Rowley World

T'was a Merry Rowley Christmas

2012-01-02T13:30:00.001-05:00

What a grand Christmas we had at the Rowley love nest this year! Mommy baked up a storm of gluten-free cookies, cakes and treats; Daddy had over 10 days off of work for some awesome QT with the f-a-m-i-l-y; and Gma Rowley was visiting from Michigan. We got lots of great family time, and everyone loved all the presents that Santa brought.

On Gma's first day in town, Juliet was leading a round of dress-up wearing all of her tutus. She even let Shai try on one of her hats.

The kids loved seeing Gma Rowley

Christmas morning came with lots of presents, and Juliet got the stroller her momma so wanted her to have.

The boys got momma some comfy socks, and Juliet got her a Barbie so they could play together.

Gma Rowley got an ornament that Oden picked out just for her, as well as a picture book of the kids, and a plate they made for her.

Daddy and Mommy got a hand-painted plate from the kiddos too!

The boys' favorite gift had to be the inflatable monkey bars...they played on it non-stop.

and it was a very Merry Christmas in the Rowley household - for yet another year. We can't wait till next year!

Oh, how they have grown....

2011-12-29T18:48:00.003-05:00

This Christmas marks the 1 year anniversary of the Rowley Ruler - a homemade ruler for monitoring the kids growth. Since we don't figure we will be living in the same house forever, we made a six foot ruler to keep track of our kids vertical extension. We marked our measurement number 3 today, and the results everyone has been waiting for are in. And the data are:

Oden is now 3 feet, 6 inches (42 inches!). He has grown 2.5 inches in the last year. Hitting the 42 inch milestone should open up some extra rides for our Disney adventure next month!
Shai is now 3 feet, 1/2 an inch (36.5 inches!). He has grown 3.5 inches since last year. Shai being 36 inches now should also help him get on some Disney rides too!
Juliet is now 2 feet, 7 inches (31 inches!) tall. She has grown a whopping 6.5 inches since December 2010. Juliet wins the award for fastest grower, but she still has some time before she is threatening to catch up to her older brothers.....

We can't wait until next year's numbers are in.... and you can get all your up to date information on the Great Rowley Children right here at RowleyWorld.

Hey, kids, rock-n-roll....Rock On!

2011-12-11T09:18:00.001-05:00

Shai is showing some inclination towards the guitar.... he is not as much of a ham as Oden was at that age, but he loves getting video of himself taken.

Touchdown Oden

2011-12-11T09:14:00.001-05:00

Oden has been taking intro sports classes through the local Walkersville RecEd program. This was his final day of Flag Football, and he scored a touchdown during the game!

Juliet's first lollipop, and other video

2011-12-10T12:58:00.001-05:00

Juliet has her first lollipop today - against Mommy's wishes...but isnt' that way kids have both Moms and Dads? She loved it and she has never been quieter or kept to herself, but Mommy didn't want he eating the whole thing, and of course drama ensued.a few nights prior, the kids wanted to wear Pop's socks, so Daddy dressed them all in his socks and they began to dance.

Maryland Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T19:51:00.001-05:00

This Thanksgiving we are thankful for our happy & healthy family,

Gma P & Mathou (visiting),

our handsome handsome boys,

our beautiful little girl,

the boys getting along most of the time,...

and all three monkeys getting along every now and then!!

When asked, the kids said they were thankful for...

Oden - God & Mama

Shai - Mr Dude & iPad

Juliet - bababababa

Juliet is Walking!

2011-07-25T04:42:00.009-05:00

Juliet turns 1 in less than a week, and she just started walking! On top of that, she already has at least one word and sign (she says and signs "book" really well). She also says "ball" and "milk" and a few other "words".

Our little girl is getting so BIG!!!

April Hike with the Boys

2011-04-17T20:25:00.010-05:00

I took the boys exploring in the Frederick Watershed on Sunday after the heavy rains. They loved the rushing creeks with all the new rainfall - but the water was so crazy I had to keep them away from the main waterways. We played by the smaller creeks, many of which are only there after the big storms.

They were throwing sticks and stones into the water and watching things get carried downstream.

Luckily, Patricia had me take their hats and gloves - it was kind of chilly up in the mountains.

My boys are way good at posing for the shots.

Oden showing off his climbing skills.

and my boys enjoying the view at Rattlesnake Overlook, and no, we did not see any rattlesnakes, much to Oden's disappointment.

And the most fun of all was, of course, jumping in the puddles....

and then some.

January 2011 Video

2011-01-23T16:30:00.001-05:00

Oden has been lifting weights and is showing off his muscles....

and Shai and Oden attack a MegaBlocks structure with their swords:

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!!

2010-12-31T20:58:00.004-05:00

This Christmas we were lucky to have Gma Rowley with us to celebrate. Daddy cooked up the most fabulous feasts for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Santa was very good to the kids, and we all had a wonderful time opening and enjoying our christmas presents. Most importantly, we were surrounded by family and love...

Highlights from 2011

2010-12-31T20:57:00.016-05:00

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!

December Flew By

2010-12-31T20:27:00.006-05:00

This month just flew by with all the fun and holiday preparations!!

Mathou visited early in the month for a couple of weeks,

We made lots of holiday treats,

We got one day of snow play,

We had a visit with Santa,

Gma Rowley arrived in time for Xmas,

and as always, there was lots of love to go around!!!

2010-12-13T20:14:00.005-05:00

Our adorable little girl just started laughing today....what a sweetie pie!

The boys are already running to pay attention to Juliet...even if it is just her brothers.

Oden holds her down while Shai sneaks a kiss.....

like mother, like daughter.

Halloween 2010

2010-12-05T14:12:00.003-05:00

It was a very batty Halloween in the Rowley household.

Even Juliet joined in the battiness.

We left Grandma P behind to hand out candy.
Oden picked up all the tricks by the end of the night, but Shai was just trying to figure out what was going on.

