Argentina

Today is a big day for us. In just a couple of hours the boys and I will be taking Derek to the airport so he can catch his flight to Argentina. He is going with a team from our church to do some mission work in Buenos Aires. It's a wonderful opportunity, and hopefully a great experience, to partner with the many teams our church sends into Argentina to evangelize and start new churches. I look forward to hearing about all the people he gets to meet and the work he gets to do.

But...

I'm a little nervous about him being gone for a whole week. Now I know a week is really pretty short in the grand scheme of things, but to a pregnant woman with 2 little kids, I'm afraid it might feel a little like an eternity! I do have lots planned, though, so hopefully we'll have a fun week too.

After we drop Derek off at the airport, we're heading over to my mom and step-dad's house to spend the weekend with them. Cole is SUPER excited about going to see Nan and Grandpa. I am too, for that matter. I know we'll have a great time visiting with them.

Then we'll come home for a couple of things I've got scheduled for the beginning of the week...my mom's group, a girl's movie night, and, of course, the routine "boring" parts of life like cleaning a grocery shopping. On Wednesday we'll head over to my in-law's house and spend a couple of days with them. Again, Cole is SUPER excited about this trip too.

On Saturday, we'll wake up crazy early so we can be at the airport to pick-up Derek, who gets in at 6:15am. Yikes! Now, I'm not a morning person AT ALL, but I suspect I won't have any trouble hopping out of bed and getting the boys loaded in the van this time. I will be so happy to see Derek and hear all about his trip. And, of course, he better get his ears ready, because we'll be worded up and ready to tell him all about our week, too!


Lord, please protect Derek and the team as they travel to Argentina to do your work. May many people be born into Your kingdom through their efforts. Help them also find those who believe already and connect them with other believers so that they might meet together and encourage one another. Let them accomplish much for Your purpose and glory and return them safely to us next week.

And for us who remain, let us be diligent to pray and to work Your purposes here, remembering that You are working all the time, everywhere, even in the small and humble life of my family. Give me patience and strength to parent these boys in a way that would please You. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Aisle 6

The other day we all went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for family night. After we'd gathered almost everything, I said, "Alright, all we need now is juice."

Cole promptly replied, "Oh, we need to go to aisle 6."

Really? Aisle 6? Sure enough, there was the juice on aisle 6.

I wonder what else he has stored up in the little brain of his?

Max's 13 1/2 month stats

For the first time in my parenting history (ok, it isn't that long of a history, but still) I dropped the ball* and forgot to schedule Max's 1 year check-up. And since our doctor books up quickly, the soonest I could get in was this week making Max's 12 month check-up come at 13 1/2 months instead. Thankfully, he's a healthy boy and seems to be growing and developing very well.

Weight: 24 lbs, 75th percentile
Height: 32 3/4 inches, 97th percentile

Here is some of what our little guy likes:

Favorite foods: Paper, followed closely by cardboard. Oh wait, that's not food. Ok, then cheese and grapes (cut up, of course)
Favorite game: "Mr. McGreggor & Peter" (Chase)
Favorite book: Counting Colors
Favorite toys: Mommy's cooking spoons, balls
Loves: Music & dancing, playing outside, pulling things out of Mommy's bathroom drawer while she's trying to get ready in the morning, reading books
Dislikes: Diaper changes, wearing shoes, coming inside after playing outside, waiting for a meal
Vocabulary: Still won't say "Mama" or "Dada" but has a nice little repertoire of words and is adding more everyday: Ball, Dog, Spoon, Balloon, Uh-oh, All done, Stuck, Banana, Book. Sometimes he'll combine a couple of his words into a little mini sentence..."Ball stuck," for example.

Max is a fun-loving little guy. He is very independent and likes to explore any new drawer, cabinet or box he's let into. He thinks his big brother is pretty cool, but sometimes finds torturing him by hitting to be more fun than playing nicely. He loves to look at books and is a great little communicator, even with his limited vocabulary. He understands a ton of what we say to him and will follow simple commands like "Put your cup on the table" or "Put that paper back in the trash." Most of the time Cole thinks Max is a great little play-mate, and I look forward to seeing their friendship grow through the years. He's a joy and a blessing, and we are so thankful for our sweet little Max!


*Let it be said that I am not claiming this to be my first parenting mistake ever, just the first one in regards to scheduling an appointment. Needless to say, there have been plenty of other mistakes!!

Quote of the Day

"You're the best girl ever, Mommy!"

