My Big Girl

Aubrey is growing and changing way too fast! She is crawling and now she is pulling herself up on everything...and taking some tumbles. She is desperate to keep up with her brothers.

I also have to admit that watching her change so fast has made me realize how differently Logan is developing. I had forgotten how it was to watch Devin, and I just went with the pace that Logan wanted to go. But now, I can't get over how quickly typical children change and develop. Honestly, I wish they would just slow down a bit. I have enjoyed the amount of time that we got to savor each of Logan's new milestones! I feel like I have gotten to enjoy him growing up more than Aubrey because she is just going too fast! Of course, I am thankful that she is doing so well...it's all just so bitter sweet.

Logan Milestones and Birthday Update

Big news...Logan can squat down, pick up a toy, then stand back up!! This may seem minor to some, but this is HUGE for us. This means his strength is slowly building in his legs. He also can stand for longer periods of time and even play with toys and raise his arms without holding on to anything. Also, tonight he said "eyes" and he was able to identify my eyes, nose and ears. And there is more!...Dad is most proud of this one, he is signing "Dad". I am SO proud of him!! Oh, and one more thing, he is starting to follow simple one-step directions. Oh....I just thought of something else...I just should have made a list....I found him trying to put on clothes today! It was SO funny! He went into Devin's closet, emptied Devin's underwear bin and when I found him he had three pairs of underwear on up to his thigh...just on one leg, but how amazing is that!! When I found him he was in the process of trying to put socks on as well! He is such a smarty pants!! He knows SO much more than I give him credit for and I feel bad about that. I guess his quiet, observer personality makes me forget that the wheels in his head are still turning and he is absorbing SO much all day!
We have decided on a car them for Logan's party....not Cars the movie, just cars, all kinds...because that is one thing I know he likes. I am looking for any creative ideas for the party! Cake ideas, games, activities...cars, cars and more cars. So far, I have cars for the sandbox, candy cars, car bubbles, toy cars with road rug to play on. I need a car cake idea...
I am SO excited for the party now, but so much work to be done!

More Steps!

I just watched Logan stand up in the middle of the room and take three steps...no motivator needed. He did it all by himself. I am SO excited that he is interested in trying to walk all by himself without me pushing him to try!! This could be huge because he always has to make up his own mind about things before he will do them. I have to go charge up the video camera!!

Preparing to walk

Over the weekend, I think Logan took one step a few times. I'm not even sure exactly what qualifies as a step, but I can let him go when he is one step from the furniture and he reaches out and takes a little step before touching the couch. And, for the first time, when he stands up in the middle of the room, he is attempting to move a foot. Before, his feet were glued to the floor. He's also getting pretty quick at walking around the furniture and letting go with both hands when he transfers from one thing to the next. I'm anxious for Logan to walk so that he can have more fun. When he's getting walked around, he gets the biggest smile on his face and giggles. I also know that he would love to be able to keep up with his brother, even though he does manage to keep up with him by crawling sometimes.

Playtime

Logan loves his new playroom! We even made up a sign for it so that he can tell us when he wants to go there(because it is downstairs)...before, he used to whine instead. Over the past couple of months Logan has figured out how to turn on all of his toys. Now, we are learning how to use some of the harder toys, like sorters and such. He got this very cute piggy bank for Christmas and yesterday he became a pro at putting the coins in! He just keeps rolling along with OT activities.
The second half of this video shows how brave Logan is getting! He has always been known to be very cautious. I think that is part of the reason he seems to be unable to do new things, but then suddenly he is a pro. He tends to make his own mind up as to when he wants to do things. I am still not used to this, but I am learning patience.
Note: I chose not to include a portion of the video where he climbs up the incline, then stands up on the very top! It didn't end pretty, but he was total fine with it...it was a soft landing, and he decided to do it a few more times! I give him a lot of credit for his determination.

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Aubrey Rolls Over

Aubrey started rolling over yesterday! She looks like such a big girl now, especially when she wears "big girl" clothes. I love Aubrey's many, many smiles, her giggles every time I pull a shirt over her head and her girly squeals...these are new to me...let me say high pitched, wow. Her colic is gone! It just disappeared a few weeks back. She also has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months. I feel like I am bragging, but I am just so thankful that she has turned the corner from newborn to a well adjusted baby. I don't think I could survive without a few things going my way. We have had our struggles and still deal with major reflux, but her smiles keep us going....and good sleep helps too. She will be 4 months on Monday!

And the winner is.....

