Lazy Day

I'm slightly embarrassed to post these pictures, after all, the Cubs are truly horrible. Rowan and Cruz both have Cubs shirts though, and they were both wearing them today, so I figured I'd do it anyway.

We had a lazy day today. It wasn't a productive lazy day. It was a day filled with t-shirts & diapers, Go Diego Go, eating M & Ms out of a bucket, laying on the couch and some other random things I'd rather not share on here. :-)

Rowan actually said to me, "Mommy, I no like holdin' baby Cruzy."

I said, "Rowan, I thought you loved your baby brother."

Rowan replied, "I love him, I no like to hold him."

I like the contrast of the t-shirt & diapered child riding an Audi. It seems like he should be wearing a suit & tie or something.

Cruz spit up moments before the picture- that should explain the face.

We don't necessarily like Soriano but its the t-shirt they always have in stock, haha.

Rowan was pretty sure the wheel on his car was broken. Turns out, a stick was on the wheel making it look like a crack. This boy is very particular about his car... glad it wasn't broken and we could avoid that meltdown.

Quick Pic

Seriously, I could EAT. HIM. UP.

A Live View into Monday

Cruz is really starting to enjoy the Baby Einstein playmat. He smiles at the light up star, kicks his legs and punches his little fists. This video was shot towards the end of his play time so he wasn't quite as active and excited.

Click this link for a video of Rowan playing at the same age.

link

Rowan has been able to count to 10 for a while but I just finally got him to do it on camera.

Rowan has seen pitches lift their leg as they pitch the ball while watching baseball on TV. Here's his modified version of that move!

23 Months!

23 months

Seriously? 1 month from today our baby will be 2! I can hardly believe it.

Last night he was outside playing late and we wanted to get him to bed quickly but I cant stand the thought of putting that dirty little body in clean jammies (I'm weird, I know) so Roger gave Rowan his first hose bath complete with shampoo and all. I'm not sure how much cleaner that is than not bathing at all but mentally it was good enough for me. :-) Rowan thought it was tons of fun too.

Some other interesting 23 month tidbits: Rowan continues to use a lot of words and sentences. We are ever so impressed with his vocabulary. He can count to 10, sing his ABC's and sing the Clean Up song from Barney. He loves Barney & Go Diego Go. He is still completely obsessed with his cars and I don't think that's going away any time soon. At bedtime he reads to Roger. He has his books somewhat memorized and it is beyond cute! I will try to get a video sometime.

Cruz Emerson- 12 weeks

My posts have been a little bit Rowan centered lately so

I thought it was time for you all to get another glimpse of my smiling,

gorgeous,

second born son!

Water Park

Our friends, the Molinari's, are moving to California on Monday! We are not too happy about that. I'm going to miss chatting with Michelle and Rowan is definitely going to miss playing with Joey. We went to the Anthem Water Park this morning for one last hurrah before they move!

Rowan playing in the water.

The giant splash bucket that Rowan will not go near.

The water was a bit cold at first. The 100 degree temperature made that issue go away quickly.

He was getting a little too brave and wading out to "deep" water!

Rowan and Joey swimming! This was the only picture I got of the two of them together!

Rowan Goes to Camp

Today was Rowan's first time going to Day Camp (9-12) at NVCA (North Valley Christian Academy), his school for next year. Brayden's mom is running the 2 year old camp and Brayden was also there so there were no separation issues. Rowan was a little over tired but still seemed to have a great time. He was talking about camp all afternoon. I peeked in the classroom towards the end and he looked so adorable sitting on the rug listening to his teacher. What a big boy!

An Adventure in Parenting

Being almost 2, Rowan decides to test the limits at times. Rowan learned very quickly, however, that he may NEVER hit mom or dad no matter how angry he is. Since getting disciplined for it, Rowan has not tried it again. Yesterday though, he was angry, threw a bit of a tantrum, stood up, looked at me and said in his whiny, upset voice, "I want to hit you, Mommy." Honestly, I couldn't help but smile. The "we do not hit" lesson obviously made and impact... now to learn some better anger management techniques. :-)

Here's a picture of him "pitching" on vacation... just to remind you how sweet he usually is.

Da Great Woof: Wisconsin Dells

We spent last weekend in the Wisconsin Dells with some extended family and we had a BLAST. Rowan, the little water boy, absolutely loved the water park in our hotel. He loved swimming and sliding over and over again. We stayed in a condo type thing at the Great Wolf Lodge. Our room had stairs in it and Rowan had almost as much fun climbing up and down those stairs.

Cruz and Grammy spent a lot of snuggle time together. Grammy even graciously got up at night with Cruz so I could sleep!!

Grampy & Cruz

Rowan testing the waters in the water park. He thought he was so cool in his life jacket and thought it was even cooler that he had to wear a lime green wristband to get in.

Rowan on a slide.

Some of the boys... Daddy, Rowan & Uncle Nate

Uncle Nate and Kristin played with Rowan in the water. Kristin was so sweet to take Rowan into the wave pool for a LONG time. Rowan also enjoyed riding on the lazy river with her.

Rowan still loves pretending to talk on the phone.

