Welcome, Autumn Olivia McGuire!!

Please give warm welcomes to Autumn Olivia McGuire (our new neice). She was born around 3am on January 30, 2009 at St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis. She weighed in at 3 pounds, 8 ounces and is 15 inches long. Why so small you ask? The story began with a phone call from Andy's mom telling us that Sarah had the baby. We were very concerned because Autumn came 8 weeks early. Her original due date was April 1st. All we knew was that she was breathing on the own (which was a relief) but that was it. Luckily my mom was available to watch Logan for us so we could go and see how they all were doing. Sarah and Curt are doing great and so is Autumn! She is being fed through an IV and they only got to hold her once. She is hooked up to a couple of monitors but those are the only wires/tubes needed. The nurse was telling us that they are working on her breathing while crying as she tends to stop). Her APGAR scores were 8 both times. She is bruised on her head and her shoulder which has something to do with Magnesium and her liver (I think). Today they had her under the UV light for a little while. Her little nose is crooked because she came out face down but the nurse said it was looking better as time goes by. Overall, Autumn is doing great as well as mom and dad. She will have to stay in the hospital for 2-3 weeks but it looks like mom and dad can check out Sunday.

Autumn and her daddy

Compare her size to her dad's hand

Needless to say, this little girl has had more prayers said for her in her first 24 hours of life than most people have all of their life. She is one loved little girl and we can't wait to snuggle her up and get to know her.

Playing in the snow

After mom got home from work on Tuesday, we all bundled up and went out to play in the snow. Logan was not too sure at first but quickly got the hang of things. Once daddy started shoveling the drive way, playing in the snow was out of the question. He did a pretty good job helping. Logan was not wanting snow time to end. After about a 10-15 minute meltdown in the kitchen while looking out of the window all was back to normal. Much to my surprise, getting out to the car on Wed morning was not a fight. I was expecting a major meltdown but ended up with cooperation. That was a nice surprise at 6:30 in the morning. Hopefully the snow will stick around for a little bit to get a chance to go out a couple more times to play.

On the way to throw snow on Mama

Shaking the snow off of the bushes

Yai and Doggies new friend

We have a new addition to our family. Please let me introduce you to HANK. We were invited to a Build A Bear birthday party where you get your choice of 3 different bears and one clothing item up to $5. Luckily, we found a whole outfit on the sale rack. Logan enjoyed himself and I am sure that Hank will fit right in.

Newest Facial Expression

I am not sure where he picked up this expression although I am beginning to think it was from me (or Andy) when we are having moments. Until he started this, I never really paid attention to my expressions when he was not listening or when he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing. I caught myself tonight. Anyway, it is absolutely hilarious. He even does it at the right times. On occasion he will just do it whenever but the majority of the time it is done appropriately. This one happens to be aimed at daddy because he asked him what kind of soup he was making in his kitchen.

22 months!!

Wow, I can't believe that we are two months away from another birthday. Where is my baby going? All of those sayings, "Enjoy it, they grow fast!", "I miss baby those days!" are so true. Unfortunately most of us have to find out the hard way just how true they are. Words are still coming a little slower than most everything else. "Up" is a relatively new one along with "there" but the newest one is "Bob". Everytime he sees a firetruck or a piece of farm equipment he says Bob in the funniest voice. We have told him that Uncle Bob drives firetrucks but I don't know where the farm stuff relation came from. Oh well, it is still too cute. Pretend play has taken on a new level. He also loves to build things. MegaBloks are fun to build very high and then knock over. It is entertainment for atleast 20 minutes.
On the gross motor path, Logan is still running, jumping across rooms, climbing, and loves to make himself fall down. Our newest skill is hopping or balancing on one leg. It may not last long and my not be very graceful but he can do it. He is also continuing to improve on steps. He can go up and down independently if there is something to hold on to. If you hold his hand he will do step after step in a reciprocal pattern versus just one step at a time. There other night he tried to jump down steps at a friend's house and just about gave his momma a heart attack. I think I will have a daredevil on my hands. I am refusing to get out my developmental charts to see where he should be. I don't want to be that kind of mom but I also want to make sure he is where he should be. So far, I think we are okay.


Books are still a big hit around here. Logan has now started to look at them a little more independently than he used to. Tonight he sat next to me as I was washing dishes and read the book to me. If you know Logan speak, it made no sense and there really weren't any words. I can usually understand or figure out what he is talking about. He is also a great helper. When we get home from the grocery store, we can always count on him to help us get everything put away. He loves to put daddy's Vitamin water in the frig and also to take boxes to daddy to put in the cabinet. He has even attempted to put a gallon of milk away for me. That didn't work well but you can't say he didn't try. He also likes to throw things away and is getting better about putting his toys away. We have more bad days than good when it comes to putting toys away but we are getting there.


I think if Logan could spend every waking hour with crayons or markers in his hands he would. He has really shown a strong interest in them. I still don't let him have free reign of them because I have caught him taking a bite once in a while.


Logan continues to turn into a great little man and will occasionally surprise us all with something new. He is a fun, well behaved kid and I can't help but to love him more and more everyday. Don't get me wrong, we still have our moments but they are few and far between (knock on wood). I guess I should start the bday party planning as time just keeps passing me by. Happy 22 months bub, LOVE YOU!!!

P.S. In the last pic, he is flexing his muscles. It is very cute and the pic doesn't do it any justice.

"Hi"

Look at this little big man. We let him have one of our old cell phones to play with and he loves it. He calls it his "hi". He will run around the house saying hi until he finds it and when he does he yells HI. The other night I heard him laughing in his room and walked in to find this. Arm on table, feet crossed, and saying hi into the phone and then laughing. It was very cute!!