Random bullets....

• I bought 2 bathing suits from Land's End for our upcoming vacation -- actually 2 tankinis.  (and I'm not afraid to say that I love them and their built-in, soft-molded cups!  Can I get an Amen from any other former breastfeeders?  Yes, I realize that this may mean I'm officially old!)
• We bit the bullet and will be getting a water-softening system next week.  I am excited about having normal hair again (seriously -- hard water does a major number on hair...especially colored hair!).....but I'm not excited that water softeners aren't exactly the cheapest things around.
• The Rams hosted an awesome NFL Draft Party last night.  Logan and I went with 3 of the families in our cul-de-sac (SB had to work).  We felt like we were living large -- hanging in the VIP room, and then playing all the games inside and outside.  A photographer from ESPN's radio station took this picture.....honestly, the boy is not without a ball in his arms for very long at any point during the day!

  

 

• I am so excited it's Friday!!  SB will continue to be wrapped up with the Draft - so it's just me and the little guy.  I'm hoping to fit in a long run tomorrow morning before SB heads to the practice facility, and then maybe we'll hit up the children's museum in the afternoon.  We have a birthday party for a 4 year-old neighbor on Sunday at a bounce-house place.  Should be fun :)

My week in iphone pictures

It's been another eventful week here in the B* household!  We've experienced a couple of really fun "firsts."

On Saturday we visited The Hairy Elephant -- a local kids' salon for Logan's first haircut!  Admittedly, this was the second time I'd booked an appointment.  I chickened out the first time (just before LB's 1st birthday) -- I loved his cute long 'do, and was worried that he'd lose his baby "look."  But it was getting a little extra shaggy.  The experience was just perfect.  Logan sat still, and only had one short crying episode.  I was really nervous about whether he would be able to sit still long enough for her to do it - but he really did a great job!  Here he is post-cut:

 He wanted to do a little yardwork that afternoon:

 He has been loving his basketball and basketball hoop lately.  He likes to dunk it, and then run over for lots of high-5's.  It's really cute!

 Some smiles during lunch. Cheeeeeese!!!

 And here is our second "first."  Logan visited the St. Louis Zoo for the first time this afternoon.  It was a glorious 73-degree, sunny day, and there were no crowds whatsoever.  We saw the bears, penguins, puffins, lions, gorillas, zebras, camels, prairie dogs, and obviously we had a very up-close and personal interaction with a chimpanzee!  Surprisingly, Logan wasn't all that excited about any of the animals.  We'll definitely give it another visit soon!

Wall Decor...Bathroom Style

Our children's/guest bath has lovely soft yellow walls...and not much else going for it!  Or rather, it didn't until now!!  I etsy'd them up just recently with a couple of new buys that we framed.  I have yet to get the finished products back, but I am just so excited!  Here are the new cheerful prints I ordered:

 SOURCE

SOURCE

Both of the sellers were awesome, and so easy to work with.  I love everything about etsy, and can't wait to get these up on our walls!!

Speaking of walls, we had some DIY artwork hanging above Logan's changing table - but he tried to pull it down every single time he was up there.  I bought new command-strips and now he can't pull it down anymore!  Hooray!  Such an easy little fix, but it took me months to get around to doing it.

Hard Water?

Have any of you experienced hard water in your homes?  How did you handle it?

I just recently diagnosed the issue behind my many, many bad hair days!!  We're talking years of bad hair days - and it's all due to the water in our house!  It wasn't the shampoo (or rather shampooS as I've tried many), it wasn't my head-scrubbing techniques -- it's the water, and it took me nearly 3 years to realize it!  I always felt like my hair had some extra residue on it, color wouldn't last that long, it wouldn't blow-dry straight very well -- and it just never felt the same kind of clean as when I would get it washed at a salon or even at my parents' house.  And on a semi-related note -- our dishes weren't getting squeaky clean either (and supposedly it can affect your washing machine too - but I hadn't seen it that much myself).

SO yesterday (on Easter Sunday, of all days) - I went over to Lowes and bought a shower head water filter.  One shower in, and I've already noticed amazing changes!  I have a Culligan rep coming out here next week to learn more about our water, and whether a water softener is in our future.  They can get a little pricey - but this could be worth it.  I'll keep ya posted :)

Now if I can just figure out why I'm getting tiny little holes in my cotton t-shirts in our washer!! (anybody have an answer for that one??)

The last sticker...

Easter 2011 was one for the record books.  We had a 22 day old little baby who didn't sleep well the night before, and didn't nap all day.  It may have been in the top 5 most difficult days of 2011.  Today has already started off on a better foot!  We had a full night's sleep, SB, LB, the dogs and I went for a run this morning, and oh! the Easter bunny made a visit and brought Logan an Easter basket :)  But for now, I'll continue reflecting on the past 12 months!! 

We have gone from learning how to care for the tiniest little creature, to learning how to teach and engage an energetic, excitable, curious walking, talking toddler!  All in one year.  It is mind-blowing.

