Trucks, Trucks, Trucks...

I guess I didn't even get a picture of her trucks, but today we went over to Gail's house next door to exchange gifts with Maison from the holidays. Whenever we are over at Gail's house, Rowan plays with all of Maison's trucks and boy toys, so Maison bought her some of her own trucks to play with. While we were there, Rowan took advantage of some of his new toys from the holidays as well. Would have gotten more pictures of the kids together, but Maison decided he didn't want pants on today, so I only took one picture of the pantsless boy!

Celebrating while Mom sleeps...

The Knutson Christmas was celebrated today, while I was busy sleeping between my shifts of work. So Ed and Rowan went to visit with everyone for a couple hours. Apparently Aunt Amanda was in charge of taking pictures, so my photo opportunities are limited. But you can see Rowan's cute red jumper she wore (dad even picked out this outfit, not bad!) Great Grandma Audrey was home from Florida too, so she got to visit with them also!

Santa Came...

Well, Santa was good to us all this year. Rowan had us up at 6am sharp, not that she had a clue that the man in red had left her more presents, but she was up at her earliest. We continued with our usual daily routine, bottle of milk, some tv in mom and dad's bed, and then ventured downstairs. Dad was actually in more of a hurry to get downstairs because he wanted to see how Rowan reacted to the gifts!

She was excited as always, and had no problem opening as many gifts as possible, whether they were her own or not.

Her big ticket item this year was a play kitchen. Along with a tent and tunnel. She seems to be into all of them, but always wants mom and dad to climb through the tunnel too, and dad's shoulders are too wide, and mom barely fits through. So it can be interesting.

Hard to believe her 2nd Christmas is over already, and she loved it so much. Not sure we will be sad about saying goodbye to The Grinch Movie though, we had a bit of overkill of that show this year.

When it Rains...It Pours...

...and no, we aren't talking about the weather!

Recap...

Last Friday, December 18th, Ed received a job offer from a company in Menomonee Falls. On Monday the 21st, he accepted the job offer. Tuesday the 22nd, he put in his 2 weeks at OshKosh Corporation, with his last day being January 8th, and 1st day in at MTE in Menomonee Falls being January 11th.

Then, on the 23rd, OshKosh got approval to hire him, but didn't have enough information to talk numbers. Therefore, we aren't for sure going to be staying in town, depends on what type of offer, if any, OshKosh can get together before January 8th! And that is where we stand!

Congratulations Ed!
(Rowan and I made him a big sugar cookie on Wednesday, but he got home before we finished frosting it, and wrecked the surprise!)

Xmas with The Hanson's...

After Rowan's nap that lasted merely an hour....

...we headed to Sussex to visit with the Hanson family for the Holidays!

Rowan was quite the ham...she was very good, you never would have known that she was lacking in sleep! She still tried to open presents that weren't hers, and was very social with everyone. She loved their fish tank. Aunt Ashley let her look in through the top, so she kept wanting to look some more! She snacked all afternoon and evening! There was a snowman when you came downstairs that danced and sang, and Rowan loved it. She kept on giving it hugs and dancing with it, very cute! Shortly after 6pm we were on our way home to get our little girl to bed so she can enjoy her Christmas at home with us tomorrow. She has been a good girl this year, so Santa needed her in bed in order to deliver her gifts, assembled!

Christmas Eve with Knutson Family...

Today we spent the morning with Grandma Julie, Grandpa Kris, Amanda and Mitchell!

And boy were we all spoiled! We came home with a heaping box of gifts. Again, Rowan wanted to open everyone's gifts, and was excited even if it wasn't for her. We also indulged in a gigantic breakfast made by Grandpa! It was delicious! We didn't even eat lunch! Rowan had a good morning, she made them all watch the Grinch, we played a little Wii, and played with a few of Rowan's new toys! Then it was home to get Rowan a nap before heading to Aunt Kathy's in the afternoon to visit with the Hanson Family!

Christmas with Nana and Papa Smith...

Let's start with: Rowan loves presents, doesn't matter whose they are!

