When you come home to this...

We spent a wonderful week in Southern California and came home at 2AM to this:

...a very flooded basement. Apparently our water heater leaked and it rained for days while were gone! It was over 24 inches of water. We came in to a freezing house at 2am and the heater wasn't kicking on. Matt opened the door to the basement to check the pilot light and boy were we shocked see everything floating.

We were bummed that lots of Owen's first baby things were down there, but after being washed most things seem to have survived!

So a new water heater and furnace were quickly replaced and we were up and running back to normal by the end of the weekend!

Christmas Day

Christmas at Grandma Claudia's did not disappoint this year! While, I am bummed that about half of all our pictures were somehow corrupted and deleted (some of the best ones!), what we do have, does indeed capture most of the fun!

Having that many kids together, is really what brings Christmas to life. They're so excited. Vince even dressed up as Santa! Unfortunately, that whole series of pictures is lost! It was fantastic! Avry was scared to death, the poor girl was hysterical. Owen was cautious but sat with me next to him. Aw man, I wish we had the pictures! But trust me, it was great!

Everyone was more than happy with their generous and thoughtful gifts, however the two that generated the most excitement were Mema to Matt and Mema to Tiffany (that woman knows how to give a gift). Matt opened box after box after box until he finally got to his gift: $50 bill! Always a perfect fit. The best part was watching the kids, who were beside themselves each time Matt found a box within a box! It was so fun!


The next was Tiffany, who initially was innocently sad about her two boxes next to Abbigal's six. But what she found inside was exactly what she was looking for! Dress up heaven! I have no idea how many dresses were in that box, but it was never ending. The girl took her loot and moved into Grandma's room to put it good use. She was beyond happy!


Here she gives Mema a great big THANK YOU hug!


Owen has loved Tiffany from the moment he laid eyes on her! And again, some of the best pictures and videos of those two playing are gone! He calls her Abbi, which is strange, because in pictures he calls her Tiffany but all day it was "where Abbi go?" and if we pointed him to the real Abbigal, he was none too pleased. We told him over and over that her name was Tiffany, but he was having none of it. Tiffany didn't seem to mind! They are so cute together! But you'll see below, it was a blast...look how much fun these kids are having. Now THAT'S what Christmas is about!

Oh and we did get all the cousins sitting together and snapped at least 50 pictures of it, all of which are now in picture heaven, so if anyone has a copy....send it our way!

Christmas Morning

Santa found Owen on Christmas morning! He got some pretty cute stuff! Matt and I love the Owen sweatshirt! Owen's favorite was the motorized cars on the race track! He was a little hesitant at first. We don't think he knew the stuff was for him!

Owen's loot from Santa:

First waking up and seeing the goods!

Playing!

Here's Owen giving Grandma his present!

A book of Owen's second year! He loves to look at these books over and over, so he was more than happy to sit right down and show her what he'd been up to all year!

We had wonderful Christmas morning! Thanks Santa!

Hollis turns ONE

Hollis, the youngest of all the cousins (15 counting both sides) turned one on Christmas Eve! We were so glad to be able to be there to celebrate the big day!



Avry helps Hollis with his cake!



Here's the birthday boy, so happy after his cake!



Owen loved their play kitchen...he played in most the afternoon!

Hollis got a LARGE motorized car for his birthday, which appears to be a Rowland tradition of first birthdays! Owen was a big fan! Sorry kid, it's not happening! Poor Jack would be run down daily!


Happy Birthday Hollis! We love you.

The Happiest Place on Earth

We decided to drive to LA and go to Disneyland this year before celebrating Christmas at Grandma Claudia's! All in all, Owen did pretty good on the drive. We left later than expected, so he fell asleep for his nap earlier than expected. The last 20 miles were the worst. He was ready to get out and we hit traffic and we just had to stop and give the kid a break. Not to mention, he was still sick.

Our hotel was great! We stayed at the Hyatt of Orange county. It had a free shuttle to Disney every 30 minutes from 7:30am-1:00am! Our plan was to be at the gate when it opened at 8:00am. Here's Owen resting up before our big day!



Getting there at opening is absolutely KEY!!! We headed straight to Fantasyland and road NINE rides in under 2 hours. It was amazing! We walked right on to everything, had our own boat on It's a Small World and had the best morning ever!




Owen cracks us up on rides. He won't smile and he will not talk, he sits there and stares at everything. When it's over he quietly says "more?"! We went on Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Small World, Casey's Train, the Carousel, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and the Tea Cups! So fun!

After the morning, we went back to the hotel for a nap and Owen took a four hour nap! We really wore him out. We went back to Disney to see the lights and the parade, but it was so freakin' crowded and Owen still wasn't feeling great so we just took a few pictures and headed back to the hotel for dinner and bed.

We had a great time!

Turn on a dime!

A sick kid is NO fun!

Today we were going to celebrate our Christmas, before heading down to LA for the fun that is Disneyland and Grandma Claudia's! (Owen would probably rather skip Disneyland all together and head straight to Grandma's, but being the mean parent's that we are, we're making a stop off to see the mouse!)

Anyway, Owen is sick! Terribly sick. So sick that we can't even let the Motrin slightly wear off or else it is pure and ugly hell. The fever spikes, the nose runs, the grumpy-butt appears and everyone is on egg shells! He'll play and be happy and you'll hear "hiya momma" and you'll go to hug him or kiss or even make a move toward him and it all turns on a dime and you suddenly it's a screeching "NNNOOOO" "AAAHHHH" and a complete meltdown ensues! He wants momma, then Dada, then neither. He wants the train in the box, out of the box then throws it. He wants the Dora stickers together, apart then throws then. He wants the TV on, then off then then runs out of the room crying. The poor kid is miserable and I feel for him, I really do, he's generally a happy, easily entertained little guy. We are doing our best being patient and taking turns being abused by the little sick-o, but all we want for Christmas is a little peace, please.

