Holidays

Its hard to believe that its almost Christmas. Working in a mall environment, I see all types of shoppers & given the state of the economy -- I can hardly believe what I see sometimes.

Sure there are the "lookers" who "will be back" but for every one of those, there's someone dropping some serious money. I can't necessarily say this holds true at my kiosk because the people we talk to are extremely fickle. They want everything free & are willing to drop the entire deal & walk if they don't get just the right deal. I'm not in the business of giving stuff away -- I'm in the business of selling.

I guess I just think its funny. People approach the kiosk with so many bags they can barely even get within yelling distance because they've dropped a wad of cash all over the mall, yet they want ME to give them everything for free. I wonder if they asked Macy's, "I've been a customer for years, can I get this sweater for free?"

Just a thought. Here's to the holidays!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

November Pix & a big thanks!

First & foremost wanted to let everyone know that November 2008 album has been added to the photo gallery! Lots of good shots on there so make sure you visit & check em out!

Also, wanted to thank everyone for their support today for Ethan's baptism! It was a truly blessed day & its amazing to see God's work on a daily basis -- today just showed how great He is!

Ethan appreciated everyone coming to be with him on his special day. He really liked all the gifts he received & wanted to say thanks for everything.

A great weekend for sure! My parents came into town for the baptism & it was good to see them. Now on to a rough work week. Wish me luck!

To be continued...

Happy Holidays!

So Ethan is the big 6 months now! We just got some new pix taken today & they turned out pretty good! Of course, given the time of the year, they were pretty busy -- but all in all Portrait Innovations did a good job again! The above picture is a shot from today.

So hopefully all of you have a great holiday season & wait until you see the Christmas card!

To be continued...

Wow....

So what happened to November? Alright -- so obviously it was November: Thanksgiving, shopping season, I work in a mall, blah blah blah.

Its been incredibly busy but I need to do a better job of checking in here!

Stay tuned for November's picture page update. Hopefully I'll get that knocked out this week.

Hello December -- nice to see ya!

Whaddaya Think?

So I kinda felt like Logan's Run needed a make over. We've had the blog for a while now & I just felt like a change. If you checked in at all today, you noticed a third different layout with which I decided not to stick. It was kinda boring & I found this one online somewhere. I wish I was talented enough to create this look, but I think its pretty darn neat.

Our picture page is up top now -- you can click on Photo Gallery & it'll link you straight to the pix. Still need the user name & password, but you'll find all the images there.

Welp, hope you like the new layout & while you can still comment on posts, you can also email us by clicking the link above.

Let us know how you like it!

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone enjoyed Halloween! We had our fair share of kiddos running around getting as much candy as possible. Seems like we had fewer visitors this year than in previous years.

Also wanted to let you know that we have updated our picture page with the October 2008 album.
Some great stuff in there -- look for a visit from my brother & his family from Colorado. They came out & Ethan got to spend time with his Uncles Rob & Randy, Aunt Jess & all of his cousins! Also in October was Ethan's first camping excursion as well as a fun class that he & mom went to! There are a few pix of "nakey baby time" which is what we call his bath time. Also there is his first bites of "cereal" & of course, Halloween.

Please check them out!

Goodbye October -- HELLO NOVEMBER!!!!

To be continued....

5 months old!!!!

Ethan,
Its been 5 fast months since we welcomed you to this world. Ever since you were able, you were letting Mom know that you were on your way. You squirmed & kicked all the way until you couldn't take it anymore. You wanted the world to change a month earlier than planned. So it was.
Mom & I have loved every single minute of every single day of your existence. Yes, there have been challenges:

1. Your jaundice called for the billi blanket -- for your first 10 days. This also meant you needed the billi test EACH morning of those 10 days.
2. Being premature, you didn't quite know how to eat. So we had to use unconventional methods.
3. You then let us know, in your way, that you had reflux. This was the biggest challenge yet.

But there have also been amazing memories:

1. You used to hate bath time but now....I don't think you can get enough of it!
2. You recognize your Mom & I when we walk into a room & the smile you flash is priceless.
3. Your laugh is contagious. Its progressed from "hmms" & "hoos" to actual cackles. Amazing

These first 5 months have been wonderful & in the future the challenges will toughen. But the memories will overshadow those challenges tenfold.

We love you buddy,

Mom & Dad

Fall Cleaning

So I'm on vacation from work this week & we took the opportunity yesterday to do a li'l spring cleaning! We never got around to it in the spring, so now we can.

We really made an effort to get Ethan's room decorated. Many of you know the great ordeal we went through to get his furniture. Luckily we got it before he graduated from high school. That whole travesty pretty much delayed everything until now. We have his room pretty much done but we're really up-in-the-air about some dots that we were gonna put on the wall. Stay tuned, I'm gonna try to get some pix up so we can get some of everyone's thoughts.

