The Roggia's

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2012-01-12T14:43:00.002-07:00

So... these pictures have come off at least 3 different cameras. The order of the photos may or may not make any sense. Oh well. Here's a recap of the last month.

Ellie was happy that we got to go to Cici's with Pa while he was in town. The mac and cheese pizza is her FAVE... she always eat multiple slices.

She is good at finding comfy places to watch her movies.

This is actually from Adam's birthday. He decided we should go to a buffet for the sake of the kids... which worked out pretty well.

Me and my handsome older man... 27 and he just keeps on getting better!

Seth was happy to play with cars and drink his own cup of chocolate milk. Of course that's not to say he was quiet... but at least he was a happy loud.

Seth has learned to climb into the treehouse.

And to go down the slide.

The nightly ritual of messing with Dad.

He is stubborn about taking real naps... so they often start like this.

For Sara: You got me through the pumpkin carving... which inspired me to endure a gingerbread house... luckily, it was one of those kits which is much easier. Still, I couldn't find any pictures where I was smiling. Oh well... at least Ellie liked it. :)

Our happy girl who put every piece of candy in the kit onto the house.

This picture pretty much describes the visit we made to a horse farm owned by Adam's current "boss" for his internship. She was too shy to do much, but sill thought it was pretty cool.

Ellie LOVED the Christmas season and still hasn't accepted that it's done for the year. Good for her.

She got to go to a Princess Birthday Party for someone from church last month also.

They even had a visit from Belle. Ellie was shy but excited.

B-L-Tebows. Our weekend meals have revolved around finding something clever to cheer on our Tim Tebow. We've also had Tebow Tacos (like Navajo Tacos or scones), Bronco Buns, and Tebow Taters. Yes, silly. Yes, awesome.

Ellie and Seth loved playing with Uncle Jake before her left for school. I frequently get to hear about how much Ellie misses both "Jakey and Pa". Sweet girl.

For our RM... giant Chocolate Chip cookies dipped in chocolate.

The tree got a little crowded this year... and soon became a jungle gym.

King of the stump.

Always running up and down the hills.

Seth's favorite outside toy... he loves to shove it down the steep hill out front and then chase it.

New nightgown on Christmas Eve... and a special trip to 7eleven with Jake and Daddy. I'm sure they were a fun sight... all in their new jammies.

Stockings on Christmas morning.

Seth loves cars and Buzz Lightyear this year. But his favorite toys of all seem to be his Hot-wheels style Lightning McQueen and Mater (Toys we already had but needed more of). He carries them everywhere and frequently sleeps with them.

A glimpse of Adam's Ellie-inspired horsey jammies. Pure awesomeness. :)

Pa got an awesome map which is now flagged with all the Garner Family missionary service locations. Very cool.

Adam's marathon memorabilia I made him. And I didn't get any pics of myself... but I was well cared for with awesome clothes and kitchen supplies.. among other things. I am amazed that Adam remembers so many random little cool things I tell him about throughout the year. He's wonderful to me.

Most of Ellie's gifts received big hugs.

Seth is very attached to G-mom right now. And was with Pa while he was here too.

My wonderful parents after church on Christmas.

Such a funny boy.....

... with such a devious little mind.

Whether he likes it or not... Tucker got some Christmas hugs.

This thing is very frequently attached to my legs.

The day after Christmas was just as fun for Ellie when Daddy took her out to see the new Chipmunks movie at the "Biiiiiiiig Building".

Playing with Uncle Jake.

This is what it looks like when you fall asleep eating your chicken nuggets.

Our New Year's Eve 5k. Probably the only race pics every to have Adam and I both in a shot at the same time.

And we're off... Adam is in green, I'm in purple.

Coming to the finish.

Wavering stride at the finish. :)

But I still got my PR. 22:19. Way under my goal.. that works for me!

This boy climbs onto EVERYTHING right now. Toilets, tables, counters, entertainment centers, desks, etc. etc. I have been busy... like.... really busy.

After all the holiday cooking... we decided to just get Adam and yummy Wegman's pie for his birthday.

Even though they fight a lot... they also play a lot. They are good for each other.

Every kid loves a fresh cardboard box!

Ellie in her cute "Metz-a-toe" dress. (That's Mexico in Ellie speak). She often tells me how she is going to take a trip there to see Pa... and that she just needs "only a pillow and a blanket" to take. Funny girl.

This is what happens when Dad is involved in picture posing.

And of course that means Ellie needs a turn.

At least it was a happy growth on my legs this time.

Rockin' our Tebow jerseys on Sunday after church.

The game was so awesome we had to do the pose. We had no choice. Best. Overtime. Ever.

One of Seth's other favorite things to climb on. Poor, sweet Tucker.

A busy month.

2011-12-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Quick shot from the marathon last month. I'm just so proud of Adam doing so well. He looked so strong... right up to 26.2 miles!

Seffy (as Ellie calls him) has become quite the cowboy. He rides his little rocking horse like it's a bucking bronco or something. He has defnitely come out of his shell the last month or two and become a WACKY toddler.

He is my newest kitchen helper when it's time to cook and clean. Although, as you can see from his face, he's mostly in it for the free snacks.

Cowgirl Ellie still loves her horsey too. She will often watch movies just like this.

Seth has been practicing his utensils... Lots of work still needed... but he's cute anyway.

Poor Ellie got sick the weekend before Thanksgiving, but recovered pretty quickly.

We had a small Thanksgiving. Just had to feed these two men and myself. Happy to say I succeeded in pleasing them.

Yummy foods and fixins, plus, we had pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and apple crisp.

While we ate, the kids wrestled... quite the holiday.

Kick Buttowski pose. We love that boy's belly. And of course, he is holding his favorite toys... he likes all cars, but especially Lightning McQueen and Mater.

Then it was time for my birthday. Ellie was obsessed with the idea of a princess cake... so I indulged her and had her decorate it with me.

She was a happy camper... which made me a happy 25 year old.

A very sweet family member got me a little point-and-shoot camera that I could take with me more and snap quick photos easier... and I was letting Ellie try it out. Her idea was to take pictures of everyone with their finger up their nose. Quite the visionary artist.

Oh-and that weekend after Thanksgiving, Seth took his turn getting sick with his first ear infection. Not fun, but at least it's over with.

The night after my birthday, we tried out a little Italian place in downtown Fredericksburg... and let's just say, the pizza was so stinking good that we didn't remember to take a picture until we had already scarfed it down.

Ellie still asks to go there every night... I think she just thought it was cool to go somewhere in the dark... she doesn't get evening outings much.

The crew. Oh-and they even brought me a free cannolo when they heard it was my birthday. Very nice place... we will definitely be going back.

Seth loves torturing the dogs lately... they love it much less than he does.

His most favorite thing, however, is anything that involves being outside. He's always happy outside.

For some reason, glasses automatically mean silly faces with Ellie.

Okay, maybe she just makes silly faces period.

Ellie LOVED helping with the Christmas tree. Such a sweet girl. She also loves wrapping presents.

Ellie is very into "friends" and had to have all the ornaments hanging in pairs with their best friends. She does this with almost everything.

We attempted a park outting...

With a picnic lunch... but it was soooo cold and windy!

Seth was just sleeping anyway, so Ellie decided after about 10 minutes that we were done.

So we moved the party to the truck.

Seth continued sleeping.

Then Ellie slept.

So then we continued at home.

Seth still continued sleeping. Quite the exciting trip.

So we just played in the yard when they both woke up again.

Bouncing is exhausting.

Yay swings.

And Daddy got home from work just in time to help push.

Adam ran a 5k up at GMU and totally got an awesome PR... sub-18 and then some!

