Our week with Bonka

So, Mark's out on the town for a "Guy's Night Out" and I'm home enjoying one of my favorite movies of all time "Secondhand Lions" and finally catching up from an eventful week...

*This movie is so great if you haven't seen it... It reminds me of my Dad and how he would be if he lived a bachelor's life with his brother! Plus, Robert Duvall is one of my family's favorite actors because of the mini-series from 1989 called "Lonesome Dove". A classic for the cowboy in all of us.

So, my parents made a last minute trip from the freezing icelands of Idaho to enjoy a little sun with us this week. Rowan was so excited to have his grandparents here to play with him and give him all the attention! (Soon he'll have to share...) He calls my Dad, "Bonka". It's officially his name for "Grandpa". He even pointed (or baby jabbed) my dad in his shoulder about 5 times saying "Bonka" with each jab (just to make sure we all knew that was his name!), then he flattened out his little hand and patted his "Bonka's" shoulder a few times, making it official.

We started the week off at Disneyland (well, California Adventure mostly) and went all day... I must say, I was exhausted... And, sadly at the start of the day, I applied a generous amount of sunscreen to Rowan's exposed skin and his eyes started draining shortly after and didn't stop the whole day! Gobs of green goop were just oozing out of both eyes and I thought I was the worst mom ever getting sunscreen in my son's eyes! Then to make myself feel better convincingly agreed that he had an allergic reaction to the sunscreen... So, we let Rowan run around in nothing but a diaper and get all wet in one of those fountains at "A Bug's Land" (which he squealed with excitement the entire time! and cried when we dried him off and put his clothes back on)... All in all, it was a very fun day. My parents really enjoyed themselves... Oh, but Rowan hated the movie "A Bug's Life" - it's pretty scary for a little boy... even my parents were jumping all over (well, my Mom). It was their first time ever seeing a movie in 3D! My mom kept swatting the bugs that she thought were right in front of her face! It was awesome. Rowan cried though, poor little guy... he was scared when the big spiders came down from the ceiling - I had to take him out into this tiny little area in between the doors and the theater and he kept crying for "Dada". I think because he was worried about Mark not being with us!! Mark was stuck back there with those scary spiders and poor little Rowan was so worried about him... It was really cute. Didn't care so much about Grandma and Grandpa but was really worried about his Dada and those spiders.

*Sidenote: My mom took all the pictures at D-Land so I didn't even bring my camera, so those will come later when she sends them to me! sorry...

The next day we went to the San Juan Mission (I LOVE that place). It is a photographer's haven so I did bring my camera for a little practice with the pro!

Little Boy with is Grandma (she doesn't quite have a name yet, but since they've gone, when I point to a picture of her, he'll say "Bonka" so I guess she's Bonka too now)Then we headed to the BEACH! What a great week of sunshine we had... unlike the past 2 days. My parents literally came on Sunday when the clouds went away, enjoyed the sun until Wednesday and left just in time for the clouds to come back... It was so nice for them to sit outside in short-sleeves and enjoy the sun on their faces... from the record snowfall and icy temperatures they've had this winter.
Building a sand castle with Bonka
Later that night, the mystery of the goopy eyes/suncreen fiasco was solved with a fever and the worst case of crankiness this boy's ever seen. The next morning, my parents took their little grandson to his pediatrician to discover he had his first ear infection! His first Rx of antibiotics. I have to say, I was a mess. I can't believe we let him run around in cold water getting soaked thinking it would wash the sunscreen off! When all along, he was growing some haneous bacteria in his ears, eyes, and nose... Oh, the lessons we learn as first-time mommies...

That day, we took Rowan to In-N-Out so my parents could enjoy a good burger to see them off.... And, it wasn't the smartest thing because the In-N-Out we went to (off Avery in MV) didn't have indoor seating and Rowan just sobbed the whole time pulling his ear. So, saying good-bye to my parents and watching my little man suffer with pain and the awful curse of our imperfect bodies, I too sobbed (remember I'm pregnant too). I really did have a hard time with my little guy's first time with a common childhood illness! Later that day, after his nap, we cuddled on the couch together and watched "Aminals" (what he calls any Baby Einstein show) until the song "The Wheels on the Bus" came on then he really perked up and wanted to play... wow, antibiotics sure work fast! He's doing so much better now and is on the road to recovery... While his Bonkas are back in snowy Idaho missing their grandson terribly.

Thank you, Mom & Dad for making the long trek to spend time with us! We enjoyed every minute of it and miss you already. Thank you for loving Rowan and always supporting us. We love you, Bonka.

PS Rowan just learned to say "I love you" tonight... it's so cute, he says "Lala you". He's learning more words every day, it's unbelievable. I love it!