Logan at 11 months (and one week, cuz I'm a slacker)

Logan is simply described as Delicious. He is such an adorable baby. Yes baby. I am unwilling to let go of his babyhood just yet, despite signs of pending toddlerhood. He is such a cutie with an easy smile and a twinkle in his eye. His teachers at school clearly adore him, and most days we arrive to find him getting a cuddle from one of them. He is pretty easy going, although goes from happy to mad in an instant, no warning ramp up. His eyes are still a light and brilliant blue that people stop to comment on. He doesn't have even one tooth, and I like it that way. My little gummy bear. He crawls like a bat out of hell when he wants to get somewhere, a speed much faster than I can just walk. This is usually brought on by chasing Hayden, realizing the cat food and water is on the floor and unprotected, or that a toy must be thrown out the cat door. For some reason, he has decided the cat door is a toy depository and Logan's escape hatch. Even from across the house, I can tell when he suddenly takes off with one hand crawling, and the other sliding the portable wipe container that it is on it's way to the side yard. He loves the cats and isn't too violent with them. We are working on "nice," but it is a lengthy process. These days Logan really likes turn taking games. When he hands me something and I take it, a huge smile lights up his face. He also loves putting things in and out of containers, and it is fun to watch him completely immersed, hunched over his toy, concentrating on what he is doing. He shows signs of recognizing what hole is correct for a specific shape, but doesn't quite know to turn the piece until it is right. He is very clingy to me at home, wanting to be held constantly. I think this is partially because he is so tired at the end of the day when I see him. He barely hangs in there through dinner, then crashes quickly after his bath.

He is an amazing eater for a couple reasons. The first is the sheer quantity of food he consumes. People watch in amazement as he packs it in, not very picky about what we give him. When he finishes a helping, he holds his hand out toward the table to get more. He likes to have a drink, but loses interest quickly and throws it on the floor. The other reason he is amazing to watch at mealtimes is the incredible mess he makes. At the end of every meal he is completely covered with food. Not much gets on the floor these days as we know that once he starts throwing his food down, he is done. This is non-negotiable. After the first couple tosses, anything offered is met with him turning his head away in complete rejection. He makes the funniest face these days. He puckers up his lips, then tucks them up under his nose, scrunching up his entire face, making a breathing noise through his nose. It is really funny to see and me and Hayden constantly try to make him do this. Logan is starting to hold his own with Hayden. He is just as likely to grab something from his big brother as have something taken away. If we see this, we correct him so Hayden can see we want things fair for him as well. We find ourselves defending Hayden more often these days. Hayden does take things as well, but is getting better about giving them back.

In the car, Hayden often has little snacks like Goldfish crackers. Logan knows this and has certain expectations. He is still rear facing in his carseat, but he and Hayden have a great view of each other. When Hayden has a bag of snacks we just see a tiny Logan hand reach out waiting for Hayden give him a snack. Hayden always does. That little expectant open hand is so cute.

One thing Logan hates is diaper changes. It is so hard to keep him pinned down for that simple task, frustrating everyone involved. Just when I think I've finally got it, the diaper is on ready to be secured, he scoots himself backward halfway off the changing table and out of the diaper. Then he complains that his head is hanging down. Yeah, no duh.

Sadly for me, he is really wanting to wean. I have stopped pumping after two excursions to my office Lactation Room gained a total of 2 1/2 oz of milk for the day. That is totally not worth it. I could try bulking up on Mother's Milk Tea, but frankly am not wanting to do that. It doesn't look like it will make enough of a difference, and my plan of weaning at one year is really close. At home, he hardly nurses, if I get two minutes I'm lucky. Yesterday morning he only nursed on one side, leaving me lopsided and extremely engorged on the left. After a couple attempts, he finally gave me some relief last night before bedtime. This morning he nursed on both sides for a total of about 5 minutes. Once he is done, he is on the go. No sweet snuggles for me. He is just too busy. Despite being so active, even when I wake him in the morning, he goes right back in his crib without a fuss. It's like he knows he is so tired and a little relieved to just lie down.

He often says Dada now, and sometimes Mama. Fillip is more convinced than me that he is using these meaningfully, and also swears he says Dayden for Hayden. He is still not walking, but frequently stands independently holding a toy or watching something. He doesn't fall, but carefully squats back down, as if too cautious to take a step. When he is mad, he now throws himself forward, barely missing cracking his face on the floor, looking up with a scowl and a yell, then pivoting to do it again in another direction, like a bobbing, yelling compass. This is just too funny to watch sometimes. He loves to have us blow on his belly, which is a good thing because it is irresistable. He is so soft and squishy, still so baby and I hope it lasts!