swimming

With fall right around the corner it reminded me of how much Logan enjoyed swimming in the pool this summer. Here's a video of Logan & Caroline swimming back in Brentwood in early August. He loves kicking . . .

eat through the pain

Aside from his pasty, porcelain-like skin, Logan seems to be pure Beck-Seppi. Now the Brewsters can eat but we have nothing on the Beck's unnatural ability to eat copious amounts of food. I have actually been at a meal with Matt's family where I was advised to "eat through the pain" and I believe that Logan has inherited this mentality. He eats SO much food! There has been quite a bit of discussion as to if he self-regulates or just keeps going once he's full. I believe that he often is following in the footsteps of his paternal relatives and is "eating through the pain."

Last week after Logan had eaten lunch I left a Cheerios box a little too close to him when I went upstairs. I came down to find the following . . .

*Ignore the Skype conversation in the background. Everyone is really excited about Logan's newest cousin, Ramsey. :)

**Yes, he is rocking the blue jean huggies thanks to his always stylish Gigi who purchased them for him.

Sweet Summertime

Before the broken collar and surgery we were actually having a great summer. Logan visited Gigi & Big Daddy at the lake where he met his great-grandparents on my side of the family and went on his first boat ride. Much to everyone's disappointment he wasn't a fan of the boat ride but he also ended up with an ear infection on the day we went home so I can't blame him for not liking the boat.

On the dock with Gigi

Big Daddy & Logan all ready for the day

Hanging with his great-grandfather (and of course, Hurley)

In June Logan & I went down to St. George Island, FL with my Dad's side of the family My Nana & Paw-paw rented a house on the beach where we were able to spend lots of time with aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. With so many people around to hold and entertain him I'm pretty sure it was the best week of Logan's life. He rarely cried and loved having so many friendly faces around looking out for him. He also loved all of the ice pops and ice cream. :)

For me the week was more relaxing than I would have ever predicted. Thanks to all of my family I somehow managed to spend hours on the beach, go to dinner and oyster happy hours all baby-free. Who knew how great that could be!?!?! I enjoyed spending time with family and it was nice to have so many people looking out for and loving on Logan. It made our trip home getting stuck overnight in Memphis because of a canceled flight (diaper-less and formula-less) well worth it.

While Logan and I have been having lots of fun this summer Matt, unfortunately, has been working. He started second year on July 1st and is on ortho trauma at the county hospital. He's enjoying what he's doing but works LONG hours. We've missed having him around and can't wait to get more time with him when he starts his next rotation in 7 weeks. It feels a long way off. :(

He was made for the beach (as long as he's under the umbrella or wearing SPF 90).

Thanks to my Uncle David for so many great beach pictures!

Relaxing in his sand chair.

Just missing his Daddy (who never would have survived the Florida heat in June).

Such a great week!

Update!

My last post was entitled “Worst Day Ever” and although the broken collar bone incident was pretty sad, I feel certain that I stand corrected – since then, we’ve had a few days that might take over the “Worst Day Ever” title.

I’m sure most everyone knows, I had unexpected heart surgery on Friday, July 1^st. I was debating about posting anything on here since I’ve really been using the blog as more of a tool to keep up with Logan. I was also a little hesitant to post anything on the internet for everyone and anyone to read. After talking with a friend, however, I was reminded of how many people prayed for me and our family and would be interested in hearing how we were doing. So . . .

First and foremost, a huge and enormous thank you to all of you who prayed, called, texted, emailed, sent flowers, dropped off food and visited. I know I didn’t get back to everyone but I have loved reading and listening to all of your messages and sweet notes over the past few weeks. It made the entire situation so much easier not only on me but on Matt and my parents as well. We are all so appreciative of the overwhelming love and support we received from friends and family all over the country. I’m starting to tear up thinking about how many wonderful people contacted us. J

I’ve been back home for 3 weeks now and am feeling much better than that first week post-op. I’ve been walking once in the morning and again in the evening averaging about 2 miles a day. My energy is slowly coming back and some days I’m ready to go – like on Sunday when I went to Trader Joe’s AND out to dinner (big day). Other days I’m perfectly content sitting on the couch for an entire day. Fortunately those days are becoming more spread out and I’m slowly starting to do more.