Seth got to go with me sans Ellie and seemed very excited to have me available to chase him around wherever he wanted to go.

Yet again, time to cut the shaggy boy's hair.

So dapper!

I love how he was just chillin there with his arm resting up on the table.

FYI-Seth has magic eyes and knows how to use them. He will just stare at me with those big beauties... like for way longer than one so young should do.... and then just smile and hug... he knows how to win me over. And now he does it to G-ma. She is his for good.

He likes to play in the pantry, and apparently thought this potato was an apple... yum.

The silliest pair around.

Here was a warmer and more successful park trip we took last week.

Goof.

Goofette.

Adam ran a few miles around the park while we played.

Balance beams.

Adam loves this pic because he says Seth has impeccable form. :)

Ellie directed me in building a "sand castle". The sticks inside are a princess next to her prince, and then the big one is the bad guy.

And no time outside with Seth is complete without some good dirt and mess.

Catching up... again

2011-11-15T06:43:00.001-07:00

So yes, I fell behind on pictures again. So there are definitely too many on here... but these kids do have 3 grandparents who aren't even in the same country, so I put them up anyway.

Ellie finally got to go fishing with Daddy for the first time last month.

Adam did make the mistake of bringing kid-friendly bait... but Ellie wasn't complaining there!

Hugs of thanks.

My pic-taking angles were limited cause of this thing that was on my lap. :)

Reeling it in.

More bait eating.

And Seth finally woke up!

When fishing passed its peak, running around was a happy replacement.

The grass was a little thick for Seth to wade through, but he still liked it.

Ellie was doing hill sprints up and down. A good little runner.

Just like his sister before him, Seth enjoys playing in the dog food bowls.

We also got to take a visit to the State Fair last month. All Ellie wanted was to see the animals.

She repeatedly asked to look at this horse, who just so happened to be a grandson of Secretariat (one of her favorite movies)!

A picture of Secretariat by his barn..

This is the stall he lived in as a yearling. Ellie thought it was pretty cool.

But not as cool as getting to ride a real horsey.

She loved it! Of course! Wish it had been cheaper so she could do it more... such is life.

Ellie always prefers lighter-colored horses, so the nice lady let her go pet this blonde one they had.

And then... her first fair ride!

She LOVED it and had trouble leaving.

In other BIG news, Uncle Jake came home from El Salvador!
The kids are already very attached to him and love having another playmate!

Ellie crashing a cool-car-shoot.

Sara, Jensen and Duke came to visit too! Sadly, I wasn't great at getting pics taken. But here they are enjoying some snacks and TV in Gma's kitchen.

The cowgirl.

After trying to get Seth to wake up from a late nap... I sat him back down, and he rolled into this position. Guess he wasn't ready to get up.

Boys and their cars. Seth LOVES playing with cars... like all the time.

And Ellie has gotten super good at doing puzzles all by herself!

(I told her to "look up" when she smiled).

And Halloween time. Our little Calamity Jane was adorable... guns and all.

And her friend Wild Bill.

Some fun at the Church party.

She really gets into throwing games... this is the beanbag toss. Our little pitcher.

Followed by one of her odd kung fu poses.

Bad weather made it an indoor trunk-or-treat.. but the kids were still happy.

Seth was a little tired at the party, but was happy to enjoy the candy later (after a nap).

The start of November of course means birthdays! Uncle Jake turned 22 and pretended to be excited about his practical college gifts. :)

Even as a father of 2, Adam is still an amazing Doctorate student... yay studying!

Next, Gma's birthday! German Chocolate cake... as always!

And yes, we know he's young... and Ellie was too, but at the beginning of the month, Seth graduated to a big boy bed. There is just something about the mix of Roggia/Garner genes that seems to create children who HATE feeling trapped or forced or contained... or in other words... kids who hate cribs! Nights have been much easier since we got it.

And Ellie was of course just happy to have something new to jump from.

OTHER UPDATES:

Adam ran his first marathon last week and got an awesome time of 2:54:39. He looked great... it was an awesome race. He finishes his semester this week and then starts a 12 week internship nearby the week after Thanksgiving.

I am constantly figuring out how to keep up with these 2 wild children of ours, but enjoying it too. I have been running lots and enjoying having Uncle Jake around in the daytimes!

Ellie is getting so smart and so grown up. She amazes me everyday. And she is still the funniest and craziest girl I've ever met. She likes singing along with things right now... especially the Hercules movies. She also loves stickers, still loves horses, princesses, and always playing outside.

Seth has changed a TON in the last few weeks. Really turning into a toddler. He plays with cars all the time and loves having freedom to roam around the house and up and down the stairs. And he gives the best hugs!

End of September pics

2011-10-03T10:16:00.001-06:00

Didn't get this one in time for the birthday post, but Ellie says thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Roggia for the card and stickers! She LOVES stickers... we even have a binder just to hold all her pictures and stickers... which is going to need upgrading to a bigger size soon. :)

Our big boy looking spiffy. Can't believe how much of a toddler he is anymore... bye-bye babyhood.

Ellie has a great love for her clothes... when she saw them spinning in the washer getting all wet, she got pretty upset the other day... "oh no.... my pink pants!.... oh no, my horsey jammies!"... etc.

Seth is a total goof... he blows raspberries on G-mom's poor leather couch ALL THE TIME.

We take little walks around the property most days, and Seth always runs away from me... to the rock driveway OR to the road... great choices. He requires much vigilance.

This is the main reason we take our walks... Ellie demands to go out and pick "fow-fows" each and every day... usually she says they're "for G-mom's birfday!" We are very into holidays around here. She does things for people's birthdays everyday.

Being a boy... like always.

The reason dishes are so difficult to finish in this house. If the door opens, he is there to climb on it.

"Sure Mom, I'll smile for a picture"

"Now you can pick me up right?"

"what?! you're not done yet?....."

"Oh, COME ON!"

"Fine... whatever, Mom...."

"I'll just eat your camera strap."

Ever since seeing the newer Karate Kid movie... Ellie has added some pretty awesome posing to her routine. She fights like a kung-fu madwoman (the first pic), then goes into a pose which she holds upwords of 5-10 seconds (the second picture)... Man, I love that wacky girl.

I don't even know....

We're so glad when Daddy comes home...

... happens most nights.

We baked up the rest of our frozen cookie stash the other night, and Ellie made herself at home with them.

Her first set of stamps... kept her busy for a couple of Conference Talks. We actually had pictures of the Presidency and Apostles... and she had fun finding the picture of whoever was talking... especially since she then got to open a corresponding bag with some kind of treat or surprise... it worked really well and made it possible for the adults to hear almost all of conference in relative peace while she was still in the same room. I highly recommend it to anyone with little ones!

Birthday Week

2011-09-15T12:44:00.001-06:00

Our crazy Seth Rocco. Such a soft-spoken baby... such a loud toddler.

He spent at least 20-30 minutes playing with the bin and lid... rather than the toys that he and Ellie dumped out of it.

Ellie and her still best bud, Tucker.

One of the many rivers that formed around the property with all of last week's endless rain.

Ellie was super excited about the party supplies while we were making preparations for her big day... just kept looking at them.

Seth helped clean the beater from the buttercream icing... such helpful kids.

Ellie was ultra excited on party morning to find so many presents waiting!

"All deez pwesents por me!"

Not the exact colors I had wanted, but it was still a cute horsey cake for our big 3 year-old.

She chose mostly "My Little Pony" and some princess decor.

Finally present time... she was SOOO into it.

She even gave Seth a kiss after opening this horse-in-a-purse gift he got her.

Can you tell he had just gotten up from a nap?

Real cowgirl boots for our girl!

