Eleven Months!

Monster man-

I can't believe you are eleven months old. Actually, as the lilypie ticker on my blog kindly reminds me, you are 11 months and 5 days old. Where did time go? I just want to bottle up everything about you right now so I can take it out when you are 13, 18, 21 or 30. You truly are the sweetest, happiest baby boy I have ever seen.

At eleven months, you are always on the move. You took your first steps about a month ago, but haven't taken off with walking. You like to stand up from a sitting position and look at me like, "look ma, no hands". You might take a step or two, but then quickly realize crawling is much faster. You usually crawl on your tip toes with your little buns in the air.

Over the past few months, you have become a complete mama's boy. Whenever you see me, you start giggling and crawling toward me to pick you up. If you ever cry, all it takes is for me to talk to you or pick you up to get you to stop. You giggle and smile nonstop. All of your teachers at daycare are in love with you. The teachers in the infant classroom dread you leaving and the teachers in the toddler classroom constantly tell me how excited they are to have you join their class. Miss. Tatiana is your favorite teacher. If she is there when I drop you off, you try to jump out of my arms to her.

Recently, you have become very vocal. You say, "mama, yeah, and thank you". You also like to say, "ba ba ba" all the time. We aren't sure what it means, but we love hearing it. You have the best belly laugh. It doesn't take much to get you to laugh so we get to hear it often. Growling is your other form of communication. It is beyond adorable.

Your favorite toys usually make noise. You love playing with the musical activity tables, maracas, cups, cars and door stoppers. You also enjoy bath time and splashing with your sister. The bathroom and I are both usually soaked by the end of bath time, but I don't mind because you and Avery have so much fun.

Table food is your preferred food. You haven't eaten baby food in over two months and drink very little breast milk or formula. We try to offer the liquid foods, but you simply prefer solids. You will eat just about anything and often eat as much as your mama. When you see food, you get ridiculously excited.

The following are some of your eleven month stats:

• Weight: 17lbs, 9 oz
• Teeth: 4 bottom, 2 top
• Sleep: 10-11 hours at night, 1 nap (1-2 hours)
• Favorite Animal: cat
• Favorite Person: Close tie between mama and Avery
• Favorite Toy: Car

I Love you!

Mama

Aruba

I know I have been terrible with the blog updates lately. The days and weeks just seem to fly by and life's other priorities always come before updating the blog. Thankfully, I have a wireless card on my computer and six hours in the car as we drive to Ohio for a wedding. I have already checked my e-mail, worked and surfed the Internet so I'm updating the blog.

We took a family vacation to Aruba during the first week of October. Other than the plane ride home (lots of tired meltdowns), the trip was a complete success. We had a ton of fun playing at the beach and pool, eating ice cream and donuts and simply spending time as a family.

Apparently sand tastes really good to a 10 month old because every time we got to the beach, Logan immediately started eating. We even tried giving him a pacifier, but he gladly spit it out in favor of eating sand. Logan cut two top teeth in Aruba. He already had four bottom teeth so I was beginning to think he might not ever get his top teeth.

Avery fell in love with the Iguanas and tried to convince Papa that she needs one as a pet. She also had fun floating in the lazy river, looking for fish "hiding in the water", running and building sandcastles.

This picture was taken the morning after Luke and my dad stayed out until 3am drinking and gambling. Needless to say, Luke was tired and not feeling so hot.

Obsession

Much to Luke's dismay, cloth diapers have become my latest obsession. They are so much fun, cute, SOFT and "green". Aside from the obvious dirty diaper cleaning, what's not to love? Since switching over to cloth diapers, I stopped using diaper creams and haven't seen a single diaper rash. It's amazing! These diapers are unbelievably soft. I can only imagine how comfortable they are for my babies.

The switch to cloth has led me on a quest to find the "perfect" diaper. Luckily, I think I may have found it. By far, my favorite cloth diaper is the Bum-Ware Extreme AIO. Dear lord, these things are incredible! My favorite thing about the Bum-Ware diapers is the fit. They are so trim and absorbent. When the kids wear these diapers, their pants fit perfectly. Luke likes the Bum-Ware because of their ease of use. They work exactly like a disposable diaper so he doesn't get confused about inserts, snaps, etc. Bum-Ware recently introduced the Bum-Ware Adjustable AIO diaper. These diapers are very similar to the original Bum-Ware Extreme AIO except with the added benefit of being adjustable. The one downside to the adjustable diapers is that they aren't quite as trim as the sized diapers. In the end, although I do like the adjustable Bum-Ware diapers, and they are certainly more economical, I think I will stick to the sized diapers for future purchases.

When it comes to the best overnight diaper, Fuzzibunz One Size Pocket Diapers get my vote. They are trim, easy to use and have flexibility in their absorbency. I love that I can add extra inserts for nighttime use and can still keep the diapers trim for daytime use. With the FuzziBunz diapers, the only downside is the pocket itself. Stuffing diapers is an extra step that would rather not deal with. Additionally, the inserts must be taken out before washing so there is always a little more contact with bodily fluids than with AIO diapers.

