Merrry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!

We hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!! We headed to Church on Christmas Eve and boy was it crowded! It became very warm in the Sanctuary and that made Logan not a happy camper. After a cool down in the common area he was more comfortable. Aidan was excited to see his Cousins and Grandma. He spent most of Mass trying to play with Tabitha. After church we headed to Nana and Grandpop's for dinner and gift exchange. Aidan really enjoyed opening presents this year. Logan enjoyed crawling through the paper. The boys were zonked and we headed home. We put the boys to bed and waited for Santa. There was no sleeping done in our house. At 4am Aidan decided he was awake, hungry and MUST go downstairs. We coaxed him to stay in our bed. Carrie and Andrew slept for two hours and then it was Christmas Morning! Boy, have we learned our lesson! There is just too much excitement for Santa! :-) The boys were estatic. Santa brought them a Train Table! How fantastic! He stuffed their stockings with trains and toys. Grandpa and Grandma came over to give the boys their gifts and see the boys enjoying their Santa Goodies! Carrie made some cinnamon rolls and we headed to her Sister's with gifts and food! Over there we ate and ate and ate. The kids all were wound tight and enjoying the gifts. Everyone was exhausted and we headed home for naps and to make food to take for Chrsitmas Dinner at Meme and Papa's. We enjoyed dinner and talking. The kids all had a blast! What an exhuasting day of running around! We have been and will continue trying to keep a less hectic schedule for the sake of the boys and ourselves. We'll see what happens next year! Hope you all enjoy the collage!

Family Birthday

Today we celebrated Aidan's Birthday with our family and friends. Aidan enjoyed playing with his cousins and friends. Thank you for coming!

Our Aidan is 2!!

Happy Birthday Aidan!!
We cannot believe how fast the last two years have flown by. Aidan amazes us with each passing day. He is speaking very clearly and learning new words everyday. We is always busy playing with anything. He truly enjoys using his imagination. His Two Year Stats are: Height:36.5 in (90%) Weight: 32 lb (90%)

Here is a video of Aidan playing with his gifts from Mom, Dad and Logan.

We celebrated with Grandparents and Uncle's on his Birthday. Carrie made a giant sugar cookie (Andrew had to capture it in the oven) and decorated it with Blue's Clues. One of Aidan's favorite shows. He enjoys playing Blue's Clues finding a paw print and shouting, "A clue a clue!". He loves the "Thinking Song." He will sing it and act out the motions too. He loves drawing especially in a "Handy Dandy Notebook"!! Aidan enjoyed getting a kitchen set and an easel. Now we can play with his pots and pans and can now draw with chalk inside the house!

Saturday we are having the family party with a Thomas the Train theme. Here is a sneak peek of the cake! (From 11/27)

Time is flying by...

Here we are almost at the end of another year. Crazy how time flies!! We are five days away from Aidan's 2nd Birthday! Aidan has outgrown the crib. Carrie found him the other day attempting to climb out. We went out and bought a bed rail and converted his crib to the "day bed" set up. Aidan was very excited however, not so excited when it came to nap. We don't think he feels very safe since he no longer has the higher piece holding him in. But so far is doing as well as we can expect. Here's a proud photo of him right after we got it set up. He even helped Andrew out with the allen wrench. Logan has recently sprouted his first tooth and decided that today is the day to be mobile!! Luckily, the camera was close so we got videos of his first crawl!! Just in time for lunch so Andrew was able to come home and see it soon after he began!! It is so odd to see such a tiny little one moving around. Hope you enjoy the video!

We are just prepping now for Aidan's upcoming birthday and Christmas. Carrie is recovering well from her Lithotripsy procedure and her post-op check up shows no remnants of the large stone. YAY!! Let's hope we never have to do that again! Andrew is taking the week of Aidan's Birthday off so after today we have a family week! WAHOO!! We're all so excited! Hope everyone has a Great Thanksgiving!!

Cousins Visiting NC

This weekend there is a big tournament at one of the local soccer parks. Carrie's Dad's Cousin has a daughter who plays in it. This is the second year they have come from SC to play. While they are here they stay with Carrie's parents. There is no better excuse for a get-together than family!! There was a house full! Dan's cousin has three kids and then add his kids (us) and our kids! It's quite the zoo! Well, OK his cousin has two teenage daughters,they were happy to go hang out away from the "crazies"! Here are a few shots in a slide show of the younger kids.

Sweet Potato Fries

Logan really likes sweet potatoes. We thought what is a good "clean" way to let him self-feed sweet potatoes? Sweet Potato Fries! Here's a video we are sure you will see how much he likes them!

Talented Photographer

Aidan loves to get his grasp on the camera and take pictures. Today after lunch he climbed up to get the camera. He took a few shots and then Carrie "helped" on a few. Once you see you can tell she wasn't much help. None of the photos are edited but one of them is a pretty darn good portrait of the Artist. (Even though we are biased we think most will agree!)

