Amish Country with our Buddies!

Last month, Courtney and I decided to vacation with all five kids and just us two mommies in an area about halfway between our two houses, Lancaster County, PA (Amish Country)!  

Most people would think we were crazy, taking five kids four and under on vacation for two days.  But we had a BLAST!!!!!!!  The kids and I actually headed up on a Sunday afternoon to spend the night at my sister, Jill's house, and have some fun cousin time with Jack.  Thanks Jill for having us!

The next day, we loaded up early and headed to Amish country.  First stop...Strasburg Railroad where we got take a trip on an old-fashioned steam engine train.  Let's just say that this train loving boy was in heaven...

And here we are...We are ecstatic to meet up with our friends after being away from them from a full month!  We literally spent almost every single day with them in New Jersey this past year so we were in a bit of "Courtney, Maggie, and Alex" withdrawal:)

After a fun, but SUPER HOT, train ride...we packed up for a nice lunch out, a visit to the Choo-Choo Barn, and some homemade ice cream.  Since we have skipped nap time for the littler ones, we packed up to head to our hotel to check in.  After checking into our ONE room, we headed out for a nice family style dinner out to one of the Amish restaurants.  We were seated at one of the long family-style tables thinking that of course, they wouldn't seat anyone with us.  This poor older couple who were on a little getaway got stuck at the end of our table.  If you have ever ate family style, that means we have to share all food, salads, bread, etc. with this couple.  They were great sports and very friendly, but we decided to head out early and skip dessert so they could have a little bit of their meal in peace while our little kids would run the rest of their energy out before heading back to the hotel to sleep!

At the restaurant, there were animals to see and people taking buggy rides.  The kids were loving the country life!

We made it back to the hotel and spent some time playing with our friends before calling it a night around 9:00 pm.  All of us were asleep before 10,  including the moms.  Something about traveling with all these littles wears us out:)

The next morning after enjoying a continental breakfast at the hotel, we loaded our cars up to head to an adventure farm.  The kids had a BLAST:  holding chicks, seeing all the farm animals, doing the jump pillow, playing in the water area, going on the potato sack slides, and more.  The place was AWESOME and I would totally head back there again!

We had to call it quits around lunch time due to the super hot weather (it was nearing 100 degrees), five tired kids, and it was time to head home to beat the DC traffic.  We said a sad good-bye to our friends, but we knew we would get to see them again next month, and loaded in the car for a nice quiet ride home where all three kids napped almost the whole way home!  

It may be crazy to vacation the way we do, but we LOVED this very special time with our friends!

It Takes A Village...

They say that it takes a village to raise a child and I'm going to have to agree.  And we really miss the our village right now...

This summer has been a bittersweet time.  I have loved every minute that I have spent with these three kids trying to enjoy the adventures that we have gone through knowing that we won't be able to take back the time that passes.  Moving out of one house.  Living at Grandma's.  Moving into a new house.  Enjoying the new sights and sounds of the DC area.  Aiden , a very active four year old.  Andrew, a curious and excitable toddler.  And Abby, a sweet and loving baby.  As summer is starting to wind down, I am finally getting truly worn out.  I have spent every waking minute of my day with these kids.  I wake up with them at 6 am and am always included in bedtime (especially with a nursing baby) around 8 pm.  We play together, clean together, eat together, read together, shop together, run errands together, etc.  You name it, my kids will be included with me.  The only downtime that I find in my days comes at 9 pm when I'm either picking up, eating dinner, or completely passed out on the couch.  I know, if you are a mom, you totally understand this post and can say an "amen."

I have to say right now that I miss our friends in New Jersey where I could head to their houses, let the kids have a crazy and happy time, and soak in some other "mom" time.  I miss heading to the town pool, like we did last year, where we always saw friends to play and hang out with.  I miss having support and love from those around us.  But I don't want to look to the past because I know that there is a reason we are here and it really has been a fun area to explore.  The kids and I have been blackberry picking, seen music concerts and magic shows, ate at some wonderful restaurants, and explored new parks.  Chris and I have talked about trying to really make the most of it here because this city is great for little ones and we want to say that we really put effort in to experiencing life here in these two years.  

But it's not easy.  Chris started his new job and is busy establishing himself there.  Kids are up in the night.  Errands need to be done, like getting to the DMV and running to the post office.  New doctors and dentists have to be found.  Etc. Etc. Etc.  I know that this rough patch will pass as preschool is starting soon and my active boys will have an outlet besides their mommy.  I will savor a few quiet afternoons a week while the kids are (hopefully) enjoying school time.  We will hopefully get more connected in the mom's group around here as well as meeting families at the preschool.  Maybe, we can find a babysitter again?!?!  Fall arrives and it will be filled with time at the park, travels around the area, and whatever fun plans that I come up with.  (Trust me, we don't have too much dull or boring moments in this house!)  