Oden had quite the haul by the end of the evening....

He ate lots of candy, and momma loved his sweet kisses.

A couple movies from the past month

2010-12-05T14:09:00.002-05:00

some good footage of the boys being themselves.

and Shai is becoming to be quite the jumper. Very brave, and following in his brother's footsteps.

Frederick County Fair 2010

2010-09-27T19:34:00.012-05:00

Everyone was very excited for this years Frederick County Fair. Shai was old enough to go on some rides this year, and he recently started taking interest in farm animals and tractors, so we new it would be lots of fun.

Lots of cool displays, such as this one where you got so see baby chics hatch.
Oden and Shai got to ride on ponies.

Juliet slept peacefully on the sidelines.

Oden loved feeding the goats hay.

This pig has brand new piglets.
We went on some rides.... Oden's favorite was this car ride.

Daddy took Oden and Shai on some rides.

Juliet slept peacefully.

Oden beat daddy in a game of squirt gun racing and

won a stuffed lion.

The boys were clowning around...

and Juliet slept peacefully...

Daddy, Oden and Shai took a ride on the ferris wheel.... Mommy watched from below while Juliet slept.

What a wonderful time at the fair.

Maternity and Newborn Photos

2010-08-15T15:12:00.004-05:00

With the birth of each one of our babies, we find a local photographer to take pictures with. This was the 1st pregnancy which Patricia was able to have maternity pictures done. She tried when she was pregnant with Shai, but he came a few days before the photo shoot was scheduled. This time, mama played it safe and scheduled the maternity photo shoot during her 34th week of pregnancy, and they turned out wonderfully!! Here's a sneak peak. Then the week following Juliet's birth, we had the newborn photos taken. We are in love with these pics too!! Thank you Sandy Wagerman of Lucky Ladybug Photography for capturing these moments for us!!

Oden has gone Buggy!

2010-08-14T08:18:00.003-05:00

Oden has had lots of great bug projects this summer. He had a very successful ant farm earlier, and now he is growing up butterflies for a Butterfly Pavilion that he got for his birthday. We sent away and got 10 baby caterpillars. Within a week, they got really big and fat and the formed crysalises (below).Oden touching the chrysalises - one moved!

The chrysalises then get put into the Butterfly Pavilion, and they will emerge as butterflies in ~ 7 days. We can't wait!

Oden has been collecting cicada skins from school. He brought them home and mounted them to some paper so we can put them on his wall.

Oden is a very buggy boy.

Video of the Boys Playing - Summer 2010

2010-08-12T19:51:00.001-05:00

These are from June...just a little tardy on posting

Oden and Shai play so well together.

Oden is now a Twizzler Expert

2010-08-12T19:49:00.001-05:00

Juliet is Home!

2010-08-11T19:20:00.008-05:00

We were very excited to bring Juliet home and get out of the hospital. Monday morning we jumped through all the hoops to release Patricia and Juliet as patients, including all the final tests for Juliet (hearing, can she sit in a car seat without suffocating, etc...). Juliet was 5 lbs 10 oz upon release from the hospital, so she didn't take up too much room on our infant car seat (now on 3rd child).

It was a relief to be home and in a more familiar environment.

More importantly, we were all together as a family.

Oden was all over Juiet, and gave her lots of hugs and kisses, and Shai was curious too.

Oden could not give his sister enough attention, and constantly wanted to hug and kiss her.

Our sweet Juliet, so precious.

It ended up that daddy and Oden were fighting for time with her, but in the end we learned to share.

Announcing Juliet Love Vonethavi Rowley - born July 31, 2010

2010-08-05T19:15:00.009-05:00

We really thought we were going to make it to 37 weeks. We really did. But we didn't. Actually, once we made it to 36 weeks I was so confident that I started worrying about Patricia making it to 38 or 39 weeks. I worried for nothing, as usual. However, if you are planning on naming your first girl Juliet, it is kind of appropriate to give birth in July, no?

It all started around 5 AM on Saturday morning (July 31). Patricia, who has been having some good contractions for at least 8-9 weeks now, was having some unusually strong morning contractions. I get up to fend off the kiddos around 5:30 AM, and Patricia decides to take a shower, "just in case". I come back in with Shai around 6 AM to Patricia laying on the bed having just hung up from the doula to say that we are going to the hospital. Standing up, she said her contractions were every 3 minutes. It was time to go!

Luckily, Patricia was very organized for this birth. I grab the pre-packed bag, the camera, video camera, phones and chargers, wake Gma P up (to take over with the boys), and start loading the car. I head back upstairs to find Patricia lying on the hallway floor saying goodbye to her boys while having a contraction. She was laughing and in pain at the same time. We told Oden that Juliet was tickling her from the inside, and she was ready to come out.

Patricia crawled down the hallway and slid down the stairs (she didn't want to stand up!), and we jumped into the Protege. It was a smooth 12-15 minute car ride, and every light changed green for us. Patricia had only 3 contractions in the car, and we had her in a wheelchair and on her way to Labor and Delivery in record time. No obstacles in our way yet. The boys were in good hands at home, and everything was going according to plan...

By the time we got into the room and situated, Patricia was already 8cm dialated. We went through her birth plan one more time with the Doc and nurses (no drugs if possible, let her walk around if she wanted, hold the baby immediately) and we were off to the races. Her contractions had slowed down to about every 6 minutes with her lying down, and I was trying to see if she wanted to walk around (she didn't). But after about an hour she says "I think I want to push" and the nurse ran to get the doctor. The doc checked her out and said we could have the baby if she wanted to, and after breaking the water the pushing began.

This next part was pretty amazing. First contraction I see the baby getting close to the 'exit'. The next contraction I see her black hair....I whisper in Patricia's ear that I love her and that her daughter's hair is dark. Contraction #3 after starting to push (less than 10 minutes!) and Juliet Love is out, I am cutting the cord, and Patricia gets to hold her in her arms. I didn't think it was possible, but Patricia got that baby out in record time. Juliet was beautiful, Patricia was beautiful, and we are a family of FIVE!

