Weekend of extra sensory fun

Yesterday (Saturday) Dad got up with Logan and after breakfast, he, Mom,
and Logan went looking for a charity event carnival meant for raising
money for 3 children to be able to go on a vacation trip after having
lost their Mother recently to cancer. Driving around looking for the
event, Logan repeatedly asked for a playground and the fact that he
wanted to go down the slide. Unfortunately, we could not find the
place, and drove home only to find out in the newspaper that it was on
Monday, not Saturday. By that point Mom had completely lost her energy
(lack of sleep from restless nights) and so Daddy took Logan to a
playground to get the slide he so desired. But the playground had a
large contingent of adult aborigines on and around the equipment who
appeared to have had a 'festive' time the night before, so Dad thought
better of it. Instead, he decided to go out to the Bond Springs air
strip where the Alice Springs Gliding Club was having its 30 year
anniversary open house. Luckily Logan forgot all about the playground
and slide as soon as he saw the 'airplane' gliders. A truck at the end
of the airstrip dirt runway had a pulley system by which it would launch
gliders via cable up in the air. The day was a clear and sunny one with
almost no wind (not unusual around here) and so the gliders were getting
good lift and finding the thermals they needed to stay aloft. Logan
enjoyed seeing the take-offs and landings, and really liked poking his
head in the cockpits and gliders themselves... as well as playing with
an old dog with a limp. At one point Logan got attacked by some thorny
stickers (a bindi as Aussie's call them) and Dad had to take off Logan's
shoes and pry the relentless sharp things off his socks. Stupidly Dad
lifted Logan up and unknowingly transplanted a huge number of them from
Logan's shoes to Daddy's shirt and jacket. Dad soon realized this by
the sharp pain he felt when brushing his mid-section, and this then made
the next 20 minutes go by slowly as each one needed to be carefully removed.
On Saturday afternoon after Logan woke up from his nap at 3:30 PM we all
got in the Toyota 4Runner and met outbush with some friends to have a
campfire under the stars. When getting there, we set up chairs and the
food and kiddie playing area, and the men then took Logan and Bradon out
for a walk. As is usual in this strange outback environment, we
stumbled upon an unfathomable object, a truck engine, just sitting out
in the barren wilderness with no sign of the remaining truck part
remnants anywhere. But what was Bradon and Logan's favorite object to
play with, but of course cow patties. They loved to pick them up and
toss them around. At least this climate made them excessively dry and
hard, leaving our noses alone from a sudden olfactory upturning. Later
the boys helped us start the campfire by throwing cow patties on the
fire. The boys were certainly wired that evening and loved pushing
trucks and an old found tire around the area while the two other babies
with us, Paige Young and baby Seth, kept closer together. For dinner,
Momma made Logan some hot dogs roasted over the campfire, while Dad
mostly ate chips with guacomole dip. By about 9:30 PM Logan finally
fell asleep in Mom's arms and it was cold enough that we all packed up
and headed the 20 minutes it took to get back home. Amazing how you can
be seemingly so far out from civilization in mere minutes when living
here in Alice Springs.
Overnight Logan had his usual 1-3 bouts of sudden cries, in which he
either is stuck in his blanket, or is cold and wants his blanket over
him, or wants his water. In one case he wanted his water and he can
normally can fend for himself in that his spill-proof straw-sippy cup
hangs from a flexible arm above his head in the crib, only this time
he'd run out of water. Mommy has been sleeping badly for the past week
or so, but when she is asleep lately she can't hear anything and so Dad
has been always getting up to check on Logan's needs.

In the morning today (Sunday) Logan got up later than normal, at around
8:10 AM, after the late night campfire. He was calling to be let out,
but then calmed a bit and sat back down. Then Daddy let out an
unexpected noise-filled bout of gas and Logan started laughing
hysterically. Daddy is somehow always the butt of the joke in the
family. Later in the morning Logan got a delicious frozen mango
'smoothie' sorbet with Mom at the Todd Mall bi-weekly Sunday morning
market. After finishing it, Logan took the empty cup from Mom and ran
back to the smoothie booth calling out "More! more!"
Dinner time and Logan preferred to eat strawberries and dates rather
than his other choices of peas, pizza, and noodles. After about 6 dates
his taste buds must've been a bit late in firing the rest of his neurons
as he suddenly proclaimed "I don't like it" and stopped eating them.
That's pretty much what he was saying for most of the food, so this is
yet another new phase for Logan. Afterwards Logan played the bag game
again with new objects that Logan hadn't really felt before. He'd reach
in the bag, feel the object he was holding, and make a guess as to what
it was. He did really well with things like the shoe and hammer, but
couldn't figure out the hair brush. Dad then helped Logan with the toy
xylophone by showing him how to hold the mallet and go slowly across or
upon the keys. Normally he'd just bash things with the mallet without
any care for what its true purpose was. Pretty soon he actually started
focusing and hit the keys correctly and precisely enough to make a
little tune.
At reading time before bed we were reading a book about counting.
Whenever we say "How many cows, or race cars, or anything" Logan will
start counting incorrectly aloud as in the following "four, five, four,
five, four, five, YAY!!" Repeatedly we must tell him to "say one" as
he continues with "four, five, four, YAY" until he eventually gets on
board and repeats after us with "one car, two cars, three cars..."

