Nine Years...

I can't believe it's been 9 years...really? Wow. How is that possible? The pain and the loss still feels like it was yesterday....like it was yesterday that we received the news that she had breast cancer....like it was yesterday that we learned it was terminal...like it was yesterday when I got the phone call that it could be any day now...like it was yesterday when she was gone. Nine years.

I miss my Aunt Mary tremendously. Out of a family of six Uncles and only 3 Aunts, Mary was special. She was fun. She was funny. I remember going in to Seattle with my Mom when I was a little girl and stopping for lunch at Frederick & Nelson (a department store) for lunch because Mary worked at the restaurant there. I remember her being COOL- she was younger than my parents, but older than my brothers and she just fit in this spot in my life that made her someone I looked up to. After her days at the restaurant, she became a registered nurse, like my Grandma. I can't imagine how helpful Mary must have been to all of her patients- I can just picture her putting them at ease and making them laugh in their times of need.

Before she passed, Mary gave birth to an amazing little girl- Brittany. Though she lives in Montana now, my Mom still has a very strong and deep connection with this very special little girl (now 12 years old!!)- I am so grateful that Brittany has my Mom in her life...if she can't have her OWN Mother, at least she can have my Mom as a stand in. I still question WHY Mary had to leave us as early as she did, but I have a feeling that Brittany will prove it all to us one day...maybe a future doctor who could find a cure for cancer is among us?

For those of you who don't know, my Aunt Mary is the reason I am so passionate about finding a cure for breast cancer. She's the reason I (try) to do the Race for the Cure every year and the reason why I've done 2 long distance walks to raise money for breast cancer (and am currently training for my 3rd). I love her so much and find myself tearing up when I think about her for too long...I miss her every day and cannot wait to see her again one day. Until that time, I'll be satisfied reliving my time with her in my mind and seeing her little girl grow up to be a beautiful young woman who will most certainly live up to her Mother's amazing reputation.

I love you Mary!

Hilarious!

GiGi (Grandma Lynn) sent this to me this morning ,and in a matter of hours I've seen it posted all over Facebook, so I thought I'd post it here as well! I love this interaction! How great that they don't even interrupt each other, and they talk with their hands SO much! Priceless!

Grandpa H Comes to LA!

This past weekend my Dad paid us a visit and we had a great time! We enjoyed time at the coffee shop, the park, a local museum and time with Uncle Dave! Thanks for spending time with us Dad, it was great to have you here!!

Holding on like a big boy!

There was a cute girl on the swing next to him...no joke!

He' so happy he's drooling like a fool! HaHa!

He was SO happy to see Uncle Dave! He honestly recognized Dave as he walked up! It was great!

Self portrait of The Laub's at LACMA!

Yup, there was a painting called "She is Not a Ho" awesome.

I worked on a project that was based in Malibu a couple of years ago- it was a gigantic concrete house we were building for a big TV producer. This guy was also a big art collector, in particular, he was a fan of Jeff Koontz' work- Jeff Koontz did the piece above...yup, that's a gigantic balloon animal and the Owner of the house we were building owned one...It was cool to actually see it in person though, I still don't get it.

Dad and Logan in Playa Vista! I love this one!

Dad graciously acting as a Jungle Gym for Logan

And Grandpa swoops in with the assist!

How much fun can you h ave with a bowl?

A LOT!

Just ask Logan...

A Bowl = A Tambourine

A Bowl = A Telephone...Hello?

A Bowl = A Peace Offering..."Here Kitty, Kitty"

Guess Who Logan Looks Like...

We hear ALL the time how much Logan looks just like Jason...but SOMETIMES, the little guy resembles some other family members...

Mommy (Strictly because he's sitting in a weird position...my signature)

Cousin Luke!

And, of course, Daddy...it's a fact...he's a mini Jason!

Winter in SoCal

Though I may complain about living in LA, days like THIS are hard to beat!

Our happy boy!

