The Many Words of William!

Worst blog updater ever - checking in after...2 months! Goodness gracious! I have no excuses!

From the first "Dada" and "wawa" from the tiny lips of my sweet little man, I have been keeping a (not-100%-diligent) list of William's vocabulary. I'm in awe of every new word that he picks up and every miraculous phrase he forms. He's a genius. I'm sure of it. ;) haha His tiny little voice asking me questions and identifying the objects in his ever expanding world melts my heart. I constantly ache with love for him - motherhood is insane! :)

I will now share The List:
(in no particular order)

up
down
night night
cheese
milk
water
cookie
ball
kick
dog
mama
dada
grandma
grandpa
nonie
hello
hi
bye bye
eye
ear
nose
mouth
hands
toes
eyeball
earring
horse
bear
outside
shoes
pants
socks
blanket
OK!
yay!
mooooo
woof woof
meow
slide
spin
swing
car
door
chicken
dino
frog
duck
juice
chair
fork
spoon
bath
baby
bird
bug
airplane
hug
kiss
please
thank you



This is my son. My greatest achievement. The accomplishment of which I am the most proud. The boy who hugs and kisses and says "please" and "thank you" and charms the pants off of everyone he meets. I'm so ridiculously blessed to be his Mommy. For the Mom of a boy with so many words in his arsenal, I'm frequently left with none to describe the love I have for my W.

3 months, 3 holidays, 1 anniversary, and a million diapers later...

here we are! Goodness gracious I cannot believe it's been so long! Hello obvious indicator of the swirling chaos that is my day to day!

At last update, we were crammed into our tiny apartment, had no clue which new job Marty would be offered/accept, didn't know where we would live when our lease was up (not even which state!), and I was physically holding myself back from ripping my hair out from the silent stress of the unknown. My reaction to change is to panic. Healthy!

My, my! What fabulous coping skills you have!

I will begin by prefacing this quickie update with news that all is well and (soon-to-be) settled in the Loggins sphere now. Just took a few months to get to this point! I will also warn that my memory is about 75% shot - either I'm getting old, my past party years finally caught up to me, or...wait...I'm the Mom of a toddler tornado! Did I even eat dinner last night? Can't remember a darn thing!

October brought many outdoor, Fall-tastic events, costumes, play dates, climbing, road trips to Arkansas for M's interviews, and lots of fun in the warm weather!



November brought cooler temps, family and friends in town visiting, a very successful road trip to Mena and Bentonville for Thanksgiving, and William's first mini-break at Lake Eufaula (gorgeous!), and finally, M's decision to accept a new job in Lewisville! I was over the moon, and flew even higher when his current company basically lost their proverbial shizz at the thought of him leaving and countered. What a nice counter offer it was! Sooooo after all the traveling and negotiating and stress, we came full circle and aren't going anywhere! Well, we did find a fabulous little house for us to rent in Frisco as we continue to save for a down payment for our "real" home (if only we were independently wealthy...hah!) :) The temporary casa is small and adorable and brand spanking new - can't wait to make it our own when we move in at the end of January!



December brought our 2nd wedding anniversary, wonderful holiday celebrations with family and friends, my dream bling from hubby, and the launch of the aforementioned home search!



January so far, has been the busiest month of all! Aside from touring exactly 73,004 houses, we found THE one. Papers were signed. Money was forked over. Boxes are packed. Movers are hired. We got the keys today!!! I am looking forward to play dates, potty training, new memories, outdoor space of our own, a garage, a laundry room, pool, splash park, playground, and all of the every day tiny wonders that happen when you hang out with William (who is growing like a weed!!!).

Life with a toddler. In an apartment.

Is very much like living in a clown car. Being crammed into 1,000 square feet, we are short about 5 rooms that we desperately need . M needs a man cave. (Lord PLEASE send us a man cave for all of this video game equipment!) W needs an official playroom so I'm not tripping over toys in the kitchen/bedroom/bathroom every 10 seconds. We need a guest room. Or we just need to stop inviting people to stay the weekend, but I love love love having company, so...no. We need privacy. As soon as W fell asleep for nap, our next door neighbor took out tools and apparently redecorated her walls. The maintenance guy then took his cue and banged on the door a few times before barging in to complete the "preventative maintenance". I didn't even have time to get downstairs to the door before he was in and on his way up the stairs!

