1 Month Old Rowland

Time has FLOWN with this little guy.  It's funny - just when I'm feeling like the newborn phase is NEVER going to end (sorry I'm not a ginormous newborn fan - especially when I'm sleep deprived and get no smiles in return), all of the sudden a month has gone by and I wake up to some sweet eyes that are looking brighter and brighter.  
 

Sweetest face!

Little Rowly still loves to be cuddled, and thoroughly enjoys the vibrating motion in his bouncer.  Steve and I have had numerous conversations wishing they made those bouncers in adult sizes - how nice would that be?!  
 

He's ready for a hug!

 

Look at those happy eyes!

Poor thing got his brother and sister's cold over the last couple weeks though.  We got pretty concerned when he suddenly developed that croupy cough - he was only three weeks then.  When I called the doctor to take him in though - they were all booked, my doctor was out, and they suggested the ER - on a Friday morning.  Luckily I have a husband who works at a hospital and has doctor friends.  We took a trip down to visit Springfield - the kids first time - and after having a picnic at their sweet park they have down there (I actually spent the entirety of it nursing Rowland in the car - maybe next time), we had Rowland checked out.  He had good secretion levels, but was pretty congested.  He got a dose of dexamethasone and we all felt better heading in to the weekend.  He has come to HATE the nose sucker bulb and saline spray.  Mommy has gone PRO sucking out all that yucky congestion - seriously. 

At his well check he weighed in at 8lbs 1oz, 7th percentile - barely hitting when Ruby was first BORN!  So - people - I've pretty much birthed one month olds before Rowland.  Go me!  He's still 20 1/2 inches, 8th percentile- which makes me wonder if he was really that at his 2 week.  Oh well.  He's a healthy baby though and our best newborn by far! He sure is a little guy though!  We did get sent for a flu test to make sure he didn't have that or RSV - both came back negative which was great.  He did get a GREAT cleaning out though while they got a sample using a suction tube.  I need one of those! 
 

So his clothes drown him - but is this sweater not the cutest?!

Even though he's bald on top - you can tell he's got Steve's widow peak going on!

He wanted to make a silly face for the camera!

We are all enjoying him.  His brother and sister are always running around playing and he is looking much more alert to their presence lately. 

His current - sort of schedule is as follows:

Between 7 and 8AM - eat
8:30ish - sleep
10ish eat
11:30ish sleep
1ish eat
2:30ish sleep
4ish eat
5:30ish sleep
7ish eat
9ish sleep
10ish eat
Right to sleep until he wakes up - which is usually between 3:30 and 4:30.
Sometimes we'll squeeze in another feeding if he's not satisfied.

Real exciting aye? ;)

For tummy time he has impressed us all with his neck strength and can occasionally lift it up pretty darn high!  Something tells me he's going to be catching up even faster than Ruby did!
 

What? Don't all newborns do this?

He still fits newborn, but it's starting to look a little snug - lengthwise.  Some 0-3 work for him now - which is nice considering all the clothes he needs to get wearing!
 

Cute folded hands :)

His cute hair has been falling out, and he has quite the old man look on top of his head going on.  We still debate about his eyes.  Sometimes they look bluer, but others they still look pretty dark to me...fingers crossed for brown!

To commemorate the month, we celebrated by Mommy bravely taking all three children in the car on a 5 minutes errand.  It took 20 minutes to get ready, 5 to get in the car, 5 minutes to go to the bank and back, and 15 minutes to unload and get situated.  
 

Ross ready to be Rowland's car buddy.  Ruby juicing up. ;)

 20 minutes later....

We're all in!

This one's cute :)

I would like to mention I also was showered and dressed - a BIG deal! :)  That should fill the canteen for the next week or so right? :)

Anyway - Happy 1 Month to our sweet Rowland! We love you!

Onward...Upward!

So my magical time of having a live-in mother has come to an end.  The panic mode set in the day before - just like it did when my help left after I had Ruby.  I hurriedly scribbled down a hopeful schedule to plan out how I was going to work this juggling three kids ordeal (I have a need for routine/schedule problem I am constantly battling whenever I have a newborn).  