A pretty dress which she held up to check out... the girl loves clothes!

Oh, the excitement!!!

A pink stick horse... and it makes noise... she automatically had to hug it... so cute!

She was riding immediately.

The boots are a little bog for now, but sooo adorable.

It's no wonder she loves movies like Secretariat and Calamity Jane.

Taking Seth for a ride on the big horsey she got from Uncle Jake.... she will love you forever, Uncle Jakey. She is more than ready to have you home for a little while!

Hats never last in this house.

Ready for cake time!

It took a few tries, but she did finally get them all in one breath!

The cake was Seth-approved.

Playing with her new dollhouse.

One of Seth's favorite activities: climbing and sitting on little chairs and steps.

Such a little goof.

Adam snapped this one on Saturday while I was out running.

And finally, it was time to lose the shag... his hair grows so fast. Must take after his dad.

Handsome little man.

From the other side.

A tender (but not uncommon) moment with one of her much-loved horses. Ellie is truly a cowgirl at heart.

End of Summer

2011-09-06T11:27:00.002-06:00

Life goes well. Adam started school last week... our last first day! Here's to senior years!

The kids are doing well. Ellie is looking more and more grown up as we approach birthday #3. She cracks us up on an hourly basis (minimum) and keeps us on our toes at all times. Seth causes more and more trouble, but also brings more and more smiles. He's a good hugger lately, and loves to worry us with his reckless climbing and playing styles.

Ellie and Tucker are still best buds... whether he likes it or not.

He must at least kinda like it... look at that smile!

This was to show the cute braid G-ma did... just ignore the finger activities, please!

"I eat BROCKEY!"

While sick with fever and such, Adam finally got the official diploma for his Masters Degree. Only 9 more months till the Doctorate! Bring it on!

Yes, thanks to the style of handles we have, Seth can already open doors as he pleases.

A spoonful of cookie dough... always an acceptable treat.

The result of living on windy, country-type roads... mailboxes don't survive less-than-skilled drivers pulling trailers.

Seth at a local horse show we took the kids too recently. We had to wake him from a nap in the car, but he was a good sport about it.

Ellie was so into watching the riders jump, she wouldn't even look at the camera.

It was fun to watch her see all this happening in real life. She LOVES horses.

Along the ride home from the show, we came across some random history, and thought we should stop and record it. Crazy that so many of our Nation's founders were born and raised just miles from where we live.

Seth get hot easily, and apparently loves to cool off by sitting on the air vents.

Looking like a big kid.

Ellie's requested lunch a few days ago. Heart "sandwiches" (just bread and butter per her request), "brockey", and grapes!

Crazy that we even manage to make it happen, but here is a mini-high school reunion. 3 of my best friends from school in BOLIVIA! So glad I live here and got to see them and reminisce about our crazy, "naqver" past!

G-ma says Ellie just had to have this outfit at the store yesterday. Our girl loves pink!

And Seth loves... being a goof! Time for another haircut!

Picture Fest 2011!!!

2011-08-15T11:15:00.000-06:00

Hello again, World. Yes, the Roggia family is still alive and kicking, despite a little virus that passed through last week. Things are great. Seth started walking full-on right around 11 months, and is all over the place now. We celebrated his birthday, and his Dr's appt weighed him in at 24 lb 11 0z. Don't remember the height, but he was around 75th percentile for all his measurements. Ellie is getting so grown up. Can't believe she is almost 3, but she shows us every day with her growing vocabulary and knowledge... so smart, and still SO crazy and funny. Best sense of humor, ever. Adam has been enjoying a break from school and internships, working and training local runners when he can, playing with us and working in the yard the rest of the time. He also finally got his diploma in the mail for his Masters Degree from Southern Utah University... almost a year after finishing it all! We celebrated with some yummy Mexican food. I have just been enjoying having my little family together so much these months and am trying not to think about the fact that Adam's classes start again in 2 weeks. Yuck... at least it's our last year!!!
So of course, I have fallen way behind, but here's a selection of photos from the last 2 months.

In June, Seth got his much needed first haircut... of course, he is in need of one again already. He looked like an adorable little man without all the baby shag.

He gets crazier everyday. Here he is yelling and smacking his tray as hard as possible... just for fun.

Fort time with Daddy.

I took the kids to a little children's farm owned by the county. Ellie LOVED petting and feeding the mini horse. That girls is obsessed with horses.

Seth just liked playing in the straw.

Looking like a big ole' kid.

Goofball.

Best part of Cupcake making:

Happy 4th of July!

The girl loves the flag. Sadly, Quantico was closed down for being so overcrowded, so we mostly had to settle for the neighborhood street fireworks... but Ellie still liked it.

Naps are necessary on occasion.

Lots of house work this Summer. Ellie is always a good helper.

Seth + 3 Cheetos =

Waiting to go to "my class" at church. Ellie adores nursery... so Sunday mornings are always exciting for her.

Seth + 2 mini cookies =

Ellie finally got to see elephants in person when we got to the zoo.

The turtles were her other favorite part.

Seth was a good sport, in spite of the scorching heat that day.

They even got to play on a giant pizza playground.

Seth's first few days of walking, he looked like a crazy person... but I LOVE it. You could see the excitement every time he took a step... all the pictures looked like this:

Weird little goat and fruit farm we visited:

They had a crazy walkway for the goats to climb and pass over the road and everything.

The kiddos liked feeding them.

Our little animals.

Ellie can't resist a horse... even a wooden one.

Some lounging time.

G-ma found a cute pioneer costume for Ellie to wear to our church's Pioneer Day activity. She was adorable.

Seth refused to wear his super cute Newsies hat though.

Don't remember what this pose was about, but I think he's cute, so here he is:

Me and my crazies.

Posing is not their thing.

Ellie calls Tucker "my Tuh-tuh" this summer. She makes him stay with her as much as possible. He is well trained and accompanies her to the bathroom for EVERY potty break. Such a good sport.

Seth lost in "Fanboy and Chum Chum land"

Pa came to visit, and the grandkids quickly reclaimed him.

Seth's birthday. His first gift was a little Iron Man "arc light" button that makes noise and lights up...

....and it pretty much kept him from ignoring all the other gifts being opened. The boy loves buttons and electronics.

He was also excited to receive his own rocking horse... more suited to his size.

His NASCAR inspired cake. Cars and machines rank right up there with the buttons and electronics for him.

Pa made his famous chicken tenders... but Seth was totally satisfied with peas and french fries.

Wasn't sure what to do about the candle, so his sister happily assisted in that part.

After a gentle taste test of the cake...

.... he was on the attack. Ate pretty much all of his piece.

Our little country kiddos.

Looking cute at Dad's race in Spotsy.

Don't you love the racing outfit? There was a prize for "brightest outfit"... sadly, he lost to a girl with pink hair.

Ellie loves hanging out at races. She asks me at least 5 times a week if we can go watch Dad race.

Can you tell it was hot?

Adam ran well and placed in his age group.

Ellie made friends and did not want to leave.

Seth kept himself busy with dirt... such a boy.

Yep, more Fanboy.

And again... it's my only way to get dinner done most days.

2011-07-06T11:29:00.001-06:00

So. I still need to upload pics from the last week or two from the camera... but I had others to post and catch up on from last month... so here we go.

Seth has been looking a lot like his mommy's baby pictures lately. I thought this one was a pretty good example.

The cowgirl in some old getup of Gma's.

My boys looking adorable.

She's more the crazy-renegade-outlaw kind of cowgirl.

But she did enjoy getting pampered one night after a bath.

Such attentive grandparents!

The boy's turn to ride.