Juliet Love Vonethavi Rowley

6 lbs 3oz, 19 inches long
Born at 8:58 AM on July 31, 2010

Shai can Finally Follow in his Big Brother's Footsteps

2010-03-08T21:14:00.006-05:00

Shai is officially walking as of March 8, 2010. He has been taking a step here and a step there for the last 2 days, but today he has put it all together and is actually walking! What a big boy.... now he will follow Oden around even more.

Old Videos We Need to Post

2010-03-08T20:24:00.004-05:00

Here are Shai's birthday balloons that he got from Grandma Rowley... moving got in the way to posting this, but better late than never!

And here is video from Shai's first birthday. This video had to be delayed since Patricia couldn't hide her first trimester belly!

Shai Shows Off His Skills

2010-03-06T13:55:00.002-05:00

Our little man is getting fancy with his baby skills. He's been clapping and dancing for the last month or two. Recently he learned to smack his lips and "blow" kisses. We're SO proud :)

Shai is getting to be such a big boy

2010-01-31T14:57:00.003-05:00

It is hard to believe that Shai turns 1 year old this week! He is doing so many new things: he is laughing so much more (see first video), self feeding (he loves blueberries and bread), climbing over anything in his path, and chatting away. He has recently started practicing his walking, assisted of course. The second movie below shows Shai walking using a storage bin for balance. He gets really frustrated when he gets stuck....lol. Oden tries to help...he is such a great big brother!

The End of a Very Rowley Decade

2009-12-31T17:03:00.004-05:00

This being the final eve of the 2000's decade, we were looking back at the important milestones that happened over the last ten years. Here are the milestones that we count as our personal highlights:

May 2001: Jon finishes grad school, turns down a great job at Kimberly Clark in Atlanta to take a much lower paying "post doc" position at BD in North Carolina (for the job content). That was a very good decision for so many reasons.

Sept 2002: Patricia finishes grad school and takes a measly internship with the EPA to get her foot in the door with the agency, and ends up in NC where she hates it. She plans to transfer ASAP.

May 22, 2003: The day the worlds collided. Jon was at the RDU airport boarding United flight 5465 to Kalamazoo, Michigan (via Chicago). Patricia was waiting to board the same flight and Jon noticed her while boarding (Patricia always likes to board last). The plane was filling up, and Jon had an empty seat next him. He sees Patricia board the plane and knew that he finally had good plane luck.... she sat right next to him. The next 2 hours flew by, and Patricia got Jon to ask her out for dinner within an hour of taking off...... Fate was on our sides (even though Patricia laughed at Jon when he brought it up)...

Summer& Fall of 2003: Patricia and Jon fall in love in Chapel Hill, NC. The summer is filled with several romantic dates and lots of friends from both sides. They spend almost every day together and become integrated into each other's lives. Jon resists a tempting job offer in Toronto, and Patricia warms up to NC and decides not to move away. The name "Oden" is suggested for a child's name.

March 2004: It all happened so quickly. Jon and Patricia travel to France where Jon proposes on March 12 in Park Monceau, just a few blocks off the Champs Elyssees in Paris. Patricia accepts the marriage proposal after Jon said she couldn't have the ring unless she said "yes". Just 10 months after meeting, the happy couple starts planning their marriage.

April 2004: Patricia and Jon buy their first house together in the Hope Valley Farms subdivision of Durham, NC. Nice house, no yard - and it was theirs.

November 2004: After a summer of flip-flopping on where to get married inexpensively, Jon and Patricia fly to Costa Rica over the Thanksgiving holiday week. They spent 10 days touring Cost Rica, and get married near the end of the trip in Tamarindo on November 26. No one was on the guest list. It was the most relaxing and wonderful wedding in the world... EVER.

June 2005: Jon gets a good job offer back in Ann Arbor at Aastrom Biosciences, solidifying his cell therapy career path. Jon and Patricia sell their house and make the 'temporary' move to Michigan (not quite the destination we had planned). Patricia is able to do a 'rotation' in the Ann Arbor EPA office until being hired on full time. It is great being closer to family. Jon reacquaints with old friends, we make several new lifelong friends while we are there, and we spend lots of good quality time with all of them.

November 2005: J&P get trigger happy on a house (they had been renting up until then) and end up buying a 90 year old beauty on Broadway St in Ann Arbor. Great house with the best back yard in all of Ann Arbor. But we need a nest, as we were "expecting".

July 4, 2006 -The Rowley family expands: Oden Allen Keovisat comes into the world exactly 3 weeks early on Independence Day. Our little firecracker changes our lives forever. Patricia is able to take 9 months off of work to stay home with baby Oden, and the grandparents get to visit often.

February 2008: With Aastrom's stock at $0.60 (trending down) and the economy looking bleak, Jon accepts a job offer at a big, stable company doing exactly what he wants (directing a cell therapy R&D program). The family moves to Frederick, Maryland, with more than a few minor bumps in the road. Patricia is able to stay with the EPA part time as a remote employee.

March 2, 2008: Oscar Allen Daukmai was born sleeping much too early. We had him cremated and miss him every day.

February 4, 2009: Shai Allen Phousongphouang was born 4 weeks early, bringing Oden a playmate, and more joy than ever to Rowley World.

December 31, 2009 update: After almost 2 years in Maryland, we love the area but have not been able to make as good of friends (yet) that we had in Ann Arbor and NC. We are still renting in Frederick, as well as renting out our house in Ann Arbor, but we have an offer on a house locally that could accommodate our expanding family (a great deal on a short-sale, if we get it, in Walkersville, less than a mile from Jon's work!). We have Grandma Rowley and Grandma P in town as often as they can make the trip (2-3 times each per year), and Oden and Shai are growing up knowing them despite the distance. We are hoping to expand the family just a little more in the new decade.