Logan checks the wind direction before climbing aboard the glider on his maiden flight

Pointing at a glider going up that was just launched

What are you waiting for! Hand me the keys so I can get me in this puppy.

Hmm, looking through the portal to a new possible future

Heading off the runway 'cause I forgot my flight suit

Logan keeps wanting to run out and attach the cable himself to help launch the next glider

Pushing trucks is hard work at a campfire picnic

Bradon and Logan help Dad dig a new coal mine, er, I mean campfire pit

Logan stands behind Dad for some protection from all that hot air Daddy creates

Logan reaps the rewards of a good campfire, a hot roasted hot dog for dinner.

Baby is locked and loaded

Last night, after easily getting Logan down to bed from a busy day at
the Desert Park (among numerous other things with Mom), Dad worked at
night on updating the http://www.sunchase.org website he created as part
of his help to assist the Northern Territory Model Solar Vehicle
Challenge. This is an annual event where school aged children form
teams and try to build the fastest model solar car or boat. But it
isn't just about building the fastest car as they are also judged on the
best poster, best interview, most safe (an egg driver must survive the
journey), best uniform, and best overall. This year it'll be easier as
last year we had to build the 80 meter long figure eight race track,
among other things. Meanwhile, Mommy had gone out for her weekly
'Alexandria Quartet' practice at friend's Nicola and Peter Gilham's
house in which she gets better and better at playing the oboe, only made
more difficult each week by an enlarging baby within. Mom and Dad were
both tired, not only from Logan's recent sickness bout, but also because
of lack of sleep. Daddy's of course was more his fault for staying up
late. Mommy's problem was more internal, with a fetus constantly on the
move and a belly disallowing a comfortable sleeping position. Mom has
been going to bed at around midnight and waking up at around 4 AM...
poor Momma.

On a bright note, Daddy came home early from work today to watch Logan
while Mom went off to a pregnancy check-up appointment. Dr. Matarazzo
is an excellent doctor and regularly has hour-plus long sessions with
Liesl. In this latest check-up, it turns out that Logan's forthcoming
baby Sister is head down in the perfect position, unlike her older
Brother who defied gravity and remained steadfastly head-up throughout
the pregnancy. It is a bit early still, however, so our little one may
yet 'breach' her contract and turn tail against the norm. Only about 10
or so weeks to go!

Good friend Mary Robins made this excellent and cute 'worker' apron and now Logan is about to get down and dirty!

Learning to bat the ball and tee at the same time!

Arts and Crafts sticker fun

Listening & learning discipline

Today Mommy said Logan got better at using a soft baseball bat and tee
to hit the ball. Also, Mom needed to get a shot at the clinic. While
there, she explained to Logan what would be happening and that he could
watch, but that he couldn't touch. Logan did a great job of listening
and obeying. Later when Dad got home, Logan took out his Fisher Price
Medical kit and took the play syringe to give himself and Daddy a 'shot'
in the arm. He also played one of his common favorite games, in which
he runs and hides, and while Dad goes looking for him saying "Where's
Logan", he suddenly comes running out and dives right into Dad, only to
quickly turn around and go hide again. At dinnertime Logan was anxious
for the meal and didn't have the patience or understanding to wait for
the food to cook. When he thinks food, he wants it THEN, almost just
like Momma :-) To test Daddy, Logan put his feet on the dinner table,
and got two chances ("That's one, that's two") before being put in the
naughty circle ("That's three, take five minutes and go to the naughty
circle"). Often Logan will stop after one or two chances, but he has
to get reminded from time to time that he can only go so far. In any
event, he despises being put on the naughty circle and complained at
dinner afterwards, "No take 5" For food, we had an excellent meal of
salad, turkish rice, and salmon among other things. Logan really only
went for the salmon (but is good about trying all the foods we give
him), and so he ended up also getting corn on the cob and some fruit.
He is still sick and so we were attempting to get a good hefty amount of
food in him. After dinner Dad gave Logan a bath as this seems to help
clear his cough and runny nose up a bit, besides the fact that Logan
loves taking baths anyway. After getting Daddy soaking wet from
splashing, Logan did a good job of shampooing his head all around by
himself. Yay, one more independent maneuver!