So we opened a few presents and he loved them all, but we didn't have that Christmas spirit that I was so looking forward to. I'm sure Disneyland and Grandma Claudia's is ooozing with jolly, so tomorrow we head out to find it. I hope we all feel better in the morning!

More Christmas Fun!

We've tried to hit up all things Christmas this year. Owen really digs the lights and as we drive around in the evening he constantly asks "more Christmas trees?"! Everything lit up is a "Christmas tree" and he loves our tree at home. It has only lights and six paper ornaments, presents are on top of the entertainment center, because he loves to carry them around and has just started to want to open them! I love that he loves Christmas!

We saw the Holiday Train with a glimpse of Santa in Redwood City.

This was the first time Owen had seen fireworks and he was mesmerized.

Of course we ran into Owen's friend Jacob!

It was freezing, but they didn't seem to mind.

Playgroups & Mommy Friends

It's another little thing that no one tells about parenthood. You have to find new friends! It's not that you lose your old friends, but you really don't have as much in common with them anymore, especially if you quit your job, like I did!

To meet new mommy friends you have join what they call "playgroups" in which moms get together with same aged kids and hang out at each other's houses or parks. Look around and you'll see 'em! I never knew it existed before, but now I see them everywhere!

When Owen was first born, I joined the Kaiser newborn playgroup and it was invaluable. It was lead by two Lactation Consultants/RN's and they would answer all your "new parent" questions. You could, cry there, laugh there and commiserate on how hard a newborn really is when you have ABSOLUTELY no idea what you're doing. I met a couple of nice girls there that I still see on occasion. But still I hadn't met anyone that I would have been friends with, without Owen.

Then after 9 months, that group ends and you need to find something else. I joined the San Carlos/Belmont Mother's Club and joined a playgroup with a few other ladies. Dana and her daughter Jade, Kathryn and her son Carson were the only regulars, a few others had come and gone. I liked these girls, Jade and Owen were a day apart and we still hang out once a week. That group became infrequent for a while, so I joined a Wednesday group that also had several kids with birthdays within days of Owen.

This group has become my new favorite! I've met several women who I would be friends with, even without my sidekick. And a few that I probably wouldn't have met without him, but would really be missing out if these little buggers hadn't brought us together. I look forward to this group every week and Owen now know his friends by name.

We even have what Matt calls our "BBFs", Angela and Jacob! If you know me, you know I do not make friends easily and I feel really lucky that we've met Angela and Jacob. Owen will tell you himself, that he can barely go a day without seeing them. Anytime we get in the car he asks to go to "Ang-a and J-ba's" house. It took nearly two years, but we have officially found some friends!

A few of my favorite things!

Owen is just getting cuter and cuter by the minute. I keep thinking that I'll fall out of love with him at some point or that the "new car" feeling will wear off, but it's just not the case! I can't get over how damn great this kid is!

Here are just a few reasons why (in no particular order):

• In Target today he started singing, unprompted, at the top of his lungs, "I wub momma, I wuuuub momma"!
• He'll lift up his shirt suddenly and say, "kiss the belly?" and then screech and run away.
• If you give him candy he'll say, "mmmm, delicious".
• He'll sit down anywhere and read a book.
• He loves Jack.
• When Owen gets super excited his fists clench up by his face and he cannot smile big enough.

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving with Nana & Poppy. Owen had a great time sprinting around the house finding all the glass figurines and torturing the poor dogs!

Owen playing with Nana:

Owen playing with Poppy:

Far too quiet for far too long...

Most parents will tell you that anytime you suddenly realize it's been far too quiet, for far too long, you're in for a massive mess of a surprise.

But lately, whenever that panic sets in and I start to frantically look for Owen and the mess that's sure to follow, more often than not this is what I find....

Gosh he's cute!

And smart!

San Francisco Aquarium

We recently went to the San Francisco Bay Aquarium. Owen loved seeing all the sharks and fish in the tunnels.

But he really loved running through the tunnel!

Touching the sharks was fun too!

Santa was also there! Our first sighting of the season and it looks like it'll take some time to warm up to him!

All-in-all, another great day for the Robins Fam!

Art Class

Owen and I recently finished taking an 8 week art class! It was great. He could paint, draw, glue and glitter to his heart's content and I didn't have to do anything but follow him around the room!

His favorites were: painting with cars, the crown that he wore for weeks after, and the Halloween necklace.

Here's the proof:

A Grandma's House

Ever since we visited Grandma Claudia last month, everything is about Grandma's house. The trains all go to Grandma's house. If 'talks' on the phone, it's to Grandma. If we're getting in the car it's "Bye-bye gym?", "Bye-bye J-ba's house?" (his best little friend) and then "Bye-bye Grandma's house?".

Granted, we do go to the gym or Jacob's house almost every time we get in the car, but we've NEVER driven to Grandma's house! We fly!

The kid sure loves his Grandma!

Hot November Day

It was close to 90 degrees in early November and we celebrated by hitting the beach!

Owen is big fan of the beach.

Santa Cruz also has a very fun carousel!

Halloween

Owen sure made a cute monkey (thanks Auntie Robin)!



We had several Halloween themed playgroups and then went trick or treating with Jacob, and his parents, Angela & Mark. The boys loved, knocking on the doors and a few times invited themselves right in. Once Owen figured what candy was, he was beside himself, and still asks for candy!