Rainy day project

We had a nasty rainy day today and so I was glad I had picked up a project for Rowan to do. A friend of mine gave me this idea, and Rowan was thrilled at the prospect of painting his own bird house. Although he was a little disappointed when he realized there weren't birds already living in it. He kept asking where the "peep peeps" were. I also picked up two little trucks for him to paint.

Finished product

rambling

Rowan and I went for a little ramble yesterday. It was chilly, but we were determined to get some outside time. We poked around the yard, checking on the new plants that are growing and blooming and then played a little t-ball. As much as Josh and I tried to fight it and tell Rowan baseball was an imaginary sport, he seems to love it anyway. He is still working on hitting the ball and not the tee but can actually hit the ball if pitched to him. Pretty impressive for a 2 year old.

Daffodil border coming up the stairs to the front door.

So I bought a variety pack of bulbs last fall...or at least I thought I did. Of all the daffodils that came up, all were yellow but this one lone flower.
Our blooming pear tree. After doing all our planting late last fall, it has been fun to see things bloom and grow this spring.

And of course, how better to end a chilly morning, but with a little hot tea, animal crackers for dipping and some HGTV.

Fun with a bubble gun

Oh the fun you can have with a bubble gun! Rowan had received this as a gift last summer, but with the move and packing it got boxed up and not uncovered until it was too cold to play with it. So Eli and surprised him one afternoon by getting him up from his nap by blowing bubbles on him. He was thrilled! Eli was equally as happy to watch and try to catch them (and eat them).

Day at the park

Spent a beautiful morning at the park with boys. Eli got his first chance on a swing and Rowan has graduated to a big kid swing. He and his friend Maggie also had a blast on the tire swing, they kept requesting, "swing faster!".

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)