She has become an expert present opener. And despite what she opens, or if it is even hers, she oooohhssss, and aaahhhhsss. Super cute! She was interested in what everyone got and helped everyone with their gifts.

Rowan and Kieran played very well together! Rowan seemed to want to destroy everything as usual, and Kieran didn't really get mad at her. They ran around together, played trains, pushed each other on toys, you name it, no fighting! Rowan is even interested in our IPhones now that Kieran added a few applications while he was here.

We had a wonderful taco bar this year, and were barely hungry to even eat it after all the snacking and entertainment going on in the house. Not to mention the several types of cookies and desserts available as well.

We had a great time with everyone here to visit, it was a very busy day, and we all had fun. Hard to think by next Christmas there will be another child added to the mix. Molly is due at the end of January! Another boy!

Gingerbread House Contest...

After Monkey Joe's we stopped at Ceriello's in Delafield where they had free Gingerbread house decorating a few weekends in December. We decided to stop and make a couple houses, but didn't leave them for the actual judging and contest because the kids didn't end up being so interested in the decorating, so we took them home for our own contest.

Our judge was Uncle Dusty. We didn't tell him who made which one (Ed and I made one, and Molly made one/Blayne didn't help much until the end) Even with Molly already having made a house this year, we managed to win! We were pretty proud of our house! Rowan lost interest really fast, and was distracted by Papa after we found her putting candy in the wrapper in her mouth! Kieran was more interested in eating all the M&M's than the actual decorating too! The kids were fading fast, so it was off to home to eat some lunch and take naps!

Monkey Joe's...

Today was the start of our busy day of celebrating the Holidays with the Smith Family!

Blayne, Molly, and Kieran joined us late last night from Michigan. Rowan was in bed so didn't get to see Cousin Kieran until the morning. After her morning nap, we headed to Monkey Joe's with the kids, and they had a blast! I was very surprised how into it Rowan was. Somehow I was the one that ended up taking her on all the bigger inflatables, and she kept wanting to do more. Kieran was a bit more independent in playing than Rowan was, but she still enjoyed it.

We even played some games, and got enough tickets to get the kids prizes as well. The pictures of Rowan and I going down the slides didn't turn out so well, probably a good thing! But super cute how Kieran would hold Rowan's hand down the slide. He was a very good helper too!

Another St. Nick in Pewaukee...

We were at Karen and Doug's for our monthly pizza dinner tonight, and St. Nick managed to find his way to their house with gifts. We originally had plans to have dinner there closer to St. Nick day, but due to the weather that week we cancelled. But Rowan got many nice things from Good Ol' St. Nick in Pewaukee again!

Presents yet???

So, it clearly isn't Christmas yet, but Rowan noticed a new present under the tree, and despite her inability to read, knew it was for her and decided to open it. The funny thing is, there have been 3 gifts under the tree for a couple weeks now, and she hasn't touched them. But when the new one appeared, it was a different story. Luckily, the gift was for her! So she got her Grinch sweatshirt, and Cindy Lou Who and Max outfit a bit early! That'll teach Nana not to put her gifts under the tree early!

Christmas KAMP...

Yesterday, Rowan and I went to a party with all her friends (children of my co-workers) and Santa too. Amy, as always, had an outstanding couple of hours planned. The party was, Ella and Lily's Gingerbread house. So the house was decorated in such a way, and many of the party favors were gingerbread themed as well. We had a lovely lunch display, decorated cookies, played, and even had a visit from Santa.
We also did a gift exchange between the kids, and Rowan received the Cat in the Hat book (yes, we didn't own that one), and her favorite Gerber fruit strips!
Then there was Santa! Not so much of a fan this year as you can see. She was fine when he first came, but once we got close to him, and her mean mom put her on his lap, the tears were flowing. It even took her a few minutes to recover and make sure I wasn't going to put her near him again.
Here are a few photos of the delightful set up Amy had for us!

Playing in the Snow, Round 2!

