Did Ya Miss Me??

Oh, hey there! It's been a while... My little hiatus was longer than I originally anticipated, but rest assured, I have no intention of abandoning this blog!  Bare with me because this may be a lengthy update... Here's what we've been up to since I last posted:

We had a fun Friday night at a nearby creek: 

We went Paw Paw picking and discovered that Ayden still LOVES our native fruit!

Logan has been as adventurous as ever!

We harvested our honey!

David and I had another date night. 

BABIES!  Our dear friends had their sweet girl come unexpectedly early but she is doing great!  We can't wait to meet her and have been loving the photos they send/post.  I also became an auntie for the 7th time!  I have one nephew on David's side and from my sisters I have one niece and now FIVE nephews. If you are counting he's the EIGHTH grandchild for my parents.  My heart is so wonderfully full!   

His was the first birth I have attended since experiencing childbirth myself and the link that it gave my sister and me was pretty special.

David went out of town for work just in time for her to go into labor. I pulled an all-nighter to be with her. Ayden spent the night with David's parents and Logan came along with me and (mostly) slept in the Ergo. 

I would have never tried that with another baby.
Mr. Logan is a really special little dude and just went with the flow as usual.

It took me DAYS to bounce back from that. Partially because I was on my own and had the kids to take care of; but also because I'm just not a spring chick anymore!  Haha. 

Morning snuggles with just the three of us.
We MISSED Daddy but still had some pretty special moments.

Ayden is almost done with his pre-soccer program. His big "game" is this Thursday. 

Smiling at Daddy, waiting to block the shot he was about to take!

His imagine is as wild as ever!  At any given moment he may be a camper, a pirate, a hunter, a squirrel, a frog, a T-Rex, a boy name Jack from his "Magic Treehouse" books, a rat named "Samuel Wiskers" from Beatrix Potter's "Roly Poly Pudding" story...  He is in a stage where he LOVES to make believe!  

Our house passed the rough-in electrical inspection right out of the gate!! 

WARNING: *proud bragging wife moment is about to commence* The inspector seemed really impressed by David's DIY abilities and said he usually has to visit a home upwards of 10 times before most DIYers pass his inspections.

I am SO incredibly proud of my handy hubby! Before  building is this house, he had only built a learning tower for Ayden and a chicken coop. Between his smarts, work experience with design, reading books/message boards, he has become a self taught carpenter, plumber, electrician, landscape architect, and so much more. When I step back and look at what a gift this house has been, not just for us, but to him, I am amazed and so grateful. He has grown so much as a person since setting out on this venture and that was the foundational purpose all along. What a symbolic and special home this will always be!

This week the insulation will be installed and then the drywall next week.  We decided to hire folks to take care of these tasks quickly for us.  Then we'll be doing things like tiling the shower, installing switch plates/fixtures/faucets/etc., preparing the floors, painting and such.  The ball is about to start rolling REALLY fast and we are excited!!

Other than all of that (haha, as if that wasn't already an overload!), the boys have just been having fun and we've all been living life while trying to enjoy it as much as possible. Just like we always do. 

Logan channeled his inner newborn and took a 3 hour nap today!
He was either inspired by his new baby cousin, or he's about to have a growth spurt...

These evenings "off" from blogging have been wonderful!  David and I have enjoyed more time spent together and I have been getting a little more sleep. While I do hope to post more frequently than this little hiatus allowed, turning it down a notch was definitely the right choice for me at this time. I am thinking Tuesdays may be a good start for at least weekly updates...  I'll see how that feels and go from there! As always, thanks for following along and you'll be seeing is again soon!

Comment below and let me know what you've been up to!  I've missed you guys :D.

~Sarah

If He Fits, He Sits

I have a feeling I'll have many more photos like these to share in the near future. He's most definitely our little adventurer!

~Sarah

Up, Up, and Away!

We celebrated Logan's birthday yesterday!  It was a wonderful party.  Here is a slide show of the festivities.  I always try to choose birthday themes for my kids that mirror their interests at the time.  Logan isn't really into any specific one thing other than EXPLORING his world.  This is fitting since this little boy is so amazing and truly deserves the world!  We all love him SO much. 

Enjoy!!

~Sarah

Things Are Changing

Now that Logan has turned one, things are changing...

He has learned to climb up on the chairs from our kitchen table. 

That face!  He was making a vehicle noise. ;)

What a great way to kick off his second year! Ayden was never a "climber" so this is new territory and should be pretty interesting.

They are getting SO fun together!!!

We also had soccer practice tonight!

All sprawled out on Daddy, listening to Coach.