If we are going to Arkansas for a better job for M, cool. If we're staying here, even better! Either way, I just need to know where we are going to be. I'm not a gypsy. I am done with being in limbo. I feel like I've been living in a waiting room for 2 years. We are paying $1,100 a month in rent for what we could be putting toward a mortgage on a home twice this size! Such a waste.

I need roots. I need to get my stuff out of storage. I want to set up a home, sit down, take it all in, and exhale.

Unplugged. Literally.

So, as almost anyone who knows me knows - I thrive on being connected. In the loop. Online. Plugged in to anything and everything going on!

Well about 5 weeks ago, my precious, tiny, fits-in-my-purse, netbook computer finally crapped out. Ok so it was overrun with some kind of icky virus and I'm still waiting on a knight in shining geekdom to come and rescue it. And me! Needless to say, without the daily dose of FB/Blogger/Gmail/etc, I have missed out on quite a lot. Events. Messages. Photo albums that crash my ancient, cheap-o phone that I refuse to part with...le sigh. It's lonely out here in the 1800s...my hoop skirt has broken and I can't even Google how to repair it.

To make matters 90 times crazier, during this period of - let's just say - anachronistic "fun", quite a large life change possibility has come about - and me with no way to research it day and night! *pulls out hair* Fixing the netbook was lovingly added to my honey's to-do list and was then rather cast aside by said honey. I'm beginning to suspect him of desiring to keep me unplugged...but no such luck! He is sleeping and I have hijacked his work laptop for the night! I may never sleep!

Back to the "big change" - M has been searching dilligently for a new/better/family friendlier job and he just may have found it. More money. Less hours. Less travel. Buuuuuut (oh of course there's a but)...it's in Van...Buren...Arkansas.

Kill me.

Big city girl + small small town (no mall no airport!) = disaster! Talk about the ultimate unplugging!

I don't deal well with change. I haven't changed my hair in years. I've moved 3 times in my entire life. My idea of "going away to college" was moving 30 minutes away from my Mom and Dad. The very thought of moving 5 hours away from my friends and family here has yielded more than a few panic attacks, let me tell you. If said move happens, it may just break me. I may crack. Rocking chair + attic = home? Possibly. Help!

Ok yes,
I am dramatic.
I was born this way.
Mom said that as a child, I was the princess from "The Princess and the Pea"...you know the one.
Once I discovered boys and cattiness, I was Scarlett O'Hara.
And then I chose the boy whom I would allow to bring me barbecue while I sit under a tree surrounded by cute...er...married my stubborn/control freak/twin of an only child husband and things have only gotten way more interesting! He's a gypsy. Lord help us!

Share with me, if you will, your experiences with big moves. Away from family. And friends. And the city. Oh my my...*fans self*

I kiss better than I cook

Case in point:

I've got a new way to walk (walk walk)

William is officially walking more than crawling now - he smiles and shakes his hands in happiness as he toddles along! Today was really the day that sealed the deal - I was afraid to say anything too soon and jinx his progress, but there is NO stopping him now!

Until I get a good vid of him in action, I'll share our song of the week with you (courtesy of old school Sesame Street haha!). This one goes out to all of the fellow new walkers out there ;)

Mamaaaaaa oooooh oooh oooh ooooooooh

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my favorite people in the world! She's smart - she's sassy - she makes me laugh more than anyone else I know...oh yes! AND she gave me life and literally has KEPT me alive (and halfway sane!) throughout my first (and then some) year of motherhood - my Mom :)

There's no way I could ever pay her back for the decades of fun she has brought to my life - the love, the adventure, the imagination, the patience. She is the kind of Mom I want to be - open, accepting, ready for anything. My confidante, teacher, and best friend - I love you Mama!

Happy Birthday!!!

Paul Simon always reminds me of the two of us driving around in the Brown Toyota (which i bet is still happily rolling around Duncanville somewhere) off to another adventure :)

August addendum

Flying back from Virginia, my route was Norfolk --> Tampa --> Houston --> Dallas. Southwest is a great airline, but it's certainly not in a big hurry to get you anywhere :) The flight from Tampa to Houston was amazing in more ways than...well, 5. It was my first time to see the gorgeous Florida Gulf Coast (my family's home away from home when I was a kid) from the air and I've never been happier to have a window seat - that coast was a gorgeous sight to see. The contrast of turquoise water to white sand takes my breath away every time and it was even more spectacular from the air! Flying over water for a couple of hours was slightly unnerving though (possible water landing?? Wait - where is my life jacket again? Push what to release it?? Oh geez.). The scariness of the thought of a possible (albeit rare) water "evacuation" was completely put into perspective when I looked out my window and saw something unexpected and much scarier - distant ribbons of orange and brown floating in the water 25,000 ft below.

