Oden Loves His Spud-Trooper Mr Potato Head Doll

Oden thinks his Mr Potatohead Spudtrooper is super cool!
He pats him on the head.....


and loves him....


...and he named him George.

Rowley Milestones for 2007

1. We kept Oden alive. He turned 1 year old in July, and is still chugging along healthily despite his complete disregard for his own safety.
2. We kept up our travel: Barcelona in January, Florida in Feb, California in March, North Carolina in August - Oden accompanied us on every trip.
3. Patricia went back to work after a 9 month mommy sabbatical. She really enjoys the work/mommy balance.
4. Oden hit all of the standard developmental milestones such as: sitting up, eating solids, crawling, walking, self-feeding, and learning sign language. The thing he hasn't done really is talk yet. However, he is hitting the crap out of a baseball, so it all balances out.
5. We re-did our kitchen, and survived the stress.
6. We had a very successful garden, and Oden loves tomatoes fresh off the vine.
7. Jon worked hard to increase his profile in his field. He is organizing conferences and journals, and has started a blog on the regenerative medicine industry called The Regeneration Station.

Happy Holidays from the Rowley Family!

16 month old slugger - Oden Rowley

Oden is only 16 months old and can hit the ball better than most 5 year olds... check it out.....

Oden Knievel - Daredevil Extraordinaire

what you gonna do?

Oden's Favorite Fall Activities

Oden's favorite fall activities include:

1) Going to Michigan Football games with Dad


2) Helping Mommy pick up walnuts that fall from the big tree
3) Running around the park and throwing walnuts in the stream

4) Watching squirrels run around the yard
5) Sweeping the deck clear of all the yellow leaves, and
6) Twirling around and around until he gets so dizzy he falls down.


Stay tuned for pictures and video to come......

Homerun King

He Ain't Scared!

Oden's walking confidence is definately increasing, and he will try to walk from across the room. He hasn't quite made it yet, but wanting to and trying is just as important.

A Trip to the Petting Farm

We took Oden to the petting farm at Domino's Farms (http://www.pettingfarm.com/) this weekend. We went on a hay ride, but we couldn't feed the cows as it was mating season and the bulls were somewhat aggressive. Oden got to see a lot of neat, not to mention rare, farm animals including:

- goats with 4 horns
- african Watusi horned cows
- Scottish striped galloway cows (any relation to G'ma Galloway - Oden's great great G'ma?)
- pheasants, roosters, ducks, geese, and chickens
- pot belly pigs, european pigs, piglets, and huge hogs
- Llamas, horses, (rasta) donkeys, etc....

He was very intrigued by all the new animals, as long as they didn't get too close. Let's just say Oden didn't take advantage of the 'petting' aspects of the trip, but he had lots of fun none-the-less.

Who's your Tiger? Oden Rowley!

Oden may have some strong genetic challenges to overcome on his way to being the next great Detroit Tiger center fielder, but we believe with hard work and dedication that he can do it. Curtis Granderson should be ready to retire just as Oden is getting ready to move into the majors, but look out Cameron Maybin!

Oden Rowley - Associate Toddler

Our little boy is well on his way to being promoted from infant to toddler, with the critical milestone of successfully taking his first steps. Gma saw a couple steps from the pack-n-play to the couch during the day, but he saved the exciting stuff for when Mommy and Daddy got home. You can tell he is showing off during the videos, and that he is very proud and excited about his new skills.







Not only has he begun walking, but he has sprouted 2 more teeth. He won't let Momma look, but it looks like at least two new bottom teeth for a total of 8!

We are very proud of our son's accomplishments, and looking forward to the day, with correct development and him hitting new milestones, to further promote Oden to to full Toddler status.

Grandpa Oden Visits

Gpa Oden visited us from Thailand this past weekend. We spent lots of quality time together. He always tells the best stories about what it was like growing up on a farm in Kansas.

Oden enjoyed wearing his Gpa's VFW caps.


Gma P hadn't seen Gpa Oden in about 32 years so it was a nice reunion.


He left today and already we miss him and can't wait until he visits us again.

A Trip to the South

Oden goes to "the South" and experiences a wedding for the first time. Mommy and Daddy took him to NC to visit all their friends that they sadly left behind when they moved to Ann Arbor.