The Pirate Jumper

Logan was having fun being a pirate today. He was a big ham for the camera. We just couldn't resist. Here's another entry with a slide show and a video.

Melt Our Hearts

Here's the boys playing together this morning. It melts our hearts to see them interacting and doing it so well.

Music Man

It appears Logan likes music like Aidan does. This is from earlier today also.

Jumping Machine

Logan is one jumping machine! He LOVES to spend time in his jumper. Today Carrie had fun getting some photos of him in action and a little video clip. Hope you enjoy!

Our "Elf on a Shelf"

There is a cute story out there about an "Elf on a Shelf". We happen to have the story ourselves. We just have two elves! One is named Snoball and the other is Logan! We found Aidan's little Santa hat from his First Christmas. Since Logan is smaller than Aidan we managed to squeeze it on his head! Andrew pulled it down on his ears for the full effect. Logan seemed to be amused by it and the photos we took.

An "in action" shot...

Logan is sitting up really well lately. He has a lot of practice under his belt. He also has a lot of practice falling too. Here's a shot of his going from sitting to his back. We went to get the camera to get a photo of him and instead got him mid-fall and right after. He was very frustrated once he went down(we omitted that photo). We just think the pic is neat.

Funny Trains

Tonight after dinner we were sitting at the table and Logan was on Andrew's lap. Logan loves trains as much as his brother and finds chaos hilarious too. Aidan was being Mr. Fussy Pants but decided it sure looked like fun to be happy like Logan was.

The Train Show

 

Andrew was working this weekend. He was at a Trade Show down at the fair ground representing the 3D Printing Services that is heads at work. The best part of it was it was a Train Show!! Carrie, her Mom and the boys went down for a visit. Aidan was in awe of all the trains. His most favorite part was a tribute to Thomas the Train. They had a garden train on display and a "real" Thomas. This Thomas was called, "Aiden's Thomas". Too bad they don't spell it how we do! A Granfather turned a John Deere Tractor into a Thomas the Tank Engine that you can ride in! They also had a TV with a DVD player playing a Thomas DVD. It was one we have at home however, Aidan watched like it was the first time he saw it. Needless to say we left the show with a pretty neat Thomas the Train set from Lionel. Carrie and Andrew are excited to set it up and play with it. Probably more excited than Aidan. :-)

The Morning After

We had to grab a few shots of Logan this morning. He was wearing his cute monster PJ's and playing with a piece of paper Aidan tore off of a coloring page. In our house we enjoy the simple things.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Aidan never warmed up to his Thomas the Train costume. The idea of wearing a costume freaked him out. So, we did a last minute search for a plain clothes costume. We found a shirt that was a skeleton pirate. So we deemed Aidan a pirate. He wore shorts since it was 80 degrees. He had two choices of pirate hats and would change it up but spent most of the time hat less. Logan sported a plain white onsie with a "Baby's First Halloween" bib. He would have died of heat stroke in his duck costume. Aidan wasn't too sure about the "walk". We first visited our neighbors The Barna's. Aidan did not know what to do so we showed him he could take candy from the bowl and put it in his "pum." After that we were good as gold. He was a little timid to ring a door bell and as the people approached he would back off the porch. I would too for knocking on a "strangers" door. The best part was letting Logan down back at home so he can attempt to crawl and Aidan dove into the candy. He ate suckers, some neon Twizzlers, fruit snacks etc. He just indulged. Halloween is only once a year!! After a candy binge and a wipe down to remove the sticky he was happy to head to bed. He also knows his pumpkin is full of treats now!!

Carrie's Men

Just had to take a brag shot...

Food Face

Logan was eating super messy today. He really enjoyed lunch. We just had to take a few shots of how messy he got. When he eats you are aiming at a crazy moving target. It's definitely entertaining!!

Our Guitar Hero

While Aidan napped today Logan decided he wanted to play Guitar Hero. Play it the best way he can...that is while laying on his belly. He kept wiggling himself over to the guitar and pushing buttons and jammin' with the whammy bar.

Tub Time!

Logan is sitting very well nowadays. Tonight at bath we decided to try out the tub seat we have. Logan enjoyed himself and Aidan did not mind sharing the tub. We were happy even though the tub seat doesn't suction to the texture on the bath tub. Logan had a grand time we just kept a hand on the seat at all times.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to purchase some pumpkins for Halloween today. Aidan took a little bit to warm up to the new scenery but decided it wasn't so bad and enjoyed walking through the pumpkins. He wasn't too fond of the inflatable jack-o-lantern. When we would ask if he wanted to go see it he told us, "No". He had a nice time touching all the "pums" and Logan enjoyed himself quite a bit too.

Brothers at Breakfast

This morning we took a few photos of the boys. Since they both move around so much. It was nice to get them sitting still and near each other. Had to seize the photo op!

Dance Party!!

