Rain Woman...

Rowan and I were going to take Gizmo out to the bathroom tonight, and it started raining as we were heading out the door. Gizmo then didn't want to go outside, so I decided to get Rowan's rain boots on, and let her play in the rain! We don't have a raincoat, so a sweatshirt worked fine! She had fun standing and jumping in the water! Worked perfect because we just stripped her wet clothes and took a bath afterwards, with a popple of course!

Allergy Alert...

Rowan officially has an allergy....to the Penicillin family!

Sunday morning we noticed a few red marks on Rowan's arms, and thought they were bug bites. But by the evening they had multiplied and were all over her body. Rowan has been on Amoxicillin since last Tuesday, and this is her 3rd time being on the antibiotic in her life. I had also given her Benadryl Sunday morning because she has an old mosquito bite on her left ankle that she has recurrently scratched open and is therefore swollen and red with a rash as well. This was present last week too, but looked worse on Sunday.

So Ed and I were going back and forth on what it could be before I headed to work on Sunday, and since she was supposed to go to daycare on Monday, we decided we would probably have to take her to the MD this morning if they weren't better in the morning. And of course they were way worse. So off to the doctor we went, as a family this morning. And sure enough, hives they are. And the are assuming it is the Amoxicillin that caused them. So we stopped that today, and she is now taking Zithromax for 5 days (because we were only on day 6 of the Amoxicillin for her ear infection), and we are also taking Prednisone (a steroid) for not only the hives, but her foot as well. We are assuming her foot isn't infected because it isn't hurting her at all, but it looks pretty nasty sometime, swollen, rashy, discolored around the bite site, but the bite is pretty much healed. Therefore, she was off to daycare after the MD appointment since we weren't dealing with anything contagious, and I headed home to sleep and Ed off to work!

When I picked Rowan up from daycare, the hives seemed worse. And we were warned that they will come and go. But tonight during bath, they seem to be fading. So we will see how long it takes for her to be 'spot' free. Ed has been calling her Spotty all day!

Excuse the naked pictures, but I needed some documentation of the hives, and she wasn't very cooperative when I was trying to take pics!

Who needs sleep...?

Apparently not me...

I worked last night from 7p-7a, and will be doing that all weekend. So therefore I was supposed to sleep most of Saturday, but it is all coming back to me, on how well I don't sleep during the day. Ed and Rowan were gone most of the morning, so the house was quiet. But I managed to wake up at 2pm. Laid there for almost an hour trying to force myself to go back to sleep, but it didn't happen, so I decided to get up.

When I got up, Ed, Rowan and Gizmo were out in the backyard with the pool and beach ball sprinkler! So I went out to join them. This was our first time being in our actual yard! The grass is coming along, but still needs work, hopefully by the end of the summer it will be well on it's way! Ed even mowed it for the first time on Friday night! So anyway, being that it was our first time in our backyard, we finally met the neighbors behind us. One family is actually moving to Atlanta at the end of the week, so we won't get to know them at all. But the other family isn't going anywhere. Oh yeah, the people were moving into the house next to us this weekend too, so we met them as well!

So Rowan was invited to play on the swingset of the family behind us anytime. Apparently the families behind us have bonfires in the street almost every friday and saturday night, and they like to drink beer, so they asked what our drinks of choice are, so they could have it available. The family behind us that isn't moving has 5 year old twin girls, and are expecting in February. And they have a dog named Bucky, who is 4 or 5 months old. Gizmo had a blast running with him! The family next to us has a 2 year old boy. The family that is moving has a 6 year old boy, and a 3 year old boy. The 3 year old (Ethan) is in the picture with Rowan below, he really liked playing with her.

Gizmo had so much fun running, and got so tired and hot, that he decided to take a dip in Rowan's pool. He has never done this for us before. I know he has been in a pool at Karen's house before, but has never gotten in Rowan's. And as you can see, she wasn't a fan. She kept telling him to get out! Luckily we were outside long enough for him to dry off!

The visiting with the neighbors started with the men, then all the ladies and children joined us as well. So we were outside talking with them from like 3-5pm, then had to head in to shower and eat and go to work.

Oh...and on a side note, turns out the neighbors came and knocked on the door at 930pm to invite Ed out to the bonfire. He was out with the neighbors until 2am!

Bathing Beauty..

Just another day in the pool in the driveway! Someday it will move to the yard!

2 Year Check-up

This look says it all...

