Pictures

So...here are some pictures from Kiernan's birthday party. He had it at this cyber cafe place where there are a million computers and tv's and leather couches and the kids get to play video games for free the whole time. It was a little too old for my kids but Kiernan and his friends had a really good time. Doesn't Kiernan look a lot like Jeff???

Many Things...A Quick Summary

I know, I know it has been forever since I have updated my blog...sorry everyone. Things have been so hectic. Since Anna's baptism we have been running around like crazy people.

Let's see...Back in the beginning of September we went to Jeff's son Kiernan's Birthday party. It was the first time our kids had ever met their half brother. Kiernan turned 12! It was a really cool experience and we had a ton of fun.

The week after that we went and saw Jeff's mom, who we haven't seen in almost 2 years and that was really nice too.

My kids started soccer. Elizabeth's team is hilarious, four year olds have a very hard time getting the ball in the correct goal. Anna is doing really well though and made her first goal last week. Dallin is in swim lessons and loves it.

School is going good for everyone. Elizabeth LOVES pre-school and Anna had all A's and 2 B's on her midterms. She is going on a very cool field trip today to see treasures from the deep at a museum in Dover.

I have had a gazillion baby showers to go to lately. I think everyone in the whole world is pregnant. Speaking of which...poor Kimberly (my sister), she had her ultra sound to find out what the sex of the baby was...and no luck, the baby was turned the wrong way and the umbilical cord was in the way, so now they are going to have to wait until February when she has the baby to find out. Sad, sad day. But...the baby was very healthy and that is all that is important.

Last weekend we had our very good friends Vicki and Val Christensen visit us from Rexburg, Idaho. They brought Maryanne who is 13 now and 5 foot 8 inches tall! And George who is a senior in highschool. It was so nice to see them and we did a lot of fun things. We went to D.C. and saw the air and space museum, the Jefferson Memorial and the D.C. Temple. We also went to the beach and I taught Maryanne how to make earings. Vicki re-taught me how to knit, and now I am making my first scarf. It was great to see them.

This weekend we went to Ben and Cyndi's house for Jake's baptism. I cannot believe how big our kids are getting. Jeff gave a great talk at the bapism. I had a great time. I was able to see quite a few people from my old ward and it was great to have the family all together.

Audrey is almost 3 months old! She is getting cuter by the second. At her doctor's appointment she weighed 12 pounds! She is in the 95th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for weight. She is our biggest and tallest baby ever! The others were always in like the 10th percentile. She is smiling and cooing and starting to grab for things, and all those other super cool baby things.

Well that is that. Things should slow down for a little bit now. Wait, what am I talking about?? It is almost time for Halloween, and that means Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. I AM NOT ready for that. Oh well, maybe by January my life will have a moment of peace.

Blessing and Confirmation Pictures

Pictures from Baptism

Here are the pictures I promised. I am planning on putting my future pictures on a family photo site.

Baptism and Blessing

Wow! What a weekend... Anna was baptized on Saturday. It was so beautiful. She did great and so did Jeff. We are so proud of Anna. On Sunday in sacrament Jeff confirmed Anna and then blessed Audrey. I wasn't able to hear much of Audrey's blessing because the microphone shorted out (very sad moment for me), but the confirmation was amazing. What a special weekend for us. What made it even more special was our family was there to share it with us. My mom, Jeff's dad, Ben and Cyndi, their kids and Marshall and Kym were all able to be there. We feel so blessed to be close to family. And we feel so blessed to particiapate in such sacred church ordinances. We have talked about Anna being baptized since the day she was born and it is just amazing to me that she is old enough to be accountable for her actions. I am planning on posting pictures of the whole weekend so stay tuned.

Back To School

Anna's first day of school was yesterday. Third Grade...I can't blieve it! She was so excited. She really liked her teacher and said that it was a great day. She is in all the advanced classes this year so we are really proud of her. She had a hard time in reading last year, but has improved so much.