The next 10 years: Oden and Shai will mature into adolescents. With a little luck, they will have a younger sibling (we need a middle child to torture!). We would like to lay down roots, and we love this area, so we can see staying in Maryland for the next decade and beyond if Jon's career allows it. Staying at Lonza could open up the opportunity for a European rotation, and we would love to live abroad for a few years.

Our personal goals moving forward:

Stay happy and healthy, with a solid family foundation and internal focus while the kids are still young.
Raise well adjusted children that can survive in the world on their own, and hopefully contribute to making it a better place.
Have satisfying careers that don't take us away from the family (too much).

Blueberry Pie

2009-12-27T16:11:00.002-05:00

Momma and Oden took some time to make a playdoh blueberry pie today with Oden's new kitchen. Shai helped, of course.

Oden loves his new kitchen and cooking gear. Oddly, for some reason Shai loves to chew (or is he sharpending his teeth?) on the metal pans.

Christmas Morning Excitement

2009-12-27T15:38:00.002-05:00

Oden was soooo excited when he saw all the booty Santa left for him under the tree, he exclaimed "The Christmas Tree is on fire with presents!!!"

We had a wonderful Christmas morning with our boys opening presents.

Life is so very good.

Oden Xtreme Sledding

2009-12-27T15:00:00.003-05:00

Luckily, we got to take full advantage of the heavy snowfall before it melted. Oden got out sledding a couple of days, but this time was by far the most fun. Our small hill course was well packed, and had a couple of freeze/thaws to make it nice and fast for the sleds. Also, the neighborhood work crew had come through and shoveled the sidewalks, and luckily left a big pile of snow at the bottom of our sledding slope, making a great jump..... After Daddy tested it out a couple of times without Oden getting hurt, we went to get Mommy and the video camera. Oden's friend Zachary made it out also, making for a great time.

Oden loved his first exposure to daredevil sports, and amazingly no bones were broken or tears shed.

Maryland 2009 Blizzard

2009-12-20T19:36:00.006-05:00

Just 2 days before the official start of winter, Maryland was hit by some serious snow!! This was Oden's response when he woke up to it at 7AM, the sun wasn't even fully up yet...

Over the course of the day and night, we got a good 2 feet of snow. Oden had a blast and enjoyed several rounds of snow play with Mama, Daddy, and Gma P.

Day 1 Fun:

Day 2 Fun:

Oden's Preschool Christmas Program

2009-12-20T19:26:00.002-05:00

For Christmas this year, Oden's preschool performed a wonderful program of songs and poems. Oden was incredibly excited and we were incredibly proud :)

Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas was performed by all the 3 and 4 yr old classes combined.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Little Elf was performed by just Oden's class.

Grandma Rowley Visits, Nov 2009

2009-12-12T06:46:00.006-05:00

Grandma Rowley came to visit for a long Thanksgiving holiday. We went to pick up Grandma in Harpers Ferry at the train station:

Grandma had tons of fun doing crafts with Oden, feeding Shai, making forts for the boys, and helping to put the Christmas tree up.

Overall we had a wonderful visit, and we had a great family Thanksgiving.... so much to be thankful for.

Shai's First Day Crawling

2009-11-15T20:11:00.002-05:00

We are so proud of our baby Shai! He started crawling today, and is able to several feet already! Even Oden stated "I am so EXCITED that Shai is crawling!".... Oden loves his baby brother, although Oden is getting less excited about sharing toys.

Big milestone today that we had to get into the blog.

Cheers from the Happy Rowley Family!

Monkeying Around on Hallow's Eve

2009-11-09T15:59:00.005-05:00

Halloween did not arrive fast enough for Oden this year!! He was extremely excited and anxious to don his get up in exchange for some candy!! Initially I was going to try to talk him into being spider boy so him and Jon could strut their spider stuff together. BUT I decided to let him have his pick. He oscillated between being a pirate and a monkey, and with a little mom persuasion he opted for the monkey. Only appropriate since he's my little monkey jumping around the house all the time! Shai was going to be a dragon (Oden's baby costume) but at the last minute we were given a baby monkey costume. SO appropriate!! And so it was, we birthed 2 monkeys on hallow's eve for the trick-or-treating festivities. They both had ALOT of fun and the candy stash is a daily topic of conversation!! Happy Halloween Everyone!!

The Dump Truck Song

2009-09-07T18:38:00.001-05:00

We were driving on the highway and passing many a dump truck. Oden breaks into verse and sings about the dump trucks....classic.

Oden Swimming

2009-09-07T18:26:00.001-05:00

i predict next summer Oden will be sans-water wings and swimming circles around his momma.

Fast Wheels

2009-08-21T07:59:00.005-05:00

Oden is becoming a speed demon on his new bike. He's had it for a little over a month now and is racing around on his own. We predict that the training wheels will be coming off in no time!!! Here he is cruising around the neighborhood with his cousins Melissa and Coty.

6 Mth Old Balancing Act

2009-08-21T07:53:00.003-05:00

Our baby boy is now 6 months old! He is growing faster than we can believe. He is now rolling over both ways, eating solids, drinking from a sippy cup, and learning how to sit up on his own. Check out this video of Shai's balancing act!!

Oden Takes a Spill at the Pond

2009-07-30T03:36:00.005-05:00

Oden was playing chase with a pretty little girl at the pond, and got a little excited while running around. He took a spill on the hard rock path and scraped his knee up pretty good.

Daddy brought him home and Nurse Mommy was able to make him feel better. We had to talk Oden into a bandage, as he doesn't like them for some reason.

Oden was a big boy though and wore his bandage and went to bed without a fight - he was all wore out!

Shai Giggles & Raspberries

2009-07-30T03:33:00.000-05:00

Shai is Rolling Over!

2009-07-22T19:58:00.002-05:00

Oden has a baby brother, he laughs....

