Life Begins at Forty

Our beloved big daddy turned 40 this February and we were so fortunate to share it with him!

We love you!!

T'was a Merry Rowley Christmas

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....

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!!

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

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

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!!!