Logan's Birthday

Logan turned two last week.  What a cutie!  He is really starting to talk a lot and amazes me with how well he remember things.  He makes the silliest faces and cracks us up.  He is definitely turning into a two year old- he has started hitting and biting his brother when provoked, or even when unprovoked!  Logan has the best smile, and still likes to 'nuggle with us often.
Happy Birthday little sweetie!

Look at that face- you can almost hear the boy/truck noises he is making.

He is crying in this picture because we were all standing around staring and smiling at him.  He didn't like it!

But he perked right up when we put cupcakes in front of him!

Memorial Day at Cooper Lake

Logan and Stirling visited the cabin for the first time during the Memorial Day weekend this year.  RJ and I got to view the cabin and the experiences through fresh eyes as the boys wandered and wondered about everything around them.  

The weather was rainy, but that didn't stop us from walking up to the waterfall or down to the bridge or going a little ways on the trails.  We threw rocks in the river, went fishing off the dock (and I am using the term "fishing" very loosely, as most of the time was spent trying to keep Logan out of the water, Stirling from throwing rocks in, and the hook from getting us instead!), and played in a fort found in the forest.  

Snow in May!

Awesome fort right across the driveway from the cabin.

Lake view.

"Fishing!"

No, Logan!

Breakfast time- oatmeal and cocoa!

Mom and boys out for a walk.

Knock it off mom, I'm trying to explore!

At the Cooper River.

Traipsing through the forest.

I can't wait to go back!!!

Stirling's 5th Birthday!

Can you believe it?  Stirling is already five years old, and on his way to kindergarten in the fall.  Wow.

Stirling is a creative, smart, determined kid.   He is always wanting to build something like a robot or machine, and wants to dig for artifacts or fossils in the yard!  He has a giant collection of "cool" rocks.  It is interesting to watch his mind work.  He can write his name now and is starting to read a little, but doesn't want to practice much because it involves sitting still and doing what mom says!  I wish I could say he is such a joy, but that is not always the case.  We butt heads a lot because of his stubbornness and pessimism and my lack of patience.  He can be very physical, and punches and pokes people, not out of aggression or anger, but because it allows physical contact.  He may be difficult at times, but I wouldn't trade him... He is my favorite five year old in the whole world!

On his birthday, Stirling woke up to a bed filled with balloons; we sneaked in at 5 am to dump them in his bed!  I made pancakes for breakfast and fish for dinner as per his request (ok, weird I know for a kid to want fish and pasta for dinner, not chicken nuggets or something right?).  We opened presents in the afternoon, so he could have some time to play with them, and then did cake after dinner.

New Bike!

Stirling got his first bike today- thanks Grandma and Grandpa!  He was so excited!  He hopped right on and began riding which was amazing because Stirling can sometimes be a bit of a pessimist and often says he can't do something or doesn't want to.  But he totally rocked a great attitude and even got right back up when he fell a couple of times.  He didn't let anything stop him.  I was so proud!

My Boys

Love.

Visiting

The boys and I recently went for a quick weekend visit to the west side of the state.  On Friday night we visited an old high school friend of mine who lives down in Spanaway.  In the past year we have both moved back to the northwest so it was nice to be able to see each other.  Stirling and Logan had fun playing with her five kids, two of whom are pretty close in age to my boys, and we enjoyed a pizza and movie picnic for dinner.  She and I got to stay up late and have some grown up time to chat as well.

The next day we got up early and went up to Tacoma and met Aunt Colette and Cousin Tyler at the Pt. Defiance Zoo.  This was Stirling and Logan's first ever trip to a zoo.  I think they enjoyed it....?  Logan refused to get in the stroller, and Stirling was extremely impatient, and all three little guys had their moments of tantrums, crying etc.  But overall I thought it went pretty well.  We got to see some HUGE walruses, polar bears at feeding time, and tiger cubs.  Stirling really liked the aquarium and the sharks.  We never made it to the elephants, but got to go on the carousel twice and have a picnic.  It was really beautiful weather.
After the zoo, we ended up going to the playground where Logan did the slide over and over and over; he was so smiley and proud of himself.

On Sunday, we were able to go visit Katie and Dave, some college friends, and their daughter Amelia.  We went to the playground near their house and the kids played there.  At one point I thought I lost Stirling, but it turns out he just went to the bathroom.  He is too self sufficient sometimes and I need to reinforce some safety rules for public places!  It was a short visit, but nice to see them and have some grown up talk!

Logan

Today I was supposed to sub, but when I got there, it turned out that there was a mistake and I wasn't needed until tomorrow.  So, I left Stirling at the daycare so he could have some much needed interaction with other kids (and some non-mommy adults!), and brought Logan home with me.  It has been such a blessing to have a day alone with Logan.  I really haven't had many opportunities to interact with just Logan without Stirling being around.  So today he had no big brother to boss him or push him or direct his play.  He and I did some finger-painting, which he loved so much that he cried when I put the paint away, and made a batch of chocolate chip cookies!
Logan is so full of silliness and giggles.  He loves to twirl until he is dizzy and makes the funniest faces and mischievous expressions.  He has started putting a few words together in little phrases like "ay taato" (hay tractor), "ne-we out" (Nelly is outside), "biiig taato" (big tractor), or "lello car."   He knows a few colors- yellow, purple, black, white, and then everything else is also yellow.  He finally moved past what seemed like a plateau in the vocabulary department, and is now learning words quickly again!

Logan's most favorite thing in the whole world is tractors!  He stands at the window and talks about Opa's tractors, the hay tractor, etc.

Logan likes playdoh, though doesn't sit still well enough to do it often!

Another new word is "unnies" (undies) and the other day he said "me, me, me, unnies!"  So I let him wear an old pair of Stirling's!  Logan loves the dogs and cats and is always trying to catch and pet them!

Look at that cute face!