This was Rowan's 2nd time out playing in the snow today. This afternoon it was a bit colder than it was this morning, but easier to navigate around the driveway being the majority of the snow had been removed in the morning. She had lots of fun outside. The snow in the yard was too deep for her to walk through, she had a hard enough time dealing with the snowpants and boots without inches of snow!

Mmmm...fudge...

In between playing in the snow today, Rowan helped Nana with her fudge making. Or maybe just the clean up part. But she was a good helper!

1st time in the snow...

Rowan and I went outside after breakfast this morning to enjoy the new snowfall, and help with clearing the driveway and sidewalks. Admittedly, we didn't help much in the snow removal area, but we enjoyed the snow. We tried out her new sled and shovel too. It was hard enough to keep her mittens on, so actually using the shovel wasn't in the picture, but she tried to pull it around with her a bit! We will have to wait for the snow to pack down a bit before we actually take the sled down a hill, the snow kept getting stuck underneath making it difficult to pull her. Therefore, we made several circles around the driveway instead!

Our Address...

For those of you who don't have our current address and need it, in order to get us your annual Christmas Card, here it is...

W329N3788 Timberwood Ct
Nashotah, WI 53058

Thanks!

Ride 'em Tulah...

The things that her Daddy teaches her! (bottom right, sorry so small)

And Rowan doesn't think ornaments belong on the tree. She likes to wear her new bling ornament (courtesy of Aunt Amanda) as a bracelet, but we have overused the word NO today, to keep her paws off of the ornaments on the tree! She will learn!

Christmas Spirit...

Well, this weekend was Christmas kickoff in the Smith household. Although, we have never missed our own tree so much! Needless to say, Papa and Nana's tree was frustrating and time consuming.

Every year since they have owned their tree (3 years now) they have had to replace strands of lights (it is a prelit tree) because they don't work when reassembled! So of course, this year didn't fail, 2 strands were out. So the first plan of action was to go buy a new one. But there wasn't anything perfect out there or within an appropriate price range. So they decided to remove all the lights and restring their own LED lights. We assisted in the removal of the old light strings, but refused to put the new ones on. Let's just say, the tree didn't get ornaments until Sunday after that Saturday worth of frustration!
Rowan had more fun with the stockings than anything. Note Rowan's new stocking in the upper right. Christmas things are among many items we are without by having a POD full of belongings stored away! Rather sad!

Thanksgiving and St. Nick...

For Thanksgiving we went to Grandma and Grandpa Knutson's house. And somehow, St. Nick managed to visit already, a bit premature, but who complains about gifts! Not Rowan. My dad was kind enough to serve his Thanksgiving meal at lunch time to accomodate me having to work at 7pm. We greatly appreciated it! We even got to take home some leftovers!

Waterfalls in the Tub...

Rowan's new favorite thing is the 'waterfall' in the tub! She loves to try to drink the water, and splash herself when putting the washcloth in the falling water as well! Super cute pictures of the clean girl! Tried to not get too many nudity shots! Sorry!

Rowan loves Baby Sawyer...

Tonight we went over to the Swan residence to visit, Casey and Jake are home from Florida, and Cheryl and Brad made an army size meal to accomodate us as well as their family. Andi and Aaron were there with Breyson and Sawyer too. This was Rowan's first encounter with a baby, so I was very surprised when she was so interested in him. She really didn't notice him until we let her hold him, then when we took him away she wanted him back. And when we would ask her to give him a kiss, she would squeeze his head, gently of course! It was very cute. We couldn't manage to get a picture of the three of the kids together, Breyson just kept trying to wrestle Rowan, maybe next time!

Seriously...

Rowan isn't particularly interested in television at this point in her life, but of course, here she is one night, zoned in on the tv. And of all shows, wathcing The Simpsons! Dad said it was a cartoon so it was okay! Needless to say, it didn't last long being that Rowan has her father's patience! No offense honey!

The Artist...

