16 months

Better late then never right?? He's actually 16.5 months...oh well
This month has been so fun with Rowan. He is turning into such a funny little guy.

-Loves making us laugh and now uses that to try to stay up late!
-Loves hiding and playing peek a boo all.day.long!
-Says SO many words. My goodness. He is always complimented on his huge vocabulary everywhere we go.
-Knows that santa says Ho Ho Ho. He actually calls santa Ho Ho. When ever he sees a picture of santa he gets excited. However, when we took him to see santa he completely freaked out!
-Is now taking one nap a day. I'm having a love/hate relationship with this.
-Has amazing gross motor skills.
-Seems to learn a new sign every few days. I really believe that is why he is talking so much. When we sign to him we say what we are signing and I think that has really helped build his vocabulary.
-Likes to sit on his potty seat on the toilet
-Hates brushing his teeth, but loves the sign for it.
-Is still a fabulous eater. He may not eat a lot, but he eats a large variety.
-Loves his baby doll and takes such good care of it. He will be such an awesome big brother someday (and no, that's not a hint)
-Loves his daddy so much and has such a hard time when daddy goes to work.
-Loves to paint and color. He hardly even eats the paint anymore!
-Follows almost any direction you give him.
-We took him to Holiday in the Park in San Jose and he loved all the little scenes and lights. He kept telling us "mo, mo" which is more in Rowan language.


He really is such an amazing little guy. He is such a huge joy in our lives and I feel so blessed to be his mom. I love that he is becoming his own person, even when that means he has some very strong opinions. I'm so excited for Christmas this year, I just know he's going to have a blast at my parents house!

Cars

He is so into cars right now and loves driving them around the house.

15 months

Rowan is learning so much everyday, I am constantly amazed at the things he says and does. He is quite the talker, and people are always so surprised at how well he communicates with us. He is such a happy and sweet child. We sure do love him!

At 15 months:

Weight: 21 lbs 9 oz (4%)
Height: They measured 32 inches but I'm pretty sure it's wrong. We'll measure him again at home

-I've lost track of how many words he can say...
-Knows what a horse, sheep, cow, cat, and dog says
-Had his 2nd ear infection
-still loves any type of fruit, and would rather eat fruit than anything else.
-likes to dip his food
-is the greatest airplane traveler in all of baby land
-loves his cousin Gigi so much. He still cries for her if he sees or hears another little girl her age.
-will only whisper "papa" it's quite funny!
-Calls my mom maba and signs grandma while doing so
-usually sleeps 10 hours at night before coming in our bed
-still taking 2 naps a day
-still gets compliments on his hair everywhere we go
-runs everywhere
-isn't a picky eater, but doesn't eat much...perhaps the reason for his low weight
-loves his wawa (water) and gets really upset if you don't have any for him. When we were driving home from the mall we forgot to bring his cup and ended up stopping at a gas station for some water because he was so thirsty!
-Is a crazy good climber. He will and can climb on just about everything in our house.
-Is a pretty good listener when we tell him to do or not to do something
-Rarely throws a tantrum (I know the time is coming...)
-Attended his first birthday party in California, His good friend Kellen turned 1
-Dressed up as a scarecrow for Halloween
-Is such a sweet, good boy

14 months

I think that this month Rowan has really turned from a baby into a toddler. He's such a funny and happy boy!

At 14 months Rowan...

