Fun with Family and Friends...

One of my favorite things about heading back to Iowa is seeing lots of family and friends! We LOVED seeing all of Chris' extended family-grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles:)

And I also enjoyed catching up with some of the best friends that one could have. Some of these friends I have had since elementary school. As much as I love my East Coast friends, there is something special about getting together with my dear, dear friends from many years! I miss them already!!!!

Chris, Dan, Andrew, and Caroline:

Great-Grandma Rogers meeting Andrew for the first time:

And enjoying her little Aiden:

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Lunn with the boys!

I was lucky enough to spend 24 hours visiting one of my best college buddies, Molly! Molly and I did almost everything together in college-working out, going to classes, shopping, etc, etc, etc. We were pretty much partners in crime together:) I haven't seen her in TWO years-that's crazy talk! So I was SO SO SO excited to meet up with her again and her new 6 week old baby, Noah, who is just adorabley cute. I LOVE the newborn stage and miss those cuddles with my wiggle worm. Here's a picutre of us-baby Noah (6 Weeks), Molly, me, and Andrew. Let's hope that we don't go this long again between seeing each other:

And Jill and I have been friends since elementary school! Now, we both have two kids, two dogs, and our hands full!!! I love catching up with her every time I get back to Iowa and will continue our yearly tradition for many, many years;) Here's Anna and Aiden sharing the love for the cell phone:)

And the two boys hanging out together:)

April and I have been through WAY too much together!!!!! We have lived together, vacationed together, worked together, etc, etc, etc... We talk at least once or twice a week still after all these years! If we lived closer, I'm pretty sure we would spend every summer day together with our kids. April was gracious enough to bring her 2 year old and an 18 month old that she does daycare for and meet us at the State Fair! A pretty brave feat to do:) We spent the day at the fair together and then met them for dinner as well!!!!!

On Friday, I took our boys over to my friend Ashley's house for a playdate in the morning. Ashley and I were inseparable for most of my junior high and high school years! We pretty much lived at each other's houses:) It's crazy to think that between the two of us, we now have five kids! And let's just say that there is no way that we could get a crazy picture! And I was even luckier on this trip that I got to meet Ashley for a dinner out without most of these kiddos!

And last, but not least, I also got to see my wonderful Erica! I finally got to meet her baby girl and catch up on good times:) Sadly, I forgot my camera so I will have to wait until next time!

Miss, miss, miss you all my AMAZING friends and family!!!

Pony Pony

Grandpa Rogers promised a pony ride and lo and behold, he came through!

Iowa State Fair

If you have never been to the Iowa State Fair, add it to your bucket list! It is one crazy, impressive, and wild place:) I don't even know how to describe it, but it is nothing like I imagined! So, so, so much more:) We had a great time and here are some pictures to prove it...

The 100th year of the Butter Cow

Petting a baby cow:)

Checking out the rooster!

Getting excited about the horses

Lots and lots of John Deeres

Meeting Clifford for the first time! Aiden was SO excited:)

Checking out some more animals at the petting zoo...look at this big turtle!

And the big Clydesdale horses!

Finally worn out for his afternoon nap:)

Having fun on the merry-g0-round!

Going on a helicopter ride with Mommy!

And look who did Bumper Boats all by himself:)

And there is nothing better than fair food...deep fried butter, red velvet funnel cakes, bacon on a stick, etc, etc, etc. My body is thankful that the only fair food I consumed was a 1/2 grilled chicken sandwich and a strawberry smoothie:)

Not even out of the parking lot and asleep! What a FUN FUN day!

Our Iowa Trip... (Part 1)

So we just arrived back this past weekend from a wonderful ten day trip to Iowa! We were BUSY, BUSY, BUSY while we were there:) In the short amount of time, here is just a small list of the things that we did: lots of visits with family, a trip to the water park, playdates with friends, a short trip to Wisconsin, a day at the state fair, enjoying a morning at the park, smores by the campfire, putt-putt and go-carts, and lots and lots of fun times with Grandma and Grandpa Rogers!

