The Growing Ups of Little Rowan

Babies are amazing! They grow and change so much in such a short time. Rory has learned a ton in what three, maybe four weeks? 

He finally cut his bottom front 2 teeth. He's top two teeth are starting to make their presence known. (Yeah, that means only roughly 14 more to go.) Thanks to his teeth he is starting to eat solid-ish foods. Mainly baby food and these awesome melt-aways. Rowan's doctor wants to wait for him to have more teeth before starting foods like; cheerios, banana's, ect.

He's learned to clap when he wants to hear Patty Cake (which is fairly often). He'll intertwine his fingers when he wants to hear Itsy Bitsy Spider (which is the rest of the time). He can now make his tongue make clicking sounds. Char jokes "Little man, that's the wrong language, we don't speak that." Rory responds with a big grin.  

Rory's favorite things to play with are anything he can bite, paper (he loves to just rip it to shreds), and the wipe container, which he uses as a drum. I've just learned that he also loves to play with plastic measuring cups. Apparently, the handles are perfect to gnaw on and the cup parts make a fun banging noise. 













Finally, he loves a new game, called Peek-a-Boo. He could be in the middle of a crying fit, someone says Boo, he giggles. Then he'll cover his face or just close his eyes, and the endless loop begins (giggles beats crying any day).

Oh The Things Heidi Anne Thinks

Heidi Anne has been a funny girl lately. I think some of it is we have one on one time now that Rory goes to bed before her. As a result, we've had some very interesting conversations.

Heidi: Mom, If I were Siri I would wait for someone to ask me "Why is it called a hamburger when it isn't made of ham?" I would answer in the mean Siri voice "For...A...Reason!" 

Heidi: Why are John Deers all green? 
Me: (Very confused), What?
Heidi: (Long sigh) Mom, there is a type of deer that is very popular here. They are green and called John Deer. Why are those deer green?
Me: Oh, those deer. Did you know they can also be yellow? 
Heidi: Really? Green and yellow deer live in Wyoming? I love it here! 
Me: Finally told her the truth about John Deere and pulled up some pictures online thanks to Google. 

Heidi: Mom, is Hello Kitty of the Devil?
Me: No, Hello Kitty is not the Devil! Why?
Heidi: Because a girl at school said Hello Kitty is of the Devil. (Long pause) Sooo if it's not evil, does that make Hello Kitty Jesus? 
Me: No! Hello Kitty isn't Jesus! Hello Kitty is just Hello Kitty!
Heidi: But Hello Kitty is good, right? 

The other night I was tucking Heidi Anne into bed. Prayers were said, a book had been read, she was drifting off to sleep when she suddenly sits right up. 
"Mom!" She yells in a hushed voice.
"What?" I reply in the same tone.
"Don't roll over onto your tummy when you sleep. Like ever!"
"Why?" I asked in a puzzled voice.
"Because I don't want you to squish the new baby in your tummy at night. Love you!" With that she dropped off the face of the earth. 

3 Days of Halloween

Most children get to live Halloween once a year. Not Heidi Anne, she got 3 days of Halloween - complete with a different costume a day. Every child's dream. 

The 29th

Heidi Anne's school Halloween party was today. She went as Minnie Mouse. Her favorite part was getting makeup on. I had to get her brighter make-up since she's about 5 skin tones darker than me. My make-up doesn't even show up on her. The school had a parade that parents could attend. Unfortunately, I was having a bad morning sickness day and Rory was teething. 

Yes, I meant to get a picture of her blinking so you could at least see the make-up job I did. Oh, and the nice touch of white gloved hands - very Minnie like. 

The 30th
The day before Halloween all the stores on Downtown Main Street hold a Trick-or-Treat for the kids in the area. However, rumor has it they run out of candy so quickly. I don't normally believe rumors but once a variety of stores started asking for candy donations I knew it was true. I broke it to Heidi Anne that we wouldn't be doing the Main Street.

Luckily, our church was doing a fun trunk or treat, which would more then make up for it. Until I had another horrible morning sickness day (apparently, I spoke to soon when I claimed smooth sailing in the post before this one). Anyways, a friend from church took her along where she had a blast. She wanted to be something different from the day before. Tonight's choice was (drum roll,please) a cowgirl. I know you're thinking comp-out, but she loves being a real life cowgirl. 

Oh, here is Rory slightly dressed up as Frankenstein's Monster. Yikes, there goes his outfit for tomorrow, no pictures are needed. 

The 31st -"REAL" Halloween

This time Heidi Anne wanted to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. She wore a gingham dress that my Granny made for me when I was about her age. Her hair just doesn't seem to hold curls very well, nonetheless, I think it worked out. 
She got some special all to herself Daddy time. He took her around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat. Then she got to hand out candy to the kids who came to the house. She would say things in a higher pitched voice like, "What a lovely costume." Or "Oh my, who do we have here?" I believe she had more fun handing out the candy than getting it. 