2009-07-22T19:47:00.000-05:00

Oden's Continueing Big Boy Adventures

2009-07-20T20:32:00.004-05:00

Oden is getting to be such a Big Boy, and he is recording multiple 'firsts' almost every day.

Just this weekend, we outfitted his play fishing pole with a real hook, sinker and bobber, and he caught his first fish all by himself at the bridge on Tuscarora Creek. Daddy and Oden decided to go fishing, and both daddy and Oden caught 3 little sunfish each. It was lots of fun, and we practiced the 'catch and release' strategy, although Oden was very excited to some day catch a fish that could "feed the whole family".

Here is Oden reeling in his first fish!

It was pretty tiny, so we threw it back.....
But Oden had lots of fun, and caught a total of 3 fish for the day... a good haul for a rookie.

Just today, while picnicking with momma at the gazebo, Oden climbed a tree all by himself. He had no help from momma, and was very excited when he climbed into the tree all by himself proclaiming "Look, Momma! I a Big Boy!" It is too bad Daddy was at work, but he looks forward to observing Oden's bigboyclimbingskills soon.

Oden and the RFF (really fast fish)

2009-07-15T20:36:00.002-05:00

Oden loves to feed the fish at the pond with the worms he finds under the sandbox.

When the fish eat the worms, do you see them?

Oden's Birthday Bike

2009-07-12T19:44:00.004-05:00

Oden got a new Spiderman big-boy bike for his birthday. He loves it, and is tearing up the neighborhood on it.

Check it:

The Multiple Personalities of Shai

2009-07-12T19:39:00.005-05:00

This first video demonstrates what not to do when being attacked by a Ninja. You can see that if I had been a real Ninja, Shai wouldn't have lasted long....

However, at times, Shai can be very chatty and vocal.... and I kind of think that this would have been a much better response to a Ninja attack.

What do you think?

Oden Turns 3 (three) !

2009-07-07T20:21:00.006-05:00

Oden Allen Keovisat turned 3 yrs old this July 4th! Can you believe it?!? We had a wonderful day with all 3 grandma's. We started out with the traditional dad/son breakfast out (Oden had Alien Pancakes, again). Then we went to Crumbland Farms where Oden got to Moonbounce and go for a pony ride. We had yummy homemade egg rolls for lunch, and then celebrated with cake and ice cream!

Oden got lots of presents (seen in the pics), including books and Geo Trax. Later on, he got a big boy bike! Oden went for a spin around the block, and he loves his new bike.

Such a beautiful family photo!

Oden with Grandma Phousongphouang, Grandma Rowley, and Mathou. He had lots of love all week long.

Shai Giggles for the First Time Today

2009-06-19T20:41:00.002-05:00

Our baby boy Shai lights up with grins and giggles today after watching Oden and his friend Zach jump around the house. He's turning into a real little person and reacting to the world. We love it!!

Shai Getting Ready for the Big Move!

2009-06-16T05:31:00.000-05:00

Oden Earns His First Set of Wheels

2009-06-16T04:52:00.001-05:00

Oden is now officially potty trained. Mommy got the idea to create a 'currency' for using the potty, and trading in said currency for things he wants. So Oden earns a 'potty shell' every time he used the toilet for #2, and when he saved up his first 5 shells, we went to Toys R'Us to get something he wanted. His first 5 shells were traded in for this new cool new scooter (Daddy sprung for the protective equipment at no cost to Oden). Oden took to the scooter pretty quickly....

as for the potty training; it is going very well. We began to use the potty shells as a negative reinforcement for wetting himself, and he started to lose a potty shell for when he didn't use the bathroom in time. That concept has worked great, and I don't think Oden has had an accident in at least a week..... all is swell in Rowley World!

Oden Gets Cold

2009-06-15T21:17:00.003-05:00

Big Boy Shai in the Bumbo

2009-06-15T20:55:00.000-05:00

2009-05-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

The Wonderful Rowley Life

2009-05-16T20:07:00.001-05:00

Shia starting to show some personality:

And a view of our wonderful life:

Oden Playing with Shai

2009-05-08T20:16:00.002-05:00

I hate traveling away from the kids when they are so young, as they change so much while you are gone. I just got back after 5 days gone, and see sooo many differences!

Shai has gone through several changes just over the last month. He is sleeping several hours at a time routinely (4-6 hrs at a shot), he has gotten to be very alert, enjoys pulling up into a sitting position (and even standing), and he loves Oden's attention. Just since I left last week, he can successfully is able to get his fist to his mouth, and last night slept for 8 hrs! While Oden changes much more slowly, he also had a couple of new 'things': 1) he rolls his eyes to demonstrate a "for goodness sakes" look, and 2) has an exaggerated expression when things are overly silly.... great stuff.

Here is a precious video of Oden playing with Shai. You might not be able to pick up on it, but Shai loves the attention. They are wonderful brothers.

we love our boys!

Echo Bowl

2009-04-13T19:43:00.000-05:00

The best reason to always have the video camera on 'ready'.

Oden Coloring Easter Eggs

2009-04-12T07:39:00.001-05:00

Shai Focuses on Toys for First Time

2009-04-11T21:03:00.000-05:00

Oden on Life

2009-04-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Oden Jumps from Peak to Peak

2009-04-02T20:52:00.001-05:00

Newborn Photo Shoot

2009-03-24T12:55:00.001-05:00

We recently had some photos taken of baby Shai and our family. Patricia was supposed to get some maternity photos taken, but with Shai's early arrival, it turned into a newborn photo shoot instead. The photographer, Lisa Handwerk, posted some of our photos at her blog.

Dr Oden Helps Fix Daddy's Thumb

2009-03-23T19:55:00.002-05:00

Daddy spent a couple hours today in the ER, during prime relaxation hours and everything (during Oden's nap). Daddy lost about 5% of his left thumb due to a food preparation injury. But when Daddy got home from the hospital, Oden was awake and ready to operate!

