When Grandma and Grandpa came to visit ~ Part 3 (a.k.a. Rowan's birthday!!)

 

 

The main reason Mom and Dad came for a visit in mid-February was for the weather.  I mean, who wouldn't want to see Michigan in the dead of winter when it's miserably cold and gloomy for weeks on end?!! 

 

Seriously, though, they wanted to be here for Rowan's 1st birthday.  He turned one on the 12th and we started our celebration with lunch at The Common Grill downtown. 

We all enjoyed some delicious food, and Rowan learned how to drink from a straw!

When the kids got home from school we all went down to the Chelsea Teddy Bear factory.  They make Gund brand stuffed animals and have a small toy "museum" in their showroom.

 

We picked out a bear for Rowan and had the kids help stuff it with fluff.

 

Mom had the employees make a special screen-printed t-shirt for the bear that says "Grandma and Grandpa love you beary much!"

Afterwards Mom and Dad treated us to dinner at Mike's Deli.

 

Of course we had a little party for RoRo with cake and a couple of gifts.  (In case you didn't see it, there's a video of the cake attack on the Anderson blog.)

 

He wouldn't tolerate the birthday crown, so this is the best picture we got of him in it. 

Oh, I love my little Rowboat!!  He's so sweet and cute and funny.  He makes me smile every single day and I'm so thankful he's ours! 

 

A few things about our Rowan:

 

~ he started walking right after his birthday and is getting pretty good at it now!

~ he LOVES carbs.  Give him a cracker or a sandwich or a waffle and he'll be your best friend.

~ he also loves string cheese, bananas and apple juice

~ he isn't interested in Legos unless they're chewy (like some of the wheels, lucky for us)

~ if the door to the stairs is accidentally left open you can BET he'll be up them in the blink of an eye!  He knows he's not supposed to climb them and I'm pretty sure that's why he does it!

~ another favorite pastime is to play in the toilet if it happens to be left open as well :/

~ he's best friends with his binky

~ he's an excellent sleeper, taking 2 naps a day (if we're at home) and sleeps 10-12 hours at night

~ at a year old he only weighs about 19 pounds.  He's puny!

~ he has 8 adorable teeth

~ cotton batting is his mortal enemy.  When I was reupholstering our sofas and had the covers off the cushions, he caught sight of the exposed batting and just SHREDDED it! I had to cover the cushions with bedsheets to protect them from him!  If he ever laid eyes on that batting he'd attack it like a cat on a scratch pole!

~ he can be pretty mean and thinks it's funny to hit, scratch, and pull hair  (we're working on this)

~ he's learned to say "more" and "please" in sign language

 ~ he's finally coming around to liking baths.  He still doesn't like laying down in the water but does like to try to catch the water as it comes out of the faucet.

~ he reeeeally hates his bouncer now, but sometimes I put him in it anyway because I need him to stay put and out of trouble.

~ when he hears music he almost always starts bouncing and dancing

~ I just love when he claps.  It's so cute!

~ he's got me wrapped around his chubby little baby finger  :)