Daycare's Week of the Young Child



During the "Week of the Young Child," Tripp's school had lots of fun events and visitors.
Tripp got to see a Georgia Power bucket truck, a fire truck, a bouncy house, among other things.
In this photo, Tripp is checking out the fireman and his gear.

The firetruck and brave fireman that accompanied it.

Call him Brandt Snedeker...

Human Bowling (?)

Oatmeal Art.

Happy almost Thursday!
Meg

Hamp & Walker's Baptism

Tripp's first cousins, Hamp & Walker, were baptized recently.  Below are some photos from this very special day in Birmingham! ... also helped us knock off one of Tripp's 2013 resolutions!

Kiddos on the Sofa
Hamp (5 mos), Ann Fulton (2.5 yrs), Tripp (22 mos), Walker (5 mos)

Silly Kiddos on the Sofa

Our Handsome Little Boy

Ann Fulton is a great big sis and cousin!

Riding AF's "Moo Cow" while wearing mouse ears.
Rehearsal Dinner Material...

Happy Hump Day!
Meg

School Photos!

The time for school photos has come and gone again.  Below are the results of this spring's session a few weeks ago.

First up, Tripp's entire toddler class. 
It's a miracle they got all babies pointed in the same direction for this one.

Our little politician...
(yes,  I'm not ashamed to say that I borrowed this proof from the website because
I couldn't order packages for ALL poses.  That would break the bank!)

Although this was a close second, it is not the one that I ordered.



And... the winner! 
This is the one that I felt best depicted his
personality at this phase in life.
 

Happy Monday!
Meg

Irish Through and Through...

For St Patty's Day this year, we traveled down to Savannah, where they really do St. Patty's day right!  You may recall that this was one of Tripp's 2013 resolutions.  Down in Savannah, they turn all the fountains green, shut down the town for a huge parade, and drink thousands of gallons of green beer.... all in the name of celebrating drinking like an Irishman.  .... or, maybe it's the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.   Whatever.

Anyway, here are a few photographs of our fun weekend and Tripp's first official St Patty's day in Savannah.  I am sure there will be many more to come!

Playing in the Forsyth Park playground before the parade on Saturday

... apparently, playing so hard in the park wore Tripp out.  He slept
like this for the entire time that he was riding in the parade.

Back row:  Matt, Pops, John, and Daniel Roughen
(and Tripp sleeping soundly in the stroller)

Col. Albert Hugh Roughen, Sr
Tripp's great grandfather (and namesake)
was the Grand Marshall of the Fenian Society in this year's parade.

All 4 Generations of Roughen Men
L to R:  Col Albert Hugh Roughen Sr, III, Jr
& Matt Roughen

Pre-Parade shots in Forsyth Park
L to R:  Grammy Roughen, Meg, Tripp and Matt

Our little family, Post-Parade

Matt, Tripp & Pops, hangin in the courtyard

Pointing to Helicopters with Pops

Fun times --- Looking forward to next year already!

Happy Weekend!
Meg

Feet Paintin'

Another crazy sensory daycare activity... painting with our feet!

 



Happy Friday!
Meg

A Roughen Abode: Birth-iversary Party!

Happy Monday!

 

The first weekend in March, we officially warmed our house by celebrating mine and Matt's "Birth-iversary."  For those of you who don't know, Matt and I were married on my birthday, five years ago this month.  We decided to combine that joyous occasion with a housewarming party in our new abode. Below are some photos of the calm before the party storm.

We finally feel settled in our new home and have completed most of the major projects that we set out to do when we moved in in September!

The counter where the food would eventually go...
We had baked ziti, garlic knots, and a caesar salad catered
by a local Italian place.
All very yummy!

Dining Room -- nothing really to see here...

Back porch, complete with new patio furniture
and a (borrowed) propane tank to keep it warm out there.
It was unseasonably cold for the beginning of March...

In the bottom right corner is the rim of our pony keg of Bell's Two Hearted ale.
YUM!

... and the bar!  Stocked for a fun night!

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us !  We missed those of you who couldn't be there, but loved seeing all of you who were, and hope to do it again soon...

Meg

Ahhhhh!

"My mom's a slacker blogger!"

happy hump day.
Meg

The February of Few Posts

Bad blogger here... February has proven to be a busy month for the Roughens and has left little time for me to report in for regular posts, and for that, I am sorry.  I know you are on the edge of your seat awaiting the next info-packed update... right.

so.... Here are 3 random photos... with accompanying headlines.