Rory didn't go out this year. He developed a nasty cold and began growing tooth number 2. Besides, all of the candy he could have gathered would have gone to Heidi Anne, (who didn't need more candy.) I still had to commemorate his first Halloween. 

Sitting, Teething, and Chicken Pox

Rory spent this month learning to sit up. He started out sitting alone from a few seconds to a minute. It became more of a game of chicken for me. "If / when do I save him from falling?" "Do I let him hold my fingers so he can sit up longer?" 

Now he can sit up by himself, even put his hands out for balance. I'm not sure of his limit. I'm still in shock what he's achived in less than 4 weeks - so I have the boppy behind him for my piece of mind.  

Rory is also cutting his first tooth (maybe teeth). Whenever I wonder how on Earth I forgot about the happy, fun time that is teething, I remember to cut myself some slack. It's been 7 years since I went though this and even then I was working. I didn't spend 24 / 7 with a teething baby Heidi.  

Rory is like an adorable puppy; extra drooly, gnawing on everything in sight (except for binkies or food), not sleeping, and abnormally cranky. I just got this cute picture after he had been given some Motrin before bedtime.    

Heidi had an interesting Fall Break. A week before her break we had the following conversation-
Me: What would you like to do for Fall Break?
Heidi: I donno, something fun. 
Me: Like what?
Heidi: Oh, like deer hunting.

Instead she spent it with chicken poxs. No friends, no park, no adventures. Just reading, coloring, itching, spots, and a mild fever. We found it odd to have chicken pox after being vaccinated 2 times against it. We just prayed Rory didn't catch it. I also found out that calamine lotion is impossible to find because no one needs it anymore. 




Her pediatrician wanted her to come in because her chances of getting chicken pox is 0.001%. So still a chance, but the likelihood of measles is much higher (and sadly more common) these days. Turns out she has a unique allergy to a bug bite that will happen anytime that bug bites her from now on. We can't pin it down since she pretty much lives outside and hangs around horses. 

At least she got to learn how to bathe a pony. Which she had a ton of fun doing. I love how she is learning not just how to ride but to take care of a horse overall. I just adore her teacher and recommend her to anyone in town. I can't wait for Rory to learn to ride.

So far this has been the easiest pregnancy by far. I'm guessing this is normal amount of nausaua. But I feel so much more exhausted. However, the 7 year old and 7 month old may have a hand in that regard. 

Surprise! A 7 year old, a 7 month old, and I'm 3 months along.

SURPRISE- I'm pregnant. No joke, I now have a 7 year old, a 7 month old, and I'm 3 months along. 

Just so you know, while this wasn't on purpose, it's still a welcomed shock. We learned an important lesson, NEVER take a pregnancy test while on vacation. Back in September we took our first vacation alone since Heidi Anne was born - so first time in 7 years! I thought it was our 10th anniversary when I was still pregnant with Rory, but it was pregnancy brain, it was our 9th anniversary. Char (bless his heart) just rolled with it. Smart man, never mess with a pregnant women. 

Oh it was lovely trip filled with Sushi, Swiss Days, Scones and my first Spa experience, but I was late (again). Char kept teasing me insistently that I was pregnant. Well that starts making you think after a while. So I thought "Okay, I'll take a pregnancy test. It will be negative and we'll continue with our vacation." Can you say "Backfire"?

There I am in the bathroom brushing my teeth, just glancing at the test as it is turning more and more positive. Char hears from the bathroom "YOU'VE got to be kidding me!" 

We took another test the nest morning with an even faster positive test. We spent the rest of the trip going "Hmmm, Well, wow." "Another one, at least Rory with have a close friend (or fiend)." "So much for leaving all the kids at Grandma's, one tagged along." 

Moral of the story - wait until AFTER a vacation to "prove" your spouse wrong / take a pregnancy test of any sort. You could get more then you bargained for, Just saying.

This family just got more adventures, Meet Baby 3. 

Did I Mention Rory?

I feel horrible, I realized that there aren't any posts about Rory! But the time Heidi Anne was his age, well...I had 6 months x 4 weeks = at least 24 posts. Can you tell he's a second child? Well, no more. I will keep up on Rory like I did with Heidi Anne.

Newborn

Well little Rory was born one month early (just like Heidi Anne). I'm working on a post for his birth, which involved an emergency c-section. Fingers crossed it'll get done before his birthday.

5 Months
Here is Rowan with his cousin G. They are two months apart (Rory is the older one). I think they'll be great friends as they grow up. 

He said his first word this month, "Hi, Hi" which means Heidi Anne. She was thrilled that she was her baby brother's first word. 

6 Months
Here is a picture of Rory at his doctor appointment. He is now 16 pounds, 27 inches long, and a head the size of an 8 month old.  Which translates to being long, thin, and top heavy. Side note, he had a rough time after his shots.