This weekend, we are really excited to head north to meet two of our NJ bestie families at the shore for a fun weekend with friends.  And next week, I am thankful for a visit from my mom.  It's been a LONG time since we have had any family visit and I am so thankful for my mom to take some time away from her busy schedule to spend time with these kids and give these two parents just a few moments of a much-needed break.  So as tired as I am, I am excited to see a little of "our village" in the next week. 

And of course, you can't do a post without a little shots of these three kids (and please ignore these terrible haircuts that the boys got! AAAhh, thankfully I was able to "fix" Andrew's haircut enough that it is at least not embarrassing to head out in public.  We have discovered one place already that we will not be returning back too...!)

Fourth of July Beach Trip!

Yes, we did move into our new house on July 1st and take a trip three days later.  But when Uncle Andy, my brother, comes to the East Coast from California once a year, we always make sure to see him.  So we loaded up in the middle of the night and headed south on the 3rd, arriving at the beach by 9:30 am for a full day on the beach!  

This little girl was all ready for the 4th of July...

 While the rest of us just savored a couple extra beach days with Uncle Andy, Cynthia, MeMe Ruff, and Grandma Snow!  We enjoyed lots of time at the beach, some nice family meals, lots of game playing, and fireworks.  It was a perfect and relaxing 4th of July before we headed back to really start the unpacking!

Our Month of July!

I love to use this blog as a journal of the Rogers life, mostly for myself so I don't forget all the precious time that passes by with our little ones.  I used to do weekly recaps.  But now I have three kids (and really active little ones), blog over at The Chirping Moms, continue to have a husband that works a lot, and even try to sneak in a few moments to myself (to exercise or read usually!).  So I have decided to switch to monthly recaps to make my life easier:)  So I'm starting with this past July...

We kicked off July by moving into our new house in Virginia, right outside Washington DC!  Most of my pictures still remain on my phone from this time as I was Internet less and somehow haven't found time to download the pictures from my iPhone since Abby was born:)  (So all of these come from my big camera)!  Moving in was a bit crazy...Chris was at work while I held down the fort at home with the three kids unpacking one box at a time!  (It was a very slow process...)

Thankfully, we had plans for the 4th of July to head back down south to Emerald Isle again to meet Grandma Snow, my mom, and my brother Andy and his girlfriend Cynthia.  We drove through the night on the 3rd and were ready to celebrate all weekend long!  This family loves the beach time..

Then, we headed back up to Virginia for another week of unpacking and some super special visitors.  That Sunday, our good friends from NJ, the Nixons, were driving through back to NJ and stopped to stay with us for two nights!  Chris had to head to work, but I navigated the trains with all three kids and the four of them (they also have two kids) to show them the sights of Washington DC since they have never been there.  We had lots of fun touring the city and the kids LOVED having their bestie friends here.  And we loved having them here---hopefully we see them soon.  They left on Tuesday and it was back to unpacking  and we reunited with all of our toys that sat in storage for a month.  We may have attempted to get out of the house a little bit with some grocery store runs, park trips, Target errands, and some much needed caffeine at the coffee shop!

 We headed out the following Sunday to spend the night with Jill and cousin Jack up in PA!  The boys always love their play time with Jack:)  (And I always savor a little sister time!)  The following day, we headed up to Lancaster, PA to spend TWO days with our long lost NJ besties---Courtney, Maggie, and Alex.  We hit up the Strasburg Railroad, Choo-Choo Barn, some good ole Amish cooking, and an adventure farm.  Some may Courtney and I are crazy for attempting a vacation with five kids, four and under, but any one that knows us doesn't question our sanity.  Anything to meet up with our friends, right?  We even survived one hotel room with all five kids!  We miss this family like CRAZY!!!!!

 We arrived back home and spent the rest of the month finding our way around our new hometown and trying to turn our new place into our home for the next two years.  This includes...

• our first family run with all three kids
• learning the trails and playground of our new neighborhood
• discovering new parks around town
• a Mister Knick Knack concert at the Reston Town Center
• getting our new library card and checking out some new books
• loving that Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and Harris Teeter are all within 5 miles from here!  ( My grocery budget may not be loving this as I like to shop more often, but we are eating out less so I guess that's a good thing!)
• Chik-Fil-A Kids' Night with all three kids while Chris worked late
• Spent a morning at the farm, loving all the farm animals and tractors

In other news, Abby turned four months.  And her five month update will be here soon so I don't' want to spoil the update so I will keep her paragraph short and sweet.  Isn't she the sweetest little girl ever?!?!?  She is loved so much by all, what a lucky stinking girl!