It was incredibly wonderful having my mother come and take care of us while I had Rowland and for the two weeks afterwards.  She was the angel of cleaning, cooking, laundering, entertaining two busy, small, children, holding newborns, and keeping us all sane in the house.  Then having my mother-in-law come and cook, clean, do laundry, help me get more settled in looking after three kids, and setting me up with a TON of freezer meals was another great blessing.  I got lots of naps in for the month which made any bad night (which wasn't that often to be honest - other than the usual need to feed a new baby) durable.  I feel much more back on my feet now than with either of my other two babies.  
 

A girl always needs her mom!

Grammy taking the grandkiddies to the zoo!

Claudia keeping the sanity!

We have all lived for two days now with just me and Steve at home.  Today is my first day by myself, on the job all day.  We've done pretty well I'd say - and haven't even had the TV on for the entirety of it!  Yes!  I feel I should update us all on how Ross and Ruby are doing lately.

Ross has been a rock star of a brother to Rowland.  I can already tell they are going to be best buds.  Ross LOVES holding him.  If ever Rowland is laid down on the floor, (which is rare - since I'm terrified of Ruby - who wears shoes 24/7 and loves running around and stomping in them - stepping or kicking him on accident.) he stops what he's doing and lays by him, then immediately asks to hold him.  He loves watching him yawn and sneeze the most, and is quite informative if Rowland cries.  

I turned around one morning and found Ross snuggling his brother :)

Best brother ever!

Because every boy needs cowboy boots! (Thanks Grandma Claudia!)

Ross calls them his Woody boots.

Ross has learned how to spell his name and loves matching the letters of the alphabet to all his cars, trucks, airplanes, trains, and tractors.  He still is obsessed with books and even will read (tell) the story to himself as he goes through the book.  He's always wanted to know what words say - it will be so fun when he's reading more!  He's also gotten in to singing a lot more.  He has the sweetest voice.  My memory cut out, but here's a sample that I love. :)

Ross has become even better friends with Ruby.  He loves running around with her, chasing her, having her chase him, and he's incredibly patient with her tantrums.  We always feel bad for him when we put him and Ruby to bed if Ruby is yelling at the top of her lungs.  He's a real trooper.  There's a reason his our oldest child - to keep the peace!  He still is his dad's number one fan as well. :)

Doing some dusting...

Or hanging off Dad's neck - one of the two. :)

Experimenting with kinesio tape

Giving dad a check up!

His latest obsessions are the planes from Planes Fire and Rescue.  He LOVES them (so does Ruby of course).  He can get himself dressed and undressed for the most part, and has taken to jumping off the couch or the chair lately.  He's a very cautious person, so it's taken a lot of dipping his feet in the pond before he's been ready to let himself fly off of something.  

Speaking of feet - he always has to have socks on his feet before going to sleep, and FINALLY wants blankets on him - a proper tuck it. :)  

Lately he's picked up my word, "Great" for everything from a satisfied feeling - to a sarcastic use of it.  He says it JUST like I do too - it weirds me out almost - but it's pretty cute.  

Ross likes to chat with me about Ruby too - like an adult conversation, discussing her progress and why she's in time out, or how to take care of her.  He takes the role of older brother seriously. :)

His dance moves are the best.  He even uses his hands and fingers as part of the entire ordeal.  He loves twisting his hips and sliding all around.  

He loves to slide around everywhere even when he's not dancing.  He loves to help cook and clean still - seriously - what a great kid!
  

Making pancakes is hard work!

Crazy cooks!

Put to work!

Enjoying the fruits of his cooking labors...

Today I was trying to hook the hoist of his helicopter on to a plane for it to carry, and while I was trying to put it on, Ross looks at me with a huge smile and says, "Mommy, you're the best hooker!"  Hahahaha!  He was so sweet saying it to me as well.  

He also likes to tell me when I'm actually showered, dressed, and have my contacts in that I'm pretty and that he doesn't like it when I wear glasses because it's weird....awesome. ;)

Silly face!

This boy found my phone and took a picture. :)

Love this face!

