My Favorite 7 year old

Sometimes I forget how great Cameron really is. As most of you have heard me complain about, 7 has been a very challenging age for us to deal with. However, when I step back and look at the year that kid has had, I'm amazed at how well he's dealt with everything. Within just a few months, Cameron had to deal with major life changes including a custody change, a baby brother, a new house in a new city in a new state, and a new school. How has he done? All things considered, he's done better than we ever could have imagined. I think part of my battles with him come because he is so intelligent and is very analytical (for those of you who know me well, you know I don't deal well with over analyzing). He constantly forces me to think even when I would rather just ignore it all. He is testing his limits and I have been forced to be more of a mother-like figure to him than I was before. Even when I feel as though all I've done is discipline him since he turned 7, he still loves me and I love him. He boosts my ego by telling me everyday what a great cook I am. He could not be a more loving caring little boy. This shines through daily when he plays with his baby brother who is almost 7 years his junior. No one can make Noah laugh like Cameron and when Cameron walks into the room, Noah grins so wide he almost swallows his face. There has been no jealousy toward Noah, only unconditional love. Cameron is an amazing child. Stuart and I are truly blessed to have him.
Here is a little video we shot tonight. Cameron came inside and asked us to come outside and watch him on the trampoline next door. I made the comment to Stuart that it was probably some "dumb 7 year old ninja trick or something." Needless to say, we were both shocked at what Cam pulled out of his bag of tricks. This leads me to believe that this kid might have a future in something other than the show choir and the chess club:0)

A visit from Grandma, Aunt Stacey, and Uncle Mohamed

As you can see, it was a fun and festive weekend at the Rogers' household. Our visitors arrived on Friday night and the fun didn't stop all weekend. We had a great time. Saturday was a beautiful day but it might as well have been wasted on us. They (notice I didn't say we) spent the day trying to conquer Super Mario Bros. on the Wii while Noah and I watched. We did manage to leave the house for a few outings. For lunch we hit up a barbecue joint here called Hoggy's Barn and Grille. It was so yummy. That night, Stuart, Stacey and I hit up Jeni's ice cream. It's this great place that has all kinds of different ice creams. Do yourself a favor and google it. My personal favorite was the roxbury road, chocolate with homemade marshmallow and smoked almonds. It was delicious!!!

On Sunday, Stuart and I were able to leave the boys at home and attend church by ourselves. Wow, it is amazing how much more you can focus when you have no responsibility. Awesome!!! Both Stuart and I felt so refreshed afterward.
We were sad to see our visitors go but we will see them in just a few weeks when we make our way to IN for Cam's spring break. Yay!!!

In other news...I finally got my mini-van!!! We are so excited about it. It makes traveling so much less complicated. We shopped around and decided on a Mazda MPV. While it isn't as long as any of the other mini-vans out there, it is perfect for us because it fits in our garage. Besides that, it doesn't look like a granny van. Not only did we get a new mini-van, our new television for our living room arrived this week. For those of you who haven't seen our new house, our old television took up roughly 30 percent of our living room. Now, I feel like our living room is so much bigger and Noah has a lot more room to play on the floor.

If I sound high on life, it's because I am. I am so much happier these days due to the fact that we have had 4 days in a row of bright beautiful sunshine. Noah and I even busted out the jogging stroller yesterday. It was my first decent run in a long long time. Noah loved it too...until he fell asleep.

Because we got our new mini-van this weekend, we said farewell to a longtime friend of mine. Ruby, my first ever car, went to be with her new owner. It was a bittersweet moment for me. That car and I have been through a lot together. It was the first big purchase I ever made (and I almost had a nervous breakdown over it). She saw me through 2 stressful, crazy years of graduate school. Drove me to my first real job at Franklin College. Drove Stuart and I away from our reception on our wedding night. Saw me through 2 more jobs and drove us to a new state. The good news is that Ruby is still in the family as Stuart's mom now owns her. What a great car!!!

That's all I've got for now. Noah is napping in his crib and when he wakes up we are headed out to enjoy this beautiful day.

"Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy..."

I'm a big girl now

That's how I felt yesterday. On Sunday, Noah and I made the trek to Indianapolis to go visit one of my best friends and her precious new baby boy. We went, had a great time and made it back all by ourselves. I felt like I had given myself a whole new freedom when I conquered that journey. I had been afraid to go by myself for so long because I wasn't sure how Noah would handle the trip without someone else to keep him entertained. We both did great!!! I didn't even need the GPS (still not that familiar with Columbus and the surrounding areas). I felt as though I had conquered the world. It was so nice to get back home to the boys though. That's right, I said "home." For the first time since we moved here, I felt a surge of excitement as I pulled into our drive yesterday. I felt like I was home. I think that means that I'm adjusting to our new life here. I've really made an effort the past few months to start to make this our "home." I've made some friends, we've found a church home and I've even found a soccer team to play on this spring. I miss my friends and family in Indiana like crazy but it's nice to know they're there to visit. It's equally as nice to get back to our home in Ohio and just "be."

I think the snow is finally starting to melt. I'm seeing some grass on the ground and I cannot tell you how excited I am for spring. They're saying we might actually get some warmer temperatures this weekend. Speaking of this weekend, Stuart's Mom as well as Aunt Stacey and Uncle Mohamed are coming to stay with us this weekend. We are so excited to spend time with them. We don't have any big plans but it's always a good time when we all get together.

Noah continues to bring us more joy than we ever thought possible. He is smiling and happy most of the time. He is getting so big and it saddens me to think that before I know it, he won't be that snuggly little baby anymore. He's not crawling yet but when I watch him play on the floor I know that it can't be too far off. He will be 8 months old in less than 2 weeks now. I can't believe how quickly time has gone.

Cameron is about to be a very busy 7 year old. He is all signed up and ready to play soccer this spring and baseball this summer. He has played soccer before but has never tried baseball. It will be interesting to see how he does. I am so excited for him to try new things and meet new kids. In the words of his wonderful teachers; "Cameron has a zest for life!!" Sometimes that zest is a little overwhelming to his parents and poses quite a few challenges. Hopefully with the arrival of warmer weather, Cameron will find an outlet for his energy and sanity will be restored in the Rogers' household.

That's all I've got for now. Have a great weekend. I'm looking forward to some sunshine myself:0)



Meeting Baby AJ for the first time. Looks like they enjoy each others company.


Noah and his buddy Matthew. They have weekly playdates.



This was the entrance to the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. Cameron received his Tiger Cub badge at the banquet. You'll notice there's no pictures of Cameron receiving his badge. All I can say is that's another story for another time.