One sick puppy with a wet nose

Last night Logan called out for "help" and for the first time since we
can remember, Mommy and Daddy put him in bed with us. All night he was
miserable with a bad cough and streaming nose, although the
decongestant/runny nose medicine we gave him helped a little. He'd
toss and turn, mostly on Mom while making sure he was perpendicular to
us so as to give well-placed kicks to Daddy's face. In the daytime
Logan attended the first Kindermusik class of the new season and while
still a bit out-of-it, he managed to really do well dancing and running
around to the music. Mom also started playing 'Montessori' style kids
learning games with Logan (now that Mom is excited to be done with her
Modern History class), and Logan learned to feel objects in a bag and
identify them by saying their names. By the time Dad got home from
work and his first mountain bike ride in a few months, Logan barely
made it through dinner as Mom headed out to spend the evening with
friends. Soon he was asleep in Daddy's arms. Logan didn't even make it
to pulling out a book, and after falling into a deep sleep with Daddy's
coma-inducing singing, he was put in his crib and for the most part
didn't wake up throughout the night.

Pot roasted cell phones

Turns out Logan is beginning to get a bit sick with a runny nose, crying
off and on at night. He didn't eat Mom's pot roast for dinner, perhaps
partially because she accidentally turned off the crock pot before
leaving the house by accidentally plugging in the cell phone charger
instead. So the pot roast had to be speed-cooked on the stove instead.
Daddy still really liked it though. Instead, Logan ate yoghurt, peas,
and some fruit before we begrudgingly gave him half-a-cookie for
dessert. Items of note for the day: Logan laughs when he passes gas
and has blamed others with "Mommy farted" or "Daddy farted". He played
with a spring-loading elephant head that pops in the air after a short
period, shouting out "Popped!" and jumping up and down. He also gets
really excited and dances around whenever he successfully uses his
little potty.

Tonight will probably be another long night, in that his showing illness
will mean Logan will have a difficult time coping. Normally, he cries
out 1-2 times/night, but will easily put himself right back down to
sleep. Somehow I think tonight won't be so simple.

Peas please

Today Daddy played with Logan all day while Mom did her final grading of
research papers and final exams for her Modern American history class.
Dad noticed that Logan is beginning to show signs of a good sense of
humor and laughs at things Dad is surprised he can already figure out is
funny... funny music, funny movements, etc...
While outside on the front porch, Logan has an uncanny knack for hearing
the whistling toot of the freight train off in the distance from several
blocks away, and this time was no different as he proclaimed "choo choo
train!" Daddy suggested they go for a bike ride to see it (not
thinking we'd really make it) and so after putting Logan on the kid's
bike seat, off we went. We made it with about 20 seconds to spare
before the end of the train passed by and the crossing signal stopped
dinging. Then Daddy crossed the tracks and hauled butt to get down a
couple industrial roads in order to get to the next crossing signal,
once again just getting there in time for the train to almost finish
passing us. At nap time, after reading stories, it still took an hour
with Logan in his crib before he finally fell asleep. During that time
he played with anything and everything he could within arm's reach of
the crib. Additionally, he would look at his "Green Eggs and Ham" Dr.
Seuss book and cry out "NO, NO, NO Green Eggs and Ham!" For dinner,
Daddy and Logan played a funny 'peas' game in a lame attempt to try to
get Logan to eat more veggies. Dad would eat a pea, then Logan, then
Dad... It seemed to work as Logan had three helpings of good-sized
portions of peas!

Jungle Joy

Today Dad tried to keep Logan away from Mom (after she made yummy french
toast for us for breakfast) as she had much to do in her classroom
grading. In the morning Dad and Logan rode the bike to the playground
and spent quite a while there. In the afternoon we all went to Logan's
good friend Bradon's birthday party. He just turned three years old
(about one year older than Logan) and his Mom and Dad set up a grand
jungle theme for the gala affair, to include a jungle obstacle course,
creative jungle animal crafts and decorations, and interesting jungle
food like butterfly wings (potato chips) and snake eggs (grapes).
There were two crocodiles made into scrumptuous cakes as well. There
were a lot of kids and Logan really enjoyed himself immensely, running
around like a chicken with his head cut off. One of the birthday gifts
Logan gave Bradon was a dinosaur blanket that Mom and Logan made
together, a milestone in that it was Logan's first experience learning
to sew. Needless to say, Logan was wired with cake and ice cream so
that night, as expected, Logan crashed and burned right into bed :-)