We also cleaned & dusted our guest bedroom, did the same in the living room & also made strides in our bedroom.

We're like many people & sometimes, you just sit down & look at your house & say, "Geez, we need to clean!" So, we did!

I honestly don't think it can be put into words, the feeling of having a clean home. I would say its relieving for one!

To be continued....

Carbon Motors E7

I have no idea why, but this new car is fascinating to me. Carbon Motors is building what they call a "Purpose-Built" car for law enforcement. Apparently, that means that they are building this car to adhere to basically
E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G a cop would need in a transportation vehicle.

This thing is pretty cool -- the looks, eh...for me the jury is still out. But last time I checked the cops dont need to be driving a vehicle to look cool. I mean they're gonna get out wearing that goofy hat regardless of what they're rolling in...whether its this thing or a skateboard.

The specs of this car are amazing:

SELECTED FEATURES AND OPTIONS

- All-new purpose-built vehicle platform exclusively for law enforcement
- Meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements
- Designed for 250,000 mile durability specification
- Turn-key built-to-direct-order
- 24/7/365 call center support
- Improved end-of-vehicle-life process
- Comprehensive warranty
- Aluminum spaceframe body structure
- 75 mile per hour rear crash capability
- Cockpit with fully-integrated factory fitted law enforcement equipment
- Integrated emergency lights, spot lights, take down lights, directional stick
- Segment exclusive coach (suicide) rear doors (safer suspect insertion / removal)
- Vehicle dynamic control
- Anti-lock brakes
- Optimized approach / departure angles and ground clearance
- NIJ Level III-A (or better) ballistic protection (front doors / dash panel)
- Purpose-designed seat for use with on-body equipment
- Heated and ventilated seats
- Heads up display
- Reverse backup camera
- Driver specific intelligent key
- 360 degree exterior surveillance capability
- Automatic license plate recognition system
- Video and audio surveillance of rear passenger compartment
- 130hz - 350hz bass siren
- Nightvision compliant interior illumination
- Integrated forward looking infrared system (FLIR)
- Integrated shotgun mounts
- Optimized storage capability (compartment and cargo)
- Integrated front and rear passenger compartment partition
- Hoseable rear passenger compartment
- Integrated push bumpers and PIT capability

So yeah - this thing comes loaded.

Anyhoo, if your interested to see what this thing looks like, head to these two sites:

Carbon Motors

Intro Story by Autoblog.com

This is awesome.....

Im not able to embed this video, but do yourself a favor-- click the link & watch the video. You'll feel all warm & snuggly inside.

Welcome home

October 2008

Wow, where has this year gone? So time flies as your raisin' babies? HAHA. It really has been a whirlwind but everyday is great. Each time I look at Ethan, I see a little boy growing so fast. Its really weird to see him in Mel's arms when he's sleeping or feeding because he is just such a little boy now. The picture above is a pretty weird picture considering he looks identical to my baby picture. ....at least I think so.

So October has some pretty good times lined up:

- Camping(less) trip for us. Meeting up with a ton of buds on their 2 night camp excursion. We obviously can't camp overnight so we're gonna meet up at some point!
- I'm announcing Cavalcade of Champions @ Center Grove High School. I think this is my 7th or 8th year doing the marching band show & its usually pretty fun
- My oldest brother Rob & his family are taking Indiana by storm! Totally can't wait to see them as this is their first time back to Indy with the girls. I haven't seen any of them in a while so this is definitely an exciting time for me. Also, they get to meet Ethan for the first time.

Lots going on this month -- I'm sure I'll be in the thick of November before I can sort everything out....just in time for the holidays.

Here's to nippy weather & great times with family!

Hilarious

I love stupid videos from the internet. YouTube is awesome. All the YouTube wanna-bes are pretty good too. Anyways, I found this video online. Since the NBA teams are readying for training camp soon, I thought it was pertinent. RESPECT

See ya in October!

Well it seems that its been almost a month since the last post -- sorry! Things have been crazy lately & while crazy, its been awesome.
Ethan is growing so much & changing! Just so ya know, I added some more pix to the site last night. Mel's wanting us to put them on Snapfish or Shutterbug or some other site. I wouldnt mind it either, but I dont know which site to use.

Any thoughts from anyone?? Who uses what site? How do you like it?

Just curious

Tiger Video of the Day

So I'm a huge fan of Tiger Woods & while everyone knows he's the worlds best golfer, I especially like the commercials he's in. They do a great job of showcasing his awesome-ness. For example:



By the way, its real too. If you're good, I'll post the behind the scenes footage of the commercial.

HOLLA!

Come see my new pix!!!!

Hey everyone - its me, Ethan!

Mom & Dad are sleepin' right now because they've been really busy taking care of me. I thought I would take this time to let everyone know that Dad posted some new pix to my picture page. These are the pictures we took when I was 1 month old & 3 months old....wow, how I've changed!