Right now he can say "Daddaddad", and he says it in an excited voice with a bit of a squeal. Normally, it's when he's having fun or looking for it. Also, whenever he sees Char. 

He can say "Mawma, Mawma", which he says anytime he sees me. It tends to have a note of sadness to it. He cries out Mawma whenever he's in trouble, hungry, needs a change, ect, anything mommy fixes. Char says Rory just sounds like he's looking for comfort and not full of sorrow. 

He also says "Roar", which is so fun. I love playing with him and hearing his "Roar" followed by a fountain of giggles. It's like I just missed out on the best joke he'll ever tell. I adore this little happy boy of mine. 

While he can't sit up on his own yet, he gets around in other ways. First he rolls around or scoots around. It's like I blink and he's on the other side of the room somehow. 

I must mention the stationary walker / exerciser. We got it at a yard sale for $10. He LOVES it! He has fun; going in circles, bouncing, standing up "alone", and playing with the different toys. Best $10 ever spent! 

Lagoon For The First Time

Char has wanted to take Heidi Anne to Lagoon (think Six Flags for Utah) since she was five years old. Sadly, things keep getting in the way. She has been wanting to go since Disney World after she discovered roller-coasters and thrill rides. (I may have an adrenaline junkie on my hands). 

Well, Heidi Anne is very lucky to have very cool aunts who adore her. For her cousin A's birthday she wanted to go to Lagoon and bring Heidi with her. To say the least Heidi was excited to finally go to Lagoon. Sure it wasn't with Dad but it was with family; Cousin A, Cousin H, Uncle Z and Aunt E, who sent us pictures. 

They went on a lot of rides, mostly the kid ones since they were 2 inches short for the more adventurous rides. Here they are on the swing ride which they loved. They also went on a big kid roller coaster called The Bat, which was awesome according to Heidi Anne.

They mostly stayed in the kid section, where they rode spinning cups, an air plane ride, little roller coasters. They did bumper cars (which Heidi sadly failed at). She didn't really know how to drive the car and was spinning around in circles in one spot. 

They also got to do some water rides, like the Rattle Snake Rapids, and the OdySea. Heidi tried to stay dry on the water rides, thanks Uncle Z for riding with her. 

Here she is with Aunt E getting ready to ride the 100 year old, wooden roller coaster, in the dark. Apparently, while there was light Heidi was full of bravado, but going on a unlit roller-coaster in the dark will remove that from you. From what I'm told, she was screaming the whole time. This was the coaster I thought she would love. According to her, she thought it would break at any minute.

The "Museum"

Recently, we went to the county "museum", which apparently was once a Carnegie Library. That amazed me, Carnegie knew about this little town? Again, for a little town the museum did pretty good. 

They had a set up of how the mercantile used to look like, The had a section for the oil rigs out here. A section about the old trains. Then an area with lots of donated "firsts", like the first telegraph, the first newspaper type set, ect. My favorite was the Victorian Parlor Room. 

Then there was the kid section. It had a tee-pee, complete with local animal pelts, their breed, and footprints. There were some arrow heads found around the area. There was a bug hide and seek game.

The "best part" were the two "old phones" the kids could play with. I felt so old trying to explain these to Heidi. The conversation pretty much went like this: "It rings and you answer it." No, you can't change the ring tone." "Nope no games, no Facebook, no, you just talk on it."  She thought it was a strange idea to use these "plain" phones. 

Cowgirl Up!

I'm so proud of Heidi Anne, she has adapted to Wyoming much better then I could have hoped for. I feel like there are numerous things that helped her a ton are; her horse ridding lessons, her instructor's family (she has great kids that are around Heidi's age), the kids next door, the kids in church, and school is starting soon. But more then anything it's her horse ridding lessons that have made the biggest improvement and helped her to get used to the area. 

This is from her second horse ridding lesson, she's on a pony in the small corral on a lead line. Which means Melissa, the instructor, is there holding a rope attached to the halter, basically spotting Heidi while she rides. After a little bit of warming up she was riding on her own. She's had to use the lead line a few times since her second lesson, mainly when she's learning something new and is uncertain of herself.

I love Melissa's way of teaching. She has all of her students brush down the horse before and after saddling it. Next, for the little kids like Heidi Anne, Melissa saddles the horse while explaining the process and the reasoning for it.  As soon as the student is ready, they lead the horse into / out of the corral by themselves. I think it's great how (more often then not) Melissa lets her students determine how the ridding lesson will go.

Currently, she's riding bareback and loves it. It's to help correct an issue of her ridding tilted making the western style saddle slowly shift to the left. Then Melissa has to re-saddle the horse and Heidi Anne had to resume her lessons. Heidi Anne can resume the western style saddle any time she wants, however, for now she's enjoying it. She really wants to race barrels (but that will have to wait until next spring). So we have lots of time left for her to adapt to western ridding. 

