Christmas 2005

Ellen made pancake mixes in glass jars to give

as gifts this Christmas.

Here she is measuring a cup of flour.

Ellen and her daddy, along with her friend Joey and his daddy, visited a local bakery for a Gingerbread House Decorating Party. Lots of sugar consumed. Ellen's favorite: the rocks made of chocolate that she used to line the walkway around the side of her house. Here she is preparing to eat yet another...

Christmas Eve, after returning home from church, Ellen and Will opened one present each--Christmas pajamas--and then hung their stockings before going to bed!

Will seems very sad about his first PJ opening and stocking hanging...

...but he was quite excited the next morning by all the presents...

and perhaps even more excited by all the little bits of wrapping paper.

Ellen ripped open her presents in typical

almost-three-years-old fashion, while wearing her new pink

dress-up outift over her Christmas pajamas.

One of our favorite memories for Will's first Christmas:

the beginning of more rapid mobility.

Bye-bye army-style belly crawl, this traditional method is faster!

Will Is Nine Months Old!

Will turned nine months old the week of Thanksgiving. He weighed 21 lbs 14 oz and measured almost 29 inches! He loves to play and enjoys his big sister, who calls him "Baby Willie" or "Buddy."

Happy Halloween

Ellen told us she wanted to be a doggie...a pink doggie, actually...but when presented with the idea of making a Dalmatian doggie costume, she thought that sounded like fun! She painted the black spots, and then we made ears and a tail.

Will was an outdoorsman/bird-watcher. With his stroller masquerading as the forest, Will concealed himself in camouflage and carried his binoculars, ready to spot a winged or four-footed creature.

Pumpkin Patch

Ellen and Will enjoyed a trip to a local pumpkin patch the Saturday before Halloween. Halloween night, after trick-or-treating, Ellen stayed up late to help hand out candy and carve a pumpkin!

Apple Picking

Saturday was the perfect apple picking day! The trees were loaded with delicious apples, the sky was bright blue, and the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold. Will ate applesauce for the first time--his first taste of a fruit. We're enjoying the apple cider we purchased and the apple pie we baked!

All Of Us

A couple shots taken in late August when we were celebrating Popsie's retirement!

What's Will Doing These Days?

Since turning six months old on August 24, Will has been very busy learning to eat baby food, to sit up and play, to roll across the floor, and to sing the "Da-Da, Da-Da, Da-Da" song all day. At his six-month check-up, he measured 27 inches and weighed 19 lbs 8 oz. He has two bottom teeth with a top one on its way.

The Beach

We enjoyed a wonderful beach vacation to Corolla, NC in September. This was our third year taking this trip with two other families. Ellen had no fear of sand and very little timidity with the ocean waves. Will, of course, could not be trusted on the beach, his hands eager to grab a fist of sand to shove in his mouth. Although we were "red-flagged" from swimming in the ocean, we had beautiful sunny days to play on the beach and fly our kites.

Sesame Place

Ellen and Gram with their friends Ernie and Bert.

Playground

A picture of Ellen at the playground.

She's Two and a Half!

Ask Ellen how old she is and she will proudly tell you she's now two and a half. Terrible Two's still not too terrible--she's a terrific little girl who's loving summertime.

Five Month Old Will

As of July 24 Will is officially five months old. We thought these were some cute photos of our little guy.

Welcome

Welcome to the Rowe Family Blog. We intend to provide periodic updates on the children as well as photos for you to enjoy. Thanks for visiting.