We Finally Have Our Crawler!

Many of you may know that Russell & Rachel were NOT crawlers. Strictly rollers, (rolling around on the floor to get where they wanted to be), then they pulled up and walked. They walked along the couch, behind toys and then they just toddled off all by themselves. It was funny that they were both the same and they both started walking at 11 months.

Now, after what seems like weeks of trying, Rowan is crawling. He started right after Christmas. He would get on all fours and rock back and forth and then belly flop on the floor. He would get so mad and pissy and about it too. Then one day he started pulling up on the couch and we thought, oh maybe he'll skip crawling. No way, he doesn't even like to pull up any more – like it is a waste of his time. He crawls all over the place and it is so cute. That little diaper butt wiggles back and forth and he's making some sweet little sound as he travels about. He is pretty fast too. He loves to crawl upstairs from anywhere into Russ & Rach's room. I swear he is with me one second and the next thing I know he is in with the other two, loving life.

He does this thing where he crawls and then sort of kneels on knee and gets his other foot in position to stand up. We used to think that he wanted to stand, but no, that means "Pick me up". He doesn't seem to be too interested in walking right now.

Some other fun things he does right now – he points to everything. Tonight he was pointing to the counter. I thought he wanted a bink, so I gave him one and he shook his head no. How cool is that? The other day at Speech, he pointed to a poster he wanted to look at. So, I took him over to it and when he was done looking at the poster, he waved bye-bye at it.

He loves when Rachel will reach over and hold his hand in the car. He just laughs this big joyful laugh. Thinking of the car, he had to get a new car seat. I am a bit of a car seat snob, so I got him a big Britax that he can use until he's ready for the booster seat. He seems to really like it. Maybe it's just me, but I honestly think he likes it better than his old seat.

Oh! He says "Uh oh" all the time. He drops stuff and says 'uh oh' so matter of factly. Then you give him whatever he drops and he waits a bit and drops it again. Uh oh. You get the pattern, it could go on and on. He'll even look at you when he drops something on purpose and then tells you 'uh oh'.

I would almost swear he says "All Done" when he is done eating and you aren't right there with him. It sounds like 'aaaa duhn'. He still won't say "Mama", I have heard him say it recently, but nothing consistent. He is still all about the 'dadadadadadadaaaaaaaaaaa'.

And after taking a break from giving kisses, he's back at it. And lots of 'em. Good slobbery ones too.

Still no teeth. I got him this onesie that says "Teeth are overrated". Well, they are right now, he eats just about anything without them : )

Well, that is the Rowan update. He'll be one on February 4^th and Russell will be 8 on the 12^th. Where has the time gone?

I need to blog about Rachel and preschool, Red Rock hiking, Kadie, guitar hero, and more visitors – the guest suite is booking up fast!!!

The Holiday Report

First, I have to mention that one of my Fantasy Football teams won the Superbowl in our league. I love beating the boys and taking their money! Yea me!! This year's winnings will go towards the treadmill fund. Ours is broke and well, it is time for new one.

This year's holidays were a lot of fun. We drove to Yuba City to spend Christmas with my dad, Pam, & Adelle. It took about 9 hours to drive there in the VAN. I had to buy a roofbag for the van to load up presents. That actually worked out well. The kids did great, Rowan was done about 8 hours into the drive, but he survived and so did we!!! Ha! We had a nice week at my dad's house. They were thrilled to have us and that always makes you feel good. Adam finally got to meet my Uncle Denny & Aunt Michelle and one of their daughters, Sherilyn. He also got to meet my dad's mom and her husband Elmer. AND, as if that weren't enough, he got to meet all of Pam's immediate family, which is an experience in and of itself! The kids got to experience a big family Christmas, with 20+ people. Russ really loved it and wants to go every Christmas. He was really fun – helping set the tables for Christmas dinner, deciding that all the women should sit at the table that had the floral tablecloth and floral china. He even made a sign for the women's table! Ha! His seating arrangement didn't quite work out ; ) Rowan was appropriately cute and was the cuddly pass around baby. Rachel was tired, so she was Rachel. It was a full day, something we aren't used to having on Christmas. But, we enjoyed it and are glad we made the effort to go. Next year, I think we'll stay home. It is a lot of work to pack up all the kids gifts and such.

I think the highlight for me was taking Rachel to see the Nutcracker in Sacramento. My mom took me for many years to the Nutcracker in SF. I think we went every year with Schelley and Barbara Olhava. It was always such a special day and the SF Ballet's Nutcracker was (I assume still is) over the top. The stage sets, the dancing, the costumes – all superb. Now, the Sac Ballet isn't quite as spectacular, but for what they have as far as resources, I think it was well done. Rachel was so excited to go and she was wearing this adorable little snowman dress and leggings and she looked perfect! I was just so thrilled when the orchestra started playing and Rachel immediately exclaimed – It's like Little Einsteins! She pointed out the conductor and then had compared it again to Little Einsteins. It was so cute. Then the dancers started entering the stage and I have to admit I teared up. I never realized how important it was to me to share this experience with Rachel. It's something I'll never forget and I look forward to seeing it again with her.

The drive home was going well until we hit traffic in Barstow and that added 1.5 hours on to the drive. Yikes. We got home on the 27^th and it felt good to be home. It never fails, no matter how great of time you have away on vacation, it always feels good to be home.

Adam's mom, stepdad and Morgan came for New Years and we did Christmas all over again with them! That was fun. We stayed up until midnight (Russ & Rach included). We went out and made a raucous. The kids loved that and were all jazzed about what was next. Go to bed? What??? Ha! New Years Day Jamie and I hopped to Dillards for their 50% off sale and got some great bargains. Friday we went to Ethel M Chocolate Factory which wasn't anything too great. They have a wonderful cactus garden to tour. That was fun. Then we went to a BBQ place my hairstylist highly recommends – Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ. And since my middle name is Lucille, we had to go! They have fried pickles. And, if you haven't ever had a fried pickle, they taste exactly what you'd think a fried pickle tastes like! Pretty good, but not something you eat more than a couple.

So here we are back to a normal week. Russ went back to school Monday, Rachel on Tuesday and Rowan and I have colds. Adam back at work and is busier than ever. My New Year's resolution is one that I hope to accomplish. I have been playing with the idea of writing a children's book. I even bought a book about writing children's books. A few years ago Russ said the funniest thing to Pam – We could go to time out together! She had asked him if he wanted to get her in trouble by allowing him to do something I had already said no to. Then he said the quote. I have always thought that would make such a fun book. So, I have written a draft, it needs a lot of work, but I really hope to finish it and send it off and see what happens. Now that I have typed it and published it in my blog, I must really try to do it!!!!! I'll keep you posted….