Sunday, March 21, 2010
Spring Teaser
What a glorious week! We had a little bit of snow last weekend, but since then it's been nothing but beautiful and occasionally breezy. We've been trying to take full advantage of the sunshine by leaving doors open, wearing shorts and flip flops, doing yard work and having BBQs. After being cooped up way too long in the basement, Logan's enjoying the change of scenery as much as everyone else. Here are some pictures of playing at the park and in the backyard.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Let's Be Positive :)
Sorry, my last post was pretty negative and I hope it didn't rub off on anybody. How about a little bit of optimism/good news to shake things up a bit? ;)
While this last month didn't run the smoothest, it really wasn't all bad. For one, we got to celebrate both Logan and Eric's birthdays (turning one and turning 25). We invited over some family to celebrate the occasions and had a blast. Logan tried birthday cake for the first time and seemed to like it okay, but didn't actually get that messy. I baked the cake in the shape of a bear holding balloons (thanks again Mom Channer and Camille for the cake decorating book) and gave Logan his own cake balloon to destroy/eat, but he barely put a dent in it. He's so used to us feeding him that it was almost like he was afraid to touch the cake or get his hands dirty. We poked his fingers in it, and once we gave him a toddler spoon, he realized that yes, he does like cake and went to work.
When Eric's birthday rolled around a week later, we were pretty sick of eating cake so we made a birthday monkey bread ring instead. It tasted great and still held the candles so voila.
In terms of the weather, this month has actually been pretty nice. In the midst of winter I totally forgot how a nice dose of sunshine can turn your day around. There have been a handful of days this month when it was so nice, we practically had to go outside and enjoy it. Logan was still pretty clingy, but with footballs, soccer balls and sunshine calling his name, he was willing to get off my lap and wander a few feet away. It actually got me excited for this upcoming summer, watching him playing and walking around the backyard.
Speaking of Logan walking... he walks! He walks all over the house, and has even tried to run a few times. Both times quickly ended in a face plant on hard wood floors, but hey, he's getting there. He's also picked up saying a couple words, including "ball" and "uh oh". He's particularly fond of that last one. He's hit a phase where he throws just about everything, and right after he throws it, he says "uh oh" clear as day. It's super cute but slightly aggravating at the same time. While he doesn't comprehend the full meaning of "uh oh", sometimes I swear he does and he's saying it sarcastically after throwing his binky out of the crib. Another "trick" he's picked up is waving and pointing, the later helping us understand what it is he wants a little better. And lastly, drum roll please... he's super close to being transitioned from breast milk to cow's milk. Well, strawberry nesquik flavored cow's milk that is. I tell you what, no one is happier about this transition than me. I set a goal to make it a full year, and through all sorts rough spots, Logan and I made it and I'm ready to move on.
Another good thing that came of February was New Moon making it to the local dollar theaters. I decided a while back that I'd hold out seeing it until it came to the dollar theater, and then I'd make Eric go see it with me. There were a number of times I really just wanted to go see it, but I'm glad I waited because watching it with Eric in a half full theater at the spur of the moment was really nice. I won't go much into it, but I think my two favorite parts (for laugh out loud reasons) were: 1) Jacob suddenly taking off his shirt to dab at Bella's minor head wound, and 2) Jasper's response to Bella asking if he thinks she should become a vampire. It was something to the effect of "Yes, because I'd really like to not want to kill you all the time." Overall I thought it was a pretty good movie and there were a number of scenes, especially locations, that were almost exactly how I'd imagined them looking in my head. I thought that was pretty sweet since that's one reason I've been disappointed in a number of other books made into movies.
While this last month didn't run the smoothest, it really wasn't all bad. For one, we got to celebrate both Logan and Eric's birthdays (turning one and turning 25). We invited over some family to celebrate the occasions and had a blast. Logan tried birthday cake for the first time and seemed to like it okay, but didn't actually get that messy. I baked the cake in the shape of a bear holding balloons (thanks again Mom Channer and Camille for the cake decorating book) and gave Logan his own cake balloon to destroy/eat, but he barely put a dent in it. He's so used to us feeding him that it was almost like he was afraid to touch the cake or get his hands dirty. We poked his fingers in it, and once we gave him a toddler spoon, he realized that yes, he does like cake and went to work.
When Eric's birthday rolled around a week later, we were pretty sick of eating cake so we made a birthday monkey bread ring instead. It tasted great and still held the candles so voila.
