Hallelujah!

Yes, yes. Two entries in less than a week, what is the world coming to? But believe me when I say we have big news. Rowan took her first potty in a potty chair! Huzzah!! Now, I realize that this isn't a photo op, and even if it were there wouldn't be many people super keen on viewing any snapshots. However, since this is such a momentous occasion, I feel the need to convey to you how happy we are with the event. I will therefore express the events via interpretive dance...

...4th position...

...and JUMP...

...and relax.

So you can plainly see what a monumental occasion this is. It also marks the beginning of the end as far as what we need to do for Rowan to make sure she grows into a well-balanced human being. Yes it's human invention to sit on a porcelain bowl to vacate waste rather than just let fly in the woods, but hey, do as the Romans do. It's not like we're teaching her the finer points of the Republican party or anything.



I do feel a bit misty eyed, though. Can't help it. As (oddly) excited as we both were last night, I couldn't help thinking immediately of all the things I have left to teach her. All the FEW things left she actually needs from me. I think in terms of "If she were left in a strange part of town, could she survive." Now? Probably not. In 5 months? Maybe. She can ask for things, cry when only hurt or hunger. Walk. Soon she won't need diapers or help changing clothes. She needs us less and less and while today is exciting, it's sad. She's no longer a baby, she's a little girl.



But I have to say, when the day comes that she no longer needs diapers will be a happy day indeed. By choosing cloth diapers, we relegated ourselves to a seeming eternity of wash. It's not as wicked gross as you might think, but it's still a lot of laundry. I can't help but think that what we did was in Rowan's best interest, and it was the right call. The fact still remains that we will be without a major task and that can only mean one thing...

...more time for video games.

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User your words.

Just an update. Rowan is almost 18 months old and she's pretty much able to repeat any 1-2 syllabel word you throw at her. She's also got a few 3 syllabyl words under her belt. It's amazing how fast she picks things up, the next trick is to have her use them when she wants something rather than saying "uh huh huh huh huh waaahhh!" Right now her repeating is much like a parrot mimicking speech and I'm waiting for the crisp clear "I love you daddy but you're an idiot" to tumble from her mouth.

Anyway, here's what she knows now.

Words Rowan knows.

Hi
Hello (heh o)
No
Head
Eyes (eyesh)
Nose
Ear
Hair
Knees
Foot/Feet
Shoe
Sock
Up
Down
Back
Hinnie
Blanket (benkie)
Pooh (the bear)
Uh oh
Hot (hot? with waving hands)
Hat (sounds like hot)
Diaper (bahpoo)
Wiggle (wih wih)
Elmo (loudest most clear word she has)
Ernie
Oscar (awku)
Baby
Bert (boit)
Belt (boit)
Bird (boit)
Seat
Moon
Stars
Cloud
Sky
Eat (eat?)
Bath
Nite Nite
Octopus
Happy (happy? to you)
More (more?)
Milk (milk?)
Water (wawa)
Cheerio (chee oh)
Thank you (dih tsew)
Walk (walk?)
Mommy (mommy?)
Daddy
cold
tree
flower
bug
car
truck
off (as in the light switch)
Bye-bye
tofu
cracker
juice
I love you (yuv u)

Most of the alphabet

Dog (oo oo)
Bird (bee bee)
Cow (mooo)
Frog (reebeet)
Cat (maow)
Sheep (baa)
Duck (cahk cahK)
Airplane (wssh with arms out)
Sleeping (shh, finger to lips)
Up-side-down (tries to stand on her head)
signs-
more
pretty
please
thank you
daiper

can give hugs and kisses, high fives (and gives high fives back)

"...the tooth...the tooth..."

Rowan had her first major bloody accident last night. We're at a local eatery that was low on high chairs so Rowan ended up sitting with us at a booth. Well, sitting is a relative term. Cheryl was sitting, I was sitting, Rowan was climbing. No booster, no chair. She had to stand in order to reach the table to eat. After a few minutes of her coating the vinyl with cottage cheese and peaches, the slick surface caused her to slip and plant her little baby mouth right on the edge of the table. It was horrible. I've never seen a baby crying with a mouth full of blood and I never want to again.

We rushed to bathroom (both of us, ladies room, convention be damned) and proceded to swab her mouth with wet paper towels to see how bad the damage was. No lost teeth, no loose teeth, no major gum damage. We still went to the emergency room, then left after about 45 minutes of sitting there. It boiled down to a split lip on the inside that no one could have done much about anyway, but the desire is to do a head x-ray to make sure nothing is chipped, cracked or fractured.




It's gut wrenching to watch a almost-toddler humbled like that. It really makes you want to hold them forever, lock them in a bubble and not let the world ever EVER touch them. The proprieters of the restaurant we're all talking about giving us a free dinner, seeing if we needed anything, you know, basic CTA so we don't sue. All I wanted to do was remove myself from the situation. The child was already hurt, there's nothing they could do to fix it short of paying for her years of therapy that will undoubtedly result. She'll never be able to eat at a salad bar again, total fear of vegetables, not to mention booth seats. Cheryl turned into, as she called it, The Momma Lion. Even I was fair game when her baby was injured. Teeth were bared, the owners were lucky she was already buckled in or there would have been more than Rowan plasma spilled that day. Not being the conflict seeker that I am, I wanted to get my family away from there as fast as possible. Cheryl asked how I can not be mad at them for not having enough chairs. I am mad at them, incensed even. They should have a high chair for every table in there. If not, say "we don't have a high chair, would you like to wait?"


To be honest, I don't know why I didn't get as animated as society would have allowed. I suppose I'm a coward, I just don't want to be in a fight. When the owner and the staff approached our car as we were leaving, I could feel the blood boil in my ears and all I could think to do was leave before I started punching people. They caused my child pain by their ineptitude and they deserved to feel the same pain. A good bloodied set of teeth oughta do it.

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