A Whole Hand Old

I cannot believe Rowen turned FIVE years old last week...a whole hand old, just crazy!  Now that she's older, its fun to interview her each year on her birthday. Check it out...

How old are you:  Five 

What grade are you in: Kindergarten (hands go in the air)!

Favorite Color:  Purple & Pink

What is your favorite animal: dog

What is your favorite Book: Amelia Badelia 

Favorite TV show: Team Umizoomi

Favorite movie: Moana (shocker)

Where do you want to go on vacation: to see the beach

What is your favorite drink: water

What is your favorite breakfast food: French Toast Sticks or egg sandwich or pancakes

What is your favorite food:  Ham and Cheese sandwich

Where is your favorite place to go: The Buffalo Restaurant (aka Buffalo Wild Wings)

Favorite snack: Fruit snacks

Favorite outfit: dress or Moana shirt

What do you like to take to bed with you at night: Froggy

What's your favorite game: Moana necklace game

Favorite toy:  ipad (mom cringes)

Who is your best friend: Aubrey

What is your favorite thing to do inside: watch tv and play with my brother

Favorite thing to do outside: wiggle car or swim or play with corbin and carver, lol

Favorite holiday: Christmas

What do you want to be when you grow up: Singer

We celebrated her actual birthday (Thursday) at home with gifts and donuts.  Then, spent all day Sunday afternoon with her friends at an adorable art studio in Grimes for a painting party, and ended the day celebrating with family at our house!

Rowen definitely has some big changes coming her way in a few weeks when kindergarten starts, but I know she's gonna do wonderful!  Happy Birthday, baby girl, we love you!

Rowen Preschool Update

For the past two months, Rowen has been in three year old preschool and is loving it!  We had her first conference a week or so ago and had a great report!  The teacher referred to her as a “breath of fresh air”...so sweet! 

At the conference, we were showed a summary of how she’s progressing and were very pleased with what we saw!  She knows most of her letters and numbers, and has really started writing her name legibly so that we can read it! 

Rowen is lucky in that she has two of her good friends in class with her, but is also making new friends, too, which is what we wanted for her this year! 

Her teacher is beyond wonderful and Rowen loves her.  She talks about Mrs. Megan all the time and even wants to pretend to be her when we play school at home - so cute!

I totally did the ever so popular "first day of school" picture with her {link for the sign I used} and even filled out a cute little survey I found online {here}, too!  I plan to print both and put them in her keepsake box so she has them to look back on in the future!  

Rowen's 3 Year Update

Our Rowie girl turns three years old this coming Monday, I can’t believe it!  We’ll be busy celebrating this weekend, can't wait!  In the meantime I wanted to post her 3 year update...

Age:  3

Stats:   I actually have no clue on this…she sees the doctor next week for her 3 year check-up!

Size:  Mostly 3T…can still fit into some 2T stuff though.

Teeth:  Had her third dentist appointment this past Spring.  Everything looked good!  She’s still waiting on a couple of molars to come in.  She is learning to brush her teeth by herself, but still gets help from us.  

Milestones:

Vocabulary: She’s using full sentences now, basically speaks like an adult.  Has even been caught using a curse word once at daycare…that was probably my fault.  #momfail 

Potty-training:  100%.  We are in underwear full time, even at night!  I cannot even remember the last time she had an accident.  She’s also graduated to using the “big potty”, which means no more potty seat! 

Alphabet/Numbers:  Recognizes a handful of letters and numbers.  We’ve been working with her to trace her letters and numbers, too!  Ryan says he’s going to have her reading by Christmas…I don’t think it’ll happen though.  He says he could read by age 3 (I personally think he was just memorizing books, which is what Rowen does), but I guess we’ll see!

Days of the Week:  Officially knows her days of the week thanks to a catchy tune she learned at daycare.  Without fail, she always asks what day it is, and what the plan is for that day!  I love it. 

Favorites:

Food:  Mac N Cheese.  She would eat it all day, everyday if we let her, which we don't!  Other foods she likes…chicken nuggets, oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, stir fry, rice, spaghetti, bananas, PB&J, broccoli, yogurt, & cereal! 

Book:  Loving Pete the Cat books, Llama Llama Books, and our weekly trips to the library!

