HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY THOMAS ALAN...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR TOMMY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We can't believe it was 1 year ago today that we were FINALLY welcoming Tommy into the world. It's 1130am right now...so last year this time I was just getting settled in after receiving the WONDERFUL epidural. It wouldn't be until 348pm that we finally welcomed Tommy into our family :)

WE LOVE YOU DUDEY!! Happy 1st birthday!!!!
<3 Mommy & Daddy

1st birthday...already?!

Well, well, well...tomorrow our baby will be ONE!! Where does the time go?! I can't believe how fast it has gone! Tommy still isn't walking. He crawls around like a champ though! He is quite speedy...especially when he is doing something he shouldn't be :)

I can't believe tomorrow is the day. He is babbling up a storm, but still no new words. His favorite word, right now, is DaDa. I tell him to say MOM and he yells DADA!! haha He is growing like a weed too!! It won't be long and he will pass his 3 year old cousin, Ashton, up!! haha

This weekend, the 17th, we will be celebrating Tommy's birthday. We will be having a party at the ROC in Onamia. Starting at 2p, there will be cake and ice cream and lots of chatting :) I am sure I will post the "Happy Birthday" song tomorrow :)

I recently put my 2 weeks in at the bank. I will be working part time at the drug store in the pharmacy in Onamia. This will allow me to go BACK TO SCHOOL! Hopefully will get started online for the January semester! I will be going back for Medical Transcriptionist, with hopes to eventually work from home. 2 years of school, 2 years in the field, then hopefully be able to be home! I am nervous and excited all in one. :)

That is all for now! Until next time...

Redneck Tommy...

Well Tommy has started getting his top teeth in. If only he will sit still long enough for me to capture a picture! He has one of his front teeth coming in and one "fang" tooth. I can kind of see white where the other "fang" tooth is trying to poke in! So we have been calling him a REDNECK! LOL I am sure it won't be long for them all to be there, but it looks funny right now!

Nothing too new. Tommy is still trying his hardest to walk. He still manages to get into EVERYTHING. I have my hands FULL with him. He is a very good boy, just a very curious boy. He LOVES to stand up onto ANYTHING and hasn't a fear in the world! This kid is going to give me a heart attack someday, I just know it! He will be the one at 7 years old that asks me when he can sky dive...EEEEK!!!! Pretty certain we will have a fearless motor head on our hands!! :)

This weekend is Howie's Mud Bog. The one event we look forward to every summer and the one event we are always sad to see is here and gone. It means summer is almost over. Well if you call what we have had a summer! We will be heading to Finlayson Saturday to test the durability of the mud trucks! And maybe have a few cocktails! This is a weekend event with lots of fun and mudding! There is a band Friday-Sunday nights. We camp out there in the middle of the field...true Rednecks, I guess!

Well hope all is well with you and yours! Wishing you all a Safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend!! :)

And the book begins...

Well…I have been very bad at updating everyone this summer. No news is always good news though :)

Last weekend we went camping for the annual Rogers Family Camping Trip. It was loads of fun…even though it was cold and windy. The kids still managed to go swimming in the pool and even braved the lake a bit. Not this girl though! I really wanted to go skiing and tubing, but couldn’t bare the cold. Probably a good thing anyway…I would have been one sore girl!! :) Paul and Krista even made it for a few hours with little Ella Louise (spittin’ image of Paul!!). 2 weeks old and she was already toughing out the wonderful MN weather and our cRaZy family :) Grandma Rogers even came camping this year! 87 years old and she is still camping…that is one tough lady! LOVE YOU GRAMS!!!! Tommy had his first boat ride, ate many rocks, lots of grass, and some dirt, played with his cousins, and did what boys do best…got dirty!! Tom and I took the nephews (Bryce, Hunt & Ashton) fishing off of the dock for a while. Ashton caught his very FIRST fish, with a little help from this PROUD Auntie :) He was so cute…even had to kiss the fish goodbye before we threw it back (it was a bit bigger than a minnow!). And of course shed some tears once it was released back into the water…”MY FISHY!” It was cute. After that…he wasn’t so interested in trying fishing anymore! Bryce and Hunter caught some fish too. Small ones, but enough to keep them occupied for a bit. We wanted to take Bryce and Hunt in the boat fishing, but the weather wouldn’t cooperate with us. Typical! All in all, it was a fun weekend!!
Saturday, this weekend, is the Rogers Family Reunion. I always wonder why we do something two weekends in a row each summer, but fail to see each other the rest of the year. I guess that is what happens when you have such a large family! Either way…I am looking forward to seeing everyone again…and seeing those who couldn’t make it camping. And of course…all the delicious food! Grams won’t be making homemade ice cream this year though…bummer! I am sure the apple dumplings will be delicious though! Hopefully the weather will cooperate and not rain so we can actually enjoy the outdoors for once this summer.

