Happy Halloween!

Hope you have a fantastic Halloween! Love, The Rogers Family

He's So Active!

And no, for once, they aren't talking about Aiden:) I am getting kind of nervous as baby #2 is going to make an appearance around early December and wondering how in the world are we going to handle our two little boys? I went in for a ultrasound today for our new doctor so they could get their own records on our little bug and both ultrasound technicians commented, "Oh, isn't he an active one?" as the little one squirmed and kicked and moved all around! At the same time, Aiden is wandering all around the exam room with full force and energy. I told Chris that this baby is WAY more active than Aiden was in the womb and they have confirmed my fear! Anyways, everything seems to be looking good for baby #2...they estimated that he weighed about 5 pounds right now, he is head down, and he was as cute as can be!

We have had a busy day so far and it's only 3:15! Aiden was up before 6 am (for the 3rd day in a row) which means snuggling and Barney in bed until 7 am when we drag ourselves out for the day. This waking up is not easy for a pregnant mama who is up ALL night long:) Aiden and I quickly got ready to head to Lowe's to TRY and fix our broken toilet. I spent an hour last night researching our one piece toilet on ways to fix it after Chris' first major attempt failed after realizing that this toilet is really special, and not in a good way. I am hoping we can get it fixed before Chris tries to put in a whole new one-this just scares me! After our quick trip to Lowe's, we walked dogs and picked up Chris back at home before our doctor's appointment.

After our doctor's appointment, I took Chris into Jersey City to give him a shortened commute to NYC so he could get to work quicker. This led to Aiden getting an hour nap in the car which means NO NAP this afternoon!!!! So instead of eating our usually healthy lunch, I treated Aiden to a happy meal with sweet tea and we are now anxiously awaiting the movers to pick up all the leftover boxes (they were supposed to be here an hour ago)!

At this moment, Aiden is pretending to cook in the kitchen. There is a coffee filter in the coffee pot and he is stirring marshmallows in a pan on the floor. There are toys strewn all over the house, laundry needs to be folded, the house needs to be clean, a bed needs to be constructed, the lawn needs to be watered...and it all might just have to wait until tomorrow because this mommy needs some REST before the real commotion begins!!!!

Look Who's A Big Boy!!

Someone is eating at the table...

But don't let this picture fool you! This boy is becoming more and more independent by the day or is trying!!!!!! He has been having this crazy toddler stubbornness to get into his highchair every meal, so I thought let's move him to the table today. Let's just say that about five minutes after this picture was taken-the entire bowl of Cheerios and the milk was on the floor with only a few bites eaten. So yes, it wasn't the most successful move! Aiden just wants to do everything on his own. Walk on the sidewalks, talk on the phone, carry his own keys, turn on the sprinkler, read his books, hang on to the dog leashes, brush his own teeth, comb his own hair, dress himself, etc. Sometimes he is successful and sometimes not-which always makes for some interesting and exhausting days!!

And we wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween weekend:) This may be the best and only shot that you see of Aiden in his costume. Every time, we pull it out he says "No! No!" and runs. So it may just be a relaxing night at home passing out candy in our monster pajamas:)

More pictures to come from our fun weekend with family once I get the photos downloaded!

Our Living Room!

Another room to feature on our new house tour...the living room! We have worked hard on this room and are excited to share it with you all. This is the front door where you come in. On one side is a radiator and on the other is our new storage bench to hold shoes, dog supplies, umbrellas, and other random things that you need when you head in and out the door!

Here is a shot of our living room taken from the entryway wall. The walls used to be a medium shade of brown with an accent wall of red by the patio door. We painted three of the walls a white/beige color with our green accent wall:) This is furniture we had since living in New Jersey the first time and I still love it just as much here! I decorated one of the side tables with seasonal decorations, of course everything on there is non-breakable with a toddler running all around this room! We spend a lot of time in here playing, reading books, and watching television!

Hope you enjoyed another room of our house tour!!!!

Enjoying the day...