Toy:   Still loving her Disney Magiclip Princess set, her Ariel doll, and her Palace Pets.  Also loves puzzles, Magna-tiles, and easy board games!

TV Show:  We let her watch TV in the morning (on the weekends) and for 30-40 minutes before bedtime.  The only show she’s really into watching anymore is Daniel Tiger.  I think we’ve seen every episode 10 times…no joke!

Movie:  Still Little Mermaid, but she also loves Tangled, Cinderella and the Disney Princess Sing-A-Long videos we check out from the library on occasion.

Song:  The girl sings CONSTANTLY!  Her favorite songs to sing are those from Daniel Tiger.  She also loves singing any Disney song.  Thank goodness for the Disney Princess radio station on iTunes!

Sleep: 

Bedtime: She usually goes to bed (8pm) without complaining and always waits for us to come get her in the morning.  I have no clue how we lucked out with such a good sleeper!  She still loves hoarding all of her animals, princesses and books in her bed at night, which we're fine with as they entertain her until she falls asleep and then again in the morning when she wakes up!  Each night one of us crawls into bed with her and together we read a book, say prayers, sing a song and then “chat” about our day…I love it! 

Naps:   Still taking one, but I have a feeling it might not be for much longer.  When they do end, we plan to make her have “quiet time” playing with a few designated toys in her room with the door shut.  This will be especially important when we get a more established nap routine going for Wyatt. 

Social:

In her normal, everyday environment (aka daycare and at home), she generally thrives socially.  However, the past couple months, we’ve started to notice that when we take her out of her “normal environment” and into a setting like gymnastics class, a birthday party, or even the play place at the mall, she retreats.  Instead of playing with other kids, she prefers to hang back with Ryan and I.  She would much rather watch the other kids then play alongside of them.  She will participate in the activity if we are doing it with her, but if we try to get her to do it alone, she wont.  In the end this frustrates me A LOT!.  Ryan keeps telling me to stop worrying about it, but for some reason I do.  I guess I worry because she starts preschool this Fall and I want her to be ready!  Eeek! 

Attitude:  She definitely has one!  There is really only one way to describe her attitude right now and it’s stubborn as all heck!  I’ve been told she gets her stubbornness from me (ha), so luckily I feel like I know how to deal with it, but sometimes it’s hard! 

To sum it up, Rowie is a very good kid.  She's sweet, smart, funny, silly, extremely clumsy, and stubborn all in one, and we love her soooo very much! 

Here are a few recent pics:

I hope to have a recap of her birthday on the blog early next week!  Stay tuned!

Rowen 2.5 Year Update

In a couple of weeks Rowen officially turns two and a half so here is a quick update...

Age:  2.5

Stats:   30 lbs (that's a guess), and just shy of 3 feet tall! (see pic below)

Clothes:  2T

Teeth:  I think she has them all!  She loves brushing her teeth using her Tigger toothbrush - with the help of us of course!

Favorite Foods:  The award for most favorite goes to Mac N Cheese (takes after her mama)! Other foods she really enjoys are:

Eggs

Yogurt

Sausage

Turkey Pepperoni

Muffins

Chicken Nuggets

Milestones:

Vocabulary: Uses it to her full potential.  The other day she managed to tell us she was “frustrated” because she couldn’t have her way with something.  She also used the word “fantastic” correctly in a sentence, too!  I love hearing her talk (which is non stop)!

Potty-trained:  Dare I actually say it?  About a month ago we started and she’s taken to it SO well!  She now tells us every time she has to go!  Sadly, we start all over again in May with diapers, but for now I am going to enjoy the next four months diaper free!

Big girl bed:  She now sleeps in her very own, full-size bed!

Imagination:  She is using her imagination more now than she ever has…it’s so fun watching her and seeing the things she comes up with!

Alphabet:  Slowly beginning to recognize her letters and numbers.

Days of the Week:  Beginning to understand concept of a seven-day week and commonly asks what day it is!

Favorites:

Book:  Any book!  We read A LOT!

Toy:    Playdoh:  We play almost every day!

Let's Go Fishing Game:  This wins as best Christmas gift this year and she’s actually quite good at it!

Dress up:  All of the sudden she’s very into dressing up like Tinkerbelle, Sofia, or Elsa.

