Don't Mess With My Ride!

We learned this past weekend that Rowan is pretty particular about his toys. He only likes the car/walker Grandpa Rob bought him when it's in the car position. If you try to convert it...WATCH OUT!

I'll post birthday party pics soon!

Happy Birthday!

Tick...tick...tick...

Time is ticking by, but I'm still not an auntie yet! I'm getting so impatient for Heidi Sue's baby to come out and greet the world!

C'mon Heidi, Rowan wants to meet his cousin! (no pressure or anything;-)

Love,
Angie

Playing in the Cabinets!

Rowan's new favorite activity at Grandpa Rob and Grandma Michelle's house is climbing in the cabinets. Grandpa thought he should join in too!

First Haircut!

Rowan had his first haircut on Saturday. Great Auntie Annette did a wonderful job on his beautiful, baby-fine hair. Rowan was pretty serious through the whole experience, only cracking one smile. But at least he didn't cry!

Oh, those overgrown bangs!

First cut!

Trimming the back.

Playing with clippies!

Getting a haircut....it's serious business!

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Every year on our anniversary (September 20), Kyle and I have a picnic in Irvine Park, where we were married. Last year, we hadn't yet met our little buddy, and I was bursting at the seams when we took our fountain photo! This year's photo included the soon-to-be toddler that we now know and love with all of our hearts. What a difference a year makes!

September 20, 2006

September 20, 2005

Fall Fountain Fun!

Rowan enjoyed playing by the fountain at Irvine Park curing our annual anniversary picnic on September 20. He had lots of fun throwing leaves in the fountain and crawling around the park.

11 Months

I know this post is late, but we had to borrow Heidi's camera to take some pictures. Our baby is nearly 1!! Can you believe it? He's becoming such a little toddler, but he's still a baby to me (sniff, sniff). Here's a taste of the things he's now doing as an 11-month-old (give or take a few billion things since he changes so frequently now!).

On the motor front: As our recent videos have shown, Rowan is becoming more and more steady on his feet. He gets so excited right before he lets go and takes some steps. He looks excited and nervous and super proud all at the same time. He's able to walk across the room to us pretty well now.

Rowan can crawl up to the top of stairs, turn around and crawl down on his tummy (uncle Scott taught him how). We still use our gait, of course, but this is a great step toward safety and independence! He also can get down from furniture on his tummy.

He also has become quite a climber. He's climbed into cabinet drawers (yes into cabinet drawers) and uses objects to try to climb onto furniture and get to things out of reach. Yikes!

On the communication front: Rowan says mama quite frequently. He also started saying Scott this past month (while pointing incessantly at his uncle). He says duck, quack quack, baa baa and makes the cutest horse noise. He has said dada and grandpa, but they aren't as frequent. He knows and uses the ASL signs for eat and more. He also says full sentences in a strange baby language that we, of course, can't understand.

One of Rowan's favorite communication techniques is the "shrug and 'huh?'" Any time he wonders something, he'll hold up his hands, shrug and go "huh?" He does this a lot whenever Kyle leaves the room, as if to say, "where's he going?"

Listening! Listening! Listening! Rowan seems to understand much of what we're saying. We learned in our ECFE class that babies have 80-90 percent of their language comprehension skills at a year. It shows! Rowan can follow instructions, can find objects (like his football, puppy, ducky and specific books). He can hold up his index finger when we ask how old he is (I've been teaching him that so he'll know it when his first birthday rolls around). He loves to point at things while we tell him what they are. He's soaking it all in!

Favorites: Rowan's favorite book is I Love You Stinky Face (super cute!). His favorite foods are blueberries (frozen or fresh), plums, watermelon, green beans, meat (organic hot dogs, chicken, steak, free-range turkey meatballs), spicy black beans, egg yolk and organic fruit leather. He doesn't eat a ton at each meal, but he eats a pretty good variety now. He likes eating at Chipotle (the the black beans and chicken out of my burrito bowl) so we meet Kyle there for lunch sometimes. They used naturally raised meats (no antibiotics or hormones) so I feel good about letting him eat there.

He's a little charmer with a sweet personality, and we feel so blessed to be his parents!

