Bummer, the Broncos lost

I dressed up Logan in his Broncos jersey yesterday (it went over well at church - the pastor is a big fan). I guess that didn't help them much against the Chargers since they got slaughtered (Uncle Jim, you should be proud of your boys). But the Colts are in the playoffs. Good thing he didn't wear his Colts jersey yesterday!

Smelly dogs

I love my dogs, I really do. They are a source of entertainment.

Saturday, we went for our walk, and I let both crazies off lead at the back of our subdivision where they have built new roads (great for a stroller) but no houses. And if you're wondering, yes, I look like I have my hands full because I have two dogs and a baby. Anyway, Zoe follows Bug everywhere, even through water that is too deep for her. Poor little runt came out dripping wet! I really think she loves it. So now both of them have the faint aroma of stagnant water. Yum!

Then last night, Shane was in the bedroom saying "Good night" to me (he tries to keep on some semblance of a midnight schedule). He said, "I love you", and then we heard the "pfffft". It was Bug over on his pillow letting out a little gas. Then 30 seconds later, he did it again. So maybe it was more than a little gas. After about the fifth time, Shane said, "I'm leaving before they gas me. You might want to turn on the fan."

Seriously, I don't know what these dogs have eaten besides some Christmas ham, some peanut butter, and dog food, but man! they stink! Bug was in lying on a rug in the kitchen last night, and just the whiff as I walked by was enough to lay you out!

Musings on Baby

This Christmas, our local Christian radio station was playing all Christmas music. One of the songs that they played often was the Sixpence None the Richer song "The Last Christmas". It is a sweet song that sums up a lot of what I was feeling this Christmas...

I feel your heart beating
Inside my own skin
And I think of Mary
In Bethlehem

That night in a stable
Our Saviour was born
Yes, we have so much
To be thankful for

On the last Christmas
The last Christmas
The last Christmas
Without you

This is the last Christmas without the new baby. The last Christmas we will be the parents of only one child. The last Christmas with life as we now know it.

How exciting that this time next year, we'll be four of us! I'm so excited to meet this little one, so excited to watch another baby grow, so excited that Logan will have a sibling to play with. How blessed am I to have such a great husband, a sweet little boy, and a new baby on the way?

And having celebrated our Saviour's birth this past week, I truly do have so much to be thankful for.

Dashing through the house

Today, Logan was dashing through the house because he couldn't dash through the snow. We think he was actually trying to chase the dogs. First he went after Bug, who immediately left the room, then he went after Zoe who let him run into her before she decided to move. Then Logan went after Bug again.

This video shows Logan's stellar Tonka truck pushing skeels. He can push and pull the truck to change directions; he even pulls it backwards when he runs into something. There is no place for the dogs to hide anymore!

White Christmases in Houston

Today, as I turned on our air conditioner to cool and dehumidify the house, I thought of the song by Branded called "White Christmases in Houston". It's so funny, and it's so true! I'm sitting here in a t-shirt and cotton pants, sweating. I have a feeling if we had the boat back from getting its yearly checkup, we'd be out wakeboarding today (haha).

Anyway, here are the lyrics to the song...enjoy!

If you dream of horse-drawn carriages
Dashing through the snow;
Before you move to Texas
There's something you should know...

That they don't have White Christmases in Houston.
I've lived here most my life and I should know.
I've prayed and I've pleaded for way too many years
But they just don't have White Christmases down here.

I've heard of winter carnivals in Aspen.
It looks just like a winter wonderland.
But remember while you're freezin' throughout this Christmas season
We'll be down here with Christmas cheer and flip-flops in the sand.

I've seen all those Christmas shows on TV.
Blankets of white powder; my, how grand!
But while you've got snow and holly, I'm feastin' on tamales;
Sittin' on my back porch with an iced tea in my hand.

That they don't have White Christmases in Houston.
I've lived here most my life and I should know.
I've prayed and I've pleaded for way too many years
But they just don't have White Christmases down here.

Food, glorious food!