-Is sleeping in his OWN ROOM in his OWN CRIB and ALL NIGHT long (and naps too)!!! This was a big transition for all of us, but it was much needed. As much as we all LOVED co-sleeping, Rowan just wasn't sleeping well anymore and was ready to have his own bed.
-Sleeps with his pillow, taggy blanket, and aquarium, and binki
-Can run, and things it's so funny to run away and hide when he tell him it's time do do something he doesn't want to do. Such as a diaper change.
-Tries to jump. He crouches down and then pops back up, his feet never leave the floor.
-Started walking backwards
-Has a deep love for cars or anything with wheels . When he plays with cars he will drive them around on the floor and makes a vroom sound.
-Also loves airplanes and will sign airplane whenever he hears one or sees one.
-New signs are thank you, airplane, dog, mom, grandma, car, bus, hat, bird, hot and cold
-New words are nack (snack), mik (milk), says "bye" very clearly now instead of just ba, cheese, walk, shoe, dat (that), wut (what), burr, and hot. He will also put two words together like bye dada or what's that.
-Loves to tell us whether things are hot or cold. He signs cold so cute and always says burr. If he see's me cooking something on the stove he will tell me hot or if he see's ice in a glass he will sign cold.
-He will point to things in books when you ask him where something is. He has the whole "things that go" page down in his First Words book!
-Started a new music class and will sing along to some of the songs on the cd. He also dances to them and claps when they are finished.
-Still gets so excited whenever any of his friends come over to play.
-Loves hats of all kinds. He thinks the hood on his bath towel is a hat and signs hat when getting out of the bath.
-Body parts he knows: tongue, hair, ears, (have known those since 12 months), belly, nose, feet
-Has gotten really good at figuring out how his toys work. He knows which buttons to push to make them work or make noise.
-Loves watching Baby Signing Time and will go to our bedroom door and start singing Baby, Baby while signing it. Sometimes he gets mad if we don't let him watch it.
-Likes to chew on his clothes...gross...
-Will leave sunglasses on
-Loves books, even more than before. He will sit and read with me for a good 30 minutes, especially if the books have cars or trucks in them. We now go to the library and check out books after story time on Thursdays.
-Can climb up into his stroller
-Loves going on bike rides
-Loves fish and really enjoyed going to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium a few weekends ago. I'm so excited to take him there over the next year since we got a membership.
-Also loves dogs (and cats, but more so dogs) He gets so excited when he sees them walking outside and instantly signs dog and makes this growling noise
-Will go to the fridge when he is hungry and say cheese.
-Has gotten really good at exploring and climbing on playgrounds
-Is wearing mostly 12 month clothes with a few 6-9 month things thrown in. All of his 18 month stuff is still way to big (mostly length wise)
-Wears a size 4 shoe



No comments:

13 Months

Rowan turned 13 months yesterday. I think I will continue with monthly updates until he's 2.

He had his 12 month appointment last week
Weight: 22lbs
Height: 29.75

-He is a professional walker
-Can stand up without holding onto anything if he falls down while walking
-Can bend down and pick stuff up while walking
-Climbs onto the ottoman in his room and then onto the rocking chair...scary!
-Tries to sing along with "baby, baby, baby, signing time"
-Signs along with the Baby Signing Time movies
-Signs more with 2 hands now
-Loves hats and shoes and is constantly asking me to put them on by bringing them to me and saying "ha" or "ssshhu"
-Is very brave swimming
-Is loving birds. He likes to chase them outside while saying "b b"
-Gets so excited when he sees other babies
-Loves to wave bye to everything, even airplanes he sees flying away
-Tries to make us laugh
-Has almost 4 teeth on top, 2 on front bottom, and 1 bottom molar just came through
-loves walking around outside exploring
-can feed himself with a utensil if you put the food on it for him.
-Loves reading animal books
-is a very happy little boy!

12 months, or 1 year.

Rowan is now 1 year old. It really doesn't seem possible, but somehow it is. He's at such a fun age right now and is such a good boy!

At 12 months...

Weight: 21 lbs
Length: ?
(he goes in for his 1 year appointment on the 18th)

