Christmas tree

Same shirt, same baby. Different house, different state.

2012

2013

31

My parents came down for my birthday weekend. This was probably the strangest birthday for me, mentally...I've always been pretty pumped about my birthday...I used to create countdowns and hang them in my locker at school. I think I was always so excited about them because my parents did a great job celebrating us. Whether we had slumber parties, family parties or just pizza after a soccer game, our birthdays were always made special.

I can only hope to do the same for Rolly and other kiddos.

But, as I said, this just felt different for me. I kept forgetting my birthday was coming. I kept forgetting it was October. I think the weather had something to do with it. Maybe it's because, while I still am important to myself, there is someone much more important that I think about all day long. Little Rolin!

However, mom, dad and Justin still put on a fun celebration, we gave Rolin his first taste of real ice cream (because he could have dairy at that point) and I scored a bicycle, some artwork for the wall and some other sweet gifts.

On my actual birthday, we went to breakfast before I took mom and dad to the airport. The exterminator came to spray our house later that afternoon and life went back to normal. Thanks to all who sent birthday messages! It's so nice to be remembered on your birthday :)

Riding the new bike!

Rolin with Grandpa and Gigi at breakfast.

Rolin was cleared to have diary shortly before my birthday, so my dad requested to be the first to give him a taste of real ice cream. It took a few licks, but he loved it!

Rolly and momma. Thanks for the earrings, mom!

We also went to a concert in a nearby park. Rolly got his groove on:

Aunt & Uncle Visits

Rolly is one lucky little guy to have loving uncles and aunts. I'm not officially an aunt myself, but I can only hope to be at least half as wonderful an aunt as Rolly's Aunt Brianna, or Nana, as the kiddos say. She loves him and he knows it. Sometimes he carries her family-photo flash card around the house or gives her photo a ride on his truck. I'm not kidding. And her photo is the only one lucky enough to have been offered a ride. So cute!

Rolly and Aunt Brianna at the pumpkin patch. The best thing about these two together is that Rolin doesn't seem to have much stranger danger with her. Soooo nice!

Everyone was, of course, excited when we moved back to Washington, particularly because we had a baby on the way. We had lots of family come visit while we were there, mostly to see Rolin, the main attraction. Naturally, they all feared Rolly wouldn't remember them very well when we moved to Arizona, so we've already had multiple rounds of visits from both sides of the family, and expect Grandpa Lee and Grammy again at Christmas. We are blessed with family that wants to and is willing to come visit. (I'm sure the Arizona weather has something to do with frequent visits, too, but I'm going to pretend it's really the three of us that keep everyone coming back, teehee.)

Aunt Brianna came out to visit in October. It was perfect timing as Justin had to work again that weekend, and I'd unpacked to a point where the necessities were out so there was a 98 percent chance it would take me a year to get other things out of the boxes. With someone here to play with Rolly, I was able to get more things unpacked, hang some pictures and get some work done without Rolin tugging on my pant leg. Plus, I got to introduce Brianna to "Steel Magnolias," and she got to watch me turn into a blubbery mess at the end (it gets me every time!). Good golly...it's even worse to watch as a parent, yet I willingly subject myself to it again and again.

We went to the pumpkin patch while Brianna was here in October. This one was much more than just a patch...there were rides, food stations, trains, pig races...the works!

He did not want to get his face painted. We walked away with only one swipe of yellow that he screamed about until it was removed, ha!

Just over two-feet tall this fall.

Back to school, back to school...

We rode the carousel.

And the train. It was hot. Jeans were a bad choice.

We picked out pumpkins.

Rolin loved this pumpkin so much he kept giving it hugs.

There was lots of snuggle time and game playing with Aunt Brianna.

Rolin and Nanna had pompom fights, too. Rolin thought it was hilarious to grab a handful of as many pompoms he could and throw them at Aunt Brianna. The giggles lasted a long time :)

Aunt Brianna and Uncle Joe came back to visit in November. We'd been practicing with our family photo flash cards so Rolin was well practiced in saying Uncle Joe and Aunt Brianna / Nana by the time they got here. It's so stinkin' cute!! 

I think Rolin's favorite part about that trip was all the lounging on the couch watching football with Uncle Joe. 

And playing shapes with Uncle Joe.

And giving Uncle Joe and Aunt Brianna high fives.

And just having Uncle Joe and Aunt Brianna in the house. There was always someone to play blocks. 

After the farmers market on Saturday we went to lunch at Joe's Farm Grill. Had to take a picture, of course. 

