Mother's Little Helper

Oh this weekend was glorious! Short of Nathan having to work on Saturday morning/afternoon at his current job and church Sunday morning we were free and clear for the whole weekend! We had no plans... it was WONDERFUL!! Saturday morning we got up and Logan helped me clean the bedrooms and pick up the kitchen. He is SUCH a good helper!

While cleaning Mommy and Daddy's room he found one of Daddy's hats and his shoes. He was sporting those for quite some time while we cleaned. He wore Nathan's hat the entire day until bathtime. And yes he is wearing his birthday boy shirt from his party, I figured we were just chillin at home and he should get more than one wear out of it!

When we went to his room to pick up and clean he found a pair of hand-me-down snow boots from Tommy and insisted on wearing them, literally the rest of the day. He took them off for nap and then for bathtime. Thankfully they somehow disappeared during bathtime. But he helped momma vacuum our bedrooms. We took turns. He kept saying, "my turn! Momma turn!" He was good at sharing that morning.



He really enjoys loading and unloading the dishwasher. He did a great job!

And here are a couple of him just being cute and silly with the camera phone and Daddy's hat!

On Sunday... oh that was a great day! We went to church, I was singing in the praise team and Nathan was serving in the nursery. It was a great morning of music and worship and a great sermon. A wonderful start to the day. We had lunch at home and Logan took a nice looooooong three hour nap and while he was asleep the sun came out and we get things organized to head out to a water park. We enjoyed the lazy river, kiddy slide, huge pool, huge big slide and yummy consession stand. We didn't take any pictures because we just wanted to relax and enjoy some family time. Logan l.o.v.e.d. every aspect of the outings. We left with a purple lipped, shivering cold little guy who just kept saying, "more! more! more!" They close on Labor Day but we will for sure go back next summer when we can enjoy more time in the water!

On to the work week and preparing for a three day camping weekend ahead of us! FUUUUN TIMES!!

This and that...

Well it has been a great week for the Wolfe house! We have been busy (as always) and enjoying the little pieces of life.

We went to visit baby Rhyin (Nathan's niece/goddaughter) and the rest of the family living at my in-laws house. Logan is finally starting to warm up to her. At first he wouldn't even get close to her, but now he is loving on her more and more. It is really sweet!



Logan is loving the new swings on his big swing set! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hunt for my super cool swings!


On Wednesday of this week I met my mom and Logan for lunch. It was great fun. Logan was having a great day. I had a video to upload, but it wouldn't let me. He has learned what a circle is and will draw it over and over and over and yell, "circle circle circle circle circle" over and over again. ha! It is pretty cute. We took this picture below to send to Daddy as a hello! It was fun!



The biggest news of all is that Nathan has a new job! YAY! After three years of being a work horse and literally giving his blood and sweat to this job he is finally moving to a new job. We are so happy. There are countless evenings where he just has nothing left to give energy wise because his job just sucked the life out of him. He was underpaid (started as part of a team of three and then they fired them and Nathan was doing the work of three men by himself with no real increase in pay) and he was overworked. We are so excited that this new company has room for Nathan to move up within the company and it won't be as physically demanding. We are so happy! Below is a picture of Logan helping daddy read through his new employee handbook. Nathan's favorite thing he read in the manual... that he gets a "birthday week holiday!" The week of your birthday you can take any day off! ha! He thinks that is the greatest thing ever! Too funny!

We have another couple busy weeks ahead of us. Including three weeks of three-day weekends! This coming week we are taking Friday off and going camping with a big group from our church. That should be great fun. The week after that is Labor Day weekend and we'll most likely be laying low and make our third annual trip to the park next to our house for a picnic. Should be fun. The weekend after that we have a three day weekend in Northern Michigan at a friend's cottage! We are VERY much looking forward to some "vacation" time. We don't take much vacation so anything new and exciting is very much welcomed!

