Today Rogan, Andrea and I went to the outlet mall. While we were there Rogan was having lots of fun pushing the stroller around. I jokingly said, "He's gonna learn to walk at the mall today." Well the joke was on me. Check out our BIG BOY!

I stayed home with Rogan on Tuesday because he had a fever. While we were getting ready to head to the doctors we had a few minutes to spare. I sat down in the front seat with Rogan and he took an immediate interest in the steering wheel. Shortly after, he discovered the windshield wipers...it went on from there. Here are a few pictures and a video of Rogan's first driving lesson. Enjoy.

Rogan came down with his first ever ear infection this week as a result of a cold he picked up starting daycare. He came down with a skin rash. We thought it was heat rash, but it didn't clear up after a few days and then he got a little fever (100 degrees) and that sent up some red flags. Since we can't take Rogan to Daycare when he's had a fever within 24 hours I stayed home with him yesterday. At his Dr.'s appointment a quick look in his ears identified the first stages of a double ear infection. We caught it early, which is great. So I picked up Rogan's first prescription. Because we caught it early, Tylenol and the antibiotics should clear our kiddo up within the week. He was feeling better already last night. :)

Andrea started back to work on Monday after an overwhelming majority (95%) of the Teacher's union ratified the contract offered by the district. It was a win for everyone. The teachers can modify the curriculum to meets the needs of their students, they keep their same health care benefits and get a 5% wage increase over three years plus a cost of living increase. The school district gets to keep their standardized goals and assessments and the curriculum process allows for feedback by teachers to improve it based on their professional experience. They also don't blow the budget and the teachers still get a raise. The school year schedule had a few vacation days cut and school still gets out on the same day.

I'm still working hard. :) Some exciting news, PBJS was recently acquired by Publicis, the fourth largest advertising firm in the world. Read about it on my blog.

I have some fun pictures from Rogan/Daddy sick day I'll try to get those up later today, but for now, as I said, I have to get some work done!

The Roses, Aaron, Zach and Logan (Robyn was at a speech thing), visited us for a fun little gathering. Josh and Emerald came to join in the fun as well. More writing to come later. For now, enjoy the pictures!

Some of the our loyal readers have no doubt wondered what has been happening for the past two weeks. I mean we had Rogan's big birthday party and no pictures, no news, no nothing...

Well here's the low down on what we've been up to.

If you didn't already know, Andrea was supposed to start back to work on September 2nd. However, she is currently on Strike along with the rest of the Bellevue school teachers. They are striking for three major reasons. Curriculum control, health care, and wages. As I'm writing this they are getting close, but there is no deal yet. Andrea will tell you that going on strike is no vacation. She's been getting up early to picket which consists of walking back and forth over a 1/10 mile stretch for 6 hours a day. I don't know how it's possible, but apparently picketing is more exhausting than taking care of Rogan.

Rogan has started going to daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He's figured out now, that when I bring him there I'm also going to leave. He's not a fan, but apparently his separation anxiety is short lived and he's playing with his new friends moments after I pull away. In addition, Nana and Oma are also taking care of Rogan on Monday, Wed, and Friday. We're starting to get an idea about how our schedule will be for the next few months, an it's exhausting! To add to the exhaustion, Rogan has picked up the Daycare bugs. He's had a runny nose and cough which wakes him (and by extension, me) up at least twice each night. Oh and he's getting some more teeth. Yikes...

I'm back at work now. After a few weeks of working on documentation and a fairly relaxed schedule it's go time. I have two projects that are under pretty intense deadlines. Both of which are coming dew this month. It's going to be a busy September.

So there you have it. We're all doing fine, just busy. Thanks for reading and we'll be sure to keep posting when new and exciting things happen. I wouldn't be surprised to see Rogan walking in the next few weeks. He's already taken a few baby steps on his own. Very exciting.