Busy Busy Weekend

The Rowles had a great weekend, very busy! Saturday was spent raking the back yard with the girls watching.




G in her coat and Elia bundled up in 2 coats and lots of blankets/pillows surrounding her to stay warm.


Doesn't her hat say it all?

We put our tree up and got lights on it as well. Then Sunday was the usual starting with church. Then Uncle Tim and his gf Ashley (pronounced by G as Actually) came over and helped entertain G until naptime. She is obsessed with them, can you tell?



Uncle Tim and Ashley reading before her nap.

BTW Tim, if you are reading this, Ashley is awesome, do whatever you can to keep her! So then Uncles Matt and Patrick came over and all 3 boys helped Chris rake the front yard and put up lights. The front looks great! Meanwhile G and I decorated the Christmas tree with our ornaments. This is what it looks like.
Just kidding, I wish. Maybe when my kids are older and I have gobs of money.



Right now I am plenty happy with what we have- multicolored lights with homemade and mismatched ornaments. Its funny the many memories I have of different ornaments from my own childhood. There were certain ones that were the favorites, that we would fight over. One such ornament was one that as kids we sent in 2 proofs of purchase plus S & H from a box of cereal called Sugar Puffs. Anyone out there remember Sugar Bear? The ornament was a stuffed Sugar Bear with a santa hat and if you squeezed it it played Christmas music- I'm sure it drove my mom crazy. The ornament, probably at least 15 years old by now, still makes music and is still a favorite of our family :). I think Gianna already has a favorite of her own- one that Grandma Rowles gave Chris 2 years ago that, of course, makes noise. Chris' mom has a WONDERFUL tradition- she gives each of her children an ornament as a Christmas present each year. She would write the name of each kid and the year she gave it to them on the back of the ornament. So the Christmas after Chris and I were married, we actually had ornaments to put on our first, tiny tree. And its really fun to see the ornaments he has recieved through the years. We continued the tradition here at the Rowles house, so no matter what our decorations will never match! Here are some more of the girls and their boys! Thanks for coming over to play!

PS. Two cute things about the girls- Gianna loves to play with our nativity scene, and today she was showing the Baby Jesus to her uncles. "Isn't he a cute little baby?" and "Baby Jesus is Elia's little brother" were just 2 of the many cute things she has said about Jesus!

Elia cut another tooth sometime today! Her upper right tooth is just below the surface of her gums, and still not wanting to eat baby food!

Teeth

Elia got her second bottom tooth sometime last night! She woke up a couple times last night screaming BLOODY MURDER. Usually when she wakes up she just kinda fusses until we get her, but last night she would wake up with an immediate waiiiillll. Its funny how everytime one of my kids cuts a tooth I am so lost as to what is wrong with them and then bam, there is a tooth the next day. She got her first tooth last week when we were in St. Louis and since then she is obsessed with sticking her tongue out. Its so cute!!



I just wish these new teeth would inspire her to eat baby food! I have been trying to get her to eat food and she just keeps her mouth shut. Won't budge. I think she has a stubborn side!!!

Cousins!

The Rowles are in St. Louis right now, and we have had so much fun with the rest of the family! We left our house at 4am Wednesday morning and got to St. Louis around 2pm. Pretty good time considering we had the girls with us! Gianna and Elia woke up around 7:30 am and we worked pretty hard to keep them entertained. We were the last of the family to show up, so we got quite the welcome! Cousins Colin and Gianna have been running all over the house together, playing, tackling, and imitating!! During dinner tonight Gianna accidentally dropped her spoon under the table and so then Colin had to "accidentally" drop his too. If Colin was eating something, Gianna had to eat it too. Gianna had no problem going to bed or taking a nap as long as she knew that Colin was doing it too. Elia and Austin have hardly touched the groud as there are lots of doting adults who always want to hold them. Its funny to see my childhood home busting at the seams with people! Every bed and couch was filled the past 2 nights and there has not been one dull momnet around here. Wish us luck on the drive home...

Thanks to Aunts Shanny and Meggy for going all over town to find matching jammies!!

10 cents

Next week, our family will be heading up to St. Louis for the Thanksgiving holiday. And say a prayer, because we are driving! So we are getting the car all ready for the big trip. A month or two ago I let Gianna sit in the fron seat of the car (the car was turned off) and I saw her put a coin in the cd slot! So we havent been able to listen to any music. Chris pulled apart the radio and pulled out 10 cents. No, not a dime, but a nickel and 5 pennies! How did I not catch her putting all of those coins in? Well needless to say, I am never letting her sit in the fron seat of our car alone ever again!!!

6 months old!!

I can't believe it. Elia is 6 months old today. 6 MONTHS!!!! She is not my little baby anymore! Of course, she hasn't really ever been a little baby. At 1 month old she was already 10 lbs, and today she weighed in at 21 lbs, 29 inches long. She can sit up and pick things up and puts EVERYTHING within her radius in her mouth. She moves around in a circle when on her belly, and I know crawling is coming soon!
She had 3 shots today. Everytime I go in for shots for my kids, I always tell myself to get a grip. But even after your 2nd kid, it doesn't get better. Elia was laying down, kicking her feet and trying to grab my hair as I held her little arms down. And then the nurse (poor nurse, every kid hates her!!) stuck her three times in the legs. To see her go from happy to screaming and looking at me so scared is sooooo sad and I tear up everytime! She has been sleeping since then. She will probably sleep for a long time, so what am I doing on this computer? I need to go clean my house!!!