So go ahead, quick! Click the link over to the left of Mom & Dad's Blog to head over to see my pictures! If you guys can't see them then email Dad so he can give you the password to see the albums.

Hope you guys like them & maybe I'll see you soon!

Talk to ya later!

Ethan

August comes to a close...

August all in all was a pretty good month! Lots happened in August & it seems worth reviewing, shall we?

Ethan turned 3 months officially -- we're debating on how we are gonna start counting. As of August 30th, he's 3 months because he was born on May 30th. However, if you talk weeks (& if you have a wife/baby combo, pretty much every time-oriented component is broken down in weeks) then he is 13 weeks old, a little older than 3 months. eh, who knows but I like months better.

Ethan had his first visit to the Indianapolis Zoo! What a fun trip. He enjoyed looking at everything from the visiting Koalas, to elephants to monkeys to sharks to polar bears! The monkeys were particularly fun because they had 2 newborn monkeys that were being transported around the exhibit by holding on to the underside of the mama monkeys belly....hanging upside down!
It was great seeing this aspect of the monkeys & they had quite the crowd checkin' them out. Rightfully so, because you don't see that every day!

I turned 29 this month....really crazy because I'm no mathematician, but thats like only 1 away from 30. Really weird to think about. But its not all that bad. HAHA I know there are a few people who read this that didn't know I was almost 30 & they're gonna think, "Man I FEEL OLD!!!" yeah, sorry to all those who fall in this category.

Most recently (as in yesterday) we took Ethan to Riley Children's Hospital because he's having some issues going #2. If you remember in a previous post, his crazy screaming was an issue & we uncovered that it is related to this problem. All in all they said there wasn't much to worry about yet, but we definitely need to keep an eye on things. We're going to talk to the pediatrician this coming week to get some more info & hopefully some resolution on how to treat li'l man. Stay tuned for more on that.

Whew, what a month! Its pretty interesting to look back at the things that we experienced throughout the past month, but who knows what goodies September is gonna bring!

To be continued.....

Tears

So Ethan pretty much found out that he has the ability to make noise with his mouth. He does all the cute stuff, like Cooing, & jarbled noises. But this kid can WAIL if he's not happy.

Its fairly comical, because he'll be laying on one of us dead asleep. Then, out of nowhere, he'll just freak out. I'm talking long, deep, cries. Its kinda awww, sad but at the same time its funny. I can't help it but giggle when it happens because its one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

So this leads to the question, why does he freak out like this? We kinda think he might be dreaming baby dreams. Or when he wakes up he doesn't really know where he's at, so that might scare him.

In all honesty, I don't know why he does it. But I do know that these are the first few of MANY, MANY cries in the future. And I can't wait.

Love you buddy, no more tears.

Olympics Part 2

So as Phelps gets ready to earn his 6th gold medal of these games, I am ready to see if the women's gymnasts can take the gold in their competition. The team couldn't do it, but I think these individuals can.
We're sending our two best girls out there & I'm pretty sure they're stable enough to get the job done. They were really the only two to come to play during the team competition.

I can only imagine how Alicia Sacramone felt when she fell off the vault -- what you saw there was absolute let-down. You could see in her face she was so upset with herself. I wonder what that must feel like. I'm not really sure that anyone can explain to me in real terms what it feels like to fail in your last Olympics, almost quit the sport, change your mind, train for 4 years to get back to prove yourself & the world that you're the best at what you do. Only to fall of a 4 inch beam before you really even get started. I can't even begin to fathom.

On a lighter note, since they're in China -- I don't know if you've ever seen the following panda video:



One of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Olympics Part 1

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the Olympics.....usually. The only time I was a real fan was when MJ & The Dream Team ruled the world back in the 90's. Usually gymnastics is the only thing I'd watch other than basketball.
There has been quite the build-up to these games & I've not been disappointed.

I recently discovered that I am a huge Michael Phelps fan. I've known this guy is amazing since his days of battling Ian Thorpe back in the day, but seeing this guy do what he does is nothing less than amazing. Not only is he winning gold medals, he's doing it at a blistering pace. Mel & Ethan were asleep the other night during the 4x100 relay & I was screaming under my breath for those guys to beat the French. Do yourself a favor & watch this guy swim.

Stay tuned for more Olympics
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gotta love Verizon Wireless

AUGUST

My oh my....its already August.  I think it could almost go without saying that the summer is FLYING by.  Obviously we've had a lot going on, but seriously, where'd all the time go?

Anyways, August is my birthday month.  I turn the big 29 this month & that, to me, is just plain creepy.  I'm close to 30.  I still feel like a kid & definitely don't feel like I'm almost in my 30s.  I can't imagine how my brothers feel -- Randy going on 33 & Rob going on 37?  Something like that. 

Oh well, I'm not the oldest person in the world, I know some of you who read this are older than me & are thinking, "Geez Logan, thanks for making me feel old!"

