Playtime at The Logues

I hope they still like playing together when they're older.
(I'm scared of teenagers...)

A Baby's Defense Mechanism

I think baby feet (and hands) are so cute.
I think God made them that way so we would forgive them for depriving us of sleep.

4 Months!

Hair Club for Babies?

Helen is losing her beautiful dark hair.



She's starting to look like this guy....

Dear Blog,

Dear Blog,

In the beginning, I was a little uneasy posting stories about my life and my family for anyone out there on the World Wide Interweb to read. I was nervous people would judge my family, the way it's built, my faith, or the way we choose to raise our children. I mean... how much information should I put out there? Is this safe? Or worse... what will people think??

Since we live so far away from most of our friends and all of our family, you Blog, were meant to keep them updated on Martin's adoption. And I must admit, you did your part rather well. Then, in an instant, Brian & I found out we were going to be blessed with a baby. Of course, I had to keep you going because, believe it or not, people were reading you. People seem to enjoy the stories about our little family and I even think they like seeing the pictures, too!

Unfortunately, the pictures became a problem. It's true, someone has been copying pictures off this blog and posting them on her facebook without permission (I have a love/hate relationship with facebook). This may seem innocent enough; especially since I choose to put pictures of my family out there, but it does bother me. I feel like there is some unspoken Internet Etiquette that should be followed.

It was at this point I decided to set you up, Blog, like Fort Knox. I even went as as far as not allowing anonymous comments or approving comments before they post. This led to a lack of comments, but a number of emails from friends who do still graciously read and enjoy you.

Since I am not the scrapbooking or journaling type, you are a way to write down those memories for my kids to read someday. Why should I let someone ruin that for everyone? I enjoy keeping up with you and I love that people actually read you. So with that, I have decided to go back to the old way of things. Readers don't have to have a gmail account to leave a comment. And they won't have to wait for me to approve a comment either. So please, comment away! I know Martin and Helen (and any other possible future children) would love to read your comments, too!

Thanks again, Blog, for doing what you do. You are a good friend who helps me keep my sanity on those insane days.

Love,
Andrea

Can You Tell Where I Shop?

Martin: "Mommy, did you buy your wedding dress at Aldi or Walmart?"


Nice.

Martin's Reading List

Every week Martin & I take a trip to the library (sometimes we take Helen, too!). Our library offers some great things for kids. We especially enjoyed this summer's reading program - although Martin did not win the bicycle even though I think he should have (I'm not bitter).

Anyway, here are the titles of all the books he checked out today using his very own library card:

Behold, The Unicorns!
Earth, Fire Water, Air
Can You Count to a Googol?
Antarctic Encounter
Lobsters: Gangsters of the Sea
Butterflies and Moths
Earthquakes
Caterpillars
Electricity
Anacondas
The Moon
Earth
Saturn
When Jesus was Young (I made him get this one)

As you can see, there have been many hot topics around our house recently.

Now it's on to reading!

Oh, Helen Clare.....

.....you are a stubborn, stubborn little girl.

You must get that from your father.


You see, Helen, Mommy and Daddy don't know what they're doing when it comes to babies. When you were first born, we took turns sleeping with you on the couch. You would cry if we left you in your crib or bassinet. And your cries tugged at our heart strings. I was paranoid something would happen during the night; I wouldn't hear you cry, maybe you would roll over and not be able to roll back, or (every mother's nightmare) you would stop breathing.

After four weeks of this craziness, you fell asleep in your brown bouncy chair. So we left you in there. We would carry you upstairs in that chair and put you in the bassinet next to our bed - brown bouncy chair and all. You would sleep in there, sometimes waking up just to nurse. It was great... we were finally getting some much needed sleep in our bed.

Then, one night, I woke up for one of your midnight feedings and you were still asleep! And I did what every mother does... I stuck my finger under your nose to see if you were still breathing. We had reached a milestone - you were sleeping through the night by six weeks.

Now that you're almost four months old and your legs are getting longer, it's time to move you into your own bedroom - into your own bed. Into your crib so you can stretch out and learn to roll around. But especially, because Mommy & Daddy want their space back.

Sunday night was our first go at it. Two full hours you cried and cried. Of course, we would take turns checking on you, but the waterworks still kept coming. Finally you fell asleep and didn't wake up until 4am. Not too bad for our first try.

The last four nights have proven that you, Little Helen Clare, are not the 'cry it out' type. You let everyone know whats what. And a few times, I've almost given in to your little (but very loud) cries and brought you back into our room.

Maybe you're not stubborn at all; maybe you're just strong-willed.

And that you must get from your mother.

The Waites

Is it possible that Sarah Waite & I have been friends for almost nine years?

We met while living in Bloomington, Indiana (one of my favorite places on the planet). I was finishing my bachelors degree and her husband was working on his post graduate degree. We both worked together at a local bank. Brian & I had been dating only a few weeks when I met Sarah. She and her husband, Craig were newlyweds; married almost one year. Her and I have shared many milestones together - even while living miles apart.

I met her daughter the day after she was born. Rachel will be celebrating her 8th birthday next month.

Sarah was the only person to see my wedding dress before my wedding.

She threw me a surprise Bridal Shower.

Sarah is blessed with a beautiful voice. She was able to share her talent with our family and friends while singing at our wedding Mass.

Sarah taught me how to cook... and she is still teaching me!

I met her son when he was three months old. Spencer just turned five.

They visited us only a month after we bought our first house. They were also getting ready to move to Ghana for 18 months.

It is easy to spend hours talking on the phone together.

She was one of the first to help celebrate bringing Martin Muse home.

We were able to visit them after they bought their first house (which is beautiful, by the way!).

And Sarah & Craig where there when Helen rolled over for the first time.

This past week Sarah, Craig, Rachel, and Spencer came to visit us and to meet Baby Helen. We had a great time! We went swimming, walked around the zoo, shared recipes, cooked together for our families, played board games, ate a ton of junk food, and stayed up late playing cards.

Our time together seems to go by so fast. I miss them already!

This was taken last August. I had just found out I was pregnant with Helen.
Even though we just spent several days together, I didn't take one picture. (Brian, Martin, Andrea, Rachel, Sarah, Craig, & Spencer)

Home Sweet Home

After our two week hiatus in Valparaiso, Indiana, we are home!

I was spoiled the last two weeks staying with my parents while Brian was in Virginia. There was always someone there to hold the baby or to play with Martin. We visited friends and family, went fishing, biking, shopping, played at the beach, went to the fair, chased frogs, ate our weight in pizza, and stayed up late watching Shark Week.

The last two weeks was a vacation from cooking and cleaning. Even though I cook for my family, there is always something nice about being home and eating a good home cooked meal. Dinner always tastes better when you're with your family.

Now it's Monday morning and I need to get my family back into their routine. I need to get us back on schedule with nap time, bath time, and bed time. I need to do a massive cleaning overhaul of the house. The checkbook needs to be balanced. There is laundry to be done. A grocery list needs to be made and I need to get to the store.

While there is this overwhelming feeling, I am happy to be home with Brian. I really missed him over the last couple of weeks, and I know Martin and Helen did too. We had a lot of fun but it's always fun to be home with daddy (and, yes, Sheldon too!). We are whole again.

Discovering The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Did you think the day would come....

....when you would see this?

Me either.

(Please pardon my lack of make-up and double chin.)

What have we been doing?

Trying to catch any living creature in the pond.

Helping with some landscaping.

Riding in the back of Grandpa's truck.

Spending some quality time together.

Getting some sun.




Fishing with Grandpa.



We miss you, Brian!