Rowan's first Thanksgiving + meeting more friends

Rowan had a rough start to the holiday week.  It would appear he is officially teething - he's drooling a lot and chewing on his hands, bibs, and burp cloths a lot.  He must have been in a lot of pain earlier this week because he was extremely fussy, including pushing away his bottle a lot and basically refusing to eat.  It might have been that his mouth was sore, but I've also heard that teething can cause an upset stomach, too.  I'm sure with all the extra saliva a fair amount ends up in his belly and bugs him.  He was also up all hours of the night - I know lots of new parents have to deal with that continually, but we're not used to it.  The other problem was that he wasn't getting any good naps in either which added to his irritation.

This basically sums up last week.

Finally, and fittingly, the craziness broke on Thanksgiving and he's been doing a lot better the past few days.  He's eating better and catching up on sleep (in fact he's nearly TWO HOURS into napping right now, practically unheard of for him!)  We've also built up a cache of teething antidotes this week, including a cold teething ring, washcloths, our own (clean) fingers,  baby Tylenol, and a homeopathic med called Camilia.  I try to avoid using the Tylenol too often, though, partly because I don't want him to have too much and partly because I don't want him to get used to it.

We went to Dryden for the holiday and Rowan got to spend time with Grandma & Grandpa Gross, Aunt Gretchen, Uncle David, Aunt Liz, Great Uncle Bill, and Great Grandma!  We also went out to Aunt Judy and Uncle Gary's beautiful house in the woods - sadly Rowan is not old enough to try the amazing burrata that Aunt Liz brought. :) Soon enough.

Playing at Grandma's house

I didn't take as many pictures as I should have while we were visiting, but we had a great time.  Making pizza together has become a bit of a tradition when we visit Ben's family.  It won't be long until Rowan can help top the pizzas!

We also got to visit with Ben's friends Lars and Kate and their son Desmond.  I am very sad that they live in Seattle now because they are so awesome and I wish we could hang out all the time.  They are very cool and smart and down to earth.  The boys weren't too into one another this time around, but I'm sure they'll have fun playing when they are both a little older.

Snuggling with Kate

14 month old Desmond & 4 month old Rowan

And if that wasn't enough fun, on Saturday we got a visit from Matt, Evan, and Rachel!  Rowan showed off his moves for everyone and gave away lots of smiles.  Matt and I cooked dinner together, our favorite past time.  We made butternut squash bread pudding, spinach salad with roasted beets and red onion marmalade, and apple almond crisp.  I wish we could visit more often.

Hey!  That's my thing!

Beautiful eyes!