~Six Months Old~

Dear Rowen,

Last week you turned six months old.  I waited until today to write about it since yesterday we took you for your six month well baby appointment (I'll get to that in a minute).  We can't believe you are six months old.  The entire ride home I replayed the day you were born in my head, and I don't know how its possible that those memories are still so vivid and yet so much time has passed.  Your personality is blooming more and more each day, and you keep your dad and I laughing a lot!

Yesterday you weighed 18lbs 14oz (70th percentile) and were 27in (70th percentile).  I don't remember what the exact measurement was but your head was in the 90th percentile, which the doctor assured us was very normal.  You got another round of shots, and I must say we were pretty surprised because you did great with them! Only a few whimpers and you were over them!

The biggest change for you this month was starting a new daycare.  You adjusted very well to the new place and I think you enjoy having more babies around and you smile everyday when we drop you off and pick you up.  The new schedule has affected your sleep a little so you usually either go to bed by six or take a long nap when we get home.  You almost always fall asleep in the car on the ride home, and I love looking back in the rear view mirror to see you passed out surrounded by your toys.

With the new daycare, you have also had your first cold.  Your brother and sister ate the hospital nose sucker and we have been on the hunt for a similar one since then.  You have remained our happy bubbly boy throughout the cold, but its pretty gross when we hear you suck the snot back up into your nose.  (TMI? Probably...)

You continue to try new baby foods at daycare, but at home you have pretty much stopped eating solids for  me.  Your pediatrician suggested we start feeding you with us so we will try that tonight. You still take your daily four to five bottles of ten ounces each time!

You sat up this month, scoot everywhere you can, and if you can't get there by commando crawling, you will roll yourself there.  I swear you do not sit still for a second these days.  The living room has pretty much become play central for you and we are working to keep J & L out of there so you can play.  Speaking of J & L, you LOVE them!  Every time you see them you get a big grin and they smoother you with kisses.  I know its only a matter of time before you will be throwing them food from your high chair.

A few firsts this month:

1. YoBaby
2. Dodgers Game
3. Sitting Up

Happy six months Chicken Little, we love you so much, its been the best half year of our lives!!!

~Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin~

Yesterday we decided to make our way to the pumpkin patch!  One of the guys I work with recommended Belvedere Plantation, and it did not disappoint!  If you live anywhere near Fredricksurg, Virginia and have a child over a year old, I highly recommend it!

It took us a little over an hour to get there, and when we left our house there was a slight chill.  That was not the case when we got to plantation, it was HOT!  We were all dressed for fall when we should of been wearing shorts and flip flops!  I ended up getting sunburned, but it gave us a little knowledge about Rowen's skin.  I know he should of been wearing sunscreen but I didn't realize it was going to be as hot it was.  Either way I think we discovered that his skin takes after Rudy and isn't hyper sensitive like mine.  While I got a nice deep pink, Rowen doesn't even look like he was outside.  This will make life easier for him and for me down the line....

Rowen wasn't too keen on smiling while we were at the plantation, but we walked around, saw the farm animals, and enjoyed some freshly made lemonade.  On our way to the plantation we passed another pumpkin patch that didn't require taking a hayride out to the pumpkins so we decided to pick up our pumpkins there.

I decided this was the sheep version of my Lola, it wouldn't leave me alone...

The only family picture of the day, notice grumpy pants....

I know it was mean of me to take a picture of him pouting, but I couldn't resist...

Before heading to pumpkin patch #2, we stopped at Sonic.  I have a deep love of Sonic, but the one in Fredericksburg is the closest one to me.  I know this because when I was pregnant I may or may not of looked this up on several occasions.  So for lunch we indulged, and it was heavenly!

At the second pumpkin patch, which I think was better suited for us this year since Rowen couldn't enjoy most of the activities as Belvedere plantation, we found some great pumpkins!  We ended up getting a tall one, a round one, and three little ones for Rowen, Jack, and Lola.

They also had a great display of pumpkins where I was able to sit Rowen and get a few smiles...

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying the warm weather!!

~Saturday Morning Scene~

I'm linking up today for Katie's Saturday Morning Scene.  Today Mr. Rowen discovered grass....and Lola discovered rolling on Rowen in the grass...enjoy!!

Hope you all are enjoying the long weekend!!!

~Rowen Sits Up~

Yesterday while in the process of changing out bedding, I decided to take some new pictures of Rowen, primarily as his "I'm sitting up" pictures.  He started sitting up this past week and now that is the only way he wants to be so he can see everything around him!  He hasn't quite gotten the hang of balance yet but he is getting a little less startled when he falls over. 

