Biker boys

Today, Shane and Logan went for a ride. Logan was not too excited about wearing his helmet, but once he got into the trailer and they started going, he had a pretty good time.


Here he is in all his biker glory.



Daddy and Logan are ready to go!

Antique toys

We have some antique toys that we got from Grandma and Papa's house. We took them out and played with them last night. Our favorite was a long wooden pipe, with a cornstalk ball on a wire stuck in it that you blow out to get it on a little metal hoop above the ball. Sounds simple, but it's not as easy as it looks (and definitely turn off the fan!).



Logan, a complete fluke, was the best! He got the corn stalk ball on the hoop more times than both Shane and I.

Blowing into the pipe.

Much celebration!

Mama helps Logan blow - by demonstration...

Ohanami - Texas style

In Japan, they have Ohanami, where they sit under the blooming cherry trees and have a picnic and admire the fleeting beauty of the blossoms.

In Texas, everyone goes out to the bluebonnets. Because, as Tom Petty sings, "you belong among the wildflowers".

Logan was not into posing, especially since there was a cute little Hispanic girl about 10 feet away.

Hooters' helper

I have no pictures of this, but yesterday we went to Hooters for lunch (yum, they have great burgers - highly recommend!). We've had our waitress before, so she was talking to us a little and having a great time with Logan. On the way out, we passed her, and she was sweeping up the floors. Logan went up to her and stuck his hand out for the broom. So she gave it to him. Then he asked for the dustpan, which she gave to him.

And he started to "sweep" (okay, he sweeps backwards, so ends up making more of a mess - he's much better with the Swiffer).

Apparently, Monday is their "duty day", which means the floor has to be completely clean. Logan's cleaning was a huge hit with all the girls, and they even called out their manager who took a few pictures of him (in his Rice University shirt no less - a Rice custodian - how cute).

We had to pry him off of the broom and take him home for a nap!

Yardwork

Well, it's that time of year - when our two neighbors mow their lawn and Shane feels bad for two weeks and finally mows ours. This year, though, Shane had a little helper!

Logan was originally scared of the lawnmower. He was last year - I'd put him in his exersaucer while I would mow, and he was NOT fond of that. In fact, he'd cry everytime the mower came by. Anyway, when Daddy started mowing today, he figured it must be okay, so he took Shane's hand and the two of them mowed together. Pretty amazing, because eventhough we have a frontwheel drive mower, two hands are definitely preferable. Shane even turned the mower using one hand. What an amazing man!!

I tried it as well. Super slow going. Actually, Daddy was going to put Logan down for a nap, but Logan wanted to help some more with the mower and kept pointing at me. So we did about two swipes. (He is wearing sunscreen - 60 SPF just FYI)

Once Logan woke up from his nap (apparently he has an inner alarm clock - he wakes up at 3pm no matter what time he goes to sleep), he helped mow and move cars (setting the truck alarm off about 10 times). When the yard was done, and he got bored, he made his way over to Hope and Phil's house. He walked right up to their front door, and pointed to their doorbell. I guess it doesn't work, because he rang it about 3 times. He knows his aunties love him, so he wanted to go over and say "hi"!

Bathroom slide

Well, it was Saturday, so the boys needed their bath for church tomorrow. Logan, the monkey, has started to climb up on the ledge. Shane thought this was a great idea, so he'd put him up in the corner of the jacuzzi tub and whoosh! Logan would slide down. Both of them thought this was great fun. I just wish it wasn't quite as steep...I'm such a girl.

My crazy little boy! He has so much fun!

Slingblade

Daddy is teaching Logan about garden tools. Today, it was the weedeater (not our favorite, but after a while, Logan followed Shane with a good 10 foot buffer between them), and the machete (we have tropical plants that need hacking). We liked the machete - good thing it's not sharp or Mama would be having a cow, not a baby!

Update to Easter decorations post

Just wanted to update you on our lovely Easter decorations (see March 25).

Logan is now officially a monkey and climbs on the toy box next to the window, then stands on the window sill. He has taken down all the Easter decorations and ripped them apart. Now all the pieces are all over - and I'm sure some of them "got in his bellay" (to be said in a Scottish accent like Mike Meyers).

Oh well, Easter's not really about bunnies anyway (though they are super cute).

DOGPILE!