The first few days we stayed with Adam and Emily Reed. They are the super duper nicest and funnest people ever. They bought Oden all his favorite foods so they could be his favorite "Aunt" and "Uncle". Aunt Emily is an artist and knits the most amazing hats and scarves and dresses. You can check out her art at www.emknits.com . We plan to get a hat for Oden so he can stay cozy warm this winter! Mommy's favorite was the monkey hat :) Aunt Emily is brewing a baby friend for Oden in her belly. She's due in October and we can't wait to meet their bouncing baby girl!!

Then we went and stayed with "Aunt" Sania and "Uncle" Gabe. They were super great about tip-toeing around and whispering whenever Oden was asleep (Oden's a REALLY light sleeper!). They just bought a fabulous new house and adopted the sweetest dog, Nala.

We got to see other friends like Tanya, Kate, Bryce, Tom, Carrie/Jeff, Sean, Art/Souk and Liz/Pete. They all adored Oden!

The highlight of the trip was "Aunt" Darryl and "Uncle" Rich's Wedding. Aunt Darryl is one of Mommy's best friends, and she was a beautiful bride.


Oden impressed all with his little black suit. He was the most handsome baby there! Plus Aunt Emily bought him some fab elephant shoes to match!!

Balancing Act

Strawberries for Oden

Today Mommy discovered that Oden LOVES his strawberries whole! He was getting fussy while she was preparing his lunch, so she quickly washed a couple of strawberries, cut off the tops and handed them over. Oden loves being able to hold a whole fruit and to take bites of it with his new found teeth. It's so fun to watch him. Every once in a while though he feels the need to make strawberry juice and squeezes the life out of his strawberry before he crams it into his mouth. It's sooo great!

Last week he started eating whole peaches! He bites off the skin, spits it out, and devours the rest of the peach down to the pit. He's SUCH a great eater!

Oh, and he's getting really good at getting down off the couch and going down the stairs. It's cool to see him learn that you can't just jump off them!

Oden's Brand New Tricks

Oden has lots of new tricks to show the world!

Oden's First Tiger's Game - July 5, 2007

Mom and Dad took Oden to see his first live baseball game the day after his birthday. The Tigers were playing the Indians at Comerica Park in Detroit.

The Detroit Tigers destroyed the Cleveland Indians 12-3 while Justin Verlander pitched a great game (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore;_ylt=AlhDkXIAMELDow0KmLgEh_O4u7YF?gid=270705106).



Oden seemed to enjoy the noise of the crowd and the excitement, but it was a very sunny day and it was hot - so he spent some time with Mommy in the shade while Dad watched the game.



Our little ball player even clapped when the Tigers had a rally going.

Mommy took Oden to find some shade for a break from the sun.... too bad she couldn't find anywhere to sit : )

Oden missed his afternoon nap, but was able to catch some Z's during the ninth inning, and Mommy carried him to the car as the Tiger statues waved bye bye to Oden outside the stadium. He'll be back.....

Happy Birthday, Oden!!!!

Happy Birthday to Oden! We can't beleive it has been an entire year..... as a reminder, here is the original note we sent out to everyone announcing Oden's arrival.

> ODEN ALLEN KEOVISAT ROWLEY came to celebrate Independence
> Day with his parents. He was born on July 4th, 2006 at 9:38pm
> (exactly 3 wks early, still considered a full term baby).
>
> Oden tipped the scales at 6 lbs 2 oz (all cheeks) and measured 18.5
> inches long. No complications or concerns, and as uneventful as a 16
> hour labor/delivery can be. Patricia delivered like a pro.
>
> Mom, Dad, & Baby are now home and doing great!!
>
> We can't stop looking at our new baby......so forgive us if we don't
> answer our cell phones.

I don't want to work, i just want to bang my spoons all day

Cruisin, on a Sunday afternoon

It has been over a month since we posted, and we have lots of good Oden updates:

- he has been pulling up for awhile now, and has recently begun cruising around from chair to table to couch.

- Oden has gone from 2 to 5 teeth in the last week. This will definately help his eating, and you can imagine how good his sleeping has been this week.

