Traveling Logans

It is Fall in Florida, well…kind of. Happy Fall to our friends and family, and all those that have followed this blog in the past. I, once again, apologize for not ever updating…one of the reasons…our internet is SOOOOO slow during the times Jack is asleep that loading pictures is frustrating. I am off from work due to a little laryngitis, so here you go. A fresh new blog.

2014 has been an interesting year for the Logan family. In March when we updated, Jack had started walking…and now he’s running. Jack has really taken off and loves to be mobile. He loves to take walks with us, climb onto everything at home and at school, and LOVES to be outside.  We visited Dr. Knapp this week for our 6 month follow up. We are happy to report that again, everything is looking as good as it can be. Jack has more bone grown in the right hip, though it is fragmented. The left will always look better than the right. “I’m happy with the way it looks.” That coming from Dr. Knapp is good news. So we are clear for another 6 months. We visit him in March.  We ran into Annette, and all of our APH crew, who can never believe how big the, “baby” is getting. 

Jack continues to follow his soccer, enjoying the World Cup with his God parents, crew, and of course his daddy. Jack continues to run with me and friends, however likes to actually run versus ride in the stroller. He also loves throwing and catching balls, and this young man has quite the arm. He is working on his golf swing as well...





Jack has spent a lot of time in the pool this year as he took up swimming lessons. He did a great job, and can now swim from 5 feet away to the wall. Granted, he doesn't like going under the water much, but was a trooper. He has taken to splash pads, and loves to try them all out.

Jack participated in the Watermelon 5K again with me and the MRTT group. It was a huge event, and he ate several pieces of watermelon on his own. Once again he beat me to the finish line by seconds! This kid is fast!!!

Jack also got his first and second hair cut during this summer as his beautiful curls were getting out of control and HOT! He was such a good boy in the chair for his first hair cut we were very proud of our little gentleman. Now he really looks like a boy and not a baby :(

Several "first" took place this summer. Jack went to his first Indian baby shower, and did quite well! Congrats to Desai, and Hiral!!  We traveled down to Plantation and Jack endured his first long car ride (4 hours), first trip to the beach, and first baby shower as we celebrated with Jillian and her family the birth of her son Dash.  Grandma Stevie came with us, and it was a blast!

 Jack has been blessed with another visit from his Mimaw Debra and Papaw Cowboy, in addition to Uncle Don, Aunt Felicia and the girls. He also got to meet Uncle Richard, and Aunt Annie for the very first time!  If there is one thing we know for sure, Jack is so loved!

 JR, Jack and I then traveled to Georgia for the Diva's Half Marathon in Peach Tree City, where we got to meet up with our good friends Mike, Chrissie, and their kiddos. We had such a lovely time. Georgia did a great job playing hosts to the Logans. Jack learned to "play" checkers, went for a hike, road his first mini 4 wheeler and his first real lawn mower. He did well on the trip, but I will say that it isn't his or his parent's favorite thing to do. One thing I have learned this year as well, Jack’s favorite buddy??? His daddy. He may butt heads with him once in a while, but push comes to shove, this kid loves to hang out with his daddy.  Whether it is at a park, at the beach, in the truck, or anywhere else, these two are so fun to watch.

New daycare, when we last updated we broke the news that we had to switch daycares.  We moved Jack to a place that has a school like atmosphere, and is literally 5 minutes from the house.  He loves it! He occasionally, especially on Mondays (well Tuesday for Jack) has difficulties transitioning. He has had a few issues with behavior as well that we have had to learn from, but overall, he is doing well. He is learning so much, just a chatterbox at home.

And, due to the change in daycares, it forced this mama to switch jobs as well. I took a job with a place called Central Florida Pediatric Therapy Associates (South Florida people, I know I know).  It has been wonderful! The concerns I had about peds and Jack, are non-existent. I always have enough energy for one more round of bubble blowing, song singing, and puzzle playing!  I am working less hours (good and bad), spending more time in the car, but less in “commute” time. I love my patients and their families, and my office staff is great!  I definitely feel challenged, but for those who know me, know that is a good thing. I miss my Ocala friends, patients, and what not very much but my family’s quality of life has improved dramatically. 