This is the true meaning of a dogpile: one Logan, two dogs, all on a Daddy.


Logan was petting Bug today (while Bug was getting petted by Daddy, or he would have growled and run away). But once Logan finished petting Bug, he grabbed Bug's snout and put the two of them nose to nose. Then he snorted in Bug's nose (this is what "hovering" Bug does to everyone). Bug would then lick his lips and nose. Maybe the two of them are on their way to being friends. Okay, Logan loves Bug - Bug was pretty much the first word he ever said, and the first "person" he asks for in the morning (then he asks for Dadda). But Bug really only likes Logan when he's in his highchair - he's a bit of a mercenary. Zoe, on the other hand, lets Logan walk up to her and give her neck a hug.


Once the dogpile was over, and Daddy was officially a pancake, we brought the rocking chair into New Baby's room. Daddy was checking the screws at the bottom to see why it was squeaking. Logan had to be a good helper boy for Daddy. Here they're confering about the squeaking issue.

The Rain Dance

Yesterday, it rained pretty good in our area (thank goodness! We've needed it.). Anyway, Shane thought it would be great for Logan, aka "The Frog", to go out and play in "Lake Flachman" in the back yard. Our yard does drain, it just collects very well.

After finally getting Logan to go out in the rain (this took a few minutes, and one big scare over the really loud thunder), but then he went out and splashed in the huge puddle, and just generally had a great time being a little boy. Daddy, a big boy, had to go out and join him. How fun is that??

Even Mama got in on some of the action. The water was COLD. Good for pregnant swollen feet though - but still cold! So afterwards, Logan and I took a jacuzzi tub bath. I'll spare you those pictures...

Nicknames

My sweet husband has a great new nickname for me (because I don't feel fat enough), "Bavarian Creme Filled Donut". At least I'm tasty and delicious!

Easter decorations

These are our paltry Easter decorations - thanks to them being sent by Gram and Bapa. I haven't gone up in the sweltering attic to get ours yet, but I do need to get some stuff up there, so maybe tomorrow (hey, I'm part Filipina, that means never).

As you can see, Logan had fun putting them up. There was also a flower that came with them - it got torn to bits, as did this bunny about 15 minutes later.

Phone pacing

Our wonderful neighbors, Hope and Phil, came over on Sunday and gave "Little Flach" a nice new V-Tech phone. It's sweet - lights up, says hello and goodbye in English, Spanish, and French (so you can travel to both Mexico and Canada). Logan loves it. He takes it with him everywhere.

Logan likes to put his phone up to his ear (backwards - the speaker is there), and he'll sort of yak into it. Of course, he has to do this while he's pacing around the house, because that's what Daddy does, so it must be the way you're supposed to talk on phones.

And he does it in his underwear - typical man!

Washing the cars

We finally broke out the pressure washer on Sunday after naps (these are after church - not during!). After much trying to get it started, and this apparently scared Logan, we finally got it going. Logan and I sat on a fold out chair for a while and cheered Daddy on while he scrubbed away at the truck. Yup, we're management material!

After a while of cheering for him, Logan was walking behind Daddy (even within 2 feet of the pressure washer, which made him cry 10 minutes before), clapping his hands and saying "Dadda!" He would also splash his feet in the soapy water that came off the truck. But if he looked at it too much, he lost his balance because the ground seemed to be moving beneath him. Oh well, that's what washing machines are for!

Logan truly is a helper. Though he wouldn't touch the "gun" on the washer, he was more than happy to help scrub the tires with the brush; he even held the brush out to be rinsed off. After we were finished, he was carrying the brushes around, and I asked him to give the brushes to Daddy. He followed Shane around for 5 minutes before Daddy took them from him. He's a persistent little helper!

And just in case you were wondering how dirty our driveway is, Shane wrote our names in the grime with the pressure washer. We're so special.

Now, if you had wanted to see something REALLY funny, you should have seen the 36 week pregnant lady in a dress washing the CR-V. I have no pictures, but imagine a whale running around a car, and you'll get the idea.

Baby update

Well, let me give you a baby update. We are closing in on the due date, April 21 (one day before Shane's birthday). Of course, the C-section is scheduled for 2 days after Easter, April 14. I'm really excited that my doctor is now on at Christus St. John where Logan was born. It's a great hospital, the nurses are wonderful, the rooms are super spacious, and there is no rooming with another person. Nice! Plus, it's a Catholic hospital, so you know they know what they're doing. And it's comforting to have scripture greet you when you come into the hospital.

