Family Fun

Rowan had a great idea to go to the playground Saturday morning. Since we're all feeling better and the weather was nice, we went. Fresh air can do wonders for your spirits. So can swings!

Climbing high

Raleigh's favorite

Rowan telling me a story about his pretend restaurant

Treasures from our adventure walk

Post-walk refreshment

Signs?

My sweet tomatoes

Oh, yeah and Jeremy's tomato plants are in the background. 


Ha ha! I just noticed that Rowan has Tow Mater on his shirt! Wow. And... get this - We were on our way to have dinner at Sweet Tomatoes!!! 


Chill bumps, y'all. I can't stand it. It's too much. 


"Is it possible that there are no coincidences?" (from Signs - Graham Hess, as played by Mel Gibson)

Summer Fun

When you can't get to the pool, the sprinkler works just fine. Hope you're having fun and staying cool, too.

Stories and quotes

Here are some funny odd and ends from the kiddos.

RALEIGH
R: Can I have a popsicle?
Me: No. We aren't having popsicles now.
R: I need it! (slams door)

At the Stone Mountain kiddie ropes course playground
R: Ouchie! Stop! (to a random wild kid who was at least 5 years older)

R: Knock, Knock!
J: Who's there?
R: Johnny Cash!


ROWAN
We had kielbasa for dinner a while ago. Rowan proclaimed "I ate all my Chewbaca!".

G-Ma: What do you like on your pizza?
R: Cheese, mushrooms, peppers, and those meat discs.

In the parking lot, a noisy car drove by and startled Rowan. He yelled, "Piece of junk!" as it drove past... with the windows down.

On the way to school the other morning, I told Rowan that the name of the band playing the song on the radio was called the Beatles. He laughed and said that was a silly name. I tried to explain that they didn't mean it like the bugs, they were trying to be funny. Music has a beat, so BEATles.
Me: Those words sound the same but they have different spellings. They're homonyms.
R: No, you mean Hampton Inn.


MISC.
As I was heading into the grocery store...
Rowan: What are you getting?
Me: Just bread. Why, do you have a special request?
Rowan: Yeah! Candy, M&Ms...
Raleigh: I like Nims!

Rowan was frustrated with something Raleigh was doing or saying and started to get a little testy. I told him he needed to cool down.
Raleigh: What happened, Bub?
Rowan: You happened!

Re: Monkey Joe's

Jeremy and Rowan were on the way to a birthday party at Monkey Joe's, one of those indoor bouncy house places. Rowan wanted to know if they ever closed. Jeremy told him that the workers needed to go home and rest. Rowan's reply:


"I just don't know why you would ever want to leave that place."


Rowan thinks you should be allowed to spend the night there. He may be onto something.

Deep thoughts

Rowan was telling about the field they play in at school sometimes. It's more of a grassy plaza on the college campus very close to his school. There's also a park next door to the school. Rowan told me that you can get to the park using the path from the field.


R: Bad guys don't use that path. They use another one. The wrong one. Bad guys always choose the wrong path.


I told him that he was absolutely right on so many levels. Ah, the wisdom of babes.

Rowan Update

So, the first month as a 4 year old has been quite exciting. Rowan started swimming lessons at the Y earlier this month. He is doing so great! This week he swam about 5 yards all by himself. I almost stood up and clapped when I saw him, but held myself back. 


His current fascination is with ninjas. He mentions them a lot and claims to be a ninja as he wields a tube of bubbles. The bubble container is also his Jedi "lightsaver" (light saber). I can only assume he is learning this stuff at school since we haven't talked, read, or watched anything about ninjas or Star Wars at home... at least not that I know about.


Random Quotes
My dad was wearing running shoes one day for a change from his usual loafer/oxford/boot option.
R: G-Daddy, stomp your foot on the ground.
G-Daddy: What? Why?
R: So the lights in your shoes will come on.


R: Mommy was making cupcakes and I couldn't sleep. They smelled good and I can smell for a hundred miles. 


G-Ma: Rowan, do you want some goggles for swim lessons, like the boy in your class?
R: Aquaman doesn't need goggles, G-Ma.

Rowan and Alex

The pure delight... The cupcake-crumb goatee... I can hardly stand it.

Veggie Tales

Me: Wow! You sure grew a lot of hair since the last time we were here. It must be all those vegetables you eat.
Fred: What’s your favorite vegetable?
R: Cabbage. Fred: (looks at me skeptically)
Me: He does like cabbage, especially purple.
Fred: You know, I heard that cabbage makes your hair grow well.
R: That’s why I eat it.