Thank goodness he got the centipede out of my ear!

Shai 6 week JR comparison

2009-03-22T19:51:00.002-05:00

Shai is 6 weeks old! And look how big he is compared to JR! Here is Oden's comparative montage: CLICK HERE . We don't have a 6 week in Oden's montage, but you can see where Shai fits in to the picture.

Oden is a Silly Kid

2009-03-20T18:32:00.002-05:00

75F Today = Cunningham Falls Hike

2009-03-07T16:32:00.010-05:00

The week started off cold and snowy, but by Saturday the temp had risen to 75F. It was beautiful. So we packed up the family and headed to Cunningham Falls State Park for a nice hike, and to enjoy the mountain lake (which we figured was way to cold to swim in) scenery.
Here we are at the trailhead- what a beautiful family:

Mamma and her boys:

Oden caught 4 or 5 salamanders during the hike. Here is one of them:And then Oden let it go....Oden was such a big boy, navigating the rocks and roots all by himself:Mamma enjoying getting Shai out into nature:
Oden loved climbing on the rocks:Daddy and Oden playing in the creek at the foot of the Falls

Who is the happiest woman in the world?
Daddy and his boy at the Falls:

75F and the lake was still frozen. Definitely too cold for swimming...

And last, but not least, a video of Oden throwing rocks in the creek.

Shai is 1 Month Old!

2009-03-07T15:33:00.008-05:00

We can't believe it has already been 4 weeks since Shai came into this world. Coincidentally, Shai's 4 week birthday was his actual due date. Shai started out very very different than Oden. Not only did he have lighter hair and not look a lick Asian, he also slept pretty well (sometimes > 22 hrs/day), didn't mind the car seat at all (Oden stressfully screamed his first 6 months), and prefers sleeping on his back (Oden was a tummy sleeper, and slept horribly on his back).

Shai has had lots of changes during these 4 weeks. Just the last couple days he has been awake and alert for ~ 4hrs/day. He has grown out of his newborn diapers, and tipped the scales at 9 lbs at the 1 month well baby visit (20.5" long). All of his stats from the well baby visit put him at the 25 percentile for 4 wk old babies - not bad for being 4 wks behind from the start! Shai is still waking up every 2-3 hrs to nurse at night, but he is getting close to 4hrs during the day sometimes. Shai's neck control is also getting pretty good (as you can see from the video below).

Oden is still smitten with his little brother, and shows him lots of love and affection. Oden was born to be a big brother, that's for sure.

Daddy's 37th Birthday

2009-03-01T07:32:00.003-05:00

Well, I turned 37 this year while living in Frederick, MD (never ever thought i'd be living in Maryland!). We had a pretty subdued day, but it was wonderful none-the-less. It was one of those "Could life be any ore perfect than this?" kind of days with the kids- fo'shizzle. I got up and had a couple hours to myself thanks to Patricia and Gramma P taking care of the boys. Then we had the first outing with Shai (who is 3.5 weeks old already!) to the Mall to look for a new watch for Daddy for his birthday. I got some 1-on-1 QT with Oden at the grocery store, and we came home and made cupcakes for the celebration. Below is the Happy Birthday video.

We miss the family in Michigan and the joint Mother-Son brithday's at Grandma ONeal's house. But Maryland is really good, and we will be seeing Gramma Rowley in a few weeks for another birthday celebration.... enjoy the video!

Oden is a very orderly fellow

2009-02-22T19:24:00.003-05:00

Oden organized all of his magnetic letters before bed tonight...

Then he posed with his creation:

Do I look more like a Feder now?

2009-02-15T16:25:00.002-05:00

What do you think? A look I should keep?

SuperOden Slays the Monsters and Saves the Day!

2009-02-15T09:11:00.001-05:00

Thanks for the VDay Balloons, GMa Rowley

2009-02-14T09:02:00.002-05:00

Oden is loving the balloons that he got for Valentine's Day from GMa Rowley. He loves them too much old....whatever that means.

Thank you GMa Rowley!

Oden Dancing with Gma P

2009-02-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

Once the Backyardagans came on, Oden made GMa P get up and dance with him..... so spoiled.

Oden and Shai Video - Oden loves his little brother

2009-02-10T21:46:00.001-05:00

Maybe not that entertaining for non-family members, but very sweet. Oden is a great big brother already!

Oden likes the Bubblewrap

2009-02-09T20:28:00.001-05:00

While Shai sleeps, Oden entertains himself (and Daddy) with the roll of bubble wrap that came with the new (used) iMac. This kid knows how to have fun...

Our Wonderful Life

2009-02-09T06:17:00.006-05:00

Oden really loves his little brother, and always wants him to include him. "Let's play hide and seek with baby Shai!" and "Can baby Shai go the the park with us?". Oden is very sweet. He is still always giving his little brother hugs and kisses, and wanted to share everything with him.

Oden loves his little brother, even though he is always sleeping.

Shai has had a couple of alert sessions, but not too many yet : )

But he is still awful cute, eh?

Oden wants to hold him and give him lots of kisses!

Here, he is thinking of waking up.... but doesn't.

This is Shai's way of saying "Momma! I need milk!!!"

Our baby looks happy and content....

We were able to Oden to the park today too!

It was in the 60's....very nice.

He missed the park during the last cold spell.

Oden was running around and ...

chasing ducks all over!

The Birth of Shai Allen Phousongphouang Rowley

2009-02-05T19:59:00.005-05:00

just photos for now, will follow with the story later on

Shai is born 4 weeks early - this is Mommy's first time to hold him. due to signs of respiratory distress, he went strait to the NICU, where he was considered a "Rock Star" patient.

Shai was put onto just 25% Oxygen (we breathe 21%, so not much), and he was able to come off after just 6 hours. However, we couldn't hold him - which sucked.When we awoke the next morning, his face tubes were gone, but he still had the IV in his hand (poor thing). However, we got the go ahead to start feeding at 9:30 AM. He was doing great.