Ms. Independent

Gianna is a typical 2 year old, she wants to do everything BY HERSELF!!!! She has to climb into her car seat by herself. She has to wash her hands by herself. She has to drink in a big girl cup, without help. It is quite amazing to watch her take on all of these challenges, by herself. It is also quite annoying! Lately she has wanted to do the dishes by herself, which always becomes a huge mess. I like the fact that she wants to help, its great practice for when she is older and will be cleaning the house for me ;). And I can sometimes use this determination to my advantage. Gianna, you can either walk to the car like a big girl, or I will carry you, which one? She always picks the big girl option. And thank goodness, because then I would have to carry her as well as Elia. And tonight, after saying prayers and reading books in the family room, she decided she was going to put herlelf to bed. Didn't want mom to come in at all! I can get used to this!

Papa-razzi

I'm your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi

Gianna is obsessed with her dad, and Elia is learning to be just as obsessed! Gianna heard this song on the radio a couple weeks ago and started calling Chris paparazzi. Its pretty funny. Sometimes she calls herself Gianna-razzi.
Lots of mornings she tells Chris that she is going to call him on the phone, and if I am ever on the phone with him, she HAS to talk to him.
When G hears the door open when Chris gets home, her little face lights up and she screams "He's home!" This evening Elia was fuss fuss fussy and I was holding her when Chris walked in. She immediately stopped fussing and just stared at him and started kicking her little legs. I mean, it makes sense. Daddy is just so much fun! He is the worlds best tickler and he swings the girls up and over his head. And then there is one of G's favorites: animal doctor. Papa-razzi will go out and find G's stuffed animals and Gianna will get out her doctor kit and they will play for what seems like hours! I would say that Gianna and Elia are his biggest fans!

I love my job

Not many people can say they love their job. But I can safely say that I am happy to be staying at home with the girls. Today I posted a similar remark on facebook, and within 2 hours, I had 16 replies that included lots of "likes" and comments. And I know that I am especially lucky to be staying at home given the economy! Thats not to say that I love every minute of everyday of staying at home. I will admit, when I was working and looking forward to staying at home I had a very "romantic" view of what life would be like. I imagined a spotless house all the time, laundry folded and put away as soon as it came out of the dryer, and 3 course, relaxed meals every night. On the contrary, sometimes the house is messier, the laundry often piles up, and mac n cheese is served at least once a week! Staying at home is like any other job- it is work! But it is unlike any other job in that I get to see my babies grow a little bit everyday. I feel like I know Gianna so much better and I actually NOTICE Elia go through each stage of development. We do so many things now that we couldn't do when I was working. We go to the park, the library, the duck pond, and now one of my favorites- our backyard. I love to sit on the patio, put Elia in the swing, and watch Gianna swing on her new tire swing or play in the leaves. I often join in, and right now am trying to get G to play a little soccer. Another favorite of mine right now is baking with Gianna. It is sooo messy, but Gianna loves to make cookies, and we all love eating them!






Sometimes money is tight, and Chris and I don't get to do everything we used to (eating out, multiple trips to STL and Napa, etc.) but it is worth it a thousand times over. My mom gave me a book last year called You CAN Afford to Stay at Home with Your Kids, and there is a quote I want to share that sums up the way I feel about it all:

Although it's true that the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that washes the diapers, the same hand also touches- and to a large degree, directs - the lives of the entire family, makes the most indelible mark upon the children, lays the groundwork for a future generation, and thereby effects the course of history.

-Mary Snyder and Malia McCawley Wyckoff


Thanks to my amazing husband Chris, who works so hard for our family so that I can be at home, and thanks to my mom for staying at home with us!!!!

Stickers!!!!!!!

Gianna has a million stickers that she has been placing on things all over the house. We are constantly picking stickers off of furniture and the carpet, and then of course our bodies! She thinks it is so great to just stick them all over our cheeks and hands and clothes- including Elia.







The things dads will do for their daughters, no matter how un-masculine. When I was little, I made a bracelet for my dad. (fyi, my dad has 4 girls, then a boy, in that order. Poor man was surrounded by headstrong demanding women for the first 15 years of his marriage before he got a boy. He grew up with noooo girls, just 3 brothers, and on a farm to boot) Anyway, I was very proud of this bracelet that I made him. The beads were varying colors of pink and red, and mostly star and heart shaped. When I gave it to him, he put it on right away and told me how pretty it was. Later, I went with him to the gas station and all the while he proudly wore the bracelet. It broke while he was pumping gas, and he was so upset for me!

Its amazing what dads will put aside just to make their daughters smile. I love watching Chris have tea with G, play in her kitchen with her, and get excited about pretty dresses and bows with her. I am curious to see what kinds of things I will do when we someday have boys in our house!

A Helper and a Fashion Show

Nothing special has been going on lately, but I thought I would show a few things that go on at our house. Gianna is the mommy in the house. She loves to cook "cupcakes" in her kitchen. Everytime we ask her what kind they are, she says they are marshmallow cupcakes. Maybe she will be a golfer someday:

She is also OBSESSED with sweeping. A few months ago one of our broom's handle broke and so Chris taped it off and it is now just her size. She loves to sweep the dirt into the dustpan, and we are lucky if it all gets in there!

And then there is sweet little Elia. Or should I say big Elia? I put her on our scale at home last week, and it read 21 lbs, which is just 4 lbs less than Gianna! I know its so cliche to say, but there is just so much more to love about her! One sad thing though is that she is growing out of clothes at a very rapid pace. I put an outfit away last month that was too small for her and Gianna wore the same outfit walking!!! My favorite are footie pajamas and those are the hardest to stretch them into when they are getting big- their feet have nowhere to go. So I took a few pictures of her in 6 month and 6-9 month footie pjs before I have to sadly put them away. Who knew I would have so much emotional attachment to my kid's clothes? Gianna joined in at the end with her footie pajamas- her size, that are of course too big for her!!