Christmas Baby

I wasn't sure how Rowen would react to Christmas this year with his age, but surprisingly he really loved it. This year was special to me to have my family over Christmas morning for breakfast and presents. It was such a sweet and relaxing time together to enjoy each other as a family. One thing my mom did was give us each a gift that was a blessing for someone else. Rowen got a goat for a family in Africa, I got baby supplies for mothers in Africa and Chad got aide for small businesses in Africa. What a great way to remember how blessed we are and get to bless others.

DaDa

 Rowen's favorite thing to say right now is "da da".  The only sad thing is he will not say it when Chad is around, but luckily I got it on video :)  He is laughing in the beginning because I am splashing water on him.  We were practicing drinking out of a straw when I accidentally flicked water in his face which he found hilarious.  So I did what any mom would do, I kept doing it until we were both nice and wet!

   

Quiet Time!

Since Rowen still is not a fan of nap time in his crib, we have established "quiet time".  He loves to sit in his crib surrounded by some toys and play by himself while I get a few things done before he goes down for a nap in my bed.  However, it is hard to get anything done when he looks so darn cute!

Halloween!

We had such a great Halloween this year.  We went to my Aunt Carol's "cousins pumpkin carving party" on Friday night and had a great time eating Mexican food and seeing all the kiddies dressed up in their costumes.  The sweetest part was how excited Parker was to see Rowen and play with him.  I guess he is happy to have another white haired boy to play with!  On Halloween we had a low key day around the house and then went over to Dusty and Tina's to get some pictures of the cousins together.  Poor Rowen was a caterpillar this year, although I don't think he was a big fan of the costume.  Every time we went to take pictures of him on his tummy, he was face down and refused to push up and smile.  It was actually pretty funny.  We finished the day by having dinner and trick or treating with our great friends the Arnces.  Little Donovan was "Super Lion", half lion / half super hero, but somehow no pants :)  Very funny and cute to watch him run down the street with his cape flying.  All in all, it was a great first Halloween!

Baby Turkey!

Anyone who knows me well enough should know that my favorite holiday is most definitely Thanksgiving, and the best part of Thanksgiving is sweet rice (and maybe spending time with family, but mostly sweet rice!) It was such a joy to spend my favorite holiday with my sweet boy. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed at his disapproval of my potatoes, but the squash I made him got major points so I guess I did ok. I cannot wait for next year since my boy has become quite the eater lately :)

A few of my favorite things...

Rowen has a bundle on energy and since he discovered his exersaucer and jumper he is a very happy camper.  He always has a great smile, but when he is playing the way his eyes light up melt my heart.  

His second love would be food, particularly butternut squash, sweet peas and the always popular rice cereal.  He attacks his food!!  Good thing we have trained him not to put his hands in his mouth when he eats, so he dive bombs the spoon with his face instead...it is very cute to see how excited he gets when it is mealtime :)  

Lastly, he loves him some bath time.  We got him a yellow duck bath which he can splash and play in.  We all get wet, but hey, he is clean and happy so no complaining here!

handsome boy!

This past month has flown by and Rowen is getting bigger everyday.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this month!