Logan played in the dirt which, of course, kept him just as happy as always. 

And now for the big change... I am no longer going to be a daily blogger. I am going to shift my focus to quality over quantity and this *should* provide more entertaining content.  It will also allow me to just collapse on the couch to watch a movie with David on a Friday night without having to publish a post first (or having to bring the computer to the couch with me). We have so much going on that I will probably still post most days; but if a post is missing every now and then at least you'll know why! It's been three and a half years and now I am looking forward to a new chapter and a little more freedom.

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Fun Comparisons"

Two years ago today: "New Life"

And three years ago today: "Beach Boy"

Happy 1st Birthday, Logan!

Our baby boy turned one at 6:16 this morning!

Logan is changing so fast right now.  He's bringing us his shoes and pretends to drive cars. He has started noticing the patterns for how the world works and is starting to imitate them. It is adorable. He is a skilled walker now and is mastering terrain without falling *too* much. He has a few words, makes a few animal sounds and knows a few signs. He babbles a lot and even has distinct sounds that he makes when he is frustrated or mad. While we would not necessarily call him "mellow" anymore during this stage, he is not a pistol by any means. He is quietly determined and can let go and move on quickly when he does get upset after not getting his way. While we are moving into toddler territory, his underlying disposition is still far from "fiery". 

Current likes: 

DANCING!, baths, shoes, anything he can slip over his head and wear like a necklace (headbands, belts, etc.) playing on beds, laying his head down on soft things, hugs/kisses/snuggling, emptying trash cans, "driving" toy vehicles back and forth while using his spit to make an engine noise, riding in the Cozy Coop, bubbles, balls, pointing at everything everywhere, EXPLORING, sensorial experiences (especially digging in the dirt of our indoor tree...), riding in the Ergo, being outside, banging on Ayden's drum set, making music with the keyboard, looking at pictures of familiar people, raisins, tomato based foods (chili, spaghetti meat sauce, meatloaf, etc.), and all fruit.  He will be held by anyone, though he does like to keep his eye on one of us. As has been a trend since the moment he was born, this child loves life along with everyone and almost everything in it. 

Current dislikes: 

Getting cleaned up after meals, having his teeth brushed, waking up to find that Mommy is not there, trying to explore something that is stuck or otherwise unobtainable, and the usuals: being hungry or over tired. While he does not cry during diaper changes, he does always try to roll away and then gets frustrated when we won't let him.  I guess that would fall under this category as well...

Read about Logan at 11 months here!

Read about Ayden's first birthday here!

Logan spent his day opening gifts, getting into mischief, playing in dirt and eating his first cupcake while out to dinner with many people who love him. 

We gave him a photo album with photos of immediate family
and him doing his favorite things!

It was his ideal day in a nutshell which was the goal!

We enjoyed celebrating a year of being a family of 4!

This year has been quite a whirl wind.  We have been spread pretty thin at times but this child has brought us so much joy and he has really helped us through it all!  

He is such special little boy and we are SO glad that he is ours!

Happy birthday, sweet Logan!  We love you and you mean more to us than you'll ever know.

Be sure to go back to the post from one year ago today (linked below) to see a  couple of very adorable newborn Baby Logan clips!  *swoon*

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Introducing: Logan Michael"
Two years ago today: "Nailed It"
And three years ago today: "Pool Day"

Logan's Birth

It is the eve of Logan's 1st birthday and I never wrote Logan's birth story. I have always wanted to but somehow time kept passing and it never got done.  So why not now, on the 1 year anniversary of when he decided to start working his way into the world. I have butterflies writing this because I am about to share a deeper part of me with you than ever before. So much time has passed that I fear the details of emotions and such are a bit fuzzy.  Instead of writing about it, I am going to show you.  This makes me both nervous and excited because it will give you glimpses of a very vulnerable time in my life that was also undoubtedly my greatest personal accomplishment.

My hope in sharing this is to share the beauty and inspire. Natural birth takes many forms and not a single one is the "right" one. I feel it is important for women who wish to experience it to first witness other women in action. This way they can know it is okay to make noise if they need to. To know that it is okay to labor and birth in whatever position feels right. So they can learn that it is not as scary as they may have once thought. 

I was fortunate to have my sisters pave the way for me. One had 2 successful home VBACs and she inspired me so much and gave me the courage to have a home birth myself. The other sister allowed me to be present for the beautiful natural hospital births of both of her children. Because of them I had confidence in my body and knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I will always be so grateful to them for that. 