Circus!
We were so excited to be invited to spend time with the Horn family, Danny, Emily and sweet Madeleine at the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus.  Fortunately, we were able to view the circus from the comfort of one of the cool suites at Philips Arena, so that was nice.  Unfortunately, this was the only photo that we captured, but it's a good one of dads and kiddos.  Tripp love the elephants, motorcycles, horses, and tigers.  We somehow got out of the circus without buying a light-up toy... maybe next time.... er... maybe not.

Danny & Madeleine Horn (19 mos)
Tripp (20 mos) & Matt Roughen

Pops & Grammy Roughen Visit!
The next photo is from a recent weekend visit from Pops and Grammy Roughen.  Tripp was practicing driving Pops's truck while sportin' some pretty rockin' shades.  You know, because his future is so bright...

Still a Baby!
And finally, just in case you thought Tripp was growing up too fast, rest assured that he still relies on a pacifier every now and then to soothe... so, may I present a baby in a box.

Enjoy your week!
Meg

20 Months Old!

There are so many funny/cute/interesting things that Tripp is doing now that I want to be sure to remember in 6 months, 3 years, or 10 years.  Below are some that I know will make me laugh later, and might make you laugh now!  Join me on a walk down recent memory lane...

• Every morning when he wakes up, there's very little crying.  Instead, he stands up in his crib and very politely says, "MaMa, DaDa, WaWa, Please" --- asking us to bring him "wawa" (anything in a cup - milk or water)
• They sing lots of songs at school, so it is no surprise if he busts out a bold rendition of any of the following songs/poems while playing or riding in the car:
• ABCs
• Rain Rain Go Away
• Old McDonald (with a puppy, cow, or boy on his farm.. or occasionally, a pig)
• Five little monkeys (jumping on the bed)
• Five little ducks
• It's Raining, it's Pouring
• ... and more!
• He's starting to put together phrases and sentences.  I was surprised the other day when he heard a sound from another part of the house and looked me, raised his eyebrows, and said, "What was that, mama?"  Whoa. 
• He loves "Monkey George" (i.e. Curious George) and "Elmo" --- constantly wants to watch one of them on TV when we're at home, and we usually have to tell him that they're night-night so he'll drop it and find something else to do.  We aren't necessarily anti-TV in our house, but when you get the Abby's Flying Fairy School theme song stuck in your head for an entire 24 hours, you know it's time to take a TV-break, for everyone's sake.
• He LOVES his daycare and all of his friends & teachers there.  He talks about them every day on the way to "school" -- Miss Ash-ey (our favorite teacher, Ashley, pictured below), Mimi (Mila), Ari, Day-Day (Davis), Av-ey (Avery), Mako (Miss Jamaico), Vonka (Miss Veronica), and others.  but those are his favorites.
• Lately, he's been wanting to check to make sure everyone's "OK".  He'll sit at the dinner or breakfast table and the following conversation ensues.
• Tripp:  Mama, ok?
• Mama:  I'm ok, Tripp.
• Tripp:  Dada, ok?
• Dada:  I'm ok.
• Tripp:  Tripp ok.  ok. <continues eating>
• We've taught him to (sort of) spell his name.  Usually, it's T-R-I-P.   Who needs that last P anyway?
• He loves trucks of any shape, size, or kind.  He points out fire trucks, dump trucks, tow trucks (though I'm pretty sure he thinks they're "toe" trucks, since he usually points to his feet) and pick-up trucks.  Also loves a "bool" bus and choo-choo train.
• The airplane fascination is growing by the day.  There's this little airport near by (Peachtree Dekalb) that has a playground next to the runway... nothing beats an outing to see the airplanes go "up up up up" and "down."
• ... i'm sure there are more.  I'll post them later, because this is as far as my brain is going today!

And some daycare photos:

Reading one of many "Llama Llama" books

Music with our favorite teacher (and frequent babysitter), Miss Ashley

Pushing our friend (not sure of this boy's name). 
Note the marker all over Tripp's shirt, pants, shoes.
Pretty typical for him to come home covered in marker,
which USUALLY comes out of his clothes.

Happy Hump Day!
Meg

Ready to Ride, Ready to Ride

On a recent trip to Toys R' Us, Tripp got to test drive some pretty sweet rides.

Methinks this one is too small.

That's more like it, Boss.

The Mini-Cooper is not my speed...
though the pink grocery cart is quite becoming...

Yellow IS my favorite color...

... but we finally settled on this red Radio Flyer trike!

 TGIF!
Meg