Highlights from 2011

1) Purchase of house in Walkersville, and the move to a kid-friendly neighborhood.

2010 got off to a good start when we learned that the offer we put in on a short-sale 4 months earlier got accepted. We got a great deal on an awesome house (if not a little on the ‘big’ side) that is just a mile from Jon’s work. Jon rides his bike to work most days, and we now live in a neighborhood with tons’o kids. Seriously, 2 of every 3 houses seems to have 2-4 kids under 10. There are 2 different parks only a block away from our house, and we take advantage of them fully. Oden has several friends in the neighborhood, which will only expand once he starts kindergarten next school year.

2) The kids get older, and ‘wiser’.

Shai turned 1 and started walking this year (still waiting on the whole talking thing). He does absolutely everything that his older brother does, and follows him everywhere. Shai also adores his new little sister, and will often sign 'love' and point to her and grunt. He loves them both ALMOST as much as he loves his blankie and milk. This year, Shai has lightened up a bit and isn’t soooo serious all the time. He has a wonderful little giggle when he is amused, and a screeching laugh when provoked. Shai has started to cement his personality as the strong, silent type with a wild streak.

Oden turned 4 this year, and is learning EVERYTHING at a rapid pace. Oden has gone from learning how to recognize his letters and numbers to being able to write them, as well as spell and read a few words (TREX anyone?). He has also got the hang of simple addition/subtraction, and Dora/Diego has been helping him expand his Spanish vocab. Oden's grasp and use of multi-syllable words is amazing, and just yesterday he corrected the grammar of a fortune cookie. He is a smart kid. Oden graduated from preschool and started pre-k this year…his pre-k class is all boys (only 4-5 others), and he has made some very good friends there. Oden is still asking for more sisters, and he thinks that Juliet is more beautiful than Mommy. He says she is his Princess and he is going to marry her when they grow up. Oden is going to be a hopeless romantic (VERY much like his Big Daddy).

3) Expanding the family – and purchasing a minivan.

a. Early in 2010 we went public with another pregnancy, and we were very excited that we were finally having a GIRL! Patricia finally got some pink in her world, and she has fully taken advantage of this opportunity. Juliet Love Vonethavi was born at the end of July, and we are now a family of 5 (if you don’t include Gma).

b. In preparation for our new bundle of joy, we traded in our beloved Forrester (only 2 years old) for a used Toyota Sienna minivan, a 7 seater. Not only did our car payment decrease, but we now have room for at least 4 car seats! Wonder if we will ever need it???

c. Juliet is a smiley, happy doll. and she is just about to start rolling over (she really wants to). She does express the Shai ‘furrowed brow’ phenotype every so often, but she is mostly a smiley baby, and very very sweet. Juliet has two, very adoring older brothers who will protect her as she gets older.

4) Building family memories.

While it is somewhat difficult to get out of the house while pregnant or with a newborn, we have been doing a pretty good job this year.

Venturing to Sesame Place in PA was likely the highlight of the year. We got to see old friends, and spend 2 days at a Sesame Street-theme water park. Oden and Shai got to see their favorite characters, and Oden loved all the rides and activities. We had tons of fun in the water, and look forward to going again next year.

The Frederick County Fair was a lot of fun again, as expected. Lots of farm equipment, animals, games and rides. The whole family enjoyed walking around, and Oden and Daddy stuck around to tackle the rides. Oden had a blast.

Hiking in Thurmont – we got out several times to a few easy hikes in the area and to the Catoctin Zoo in Thurmont. We are very fortunate to live in an area where there is such great stuff to do so close!

Picking fresh fruit: This was not a great year for blueberries, but Patricia got out several times in early summer with the boys to pick strawberries. Then the whole family went apple and peach picking in the fall, and made lots of yummy fruit pies!

Fun in the garden. We took full advantage of our ¼ acre lot, and had a pretty good sized garden with peas, green beans, okra, lots’o tomatoes, sweet corn, bell peppers, broccoli, kale, swiss chard, lettuce and spinach, carrots, sunflowers, and even some strawberries. Oden is now capable of naming all of those plants by the shape of its leaf – prior to any fruit coming out. Oden has requested his own plot for next year, so we’ll see what he wants to plant.

5) Progressing the careers.

Professionally, things have been good. Jon took on a greatly expanded role at Lonza and tripled the size of his group during a restructuring. Jon is getting more involved with industry groups, and is helping to guide standardization in stem cell manufacturing as part of a role with the International Society for Cell Therapy. Since we moved so close to Jon’s work, it is much easier to maintain a good work-life balance, and he has a 5 minute commute by bike. Patricia has expanded her role from Chief Caregiver to CEO/CFO of the Rowley household, and takes care of almost everything at the house. Jon is very thankful to have such a wonderful, and detail oriented, stay-at-home wife.

6) Jon and Patricia.

We are accepting our roles as parents to 3 kids well, and we love each other more and more each day because of it. Not a day goes by that we don't send each other love texts. While we rarely get out alone (twice this year), we did get out to Volt for dinner on our 6th wedding anniversary – it was awesome. Life is very very good!