We finally got to hold him (needed the face tubes off), and Patricia cried (Dad may have too). Dad got a cold at the wrong time (the day before!) and had to wear a mask in the NICU. We hope Shai won't come down with a cold when he comes home.

Later that day, we went to get Oden. Here we were clowning around in Mommy's room before heading to see Shai. Both mom and dad were pretty tired.

Baby Shai has a picture of Big Brother Oden in his crib, even in the NICU. Oden loved it.

Oden first sees his little brother.

and is very excited....but he only gets to touch his toes!

First family photo!

Shai gets to go home the same day as Mommy! He was a great NICU patient. Look how small he looks in his infant car seat!

Here we are on the way out! Mommy and Shai are coming home!

Oden loves his little brother, and is smothering him (literally) with kisses and love! Oden must have given his little brother a hundred kisses that night, and would have given him more if we didn't limit the 'exposure'.

Oden loved holding Shai, and Shai survived.

more to come

How Super is Oden? You be the judge....

2009-01-06T21:17:00.000-05:00

2009-01-01T09:53:00.006-05:00

It has been another great year in Rowley World. We are blessed with good health (good enough health anyway) and the happiness (net total) that comes with raising a toddler and being pregnant.

1) The Rowley family relocated from Ann Arbor, MI to Frederick, MD, mostly for Jon’s job (but partly to escape Michigan winters). We really love the new location, as there are abundant outdoor activities and wildlife to keep Oden happy. Frederick has a great downtown, and we are only 1 hour from DC or Baltimore. Please come visit!

2) Patricia and Jon celebrated the 5 year anniversary of the day they met on May 22, and their 4 year wedding anniversary on November 26. We are even more in love than when we got married – with Oden there is lots of extra love going around.

3) Oden turned two on July 4, and has made all the huge progressions that toddlers make from 1.5 to 2.5 years of age. He has gone from barely pronouncing 1 syllable words to complete sentences with decent grammar. His climbing and jumping skills have dramatically progressed as can be seen in his early to later videos throughout the year.

4) Patricia got knocked up again, and the family is expecting a new little boy in late February! We are positive he will be just as sweet, loving, and intelligent as his big brother.

5) Oden has established several new skills such as scaling walls to fixing furniture to putting puzzles together.

6)Oden says “please”, “thank you”, "your welcome", and "bless you" consistently and is a very loving child giving hugs and kisses without discretion.

7) Oden has the first part of potty training figured out (#1) and can go without a diaper (he asks for one when he ‘needs’ it).

8) Oden successfully graduated to a big boy bed in December of this year. He cutely calls “Momma! Time to get up!” and “Done sleeping now!” without getting out of bed when he is awake.

9) Patricia celebrated her last day of working for the EPA on Dec 15, and has officially made the transition to fulltime domestic goddess.

10) Jon got his dream job as Director of Cell Therapy R&D Lonza. He gets to help drive the technology development for large scale cell production that will be needed to bring stem cells and other living cell therapies to the masses.

To Write Their Names In The Sand...

2008-11-03T15:00:00.006-05:00

http://namesinthesand.blogspot.com/2008/10/oscar-allen-daukmai-rowley.html

6 Million People Project at Flickr

2008-10-27T05:09:00.003-05:00

My buddy from undergrad, Jake Rome, has helped start an online Holocaust memorial/ portrait photography group called 6 Million People. The goal of this group is to collect 6 million pictures of different people, with one person in each picture, as a representation of the massive number of Jews the Nazis murdered during World War and to help remember both them and the other victims of Nazi Germany.

It is a really cool project that they have started, and they have gotten a lot of great photographers to contribute work. You can keep up with the project at
6 Million People blog, and you can check out some really amazing portraits at Spotlight Seven, where they feature artists regularly.

Best of luck to Jake and his team in finishing this great project over the next few years. We will link to some Rowley family pics once we have them uploaded.

Mom & Dad have been "Busy"

2008-10-23T19:35:00.001-05:00

Oden Shows Off His Jumping Skills

2008-10-22T18:43:00.002-05:00

Oden loves to jump!

He jumps down the stairs, he jumps on the couch, he jumps over obstacles, he jumps up onto rocks, etc... here is a selected grouping of some of his finer indoor jumps. I am sure that more will come in the future.

Oden's Climbing Skills Translate to Home Mischief

2008-10-21T05:32:00.003-05:00

When we got Oden's bunk bed, it had an integrated ladder that we could put against the wall so that we didn't have to worry about him climbing into the top bunk. Unfortunately, he engineered his ascent with MacGyver-like cunningness.

That's our boy!

Oden Climbing at the Park

2008-09-20T19:30:00.003-05:00

Oden has gotten both very brave, and very good, when it comes to climbing the structures at the park. His loves to climb, but more than anything, he loves to show off that he can do new things to his Mommy.

Oden is so proud when Mommy acknowledges his victories.

You can go directly to Youtube (click the video twice) for higher resolution video. Just click in the lower right that says "watch in high resolution"

Oden Loves Bell Pepper

2008-09-15T18:17:00.000-05:00

Oden wants to show Grandma his Puzzle Skills

2008-09-13T19:18:00.002-05:00

Check out Oden's puzzling skills.

Oden the Handyman

2008-09-06T20:17:00.004-05:00

Oden wanted to 'fix' the bed, but he couldn't reach the broken part. So, he figured out a way, all by himself, to get himself up to the upper bunk to fix it. Once Daddy got home from work, Oden wanted to show off his diligent problem solving skills and handyman (where did that trait come from???) abilities.... but it took a few tries.

Long Weekend Getaway - Berkeley Springs, WV

2008-09-01T20:14:00.009-05:00

Mommy, Daddy, Levi, and Oden went to Berkeley Springs, WV for a weekend getaway. We rented an old downtown apartment (upstairs from an herbal remedies apothecary) that was roomy, but reminded us why we don't like old houses: squeaky floors and noisy!