Andrew is turning into a wild child!  He is quickly adjusting to his new home, although he misses his sandbox dearly.  He talks about it daily---I think I may have to break down and find one this week!!!  He loves anything that moves: trains, trucks, tractors, diggers, and more.  Riding on the Metro train is like the highlight of his summer.  This BIG boy started potty training has done wonderful.  He still is in a pull-up at naps and bedtime, but quickly adjusted to his big boy briefs!  He still loves his doggie and pacifier, but is finally only allowed them at bedtime.  He does NOT like to help clean up and loves to say "no" (I just love the twos:))  He loves chocolate milk, goldfish, and yogurt drinks.  He opens the fridge every morning to bring me the milk carton and chocolate bottle.  He loves Team Umizoomi and would love to watch tv all day (if only Mommy would let him).  He loves to use his TAG reader, especially the book Things that Go.  He is an outside kid, loves to touch bugs, has no fear at the playground, and scoots around on his mini scooter through the neighborhood.  How he has changed in the past few months...

Aiden is growing up before my eyes.  He has started to receive allowance, 50 cents per day for completing certain tasks.  He loves to play on our cul-de-sac with the driving tractor, his tricycle, scooter, and more!  He has a great interest in board games, his favorites right now are Guess Who, dominos, and Go Fish.  He wears polo shirts and shorts with pockets, always dressing himself with no input from me (unless he picks out plaids and stripes together!).  He loves to play cars and creates little towns and farms.  He loves chewing gum and sparkling water.  He goes to "work" every morning with his button down shirt, khaki pants, and dress shoes.  He likes to pretend he is drinking coffee and soda, just like Daddy.  Aiden loves to make my morning coffee, mixing in the splenda and creamer just right.  He is always the first child awake, running in for morning snuggles in our bed.  He goes all day long until he finally crashes around 8:30 pm.  

Happy Four Months Abby!

Since we are nearing on the five month birthday, I thought I better take a few minutes to talk about Abby's fourth month of life! 

What an adventure Abby's fourth month of life has been.  Seriously, she has had the craziest months of her life.  In this month, we were finishing a visit to the beach as our family of five, spent about two weeks at my mom's house, moved in to our new house in Vienna, VA, headed back down to the beach for another vacation with Andy and Cynthia, and back up to our new house to unpack, unpack, and unpack!  And despite all the hours in the car, rooms that this girl have slept in, and all the people that she has seen...this girl is seriously amazing!  She's happy, sweet, and rarely cries!

Abby did visit our NEW doctor for her 4 month visit, which we loved by the way!  She weighed in at 11 pounds, 6 ounces (5-10th percentile) and 22 inches for height (less than 2%)!  She had another round of shots and boy did she cry.  But it didn't last long and the amazing new doctor practice gave her an adorable Beanie Baby elephant to keep to help soothe her shots away.  She continues to wear a size one diaper and clothes ranging in sizes from 0-6 months. 

First of all, we just love Abby's smiles!  She is such a happy, happy baby.  Seriously, check out the smile in these pictures?  Abby has mastered the art of rolling both ways!  She loves to show off her rolling skills:)  Abby spends a lot of her time in someone's arms or in the carrier, but she has enjoyed a few minutes of each day in the bouncer, chilling in the rock and play, and we have introduced her to the Bumbo.  She seems content about anywhere as long as someone (me, Chris, or big brothers) is around to help keep her entertained.

 Abby is a great "third" child.  She goes with the flow, being dragged around to everything along with her brothers.  She spends lots of time in the Baby Bjorn while we are out at parks, going on walks with her brothers, and running grocery store runs.  Aiden just adores his little baby sister, smothering her with hugs and kisses.  Andrew, our little rascal, talks about his "baby sister" and although not super touchy feely always manages to sneak in a bedtime hug.  

 Abby still sleeps in her rock and play all swaddled up.  She has started to sleep through the night (Cross my fingers that this stays because her brothers didn't sleep through until after they were a year old!  She must know that this mommy needs all the sleep that she can get.)  She naps two to three times a day and is always easy to put down--I think the busy days keep her tired enough that there is no battle to get back to sleep.  (If I could crawl into a bed for a nap, I would be joining nap time!)  Abby continues to nurse about every three hours during the day and usually will take a bottle, although we don't consistently give it to her everyday.  I, honestly, enjoy nursing her as they are our little "mommy and me" times amidst our crazy days!  Spit up continues to be a disaster and little Abby continues to be on reflux medicine.  It doesn't really bother me, although we go through an awful lot of outfits and burp cloths!

Happy Four Months, Baby Girl!  We love you SOO much!!!!