Early childhood brainwashing from big industry

While driving home, Mom, Dad, and Logan were stopped at a stoplight next
to a McDonalds. Logan surprised us by pointing at the large McDonalds
sign and saying "Big M". About a minute later he pointed at one of the
other smaller signs and said "Little m" right where the M logo of
McDonalds was. Has McDonalds already taken control of our Son! Seemed
pretty much a coincidence to Dad, but Mom wasn't so sure. Of course
Mommy and Daddy are teaching Logan his ABCs and numbers by having him
repeat the letters and first ten numbers after we say it (we've been
singing his ABCs to him ever since he was born). On his own he can
reach about the letter D or E, and number 3 or 4, so far. In the potty
training department, it's really fun to see how excited he gets whenever
he successfully completes a 'movement' of some kind, and likewise Mom
and Dad shower him with an abundance of accolades as well. It's like
he's dancing a jig.

First flick

Dad is pretty embarrassed and ashamed to say it, but Logan made it
'mostly' through watching an entire movie for the first time. The
reason Dad's embarrassed is because the movie was called "Caveman"
starring Ringo Starr (of the Beatles), Shelley Long, and Dennis Quaid.
It is a pretty bad comedy movie, but Logan really wanted to see it
because it had a Dinosaur egg on the DVD case. Dad and Mom think he so
enjoyed the movie because they had a lesser vocabulary than he did.
That and the fact that there were dinosaurs. He's already asked to see
the "Dinosaur Egg" movie again, but we think we'll gently hide that one
away for a good little while. Of course it was fun to watch Logan
watching the movie, as he would laugh at the dinosaur whenever it would
make mistakes, and luckily he mistook a scary 'snow beast' monster to
be a 'monkey' that he laughed at while it chased down some of the
cavemen. In the evening Logan must have forgotten to tell Mom and Dad
he needed to use the potty as Daddy suddenly found Logan peeing on the
living room carpet. Needless to say, he was rushed straight to the
potty. This was inevitable when taking chances in not putting diapers
on the kid in the hopes that the potty concept takes hold.

Tough one

Logan had a difficult day and night today, with many timeouts on the
"naughty circle" what with his lack of listening and his hitting both
Mommy and Daddy. On a positive note, he's getting better at stacking
blocks, getting to about 7 high before knocking them back down. He also
does surprise us with his amazing growing dictionary of words.

Logan's first potty use

When we returned from our month long trip to the east coast of
Australia, Logan began expressing a lot of interest in the potty. Last
Monday, he wanted to sit on the potty and after getting on and off a
number of times actually peed in the potty! We called Daddy at work and
he told him the great news. We all hip-hip horrayed and made a big deal
out of his first success. That evening after dinner he wanted to sit on
the potty again. He brought his potty into the kitchen and kept popping
on then running off to play with toys and then returning to the potty.
Dad and Mom were chatting in the kitchen when Dad heard a noise. We
looked at each other and then at Logan and YES he had pooped in the
potty!! Since Monday he's had a number of successes with weeing, but
not really with the pooping. It would turn out to be much later, in
fact much after his baby Sister was born, before the pooping in the
potty would start to succeed.

I've got a baby in my belly

At Family Day Care, Mom easily left Logan with him closing the gate
behind her and saying 'bye bye Mommy'. Later, when picking Logan up,
Mom had to pull him away from Day Care (Rosalie's house) as he was
enjoying himself too much on the bike. Back home and after a nap, Dad
took Logan out to a grassy field to kick a ball around. Logan's
preference was to climb up some bleachers and throw the ball off from
the top. Also, he liked to run up a hill, throw or kick the ball down
the hill, and then immediately run after it. Mom, Dad, and Logan then
ate at Sammy's Pizza for the first time since returning from our
holidays away. Strangely, this time Logan was reluctant to climb very
much on the indoor playground equipment. With quite a bit of prodding,
he only half-heartedly attempted to engage in any apparatus. Our only
conclusion at this point is that he might be starting a possible shy
phase as there were a large number of other children playing as well.
He was boisterous and didn't hold back from shouting out "NO, MINE" to
just about every kid in his path. This was of course much to Mom and
Dad's displeasure and Logan was chided to be polite and share.

Tonight when Logan was put down to bed, as usual he started talking out
loud to himself. Dad caught him repeatedly saying the following
sentence (about 3 times), "Daddy, I've got a baby in my belly."
Needless to say, we've been trying to prepare Logan for his forthcoming
baby Sister by explaining that Mommy has a baby in her belly. If it
weren't for that, I'd be afraid that maybe someone had shown Logan the
movie "Alien" already.