 Yes, he does know how to use the fork that it is in his hand, he just chooses not to most of the time. LOL.

Once again we feel like we have been very blessed with the life we have been given. Sure, there are days where you look over the fence and wish you had more...but to be honest, we have so much already.  Jack has been a wonderful blessing to our family, and I know I can speak for both JR and myself that we just didn't know life until we met this little man. Though we may not update as often, we want everyone to know that we constantly feel the blessings from your prayers, without them, we know our life might be very different. As we gear up for the holidays we are excited with the coming year and what it may hold. Jack will be RUNNING this time in the 100 meter fun run Disney Kid's race on Saturday the 10th of January if anyone wants to cheer him on. It is fun to watch! His uncle Brandon, Aunt Ashely, good friend Della all share the same birthday that week and hopefully we can do them justice while cheering them all on in their races. Jack will follow up with Dr. Knapp in March of 2015, hopefully take a few more trips to meet more family and friends. We are praying for continued opportunities in our careers. Thank you again for keeping up with our Jack. We love you all! Have a great Halloween, we can't decide on what to do be, pretty sure if Jack understood what we were asking, he would say...."GICKEY!" Which is Jack language means, Mickey. 

God Bless and Love to you all!

Spring is Here!

Happy almost April to all of our friends and family! I, as usual, haven't updated everyone in a while and figured it was past due. Our Jack turned 1 on 1/8/14, and celebrated his 1 year "coming home" from the hospital on 2/22/14.  Since we last updated...so much has happened! The biggest thing?

Jack Jack has begun to walk! And run, and climb...It was amazing to watch him start off, and now I can't seem to get him to sit down! It is such a blessing!!!  He has been walking for a month now, and we had our follow-up with Dr. Knapp on 3/24/14. Dr. Knapp said that the hips look good right now, the left is still more developed than the right, and the socket isn't as rounded, however there isn't anything we need to get done now. He didn't promise that we had nothing to worry about, but that we "may" need to get something done in the future. "I don't know what, but we will be monitoring very closely."  Ok, I will take it.  We will be following up again with Dr. Knapp and his crew at the end of September. 

We got the opportunity to spend some time with quite a few of our loved ones the last three months including Jack's Aunt "Dizzy," who came to not only celebrate Jack's 1st Birthday, but also to come back a few weeks later and spend a month with us to help out during a tough time.  It has been so wonderful to watch their relationship grow, and not to mention having someone from my family so close makes me miss home.  

Also, Jack's friend, Meghan came to hang out with her grandma (Aunt Pat) and so we were able to go to Animal Kingdom with them during that visit. Jack and Megs loved the animals, and thanks to a few good friends, they made the visit for us that much more special. (Thanks April, Rafa, Sarah, and Louis!) It was great to get the opportunity to hang with Bonnie, Pat, and Megs.

Of course we always get to hang out with Grandma Stevie, as our usual gift, I treated Grandma Stevie, Jack, and JR to Bay Hill (Arnold Palmer Invitational) which benefits the Arnold Palmer Hospital. Jack did great! He wanted to walk the whole time, and there were so many things to look at. He met new people, and got to see a real golf tournament. We look forward to adding Jack to this annual outing for the family!

Uncle Donnie, Felicia, Bella, and Gabby also came to visit us this month. It was good to see the girls, and how big they are getting!  We always enjoy getting to spend a little time with them.

A sad, yet needed development is that we are switching daycares, so we had to say good-bye to our current one and enroll in a daycare closer to home. Jack isn't tolerating the trips in the car anymore now that he is walking everywhere. It has forced us to start bringing our daily lives closer to home. Which isn't a bad thing. So too our daycare provider, we love you! Thank you so much for all the amazing things you did for us during this year and making it so much easier on me when I went back to work. We look forward to seeing you at non-work related activities :) XOXO
Jack starts his new day care this coming Monday for a half day, then the rest of the week full time.  It's literally 5 minutes from the house. It's going to be a rough transition for him, but he will do great.

I guess that is all the news,  we continue to thank all of you who take care of us, and keep up with us. We are loving our life with the little man, and are just slow to adjust to keeping up with him. We see a lot of great things in our future!

