It's a boy!

We found out a few weeks ago that Gwen is going to have TWO brothers. At the 21 week ultrasound they couldn't get a clear view of the heart, on a second ultrasound they found a 'spot' (echogenic focus) on the heart, so a third ultrasound was scheduled at the perinatal clinic at the hospital a week or so ago. Fortunately all is well and we were lucky to get to see a 3-D ultrasound of the little guy. Those things are amazing! We can already tell that he has a jeffrey mouth.

Gwen is aware that there is a baby coming but she's convinced the baby is in her belly and it's coming soon (at christmas...even though we keep saying AFTER christmas). She'll lift up her shirt, pat her belly and say 'little brother'. She is fully in her terrible two's now, having mastered the tantrum, but as long as what she's doing is her idea all is well (James and I are working on our persuasion skills). She is such a smart cookie...she has full-blown conversations (7-10 word sentences), knows all the words to Lady Gaga's song you and I, loves Clifford, My Littel Pony and Strawberry Shortcake and always has a book in her hands (which she reads to herself...it's not really reading yet but she likes to think she can do it on her own).

For halloween we tried all kinds of costumes for Gwen but she just wasn't into it...until we found the pony costume. It's not one where she is dressed up like a pony, but it's a costume that makes it look like she's riding a pony:

She LOVED it.

Gwen's going to be a big sister!

We've finally told all family and close friends so the announcement went out to the facebook community today...we're pregnant again! Due Feb 17th and we're not sure of the sex yet although we honestly don't have a preference this time around. We've been talking to Gwen about it but she hasn't quite grasped that the new 'baby' that will be around is not actually her ;) I think she'll be excited once she understands though. She loves rocking her little doll, patting and shushing her...I think she's got the goods to make a good big sis.

On a side note, we had an earthquake in Richmond/DC yesterday. It was certainly the first I had ever experienced and there was definitely no mistaking it! I was at the office up in Alexandria and felt the whole building sway for about 10 seconds. James was driving and given how he drives it's not surprising he had no idea there was an earthquake. Gwen was just going down for a nap and she lifted her head in annoyance for a second and then flopped back down to sleep. Now we're facing a category 3 hurricane this weekend (although we'll get the lighter side in Richmond). Getting ready for a few days of no electricity! Whoot whoot!

Finally saying 'yes'

I know the two's are supposed to be the age of 'no' but we're feeling pretty great about finally getting a 'yes' out of Gwen! Until now she's said 'no' or 'nope' to ANY question...'do you want ice cream?' 'Nope' and then reaches for said ice cream...it was confusing. Well in the past few weeks we have a clear 'yep' from Gwen. Now when you ask her if she wants a snack you get a solid, clear 'yep!'...so much easier!

6 months of fun

Let's see...it's been 6 long months since I posted. We went on our first vacation with Gwen to visit Gramma and Happa in Colorado. Gwen did better than expected on the airplane but I wouldn't say it was relaxing. She had a great time in the playland that my mom and dad created in their house...mr. potatohead was discovered as was the berenstain bears 'The Bike Lesson' (aka 'boom boom book'). she loves that book...and I can now read it from memory.

Gwen is doing a lot more talking now...we have full blown conversations which are fun. Some of her funnier phrases are 'k-cup' (for cupcake...they are an obsession after eating the frosting off of one at her friend Abby's b-day party), 'peeez' (she knows we're suckers for the please and thank you so uses it all the time), 'sorry' (from a book with a phrase 'sorry pepper', we used to hug her when she'd say that line and now she says 'soo-rreee' at random times to get a hug), 'monkey man aye yayee yayee' when hanging from things (after the wiggles monkey man song). The other day she was coughing to get our attention and when it didn't work she started saying 'cough, cough, cough'...good stuff kid.

We WERE happy to say that Gwen was off the bottle for a good long time but just in the last week or so she has been asking for a bottle constantly. I've heard that kids go through phases when they revert back to old habits so I'm hoping it doesn't last long.

Gwen still devours, literally devours, her 'fi fi' (giraffe lovie), so I've been forced into buying 5 so we can keep a constant rotation of fresh 'fi fi's' on hand. I don't know how she does it...they are downright nasty after a day!

Here are a few photos from the last few months. Enjoy!

(Gwen with Ernie at Busch Gardens - April 2011)

(styling the shades in Colorado - May 2011)

mmm...mmm....crayons

We bought Gwen crayons yesterday (the girl loves to draw, crayons are *fairly* safe, right). Apparently crayons are delicious because she's eaten the tips off of almost all of them. This is very similar to her fascination with chapstick and compulsion to chew on any stick she can get her hands on (once she pries the lid off). Nothing like reaching for your trusted tube of chapstick, opening the cap and applying a nice layer of chunky wax and baby spit...mmm....