And on Sunday we went to check out Arizona State University. The stadium was open, so we helped ourselves. 

Rolin loved playing on the stairs in the center of the courtyard. I thought this was similar to WSU's "nipple of knowledge." Coincidentally, this structure is also positioned atop the library. 

We're so glad to have visitors, and our house is always open to whoever, whenever! Come on down!

The great outdoors

Oh, how I love the sunny days in Arizona. I'm sure at some point we'll long for snow, or even a foggy morning, but, for now, Rolly and I really enjoy the weather and our (almost) daily trips to the park.

Here are a few vids of him at the park doing what little boys do best...running, playing and hurting himself.

This was the first time he went down a slide by himself, and on his tummy, no less. You don't actually get to see him go down because I freaked and jumped off the toy to meet him at the bottom. I'll tell you what happened instead -- his shirt came up on the way down, resulting in a wicked slide burn on his belly. He shook it off in a few seconds, but did not like when I busted out the hydrogen peroxide to clean it off at home. Doing so produced a nasty scab and what looks to be a scar he'll have for life. He wears onesie shirts to the park now. This video is from mid-October:

This was a sleepy day at the park...most of the time was spent sitting in the rocks, looking at and saying "moon," and watching airplanes. I can't help but laugh every time he starts putting that rock up to his lips. This was taken the day before Halloween:

This next video is a barrel full of laughs. He's on a steep hill (much steeper than it looks in the video). I recommend you bookmark this one, in case you have a day when you need a good laugh:

Rolin LOVES to wear this monkey on his back. He'll wear it for the better part of a day, if we let him. Sometimes he'll wear it at a store, sometimes to the park. Other times it's just around the house while he rides his truck in the kitchen or plays blocks in the living room. He likes to check out his reflection in the oven when he wears it. This monkey is actually one of those child leashes, but we don't use it as a leash. Right now it's just a source of entertainment for our little boy who has a growing imagination and personality. This video was taken in early November, the day before his eye surgery:

Shortly after I took this video, Rolin fell. He fell hard. He fell flat on his face on the sidewalk. There was blood. Lots (ok, not that much) of blood. I couldn't tell if he put a tooth through his lip, chopped a tooth or lost a tooth...all I knew was I'd never before seen that much blood come pouring out of my baby. I scooped him up and power walked home where I called my dad while I waited for the doctor to call back. Daddy-o suggested a popsicle, which seemed to heal and cheer Rolly right up. In the end, it turned out he just bit his lip pretty good. He was completely healed in a few days. Whew!

If you look closely, you can see his puffy lips. Poor buggy. He was a champ, though. I would have cried harder and longer if it'd been me!

No, the blood didn't come out of my shirt. But that's ok.

Get on my feet!

I'm sorry we've been lacking in posts. Rolly is a lot  more interactive now, and I feel bad sitting at a computer trying to do something other than work when he wants to play. Especially when he comes and takes me by the hand to go on a baby adventure or to play blocks.

When he's napping (which is getting better!!) I find other things to do, like eat Halloween candy and watch "Harry Potter." When he's down for the night, I find other things to do, like eat popcorn and watch "New Girl."

Dishes? Laundry? Well, I leave those for Justin, of course ;) Kidding, kidding. We pretty much share those things...they get done eventually.

Here are a couple silly videos from October. I look at Rolin every day, but I don't realize how much he changes in even one month until I look at old pictures or videos. Even since I took these he's grown to look more like a little boy than a baby.

Hairpane!

Rolin's latest obsession = airplanes. He can hear them about 20 seconds before either Justin or I can hear them, and he's also brought to my attention that we apparently live over a flight path to the municipal airport.

I had no idea so many planes flew over my house!

"Hairpane! Hairpane!" I hear this about 35 times a day. I think it's adorable.

He can even spot them through car windows.

This is him at the park about a month or so ago, when he just started spotting airplanes. I think he thought he could catch up with them. What I love most is how he squats down and points. I call it his Lewis & Clark stance.

We've ridden our bikes to the airport a couple times to watch the planes take off and land. It practically blew his mind. 

Baby Owen!

Something very exciting happened last week! Baby Owen was born to Maggie and Drew!

As soon as the name was revealed, I followed Rolin around the house saying, "Hi, Baby. Baby Owen. Happy birthday, baby Owen!" I tried my darnedest to get him to say it back.

I finally (sort of) succeeded:

Welcome, baby Owen! You're a very special gift to your wonderful, loving momma and daddy, and of course to your brother and extended family too.