Our route that day took us directly over the Deepwater Horizon drilling site and the surrounding spill. It was unbelievable. I hadn't even considered the fact that we would fly anywhere near it - too concerned with the bad weather we were flying into - and then there we were right on top of the mess! I can't imagine how bad it must be at water level if it was that horrifying from the air...the damage is massive.

Surrounding the actual site were numerous booms and larger boats with bright orange decks which I assume were connected with the relief well drilling. I speculated about it all with the couple in front of me - we knew very little about what we were actually viewing, but were all in shock. Wonder if the pilot had any info he could have shared...then again, I suppose it's not his place to play "oil spill tour guide".

Long story short, I was so into staring out the window with my forehead literally (gross!) pressed against the window that I didn't even bother to take out my phone...or my camera...or the Flip! and document any of it.

Luckily, many YouTubers were quicker on the uptake than I and posted quite a few! This is the least annoying of the bunch (from May, but still looks about the same) -

August!

In keeping with my new (soooo unintentionally uncool) once-a-month blogging trend, here I am! :) Did I mention that life with a (now) 13 month old is nuts?? I barely have time to shower, yet alone organize my thoughts into a post...or a grocery list...we need eggs...

Ah hello!

William (currently napping) is at such an amazingly fun age now! Yes, I realize I say that about each of his ages/stages, but it's the truth. He is the definition of cool - when he's not throwing a temper tantrum, that is. ;)

His favorite things to do lately include taking up to 10 steps at a time, being chased, having "arf arf!" conversations with puppies, drumming on everything, dancing to everything, being tickled, unloading toy boxes and the diaper bag, pushing buttons to make electronic items work, turning pages of books (very little interest in the actual story - just the turning), watching Mama Mia! and Toy Story, playing outside (heat doesn't bother him apparently), knocking over block towers, and eating (no more baby food! and we're weaning him off the bottle - slowly but surely).

He is really not very into talking - just grunting (which worries me) or walking - mainly crawling still (which also worries me), but I am constantly assured by his doctor and my Mom (my authorities on the subject) that he is totally fine. LOL! I swear - the day I gave birth to this little guy, one of the many IVs I was given introduced a "worry gene"" that I did not have before. Wonder how much they charged us for it...*scans itemized bill*

Anyway, lately W and I have been staying home more than usual - keeping ourselves out of the heat (105 today!) and keeping W's cranky/teething self away from the general public. This round of teething has been particularly tough on him, and it started while I was out of town visiting M in Virginia - inflicting the crankiness on my parents - which makes me feel awful! His fever is gone now though (whew!) and we are left with the bad moods and a diaper rash literally from hell. Extra snuggles, extra naps and extra Boudreaux = plan of attack!

In Daddy news - he is in town this week!! Hooray! M's being home with us has been a rare event this year as work has taken him out of town far more than usual. Weeks at a time. Months even. It's crazy difficult at times, but we are trudging through and hoping there is an end in sight. Cross your fingers please for a good response to one of the many jobs he has been applying to! While the job may take us to another city, they will keep M closer to home.

In Mommy news - I feel renewed lately after a 5 day stint away from home visiting my love in Virginia where he was stuck working (on his birthday weekend!). Last year, he was in Denmark for his b-day, this year Virginia...hope he'll be home for the next one, but knowing the sched, he has a better chance to be in Japan! Despite the fact that he had to work every day, we did manage to get some relaxing in and even took a little road trip to the Outer Banks (Nags Head) to hang for a day. Though I've been to the Gulf and Boston and NYC, the trip to Nags Head was my first official view of an ocean - it was lovely. And COLD! Loved it! Beaches make me happy. Other firsts from the trip included first hibachi experience, first time in VA and NC, first airport layovers/delays, first room service (really!), and the first time I've slept really deeply in over a year. Or had a delicious nap. Hilton beds are magical. So are their waffles. LOL

The trip really imprinted in my brain the importance of taking time away from your baby to be a better Mommy. Sounds very strange, but it's oh-so-true. I forgot what it was like to be alone in my own head - driving around in a cool rental car doing whatever I wanted! The time away cleared my head and allowed me to breathe - no schedule, no diapers, no tantrums, just a ton of selfish "me time". Plus hubby time! The trip also reminded me that M and I will be married for 2 years in a few months and we still haven't gone on a honeymoon. This is ludicrous! :) Yes, we got married in Vegas, but that was a very quick trip and was jam packed with things to do. We need a real vacation. A quiet one because we are old now. ;) Preferably an all-inclusive. At the end of the day, neither one of us wants to have to think or make any decisions. haha!