Just a thought.....

By the way, be sure to check out Cheever's blog, I added a link to his page over in my Links section.  If you know him & remember way back in the day, he had a blog that he updated one time & it was the best blog ever.  Well, now he's diving back in the game with a new one & it seems to be decent.   (just kiddin, its great!)  Go check it out.

While you're checking it out, be sure to stop by the other links over there -- you'll find some of the most talented people you ever see!  Pat is an incredible artist/designer & Maya takes some great photographs.  Their pages will blow you away.

Cheever is great with a camera too.  He's a pretty good mix of Pat & Maya as he's got great photography skills & is really good with design.

Welp thats all for today --

To Be Continued... 

2 months

Its hard to believe that our li'l guy is 2 months old!  While we've gone through quite the trials & tribulations with the reflux & the famed billi blanket, he has been an AWESOME baby.  Considering what he is probably feeling, he's such a trooper.  We are excited to see what fun times are ahead as we close out the summer & get into fall.  He is growing so much & now he is much more alert.  From time to time, we even catch him smiling!  I never realized how special it would be to see him smile, but it gives me goosebumps for sure.

Ethan had his 2 month check up yesterday & he's growing like a weed!  They said he is just SLIGHTLY bigger than he should be at this age, but not anything to worry about.  Here's his stats:

Weight:  11 lbs 14 oz

Length: 23.5 inches 

Head: 16 inches

We had a few questions for the doc regarding things we've noticed or were curious about, & got all the answers we were looking for.  This visit was also his first for vaccinations!  Mel was a little nervous but he did great!  He had one that he had to drink & one shot in the leg.  We thought he was gonna freak out, but he cried for just a minute & then was good to go.  They slapped a Taz band-aid on there & he was good to go.

We find ourselves looking at him in awe now.  How much he's changed from just 2 months ago is crazy -- we fall in love with him a little more each day & he truly is the most amazing thing in our life.

We love you, buddy!

Pic Site is UPDATED!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that the picture site is updated as of today!  Please click the link to the left  & check out the newly added gallery -- there are some good ones in there!

Hope all is well!

First Mobile Blog!

Greetings from Verizon Wireless Music Center! I was reading on blogger that it possible to blog on your phone so I thought this would be a good time to test it.

I'm working the DMB show tonight on behalf of VZW & right now I'm waiting for things to get started. I hear that Tim Reynolds is here which, if true, is AWESOME!

Oh well, let me know what you think of the mobile blog, if this works......the possibilities are endless!

To Be Continued.....
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Movie Recommendation: The Dark Knight

I know its been a while since I posted a movie review, so what better time than now to do that?  The reason the timing is perfect is because I just saw The Dark Knight last week.  I'm probably the biggest Batman freak you'll ever meet, so to say that I was excited about seeing this movie is pretty much the understatement of the year.

I should probably begin with the preface that if the only Batman you know is the old school TV show, or the Tim Burton & Joel Schumacher movies (Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever & Batman & Robin) then you don't REALLY know Batman.

I'll admit, when the first movies came out beginning in 1989, I was stoked.  I, like probably everyone else, thought Michael Keaton was a horrible for selection to play Bruce Wayne/Batman.  I thought of Mr. Mom & said, "Are you serious?"  But to my surprise, he did a stand up job.  As a matter of fact, he was my favorite Batman up until Christian Bale took over the role in Batman Begins.  Of the first series of movies, Batman Returns is probably my favorite, but the first one was pretty good too.

But then, in 2005, Batman Begins came along & kicked all of the other movies' in the tail.  Christian Bale was outstanding as Bruce Wayne & this movie was stellar mainly because it explained how Batman came to be.  It showed his rise from youth to Caped Crusader & the trials & tribulations that went along with it.  So when I saw it, I thought -- "This can't get any better."  I thought that for about 3 yrs.  Until last Thursday night at 12:01 am..... it got better, way better.

The Dark Knight as everyone knows has Bale at Batman but introduces the INCREDIBLE Heath Ledger as Joker.  Also, Aaron Eckhart stars as Harvey Dent/Two Face.  

For sake of those who have yet to see the movie, I won't go into specific scenes, story lines, or the like, but just my opinion of the movie overall & individual performances.

Bale, again was excellent.  This was a much darker movie & his role reflected that.  In the movie he struggles with being Batman & Bruce Wayne, & the balance that it takes to carry on as the 2 entities.  As in Begins, his "love interest" Rachel Dawes (this time played by an okay Maggie Gyllenhaal - & an okay M.G. is way better than Katie Holmes at her best.)  is in the forefront of Bruce Wayne's mind that those feelings flow over into Batman's thoughts.  

Christian Bale IS Bruce Wayne/Batman.  I can't think of anyone who could play the part better.  Of course, I said that in 1989 too, about Keaton.