I had some good news yesterday. Elizabeth got into the pre-K program at the elementary school. We had been waiting to hear all summer. And at one point we were told she would NOT be getting in. So it was a great surprise yesterday to find out she will be starting today. I have to drive her to school but she will be riding the bus home with Anna. She is beside herself. When we found out yesterday I took her to get a back pack and a new outfit. She picked a dress to wear and a Disney Princess backpack, of course, because she is the queen of girly things.

I have to say that I am a little nervous about all this. I can't imagine a four year old at school without me or riding a bus, (at least Anna will be on it with her). She will be going half a day every day of the week. It will be so strange to just have Dallin and Audrey home with me. Dallin has never had time with just me, I think it will be wonderful for him.

Audrey Smiling

I can't believe it...I actually got Audrey to smile, and I took a picture of it. It is hard to believe she is already 6 weeks old!
I am also posting a couple more of Elizabeth and Anna from our vacation...Enjoy!!!!

Get with the program

Yesterday I decided to get back on track with my dieting and exercising. Before I became pregnant with Audrey I was doing Weight Watchers and exercising 5 days a week. I had lost 20 pounds. So I decided to give WW another try. I like the program because they work with nursing moms. I just have to add a few points a day to keep my calory intake at the right place. So today is day 2 of eating good and exercising. I'm not sure when I'll actually have the time to get to the gym again, but for now I am exercising at home. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with it.

I hate dieting though. It is so hard (understatement of the century). Last night at Young Women we borrowed a chocolate fountain and had a chocolate party. We had every delectable treat known to man to dip in the beautiful waterfall of glistening milk chocolate. It was one of the hardest things I've ever endured...but I did it. I only had some apples and strawberries, and one pretzel stick...not to shabby. I can resist temptation, I know I can. I can stick to this diet program and by Christmas I will look like a super model...right???

More Pics

Ocean City Pics

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. I did not take as many as I thought I did.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Well, we are home. We had such a great time! I love the ocean. We had beautiful weather. We hung out at the beach, at the pool, and at the boardwalk. We ate horribly unhealthy food and went shopping. The kids had so much fun. And Jeff and I feel relaxed and re-energized.

The most entertaining part of the entire vacation was taking my daughter on her very first "real" roller coaster. It is pretty tame as far as roller coasters go, but it does go upside down and backwards and has a pretty big first hill. Anna has been dying to go on this ride since we first moved here. Every year we go to the boardwalk and we take her to see if she passes the height requirement. This year, finally, she passed...barely. When the head restraint came down Anna looked so tiny, like a little doll. I was so terrified that she was going to fall out of the seat that I wouldn't let go of her leg the entire ride. She probably still has bruises where I was holding her thigh. She had so much fun. The weird part was that I was terrified. I screamed like a little girl. In fact I didn't even want to go on it at all. Anna had to talk me into it. It took me 2 hours to get the nerve up to take her. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have loved roller coasters my whole life. I have always been a major thrill ride enthusiast. I tease Jeff relentlessly because he abors roller coasters. Now, I am 31 and I suppose mortallity is cathcing up to me. I was positive the entire ride that I was going to die. And as I mentioned previously, this roller coaster is pretty tame. The lamest part is I have been on this roller coaster before. What does this mean?? Will I have to hang out with Jeff now at the shows and game sections of amusement parks? Will Anna have to go on roller coasters by herself until Elizabeth is tall enough to ride with her. I am so ashamed. Maybe it is because I just had a baby and in a few months I will return to my old thrill-seeking self. I hope so.

Elizabeth definitely takes after Anna. She went on every single little kiddy ride, and wanted to go on the big rides with Anna. Dallin on the other hand takes after Jeff, he went on one ride...a pretty lame little boat ride, that just went around and around. He hated every second of it and refused to go on anything else. Jeff was happy that he now has a perminant game playing buddy.

We got home last night and I was so sad. I wish we could have stayed longer. It was so nice to have family time and play together. I was happy to be back in my own bed however. I always sleep so much better in my own bed.

Stay tuned....I will post some pictures of our fabulous weekend trist later today.

Weekend Get-Away

I am so excited! Jeff and I are taking the kids to the beach for the weekend. Jeff took off tomorrow and Monday and we are going to stay in Ocean City and hang out at the beach for four whole days! Yes, I know it doesn't count as a real vacation, considering we are only going 20 minutes away. But I am excited nontheless! It will be nice to get out of the house and let the kids have some much needed fun before school starts on the 28th.