Shane was a nice guy and made a yummy ham for us today. I thawed out some apples, which no one touched, reheated some green beans, burned some rolls, and cooked three sweet potatoes that we only ate one of. Oh well - the ham was the hit. Logan loved it. I've never seen him be a chow hound, but man, he ate every single piece of ham I gave him. He didn't even feed any of it to Bug and Zoe - well, okay, maybe one piece each, but that's really good for him.

Thanks Daddy for the YUMMY lunch!!

Video for Grandma

Shane was trying to get his mom to see this video using a share program over the internet. But, that didn't work. So here is the video of Logan and Grandma during their visit a few weeks ago. Logan had a great time "knocking it down". "It" being the tower of Tupperware that Grandma would set up. She was lucky to get two on top of each other before he knocked it down.

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's Christmas at the Flachman household...which means, lots of Flachman gifts. Shane wrapped up a box of Oatmeal Creme Pies - well, individual oatmeal creme pies. Heehee. Then there were the gifts in the FrootLoops box, and the FrootLoops in another box. Gotta love it!

I try to be creative, but it doesn't work, and the large orange I bought for Shane's stocking was all moldy.

Logan had a great time opening his gifts. How super fun! He also wanted to help Daddy open his gifts.

Best part about this morning was that Little Man slept in until almost 9am! He got up, all happy and giggly, at 6:10. I gave him a bottle and put him back to bed. Amazing!

Here's Logan with his stocking, opening his two stocking gifts (baby cheese fish and animal crackers).

Here we are playing with his presents (Zoe had to get in on the action, too). One of his favorites is from our sweet neighbors, Hope and Phil. It's a little boombox looking thing that sticks to the fridge. He loves the nob that turns on it. He was playing with it before Daddy could get it out of the box!

Of course, Shane, being the sneaky guy he is, got me a laptop for Christmas. He even had Mike call me to tell me he'd bought something for Shane's mom and was going to have it delivered to our house but that it came after they had left. Those schemers. Apparently, Shane even stopped off at the FedEx store to tell them NOT to deliver it and that he would pick it up. Of course, they delivered it. But I'm still pretty gullible, and thought that Shane was being completely truthful when he said that Mike had bought a new monitor for his mom, and HP must have messed up the mailing address. I told him that we should unpack it and test it out to see if it was our monitor or our video card that's on the fritz on the desktop. This laptop (I'm blogging on it now as Shane plays Tomb Raider on the PS3) is a 17" screen (no squinting) and has a full keyboard with a full numberpad on the side (would have been nice to have when I was at Evalca when I would work on my spreadsheets). Anyway, pretty sweet - I'm so excited about it! I can multitask now!

Logan's lady friends

We went to Hooters today (our favorite restaurant - seriously, the wings are awesome, try the breaded Daytona wings - super yum). Since we've been going there for a long time, the waitresses all know Logan and think he's the cutest. So today, I finally got a picture of him with some of the girls.

Next to him, on the left is Nikki, who thought he was super sweet even in his Graco bassinet. The one holding him is Emily, who was our waitress today and has been several times. The one in the front right, I can't remember her name, but she was behind the bar and saw that we were taking a picture, and she called, "wait for me, that's my baby!" Hilarious.

Isn't it funny how he'll scream at Santa Claus, but loves the Hooters Girls? Uncle Doug would be so proud.

Self-feeding

Logan has decided that he needs to feed himself, especially at breakfast. This makes for a rather messy morning, but he is not a happy camper if he does not get the spoon and cereal. If I even attempt to give him some oatmeal, he twists and yells and cries, but he'll take the same spoonful and either take the bite off with his other hand and put it in his mouth or he'll wave it around it'll fall on the floor and he'll look down after it.

The other morning, I gave him his oatmeal bowl and then some Cheerios. He put the Cheerios in the bowl and would take the oatmeal coated Cheerios out again. He was very serious about this. It was so funny, I got a few pictures.