New baby is really active. I'm talking serious movement here. Okay, maybe Logan was just super laid back, but this one is going to be a soccer player. I think it tries to kick something and then tries to headball something. Maybe it has bad eyesight - hasn't figured out what a soccer ball looks like yet. Sometimes, when I go to bed at night, the baby starts kicking, and it will shake the entire bed. Good thing we don't have a water bed! We'd be getting waves all night long!

My hips and upper legs are beginning to get pretty sore. That didn't really happen with Logan, but I was doing Yoga Mama when I was pregnant with him, so I wonder if that made a difference. Plus, now I'm up on my feet on tile a lot more, and getting up and down from the floor a lot more. But my blood pressure is much better (124/78 last time) and I'm not as swollen as I was with Logan (seriously, I looked like a balloon).

Well, new baby just shifted positions, so now, my belly is lopsided. Nice.

Oh, also, funny - very few of my maternity clothes (thanks to all the cousins!) are fitting anymore. The shirts are too short, my thighs are too big (thanks Callicott genes), and the pants are too short. So much for looking like a pregnant Hollywood star - BAHAHA - like that would happen anyway!

Well, I've got to go waddle over to the dryer and fold clothes and stuff diapers.

Pulling a "Mallof"

Yup, I pulled a "Mallof" today, and it worked really well! I put half a glass of water in with half a glass of OJ, and Logan loved it. He drank 2 whole sippy cups full of the mixture. I wonder if the OJ by itself was too acidic or concentrated. Whatever, he went around all afternoon with his juice in hand. Mrs. Mallof is a genius!

Here's Logan with his OJ in his cute little giraffe outfit from Aunt Amy and Uncle Chris.

Cooling it off

Logan has become pretty good at cooling off his hot food. He does a great job of blowing on it (of course, that leads to some of it being on the floor, but whatever). If he even thinks it's hot, he blows on it. Here he is getting some lessons from Daddy.

The Houston Livestock Show

Grandma came down for a short visit this weekend. Of course, she brought the rain and cold weather with her. But we decided that we still needed to go to the Houston Livestock Show on Sunday. Shane really wanted to take Logan to the Petting Zoo. It was Go Tejano! Day, so Logan was easier to keep up with, being one of the only blond haired and blue eyed kids in the petting zoo. Of course, he likes to zoom between people and animals, so Daddy got a work out keeping up with him.

Logan was totally unfazed by the animals. Of course, the sheep and goats were about the size of our horse of a dog, Bug, at home. So when Logan was walking through the animals, he would just push them aside or lower his shoulder like he does with Bug and Zoe.

He spent about 30 - 45 minutes in the petting zoo pin, but his favorite thing of all were the poop brooms. I think he really wanted to help the staff clean.

A very close second was the ducks. He was trying so hard to reach them through the gate...of course, he did get bitten by one of them, which startled him. According to Daddy, he didn't cry. (he does not take after his mother - I got bitten by a big duck at SAU when I was little, and I remember crying because it hurt. Yeah, I'm a wuss.)

The petting zoo aslo had "attack deer", like they have in Japan. Maybe they're imports? Anyway, any untucked shirt was fair game - in this picture you can see the sheepish looking deer and Shane's wet shirt. Cotton, the fiber of our lives.

Then we walked around Reliant Center for a while. There were chicks being hatched, chickens in pens, pigs that were being shown, calves and steers being washed, mariachi bands playing, and of course, John Deere! Logan loved "driving" the front loader (like in "Corner Gas", "What are you going to do with a frontend loader, Hank?" "I don't know, just in case I have to load something from the frontend.")

The colorful nobs and the steering wheel were great fun on the John Deere. Maybe we'll have to get a riding lawnmower so Daddy and Logan can have a great time going around the yard. Those were some highlights of my summers when Paw and my Daddy would take us around the yard on the riding lawnmower. Easily amused.

What a great way to spend a cold and rainy day!

