Man on the move

Yep, we're crawling, and pulling up and making life way more interesting for mommy and daddy. He started crawling almost 2 weeks ago and has just recently begun to pull himself up on the ottoman in the living room. He cruises a little but is still a little too wobbly to go too far. Life is much more fun for him now that he's mobile but much more hectic for mommy. We have baby proofed the house although I'm sure that he'll find ways around it. I just can't believe how quickly he has changed. He is so much fun and I just love it that I get to spend most of my day playing and watching him grow.

In other news, we are loving this sunny weather!!! Last night we spent the evening out on our back deck enjoying each other's company. We have really made an effort as of late to shut out distractions and focus on being a family. The past 2 Sundays have been media free days. This means that we have had no TV, radio, or computers. Just us spending time together, getting things done around the house, and shutting off the constant noise that tends to fill our ears. It has been very refreshing and we will continue this on most Sundays throughout the summer.

Cameron's soccer season has been up and down. They won their first few games but have hit a bit of a skid here of late. He has 3 more games and then it's on to baseball season. He has about 4 more weeks of school and he is very excited for his summer vacation.

It was 1 year ago this past weekend when Stuart and I came out to Columbus to look at houses. It's amazing that out of all the houses we looked at, this house was the only one that really stood out. I remember making the decision to make an offer on the house and how stressful it was for Stuart. I remember looking him in the eye and telling him that this was not too good to be true, that, in fact people had been praying for us and for our situation and this is where we were meant to live. One year later we could not agree more. We are so happy here in our home. We have a wonderful neighborhood and a new church family who we are getting to know and love more and more everyday. I feel as though this has become our home now. I feel so blessed.

This weekend is Mother's Day weekend. I am excited that this will be my first "official" Mother's Day. Cameron will be with his mom so Stuart and I are planning on enjoying the weekend together with Noah. Happy Mother's Day to all of the special women in my life who are moms.

What we've been up to...

While we were in Washington over Cam's spring break, Cam and Stuart had the opportunity to go hiking in Spring Mill State Park with Uncle Matt. A good time was had by all. Uncle Matt even showed Cameron how to geocache. Fun times!!!






Last week, Cameron had his first soccer game of the season. The mighty yellow jackets reigned victorious over the purple dragons. Cameron played a good game and shut out the other team while he took his turn in the goal.






Noah is 9 months old!!! We can't believe how big he is getting and how much he is learning. We took him for his 9 month checkup last week. He weighs 18lbs. 4 oz. and is 26.5 inches long. He is in the 20th percentile for weight and the 5th for height. I was praying that he would get his father's height but I'm pretty sure he is all me (including his fiery temper). He is not crawling yet, but he's so close. He manages to get on all fours and scoot a little bit but doesn't make any big progress. We can get him to wave at us occasionally and he's also eating more and more finger foods. He loves bananas, grated cheese, sliced turkey, and avocados. Here are a few new pictures.







We are so happy that warmer weather has arrived. Cameron is thrilled that he can be outside most of the evening when he gets home from school. Even Noah loves his daily outings in his stroller. My soccer season has also started. I feel like the old granny out there but I do not embarrass myself too badly so I think I'll stick with it. It is a lot of fun and the bonus is that it's a built in workout.

That's all we've got for now. Enjoy this sunny weather while you can. We are!!!

Time Flies!!!

