Wheels

Roan LOVES to drive these little cars. We recently bought him his very own "Cosy Coupe" at a yard sale and put it on the balcony for him. Best $1.50 we ever spent.

Roan Sleeping

This is a beautiful thing indeed, after an incredibly difficult adjustment period, trying to get Roan to sleep in our new apt. For the first few weeks, he screamed bloody murder and was inconsolable before every nap and bedtime (we were so afraid one of the neighbors would call the cops!). We couldn't leave him alone in his room. It was odd because he seemed to love his room and the apartment in general. It was just the way his stress from the moving process manifested - extreme separation anxiety. But he's doing great now. In fact, he asks us to leave him alone his crib after storytime. He says, "lay down."

Roan is definitely the Linus sort. Here he is with his "booey" (name for "blanket"). He still sleeps with his "paci" and he likes to have an array of stuffed animals. If we don't put him in jammies, it is guaranteed he will liberate himself from his diaper and pee everywhere.

New Family Portraits

2 Year Family Portrait, April 2008

1 Year Family Portrait, April 2007

Thinking Professor

Whenever we ask Roan to do "thinking professor," he points to his cheek and says, "Hmmmmm." This is one of our favorite tricks.

Roan's New Room

Roan's new room is at least twice the size of his last room. He loves it. It's bright and sunny. He can sit in the window sill and look at trees and squirrels out the window.

Springtime in Baltimore

Near the Tot Lot in Rogers Forge (his new school district).

Chef Roan

Cooking remains one of Roan's favorite activities. Here he is with his birthday present from Mama and Dada - a vintage style red kitchen set that Casey, Lavina, and Heather worked until midnight to put together. When he's in the mood to cook, he exclaims, "cooking stuff!!"

Visit from "Hair-er"

Roan LOVES his Auntie Heather, who flew in from Champaign, IL for a 5 day visit to celebrate Roan's and Lavina's birthday. There was no initial shyness, no warming up period, no reprinting of the kinship memory. From the moment we picked her up from the airport to the moment she left, all we heard every 10 seconds was "Hair-er!" (how he pronounces "Heather"). It was like, Mama Who? We were very sad to see her go. :(

Our New Apartment

Here's Roan in our living room, tucked in the corner of the couch in his jammies watching Thomas the Tank Engine. As far as apartments go, we love it. But it's been an adjustment, for sure, after living in a single family home. For example, you don't realize how LOUD your toddler is, until you've got people above and below you. We live in a very peaceful community of mostly retired residents. I feel like I should wear a shirt all the time that says, "I'm sorry." For every understanding grandparent in the building, there's one or two horribly crochety a-holes. Someone in our building recently complained to the rental office because someone forgot to clean the lint trap in the dryer. The manager called us first, because we're new, and then printed flyers and tacked them to everyone's door to emphasize the importance of dryer maintenance. ANYway, we're settling in and enjoying all the trees, birds, and sunshine. We like having one foot in the city and one foot in the county (our place is right on the line, technically in the county). We can sleep with the windows open, leave the apt with the windows open, leave crap in the car, go for long walks without fear of being accosted, and hear the rustling of trees instead of 24/7 sirens, traffic, sub woofers, and police helicopters. And, we're super close to all our favorite familiar urban stompin grounds.

Roan Turns Two!

Two Years Old at Sherwood Gardens

As usual, we're about 5 months behind on the blog. But selling a house and moving with a toddler is a good excuse, right? Anyway, check out our little guy now - not so little anymore! Here he is at Sherwood Gardens, a now ritual springtime visit, as he first graced the garden at 8 days old (his first trip out into the world).

1 Year Old at Sherwood Gardens

8 Days Old at Sherwood Gardens