Walking

Logan started walking- sort of- a couple weeks ago. He could take 2 steps before sitting down or falling down. Then we went to Florida, where we stayed in a condo with carpet. That provided good traction and a soft fall, and there he set a record of 12 steps. Then in CT he regressed-- the floors were too shiny and clean and he kept slipping and falling. Now we're back home, where there's a nice layer of sticky dirt on the floors, and Logan is once again walking. We initially had to lure him with the promise of cellphones and Nalgene bottles, but now he's choosing to walk on his own even when there's not a prize at the end.

Hut Trip

The 10th Mountain Division operates a system of 30 backcountry huts in Colorado. They are booked almost a year in advance, but this year I was lucky to take over a reservation that a friend at work could no longer use. We gathered up 11 adults and 4 babies to ski/snowshoe into Jay's Cabin for the night. At 3 miles from Vail Pass, its one of the easiest huts to access. Here's the group at the trailhead:

Here's Mike & Lucian, Kristin & Quin, and Mark & Logan. Mike & Kristin were impressive. They packed their kids into regular backpacks and just stuck their heads out the top. The kids don't look super comfortable, but they never complained. It was super windy so we fashioned a cover for Logan's backpack.

Arriving at the hut. Its really more of a nice cabin with a wood stove, electricity, running water, and indoor bathrooms.
We spent the evening eating, playing, and eating more. We set up a tent in our room for Logan, in hopes that it would contain him and he'd be able to sleep on his own. It all went well until about midnight, when Logan woke up and was too cold to stay in his own bed. Once in our bed, that night's sleep was over.
Kendall on the way out. The weather was nice and sunny and it was a quick trip back to the cars. It was a fun trip. We weren't certain how it would go with all the babies, but it went surprisingly well (despite no sleep) and I'd definitely go again.

Christmas

After a week at Disney, we flew up to Connecticut on Christmas Eve. Logan was pretty tired of travelling and out of sorts by this point in the trip, but he still got in some good time with his grandma, great grandma, Uncle Andrew, and Auntie Kenny. His favorite, however, was Andrew's dog Nicholas. He's a giant german shepherd, but Logan wasn't at all intimidated, and spent most of his time following him around. I wonder how long we have before he starts begging for his own dog.

We went to my Aunt Susie's for our traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner. This is probably my favorite meal of the year, and I've been waiting three long years for it. I think our days of travelling for Christmas are coming to an end, so its probably time I learn to make it myself-- or figure out a way to have it shipped out here.

Here's Logan opening presents on Christmas morning. This little table includes his own personal laptop that he can open and close. Still doesn't deter him from fixing Mark's laptop, though.


















Logan & his great grandma Ginny


















Practicing walking with Auntie Kenny and Daddy


















Logan meets Nicholas

How Logan feels about travelling by the end of the trip

3rd Christmas- opening presents back in Colorado

Disney World

We spent the week before Christmas in Disney World with the Andersons. Logan was a little young for the parks, but he loved seeing his cousins, and we were very lucky to have babysitters while we went on the big kid rides. Mark gave Logan his own thrill ride by zooming the stroller through throngs of people at top speed to make sure we got to as many rides as possible.

Around the middle of the week half the family came down with a stomach bug, Logan included. He threw up on me 9 times one day. Ah, motherhood. Luckily our condo had a washing machine. Logan then brought his bug up to Connecticut to share with the rest of the family. On the bright side, as Mark likes to say, we're one stomach flu closer to our goal weight.

Some pictures from the week:

Dominic sharing his breakfast with Logan

Marcus and Logan hit the park

Logan and Dominic resting up. All this fun is tiring.

Somehow I didn't get pictures of Lucas & Axel. They were there too, and did a great job entertaining Logan.

Enjoying a Mickey Mouse lollipop from Grandma

On the shuttle to the park with Grandma and Grandpa

Christmas lights at Hollywood Studios. This was a really cool show-- all the lights were coordinated to Christmas music.

Meeting Pluto. Logan doesn't really know the Disney characters, and he wasn't really thrilled with any of them. But he loves dogs, so I think Pluto was his favorite.