Furthermore, there are some signs that she is embracing Wyoming life. For example, she is trying to learn to climb trees. When I asked why, she gave me a puzzled look, then replied, "Because we're out in the country now Mom, kids out here climb trees. It's just what we do." A few days later, we were at a store in Utah where a girl about Heidi Anne's age was having a fit about almost scrapping her knees. That's when Heidi Anne looked up at me and said, "Mom, that girl just needs to Cowgirl up."

If you were curious, yes Rory and I attend every lesson for the whole lesson. Heidi Anne really wants to ride during the Wyoming winter, as long as it's safe to drive and we're properly bundled up, I think we can pull through it. Heidi can't wait until Rory can sit up on his own, then she wants to have him ride in-front of her while she warms up.  She's really getting into ridding, in fact she wrote an note to Santa last night asking for a saddle and a horse halter for Christmas. 

Heidi Anne's First Grade Experiance

Well, we're less than two weeks away from Heidi Anne starting Second Grade and I realized that I never wrote a single thing about her life during First Grade. Most of this oversight is the result of my pregnancy and having a new born baby. Well, better late than never.

Lucky for me, she had a special project to do each month and the teacher, Mrs. Bellingham, saved the work and made a special book for every student. This is the cover page, which reads "My First Grade Art Book", giving us a snapshot of her school year.  I'll translate what she wrote in case it's difficult to see in the pictures in purple, my own thoughts will be in blue.  
An additional note about Heidi's progress in First Grade, she went from being unable to identify the sound each letter of the alphabet makes to reading chapter books. I think it's due to her teacher being a perfect match in personality for Heidi (and getting her ADHD treated so she could focus). Her teacher said that my homework routine helped out as well. Especially at the beginning, when she had difficulty and suffered major frustration, but we kept on and tracked the tiniest of milestones. Somehow, it all clicked with her. Yeah for awesome First Grade teachers! 

On the first day of First grade I liked school.

(This is a picture of her on the first day, she looks so exhausted because she was the last one to get her picture taken.)

Apples are a fruit.

Apples are red.

Apples are sweet.

Bats

Bats can fly. Bats have families. Bats are the only mammal thet [that] flies. Bats use echolocation to find food.

I am thankful for my mom and dad. I am thankful for my dog and my cat. I am thankful for school. But most of all I am thankful for my bed.

Let me explain that last one, there were some homeless / transient children in her school that they had a fundraiser for. Secondly, Heidi Anne was the only student in class to be thankful for school. 

Rudolph has a funny nose. It glows red. He eats lots of licorice. He eats lots of raspberries, too.  

Who does this look like to you? Well, my first thought was a vampire, with a weird uni-brow and a mustache, hunting at night. Turns out it's Martin Luther King, Jr taking a walk at night. (I bet you're now seeing the vampire, too.) 

Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream. He wanted people to be nice. He wanted fair laws. He wanted equal rights. He wanted people to love - not fight. 

.

Somebody loves me just the way I am. My mom and dad give me hugs. My mom loves me. My mom and dad give me snacks. They take me to the library. They ready me books. I am a love monster because I love them.

Abraham Lincoln 

Abraham Lincoln was born on the February the 12th. He was the 16th President. He was a kind man and an honest man. He was called "Honest Abe".

George Washington 

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia. He was the first president. He led the Revolutionary War,

My baby brother is worth more to me than gold because he's fun.

(Insert heart melting awww and "that's so sweet")

Back to awesome teacher. Since Heidi Anne had been an only child up to this point and knew she would have a hard time no longer being the center of attention, Mrs. Ballingham wrote her a lovely letter and gave her a little gift. When Heidi Anne opened it, there was another note reading "To play once a day with any parent who can". The gift was two different card games. That started a new habit of Charlie and Heidi Anne playing a card game once a day. It takes only a few minutes, but it's HER few minutes. I don't think we would have ever thought of that without her. She also gave Rory a cute little outfit.  

Spring is here.

Pretty butterfly is here.

Roses are pretty flowers.

I am happy it is [spring].

Green grass grows. 

When I grow up I want to be a vet. I want to help pets and wild animals. A vet can give your pets shots to help [them] feel better. I want to help zoo animals. 

I am awesome because I am good at reading.

Heidi Anne, the morning of the last day of school.

Heidi Anne with Mrs. Ballingham on the last day of school. Again Mrs. Ballingham went above and beyond on the last day of school. She gave Heidi Anne five books, because Heidi loves to read and never gave up. Her books were; "A Bad Case of Stripes," "I Knew I Could", "Junie B. Jones and the Stinky Smelly Bus", "Old Yeller", and "Clementine". I wish every child could have a teacher like her for every grade of school.