Rowan

Rowan has been incredible challenging lately. That would actually be the understatement of the century. He has been a "terrible two" in every sense of the word. Josh and I are tired, both physically (because we haven't had a single night of uninterrupted sleep since February) but also mentally and emotionally. But with all that said I have been encouraged by a friend to hold on to the sweet small moments of the day, and try, sometimes desperately, to see the good in him and that that will help me battle through the rest of the time that is hard. To be thankful. I know that this will not work all of the time, but I am willing to try anything at this point, and I think it is a nice idea. So here it goes....

Things I love about Rowan, in no particular order:

-The way he believes that he has a real live "frog in his throat" and needs to feed it "hot soup" on a regular basis.

-The way he called Eli "allah" for the first six months of Eli's life. He now calls him "E-I"...like "E-I-E-I-O".

-Otay

-The way he loves to paint. The other day we saw some beautiful trees in bloom and he exclaims that they would be, "Fun to paint, mommy!".

-How he thinks God really literally lives in his heart.

-That he calls Eli "sweet pea" in my tone of voice when we get him up from his nap. But he has trouble with "s's" so it comes out "feet pea".

-That when I was sick with the stomach flu he kept asking me if I needed help or if he could get me a drink.

-"Look mom, dapdills!" (daffodils) or "can we see the loppers" for lobsters.

-The way he likes to sing the clean up song, even if he only sort helps to actually clean up

-The way he giggles

-The way he joins an adult conversation by repeating a word or two and then slapping his knee and laughing.

-The way he fiercely loves the members of our extended family and talks about them regularly.

-That when anything is far away it's "way far down the road".

-The word dog has evolved from d0-do to dewy to dog. and that Dakota is tota.

-That for a solid month he would neigh when he saw a cow and moo when he saw a horse and think it was hilarious.

-That he loves my sister and in turn anyone in a wheelchair.

-That he loves to be outside the way I do, and almost needs it that way I do.

-His ridiculous attention to detail. Get a new shower curtain in your bathroom? Rowan will notice and make a big deal about it, ooohing and aaahing.

-Squirrels are "ferrels" , stuck is the F-word, Gram is damn and he yells Dana like Teri does.

-Even though he can say "play" clearly he calls it the "poo room"

-The way he loves to dig in the dirt, jump in puddles, and throw rocks in to water

-The fact that he reminds me so much of his dad it hurts sometimes



...Maybe this will help me get through the endless night and the day tomorrow....

Rowan lately

Rowan is pretty much impossible to photograph these days. He absolutely never holds still. I have a really hard time getting the camera focused and he moves again. He is getting so big, I feel like he learns 10 new things every day. He is talking up a storm and always surprises us with the funny and insightful things he comes up with. The other day he told us, that he thinks lots of things, but that the words get stuck and are hard to get out.

His absolute favorite thing right now is digging in the dirt with his gardening tools.

The boys at 8 months

Rowan at 8 months

Eli at 8 months (he fills the shirt out a bit better than Rowan did)

Eli is 8 months old!

Eli has two teeth and is working on two more. He can roll and wiggle to get to something he wants and I am sure crawling isn't far behind. He is starting to protest when you take something away that he wants and he has strong opinions about what he likes and doesn't like. Happy 3/4 of a year sweet baby!

Sweet potatoes are the new black

Eli generally loves to eat. He usually gobbles up food with no problem. Usually. In the last two days he has decided it is more fun to spit your food than eat it. sigh. I am going to need a raincoat and science goggles if he keeps this up.

Rowan was not amused at all.