The Pterodactyl.
Squawk.
Squeal.
Screech.
He goes by many names. But they all mean the same thing. Rowan is full of personality! And it shines brighter every day. He loves to scream, giggle, smile, suck his thumb, grab onto his feet, suck his toes, and put ANYTHING that comes within arm's reach directly into his mouth. He is that oral fixation stage. He explores his world with his mouth. Sage thinks its hilarious.
He has mastered rolling around and sitting up. And crawling is not far off. He groans, grunts, and pumps those little legs so hard. He is determined to move!
Hello world, Rowan has arrived in full form!
Both Kale and Sage are totally obsessed with Rowan. They fight over who gets to sit next to him. Who gets to sleep next to him. He is a real life security blanket/lovey. First thing the boys ask when waking up, "Where's Rowan?" I did know brotherly love could be so strong!
In the days following Christmas, we tried out all the new toys and gadgets.
The kids got to time-travel back to the 80's to try out the shrinky dink.
Rowan got a colorful bouncy music-making activity center.
I tried out my new crepe maker.
Round #1: We did a savory veggie crepe with balsamic reduction.
Round #2: We went sweet, and did cinnamon apples, brie, and honey.
Rowan checked out his water activity mat.
Rowan modeled his new drool bibs. He's got about 8 different whimsical patterns. Oh so fun to accessorize a baby!
And Matt got to try out his new frying pans with lids!
We had a family snow outing.
This seems exceptionally safe....
We didn't feel like driving anywhere. (We didn't yet own a car that could fit all 5 of us comfortably.)
So we walked down the street to find some neighborhood hills.
We're not sure if Rowan is sleeping...or frozen.
Kale - the coffee connoisseur.
He likes it with a little sugar, a little cream, some whipped topping, and of course.. sprinkles.
Yes, I let my 3-year old have coffee.
He loves it! He begs for it!
I do water it down...
And I only allow one tiny Kale-sized cup.
But he does sometimes steal my mug when I'm not looking.
Listen, Kale is an old soul. He's proven this to us in so many different ways. Who am I to argue with Father Time? If you got an old soul, you gotta nurture that old soul!
What are his other old man habits you ask?
He likes to carry around a backgammon board as if it's a briefcase.
Hi enjoys reading instruction manuals.
He gets emotionally attached to the business cards of people he has never met.
He crosses his legs when he sits.
He's addicted to white tic tacs.
Sage is an artist, a story-teller, and an entrepreneur. He'll use any medium he can find to express himself. Jars of metal screws, yarn, glue, construction paper, sequins, anything he can get his hands on.
He loves to paint. Color. Draw and decorate cards for his family and friends. Cut and glue anything to anything. He went through a book-writing phase, using magazine clippings and his parents' handwriting to help narrate his story. (He even sat at the corner of the sidewalk one day trying to sell his latest novel.)
Sage found a large pad of white paper and some scalloped scissors. What could possibly unfold from this amazing happenstance?
Well, these adorable chattering heads!
He designed the faces. I completed them with the speech bubbles. Both of us were quite tickled at this unplanned accidental craft!
My project man. My builder. My inventor. My scientist.
This boy's mind never stops thinking, planning, creating.
I am so interested to know how his path will unfold, as he transitions from child to adult.
Watch out world!
Rowan in the office!
Is it 'Take Your Baby to Work' Day?
No, it's 'Your Nanny Quit Before You Could Fire Her' Day.
Coffee Break!!!!
A little science experimentation.
Hey, did you know you can draw on a balloon?
Then pop it. To create the coolest shower cap EVER!
Eventually all that after-Christmas snow melted....
And we decided to go on a little hike.
But it wasn't long before it snowed again...
This time, daddy and the kiddos built an awesome snow fort!
Sage decorated with lollipops...
They spent many hours out there.
Even at night!
The Beautiful Baby Trio!
One of my favorite nick names:
Georgy Georgey
(Pronounced: gorjy jorjy)
One Saturday, after Sage complained of "being bored" and wanting to go to a place where he could "run, jump, and climb as much as wanted to" I took the 1st and 2nd born down to the new indoor rock climbing facility. Unplanned and on a whim. This ended up being one of my favorite spontaneous moments of fun in a long time! Plus we got a great deal. Free harness rental. No charge for Kale. $10 total for unlimited climbing!
I was just tickled with joy to watch my boys scale the walls!
Kale didn't make it too far. "His legs got tired..."
But Sage was a real life Spider Man!
At the end of the month of January, Grandma flew out to watch the kids for a few days. (Remember, we had lost our nanny... Full story told in the previous blog post.) Sage came along in the car to pick her up from the airport. He had major regrets about his decision to jump in for the ride. He was bored 10 minutes in. To salvage the situation, we stopped for Burger King on the way home. And that finally convinced him the 1 hour drive there and 1 hour drive back was totally worth it.
Alright guys, where to next?!
February, you say??
Alright then...hit the gas.
Let's go!!!
