Christmas-y stuff

When we arrived home from Florida we were greeted with lots of snow and jumped right into all the Christmas-y stuff we like to do... that is after we got over a horrible bug we must have caught on the way home from Florida.

This photo was taken at about 7:10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning in early December. I have to leave for work by at least 7:15 to get there in time but Rowen insisted on playing in the snow and making a snowman before we left. So, daddy was a great sport and made a quick snowman with Ro in about 10 minutes flat before he was whisked to the car seat.

More snow! This December has been filled with snowy days and nights. On this particular night Daddy had to snow-blow and shovel and Rowen wanted to be a part of the fun.

We attended the Christmas party as Rowen's preschool. It was a blast! Rowen participated in all the activities... musical rugs, ornament decorating, cookie decorating, Santa's Fishing game, snowman bowling, and the sing along at the end of the party where he sang every song with lots of enthusiasm.

But the best part of the party came at the very end when Santa Claus made a surprise visit! Rowen was so darling. Check out the video below. In the video he is asking me, "Where are the reindeer?". Santa pulled out a special book for every child from his large red bag and posed for a photo with every child- Rowen waited soooo patiently, not complaining or whining once! He had to wait a very long time- probably close to 30 minutes before his name was called. Rowen just happened to be the last named called! We were so proud of Ro for being so patient!

Santa's Surprise Visit

The second video shows Rowen and all the other kids finally opening their presents. Rowen was sure he was going to get "SnotRod" because this is what he asked Santa for a few days earlier when we were at the mall. You can see the disappointment on his face when he realizes it is not SnotRod. Don't worry- I immediately explained that Santa saves those very special gifts for Christmas morning and he seemed to be just fine with it.

Opening gifts from Santa

Rowen was ecstatic to decorate the Christmas tree. He helped place almost every single ornament on the tree and then continued to move the candy canes around for weeks to come!

We continued our Christmas-y activities with sledding (Rowen LOVES it- the faster the better!), decorating cookies (Rowen isn't too thrilled with this surprisingly), making a gingerbread house at Grammy's (made out of foam pieces- Rowen stayed focused on this project for over 30 minutes), reading TONS of Christmas stories (a few favorites this year are The Gingerbread Baby and The Night Before Christmas both by Jan Brett) , visiting Santa at the mall (Rowen ran to him and grinned from ear to ear while telling him precisely what he wanted for Christmas), and playing Santa and elves over and over again (Rowen pretends to be Santa, wearing a Santa hat, wraps up gifts and brings them to us to open).

Once again, this time of year was very special because of our little boy. He brings such joy, love, and passion to everything he does!

Stay tuned... I have a TON of catching up to do
TJ and Erin's wedding reception
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Rowen's 3rd Birthday!!!

This could take me months to accomplish at the rate I am going :).

Here are a few glimpses of our trip to Florida...

Disney World was fun... for about 1 hour. Sorry but it is true. For the 3 year old it really isn't much fun but as an adult it is much more worth it. There is lots of waiting around in long lines for 2 minute rides. BUT- we did really enjoy the Pooh Bear ride and racing cars!

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We went to Hollywood Studios for one reason- to see Lightning and Mater! It was worth the trip because Rowen was thrilled!

This slideshow created with Smilebox

Like all of the parks there is a TON to do at Animal Kingdom but we were having a rough day on this particular day so we did a few things then headed home to swim in the pool and relax. The photos below are from our Safari ride. It really is amazing how close the animals feel and look. I guess they really are not very close to you but it appears that way. Rowen really enjoyed seeing all of these amazing animals.

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We were pleasantly surprised with Epcot. Again, we only went for one reason- to see Nemo and go on the Finding Nemo ride but we came across a few of the famous Disney characters so we took the opportunity to get a few photos.