-He is walking all over the place and rarely crawls anymore!
-He says ni ni (night night), nana (banana), Gigi, papa, mama, dada, baf (bath), ball,
-He signs milk, finished, drink, water, dad (sometimes), more, bath, and eat
-He loves pushing stuff around the house
-Tries to climb onto everything!
-Loves music and dances anytime he hears it. We were at Starbucks the other day and he started dancing to the sound of the blender, he has also danced when he heard construction noises.
-Is still loving books and being read to.
-Has 4.5 teeth and is having a really hard time with teething right now
-Had his first trip to the ER. He was coughing so hard he couldn't breathe...so scary. He's all better now!
-Had his first bloody accident when he fell and cut his upper lip frenulum.
-Is on a very consistent schedule that I love. Wakes up around 6:30 naps from 8:30-10 then again from 1:30-3 and bedtime at 7
-Loves bath time or anything to do with water. He will come up to me and sign bath and gets mad when I won't let him get in.
-Loves other babies and kids
-Gigi may be his favorite person, when he sees her he tackles her and gives her TONS of kisses and hugs!
-Loves pots and pans
-Likes to ride his new trike we got him. It's so cool with a harness and push handle!
-Only uses his pacifier for sleeping (he's been doing this since 8 months)
-Is very snuggly
-Loves to smack his lips
-Loves to make us laugh
-Is the sweetest, silliest, smartest boy!
Birthday and Utah pictures to come!

11 months

I really can't believe that this time last year I was 36 weeks pregnant and hadn't met Rowan yet. He is such a HUGE part of our lives and I really can't imagine life without him.

At 11 months:

-Rowan loves to read books. He loves to read the same book over, and over, and over again. He will sit on my lap in the rocking chair (which I love) and just let me read to him. If I'm not reading fast enough he will turn the pages for me. He loves any books with animals in it and also still loves Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? His favorite page is the one with the "boom, boom, boom"
-He can says "nana" for Banana. He has a peek-a-block with bananas in it and he kept holding it up to me saying "nana". Well, I kept saying "block, that's a block Rowan" and he kept saying "nana". I finally noticed it had bananas in it. He's smarter than me some days! Derek also placed 3 blocks in front of him and told him to find the bananas and he did it, twice, so we know he actually knows what he's doing!
-He can almost say baby he says "bayba" it's really cute. He also says "ba" for ball.
-If you ask him to repeat a word he will usually get the amount of syllables right. For example if you say "say tractor" he will say "daba" or say tree "da"
-Said "cracker" while eating crackers. Derek and I both heard him say it twice, so I know we're not crazy =)
-He can take a few steps on his own but isn't very steady yet.
-Loves his little toy penguin
-He is obsessed with strawberries. We had them in our cart at Costco and he was trying so hard to get them.
-He loves to play outside on our patio. Whenever he is grumpy I take him out there and he usually calms right down.
-He loves balls and get's so excited to play with them. He can also throw them and thinks it's pretty funny.
-He also likes to throw his food in his highchair. He thinks it's funny...the carpet, not so much.
-Loves his daddy so much. He gets so excited when he gets home from work and cries when he leaves.
-Takes "rests" while he crawling or playing. He'll be crawling around and then just lay his head down for a few seconds. He'll also do this if he's standing up on the ottoman, if a pillow is on the ground, or to anything else he wants to snuggle.
-Growls at his stuffed zebra
-Can feed himself with a spoon if you put the food on it for him.
-Likes to brush his own teeth...he doesn't like anyone else to do it.
-Almost has 4 teeth. 2 on bottom and 1 1/4 on top
-Loves to go swimming. He will even put his face in the water. If you set him on the side he will jump to you.
-Hates Popsicles. We tried to let him taste one and he freaked out because it was so cold.
-Is starting to sleep by himself in his crib (that is attached to our bed)
-Started dancing to his piggy banks music.
-Is the silliest baby I have ever met!


He seems to learn something new everyday. He is getting so smart and it's amazing to watch his skills develop

*I don't have access to pictures right now, so they will have to wait.

10 Months

10 Months seems so old. He's been outside the womb longer than he was inside. He has his own opinions and desires. He's just getting so big!

At 10 months...

-Rowan is a super mover. He can climb up and over everything!

-He has gotten really good at walking while holding onto hands.
-He can also walk while he holds onto his little push toy. We took him to the park yesterday and he walked all over on the sidewalks.