Last weekend, Sue and Ed stopped at Ikea for us when they were in Chicago and got a few things we wanted! One of them being this art easel. It is quite a handy thing, despite the fact that Rowan hasn't figured out how to keep the crayon on the paper. Thank goodness it has just hit the other parts of the art easel as well as her plastic table in which the crayon has come off of. We haven't explored with the chalk quite yet. We decided to just give this to her and not make her wait for christmas!

Super Cute...

Rowan was too cute yesterday in her hand me down sweater from Maya, I had to take a few pictures. And she was being quite the goofball! She loves to climb on the chairs like a jungle gym, and likes to jump onto the dogs ottoman too. She loves her doggy!

Welcome Sawyer Reid Schuett...

On Monday morning November 16th at 4:54am, Aaron and Andrea welcomed their second little boy into the world, Sawyer Reid Schuett! He was 7 pounds 7 ounces, 19 3/4 inches (I think).

Congratulations to the happy little family!

Christmas in November...

Nothing like celebrating Christmas in November...

We had our first holiday gathering in Lyndon Station with the Bremberger family over the weekend. And boy did Rowan make out! We left home friday night after dinner and headed to Grandma Pam and Grandpa Bill's house, spent the night, and had a huge lunch at Ron and Elaine's on saturday for Christmas. Ron and Elaine head to Arizona right around Christmas, so we have started celebrating early to accomodate them and to try to get more people together when it isn't too close to the actual holiday.

Rowan got many nice things! She had fun and was very well behaved. Grandma Pam and I ran to the Gap outlet and Build a Bear before heading over Saturday morning and I couldnt' resist the white furry boots. And of course, we had to wear them right away. They just happened to match her holiday dress!

Ayden and Rowan (2 years and 16 Months)
Rowan and her Build a Bear (Doggy)

16 Months Old...

Can't believe we have a toddler on our hands. And a sassy one at that. This adorable little girl is going to give mommy and daddy a run for our money. She can be so cute, but so naughty. Lately she will scream for the heck of it, and laugh about it. She loves to run from you when she has something she shouldn't! She hates getting dressed, it is quite a battle in the morning, as well as after bath! The list goes on...my brain is shot right now, time for bed!

Naked Girl=Happy Girl

Whenever you have an unhappy Rowan on your hands, just take off her close and she is happy as can be. Here she is shortly before bathtime, just a diaper and a smile!

Cute pics from Karen...

We were at Karen and Doug's for dinner last night, and I surprisingly forgot my camera, but Karen managed to get a few cute ones with her camera. This is actually a self portrait of Rowan and I. She looks like such a little toddler!

Like brother and sister...

Today we went to Mukwonago to visit Andi and Breyson, because Andi is due in a week and a half with her next little boy, so we wanted to get another playdate in before the baby came. It is quite comical to watch Rowan and Breyson play now, they get along well, though it gets a bit rough at times. We have to make sure there is no biting, or wrestling going on! And a photo of them sitting and smiling together is far and few between. Can't believe the next picure of them together will involve little Sawyer as well!

New Place to sit...

In the last month, Rowan has been pushing her limits by standing on the fireplace hearth, which is a no-no! We don't need any cracked skulls no that concrete, so we have allowed her to sit on the hearth only. And she is obviously more interested in it when the fireplace is on, so we decided to make it her 'cheese' spot. Notice her new cheesy smile! Such a goof ball!

Trick or Treat...

Halloween 2009....was Rowan's first trick or treating experience! And quite honestly she did great. I was concerned that she wouldn't keep her head piece on, and that she would get overheated, but with WI weather, that wasn't an issue.

In total, we made about 6 or 7 stops, via car of course. We started at Grandma and Grandpa Knutson's, stopped at Kurt and CJ's, Karen and Doug's, Cheryl and Brad's (they weren't home!), Menards (Aunt Amanda was working), neighbor Gail's (to see Maison too), and then back home to Nana's! Rowan was quite the trooper since she kept having to get in and out of her carseat, which she hates, taking the head piece on and off when we were inside and outside, through dinner time, you name it, all the odds were against her, but she was a good girl. We needed to keep her up a bit later with daylight savings time anyways, so it was a success!