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Sea World was soooooo much fun!! Rowen loved Sea World and so did everyone else. It was very relaxing, no huge crowds, the Christmas decorations were gorgeous and it just felt nice there. This is where Rowen went on lots of rides. The lines were very short- basically no waiting at all and we got to see the Polar Express steam engine as well as go on the "ride" which was very exciting for our train fan! Rowen is a bit of a thrill seeker I think. He loves the rides that give your tummy a good turn. I was nervous to let him do some of the rides but he was big enough if I went with him and he didn't hesitate once! We also really enjoyed climbing in the massive jungle gym that hangs very high above a eating area. Rowen didn't seem to mind the heights at all but I had to make sure I didn't look down for too long :). I loved the 2 shows we went to because I have always been in awe of dolphins and whales.

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And the day we were all waiting for... this is the reason we came to Florida, to be a part of TJ and Erin getting married. It was truly a gorgeous wedding and we couldn't be happier for the newly weds!

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Halloween 2010

Rowen dressed up 5 different times this year, using 3 different costumes!

1. EWU Halloween Carnival- Pooh Bear
2. Co-op preschool Halloween party- Pooh Bear, mommy was Tigger and Daddy was Eeyore
3. Friend's Halloween party in a barn- Old McDonald, mommy was a cowgirl, daddy was a cow
4. Halloween morning to trick or treat at Grandpa and Nana's- Elmo
5. Halloween night to trick or treat around our neighborhood- Pooh Bear

Rowen LOVED Halloween this year! He loved dressing up (as you can probably guess from above) and participated in everything with enthusiasm (except for one melt down on Halloween morning).

Here are a few photos from his Co-op Preschool Halloween party. It was so fun to watch Rowen enjoy himself so much- he is growing up too fast!

Painting his pumpkin

playing a bean bag game with daddy

Singing Halloween songs with his Co-op friends and
Teacher Gail while munching on an apple of course!

At one point during the singing and dancing Rowen found a book on the ground near where he was standing in the circle. He decided that he MUST read the book at that very moment. He spent about 3 minutes looking at the book while the singing and dancing went on around him then put it down and joined in the fun again! He really is in love with books.

There were many other games and activities at the party. Rowen's favorite was the "fishing". He caught a great prize! Rowen also loved picking his own apple from the "apple tree" and dunking it in caramel and decorating it with sprinkles. Ro also played a musical matching game and he actually won at one point, earning himself a spider stamp on his hand!

I have the cutest videos of Rowen dancing and singing at the party but I don't feel like I can post them online with other kids in them. He stood right next to his teacher and participated with such enthusiasm. Eric and I couldn't stop laughing and smiling at our delightful little boy.

Rowenisms Part 1

August

Ro and I were sitting on the couch. Racoco was lounging on the floor in front of us.
Ro: Mama, when Coco gets married, she can be a mommy too.

For the past few months Rowen as been using the term "last day" when referring to anything that has happened in the past and "next day" for tomorrow.
Ro: Last day I see my Grandpa. I go there next day mommy?

Rowen has been making up his own songs to his own tunes quite a lot lately. The most darling song from the past few days goes something like this...

"Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes (this word can go on and on for awhile :)). I grow tomatoes with my daddy!"



It is morning- Ro is snuggling in bed with mommy and daddy. Something came up about best friends- maybe on cartoons, I am not sure...

Daddy: Who is your best friend?
Ro: My daddy and mommy.


Early in the day Grammy had read Ro a story in which one of the characters is "speechless" a few times throughout the story.
Ro: What that mean- speechless?
Grammy gave a very appropriate explanation and she could see that it made perfect sense to Rowen.

Later in the day Grammy cut up an apple and handed a piece to Rowen. They took a bite at the same time and Grammy made a face to show how much she liked the apple.
Ro: mmmmmm, I'm speechless!