-Is the proud owner of 2 bottom teeth, with 2 top teeth coming in soon!
-Loves balls and playing in blow up ball pits.
-Learned to climb the stairs at grandma's house his first try.
-Learned how to drink out of a straw.
-Rowan found his first California girlfriend at a recent playdate. He chased her around and would try to kiss her. She finally gave in and kissed him on the lips!!!
-Speaking of kisses, he loves to give kisses and goes around kissing everything! He loves to crawl up to you and pull you towards him and then give you a big slobbery kiss. He even makes the muwah sound!
-Is an expert traveler, and an angel on flights.
-Is making more sounds when he babbles. He also says "Hi momma" and "hi dada"
-Is such a goofball
-Loves strawberries! He gets excited when he sees them.

9 Months

Rowan is now 3/4 of a year old. I can't believe that in 3 short months we will be celebrating his first birthday, and oh what a celebration it shall be!

Stats:
Weight: 20lbs 2oz 40%
Height: 27.75 inches 27%
Head: 80%

Happenings in his life:

-He is now an expert crawler
-Can pull himself up on everything and everyone
-Stood up by himself for the first time
-He doesn't really enjoy baby food anymore. He pretty much eats finger foods now. He does however still eat yogurt or rice cereal mixed with a fruit for breakfast.
-Has graduated onto cheerios instead of puffs
-Says mama, dada, num, mmmm, nana and lots of other fun sounds!
-Loves to give kisses
-When he wakes up in the morning he will find his daddy's face and give him lots of kisses!
-Loves it when his daddy wears him in his new Ergo carrier
-Attended his second outdoor Hot Buttered Rum concert
-Is getting his first tooth and isn't enjoying it at all
-Loves waving hi and bye to strangers
-Enjoys going to story time at the library
-Is very social and enjoys interacting with other babies
-signs more, eat, and drink
-Still hates his crib
-Loves his sippy cup
-Loves "helping" unload/load the dishwasher
-Will jump up and down if you say "jump, jump, jump"
-Thinks the fridge is pretty awesome
-Loves to explore everything and everywhere
-Got his first little goose egg on his head when he fell on the side table
-Loves the beach
-Will crawl with his knees off the ground when you put him on grass
-Is always so happy when he wakes up
-Loves being sung to. Some of his favorites are: Yellow Submarine, 5 little monkeys (both the jumpin in bed and in a tree version), Down on grandpas farm, Hometown band, rock a bye, twinkle twinkle, Haileys Comet, and a few other Phish songs that daddy likes to sing him. He will almost always stop crying if you sing him one of these songs.
-Loves it when you imitate the sounds that he makes.
-Still takes Prevacid for his reflux. Hopefully he'll outgrow that soon.
-Loves balls
-Is a total flirt
-Loves the camera

Some of his favorite foods are:
-String cheese. He ate a whole one the other day!
-Beans
-Orange slices
-Lemons
-Bananas
-Pretty much any fruit
-Veggie burgers, crumbles, and chicken
-Falafel
-Cheerios
-Potatoes
-Carrots
-Sweet potatoes
-Plain yogurt mixed with applesauce and cinnamon

I kept waiting to post this to get pictures up, but that hasn't happened so pictures to follow =)

Happenings

The move went really well. Rowan was an angel on the plane and slept the WHOLE flight. It was nice that he had his own seat so he was able to sleep in his car seat. My Mom and her friend Vonda drove our car here and helped us unpack. We couldn't have done it without them. Before they flew home we were able to drive up to San Francisco for the day and see some sights. I always love going to Pier 39.


I was so happy to find out we had an Ikea close to us. Rowan enjoys "helping" his daddy build.


For Easter we decided to go down to Monterey. It was so nice to have a little day trip with my favorite boys! We just walked down Cannery Row, got some ice cream at the Ghiradelli shop, saw some Sea otters, watched the waves come in (which Rowan loved), and let Rowan feel the sand (which he loved as well)






On Friday it was really nice out so we decided to take Rowan swimming for the first time. One of the pools has a wading pool next to it for the munchkins. It's one foot deep and shaped in a half circle. Rowan Loved it! He loved being able to hold onto the side of it and bounce and he also loved splashing! He would get so excited as the water was flying all over. He didn't even care when the water was getting in his face. He also tried out his new floaty we bought him. He seemed to like that too. We took him in the big pool, which was nice and heated, and he liked lounging around in it. I think we'll be spending a lot of time out there!