-Cole, while getting dressed this morning

The Unexpected

You never know what you'll find in the everyday flow of life. Sometimes it's pretty, like a rainbow in the sky. Sometimes it's sweet, like a son giving you a freshly picked flower. Sometimes it sad, like the news of a tragedy. Sometimes it's gross, like spit-up on your shoulder. And sometimes it's funny, like a baby in the dishwasher.

September

So, what has kept the Rowden Family so busy that there has been only one post in the month of September? Lots and lots! Here are a few highlights:

**Max's 1st Birthday**
Our little munchkin is 1! We had a nice little celebration with family at my in-laws' house (to save most everyone a long drive to our place), and enjoyed the usual birthday festivities...cake, ice cream, presents and lots of family fellowship. Max had fun opening the first few presents but didn't put up too much fuss when Cole insisted on "helping" with the rest. For the first few, we restrained Cole, obviously to let Max have his fun. But when it became apparent that Max was done with the tedious task of unwrapping, we let Cole lose, and he had a blast. After a fierce battle with screws, wires and weird plastic connectors, the toys were set free from the packaging and some serious play time began. Fun times!



**More Birthdays**
September is a big month for birthdays on Derek's side of the family. Besides Max, there is our nephew, my father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and grandfather-in-law. That's a lot of partying!

**Family Pictures**
We decided to have an annual family portrait and take care of all our pictures at one time instead of taking the boys at different times during the year. There is good and bad to this...good because there's only one picture day a year, bad because it's a long time to be taking pictures with 2 little boys! Over all they did great. Well, let me rephrase...Cole did great. We got lots of great shots of him. Max, well, not so much. Our normally smiley little baby (I should say toddler, sigh, he's growing up), didn't want to have anything to do with the camera. We finally got one really great shot (see right) of him smiling, but that was it!! Of course, there were lots of other cute ones, because, really, Max can't take a bad picture (ahem, no biased mom-talk here). Our family picture is ok, but when the adults have to sit smiling at the camera for an unknown amount of time waiting for the goofy assistant to pull faces and toss stuffed animals up in the air trying to get the kids to smile, it's hard to keep it fresh, you know? Anyway, over all it went well.

**Bathroom Renovations**
We added a second sink in our bathroom, and with that came a new counter top, sinks and faucets. While we were at it, we changed the cabinets for more storage, and hopefully soon, I'll paint. I won't post a before and after picture because, well, I completely forgot to take the before pic, and it's not quite finished, so we don't have the after. So, I guess you'll just have to imagine that it's a big improvement!

**Morning Sickness**
Yes, you read that right. We are expecting baby #3! I'm 11 1/2 weeks pregant, due mid-April. We are thrilled! And, to answer the two questions that seem to be the most popular with this announcement, no, it wasn't a surprise, and yes, we would love a girl, but we would also love another boy, so we'll take what we get! It would be very fun to have a little girl to help balance out all the testosterone in the family, but I love my boys and they are so very sweet that I'd be thrilled with another. And, we have all the boy stuff. So, either way, we just pray for healthy!

Well, I guess that about sums it up. Lots going on in the Rowden household these days. Now that I'm almost out of the first trimester, I'm feeling LOTS better (the fatigue just about did me in), so hopefully I'll be able to post a little more regulalry. Then again, maybe not. Only time will tell!

Bedtime Antics

Getting Cole to take a nap has never really been much of a problem. He usually goes down without much fuss and goes straight to sleep (This is after many sleep battles as a baby...but that's another story for another day).

Anyway, bedtime is another story. He's tried every excuse in the book to get out of bed after he's been tucked in. He comes out of his room, all squinty-eyed from adjusting to the light and walks ever so slowly, as though he knows he's on thin-ice. "Will my excuse work this time?" I can just see his little mind ticking.

For a while it was the typical "I'm thirsty" or "I need to go potty." But as Derek and I have wised up to his schemes, he's running out of excuses and is forced to get more creative. Most of the time it's easy to keep a straight face. In fact, I'm not amused at all. It drives me crazy that he won't STAY IN BED. But every once in a while he comes out with something so ridiculously desperate, I struggle not to laugh out loud. Here are a couple of our favorites:

"Cole, get back in bed."
"But I need something."
"What do you need?"
"I need help staying in bed"

And, my personal favorite:

"Cole, what are you doing up?"
"I don't have enough energy to go to sleep"

Now, who can resist a giggle at those lines? Especially when delivered so sincerely by an adorably cute, pajama clad little boy whose too smart for his own good?

Not me.

And so, the bed time antics continue. I guess we'll get past this somehow, but in the mean time, Cole sure knows how to entertain!