Helper boy

Logan is becoming a big helper around the house. Yesterday, I really needed to sweep (please note, sweep is with a broom, vacuum is with a vacuum - my husband thinks both are sweeping). Anyway, having two shedding dogs and a doggie door was finally catching up with us. So, Logan and I got to work. I had the broom and he had the Swiffer. He's pretty good with that thing! Most of the time, he actually uses it on the flat floors, not the mat.

Today, as I was transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer, I was thinking how much I missed the little hands that give me the wet laundry (both boys are napping). With our washer and dryer stacked, and my big belly, it's a little hard to go from bottom to top sometimes. But Logan is such a helper (if you can catch the clothes before they end up on the floor). He's especially good at helping with his diapers. Guess that's only fair!

When we're done with chores, all Logan wants to do is read his "boo" (book). I have "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?" memorized. Seriously, Shane and I were in bed last night listing the animals in order - we lead an exciting life. Today in the car, he was reading his Chic-Fil-A Corduroy book - right side up and flipping pages. I guess he's going to be a bookworm!

My boys

This morning, the boys were playing PlayStation together. I thought this was a sweet picture of Logan and his favorite Daddy.

Day at the park

Sunday was daylight savings time, and everyone's clock was all screwed up. So we decided we needed to take a field trip to the park. There aren't any parks within walking distance of us, but Jack Brooks park is a pretty close drive. Next time we'll try the Challenger 7 park.

Anyway, Logan had a blast. He had a pretty good time on the swings, though he really likes it better when Daddy pushes him from the front. Then he went down the slides a few times with Daddy helping him get started. By the end of the day, he was throwing himself down the slides. No seriously, he scared me to death going head first once. Of course, he went a lot slower that way, but still. Logan definitely mastered the sliding technique. Sit down, put your left leg out, bring your right leg around, scoot forward, and SLIDE! Pretty good for not quite a 15 month old.

He also made some friends. One little girl, as soon as we got to the playground, said, "Can I play with your baby?" We just told her we were going on the swings, and thank goodness, she left before we got off the swings. It's all about deflection... When Logan was actually on the play structure, he was having a hard time at first with the plank bridge - a bridge that's sort of like a rope and wood bridge, so it wiggles under your feet. Anyway, this ~10 year old took time out from being a "zombie" (oh the imagination of kids) to hold Logan's hand, help him across, and then take him down the slide. What a sweet girl!

What a fun day!

Galveston Recovery

For our 5th wedding anniversary, we went down to Galveston for hamburgers. Of course, we forgot that it was spring break for some schools, so there were cars all up and down Seawall Blvd.

Galveston is still trying to recover from the blow dealt by Hurricane Ike in September. One of the ways they are doing this is by trucking in more sand for the beaches (a significant amount was washed out during the storm...in places it was seawall then sea, no sand). As we drove down Seawall Blvd, there were at least 6 dump trucks in one place putting down new sand, and a bulldozer leveling it all out. They even had lights on top of a generator so they could work into the night. Sorry, no pictures, I totally forgot my camera.

Being the nostalgic types we are, all we could say was, "hmm, the beaches look different. Oh, they don't have dried seaweed and trash all over them. Nice." Then we were noticing the attire of the people on the beach. Bikinis? Seriously? Shane's observation was "Okay, if I was coming here from Indiana, I can see wearing shorts, but I'm comfortable right now in jeans." It was probably about 75F out. How quickly they acclimate!

Of course, after dinner, we took Logan down to the beach. He tried to follow two surfers out into the water, but neither Mom nor Daddy would let him go. Such narrowminded parents. After getting over that, he enjoyed walking on the sand, picking up a few shells and bottlecaps, and getting to meet two dogs. And he got to walk up and down the stairs from the seawall a few times. That was probably the highlight.

Oh, and there are still some sailboats on the road, which are now for sale (sail?). If you're in the market for about a 25+ foot sailboat, these are probably pretty cheap. I don't think they come with a trailer though...

Wow! FIVE YEARS!

It really doesn't seem like it was FIVE years ago today that Shane and I got married. Wow. We've done so much since then: gone to Asia twice, Karen's gone through two jobs then completely quit (yes, I miss it sometimes), we've learned to wakeboard (then decided we needed a boat), become serial church-goers (three churches in 5 years), had one super cute bambino and another one 6 weeks away.