He always has to be wrapped up in his bear towel like this before he goes to get jammies.  He also must scare whoever is helping him get ready for bed too while being thus bear. (Ruby the ladybug is photo bombing in the background.)  Current favorite bath toys: Whale, submarine, and Lightning McQueen (thanks Uncle Dallas).

His favorite foods include: pizza and bread (breadsticks), goldfish, Eggos, spaghetti, oatmeal, carrots, sugar snap peas, peas, green beans, apples, bananas, eggs, sausage, bacon, and chicken nuggets (not the bread crumb coated ones though).    

Ruby has been having less tantrums - which is much nicer.  I think the daunting sense of change coming before Rowland was born maybe weighed on her.  She's settled down a ton since he's come!  She still likes to continue doing the naughty thing she's doing even after you tell her not too, but time-outs are more enforced which helps I think.  Though - she has gotten MUCH MUCH pickier in eating.  I can hardly get her to eat fruits and vegetables other than peas, green beans, bananas, grapes and MAYBE an apple sometimes.  She used to love strawberries, carrots, sugar snap peas, oranges, and pears...but refuses them lately.  BOO!  BUT - I have found she LOVES salad (who is this two year old?) - mostly because I think she likes dipping the leaves in dressing, but at least it's something right?  She still worships Mac and Cheese too.

This girl is VERY defined - she is extremely decisive about her wardrobe.  She prefers NO shirt, NO pants, and ONLY shoes.  That is how much she loves shoes.  She doesn't need anything else!  She ADORES her "pretty shoes" as she calls them.  They are the silver and have heart shapes around the toes.  

Brand spankin' new "pretty shoes"

STILL on.

Can you see the wear?!

She loves them because she can easily get them on and off, they glimmer, and they make great stomping sounds around the house.  We lost one in the couch for a day or two - she just replaced it with her old black "pretty shoe" that had been demoted - until we found it again.  She also loves mittens and wants to wear those 24/7.  Even to bed.  I went in one night before I was going to sleep.  She was in a dead sleep.  I tried to pull one of them off and she snatched it to her chest and turned over so I couldn't reach it....EVEN IN HER SLEEP!  

Quite the ensemble - Minnie Mouse shirt, twirly skirt, shoes, mittens, and cat in the hat hat.

Have I mentioned this girl shows CRAZY signs she's ready for potty training????  I'M not ready!  I let her put panties on over her diaper.  Also note - the shoes.

Her "woe with me" face.

Ostrich Ruby

She at least lets me do her hair - though she doesn't hold still.  I can squeeze a little side braid in now.  I need to get it evened out.  I'm afraid to do it myself though...we'll see what happens.  

She still lives for coloring - preferably painting, and has recently discovered stamps and LOVES them.  

Static girl

Her relationship with Rowland is, "Where's Baby Rowland?", finds him, gives him a kiss and runs off to play.  Or, asks to hold him - gets to, and after two seconds pushes him away saying, "All done!".  She's interested when he's eating, what's going on.  She'll say to me, "He eatin' mom?"  "He drinkin' mom?"  Haha.

Helping with tummy time.

I took just Ruby with me to the store the other day and had some nice girl time with her.  She's such a fun girl - always looking for the excitement - just like her Daddy. :)

Shopping!

Girl time!

She's wearing a rain cloud!

Stephen is doing quite the balancing act working, preparing inservices, starting up a wound care unit, working with the young men in our ward, spending time with the kids, taking care of his wife, and keeping his head above water for himself!  He's such a hard worker and is always so concerned about our family's well being.  He's wonderful and I'm so glad I have him.  

We're hanging in there!   

In other news our awesome friends the Vosses were actually passing through (okay ALMOST passing through - who passes through Lamar?  Let's be honest.) on their way to an internship for optometry.  We got to steal them for a night and catch up.  Their little Henry and Ruby are only a couple weeks apart.  It was so fun to see them and realized how alike Henry and Ross are: both have big heads and thick bodies, both gentle and a little sensitive, both obsessed with Disney's Cars.  They are two peas in a pod!

Cute 2 year olds!

We love these guys!

Also, Rowland had his first bath after his cord fell off - here are the pics.  He had mixed feelings! :)

Squeaky clean!