California and Disneyland!!!

In May Trev and I had a chance to hit up California with my sister and her finance Jesse. We were so close to Disneyland!! The first day we went to the beach. The water was freezing and there was wind and we did not have towels so Holl and I stayed on the warm beach and the boys played in the water. It was really fun for the fact that Trev had never been to California, had never seen the ocean!!



The next day we hit up Disneyland!! Trev had never been and it had changed since I had been there last, so it was new for both of us. It was a blast to be with Holl and Jess!!

Playing in the Snow

I know that this was forever ago, but it was so fun. It was the toward the end of winter, and I finally found a snow suit that was Rowan's size. There was very little snow on the ground, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to let him wear it outside for a minute. So we slapped on the snow suit, and the never-worn snow boots and hit the tiny bit of snow on the ground. Row loved it. He found it really funny to pick up the snow and throw it at me on the stairs. He didn't want the fun to end. Toby then woke up from him nap, and the fake snow day came to an end.

Toby's First Birthday

Let my just start by saying that I can't believe that my baby is one. It is crazy how fast time flies. I should have posted this a while ago, but I can't go back. So I am just going to catch you up on how he is now. He is 16 months old!!! Everyday he is learning new things, and teaching me new things as well. Today for example I lost him, couldn't find him anywhere. Finally I opened his bedroom door to find him sitting on the floor with a book on his lap. He was reading it to himself. I just stood in the door way and let myself get a little teary-eyed. He was just so big, sitting there alone totally content.
To say that he idols his big brother would be an understatement. He LOVES Rowan. If Toby can't find him, it is, "Row Row, are you?" with his little hands up in the air, looking from side to side. They play so cute together too. Row, for the most part, is quite patient. Row is in the later part of being potty trained, and Toby thinks that he needs to go on the potty too. They have a little black potty that Row can sit on himself. More times than not if I can't find Toby he will be in the bathroom sitting on that potty. When I find him he will tell me that he is going potty!!

It it is so fun to have such a beautiful, health little boy.

Sumer Fun!!!

I know that this a really behind, but I just had to share the pictures of Rowan at Trev's birthday party in June. Celia and Glen let me plan a little outdoor BBQ in their perfect front yard, and the weather was just right. It was fun to have some of Trev's friends come over, and we just hung out.



He was so cute. He was a little more independent because he could walk, and he was into everything! If he wasn't making a mess of the table of food he was knocking over drinks. I'm pretty sure he ate at least 3 small bags of chips by himself. He was so helpful.

Halloween 2008

Halloween was definitely a fun night. Rowan was Dash from The Incredibles and Toby was Peter Pan. Let me just say that Rowan was so excited to wear his costume. The Incredibles is one of his favorite movies, and when I heard that my cousin had the costume I know it was meant to be.

Rowan's hair was shaggy and curly and it wouldn't stay slicked back like Dashes, so I made up a hair style... I'm sure that this was first time I had ever used hair spray on the poor kid.

The weather was surprisingly nice outside, so we didn't need jackets. I struggled with what I was going to dress Toby as, and I remembered that I had made Rowan a Peter Pan costume last year. That's right, I made the costume. Luckily it fit, and he was the cutest baby!!!

Rowan Allen

Where do I even start with Rowan. He is such an amazing little boy, full of energy and life.

He is getting older everyday, and it is killing me. He turned 2 on December 13th, and it is crazy how fast the year went by. It is fun to look back and see just how much he has grown. His strong personality makes it easy to love him. Everything is new and exciting, and he constantly learning new things.

Rowan is the best big brother. He loves to help me with Toby. When Toby cries, I can expect Rowan to find me and tell me, "Brother sad." He is so aware of his little brother. Sharing has never been a problem, and sometimes I wonder where he learned to be so sweet. I can just ask him to share with Toby and he does not think twice.

His favorite toys right now are his cars and his books. I think he got his love of reading from his dad because he can sit for ever it seems and look at his books. He is starting to read the books to us, and his stories are so cute. My favorite book to hear him read is The Three Little Pigs. When he gets to the "huff and puff" part he gets so animated. His love of cars I think also came from Trevor. He will line all 12 of them up on the coffee table and talked to them. My favorite is when he lines them and then says "I did it." That is the best. He will drive them and crash them. Toby is starting to take an interest in them too, and when the two start playing the cars end up all over the living room.

After Rowan's birthday, we decided that it was time for him to be sleep in a big boy bed. So we found a twin mattress, and for a couple weeks that was his bed. Just last week we got him a frame and the cutest bedspread from IKEA. He LOVES his new bed. For the first little bit every night he would tell Trev that he wanted to snuggle, and Trev would end up falling asleep in his bed. But the last couple of nights he just wants to go to bed by himself. He is growing up!!

His vocabulary is growing also. Everyday he comes up with new words, and surprises me with the things that he can talk about. He understands so much. Yesterday in the car I was telling my mom about how he had told Trevor that he didn't want to snuggle that night, and as soon as I took a breathe he started telling my mom the same thing. It was fun to hear him try to tell the same story.

The Jungle Book tops the list of favorite movies with Rowan. I'm pretty sure that he has it almost dedicated to memory. He knows when it is almost time for the elephants "hup 2...3....4", and the Bear Necessities. The video is from the first morning that he tried to sing the song...

This is just the beginning for the fun stories and experiences that we can look forward to from Rowan.