- Oden's diet is getting more and more solid. He can eat full blueberries now, and eats eggs every morning with Mom and Dad. He loves anything that someone else is eating.

- Oden is the shortest one in his baby play group. Looks like he got his daddy's legs.

Check out the video - he will be walking in no time!

Oden the Crawling Expert

He crawls! He feeds himself! He claps!

Is there anything that this boy can not do?



he is starting to get into everything now, and is pulling up to his knees (not quite standing).... also, he really wants to figure out how to get to the top of the stairs.

Little Oden Rowley, loved those rascal Puffs.....

and ate them with string and ceiling wax, and other fancy stuff......

Handsome Boy

our oden is killer good looking, don't you agree?

Oden's First Unassisted Forward Motion?

Oden is really working hard at figuring out how to crawl. He currently needs Daddy to put him in the crawl position, but you can tell how he is rocking back and forth trying to figure out how to move..... he will have it down by this weekend so we can show off our new skills to Grandma.

Oden gets a "Taste" of Spring

A couple of weeks ago we got some unusually warm weather, so Oden and Mommy decided to spend some time outdoors. The below video shows Oden experiencing spring for the first time...



For the full length video (3 mins), you can go to...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mf9way1GdQ

Oden's First Steps (Assisted)

Oden has been standing for a few weeks now, but he just stands there doing nothing. Well, yesterday Oden starting putting one foot in front of the other... I tell you, this boy is going places!

Oden Swimming

We spent 4 days in Florida, and we taught Oden how to swim. He can glide through the water like Aquaman, scooping up his toys with the finesse of a dolphin.

What a highly skilled baby!

He's still standing, yeah yeah yeah!

Oden can now stand up, but he does need some help balancing. He is getting soooo big. He still isn't getting his arms supporting his massive upper body (think early Arnold), so it is possible he is one of those babies that skips crawling and goes straight into walking..... we'll see!

Check back soon to catch up with Oden and all his developments!

Both Grandma's in Town

Oden was lucky enough to have both grandma's visiting at the same time..... he got soooo much attention that weekend. Grandma P was staying for a few weeks, and Grandma Rowley made it up for a long weekend. Oden had lots of fun being smothered with attention by his loving grandma's, he didn't know what to do when they left :(

Oden's Duckfest

Oden is a very good boy, and always very curious. You can see how he is checking out his new inflatable bathduck, and he is trying to figure out just what all that stuff is that he is immersed in, and why does stuff keep getting into his eyes?

He'll figure it out eventually, but until he does we are having a great time watching him decipher the world.

I Miss My Daddy...

My Daddy is traveling right now... he had to leave on a business trip. He's taking some sort of Management Class in CA. This is the first time he's left me for more than 1 day and I really really miss him... He's been gone for 4 whole days now and I won't get to see him for 2 more! Mom's taking good care of me, but there are some things that she just can't do like Daddy. I especially miss it when daddy puts me on his shoulders, and when he sings funny songs and dances around making funny faces. I also miss it when he reads to me and gives me baby massage before bedtime. I even miss his scratchy beard! Hurry up and come home Daddy, I miss you!!

Oden loving his new toy

Well, Oden is all over his cold and jet lag from the European trip. He has been sitting up so well that Mommy decided to pull out a couple of toys that she had bought on Craigslist several months back.... and he is loving them.

Oden at 6.5 months

We are still noticing almost daily new things that Oden is doing. It is so great to see the little changes and developments.

During the Barcelona trip, he began to:
- do raspberries with his mouth, which is very cute. He loves it when you do it back at him.
- purposefully bang his toy on a table to make a noise.
- grab more precisely - he went for Patricia's wine glass and grabbed the stem before we could get to him. Before, he would have swiped at it and it would have gone everywhere....now he actually aimed for and got the stem. Go Oden!

Since we have gotten home, he has:
- gotten much more active in his activity center. His reach has expanded and he can now reach and pull down the toys above, even from on his belly.
- Daddy has been challenging him by putting a toy he wants on the coffee table, and letting him try to get it. He now will stand and play with it on top of the coffee table with Dad providing balance (but Oden standing).