While I was rubbing Rowen's back at bedtime...
Ro: Mommy, whose birthday comin' up? Liz?
Me: Yeah. Liz's birthday is the next one.
Ro: My birthday comin' up too!
Me: Yeah
Ro: Grammy and Olivia's coming up too?
Me: Yes. Grammy's is before Olivia's.
Ro: My birthday comin' up too!
Me: Yes it is. You will be 3!
Ro: Who else's birthday comin' up. Not Papa, he just have birthday!
Me: It will be almost an entire year until Papa's birthday again.
Ro: Devri, Cooper and Tim's birthday comin' up

You get the idea. This went on for a looooong time.

While eating breakfast this morning Rowen said: Mommy, an elephant came out of my pillow last night!

Chocolate LOVER!
Rowen and Grammy were making chocolate milk at Grammy's house.
Ro: I love chocolate!
Ro looks down at his hand where a little chocolate syrup had spilled then looks up at Grammy...
Ro: And chocolate loves me!

July

Ro: Mommy, what does scary mean?

Then a few days later...

Ro: What does angry mean?

July 13

Ro: Let's 'etend mommy! 'Etend!

This means "let's PRETEND" which Rowen is totally into now. We have so much fun playing and pretending.

July 1

I was cutting a watermelon. Rowen walked by the counter and looked up at the cut open watermelon.

Ro: That is beautiful!

June 25

Pulling away from Grammy and Papa's house, Rowen is in his car seat and mama is driving.

Me just driving quietly

Rowen: Grammy, Grammy. I love her.

Me: She loves you too!

Rowen: She the best Grammy!

Me: Yeah, she sure is.


June 17

Mommy is getting ready for the day in the bathroom. Rowen is playing around her, chatting away to himself. Rowen stops...

Ro: Mama, I want Christmas time.

Me: Yeah. I do too. What do you want about Christmas?

Ro: I like my shiny Christmas tree.

Me: That was pretty!

Ro: I have one at Nana and Grandpa's too.

Me: Yeah. You had lots of special Christmas trees didn't you?

Ro: Yeah. One at Grammy and Papa's too.

Me: What else do you want? (meaning about Christmas)

Ro thinking for awhile then: I want Coco to talk!

Me: Oh wow! That would be amazing wouldn't it?

Ro: Yeah. I go to the store and buy her a mouth.


June 8

Mommy had just changed from her work clothes to her relaxing at home clothes. Rowen notices the change...

Ro: Mommy, why did you change your pants?

Me: I didn't want to wear my work clothes anymore.

Ro: No, you pooped your pants mommy!

Me: No, I didn't poop my pants. I go poopy and potty in the toilet.

Ro: No, you pooped your pants.

May 27

While waiting in the car for mama's latte...

Ro: What is that ladies name?

Me: I don't know her name.

Ro: Karen? Erin?

Me: I don't know. I will ask her.

Me: My son would really like to know your name.

Latte Lady: Hi there! I am Sue.

Ro: Hi Sue!

(Pulling away from latte stand now...)

Ro: Bye Sue!


May 26

While eating lunch...

Ro: Where is that girl I played with?

Me: Which girl? J?

Ro: No, other girl.

Me: K?

Ro: Yeah, K! I haven't seen her in a long time! I want to talk to her about the chickens, pigs, and cows!

May 25

Getting ready for bed and Rowen is just getting out of the bath tub. He knows the next step is to brush his teeth...

Ro: I want some of that sauce for my mouth.

Mommy: Sauce?

Ro: Yeah, sauce in my mouth. It tastes good.

Mommy: Oh, toothpaste!

Ro: No- sauce.


May 17

Ro: "Mama, do bees cry?"

Mama: "I don't know. Do you think they do?"

Ro: "Yes."

Mama:" Why do bees cry?"

Ro: "They want their mama."


May 16

While at Costco. Daddy is pushing the cart. Mama put milk in the cart...

Ro: Points at the milk in the cart and says, "Got milk Daddy?"

Daddy: "Yup"

Ro: Looks back at Daddy and says, "Got a cup?"

April 19

We were on a walk on the golf course and Rowen was walking across some smooth rocks...

"Mommy, these rocks are slippery."