Rowan is also now a professional crawler, puller upper, and cruiser! He seems to be learning so fast! He loves to explore our apartment. Some of his favorite places to explore are: The stroller, the ottoman, the dishwasher (if it's open) and the kitchen table.

7-8 months

We missed 7 months due to life being crazy busy, so this is sort of a combination of what he is now doing. We had a doctors appointment at eight months to get his reflux medicine renewed and he weighed 19lbs 8 oz. They didn't measure him, but I'm sure he's still a shorty!

He has learned so much lately. It seems as though he wakes up each day with a new skill. He's adjusting to the move pretty well. He's been pretty clingy lately, but that's nothing too out of the ordinary for him.

-He can army crawl quite fast
-He can pull himself up onto everything and can hold on one handed and bounce
-Can move between two pieces of furniture while standing
-He waves bye
-Loves to give kisses and "Loves" where he likes to nuzzle into your shoulder with his head.
-He signs eat and more
-Can go from sitting to crawling and back again
-Loves going on walks
-Can walk (slowly) while holding onto someones hands
-Plays peek-a-boo with his blanket while in his stroller. He thinks he is so funny and so do we!
-Loves the mother goose record my mom has, and his favorite song is Hometown Band
-Loves food! He will eat pretty much anything you give him. He has yogurt and fruit every morning and Loves it!
-Loves to feed himself finger foods.
-Can do a pincer grasp
-Hates being by himself
-Doesn't like his crib at all...even though I bought him this cool musical aquarium thingy.
-Loves his sippy cup
-He loves to throw stuff on the ground to have you pick it up for him
-Is still breastfed
-Co-sleeps
-Can sleep through takeoff and landing of plane rides
-His favorite book is Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? He even laughs at it!
-Loves his lady bug jumper/exersaucer
-Has had 3 haircuts now
-We still get stopped everywhere we go by people commenting on how much hair he has and how cute he is
-Loves to sit in grocery carts and wave to people as we pass by.
-Wears size 3 diapers
-Fits in clothing 3-6 months to 6-9 months
-Loves remotes and cell phones
-Babbles all the time. He has said mama twice now but mostly says dada and baba
-Is constantly making his grandpas animal noises where his sucks air in and makes these funny noises. He likes to practice in the middle of the night and when he wakes up in the morning.
-Is getting good at playing his drum.
-Loves to mimic things that you do and noises that you make.
-Loves to make people laugh and smile. It makes him so proud.

He is the sweetest baby I have ever met, and I've met a lot of babies. His personality is so silly. I think he is going to be quite the jokester!

Sign Language!

Rowan and I have been going to a Sign and Sing class every Friday for the past 3 weeks and I have been signing at home to him. Well, today our hard work paid off when he signed "Eat" 5 different times while sharing some Sonic ice with me! It was so awesome to see him do it and understand it's meaning! They told me it would take at least 3 months for him to sign back to me, so I totally wasn't expecting it! Such a smart boy!

Moving

This will be our new home for the next 3 or so years. The North Park Apartments in San Jose, California! We have 10...TEN... swimming pools, fire pits, a Starbucks, and more in our little community! Derek got a really amazing job offer. It will be hard to leave our home, but we're excited for the adventure!

We will now be close to two of my favorite places
San Francisco


and

Monterrey Bay


We leave the 25th of this month! I should probably start packing.

Swinging Time!

Rowan and I decided to head outside today since it wasn't totally freezing! We headed over to our neighborhood park and Rowan tried out a swing for the first time. He seemed to really enjoy it!

Happy Half Birthday!

It's so hard to believe that Rowan is half way to being one! It has definitely been the most love filled 6 months of my life.

6 Month Stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 15 oz (52%)
Height: 26 inches (33%)
Head: 17.1 inches

At six months....

