Terrific Two's

 As I am writing this post, my little Logan is sitting on my lap snuggling.  He does have the flu, but I'd like to think that he would be here even if he was feeling better.  This little guy loves his Mommy, and I love him.  I meant to write a special post just for him when he turned two years old, but of course, I'm only getting around to it a month later.  The pictures I posted below are snapshots not only of an event, but they capture the essence of Logan's likes and interests at this age.

 Logan is my tactile learner, which means he learns and explores through touching and feeling.  I can pretty much leave him with peanut butter, crayons, sand, paint, play dough, etc. and know that he will be occupied for hours . . . and the mess will be huge!

Logan also loves to dress up.  If there's a hat to be had, he wants it on his head.

 He went through a phase where he only wanted to wear other people's shoes, especially Mckay's. He would complain that his shoes were "too small" (even though they definitely weren't).  I think he loved the fact that he could put really big shoes on by himself, and that definitely fits his independent nature.  He also loves Mom's iphone.  He has a frightening knowledge of how to use it.  I think he's watched Peter Pan at least 20 times.

 Logan loves "baby Claire".  He likes to rub his head on her tummy and say, "soft". He also will give her kisses all day long.  I have to monitor his loves to make sure they're not too rough, but I'm so grateful that he takes such an interest in his siblings and wants to spend time with them.

Another hat and a chocolate ice cream cone goatee = heaven.  And of course, why sit on the couch the normal way?

"Buzz Lightyear" jammies and his favorite blankie.  Logan drags this blankie with us everywhere we go.  I call it the "Linus syndrome."  He loves how soft it is, and likes to snuggle it against his face.

This little boy is my pride and joy.  I wish I had the perfect picture to capture his mischievous smile, his funny laugh, and the mad dash he employs every time he thinks I want to change his diaper.  It's probably good (for my sake) that I don't have pictures of him running as fast as he can away from me everytime he's not strapped down in a store or a public place.  He likes to be free and independent, and reminds me of this every time we brave the world outside our house.
He speaks very clearly and deliberately.  It seems like each and every day he picks up ten more words, and he's using 4-8 word sentences regularly.  He is Mckay's little shadow, and doggedly strives to prove he can keep up with his big brother.
He's my delightful little two-year-old boy, and I'm so glad he's a part of our family!

My ferroequinologist

I think The Big Bang Theory is really funny, and have watched the show on and off during the past few years.  One of my favorite characters is Sheldon, the self-proclaimed "ferroequinologist" . . . aka a train lover for those of you who aren't up to snuff on your latin translations.  I remember watching the show, hearing the term, and thinking, "I can't believe there's actually a word for someone who likes trains!"

Well . . .

I have a bona fide ferroequinologist in my home, and have for years.  Three and a half years, to be precise.

No matter where we go (or if we stay home!) it's always about the trains.  This winter Mckay has literally spent 2 hours a day or more playing with his trains.  He never gets tired of them.  They're never one of the toys I rotate out because there would be a serious mutiny if I did.  He has created whole worlds around these "iron horses", and I believe one of his best friends is literally Thomas the train.

I love that he has a passion.  I love that he builds with them and creates stories with them.  I love my ferroequinologist.