Bedtime Routine

So Gwen is officially too big to be rocked to sleep on my lap...her little legs hang down off of mine and she just can't get comfortable. So, instead we have a nice time rocking until she starts to get drowzy then in her crib she goes. It only takes a minute for her to fall asleep but she does it in the oddest way...she rolls over onto her belly, tucks her knees up under her belly so she's butt-up in the air and face down into the bed, and she grabs my hand and pulls it around her like a blankie. so. friggin. cute. I know she stays sleeping on her face because in the morning she'll wake up with sheet marks on her forehead...I've heard of sheet marks on the cheeks but on the forehead?!?! Crazy girl.

We're baaaack!

It's been quite a hiatus and a lot has happened but I'm dedicated to being more regular with my posts...it's the only way I'll be able to look back on this whole child rearing experience and remember what has happened.

Since August Gwen has turned 1 (which of course she had no knowledge of, just knew that there were these weird boxes covered with pretty paper). We made it through a great Thanksgiving with my family in Virginia and xmas with James' family in Virginia Beach. Gwen had her first overnight outside of the house (not bad but certainly made us realize we have to get her out more). She has started walking and is now full-blown running. She has started talking and is now into two-word sentences. She is drawing on everything and thanks to aquadoodle our walls are still unmarked (we still have to teach her that she should only draw on paper).

So far the move down to Chester is still the best thing decision we made all year. I love working from home, it's less stressful on both James and I (good for his blood pressure), and having the extra space to roam has been so great for Gwen. She has this macked out play room next to the kitchen that is any kids dream. James created a play house out of our TV box that has grown into a shingled house with plans for an attached garage for her many push toys.

Gwen from September

So now for what's going on now: Gwen is saying a new word every day. Her recent additions are 'car', 'bubbles', fifi (for her blanket called sophie), daaaaaa (for dad), daaaa (for mom). She's generous with her high fives and she loves giving her animals and animal photos frequent kisses but she'll only give kisses and hugs to people when she really means it and when you least expect it. As usual, she's also still a thrill seeker, preferring to be tossed around than sit still which is also why we have hesitated to put her on an airplane...she just doesn't want to sit still! She's only 16 months but is already wearing her 24 mo clothes because of her height and she's all body just like her Happa.

More to come soon!

One smart cookie

Today Gwen was playing with Vi (her best friend and nanny) and Vi asked her to get the ladybug book. So, Gwen reached up on the bookshelf and got the ladybug book. Then, Vi asked her to get her foot book. So, Gwen reached up on the bookshelf and got the foot book. Dude, my kid is not even 11 mo yet and she's WICKED smart! She's also already going up and back down the stairs on her own.

Now, if only she'd say mama in reference to me, not just as a general statement.

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted and a LOT has been going on! Let's see...house first (it's shorter): We're fully moved in. Mom and dad spent a few weeks with us helping us unpack boxes, keeping Gwen entertained, etc. All in all we were fairly box free in under two weeks which was pretty amazing. We decided that a formal living room was a useless room for us so we moved the dining room into the front living room and changed the former dining room into Gwen's play room (it's close to the kitchen and out of the line-of-sight of my office). It was the best decision we've made since moving in as we spend more time in her play room than any other room in the house. Since I was able to keep my job we splurged and bought a beautiful 56" LED TV and the box has been almost as much fun as the TV as it is a perfect play house for Gwen (we cut a little door and windows out). I've painted ONE room but I have a plan for the rest of the rooms so I just have to slowly but surely knock one room out at a time...those white walls don't stand a chance.

Now, the good stuff....Gwen. She has completely blossomed since moving. All this space has brought out the adventurer in her. She crawls like a speed demon all over the house and has been standing and 'cruising' with the help of furniture for awhile now. she's even stood on her own for a few seconds several times now. She's babbling all the time and, while she doesn't yet know exactly what it means, says mamamama and dadadada (on command). She's waving and clapping too. Her favorite things: her big brown bear (she hugs and kisses him when you say his name), all of her books (she flips the pages for us....laughs every time I read 'no Pat no, don't sit on that'), any dog (real, picture, stuffed), climbing up anything she can get a grip on, climbing the stairs, and shoes (she walks one shoe around the house, stares at her own shoes, tries to eat our flip flops....). Her favorite music is anything from Lady Gaga (she bounces whenever her songs come up on her playlist...yep, she has a playlist), her favorite books are her brilliant baby word books, anything dr. seuss and her noisy farm book, and she loves to play with her big bouncy balls (she bats them across the floor and then chases them).

