Choo Choo... Logan turns TWO

Logan's 2nd birthday celebration started out with a party at Monkeydoodles Playroom with Logan's 16 little friends.  The kids played with the ball pit, kitchen, bubbles, tunnels, slides, carts, parachutes, and musical instruments.  Logan's favorites were the ball pit and the play kitchen along with the shopping cart.  They sang songs like "Get up and Dance" and Wheels on the Bus" and danced around.  After about an hour of running around and trying out the cool new toys, everyone headed into the party room where kids had pizza while the adults munched on croissant sandwiches.  Then we all sang Happy Birthday to Logan and enjoyed his cupcake cake.  It was a fun-filled morning with our closest friends.  On our way home, we asked Logan if he had fun and he nodded with his infamous "Yesh".

After the morning party, Logan took a nap to get ready for the afternoon celebration with family.  All of the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents came to greet Logan on his special day.  With lots of food (mostly thanks to Lolo, Lola, Grandma, Uncle Tommy and Auntie Ely), laughs and play time, Logan (and even Dylan) had such a great time.  It was nice to spend time with those we hardly get to see on a regular basis. Seeing Logan play with his older cousins made us realize what a big boy he's become.

After everyone left, we let the kids stay up a little bit to open presents.  Boy, did Logan get a ton of presents - clothes, books, trains, cars - he is one lucky kid! Dylan was just as excited - "wow Logan, look at OUR new toys."

the sign outside Monkeydoodles Playroom

Logan's birthday cupcake cake that Mommy ordered and decorated herself

The kids' party favors.  Each one got a goodie bag filled with some of Logan's favorite treats, train whistle, conductor's hat and activity books.  They also each got a cake pop.

The kids singing Happy Birthday during circle time.  Seconds later, Logan took off his hat. 

Playing with instruments

 

The parachute was a hit with the kids

  

Jumping into the ball pit - one of Logan's favorite

Not quite the right way to use the see-saw, but it'll do!

Our favorite picture of the day - shows his witty, charming, fun personality

lots the kids crammed into the ball pit

Daddy playing with Logan - this was probably the only time Logan let Daddy hold him.  He was just way too busy playing.

Shoving food in his mouth as fast as he can.

eating pizza like pro!

Choo---Choo---All Aboard!!

He was so excited to blow out his candles that he did it even before the happy birthday song ended. 

cake time!!!

cousins in the playroom. 
(Dylan was very excited to have kids over at the house)

blowing at his candles take 2

spent most of the afternoon coloring and drawing

  

patiently waiting for Daddy to bring in all the gifts and set them in the family room

his birthday loot

Time to open the presents!!!

One very happy lucky boy!

On the actual day of his birthday, Daddy and I sneaked into his room to put out some balloons and lay out his NEW trains.  We had to do it really quick though.  He's such a light sleeper that he actually woke up and we had to run out.  When he got up the next day, Mommy heard Logan yell out "choo-choo, I want choo-choo".  Logan was thrilled to see all the trains in his room and even Dylan was excited to play with them too. 

Then off to school for a party with his friends and teachers.  Logan brought in munchkins and goodie bags for all the kids.  

That afternoon, Daddy took a half day, picked up the kids from school and came home to give Logan the rest of his gifts - his very first Trike from Mommy and Daddy and a Blue's Clues stuffed animal from Dylan. 

Another surprise for Logan - his first experience at the movie theaters.  We've heard great reviews about Puss in Boots so we decided he might really enjoy it and we were right!  He sat in his own chair, with his own popcorn and juice, and watched the movie without a fuss.  He's such a big boy!  After the movies, we headed to dinner at Red Robins where Logan had his favorite for dinner - mac and cheese and mandarin oranges.  It was a perfect day for our perfect little 2 year old.

 

Logan turns TWO

happy birthday to you!
happy birthday to you!
happy birthday, baby Logan!
happy birthday to you!

To our dearest Logan, 

Two years ago on this day, we met and instantly fell deeply madly in love with you. You are exactly what we dreamed, wished and prayed for.  We are humbled and honored to have you in our lives. 


You are always so full of life, either laughing, making someone else laugh or EATING.  You are tough, determined, stubborn, fresh, sensitive and sweet all rolled in one.  Every morning (and night) you ask to watch Blue's Clues and sing "Sunshine".  You love love love playing with trucks, trains and cars.  You say "All Aboard" and "Choo-Choo" more than any words in your incredible collection of vocabulary.  You love to color and write.  You value every single minute spent with those closest to you especially your Kuya Dylan.  Your admiration for your big brother melts our hearts. 