In terms of the weather, this month has actually been pretty nice. In the midst of winter I totally forgot how a nice dose of sunshine can turn your day around. There have been a handful of days this month when it was so nice, we practically had to go outside and enjoy it. Logan was still pretty clingy, but with footballs, soccer balls and sunshine calling his name, he was willing to get off my lap and wander a few feet away. It actually got me excited for this upcoming summer, watching him playing and walking around the backyard. Speaking of Logan walking... he walks! He walks all over the house, and has even tried to run a few times. Both times quickly ended in a face plant on hard wood floors, but hey, he's getting there. He's also picked up saying a couple words, including "ball" and "uh oh". He's particularly fond of that last one. He's hit a phase where he throws just about everything, and right after he throws it, he says "uh oh" clear as day. It's super cute but slightly aggravating at the same time. While he doesn't comprehend the full meaning of "uh oh", sometimes I swear he does and he's saying it sarcastically after throwing his binky out of the crib. Another "trick" he's picked up is waving and pointing, the later helping us understand what it is he wants a little better. And lastly, drum roll please... he's super close to being transitioned from breast milk to cow's milk. Well, strawberry nesquik flavored cow's milk that is. I tell you what, no one is happier about this transition than me. I set a goal to make it a full year, and through all sorts rough spots, Logan and I made it and I'm ready to move on.
Another good thing that came of February was New Moon making it to the local dollar theaters. I decided a while back that I'd hold out seeing it until it came to the dollar theater, and then I'd make Eric go see it with me. There were a number of times I really just wanted to go see it, but I'm glad I waited because watching it with Eric in a half full theater at the spur of the moment was really nice. I won't go much into it, but I think my two favorite parts (for laugh out loud reasons) were: 1) Jacob suddenly taking off his shirt to dab at Bella's minor head wound, and 2) Jasper's response to Bella asking if he thinks she should become a vampire. It was something to the effect of "Yes, because I'd really like to not want to kill you all the time." Overall I thought it was a pretty good movie and there were a number of scenes, especially locations, that were almost exactly how I'd imagined them looking in my head. I thought that was pretty sweet since that's one reason I've been disappointed in a number of other books made into movies.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Teething Bites
Warning: this post is one part ranting, two parts venting.
I loathe teething! Logan didn't get his first tooth until early January and since then they are popping up left and right. He now has three teeth with his fourth painfully working its way through his upper gum. This has consequently left me with a very clingy, very unhappy baby for over a month. The combination of clingy and sad has made it near impossible for me to accomplish anything. These last few weeks escalated to the point where I didn't think things could get worse, but I was wrong. On top of teething, both Logan and I are now sick. Fevers, coughs, runny noses, it's wonderful. I thought Logan was clingy before, but now that he wants constantly held and I now have even less energy to do so, my perspective is changing. Luckily, Eric was sweet and stayed home from school yesterday to take care of us, and I think it helped because we may be starting to come out of it. It's amazing what a little bit of rest can do. Logan's coughing has caused his naps to be much shorter than usual, which hasn't lead to a speedy recovery, but today was better. We both enjoyed a beautiful 2 hour nap so we're living in a temporary oasis of happiness and content and faring quite a bit better. Maybe the end of this sickness is in sight and then I can be grateful for only battling teething. Talk about a paradigm shift... :)
I loathe teething! Logan didn't get his first tooth until early January and since then they are popping up left and right. He now has three teeth with his fourth painfully working its way through his upper gum. This has consequently left me with a very clingy, very unhappy baby for over a month. The combination of clingy and sad has made it near impossible for me to accomplish anything. These last few weeks escalated to the point where I didn't think things could get worse, but I was wrong. On top of teething, both Logan and I are now sick. Fevers, coughs, runny noses, it's wonderful. I thought Logan was clingy before, but now that he wants constantly held and I now have even less energy to do so, my perspective is changing. Luckily, Eric was sweet and stayed home from school yesterday to take care of us, and I think it helped because we may be starting to come out of it. It's amazing what a little bit of rest can do. Logan's coughing has caused his naps to be much shorter than usual, which hasn't lead to a speedy recovery, but today was better. We both enjoyed a beautiful 2 hour nap so we're living in a temporary oasis of happiness and content and faring quite a bit better. Maybe the end of this sickness is in sight and then I can be grateful for only battling teething. Talk about a paradigm shift... :)
Monday, January 18, 2010
Our Luxury Vehicle... ;)
Great news! We just found out that we own a luxury car! Surprised? So were we. The biggest surprise is that we've owned it for years and never realized it. Take a look, what do you think...?
