I have been trying to get this post up for the last 2 weeks but everytime I sit down to write it I don’t know how to get it all out. There is just so much to say. Rowan is growing in leaps and bounds. Everyday I feel like there is another new thing she can do. We waited 8 whole months to hear her laugh and just last weekend when we were visiting Kev’s parents his mom got her laughing so hard. It was the most wonderful sound I have ever heard. haha. The laugh reminded us of the Christmas Story when they are getting the little brother to eat his food and he is trying to be a little piggy. It is the cutest darn laugh I have ever heard.
She still doesnt laugh a ton but what she does do A LOT is squeal. Like the most high pitched squeal you have ever heard. Especially when she sees little kids. Rowan LOVES little kids. She gets so excited she shakes and squeals and kicks her legs all about. It actually has made like 5 little toddlers cry when she does it around them. haha. I think it scares them but she is just so excited. It melts my heart it is so cute.
Rowan is pulling herself up on everything. I mean everything. It makes bed time a whole issue now because if she is not sleeping when you put her into her crib she just stands up and cries, and cries. You will go in and put her back down and instantly she is standing again. One time we thought she had fallen asleep but she started whimpering again, so we went in to find her standing but half sleeping with her head between her arms. She just wants to stand all the time. Rowan is also a fast mover. In a blink of the eye she will be all the way across the apartment eating a book you left on the book shelf. She gets up on her hands and knees no problem but she seems more comfortable rolling, scootching and dragging her body all over the floor. It works for her. She can get anywhere. There has been a few real crawling moments but we are wondering if she will go right to walking since she loves to stand and move around that way so much.
She has her top 2 teeth coming in and they are giving her a hard time. She has been pretty miserable for the past 2 weeks almost. It is a lot to take but I am trying to be patient with her. She has just been so fussy. Even in these pictures she seems so grumpy. Teething really is the worst.
I feel like things for the most part have been going pretty smoothly. Kev and I have fallen into our rolls as Mom and Dad pretty well over the last month or so. Kev is such a wonderful Dad to her. My favorite thing is seeing them together. He plays with her in her nursery when he comes home and plays the guitar for her. Rowan loves the music. The one thing I am still struggling with the most is time. I always feel stressed trying to juggle all that is going on. It is hard to except that I don’t have as much time now that she is here. Sometimes I can barely keep my head a float it feels like.
How do you juggle everything in your life while being a Mom?
Here is Rowan Laughing for the first time. Kev got a bit of it on his iphone…
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What a sweet little laugh! And her sailing dress is just darling!
You seriously make it look easy, ever chic, super mom and super blogger. Rowan is gorgeous- you are both obviously doing something very right. I love looking through my baby book with my mother. She would write in it weekly to get things off her chest…. how I tore the house apart on a daily basis taking all the books down book by book from the shelf, or how my favourite song was Ebony and Ivory (still love Michael). Makes for great memories and helped to keep her sane.
Such a cutie – she’s a doll!
Happy 8 month birthday Rowan! 🙂 So I wanted to tell you that the standing in the crib milestone is a hard one and totally not my favorite. The reason she stands there and cries is because she doesn’t know how to get back down. So your job is to teach her how to get back down. Fun times! Just, you know, kinda show her as you’re bringing her down how to do it. These kiddos reach a new milestone and get so excited they do it all the time, but sometimes they don’t know how to get out of it, haha.. poor babies! It takes a few days, but she’ll get it. 🙂
Look at her little face & those cheeks! She is so adorable. And her laugh! I’m not really a baby person normally, but Rowan is absolutely gorgeous & I’m glad she gives you so much joy!
Wow, I love Rowan’s dress SO much! I love reading the chronicles of Rowan, too! Love the Laughter/Squealing!!
http://www.dlynne16.blogspot.com
she is such a cute an happy baby and she looks like the perfect mix of you and kev! it must be so exciting watching your daughter grow up 🙂
<3 steffy
Steffys Pros and Cons
Wonderful!
I have to go back to work in a month. I don’t even want to think about it.
First of all I would like to say that Rowan is absolutely adorable! It sounds like she has wonderful parents and she is a lucky little girl.
I am the mother of 2 girls (15 and 6) and being a mother is the hardest, but most rewarding job in the whole world. Sometimes you feel like you just can’t keep going because of work and life, but it all works out in the end. They grow up so fast (my oldest just got her drivers permit) and I have learned to treasure every moment that I have with my girls. Sometimes they push my buttons and make me insane, but at the end of the day I feel so much love for them it doesn’t matter.
What a sweetheart! That little laugh is contagious.
As for being a mom and trying to juggle everything it is a constant learning curve. And once you have things figured out, they change it up on you. They are sneaky like that! I think the most important thing you can do is to take time for yourself. Time away from mom-ing, cleaning, working, thinking… it makes you a better at everything you do (I’m not saying it always happens, but I take advantage when it can).