Next up, & receiving the most pub is the late Heath Ledger as Joker.  Ledger has been one of my favorite actors in the past as I think A Knight's Tale is underrated & Brokeback Mountain was a really good movie even if you aren't comfortable with the story.

Ledger as Joker just shot him up close to the top my favorite actors list.  His portrayal as Joker makes Jack Nicholson's Joker look like a clown at a 5 year olds birthday party.  Ledger was so much darker, deeper, & straight up creepier.  It was weird because the character was in love with anarchy & had no rules.  He just did what he wanted & had no remorse about it.  But somehow, I LIKED him.  Maybe I have issues. HAHA.  I couldn't get enough of Ledger.  He was in the movie a lot & every scene he was in, I wanted to watch him:  to see what he was going to do next, what he was going to say next, what he was up to next.  

There has been a lot of press about him being nominated for an Oscar for this role.  I say forget a nomination, GIVE him the posthumous Oscar NOW.

Aaron Eckhart is an actor I'm not entirely familiar with.  I have not seen many of his movies, but after seeing The Dark Knight -- I'm going to seek them out.  He plays a brilliant Harvey Dent & when he is turned into Two Face, he does a great job with that too.   I would say my only concern is that he did Dent TOO well.  In the sense that when he became Two Face he wasn't evil enough.  I suppose it could also be because I was used to seeing Joker as conniving as he was.

So as I finish this post, I've come across word that The Dark Knight has this weekend, become the fastest movie to reach the $300 million mark.  It only took 10 days to hit $314 million & the previous holder of this title,  Pirates of the Caribbean 3, hit $300 mil in 16 days.

This is amazing to me & to put it in perspective check these fun facts out:

• Shrek 2 hit $400 mil in 43 days.  (TDK is on pace to hit that in less than 20 days)
  
• Star Wars is the second highest grossing movie of all time ($460 mil)
  
• Titanic holds the record for highest grossing movie of all time with a whopping $600 million dollars

If this post isn't enough to persuade you to see this movie then I don't know what will.

Do yourself a favor & see The Dark Knight IMMEDIATELY!

To Be Continued...

"I want a beaver tail"

Mel & I aren't carnies, but we enjoy us some County/State Fair action.  There's not much like going to a fair & taking it all in....the food, the sounds, the smells......AHHHH its summer which means its FAIR TIME!  

So this past Friday, Mel & I decided to venture out with the li'l dude & hit up the Johnson County Fair.  We figured it would be a pretty good way to get outta the house & get a little walking in too since neither of us get as much exercise as we'd like.  All we gotta do is put on some comfy shoes & wheel Ethan in the stroller & take in the sights & sounds of the good ol' fair.....

So we get to the fairgrounds & find a parking spot.  Mel figures that it would probably be best if she tries to feed him before we leave the car to make sure he's full & he'd be more likely to pass out - thus making the day easy.  About 20 minutes later, we get him in the stroller & head over to do our thing.  About 3 minutes into the walk, Ethan FREAKS in the stroller.  He just starts screaming, turning red, & tensing up.  (This had been a fairly common occurrence that day & we're not sure why)  Mel figures he didn't eat all that much in the car so its possible that he's still hungry.  We went back to the car cuz it was right there & she fed him some more.  After he got good & full the 2nd time around, we headed out again.

This time we got all the way over to the stand that had the corn dog she wanted, the polish sausage I wanted & a couple drinks.....then he started up again.  I felt his hand & he was sweating big time.  This time Mel pulled him out & held him.  Wouldn't you know it, he was all chill & relaxed while she was holding him.  We motored through our food & figured this wasn't the best idea so on our way out, we grabbed the other staple of the Johnson County Fair - the beaver tail, mmmm.

We got back to the car, chowed on a li'l beaver tail & then headed home.

So, Ethan -- this was your first County Fair experience & here's what Mom & Dad came away with:

1.  when its 90 degrees out, don't hit up the fair with a 7 wk old.

2. think it through (what your "musts" are -- cuz you'll only get to do one)

3. hold out for the State Fair in a few weeks.

4. really make sure you wanna go to the fair.  We were there for MAYBE 15-20 minutes & spent $30 bucks....OUCH

The Indiana State Fair is a few weeks away so we might just give it another whirl, its a better fair anyways.  Plus, there's a few more indoor places to hit with AC if we need to get outta the heat.

Hopefully everyone has learned there lesson here.  HAHA

To be continued...

Congrats

Its great news that my best friend Graham is engaged!  He broke the news a while back but he & his fiance Julie came down with his roommate Cobb & another friend of ours Courtney for a cookout....he let us know that the plans for the wedding are going great!

G & I go way back.  We first met in Studebaker West Hall our freshman year & began as neighbors but it didn't take long to become friends.  The first week my roommate, Ryan, & I were going to go to the gym to shoot some hoops & we decided to ask the guy next door to see if he wanted to go.  G was decked out in a "wife-beater", sprawled out on his bed, munchin' on some popcorn, watching TV.... "sure, I'll go!" he said.