Oden's diet is expanding, but we are still introducing one food at a time. So far he has tried: rice cereal, oatmeal, avocado (yuck), carrots, sweet potato (not yams, Dad was admittedly wrong and they are different), winter squash, apples, and pears (so far his favorite). The next few things will be banana, peas, broccoli, zucchini, and then he will be old enough to try some meats and egg yolks.

Daddy gave Oden a cold, and Oden is now suffering with congestion, but is otherwise in good spirits. Mommy is taking very good care of both Oden and Daddy. A Mother's job is never done...

Foods from the Barcelona Trip

Our European feast began at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam during our 4 hour layover with some simple sandwiches.... that were soooooo good. The one on the left is a fresh salmon sandwhich on olive bread, and Patricia had a ham sandwich.... good eatin.
We hit a seafood restaurant on our first night in Barcelona (after a nap of course). We started out with olives and manchego cheese with spanish almonds......Patricia then had prawns.....


....while Jon enjoyed seafood Paella while Oden excitely watched.
Another really excellent meal was at the restaurant Mi Burrito y Yo (my donkey and me), where we started out with Escalivada (eggplant and peppers.... not pictured) with fresh bread with tomato, Patricia had lambchops.....
while Jon got a nice juicy T-bone steak (although it looks different than an American T-bone, eh?). This restaurant had a great ambiance, which i tried to capture in this short video clip.....


On our final night, we decided to go for seafood again. We started out with a king-prawn appetizer that was kinda salty (not shown), Jon had a big mixed grill with 2 different fish, prawns, crawfish, clams and mussels (so good)...

...while Patricia had roast duck with pears which she thoroughly enjoyed.

She finally saved room for dessert and got an appricot yogurt cake-like thing that was really good and not too sweet.
Our last meal was breakfast at the appartment. We had picked up eggs, jamon (ham), tomatoes and peppers at the farmer's market and made scrambled eggs most mornings. This last day Jon went to the cafe down the block and picked up a couple chocolate croissants, for old times sake....

Bye bye, Barcelona, we will miss your food :(

Barcelona Trip - Saturday - Park Guell

On Saturday we visited Park Guell, also designed by the Spanish architect Gaudi. The park is in the northern part of the city, and we needed to take a bus. We got there and bought some sandwiches for a picnic, but we couldn't find any nice grassy areas to eat at. The park is more of a 'garden' than a park..... so we spread out a blanket on the dirt and had lunch with Oden.

Park Guell had a lot of the Gaudi 'no straight lines' theme, which looked more in place outdoors. You can see the columns and bridges he designed below.

The most famous landmark of the park is the mosaic gecko that is on the steps near the entrance. Oden got to ride on the gecko, if only for a few minutes as there was a line of people waiting to take pictures......

Afterwards, Oden was pooped and slept on momma all the way home on the bus. Look at how long Oden is getting!!!

Later on that night we were heading out to dinner and stopped to get a picture in front of the bakery that we went to near our apartment. They made lots of yummy pastries and chocolates......

Southern Part of Barcelona - Friday January 19

Today we took a stroll down to Port Vell.

Here we saw a statue of Columbus.

Then we took a tour bus through the southern parts of Barcelona where we could see a lot more of the city highlights such as the Olympic Stadium, Parc Montjuic, Parc de la Ciutadella, and the National Palace.

Oden in Barcelona - Thursday January 18

Today Oden went on a city tour of Antoni Gaudi's architectural work...

The first stop was at Casa Batllo. This building was remodeled by Gaudi in 1906 and is considered his ultimate masterpiece.


Here we are on the terrace...



The second stop was at La Pedrera (the Quarry) named for its rippling grey stone facade.


Daddy was much more impressed with Gaudi's work than either Mommy or Oden...

Oden Sightseeing in Barcelona - Wednesday Jan 17

Who knew? Barcelona has an Arc de Triomf, kinda like Paris - just spelled differently. Either way, Oden was obviously excited to see this national monument. However, for the life of us, we cannot figure out what Spain ever won to justify the building of a Triomf Arc...

Oden very much enjoyed his stroll down the Passeig de Luis on this very beautiful day...

Barcelona is full of very interesting sights, and every street and alley seems to be filled with a vibrant crowd and lots of shopping and restaurants.

