New photos are up

I posted some new pics of Rowan. I'll try to write more later today.

Photo Album Update

You may have noticed that the Rowan photo album requires a password now. We decided to clamp down on security to prevent ne'er-do-wells from viewing our photos. If you are reading this after the password has been omitted, e-mail me and I will send it to you.

Wish I Was Here

How did it get to be Monday already? I need a vacation.

Smarty Pants

I haven't really bragged about Rowan's development in awhile, so here you go. I'm sure I am forgetting something or another. I'll try to be more comprehensive with the 16-month update post. Can you tell that I think he's pretty awesome?

• Likes: sand and water, preferably together; testing our limits; going for walks (stroller rides); helping to read books and counting; stealing the TV remote; dancing and singing; climbing; getting attention from strangers in stores, restaurants, etc.; playgrounds
• Dislikes: having his toothbrush or spoon taken away; taking naps at daycare; getting out of the bathtub
• Communication Skills: Rowan is talking up a storm. See vocab below. He also points to things he would like. He shakes his head yes and no. He can point to all kinds of things when asked (belly, nose, fan, light, Mommy, G-Ma, G-Daddy, Daddy, kitty, duck, puppy, shoes, socks, ear... I could go on and on!). When we read books he can point to things when asked, or he will tell you the object's name if he knows it. He also loves to imitate noises (coughs, sneezes, animal sounds, car alarms, coffee makers...). He can hum a little bit of "This Old Man". He definitely understands the things you say.
• Vocab: Daddy/Dad, Mommy/Mama, Socks, Shoes, Truck, Choo-choo, Duck, Kitty, Puppy/Pup, Hi, Bye-bye, Bot/Bottie (bottle or any drink), Yes (Jess), Cheese (jeez), No-no/No, Teeth, This (dis), That (dat), Boo/Peekaboo, Thank you (dankyou boy), Out, Bear, Tickle-tickle (tiku-tiku), Anya, Aria
• Motor Skills: Daycare and I have been working on sign language with Rowan. When I sing the "A,B,C Song" I sign the letters and Rowan "signs" along with me. He's also working on "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Happy and You Know It", and "Twinkle, Twinkle" gestures. Rowan is walking great and getting better at climbing on things he's not supposed to. Sometimes he likes to hold my hand while he walks and I love it. He can blow kisses (sort of) and make a kiss sound. He waves bye-bye. He can comb his hair. He tries to put on shoes (his and ours) and socks and will also try to put them on Jeremy and me. Very cute! He helps undress himself for baths. He can also wash his hands pretty well. He can throw and bounce a ball - we're still working on rolling it. Rowan has incredible balance and can squat and stand in one fluid motion without wobbling; bend over to look between his legs; and do some amazing yoga poses. He also figured out how to slide without falling over.

Other news... Rowan's first molars have started to come in. All of them have erupted but only 2 are completely showing. That will make 12 teeth in all! This should make eating a lot easier. How nice to be able to grind food instead of mushing everything with your front teeth. :-)

Son of the Beach

Saturday, we went on a little excursion to the nearest "beach" to celebrate the unoffical start of summer. We had visited the little beach at Buford Dam Park on Lake Lanier over Memorial Day weekend when my parents were here. It was overcast that first visit and not very crowded. We figured that there wouldn't be many people there on Saturday since it wasn't a holiday, kids just got out of school, etc. Silly us. It was packed, though you wouldn't know it from the photos.

Rowan had a blast in the water and the sand. He would have totally walked out to the middle of the lake had I let him. He had no fear about the water at all, even when some frisky primary school-aged kids accidentally splashed him in the face. As you can imagine, he was none too pleased when I steered him away from the water so we could head home.

We are definitely going to buy a small plastic pool for the backyard. Not only for Rowan's enjoyment, but for our sanity. I don't know if it's because Jeremy and I are getting older, or if society has changed, but I find that my tolerance for large crowds seems to decrease with each passing year. It seems that people in general are getting ruder all the time. Parents allow their children to do all kinds of stuff that would have gotten swift remediation back in my day. And, most parents would not win a citzenship award for their actions either. If you've been to a movie theater lately, I think you know what I'm talking about.

It's like folks don't feel a sense of community responsibilty anymore. Groups do their own thing without thought for how their behavior may impact others. What happened to the Golden Rule, y'all?