4 months old and 29 years!

Happy 4 month Birthday Rowen!

Today we celebrated Rowen's 4 month birthday, my 29th birthday, and Erin's 26th birthday. We went to Coeur D Alene with my parents and spent some much needed time in the outdoors! We went on a beautiful hike up Tubbs Hill. Rowen seemed to loved it. He was fascinated with all the new sights and sounds. Eric and I also thoroughly enjoyed it- the temperature was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous. After the hike we went to Red Lobster where we met T.J. and Erin (who is turning 26 on Tuesday- Happy Birthday Erin!). The meal was amazing and Rowen was a gentleman in the restaurant- he took a nap at one point and then sat on his grandma and grandpa's laps for the rest of the meal- what a good baby! I can't believe that I am really 29. I guess I thought that I would feel "older" as I got closer and closer to 30 but I really do still feel very young. Rowen is a huge part of this feeling- he brings so much joy and laughter to my life that I can't help but feel full of life.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the great day!

What a cute daddy!... oh, and baby too :)

I just had to put this photo on of Eric giving Rowen his nightly massage. I rarely get photos of Eric giving his real smile and this one is just perfect. I don't know how I would do this new parent thing without Eric by my side. He is a great dad and continues to be a wonderful husband. He is probably going to kill me for doing/saying this- oh, well :).

Rowen is such a lucky boy. His daddy gives him a bath each night AND a baby massage! What a life. Rowen loves it all. He kicks and splashes in the tub while smiling up at Eric. Then he will lay on his tummy like the above photo shows for up to 15 minutes while Eric rubs him down with baby lotion.

Baby Boys and Overalls

I just had to share a few pics of Rowen in a few of his MANY pairs of overalls.
I think he looks so darling in them :).

Happy Days

We caught a few smiles with the camera- finally!
Do you see that red hair?! I am hoping that it really is red :).

Story time with mama.
Rowen loves this soft book that his Nana gave to him for Easter.

Rowen is filling our days with so much joy. He is the light of our lives! As corny as that may sound it really is so true! I have been thinking quite a bit lately about what it is going to be like going back to work in September (even if it is going to be part time) and I tear up instantly. It is going to break my heart! I think it will be harder on me than it will be on him- at least I hope so for his sake. I am just having so much fun with Rowen.

I love to just watch him- he is learning at such a fast rate that each day he is doing something new. He has pretty good control of his hands now. He is sucking on them and staring at them with such intense interest. He is also allowing me to prop him up in a sitting position for longer periods of time. He is keeping his head up for longer stretches when we put him on his tummy and he is bringing his feet closer and closer to his face when he is on his back. While we eat we often hold him on our lap now. He will sit with one of us for a fairly long period of time and stares at our food and follows the fork with his eyes as we bring it to our mouths. We think he is going to love food just as much as his mama does! This weekend Eric and I heard his first real giggle. He have heard little ones for the past few months like when he is asleep or the occasional accident giggle but this was the real deal! We were on our way home from Eric's parents house and I was sitting in the backseat with Rowen making funny faces at him. He was smiling his big grin at me and then he just let out the sweetest giggle. Eric noticed right away and we both started to laugh because it was so cute. I heard another one today while we were playing. He is still pretty quiet for the most part but I am sure that one day very soon he is going to start jabbering his baby talk and we won't be able to get him to quit!

He is becoming more and more interested in looking at books while he sits on my lap. He will let me read to him for about 15 minutes. I cherish this time... I hope that he enjoys books for many years to come and that he will begin to let me read to him for longer stretches.

We have uploaded many videos that we have taken of Rowen over the past few months. To view them go to our website (volkbaby.com) then go to galleries then go to Other then go to Videos of Rowen. I love all of them but there are a few that are probably more exciting for others to watch- they are...#26 (Rowen getting his daily exercise), #32 (Rowen waking up from a nap), #25 (Rowen rolling over). If you can't hear anything when you play them you probably need to upload the newest version of QuickTime. I sound like a complete idiot in all of them. I didn't realize that I talked so much baby talk! Oh well, I guess that just comes with having a baby :).

3 Months Old!

Playing on the floor with mama.

Tummy time- I have to keep putting Rowen back on
his tummy because he rolls over right away.

Rowen is 3 months old! It seems like just a few weeks ago I was holding my newborn, 6 lb. baby boy and now I am snuggling my 14 lb (probably closer to 15- I haven't weighed him since last Wednesday) little guy. Oh- he is so much fun! Of course he wouldn't smile for me today when I took the above photos. He is mesmerized by the camera- it is pretty funny to watch. We are having such a good time together. Rowen is cooing, smiling and moving those legs and arms like crazy. He is sleeping better and taking more naps througout the day. I'm not going to talk about his sleep any longer because it seems that as soon as I say, "Rowen slept ___ hours last night!", he changes it up on us. Below are a few of my favorite photos taken recently.

I love this shirt because Rowen is such a HUNK but it could also say CHUNK!

Loving bath time! Of course no smile for the camera :).

I remember telling my mom that I thought that Rowen would never wake up happy. He would wake up screaming EVERY time. She told me he would with time and she was right... he now wakes up with a smile for mama (IF I remember to let him stretch first).

Sound alseep... oh how nice it would be to sleep like that again :).

Our "little gentleman". That is what daddy likes to call Rowen.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Mama's Boy

My little man :)

I thought that I better get a photo of Rowen and I up on the blog. My family keeps telling me that I need to take more photos of Rowen and I together but I hate photos of me- I will do it for my little guy though.