I thought Fred was just teasing, but thought I would troll the Internet to research the topic. Turns out that a mixture of boiled cabbage and lemon juice applied to the scalp is but one natural remedy to stimulate hair growth.


So, hairs to you, Fred for helping me learn something new. (Snorting with laughter)


Why do I have to be so nerdy?

Table Talk

Jeremy made some delicious soup last night-- kale, potatoes, chicken sausage. It was very tasty. We all ate it up. It also inspired some funny statements from Rowan. Pieces of kale kept covering the pieces of sausage on his spoon.

"This is camouflage meat."

"I see through your disguise, meat."

From the Backseat

Recently heard from the backseat


Rowan: Mommy, do you know why Raleigh's seat faces backward?
Me: Yes, I do. It's to keep her safe in case we crash.
R: No, it's so she can look out for cars that might hit us.


R: Marion (his classmate) makes bad decisions.
Me: She does? Like what?
R: She cries when her mom leaves her in the classroom and then hits her! That's a bad decision.


We saw a man dressed as a slice of pizza standing by the road. He was advertising for a pizza buffet place.
R: Hey! Do you see that? It's a runaway pizza just like the Runaway Pancake!

New item at Publix

Rowan and I were shopping at the Publix when he saw some interesting in the dairy case. I was a little distracted hoarding all the coconut Liberte yogurts that I thought I misheard what Rowan said. I asked him to repeat it.

"Yuck! Bellybutton yogurt. That's gross."

When I saw the offending item I started laughing. Then I had to snap a quick photo.

Stories from the Road

Yarrr!

I saw a black truck with dark window tint on the highway this past weekend. On the back window, the owner had applied a white skull sticker. I pointed this out to Rowan because he likes to see interesting vehicles.

   Me: Hey, look at that truck over there.

   R: (matter-of-factly) They must be pirates.

AKA Dave Matthews

On that same trip, we encountered some road construction and slow moving traffic.

   Me: Uh oh. Traffic jam.

   R: Got more cars than a beach got sand. (For those of you who don’t know, those are lyrics from “Too Much” by DMB.)

Labor Day 2011: A different kind of break

Yesterday's break from work turned into a different sort. 


Rowan was trying to dismount his bike yesterday morning and took a spill. I thought he had probably scraped his knees or elbow. Then I saw his left arm and the strange bend just above his wrist. My adrenaline took over and I hustled Rowan and my dad into the car so we could get to Children's Healthcare asap. 


He cried when it first happened but was easily soothed. He said his arm did not hurt. He was quiet for the whole ride to the emergency room.


By the time we had checked in at front desk Jeremy had arrived. Rowan was still cool and collected. He talked with the triage nurse and didn't seem too upset by anything until she suggested that he ride in a wheelchair to our room. He started to get a little nervous at that point so Jeremy carried him. The nurse said it was okay; she thought he would think the wheelchair was fun.


We got to Room 24 and within minutes were headed to x-ray. Still no crying from Mr. Brave. He keeps telling us that his arm is okay and that it's not broken. They check his vital signs and everything is great.


The orthopaedist said that there was a hairline fracture in the radius and his ulna was just sort of bent. Kids' bones are rubbery (thank goodness!) so the injury was not as bad as it would have been for an older kid or an adult. The angle of the break was just at the upper limit of normal so the ortho decided to set the bones. He said that they would probably heal just fine on their own but he wanted to be on the safe side.


They had to sedate him for the reduction. Which means they had to insert an IV, hook him up to heart and lung monitors, and have oxygen ready. Rowan was awesome during the prep process. He was fine with the IV and the "robot buttons" (electrodes). The whole time he was talking with us and the medical staff. They were very impressed with his attitude and humor. Several of them remarked how brave he was. 


When they injected the sedative into his IV it burned and he started to cry for the first time since he first fell. After about 5 seconds he was out. The ortho worked fast to set his bones and wrap his arm in a splint. The whole process took maybe 15 minutes.


He woke up shortly after that after some foot tickling and head rubbing. The first thing he said was "Why did that man put that milk in my hand? It was hot." (Propofol, the sedative they used, is white.) We were on our way home about 30 minutes later. 


We will go to see another ortho next week for Rowan's hard cast. He'll have to wear it 2 or 3 weeks.  He may end up with a removable hard cast or the traditional sort. I hope it's the removable kind. I can't begin to imagine how we are going to be able to keep his left hand clean for the next month.


