With Rowan it is really hard to pin down what his favorite things are. With Zane it is always pretty simple to nail some things down, he loves snakes/penguins and baseball, always. Rowan is less passionate about things in general and doesn't have any big obsessions currently. So favorite might be a strong word, but here are the things that Rowan enjoys at six.
When Rowan is in the right mood he loves Legos, but he isn't always in this mood. He gets Lego sets a few times a year and in between those few times he doesn't beg for them or ask to do old ones that we have saved. However, when he is in the Lego building mood he can speed through a set pretty quickly. I do feel like in general he is better at building Legos by himself, versus Zane who desperately wants you to sit with him the entire time he works on a set.
Rowan's new thing to do this past year is to go play with his new little neighbor friend J. I didn't know there was a little boy, just his age, on the cul-de-sac across the street from us until we met him at the bus stop the first week of school. They are both in kindergarten and both love playing outside. His new little friend loves basketball and most days after school, weather permitting, Zane and Rowan spend an hour or so playing over there or in our backyard. Sadly we don't have a basketball goal at our house, so usually they go across the street. J's mother is very sweet and it's nice having friends in the neighborhood. Sometimes they ride bikes or scooters, but usually they are playing basketball or some made up magical game involving sticks. Perfect!
Rowan claims he still loves baseball and was very sad when he had to miss the fall season of tball last year with a broken arm. He and Zane rarely will play catch with each other by themselves. For some reason they just can't manage to play catch or do any sort of baseball playing without Zach's presence. In good news Zach is always willing to play catch, work on throwing, and have batting practice in our backyard. I'm hoping this year Rowan might put forth at least a smidge of effort towards getting better at baseball. He's very good with no effort so I would be interested to see what just a tiny bit of hard work would do for him. This is his last year of t-ball and I think he is very excited about the possibility of coach pitch. He is currently trying to convince J that baseball is just as fun as basketball, but I don't think J is buying it.
Over the past couple months Rowan has become a huge fan of board games. I think this is partly to do with the nintendo switch breaking and screen time being cut down to basically nothing. He asks me pretty much everyday if it can be a game night. Game night with a two year old can be tricky, but we indulge him as often as possible. Again, this is something that technically Zane and Rowan could do by themselves, away from Thatcher, but that doesn't seem to ever happen. They both really need Zach and I both to be playing with them for it to be fun. Rowan also is a huge fan of Go-fish and card games as well. My personal favorite thing to play with him is Pictionary, because he will draw the tiniest thing, with such confidence, and it never looks like anything he is suppose to be drawing, but he stands by it one hundred percent. Also, Apples to Apples Junior, where you are given a word and everyone picks a picture that they think best represents that word. Rowan will pick the most random things, again standing by them firmly, it's lots of fun!
Rowan's biggest request for Christmas was a skateboard. He just had to have one and was so excited about it. He had been trying to learn how to ride it, with not a ton of success, but he was enjoying playing with it none the less. Sadly he left his new skateboard in the neighbor's driveway and it came to an untimely end. In good news J got him a new one for his birthday so he can get back on the board any day now.
Since starting school this year Rowan has become quite the artist. He works on drawings and letters frequently, but his most common drawing as of late has been his "love papers," as he calls them. They consist of lots of hearts and I luv you, spelled wrong. He sends these to his Grandparents and Great Grandparents, in birthday cards, Valentine's Day cards, and get well soon cards. His spelling is improving and he does enjoy trying to write stories or letters to people now a days as well.
The biggest change this kiddo has gone through this year has been starting school. The majority of the time he loves it and comes home with stories about all his new friends and fun things they did in his different classes. He is very confident, I think overly so at times, about all that he has learned. He claims he is the best reader in the class and is "perfect at math." (It should be noted that last statement was followed by him telling me that eight minus eight was eight, so maybe not perfect.) He has finished all his sight words and his reading is improving everyday, but I don't know that he is the best reader in kindergarten. He does enjoy working on new words, trying to read books, and doing his different learning apps on the tablet in the evening. I think his favorite part of school is all the new friends he has made and being in the same building as Zane is always a plus.
Last, but not least, Rowan's best buddy remains his cousin Everett. He still requests to play with him everyday, even though neither our schedule nor their schedule really allows for that. They still play pretty well together and seem to have lots of fun/adventures when they do get to hang out.
I personally like to think that Rowan's favorite thing is cuddling with me. He remains very cuddly and is just so little that he still can fit perfectly in my lap, even if there are some long boney legs to deal with these days. As I've been looking through the pictures over this past year I have found lots of pictures of me hugging this kiddo. Kindergarten really puts a drain on your hug sack so I have happily spent a lot time giving this kiddo hugs and loving this past year. I hope that never changes.
