Christmas #6 - The Finale

Besides being with all the Rogness' this last Sunday for a great time, many of the cousin's enjoyed the Wii. This seems to be a common theme amongst the celebrating.

Ryan playing the drums
Harrison learning to play the guitar from Shelley! He asks about this all the time!

One thing that we didn't realize that we would be encountering was an uninvited, mean, nasty, and pure evil little man called "Mr. NOROVIRUS"! For those of you not familiar with him, he enjoys crowds and sticking to places. There were 39 members to attend Rogness Christmas and I think close to 30 now have "enjoyed" his presence in their lives. Yes, be thankful you weren't a part of this little shin-dig! Thankfully I have been the only on to be affected by it in our immediate family, but we still seem to have a few more members being visited, so I'm not totally saying the the boys aren't out of the woods yet! Unfortunately, this pretty much takes away the possibility of going out and celebrating the New Year tonight. From what I understand, even after you have "partied" with Mr. Noro you can still spread his love to others days after being sick yourself. Yes, your only contact with me will be from the safe distance of blogging for a few more days. Now I need to buy some stock in Chlorox wipes to clean our infected house. Oh the joy of winter, and all the germs that manage to find their way into our lives!

Christmas #5

We were at home, just the 4 of us on Christmas morning.

This was our "Baby's First Christmas" and he enjoyed the wrapping paper the most of anything!

We spent Christmas Day at Kevin's parents house again, but this time we celebrated with Lois' mom, Ellsworth, Mary & Frank! A Wii-ly good time was had by all!

Wii Bowling

Emmett giving Great-grandma kisses, or just chewing on her chin! Now that's real love!

Harrison napping in his Cars bed that he got as a gift from Grandpa & Grandma. No more pack-n-play for this big boy!

Christmas #4

Christmas Eve evening was spent with Kevin's family at his parent's house.

The whole crew
Emmett got a Curious George from Auntie Jill & Uncle Zach with some new CG books. She is continuing on the tradition of a stuffed animal and books (remember Harrison got a Grinch and the book).

Christmas #3

Are you noticing a trend here?? We have celebrated Christmas a few times this season!

This is Christmas Eve morning! We celebrated with my family - Mom, Jim, and Josh.

It has been a tradition in my dad's family to have Oyster Stew for Christmas Eve, and I thought it would be fun to carry on the tradition this year. I didn't end up making the traditional milk and oyster mix, but added some vege's to it for some of the non-oyster fans in the family. It was really good, and I think all of us enjoyed it. Of coarse we also had bread, cheese & crackers, chicken wings/drummies, meatballs, brownies, etc. to help round out the soup.Uncle Josh and Emmett
Uncle Josh's gift was a huge hit. A John Deere pedal tractor with a wagon! He did comment that it was against his better judgement (we grew up with red equipment). You can see Emmett got in on the riding as well! We're still working on how to pedal.

Christmas #2

Unfortunately there are no pictures to go with this Christmas celebration. The original plan was to get together with my mom's extended family on the 20th, but with a winter storm coming (and it did) the party got moved to the evening of the 19th. With all the hustle and bustle to get going on short notice we forgot the camera! We had a great time though, enjoying great food at my grandma's house with most everyone able to come. I had a few cousin's that live a ways away and couldn't be there on that short of a notice, or weren't able to come for the weekend anyways. Harrison had fun playing with some of his 2nd cousin's that he doesn't see that often, and Emmett just took it all in.

Now I just need to finish up of the rest of the festivities that we took part in!

PEEK

The Past Few Weeks . . .

I apologize to you frequent followers that have been hoping for a new post... for a while now, and I haven't come through for you. Let's just say the past couple weeks have been one's that I don't want to go through again. Blogging wasn't (and still isn't) my top priority - which is okay - but I know that many enjoying seeing pictures of the boys because they can't see them in person often. I'm putting a random selection of pictures in one post to cut back on my time spent explaining everything since the 8th, so these would be the highlights!

So now when Harrison has his picture taken, and he says, "Cheese," he scrunches up his entire face. You'll notice this on a few other pictures further down.

We had pannekoeken "baked pancake" for supper one night. We had it at a friends house and we loved it. Now it will be a staple on nights when I don't know what to make and don't want to take alot of time making something!
Does anyone else have dry air in their house??

Oh, do I wish we could go outside in the warm sun to enjoy these sunglasses! But it's way too cold outside to even think about it.

I had aprons made for myself and my 2 friends that I do freezer meals with. Our initials are "A, B, and C" so hence the name. Harrison just HAD to try on the new accessory!

He looks so sweet in this picture.

Little Emmers isn't so little, but he's still my baby!

He has so much fun sitting on the floor and going through this tub of toys that I have for him. It's fun to see what he picks out to play with.

They still are enjoying each other most of the time.

Emmett is so smiley, and his big blue eyes make me melt.

This picture really does show the resemblances between these brothers. There have been many people that have commented on how much they look alike now. We definitely see that they are brothers, but being the parents and seeing them all the time, we do see big differences too.

What's Happenin'

Here's Harrison with his new Play-Doh! He stayed busy for 30 minutes, and I basically had to cut him off for lunch and a nap, so this will be a new activity for times when I need time.
When mom's away, the boys will play - their own way! Use your imagination . . . Harrison was pushing Emmett on the bus. Of coarse someone had to put him on the bus. I wonder who that could have been???

The boys taking their naps. Kevin likes to take the boys into Harrison's bed a play in the evenings - SO NICE!