Check Up

Audrey had her 2 week check up today. She is doing great! She has grown 2 inches and gained over a pound since she was born! She is now at 9.25 lbs and is 21 and a 1/2 inches long. The doctor said she is just perfect...Yeah!! It is so nice to have a baby that loves to eat. Breastfeeding was such a struggle with the other three.

Back To Reality

The last few days have not been as perfect and peaceful as last week. Last week, Jeff was taking the kids a million places to give me some quiet time and Audrey slept 22 hours a day. This week, Jeff is back at work, my kids are home as loud as ever, and Audrey refuses to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time at night.

I have been trying to keep the kids busy, but it's so stinking hot they refuse to stay outside for more than 15 minutes at a time. I am really looking forward to school starting, they are in desperate need of extracurricular activities. Anna and Elizabeth will both do soccer, and I am going to put them all in swim lessons. Hopefully that will calm things down a bit during the day.

I have some more pictures for you...Kids trying to keep cool, Audrey's first bath and, Audrey in the swing. She is not much of a swing fan, she likes human touch 90 percent of the day.

Family Fun

We had such a nice weekend. On Saturday Ben and Cyndi came up to our house with their kids to see the baby and to celebrate Anna's Birthday. The visit was so nice. Then on Sunday my parents came down and Grandma Troiano and Pap Pap came over (that is what my kids call Bob). It was a busy weekend but I loved having family around. It is fun to show off a new baby. Especially as one as cute as Audrey.

I thought I would post some pictures of the weekend. The picture of Audrey is one from her first night home in her cradle. The one of Ben is him showing the kids how to juggle (Anna got a juggling kit for her birthday). I think you can see Cyndi, Kym, Marshall and Elise in the background.

Anna is officially eight I can't believe it. I took her to get her ears pierced Saturday morning before Ben and Cyndi got there. We had so much fun. She felt so special. I think eight is such a perfect age to do the ears, because I let Anna make the decision, and that is what being eight is all about. She is not a little girl any more. Wow, time sure goes by quickly. In one of the pictures if you click on it, you can see Anna's earings.

Presenting...Audrey Nicole Rogers

She's finally here everyone! Audrey Nicole "polka-dot" Rogers has graced us with her angelic presence. She is the sweetest most wonderful baby ever! She was born on Monday, July 17th at 4:29pm. She weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 2.4oz and measuring 19 & 3/4 inces long, (Our biggest baby ever!) Her hair is strawberry blond and eyes are still pending, I think blue. We are officially home and very happy. I have a million pictures for you, so enjoy! Thank you all so much for the prayers and well wishes.

The End Is In Sight...

Well, I had my doctor's appointment today. The baby has pretty much stayed in the exact same position as she was in last week. But... My doctor set an inducement date for Monday at 8am. So at least I know I will have this baby by Monday. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!

Stubborn Baby

Well, the full moon came and went, my birthday came and went, and now today is my official due date and still no baby. So much for predictions. COME ON AUDREY GET HERE ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too Old

I was just taking a look at my profile and it automatically swithced my age to 31 today. How rude I didn't give my blog permission to change my age. Very depressing. I knew I was older today, but it didn't hit me until I saw it in writing, "31" just sitting there taunting me...ha ha you are definitely in your 30's now, no looking back to 20's. I think 31 is worse than 30. Oh well, at least I'm not in labor today...yet.

Peer Pressure

I liked my polka dot theme on my blog, it was in homage to Audrey. Elizabeth named the baby polka dot (which she continues to call her) when we first found out I was preganant. However, I have had some pooh pooh comments about how lame my template is so I have decided to give in and make a change. I actually like this one a lot better so this time I think giving into peer pressure was the right decision.

