What have we been up to?

Rowen celebrated my birthday by crushing my balloons and using them as a pillow.



We took goofy self-portraits while celebrating in Vegas.



Rowen went for a walk.... on a leash....a dog leash.



Avoided going to bed by playing in the Jeep.



Had a happy meal in the carseat.



Aunt Chris came for a visit and went to the zoo.



We all went bowling with Papa.



Rowie loved bowling, but didn't quite finish a whole game :-)

Top 10 things you do NOT want to find in your shower.

10. Mold/Mildew
9. Crickets
8. Spiders
7. Hair
6. Cold Water
5. Clogged Drain
4. Soap Scum
3. Low flow
2. A stranger
1. Poo

Rowen loves to shower. The other day we were taking a shower when I closed my eyes to wash my face. When I opened my eyes, the horror I found was unbelievable. Row decided to use the shower as his potty. Do I need to say more?

Got Milk?

As I was getting ready for school the other morning, Rowen sat in my closet drinking his morning cup of milk. I actually have a rather large closet, so it is very easy for Rowen to disappear to the back of the closet where I can't see or hear him. He likes to hide behind the clothes- maybe he is looking for Narnina. Anyway, he was quietly (this should have been my first clue) drinking his milk in the closet, and I was relieved because I could put on my mascara without him tugging at my arm, so I didn't go looking for him. Then, ever so slowly, he came wandering out of the closet, clearly a little dazed. As I looked more closely at him, I noticed that he was all wet. As I looked even more closely at him, I thought that he had spilled his milk, but the cup was lying on the floor completely intact, and empty. It was then that I realized that he was covered in regurgitated milk. He had vomited in my closet, all over the floor, and all over my clothes, not to mention all over himself. Instinctively, I felt bad for him, assuming he was sick or something, until he demonstrated for me what had happened.
You see, Rowen has a funny little habit of gagging himself. He likes to stick his fingers down his throat and feel that gagging reflex. It makes him laugh. This time he stuck the shoulder part of a plastic hanger in his mouth until he gagged, and eventually puked up all of the milk he had just enjoyed. Don't get the wrong idea. This was not a choking episode, but a deliberate act on his part to gag. I think the throw-up surprised him, but it didn't bother him. Lucky for me, Mom appeared just as all of this happened, so she was able to clean it up while I finished getting ready for work. Thanks, Mom!

Rowen wants to kill me.

For those of you that don't know me very well, I am VERY allergic to cats. I have been all of my life. Slumber parties were often interrupted by my mother having to rescue me from a home who had a cat as a pet. I don't even have to see the cat, and you don't have to warn me that you have one, because I can detect the the presence of a cat within 10 minutes of entering a home.

This weekend we had a chance to visit some friends who have a beautiful black cat. I knew about the cat going in, but it dawned on me that Rowen had never seen a cat in person. Of course, Rowen LOVED the cat, and thankfully did not seem to be one bit allergic to him. However, cats have become his new obsession. Someday, I'll have to break the news to him that we can never, ever have a cat, but hopefully he'll be over it by then.

My days have been filled with the word "cat" and "go" and he goes crazy when he sees a cat on TV or in a book. He even found the stray cat at the train museum more interesting than the trains! Maybe we can get a hairless cat?

Rowen managed to crawl head-first out of his crib, and didn't learn from his injuries. SO, about six weeks ago, I was forced to make his bed a cage. The best part is that he LOVES it. Now that he can't get out, how long can I resonably keep him as a crib dweller? Five years? Ten?

Ah yes, it finally happened. Rowen got a haircut. No, I didn't want to do it. Yes, he was starting to look like a girl. He didn't seem to mind it, though he didn't want to sit still long enough for us to actually cut it straight across the back. Dare I say, he looks even more cute with his hair cut.

A Holiday Summary (yes, the title is just as exciting as the post)

What a month it has been! We have enjoyed lots and lots of fun, and a little bit of misery.

In the "fun" category:

1. To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I took Row on a road trip to Phoenix. We had a great time and a HUGE thank you to Nathan who watched the kids and changed dirty diapers so that we could do some shopping. It had been a very, very long time that I had been to the mall to shop without a stroller and diaper bag. I forgot how fun shopping could be when you are not worrying about little hands touching and potentially breaking everything. We drove all by ourselves this time. Row didn't sleep quite as much as I'd hoped, so we sang the ABCs over and over again, and when that didn't work, Row watched "Yo Gaba Gaba" from my iphone the rest of the trip. The best part of this trip was the price of gas!! It made the road trip worth it again.


2. When we returned from Arizona, cousin Soren and his mom and dad came to visit us of for the actual Thanksgiving holiday. We had everyone over to the house for Thanksgiving for our first (and only) meal on our new (inherited) dining room table. I was surprised at how much I liked having everyone around and shocked at how much work it was to cook and clean-up dinner. Keep in mind and I had a lot of help and I was still completely exasted. Jon really did most of the cooking, and Darcie even did almost all of the dishes. My hat is officially off to my mom who has cooked and cleaned virtually every holiday meal for the last 40-something years.

3. Just after Christmas we somehow ended up purchasing a year-long pass to our local Lawrence Welk Resort. I know how it sounds, but it is actually a beautiful place and we have full use of the facilities, pools, waterslides, clubhouses, and all the other resorty stuff. I'll post more about this later. It really needs its own post.

4. We also made our way to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for a day of fun. Cousin Soren and his parents met up with us at the park, and we had a guest appearance from my brother who was visiting from Salt Lake for a couple of days.


Misery Category

All of the holiday fun left Rowen with an ear infection; actually a double ear infection. He's never really been sick, so this was a new experience for me. We were up all night with a fever, and ended up watching a lot of Yo Gaba Gaba (again) all through the night. The worst part of this whole situation was that Jon was out of town for a couple of days, and I was getting ready to start teaching in a new program at my same school, but different students. I ended up letting Row sleep in my bed, which worked out well for him, but terrible for me. The next day I took him to the doctor and we were given an antibiotic which seemed to help him feel better right away.

48 hours later
I noticed that Row was starting to look splochy and red, and bumpy. So, he was feeling better, but looking way worse. Apparantly Rowie is allergic to amoxicillian. We had to take him off of the antibiotic and get him a different one which seemed to work quickly. Row was back to his old self in just a few days.


I guess that sums up the holidays. We had a fabulous month (minus the sickness) and can't wait for our next break. I am already planning our next road trip to Arizona; this time it might include the Grand Canyon.