Speaking of outdoors…what is with this summer we have been having? I don’t like to call it summer though. Because it is nothing CLOSE to summer! It has been sooooo cold! I am ready to visit somewhere warm already…and it is only August! The saddest thing of all is that summer is almost over. And we didn’t even get to enjoy a summer. I haven’t gone swimming in Mille Lacs…or any lake for that matter…yet this year. I haven’t gone fishing…except off the dock with the boys while we were camping. But that wasn’t really fishing…it was more of a minnow hunt :) haha Summer is what I thrive for every year…it is what helps me get through the long, cold, boring winters! I guess I will be taking a vacation early this year…if you live where it is warm year round…look out, you may have an unexpected guest on your doorstep in middle to end of January :) lol

Okay…so enough jabbering already…onto Tommy…I know! Tommy still hasn’t gotten any more teeth. If all his teeth are as stubborn as his first ones…we’ll be waiting another year for them to arrive! He is trying soooo hard to walk. His friend, Layla, is 3 months older than him and has been walking for a couple of months now. Every time we go to visit the frustration of not being able to stand on his own and walk around really sets in. Layla will come over to him and kiss him, take his toy, or torment him then walk away. Way to rub it in girly! We still love her lots though. It won’t be long and he’ll be chasing her around…probably trying to hit her or bite her or something. They sure are cute together though.

I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. October is just around the corner which means my baby will be ONE!! I feel like it was yesterday that I FINALLY got to take the first look at him and into his eyes. It is such a precious moment, but gone in a flash. Everyone always tells you to “enjoy every minute, it flies by so fast!” I guess I never really understood what they were talking about until now! Luckily I have a sister who is a picture nut…she is also a scrap booking nut! So she has captured every moment possible so I can remember it forever! Every day I look at Tommy and I swear something has changed or he has learned something new. I love being a mommy!! It is such a REWARDING job. He loves to say da, da, da, da, ma, ma, ma, ma and ba, ba, ba, ba. His newest would be na, na, na! We like to think that his way of saying Grandma. Now we just have to work on the Papa word :) He makes this funny noise that sounds like a motorcycle. And he jabs my ear off most of the time…especially on our way to daycare/work! I usually carry on a conversation with him, as if he can understand what I am saying, and I get that cute little smile…and any problems or worries I may have had…have disappeared!

Tom and I have gone to a few mud runs this year. I have even got to drive my truck a couple of times! It is so much more fun to drive instead of ride. The guys were even pretty impressed with how I drove it :) The only time you get to put the pedal to the metal :) haha Our next big mud run is Labor Day weekend…Howie’s Mud Bog. This is the place that started it all! Kind of our “home turf” for mud runs. Hopefully all goes well and I don’t break anything.

Well I guess I should be going before I have 15 chapters. Lol That is all in our world! Hope is well with you and yours!! Until next time…

No News...Is Good News...

Not a whole lot new in our world! Tommy is crawling around like a big boy now...on his knees!! :) He is also standing up next to EVERYTHING and walking around holding the furniture...or whatever is in arms reach! Still only has 2 teeth, but I beleive more are on their way. We still have a drool monster on our hands. He is transitioning to "people" food well...not liking the baby food so much anymore.

That is all...until next time...

ANOTHER TOOTH!