We are trying to adjust to Pa's absence. The kiddos loved having him home so much his last couple of weeks before heading off to Mexico. There was LOTS of playtime. We love you, Pa.

After Pa left, Jensen and crew came for a visit!

Ellie was a little intimidated by the slip'n'slide, but enjoyed pretending to play.

And of course, Ellie is always excited when cousins come and have birthdays!

Jensen is a whopping 4 years old!

And Ellie just likes candles and cupcakes.

Also, I have been trying to get some videos up, but they just aren't loading. I'll try to fix it soon.

2011-06-06T16:44:00.001-06:00

I've been working on printing and mailing these to grandparents, and, in the meantime, forgot to post some on here. My awesome Sister-in-law, Sara (find her at PixelInk Photography), gave us a quick photo shoot in April. There were a lot of great shots. She is awesome, after all. Thanks, Sara!!!

A week of summer

2011-06-04T09:57:00.000-06:00

So, I'm pretty sure it's not officially summer on the calendar yet, but holy cow, was it hot this week! Super hot and super humid for us. So, needless to say, we had water activities pretty much every day.

Ellie enjoys feeding into Tex's water addictions and OCD habits.

And Seth loves climbing around and chewing on all the toys.

Showing off his chompers with his goofy grin.

I know I'm biased, but isn't she gorgeous?

Chugging too much water, another favorite activity.

Some of the Youth from church had a cookout at our place this week, and Ellie enjoyed the monster marshmallows they had... and no, we weren't playing in water again... she is soaked in sweat!

Enjoying some juice and movie time together.

Ellie tried out Pa's Army boots this week... lovely.

Shootin hoops the lazy way. She actually does make some good shots... but was being silly for the camera, as always. Sorry for the underwear shots... she's been refusing the wear clothes a lot lately... crazy kids.

Cruising outside... doesn't really try to push himself on it yet, but enjoys pushing the buttons, then climbing off haphazardly.

2011-05-24T09:52:00.000-06:00

Yet again, a month behind. Oh well. Things are good with this Roggia Family. Adam finished out his semester with STRAIGHT A's and is now interning at a hospital in Fairfax... which he enjoys (minus the horrible commute). Ellie is growing up sooo fast, learning all her letters, speaking so well, and as always, cracking us up all the time. Seth is in a crazy phase of "hold me... no, put me down". We are hoping he won't wait too long to walk as we think that will make him a much happier baby again. He's lucky he's so dang cute. I am of course working hard to keep up with life and have some fun this summer. Also, just ran a PR at a small 5k on Saturday, in 23:28! Now, on to the goofiness:

Ellie+Pudding=Chocolate Monster

Fell off the trampoline... an ice pack and a nap took care of it though.

Laundry basket races... good thing Pa and "Hey You" are in such good shape!

We took an overnight trip to Waynesboro for Adam to run in the half marathon there. We had fun and he ran great!

Ellie was a fan of the trip... especially since there were playgrounds everywhere we went.

Congratulating Daddy on his finish.

The men resting... waiting for the awards,

Ellie is always very distracted by dandelions.

But she still helped Dad accept his award... second in his age group!

A pretty look out point on the road home from the race.

Adam and I demonstrating our awesomeness with a single look.

Ready to run some errands... purse and all.

The crazies.

Such a funny little man.

For some reason, he was super excited about this spool of ribbon he destroyed.

Daddy-Daughter time... with the mandatory snacks.

Ellie decided on this occasion that a garnish was absolutely necessary with her juice. Too much Food Network and Cooking Channel?

The kids and I also got to take a trip to Savannah with Grandma to visit cousin Izzie's family before they leave the East Coast.

We spent lots of time at the park. Ellie climbed a wall twice the size of her one at home.

The cousins had lots of fun with Grandma. Wish we could have visited longer. Ellie did not want to leave.

Who doesn't love Cool Ranch chips?

Seth LOVES to swing.

And of course, a small puddle of water provided at least 30 extra minutes of entertainment.

Ellie got to play some T-Ball for the first time... took to it well. She loves sports.

Cute little cousin Lidia.

Then some pool time at home.

And despite his love of water, even a pool will not keep little Seth contained. He is a major busy body.

We recently found a Pick Your Own Strawberries farm and took a little drive there. Ellie loved finding the pretty red ones to pick.

She was a good helper. They were delicious and have provided us with some delicious jam.

The boys hanging out at the farm.

Ellie distracted by dandelions... again.

The kids were more than happy to sample the fruits of their labors on the way home.

Yummo!

She is a ball of pure crazy.

The man chillin and watchin the tube.

Bananas and a Movie... Life is good.

Easter!

2011-04-28T07:54:00.000-06:00

The wrestling matches never end... good thing they both enjoy it most the time. They are a funny pair.

Teething much?

Our boy learned to clap recently, and was pretty thrilled about it.

Have I mentioned before that Seth loves to eat?

First rice crispy treat... a sure hit! Not that he's ever turned away any kind of food we've given him.

EASTER TIME! Ellie had a lovely princess basket: tiara, wands, jewelry, "princess toes" (nail polish), princess band-aids, a "ridin"(horse), and some candy. What more could a girl want?

Such a funny girl.

Pa and "hey you" (G-ma's latest name) got the two of them pillow pets... a happy time!

Pillow-pet love!

Pointing out all the yucky bugs to Dad while she waited for the eggs to be hidden.

To the hunt!

Pretty Easter clothes.

A lot of our photography attempts ended up this way... oh well.

Ellie did look adorable.

Even I got a new Easter dress.

Ellie and Pa. I didn't get a shot, but Adam was handsome as ever as well.

Grandma and I spent Saturday night free handing a bunny cake for Easter. Ellie thought it was pretty cool. And Pa even humored her when she said she wanted the mouth as her first piece.

The buds enjoying a show together.

Then posing for me a little. They are so cute!

Holy Pictures, Batman!

2011-04-21T13:06:00.001-06:00

As always, I have fallen behind. Please believe me when I say that I edited and cut down the amount significantly. I guess I take too many pictures... or I just don't blog enough, either way. April has been busy, but wonderful. Seth is all over the place, crawling, and walking along the furniture. Ellie is still very two, possibly more so than last month, but always keeps us laughing. Adam is 2 exams away from being done with his second year of PT school and has done awesome this semester! And I am just trying to keep up with it all!

There was one last pic from our Max and Ezra visit that I couldn't help but post. Ellie is too short, but the boys are so adorable!

The two kiddos getting ready for bed one evening after a bath.

Seth has discovered that he loves Ellie's horse too! And she was kind enough to share it!

Ellie helps me in the kitchen ALL the time! But before she does, she demands that we both have our aprons on for the work. She is an amazing helper... with this particular batch of cookies, I think she put every single ingredient into the mixer for me. Such a good girl.

Also this month, we were lucky enough to have more visitors! Sara brought cousins Jensen and Duke. And Ellie and Seth also got a chance to play with their Great Aunt Lynette and Great Grandma Garner!
The visit of course started with the marshmallow guns.

Ellie and Jensen had fun going after the shot mallows.

But of course with the two of them playing, eating became much more of a focus than shooting.

Ellie got a new drum and some other instruments handed down from my sweet visiting teacher. More noise makers... of course she was happy! The ladies in nursery have actually told me that they all plan for Ellie to be a symphony percussionist someday. Poor nursery leaders. :)

Aunt Lynette also brough Ellie a homemade "I heart Ridin's(horses)" book with pics of cousin Addie and her beautiful horse. We love looking at it! Thanks so much Addie, wish you could have come!

No visit to the new Garner Homestead would be complete without a cookout.

Goofy cousins.

More baking... with a hat added to the mandatory wardrobe.