As a disclaimer, this video is not graphic in any way and honestly, I am only brave enough to show a couple of very short video clips of the "hard" work among many photos. Even so, I think it is pretty beautiful and I hope someone somewhere can take something positive from my experience. 

Enjoy. 

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Tough Choices"
Two years ago today: "Gearing Up"
And three years ago today: "Well Hello!"

Rainbow Fish

We finished our second Kiwi Crate project today!

Fish Lantern!

It was the last for this month and we are so looking forward to the next one!  Something we really like so far about this company is that they make every part of the packaging into an activity of some sort. Even though we have completed each activity, we still have the packaging activity to do as well as a little educational magazine that came in it. The one package will easily give David and Ayden a structured activity to do together every weekend of each month. We are loving it so far and highly recommend it. 

We also got to visit our friends and hold their sweet new baby girl!

She was SO tiny and so precious!! We ended the evening with dinner and Logan's 12 month owl photo shoot. 

I am getting them all printed tomorrow for his birthday party on Saturday, so I took them a few days early. Tonight I have a date with my planner because I have a lot to squeeze in this week!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "5 Happy Things: Jam Sessions"

Two years ago today: "Horse Country"

And three years ago today : "On the Road Again"

On Top Of The World!

We went apple picking in our own orchard today!  

Our trees are still very young so we only had one lonely Liberty apple but it was even more exciting to harvest that one than it would have been if we had an entire orchard full. 

Ayden did the honors and picked it and we all passed it around taking tastes. Any time we consume or share food that we have raised or grown ourselves it fills us with all kinds of wonderful feelings. Something deep inside gets so much satisfaction out of such a basic act. It will be even more fun to someday make pies, jams and such to share with our loved ones. 

He's on top of the world!

I guess Mav looked comfy?

Weeee!

~Sarah

Flashback! Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "A Day Of Aydenisms"
Two years ago today: "New Wheels"
And three years ago today: "Pins and Needles"

Double Header

Our day was so busy but so fun!

Party #1: Curious George themed with banana splits!

Party #2: At our favorite orchard!

Hay ride!

It was HOT and super fun!

We ended the evening with a family dinner and this mama is POOPED!  Having a toddler in various non-toddler proof places all day long can really wear a person out. I am so glad it is bedtime. ;)

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Normalcy Is Wonderful"
Two years ago today: "Amazing Autumn"
And three years ago today: "Ayden Gets A Girlfriend"

Car Clutter

This is how I managed to get myself ready this morning...

I stared our KonMari book purge yesterday. 

Cut down our library by more than half.
The box and bin on the left are out of here!

Now I just need to put the keepers back on the shelves and donate the rest. 

The boys played outside while I cleaned out and vacuumed my car. 

We are borrowing a tricycle from his cousins.
The belt and parent handle allow him to ride just like his big bro.

My car makes me look like a hoarder most of the time. This is all of the stuff I pulled out today:

I really don't like how things pile up and am MUCH happier when my car is clean. 

Ahhhhh.

My problem is that everyday we take books and essentials for whatever we have planned for the day into the car but never bring them out again. Each time we arrive home there is some sort of crisis or urgent need to tend to and since I don't take care of the stuff from the car right away, things accumulate rather quickly. In an effort to help myself out, I have put my largest reusable tote bag next to my diaper bag by the door and it will be what I use to take things to and from the car each day. I would really love to not have a messy car. Driving it today felt WONDERFUL! 

We ended up running a few errands. 

Cutest. Puppy. Ever.

Logan was trying to scale the wall so he could get in with the birds.

LOL!

When we got home the boys took simultaneous naps. Logan fell asleep on the way home so he stared his nap in his car seat. He woke up at one point and was upset to be all strapped in. I finally got him back to sleep but he woke up every time I tried to slip away. That is not normally like him so I figured he needed me and just joined him for the rest of his nap. Only 10 days left in his current leap...

After dinner, David played with the boys while I did the dishes and then he headed over to the build site. We have family coming in who will be seeing all of their hard work for the first time so he and his dad spent the evening cleaning up the inside and weeding the outside. I am excited to see it too!

While they were doing that, my niece came over for a play date. 

My sister's baby is due in a few weeks so she and her hubby had a date night. Ayden LOVED having her here!  We may try and make it a monthly thing.

Tomorrow is going to be CRAZY with double header birthday parties and dinner with the family that is coming into town. Wish me luck that I can get Mr. Ayden a nap somewhere in there so that he can be his charming self well into the evening. 

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "24 Hours"

Two years ago today: "Toddler Tuesday: Fall Sensory Tub"

And three years ago today: "Rekindling Relationship"