Nathan is working today (at his old job) and went in at 6:00 so he would be home by 2:30 to spend the bulk of the afternoon/evening with us! He is such a good hubby. Until then it is momma/Logan time. It is rainy and gross out so I'm trying to think of something fun to do. Wish me luck!

Monkey Balls

Yes - that's right - I said Monkey Balls! ha! :-)

On Mondays and Wednesdays my fantastic mom comes in to watch Logan for us. A while back they started playing catch and rolling a ball back and forth while holding a monkey. Crazy I know, but Logan LOVES it! Yesterday my mom bought him his first ball glove and soft baseball. After playing catch with Daddy for much of the evening he decided to switch over to rolling the ball back and forth til bath time.

It was so cute and I had to grab the camera and finally get some pictures of one of his favorite activities. ENJOY!

He is Sweetness and Light...

Sappiness thy name is Mama...

Dear Logan,

Where do I even start with you sweet boy of mine? you are my perfectly imperfect child. You light up a room with your smile, you blow kisses better than anyone I know and you have the greatest belly laugh I've ever heard. You are stubborn, like your mama, you throw the most cliche tantrums, but are quick to smile when you realize you aren't going to get what you want and you move on.

A few of your favorites:
FOOD: perogies, spaghetti, oatmeal, yogurt, garlic toast, hummus, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly and any kind of cracker
ACTIVITY: running, jumping, climbing, riding your bike and just about anything that involves moving your body through space. You also love kicking, rolling and throwing balls in the back yard with us.
PEOPLE: you love being with daddy probably most of all, but mama is quickly becoming a preferred choice at times. You really love your grandparents and teachers at school too. You have so much fun playing with your cousins and doing everything your older cousin does.
BOOK: you love "Hop on Pop" and all your tractor books
BEST FRIEND: at home it is Daddy and at school you seem to like just about everyone, but I've noticed on your daily reports your teacher often says you are playing with a lot of the girls! My little heart breaker!
THINGS TO SAY: you love to say, "I _____ it!!" (insert any of the following: did, spilled, dropped, got, kicked, throw, fixed, etc.) You love announcing when you go potty on the big boy potty, "I GO POTTY!!" My favorite thing you say is "Daddy, mama - aaaaare yooooouuuuu??? (where are you?) Cracks me up every time!
Other things... you love naming your body parts, you love dancing and playing in the water, you enjoy reading books, but it is hard to get you to sit down long enough to finish one, you talk NON STOP (another trait you got from me) and you love chasing mommy and daddy through the house with us.

There are so many more and I know I'm forgetting some, but just about everything you do brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart. You are by far the most loving little guy I could ever imagine. There were so many nights when I was pregnant with you that your daddy and I would talk about what we hoped you would be like and at this age you have far surpassed our every hope and dream.

You are quickly becoming a little boy and leaving the toddler phase of life. I have treasured every milestone, every kiss, cuddle and laugh. you are so caring and know when someone isn't feeling well or has a boo-boo. You are quick to come over and kiss our boo-boos better and want yours kissed better too. you are working really hard at sharing your things with others and it is improving each and every time you are playing with others. It warms my heart to see you think of others even if it is on a small scale. It gives me great hopes for your future.

I am so very much looking forward to what this third year of your life will bring. All the stories you will tell us and all the wonderful memories we will make together.

Mama loves you more than words can even express and I'm so thankful to God that you are mine.

I love you,
Mama

"I'm TWO!!"

The sappy "my son is completely amazing" post will have to wait until tomorrow. Both Nathan and I are sicker than dogs. Thankfully Logan is well and at daycare enjoying his birthday and nathan and I have been sleeping most of the day and downing pepto bismol. I'm hoping we have enough energy to take him out to celebrate his wonderful day. We'll see how things end up!

Party Time!

Tomorrow may be the big day, but yesterday we celebrated in a big way - LOGAN IS TURNING TWO! My sweet little guy was the picture of happiness yesterday when our family and some friends gathered at a nearby park to celebrate Logan's special day.



