Rowan and her Thumb

So on Sunday, Dad put a bandage on Rowan's thumb. She has been sucking it since birth. It was super cute as a newborn, and it worked really well to soothe her since she refused to take a binky. Anyway, the kids dentist told us to get her to stop ASAP. We asked our pediatrician, and he said that it was OK till she is older. All the devices that are supposed to help kids stop are for older kids, so we just let her continue. But, this last weekend, her thumb was looking really sore and swollen and we were concerned about infection, so Mike asked her if he could put a bandage on her boo boo. To our surprise, she was happy about it. She didn't try to take it off, and was a total trooper about the whole situation. It was a rough several nights, and nap times too. Mike took it off last night, and so far so good. We haven't seen her suck her thumb since...Hopefully, this did the trick!!

'I'm A Robot'

Rowan has totally been into Robot's lately, here is a funny/cute video of her playing at Grandma D's. (Sorry for the shakiness of it, I'm laughing and can't keep the camera still).

Kid's Pictures Part I

So last Christmas (2010), Liam's school had a fund raiser for a couple of girls that have cancer. We ended up having the winning bid on a photo shoot, that someone donated for the silent auction. I casually tried setting up a shoot in the summer time, but nothing materialized, and time flew by, and I kept putting it off. The woman contacted me in the Fall, and asked if we'd like to do it before winter hits...well, to make a long story short we finally were able to set it up on a super beautiful day, Halloween. Unfortunately, Mike was not able to be there because he thought he was going to be leaving on a business trip that week, and needed to be at work when we set up the time. But, we really wanted to get some pictures done before the cold...The kids were being completely uncooperative this day, and I am truly amazed that she was able to get as many as she did : ) Since she was only able to get about 1/2 the amount of pictures she normally does, and Mike was not able to make it, she kindly offered to take a family picture in the Spring time. So, below are a few, and the link below shows the rest. Hopefully, we can get the kids to sit still for a nice family picture in the Spring because we have not had one in a LONG time!









REST OF PICTURES HERE

Here is a link to the photographer's blog

Kids Birthday Party

So, last month on November 19th, Liam and Rowan had their 4 and 2 year old birthday party. We found a company online that offered to set up a HUGE bounce house in a rented room at Noah's. We invited all the cousins/family and some friends, and the kids jumped and slid down the slide to their hearts content. We had some sandwiches and sides for lunch, and then they got to open their presents, followed by cake and ice-cream. I think everyone had a great time!! We did get a video of the cake (I think), but no pictures, except this one I got w/ my phone after I picked it up, oh well!)





























SEE REST OF PICTURES HERE

Update

Here it is, 12:44 am in the morning and I am working on pictures. I can't believe I am so behind editing them?! I have pictures from May!! Well, I used to work on them after I got home from work...after I put Rowan down for her nap, and if Liam was sleeping too. But, this summer Rowan has decided to drop her 2nd nap, and then on top of that we have the yard to care for too. Sadly my blog, totsite, and pictures have been neglected lately....and I won't even mention how behind I am on the indoor stuff ;) Anyway, needless to say, I am getting caught up (on the pictures that is)!! And I should probably hit the bed SOON!! But before I do, I need to post a really cute picture of Rowan in the tub : )

April Fools

Mother Nature can be cruel at times, but sometimes she has a silly sense of humor...hence the snow this morning, 'April Fools', 2 days late!! Although it's probably for the best because we are both pretty sore today. My arms have had quite the work out over the last several days....Thursday evening I did 20 min. on the Elliptical (first time in many months), Friday I spent 2+ hrs. cleaning our stove top (that had baked on grease) and then took the kids for a walk in their stroller up some pretty steep hills, and Saturday I raked the dead grass out of part of the lawn, then helped Mike carry the club house part (left part of set, see below) from the garage to the back yard! Needless to say we both need a break today. I forgive Mother Nature for the snow too, since this storm saved us from a minor disaster last night. As I was leaving to get take out last night, the wind blew the door to our house in the garage open. I got out of the car, and for some strange reason I went behind the car, and saw a box of parts for the set right behind my tires! Had the wind not blown the door open, I would have run over it!! So glad I didn't, that would have been a spendy mistake...it had the swings, and other parts in it. Anyway, we all got to enjoy a short swing before the storm got too bad. Below are some cute pics of the kids. Before the storm blew in last night.

I should have got a before picture, but imagine it looking pretty black around the burners :)
When we ordered the swing set, it said 2-3 weeks for delivery. We got a call from the delivery company the next day that it was ready! Now that is fast service.



