As tradition would have it we took the girls to Cedar Hill Farm to visit the pumpkin patch and all the fun things the farm has to offer this time of year. Our digital camera battery charger has been MIA for awhile now but we remembered my Cannon EOS Rebel 2000 camera that I got as an awesome gift from my parents upon graduation from high school in - you guessed it, 2000. It takes film, something the girls will never fully grasp. Crazy isn't it? Ten years old and it still worked like a charm.
I had about 15 pictures left on this particular roll and we got some decent shots. Apparently I had some weird setting on though because the pictures kinda came out grainy as opposed to crisp. (I welcome any and all camera advice in the comment section!) It was different having to think about taking a picture instead of just snapping away like normal. The best part was definitely getting the pictures back - a little bit of Christmas morning excitement a la Walgreens.
The Canon Rebel 2000 (the name says it all!)
35mm film
(for those of you who forgot what it looks like)
To the pictures... (In all fairness and full disclosure, there are a LOT of them)
Here is our owl and chick also known as Peyton and Grace (or Grace and Peyton).
My little cowgirls...
This ride lasted 8 seconds... literally. (Mommy and Daddy were a tad miffed their $4 didn't stretch farther than one lap!)
Meanwhile, Rowan kept yelling "mush" as her "pony" (aka stroller) carted her around in luxury.
The big girls on the train ride.
So sweet!
All three kiddos!
Rowan and Mommy
(Work it Rowan! The camera LOVES you!)
On we moved to the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. With our mouths full of dust from the tractor, it was pumpkins as far as the eye could see.
Look what we found!
Meanwhile, Rowan continues to work the camera (and Daddy!) amongst the pumpkins .
Before we left, the girls climbed on the hay bales so mommy could get a picture.
Check out this genius idea for the baby room's Halloween decorations at daycare!
The pumpkin patch is filled with super cute pictures of smiling babies including this gem of Rowan.
And for my favorite part: the scary haunted house!
Love this!
I'd like to think Rowan doesn't cry at daycare but I know it happens (as evidence above show us). Her teachers said they got most of the photos right before the kiddos ate, which is obviously their most fussy time. I hope we get to take home the pictures! Her future boyfriends will LOVE this!
Here is Grace hammin' it up in her Tigers shirt and mommy playing with her new iPhone app: Diptic. I'll give one guess as to who was being a sourpuss this morning and refused to get her picture taken...
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.
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!
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!
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!
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-
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...
(for those of you who forgot what it looks like)
(Work it Rowan! The camera LOVES you!)
This is the shot (aka attitude) I got!