Wow, I just realized it had been over two weeks since I had updated our blog. God forbid that I not keep you up to date on our lives. Last week was a bit crazy since we had been gone the entire week before down in Washington and Indianapolis visiting family and friends. It turned out to be a very eventful trip. As many of you know, Stuart and I are sports junkies. So, imagine our delight when our hometown Hatchets basketball team advanced to the State Finals while we were in Indiana and we were able to attend the game. It was a nail biter but in the end, class prevailed and our boys brought another state title back to Washington. This is the 3rd they've won since Stuart and I have known each other. Hatchet basketball was always great but has been amazing since we've had some kids named Zeller pass through the school. The same night that Washington won the state championship, Butler advanced to the Final Four in Indianapolis. We will always remember that Saturday night. Butler is playing tonight for the National Championship. Even Cameron has gotten into the spirit and asked if he could stay up tonight to watch the Bulldogs. He has a special love for them because when he was 4, I took him to his first college basketball game at Hinkle Fieldhouse and we were able to sit right on the floor. He LOVED the bulldog. I don't think he'll be able to stay up for the game tonight since it doesn't tip off until 10 but he will want an update as soon as he's awake in the morning.
Spring weather has arrived and we are all enjoying the sunshine. Noah has been battling this chronic cold and cough. We are starting to think that maybe he just has allergies. We're hoping that all of this clears up soon so we can all enjoy being outside. Cameron has started soccer practice and seems very excited for his games to start. His first one, barring any bad weather, will be this Saturday. This year he's on the yellow jackets and Stuart and I couldn't be happier that we're not the coaches. It's nice to see someone else try to keep the attention of a dozen 7 year old boys.
This past weekend we had some visitors from Indiana. One of my best friends and her husband and new baby boy came to visit. Clark, Carrie and AJ arrived on Friday and stayed until Saturday afternoon. It was so nice to have them here and show them our new house and neighborhood. Noah found AJ to be particularly interesting. It was funny to see Noah reacting to a tiny baby. It's hard to believe that Noah was that small just a few months ago.
Speaking of Noah, he's on the verge of crawling. He lunges forward from a seated position and gets on all 4's. He hasn't figured out how to get his legs under him yet but manages to pivot around on his belly. He's also pretty proficient at scooting on his bottom.
Yesterday we celebrated Easter with our new friends, the Metz's. Adam happens to be the pastor of our church. He and his wife Mary Beth have 3 beautiful children who Cameron loves to play with. We spent the afternoon out on their patio while the kids played. It was such a beautiful afternoon. A perfect Easter Sunday.
I will post pictures of all the latest festivities when I get a chance. Right now I have to go rescue a certain baby from his crib.

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.

Too Much Snow!!!

This past weekend, we were treated to another winter storm. Compared to what they are getting on the East Coast, our snowfall seems minor. However, I think this is easily the most snow I've ever seen on the ground. We are all ready for spring. Here are a few pictures of the boys in the snow.





I guess there's no better time to be snowed in than when the Winter Olympics are on. I seriously have been so unmotivated to do anything but plop in front of the television and watch. We have all found it a bit humorous that the weather in the midwest is colder than it is in Vancouver for the games right now.

In other news, last Friday we got to attend Cameron's Valentine's Day party at school. When we were kids, Valentine's parties were strictly for the kids. The only adults present were the teacher and the room mother. Not in the present day. Now, every party that is put on at school is a public event where the parents can come and celebrate with the kids. When we were kids, all parties were a sugar laden event with cupcakes, candy and enough sugary fruit juice to send even the most calm child into a crazy hyperactive state. In the present day, kids are given 1 plate of treats that involves fruit, popcorn, and a cookie. My how things have changed. We did enjoy watching the kids make their Valentine crafts and play Valentine bingo. The highlight of Cameron's day was that he got to show off "his baby" to everyone in his class including parents, teachers and substitutes. It's so nice to know that Cameron is so proud of Noah.





This weekend Cameron will be at his mom's again. I have a full day on Saturday of catching up on house work before the Olympics begin broadcasting in the afternoon. Then on Saturday night, Stuart and I are actually going to leave this house without a child. We are only going to our neighbor's for game night but it's the first time we've been out of this house without Noah. I am very excited. On Sunday, Cameron receives his bobcat badge at the annual blue and gold dinner for Cub Scouts. Stay tuned for pictures of the big occasion. Hope everyone has successfully dug themselves out of the snow. Have a great weekend!!