Ellie ADORED baby Duke... he is super cute and LOVES attention... so that was extra fun for her.

One day of the visit, we made the short journey to DC and took a boat ride. But while we waited, the kids frightened us repeatedly by being too brave by the pier.

Our boat coming to get us.

A little blury, but I have to prove my existence once in a while. :)

Enjoying the beautiful weather.

Some "Pa" time. Ellie is not ready for him to move to Mexico... at all!

A glimpse of the cherry blossoms, and the top of the Jefferson.

Seth getting some time with the lovely ladies.

He seems to love anything with a motor, so he was a happy little man on the boat.

Ellie and the Washington in the background.

The kiddos hanging out.

Sara looking as gorgeous as ever!

This is what happened when I told Ellie and Jensen to hug for a picture. I thought it was pretty funny.

Hanging out the window.

These two had too much fun together. Ellie loved having more cousins here. They had a blast on the swings.

More Mallow Wars.

Scary Tortilla faces...

like really frightening luchadores or something.

And one last mallow war... with Great Grandma this time. We had such an awesome time with everyone and hope they don't wait too long to come back!

Some shots of the boy...

Ellie still likes to try and feed Seth every now and then, but he's a little big.

Adam ran a 15k recently in Fredericksburg.

He did awesome and was second in his age group. Woot!

The kids were very good and kept me company while we waited at the finish line.

Whenever it's warm enough, Ellie begs for lunch outside, so that's usually a part of our routine now.

Such a goof.

Can't believe how big our Seth Rocco is... 8 and a half months now!

My little loves.

Playtime in the pantry.

This past Sunday, I put Seth down to change him for church, but it seems he was a little tired... such a cutie.

A First Installment.

2011-04-02T15:48:00.002-06:00

There is no way I can do a post that brings me totally up to

date on pics, but I at least need to get up to last week. So here

goes nothing.

Seth will be 8 months old in 2 days! Craziness.
He is a sweet and fun little man who is into EVERYTHING,
as he has been fully crawling for about a month.

He holds his own bottle a lot... a very helpful skill.

We know he will be tough since he plays with Ellie all the time...
she likes to rough house.

And do perfect stiff falls flat on her face in G-ma's room.

We made some playdough, which was good fun.

Workin the muscles.

Ellie practicing her baby skills. She is ultra helpful.
She does all the housework with me all day long.

We enjoyed some spring weather... though it soon turned cold again.

Mmmmmm.... oranges.

Ellie is still our princess girl... note the shirt.

Happy to be in the high-chair... such a food lover.

We recently got the ball toys out again... and they have been
very well used this month. Ellie has enjoyed teaching Seth how
to use them.

Adam had spring break, and our one splurge was a night of ice cream
from Brusters... it was super yummy.

The little wild man.

The weirdo girl.

Grandma brought home leftover balloons from a church activity,
and the kiddos were very pleased.

Looking cute. Can't believe what a big girl she is.

Then Eph, Heather, Max, and Ezra came to visit!

Seth and Ellie loved the extra attention and fun.

The kids even got rides on Pa's new mower.

And of course, a cookout. Just glad I wasn't
stuck in the hospital for this one.

The men in my life.

Yay for more food on a stick!

I like Seth's rosie cheeks from the warm fire.

Next for the party: marshmallow guns.

Ellie isn't great at it, but gets it every now and then, and is
always very pleased with herself.

The movin man.

Movie time.

Then a birthday party for Ezra and Max... but of course, Ellie
got candles in her cupcake too.

Seth had his first pizza crust, and was in HEAVEN.

Half the time we hold him, this is how it is.... he just climbs up
you chest and tries to get away.

The newest treasure. Ellie has a "weeeee" at home! She has

been so excited to slide and swing and even climb the rock wall,

which she is surprisingly good at. She is never going to want to move

away from Pa and G-ma's house.

In other news, I got published in a magazine! You can read the original
story at Adam's site: http://www.myprplans.com/2011/03/running-and-pregnancy.html

Or you can see their edited version in the magazine here:

http://www.rockymtnrunning.com/Eissue/Mar11.shtml (on pg 38 & 40).

Wish I could put up the rest from that trip at least, but I can't download the

rest of them at the moment, so... more to come!

The last month

2011-02-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Seth turned 6 months at the beginning of February! Crazy! Everything
was great at his checkup. He was a tall 28.5 inches long, and a solid 20 lbs!
He's a happy, ACTIVE mama's boy. He is nearly impossible to hold most of
the time, as he loves to wrestle around, and is too strong to contain. He
gets around really well, and is very close to crawling fully, belly off the
floor and all. We are totally in for it.

Ellie is growing more and more Ellie. She is so crazy and energetic.
Very stubborn and rough, but she also loves to hug and be sweet and
will help with almost any task you need. She is speaking better and better
and is finally having the patience to start learning some letters and things.
We love our fiery red-head.

We found her a "princess house" on clearance at Target. Oh the bliss.

She wanted to buddy to play with and enlisted Seth. If you enlarge
this collage, it's a pretty funny sequence of attempted (but failed) escape.

Luckily Seth's tough enough to take Ellie's roughness, and he actually
loves the attention too. They are best buds.

Loved this one. Trying to close the door and lock away her captive.

Everything is better on a stick to Ellie. Hotdogs, bananas,
marshmallows, you name it.

She wanted to try her jewelry with her dress one
Sunday morning. Such a funny girl.

Then after church, it was Super Bowl snack time that week.

I like a good chubby-baby picture every now and then.
Seth has some good ones.

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies... super chocolatey, super
moist, super chewy. They were a winner.

Grandma and Grandpa performed beautifully in the ward talent show.
Of course, Ellie couldn't not be a part of it. Shortly after it started though,
I had to whisk her off the stage as she was yelling and hitting set pieces.

The cute little man.

The cute big man... with his First Prize certificate from the ward's
Chili Cook-Off. He made a Dr. Pepper chili we named
"Chili con Awesome". Go Adam!

That amazing man also brought home some sweet new running
duds for me after work one Saturday night. Thanks, husband!
I love you!... that jacket is like heaven... I want to wear it every day.

Luchadores.

For Cathy: Here are our Valentine Cake Pops. They were yummy,
and pretty easy to make.

Ellie thinks all smoothies or shakes or chocolate milks are best
out of Grandpa's muscle-builder protein shake cups.

Seth LOVES the dogs. And luckily, Tucker does very well with him.

They are a cute pair.

More life

2011-01-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

So... life is still good. Nothing crazy or new to report, that I can think of.
Ellie is still crazy Ellie. Seth is still happy Seth (most the time).

Adam is still working, working, working,... and working some more.
And I am chasing after kids and having some fun.

When we got home from a Doctor's appointment, the first thing Ellie
had to do was run over and give her "ridin'" a hug.

Seth is a fun-loving kid who ADORES any attention he gets.

Ellie got new hairclips and had to try them... ALL of them.

The men must have had an intriguing conversation going on.

I tried Ellie's hair in a ponytail... super cute. But she looked so old!

Seth has to touch and grab Tucker any time he is within reach.

Captain Awesome... looking too cute... our little chubster.

Ellie and Seth have been bonding a lot lately.

They're both a little crazy.

They seem to adore each other these days... playtime has been fun.

The boy even practiced feeding himself.

He's... not that good yet.

But he didn't let it get to him.

The little movie-addict doing what she does best.

I tried to take a break the other day while kids were busy, so
I ended up with a dog all over me instead.

Me and my employers... I work a lot of overtime.

It's always fun to see what happens when you try to force
a photo shoot.

A semi-decent shot.

Wasn't really working, but they were cute anyway.

