9/11 Birthday Surprise!

Well, now if this wasn't just the co-inky-dink: ROWAN has decided to open his birthday gifts throughout the day. He began with a Playmobil "Fi?ures" packet. (Inside each pack is a random surprise Playmobil action figure.) Who did he get to start of this commemorative birthday?

Awww Yeah... 5 Year Old (!) Bug & Uncle Sam

6 Months Old!

Little Baby is 6 months old today! Half a year! How did this happen? It seems like such a long time since the NICU, but such a short time that he has been with us. I am sure all you parents can relate.

Unfortunately, Hawthorn got a FEVER for his half-birthday. To spare him the indignity and distress of photo-taking, I'm posting a photo from a couple of days ago. The good news is, I can satisfy great-Auntie Dizee's request -- this photo includes handsome Daddy!

Hawthorn & Daddy strolling along the coastal trail.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jog

Last week we our first floor tenant moved out, so we stopped by to give it a look-see & take photos for the listing. This particular apartment is the one that will be ours in the relatively near future, so I figured there might be a few of you who would want to see the photos so that you can better plan our lives for us.

So, here are two angles of the front. We want to paint it. What colour scheme should we use? (CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)

 

Here is the backyard with our little back porch (envision big deck please) & the GREENHOUSE OF HAPPINESS!

Next, we have the living room of moderate size, but limited illumination...

Facing South to backyard.

Facing North into room. Closet to R, front door middle, L to kitchen.

Here is our kitchen of seriously compromised storage:

Dining area with an uncertain future:

Facing East from kitchen area.

Facing North from living room/hallway.

The diminutive bath (that's code for wicked small):

Blue. Blech.

And finally, the bedroom with a boat in it! (NO, the boat is not staying...)

See the stool? That's so you can get into the boat, I mean bed.

So there you go. Small. Very small, but nice in many ways. Besides, it's OURS so it saves us the whole moving out & back in every year. To fit all four of us in there, we're going to have to be veeeery creative (& very minimalist). If you have talents in that area, please do advise. 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

WE LOVE YOU!

Faces: Baby One, Baby Two.

Somehow I ended up with a set of photos of Rowan at 3 months old on my laptop. This is odd because Rowan predates my MacBook, but whatever. I got to looking at his face & baby Hawthorn's face & wow, these guys are different! Thought some of you might like this comparison.

 Profiles: Here, Rowan is 3 mos. 5 days, Thorn is 4 mos. 13 days.

Serious Faces w/Boppy: Rowan is 3 mos. 5 days, Thorn is 4 mos. 17 days.

 Hey! Same Outfit!: Rowan is 3 mos. 5 days, Thorn is 5 mos. 12 days.

Thanks Grandma!

Grandma Liz is a terrific scrapbook creatrix. Just look at the latest on Hawthorn:

Rowan loves the little books she makes all about him & I know they will really appreciate them when they are adults sharing them with their own kids. 
Thank you! (& please keep them coming!)

SMILES Everyone, SMILES!

Yep. He's really into smiling now & we can capture it on film. Here's the evidence:

The Child's Notes...

Mushroom mania continues in our household. Sunday we sponsored a community mushroom hunt, taking about 20 people out & about to learn about our fungal friends. Rowan saw Moma frantically publishing her mushroom guidebook for the tour & decided to make his own set of notes: 

Click on photo to enlarge.

Awww Yeah Mushrooms! Revisited

Rowan is on a mushroom kick. He is searching for them, reading about them, talking (incessantly) about them & drawing them, everyday. Now he is trying to indoctrinate his brother. He wanted to share his latest collection with everyone, see below:

Hawthorn Update

Yesterday Hawthorn had another follow up with Dr. Tappel. He weighed in at 12 lbs., 3 oz., which has him creeping up out of the 2nd percentile on the growth charts. The graphs show he is now beginning his catch-up period. Good thing he is enjoying eating meals with the rest of the family. His favorite foods right now are bananas & applesauce, but he has been trying out all sorts of produce; broccoli, corn, carrots, mango, strawberries… Cantaloupe, while he enjoys it, makes him throw up -- too bad for baby.
Dr. Tappel wants to see him again when he is 6 months old. After that, he thinks we can wait until 9 months, unless anything odd comes up. Hooray! We are supposed to keep an eye on him for mild seizure activity & video it if it happens. He had a couple of episodes of noticeable staring followed by rapid horizontal eye movement, not unlike the return on a typewriter. Weird, unsettling, but not too worrisome right now. I did a spot of reading & it might be a bit more common in preemies.
Anyway, we are so pleased to be able to give you this report of healthy, hospital-free baby! Can you believe it has already been 5 months & change?

(It is nearly impossible to capture this kid smiling on camera. 

Please forgive the blur.)

Spaztic Baby.

Hawthorn is working on his motor skills. He is spaztic, but still worth watching. Especially for people who are really, really missing him right about now. Please enjoy 40 seconds of flailing cuteness. (And no, there is no storage/medicine cabinet in the bathroom, so everything is on the counter. )

 

Back to School!

Rowan returned to AMS on Tuesday. His teacher said "It was a great day. Just like he never left." Hooray Rowan!

This year's photo in the sun w/Daddy. (Note his height!)

Last year's photo in the drizzle with Moma.