6/27/07

Today is a humid, brooding day. My throat is vaguely scratchy, my ear vaguely hurts and I'm tired, tired, tired.

Tonight we have a Zoo Tunes concert to attend with Kimmie, Dave, Ezra and Sophie. Hopefully Logan will be well distracted. At the Zoo Tunes concert last week Logan was quite restless, and wanted to spend his time walking.

Last night Logan seemed particularly talkative. He said "ball" "wa-wa" for water "twinkle" for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and he said something that sounded like "What's that?"

6/25/07

One of Logan's favorite words is "dat." We think it stands for "that." He uses the word when he wants you to get something for him, or when he wants you to notice something. He points and says "dat!" At dinner Logan sits in his chair and occasionally points at what we're eating, saying "dat!" That means '"hey, give me what you're eating!" When we're going for walks he points up in the air at airplanes flying overhead and says "dat!" If he want's you to go get a toy, or take him over to the wagon he points and says "dat!" If he's really eager, then he says "da da da DAT!"

6/22/07

Logan has a new favorite toy - the click and clack alligator walker. It's a brightly painted wood walker with four wheels. There's a handle bar for Logan to hang on to, and there are three wood alligators that clack their mouths open and shut as the walker rolls along the floor.

This morning after finishing breakfast Logan went right to the walker, stood up and started to walk. And walk. And walk. He went around and around the couch, into the kitchen, and then around and around the kitchen island. He was zooming around the house smiling.

6/18/07

Logan visited the zoo yesterday.

It was also father's day. We decided to go to the zoo in the afternoon. Originally I had wanted to go for a hike or a bike ride, but the weather didn't cooperate at all. It was a cool and drizzly day with a dark, overcast sky.

Logan was scared of the elephant. We walked down to the elephant pen, past the memorial to the recently deceased adolescent elephant. We saw one elephant sitting outside in the drizzle, eating straw. Logan stared at the elephant until it took a step towards us. Then he wanted to get away! I was holding him, and he squirmed around in a way that made it clear he didn't want to be close to the elephant any more.

We saw a male lion roaring. It was an interesting noise - more rhythmic and repetitive than the noise I've heard on television. Logan was entranced.

Logan's favorite place was the "northern trail" - the part of the zoo focusing on north american animals. More than anything he loved looking through glass at salmon swimming in a simulated stream. He pounded the glass, talked and shrieked in delight and walked up and down staring at the fish.

6/14/07

Logan loves to walk around the house, but he doesn't walk very far on his own yet. Instead, he likes to hold on to one or both of my fingers. Often he''ll walk around holding my index finger with one hand and a broom or Chazz's dog dish in the other. We walk in circles around the kitchen island, and we walk back and forth between the living room and the kitchen. Usually Logan will want to go outside. If he can't go outside he'll stop by Chazz's dog door and poke at the flap with whatever he's carrying. Most of the time while Logan's walking with me he'll be "talking" - a series of singsong sounds.

This morning while Heidi was holding Logan she thought he felt "hot." Meaning, she thought he may have a fever. I felt the back of his head and his armpits - he didn't seem at all "hot" to me. He also wasn't acting sick - he was happily playing around with his toys. Hopefully he's doing well tonight.

6/6/07

Logan loves out backyard. When he is "walking by holding onto my index fingers Logan will usually steer me through the kitchen and up to the door to the backyard. Then he'll indicate he wants out. He'll point at the doorknob, or stick his foot into Chazz's dog door. Sometimes he throws a little fit if I won't let him out.

When he's on the porch Logan likes to throw balls, move up and down the step in the porch level, play with the recycling or investigate the grill. Sometimes he wants to go out into the yard. Usually he wants to see the storage shed or take a ride in his red wagon. Sometimes he is happy with investigating the garden plots. Last night Logan rode on our "horse" - the plastic horse on a spring that Chris Behan rescued from a habitat for humanity project he was working on. Logan also stood up in the wagon while I pulled it around the yard.

6/5/07

Logan is standing, but not yet walking.

Logan loves to be upright. He wants to walk around the house. He grabs on to my fingers with his little hands and walks with my support around the house. I just have to keep up with him and avoid stepping on his tiny feet. "Walking" with Logan can be pretty hard on the lower back, especially when he walks and walks and walks without wanting to stop. His has quite a tight little grip, and he can "steer" me with his feet. He's very determined sometimes - it's hard to steer him away from somewhere he wants to go. His usual goals include Chazz's stainless steel water dish, the door to the back porch, the stairs or the kitchen.

The other way that Logan can walk around the house is to push a walker or a chair. The walker with it's endlessly repeating songs used to be very annoying. Logan would push it in a straight line until he hit an obstacle, and then he would start to cry in frustration. I followed him around to steer him away from dead ends and quickly remove toys from his path. Now he's more able to steer his walker himself, and he seems to understand how to avoid dead ends.

Logan has managed to "stand up" on his own several times. He can stand on his own for up to 10 seconds, but he isn't truly walking.

Last night we went to the PEPS meeting. It was at Wendy and Dave's small house, just off of Aurora Avenue. I think there were five babies there, all crawling and playing and none really walking. Clive is the closest to walking upright without any help - he took about four steps last night.