Best.Museum.Ever

One of our favorite trips during the Lewis' visit was to the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus.  There is something similar in Tampa (MOSI) but this one was way better.  It was huge and there was plenty of things for preschool kids to get involved in, and a lot that us adults really enjoyed as well.  I highly recommend it to anyone who might ever be traveling through Ohio.

There was an entire area devoted to preschool play, and the puppet show stage was a big hit there:

There was also a Dora and Diego exhibit that both kids really liked:

Kensie made me proud with her climbing skills :)

Kensie was a hoot on the pirate ship.  They had various costumes all over for the kids to wear.  So cute.

More puppets in the "garden."

Flying the space ship:

Hayden taking a turn at the monkey bars:

Zoe had just as much fun as the big kids:

This was the entrance to the ocean exhibit.  Other exhibits included weather, the body, space, and some others.  We didn't even get through the whole place.

There was a small submarine that kids could climb inside of:

Some fun water experiments:

Everyone had a great time and the day was a definite hit!

Back to the Farm

We interrupt this blog post for a cute baby picture, followed by a brief update:

This is Avery at about 16 weeks.  I took her in for her four month check-up shortly after and found out that she had dropped from 90th percentile in height and 72nd in weight to 35th and 33rd.  (In other words, her growth had slowed down considerably).  The Dr. felt that she needed more calories through the day and suggested supplementing with formula.  It took almost a week for her to take to it but she eventually started getting about 6 ounces a day.  I took her back to the Pediatric clinic yesterday for a growth check and found that she is back in the 50th percentile already.  She weighs 14 pounds now :)

We now return to our scheduled blog posting:

While the Lewis family was in town we went back to the dairy farm for some fun.  We ate and had ice cream again and then let the kids enjoy the activities.  There was a petting zoo:

Peek-a-boo:

A tractor train ride:

And some random cow statues for the kids to sit on and yell "MOO!" at the top of their lungs.

When we returned home we found a package addressed to Hayden by the front door.  It was a birthday present from one of his best friends, Joseph in Idaho.  He was so excited to get something from his friend and loved the Mater truck that he picked out.

The next morning Kensie and Hayden were playing "school," something they did a lot during the visit.  They would pack various things into Hayden's back packs and put on shoes and go hiking through the house to school.  This morning in particular they looked especially, ahem, stylish, so I took a picture.  Notice that neither of them have their shoes on the correct feet :)

S'mores and more S'mores (aka "It's my birthday, hold my hair while I eat my s'more!")

Before I begin the pictures of family visiting, here is one I found that was just too cute to leave out...

Now moving on...Last week my sister, Beth, her husband, Jason and their two little girls Kensie and Zoe came to visit us in Ohio.  We had so much fun- the craziness of having four kids under the age of four under one roof just made it interesting!  We did not get "out and about" as much as we would have with fewer nap and feeding schedules to think about, but Matt and I always enjoy Beth and Jason's company, it was great for Hayden to get to spend so much time with his cousins, and my nieces are ADORABLE! I was also thrilled that they were here during Beth's birthday.  Instead of a birthday cake we made s'mores in the fireplace after putting the kids to bed.  I think we all ate our weight in s'mores.  But before calling it quits, the birthday girl decided to make a death-by-chocolate-and-marshmallows s'more.  Her mistake might have been letting all the chocolate melt by the fire while she was roasting the TWO jumbo marshmallows.  All I can say is I have not laughed that hard in a while.  The marshmallow ended up in her hair and since her fingers were covered in chocolate she was calling histerically for Jason to come hold her hair.  This led to the pointing out of the obvious irony that while some people who consider themsleves young and cool need assistance holding their hair over the toilet at 3am on their 21st birthday for a different reason, we need help eating our s'mores before turning in at 9:30pm.  Do we know how to live it up, or what?  You're right, you probably had to be there.  Here is a picture for proof: 

We take s'more making very seriously in this family.

Jason's "double" s'more...Beth started a new trend.

The next day, the dads took the big kids out for an outdoor fire and more s'more making,

Needless to say, fun was had by all!

Fall in Ohio

Before we moved out here I had really been looking forward to the fall and it has proven to be worth the wait!  Until very recently we had been spending a lot of time outside enjoying the pretty leaves and nice weather.  Before we moved into our new house we were hesitant about the back-yard having a steep hill and all of the steps leading down from the deck.  But we have been loving the time spent out there so far, enjoying all the trees and building fires in the fire pit.  We will figure out the hazards when the toddler years hit :)  

Hayden started preschool in the beginning of October and has been doing really well so far.  The family that lived next to us on base while we were house hunting has a little boy in Hayden's same class.  Hayden was so excited to have a friend there already and it made the transition way easier.  One day they had a fall festival and invited parents to come along.  There was a tractor-pulled hay ride, a big pile of hay for the kids to play in (a big hit) and they each got to pick a pumpkin.  Avery was as happy as she always is hanging out in her stroller.

Here is a rare picture: Matt in his uniform.  And how cute of a pair do these two make?  This picture was taken on the back deck.

We collected so many pumkins that I decided to let Hayden do some painting one afternoon.  

Once again, Avery was thrilled.  We are blessed to have such a happy baby.

The sun was a little bright, so we tried her shades.

This tree was gorgeous, so I took a picture just to show it off.

Like I said, we have been enjoying the back yard.  Here are a few from when we were making s'mores one Sunday afternoon:

Even though it may not be visible in the pictures, Avery's hair seems to be coming in auburn with some blond mixed in.  I think she is going to have her daddy's hair color!

My silly boy:

We had a low-key halloween this year.  Hayden had been having some bad tummy aches for a couple of weeks that coincided with some severe night waking and fits.  We finally decided he was experiencing some anxiety and were able to do some things that helped.  He is doing much better, the tummy aches have completely subsided for the most part and, best of all, we are all getting more sleep!  Anyway, halloween came right in the middle of all of that, so we stayed in and passed out candy.  Hayden wore his frog costume from last year:

My friend Nikki gave Avery this "mommy's little pumpkin" outfit and I was glad she got some good use out of it this year.

Stay tuned for pictures from our wonderful visit with my sister, brother-in-law and nieces!

Playing Catch-Up: Our First Ohio Outings

Surprise!  The Rogers family is still alive.  And we have well over 200 new photos on the camera since my last blog post, so hold on to your seats, people!  Okay, I will edit and only hit the highlights, but I will stick to chronological order so you will have to stay tuned to actually see what my fast-growing kids look like these days :)  Don't worry, I won't keep you waiting long.

The delay has been mainly because we are trying to get settled in our new home.  We love the house we found to rent and are enjoying the area so far.  Fall has been beautiful.  One of our first outings back in October was to a nearby dairy farm.  We picked out pumpkins from their patch and, of course, sampled some of their homemade ice cream.  Here was Hayden's selection:

Lesson learned: always get Hayden's ice cream in a cup.

Hayden did well keeping Avery entertained and happy, as usual:

Hayden had a blast with all the "punkins."

He loves showing off his muscles these days.

Another weekend we checked out the Cincinnati zoo, which was fun.  Hayden enjoyed feeding a giraffe and the petting zoo. 

Most of all we enjoyed the weather which has stayed warmer quite longer than it typically does in Idaho.  My Mountain Home friends got SNOW this past week.  Needless to say I am happy to be in Ohio right now :)

More to come soon!