He can get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth
He can also get up on his hands and tippy toes, like he is doing a push up. He will hold it for about 30 seconds! He's going to be a strong boy!
He's very good at scooting backwards.
Is beginning to be able to sniper forward.
He loves to stick his tongue out.
Had his first haircut...we just cut enough so that it wasn't in his eyes! When combed forward it went all the way to the end of his nose!
Can say Dada, ahhh, ohhh, yaya, yeah, eeehh,
Drinks water out of a sippy cup
Tried peas for the first time and was not a big fan.
Had his first bout of a stomach virus! The poor little guy threw up 7x in 1 hour!
Loves to put anything and everything in his mouth
Loves to grab the skin on your face and pull on your lips, especially while he's falling asleep.
Hates it when you leave the room and he can't see you.
Changes hands while playing with toys.
Can catch himself from falling over while he's sitting up.
Can sit in a restaurant highchair like a pro.
LOVES the song Yellow Submarine. Most times if you sing it he will stop crying.
Enjoys taking baths with daddy. His favorite bath toy is the cup we use to rinse out his hair!
Is starting to imitate sounds that you make.
Can stand up and bounce while holding on to a chair or something similar.
Is starting to understand cause and effect when it comes to toys.
Loves playing peek-a-boo



We can't wait to see what the next 6 months have in store for him!

Rowan's First Christmas

Christmas was WONDERFUL this year! We spent lots of time with family and it was so much fun having little Rowan around. He might not quite understand Christmas yet, but he sure did enjoy all the lights and the wrapping paper!
Christmas Eve is always spent with my family. We have a fun party every year that includes, but is not limited to: delicious food, giant in the sky fireworks, people dressing up in fun costumes, trivia game with awesome prizes, lots of laughing, and lots of fun!

The cute ornament I ordered for him

Rowan in his favorite present! He LOVES his jumparoo!

My mom bought a bounce house for the kids and Rowan wanted to try it out!

Here is the Christmas Parade!

Derek was excited to get his very own Nintendo DS!

We came back home on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas morning at our house before going back to my Mom's. We had so much fun opening presents from each other. We both went a little crazy this year, but feel fortunate that we are in a position to do so. Rowan really enjoyed pulling the paper off of the presents and then trying to eat it! He was so happy all morning and I was so grateful that we have him in our lives.

Rowan and his giant stocking that my Grandma Nilsson made for him! It's really special because she passed away before ever getting to meet him, so it's something that I really treasure.

Rowan is excited that he got some new clothes

A little story behind the dental floss. Derek and I were grocery shopping and I saw that they had Christmas Captain Crunch! I was so excited and just had to have it to make my mornings full of Christmas cheer. Derek was making fun of me saying that I would buy anything if it had a Christmas theme...even Christmas dental floss. So what did he put in my stocking...red and green floss! I have such a cute husband!

I made the boys matching pajama pants and shirts. They sure do look mighty cute in them.


Rowan and all of his loot that Santa brought him.

We went back to my parents in the afternoon and she had more presents for us! They are always so generous and thoughtful with the gifts they give us! They bought Rowan the cutest little John Deere cowboy boots! They actually stay on his feet too! He looks so cute in them. They picked me out a food grinder with fruit and vegetable strainer for my KitchenAid! It's awesome! I already made Rowan peas and carrots with it. I can't for him to try them! I plan on making all of his baby food, so this was a much needed gift.


Rowan and his new boots!

Christmas night we spent with Derek's family and had a delicious meal. We brought our Wii so that we could all play Rock Band and it was tons of fun! Rowan got the cutest Leapfrog drum from Dallas & Bonnie. He loves to eat it!
Overall it was such a great Christmas and the best part was that we were able to spend time with all of our family!

Happy New Year!

This is our first married New Years that we weren't in Denver! Instead I slept, the baby slept, and Derek decided to work since his family would be sleeping. We did celebrate when he got home with some sparkling cider...it was a great surprise! Before we went to sleep we went and had some taco soup with Derek's family

Don't ya just love his little leggings...oh so cute!


We did go have a delicious feast at Taste of India on New Years Day...My favorite restaurant for sure!
...I'll get around to posting about Christmas sometime...