Casey: Roan, do you want to cooperate with getting your clothes on or do you want to do this the hard way? Roan: I want to do it the hard way.

Roan: I’m working hard. Please give me space.

Roan: I want some peace and quiet.

Roan loves to smell our coffee and has recently taken to herbal tea. He sometimes enjoys a cup of honey vanilla chamomile.

Upon his own initiation, Roan made the transition to his big bed (a very big Queen size bed which makes him look very small again). We turned his crib into a little blue private fort-like comfy space (seen here).

Roan: I want a computer set. Mama: You know who we need to tell? Santa. He gives presents to kids on Christmas. Roan: Santa is a good, nice man. Mama: Yes. Roan: Santa lives in an apartment. Mama: Oh really? Where? Roan: Right there! [pointing to our neighbor Buck’s door] Santa knocks on the door. … Continue reading →

Although paci time has been limited to naps and bedtime for the past year, it looks like the paci ain’t goin away anytime soon… Lavina: Roan, will you please give Mama your paci? You’re all done sleeping. Roan: I need my paci to see. —– Lavina: Roan, will you please give Mama your paci? Roan: … Continue reading →

Roan: I’m a good dancer! —— Roan: Mama, I fell. Lavina: Did you lose your footing? Roan: I lost my balance. Fell on my ear. Broke my ear. Broke it all to pieces. —– Roan: Mama, Dada’s sleeping. Mama: Yes, Dada is tired. Roan: He works all day long. Mama: Don’t pull Dada’s hair. Are … Continue reading →

Roan’s teachers didn’t believe him when he told them he was going to be a beaver for Halloween (apparently kids say all kinds of things when asked about their costumes). They all laughed in delight when I verified he would indeed be attending his first school Halloween party as a Beaver.

I often ask Roan what he dreams about. One afternoon after his nap, he said: “The polar bear crashed the castle. It was terrible. Crazy. And grosss. And the zebra poo-poo.”

A conversation at the breakfast table on a morning before preschool: Casey (pretending to cry): I’m going to miss you today Roan! (stops crying and smiles) Roan (looking in wonder at Casey, a small smile curling on his lips, like “wow, he really loves me so much he’s crying”): Dada cry! Lavina: Yes, Dada’s crying … Continue reading →

Below are some of the things Roan has been saying these days that get a big laugh from us. And oh we thank God for these not too infrequent moments of unexpected laughter, as we need them throughout the day to balance out the steady abuse he subjects us to (e.g. just today he kicked … Continue reading →

Roan’s communication has gotten so good that he’s capable of telling short stories, and he tells many throughout the day. They are usually very colorful: full of half-truths, dreamlike, and semi-autobiographical. Here’s a simple little story he told the other night (we took notes while he was talking)… Roan: Man crashed a BIG truck (heavy … Continue reading →

Looks who knows everything now, and he’s still shy of 2 and 1/2! Roan has taken to correcting us on all sorts of matters. For example: Casey: Roan, let’s take off your shorts. They’re dirty. Roan: No, that’s pants. ***** Lavina: Roan, look at that red car. Roan: No, that’s a truck. ***** Casey: Be … Continue reading →

Our annual trip to Weber’s Farm included dancing to bluegrass, going on a hay ride, riding tractors, feeding goats, eating apple donuts and slushies, gazing at turkeys and peacocks, getting lost in a haystack labyrinth, and sliding past hay bales down a huge, steep, slippery hill (lined with some kind of vinyl or plastic) sitting … Continue reading →

Enjoing the last days of summer with Roan’s first Popsicle…

We haven’t committed to potty training yet, but Roan has recently been showing an interest. We always encourage his interest, as a way to gauge his readiness and get him on board for the future potty training championship. Many times he has asked to sit on the big potty, but nothing happened. He likes to … Continue reading →

We couldn’t have asked for a better first day of preschool. There was so much energy entering the classroom – the nerves and excitement of parents, teachers, and kids – everyone orienting each other to the room, protocol, each other, and from Roan’s point of view – the wonderland of toys. Within seconds he was … Continue reading →

It was love at first sight. There was alot of hand holding, and there was tongue action. Roan’s first French kiss took place on the wilderness trail at the Baltimore Zoo. A little girl his age (and with the same sized spirit, albeit much less volume) promptly took his hand upon eying him on the … Continue reading →

In Roan’s world, all states of being are relative to “happy.” “Roan, are you hungry?” “Not hongwee. Happy.” “Roan, are you hot? Do you want to take your shirt off?” “Not hot. Happy.”

Roan’s latest obsession is pretending to drive the Subaru. He LOVES putting music CDs in and out of the stereo, pressing all the buttons, and looking in the mirrors. When he’s in his car seat (and painfully not in control), he shouts out requests, referring to CDs by name. Here is a typical conversation with … Continue reading →

Puzzle pieces easily double as phones.

This is Italian-mafia / rasta-Roan speech for, “I want to go hang from that branch” (btw, a ritual, if unsatisfied, leads to shrieking, crying, protest, and mayhem on route between the apartment and the car). He is trying to incorporate articles of speech into his Tarzan English, such as “the.” He is also trying out … Continue reading →

We love Roan’s use of adjectives these days (see previous posts re: “beautiful,” “disgusting,” and “terrible”). He is now using the word “so” in his fragmented Tarzan English to express himself. One night Roan enthusiastically declared to the universe, “broccolis SO good!!” Squeezing his stuffed puppies with delight: “Doggies so sweet!” Looking at a wallet … Continue reading →

This joy ride is a bona fide flashback from my childhood in the 70s. I lived for these rides, especially upon tortuous trips to Wal-Mart and the grocery store with my mom (“I’m only stopping for a gallon of milk” – this was the BIG LIE and bane of our precious playtime – not to … Continue reading →

Let’s see what happens when I try to embed a video… “Puppy Walks Puppy” (flashback to Roan at 13 months) Our friends Jen and Ian kindly allowed Nala to have a slumber party at our house. This was a good reality check for us, as we were entertaining the idea of getting a dog. While … Continue reading →

This morning, we arrived early for a preschool tour at a Presbyterian church, so as we sat parked in front of the church’s cemetery, Casey said to Roan, just to drum up some small talk, “look at all the dead people, Roan.” “Oh, wow,” Roan said. “It’s beautiful” (“bootifool”). And then, “wook, Dada, big sky.” … Continue reading →

Subtitle: Life Beyond Roan’s Wildest Dreams ORUncle Chuck is the Greatest Guy on Earth (after Dada of course) Picture this – while lounging around a scrumptious bonfire and roasting marshmellows, frogs burping in the night, the hills of LaValette, West Virginia suddenly come alive with a bright light, a high-pitched “ERR-ER-ER-ER,” the rumble of gravel, … Continue reading →

For a kid like Roan, this is better than Santa Clause (in fact, he was afraid of Sir Topham Hat the way many kids are afraid of Santa Clause). However, because he was SO excited and wanted to do everything 450mph, it ended up being a somewhat painful experience for him as he was continually … Continue reading →

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.

2 Year Family Portrait, April 2008 1 Year Family Portrait, April 2007

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

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

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!!”

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 … Continue reading →