page of homework to do, but the other day you snuck your homework folder out of your backpack and started on the homework for the NEXT week you were so excited. I guess I need to get some more pages printed off and challenge you some more.

You also get a simple book to read each night at home, and you are getting really good at figuring out your sight words and even trying to sound out some of the bigger words. You are always asking me how to spell things and also asking me what things like L-O-O-G-N-K spell. You're making me work hard at trying to explain the crazy rules of the English language, but I am bound and determined to do it. You'll probably think I'm crazy for always correcting you, but the way you speak (and write!) says so much about the person you are, and I want people to know how smart you are! There are some things I can't explain very well though like why know and knife don't start with 'N'. We had that discussion this last week, and I think our brains both hurt by the time I decided to leave it with - because they just do!

You have been coming up with possible names for the new baby, which usually have some kind of resemblance to your own name. I've heard Breegan, Reegan, Treegan, and today it was just the letter "B." You must be looking out for your little bro with that one, thinking it would make school so much easier if you only had to learn to write one letter for your name. It has been pretty amusing to hear the names you come up with.

You are such a good kid, and I have been seriously enjoying the last few weeks with you and your sister. The break you get from us at preschool seems to have made the house run so much more smoothly. We've been going to the park almost every afternoon after school to get some fresh air and pass the afternoon somewhere besides the house, and sitting there in the cool air watching you both play or reading a book I have felt like I am living a dream getting to spend so much time with the two of you. I hope you always know how much I enjoy being home with you. I really enjoyed my job in Cedar, but the guilt I felt leaving you at day care every day was so hard to deal with. On my days off I would feel like I didn't know what to do with you. I didn't even know how to put you down for a nap! We have made sacrifices for me to be home here in Kanab, and I am so thankful your dad has a job that allows me to be here. I miss working outside of the home (I still work!), but I wouldn't miss watching you guys grow up for the world.

Thanks for being such a great kid Logan,

Mom

28 Months - October 2011

Well I think your dad was about to lose faith in me getting your letter written this month. I used to wonder what stay-at-home moms did all day - but holy cow I swear I'm about as busy now as I was when I was working! Lucky for you I got on the computer to work tonight and had some crummy, mumbling, fast-talking doctors in my queue so I took that as a sign I needed to do this instead!

September went by so fast! Logan started preschool, and we also helped out at Ms. Teresa's this month. You were wondering why Logan was the only one getting first day of school pictures so I had to snap a few of you on the first day too...
Logan did well going right into school without any problem. The problem came when I picked you up to leave!! You threw a HUGE fit and wanted to stay at school too. I tried to make you (me?) feel better by taking you out to lunch at Junction, but you were hysterical again the next day when we dropped him off. Needless to say I asked Ms. April to put you on the list for next year just in case you still have a strong desire to go to school then. You've gotten used to the routine now, and you and I quite enjoy that 2 hours in the afternoon to either hang out together or just to let you play with all of Logan's toys without him taking them away from you! It's definitely been a good thing for all of us.

With preschool came our first sicknesses for a while, and of course your little tiny sniffle turned into a big deal with your reactive airway crap that seems to be as prevalent in our little family as being tongue tied. Your momma is getting smarter though and had the nebulizer ready with a brand new prescription for albuterol. It is still scary though, and I have to spend a few days wondering whether I need to take you to the ER or not. I hope your lungs grow out of their overactiveness like Logan's did, and soon! At least you are old enough to be a trooper and not scream and fight the nebulizer mask and will actually hold it yourself if I need to be up and doing something else...


Your dad got lucky this year and was an alternate for a bull elk tag on the Dutton for the muzzleloader hunt. We expected him to be gone for a couple weeks, but he ended up getting a good bull after only being gone from home for 4 days. We were excited to go up and see him and stay out camping for the weekend since it might be our last time for a while, but you were sick AGAIN, and you and I ended up coming home again that night. The next day you didn't sound as bad and told me you wanted to go camp with Logan and dad, so I packed up your nebulizer and we headed back up on the mountain. You ended up having a blast even if you did still feel a little crummy.

Dad's bull! We think he's pretty cool.

Chillin' in the trailer watching Lion King

Pretty happy about stealing daddy's new cool chair.

You fell asleep after your long hike on dad and Uncle Boo's shoulders to Powell Point, so we put you in the box to ride down. I have to say I was pretty jealous of your comfy ride down the mountain!

There is an upside to this letter being so late that I just remembered I was going to add. Your dad came home last night and was holding you in the kitchen when I heard him say, "What did you just put in your mouth?" I looked over to see you give him a huge smile and say, "A BOOGIE!!" We both just laughed. You and Logan make us laugh all the time, and the two of you have been getting along pretty well lately too. It makes me wonder what we were thinking messing up this lovely little group we've got going on here by adding another one, but I also know that everyone will adjust, and pretty soon we will wonder what life was like when it was just the four of us, just like we have a hard time remembering what life was like without you in our family. We're so glad to have your goofy personality, nasally voice, high-pitched squeals in our house.

Love you so much,

Mom