Walking man

Logan has decided that he likes to walk. He'll take about 10 steps and sit down, but if he can hold onto your finger, ZOOM, he's gone. Of course, that means you're walking with him, and he has definite ideas on where he wants to go. Sometimes it may be circling the bar, other times, it's walking to the doggie door so he can go visit outside. Whatever the case, he knows where he's going, and he doesn't like you saying, "let's go here". Although, he is, on occassion, open to suggestions. For instance, you can say, "let's go to your room to change your diaper", and he might just do it. Score!

Anyway, he's much better on the carpet than the tile, but he can still get around a few steps on the tile. It will be much better tomorrow, because I think it'll be warm enough that he can go without socks.

He's getting to be a big boy!

Gram and Bapa visit

After visiting Papa, we drove down to Houston with Gram and Bapa and Sam. Yeah, it was a tight fit in that little SUV. Sam didn't want to give Gram any of the backseat, and since she didn't have a carseat that defined her place like Logan, she sat on the edge of her seat the entire 5 hours. Maybe she was just that excited to be coming to visit us.

Most of the week we just sat around and played. Logan had a great time with two grandparents paying attention to him. Bapa played with him in his room, and Gram worked with him on the shape sorter. What a blast!

On Thursday we went to the doctor for his 1 year visit (yes, he's that old!). He had a great time in the office, walking around and taking off his diaper multiple times. He's still tall and skinny (89% in height and 21% in weight). Over the course of at least two visits, he's had fluid in his ears, which can make him not hear correctly, thus impeding speach development. So for the next few weeks, we're going to try out Singulair. Otherwise, we may be getting tubes. Just like Mommy!

After our trip to the doctor, we opened gifts. Gram and Bapa gave Logan a green soccer ball (which he prompty bit a hole in), a little Polo outfit (direct from China), and a wooden truck with cars. He also got some of the Callicott favorite Christmas stories ("The Best Christmas Pageant Ever", "The Smells of Christmas"). I think I was more excited about those...

That night, when it was like over 60F out, we went to see the Festival of Lights. There was a man playing Christmas songs on his guitar. He was really good. We also went to see Santa there (which we found out was free if you have a camera with you). Logan was NOT happy about seeing Santa.

On Friday, we went down to Galveston to show Gram and Bapa the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. I heard on the news this morning (100 days since Ike hit), that 75% of the houses on Galveston Island had some flood damage. The damage done to UTMB, the island's largest employer, was about $170 million. And the damage done to crops in Chambers and Liberty counties was very close to a $ million.

Months after the storm, we saw houses completely gutted due to the storm surge. We saw debris caught in fences. We saw boats beached on the land. We saw large piles of debris sitting on the side of the road. But then, we also saw life go on and repairs being made. Heck, we even stopped at The Spot for burgers, which is right on the seawall.

On the way home, we took the scenic route through Freeport. (Doug, we waved at the Dow plant as we drove by.) The San Luis highway, that connects Freeport, Surfside beach, and Galveston, was completely washed out in places. It seemed like the detour went onto the beach for at least a mile. And if you stopped, the mosquitos were so big and vicious, they would carry your truck away.

That night, Billy and Yoshiko Burke came over for dinner. It was great to see the Japanese grandparents. They always have interesting stories to tell. Both look great, and seem to still have their sense of humor.

Saturday, we had cake (pumpkin bread with cream cheese icing - serious yum). Logan enjoyed that, though the white icing seemed to be less messy than the chocolate. Then Hope and Phil came over to hang out, and brought Logan some presents. They gave him his own little dog, and a Tonka truck sit and scoot. He loves the Tonka truck and wheels it all over the place. It was super sweet of them to get him those presents.

And seriously, how many grandparents does it take to bathe a baby?

It was a good visit. Next time, we'll be in "Go Bapa" gear for the half-marathon!

Going to see Papa

On Wednesday, December 17, we went up to see Papa in Ft. Worth. Logan and I flew out of Hobby (bless SWA for letting us fly standby), and Gram and Bapa picked us up at Love Field. We got to visit with Papa for a little while. He seemed to enjoy getting to see Logan, and was longing to hold him, but the squirmy wormy did not want to sit on the bed with Papa.

