Birthday Week: Favorite Memories

I thought I would have more vivid memories with baby number two, when there was less stress, but turns out it all goes by so fast, that even with much less stressful things happening, it's still kind of a blur. But here are some of my favorite memories from the first year with our little Ro.

- Starting at the beginning, I loved our first day in the hospital together. It was a beautiful, snowy day, perfect for sleeping and cuddling with our new baby boy. The snow was Dad's way of saying hi and welcoming little Rowan Danny into the world. It was so much nicer with baby number two because I knew I needed to sleep and that the baby would be sleeping all day too so I let myself rest. There was also the added bonus of the baby not having a heart murmur, so no stress, just restful time with Zach and our new baby before the reality of having two kids set in.

- Closely following that memory was the pure joy of bringing Rowan home. Seeing Zane's face light up when he saw "his baby." And watching him peer into the car seat to take in his baby brother for the first time. It was so precious, watching Zane gently kiss Rowan's head, and pat him. I knew in the moment that this picture perfect love probably wouldn't last, but I loved it in that moment. Pure happiness for everyone involved.

- The reality of being a parent of two did sink in very soon and Zane quickly realized that he wasn't a huge fan of his baby brother. There were definitely rough spots and the transition was hard on everyone, but I loved getting to be home with both boys during my spring time maternity leave. As I recall it did snow a lot, but there were also lovely days at the park, with Rowan swaddled in his sling, and Zane running around having a blast. I loved all our days out, just me and the boys. I'm blocking out the whole potty training time and just trying to remember our fun times together.

This is how Rowan spent most of our outings, all snuggled in and sleeping. 

- On a related note I loved all the fun things I got to do with the boys in STL before we left. Of course topping that list were all our many trips to the Zoo. I remember Rowan's first Zoo trip being a huge milestone since we had been trapped inside during snowy March days. There were many more fun outings not just to the zoo but all the other fun places St. Louis has to offer, Magic House, Train Museum, Grant's Farm, Susan Park, Science Center, just to name a few.

 I think this was our first outing as a family of four.

First Zoo trip

  Last Zoo trip. Have I mentioned that I think I miss the Zoo the most??

- There were big trips as well, like to farm camp, to Dotter Family Reunion in Colorado, and many other trips between OK and MO. At the end of one year Rowan has been to four states, MO, OK, CO, and IL. He flew three or four round trip flights, and made the road trip between MO and OK twice. All told he was a great traveler, though he wasn't a big fan of ten hours in his car seat or the altitude of Estes Park. Great memories were made on all of these trips and I'm so glad everyone got to see little baby Rowan during his first year. 

- I loved all our afternoons and evenings in our backyard, mostly with Rowan in his chair or bouncer, but towards the end of our stay in St. Louis he was crawling around the yard as well. It was great to have Rowan there, but he was little enough that he could just hang out while I played with Zane. That quickly changed, but it was fun while it lasted. 

The was how Rowan spent his spring and summer, in this little chair, with his fan to keep him cool. Staying inside on warm days wasn't an option with my crazy three year old.

 This shot of the two boys is quite possibly my favorite of the year.

 And then he could pull up and crawl, things got more interesting.

- Luckily for me I got to spend the majority of Rowan's first year at home with him. Three months of maternity leave then another four months of moving/transition meant I got to see this little boys face pretty much everyday. Both of those time frames were highly stressful periods in my life, but I tried to count my blessings and soak in getting to see my little peanut so much. I loved watching him learn all sorts of new things, from rolling over, to crawling to walking. All of it seems to happen much quicker this time and I happily had a front row seat to it all. I'm so sad to think of going back to work with days going by with out seeing my boys. 

- I loved Rowan's long flowing locks. His baby hair, on the top of his head, never fell out it just got hysterically long. When we finally cut it, in October, it came down to the middle of his nose when brushed down. It was kind of his signature look for his first couple months. He instantly looked so much older when I finally gave him a hair cut.

- The days when he was tiny and would sleep on the couch for hours. More fun when it was just him and I at home during maternity leave. Cuddles in the chair when he was tiny, less frequently as he got older and hated cuddles, but I ate up every second of him sleeping on me. There is nothing better than snuggling a sleeping baby boy. It goes by too fast. 

- Watching the boys, ever so slowly, figure out how to get along. This is still a huge work in progress, but there have been glimmers of hope throughout the year. Moments where Zane is gentle and wonderful with him. Moments where they can play in the same place, not really together, but in the same space without it ending in tears. Rowan adores his big brother and Zane loves Ro, it's just he combination of their excitement usually doesn't end well. When it does though, it's the best thing ever. 

 

Oh and grocery shopping was never dull with these two in STL either, thanks to the car carts.

 These two randomly dress alike all the time. Red and brown is there favorite combo and I swear I don't do it on purpose.

 

I could go on forever about all the good times from our first year with baby Rowan. He has brought so much love and light into our family that I never knew was missing. I loved watching him grow, quickly going from a tiny baby to a toddling boy. All year I felt like I was slamming on the breaks, trying to get time to slow down. Every night when I was signing to him/cuddling him I could feel him getting bigger and could feel the time slipping away. Now I'm days away from the end of bottles and I just can't believe it. I could cry missing baby baby days, but I won't. I'll love the moment we are in treasure those days forever.