Lastly, my vote for cutest diaper goes to NiteOwl Dipes. These are diapers made by a WAHM and they are beyond adorable. NiteOwl Dipes are custom made cloth diapers in a variety of prints. These diapers are adjustable all in two diapers and fit great. The same diaper fits both Logan and Avery and we have never had any leaks. The only downside to these diapers is the bulk. They are incredibly absorbent, but they are also quite bulky and don't fit well under shorts or pants. They are great for dresses or one piece jumpers, but since I usually have to bribe Avery to wear a dress, she does not wear the diapers often. We usually use the diapers for nighttime or Logan wears one while we are hanging around the house with a shirt.

Love

How could I not love these two?

Eight Months!

This past month has been a month of growth and change for Mr. Logan. The biggest news is that he is now MOBILE! Yes, I said it, Logan started crawling. A couple days before turning eight months, Logan started a very slow crawl, but he is now all over the house. He loves chasing Avery and Scout and is happy because he can now get to mama whenever he wants. I love having a mobile baby, but know this is just one more indication that my sweet baby is growing up.

Another fun milestone is that Logan can now sit up by himself from a lying down position. At first, it was funny and frustrating because Logan would sit up in his crib, but then didn't know how to lie back down. Now that he is able to lie back down, we all sleep better at night!

Finally, Logan started pulling up by himself. He loves standing and walking with assistance. Before long, I know he will be walking all by himself. We just love this little guy. Seeing his smiling face each morning makes me such a happy mommy.

At eight months, Logan:

• Loves cats.
• Thinks his sister is the coolest person on earth.
• Has two teeth.
• Wears a size 2 diaper.
• Weight between 15 and 16 lbs.
• Hasn't found a food he dislikes.
• Eats cheerios and puffs.
• Drinks water out of a sippy cup.
• Has developed slight separation anxiety.
  

Birthday Celebrations

For Avery's second birthday, we decided to skip the big birthday party and instead spread her birthday celebrations out over a couple weekends.

In mid-June, Luke's family came to Columbia to celebrate Avery. Luke's Grandparents and Aunt Amy even made the trip from Michigan. Avery loved seeing all of them and even made Grandma jealous by willingly saying Amy's name over and over.

Unfortunately, I had a work meeting on Avery's actual birthday so we chose to pretend her birthday was a day earlier. Luke and I woke her up singing "Happy Birthday", took Elmo cupcakes to her school, took her swimming and opened presents. It was a perfect day. (Thankfully, Aunt Jen was off work on Avery's birthday and took Avery to the science center, lunch with uncle Joel and out for ice cream. I think Avery had a perfect day!)

Finally, we celebrated with the Greene family the first weekend in July. We had pizza, cake and presents on Saturday night and went to Grant's Farm on Sunday. Although it was brutally hot and I spent most of the day in the gift shop staying cool with Logan, Avery had a blast at Grant's Farm. Her favorite part was playing with and feeding the goats

Two!

Dear Avery-

Happy second birthday, goosey girl! These past two years have been incredible, Avery. You surprize us each and every day as you learn and discover new things. From the way you say your name and sing your ABCs to the way you hug your cat and mother your baby, you never cease to amaze us. Although you continually challenge us, we love you more with each passing day.

To commemorate your 24 months of life, we decided to document our 24 favorite things about you.

Mommy and Daddy's top 24 favorite things about Avery:

1. Your love for all animals.
2. When you run away as we attempt to get you dressed.
3. That your favorite color is blue.
4. The way you say Walrus but laugh and refuse to say Grandma.
5. That you call your elephant PJs "rrrrrrhhhh" with your right arm acting like a trunk.
6. The way you jump.
7. Showw. (shower)
8. How you ask us to "turn outside on" (open the sunroof or open a car window).
9. Your stink laugh.
10. When you think something tastes really good and say, "That's so mmmmm."
11. Your hugs.
12. Your kisses.
13. How much you love "waa" (water).
14. When you whisper and talk to yourself.
15. How you read in the morning to Oo-Oh (her monkey).
16. Your B (Blanket).
17. How Elmo is always in the same sentence (or fragment) as potty.
18. The way you ask to sing songs by saying, "that one", and using whatever hand motions go with the song you want to sing.
19. Your obsession with milkshakes.
20. Your obsession with shoes and doggy shirts.
21. The way you refuse to say Logan's name and simply refer to him as "baby", "mommy's baby" or "daddy's baby".
22. Your full belly laugh when we tickle you.
23. Your excitement and hugs when we pick you up at school each day.
24. Your "master of the obvious" moments such as "daddy blows nose".

Avery, we feel so lucky to be your parents. Thank you for being such a smart, silly and fun-loving little girl. We look forward the years and adventures ahead of us.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Newborn

One Year

Two Years

Going Green

It's hard to believe, but the Musselman family has taken one more step toward going green. The latest is our recent switch to cloth diapers. The cloth diapers have taken a little getting used to, but I love them. If we ever have a third baby, I will definitely start with cloth from day one. They are easy to use, adorable and make me feel good knowing that we put a little less waste out into the world.