In true Papa fashion, Handel's Messiah was playing and he was directing the music with his hands. Sometimes, even his feet would get going. Reminds me of when he used to "truck" around the house.

I will say that Papa is much different than when I last saw him in August. In August, we had an animated conversation (much of which was provided by Renee Houck), and Papa was in his LazyBoy and was able to hold Logan. Now, he was on his back in bed.

It's hard to see Papa deteriorate, but as Paul says in Philippians, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain". I think that sweet Papa has been such an example of Christ's humble love to so many people that he can check the first part of this verse off.

Grandma and Grandpa visit

This weekend, Grandma and Grandpa came down from Indiana for a visit. What a great time! It is always a sweet time to see grandparents with their grandchildren.

Shane and Mike did a lot of work this weekend. They fixed the starter in Hope (our neighbor)'s car. She was going to take it to a mechanic, but these mechanics decided they were up to the challenge. So in return, she made us steak, salad, and potatoes. YUM!

Then the boys worked on Terry Frank's door. Terry the mother of William, Shane's Little Brother. I had to run some saws and nails out, so Barb got to spend some quality one-on-one time with Logan (which I'm sure he LOVED).

On Saturday night, we went to the Dickinson Festival of Lights. Which is, happily, free. It is very fun to walk around, especially on such a balmy night like Saturday night. It was a bit cool for Logan, but I was pretty comfortable in a short sleeved shirt.

Sunday. we had Logan's first first birthday party (seriously, he's almost 1! Where has the time gone?). Shane was trying to teach Logan how to blow the candle out, but Logan thought that it was easier to just grab the flame to put it out. Oy! Logan enjoyed his cake, and shared with both Daddy and with the dogs. Such a generous boy!

He only needed help opening one present, the he was a pro with the rest of them.

Then he had a great time playing with all his new toys!

SNOW! Part Deux

Okay, so I prematurely put those last pictures on the web. It kept snowing, and we must have gotten about 1.5". Craziness! I think the peak was about midnight, and at about 2am it started melting. But apparently all the neighborhood kids and dogs were out LATE that night.

This is our snow covered Japanese lantern. Reminds me of Kanazawa.

Here is Logan in the backyard right when he woke up (had to get a picture before it melted!). He was NOT fond of crawling on the cold cement. All I have to say to that is, "learn to walk, kiddo!" Yeah, we didn't stay out too long.

This is our backyard a little after sunrise. Yes, my son gets up before the sun does! But the fun part is seeing the banana plants in the snow!

SNOW!

That's right folks - we're having SNOW in Houston. Yesterday it was 78F...today it didn't get much above 40F. And people wonder why so many people in Houston get sick. I think it's funny looking at my laundry - shorts and t-shirts mixed with long sleeves, sweatshirts, and jeans. So much for ever putting up one season's clothes.

The little CR-V:


Grilled snowballs anyone?



A cold Bug:

Watch me!

Logan has been able to push a little Fisher-Price wheely toy that Grandma brought down for about a month. He looks like he's pushing a grocery cart. What's really funny is, he doesn't know how to turn it around, so he'll either try to push it sideways or he'll walk around to the back of it and push it from that side. Today I caught him IN the Christmas tree with the little walker.

Here he is in the walkin' groove:

Teaching him early

We're teaching Logan early to be a good driver. Just don't let him drive in New York or West University. He'll be pulled over for talking on his phone and driving at the same time...or at least eating his phone. Think the cop will make a distinction?

My cue balls

So, the other day, I needed to cut Shane's hair. Apparently, I went a little nuts and cut Logan's as well. Now he really looks like Daddy. I miss his long hair, but it was growing over his ears, and with Mr. Squirmy, I wasn't sure if I wanted to use the scissors again. But he's still a cutie.

Here are my cue balls...

Catch me if you can!