Princesses:  One of the toys she got for Christmas was the Disney Magiclip Princess set.  She loves them so much she bathes and sleeps with them!

iPad:  She is really into the painting and drawing apps

TV Show:  Sofia the First

Movie:  Little Mermaid and the Tigger Movie

Song:  Little Mermaid, “Part of your World”.  I get the pleasure of singing it every night before bed. 

Sleep:

Naps:  Still takes one afternoon nap - about hour and half.  Going to keep this going as long as possible!

At Night:  Officially sleeping through the night (8pm-7am) in a full size bed!  She loves to pack it full of all her blankets, stuffed animals and princess figurines.  The other night, after we put her to bed and shut the door, we heard her getting in and out of her bed…found out later that night she had taken out the clothes from her dresser and put them in bed with her.  Silly girl! 

Here are a few recent pics:

Rowen's turning 2!!

I cannot believe my little booger turns two years old this weekend!  This year has just flown by!  To kick off the celebration I thought I'd post her two year update...

Age: 24 Months

Stats: 26 lbs, 33 inches tall

Teeth: Still doesn't have them all.  Missing a few on the bottom and top.  Dentist again in the winter!

Clothes: 2T, shoes: 5.5

Favorite Foods:  

• Mac N Cheese
• Hot Dogs
• Chicken Noodle Soup

Milestones:

• Can count to twenty
• Puts together 4-5 word sentences – talks non-stop!
• Asking lots of questions
• Knows all of the basic colors
• Beginning to recognize her letters
• Can spell half of her name out loud R-O-W
• Knows her birth date (July 20)
• Tells us when she has to go potty, but still has very little interest in actually using the potty (frustrating)
• Becoming much more independent.  Wants to put on her own shoes, own clothes, and do everything on "rowen time".

Favorite Things:

• Singing – she LOVES to sing and surprisingly sings in tune most of the time!
• Dancing – Will randomly ask me to dance with her (asked me in grocery store last night)
• Watching Leap Frog Videos, Daniel Tiger and her very favorite favorite, Sofia the First
• iPad - Shes getting very good at it!
• Swimming – She’s a little fish!
• Screaming “my so sided” aka “I’m so excited” before we do something fun – I LOOOVE it when she says this!
• Swinging on her swing set

Least Favorite Things:

• Sharing -  She’s perfectly fine playing with other kids’ toys, but it’s a totally different story when her friends try to play with her toys.  We’re working on this!
• Rice - not a fan
• Chicken - not a fan

Sleep:

• At Night - Full 8-10 hours each night.  Still sleeps in her crib, has not yet tried to climb out so we’re keeping her in there as long as possible.
• Naps - One nap in the afternoon 1-2 hours in length

Recent Pics: 

We'll be celebrating her birthday with a low key party of friends at family at home!  Can't wait!  Have a great weekend!

21 Month Update

Next week Rowen turns 21 months so I thought I'd do a quick update.  I cannot believe we'll be celebrating her 2nd birthday in just a few months - better start planning! :)

Age:  21 Months

Stats:  Good question!  She hasn't been to the doctor recently so I am not sure, but I do know she is growing like a weed!

Teeth:  Molars are in and she's been very crabby because of it.

Clothes:  Shirts: 24 mo/2T.  Pants: 18/24 months.

Favorite Foods:  Still loving noodles aka "nooles".  She's also been loving fruit a lot more lately- raspberries and grapes are her favorites.


Milestones:

• Can sing her ABC's all the way through 
• Talking, talking, talking!  She's saying so much now and putting together sentences like you wouldn't believe - so fun!
• Recognizes the colors green, pink, blue, yellow, black and white
• Can count to 14
• Graduated to a booster seat
• Now sleeps with a pillow

Favorites Things:

• Baby Dolls:  Loves to push them around in her toy stroller - also asks to bathe them!
• Coloring:  We recently finished our playroom (yippee) where she has her own drawing table.  She loves to color and have us color with her.
• Playing Outside:  She can't get enough.  She loves playing with her basketball hoop, going on walks, and just running around the yard.  We can't wait for summertime!
• Singing:  Current favorites stem from the movie Frozen.  You'll often times hear her singing a lyric from one of the opening songs " a snowman, bike around hall" - so funny!
• Doors:  Shutting every door in the house and then opening them as fast as she can while shouting, "Hello Rowen!".  It's so funny to hear her say her own name.  
• Buckles:  Is currently fascinated with buckles - the buckle on her booster seat, her car seat, and in the carts at the grocery store.  
• Trucks:  Loves to spot all of the trucks on the road when we are driving.
• Wheels on the Bus:  Her favorite bedtime song.