We were walking in our neighborhood and Rowen was walking on some rougher rocks.

"Mommy, these rocks are crunchy!"

March 26

"I full mommy. My tummy full with food."

Racoco was meowing at Rowen as he chased her under the kitchen table. Ro turned to me and said, "Mama, Coco tell me about whale and a clown fish."

March 19

"What's that?" or "What's this?"- I guess this is the beginning of the toddler questions. Ro asks me this at least 10 times a day. I am constantly telling him the name of something and then he usually remembers it. Today we were swinging together and he pointed to the chain and asked, "What's this?". I told him and for the rest of the time we were outside playing he kept pointing to the chain saying, "Chain mama!"

Rowen has started to blurt out random facts at the least expected times and places.

Today in the car he said, "Mama. Frogs eat bugs."- clear as a bell.

me: "Yes, they do. Where do they live?"

Ro: "nests"-- I guess we will have to start working on animal habitats :)

Rowen's favorites

Rowen has been talking about his favorites quite a lot lately. He has been asking us what our favorites are too. Eric and I got a kick out of interviewing Ro about his current favorites.

food: rice
book: food alphabet (Eating With The Alphabet)
toy: Lightning
song: ABCDEFG
thing to do at home: catch mama
thing to do at preschool: play there
thing to do outside: ride my bike
show: Thomas
blanket: blue baby
breakfast: waffles
drink: milk
thing to play: Thomas and Mavis
season: fall
favorite animal: tiger
color: red
treat: chocolate
shorts or pants? pants
cats or dogs? Coco
instrument:
ball:

Grammy's Birthday

Rowen adores his Grammy! He will say things to me like, "Mommy, that was fun playing with Grammy today." or "When is Grammy coming over?" or "I love my Grammy."
So, you can imagine how delighted he was to celebrate
Grammy on her birthday. Below is a link to a video of Rowen and Grammy.

Rowen and Grammy

Rowen at 2 and 3/4

Rowen at 2 and 3/4 is quite multidimensional. That is the best way I can put it into words right now. He is at one moment very happy and chipper, laughing, loving life in every way and then the next he is frustrated or angry, screaming and/or crying. Oh wow! Most of this age is delightful and fun while the rest (which truthfully often feels like the majority of the time) is very challenging for Rowen and his determined mommy and daddy.

Personality:

• Still very loving and affectionate. Tells everyone in his family (parents, grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts) that he loves them multiple times a day. I get many hugs and kisses throughout the day and Ro is still a snuggle bug which I hope never goes away!
• Wears his heart on his sleeve. We can tell instantly with a split second glance that he is hurt, sad, upset, angry, frustrated or blissfully happy!
  
• Has a temper. Simple as that! I am thinking that this is really NOT a terrible two thing for Rowen. I have a gut feeling that he will have to work on this in the years to come but I am confident that he will figure out how to control it because he is already showing us that he is learning what to do when he gets really upset. Rowen truly just feels very deeply about everything!
• Has a fantastic memory like his father. I can't believe the things he brings up out of the blue that happened a LONG time ago.
  
• Has a great sense of humor. He says and does things on purpose to make us laugh. He also is laughing more and more at things he sees other people do that are comical. We have noticed that he reacts best to people who are a bit more refrained in general. I don't know exactly how to explain that but he doesn't seem to react well to people who are super outgoing, friendly, loud, etc. I am sometimes surprised at what he thinks is funny and what he doesn't.
• Very serious in new situations. Likes to sit back and watch for awhile before joining in.
  
• Becoming more friendly with children. I have noticed that at the park and at preschool he has started to approach kids and start up a conversation (2 year old style of course) or ask them to play something with him. This is so sweet and makes my heart melt!
  

Most commonly used phrases:

• "That's cool."
• "I'm good." -when he doesn't want something that is offered to him. Mommy says this too so I am sure he has picked it up from me :).
  