Family picture with Pluto

Cindarella's castle decorated for Christmas

Eleven Months

At eleven months, life has changed. Logan no longer just stays where you put him. He's figured out there is life beyond the living room rug. He crawls or walks with the assistance of his little push cart (or mom and dad) all over the house. His favorite spot and first destination every morning is the bathroom, where he likes to turn on the faucets, lick the toilet, and brush his teeth. At least he brushes his teeth, I guess. After he's visited the first bathroom, he heads for the second. He's discovered the cabinets and likes to bang the doors open and closed. We put childlocks on most of them and they're driving me crazy. He waves-- but we're not sure if he means "hi" or "go away". He loves balls and spinning wheels on little toy cars. He likes music and sometimes dances. He does not like hats-- on himself or anyone else-- and does everything he can to get them off. His words are hi, mama, and dada.

Winter fun

We had a pretty cold snowy week with lots of time indoors. Here's how we entertained ourselves:

Pulling the outlet covers off the outlets. It took Logan about 2 seconds to get them off. So much for babyproofing.


Pulling ornaments off the Christmas tree:

Opening and closing the cabinet doors:

Finger painting. Mostly on his tray and his face, I think a little made it on to the paper.

Looking for deer with Buddy.

Reading while we get ready to go out in the snow

Skiing around the yard

Visit with Santa

I took Logan to see Santa this weekend. He got all dressed up in his Christmas sweater, and I had to hold him back as he kept trying to get to Santa during the other kids' turns. When it was finally his turn, he crawled right up to him, took one look, and decided he did not like this after all. The result:

Maybe next year.

Mama's Boy

Walking

Fire and Ice

Last weekend we headed up to Sinks Canyon in Wyoming for some climbing. On Sunday things took an exciting turn when the Canyon caught on fire. We noticed a small fire burning down by the road as we were hiking along the cliffline during a break between routes. It looked like this:


It didn't look too significant, but the wind was pretty strong, so we thought maybe we'd head back to our stuff and start packing up. By the time we got back to our gear, the fire had grown, and we ended up running down the trail alongside billows of glowing orange smoke with ash falling on our heads. It looked like this from down on the road:


Everyone got out safely, but it ended up burning the whole hillside up to the cliffs.

After escaping the fire, we decided to head home-- and hit a blizzard on I-80. There was hardly any snow-- not more than an inch or two-- but the wind whipped those two inches around to the point that you couldn't see anything at times. We passed 5 18-wheelers that had been blown over onto their sides by the wind. Seven hours later (including a solid 2 of Logan screaming) we finally made it home.

Here's a few other pictures from the less eventful parts of the weekend.

Logan (10 months) playing with Anabel (7 months)


Logan and Daddy hanging out at the crag


Logan studying his sippy cup. He likes to bend the nipple back and release, which makes the water fly pretty far. When we're in the car, he can spray us from the backseat.

Logan hanging out in his nest of puffys.

Ten Months

At ten months, Logan says hi- or hey—to greet everyone he sees. He loves to feed himself, and he's developing quite the sweet tooth. He's also developed the bad habit of shrieking until he gets a bite of your cookie or brownie. He pulls himself up on everything, and is starting to be able to get himself down too. He has 3 teeth (the bottom middle two and the top right of middle). The other 3 top ones are about to arrive. He thinks it’s very funny when you say “bless you” after sneezing, when you shake your head like you’re headbanging, and when you yawn. He’s very interested in teeth, and is always trying to poke his fingers into your mouth to feel them. He loves Daddy's laptop, but is very adamant that the screen be laid flat at 180 degrees-- and no matter how many times Mark sets it back upright, Logan pulls it back down. He may be a little OCD.

Odds and Ends

Logan's first football game-- the Evergreen-Conifer Mountain Bowl! Logan mostly liked the police car lights in the parking lot where cops were directing traffic, and the stadium lights. We made it part way through the third quarter, at which point Logan had dropped his coat behind the bleachers, lost both socks, and was more than ready to leave. Half a football game is about right for me, too.



Mark & Logan climbing at the North Gym at Shelf.


We got Wednesdays off for snow days 2 weeks in a row! Family ski trip around the yard.

Auntie Kenny's birthday with fun Halloween cupcakes.

Logan loved the tissue paper in her gifts.

Playing in the laundry basket at Kenny's house

Hanging out at the crag (the Monastery)

Luckily Daddy sent his route, because this pod can no longer contain standing Logan.

Testing out the new wagon

Playing with friends Ayla and Reilly:


Eating puffs


Ayla tackles Logan. I think she was after his sippy cup.