A couple of these pictures are from when he fell over and all of them are in black and white.  Never did I think I would have a brown eyed baby but I sure do love those big brown eyes! 

oh the drool....

The tongue out is a Wallace Family trait, he gets it from me...

This one came out a little blurry, but may be my favorite of the bunch...

~My Other Babies~

Sometimes, more often than not, I forget about my other babies.  I knew that when Rowen came along it was going to be hard balancing my time attention between him and Jack and Lola, but I don't think I realized how much it would pull at my heart every time they look at me with their sad eyes.

And I understand why they give me those eyes.  I was THEIR mom first.  Especially my Jack, Lola will take attention from anyone, but Jack has always been a momma's boy.  I have this picture of Jack in our kitchen, next to Rowen's first picture.  I think of all the pictures I took of Jack as a puppy, it is my favorite.  It was the first time Tara and I took him to spend a day at the beach, he wasn't a big fan of the ocean, but he loved the sand.

I think I keep this picture out where I will see it everyday to remind me that he was my first baby.  The most easy going, easy to train, smart little puppy, that was content to go with the flow and hang out with us wherever we took him.  For our small group in Charleston, he was everyone's puppy, there was always someone who wanted to cuddle him.  

And then we decided he needed a sister, very similar to the way we humans decide we want another baby.  Lola has always known that she is the little sister, and from the day we brought her home she has been the troublemaker, in as much a way as a golden retriever can be.  But even she sometimes wants my attention, over her dad's, and I remember she is my baby too.

When we brought Rowen home they were interested.  Not as interested as we thought they would be but curious as to who this new creature was.  As Rowen grows, their curiosity grows.  He smiles and coos at them and crawl their way on to the play mat and smother him with kisses.  Its then that I see all of my babies together and not a single one of them is trying to get my attention.

I really should be grateful that Jack still looks to me.  I know that some day soon, maybe when Rowen starts crawling, he will shift from being my dog to being Rowen's dog, and it will remain that way for the rest of his life.   I will still be his mom, but Jack will have a best friend in Rowen, who will always want to play, and always accept all of the sloppy kisses he wants to give.  I have to remember this on the days when Jack sits next to me and gives me the sad eyes to pet him because when he stops doing that I know I will miss it.

Lola on the other hand, will remain the only sissy for time being and give her affections to the highest bidder (she is kind of a snob like that).

~5 Months Old~

Dear Rowen,

Last week you turned five months old, it amazes me everyday how big you are getting!  This month last year was when we found out our lives would be blessed with the arrival of a baby, but I never could of imagined that baby would be the happy, silly, loud, little baby you are!!

We went to the doctors the other day and you weighed 18.1 lbs and are 27 inches tall, which puts you roughly in the 75-80%.  You have been wearing your last wears of many of your six months clothes which also happen to be your summer clothes, and your nine month fall clothes are all washed and folded waiting for you.  We just transitioned over to size three diapers.

This past month has brought a lot of change for you in the food department.  I will admit I was very hesitant to start foods with you, not so much because I didn't think you were ready, but rather I didn't feel well prepared for the process.  I finally gave in when I caught you watching us eating and you were moving your mouth.  So far you have loved the change.  We mix either a fruit or a vegetable in with your cereal three times a day, and you don't seem to dislike anything we have tried.  I think apples may be your favorite, but we have also tried bananas, pears, green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash.  You still take at least four bottles a day of at least eight ounces, you are a healthy eater!

You continue to sleep through the night, but lately its a battle to get you to sleep, you fuss and thrash and if we put you in your crib you put your butt up in the air and cry.  You usually fall asleep after ten minutes, and I know picking you up won't do anything (believe me I've tried), but for those ten minutes its hard to let you work it out sometimes.  Once you are asleep we don't hear a peep from you until we wake you up in the morning.  This past weekend you let us sleep in until 830 on Saturday and that was pretty amazing.

Every day you seem to get stronger.  You now roll back and forth from your back to your belly, and a lot of times when you are on your belly we will see you rotating yourself in a circle.  You are sooo close to being able to sit up on your own, we have been practicing and I think once you figure out how to catch yourself from falling backwards we will be good to go.  The Jumperoo remains your best friend, you would spend every waking minute in it if we let you.  In addition to moving around like crazy, you are turning out to be quite the chatterbox, which isn't a surprise to me!!  You love to lay on your mat and coo and babble to all of the sea creatures and it is precious!!

A few firsts for you this month aside from food, your first Hurricane Irene, your first earthquake, and your first Baseball game!

Happy five months Chicken Little, we love you so much!!