Love, Kat, JR, and Jack Jack

11 Months and Merry Christmas!

I can't believe that it is already a new year! That our Jack is a year old already!!! It is amazing how quickly time passes when you reflect on a certain time period. Well since we last posted, many things have happened, so lets get caught up with Jack-Jack.

Jack has turned one, but in the mean time we were able to celebrate his 11 month. He has had 7 teeth come in, and seems to be teething on and off of course.  He also spent a good amount of November fighting allergies, and a cold. Dr. Otero says, "Babies in daycare often get colds frequently, sometimes lasting 1-2 weeks 1-2 times a month." So he's pretty much going to have the immune system of an ox by the time he hits real school. :) 
Due to that, his sleep has been disrupted on and off (as is ours), and seems to be a little more cranky now and again...honestly though...still not bad.  He tends to be a little more clingy when we know he is either hurting from teething, or feeling sick.  

                 And boy, is he getting around. He is attempting to stand alone a lot more, he has a new chair that his just his size that seems to help. He has not walked unassisted yet of course, but we are going to see it happen. Which is awesome!  He does love his yoga poses, especially downward facing baby (which really means he wants to do a flip), and will play in the squat position a lot.   He is using "more" and "all done" signs for play, and meals. He is babbling, and echoing like crazy!  He is very close to "dada" actually now that he has added pointing to his repertoire.  

Halloween was a blast, we got to take Jack to a small local pumpkin patch, and take a few pictures. This year Jack went as a duck, and we handed out candy from the yard with out awesome neighbors.  

Jack also celebrated his first Thanksgiving with us. We had a wonderful dinner at Grandma Stevie's, where Jack got his first meal with all real food. He loved it! A little turkey, sweet potatoes, beans, cranberry sauce, and milk. He had no trouble eating Grandma's food that's for sure!!!

That weekend also brought Jack's first trip to the Kennedy Space Center as Mom took on full marathon #2, the Space Coast Marathon. Jack got to hang out at KSC with the PRC group, and come face-to-face with Atlantis! He had a great time!!!  Then on marathon day, Jack and JR waiting for mom during the race, and during the last .2, Jack was able to cross his first finish line with mom.  It was very exciting!!!

 Then came Christmas! Jack, JR, Grandma Stevie, and Aunt Pat went to Gaylord Palm to see ICE!!! Which did Frosty the Snowman as a theme this year. It was COLD! However, Jack seemed to really enjoy himself. We pretty much bundled him up like the kid from A Christmas Story to do it. It was worth it! Jack met Santa twice...and did great!

For Christmas, Jack basically cleaned out Toys R Us with all the wonderful things he got from so many friends, and family. We'd like to say thank you again for everyone who thought of our Jack, and us during the season, it was an amazing Christmas, and Jack won't need anything for about 20 years :) We got visits from Uncle Don, Felicia, and the girls, and many others. We love ya'll!

That leaves us with his Birthday and the New Year! Aunt Lizzie came down to visit and celebrate with us.  To celebrate his first birthday, Jack "ran" in his first Disney race, the Diaper Dash. He was a little cranky being that it was nap time, but was all smiles when it was said and done. By the time we got into Epcot with Ashley, Brandon, and Bry, he was out for the count.  We had an amazing day at Epcot (No Magic Kingdom until our man is a little older), got to see the fish and other sea animals at the Seas exhibit, and space ship Earth ride. Jack LOVED! He couldn't stop looking all around. Went much better than was expected. 

Plans for this year?  To continue to grow big and strong! Jack's 1 year appointment with Dr. O, is on Monday the 13th. We will let you know how it goes. His next ortho appointment isn't until March.  We are going to attempt a road trip to Texas so that Jack can meet his Grandpa Wilkinson. Grandpa Logan is planning a trip to visit in the Spring. We are going to venture to Space Coast again. Memaw and Papa Cline are going to visit in August. We have the wedding of Tracy and Dan. Not to mention countless moments with our friends in PRC, and headed back to My Gym class now that the crazy holidays are over. We want to make a trip down to Miami, and also sign up for swim lessons.  Busy but fun!

Thank you to everyone who stayed with us all year, asking about our Jack, sending your prayers, and gifts. We have been very blessed to have such amazing friends and family. We continue to pray for you everyday, and always love it when we get to spend time with you.