Shane really makes it easy to be married to him. He's very wise and can look at issues from lots of different angles (which can, honestly, be frustrating at times...just agree with me already!). I really do respect and admire him. He's a great provider, and is home with Logan and me a lot (he even took tonight off! So after we go to the Spot, the scene of our first date, we're going to rent a movie and veg...our favorite date.). He's a really good boat driver - so if you ever want to learn how to wakeboard or ski - Shane's the man. He's only complained about my cooking a few times - hard brown rice and salmon steaks that tasted really fishy.

Plus, the real reason I married him - Shane has super sexy arms! We're talkin' awesome! He looks phenomenal in a lifevest. Wow.

Visiting Gram and Bapa

Logan and I went up to see Gram for her 29th (plus 30) birthday. We went to JC Penney to get pictures taken, and Logan was a trooper. He'd been up since 5am, and it was 1pm before we got out of the photo studio. No nap in there (not even on the plane). He was so good! Of course, he decided that he needed to visit everyone (maybe the Arkansas accents?). Gram took Logan for a walk around the store, and met a black lady in the men's department. He took a dive for her - I guess he thought she was related to Hope and Phil, our neighbors. But she was rather surprised that a little white boy wanted to be held by a black lady.

The day after Gram's birthday, we went to lunch with Mr. Wayne and Miss Delma Jensen (Miss Delma has been a friend of Gram's since kindergarten! Crazy!). The Osaka Hibachi was excellent - and judging from our cook's accent, he may actually have been Japanese! Logan really enjoyed watching him do all his kitchen acrobatics - from lighting the oil on fire, to spinning the egg on the spatula, to tossing his utensils. As you can see, Logan was entranced.

Afterwards, we went to the Jensen's house for some cake and coffee. Logan has a friend for life in Miss Delma - she let him eat ice cream and have an icing rose from the cake. He's not enjoying himself at all...hahaha

Logan really enjoyed Gram and Bapa's yard. He would pick up rocks and put them in Gram's dump truck, then they would dump them out. He pushed the little dump truck (backwards, of course) all over the yard. Here he is sitting in the dump truck...

He also thought it was great fun to feed Sam some of the rocks. He'd give Sam a rock, Sam would start chomping on it, then Sam would get in trouble and have to drop it. Then Logan would hand him another one. Heehee.

Logan also enjoyed running on to the golf course (which, in HSV, if you're not golfing, you're not allowed on the course). He'd run from the end of the backyard, through the rough, and on to the course, and then get really mad when he was carried back to the yard. Although, once, as Bapa was sort of following him and picking up pinecones, Logan looked back at the slowpoke Bapa, and flapped his arms at him while saying something. But the message was clear, "Hurry up and follow me, Bapa!"

It got a little chilly a few of the days we were there, so Logan could not go outside and play as much as he would have liked. Instead, Bapa and Logan played indoor soccer (Bapa started it, so in the future when things are broken - not my fault!).

Then we watched the animated Robin Hood. Logan cuddled with Gram and Bapa for a while (it was naptime - thus the Nukky).

Here he is, looking like a blue druid in Gram's hooded shark towel. So fresh and so clean!

We also did some bird watching from the breakfast nook. There were lots of birds that came by to feast on Gram and Bapa's birdfeeder: the tufted titmouse, chickadee, eastern pine warblers, downy woodpeckers (affectionately called DW or DDub), and others. Here's one of the warblers.

Gram and Bapa have a little frog on a stick from China that is fun to push around. The really funny thing was, the sleeper that Daddy bought Logan a few months ago looks like it was made for the frog on a stick! The frogs are an almost exact match! Logan also enjoyed pushing around the Swiffer. Bapa may be out of a job!

On Monday, we went to Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs. As always, it was beautiful. The tulip trees, the star magnolias, the pansies, and of course, the happy daffodils were wonderful! Here is Logan in the daffodils - these were in the parking lot, of all places!

Logan and Mama in the daffodils. See, I do exist!

Logan goes for a ride on "horsey", aka Bapa.

We had a great time at Gram and Bapa's house. I got to sleep in until almost 7:30am every day. What a wonderful gift that was! But, as always, it's so nice to go home and be with Daddy. Zoe and Bug were also very glad to see us - they licked Logan's face a bunch, and he just laughed as they danced around him.

Thanks Gram and Bapa for a wonderful visit!