Stats:
Weight:  24 lb, 2 oz:  75%
Height:  31" - 80%

Milestones:
Sleeping: You are a sleep champion!  We are still doing 7pm-7am every day.  You are still taking 2 naps a day really well (knock on wood!!!)
Eating:  Welcome to the world of cow's milk!!  YAY!!  We've also been able to introduce you to eggs and strawberries - and you've liked them both.  You're eating well, and we'll start working on using a fork and spoon as soon as we buy a couple that are appropriate for this age.
Clothing Size: Totally depends on the brand.....some 12-18 month, some 18-24's.
 Diapers: Size 4 -- moving into 5's soon
Teeth:  4!  Your top 2 teeth broke through this month - so you have two little buds up top, and 2 big teeth on the bottom.  So cute!
Language:  You still love to say "Dada," "Mama," and we still hear "Dog" every once in a while.  We've also heard "All Done," "Yea," "Hi, " and "Daisy" -- and lots of gibberish that we don't understand quite yet!
Etc: We had a terrific 12-month visit with Dr. Graham.  She was impressed with your gross motor skills, and your verbal skills to date.  She says that usually kids who excel in one department take a little longer in the other -- but you will certainly keep our hands full as she witnessed how you like to get into everything!!  She said that your screeching habit is developmentally normal -- and will likely pass in the next 6-12 months as you learn to communicate in some other, less ear-piercing, ways!  This is the last month for which we have a sticker.  It's hard to believe that 12 whole months have passed since you joined our family.  We're having a blast, and we can't wait for more!  Love you to the moon and back!! xoxoxo

Easter Basket for Logan

Last year Logan was just 3 weeks old on Easter.  I had bought him some cute bunny ears for pictures, but hadn't gotten my act together for a basket.  This is his first year with an Easter basket!  I bought this cute liner from PBK, and a white basket from Target.

 

It seems there are a couple schools of thought when it comes to filling baskets.  When I was a kid, I remember waking up to a basket on my nightstand, filled with a couple of little presents.  We would then hunt for eggs around our house to fill it even more.  Our cul-de-sac will be doing a little outdoor Easter egg hunt on Good Friday evening (the forecast is gorgeous, which is great.  You may remember a serious tornado came through our area last year on Good Friday.  Logan was fast asleep - but the storm really started when our little neighbor kids were running around, hunting for eggs)  Here are a few things that will fill Logan's basket for Easter morning:

(from Carter's)

 

  

(2 Dr. Seuss books from Target during their $5 sale)

 (filled with puffs, yogurt melts, or goldfish)

What do you put in your little ones' baskets?

Happy 1st Birthday!

ONE!  Logan is one!  I just can't believe that our big guy is a full year old.  We've had the most wonderful time watching him grow and learn and change over the course of the last 12 months.  Of course SB and I have learned and grown and changed right along with him.  I say it every month, but in some ways it feels like we were driving to the hospital just yesterday - and in others, it feels like years and years ago!

This past weekend we were fortunate enough to celebrate Logan's 1st birthday with my family and our wonderful neighbors.  We had a fun basketball-themed party at our house.

The party was from 4-6pm.  When kids arrived, I had cut out big jerseys (paper) and they could color on them -- draw their age, their name, etc.  In the first hour we played games -- I structured them as the 4 quarters of a basketball game.  In the first quarter we played pin the ball on the backboard.  We had kids ranging from 1 to 11, so based on their ages, they had some added challenges (from nothing to blindfolds to obstacles while blindfolded!)  In the second quarter we played "how many baskets can you make in 30 seconds" with a Little Tike basketball hoop, which was one of our presents to him.  I was hoping to do something fun for the halftime entertainment but totally forgot to do it!  In the 3rd quarter we played "Sports Charades" aka "Guess that sport."  I wrote tons of sports on little pieces of paper, and a kid acted out as many as they could while their team  of adults & kids guessed the sport.  And then as the grand finale, in the 4th quarter we had a little Easter egg hunt in the front yard.  The goal was for all of the kids to find all 40 eggs, and then we divided them up and put them in their goodie bags.  Everything went over really well!  It was a great help to have my parents there to watch Logan as Scott grilled and I led games.  The littlest kids were just happy to be playing outside and watching the older ones.

At 5pm we turned on the Final 4 game (UK v. Louisville), and served food.  We had grilled burgers, hot dogs, homemade mac & cheese, fruit salad, a really yummy spinach salad (I'll have to post the recipe - it is sooooo good), and my sister made iced sugar cookies that looked like basketballs.  Kids and adults were all happy with the spread!  Logan ate a full hot dog, 2 servings of mac & cheese and lots of fruit salad.  The boy likes to eat!

Then we watched some of the game and opened presents.  Our family and friends were so generous.  Logan has so many fun things to play with now!!  (just when I thought we had no more room for toys - haha!)  After presents we did cake.  I bought a little tiny cake for Logan's smash cake.  It was totally worth it.  He loved diving into it.  At first he was very tentative with it -- but once he got a taste of the frosting, it was quickly all over his hands and face!!