This post is one of the most lovely one you have written! Rowan is so cute. I wish a happy 8 month birthday to Rowan and hope that the fun times continue. Wish you all the best.
Cutest dress EVER, and her laugh is the sweetest little thing!
I am totally on the same page with the whole “barely keeping my head afloat” thing. I look at others moms (including you!) and think “wow, how do they do it all??” I guess we just have to take it one day at a time. As long as our babies are happy and healthy, everything else can wait!
she is so precious! her laughing is so adorable and sweet, i was sitting at my computer laughing along with her. and that dress… does it come in my size?!?!!!
Ok, I’ve held out long enough…I just love these posts! Rowan is absolutely adorable. I swear, she looks like a perfect little doll. I love those cheeks and rolls.
I have a baby boy 5-6 weeks younger than Rowan, so it’s been really helpful to see what y’all are working with each month. I too feel like I have a hard time juggling everything without either dropping a ball or going crazy. I’m finding that something has to give…mine has been making dinner from scratch and cleaning as much as I used to. I’m trying to find easier ways to do them now that I don’t have free time.
P.S. Thank you so much for sharing your struggles with bfeeding way back when. I had problems, and it was comforting to know I wasn’t alone.
Wow. She’s so big and cute!
Kacie
http://www.acollectionofpassions.blogspot.com
Wow, she’s really on a roll! I just wrote my 8 month letter to Scarlett and she’s not even close to pulling up yet. My girl’s a little pipsqueak though… I don’t expect she’ll be the first to do many of those types of things. She also just started doing her first real laughs, and they are to die for! You got a great video of Rowan’s!
This is too adorable! I LOVE baby laughs! Her dress is so adorable. I’m kind of jealous – I’ve been looking for a sailboat dress and can’t find a good one for grown ups!
Oh, our baby did the same thing, and bedtime was a challenge. Just know that this too shall pass. We spent a good 2+ months having to rock him to sleep since we knew he’d stand right away and not go to bed. Now, we can put him in his crib, he can stand, but he knows how to get down and go to sleep. She’ll learn soon enough.
Good luck! You seem like the greatest mother. I’m sure you’ll find your rhythm soon.
I noticed that Rowan’s little sailboat dress seems to have the same color combination as the dress you’re wearing in your previous post. Matchies! :o)
Do they make that dress for grown-ups? It’s too cute.
It’s amazing how fast babies get about without crawling. I never really crawled, just bum-shuffled and then walked.
The thing that helped me the most when my girls were babies was to just surrender to it all. Just give in to it. That idea of letting go of everything and just being present with my girls really helped, especially on crazymaking days when, say, I planned to get something done during a naptime that never came, or I felt exhausted from an especially long night when one of my girls just wouldn’t sleep or was sick and I just couldn’t get everything done that I planned to. I just gave myself permission to let it go and be with my girls. It also helped me to have a network of other moms who understood that when we made plans the caveat was “if the baby doesn’t get sick, throw a tantrum, refuse to take a nap, etc.” It was a blessing to be part of a group of new moms. We understood each other, there was no pressure and we kept each other sane. I treasure those days. It all whizzes by. So fantastic that you’re taking in every moment. You won’t regret it!
Oddly enough, the thing that helps me the most with my kiddo is scheduling everything but then being really flexible. The only area I am unflinchingly rigid with is his bedtime routine… I want it to be the same nearly every night – about two nights a week it doesn’t work that way, which is just fine. Oh, and I schedule myself too…groceries, cleaning, certain things on certain days.
I’ve maintained my sanity by having play dates with other moms and kids. It helps me somewhat, but for some reason it’s really settled my son down. He’s much more relaxed at home when he has a chance to play with other kids throughout the week. I think it gets a lot of his energy out and entertains him as well.
oh my goodness she is simply adorable, and those cheeks!
Hahahaha, oh my gosh. That video cracks me up! I love little Rowan’s laugh!! xo
Aww, I love her laugh! Such a sweet little sailboat dress too! 🙂
I know that you can’t really compare a child with a puppy, but as I don’t have kids and have been able to plan my days almost exactly the way I want, getting a puppy was such a big change for me. I can relate with the teething and the lack of time. I don’t know how people are able to have puppies and leave them home alone all day. My puppy tries to chew everything and I mean everything, even the floor. He has fits where he barks and bites and runs around, trying to eat everything in his way. He’s now getting eight teeth at the same time, plus his gums are growing, so he’s one grumpy little guy.
I’m lucky that I work from home, but it’s not easy juggling the puppy with work. However, I feel lucky that I’m going through this first with a puppy, it has forced me to plan ahead better and be tougher on myself.
More power to you Jen!
I am in love with your blog! What fonts are you using on your milestone title pictures of your daughter. Mine is about to turn 3 months.. and I love your style. Thanks.
<3xojo.