Weight: 26 pounds (40th percentile)

Height: 34.5 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 46 cm (15th percentile)

Overall, Rowan got a good report, except I left the office feeling like a horrible mother. I guess we have just gotten used to Rowan's on and off crabbiness and constant runny nose, and always attribute it to daycare! I really try not to take her to the doctor unless absolutely necessary. She was there 1 week after starting daycare with hand/foot/mouth disease and an ear infection. Obviously worth the visit. Then I had her there in June due to her waking a ton during the night for several days, and she left with a clean bill of health. So today, I take her for her first well visit since living here and leave with a script for Amoxicillin. Yup, sure enough she has an ear infection and her ear drum ruptured it was so bad! Nice Mom, huh! So apparently whenever she was crabbiest last, there was good reason for it. She was in great spirits at the doctors office though.

Otherwise the Nurse Practitioner asked the standard questions, about eating, and talking, and sleeping, etc, etc. I was thinking she might be lagging behind slightly on her talking, but then the few days before her visit she was talking up a storm, in her gibberish of course. She has been saying Thank you (and not just signing it) and Love You, all the time. She can definitely put 2 words together, and usually in a bossy manner. Mom go, Dad go, Mom come, Dadda come, doggy go! Such a girl!

She left the office with 2 bandaids, one from the Hep A vaccine, and the other from a Lead test lab draw. We coulda skipped the lead test, but since her level was elevated at her 1 year appointment and we failed to follow up, I was curious, luckily she didn't even notice the finger prick!

Currently, Rowan is wearing a size 6 shoe, some size 7 (Nike and Gap). Wears some 2T, but definitely still in 18-24 months. She has a shoe obsession just like her mom. And if you ask her what she wants to wear, if Cindy Lou is clean, that is what she grabs. Poor Cindy will be in shreds like some of Daddy's t-shirts before we know it! Not sure what I would say is her favorite toy right now. She still loves to cover anyone and any animal/doll with blankets and help them nap. Grinch is still her sleeping buddy.

Potty training is still a bit off for us I think. Although she does usually tell us when she has pooped, after the fact. But it is a start. I haven't even bought a potty seat yet. Probably will soon though. Hoping maybe we can accomplish the training before we invite another child into the family (no I am not pregnant yet!) Which is why I think it could be possible.

We are still using a pacifier! Probably more than we would have liked at this age, but she does usually willingly give it up if you ask her too. If we haven't ditched it before another child, she will be giving them to her new sibling for sure. She is still sleeping in a crib, hasn't even tried to climb out. So we plan to keep her there until she either climbs out or we need it for another child.

Rowan definitely keeps us on our toes, and proves to us daily how rewarding being parents are!

Love you RowRow!

FaMiLy TrIp To ThE zOo...

We were able to drag Nana and Papa with us to the zoo today too! Not so successful with Uncle Dusty and Aunt Julie! Oh well. Someday. It was a very nice day at the zoo, maybe a little warm, but not as bad as yesterday. We were sort of hesitating on whether or not we should go because of the heat, so didn't arrive until just before lunchtime. But we enjoyed it.

Rowan wasn't so excited about the train ride until it started going. And for sure, it was Kieran's favorite thing about the zoo! And of course it was the last thing we did. We probably never would have gotten him off of it otherwise!

Rowan wasn't a fan of feeding the goats either. She hung onto Papa very tightly while I got to get slobbered by the goats! Oh well! The one thing Rowan was a fan of was riding in the KB and Grady's double stroller. She wanted nothing to do with her own stroller after she rode with a companion. Maybe someday she will have a companion of her own!

R&KB's Birthday Celebration...

It started with decor....Trucks and Tiaras...

Our Birthday Princess turns 2 officially...

Due to the fact that us adults had a wedding to attend last night, we decided we would celebrate on Sunday with breakfast and a trip to the zoo. Breakfast consisted of pancakes, bacon, and cupcakes. Very well rounded and healthy. For a 2 and 3 year old anyway! They enjoyed it!

Of course there were presents! It was torturous making them wait 24 hours to open presents, but they did it! And Rowan had no interest in it when it was time to actually do it. She was having a rough morning, and her interest ended with the card envelopes! So Kieran got to open pretty much every gift except the one gift you see Rowan opening! She got many nice things. New clothes and shoes, Potterybarn Kids lunchbox and gear, a television painting game/toy (my kind of mess free entertainment, thanks Dusty and Julie). Very spoiled again!

And we couldn't leave out dessert! KB and Rowan had one cupcake before breakfast, and one after breakfast when we actually sang to them and they blew out candles. They did great together. Rowan was KB's cheering squad!

The shirts that Rowan and Kieran are wearing were made by Nana! I found some shirts that I liked on etsy.com, and asked her if she could make them at a lesser price! And she did! Thanks Nana!

It is so fun to see how the two of them interact more and more and enjoy each other more and more as they get older and the more they see each other. They played great together!