The kids had a wonderful time and traveled quite well, despite a few bedtime meltdowns! Chris and I enjoyed a dinner out to the Brown Bottle and a few extra mornings of sleeping in:) Here are some random pictures from the trip and I will be posting a few more throughout this week!

Enjoying the beach ball sprinkler!

Going down the big slide at the waterpark all by him self:)

Having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's!

My happy boys

Enjoying the Cozy Coupe!

Sharing the car-it's tight in there:)

His first taste of smores...I have to admit that he wasn't a fan of the cooked marshmallow!

Taking a walk to the park

Still loves his swinging...

Having fun on the dinosaur!

Home Sweet Home!

We survived 10 days away from home, 4 airplane flights, several car rides, and lots of fun times in Iowa!!!! We are back home enjoying a rainy day full of playing toys, getting reorganized, and taking some much-needed naps:) More posts to come soon...

Happy 8 Months Andrew!

Oh my goodness, before I know it Andrew is going to be 9 months! So let's quickly celebrate his 8 month birthday with a few updates with what is going on in our little bug's life!

Here's some updates:

• Andrew is CRAZY active!!!! He crawls everywhere and just like his older brother, one leg often drags a little more on the floor than the other. He pulls up on EVERYTHING and he just LOVES to stand!!!! I can't even get him to sit in the bathtub without some major tears because all he wants to do is stand.
• Andrew continues to love toys. He can play, and play, and play. Lately, he has been into cars and trucks pushing them around the floor. He also loves anything that his big brother is playing with-including stuffed animals, buses, and phones! One of his favorite times of the day is when I put Aiden down for his naptime, I let Andrew have free play in our living room for about 15-30 minutes before he goes down for his nap. He just goes crazy playing, squealing, and having a blast! It's so cute:) As much as he loves his big brother, I think he loves his alone time with the toys!
• Andrew also loves to play outside, which is where we spend a lot of the time in the summer:) He crawls all around in the grass. His favorite thing to do at the playground is swing. Sometimes, he just giggles and giggles. Now, he enjoys some rides in the push car or wagon when we take the dogs on a walk. And I'm so thankful that he is FINALLY liking the pool water a little more after going all the summer. I think one of the reasons that he likes it is because he can hold on to the edge and play with toys while he is once again, standing.
• Andrew has a love/hate relationship with food. If he is well-rested and content, he loves to eat. If he is tired and fussy, there is no chance of getting food in this boy's mouth! Just like his brother, he has started to spit out his purees and is ready for some big boy food. Some of his favorite foods are blueberries, sweet potatoes, bananas, yogurt melts, apple bites, and cheese!
• Andrew usually goes to bed around 7:30-8:00 and sleeps until about 6:30ish. He still wakes up once a night, but this is a HUGE improvement when he was waking up about three times. I'm STILL waiting for one full night's of sleep which I will be very grateful for! Andrew also naps twice a day, for about one hour in the morning and about two to three hours in the afternoon! As much as I love my two boys, I am very thankful for the overlap of naps in the afternoon where I can savor some quiet time. You will either find me on the couch catching up on emails, television shows, reading a book, or taking a nap!
• Our little bug is adorable and we continue to love him more everyday!!!!!!!!

Happy 8 Months, Andrew!

Snapshots and Curtains

So I just wanted to share some random pictures from our camera recently!

Like father, like son...

A couple this mornings, we have headed out in the morning to walk dogs. Andrew goes in the carrier while Aiden pushes Happy Feet, his penguin! I think I am getting some crazy looks around the neighborhood...
Enjoying the sunny weather in the sandbox...
Brothers...
Getting ready to head out in the rain...
One on the inside, one on the outside...

Smile Andrew!...
And I am so happy that the curtains I made for the kitchen turned out:) What do you think?