Yes, Tommy got ANOTHER tooth on Saturday! So he now has the two bottom, front teeth :) He is still trying to crawl on his knees...hasn't quite got that figured out yet though! He is doing pretty good at pulling himself up onto things(as you can see!). He knows how to give "high fives" and waves "bye-bye" when he feels like it! He loves army crawling around EVERYWHERE to see what he can get himself into. He is officially a little MoNkEy! :) Being a Mother is amazing. He learns something new everyday, I swear! And I just love watching him learn. He is also transitioning well to "big people" food. He loves toast, carrots, and cheese!

Hope all the dad's out there had a Happy Father's Day! We spent the day relaxing in the AC! It was one hot day. Tommy and Mommy also went to visit Grandpa Denny while Daddy ran to Brainerd to get another air condtioner. One we could put in our bedroom :) We stayed and hung out for a few hours at Grandpa & Grandma Hopkins. Bryce, Ashton, Hunter, & Keags were there as well so Tommy got some cousin pestering in!! He LOVES to steal their toys...they don't LOVE it so much!! :)

This weekend Tommy & I will be heading off to the cities for Shantell's cousin, Tyler Mann's graduation party. We will be riding down with my parents and I think my sister & her kids will be going too. It is also Grandpa Denny's BIRTHDAY! So it should be a fun day. Hopefully we have some nice weather. I am excited to see the fam that we HARDLY ever get to see and for Tommy to FINALLY meet them!!!!! Can't wait for Saturday!

Not a whole lot else has been going on! Hope all is well with you and yours! OH--hope you like the 2 new pics I added. They aren't the greatest, but that is what you get when you take them with your cell phone! :)

Until next time...

GRowing, GROWing, GROWING...

Well, after waiting the last 2-3 months for a tooth…WE HAVE ONE!!!!!!! Tommy’s first tooth FINALLY poked through yesterday :-) I went to pick him up from Grandma Kathi’s (Tuesdays are the days my Mom has the Grandkids minus Hunter!) after work and thought I seen something white. My Mom told me she hadn’t noticed that there was a tooth. I asked her if she was sure, washed my hands, and shoved my finger in his mouth for my own feel :-) And to my surprise, I felt that little tooth!!!!!!! Maybe my Mom was lying and said that to make me feel better…either way it was a good way to end the work day! I guess he had been gnawing pretty well on a carrot during lunch that day. IT WORKED!!

I have also learned my son is not just human…he is also a MONKEY!! :-) He has been scooting around on his belly like an inch worm for a few weeks now. Within the last couple of days he has been a bit more daring and has tried getting up on his knees. He rocks back and forth, but no movement yet! He still manages to get where he needs to go though. And is getting into EVERYTHING already! He has also been trying to pull himself up on things. I noticed this the other morning when I was getting ready and the dogs were playing in Tommy’s room. There is Tommy pulling himself up on the side of the crib to check his doggies out, smiling away at me! He is such a cutie! He has also added DaDa to his vocabulary! Tom is pretty proud of that one. MaMa is still his word of choice though :-)

Last week Tommy & I went to see his doctor because his eyes were green and slimey. He diagnosed him with Pink Eye in both eyes AND a DOUBLE ear infection. But he is and was still the happy Tommy he is so famous for! He is amazing :-) I managed to get a touch of the Pink Eye, as well as my nephew, Ashton. We are all cleared up now though. Tommy just has to kick the cold he has had FOREVER!! I am so ready for summer and the warm weather that comes with it! No more of this cold, rainy crap. OH—and at the doctor we found out Tommy gained 3 pounds in 1 month! He is now a whopping 22 pounds…look out Ashton…Tommy will be bigger than you by his FIRST birthday and you will almost be THREE!!! At least Ashton will have a cousin to stick up for him :-)

I fell so bad that I forgot to say CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin, Jess, and husband, Chris, on the birth of their 2nd child, Emma Carper. I think Troy is one proud BIG brother!!! Sorry guys, but Congrats again :-)

I suppose I should get going. I will try to upload some pictures later this week. Thought I’d give a little update! Hope all is well with you and yours! Until next time…

Congratulations Maller's!!!!