Logan and Daddy have started a new game of falling off the counter (Shane says it's practice for the swim platform on the boat). Anyway, it's super cute. Logan leans forward, closes his eyes, and opens his mouth.

When we came home yesterday, Daddy said "He gets bigger everytime I see him". It'd been all of 3 days! But Daddy did miss us, and missed hanging out with his little buddy. The two of them are so crazy together! I love watching them play.

My other baby

Today, Zoe and I went to a make up lesson for Puppy Preschool. On the way home, she decided that they best seat in the house was the baby seat. Guess she really is our other baby!

Thanksgiving at Gram and Bapa's house

For Thanksgiving, we went to Gram and Bapa's house in Hot Springs Village Arkansas. Yes, that's about as out in the woods as it sounds. No, they do not have a trailer on their property or a truck up on cinder blocks, but we did see some on the winding drive from the airport.

Logan and I went up on Monday, November 24 and enjoyed hanging out until everyone else arrived on Wednesday. Logan really enjoyed being spoiled by his grandparents. He liked "nookie, nookie" ing with Bapa (shake your head like you're saying "No"), trying to bite Bapa's nose (tasty?), playing rings with Gram, going into the baby pool at the Nat with Gram, and singing with both Gram and Bapa.

Guitars fascinate Logan. On Sunday, when Bapa was putting up his guitar after church, Logan was standing on Bapa's foot so he could get closer to the guitar and play it better. So funny.

I was also spoiled by the grandparents. It was so nice to be able to sleep into 7am. What luxury. It was also nice to be able to help with cooking (on occassion), but not be in charge of the menu. Probably my favorite thing though, was not having to change every diaper. Logan is a wiggle butt with me, and changing his diaper is something I dread (I know, totally horrible, but true). You never thought a baby at 11 months could do a back bend, but Logan can when he doesn't want his diaper changed. (Below is a picture of Logan and me at Garvin Gardens...it was cold for me - upper 50s/ low 60s - thus the Army issue hat)

Anyway, it was a great time, and I got Logan's scrapbook caught up to Thanksgiving. That was so great. Just have to finish the journaling, but at least the pictures are in.

Here are some cute pictures from this past weekend:

Logan and Daddy share an apple. Yum!

Gram and Logan - look at those blue eyes.

Bapa hangs Logan upside down.

Sam pleads for someone to save him from this baby.

Uncle Doug and Miss Ashley put on the OSU sweatshirt on Logan. He wore this to bed most of the week because it was so cold (that and Gram's wool socks that went up to his thighs - talk about stylin').

The gang with Miss Shirley at the Fordyce Bath house. She was not only a friend of Gram and Bapa's, but a great docent.

Daddy and Bapa fix a leaky sprinkler pipe. First few leak checks were not very successful, and they had to redo their handy work a couple of times, but after that, it held!

Giving Thanks

We truly do have so much to be thankful for, and I love to count my many blessings:

- a Saviour who was willing to become like us and lay aside His personal desires and make the ultimate sacrifice. How blessed are we??
- a more than handy husband. A guy who can make me laugh even when I don't want to. How is that fair?
- a sweet little boy with the greatest smile and laugh. He's independent, but wouldn't want him to be a cookie cutter.
- wonderful parents who are willing to put us up for so long, and who are willing to listen to me tell the same stories over again. Patience is a virtue!
- great in-laws. Seriously, Grandma came down from Indiana for less than 48 hours just to see the new baby ultrasound. And next time she's dragging Grandpa down with her for a slightly longer stay.
- fun siblings. My brothers are serious cornballs (they get that from Daddy). Amy sends us fun stuff from Japan (a pig ashtray), Jenn is like the sister I never had (we can fight and still like each other), Mikell is a voice of reason (Shane's sounding board), and Monica is great to bounce baby stuff off of since the boys are so close in age.

Sometimes, when the economic and political situations seem bleak, it's always nice to go back and count the many blessings God has given us. There is so much more to be thankful for, but I'd run out of blog space.