Tonight Carrie's Parents had a Halloween Bash for the kids! They bobbed for apples, ate marshmallows off strings, drank their drinks from Halloween straws, did an eyeball relay and sported their costumes...well some of them. Aidan and his fellow cousin Tabitha wanted nothing to do with their costumes. Garreth, Ansley and Logan complied. Eventually everyone was back into normal clothes. After dinner and Halloween cupcakes we busted out the Wiggles Dance Party. It was really loud in the house and unfortunately I was right next to the camera. Please excuse my horribly annoying loudness.

Logan and the Shopping Cart

Our neighbors have been so kind to let Aidan bring home toys. We return one and they send him home with a new one. Aidan loves the shopping cart and pushing it all around. Apparently so does Logan! It was a nice warm day and we opened the windows to enjoy the weather and free heating/cooling.

Singing

Aidan loves to make noise. He will walk around and just yell. It took us a while but we figured out, he's singing!! He will sing songs he hears but a lot of times he loves to make his own songs. Andrew caught him this morning at the tail end of a song.

Reese's Cup

Aidan ate a great lunch today. The power of the Halloween candy was haunting us so we had to break into it and of course share with him! I think he enjoyed his first Reese's cup. As you can see he still enjoys moving heavy objects all around the house.

Momma Roxy

Roxy loves the boys! She always gives them kisses and if they cry she sniffs them to see what's up. Today she was on a dog bed and Logan made his way to her. Logan LOVES Roxy. We started the video midway through their time together but Logan was loving it. After a bit though we had to ask her to stop just for a little while! (the video is a little dark)

Logan the Duck

We bought the boys their costumes today. Aidan likes to look at his (Thomas the Train) but doesn't want anything to do with wearing him. We'll see what happens by Halloween. Logan was fine and dandy to be a duck!!

Logan and the Apple Slice

Tonight at dinner we decided Logan need to try an apple in the mesh holder. He's not real good with food textures he tends to gag frequently. We weren't sure how it would turn out but he chews on his fingers constantly so we thought he might enjoy this a little more. What do you think??

6 Months Old!!

WOW!! Logan is at the half year mark already! We cannot believe that our little tiny one has been here that long! He definitely helps to keep us busy! Logan is an active little one. He is doing very well at sitting up. Rolls stomach to back, back to stomach to maneuver around a room. He is so interested in his big brother. He loves to spend hours in his jumper. He will cry to go in there and if he is not jumping in the jumper he is on you jumping. He jumps even when he tries to fall asleep. Logan sleep through the night very well. He will go to bed at 6p, we 'wake' him for a feeding (most nights he never opens his eyes) and sleep to at least 7am. There are the rare occasions where he wakes us with his raspberries, squeals and giggles around 6-6:30a. We thought Aidan was a happy baby but Logan is such a content pleasant little man! He loves to jabber, our home is rarely quiet with the two chatterboxes we have. Logan has grown tremendously since he was born. He is still a smaller one but nothing compared to back in April.
Weight: 14 lbs 11 oz (10%)
Height: 26 inches (50%)
Head Circumference: 18 inches (90%)
The last visit he was 10% in weight, they fudged him 15% in height and his head was 75%. So in two months our little one has made some good progress in the growing field. The pediatrician again commented how extremely active (we call it wiggly) he was and that he was probably going to be a tall skinny boy. No evidence of teeth yet. Logan checked out great and will go back in 3 mos!

Engagement

Even though it is the same day it deserves it's own post. A big part of our reason for the trip was to be there for Phil's proposal to Emily! Most of you know Phil was there for our proposal and was a big part of it too. We had to make sure we were there for such a special event! Here are a few shots of after the event! After dinner to celebrate...Here are the Rogers' Men... Here's our Family of Four! Here's the new family!!

A trip to Maryland

This weekend we decided to tag-a-long with Andrew's parents to watch Phil's Cross Country team run. It is nice to go back to a meet and then you remember how you used to run... The boys had a nice time. Aidan did a much better job sleeping on this trip than the Ohio trip. We made good time on up there and when we were 10 minutes away from our hotel we sat in stand still traffic for over an hour. At the end of the hour Logan decided he was hungry and angry at the world. Aidan had just fallen asleep. SO...Carrie climbed in the back of the truck and tried to feed Logan. Too bad all of the water was in the cooler. (Logan HATES cold milk.) We also couldn't remember where we had put the travel bottle warmer. SO...Logan screamed because his milk was cold. Then Carrie and Andrew were trying to relay directions to each other over the deafening screams. (It was a pleasant time! :-) ) Needless to say the moment we pulled into the parking lot Carrie whipped Logan out of his seat to soothe him. We checked in and plopped his bottle into our normal warmer. WHEW!! The next morning we headed into the car to drive to the meet and it was a beautiful day! Aidan loved running around. He really enjoyed moving some course markers. He kept grunting to show us how strong he was. Logan enjoyed a low lying tree branch and tried to eat it. There was so much to see. The park was beautiful and it was not too hot and not too cold sunshine day! B-E-A-utiful!!