Logan’s collar bone is all healed up and he is back to sleeping through the night. I’m still not able to lift him yet but fortunately both my Mom and Matt’s mom have been in town to help care for Logan. My Mom came up a couple of days before my surgery and stayed for three weeks and then Matt’s Mom came into town and will be here for a week. I can’t even put into words how wonderful they have been. It’s exhausting to go back to being a full-time caretaker for a baby when you haven’t done it in 20 years but they have done an amazing job. And not just with Logan – they are cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and taking care of me and Matt as well. We would have been completely lost without the two of them.

Since being home I have had the hardest time comprehending how merciful God has been to me and our family. Considering the situation, things could not have gone better. It seems as though the Lord had his hand in everything and I am still amazed at how well things went. From my own past experiences as well as watching the role prayer has played in the lives of friends and family, I believe that intercessory prayer is such a powerful tool. I feel so blessed to have had so many wonderful friends, family and churches seeking and pleading with God on my behalf through everything. It was both comforting and humbling to know that there were so many people, even some I have never met, offering prayers. I truly believe God was listening and am so appreciative to all of you who prayed. I cannot thank you enough for those intercessory prayers.

Before surgery, a (older and much wiser) friend gave us a little advice. She said, “Turn this over to the Lord and He will weave it into something wonderful for you and your family.” Some days it’s more difficult than others but for the most part we’re trying to follow her words of wisdom. As God continues to bring everything together, we are continually praising him for his mercy and love. Another friend (not so much older, but still wiser) referred me to Psalm 116 and as I continue to thank God for all of his blessings, this Psalm has quickly become one of my favorite prayers.

Psalm 116

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;

he heard my cry for mercy.

Because he turned his ear to me,

I will call on him as long as I live

. . . The LORD is gracious and righteous;

our God is full of compassion.

The LORD protects the unwary;

when I was brought low, he saved me

Return to your rest, my soul,

for the LORD has been good to you.

. . . What shall I return to the LORD

for all his goodness to me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the LORD.

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD

in the presence of all his people . . .

Feeding Logan on my second day home.

"So Big" with Grammy

Feeling better and hanging out. :)

worst day ever

Worst event in Logan's short life (and it might come pretty close to being the worst event in mine) - I was holding Logan and turned to look at something on the table. As I turned, he reached the other direction for a door knob and tumbled right out of my arms. I fumbled him the entire way down but he landed hard on his right shoulder breaking his collar bone. After he fell we both sat on the couch and cried for about 10 minutes (not too long for a broken bone) but then he was ready to go as long as he didn't use his right arm. As the afternoon progressed he started using it a little bit more and was even leaning forward and rocking in the crawling stance on all fours. He was fussier than normal but seemed to be getting better so I waited to call his pediatrician. Matt didn't make it home from work until after Logan went to sleep so he didn't have a chance to look at him. After the little guy had a rough night I took him in the next morning and an x-ray showed the break. It's so heartbreaking to see him hurting and even more painful to know I was part of it. Each time he moves the wrong way and gets that look like he's hurting I feel a little twinge of guilt in my stomach. I've had so many parents share stories about dropping their kids so I do know that these types of accidents happen but most of those stories don't end with a broken bone. Worst day(s) ever for our new family.

The pediatrician put him in a make-shift sling for a week and said he should be all healed up in 3 weeks. Logan is doing pretty well. The night after the doctor's visit we put him in his car seat to sleep for the night and he went the full 10 hours without waking up. The frustrating part for him is that he just started really rolling over and leaning forward on all fours and even army crawling/shimmying a little bit to reach things. Having only one arm has put a damper on all of those activities. Now he stays in the sitting position and a little nudge from Hurley sends him toppling (which obviously doesn't feel good on a broken collar bone) so we try to keep him from sitting up unless we're right there with him. He gets frustrated when he's by himself laying on the floor but if Matt or I play with him he's pretty content (at least for a few minutes). In an effort to make him (really myself) feel better I bought him a bunch of stacking toys/cups that he loved playing with at a friend's house. Caroline, however, pointed out to me that it might not have been the nicest thing to give him a new toy with so many pieces when he only has one arm . . . I think he still likes it though. :)

We've been praying that the next few weeks aren't too painful for Logan and that he heals quickly. Pictures of our resilient, one-arm son are below.

The day before the fall (aka the drop) I came downstairs and found Logan rifling through a recently folded basket of laundry. He had socks, shirts & underwear everywhere and loved it.

Now this is how he plays . . .

6 months & a visit from grammy & grandfather

Always smiling.