He hasn't quite grasped the whole Sippy Cup concept yet...

Someone found their SeaLegs!

A couple of weeks ago we took Logan to the pool to go "Swimming" (and it wasn't so much swimming as it was clinging to Jason and I as we passed him back and forth to one another in the water)...I didn't get any pics of Logan in the water, but I will tell you that the little guy had a smile plastered on his face from the moment his toe touched the water until we pulled him out kicking and screaming (literally...the kid did NOT want to get out!). We're planning on putting him in some Mommy/Daddy and Me swim lessons this summer and we can't wait...I don't think he can either!

Found On The Camera

I was just looking through our camera, and found these gems that Lisette took last week! His expression cracks me up!

This is his 4-G face....

Yup! That's a tooth you're seeing in there! 1 of 2!

so cute!

Caution: Crawling Baby

We've got a crawler people! Look out!

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

Apparently that's Chase's new motto...

Lisette snapped this photo as she was putting Logan down for a morning nap- silly kitty! I'm assuming she shoo'd him out of there right away :)

"Look at me Mom!"

Yikes! This is what Logan did on Saturday afternoon- all by himself! Jason was at work on Saturday so it was just me and Mr. Little hanging out...he's so mobile these days (not yet crawling, but curious with an ability to LUNGE = danger) so I can't just leave him on the floor anymore if I need to step in to another room- I either have to put him in the crib where he's contained, in his jumper where he's contained AND distracted, or bust out the pack n play (As I had to do twice this weekend while making dinner) and put a bunch of toys in there with him to keep him busy.

On this particular occasion, I sat him in the crib to grab something out of our closet, when I came out I saw my BABY standing and smiling at me as though he KNEW he'd just accomplished something HUGE! Which he did! The little man pulled himself up all on his own! I was so proud of him! He's only done it that one time, but that's enough for Jason and I - we'll be lowering that crib this week (hint hint to Jason that this is going on the top of the "Honey-Do" list).

Later in the weekend, Logan had some more proud moments, with our help...we stood him next to this play table he has (Normally he plays with it on the ground after we remove the legs) and let him hold himself up on it- he just started beaming and laughing hysterically- we were dying! I wish we'd gotten it on video (Our afterthought of a video was met with blank stares and no laughter from Mr. Logan...shoot!)!

We're still in the process of baby proofing and my biggest worry is what to do about the cat STUFF (Food dish, water, litter-box)...one of our friends said that they just continued to tell their daughter "No" whenever she would venture over near the cats stuff and eventually she figured out she wasn't supposed to go there. Something tells me that that makes sense if you have a daughter, but a son aka a boy aka a CURIOUS boy who has quite the twinkle in his eye when he wants to do something FUN may not listen as well...I see a baby fence in our future keeping him out of the "Sandbox" oh boy!

Say What?

Jason told me an alarming statistic last week- something about there is more fecal matter found on grocery carts than in an actual restroom... the reason being, because a bathroom actually gets cleaned and grocery carts do not. Gross.

All the more reason to be thankful that GiGi (Logan's Great Grandma Laub) made him his very own grocery cart cover! He seems happy about it too, don't you think?

Thanks for keeping our little bugger BUG free, GiGi!!! We love you!

I snapped this during a recent trip to Costco...the kid seriously LOVES Costco (But who doesn't?) he laughs and smiles the entire time we're there. He looks around at the high ceilings and just seems in awe of it all. He bounces up and down in excitement and squeals like a little piggy- he definitely gets EVERYONE'S attention while we're there and makes quite a few friends! It's the best!

Want to get some FREE movies?

While Jason and I have just recently re-discovered the joys of date night without the little one, some weeks we're just too tired to get all gussied up and leave the house for an actual date- that's where RedBox comes in. Have you ever used it? RedBox is a movie rental kiosk (yes, that red thing you've seen in your grocery store next to the change machine) - the movies are NEW and are rented for $1 each! How great is that? The move has to be returned to a kiosk within 24 hours of renting it, but how hard is that?

