Yesterday was Logan’s “18th month old” doctor’s visit.  Stuart took the day off work, so we all went together.  After an hour wait for his doctor, Logan had saved just enough patience for the doctor’s exam.  He passed everything on the development checklist, i.e. say at least 7-10 words, throw balls, using spoons, knows a few body parts, etc.  The one thing that Logan needs to work on is to wean completely off bottle.  Guess we’ll start that soon.

His new stats are:

Wt: 28 lbs (78 percentile, up from 69%)

Ht:  2’10” (92 percentile, up from 89%)

Head circumference: 20” (consistently at 99 percentile)

     On the same night as his Dr visit, Logan became sick with a stomach flu that has been going around at his daycare.  He started throwing up right before bedtime when Daddy was getting the bedtime bottle ready (mommy was out socializing).  Logan ended up not wanting any of his milk and went straight to bed.  After that, he woke up 2 other times and threw up all he had eaten from dinner.  After the last cry at midnight, he slept through the night again.  Today he felt so much better, the usual playful self again but with just a very small appetite.  We were thankful that the illness was brief and he did not have any fever or diarrhea either.  Back to school young man!

    We have just returned from an awesome vacation…a trip to the Big Island with Julie and Robert.  Robert was attending a conference on this island and since Stuart and I have never been we decided to tag along.  Logan did fantastically well on the flight over.  We were prepared with videos, snacks and toys as Logan had to stay on our laps for the entire 5 hours.  All the distractions worked and our seat neighbors and flight attendant were surprised how quiet he was. 

    We were all so excited when we arrived at the resort.  The hotel was very grand; it had a large beautiful pool and a peaceful lagoon.  For some reason we got lucky and were upgraded to an ocean view suite.  This meant a separate room for Logan to sleep in!  Logan had also started walking just in time for this trip so he had a blast walking everywhere checking out our room and the facility.

    We were at the Kona side (the west side) of the island.  The land was very dry and rocky here and it looked like we were driving on “Mars” as Robert suggested.  We were told that the Hilo side was very lush though.  I initially wanted to check out the active volcanoes in this island.  But after learning that it would take 3 hours driving each way, and 2 hours of sightseeing, we decided to save the precious time for our beautiful resort instead. 

    For the next 4 days, our routine was very simple and relaxing.  After a delicious breakfast every morning we would play at the beach and also have lunch there.   Shortly after that we would head back to the room for Logan to take his afternoon nap.  Stuart and I would watch TV and nap during that time too.  We would then hang out at the pool in the afternoon and driving out to dinner in the evening.   Robert and Julie took good care of the evening itinerary, so we did not have to worry about anything and just enjoy the plan.

    Logan had a lot of practice with walking during our stay and, of course, he had his share of falls too.  One bad thump was on our balcony, for which he carried the head bump & bruise for a few days.  But Logan still did not show any hesitation.  He loved exploring different areas and walking on the sand was not a problem for him either.  Logan also became quite efficient in kicking the soccer ball on the lawn. He loved the sand as usual, and this time he loved the ocean water too.  He enjoyed kicking the water and running away from the waves. 

    The vacation finally came to an end.  We were all sad to say goodbye to our room and the resort.  Logan was more restless that day so the flight back home was not as easy.  Thanks to the videos and his pacifier, Logan managed to survive the 5 hour flight back and still received a compliment from the people behind us.  It was very late by the time we arrived home and also not as warm.

More photos available in our Album section

     As we did not have anything planned for Thanksgiving weekend this year we stayed home and had a relaxing holiday.  We started the weekend with a Thanksgiving feast for just the four of us.  Logan loved the turkey and ham, and so did Scottie.  One thing we did do was was visit the ‘Christmas in the Park’ in downtown San Jose.  It was a nice, sunny day to stroll around and Logan was mesmerized by many of the Christmas decorations especially the motorized creatures.  There were also many bigger kid rides which Logan enjoyed watching but would have been to scared to be on himself.  We all had a good time and it was a great way to start the Christmas season.   See photos from this weekend in our photo album.

     During this weekend, Logan had built up his courage to walk on his own again.  On Thanksgiving Day, he first started walking back and forth between us, and then navigating around furniture.  He seems a lot more relaxed now and has better balance this time.  Logan can walk to pick up something on the ground and resume walking after picking it up.   He can now go up the one step in our house without holding on to anyone.  Logan is very pleased with his accomplishment, and so are we (and daycare).

     Logan also got to watch a little more TV this weekend =)  Once we were watching a sleeping princess on TV, he turned to me and said "night-night", and leaned his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes.  It was so cute.  This was the first time he said that word, and I’m always surprised at how much he already knows.

I’d been looking forward to the trip to Vegas with the guys…  It’s been a while since I’ve sat at Blackjack table, ordering whiskey, and not realizing it’s 4am.  However when the time to go arrived, the reality set in that this would be the first time I’ve been away from Logan overnight.    I knew his mommy could easily handle everything when I’m away…but I still like to think that he would miss saying goodnight to me and seeing Daddy in the morning.  But it was for a good cause….Vegas.

On leaving I got to experience the new San Jose airport terminal.  They still drop you off in Terminal C to check in, but you have to walk a heck of a long way to get to the Southwest gate.   The whole process of going through security is much quicker plus the airport is now larger, and cleaner looking.  No longer do San Joseians have to be embarrassed when out-of-towners arrive at our airport.

I met Scott and Darren at the terminal and the flight to Vegas was pretty uneventful…maybe because I fell asleep.  Scott had gotten us a good deal at Bally’s (because he’s such a high-roller) and it’s location is pretty much on the strip connected to the Paris Hotel.  I was also happy to see that our current economic downturn has made a return of the $5 tables which is where i spent most my time.

When Greg showed up later that evening we decided it was time to get down to some serious partying…

{Paragraph Removed by Editor}

…I don’t think we’ll forget that for some time.  I left Vegas earlier than the rest of the gang as I was only allotted 2 nights away from home.  The flight back was full but I made it all the way home without Bonnie helping..I was very proud of myself.  I don’t have any pictures non-shredded from the trip..so here’s what the San Jose airport looks like (PR Photo)

   Since Logan turned 16 months old, he seems to have learned to copy and follow in many different ways.  He makes funny faces and tickles the sun when Kai Lan does it on TV; he jumps, claps, raises his arms as Barney does his dances.  Logan also tries to mimic us when we teach him how to say words.  His very first word months ago was “ball”.  Now he knows “air-ple” (airplane), “nana” (banana), “apple”, and “S-de” (Scottie).  Of course, he also can say “da-da” and “ma-ma”; however at times, we wonder if Logan is confused which one of us is which.

   He knows some of his body parts now, he can point out his ears, head, feet and belly button almost correctly every time.  We still have to work on other parts, like ears, nose, mouth and hands.

   Tonight while reading, I was asking him to point to different pictures, and I was so surprised how much he actually knows already.  He correctly identified airplane, doggie, froggy, and apple by pointing to them in his big picture book.  It was the best reading night we have together so far =)

   Just an update on Logan’s walking, since his big fall on Halloween day he seems afraid now to walk without assistance.  He has been more clingy and will immediately go down to his knees when we try to let go of his hand.  We hope that he will re-gain his confidence soon.