Logan has an addiction...

And that addiction is... Yo Gabba Gabba.  For those of you lucky enough to have never heard of this show, let me give a brief summary.  DJ Lance Rock is the host, and he takes you to "Gabba Land" where you mostly sing and dance about a variety of things.  Some of these include going to the doctor, teamwork, brushing your teeth, eating healthy foods... you get the idea.  At other times in the show, there are times to make funny faces and then there are random cartoons inserted at various time.  Basically, the 30 minutes just keeps you guessing.

When we were headed to the beach in September, I was looking for shows to download on my iPad and a message board for toddlers recommended this show.  Up until then the only thing he had ever watched and liked was Baby Einstein, and the DVDs were not available for download.  In all honesty, I try to let him watch TV as little as possible, but we needed some entertainment for the long car ride.  After watching the two episodes over and over on that trip, he was hooked.  More recently, if Logan is getting impatient when we are getting dinner together, we will let him watch the show on the iPad for a few minutes.  He will stand in his kitchen helper and put the iPad on the counter and dance and even try to sing to his favorite songs.  He still primary loves one episode- "Dance."  He literally knows every song and the dances to them.  He even starts making funny faces before the segment actually starts.  Not to mention he can work the iPad like a champ- starting and stopping new episodes and even sliding the iPad display to the correct screen if it somehow gets changed.  This generation of kiddos are going to be crazy smart when it comes to electronics!

Now that Logan has started talking even more, he regularly asks to watch "Gabba."  When I got home from work today, he was walking around the house saying, "Gabba, Gabba, Gabba, Gabba."  I told him we might watch it later (which we didn't have time for tonight!), and he did not like my response.  Oh well, it is tough to learn at only 18 months that you cannot always get everything you want!

Since I try not to do a post without a picture of my sweet boy, here is one from this weekend with his cousin Kaylie.  Such cuties!  Logan and Kaylie are almost the same age- Kaylie is about 2 1/2 weeks older.  Logan spends most of his time trying to drag her from one side of the room to the next.  They have a big time together!

Tale of the Capri Sun

I am very particular about what Logan drinks, and he only drinks milk and water on a regular basis.  When he was first starting table foods, I tried to give him some apple juice a couple of times but he did not like it.  So, I asked his doctor about it, and he said there is no need for Logan to drink juice at all- especially since he loves fruit and gets several servings a day!  So, I decided he would have milk and water only.

Fast forward to New Year's Eve... we were at our friends Meredith & Lance's house, and their daughter Laney and Heather & Tim's daughter Savannah (who are both around age 3) were drinking out of juice boxes.  Meredith asked me if I wanted one for Logan, and I said that he did not like juice.  Well, I was completely wrong because he kept picking up Laney and Savannah's leftover boxes and trying to drink it.  Let's just say that e definitely knew what a juice box was and how to use it. Thank you, Parents Day Out! So, Meredith got him one (100% apple juice), and he gulped it down in under a minute.

Since then I have let him have apple juice a couple of times when it came with a meal at a restaurant, and only if it was 100% apple juice.  Well, last Wednesday night I got out of class at 7 p.m. (an hour before scheduled!) and came home to Brian, Logan, and my wonderful in-laws who had brought Logan to our house because Brian was also going to be later than normal.  They had picked up dinner for everyone, and Logan's meal came with a Capri Sun.  Brian thought the was the same thing as the juice I let Logan have a few days before, so he poured it in his sippy cup.  Logan was just finishing the Capri Sun when I walked in, and I said why is he drinking that sugary mess?  Let me just say that about 30 minutes after he finished the drink, he was literally bouncing off the walls.  I have never seen anything like it!  He is always running and climbing without an extra 16 grams of sugar (yes, I checked the back of the drink!), but this was absolutely crazy.  He was standing on top of the coffee table and repeatedly diving onto the couch.  He usually goes to bed at 8 p.m, but let's just say that did not happen that night! 

It was actually pretty funny, and Logan finally came down from his "sugar high" around 9 and went to bed.  Moral of the story- no more Capri Suns (especially right before bedtime) for a long time!

18 Months!

As of January 8th, Logan is 18 months old!  It is crazy to think we are halfway to age 2.  It is amazing to see how much Logan changes literally everyday.  He is like a big sponge soaking up everything.  A major development is certainly his ability to say more words.  He says at least one new word a day (most of the time more!), and he tries to repeat everything we say.  It is such a fun age!  A few of his latest words include light, door, school, Holly, yes, hey, airplane, and Amen.  Some of the words, like airplane, are not completely clear but he is trying really hard!  We have a lot of airplanes fly over our house constantly because we are in the path of the Memphis airport.  He loves airplanes!

I have to admit that 18 months is a challenging age too in many way for parents!  Logan is so active and wants to explore and try everything.  One night when Brian was traveling for work recently I was cleaning the dishes off of the table after dinner.  I had my back turned maybe 30 seconds, and when I turned around Logan was standing in the middle of the dining room table inspecting the light fixture!  He is ready to climb anywhere, anytime!  And, now he likes to climb and then jump onto another object.  So dangerous- he is truly 100% boy!

Other things Logan has been up to this month:

• Loving to "tickle" others and say "tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle" while he is doing it
• Holding out both hands (one to me and one to Brian) for us to take before saying the blessing at the dinner table.  He ends the prayer with a loud "Amen"!
• Using a fork and spoon really well
• When he thinks his food is hot, he will try to blow on it to cool it off.  But, it is definitely more like spitting on it.  It is pretty hilarious!
• Unlocking our smart phones and calling family members all the time!
• Knowing how to start and stop "Yo Gabba Gabba" on the iPad (something we only let him watch on long car rides or if needed while we are cooking dinner!)
• Developing his fine motor skills.  He can now unscrew tops off of many items, which is a skill I did not know would come so soon!  The baby-proofing never stops.
• Showing more signs of the terrible 2's with some pretty big tantrums.  The biggest ones usually come from getting dressed in the morning.  That boy loves his PJ's!
• Maintaining a good appetite and eating lots of veggies and fruits.  His favorite food is sweet potato- I think he could eat one every night.
• Still watching everything we do and trying to copy it.  From vacuuming, to blow drying my hair, to Brian's shaving, Logan tries to do it all.  If we are using any type of dip or sauce with dinner, then he has to use it also.  
• Learning more names of his loved ones.  His favorite name to say over and over is "Holly"- he just loves her!  He can also say Bess, Mimi, PawPaw, Jason, Greg, Alice, and Papa.  I think "Great Grandmother" will take a little more time :)

Logan's 18 month check up was great, and he weighed 33 pounds and was 34 inches tall.  Both are above the 90 percentile.  We still have one big, healthy boy!

We enjoy our time with Logan so much.  Brian and I talk all the time about just how cute and precious he is.  Those big brown eyes get us every time!