Me and my girl have too much fun. She loves to rough-house.

Adam... doing his thing. Poor guy. Good thing he's smart.

And the eater man. He didn't get those big cheeks from
nothing. This boy LOVES food.

Brace Yourself...

2011-01-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

It's time to play catch-up.
December was a busy month for us, so I am a little behind
with the blog. Enjoy some of the moments from our crazy
Christmas season. We hope everyone else had a good holiday.

Here is Seth at 4 months. At his check-up, they told us he was

in the 90-something-th percentile for both weight and height.
The boy loves to eat... what can I say.

Grandpa had a birthday, which made Ellie very happy.
Yay for candles and "bur-day-dis"!

Ellie got potty trained.... and apparently so did
Buzz. Ellie took to it well and learned in about a day.
She's a little pro by now.

We've enjoyed a few snowfalls already.

Seth and Tucker have grown close. Tucker frequently gives
kisses or lays a ball in front of Seth, hoping for some play time.
They are funny together.

Sometime's Seth's hair looks red... but most the time, it looks
medium brown.. we'll see what it decides on in the end.

Ellie was excited to get her own mail from her
Great Grandma Garner before Christmas and is
still playing with the card she got.

Adam does PT work on poor, gimpy Tucker.

It's a good thing Seth loves kisses... cause he gets
a lot of them... I can't resist him... at all.

Ellie LOVES horses (or "ridin's", as she calls them).

Cousin Jensen and family came to play for Christmas week,
and we loved having them here!

Unfortunately, as they arrived, Seth was getting sick. He ended
up being hospitalized for 5 days over Christmas (which of course
means that I was too). He had Flu A and B, as well as pneumonia.
Luckily, he is pretty much recovered now. Poor little man.

While he and I were away bonding, Ellie got to open new jammies
on Christmas Eve. YAY!

I got to come home for Christmas morning to join the
festivities, and the two toddler cousins were super
excited to get going.

Ellie has taken up photography with my poor, outdated
camera from high school. She's a goof.

Ellie got lots of wonderful gifts... too many to mention.
Adam and I were well cared for too.. with new duds,
new running shoes, and lots of other wonderful things.

She loved her new "pretties"... Jessie and Rapunzel.

And her new horsie... She LOVES.

Plus, some Cinderella jewelry... such a girl... and yet,
such a little ruffian.

Meanwhile, on Christmas, Seth was finally free
of his IV's and monitors, and would return home the
next day. Finally.

Also, while Seth and I were partying with nurses, there
was a wienie roast out in the backfield at the homestead.
Apparently Ellie loved the idea of having her foods on a
stick, but didn't see the need to cook them.

Then we came home! Seth spent over an hour bouncing in his
jumper the evening we came home. He was so happy to be
back and to be feeling so much better. Sweet little man.

Then he got to have his own special Christmas. He liked taking
his new toys out of their boxes.

His Captain Awesome pj's. Love them!
Chuck fans can truly appreciate that love.

Ellie was a good big sis and helped him with some of his
new gifts.

Ellie being cute and resting with Gma.

We are happy to say that over the last month, Ellie has
become a real eater again. She went through a fussy phase,
but is finally eating real dinners and things again. She discovered
she likes corndogs.

Of course, she never stopped liking French Fries.

We even had a pizza/stromboli night and let her make
her very own pizza. She did a great job and ate the
entire thing.

The stromboli was... perfection.

Ellie is so good at being a big sis. And Seth just ADORES
her. He gets the biggest smile whenever she gives him any
kind of attention.

He loves his big sis.

But who could resist this adorable little she-devil?

Cue another birthday! Adam is 26!... and I made him
a monstrous banana nut cake with butter pecan frosting.
It was to-die-for... if I do say so, myself.

Ellie was excited for more bur-day-dis!

The man of the hour.

And Ellie's turn with the candles, of course.

But then she say ice cream, so that was all she ate that night.

The girl got to have a craft night with Gma. She saw Gma
making a journal jar for achievement days at church and needed
one for herself. So, we got some scraps, washed a honey jar,
and let her have at it.

The ladies' and their finished products.

Gpa (or Pa) got Ellie some cute Nike's like forever ago, but
she would never wear them... till one day last week... when
she had an epiphany... "RUNNIN SHOES"! When she realized
they were like Mama and Daddy's running shoes, she was
hooked. She even did a workout in the house that night.

Pumpin herself up.

Warming up and stretching.

On your mark... get set....

GO!

Then she practiced on the treadmill the next day.

She also likes to steal Dad's hats.

Adam took some cute pics of Seth and his glow worm toy
that was given to him by some sweet nurses at the hospital
on Christmas.

and FINALLY...

THE BIG REVEAL....

Yep, I chopped my hair off. My loving husband earned a big
Visa gift card at work and donated it to me to "go to a salon
and do WHATEVER [I] wanted... get the hook up!"

So I did... and I am loving it. Thanks, Adam. You are the best.

Cute kids... and a birthday

2010-12-04T10:52:00.001-07:00

So these pictures are in reverse order, or course. But I don't think it

will make too much difference for this post. The pics only span a couple

of weeks anyway. Above you see Ellie and her beloved Daddy. She

grows more and more attached to her evenings with him all the time.

Our crazy little Seth doesn't stop moving. He officially learned to roll
over both directions as of last week... not even 4 months old. He is
a mover, to be sure.

Still super friendly and adorable. I love that boy.

Grandma time... one of the best times!

The wild child... looking cute.

A special moment with her best buddy, Buzz. This

toy was Uncle Jake's back in the 90's, but Ellie has adopted

him and completely adores him.

Seth also loves to play in the bouncer. He started super early in it,
and enjoys it quite a bit.... that's how I get most of my workouts done.
Thank you, bouncer!

Apparently he plays too hard sometimes.

He also loves playing with toys, but only for a minute
or so at a time. He has a temper and gets really angry
when his hands or the toy won't do what he wants them to
do... another impatient one.

But at least he's still a happy kid.

I forgot to take any Turkey Day photos, but we had an awesome
Thanksgiving with some KILLER food! I got a new PR that morning
at my 5k... 24:41. Then we celebrated my 24th birthday later in the
weekend. I got some wonderful gifts and had an awesome weekend.
I even got to have some cheesy birthday singing over a cannolo at
an Italian restaurant. Nice.

Bouncing... a favorite hobby of Ellie's.

I can't get enough of this kid.

Ellie in one of her favorite pretty dresses... while
torturing the dogs with a flashlight, of course.

I just like the pose. She puts her hands on her hips a lot.
The girl has got some 'tude.

Seth Rocco is 4 months old today. He's such a sweet little man.

Halloween and stuff

2010-11-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Again. Things are still going well for the Roggia Fam here in VA.
Since last week, Ellie is even more 2. Seth is getting more and more
vocal and active... and more and more adorable. Adam is doing great
in school. I am having fun at home and developing my running. Life
is busy for us (well mostly for Adam), but pretty good.

Ellie adores getting messy and causing trouble. We had
a few rainy days the last couple of weeks, which made her
as happy as can be.

A quick shot of my handsome husband while the men were out working
in the yard and brush one afternoon.

Ellie helped by torturing Tucker, who is totally freaked out by brooms.
Not much gives her more pleasure than making the dogs crazy.

He's still pretty nice to her though. He lets her "ride" him
frequently. She always talks about "ridin". The girl loves horses.
We even walked over to a neighbor's the other day to say hi
to some. They are all over our neighborhood. We love it.
I just need to get some pictures.

The current residence. We are thankful to Grandma and Grandpa
for letting us continue to crash with them while we finish school.

Halloween! Ellie was a monkey... seemed fitting.