Here's Rowan outside the resort. Each time we would drive up to the hotel he'd shout, "There's da Great Woof."

Looking cute after dinner, waiting for the adults to get their acts together.

Enjoying his first Dairy Queen blizzard!

Cruzer Bruiser in his big boy outfit.

Aunty Amanda and Cruz- Rowan is currently obsessed with "Aunty Mana & Unca Nate"

Aunty Amanda let Rowan play with the salt and pepper shakers on the table at Dairy Queen. Today, our on way home from the airport, we stopped at Culvers for lunch and the first thing Rowan did was grab the salt shaker. Thanks, Mand. :-)

Rowan and Cruz were champion travelers. Cruz did not cry once on either flight and Rowan enjoyed hanging out, watching Barney DVDs, and eating snacks.

2 More Days...

...until Cruz's first plane ride. As you can see from the photo, he's pretty stinkin' excited!

A Few More...

A Great Time with Grandma

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma ("Nama" according to Rowan) this week! We did some shopping, eating, talking, visiting the Phoenix Children's Museum and lots of playing cars. Rowan had a fabulous time driving his car through tunnels and down ramps with Grandma. They seriously played for hours. We had so much fun and were sad to say good-bye.

Rowan after church with a mouth full of marshmallow.

Sweet little Cruzer!

You can never have too much Cruz!

Unfortunately, picture time came during eating time for Cruz. We yanked the bottle out of his mouth before each picture... and as you can see, he wasn't too happy about it. I still like this picture though. I think Grandma looks great and Rowan is actually looking at the camera.

Grandma, Daddy & Rowan loved the Noodle Forest at the Children's Museum. Daddy took this excellent action video as Grandma helped Rowan navigate through the noodles.

Love

Smiles from my baby boy.

Flowers from my big boy!

He's Super!

Tomorrow, Roger and I celebrate the 6 year anniversary of our first date. Six years ago we were watching the Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field. Six years ago we were talking about baseball, favorite foods, and our childhoods. Six years ago we were walking barefoot back to the car after watching our favorite baseball team win. Six years ago we had the sneaking suspicion that we were going to be together forever.

Tomorrow, six years later, we will celebrate with two charming little boys. Six years later we will watch Barney and Yo Gabba Gabba. Six years later we will be talking about "guffin", chicken nuggets, matchbox cars and gassy babies. Six years later we will be changing diapers and giving baths. Six years later we have the sneaking suspicion that we will be together forever.

Six years later Rog is still my dream guy and I know he is our boys' dream dad. Just look at that picture... Daddy is calm, cool, collected and cute even while holding a fussing baby and a tantruming toddler. I am blessed. We are blessed.

Buckeye

Roger is managing a building going up in Buckeye, Arizona. Each day when Roger leaves, Rowan asks him if he's going to Buckeye. They day I took the video was a day that Roger was headed there so Rowan talked about that all morning. We have no idea why he latched on to Buckeye. Rowan also loves talking about Merv, who is the guy who trained Rog. Its pretty funny.

Matching Outfits

One of my very favorite parts of having two children of the same sex is matching outfits. Sorry, Rog. :-) These adorable outfits were given to them by their Great Aunty Jill & Great Uncle Jim.

I've been looking at this outfit in Cruz's drawer waiting for him to fit in it. It looked HUGE to me but I thought I'd try it on him anyway and it fit!!

Rowan wasn't cooperating even with me allowing him to lay on the coffee table. Apparently that's some sort of reward/special treat to him.

This is another of my favorite parts of two children. Notice the huge grin on Cruz's face as Rowan talks to him and plays with his fingers. Rowan is most likely saying "Hi Bubba" or "No cryin' Baby Cooz"

My Cruzer!

Cruz in the outfit Rowan wore for his 2 month pictures!

I Got It!

In the weeks before Cruz was born I was taking an online photography class. The class focused on shooting in Manual mode and getting great photos straight out of the camera without any post processing. My final picture was due on Monday April 5th. On Saturday April 3rd I made an attempt at getting the picture I wanted: Rowan being hung upside down by Roger. Unfortunately being 9 months pregnant and dealing with a toddler gave me mediocre, out of focus shots. As you know, Cruz was born the next day so I never did get to turn in a final picture I was happy with. Tonight I thought I'd give it another shot (ha) and this time, I got the focus where I wanted it and enjoyed a much more cooperative Rowan! I'm pretty pumped. :-) Later, I'd like to clone the slide out of the background. I think it will make the picture even better. That's all, just wanted to share!

P.S. I did accidentally chop off Roger's feet but I guess you can't have it all!

Bumbo Babes!

Rowan has to show Baby Cruz how to do it!

Cruz gives it a try.

Cruz enjoying his new view of the world.

2 months

Cruz Emerson is 2 months old! Time is absolutely flying by. Cruz is smiling up a storm these days. He is also starting to coo. We generally get the best smiles while he is on his changing table. Cruz loves to stick out his tongue. Cruz goes to bed for the night around 7:30 (like Rowan) and wakes up twice. Cruz weighs 10 lbs 8 oz, about a half a pound more than Rowan at this stage. He continues to be a sweet, easy going little peanut!