Just wanted to post a quick Congratulations to Shantell's cousin Stacey and husband Brad on the birth of their 2nd son, 3rd child! Noah Phillip arrived today at 3:35pm! Weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces & measuring 21 inches long. I am sure BIG Sister Sydney and BIG Brother Christopher are enjoying their new little brother! I hear Mom & Dad are doing great! CONGRATS GUYS!! Love you and can't wait to meet that little bundle of joy!!

P.S. Stace, glad you FINALLY got your Noah!!! ;-)

Procrastination is to blame...

I have been meaning to write something for a while now. Time just seems to slip away from me these days! Between working, Tommy, and trying to enjoy the weather when it is nice, I feel like I am running circles all the time! But here I am updating to let all of you know we are fine :-)

Hopefully everyone had a Happy Mother's Day! Duder(So this is our little nickname for him! Tom started it and it has stuck!!) gave me the best present I could have asked for...he said "momomom" when I was getting his breakfast ready. He continued saying it throughout the day!! Dada wasn't his first word(yes I rubbed it in a little!!) but I am sure it won't be long since he has been saying bahbahbah for a while now. Duder is now sitting up on his own...with a few tumbles head first every once in a while. I just tell him "YAY" when he falls and he laughs! I am trying to make him some what of a tough boy! LOL He is holding his bottle on his own which is AWESOME. No more holding it for him when he wakes up in the middle of the night! He is also starting to Army Crawl or roll to where he wants to go. So needless to say our "little" boy is growing up...TOO FAST! He will be 7 months old on the 14th. Where has the time gone?! UGH!

We are getting ready for Summer! Tom has been working on building a Mud Truck for me. A few more things and it should be done. I want to paint it before we mud it for the first time too, but we will see if that can happen! My cousin Nate will be getting married on Friday and Saturday is Tom's birthday(the BIG 2-4!). Other than that not a whole lot else has been going on!

Just wanted to say Congratulations to my cousin Jess and her husband Chris on the birth of their little girl, Emma! I am sure Troy is enjoying being a BIG brother...hopefully he hasn't asked to send her back yet! She sure looks like a keeper to me!! :-) CONGRATS GUYS!!! Hope all is well!

I guess that is all...until next time!
Hope all is well with you and yours!

...

Just added some pictures for those of you who couldn't wait any longer to see how big Tommy is getting. I can't believe 6 months have gone by so quickly! Pretty soon it will be October and my baby will be 1...oh my...time please stop! :-)

Tommy is doing great. He is FINALLY sleeping in his crib the WHOLE night...he still wakes up 2 or 3 times for a bottle though. I can handle that...as long as he isn't in bed with us :-)~ He loves babbling away...still waiting for that first word..."MAMAMAMA"...right?! I am sure it will be "DADADADADADA"...ugh! lol He is rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy. Only a matter of time before he crawls everywhere. I can wait a little longer for that! hehe He loves his toys...now that he has figured out how to hold them and shove them in his mouth so he can chew on them. Still waiting for those darn teeth!

Other than that nothing else has really been new or exciting....oh wait...I get my OWN Mud Truck this year. Tom has been busy trying to get it ready for the first Mud Run...hopefully Memorial Day. So now I can join the fun...other than riding along...I can break something...and make Tom fix it...haha! I am sure the next project in his book is to teach me how to fix it...if he knew what was best, he'd just fix it because I am sure I would just make it worse. haha

That is all for now. Hope everyone is having a great Spring...Summer is almost here!!! Until next time...

My "little" Brut!

Well Tommy's check up went well...other than the shots! I always feel so bad for him when they give them to him! At least Tom was with me this time so he could see what I have to go through!

Tommy is weighing in at 18 pounds 13.5 ounces, measuring 27 3/4 inches long, and his head is 17 inches! He is in the 82nd-93rd percentile for everything! The doctor said he is a very well proportioned boy!! I was worried they may have to clip his tongue, but Dr. Fraboni said not to worry right now as long as he can eat okay. Which, obviously, he can!! LOL So we will just have to watch it to make sure. Once he starts talking, he may have troubles extending his tongue to the roof of his mouth...in that case we would need to have his tongue clipped. Praying that we won't!