Ok...since this post I have not taken Logan's bottle away. He is still getting one in the evening because he is not getting enough through the nuby sipper with the bottle like nipple. He still doesn't want to hold the cup up enough to get the liquid to flow to the nipple. My ultimate goal was always to have him learn to drink from a straw because of the benefits for his speech and he doesn't need to lift a cup to drink from the straw. I worked on the "honey bear straw bottle" from his speech therapist for a week straight with no luck. (we had been trying it off and on) I was cleaning and going through my sippy cup collection (I have one of every kind there is!! Anyone need a specific kind or any special bottles you can shop at my house!) and I found this nuby straw cup that I had bought as Logan's first cup. We had never had any luck with it until yesterday. I thought I might as well give it another shot and Logan grabbed it and sucked the liquid up immediately! He surprised himself and seemed like he was shocked that something came out. His eyes got big and he continued to suck and chew on the straw. He has never drank more that a few sips from a cup before and he always needed my help. I was SO shocked that he was drinking all by himself that I think I scared Logan with my excitement! I wanted him to know that this was HUGE!! I was almost as ecstatic as when I could give him food and sit back and watch him eat all by himself. I plan to still give him a bottle before bed, because he loves it and I think he will still need a little more liquid than he will drink by himself, but he drank half of the full cup at dinner last night!! I am so proud. I don't know if it's muscle tone related, but even though he is pulling the liquid up the straw and into his mouth, some dribbles out of his mouth most of the time. I look forward to when he can drink without making a mess, but it seems like most of it is getting swallowed.

Learning to use a fork

I have given Logan a spoon a few times, but the other day, I gave him a fork and he really surprised me! I wasn't going to push using utensils just yet because I feel like he just learned how to feed himself with his hands. I am going to give him a fork and spoon from now on...he is one smart cookie!! I have to keep reminding myself that he knows more than I realize!
oh and...turn down your volume...I talk way to loud!! Sorry. I have to work on that...

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New Year Thoughts

I thought about reflecting on the past year with Logan, but I think I would just be repeating everything I have already shared. It is bitter sweet to say goodbye to what has been a challenging but memorable year. I often want to freeze time for a few moments to savor all that is happening so fast with Logan. He is growing up too quickly and I fear I will forget all of the precious moments that we have shared with him. I guess that is why I take a million pictures and videos. But on the other hand, I can't wait for this year and all of the new and exciting things that we will experience together. I am looking forward to first steps and the look on his face when it happens. It will be priceless! I love watching his face as he discovers new things. His reactions are so genuine.
Logan has many new skills and I could post one just about every day. (especially if I included all of the new ways he is finding to get into things around the house!) Like today, he successfully put two legos together and he drank a little milk from a sippy cup! Here's a short video that shows how far Logan has come over the past year. Happy New Year!

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Feeding Milestone!

At lunch today, Logan decided he was finally going to feed himself! Up until now, when I put food on his tray, he would just throw it all on the floor. He could hold a french fry or cheeto and bite the end off, but he wasn't self-feeding anything else. This milestone is FANTASTIC for Logan, but even more for me, because he can feed himself when I get busy with Devin and Aubrey. I always felt bad when he had to sit there and wait for me. I knew he could do it...Logan just always needs to want to do it. YEAH LOGAN!!!! I think I am more excited about this than the standing!!
Check him out in action. He's eating bananas, which can be slippery, and he still could do it! After the bananas he fed himself some little bunny crackers too! He's not 100% yet, but he's about 1 for every 3 or 4 attempts!

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Logan is standing longer!

Logan giggles when he gets to standing! It's SO cute, but you may not hear him because you will hear Aubrey instead. I feel bad for Logan's poor bottom...but he is so persistent. It's paying off, he gets better every day. He literally has a bruise on his bottom from standing and falling over and over, but he still loves doing it.

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Logan trying to stand!!

Logan has been pulling himself up for a few weeks, but now he is trying to stand up in the middle of the room!

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Devin Milestone Too!

Devin can write his name!! I am so excited about this, maybe it's the teacher in me.
Check it out!
(I can't help wondering when Logan will write his name and I worry how hard it will be for him. )

My little show off!

Today, Logan tried a gymnastics class for 4-10 months olds. I put him in this class because most kids are walking in the next class. The other babies in the class were close to crawling, but were not. I told the other Mom's that Logan had started crawling yesterday and I didn't really expect him to crawl much...I was so wrong! He wouldn't stay anywhere near me! He just kept crawling away...a long way away! He showed off his new skill big time. It seemed like he loved the red mats we were on. At the end of the class they blew bubbles and Logan crawled all over popping the bubbles on the mat with his hands. He also was the only baby that rolled a ball back to me when we played a pass the ball game! I know he was the oldest, but those other babies were the same age as Logan's age developmentally! I was so proud of him.
Oh, and one more thing, Logan pulled himself up a couple more times lately!

