Almost summertime + adventures in toddlerhood

Another several weeks flown by without a post - I suppose I should just be glad I am keeping any kind of record of our life with Rowan and stop worrying about how often I post.  It has been a somewhat stressful couple months, with occasional bursts of extreme stress.  We are still settling into our routines with both of us working full-time and we are struggling to get our finances in order.  I hate worrying about money when I just want to enjoy our time together as a family.  It was sunny and warm last Sunday and we spent the morning as a family in Highland Park - I hate that the whole time I felt nagged by stress.  I have had a really good year at school, but I am desperately looking forward to some time off to relax together.

Relaxing times in Fredonia

Bringing Grandma a flower :)

Rowan went to his first concert back on May 18th - Aunt Amy and I took him to the Lilac Festival to see Mikaela Davis.  He has been listening to her music since he was only a few months old and he loves her.  It was outdoors, but still rather loud.  He seemed nervous during the first couple songs, but then he recognized one of his favorites ("Dreaming") and started to get super excited.  By the end of the concert he was the cute kid dancing up front and clapping.  We did get to meet her briefly after the show, but by then Rowan was pretty burned out from all the excitement.  Still, it was a pretty awesome first concert.

Starting to get excited ...

SUPER excited!

Dancing all around :)

Rowan also had his first real trip to Aunt Lauren and Uncle Kevin's farm in mid-May.  We took him there for their wedding, but he was still an infant and spent the evening being very, very cranky.  This time we spent the night and he got to explore the farmhouse and the grounds a bit.  It was a very successful trip - Rowan was very at ease the whole time which allowed us to relax a lot, too.  I can't wait to go back soon so we can play a little longer and help with some early harvesting, too!  We also went to Ithaca that weekend to spend Mother's Day with Ben's family.  I'm incredibly glad we did because Ben's grandmother passed away suddenly last weekend.  I regret not taking any last pictures of her with Rowan, but I'm very glad we saw her recently.

Happy monster on the farm!

Playing at Ithaca Farmer's Market

Peek-a-boo!

Rowan's verbal skills have been improving at a startling pace.  He seems to get the concept of the phone now - Hi Mama! How are you? (or Good-how-are-you, one of his favorite phrases.)  He loves his books and wants to read them all the time.  His favorites rotate frequently and he has several memorized.  I have to give Ben the majority of the credit for all of Rowan's words and phrases - he works very hard on language and songs.  Rowan's "party tricks" include counting to ten in English, Spanish, AND French.  He knows his ABCs and lots of songs.  He frequently sings "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to himself and he knows it in French, too!  We joke that it's too bad we aren't wealthy Manhattanites vying for a prestigious nursery school spot.

hehehehe I LOVE MY COUSIN!!

He also still loves drawing.  He has definitely started to move beyond just scribbling to more thoughtful marks - obviously, he isn't making anything recognizable yet.  Still, he seems to choose colors, he is careful taking his caps off and putting them back on, and he makes more of a variety of lines, not just scribbles. 

Yes, there are PILES of drawings ...

Cool pencil lines - I like the mess-less-ness of pencils :)

He loves drawing outside :)

Ok, but this doesn't happen a lot ... :)

Rowan is FINALLY on board with the concept of the playground.  We have been taking him to various parks for awhile now, but he usually just ran around and got anxious quickly.  Occasionally he would use the slides once of twice if we heavily encouraged it or went down with him.  But recently my parents got him a play set for the backyard - a little climbing unit shaped like a castle with a slide.  I think this helped him get on board with the idea of climbing and sliding independently.  We have got into the habit of taking him to a nice playground in the Southwedge at Meigs & Linden.  It is shady and pleasant and there are always several neighborhood families there.  Rowan is usually really friendly with other kids, and perhaps a little over zealous at time.  I don't think many two year old kids understand personal space. :)

Sliding at Lambert playground

Yay! My own slide!

Such a sweet bug :)

Despite his fun vocabulary and new playing skills, Rowan is still almost 2 and often acts like it.  He gets frustrated pretty easily and tends to obsess over things, like closing doors.  He gets really maniacal about closing doors, including the microwave and fridge.  And he STILL sometimes pulls the "pick-me-up!!!-why-are-you-holding-me!??-why-did-you-put-me-down!!!???" insanity that makes me more than a little crazy.  We are getting outside a lot more now that the weather is getting better, but the hose is another one of those fun two-year-old paradoxes: get-it-away!-give-it-to-me!-WHY-is-the-hose-near-me?!!

Tending the garden :)

Rowan still LOVES to clap and it works well to reinforce good behavior, like eating independently, climbing independently ... basically anything independent.  We are really trying to push independence.  Obviously, we know he is two and of course he should still feel like we are there for him, but it has been hard getting him to do things like eating and playing without a lot of assistance.  I am still anxious about sending him to daycare and/or pre-K.  I am honest enough to admit that I am anxious about parting with him for any amount of time - I've still never spent a night away from him.  I know I need to get over it if I want him to be able to cope, too.  We'll get there, I'm sure.

FIRST HAIRCUT! (bangs only :)

Just a few wisps ...