From that moment on, G & I were inseparable.  The next 4 yrs were spent as roommates & where ever G went, I went....& vice versa.  We hit up the party scenes together pre-fraternity, we rushed together, & we joined the same fraternity.  We lived in the dorms as roommates 1 year, then got an apartment together with Drew, then moved in with Cobb & Jake in THE BEST house on Calvert & Jackson.

After graduation, we each moved back home with our parents & after I found a job near where he grew up, I got my first apartment & it was less than 2 minutes from where he lived.  He was over all the time, which was perfect because I didn't really know anyone in the area, but it was close to work.

Then we joined forces again in an apartment with Jake, then we went on our own in an apartment for another year....then I got engaged to Mel so G moved in with Cobb & Jake after our lease was up.

You could say that G & I have probably been the most distant over the course of the last few years just because Mel & I moved to the south side after we got married & G & the guys stayed on the north side.  We still stay in touch & try to get together as often as possible but with schedules as crazy as they are -- I don't get to hang with G nearly as much as I'd like.

I was taken aback when G asked me to be his best man.  He was my best man, but given that we don't get to see each other that much, I would've been honored to just be in attendance at his wedding, let alone play this big role.  It really means a lot to me that he wants me to be his best man & I am extremely happy that he asked.

So, to wrap up..... Graham & Julie, congrats on the engagement.  This next year of planning will fly by & before you know it, it'll be the big day.  We are excited to see you two venture into the best part of your life....life together as a married couple.

Sleep much?

We knew going in that we wouldn't be getting much sleep.  We knew that we'd be up at random hours of the night to feed li'l buddy.  We even knew that we were supposed to sleep when he sleeps (contrary to popular belief that you get stuff done when he sleeps)

What we didn't count on was the reflux.  Reflux is exactly what you think it is -- acid reflux:  that burning-in-your-throat feeling when the acid from your stomach makes its way up your esophagus.

Ethan actually does really well considering thats the issue -- I mean, if you've ever had it, you know that its horrible.  He mostly grunts through it but sometimes its bad enough that he wakes himself up & kinda cries a bit.

This is where we lose sleep.  He grunts CONSTANTLY & hes even choked a few times which scares the living bejeebies out of us.... so naturally, when it occurs we gotta make sure he's okay.  

He sleeps really well on our chest & Mel swears that I give off a "vibe" that knocks him out HAHA.  So on the nights prior to closing shifts the next day, its not unusual for me to stay up until 4am-5am so I make sure he can sleep & it helps to give Mel some rest too since she deals with it throughout the day.  I stay awake so as to make sure he doesn't roll or slide off of me.  If you could see some of the pillow fortresses that Mel makes in our bed, you'd be impressed.

Anyways, we'd be interested to know if anyone has ever dealt with this before & if you know much about it.  Mainly, how long are we gonna hafta worry about this?  Its extremely frustrating & exhausting.  We look forward to any thoughts/suggestions anyone might have.

Hope everyone is well!  Oh yeah, here's a funny face we caught from the li'l guy!

10 lbs?

So li'l guy had an appointment today -- they weighed him & he's tipping the scale at 10 lbs even!  As you all may or may not know, he was 4 weeks early at 7 lbs, 7 oz....so if he would've went full term, he would be about 10-11 days old now.  Granted, we've been feeding him like crazy, but its safe to say that he could've been a 10 pounder at birth!

They said that he is healthy overall & doing well.  Whew, 10 lbs, how about that?!

To be continued....

Online Photo Galleries

We recently created an online gallery so our friends & family can visit the page & check us out!  Keep in mind, when you hit that page -- its not messed up, it is SUPPOSED to ask you for user name & password.  We feel that there's no reason for any ol' schmo to randomly come across that site & have access to our photos.  We wanna keep stuff private, while still allowing our friends & family to keep up with us....mainly Ethan.

If you don't have the credentials to access the site, just get at me with an email & I can give you the information you need -- given you submit the required dissertation on why you should gain access to the photos, pass the background check, drug test, retinal scan & your fingerprints come back approved by a federal agency.  HAHA

So hit up the Online Photo Gallery link over in the links section of the blog & let us know what you think!!!

To Be Continued....

1 month

Of course things have been hectic lately.  Its hard to believe that Ethan is over 1 month old & that he has already changed so much in the short time we've known him.  Everyday brings new challenges & funny moments.  We still can't believe how perfect he is & the thought of us being parents still hasn't sunken in completely but knowing we are responsible for this li'l guy's life is an amazing feeling.

We have already had his pictures taken a few times!  Our good friends Maya & Pat are starting their own photography business & we were excited to have them take his newborn pics.  As always, you can get over to her blog via the link on the side of our blog.  We'll add a link to her photography webpage when it goes live as well.