That's right, according to a real life example from one of Eric's fraud text books, our Jeep Cherokee is considered a luxury car. This couple that embezzled $3 million dollars went out on a shopping spree, including buying "five luxury cars- a Maserati, a Rolls-Royce, a Jeep Cherokee, and two Audis". Right up there with a Rolls-Royce and Maserati. Pretty sweet. ;)
That's right, according to a real life example from one of Eric's fraud text books, our Jeep Cherokee is considered a luxury car. This couple that embezzled $3 million dollars went out on a shopping spree, including buying "five luxury cars- a Maserati, a Rolls-Royce, a Jeep Cherokee, and two Audis". Right up there with a Rolls-Royce and Maserati. Pretty sweet. ;)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Baby steps...
Step one for Logan, he's finally cut his first tooth! The tooth broke through right before we headed home from holiday break, and observant parents that we are, we hadn't even realized he was teething until he refused to eat a biter biscuit (which is abnormal) and I happened to feel the little jagged tooth sticking through his lower gum. He'd had a runny nose and an occasional low grade fever, but a crazy 24 hr. sickness had been running its rounds through the Channer household in Boise so we just assumed he'd caught something there. Lucky for us it was the tooth and not the sickness.
Second step, Logan can now climb up stairs. Emphasis on UP the stairs, not DOWN sadly. He's managed to fall down a handful of times already and I can't seem to interest him in learning to go down. Every time I try he screams and cries leaving me with the impression that he hates my guts. The stairs are too wide for a baby gate, so in order to get anything done without fear of him falling, I have to continually invent new ways to block them off. Without fail he's discovered ways to overcome the obstacles I've placed in front of the stairs within a couple of days.
Step number three is Logan learning to walk. Over the break he learned to stand on his own, and just recently he's started literally taking baby steps, but only a few at a time and generally never when Eric is home. He's gotten up to four consecutive steps before I catch him, but he always seems to get stage fright when I try and show Eric. He'll just stand there forever, grinning and clapping for himself, but if Eric's watching he won't move one step. I'm pretty sure he'll have to outgrow that one... ;)
Logan's last baby step is learning to fall asleep on his own. He's nearly 11 months old and every day of his life we've wrapped him up burrito style, put a binky in his mouth and rocked him to sleep. It generally doesn't take too long, but we've created a highly dependent monster. Tonight is actually the first night that we're trying to teach him to sleep on his own. Based off my cousin and my parent's advice, we prepared Logan for bed like we always do, laid him down, told him we loved him and walked away. He started screaming almost instantly, even though minutes before we had to try and keep him awake to put on his pjs. Apparently we're supposed to go in every 5 minutes to check on him/comfort him, without picking him up, and then walk away again. I've been told this can take a few days before Logan will really grasp the concept, but right now I'm just trying not to cry every time I go in to check on him. He's so worked up, and when I walk in he looks up expectantly at me, so sure I'm going to pick him up and calm him down, but I can't. I'm pretty sure that emotionally this is one of the hardest things I've done. Please pray that Logan figures it out quickly and I don't end up a complete emotional wreck in the process.
Second step, Logan can now climb up stairs. Emphasis on UP the stairs, not DOWN sadly. He's managed to fall down a handful of times already and I can't seem to interest him in learning to go down. Every time I try he screams and cries leaving me with the impression that he hates my guts. The stairs are too wide for a baby gate, so in order to get anything done without fear of him falling, I have to continually invent new ways to block them off. Without fail he's discovered ways to overcome the obstacles I've placed in front of the stairs within a couple of days.