On that note, I'm switching my brain back into Mommy mode - a certain curly haired little munchkin is awake!

1 year olds are BUSY!

...and Mr. W is no exception! He is standing up on his own, has taken 2 steps (multiple times!!), and is 100% tiny caveman - growling, banging toys together, eating us out of house and home - he's amazing :) He says "mama", "dada", "nana", and "this". Everything is "this" lately! haha He loves playing catch, dancing, drumming, swimming, and reading (really just loves turning the pages, I think).There is never a dull moment around here, that's for sure!

M was able to come home from his never-ending Virginia robot installation for the 4th of July weekend, so we hit the road to Mena,AR to visit M's Mom at her super awesome home in the Ouachita Mountains - it was a great trip! We played outside, drove to the peak of Rich Mountain to ride the miniature train, shot off fireworks, and spent a lot of time relaxing...it was wonderful :)

William is 1!!!

All boy!

W is, among his many new talents, a fabulous player of catch. He thinks it's a hilarious concept, but also the most serious activity in the world. His little brow gets wrinkled and his eyes stay on that ball the whole time! Countless hours have been spent throwing things lately - just to see where they go. Sippy cups from highchair/stroller, every toy from the toybox - out and then in again, balls, blocks, snugglies from his crib, Cheerios are everywhere. He cracks me up. Love.

11 months :)

It's almost your 1st birthday, William dear! I can't believe it's right around the corner :) This time last year, I was feeling fabulous - huge, but not uncomfortable (yet haha) lounging about the house, nesting like crazy (because receiving blankets and washcloths can never be TOO clean!), eating everything in sight, staring into your crib trying to imagine what you would look like in it, reading dozens of parenting books, and trying to be the perfect Mom before you had even touched down :) Who knew you would arrive with the demeanor of a reincarnated 80-year-old man -- distinguished, all knowing, and lovely, but totally confused about what had just happened.

You seem to be adjusting well to starting over in this world, little man :) You now cruise all over the living room from couch to table to wall to TV and on - I can't wait to finally see you let go of your anchors and run free someday soon! You are also eating, well, everything - you reject nothing and are using your 3 and 1/2 teeth to finally chow down on table food. A whole new world! You are a super smart, super loving, and super adventurous and endlessly fascinating!

To mark the day, I've been organizing your very first birthday party - only 5 weeks away! I love a party to plan and yours is proving to be my all time favorite.

Your actual birthday falls on a Friday and I am SO looking forward to celebrating at Misty and Gavin's house with all your baby friends!!! June was a good month for our babies and we will celebrate all your Junebug friends that day - talk about a party!

The next day is family party day! Your fabulous Great Uncle has offered us his house to use for the party (so grateful - our apartment would NOT work!). Decorations have been purchased. Invites will be mailed this week. Cake will be ordered tomorrow. Food has been planned. The fam is abuzz with excitement over celebrating the very first year of your already awesome life - they love you so much!

And so
do
I.
More than you could ever know!

William meets his shadow

Took this video a month and a half ago and totally forgot about it until I was going through the Flip today!

What once was Danny's is now ours ;)

People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one, and we've just begun,
Think I'm gonna have a son.
He will be like she and me, as free as a dove, conceived in love,
Sun is gonna shine above.

Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
Everything will bring a chain of love.
In the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
Tell me everything is gonna be alright.

Pisces, Virgo rising is a very good sign, strong and kind,
And the little boy is mine.
Now I see a family where there once was none, now we've just begun,
Yeah, we're gonna fly to the sun.

Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
Everything will bring a chain of love.
In the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
Tell me everything is gonna be alright

Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup, come on and drink it up,
Love her and she'll bring you luck.
And if you find she helps your mind, better take her home,
Don't you live alone, try to earn what lovers own.

Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
Everything will bring a chain of love.
In the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
Tell me everything is gonna be alright

independence a la William

I do believe that we have a perfectly stubborn, wonderfully independent little man growing up under our roof :) William fears no depth - whether over the edge of a couch or down a step or 2 into the playground. He navigates flawlessly over/around/through any obstacle and is slowed down by nothing save that old pre-nap exhaustion.