He was a very good boy yesterday...slept lots...I am sure from the shots! He is babbling more and more every day...his latest babbles would be "bababababababababa"...so cute! And he is such a HAPPY boy! We get to start transitioning him to table food...YAY! And hopefully he will be crawling within a few months! Our baby is growing too fast!!

That is all for now...hope all is well with you and yours!
Tom, Shantell, & Tommy

So I forgot to metion a few people, a few posts ago about the pregnancies!

Congrats are in order to...
--My cousin Stacey & husband Brad who will be expecting baby #3 in June. And it is a BOY!!!
--My friend Jenah & husband Jon who will be expecting baby # 3 in August.
--My friend Erin and husband Rick who is expecting baby #1 also in August!! And it is a GIRL!!
--Our friends Bo & Jenny who will be expecting a baby late 2009 :)
--My cousin Jess & husband Chris expecting baby #2...shortly, hopefully! And it is a GIRL!
--My cousin Paul & wife Krista are expecting baby #1 late 2009!
--My brother Shane & girlfriend Kristin are expecting late 2009
I believe that is all now!!

Again...I will post Monday or Tuesday about Tommy's monthly check up!!

That is all for now...hope all is well with you and yours!!

No news is good news...

Sorry it has been forever that I have posted. Time has gotten away from me lately! Tommy is still growing, growing, growing! He has a doctor's appt. on the 30th.

He has FINALLY rolled over from his back to his tummy and he is becoming a MONSTER! He no longer sits still when I am changing him. Typical! He is a is quite the babbler too! Still not sleeping through the night! Oh well...I am starting to get used to no sleep!! He LOVES his walker and the Johnny Jump Up. So funny to watch him in it! He is also quite ticklish...so cute. He is quite the happy little man. I can't believe he is almost 6 months old :-( It has gone by way--------> too fast!

I will post after the doctor appt. with weight, height, etc. Hope all is well with everyone!!!

20 weeks

Nothing too new...I finally got a chance to upload the photos I had taken of Tommy. Turned out SUPER cute. A good friend of the family, Lesli, takes photos and she doesn't live too far from my mom's. I stopped over to visit and she snapped some pictures. Couldn't have asked for anything cuter!! Then we went to Wal-Mart for the "Grandkids" photo for my parents. Tommy was being so good I had to get a few pics taken! And they turned out GREAT!!!! So that is all for now...write more later :)

19 weeks and growing!!

Well Tommy the Tank is 19 weeks today!! Boy does the time FLY!!! He is learning more and more things everyday. I just got a walker from my mom last week and he LOVES it! The independence is kicking in!! LOL He is starting to like to play with toys although he hasn't quite figured out that it is his hands that keeps it in front of his face! He loves looking at his hands and chewing on them. He is a drool monster these days! I believe his bottom 2 teeth are trying to come in. So everything goes into his mouth!! He still isn't sleeping through the night, but does usually sleep 5-6 hours the first time he falls asleep. After that it is usually every 3 hours! He loves cereal, fruits, and some veggies. I just can't believe how fast time has gone by!!

Congrats is in order to...
--My cousins Stacey & Brad who will be expecting baby #3 in June. And it is a BOY!!!
--My friend Jenah who will be expecting baby # 3 in August.
--My friend Erin who is expecting baby #1 also in August!!
--Our friends Bo & Jenny who will be expecting a baby late 2009 :)
That is all for now...hope all is well with you and yours!!

Down with the Sickness...

Well Tom is now going on day 3 of staying home from work due to this darn flu! He went to the hospital Monday afternoon and had 2 bags of fluids pumped into him and they gave him some pills to take for the nausea. He is starting to get some color in his face and a little perky, but is still really achy. He has told me many times that it sucks. I know where he is coming from!! Tommy still hasn't caught it yet and I am praying it stays that way. Tommy does have to go to the doctor today because his cold just isn't getting better...it is getting worse. His nose continues to be plugged and he now has a terrible cough. There is lots of flem in his throat so hoping they can do something about this.

Other than that we don't have any news. Just sicknesses!!

House of the Sickness!