The little guy has had his first puff! He still gags on them a little bit, and he can't pick them up and put them in his mouth on his own yet. So they are kind of a toy at this point in time. Harrison has managed to pretty much eat what was left of the container after this episode, so I don't have any more to give Emmett right now. It was funny to look over and see Harrison pour the puffs out of the container into a little cup that was sitting on the floor. Put the lid back on, and place it back on the counter, before coming back to grab the cup to consume his self-served snack. Now I really need to pay attention to what is close the the edge of my counters!

Christmas #1 - Dusing Christmas

Our celebratory festivities started this last Saturday by having out first Dusing Christmas. We had supper at our house, the kids had a little gift exchange, and then the adults did a nice white elephant style of gifts! Afterwards we went to the hotel and swam for a bit before going home to bed 1.5 hours past the boys bedtime. We ended the weekend with church the next morning, and breakfast/lunch at Perkins. Fergus even managed to have a little snow, so that helped it feel a little more Christmas like.

Emmett got a bath time tug boat.

Harrison got his first ever Play-Doh (pictures enjoying this later,) and mega blocks!
Mataya got a new Barbie, and a princess leapster game.

Morgan got a dolphin Webkinz and a HSM3 Gabriella barbie.

Maison got a gift card for iTunes and AXE products.

Uncle Josh kept Harrison well entertained with his "own" (phonetically,) and teased Mataya to no end. What else are uncles for??

Lobster Monster

Ever Wonder . . .

Kevin's Grandma emailed this to me, and thought it was too funny not to post! Enjoy!

Comments Made in the Year 1955! That's only 53 years ago!

'I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00.'

'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a used one.'

'If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.

'Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?'

'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.'

'When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.'

'Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls.'

'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL of DAMN in it.'

'I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas .'

'Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.'

'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.'

'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.'

'It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work.'

'Marriage doesn't mean a thing any more, those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat.'

'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.'

'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress.'

'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.'

'There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend, it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel.'

'No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for my blood.'

'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.'

Hope you had a good little chuckle!

Happy 7 Month Birthday!

That's right, the little guy is 7 months today. We are more than half way to the big 1st birthday. Its scares me a little to think of how fast this time went. We are so thankful to have 2 wonderful boys to make us laugh everyday!

I really dislike those funky, red, reflective eyes, but I tried fixing them and it looked like Harrison got a little too smoky with the eyeshadow, so you'll just have to deal with it.

The Grinch was back on TV the other night, and Harrison watched with his own personal grinch. It was too cute.
Apparently Harrison thought his "pup" needed to catch up on some reading in his booster. No we did not help him do this. Was all on his own, and we didn't even suggest that he should do it. It's fun to see how his mind is working.

Totally bundled, with hardly any snow on the ground, but it was cold. He was in some major need of burning some energy! Thankfully daddy was willing, and instigated the outside time away from me.

Harrison reading Emmett a book. I hope that Emmett enjoys reading as much as Harrison does. It's one way that we can snuggle with him on our laps, without squirming.

In Preparation . . .

Yes, I realize that Thanksgiving was almost a week ago, but thought I would still show you what my contribution was to the day. Top: Cranberry Apple Pie. Bottom left: Classic Pecan Pie. Bottom right: Pumpkin Pie (with cream cheese.) I just couldn't decide when I was contemplating my direction, so I chose all 3. They all brought their own flavor to the party!

This Week

I can't believe how random I am with my blogging! I'm sorry to those of you that check often to see what we are up to. Some days provide me with time to sit and contemplate our life over the past few days, and others tend to ... well, get out of hand and hinder me from even making it to the computer. Either way, I hope this post fills you up.

Life with a 2 year old is . . . interesting! One day can be fantastic, and the next a disaster. I just love the pic of my "sweet" 2 year olds face here.
Every bath needs "bub." Mommy got a little carried away with the bubbles this time, but he had a blast. It's so funny how I feel the need to rinse him really good after he's had bubbles in his bath. The thought of soap residue makes me itch.

Finally, the boys are playing together, and they both enjoy it - most of the time. Emmett is doing so good sitting up. I have the boppy behind him because when he gets mad he throws himself backwards. Obviously an attention getter.

What can you say about those big, blue eyes! They melt my heart multiple times a day! He is such a snuggle bug too! Ahhh...!

No matter how big the rolls, this boy finds something to suck on. When his toes are free from clothing the big one goes right in! It's so funny to see him do this!

Hope you enjoyed this weeks installment of the Mommy Rogness Ramblings!

An Entrance to Remember

Some of you may have noticed the link on the right "Fueled By Rice." I don't want to go into all the details of their site, but a great friend of Kevin's was on a biking trip from Beijing to Paris, and then from Chicago to Minneapolis. Feel free to visit their blog to get a more detailed understanding of their mission.

The last time that we saw Andrew was right before he left for China and Harrison was 5 months old. There was a funny comment, "Harrison, you haven't changed a bit!" It immediately felt like old times, and that we hadn't been away from each other for a year and a half.

We had the opportunity to go to the cities and welcome them home! They had a chili supper for them and all the visitors when they arrived! It was a great night of seeing an old friend, and being able to be there for the end of their incredibly long journey (over 10,500 miles)!

Kevin, Andrew, myself, and Emmett

Harrison got to stay with Auntie Jill for the evening.
FBR shared a few of the songs that they sang along their tremendous trek. They will be recording their songs this week here in Fergus.

If you didn't believe that they were pedal bikes, here is the proof!

I don't know about anyone else, but I think this tire is looking like it has traveled a few thousand miles.

Some of the luggage that was pulled along the way.

Andrew did say that the worst part was the last 2 days in the frigid temperatures. Kevin had really wanted to ride with them from Rochester, but it got a little too difficult to orchestrate with family, how to get there, etc. He did promise Andrew that he would ride around Lake Alice as many times as he wanted to.

I don't know about you, but all I can think is "AMAZING!"