Superbowl

So, the AZ Cardinals made it to the Superbowl for the First time ever, and boy was our house excited!!! We got all cheesed out and put on all of our matching Cards gear and went to some friends house for a Superbowl party.....unfortunately the Cardinals lost (I mean got robbed) in the last few seconds of the game. There's always next year!

Rowan looked so cute in his gear and Theo was so proud to watch football with his son, especially since Theo is such a huge Cards fan and they finally made it to the big game!

Rowan's First Meal

Rowan had a grea time eating his first meal today! It was a fine menu of Organic Rice Cereal mixed with a hint of breastmilk! He was so funny and did not quite know what was going on. He still has the reflex where when anything goes into his mouth he sticks his tongue out to inhibit anything from entering his mouth! Needless to say most of the cereal ended up on his bib and his chin. He did take a few good bites but that was about it. Unfortunately when I was nursing him right after he had the cereal, he ended up spitting up the cereal. We'll try again tomorrow!!!! Good job Rowan, we'll keep working on it and you'll get the hang of it in no time-Love, Mom.

RJ Meets Uncle Eli and Aunt Jodie

Rowan got to meet his Uncle Eli-Theo's brother and Aunt Jodie last weekend! Eli and Jodie live in Portland, OR and came for a visit on their way back from a vacation/friends wedding in Cancun, Mexico. I am jealous of their beautiful suntans!

Eli and Rowan share a special bond-the same middle name-James. We are confident Eli and Jodie got a fantastic dose of birth control after babysitting Rowan for an evening in Sierra Vista (w/Gma and Gpa) while Theo and I went to watch the Cardinals beat up on the Falcons. As those of you with babies/children know, they like their routines and when you mess with that their whole world gets turned upside down. Not only did Rowan miss a nap in the afternoon/early evening but he was all out of sorts when given a bottle an hour and a half after being fed. It was not quite bedtime, nor was it time to eat. Poor guy was confused as to what he was suppossed to be doing at that time. The last feeding of the night means bedtime, but not at 6PM, usually more like 7 or 7:30PM....what's a baby to do? CRY and CRY and CRY!!!! Poor Eli and Jodie and Ken and Carol...sorry for the confusion and stress of not knowing how to deal with an upset Rowan! And thank you for trying your hardest to make it alright for him.

Rowan is IN LOVE with his new jumper seat, courtesy of our neighbor. I get such a chuckle watching him jump in it and play with all the toys surrounding him.

He wants soooooo badly to sit up and I know he'll be doing so in no time at all. In the bouncy seat I can prop him up so that the harness holds him from falling forward.

More next time.......

OOOPS

OOOPS

Rowan First Christmas

What an adventure we had travelling to the midwest this Christmas! Rowan was a dream baby on both our flights. On the way to MN he cried a little bit when I tried to give him a cold bottle, but then gave him the real thing and he was great. He fell asleep during take off and slept the whole way there. On the way back he was awake more, but never got too fussy. He did however blow out his diaper and changing him was a bit of a challange! We were seated in row 35...the very last row and right out the window was the engine....it was so loud!!!

Just prior to leaving, RJ had a slight mucus back up in his nose. I didn't think too much of it and certainly didn't think it was something we needed to cancel our trip for. Day 2 in Minneapolis just prior to driving to rural NE Iowa, we decided we should take him to the Dr. since his symptoms were getting worse and he had starting wheezing. Diagnosis-RSV a serious respitory virus. Long story short.....life consisted of cuddling, nursing every 2 hours, taking him in the bathroom and letting the shower steam up and rubbing his back to get him to cough, and treating his fever. Thanks goodness Aunt Dianne and Larry have such a comfortable house! I was able to hunker down in there ever-so-warm and comfy basement to care for RJ. However, in my stress and lack of sleep caring for RJ, I ended up with a terrible cold....as most of you know I don't do sick very well especially when I can't take medicine. By day 2 for me I had called RJ's pediatrician begging to know what I could take. Although I had always read and been told "no antihistimines" his Dr. gave me the go ahead but informed me to drink tons of water as it can dry up your milk. Finally I had some sweet relief!

Unfortunately the illness messed up our plans to see the family and spend more time with RJ's great grandparents. In hindsight I am just glad they got to meet him.

Once over in IL we had a great time at my folks. Santa came to visit Rowan on Christmas morning! Unfortunately my brothers family all got the flu and couldn't come from KY to meet RJ.

Oh and the weather was also FREEZING! One day it was negative 30. Theo and I made a pact to never complain about the weather in Phoenix again!

Needless to say I am glad to me home and so thankful we all made it through our illensses.

SV-Theo's 32-Rowan's New Friends

It must be December because I cannot find any time to get things done...like update the blog! We are preparing to go on our first plane ride with Rowan where we will take an adventure around the midwest...MN, IA, IL. Rowan will be meeting his Great Grandfathers on Theo's side and mine, his aunt and uncle Tina and Steve, and cousins Miles, Mason, and Lauren!!!!!

A quick round up of the pictures above....

Up top...Rowan has some new friends...they are all boys and all within 4 months of eachother. I joined a mom group and we will be getting together for playdates, etc.....many more pictures of this group will come over time.

next....and bottom.....we headed down to SV again to visit with Justin "Buster" who came in from Germany. All the "Chimones" (All of Theo's Homies from HS) came together for a party at the Chamberlains house....what a night it was. The picture on the bottom is of me and Rowan in the hammock on the Chamberlain's front porch....just chillin'

mid pic of Theo and I.....Happy Birthday to Theo (12-2-2008). To celebrate his 32nd B-Day we went to check out a Jamaican Restaurant DT PHX....Emilie was kind enough to come watch RJ while we went out (Thanks Em).

That's all for now........

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanks to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Don for having us over for Thanksgiving in Tucson. The food was delicious (as always) and the fellowship great! We had the pleasure of hanging out with Mark and Amy who are expecting their first in January. It was fun talking babies with them....don't worry guys, you'll do great! Rowan had a great time with Grandma and he's so glad she came up to Phoenix to see him for the night! He especially liked holding Grandma Carol's hand the whole way back up to Phoenix.

As I reflect on what I am thankful for this year I cannot help but be amazed by God's Grace! In all our sin and stupidity he still Loves us and forgives us!

I am so thankful for my beautiful son....he has changed my life and is such a bright light.

I am thankful for my husband...for putting up with me and taking such great care of me and Rowan.

I am thankful for our parents...now that I have RJ I truly understand what they did for us.

I am thankful for all my friends....for being there for me and all the great times.

I am thankful for this country and the freedoms we have.....it's so much worse in so many other places.

Thank You!

until next time....