Not to mention, she got more than candy at a few places, so she was spoiled as ever again!

Thanks to Nana for making such a wonderful costume that we got several comments on!

Halloween Party...

Rowan got to play with her friends at a Monster themed Halloween Party yesterday! All the kids were in costume (long enough for pictures anyway), and had halloween themed food for lunch as well. Lisa also had a couple Halloween games, and books, and coloring, it was like a regular preschool halloween party! Not that we know what that is like, but it could have been! Rowan had a great time playing with the kids. They even danced to some Monster Mash music!
Thanks again for hosting Lisa!

Dinner with G&G K...

Amanda and Mitch too...

Last night we had dinner over by Grandma and Grandpa Knutson's house. Rowan got spoiled as usual, and thoroughly enjoyed it. She got to play with Uncle Mitch's old vtech computer game, Grandpa bought her some M's, she rode Aunt Amanda like a ride, and even got to share Grandma's soda. Somehow Uncle Mitch managed to not get into any pictures! Probably because him and Ed were too busy talking about Fantasy football and whatever other sports they talk about constantly. Mitch is like a walking Sports Center show!

Which Flu is it?

Let's start with the fact that Ed never gets sick! So when my phone rang at 8am friday morning, and Ed said he was on his way home because he was sick, I knew it wasn't going to be good. And quite honestly, he didn't seem that bad when he got home, no fever yet, just hot and cold with body aches! But by the late afternoon he had a low grade fever and was writhing around on the couch! Saturday morning, his fever was up to 102 degrees, and he had vomitted twice. So I guess we were dealing with some form of the flu. So I called the doctor and got a prescription for Tamiflu for him. Not that it cures all things, but it would shorten the illness by a day or two, according to the MD. Surprisingly, Ed is feeling better today! Good thing, because I had to work last night and he was the sole caregiver for the day. I am sure if he was still very sick, Nana and Papa would have helped watch Rowan, but he did fine. I guess a day full of football can make any man feel better!
This picture was from Friday afternoon before he started to really feel like junk, everyone wanted to cuddle with germ fested daddy!

Oreo Cookie Monster...

Rowan will frequently have an Oreo for dessert after dinner, which is usually a messy affair. But this week, Nana decided that she should learn to dip her cookie pieces in milk so that she eats them. Because generally she pulls the cookie apart and only eats the frosting in the middle. It doesn't help that the Oreo's are Halloween, so they are even more messy to clean up! The whole highchair ended up getting washed after this excursion! She had fun though!

Sunny and Warm, finally...

Rowan and her friends (Tulah and Gizmo) enjoyed the warm weather yesterday. Nana had raked a pile of leaves for her to play in during the day, so when I was awake in the afternoon, we made the pile a little bigger and got a few pictures. She wasn't too sure of the semi-wet pile of leaves. But I did manage to get a few smiling photos!

Last year, we didn't have any pretty leaves to take pictures in, so this is a nice new addition to our fall photos!

Cold but Sunny...

Rowan and I went outside for a brief while today, it was a bit chilly, borderline hat and mitten weather. We swang on the swing a bit, and took a few laps in the wagon and then back inside! Rowan enjoyed being outside again, the nice days are few and far between now.

Halloween at the Desai's...

Last night, Ed and I attended a Halloween party at Bob and Lisa Desai's house. Wow! Talk about a decked out halloween festivity! Lisa has been decorating her home for the past 2 weeks getting ready for this blow-out!

Of course a costume was greatly appreciated if worn, and 99% of people had one on! People are rather creative when it comes to Halloween!

We spent the first part of the party out on a scavenger hunt around Sussex. That took nearly 1 1/2 hours. Teams were randomly drawn, and we ended up with Cora and Jason, and Tim and Tina. Needless to say, we took 1st place. It did help to have a Sussex native on our team (Jason). But there were a few tough tasks even with GPS! But we did succeed, good thing because we wouldn't have wanted to see Cora take 2nd place! Competitive or what!