What a relaxing Tuesday we had, mostly around the house! This morning, we were expecting the heating company to come between 8 and 11, therefore Chris decided that he would work from home until he was able to get into the office after the heating company came. So I was spoiled this morning as Chris got Aiden at wake-up time so I could get a quick workout in! I decided to look at our thermostat one more time before the heating company came and voila, there was heat...I guess it wasn't a boiler issue, but our ignorance of how to work our programmable thermostat. So lucky enough that I figured it out before the workers came!!!

Chris headed into the office soon after and Aiden and I took a big trip to the grocery store where we stocked up for some special visitors this weekend! When we got back and unloaded, I decided to give Aiden some exercise by having him help me walk the dogs. It took us about a 1/2 hour just to walk down 1 1/2 blocks and back! Aiden had fun picking up sticks and leaves while I wrangled the dogs and Aiden:) Then, we played, ate lunch, and NAPTIME!

After naptime, I walked up and found this sweet little boy:

As you can see, Aiden has quite a collection of things in his crib. He always sleeps with his pillow, at least 3 pacifiers, 2 blankets, his giraffe, Mr. Seahorse, an ugly doll, a lovey monkey, and a lovey giraffe blanket. Often times, you will also find Pooh bear (shown above), our new Mr. Gator (shown above), several books, a sippy of water, and other random objects! He likes to feel loved I guess:) Often times after naptime, he loves to read books by himself. Today, he read for almost an hour in his room. I kept asking him if he wanted to read or go to the park and he wanted "books." Therefore, we didn't make it to the park today! Here he is reading Pooh:

I even decided to get my own book and lay down with a pillow in his room and enjoy this quiet moment. He loved that idea so much that he went and pulled out another book from my bedstand and laid down next to me on the pillow. It was so cute!!

We spent the rest of the day on a walk, playing outside, watching The Wheels on the Bus, eating mac and cheese with homemade slow cooker applesauce, crazy play time, and bed!!! What a great day!!

Our Weekend In Review and a Tour of the Dining Room!

We spent our weekend in pajamas and work clothes because we were either sleeping or working!!! It was one of those weekends where we felt like a slave to our new home. We worked hard on unpacking, moving boxes around, hanging pictures, seeding the yard, clearing out the baby's nursery, digging up weeds, and much more. Aiden spent his weekend in pajamas...either attempting to help us, playing toys, or watching a little Elmo! It's been one of those weekends, although we did enjoy a short break today to walk up to the town fall festival full of vendors, fair food, and live music.

Aiden loves to undress himself lately-here's a shot of him trying to take his shirt off:

And here's the next room in our new home tour...the dining room!! This a shot taken of the room before we moved in:

And the "after" picture of our hard work:

And a view from the kitchen...

Here are our bookshelves. They are finally filled with pictures and cute trinkets:)

And our new counter stools:

And the stairs leading up:

And here's Chris' yard project for the weekend! This planting area was filled with LOTS and LOTS of weeds and random grass. Chris dug it all out (and I actually helped today!) and planted these beautiful mums!! Isn't it pretty?

Some Fall Cooking...

Well, I am starting to finally accept the fact that summer is leaving and fall is arriving! I love summer so much, but there are definitely some great things about fall too: apple picking, Halloween and pumpkin picking, the changing colors of leaves, fall candle aromas, and some yummy cooking that is meant for some cooler weather. This week, I have made some delicious recipes so I thought I would share.

The first is a slow cooker pot roast recipe that was easy and so yummy. First of all, I love the Crock Pot because I just don't love watching meat cook in a pan, especially when I am pregnant. And the Crock Pot makes cooking dinner so easy, especially when you have a young toddler to take care of at the witching hour! Most pot roasts I have made have cream of mushroom soup, which Chris is not a fan of, so I found this one with no soup which made a happy husband! Here's the recipe:

First, I put some carrots and quartered potatoes in the bottom of the Crock Pot. On top of the vegetables, I added about a 3 lb. bottom round roast. Then I sprinkled a packet of dry onion soup mix on top of the roast. Last, I added two beef bouillon cubes with 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water. I cooked it on high for about 6 hours and it was DONE!!! YUMMY and enough for leftovers;)

