Happy 1/2 Birthday, Buddy!

Daniel at Birth








One Month Old

















Two Months Old











Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Bowden Art

Greg's boss Roger is quite the supporter of the arts. In the lobby of the Genetic Center, he always has art on display. For the latest show, Roger asked his employees to submit art from their children. This is just one of the many reasons I love Greg's job. Emily decided to paint a picture of Daddy's office, and Sarah decided to use a piece she had created in kindergarten.

Emily's New 'Do

Last weekend, after weeks of asking, I finally took Emily to get her hair cut. I have a love/hate relationship with her hair, as she does. However, the love was fading fast! A few months ago, she took over the care of washing and brushing her very long locks, so life was easier for me, until a tangle. Thankfully, there were only a few, and never did we have to cut anything. She enjoyed two ponytails, and we all know hair is not my thing, but my skills were improving! However, with summer approaching, she wanted short hair, and who can argue with that? It was long enough to donate, so I was happy.


I hadn't realized just how long her hair was until just before she had it cut. I was a little sad to see it go, and concerned that she would want her long hair back once it was gone, but this was her third time donating, so I hoped that wouldn't be the case.


Once the hair was gone, Emily was thrilled! She says she is going to keep it short, but we'll see! All of her friends love it, too. Needless to say, it is much easier to brush! She is very happy, and that is the most important thing.

Mystery Solved!

Daniel would always stop giggling and talking when I started to video him. I finally discovered there is a red light when the camera records, and he is mesmerized!

Who loves a Blanket?

Daniel's newest obsession is a blanket. He enjoys either a flannel receiving blanket, a sheet, or his blanket puppy (a gift from Greg's co-worker Mike). We discovered this one morning while he was in his crib waiting to be scooped up for the day. He was hugging the blanket, chewing it, and rolling around with glee. I started giving him one when he is playing on the floor, and he giggles with delight.

Mother's Day: May 10, 2009

This past Sunday was Mother's Day, and what a wonderful day it was. I am a firm believer that Mother's Day and Father's Day are days meant to be spent with your children, but not having to care for your children. Thankfully, Greg agrees! He knows he will be rewarded with the same treat on Father's Day in June. Emily decorated a beautiful cake at school for me, as well as a picture frame and silhouette. Sarah made me a beautiful picture, and everyone gave me a bag of scrapbook goodies. Greg made us bacon and french toast, and then we headed to church, as the girls were singing in the choir. Emily wore her First Communion dress, and she looked so beautiful.


















I really wanted a picture of me with each child, as well as a picture of me with all three together. As the mom, I have very few pictures of me with the kids. Most moms can agree that we are the historians of the family. I heard long ago, in 1995, at a Jeffrey Gaines concert with Marie Britton at the Music Farm, about how we have a tendency to edit our lives for scrapbooks. He talked about how people only put good memories and flattering pictures into the scrapbooks, leaving out the messy parts of life. I took this to heart, and anyone who scrapbooks with me knows I'll make a page for anything. Okay, I did skip a page on Robert's massive blisters . . . but I thought about it! I've scrapbooked the bathroom floor covered in toilet paper, surgeries, etch-a-sketch drawings, and countless other odd things that many people would just skip. The other day, I was looking at the baby books of two dear friends who are all grown up, and with the second child, I was amazed at the lack of photos with mom. I imagine she always had the camera, too. With that in mind, pictures with the kids were a must on Mother's Day! Jeff and I also had a picture taken with Mom, but I must wait for her to send it to me, as for reasons beyond me we only took one with her camera.

After church, we headed to Jeff and Kathe's house for some Mother's Day fun. Jeff, Kathe, Andrea, John, Danielle, Danielle's mom, Garrick, Mom, Mel, Lois, Joanna, Gene and the Bowden 5 all feasted like kings and queens on ribs and chicken cooked by John. The girls and Jeff entertained us with music, and Garrick and the girls played the Wii, of course! Daniel had his picture taken with Danielle for his Book of Daniels. She is the first female entry into the book.

In the spirit of mother photos, we had a picture taken of Joanna and Gene. Joanna and I have been dear friends since we were 4 or 5, and Gene is like a second mom to me. Richard likes to point out that for three weeks they were my parents when I travelled to England with them. I spent quite a bit of time at their house in my youth, and amazingly, they aren't sick of me yet!