Ethan's 1 month pictures were taken at Portrait Innovations, a retail location they've recently added to our mall.  We went there the other day just on a whim & decided to get some photos done....& let me tell you, we were very impressed!

Our sets of photos are amazing & we couldn't ask for better pictures.  As soon as we are able, we'll try to add them to our online gallery.

Well the li'l guy is stirring from a nap, so I better go help out!

Until next time....

We HATE this machine.....

So things are well at the Logan Compound....ESPECIALLY since this machine has run its course.  Existing parents, I don't know if you've had the "pleasure" (& I mean that in the most sarcastic way possible) of using this machine, but we used it for 10 days.  That's about 10 days longer than I recommend.  Average usage time is 2-3 days.  Parents-to-be, beware of this thing.... think long & hard about using it because your other option is to stay in the hospital another day or two.  

This contraption is called a "Billi Blanket".  It is what they have created to help jaundice babies get all of the "bilirubin"  out of their system.  From my best translation of what the docs & nurses say, jaundice is the liver's inability to process dead blood cells out of a baby's system.  This leads to a slight discoloration in the baby's skin -- giving a yellow tint.  If the liver doesn't process it out properly it can re-absorb into the baby's system....I'm not sure how bad that is, but probably not good.  But I digress....

The little paddle looking thing you see at the end of the hose is to be placed UNDER baby's clothes & in contact with the skin.  The tube then leads out to the box machine which houses a fluorescent light that is shone through a blue lens.  The light helps break up the bilirubin, thus making it easier for the liver to do its thing.  This gives off a nice little "glow worm" effect that you see here:  

While this is pretty cool LOOKING, it is probably one of the most inconvenient devices we've ever had to use.  It pretty much ensured that we couldn't walk freely with Ethan around the house because we needed to have it on him as much as possible.  As in, 24 hrs a day.  So we had to pick our place & plug it in & sit.  

The test to see the bilirubin level is a blood test that they draw from the heel.  We had to get this test 8 times out of the 10 days of wearing it..... so needless to say, his heels are pretty nicked up!

Granted, with all that said, the device DOES do what its supposed to do.  It got his levels down & frankly, anything that helps our child be healthy is a great thing.  Its what they recommended & while it was tough to use, it did a fantastic job of getting Li'l Man healthy.

The call from the doctor today that informed us of his levels being where they want them to be was the best news we've gotten since he was born.  This news included the instructions to call the company who provided it to us & have them pick it up.

Adios "Billi Blanket" -- good riddance!

Ethan's Arrival

Boy, I've really dropped the ball on this blog -- for that I apologize!  Well, lots has been happening since my last post.  I'll cut to the chase & fill you in on the biggest news of all....

Ethan David Logan was born on 5/30/08 at 3:47 pm.  Yes, his due date was actually 6/26/08 so he came a month early!

It was a rather surprising occurrence, but we knew she had been dilated 1 cm for about a week.  Her water slowly broke at about 2:45 am on Friday, May 30th.  We took off for the hospital after speaking with the doctor on call & she said, given the info Mel gave her, that we should go.  After Mel got her shower & packed her bag, we headed to Community South.  The contractions were fairly far apart, about 7 minutes.

We were checked in & by the time the paperwork was finished, her initial check was complete, she was still at 1 cm.  Her contractions still weren't bad, but they were increasing in strength.

Before we knew it, she was dilated to 4 cm.  As the contractions grew the nurse checked her an hour later & saw she was dilated to 8 cm!  At this time, the contractions were strong enough & we called for the epidural - it was only 7:30 am.  The block was administered without a hitch & it took effect slowly.

The nurse told us there would be a pretty good break while the block set itself.  This was good because her parents & sister had just arrived & with all the commotion, we needed a quick nap.

Shortly after our nap, they checked her again & she had dilated fully to 10+ cm & 100% effaced. Her family left the room & we knew things were about to get good.  The time?  12:30.

Our nurse readied the room for pushing & called the doctor.  She told us that the doctor was about 20 minutes away & instructed the 3 of us to begin pushing.  While I was surprised by this news, I thought, "Here we go!  Our time to shine!"

We began pushing & after a few good pushes, the doctor arrived at 1 pm & told us we were doing great job but to give Mel a break.  (I thought that was weird, considering how quick everything happened to this point.)  We broke for about 30 minutes before we started back up.

At 1:30 pm, we hit the main stretch -- & boy what a stretch it was.  From 1:30 pm to 3:47 pm was hard, frustrating work but the end result was so incredibly worth it.

At that time, we welcomed our first son into the world.  We were so excited.... an incredible miracle that God delivered us a healthy baby boy.

While they were cleaning up & taking care of Ethan -- I headed to the waiting room.  We knew there were people out there who were concerned because the first half of the day went by so quick, but the second half seemed to stand still forever.  As I opened the door, I saw that 15 people were waiting patiently.  Controlling my excitement, I filled them in, "He's HERE!"