I didn't really take as many photos as I generally do, so deal with what I have! Good times had by all! Thanks to Bob and Lisa for hosting a lovely party!

15 Month check-up...

Yesterday, Rowan and I were at the Pediatrician's office for her 15 month well check-up. She looks great and did great as well.

Weight: 21 pounds 10 1/2 ounces (30th percentile)
Height: 31 3/4 inches (80th percentile)

Things we discussed: My only issue with her right now is the fact that she refuses to drink milk out of a sippy cup, therefore we are still using bottles. I had a feeling that he was going to tell me to ditch the bottles asap, but he didn't. He said to deal with the bottles for 3 more months, because her milk intake is still too important to not have her drink it. So I am stuck washing bottles for 3 more months, unless she decides to learn to drink it from a cup.

She got 3 shots (chickenpox vaccine, influenza vaccine, and the DTP booster) She surprisingly didn't scream like usual, although she did cry of course, but who wouldn't. She has quite the bruise from one of them too.

We discussed her feet as well. Her daddy is a bit worried about her being pigeon toed. But the pediatrician says they don't worry until almost 3 years old now. He thinks the reason she turns them in so much is because she still has a newborn reflex (can't think of the medical term right now) where they curl their toes around your finger when you push on the bottom of their foot, so therefore she walks like a monkey sort of. When she puts pressure on her foot, her toes curl, which pulls her feet inward. He just said try to keep her in shoes with a hard sole to prevent her toes from curling, and if I really wanted to, I could put her shoes on the wrong feet to pull her feet more straight. Not sure I am that worried to put the girl through that.

Otherwise, she is good. She has had a runny nose for over a week, thinking that is teeth related, but haven't seen any new ones yet. She is very social, sleeps well, and is in the right range for her talking and number of words too. Her vocabulary consists of: mumma, daddy, doggie, popple (popsicle), eeze (please), ball, what, boo. I might be leaving some out, but that is what we recognize and she says frequently.

I guess that is all for now. She is growing and learning every day. Can't believe she is 15 months old!

Sorry no photos for this post. Perhaps a new video again soon of her dancing!

Bookshelf...

Rowan has had a problem keeping her paws off of Nana's cookbooks, so we decided to put her books on the bottom shelf to hopefully take her mind off of the cookbooks. Nana had already cleared the bottom shelf of her other things that were off limits, so it was empty. So far so good, as long as you don't mind books all over the kitchen. She tends to empty the shelf a few times a day!

Pumpkin Carving...

Today we carved pumpkins! Rowan was much more into it this year than last year, but we actually let her get down and dirty this year too. She truly wasn't interested in getting too involved. Nana kept putting pumpkin guts on her arm, and she would give her a disgusted look and take them off.

Papa carved one pumpkin, Ed carved another, and I carved Rowan's! We are drying out the pumpkin seeds in hopes for a delicious treat in the next few days!

Can't put the pumpkins outside for true lit pictures until closer to Halloween, we don't want them to freeze and get bad quite yet!

Chilly, Fun, Saturday...

Yesterday we had plans with Aaron, Andi, and Breyson to go to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins; and were invited to their home for dinner afterwards!

Rowan must have known that we had plans, because she refused to nap in the afternoon. So it was a risky trip, but she did great. Because it was cold out, we had the kids quite bundled up, so it was hard for them to move around. Rowan ended up face planting in the pumpkin patch and got a mini-mud bath. Well, it wasn't that bad, but she had some dirt on her mittens and face. We picked out 3 pumpkins and then were on our way. We didn't do the hay ride because it was just too cold out. So instead we headed back to the Schuett residence to play where it was warm.
Rowan and Breyson played very well together, minus the times that Breyson took her down, and sat on her head. But they shared very nicely, and had fun together. We had some dinner and lots of playing, and even some ice cream too before we left. Rowan even made it past 7pm, but she fell asleep on the way home, and was very upset when we woke her to get her out of the car and into jammies and bed.
They had lots of fun emptying the kitchen drawers, and once it was empty, they would put them back in and repeat the process. Who needs toys when you have baking ware!