Working out vs. working hard

I have many memories of my mission.  One that's been on my mind an extra lot lately, however, is a seemingly unimportant conversation I had with one of the senior sisters.  She and her husband had all the missionaries over for a dinner one evening, and while we were there, she showed us a picture of her 21-year-old grandson.  This was a candid shot of her grandson rope swinging into a pond somewhere in rural Idaho.  Because he was swimming, he wore nothing but swim trunks, giving my companion and I a good look at probably one of the most in shape and muscular people I've ever seen . . . and I'm including all of the gym rats in every season of the Bachelorette.
I remember being slightly amused at the sister's blatant matchmaking attempt, but I will never forget one comment she made.
"He looks like he works out a ton, but he actually doesn't exercise or lift weights.  He's an Idaho farm boy, and instead of working out, he works hard."
Fast forward 5 years of marriage and 3 years later, and I am juggling finding the time to work out.  It's January, after all, and I, like so many Americans, have the goal to eat healthier and exercise.  I even bought the latest and greatest workout DVD, T-25, which I love.  However, the daily exercise routine is only 25 minutes long, and it's still a challenge for me to get a good workout!  With a 3-year-old, 2-year-old, and 2 month old baby, I barely have ten minutes, much less 25-50 minutes I wish I had.
Today I didn't get to do my full workout, because instead of using my very limited free time I have when both Claire and Logan are asleep and Mckay is watching a movie to exercise, I decided to shovel our driveway.  Feeling somewhat cranky and over-burdened, I went outside and began the laborious task of ridding our long driveway of the six inches of powder and ice that has accumulated over the past few days and was starting to cramp our style.  It didn't help that my next door neighbor decided to shovel her walkway at the exact same time with her nice snowblower, effectively doing the work twice as well and in half the time.
As I slowly lifted one shovelful of snow after another, the muscles in my back arms, and legs began to get really, really tired.  I found that I no longer needed my coat, and that 30 degrees was feeling a little too warm for me.  Little by little, I found my cranky mood lifting, and I began thinking things like, "Well, at least I'm getting a really good upper body workout today!"  I started adding up other things I do that sometimes substitute as a workout, like lugging heavy loads of laundry up three flights of stairs, chasing kids, holding Claire, scrubbing the bathroom, cleaning the kitchen, mopping the floor, hauling groceries from the car into the kitchen, the list could go on and on!  No wonder I'm tired every night, I thought to myself, wiping a sweaty piece of hair from my "glistening" forehead.
I may not get to "work out" every day for as much as time as I'd like to, but maybe, just maybe, I'll lose my baby weight and Christmas weight this year the good old fashioned way, the way people used to do it before the treadmill, the gym, and the cute workout clothes I love.  Maybe this year I'll just have to do it by working hard.

What you do when Church is cancelled

Today church was cancelled.  I didn't know that they did that, but when the wind-chill factored temperature outside is below -35 fahrenheit, I guess that's reason enough for anyone.  I am certainly not complaining.  So instead of church today, we had a little lesson with the boys, we colored a picture of the family, and I am getting a rare opportunity to sit down, sift through my pictures, and catch up on my version of family history: this blog.
Having Claire right in the thick of the holiday season was actually a wonderful blessing.  It forced our family to slow down and choose wisely how we spent our time and energy, focusing on what we most wanted to do.

Mckay and Logan built a snowman during the first "real" snow of the season (back when the temperature was about 20 degrees, not -20.)  Apparently, they thought the going outside in the snow was something you only did once, because although they absolutely loved doing it, they haven't wanted to go back out ever since!

Our friends the Taylors invited us to Thanksgiving with them and a few other friends who were home for the holiday.  I am grateful for good friends.  I think I would have struggled being away from family so much this holiday season, were it not for the kindness love we were shown by our friends, our ward family, and our neighbors.  We are truly blessed.

One of my favorite Christmas discoveries was visiting Santa's village in the Macy's in downtown Minneapolis.  It was basically a glorified line to see Santa Clause, but I actually liked looking at Santa's workshop, Mrs. Claus' kitchen, etc. more than I thought, and have no regrets going, even though we never actually made it to Santa himself.  This is a tradition we will definitely keep.

When we finally got a chance to visit Santa (at the Home Depot in Plymouth, of all places!), Mckay turned shy and silent, two states of being I've rarely seen him in.  He wouldn't look at St. Nick, but did allow me to sit with him and take one picture for posterity.

The biggest hit of Home Depot was getting a chance to ride in Santa's sleigh and pet an actual reindeer.

Christmas morning aftermath.  The boys are old enough to get it, which makes it so much fun.

We celebrated Logan's 2-year-old birthday, and this year I actually remembered to get a picture of the event!  Contrary to what this picture may suggest, Logan did get to blow out his own candles, even though Mckay was very happy to help him.  We love our sweet little 2-year-old.

Claire continues to grow faster than what I would like.  She is so sweet and a very easy baby, perfect for baby #3, I always think.  She smiles at anyone who talks to her now, and loves to look at the lights. She is happiest when she is being held, and gives lots of good snuggles.  We love her!