The excitement was unbelievable.  Everyone erupted with joy & gathered around to see the few pictures I had taken.  Handshakes & hugs, congrats & questions, the entire gamut was covered.  After the all clear was given, family fled to Mel's room to congratulate her & to the viewing area to see Ethan getting his bath/tests done.

The experience was exhausting but exciting.  We couldn't have wished for a better staff or better situation.  Everyone was so great & informative.  They never made us feel stupid & always welcomed our questions.  They stayed patient with us with the swarms of visitors we had Friday night & all day Saturday.  Sunday was a relaxing day for us & after they finished the tests, we were discharged late Sunday night.

Welcome home, Ethan.  We love you.

The Pup

Every single day of our lives, we wonder what goes through Nala's mind (see picture above -- we had nothing to do with that except capture it on film.) But more specifically, we have always wondered whats going through Nala's mind in regards to adding a member to our family. While we won't know until he arrives, we can only guess that they're going to be best buds.

Recently she has been acting weird so we're sure she is aware of Ethan's upcoming arrival. She is pretty conscious around Mel & her belly. Used to be, she would just jump all over us with no thought about it, but now she seems to know thats a sensitive area. However, now she is starting to "mark her territory" in the living room. Its pretty frustrating because she's been so good in the house & just now, she's starting to try to get our attention in this unfavorable way. We try to really spend a lot of time with her when were home & make her still feel like the princess she is. The issue is when were NOT at home. Since we've been at the house, she's been able to roam free throughout the house & we've never had an issue. So its pretty obvious that she is trying to get our attention & let me tell you --- she has. Our biggest concern is we're about to get new carpet & that can either be awesome because it will take her scent out of the area so she wont know to go there again OR it will be a nice new area to ruin! Frustration sets in & we're kinda at a loss.
Nevertheless we love her more & more everyday & she has prepared us for kids in her own way. We know that she's going to make a great "big sister" & we are excited for her to get to know Ethan when he arrives.

Adios, muchachos!

On the way to Daddy-ville

Being the end of February, time is really beginning to fly. We have been looking for ideas for Ethan's room, we have been thinking of how to change our old "office" into the new guest room, & we don't have much time to do all this....let alone all the other stuff that goes into this parenting thing!

Every time we're out, we check out clothes, toys & cribs/strollers. Its overwhelming, but extremely exciting! We are planning to go do our baby registries this weekend. I remember doing the wedding registry & its kinda like going on a big shopping spree -- except you don't actually shop. Anyways, going through all this really puts things into perspective. Soon the two of us are going to be the three of us & while thats pretty cool, its kinda scary to go from a newly married couple to a family.

Mel is showing pretty darn good now & sometimes feels great, sometimes doesn't. I think being a teacher really opens her up to the possibility of illness & during this time of the year its hard to stay well but we both do what we can. We're looking forward to spring so that it can warm up & we can get on with the fun times!

Happy Leap Year everyone!

Hello!

So its been about a month & a half since I last wrote -- & boy has a lot happened since then! First & foremost, congrats to the New York Giants for re-writing history with their Super Bowl win. Second, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone -- especially the ladies...... :o)

But, most importantly -- we have proof of what sex our child will be! Mel is in her 21st week & from the pix below, you can see that we're having a li'l boy! We pretty much had a gut feeling all along that we were going to have a boy but the ultrasound proved us right!

I'm sure he's going to be thrilled that this picture is online

We were so excited to find out the news that we both took the day off so we could spend it together. We went to lunch with her sister & dinner with her family & my dad. We went around to shop for li'l guy wear & made calls to as many people as possible. Overall just a great day. We are now trying to figure out what we're going to do with the nursery room. Mel has found a few things she likes & while we both like a lot of different things, we have yet to settle on one idea.

This is the unofficial beginning of fatherhood for me. While she is in her 21st week, knowing that we're having a boy seems to have a solidity to it for us. Now we can concentrate on parenthood & that road traveled begins now.

Here we go!

"The way of the future." - The Aviator

Happy 2008!

Greetings!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! It's difficult to survive the holiday season's anymore what with all the business that ensues during this time of year. We made it through December -- whew, it seems like just yesterday that we were hanging out on Thanksgiving & talking about the Black Friday Specials. My how time flies when you're having fun.

Does everyone have their resolutions in order? Mine is the standard lose weight/get in shape. I know, I say that every year & I'm heavier now than I've ever been, but I need to get it figured out!

This is gonna be the biggest year of our lives with the little one on its way. Once we find out if its a he or a she, we'll be able to get started on some baby projects around the house. Until then, I want to start trying to get MY act together. Its about time I get organized, don't you think?

Oh well, as we talk to everyone we look forward to getting details on how New Years was for everybody & see what 2008 entails.

Good luck to everyone in '08!

"Just wait til next year!" - Bad News Bears