Date night

We were able to take a date night last night. The trick was to feed Rowan just as were about to walk out the door to keep him as full as possible; to buy us as much time as possible. We met our good friends Alley and Steve at Bonefish - I know, why go to a chain restaurant on a rare night out opportunity? Well:

1. Location was the key: we had to pick a joint near Aunt Kathy's house - she graciously watched the kids, and we had to be nearby because Rowan was a ticking time bomb. There are some good non-chain restaurants in the area, but chains seem to dominate the east end.

2. It's down-right yummy. The monkfish special was very good!

It was just really nice to get out and have uninterupted conversation with adults, if only for a couple of hours. Maureen was in heaven because she got to be with Aunt Kathy, and cousins A and G. And she has a certain affinity toward her Uncle Scott that none of us can quite explain. Throw in a visit from Papa and Meemaw and Mo's visit was complete. Rowan got a bit fussy toward the end of the evening, but he just needed a little water (in lieu of breast milk) and he was fine (or that's what they told me!)

We get to reciprocate with Scott and Kathy in a couple of weeks.

Other news: Aunt Chrissy was in town this weekend and we got to see her twice. Here's a photo of her wrestling match with Mo on Friday night. I think Maureen won.

It's Sunday morning at 7:27. Kristin and Mo are trying to catch some more Zs after a late night (9pm is late for both of them). Rowan is downstairs with me, asleep in the swing. He is making cute little kitten noises. I think my quiet moring is about to be disrupted though - everyone is beginning to stir. That's ok - I think I'm ready to start the day.

Arnold the snoring pig

Water babies

Mo and Claire had a nice evening of watery fun last night at the pool. We get to see her and her parents again this Friday night.

Swim party

Last night was spent with Kristin's extended family - cousin Jeanine and family are in from Colorado. The occasion last night was her son Jack's birthday out at a subdivision swimming pool. This function was hosted by her parents (Kristin's uncle Mike and Aunt Jane). I think we pushed the limits of fun because we had to make a quick milk stop for Rowan on the way home in the parking lot of a gas station, across from the malls.
Tonight brings more swimming fun - we've invited Cousin Claire and parents out to our pool. We are trying to take advantage of what summer we have left before the pools close down and school starts up. Yes, this is the exciting life of a daddy of two.
I've included some recent and random photos for your viewing pleasure:

Da Beach part dos

The beach trip almost did not happen this year with the arrival of Mr. Rowan in late June. I think the call of the tide was too strong and last minute plans were put in place. Even later, Kristin decided she and the kids would join the family, and later yet I decided to take a couple of days off work to at least share half the experience. Kristin and the kids drove down starting Friday morning and I took a flight to Raleigh late Friday afternoon (after work) - We arrived at the same time and of course I caught quite a bit of grief over that.
We stayed with the very hospitable Dolberry family over Friday night, and headed for Emerald Isle on Saturday for a 4pm check in. We had a total of 12 folks with us including the Dolberrys, Aunt Kathy and her monkeys and the Grandfolks. The Dolberrys and I cut the stay short, leaving Tuesday morning - everyone else is still having fun in the sun.
Maureen was more interested in the sand than the water. She did not want to get wet at all and opted to make castles instead. I think she remembers a Curious George cartoon about building sand castles. Rowan got a bit of beach time, although he was bundled up so much you could hardly see his face. Our stay included some really yummy meals, a round of putt putt, a couple of rounds on the go-cart track and some nice, old fashioned rest.
It's weird not having the family here and I look forward to their return. I keep hoping for some tears from Mo over my absence, but I think she's having so much fun to notice. She loves being pampered by her MeeMaw! I think that's a fair trade off.
Well, time to go back to work so I can help pay for this trip. See you soon.

Da Beach.

Here are some photos from our recent trip to Emerald Isle North Carolina. Story to come (when I'm not on company's dime!)

July 22 update

Hi ho everybody. All is well in the house. Last night marked a high point at AQUATOTS (to be said as if you had the fanfare in the background) as Maureen was totally submerged, many times and with her permission. No Tears!! The first time was actually a mistake in the baby pool. It was one of those slow motion moments where I saw her fall backwards and I could see her crystal blue eyes still open as she descended. It was only a matter of two seconds that she was under, but it seemed longer to me. She popped up all smiles. I believe that gave her confidence in our class to allow me to take her under. One, two, threeeeee! She also jumped into my arms from a standing position. I feel like we have to be extra vigilant at the pool now that she is even more cocky about her aqua-abilities.
Rowan and Kristin were pool-side, cheering us on. They came straight from a real estate showing. He went with Kristin because we couldn't figure out the logistics of me bringing both kids to the pool. It would have been easy if there was a parking lot at our pool, but it is surrounded by street parking and there aren't too many sidewalks. Maureen is at a point where she will roam, or stop unexpectedly. We'll figure it all out.
My boss is on vacation this week, so I feel like I'll get some things accomplished! Hope everyone is doing well.