• "Good idea"
• "NOT a good idea!"
• "I don't like it!"
• "I can do it!"
• "I'll give you one of these bees"- when he sees a bee, he makes a fist and then says this. Grandpa taught him this :).
• In a tone that could make any parent cringe, "I'm mad!" or "I'm NOT happy!" or in a very chipper and sweet voice, "I'm happy!"
• "I'm super duper!" when he does something well.
• When he thinks something is too challenging for him I will hear, "I'm just little mommy"; then seconds later when he wants to do something different, "I'm a big boy mommy!"
• "When I'm really big I will _____________", be a daddy, drive the car, etc, etc. Then the next second says, "I will be a baby someday!". We think this is funny so that is probably why he says it so much.
• "I will vroom it!" when he wants to run over something (rock, dirt clump, bug, etc) with his tricycle.
• "But I just woke up!" when we say it is time for a nap or it is bedtime.
  

Other developments:

• Riding his tricycle like a pro!
• Growing out of his 2T clothes and fitting into his 3T clothes for the most part.
• Going to co-op preschool with mommy every Thursday morning and loving it!
• Makes up songs ALL the time. He will make up his own lyrics to familiar tunes, mostly Twinkle Twinkle and ABC's. Ro sings about everything... his cars, what he did that day, his garden, what he is eating, what he sees outside the car window while we are driving somewhere, etc. This reminds me of my brother when he was little!
  
• Hasn't looked back since becoming fully potty trained in July. We are amazed at how well he does with this and we are so proud of him!
• Becoming more interested in letters again. He wants to play ABC games all the time and is beginning to remember some of the sounds letters make.
  

Continues to love...

• books- being read to and "reading" to himself and us
• dinosaurs
• cars
• trains (really loving Thomas The Tank Engine right now!)
• music- currently loves the song "Octopus" by Charlotte Diamond
• wrestle with daddy and Papa
  

Loves to go to...

• "Moebeemus" or Mobius in the downtown mall
• the park in our neighborhood and to Manito or any of the parks in Cheney
• Nana and Grandpa's house
• Grammy and Papa's house
• Gigi's house
• visit his cousins
• preschool
• visit his friends Bennett and Cooper
• the library or the bookstore to pick out new books
  

Bookworm

Rowen has always loved being read to. Over the past several months he has started to do the "reading" himself from time to time. He chooses old and new books to read to us. The new books he uses the pictures to make up his own story and the old books he repeats/retells the story, sometimes almost exactly word for word. We get a real kick out this because we love to hear him use book language- it sounds so funny coming from a 2 1/2 year old mouth! In this video he is "reading" one of his favorite books to his cousin Liz (she is sitting next to him in the car). I have a hard time with this particular book because it is certainly not at all quality literature but Ro loves it so we read it over and over again!

Rowen reading his Mater book

reaping the rewards...

from our garden!

watch Rowen stirring our salsa

A bit behind...

I am a bit behind on blogging. We have been super busy with school starting for mama, two ear infections for Rowen, stomach flu for Rowen and a touch of it for mama and daddy, a terrible cold for mama, preschool starting for Ro, one last camping trip, etc! I think we might all be on the road to getting healthy again. We will be back soon. I will leave you with this darling image of our Ro :).

The best of friends

Rowen and Cooper have spent many fun filled hours together over the past year...

playing cars, talking about their beloved cars, eating lunch, snacks, and dinner together, taking warm baths with lots of fun toys to play with, riding in their strollers while their mama's chatted away behind them, watching Elmo and Thomas The Train together, playing in the sand box and pool together, going on fun outings to Mobius, River Front Park, and much, much more.

You see, Coop and Ro only live a few blocks away from each other and their mamas are the best of friends too! Their mamas had the exact same work schedule last school year and of course have all the same vacations since they are both teachers in the same district! We got together at least 3 times a week to play- maybe only for an hour or maybe for an entire morning. The boys adore each other and so do their mamas! It is easy to be together... we just all fit together so perfectly. Often we would hang out in our jammies until lunch time and the mamas rarely took a shower or put on makeup before nap time. In fact, the mamas were usually in their jammies too OR if it was a good day, their work out clothes! We go together so well- it is just simple and natural, meant to be.

