Rowan is 6 months old!

Well technically at press time she is 6 1/2 months old but who's counting!

Whew! Time sure does fly by and Rowan is reminding us of this every day! It seems she learns a new skill or discovers something new each day. She remains one of the largest babies on record (just kidding sweetheart, mommy loves you... all of you) and still holds the title of cutest baby ever. To the stats:

Height - 27.5 inches --> 95th %

Weight - 19 lbs --> 95th %

Here are some things about Rowan at 6 months:

~ She LOVES her sisters and will even laugh when Peyton and Grace yell "Boo" at her. For some reason, she thinks that's pretty funny. The big girls also like to dance and fall down to make Rowan laugh and that normally gets a laugh out of Rowan AND Mom & Dad.

~ She has been sitting up for a while now but is slowing showing the extent of her dexterity as she leans over to grab a toy she wants and then sits back up without falling over.

~ Lately she's been saying her "b's". We think we've been able to elicit a few but it's mostly up to her when she wants to practice her one and only letter.

~ She has done really well with solid food thus far. (I don't count the baby cereal/cardboard) We started about a week before she turned 6 months with avocados and she LOVED them. This was confirmed by her lunging forward for her next bite! Next it was on to some pureed sweet potatoes, which not shockingly, she also loved. Add to that pears, mashed bananas and Gerber macaroni and cheese (which tasted terrible to mom for the record) for the "like" column.

~ There are some foods she doesn't care for which we were surprised to find out. She does not like applesauce - the natural (no sugar) applesauce or the Gerber applesauce. She doesn't like peaches - the Gerber kind or the freshly pureed by mom and served on a gold plated dish kind. I mean, that's kinda weird, right? I'm hoping that with some conditioning she will re-enter society as a normal child but only time will tell.

~ She had her second (mild) ear infection last Friday so we are on Amoxicillon for 10 days. If I could still take liquid Amoxicillon - I would. I LOVE that stuff. My questionably normal child, not so much. Administering 1 teaspoon doesn't sound like a lot, but when you are fighting the spitting and drooling monster it seems like 1 gallon.

~ She is pulling up like a champ when given the chance. She is obviously unable to really stand up for longer than a second or two but she wants to so bad! She also (and thankfully for Mommy and Daddy's arms) loves her bouncy seat! She is a happy jumper!

~ Rowan continues to dictate most aspects of her life as we cater to her every need. She will still only take a bottle at daycare which makes the term "mommy's sidekick" all the more meaningful. I wouldn't trade it for the world though. We introduced a water filled sippy cup several weeks ago and she seemed interested, which was exciting.

~ No teeth to speak of yet (and I can't tell you how happy that makes mommy!). It looks like there might be a bud or two just below the surface on the bottom jaw, front and center. By the amount of drool, you'd think she had her adult molars by now...

~ She loves to play peekaboo and shake her toys to hear any sounds they make. Her favorite songs are "Row Row Your Boat" (with a special rendition being sung by Ms. Pam at school which makes her laugh every time I'm told) and "The Farmer in the Dell" which unfortunately for her, her father and I don't sing in perfect harmony.

~ Just recently she started reaching for us when she wants to be held. Love that!

~ At 6 months she is wearing 9 month Carter's onesies easily and will soon move to the 12 month set. Gap/Old Navy clothing she's in 12-18 months. We recently moved her up to size 4 diapers - yikes! I think the girls might have been 1 1/2 before they were in size 4. Her diaper size is probably more than you want to know but unfortunately for you I have to blog about these things as the baby brain is still going strong and there appears to be no end sight.

Here are some recent shots of our "big girl".

Halloween is near!

I snapped some pictures of the girls in their Halloween shirts this morning so I could play with my new iPhone app Strip Designer. So far, no comic strips but a couple fun shots using the software. Enjoy!

It's cold...

Mommy and Rowan decided to take a walk this morning in Antarctica. Here's Rowan-kmo ready to go!