An example - At the park a couple of weeks ago, W abandoned our normal post on the blanket with Stephanie and Connor and took off across the park on his own! He crawled away from us towards the trees, paused, sat, pondered, then continued on his way to the playground where he crawled down two concrete steps into the mulch. After a short path to the slide, he had had enough and turned around to head back to the blanket. I was in total shock! This adventurous outdoor extravaganza from the same lil guy who freaked out at 6 months when I sat him in the grass for the first time. The rate at which babies change is astounding.

Daddy dear

So, as if I'm not obvious enough about the love I have for the first man in my life :) I was reminded of it tenfold today. My Dad spent the morning having a (long overdue and much needed) double knee replacement. Yes that's right - 2. at. once. *faint* Mom spent the morning alternating between sitting in a crowded waiting room and walking the halls of Presby. I spent the morning requesting extra hugs from W and wishing M was home to get my mind off the fact that somebody was cutting into my Daddy. It's a very helpless feeling that I wouldn't wish on anyone!

After 3 hours of surgery and 5+ hours in recovery, Dad was moved to ICU as an 'in between' place/observation area before moving to a regular room (hopefully tomorrow!). We finally got to see him today at 4ish and he looked amazingly well! The pictures I had in my head were way scarier, but it's still very unnerving to see a parent in a hospital bed. The doctor and nurses assure us he is doing great, but I'm still a little edgy...bleh. I will likely call a million times to check on him tonight!

Any prayers/positive vibes/happy thoughts sent his way would be greatly appreciated by all of us :) We miss our play dates and normal routine, but the fam is on deck and on call for the next couple of weeks. Looking forward to Daddy coming home!

Thank you universe :)

Hello insomnia, my old friend...

get your sleep depriving, panic attack inducing, sweet dream ruining self OUT of my life! Months and months of hopes, prayers, meds, cognitive behavior exercises, and out and out begging/pleading and you will not leave me be. What gives??? W will be up in a few hours and I will be a zombie. Again.

M has been out of town for a week now - away in Florida on a job with (get this) no return flight scheduled. Tonight, he found out it will be at least another week in FL to finish everything there and then it's off to Virginia for a 2+ week robot install. He may or may not be able to come home in between trips. I may or may not check myself into the loony bin. May or may not pull my hair out. May or may not deplete the planet's Xanax supply in an attempt to wind down for ten minutes. I feel like an exposed nerve ending just hanging out in a hailstorm.

There aren't words to describe how grateful I am to this amazing man who works so ridiculously hard at what he does to take care of our little family. He may never fully understand my appreciation, but it is always there - sent out to wherever he may be via little cosmic love waves through the void. I hope my aim is accurate. I hope he knows how deeply we love him and miss him.

I shouldn't (and I try not to curse the darkness), but I get so jealous of the families who have Daddies that come home at the same time every evening...who have dinner together...who have established night and weekend family routines. We may never have that, but lately it's all I can think about. Apparently, the robotics field is not a family-friendly one. At all. I constantly fight the urge to call up old boss man at 6pm, interrupt his family time, and rip him a new one - somehow make him realize that the men who build/program/install/repair his robots, work 16 hour days, travel for weeks on end at his request/sacrifice time with their loved ones to get the job done are NOT robots themselves!

I miss my husband. I'm desperate for that feeling of "family".I'm tired of days and nights and events and meals and milestones without him. I feel defeated tonight. Today. 3am.

Back in black!

My shiny new laptop charger arrived today! I did a happy dance right there at the mailbox. W screamed. I'm an awesome dancer.

In recent news/updates, M and I are the proud parents of an almost 10 month old lil man who:

*pulls up on everything - from tables to toys to my legs
*stands up in his crib - this totally creeps me out to see him standing there when I go in to get him...wayyyy too kid-like
*dances - like a happy little maniac (to the tune of "La Cucaracha", no less)
*hugs - this absolutely melts me
*pushes things away when he isn't happy - this gets super tricky during diaper changes haha
*eats like a horse - purees, cannned/steamed veggies, little bits of meat, yogurt, crackers, cereal, oatmeal
*crawled across Haggard Park from the trees to the playground before stopping and turning back around
*speaks his own language - he has sooo much to say!
*amazes me - this will never end