Well I don't really have any good news, I guess! I came down with the flu Wednesday at work. By the time I got home I was feeling totally miserable...As soon as Tom got home I handed the baby off and went off to rest. I tried my hardest to stay away from him! Thursday I woke up not feeling much better...probably worse! Tom stayed home to take care of Tommy for me. I hung out in the bedroom and slept most of the day while daddy and Tommy had some bonding time! Thursday night my mom came and picked Tommy and I up and we stayed at her house so Tom could go back to work and I wouldn't have to take care of the baby! Thank goodness!!! Friday morning I still wasn't feeling good so stayed home from work again. I think I slept most of Thursday and half of Friday!! Today I am feeling MUCH better. Kind of bummed because I have to miss the Annual Girls Night my sister always puts together. Not such a bright idea to go if you haven't been able to keep anything down for 2 1/2 days!!!

And to top it all off Tommy was FINALLY getting over a nasty cold he has had for 3 weeks. Only to get ANOTHER one! He has a nasty cough from the old one and a super stuffy nose from the new one. Poor little man can hardly breath!! We picked him up a vaporizer and some baby Vick's Vapor rub...they have to be 3 months to get it and he just makes it by 1 week :-). And we have been giving him Tylenol every 6 hours. It seems to be helping because he has finally been sleeping a bit. Hopefully this cold won't last as long. And I am praying he doesn't get that NASTY flu. I felt terrible I can only imagine what a baby would feel like!

I guess that is all...

13 weeks and growing

Well Tommy weighs 15 pounds, measures in at 21 1/4 inches long, and his head circumference is 17 inches. He is in the 80th-90th percentile for everything! He was all smiles for Dr. Fraboni until Deb the nurse walked in to give him 4 shots. Poor little man...I've never seen such a sad face! He got to eat before we left and had some Tylenol and slept the whole way home...thank goodness!!!!

Nothing else to new...until next time...

New Year...New Happenings!

Well we have started with a fresh New Year! Tom has started working with a logging company called Sylva. He seems to be enjoying it...it is only his first week and as long as he gets to drive the NEW Skidder. This one is equipped with a radio, I guess! He didn't work Thurs. or Fri. due to the cold weather, but is working today and tomorrow to make up for it. He is back to his favorite thing...LOGGING!!

I on the other hand have accepted a new job position within the bank. I am back at the Onamia office, but working in the basement! The best part I think!! I don't have to see the snow or when summer comes the nice days with the beautiful sunshine! I have trained for 2 weeks and last week was my first actual week. It went well and I really am loving it. NO CUSTOMER SERVICE :-) I am the proof operator...nothing too big. I just run all the work that has been done for the day through a machine and submit it to a company so it hits everyone's accounts and such. It also helps because it is close to daycare...like 3 blocks...and I work Mon-Fri 830-430 and 1 Sat every 3 months. That is by far the best part...MORE TIME WITH TOMMY :-) I have an office too ;-)

Tuesday we go in for Tommy's check up...we finally get to see how big the PORKER is!! He is doing great and has FINALLY started sleeping about 6 hours the first time he falls asleep at night. This has been nice ;-) He is growing so fast! He is smiling and talking up a storm. Loves standing when you hold him and LOVES to be talked to. He is into looking around at everything and is starting to like his toys. He LOVES his swing and is starting to like his Bumbo chair! He is getting to be SOOOOO much fun.

Last weekend we went down to visit Tom's family. We went to his "FUNKY" Auntie Pam's house and had lunch. It was lots of fun! We got to see cousins Shannen, Jake, Kevin, & his Uncle Kim. It was a nice day of chatting and admiring Tommy! The lunch was DELISH too. Tommy did very good in the car until it was time to go home. He was really tired and wanted to be held, but mommy just cuddled as close as she could and hummed to him...bout 5 min of that and he was out until we got home!

I guess I best be going before this is a story. Hope you enjoy the new pictures of our GROWING little man! It won't be long and he'll be taller than his Mommy!!! I will try to update on Wed. to let you all know how big he has gotten! I'm guessing between 15-17 pounds...won't be long and he'll be bigger than Pooter!! Hope all is well with you and yours! Until next time...

Tom, Shantell, Tommy, Chevy, & Lili