Today, our morning started with a 6:15 am wake up call from our little bug! Since it is cold and wet, I decided it was the perfect morning to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I bought the ingredients last week waiting for the right day to make these. I have to say that I am not a huge pumpkin fan, but my roommate and SUPER amazing friend, Molly, brought these delicious muffins from her mom for me to try my freshmen year and has had me hooked ever since. Thanks to Molly and Mrs. Beverung for introducing me to this wonderful, sweet breakfast treat! Here is a link to these fabulous muffins:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip-Muffins/Detail.aspx

And if you don't believe me that these are yummy, just ask this sweet boy!

A Typical Day!

It's only Wednesday and I'm exhausted!!!! This 22 month old is wearing his mama out:)

We start our day off with reading books and playing toys. If Daddy is lucky, he gets a ride to the train! (Actually if he is still here when Aiden wakes up, then we all head to the "choo choo" as Aiden calls it.) I try to catch a few minutes of the Today show during playtime, so I feel in touch with the real world. By 8:00, we usually eat breakfast, figure out our plans for the day, and do a quick pick-up! Right now, Aiden's favorite breakfast is still oatmeal and a banana that looks more green than yellow.

After watching some "Elmo's World" and walking dogs, Aiden gets some playtime upstairs while I attempt to take a quick shower. Then, it's our daily struggle to get Aiden dressed-he is definitely showing his stubborn side as he likes to dress himself, as much as he can! Our mornings consist of errands/a fun activity/or just hanging around the house. On Tuesday, we spent the morning running errands in this new city and it was exhausting. First, we ran to Home Depot to pick up a part for our running toilet. Not there, of course! And then, we had to go the bank, to the grocery store, and to the pharmacy. I had intention to head to the post office too, but I postponed that until today because Aiden was ready to head home after being in and out of the car so much! Today, we headed to a library storytime around here. Aiden had more interest in taking books off the shelves and sitting at the library tables, then listening to the story! But he did love the star sticker that they gave him so much that he wouldn't take it off all day. (Which meant that I had to tape it to his shirt after it wouldn't stick anymore to keep him content!)

After being out and about, we come home and play outside in our backyard! Let me tell you how much I love having a fenced in backyard! Aiden's favorite things to play with are his cozy coupe and lawn mower:) He carries the same strange various objects in the back of his cozy coupe-his sidewalk chalk, a screwdriver, a bottle of bubbles, and a screw. And if one of those isn't in there, we have to go a search for the missing component to his car ride! And there is always entertainment with the puppies...

Playing outside

"Walking" the puppies

Saying cheese before heading out in the morning!

Around noon, we head inside to break for lunch. Sometimes, Aiden will gobble up his food and sometimes he wants nothing to do with it! You never know what is going to happen, but it's always a new day. After lunch, we have a little play/down time before nap time!!! As much as I love spending my day with Aiden, nap time provides a little sanity break where I catch up on email, watch a moment of television, and lately just trying to get our house in order.

After naptime (sometimes short, sometimes long), we are ready for a new adventure. If the weather is nice, I have been taking Aiden for a walk and then we either play outside in our backyard or head to the park nearby. We head home around 5ish to watch a little television (right now, Aiden is beginning to like Mickey Mouse...but not as much as Elmo!) while I try to get dinner prepared. Sometimes, Aiden eats earlier, but if Chris makes it home in time, we try to eat with him. Today, we even walked down and met Chris down at the train station, then Aiden gets to see the train drive in to the station. After dinner, we play, play, play! And then head into bath and night-night land!

A few shots from playtime today:

Aiden loves the dog's kennel! So much that he tries to lock himself in there with them:)

And even happier that let the dogs free and he is still in there alone!

What am I going to do when winter hits?????? And another baby arrives??????

Life is definitely going to become even more fun, interesting, and exciting!!!