However, the location was great! We were located in the center of the downtown area, which is only 4-5 blocks long. Berkeley Springs is known for it's natural springs, and George Washington came to the springs and even owned property in town. Oden loved playing in the water, and he has gotten really good at throwing stones.

We had some good food while in town, and the best restaurants we found were Lot #12 and Tari's. They also had a nice Farmer's Market where we bought some heirloom tomatoes and ate a nice lunch (also by the Lot #12 folks) of garbanzo bean salad, smoked chicken and black bean wrap, gazpacho, and basil corn on the cob....yum.

We went hiking both Saturday and Sunday at Capacon State Park, which is just 10 miles outside of Berkeley Springs. It is a nice park with lots of hiking and a lake which we didn't get to. We saw tons of deer during both of our hikes - they had really long tails relative to other deer we have seen. We also got to see lots of bugs - Oden got terrorize a centipede, and pet a millipede too!

We will try to get better at keeping up the blog. Oden is still doing new things every week, and this is such a great platform to both record and share his great accomplishments....

August 2, 2008

2008-08-03T14:26:00.003-05:00

Oscar's Due Date...

Like a Shooting Star
Author Unknown

Like a shooting star
Passing through the night sky,
Our baby passed quickly through our lives
Taking with him a lifetime of hopes
And dreams we had for here.

But he has left footprints on our hearts
And brought clarity to our lives.
Energized by our love,
He is guardian of our memories of what was
And our dreams of what someday may be.

I Let Myself Love You
By Shawna Ellis

I let myself love you
As soon as I knew
I let myself love you
But you left too soon

I wanted to keep you
And watch you grow
I wanted to keep you
But I should have known

I cried when I lost you
Because I loved you from the start
I cried when I lost you
Your death broke my heart

Now I just miss you
I want you here with me
Now I just miss you
My baby unseen

I let myself love you
There was no other way
I let myself love you
But I will meet you one day

Oden Sings his ABCs

2008-07-02T19:23:00.003-05:00

As Oden approaches his 2nd birthday (just 2 days away!), he is learning more and more. He is now saying "please" and "thank you" all the time, something his Momma is very proud of. It is difficult not to give him his way when he says 'puh weeze'.

He is also getting really good at his ABCs, as you can tell from the below video. However, the video also demonstrates the tricks that we use to get him to learn this stuff.... he loves watching his own vidoes.

Olympic Oden

2008-06-12T19:06:00.003-05:00

Oden graduated from his gym class today and got a medal! He dramatically outperformed his peers on the balance beam.... he's a stud!

Oden Counts to 10, and other updates

2008-06-08T19:35:00.003-05:00

Good stuff is happening in the Rowley household. Our boy Oden can now count to 10! Just last week he made it from 2 (which he has done for awhile) to 3, then 4, and now 10! Pretty awesome from the first-time parent POV.

Now that he has mastered the counting, he has indepently started practicing his ABCs again (we haven't worked on them in a few weeks).

Also, just this morning Oden used the Toilet for the first time. He is far from being potty-trained, but another major milestone has dropped from the sky out of nowhere.

Oden Cooking Breakfast

2008-04-27T12:48:00.001-05:00

Oden loves to help cook..... he's got some mad skills.

White Boys Can Jump!

2008-03-25T20:23:00.003-05:00

Oden has been making progress in leaps and bounds (see video). He is also talking independently; his favorite words being: moon, home, down, dig, no, uh-oh, and more. Oden is also playing much more independently, and can entertain himself for several minutes at a time. He loves his new play structure that Mom and Dad got him (pictures to come), and he is hitting the baseball better than ever too!

Enjoy the video!

Terrible Two's

2008-03-12T13:48:00.002-05:00

It's official, Oden has finally hit the unavoidable TT's. It doesn't seem fair since he's not quite 2 years old yet (not for another 4 months!). But alas, our docile and sweet child has turned into an independent and extremely demanding little toddler (i.e. beast). But we still love him to death. It's actually pretty neat to see how he tries to exert his power, to get what seems to be so important to him at that moment. And it doesn't help that he's also teething. Not sure exactly which teeth are coming in (fangs?), but he's drooling and biting like crazy... and just that much crankier!

Mommy's Daukmai

2008-03-12T13:00:00.004-05:00

I came across two very beautiful quotes today that encompass what I feel for Daukmai ("flower" in Laos)...

Imagine a love so strong that saying hello and goodbye in the same day is worth all the sorrow...

Most people only get to dream of angels... I held one of them in my arms.

Oscar Allen Daukmai Rowley

2008-03-10T19:26:00.003-05:00

Conceived: October 26, 2007

Calculated Due Date: August 2, 2008

Birth Date: March 2, 2008

Death Date: March 2, 2008

Oscar unfortunately came 5 months too early....

too early to be able to survive outside of his Mama's nurturing belly

too early for Oden to have the role of "big brother"

too early for his Mama to kiss him and nourish him with her breast milk

too early for his Daddy to brag about his every little milestone

too early for his Grandparents to fawn over him

too early for his family to know him

but not too early for everyone to love him

and remember him

Please remember our little boy.........

Oden's new words

2008-03-10T18:29:00.002-05:00

Oden is getting really good at attempting new words. In the last 10 minutes he has said "cheese", "cracker", and "more", while he was eating cheese, as well as "bowl". Earlier today he said "home".

Our boy is on a roll. If you ask him to say something, he will more often than not at least attempt to say it.... "cracker" didn't turn out so hot, but "more", "bowl", "home" and "cheese" were all pretty recognizable.

More good stuff from Rowleyworld!

Oden Speaks Laos

2008-02-21T06:32:00.003-05:00

Oden's Laos-in-laws were in town, and we were learning all kinds of new Laos words..... this is Oden's favorite:

by the way, 'min' means 'stinky!'