This Labor Day weekend will definitely be one to remember!

Rowan's mirthday

Rowan is the big 4-0! Forty months, that is. Here's what he has been up to for the past month.

Preschool started at the beginning of the month. He has a new classroom, new teachers, and new classmates. It's hard to tell what he thinks about all the newness. His good friend, Danny, is in the class with him - which is good. His old teacher's daughter is also a classmate. Ms. Carletha told me that Rowan seems to be enjoying the Oak Room. And, his new teacher, Ms. Rachel, said that Rowan is her new favorite. Jeremy and I are still unsure about some of the kids in the class and the skills/talents of the teachers. But, I remember feeling the same sense of uneasiness when Rowan first started day care. We'll just have to see how it goes these next couple of weeks.

We've been going to the pool as often as we can. Rowan likes to practice swimming and is getting used to putting his head and face in the water. He is very interested in jumping off the diving board. We told him he needs to practice jumping in from the side of the pool and going under the water before we try the diving board again.

He has taken more interest in playing with his Thomas trains, train track, and his matchbox cars. He is insistent that Raleigh not play with these things. Of course, she wants to do whatever he is doing. And so it begins...

Another new favorite thing that has emerged this past month are knock-knock jokes. It all started on our trip to Jekyll Island. His favorite is about Boo. Boo who? Aw, quit yer cryin'! (Ba-dum-bump) He also likes the one that ends with "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?". If you've got any good knock-knock jokes, please pass them along.

I'll leave you with some of the latest Rowan stories. He definitely keeps us all laughing. What a marvel and delight he is. Happy mirthday, sweet boy!

R: When I turn 16 I'm going to have a car. Then Danny and I are going to drive to G-Ma's house and play with toys. Danny can't drive, though. He's just going to ride.

Me: Rowan, do you want to be a daddy and have kids one day?
R: Yes. I'm going to have a little baby when I turn 5.
Me: That seems a little young. Maybe you should wait until you're at least 25.
R: Yeah. Then I will have a car and a knife.

Rowan on...

...Anatomy and Physiology

"I eat it in my mouth, it goes to my throat , in my belly, and out my booty in my poo-poo."

...Safety

"Hold hands in the parking lot because cars might knock you down."

...Corporal punishment

After getting a spanking for hitting me in the face - "Mommy, no hitting. It's not nice."

A blessing and a curse

Rowan can open regular door knobs now. He mastered the lever kind a little bit ago. There's no stopping him now!

Volume 3

I started a new photo album called Volume 3. There are a few photos from the weekend in there. As you will see, Rowan is really enjoying himself and stays busy, busy, busy! The password for volume 3 is the same as volume 2. If you've forgotten the password, send me an email and I'll tell you what it is. We're just trying to keep the riff-raff of the world from viewing our photos.

Rowan update

I took Rowan to the pediatrician yesterday for his 2-year check-up and he's doing great. His verbal skills are off the chart, his overall health is great, and his growth continues to follow a normal curve. He had to have his iron checked by fingerprick and he didn't fuss one bit. He was curious about the whole process and was impressed with the band-aid. He also had to get his last two lingering immunizations and took those like a champ - no tears. Again, I think the band-aids helped a lot. That, and the nurse kept talking to him about his moose shirt and praised him for being so handsome and charming. They were best buds by the end of the visit.

• Likes: We've been turning on PBS in the evenings for Rowan to watch/listen to while Jeremy and I try to get dinner ready and finish up other house chores. Rowan is quite taken with Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, and Super Why! Mainly he likes the music, but he will occasionally look up from his Legos to see what's going on. Another favorite past time of Rowan's is talking. From the time he wakes up to the time he's put into bed at night he's chatting. He'll tell you about all kinds of things that happen at school, at G-Ma's house, things 'Monkey George' does... It's really entertaining. He's going to be a great conversationalist.
• Dislikes: We're still working on teaching him to be more patient for us to respond to his requests. Overall, he's been pretty agreeable lately to most things.
• Communication: As I stated earlier, this boy loves to talk!
• New Skills: Rowan can count to 10 by himself and to 14 with some help. He can identify a few numbers. He's still working on balancing on one leg, but he's getting much better. I've been working with him on getting dressed and undressed. He really likes being independent and doing things for himself, which makes it more fun for him and easier on me! You can turn just about anything into a game if you take a minute to think it through.

Rowan is truly a cool kid. I look forward to spending time with him and miss him when we're not together. Much love to my sweet boy!