We couldn't have asked for better weather - a FAR cry from the monsoon on his first birthday and everything was just wonderful.



We had the part next to the airport in Ann Arbor so we could watch planes landing all afternoon/evening! Went perfect for the airplane theme and it didn't hurt that another local airport was having an air show so TONS of planes were coming back to Ann Arbor and such. It was great! All the littles loved it and Logan thought the planes were pretty great as well.



Nathan and I made the largest pinata ever in the history of time. Took us 6 evenings between making and decorating it, but we had such a fun time (mostly) that next time we'll probably make a smaller one or buy one! ha!

It was a great day and we loved spending time with everyone...

**please prepare yourselves for a totally sappy "my baby is two" post tomorrow... you have been warned**

My big boy... so handsome!

Watching some of the MANY airplanes landing at the airfield next door.

My brother and my husband... accidental twins!

Logan was using his Great Aunt Me's broken camera to take pictures. Every time he put the camera to his face he kept yelling, "CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!!"

The cupcakes and decorations for them my sister-in-law and I made.

Blowing out his candles... although they never actually lit because it was so windy!

So pleased with himself!

The gigantic pinata we made.

Playing in the mini jumping thing my mom and dad brought!

Trying out Daddy's camera.

Two peas in a two year old pod.

Our family! LOVES IT!

Corn on da cob!

Mommy loves her some corn on da cob... seriously looooooooooove it. The last batch we had was utter nastiness so I was beyond pleased that this collection of cobby goodness was spectacular! Daddy was going to be home late from work so Logan was sweet enough to help me husk the corn and get it ready for dinner.

(He looks wet in the pictures because he had some pre-dinner sprinkler fun with Mommy. Not to be confused with post dinner sprinkler fun with Daddy - pictures of that coming soon!)

I made Logan some other yummy food for dinner, but the little man only wanted to eat the corn he worked so hard to husk! Here are the fruits of his chomping efforts...

Potty and Toddler Bed and August... OH MY!!

Really? Is it August?! What happened to July? Do you remember when your parents said to treasure your time because it just goes by faster and faster as you get older? I remember my mom saying that to me and WOW WAS SHE RIGHT! My goodness. With each passing year - granted I'm only 29, but still - with each passing year my perception of time goes whirling by me. When you throw in a toddler with the momentum of tornado it just puts a magnifying glass on the second hand of life!

Last Tuesday I called to check in on Logan at daycare and his teacher. Wendy said that he had been having a great day and even went potty on the little toilet in the next room for the older toddlers. WHAT?! We bought him a potty chair a few months back, but never really pushed the whole experience on him. I'm not a fan of mom's who push potty training on their kids - that is just not how we operate at the Wolfe house. He had seen Daddy go potty and would sit on the potty sometimes, but that was about it. But now all of a sudden he is going on the potty at least 4-5 times a day and is VERY proud of himself. No #2 on the potty, but hey - he isn't even two yet!! I am fully aware that he may do this for another little while and then decide he doesn't want to do it anymore. And that is fine - we are just following his lead and he is really happy every time he goes. His favorite thing is taking the little potty insert and dumping his pee in the toilet and flushing it. Then he goes running to whoever he finds and yells, "I POTTY!!" and gives high fives. So cute!

Last night he spent the night at my parents' house and after being completely worn out by my niece and nephew he slept in the toddler bed at their house! Mom said she didn't hear from him until 7:20 this morning when he got up and started playing. Craziness!

Where did my baby go?

Here are some big boy things he has been up to lately....

What a little artist - gone from scribbles to lovely hearts! Such talent!

He was a great help to Mommy unloading the dishwasher and then handing me the dirty stuff in the sink. If you look closely he is wearing socks on his hands... yeah that was his idea. ha!

My toddler size Al Bundy on the couch watching Backyardigans! Good gosh!

I went in to pack his lunch and came back to this scene. ha!