18 months

Just a few weeks ago we celebrated 18 months with Rowan by going to Steph's favorite new deli, Olive & Finch. I suppose Rowan seemed to like the food as well so it wasn't such a bad deal for him. One of the biggest milestones for Rowan near the 18 month mark has been crawling. Just a few days before Memorial Day he was sitting on the ground and spotted an errant raisin leftover from lunch and decided he wanted to track it down. He army-crawled his way over and victoriously ate the raisin. And as easy as that he was crawling. It's been great for him to be able to move, explore, and make messes like all kids are supposed to. By far his favorite activities are opening drawers and cabinets and pulling on cords. We've been a little lazy with baby-proofing with Rowan being relatively immobile but things have become a little more involved in the past month.

The summer has brought a flurry of social outings between the pool, Children's museum, Zoo and play group. Living in a small apartment means you need to go outside a lot to keep sane. Steph and Rowan had a great trip back to Indiana in June and we all were in Durango over Memorial Day watching dad race bikes.

Rowan's personality is starting to shine through more every day. He continues to be an incredibly joyous boy but also knows how to throw a fit. You certainly don't have to teach a kid how to protest eating vegetables. Over the past few months he has learned that he is entitled to an opinion. His tastes in food have changed from "I'll eat anything" to "I'll eat anything as long as its bread or cheese or ice cream."

In the past week Rowan had his spina bifida clinic and his 18 month checkup. His hip dysplasia continues to improve and he will wear his brace at night as a precaution for the next 6 months. Nothing else out of the ordinary in terms of his health. We are having a new set of AFO braces made as he is growing out of his first pair after 4 months. Now that Rowan is moving around so much more he has thinned out a bit. He actually didn't gain any weight between 12 months and 18 months so per the pediatrician's orders he's eating a little extra.

In the past few weeks we transitioned to in-home physical and speech therapy. It is very convenient to have the therapists come to our place, especially with a new baby coming soon. So far the therapists have been great and are seeing him almost twice a week.

This weekend marks 35 weeks in Steph's pregnancy so most likely the next time we publish an update it will be to introduce Rowan's newest sibling! This will be a big adjustment for Rowan. He is very accustomed to having mom's full attention but we know a sibling close in age will be great for both Rowan and baby T.

God Bless,

Kyle, Stephanie, Rowan & Baby T

Hello Everyone, I love the Zoo

What is going on with Mommy's belly?

My Rocket Rider from the physical therapist

OOOOOOOHHHHH, My new favorite face