Ro, saying "cheese" while on one of our summer outing with Dev and Coop.

Our favorite playmates- Devri and Cooper!

The perfect summer evening... playing outside under the sun.

Could their be a cuter pair? These two worked tirelessly for hours on the lawn.
Ro mowed and Coop pulled the wagon across the lawn over and over again!

So, to Coop and Dev, thank you for being our best playmates! We couldn't ask for better friends. We know that our schedules are changing but the good times together are only going to get better and better!

Such a big boy!

Our Ro is such a big boy! As of July 16, 2010 Rowen has been diaper free all day and all night! We have had our ups and downs but overall he has just blown us away with how well he has done! Yes, we used m&m's and stickers to motivate him, along with a few other things in the "poopy" department. We couldn't be more proud of our boy! Way to go Rowen. We love you!

Oregon Coast Trip 2010- Part 2 NEW INFO

After our morning at the zoo we headed into downtown Portland for some lunch before heading to Corvallis to stay with TJ and Erin. TJ told us that he had heard of a place called Voodoo Doughnut, and that he wouldn't mind if we brought one or two with us for him to enjoy later! So, of course we had to check it out- not just to take TJ doughnuts but to enjoy a few for ourselves. While looking for the doughnut shop I noticed three separate groups of people walking along the streets of Portland carrying bright pink bakery boxes. I thought, "there must be a great bakery around here somewhere"- duh! Sure enough, as soon as we walked into Voodoo Doughnut I saw the bright pink bakery boxes stacked on the counter- I know, I know- those boxes hold special meaning but this is a family blog :).

The little mini doughnut bus

Some of our crazy Voodoo doughnut choices- they were all VERY good.

These are the famous Bacon Maple Bars. I didn't taste it. For some reason I just couldn't do it- I LOVE both maple bars and bacon but together like that just gave me a weird feeling. I am told they are really delicious!

Once we arrived at Erin and TJ's place we relaxed. We had dinner on their patio and then went for a walk on the OSU campus after seeing where TJ is working in the Chemistry Department. It was great to see the office/workspace where TJ is basically going to live for the next 5 years while he earns his Master's and PhD.
While we stayed with TJ and Erin, Rowen went swimming in the pool with Grammy and Papa- have I mentioned that Grammy and Papa seem to have oodles of energy?! Rowen seems to have the same energy so they are the perfect threesome :).


The next day we headed to Newport. We spent that day on the beach playing and relaxing, had some great seafood for dinner and we all crashed hard that night after so much fresh air all day.






The next morning we headed to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.

Rowen's favorite part of this day was the "touch pool".
In the photo above he is touching a sea star.

We watched the sea lions eat breakfast!

Rowen climbed all over the sea creatures in the play area.

After the aquarium, Grammy and Ro headed back to the hotel for a nap. Since beer is kind of a big deal in our family, the rest of us HAD to go to the Rogue Brewery for beer and appetizers. We all had a pretty good time as you can see below :)! I can't believe I don't have a photo like this of Papa :(.

TJ and Erin had to head back to Corvallis for work but the rest of us stayed another day. We spent the next day at the beach again before heading back to Corvallis for one more night at TJ and Erin's.

Ro with his favorite playmates!
These two grandparents kept Ro so busy- he was thrilled and so were mommy and daddy!

The photo below of Rowen on the beach pretty much sums up how the trip went... fantastic! Ro was an amazing traveler, slept really well in the car, in hotel rooms, and at TJ and Erin's place. He maintained his "potty trained" status the entire trip with zero daytime accidents and only 2 night time accidents out of 5 total nights away from home! We all had so much fun and created lasting family memories together. Thank you to Papa and Grammy for making this trip possible! We all love you so very much.

HURRAY!