Goofin'

We were goofing around with sunglasses after dinner. Maybe raspberries make you silly. At any rate, I've posted more photos of our after-dinner antics. Good times!

New photos and video

I've posted some new photos from the past week. Jeremy posted some video of Rowan walking. They're all really cute, if I do say so myself. :-) Check the links to the right. 

13 Month Update

I know I'm a week late with Rowan's monthly update. Since I've started back to work full-time it has been hard to find time to blog. So, without further delay, here's what's what with Rowan.

• I don't have the usual height and weight measurements yet. I'll try to get those posted soon.
• Likes: He's still loving cheese. He has a shirt that has a list of favorite things: hugs, kisses, mommy. I said I should probably cross off one of those and write in "cheese". He also likes doing things for himself, like feeding himself, holding his own bottle or cup (especially the cup with the straw), trying to unbuckle his seatbelts, and helping putting on and taking off his clothes. We've been going on wagon rides in the afternoons since the weather has been nice. He really likes that. Books are more interesting to him, too. His favorites right now are two picture books about animals, a Bob the Builder book, and Go Dog, Go!, of course. He can look at those over and over and over (and over...) again. He also loves to look at dogs, either in person or on TV. He points them out to us.
• Dislikes: He really dislikes having to be still for a diaper change. There is typically copious amounts of protests at every changing. He hasn't been a fan of rice lately. I'm not sure why, maybe the texture is weird to him? On occasion he will squawk about taking a bath or getting out of the bath, but nothing consistent.
• Communication: Rowan is getting really good at imitating us. Even if he can't get the exact words, he'll match our cadence perfectly. It's hilarious! His list of vocabulary words gets longer each week. Here are the words he knows and uses often: Hi, Hi Dad, Dada, Mama, This (dis), That (dat); Uh-oh; Puppy; Bottle (bot); Button (butt); Book (booht); Baby; Tickle (tiku, tiku); and Duck. He used to say kitty (kee) and bear (bee-uh) a lot, but those words have dropped off in the last couple of weeks. He can also shake his head "no" and "yes". Both of these moves have been very handy.
• Skills: He's getting braver about walking. He will take as many as 5 or 6 steps before he sits down or grabs on to something. He can climb onto the couch with assistance, but he gets down (the proper, safe way) all by himself. We all clap and say "Yay!" when he does. He can drink from a straw now. The funniest thing he does is use Jeremy's owl call. You're supposed to blow into like a whistle to make the "hoo" sounds, but he puts it in his mouth and makes the "hoo" sounds himself. He has added some more dance moves to his repertoire. He can do the baby bounce, the twist (while seated), the floor spin (he sits on the floor and turns around in a circle using his feet), and he picks up his feet every now and then. Finally, I have someone to dance with! We've shown Rowan the Sesame Street website a couple of times and he got a big charge out of it. It's got a lot of cool things to look at and changes every day. I figure it's only a matter of time before he is showing us how to use electronics. Another fun (and sweet) thing that he does is love on one of his stuffed animals or rag. If you hug his little bear (Blueberry) and say "Awww", he'll do the same thing. Or, you can lightly rub his rag on his cheek and say "Awww", he'll do it, too. Then he'll try to do your cheek. Such a sweet boy!

Facing the strange

I've been slowly packing up my office this past week. I don't have too much junkola to clear out since I've been relatively clutter-free since my last move three years ago. With my real work winding down, or "sunsetting" to use the new term on the block, I've got a few minutes to blog in between scrounging for boxes.

I am really looking forward to starting my new job with the environmental health group. I've not worked outside of infectious diseases so this will be a nice change.

Still no news on the childcare situation. Ugh. If only Rowan were tiny enough to fit in my pocket. It sure would be fun to have him around all day. He keeps me laughing all the time.

We've got some fun things planned for this weekend. I'll try to post some photos Sunday evening.

Arrrghhhh!

Tina the Nanny backed out on us. She said she's decided to take a job with the county school system. This sucks. It's back to square one with our childcare search. Y'all, I just don't know about all this. It is highly probable that next time you see me I will not have any hair.

Beyond this major hurdle, we're all doing ok. I've posted a few new photos for your viewing pleasure.

Match Game

Yay! We've matched with a nanny! Her name is Tina and she will start either next week or the following one. We all really like her. Cross your fingers that it all works out.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Nanny Blues

What's a girl gotta do to find decent childcare in this town? Ugh! Daycare was a bust. They said we're like 10 people down on the waiting list and it doesn't look good. I've also been on a nanny hunting expedition for the past month, just in case daycare didn't have a slot for Rowan. What an experience that has been.

I thought we had found a decent nanny, but she turned out to be more of a babysitter. There's a big difference in my mind. I felt Rowan was safe with her, but I didn't think she was as nurturing of his mind and spirit as I prefer.

I interviewed two other potential nannies this past week. They were both spot-on with what we are looking for in a caretaker for Rowan. One called this morning and said that she wants to be part-time only. Bummer. The other one is interviewing with another family and will let us know her decision by tomorrow. If we don't match with her, then it's back to the drawing board.

Interviewing nannies is like being back in the dating game. It's like a series of blind dates. You're both checking each other out superficially: clothes, car, personal grooming, etc. You're hoping that you won't say something too off-the-wall that will frighten the other one. There's a desire to be as truthful as possible - I mean, this could be the beginning of something special - but the other side of you wants to hold back on some things. A little mystery is good, right? You're just hoping the first encounter isn't too bad and that a second "date" happens.

We're at the I-like-you-do-you-like-us phase of the relationship. It's a little nerve-racking waiting on a reply! The waiting will be over by tomorrow evening. I suppose I can hold out until then. I'll let you all know what happens.

Get in the road

Today, I am 33 years old. I just don't know what to think about that. Chrissie Hynde said (sang) it best so I'll let her do the blogging this time.

Don't harass me can't you tell I'm going home?

I'm tired as hell

I'm not the cat I used to be

I've got a kid at thirty-three baby

Snow!