Well, Rowan is closer to twelve months than eleven now, but I do have a good excuse for being behind on posts - we spent last week living like nomads along the scorching Eastern seaboard. We took Rowan on his first Big Trip and drove to the Annapolis/DC area to visit friends and family. I was anxious leading up to the trip and nearly canceled it several times - I just wasn't sure if we could all handle it. However, everyone did extremely well; we were very impressed with Rowan's ability to cope with the constant changes. We joked that the drive down broke his spirit, but really, I do think the whole experience was great for building character. We have noticed a definitive improvement in his overall coping abilities - he is still sensitive, but seems to be less easily upset. We hope he continues to grow braver while still enjoying lots of snuggles. :)
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| Scenic view of the Susquehanna that we found on the way down. |
We went to Annapolis first and got to hang out with Ben's cousin Cody, his wife Jamie, and their one year old son Colin. Colin is big and strong like Rowan and he is already walking really well. I think he had a good influence on Rowan because just a day after watching Colin stand up independently, Rowan did it for the first time! He had already been taking a few tentative steps back and forth between Ben and I, but now he can stand up and lurch, I mean, walk independently!
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| Waving to the dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore |
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| Jellyfish! |
We also stayed with Ben's brother David and his wife Liz in Annapolis. They have a border collie mix named Dakota and he is the best dog ever! He and Rowan are BFFs - seriously, they just love each other! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the friends playing; they both move awfully fast. I hope we can get Rowan a dog when he is older because he really loves them.
We stayed with David and Liz through the 4th of July and went to a swanky party - Rowan charmed everyone, of course. He is SUCH a flirt. It is very cute and it makes me glad to see how social he can be - he is far from a shut-in, but he doesn't go to day care so his daily social interactions are fairly limited. We also took him to the big National Aquarium in Baltimore and that was a big success. Rowan seemed really interested in looking at all the animals, including the people. He made several friends, both swimming and non-swimming. :)
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| Seriously? ANOTHER place to stay? |
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| Hey, Girl. |
We left Annapolis to spend the weekend in Washington, DC. We stayed with my college roommate Sue and her boyfriend Brian. Rowan loved both of them - he also loved their cat, Bauer, but unfortunately those feelings were not reciprocated. Bauer spent much of the weekend in hiding.
Unfortunately, last weekend in DC was one of hottest ever recorded - it was 105 on Saturday! So that somewhat limited our choices of activities. We went to the mall to stay out of the heat and Rowan had a great time playing with the other kids on the indoor playground. He is so funny - he was practically chasing the kids around with this goony smile on his face. He is definitely friendly, but I think he came on a little strong. ;)
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| HI! BE MY FRIEND!! |
We spent a lot of time in the pool at Sue's apartment complex. Rowan had been in a pool before, but hadn't been completely excited about it. However, maybe he just needed to get used to it, because now he is turning into a little fish! He was practically throwing himself out of our arms and trying to swim. And he definitely doesn't mind getting his head wet. If the weather holds out, we're hoping to take him to Canandaigua Lake this week.
The heat broke on Monday and it cooled off to the low 80s so we went into Washington, DC. Rowan took his very first train ride and did a great job. He enjoyed checking out the scenery as well as the other passengers. We walked around the National Mall and visited the Museum of American History. Rowan was pretty interested, especially in anything he could get his hands on.
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| First train ride! |
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| Thank god for the Ergo! |
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| Cool day in DC. |
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| OMG THIS SLINKY IS SO COOL! |
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We ended the trip with a quick visit to Manassas to see my friend Kelly, her husband Brett, and their new little girl Ella. Rowan was starting to lose it by this point and took a little while to warm up to yet another new place. However, Brett is a natural and quickly charmed Rowan. We hope to spend more time with them the next time we brave the drive.
This month Rowan started walking. At this point he is pretty much just tentatively lurching back and forth between Ben and I, but he does so with great enthusiasm! :) He has been cruising for quite awhile, but while we were on this trip he stood up independently (without pulling or holding anything) for the first time. We are pretty sure he learned it by watching Colin.
So overall it was a very successful trip. Of course, now we are ACTUALLY on vacation - home and recuperating from our week of living like gypsies. Rowan is spending his days playing with his toys, playing in his little backyard "beach" (a sandbox and plastic pool), and constantly practicing walking.
In other news, Rowan continues to meet his cohorts - it seems like everyone I know had a baby in the past year or so. My friend Adrienne and her son Eden happened to be in Fredonia when we were a few weeks ago and the adults got to visit while the boys played together (sort of - Rowan is about three months older than Eden.) It always cracks me up how beefy Rowan seems next to other babies.
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| It is hard to get two little boys to look :) |
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| Rowan, the Miami Mob Boss |
Rowan's Likes: Swimming, Puffs, graham crackers,
dogs, meeting new animals (friendly ones), meeting new kids and friendly adults, ice cream (salted caramel appears to be his favorite)
Rowan's Dislikes: Diaper changes, getting dressed, most table food, being hot, being bored, not getting enough undivided attention
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