Last week gramma and happa sent gwen a little walker toy. Here is a video of her first use...she's a pro already!

The big move

Well, it's official. The Rouse family is moving to Richmond. We closed on the new house yesterday. We'll be living in Chester, which is about 12 miles south of Richmond (close to James' office, the airport and closer to Deven...about 1.25 hours which is a HUGE improvement on the 4-5 hr commute from Northern Virginia). The moving van is coming to clean out the Fairfax townhome next Thursday and we'll be officially moved in on Friday, May 21.

I've been really lucky that ACRP has been so open about the move. I'll be starting my telecommuting arrangement on June 1, driving up to the office for important meetings or when needed. The thought of not commuting 1.5 hours to the office EACH WAY gives me butterflies in my belly.

We'll post photos as soon as possible!

7 months

Here are some recent photos of Gwen. Just this morning she pulled herself up to standing in her crib. She's been standing with help for awhile now and pulling herself from laying to sitting but going all the way to standing was big-time for her! Way to go kid!

April Update

Well it's official, the Rouse family is moving to Richmond. Some of my work folks know but the rest will know tomorrow. They have been really cool and are open to a telecommuting arrangement so I'll be able to keep my role but ditch the 1.5 hour (EACH way) commute. YAY!!! The house if half way packed and we can't wait for the moving van to get here on the 20th!

Here are the new digs:

Gwen's 6 months of smiles video montage

Thanks to mom's donation of a mac computer (god I love mac), I was able to get a little creative with our collection of videos...enjoy.

First tooth

Gwen's first tooth surfaced this weekend. James and I were just playing around with her on Friday night and low and behold...the little chomper has broken free! Maybe that's why she's been kinda cranky all week.

Sarah (her nanny) has been doing a great job of working her into solid foods though and now she wolfs down her bananas, beans and sweet potatoes. It still takes her awhile to get used to new flavors but once she does, she's devoted!

Almost crawling

She's working on it!

Solid Food update

We're getting much better! So far we've tried banana's (big fan), an apple/prune mix, a pea/pear/mint mix (big fan) and sweet potatoes (eh, not so much). She's eating about two ice cube sized servings every day mixed in with some cereal and formula. As for finger food...not yet. She does grab at whatever I am putting in my mouth but when we tried little pieces of banana she spit them back out. We'll keep toying with it though.

She's still not a 'neat' eater by any means. When she's done with the food she wipes off her tongue with her hand and then rubs her food laden hand ALL over her face...evidence below.

Gwen's newest thing

Gwen has learned that if she smacks her lips together in the 'ma ma ma' motion that we'll do it too and it cracks her up! so now we have back and forth 'ma ma ma' sessions....I like to think that she's just really excited to say ma ma...if only that were true. Here are some recent photos of Gwen at 6-months

Gwen and Grandma

Gwen and Uncle Justin at Red Robin (yumm)

Gwen's first blog

x8x8h cm  7m mm  yhhukitgf

Solid Foods

About two weeks ago we gave Gwen her first taste of rice cereal. We had read that when they start obsessing about watching you eat and reaching for that food that you're eating they might be ready for solids. Gwen definitely obsesses and I think she wants to eat what I'm eating but that part is hard because she eats (or put in her mouth) absolutely everything...including the cat.

Her first experience with rice cereal resulted in that scrunched up 'I don't like this' face. Second time (a week later) the same. This week, still not liking it. I thought that maybe a little more flavor would be enticing for her so I tried a tiny bit of peas mixed in with the cereal....still yuck. Last night I experimented with some mashed sweet potatoes thinking maybe something sweet would be the ticket....yuck again. So, we'll keep trying some new flavors every week or so until she finds something she likes. Her little personality sure is stubborn!

First haircut

Tonight I gave Gwen her first haircut and in doing so learned a few valuable lessons:
1) Start small, you can always cut more hair but you can't cut less....I may have over cut a tad
2) When your husband says don't cut it or she'll look like a boy, he may be right
3) It's important to remember that the baby wants whatever you have in your hands and scissors are not good toys for babies (no worries, she didn't get her hands on them...geesh!)
4) When you maybe over cut you naturally try to even it out all over...don't. It just gets worse

In all seriousness, it's not that bad...she'll just have to wear a lot of pink for the next few months. Photos to come soon.