First walk of the year 4/1/11


I love this picture of Liam looking back and Gretchen peeing in the background!




Love the crazy look on his face here!
Happy Swinging!!

Apples

On this day, my 13,031st day on this planet, I realized that I prefer red apples to green ones!

Mike is 12,594 days young
Liam is 1210 days young
Rowan is 490 days young

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW MANY DAYS YOUNG YOU ARE

I came to this realization this morning because Liam was up late again last night. Last week at school his teacher told me that Liam was darting out of the class room, and we think it's because he was in his loopy phase, which means he's so tired he doesn't listen, and he acts crazy...it's the stage right before he gets really cranky. Anyway, today is a school day, and since I had a little extra time from working later yesterday, we decided to let Liam sleep in. Rowan was already awake, and she was downstairs in her chair watching Elmo, she can say 'Elmo' now BTW, sooo cute!! And I decided to eat an apple, but all we had left were green ones. Maybe it was just a bad apple, but I did not enjoy it at all! Anyway, Liam woke up around 8 am, and he was well rested! Last night before bed Dad told him to dream about Georgie riding Thomas the Tank Engine, and the first thing Liam told me was he had a good dream about Georgie and Thomas!! Their minds are like clay! It's crazy.

Rowan's First Hair Cut

Last month, on December 17th, we all went in for a haircut. This was the first time we all went in at the same time, and it was also Rowan's first time getting a haircut. She did amazingly well! Mike took a video, although it was a little tricky because Liam was running around the salon while I was holding Rowan, so we had to keep an eye on him, to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble. Anyway, I still think we got a cute video of her.

(Click on the picture below to see it).

Happy Birthday to our Wonderful Little Girl!!

So the store we bought the kids birthday party cake at offered a free 4 inch smash cake for baby's first birthday. They forgot to make it for our party, so we went back for Rowan's actual birthday and asked for the cake, but it ended up being 8 inches. Not sure why it was so big, and they also spelled her name wrong..But, cake is cake, and free is free, so we can't complain! We lit the candles and sang happy birthday to her. We ended up just cutting her a slice since it was such a big cake. She wasn't sure what to do with it, and she started to cry just like Liam did with his first cake. I put a little on her lip, and then she decided she actually liked the cake!



Click on picture below to see the video:


Liam helped her open her presents. She got a Fisher Price Talking/singing tea set, an Abby Cadabby 'P is for Princess' DVD, and her first doll. She still is more interested in chewing on Liam's cars than snuggling a doll, but perhaps that will change when she gets older : )


Anyway, we just can't believe that she is ONE already?! This year just flew by, and she is just growing and changing so quickly. Everyday we just marvel at how wonderful a baby she is, and feel so grateful to have her in our lives. We love you Rowan!

Liam and Rowan's Birthday Party

We had Liam and Rowan's Birthday Party this past weekend. Rowan turns 1 on November 26th, and Liam turns 3 on December 7th. We decided to have the party early because some family members will be out of town during their actual birthdays. Anyway, we had our party at Arete Gymnastics. We had the whole place to ourselves for 1 hour of playtime, and then 30 min. to have our cake and gifts. The kids had a great time playing! There is a link at the bottom of the post for more pictures of the party. (I'm using the site on a trial basis, so they will be available to see for 2 weeks. Then I will have to decide if I want to pay for the site).

Rowan and Mom


Liam in the foam pit


Rowan and Dad in the foam pit


Their cake...well we had a Curious George theme, and we ordered a monkey cake, similar looking to George, but they did not have the kit to make it. So we had to pick a different design at the last minute, and we ended up with Finding Nemo...so we called this theme 'Curious George Goes Scuba Diving'. We put 2 monkey's on the cake, one for Rowan and one for Liam!


Right before we lit the cake I was looking for Mike to make sure he had his camera to take pictures, and while I wasn't looking poor Liam lost his balance on the bench and fell backwards onto the concrete floor! He hit his head pretty good, and I felt so bad. He cried for a bit, but he was OK thankfully. We sang happy birthday to the kids, and enjoyed some cake. We let Liam open his gifts, but we were pretty pressed for time, so we took Rowan's gifts home to open later. All in all I think the party was a great success! And I have a whole year till I need to start planning again : )

Thanks everyone for coming, and for the gifts! They will surely enjoy them.


CLICK HERE TO SEE A SLIDE SHOW OF MORE PICTURES FROM THE PARTY