How We Celebrate Summer...So Far!

We've been on summer vacation for a week and a half so far and it's been the best!!  We've found out we're definitely having a girl, spent a day in Sedalia, visited Deanna Rose, gotten out the new pool, planted some new bushes, been to the River Market, babysat Sloane, and celebrated my 29th birthday.  Rowan seems like such a big boy this summer compared to last. He actually turns 2 1/2 tomorrow.  He loves reading, animals, babies, walks, his bike, and being our #1 helper any chance he gets.  I wish I had his energy- he goes and goes and is just the happiest little guy ever.

We went to Deanna Rose last Saturday with Stephanie and Sloane while Josh had to go in to work.  Last year Rowan was too scared to pet the animals, but not this year.  He was disappointed that we couldn't seem to find the pigs and that he couldn't ride a horse (you had to be 3) but he happily fed the chickens and goats and couldn't believe how big the cows were.  He could've walked in the "woods" on the nature trail all day!

During a big afternoon of gardening, Rowan fell asleep in his swing. He had been a really big helper and was exhausted enough to sleep through me getting him out of his swing, carrying him inside, and laying him down under the fan.  

Yay!  My 29th birthday and I got the laptop I'd wanted for so long!  To get it and have Rowan sing Happy Birthday to me made everything perfect!

21 weeks pregnant and definitely showing more than I was at this point with Rowan.  I'm high enough to still be able to wear regular jeans, but not sure how much longer that will last.  Rowan is still obsessed with my growing belly and poking my belly button.  He loves the idea of a baby being in there and likes to check on her constantly! 

A Birthday and a BIG Surprise!

On Sat., April 10th we traveled to Wichita for Miss Ellie's 2nd Birthday Party.  Rowan was so excited to go on this adventure- he definitely knows what "party" means and couldn't wait!  Ellie's mommy Kim didn't disappoint- it was an adorable Minnie Mouse theme with food and fun galore! 

LOVED the cake!

It was a beautiful day and Kim had the bubble machine set out.  Rowan had never seen something so amazing!  He was in awe as he literally chased the bubbles for almost an hour.

A little hot and out of breath!

Too many to keep track of!

My tired, sweaty boy!

So we had already met Sloane at the hospital, but Rowan didn't have a lot of patience that night.  Well at the party he couldn't get enough of her- stroking her head, going to watch her sleep in her carrier in the other room, talking about her all the way home.  He was so in love with her!  It was fantastic to see, especially considering the one we have on the way.  I can only hope he'll be that receptive and entranced by our little one! 

The next day was a long one.  Lots of work in the yard and around the house and help from Grandpa and Grandma.  Late afternoon Josh got around to putting together Rowan's train set.  We were successfully able to keep him away the entire time.  I wish I would've had out the video camera instead of the camera when he entered his room that night!  He loves his new train set.  Josh found it at Toys R Us one Sunday- price slashed- but I think full price would've even been worth it.  Rowan's face lit up.  When I asked him if he liked it he exclaimed "Oh Mommy, I love it!"  My little drama king.  Let's just say it was definitely a chore getting him to bed that night (Rowan and Josh)! 

Rock Star!

Rowan had his two year pics taken this week at J. Klaasmeyer Portrait Design in Paola, KS.  He did fantastic!  I was encouraged to bring as many outfits as I wanted and she helped me pick based on what would work best with her props and backdrops.  She chose his birthday shirt because it matched a turquoise chair she had so well and the navy polo because it was a solid color classic.  He got bored with the process a few times, but Julie was amazing with him.  She gave him many breaks and had tons of tricks up her sleeve to help him cooperate (Smarties, stickers, and even bubbles)!  Here are the pics she posted on her blog.  He had a very expressive day!  Julie said she never posts the best pics and that she always saves them for the viewing-so I can't wait to see the rest!  I feel like we might be in real trouble! :)  Feel free to email me for contact information for Julie.  I also have her blog listed on my Blog List and her website under Links I'm Loving.

I'm 2!

Rowan, Josh, and I celebrated on Rowan's actual birthday Thursday night.  Josh took off early and we opened presents before heading out to the TRex Cafe.  Rowan insisted we take the time to read each of the 5 books he received before moving on to the next gift!   

                            

Each year I try to get him at least one ornament.  He helped me decorate the tree this year, so he was excited to find the perfect place for his new knit dog!

Rowan's big gift from Mom and Dad this year was an activity table filled with his finger paints, Tadoodles, crayons, sidewalk chalk, and Play Doh.  He LOVES all things art, so this was the perfect gift.  We also figured he could play with his blocks or the train set he's getting for Christmas on it too.  We loved this one because of the rolling storage bins (we always need storage- especially space-saving storage) and the paper roll.  He also got a big pad of paper. And yes, I was being proactive by going ahead and ordering the splat mat to protect the floors!  Hopefully this will go in the basement next summer after its finished, but for now this space works.  It was a hit!

After gifts and pictures, we headed out to T Rex Cafe.  Rowan loves dinos and all animals really, but we weren't sure whether he would be scared of their loud roars.  He hates loud noises!  He was frightened for a while so he ventured off away from the noise to dig for dinosaur bones. 

Fortunately our seat was away from the larger dinosaur, although we could still hear him! We sat underneath a huge octopus and directly behind our booth was a large aquarium.

During dessert, Rowan and Josh left me to play in the sandbox again, so I happily worked on the "Chocolate Extinction" by myself!  Before we left, we went and checked out the upstairs.  Even more aquariums and creatures.  By this time, Rowan was no longer scared and didn't want to leave.  Go figure!  Even if he was scared in the beginning, this ended up being a great adventure for him AND Josh and I enjoyed all that T Rex had to occupy us during down time!

Rowan thought blowing out the candles on his giant Hot Cocoa Cupcake was so fun!  So much so that we kept re-lighting them until they wouldn't light anymore!

 

The next day he got to enjoy his new tent. LOVE IKEA!  This was the best $10 I've ever spent!  And check out that static electricity!

Winter Wonderland 2nd Birthday Party

Rowan's 2nd Birthday Party was Sun., Nov. 29th.  Because I liked the colors and knew that we would have holiday decorations up, a Winter Wonderland theme seemed like an obvious choice!  Everyone seemed to have a great time- but most importantly Rowan had a ball!  He loved dancing with his Matchbox Rocky the Robot Truck!

I went with aqua, gray/silver & white for the colors.  I decided to make a photo banner of his last 12 months for the mantle.  It was a lot of work, but I was so happy with how it turned out that I plan to hang it in his bedroom.  I hung silver glitter snowflakes from the ceiling and spread snow on the table, which Rowan just couldn't understand!  He pointed to it and told me "snow on the table, that silly mommy!"  I purchased a few snowglobes and put some favorite pictures in them.  I decided not to do a full spread of food like I did for his last party because I felt like I missed out on a lot due to spending so much time in the kitchen.  So instead, we had hot cocoa cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, puppy chow, hot cocoa with marshmallows, and Berry Lemonade Jones Soda.  I was very excited that my ornament tree worked with the theme!  BTW, I LOVE etsy!!!  It was there that I was able to order custom Jones Soda labels, the party invites that I adored, the recipe cards, AND Rowan's shirt.  This site was by far my best discovery of the year!    

 

Can a boy ever have too many cars and trucks?  Just a few that the birthday boy received.

He is not a fan of hats, but kept this one on just long enough for me to snap a pic.

Post-party we were all loaded with sugar!  Here's one of my favorite photos of Rowan with Daddy, just after trying Puppy Chow for the first time!