Shai Getting Ready for the Big Move!

Oden Earns His First Set of Wheels

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

Big Boy Shai in the Bumbo

The Wonderful Rowley Life

Shia starting to show some personality:



And a view of our wonderful life:

Oden Playing with Shai

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

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

Oden Coloring Easter Eggs

Shai Focuses on Toys for First Time

Oden on Life

Oden Jumps from Peak to Peak

Newborn Photo Shoot

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

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

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

75F Today = Cunningham Falls Hike

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!

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

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

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

Then he posed with his creation: