Rowan's words

Every day Rowan picks up a new word - or so it seems. Here's a list of what he's saying these days:

Mama, Daddy, Puppa (this one's new), Pie!, Nenu (Nana), Hi, Bye-bye!, Up!, Bub (aka. Boob), Baby, Cup, More, Balloon, Please, Woof, Moo, Rawr, Quack, WowWow (for wow wow wubzy his favorite cartoon), Babble (apple), and I'm sure there's a few more too.

My favorite thing right now is the way I trick him into saying words. I pretend to have a microphone in my hand and first I saw the word into the mic and then I hold the mic up to Rowan's mouth and he talks into it. This is how I got him to say "please" for the first time. It turns out he knows how to say a lot more than we thought, he just chooses not to talk much. Let's hope he still feels this way when he's 13.

New Trike

We got Rowan this fancy tricycle after we got back from Minnesota because he loved the ride-around toys at Aunt Kathy's so much. This photo is from the second day he had the bike. We were pushing him around the house and he was so excited that he just started crying and freaking out. At least that's what we think the problem was. One minute he was super happy - the next complete melt-down. Moody baby.

Oh, and yes, Rowan often runs around the house in a Star Wars shirt, cowboy hat, and no pants. Doesn't everyone?

...and in non-baby news...

The house is done! Well, painted any way. We also have new windows and a new deck on the back.

Here's the house before:


And after:

And here's one of the new windows that isn't painted shut and actually opens!

And here's a shot of the new deck that replaced our rotting back steps:


And here's another shot of the deck and our comfy chairs:


Our next project is the kitchen. New counter tops and some additional cabinets are going in next week! Yay!

Hiking

These are also from Duluth. There is a park and a lake across the street from Mike's Aunt Kathy's place. We spent a ton of time at the play ground and one day we took a stroll through the woods and down to the water. Rowan could walk ALL day and not get tired.

Swings!

Duluth Zoo

We took Rowan to the zoo for the first time while we were visit Mike's family in Duluth. Rowan "RAWR"ed at the tiger and polar bears, was really excited to pet the goats, and generally ignored everything else. Oh, except the playground which he heartily enjoyed.

Mmmm...potatoes....

This is how much Rowan loves hashbrowns. He has to close his eyes to savor the moment.

The Cat Crate

We had to take Pie to the vet the other day. Afterwards we left the cat carrier open on the couch for a few minutes. Mike and I were in the dining room and heard grunts from the living room. This is what we found.

Dork Out.

Rowan is already being schooled in the art of gaming.

Cowboy small...

Rowan used to HATE hats. It was an ongoing struggle in the winter to keep any hat on his head. Now he is suddenly in love with his cowboy hat.

Summertime

Just some random shots from this summer so far...

From Hippie to Haircut

Rowan's hair was out of control and Mike was tired of comments like "She's such a pretty girl!" so we had our friend Laurie over to give him his second haircut. He immediately looked so much older to me that it was a little sad He wasn't a little baby anymore. He is officially a "kid". Yikes!

Hilarious!

Uh oh.

One of Rowan's latest favorite activities is climbing. He can get up on the couch himself and he can climb up onto this trunk...and then on top of the air purifier...and then he's stuck. He's fast too. It only takes him a couple of minutes to get up here. It's got me looking around the house at any other tempting "climbing walls" and wondering what he's going to get into next.

More photos

New Rocking Chair!

Nana bought Rowan a little rocking chair on Sunday. He "helped" put it together and really likes climbing in and making it rock all by himself. It's super cute.

While we were at Ikea I also got kiddo a little chair (to go with his little table), a chalkboard, some storage bins, and some other silly stuff for his room. I'm hoping in the next month or so to totally clean out his room, paint it, and make give it a sort of space theme. We'll see. There's a lot of junk under the steps that will need a new home. I want to turn that area into a little fort for him.

Cedar Chips

On Saturday we had 6 cubic yards of cedar chips delivered for our backyard. I had no idea how large of a pile 6 cubic yards would make - but YIKES it's a big one.

Rowan had a good time rolling around in them, tasting them, and shoveling them. I found a handful of giant chips in his clothes when it was bedtime. In no time I'm sure I'll find handfuls of chips in every corner of the house too. I guess it's better than mud though.

PS. These shots are with our new camera! We left our old one in the rental car in Baltimore, hence the lack of photos/posts in the past month.

Dance Booboo!

1st Birthday!

Yesterday was Rowan's 1st Birthday! We had cake at home then went to the bank to open him a savings account with what he's collected in his piggy bank over the year (he's richer than mom and dad). After that it was a trip to the toy store where Rowan picked out a couple of toys. One is a push toy, kind of like a lawn mower and the other it a little ferry boat with cars and people. After that we headed over to Nora's house for some ballons, more toys, and a video call with his Nana.

It was a busy day for the little guy. I mean big guy. HE'S A YEAR OLD! I just can't believe it.

Oh, and I should add that I've never seen a less messy baby with a slice of cake. He didn't smear whip cream anywhere and generally was more interested in feeding his dad and the dog the cake then eating it himself.

So big so fast

I took this photo a couple of days before Rowan's first birthday. I can't believe it's already been a year and I can't believe how big my little guy is now. He was sleeping in my lap and I realized that before I know it those cute little dimples where his knuckles are will be gone and he'll be all grown up.

Walking!

Rowan decided he was done with that crawling business at the end of January. Even though he had been taking a couple of steps here and there he hadn't yet been really walking any distances. Then one day he walked all the way from the kitchen, through the dinning room and into the living room!

Now he can't get enough. He'll walk in circles for hours. And he's getting FAST. I guess it's time to get more baby gates.

Books are for what?

What's more fun than reading books? Tossing them on the floor of course. Rowan spent days doing this over and over. We finally blocked these shelves but he's finding others to destroy. Oh well.

Haircut!

Rowan's hippie hair had gotten out of control so he got his first haircut last month. It was just a trim to keep the hair out of his eyes. He wouldn't keep still just like he won't keep still when I wash his hair or wipe his nose or clean his face or touch his head for any reason.

Thanks to Laurie for the trim and working with a squirming baby.

Freakout photoshoot

For some reason, whenever I bring out the camera, these are the faces that I get from Rowan. Weirdo. ;)