She had a blast at the church Trunk or Treat and Party.
It took her NO time to learn to say "trick or treat" and get
into the groove. She LOVED the whole thing.

Mr. Rocco got to be a cute little penguin. All the little girls at church
adored him. He's a sweet boy.

Ellie checking out her stash. She made out pretty well.

Then we celebrated Grandma's birthday with some
yummy German Chocolate Cake... as always!
Happy Birthday Grandma. We LOVE YOU!
(And Happy Birthday to Uncle Jake, of course).

Then Ellie had to take multiple turns blowing out the candles herself
before finally realizing the cake was even more fun to eat.

The boys, in the usual, overly-relaxed positions.

The kiddos love to crash Grandpa's bed.

This girl is pure craziness. I love it.

Seth is somehow starting to look more and more like the Garner side.
His head suddenly turned square-ish, it seems.

He ADORES all attention. He will just sit and laugh and talk to you
for the longest time. He is such a cute little guy.

A girl after my own heart. She frequently chooses to watch
Calamity Jane lately. I love it.

And just looking cute in a new coat.

Long Time, No Blog

2010-10-25T14:40:00.007-06:00

So yeah, it's been a while. First excuse, we moved. Second
excuse, our first attempt at getting internet service failed.
Thrid excuse, I got used to not having internet and was
less than eager to get back and catch up on things.
But, I'm back. It's taken like 3 days just to go through the
pictures and choose which ones to post, then actually get
them up. Life is always crazy.

Here is our little Seth shortly before we moved, so about a
month and a half old.

He had to cry himself to sleep one day that week while
I was stuck helping Ellie with something. But I was
relieved to walk in and find that he was smiling anyway.

Then here he is at about 9 weeks. Can't believe how quickly
they grow and change. You know it's coming, but it still
surprises you sometimes. He is such a happy boy most
of the time. We adore his laughs and smiles.

Ellie loves having more of a yard, and therefore more time
outside "bouncing". We do it multiple times a day.

Mr. Rocco trying out jacket weather.

Ellie is better at smiling for pictures on command now.

The men lounging.

Ellie fell asleep watching a movie on the laptop one week
after church. That girl wears herself out.

She also loves "ridin". On Tucker, or horses, or daddies.

She loved having cousin Izzie visit. But what were these
girls intently watching together?

Football, or course!

Ellie still does really well with Seth. She likes
to hold him and pat or tickle him. He always
smiles and tries to talk to her. They are cute together.

Ellie plays with all my old Barbies, or "pretties" as she calls
them. She loves to line them up all around the house.

The little goof boy.

Our two kiddos. Love this picture. I just
wish Seth was in focus a little better. Oh well.

For the Italian side, Ellie keeps going into the
pantry and bringing me the olive oil and a cup,
asking for a drink of "juice".

She also went potty on the toilet for the first time recently!
Far from trained, but every little success helps.

Both our kids have Adam's long, curled eyelashes... I am
way too jealous of that feature.

Our girl smiling after church last week. PS-she got
kicked out of nursery her first time this week at church.
She... uh... prefers not to listen to the leaders. Not that
it is much different than home. She is a very belligerent
2-year-old. I'm hoping she will catch on to the discipline
stuff before too long. Just trying to be patient for now.
Luckily, she is always very entertaining, and still very
cute and sweet... when she wants to be.

My men chilling again. Seth is amazingly strong. He started
rolling over from tummy to back at like 8 weeks. Crazy kid.

I had to buy Seth a winter hat already so I wouldn't feel bad
taking him out for runs in the stroller. It's a little big, but cute!

I've been running lots, not always with the stroller, but
at least a couple times a week with it. Luckily, the kiddos
do pretty well. Ellie mostly sleeps, and Seth watches me for
at least the first half before going to sleep as well. It's nice
that they enjoy it.

This is my view while I run. A cute little man, and a sleepy
redhead.

Ellie was barely awake after the run, but still wanted to
play outside in the yard.

And finish her snack, of course.

Seth is so big now. He eats like a madman
sometimes and talks more and more all the time.
He's also a pretty good sleeper... amazing compared
to how Ellie always was as a baby. What a relief.

He is 12 weeks old today... wow!

Goofing off... a regular occurrence.

Quality sleep time on Grandma.

Ellie's favorite part of moving: packing paper.

We Made It!

2010-09-19T12:26:00.005-06:00

That's right... we made it. We survived 2 years of Ellie!

Just kidding, we ADORE our spunky little redhead. She is just
a little intense... but at the same time, amazingly fun
and sweet and smart. We had a fun birthday weekend with
her about a week ago.

She was excited when she went to the mailbox with
me one day and was told that there was mail just for her!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Roggia... she loves the card!

Of course, a birthday for Ellie right now means a new dress.
She looked especially cute in this one, and of course needed
to spend some time out on the trampoline... it was her day.

Homemade mac and cheese made for the perfect birthday dinner.
And, as evidenced on her face... bread with butter for an appetizer.
Dang girl loves butter. Yikes.

We were busy and lazy this year, so we let her choose a cake
at the store... not the prettiest thing ever... but it was bright...
and had balloons on it... perfect for Ellie.

We always talk about how Ellie does everything with purpose
and gusto... eating birthday cake was no exception. Thick frosting
and all... she downed her piece pretty quickly. And yes, those
are Toy Story Plates.... she LOVES Buzz Lightyear.

She got her new dresses and nightgowns (cause even night time
requires a pretty dress), an art easel from Mom and Dad, and a
pretty doll bed for her babies from Gma and Gpa Garner (but
she still seems to think it was made for her).

My men... enjoying the festivities.

Leftover cake... mmmm.

One of her pretty new nighttime dresses.

Quick shot of the Seth... I didn't take many of
his this past week... oops. I'll do better next post.

Ellie loves to hold Seth and takes care of him all the time. We
are so impressed with her big sister skills. Such a good girl. They
both had checkups this week and were big and healthy... Ellie
a strong 31 lbs, and Seth at 10 lb 7 oz already... quite a good
weight gain in his 6 weeks of life.... he eats A TON!

The latest

2010-09-05T19:49:00.005-06:00

We have had a pretty good couple of weeks, other than a cold
that has passed around to us all this week. Seth is doing great,
and Ellie is getting more and more 2. Hurray for tantrums. Good
thing she is so much fun the rest of the time.

She's really a sweet girl, despite the craziness.

This picture was a little blurry, but I thought it was funny.
Seth kind of looks like a lizard in it.

Ellie has gotten pretty rough with the pups... which she finds
hilarious. Luckily, they are very patient with her. But every now
and then she pets them or hugs them like this to remind them
of her love.

Notice a theme? Yep, our crazy, roughneck girl wears dresses
ONLY!
Try what you will, she is not satisfied until she has a "prih-ee"
on her (that's Ellie talk for pretty). So other than pajamas at
night, she has been wearing dresses every day for at least a
month or more straight.

Our cute little man.... he is such a sweet little cuddler.

Hard to believe he is already a month old. He eats
all the time, so he's filling in that skinny body quickly.
They were impressed with his rapid weight gain back
at his 3 week check up.

Grandpa likes to captivate babies with his loud, deep voice.
It always works for Seth.

Ellie loves to sing and dance. This is "If you're
happy and you know it"... her face will surely show it.
She's so funny.

She makes up weird ways to tell me what she wants. This sign
apparently is her interpretation of Buzz Lightyear. She loves
Toy Story, and Buzz is her favorite, so this is how she asks for
the movie... by putting her arms out like his.

She also just adopted a box of my old Barbies that
that Grandma still had around. I guess they were
going night-night here.