Rowan Cuddles His Cousin

Heidi stopped by today, so Rowan got a chance to give his cousin-to-be a little cuddle. Enjoy!

Stepping Strong(er)!

He's getting better every day!

Say "Cheese!"

I have no idea how Rowan picked this up, but he makes the most silly, squinty fake smile now when you ask him to say cheese! Heidi discovered this yesterday and took a bunch of pics. The one below best captures the funny face he makes. Now he makes that goofy face every time he sees the camera! Will we ever get another natural smile?? Sooooo funny!


And here's a bonus pic of our little cutie in his orange and blue sweater. (Go Scots!) We're having to break out his fall clothing now that the weather is cooling down. Hmmmmm...we may even have to do some shopping!

Daddy's Day Off

Kyle took the day off Thursday, and we had a fun time enjoying both of our Twin Cities.

"Do not disturb."

We took advantage of Rowan's morning nap for the drive to Minneapolis. He was still sleeping when we got there, so we just hung out in the car for a while and talked until he woke up. Actually, most of the time we just admired our little cutie while he slept. (Kyle and I both hopped in the back seat to watch Rowan sleep!)

"To the farmer's market, Daddy!"

Then we walked around the Minneapolis Farmer's Market for awhile before stopping at D'Amico and Sons for lunch. Rowan enjoyed looking at all of the fruits, vegetables and flowers, and he was a big hit at D'Amico among the downtown lunch crowd.

"Wow, my very own crawling trail!"

Then we headed to St. Paul to get some ice cream and groceries. Rowan enjoyed playing outside for a bit before we went home. He got super dirty!! Kyle had to clean him up in the grocery store bathroom.

"OK, I'm tired. Back to the car, Daddy!"

It was a great day filled with outdoor fun!

Busy Day!

Rowan and I had a very busy day today. After a morning walk and a nap (for Rowan, not me -- I wish!) we visited Great Grandpa DuWayne and Great Grandma Barb. Rowan (also known as "Bunky" to Great Grandpa DuWayne:-) showed off his skills as a fledgling walker. He also enjoyed copying and smirking at his great grandpa.

After a nice visit, Rowan fell asleep in the car. When we got home, Kyle hopped in the car and we took off for the state fair. Rowan slept most of the way. At the fair, Kyle and I ate lots 'o junk food while Rowan enjoyed organic fruit leather and little bits of free range chicken dog (poor kid doesn't even know what he's missing;-). Actually, I probably wouldn't feel so bloated right now if I had shared Rowan's dinner instead of eating all that yummy state fair grease and sugar!

At the fair, Rowan saw a bear...

...and a Barrett! John Barrett to be exact! I worked with John before Rowan was born. I love Rowan's expression in this picture. He's like, "Uh, mom...who's this guy getting his picture taken with me??"

Rowan really enjoyed all of the baby animals at the fair. He also couldn't point fast enough when we reached the midway...sooooo many lights and noises!

I think we'll have to take it easy tomorrow...

First Steps!

Well, we haven't been able to find our camera since we came home from the cabin (we hope it's still up there and not lost!). As a result, we haven't been posting as much lately. However, now I've figured out a new trick -- putting our videos on the blog!

This video shows Rowan taking his first independent steps today! He's been cruising around furniture for such a long time now, but he hasn't had the courage (or maybe just not the desire) to let go until today. He's still pretty shaky, but now that he wants to walk, he should progress fairly quickly (yikes!). Enjoy!

This One Counts!!

OK, so I've been thinking Rowan has been saying mama legitimately (meaning he's not just making the noise, but actually intends to say mama) for a few weeks now. But after tonight I'm absolutely convinced (and I have witnesses!).

We were over at Grandma Connie and Grandpa Kevin's house. Rowan was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table entertaining everyone sitting around it. As I walked over to the table, Rowan followed me the whole way and finally smiled up at me and said "maaama." He said it so purposefully and in such a sweet little voice. He totally melted my heart!