A Fun Fall Weekend

What a beautiful fall weekend! We enjoyed the awesome weather on Saturday by taking our little boy apple and pumpkin picking. Thank goodness that we went this weekend as there was slim picking in the apple trees, but I am happy to have a large amount to make apple crisp (maybe even twice), applesauce, and enjoy apples with some cinnamon sugar! I can't wait to do some cooking this week. Aiden ate his weight in apples while we were in the fields, which made one very happy toddler. We also picked pumpkins at the same orchard. Aiden really wanted to get a BIG one, but our rule was that you could only get one that you could carry. So he was happy with his mini pumpkin and it sat with him in his car seat the whole way home. It was nice to get a break from all the moving chaos and enjoy some time as our little family. Here are some pictures from the orchard:

The Rogers Family

Hello little bee!

Carrying his apple as well as dragging our bag of apples

Yum Yum!

I really want this pumpkin, Mama!

Which one should I get?

I think I like this one!

We were lucky enough to have a special guest today, Uncle Nate! He is working in Hoboken, New Jersey this week and so we enjoyed a fun day with Uncle "Nat" as Aiden calls him. Thanks for coming to visit!

Uncle Nate with Aiden

We put Nate to work as Chris needed an extra hand to help pick up some paving stones at Home Depot for his first landscaping project. First project is a success, it looks awesome:)

Before Chris began working...

And after Chris' hard work

The paving stone on the other side of the doorway!

Aiden's New Room and Enjoying the Beautiful Weather!

So I have decided over the next few weeks to share a "photo tour" of our new house! Since Aiden's room seems to be the most completed, we will start with his beautiful "big boy" room.

Here is Aiden's crib with his name hung above. We are going to attempt a transition to a low twin bed possibly at the end of next week so this will change, but it is what he is in right now! We have picked up the new bed from Ikea and just need to get it all put together and get a mattress to put on top. Once we get Aiden out of the crib successfully, baby #2 will have his own bed:)

Aiden's shelves of books and toy bag! His own little play area:)

The rest of the room! I love his bedroom door with the glass panes:) Aiden will also get a dresser that matches his bed, which I am in the midst of putting together. The rocker will also be moved to baby #2's room-we have used that rocker SO much!!! There is a door for the closet up in the attic...we will see if we can get that up in the next few weeks. If not, life will be okay!

A view of the whole room! It went from being a pink/purple little girl's room to this! Lots of work, but I love it!!!

And just so you know, we aren't quite ready for baby #2 to arrive! Here is his room for now. It holds many of our boxes with no home and a half completed dresser. If you look closely, you will see a baby swing in there! Yes, it will hopefully ready for baby #2 by the time he arrives!

So we have finally enjoyed some nice weather around here after many dreary days! We have been soaking up the time outdoors. First, here are Cobi and Sheffield enjoying our fenced-in backyard. Sheffield did manage to escape the first day we were here, but was found by the new neighbors. What a way to meet the neighborhood, especially after the cops were called to find the owners of this runaway dog. My dad fixed the part of the fence that needed repair so no more escaping from these two-hopefully! They have survived the move well, despite that they are looking pretty shaggy right now:)

And here is our little bug! I have to give my dad a HUGE thank you for my awesome birthday gift-a NEW camera!!!!!!! Our camera was a little out of date and had a huge crack on the screen, although it does work. He did some research and bought us a new, amazing camera that I am in love with. Although I have to really read up on how to use it:) Here are some shots from this morning:

Are you taking another picture of me Mama?

Looking at the airplanes at the park! We see lots of airplanes everyday, because we are about 15 minutes from Newark Airport. Aiden loves pointing them all out.

Enjoying the jumping bridge

Peek-A-Boo!

Thanks to my dad for his help this week-doing odd jobs, getting rid of garbage, and keeping Aiden and I company. We are on our own for awhile and going to try to figure out life in New Jersey...wish us luck! So far, today, we had a great morning at the park near our house and we are off to our new doctor's office this afternoon for an ultrasound of baby #2!

Hopefully, our updates will become more frequent as life is starting to settle down, or at least until our little baby boy arrives!