Blood Test Results Finally Came Back:
Blood Work CBC-Normal!
Thyroid-Normal!!

Logan is crawling!!!!

He just started crawling in the last couple of days! He doesn't go far, just from one toy to the next, but it is very exciting. A few days ago I was ready to blog how frustrated I was getting. Most days I am fine with letting him go at his own pace, but other days I just wish he could move around so he could be happier. He still doesn't leave the general area that you put him down in, but a couple of feet seems like a long way. The crawling doesn't look easy for him and it is really shaky, but I know it will only get better the more I encourage him to do it. Before now, he has always fallen to his belly and squirmed a little ways to get a toy he really wanted.

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Birth to 3 Evaluation and SureSteps

Every 6 months Logan is evaluated by Birth to 3. All of his therapists and his teacher come over and we sit down to look at goals met and make new ones for the next six months. I have to admit that Logan really surprised my over the last six months. He met almost all of his goals. They included things like sitting independently, going into sit alone, interacting with people in his environment, banging two toys together, activating toys, releasing toys, and starting to use one finger to push buttons. Six months ago Logan had no interest in toys and was not motivated to move around and explore his environment. He is really a completely different kid and so much fun! Some new goals are imitating sounds and motions, using some words or signs to communicate, locating some body parts, filling a container and using a pincher grasp to pick up small objects. We would also like to see him doing some self feeding and drinking from something other than a bottle. Also, some other big goals are crawling on hands and knees, pulling up to knees, pulling up to stand, taking steps along furniture and improving posture. These big goals make me the most nervous, but also the most excited. I am scared to get my hopes up for these to happen, but if they do...that would be SO amazing! They would be a huge change for him and his mobility.

This morning he attempted to pull him self up on a table toy. He also got up on his knees by a cushion on the floor all by himself! This was super cool to watch. It means he may not have the strength to pull up, but he wants to!! I am going to try to catch these attempts on video soon.

I made an appointment for next week for him to get fitted for orthotics or SureSteps. His PT wants to be aggressive with this because Logan does like to do a lot of standing now and we don't want him to get used to standing without them and have to adjust to them later. I am thankful that she is willing to set us up with them earlier than later.

Moving Forward

Logan is now able to belly crawl forward to get toys. He doesn't do it if you put the toy too far away, but if it is just a few feet away he will push himself forward on his belly with his toes to get it. It's great to see that he is motivated enough by the toys to go get them. There was a time when I thought toys would never be motivating enough for him.

Logan Sitting Up On Video!

Logan is so funny when he sits up by himself. Everytime he does it he raises his arms! And of course, we cheer, but he is doing it so often now that I feel bad when I miss it. He raises his arms and looks around for praise anyway. Check him out in action! (He just started doing this last week!)

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What Mr Amazing Has Been Up To and New Milestone

Logan is changing really fast!
Here is what he is doing and working on...

OT: He is getting better and better at playing with toys. He even gets a little rough with toys, which is great. Toys have also become very motivating for him to get him moving. OT will also be helping with self feeding soon.

PT: He can go from belly to sit with very little help. (EDIT: YES, he can sit up all by himself!) He also is up on all fours a lot and even went forward a little a couple of times. He is also a great stander when you stand him next to his toy table. He wants to pull up on things, but has not been able to yet without help.

SPT: He has quickly went from being a not so good eater to being able to eat almost any table food. He was struggling with keeping food in his mouth and chewing, but he is all of the sudden doing GREAT with it. He is willing to try new foods and now we are trying to get him to drink from an open cup and from a straw. The drinking and also self feeding are going to be our new challenges, but he is always surprising me, so I think he will surprise us all soon!

Besides that stuff he is a super happy little boy. Even when he is suffering from his allergies he is in a good mood. He loves to talk and laugh. His favorite sound is BA-BA and he loves to make noises blowing with his hand over his mouth. He has started creeping into my lap and trying to climb up on me (this is my FAVORITE thing that he does!), which is so darn cute. He loves to swing and ride in his stroller. I also loves to sit on grass or sand and pick it up and hold it in his hands. He also can do "SO BIG" when asked.

OMG! Just as I was typing this Logan sat up, from being on his belly, all by himself!!! He is SO AMAZING!!!! PT said once he mastered that, crawling would be next. OH MY!! Mr Amazing!

So it is official! Logan can sit up all by himself!

SO BIG!

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