The way you say "I WAV you Mommy/Daddy" are the sweetest sound our ears have ever heard.  Waving your pointer finger when you say "No" makes us giggle.  Shrugging your shoulder when you say "Boo's Coos" makes our day brighter.  You have the coolest dance moves. 

We welcome year two with open arms as we know it will bring us more joy.  We are excited to see you continue to learn, grow and develop into an amazing little toddler.  On your birthday, we wish for you to always laugh the loudest and smile the biggest smile - you are a shining star.

We love you so very much!


Mommy and Daddy

Sesame Place

For the past three years, we've taken the kids to Sesame Place for the Halloween Spectacular.  The kids wear their costumes and get to have breakfast with Elmo and friends.  Since Logan loves watching Elmo's World, we knew he'd enjoy it this year.  He was mesmerized by the characters and both enjoyed all the shows as much as the rides.

A preview of this year's costumes

 

One of the few characters Dylan took pictures with.  

I guess it's a sign that he's not into Sesame Street as much any more. 

Logan goes up to the characters, says hi and introduces himself:  "Look Ar-nie, I'm Elefy"

  

Of course, we just had to meet Elmo

The kids never go anywhere without spotting a truck and insisting on riding it.

Dylan reaching the top and Logan trying his hardest to get there

A super fun slide

 The biggest bounce house they've ever been in.  They loved it so much that we went back twice.

The biggest and scariest roller coaster Dylan has ever ridden.  Check them out  - they are in the first row (bottom:  with his hands up).  Dylan was thrilled about the ride.  We have a feeling there will be lots of roller coasters in his future!

The boys snacking and waiting for the parade.  We got front row seats!

Logan and Cookie Monster

Logan showing no interest in Big Bird.
From across the room, he saw Cookie Monster and so it began...

Cookie round 1: Getting to meet Cookie for the first time

Running in his arms ...

...for a big hugExcitedly runs back to mommy. "I hug Cookie"

Cookie round 2: shaking hands with Cookie as he came to our table while having breakfast

"Ahh, I touched Cookie"

a nice little smile with his NEW favorite Sesame character

Cookie round 3: Saying good-bye

and going for one last hug. (Um...OKAY Cookie)

We were surprised to see how much he loved meeting Cookie Monster. We were sure he'd be more into Elmo.

Four years and two months.

One of the issues we've had with Dylan in the past four years is his stubbornness during bedtime. For the first 6 months, he slept in his bassinet in our room. When he outgrew the bassinet, we moved him into his crib and the bedtime problem escalated. Since he was nursing, he would occasionally sleep in the bed with us just so Mommy can have a little bit of nighttime shut eye (he used to nurse every 2-3 hours until about 9 months old. ugh!).

Putting Dylan down for bed meant allotting about 2 hours of rocking him to sleep, sitting with him until he was in deep sleep and praying to God he doesn't wake up when he's slowly put into the crib. It was frustrating, to say the least. We read books on how to make this "phase" easy on everyone and desperately tried the Ferber method several times. To no avail. As Dylan transitioned into a full size bed, one of us HAD to lay down with him at night until he fell asleep which can sometimes take anywhere between 1-2 hours. Again, we read that a routine helps in this process, so a routine we did. FAIL. One time we even saw Super Nanny coach parents on how to make bedtime easier for parents and toddlers. "Each week, sit on a chair next to the bed, then on the foot of the bed, slowly move the chair away from the bed, sit by the door, sit outside the door and eventually your child will learn to sleep on their own". Easy enough. Well, apparently, our first born is smarter than any of those "experts" because none of these techniques worked.

Four years and two months later, we are happy to announce that our stubborn child is FINALLY sleeping in his room all by himself. He still leaves his room a couple of times to "check on us" but he eventually stays in there until he falls asleep. It's amazing what happens given patience and time.

Mommy and Daddy are enjoying the 1-2 hours of "free" time at bedtime.

Next dilemma to tackle - keeping Dylan from walking into our room at 2 AM and sneaking in between Mommy and Daddy. One thing at a time.

P.S. we are everyday thankful for our little one, Logan, who is the BEST napper/sleeper in the whole wide world!

Aaaa----YA!

For about 6 months now, Dylan has been talking about wanting to take a karate class. When we heard about a new place that is just about 10 minutes from the house, we signed him up for an introductory class. It started out a little shaky. He was shy and was not really interested in participating. But each time, he still wanted to go to class. After getting comfortable with the sensei, he finally warmed up and enjoyed the class. Six weeks later, his karate skills (along with listening, focusing and respecting "skills") greatly improved. After the winter season, we'll get back into karate.

white belt.