Any Day Now

Well, my due date is only 4 days away so technically I could have this baby any second. But that is not what my baby is thinking. My doctor's appointment was anything but encouraging on Wednesday. My doctor came in all ready to strip my membranes and "hopefully get my labor going" But when he checked me I was still only dialated to a 1 and the baby's head was so far up he couldn't get enough counter resistance to strip my membranes. "sorry", he said "don't worry we won't let you go later than a week past your due date." Oh thanks I thought. Needless to say I was very depressed the rest of the day. I know I'm going to have this baby on my birthday, which is Tuesday. A lot of people think that would be really neat, but not me. I want her to have her own birthday, (not for me, I wouldn't care, but for her sake). Jeff seems to think it will be tomorrow, it's a full moon. We'll see. I am frustrated and fat and misearable and uncomfortable and I whine every second of the day. So I need to have this baby just so poor Jeff won't go insane. Oh well, I know it's going to happen it's not like she can stay in there forever, but oh my goodness am I ready!!!!!!!!!!!

We're drowning!

I am going insane. It has been raining none stop since Thursday. Our back yard looks like a lake. And...it isn't supposed to stop raining until later this week. I am not usually one to complain about rain, I love rainy days. They make everything look so green and I can get lots of stuff done around the house. I think what is actually making me so miserable is how miserable my children are. I have run out of movies for them to watch, run out of computer games for them to play and run out of art project ideas. I am coming to my wits end. Does anyone have any suggestions???

Waiting

I hate waiting. I am the most impatient person on the planet. July 12th is not that far off, but I want to have the baby now! I have this stack of new baby clothes, I am dying to use...I am dying to know how big she is, what color eyes she will have...will she have red hair? I am dying to get labor over with...will it be easy? Will my water break on its own? Will she be healthy and happy? I need to know these things right now, NOT in 3 weeks. Argh! I don't think I have ever been so restless before the end of a pregnancy like this before.

One Sided Baby

Does anyone else have exceptionally bizarre thoughts about how there babies will come out when they are pregnant? The night before last I woke up at about 2:30am...Audrey was kicking me like crazy. As I lay there feeling her kick I realized that she has this thing for the right side of my tummy, I mean it is totally, completely the only side I ever feel her moving on. I lay there thinking...hmmm, I wonder why she never goes to the Left side of my tummy, I don't remember any of my other babies ONLY liking one side of my tummy, that is really weird. After about an hour of trying to push her over to the left side of my tummy (with no luck) I started to get paranoid...what if there is something wrong with the left side of my uterus, what if I have a giant tumor that is keeping her strictly prisoner to one side, oh no what if she is paralyzed on one side of her body, or her limbs stopped growing and now she can't reach the other side of my tummy. Needless to say my sick imagination went into overdrive. At about 5:30am, with no sleep and puffy eyes, (by this point I was actually crying because I was positive there was something dreadfully wrong with my baby), I decided to get up and check the computer, I googled every thing I could about fetal movement...I love google. After about an hour of nothing I found something about how near the end of the pregnancy babies often choose one side of there mother's womb that is more "comfy" for them. They put there back to the one side with there head down and you only feel movements on that one side. OH MY GOSH, I WAS SO RELIEVED. I went back to bed and realized what a complete idiot I am. I can't believe I wasted 4 hours of sleep over something so silly. The funny part is since yesterday I have felt Audrey moving on the left side of my tummy a hundred times...I'm sure she was moving over there the whole time and I am just a complete weirdo.

Impromptu Beach Trip

Yesterday I was in the mood for a drive, so I talked Jeff into driving down to Chincoteague, VA (our favorite beach spot). It takes about 45 minutes to get there so the sun was starting to set by the time we arrived. It was beautiful. Sometimes I really miss the grandeur and beauty of the mountains out west, but I have to say that living near the beach is just as cool. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and getting their feet wet, and Jeff and I took some great pictures... Enjoy! Oh, and as a bonus I have included a picture of me, about to burst, which should amuse or disgust you, not sure which.

Am I Crazy?

Am I crazy or is this the fastest moving year ever??? I cannot believe it is June. Anna only has one more week of school left. I'm pretty sure I am happy about that (feelings may change after a week or two of sibling rivalry all day long). It will be so nice to sleep in a little and not have to worry about schedules as much. I am hoping to get to the beach a few times before the baby gets here. I know once she comes fun in the sun will have to wait until next summer.