Least Favorite Things:

• Going to Bed:  Up until a few weeks ago, putting her to bed was no problem.  Now though, she fights it and cries while saying "no go plaaaay" in her crib for about 10 minutes until she falls asleep.

Signature Moves: 

• Shaking her booty:  So funny to watch her try to do it - not quite coordinated enough!

Sleep:

• Naps:  Still takes one afternoon nap - about an hour is all.
• At Night:  *Sigh*.  This one has been tough recently.  Along with fighting us at bedtime, she's also been waking up for an hour or two at night (not every night, but more often than we'd like).  Before this started she was a rock star sleeper, sleeping almost 11 hours straight every night.  We think a lot of her new sleeping problems have to do with the molars she has coming in, and also the fact that she may be dreaming more at night.  We're not sure...still trying to figure it out.  In the meantime, we let her cry-it-out for 20-30 minutes and if that doesn't work, we go in and lay on the floor next to her crib until she falls back to sleep.  Ryan and I both refuse to let her sleep in our bed.  It would probably solve our problem, but I've heard too many stories about kids never wanting to sleep in their own bed again after being allowed to sleep with mom and dad (I know, we're mean).  :)

Here are a few recent pics of our girl:

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An 18 Month Update

My plan is to post updates of Rowen every few months as an easy way to keep track of some of her milestones. This morning I realized she's about to turn 19 months in two days..eek, so here's a quick update of our little lady at 18 months:

Age: 18 Months!

Stats: 22.1 lbs & 31 inches tall

Teeth: Molars are on their way in, but for now she’s got at least seven.

Clothes: 18-24 months

Favorite Foods:  Pasta, & bananas.  She’s a great eater, will try anything!

Milestones:  Our girl seriously talks non-stop!  We've tried to count how many words she knows and we think she's mastered well over 50!  It seriously sometimes feels like we can have a conversation with her now that started putting words into small sentences, it's so fun!  Some of her favorites include:

• "i yike it" (I like it)
• "buh-bye daddy"
• buh-bye mommy"
• "milk peese" (milk please)
• "thank you, welcome" (she thinks she has to say both consecutively)
• "eat, yes?" (when asking to eat)
• "no, no Car Car" (short for our dog, Carly)
• "its ok baby" (after she drops her baby doll flat on her face)

Favorite Things:  

• Reading:  Her favorites books are those centered around animals.  She knows just about every animal you can think of and even some of the noises they make.  Her two favorites?  Elephants and hippos!
• Singing:  Loves nursery rhymes and even sings her ABC's up to the letter D as well as Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.  She knows almost an entire verse of that song.  We heard her singing it in her crib the other night for 20 minutes straight, so funny!
• Feeding the dog:  It's become a daily thing.  The poor dog has to wait an extra 15 minutes as Rowen places each individual piece of food into her bowl instead of just one big scoop, torture!
• Dress up:  She plays this a lot at daycare, so fun to watch her be silly.

Least Favorite Things:

• The vacuum:  Hates it, wont got near it.
• Getting dressed after bath:  Not sure what has caused this, but running around without clothes is how she likes to spend most of her evenings. 
• Sitting in the cart:  She refuses.  Even with that little seat belt, she still wiggles her way out and attempts to stand, which makes me crazy!  I think I sang Baa Baa Black Sheep at least 20 times in the grocery store the other day...anything to keep her sitting!

Signature Moves:

• The Hokey Pokey:  She likes to dance to this with her friends at daycare, she's pretty much mastered  the "shake it all around" part.

Sleep:

• Naps: An hour and half during the afternoon is all we get from her.
• At Night:  Sleeps 8:00pm-7:00am.  Rarely does she wake during the night, and if she does it's most likely because teeth are bothering her. 

In other news, Rowen was sent home early from daycare today due to low grade fever and a stuffy nose, blah!  This is like cold number 12 for her so far this winter...spring can hurry up and arrive any day now!  

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