I've just signed up for an account and if you do the same and rent a movie THROUGH my link (below) you can give me credits for free rentals! AND, in doing so YOU will also get free credits! WOO to the HOO!

http://redbox.tellapal.com/a/clk/fcgPZ

Now, this post didn't' come out of nowhere, as some of you know ,I've joined the Mom Bloggers Club and through that I've been able to connect with hundreds of other Mom Bloggers- it's amazing how the Mom Blogging world has really picked up! Another benefit of the MBC is that they notify me of different giveaways- the latest one being a RedBox giveaway! The first 100 Mom Bloggers to post about RedBox will earn free rental credits! So bring on the free movie nights!

Enjoy!

Thinking of my BFF today

Today is Lindsey's first day back at work since having Baby Boy Brock in October. My heart is heavy thinking of her today and wondering how she's doing. I know she is going to handle the job of full time teacher and full time Mom beautifully and she will bring these two parts of her together seamlessly.

There was a time, while she was pregnant, when Lindsey was nervous about what becoming a Mother would do to her abilities as a teacher- would she sacrifice some of her skills in the classroom to be the Mom that she wanted to be? Would she neglect her child because she wanted to put her whole self in to her work as she did before giving birth? I told her this before she had Brock and now I say it again with 100% confidence that Lindsey becoming a Mom will only make her a BETTER teacher- and that's a feat all in itself because she's a PHENOMENAL teacher who gives all that she is to her students and her school. I knew that as soon as Lindsey became a Mom, yes, her priorities may change and she may not be found at school into the late hours of the night, but she's going to love those kids even more than she did before because now she'll see them as her own children and that will mean something so much more to her now that she has Brock.

For me, going back to work has been an immense struggle- and I know that it will be difficult for Lindsey as well, but I already know that she is going to handle it all so much better than I have. I am looking forward to the day when I can lean on her for advice and support because I know in my eyes she is going to be the mom that "does it all" and still has time for others (no pressure Linds!).

Lindsey is an amazing friend, an amazing wife (or so I'm told) and the most amazing Mother. Brock is one lucky boy. I hope her morning is going well and that she is able to focus on her kids and think about Brock without getting TOO teary, and is remembering that every minute she is at work is one minute closer to getting to pick up her little boy at the end of the day. And let me tell you Linds, that smile you get when he sees you walk in the door is absolutely priceless.

I love you Linds!

Captured Moments

Life is exhausting...

This is Logan and me last week during story time...or, what was SUPPOSED to be story time that turned in to bed time...oops!

2, 4, 6...8 MONTHS OLD!

On February 24th, Logan turned 8 months old! 2/3 of a year already! Amazing! He's on the go quite a bit these days so these pics aren't quite as STILL as the past ones have been! Also, we changed out our bed sheets from white to tan so I decided to do the photo shoot out in the living room since the tan background didn't POP as much as the all white has in the past.

Logan has a tooth coming through (for REALS this time)- you can feel it if you put your finger on it, but you can't see it yet- but it's making for some hilarious facial expressions from the little guy!

He's not totally crawling yet, he's up on all fours moving back and forth. He's REALLY good at crawling BACKWARDS, we're still working on going forwards (And trust me, his frustration level shows us that HE would like to go forwards ASAP!). We've also got him working on waving- he's doing it like a champ, he just doesn't quite know WHEN to do it....it's a bit sporadic at the moment. Today, for instance, as Jason left for work and waved at the door for 3 minutes straight, Logan just stared at him. This evening, however, as he was waking up from a nap, I had The Real Housewives of Orange County on and he lauuuughed at them and then started waving to the TV...Hmmmm. Clapping is still a struggle- I think he knows he's supposed to do SOMETHING when I look at him with a BIG smile and clap because he flaps both arms and hands up and down really fast, but that's it. Oh well. We'll get it someday!

That's about it for the little mister! Enjoy the photos!!