Still loves his Hurley.

6 months!

Way behind but . . . Six months old already! Logan is weighing in at 19 lbs 7 ounces and measuring 27 1/2 inches long - both in the 80th percentile so he's slowing down a little bit . . . just a little though. Right before 6 months his two bottom front teeth started poking through. He laughs & smiles all the time and has almost mastered sitting up completely on his own (still just a little wobbly).

Right before his half birthday his Grammy & Grandfather (Matt's parents) drove all the way out from Idaho for a visit. Logan had lots of entertainment during a week of teething which helped me out. He also spent his first night away from Matt & me. Matt & I went to a wedding in West Virginia and Logan got in some extra time (and lots of love) with Grammy & Grandfather. Having Matt's parents in town was like a mini vacation for me - lots of free time and extra help. Logan loved getting to play on the floor with Grammy and laugh at Grandfather's funny faces and noises.

First teeth!

Squinty-eyed family picture.

With Grammy at Trader's Point Creamery

Loves standing with a little bit of help.

Quality time with Grandfather

Almost 6 months . . .

Logan is getting closer to 6 months! By the time I've gotten around to actually posting this, he's only a day away. Quick update . . . He has expanded his food selections past the rice cereal and is now eating green beans & sweet peas. You can see in the pictures below that he wasn't a huge fan of the green beans . . .

He's also sitting up on his own and isn't falling quite as much.

Lastly, Logan has mastered a fake cry. Matt & I can't help but laugh when we hear it. A video is below:

5 months

I'm a little late but . . . Logan is now 5 months! Matt and I still have moments when we're a little shocked that we actually have a son, much less one that has been a part of our lives for 5 months! We are continually amazed by every little new thing he does and are so thankful God blessed us with such a beautiful and wonderful little boy.

In the past month Logan has finally mastered sleeping! For the past 3 or 4 weeks he has been sleeping a solid 11 or 12 hours straight. I'm loving this new life of surplus sleep. I do, however, miss not being awake to tell Matt goodbye when he leaves for work at 5:00 am. (That is not true at all but I felt as though I should be a good wife and say it).

Besides sleeping, Logan is playing with more toys, getting close to sitting up on his own and has mastered several new sounds (his speech therapist grammy will be proud when she sees him in a couple of weeks). He has one toy Caroline gave him that he both loves and hates. As soon as he sees it he puts on this look of extreme focus - all cross-eyed with a triple chin. He'll play with it for a few minutes but then gets frustrated that he can't get it in his mouth. I tried to capture it on the video below when Matt was on call but you'll see it didn't quite work out the way I intended. I think we needed 2 people.

Desired Video Title: Focused Playtime

Actual Video Title: Mom, I Can't Sit Up Yet.

Good news! Logan took his Sunday poop before we left for church this morning. He's already learning cause & effect - such a smart boy!

Easter Weekend

My parents & Caroline came into town to celebrate Easter with us. It was an uneventful but fun weekend. We went over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, walked on the Monon Trail, did some power washing and ate LOTS of (gluten-loaded) food. We missed you Becca!!!

Racing Action!

You'll notice in the pictures that Logan has 2 Easter outfits . . .There is an explanation for why he ended up in a pink bunny outfit . . .

Unfortunately Logan's digestive system works on a 4 day schedule. For 4 days he stores up an absurd amount of poop and on day 4 just lets it all go. It is impossible to contain all of the mess in a single diaper. Logan decided that church on Easter morning would be the most opportune time to complete his 4 day cycle. Without going into too many disgusting details, his sweet brown bunny overalls were ruined. I completely dropped the ball and didn't have a change of clothes with us. Fortunately the ladies in the nursery were able to help us out and someone offered their sweet, pink little bunny outfit - complete with a tail & ears. Matt was rounding and met us at church a little late. He did not appreciate walking into church and finding his son in a pink bunny outfit. At least Logan wasn't naked.

Even though she lets him play with plastic bags, his Aunt Caroline really does love him.

Original Easter outfit

Laughing with Big Daddy & Gigi.

sweet, pink, poop-free bunny

After church family photo

and the little one said . . .

ROLL OVER! Logan rolled over! He was attempting to get a better view of Hurley and rolled over from his tummy to his back (twice!). Matt & I were both home and were able to watch. He did it again (once again to see his Hurley dog) the next morning. However, he won't roll to see me . . . Pictures from the "big" event are below.