I'm counting mama as his first real word (with, of course, an asterisk about the 8-month grandpa controversy;-). I am realizing, though, how muddy the developmental milestone waters really are. It's so hard to decide what's a noise and what's a word. He seems to copy a lot of noises (baa when we make sheep noises, for example) but mama is the first word that I feel confident he says and means. Of course, I'm not biased or anything! ;-)

10 Months

As of August 12, Rowan is 10 months old. I can hardly believe how fast this year is flying by! We're having lots of fun with our little buddy this summer. He's becoming more of his own little person each day, copying us and showing us in big and small ways that he's listening to every word we're saying.

He follows simple instructions, such as "Can you give that to mama?" or "Can you find your puppy?" If I recite the first few sentences from his favorite books (I know them by heart!) he'll even find the book and bring it to me.

I've also become sure that he's saying mama this past month. It's really hard to figure out when they're just making new noises and when they actually mean something. My dad was convinced (OK is convinced) Rowan started saying grandpa at 8 months. My dad's certainty stems from the fact that Rowan really did say something that sounded like grandpa during dinner one night right after my dad said, "Can you say grandpa?" Great grandma Lindell, my brother Scott, my dad and my mom all witnessed it. Ever since then, my dad thinks that any sounds that include gah or pah are, in fact, Rowan's attempts to say grandpa...

Anyway, I really do think he says mama now. Today he actually looked at me with a smirk and said maaamaaa. I got super excited, and he started giggling immediately. He looked at me like, "Yeah, I knew you'd love if I said that." Kyle said he's holding out for Rowan to say daddy (he says dada, but I guess Kyle won't be sure it means anything until it's a solid daddy).

Rowan is still cruising away, and getting more daring all the time, but still no real walking. I'm not complaining! He's a fast crawler, but that's nothing compared to running, so we'll be happy if he takes his sweet time. He has no trouble getting to where he's going, so he's as happy as can be.

Rowan's favorite foods right now are fruits (especially blueberries or ripe peaches or plums that he can share with mama) and meats (little shreds of chicken or steak). We've been trying to give him some yogurt fruit smoothies, but he's still a little leery of them. They say it takes several introductions when introducing new foods, so we'll see... He likes o-cereal and crackers, but it's been rather slow going with the solids overall. We offer, he eats some, then it's food all over the floor... At least he's still getting lots of breastmilk, which provides all the nutrients a baby needs for the first year (with solid foods being more of a learning experience).

We'll start ECFE classes again in early September. This time, Rowan will be one of the oldest, rather than one of the youngest in the class. It will be fun to look at the younger babies and think that Rowan was in their shoes just a few months ago!

In terms of copying, Rowan fake coughs, fake yawns and fake sneezes when we do the real thing (so funny!). (Please note: any bad habits Rowan picks up are always the result of him copying other people -- not the two of us. We, of course, have no bad habits to speak of. ;-)

Rowan is truly a gift and we're thankful for him each and every day!

Here's our sweet little 10-month-old.

Here he is doing his very best "so big" for the camera.

And here he is waving. (He loves to wave at people walking by our house, but sometimes he forgets to do it until they've already gone past...oh well!)

Here's a very serious clapping session (oh, the concentration).

And, my favorite, peekaboo. Sooooooo fun!

Sweet end to a fun visit!

A Day Brightener

There's nothing better than a sweet little baby to cheer you up in the middle of a difficult week. So we brought Rowan down to visit Grandma Michelle, Grandpa Rob and Uncle Scott last Wednesday.

Rowan and Grandma Michelle had lots of fun playing peekaboo!

And Rowan actually let Grandpa Rob rock him to sleep (a RARE event!).

Enjoy a DQ Blizzard on Thursday!

Thursday, August 10 is Miracle Treat Day! On Miracle Treat Day, all participating Dairy Queen locations will donate proceeds from every Blizzard sold to Children’s Miracle Network. In Minnesota, Children's Miracle Network supports Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul. Gillette cares for children who have disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and epilepsy.

So tomorrow, support children with special needs by enjoying a blizzard (being a do-gooder doesn't get much easier or tastier than that)!

He can't take a bad picture, eh?

Everyone says that Rowan ALWAYS takes such wonderful pictures. Well, here are some pretty hilarious (and cute in their own way) pics of Rowan after he woke up from his morning nap. Kyle and I can't stop giggling whenever we look at them -- especially the second one!!