Barcelona Travels

Oden is really enjoying seeing the sights and hearing the sounds of a foreign country. He has learned how to say 'Hola!' to all the people that give him attention. This is Oden on the street in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) outside the Capella d' en Marcus Cathedral which is right by our apartment.

Our apartment has a kitchen, so we had to go find a market to stock up!

Jon is really excited with all the meats and cheeses that he has to choose from. We make sure to choose some nice Jamon (ham) to eat with breakfast..... We found lots of fresh fruits and veggies, as well as some farm fresh eggs, to buy for breakfast.

All the fruits and veggies were beautifully displayed, making you want to buy even more. Keep an eye out for a full Barcelona picture album to ge the full picture story...

Jon has one more day of work, and then it is on to more sight seeing... Stay tuned!

Quick Note from Barcelona

Well, we got here in one piece! We didn't get much sleep on the plane (Oden: 4hrs, Jon: 2hrs, Mommy: ZipZeroZilch) during the overnight flight, but grabbed a quick nap on Sunday, went for dinner, and then had a very very good night of sleep.

Monday was used to find our way around our neighborhood.... we are right at the edge of the Gothic Quarter. We have already had some really good food right outside of our door.... we will be exploring more Thursday - Sunday, as Jon is working Tuesday and Wednesday.

We will be posting a few pictures of our explorations in the next day or two. Be sure to check back!

Buenos Noches!

Tastes Like Chicken - The Sequel

Oden did the funniest thing today..... luckily we had just given him a bath, and the camera was handy.

Oden is 6 Months Old

Oden is 6 Months old!!! We really can't believe that it has been 6 months already...... some of the things that Oden does:
- Oden is now rolling over to his left and his right side (from back to belly - the 'hard' way)
- Oden is NOT rolling over from belly to back yet..... he likes being on his belly so much that he just doesn't have any interest!
- Oden has been eating solids for a few weeks now. We just graduated him from 'beginners' rice cereal to the more advanced sweet potato and avocado. This week he will get more complex and try banana, pear, winter squash, and carrot. As you can imagine, there is a big difference in the 'output', but a welcome advance it is!
- Now that Oden is eating some solids, he is sleeping MUCH better. More often than not, Oden wakes up only once during the night to feed, sometimes sleeping 7+ hours a stretch. Mommy is very thankful. .
- Oden has had 2 haircuts already, and Daddy will be giving him his third very shortly
- Oden can hold his own bottle or sippy cup.... big boy!
- No teeth yet.... but we are pretty sure that he will sprout any day now (he has been fussy lately).
- Even though Oden is mainly breastfeeding, he will take a bottle of Mommy's milk from Dad. Daddy has even put Oden to sleep once or twice when Mommy got out for the evening..... it wasn't easy, but Dad eventually succeeded. That Oden is a momma's boy - and Patricia will try to keep it like that as long as possible.
- Oden loves being read to, and often participates by reading along with you and trying to take the book. He will also sing along while being sung to......
- We have just started introducing signs to Oden: eat, more, drink, book, and milk are the ones we are starting with.
- Oden will be taking his first international trip to Barcelona, Spain, from January 13-22. We are hoping to make it to Florida in late February for a conference that Daddy is talking at, and then California in late March to meet more Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins.
- Oden really likes hanging out with his buddies from the Mom & Baby group - he goes to see movies, plays at Urban Toddler, and is learning to socialize with a bunch of babies his age.
-Oden keeps on getting bigger..... we visit the doctor next week to see if he is maintaining his 84 percentile in weight. He has easily tripled in weight from his 6 lb. entrance into the world on July 4 of 2006.

Happy 6 month milestone, little one!

Oden's First Christmas!

Oden made the long car ride (first time ever!!) to visit all his relatives for Christmas. First it was off to Kalamazoo to see the Rowley Family and then on to Chicago to see the Phousongphouang Family. Everyone showered him with lots of gifts, love, and attention...

Thank you everyone, far and near, for all the thoughtful gifts and kindness and for making Oden's first Christmas that much more memorable!!


Check out the rest of Oden's Christmas pictures at the link to Oden's First Christmas album on the right...