Fall Collection

In honor of Fashion Week, here are some shots Rowan recently took at her go-see at the Fuller House of Fashion
(aka: Old Navy sale the previous day)

Here is our lovely 6 month old model showing she can fit into a 12-18 MONTH onesie!
I'm not even going to touch the plus size baby model joke here, except I totally just did. Luckily for Rowan she is VERY tall - - however, tailored baby clothing is not in her future (i.e. our budget).


WORK IT!

Here she is showing her versatility and range.

Give this baby an accessory and she WILL rock it.
That's a Gerber guarantee!

Yes, she is winning you over with her smile right now.
Let it happen... it's natural.

Aaaaaaaand, we're done.

Flailing arms = end of the fashion shoot.
Fashion week 2028 - watch out!

Our Weekend

We had a great weekend! We didn't do much but it was fun nonetheless.

On Saturday afternoon we decided to go to mass that night instead of Sunday morning. It was at 5:00 so we gussied the big girls up and headed out. I knew this photo opportunity would only present itself for a small time so I took advantage with the nearest charged camera: my iPhone. I think they came out pretty well - not sure how they will print though...

Grace is in blue and Peyton is in Pink.

As you can see, the color coding is still in full effect.
When they are jumping off furniture it is much easier to yell at them when they are in their respective hues.

This is a framer!

Here's a little outtake - I love Peyton's face in this one.

And another...

Sweetness personified.

Lord, please forgive me.

I could not resist snapping this shot, inconspicuously I must add! In my (nonexistent) defense, this was during the last hymn of the service and church announcements were the only thing that followed. There, I feel better!

What to do after church? Steak-n-Shake for dinner, that's what!
Here is Rowan showing Grace, by way of finger, that she'll take a tall glass of milk and some cheese fries for dinner.

Note about the hat: We were short $3 bucks so she had to go work it off while we ate.

Thanks Roaster! The dishes were spotless!


Speaking of eating, Rowan has entered the world of food (the rice/oatmeal single grain cereal does not count I'm convinced)! She tried an avocado (one of mommy's favorites) and LOVED it! Correction, the first time she ate it on Sunday morning, she liked it - that afternoon, for dinner, she LOVED it. It was the first time I actually saw her lunge forward for a bite and then chew since she started eating about a month ago. That rice cereal must be worse than I thought!

Happy girl!

I got the book Super Baby Food via Amazon and plan to use it as a resource for making some of her food. While I won't be winning Mom of the Year awards (like this Dad of the Year candidate I know) I do plan to try and give her as much "natural" food as a I can. So far, the avocados were easy to slice up and the pieces I didn't use went right into the freezer lickety split! Also, I don't know why it never occurred to me that the .97 jars of bananas were more expensive than the .19 fresh bananas which could be just as easily mashed up. Oh yea, I had to feed two mouths, that could have been part of it!

The face of satisfaction!


No Fuller weekend is complete without a trip to Target at some point it seems lately.

As you can see, Rowan was over it.


While at Target though, we did make an important purchase.

Instant Iris and Sonic Boom

Peyton picked out the purple and Grace picked out the pinkish-red. The key to success with nail polish and 3 year olds: Sally Hansen INSTA-DRY nail polish. This stuff flat out worked! I told them their hands were "glued" to the table and within 60 seconds they were dry and happily for them,"unglued". Pure genius, Sally, pure genius!


Slap a Michael Jackson mask on me and put me to work!
Well done if I do say so myself!


Looks like we're running an orphanage with all those fingers and toes!
Promise it's just 2 kiddos!

All in all an uneventful but memorable weekend doing not a whole lot!

Masterpiece Theater: Family Edition

Here is a gem I picked up one afternoon a couple weeks ago.

Theme: Family

Medium: Markers

Vehicle: Construction Paper

Grace's Family

I'm impressed with the control Grace shows here although I am not sure why only Rowan, Daddy and I have "bodies" and Grace and Peyton are stick figures. Is Grace trying to subtly telling the three of us we need to lose weight? Also, why do I have a million legs? Am I standing on grass?