Step number three is Logan learning to walk. Over the break he learned to stand on his own, and just recently he's started literally taking baby steps, but only a few at a time and generally never when Eric is home. He's gotten up to four consecutive steps before I catch him, but he always seems to get stage fright when I try and show Eric. He'll just stand there forever, grinning and clapping for himself, but if Eric's watching he won't move one step. I'm pretty sure he'll have to outgrow that one... ;)
Logan's last baby step is learning to fall asleep on his own. He's nearly 11 months old and every day of his life we've wrapped him up burrito style, put a binky in his mouth and rocked him to sleep. It generally doesn't take too long, but we've created a highly dependent monster. Tonight is actually the first night that we're trying to teach him to sleep on his own. Based off my cousin and my parent's advice, we prepared Logan for bed like we always do, laid him down, told him we loved him and walked away. He started screaming almost instantly, even though minutes before we had to try and keep him awake to put on his pjs. Apparently we're supposed to go in every 5 minutes to check on him/comfort him, without picking him up, and then walk away again. I've been told this can take a few days before Logan will really grasp the concept, but right now I'm just trying not to cry every time I go in to check on him. He's so worked up, and when I walk in he looks up expectantly at me, so sure I'm going to pick him up and calm him down, but I can't. I'm pretty sure that emotionally this is one of the hardest things I've done. Please pray that Logan figures it out quickly and I don't end up a complete emotional wreck in the process.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Happy Holidays!
Life has been great. Eric survived yet another semester and finals week at BYU and happily he only has one more semester to go. He also played his last intramural men's soccer season, with his team finishing third. The team he played on was amazing and in the end, the top 3 teams were so evenly matched that each game was determined in overtime. Just watching from the sidelines left me with butterflies like you wouldn't believe. Eric played very well and went out with a bang scoring 3 goals and 4 goals in the last two games. Needless to say I was very proud. :) Following finals and the soccer tournament, we braved another winter blizzard and made it safely to Boise for a few days and then on to Washington. Logan has found himself terribly spoiled with all the attention he gets as the only grandchild here thus far. I worry that when we return to Utah, Logan's going to be terribly bored when he only has me as a playmate during the day. Celebrating the holidays with family has been wonderful. For my birthday I shopped with my mom, watched BYU blow Oregon State out of the water in the Las Vegas Bowl, and ate pizza and the most amazing 3 layer birthday cake. My two youngest brothers and my dad designed and decorated the cake, leaving me amazed at their once dormant creativity. :) 
Christmas was wonderful as well, especially having Logan. Christmas is just more fun when there are little kids unwrapping and playing with toys. Now after a week or so of eating way too much good food and staying up late talking, playing games and watching movies, we're getting ready to head back to Boise to spend a little more time with Eric's family before Mike and Caitlin's wedding. I'm sure we're in store for plenty more good food and good company and we're excited. We need all these good family memories to keep us going through this last semester.
BYU Winter term + no more holiday breaks = Sadness.
Family + holiday breaks = Happiness
Christmas was wonderful as well, especially having Logan. Christmas is just more fun when there are little kids unwrapping and playing with toys. Now after a week or so of eating way too much good food and staying up late talking, playing games and watching movies, we're getting ready to head back to Boise to spend a little more time with Eric's family before Mike and Caitlin's wedding. I'm sure we're in store for plenty more good food and good company and we're excited. We need all these good family memories to keep us going through this last semester.BYU Winter term + no more holiday breaks = Sadness.
Family + holiday breaks = Happiness
Friday, November 6, 2009
A New King of Terror
Logan has been overachieving (somewhat to my dismay) this past month. He is now capable of saying "mama" and "dada" (sporadically, and probably unintentionally), eating Cheerios, waving hello and clapping his hands (also sporadically), and most importantly, crawling, I mean destroying. Yes, our sweet little baby boy has begun his knee-high reign of terror. As he's gotten faster, and also begun climbing up lower level shelving and stairs, we've realized that things we thought we'd "baby proofed" are really far from. It's definitely a learning process, but Logan's a good teacher and we're giving it all we've got.
Here's a clip of Logan booking it across the floor in order to reach the cellphone and remote controls. He's definitely already fascinated by technology, especially the kind he's not supposed to play with, aka laptops, cameras, cellphones, DVD players...
Here's also a random clip of him playing "peekaboo" with us on the bed. He's so funny because he gets so excited and worked up whenever his face is covered, especially by blankets. It's like he's always just waiting for us to pull the blanket back and say, "there's he is!"
Here's a clip of Logan booking it across the floor in order to reach the cellphone and remote controls. He's definitely already fascinated by technology, especially the kind he's not supposed to play with, aka laptops, cameras, cellphones, DVD players...
Here's also a random clip of him playing "peekaboo" with us on the bed. He's so funny because he gets so excited and worked up whenever his face is covered, especially by blankets. It's like he's always just waiting for us to pull the blanket back and say, "there's he is!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