Photos

OK - I got a jump start on the weekend and am able to provide the cute shots I promised in my last entry. Here you go.

Blogging lapse

I realize I haven't written much lately. I think I'm getting up too late to get anything written before the family wakes in the morning. All is well in our household. Rowan is gaining weight and progressing nicely - he weighed 9 pounds, 9 ounces as of Wednesday at the doctor's office. He received a clean bill of health - Yahoo.
Maureen is still at the head of her class in Aquatots at the pool. We are slowly inching our way down underneath the water's surface and she seems ok with it. She doesn't like being on her back, but seems to really enjoy all of the other aspects of the class.
Other news: we're getting glass block windows in both bathrooms; we have a beach trip in our near future (yee-haw); we get to see Uncle Dolberry and family again this weekend on their way back home; we're looking for a new car. That's all I can think of at the moment.
I'll post some more cute pictures this weekend - I know that's what keeps bringing you back to this site!

Rowan

Asleep

Here's a quick glimpse of what we see quite regularly. He's a good sleeper. If you look back some 21.5 months ago on this blog, you will see how worried we were about Maureen sleeping all the time. Not the case with Rowan (or as some people call him, Mr. Bean). He is a good baby and has a gentle disposition. This weekend, Ro gets to meet his Uncle Dolberry, Aunt KMD and Cousin APD. They are coming in from North Carolina for a quick visit on their way out west, and we get to see them again next weekend on their way back to NC. Again, Dolberry chickened out of taking the Fleetwood Mac bus for this trip, opting for the safe environment of the family car.

Highlight for the weekend (besides family Dolberry visit): High noon, roof-top concert by Lost Cat Reward on Sunday. Email me for more info.

Obsessed with the Wiggles

Aquatots!

Maureen had her first swimming class last night and she was the star student. We kicked, blew bubbles, floated on our backs and practiced entering and exiting the pool. Mom and Rowan were on hand to cheer us on. Well, actually Mom cheered us on and Rowan slept. I'm the bald guy in the foreground.

"How you doin?"

Hospital Photo

Aw! Aint he cute?

Alas,

I have to go back to work today after a week of baby-land. I remember right after Maureen's birth, work was a hard thing to get my head around for the first week. Good news is that we have this Friday off for the 4th so I get eased back into the machine.

Rowan is doing well - he had his first check-up yesterday and he got good reports. We also got some helpful tips (pun intended) on treating his circumcision wound a little better.

Thanks goes out to the friends and family who helped out by keeping Maureen occupied through the week, and for the food and nice presents that were sent. I think we're going to make it! Have a great week - I hope to be writing more soon.

Mo & Ro

Beautiful little boy

Hello sports fans, Sparky's Mojo is back with the whole Rowan story. He was born last Wednesday morning at 8:12 am. He brought many surprises - he was much smaller than his older sister - a full pound and seven ounces lighter, though only 1/2" shorter. Maureen had a full head of brown hair and very pronounced eyebrows; Rowan has no eyebrows, sparse blond hair and white eyelashes. We are trying to figure out who he takes after but are unable to confidently pin him on a relative. He looks like Rowan. It just proves that you can't measure against anyone else - he is his own person - and we are very happy.

Rowan is, for the most part, a very calm baby. He has taken off with the feeding concept and seems to know exactly what to do. We're in the re-learning process about baby-care. The whole circumcision thing is new to us - and a bit daunting. He seems to still ache from the procedure.

Maureen seems to be doing OK with her new baby brother. She manages to get her fair share of attention - last night we were having dinner at home with Kristin's parents and sisters; we were all jabbering about Rowan, when all of the sudden Mojo broke out in song. Immediately she was center stage and all was right with the world.

Here are some more pictures documenting the last week. I'm on vacation and will be home for an extended stay to help while Kristin heals. Feel free to stop by for a visit!

Introducing Rowan

Rowan Patrick

7lbs; 7 oz

19"

Miriam's birthday

We went to a birthday party for 1-year-old Miriam last night. Miriam is the niece of Maureen's future uncle Jeff. The party was held in a really nice neighborhood on the east end - there was a wonderful spread of Asian food (Jeff's family is from the Philippines) and they had a huge bouncy inflatable (we used to call them moonwalks.) Maureen was in heaven. We had to pull her out, much to her disappointment, when the bigger kids took over. But the bigger kids would only be interested for five minutes or so, and then they would leave and Mojo would go back in. She was able to play with her cousin Claire. Because Claire is a year older and more sure-footed than Mo, she was able to climb the ladder inside the bouncy to go down the 10' slide. Maureen was disappointed each time she disappeared to do so, and would yell, "Claire, where are you!" All in all, it was a nice outing. Miriam was cute as a button. It's hard to imagine that she and Mo will be in the same class in school - Maureen seems to be so grown up compared to a one-year-old. But, she's an October child and that's where the cut-off happens. I guess kids catch up quickly.