Even though she is calling me fat, she still gives super sweet hugs.
Grade: A-


Peyton's Family

I applaud Peyton for making EVERYONE stick figures in this drawing. I am however noticing her preference for a certain parent. Also, if you look carefully, you'll notice she make an effort to include Rowan's footprint.

Deduction for favoritism, but sweet to remember Rowan AND her footprint in her family picture.
Grade: A-

Milestone: Writing

I didn't realize how much I was waiting for this moment until we picked up their sheets at school a couple weeks ago.

We are beyond proud of them!

Grace

Peyton

The letter of the week was D and the number was 1. That's what the bottom line was for.

We are still a ways off before they can do this sans highlighter but it was a fun (and sad) realization that they are growing up fast and learning so much. Kindergarten is right around the corner...

Impressive!

So I don't like to toot my own horn but... my kiddos are super smart! More importantly, they have some really awesome teachers at "big girl school"!

Even though the 4th of July has long passed, I present you with:

The Pledge of Allegiance as recited by 3 1/2 year old Grace:

Can you guess who the "echo" in the background is?

Now for Peyton's Pledge of Allegiance:

The focus of a 3 year old at its finest.

Here's hoping this is an indication of the SIZABLE college scholarships to come!

5 month Rowan update

Here is a short update on Rowan who is 5 months old as of last Wednesday (8/18/10).

We go to the doctor for another checkup (and shots) when she is 6 months old but I wanted to share what she has been up to lately. She is a busy girl who loves to spend time in her bouncy seat jumping and squealing away.

Check out these lungs!

We love these squeals!

Grace has been lucky enough to illicit a few herself from the funny faces and sounds she makes for Rowan.

Rowan also just started eating some big girl food! She has been sitting up really well for a couple weeks now. We had to give her some Tylenol a couple weeks ago and realized her thrust reflex is gone. That, coupled with her interest in our plates, made us think she was ready. Boy were we right! She finished off the small little bowl we gave her and the rest is history!

I send her to daycare with a serving for "lunch" and she eats at 5:00 when we get home. I'm thinking the first real food will be avocados... one of Mom's favorites and super healthy for a growing baby!

Rowan after her first meal.

Here's out little trooper in her big girl seat at Rancho Grande.

She had the #5 (Speedy Gonzales - no beans, extra rice)

And here is the little stinker drinking her first (unforced) bottle outside of daycare. Holding it by herself, no less. She had only taken an ounce before I picked her up from daycare and I couldn't bear to pour the liquid gold down the drain so I thought I'd try it. Yes, I realize this will never happen again.

She drank another 2 ounces!

We are super happy Rowan is learning and doing new things everyday but our baby is growing up too fast for us!

Clowns

A couple weeks ago the girls got to dress up like clowns at "Big Girl School".

While they didn't need face paint to act like clowns, they do look pretty darn cute with it on!

Masterpiece Theater: Rorschach Edition

Nearly everyday when I pick up the girls at school we have some work of art to take home that they've done during the day. Some of you might remember a previous project Mommy and Daddy thoroughly enjoyed. Yesterday was no different, except it was... BEHOLD.

Theme: Red

Medium: Paint

Vehicle: Construction Paper

Here is Peyton's RED Heart.

She stayed classic while pulling on Mom's heartstrings. Grade: A+

And here is Grace's RED... bee fountain?!

While she stayed with the theme, I'm not really seeing a bee or a fountain or the color yellow.

Grade: A for creativity and cuteness

I asked her what a bee fountain was (while Daddy told me to stop patronizing her) and she told me, "A bee home is when the bees aren't there and a bee fountain is when the bees are there."

There you have it! Be sure to watch out for your local bee fountains and let the above picture be your summer guide.

A Different View

Sunday Rowan decided to change her view of the world.

"Look self, no hands!"
I was trying to prove to my grainy iPhone camera that she was in fact sitting without support.


What? No big deal. I sit all the time.

Hamming it up!

She's a happy girl!

The biggest thing we learned from Sunday: she's growing up WAY too fast!
Make it stop!