After lunch, we had some delicious desserts prepared by the budding chef Andrea. She made both blackberry crisp and cheesecake. Sometimes I just can't believe that she is old enough to use the oven. She's still two in my mind's eye, blowing out candles on our 2nd and 22nd birthday cake. Jeff and Sarah played some duets for us, and then we headed home for Family Game Night! I foolishly picked Monopoly, and the game is still in play. Craziness!

First Communion May 9, 2009

Sadly, we did not take our camera to First Communion . . . but fear not, Papa did!

Yummy!

Always at the Dentist

It seems like I am perpetually on the way to the dentist. Daniel had to go every week from birth through his surgery. I foolishly thought I'd be done with the dentist for a little while. Now Sarah is starting her orthodontic work, so this month, she has three orthodontist appointments for her appliance to expand part of her arch and one dentist appointment to have a tooth extracted. Naturally, Dr. Vincent is even further away than Dr. Palmer! Adding to the excitement, she swallowed a spacer at appointment #2 today. This is apparently a big deal, and we must find it. Yes, I am serious. Since my original post, I've earned she didn't swallow a spacer . . . she swallowed a metal band. Now things make more sense, especially the need to find it and the ability to see it on an x-ray. I can't imagine how she did it without shredding her esophagus, but she apparently did.

Daniel is still learning how to eat his cereal. Today he broadened his culinary experience with some applesauce. I'm not entirely sure he enjoyed it. He made quite a few funny faces, perhaps shocked by the sweetness.

Daniel started rolling over last week. He is very proud of himself, and he enjoys his floor time so much more now. He can't quite free his arm completely when he rolls over, but he is getting better. I've tried to capture the moment on video, but he is a tricky little fellow!

Piano Recital- May 3, 2009

Sarah played "The Magic Garden" and Emily played "Green Corn Dance" at their piano recital. We weren't able to record all of Sarah's song, as it was pretty long. Both girls did a great job!

Taste of Goose Creek

On Saturday we went to our church for the annual Taste of Goose Creek. Nana is in charge of the event for the church. It is a huge event, and she does a great job every year. As always, the weather was perfect! There was a great crowd, and tons of delicious food. I always enjoy catching up with people that I don't always get a chance to see at church. Since I work Sunday mornings, I only see the 6:00 PM Saturday Mass people and the CCD families, but at the Taste of Goose Creek I can see everyone! We even saw Daniel's nurse Ashley from the PICU at MUSC, as well as her husband and adorable baby boy.

Our children, being the good stewards that they are, worked a shift in the Go Fish booth for the Children's Choir. They had a great time putting prizes on the fishing poles, taking tickets, and chatting with people as they passed by the booth. It was nice to see them so happy about pitching in and helping. They can't wait to do it again next year!


After their 30 minute shift, the girls enjoyed some lunch, and then it was time for games and fun! The highlight of the day is always the inflatables. Every year there is a variety of jump castles, slides, and obstacle courses. The girls had a ball on the giant slide and the jousting arena. Emily was the champion in jousting, but Sarah won the obstacle course race.

The girls played just about every game on the church grounds. The prizes (always a dream) included yo-yos, whistles, stuffed animals, candy, hats, and all sorts of other treasures!

Daniel, too young to enjoy the festivities, just enjoyed sitting in the stroller with free arms. It was his first public appearance since his surgery, so everyone was amazed at his new look.

Freedom!

Last Friday was the happiest day of Daniel's life. He was finally released from is arm restraints!! All day he would tentatively bring his hand up to his mouth, look at you, then pull it away. We kept telling him it was okay, but it took some time for him to get it. We had hoped that once he had his arms free he would go back to sleeping through the night. This has not been the case. While he was in restraints, he did not sleep in his crib (when he did, those arms broke free in a flash). He seems to be having some trouble readjusting to life in the crib. He wakes up once (often twice) during the night wanting to eat. We started him on cereal on Friday as well, but even that has not satisfied him! He's making up for his missed meals during recovery! On top of all of his mouth trauma, he is teething as well.