Seth Rocco Roggia was given his name and blessing at church
today by his father. It was a wonderful blessing, and he was
perfectly quiet and sweet throughout the whole thing. We are
very blessed to have such a wonderful little spirit here with us.

The outfit was a little big, and I couldn't catch him awake...
(he spent a few hours screaming yesterday evening from a
sore throat, so today was recovery day).

He has a super cute smile that he shows us every day now.
This is the closest I've gotten to getting it on camera thus far.

He also works out his neck muscles a lot. he's a strong little
guy and holds his head up very well. Such a cutie.

The last two weeks....

2010-08-22T20:14:00.006-06:00

So I have too many pictures to blog, and no time to blog them.
But here is a nice big, chunk of our last 2.5 weeks, since we
brought Seth home with us.

The cute little man, just after arriving home from the hospital.

Ellie greeting her new little bro. She loves him and always
makes sure we are taking care of him properly.

The two men in my life. Seth looks sooo much like Adam...
just like Ellie did as a newborn.

A few days later, we got a quick visit from some family.
Ellie and her cousin, Izzie, had way too much fun
playing together. Made us sad that we don't live close
enough to any cousins to have these meetings regularly.

Izzie is such a sweet girl.

Last weekend, Adam and I packed the kiddos into the car at
3:30 AM to drive down to Lynchburg so that Adam could run

in the Lynchburg Half Marathon. Ellie had way too much fun.
She looked pretty country, running around barefoot, cheering
from the hood of the car, and eating lots of yummy snacks.

The colorful twizzlers kept her pretty happy.

Adam prepping for the race.

And stealing a good-luck hug.

The start of the race... Adam in on the left end in the front.

Looking good! He got 10th place overall, 1st in his age group,
finishing in just over 1:27.

Luckily for me... Seth spent the majority of the trip sleeping.

This picture is PURE ELLIE. She was trying to get Dad's
attention in this picture. Who could ever ignore that?

So to celebrate the race, we hit the local Sonic
for breakfast! YUMMM! Sadly, there isn't one up where
we live. So we enjoyed it, despite Adam's expression.

Ellie tried to climb into her high chair last week on her
own, and ended up stuck in this position.

Watching over her brother. She is very protective
of him around people who aren't family. She is so sweet,
and always wants to help with him and make sure he's
being held and changed and brought along with us.
A natural big sister. We are very proud of her.

Sleeping on Daddy.

I don't like pictures, but I decided I needed to record
that I was in fact around when my son was a newborn.

Seth Rocco spends more and more time awake as he grows.
He is adorable, and ultra sweet.

The craziest pair around.

We love our cute little pair of crazy ones. Can't believe how fast
they grow. Ellie is getting so grown up... today, when I took her
to nursery, she got down, turned to me, waved, and said
"bye bye!" So I said goodbye and left. Such a good, smart, and
insane little girl.

A Few Real Pics of the Little Man

2010-08-07T11:30:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the patience everyone. I still don't have a lot of decent
pictures to post, but here are a couple until I can get on the ball.

Seth has been wonderful. He seems pretty mild mannered, from
what we can tell. I'm learning how nice it is to actually have a
normal baby (like one that mostly sleeps and eats as a newborn).
But, at the same time, I also have Ellie in toddler form... which
isn't so nice all the time, but at least it's entertaining.

The little man with Grandpa when we got home
from the hospital.

We're still not sure what color to call his hair. It is very much a
mix of everything. Mostly a light-brown, dirty-blonde, but with
maybe just a hint of something reddish. I don't know. It depends
on the light. But his face looks A LOT like Ellie's did... same little
features and expressions. Ellie's were just more intense.

Ellie is quickly learning to be a Junior Mommy to Seth. She
always likes to check on him and give him his things. She LOVES
to hold him, maybe a little too much. But she's being a good big
sister, even if she is becoming increasingly "2". Yikes!

She was SO happy when we brought the baby home from
the hospital. Such a funny girl.

On a side note, Ellie got her own new baby this week... if you
watch any kids channels, you know "Pillow Pets". She loves their
commercials and saw them at a stand in the mall with Gma and
Gpa, who of course, saw how excited she was, and let her bring
one home.

They said she hugged it and carried it all through the mall, then
had to buckle it into its own seat in the truck coming home.
Such a goofy little girl.

Seth Rocco Roggia

2010-08-04T13:45:00.002-06:00

we came in around 7:30 am; started having some contractions around 1pm, but hayley didn't feel much. Around 3 or so they came in, and he was almost out on his own. after about 10 minutes he was out.
6 lbs 14 oz; about 20ish in

more to come...

Play Date

2010-07-19T14:02:00.003-06:00

Ellie and I were lucky enough to have a fun play date with
Adam on his day off last week. Ellie had too much fun at the
lake-front beach, despite the crazy hot and humid weather.

I feel bad I haven't taken her more this summer, but the
weather has just been so miserable. She's been very patient
with me and my limited willingness to hang out in the nasty
humidity this very pregnant summer. She's a good girl. She
had a blast playing with Daddy in the water.

He had to do super-speedy bucket mounds for Ellie
to smash with her feet while the lifeguards had a break
called. It was the only thing we could do to keep her out
of the water. But even that wasn't working perfectly.

So we went over to the tiny playground, and Ellie got some
pull-ups done. She always loves working out... Adam said
she did a few almost completely without his help... tough girl.

Recently, we had the luck of adopting some play equipment from
a neighbor who was moving and tossing them. We picked up this
slide, one of those little red push cars everyone has, and a little
table with 2 chairs. Ellie likes them all... too much.

An unconventional (but common) kiss from Daddy.

My little crazy child.

Random

2010-07-14T12:32:00.003-06:00

So, I have zero excuses for not blogging much recently. I just
haven't wanted to at all. I also haven't take that many pictures
over the last month or more. Maybe it's just the late pregnancy
craziness. Who knows. I'm sure it will pick up quickly as we
start documenting the next bundle of chaos that is coming to us
so soon.

Ellie loves bubbles, so Grandma bought her a bubble machine.
Tucker was equally thrilled... Ellie won't play with them until
she calls the dogs in to play too.

Wrestling around with Dad, like always. These two are so
crazy and rough. They have way too much fun. She has LOVED
having Daddy home so much more this summer. We'll be
sad when school starts back up in the fall.

Of course, the wrestling ended with Ellie beating down
the man who taught her to fight. The student becomes
the teacher.

Ellie is still SOOO helpful and cute. She LOVES to
do laundry. She puts the clothes in the baskets, puts
them into the washer, dumps in the soap, closes the lid,
and even makes sure to turn off the lights. She always likes
to have things back where they belong. She is in charge of
things is always sure to let us know if we aren't doing something
right... or if we're forgetting something. A natural big sister.

Lately, she has not wanted to change her clothes after
church on Sundays. She loves her pretty dresses and shoes.
She also compliments us when she thinks we look pretty.
Such a sweetie.

Love that girl.

Showing off her dainty side... she's too young to know that it
could be embarrassing. Anything to do with her bum (diapers,
toots, poo, her bum itself) are all "poo" to her. So in the left
picture, she had just tooted, and grabbed her bum, then said,
"eeewww, poo." That's our girl. She loves to talk about it. Then
she also likes to talk about boogers. She's all about the yucky
boy stuff... her Daddy and GrandDaddy are proud men.

Sidewalk chalk... I hate how it gets everywhere, but she
enjoys it, so I endure.

For the Fourth of July, we went to the traditional ward location,
where kids were rolling down the hills on the golf course... so Ellie
of course had to join in... first with Daddy's help.

Then she had to do it on her own... and actually did
pretty well. She had fun... at least in the beginning.

Popsicles got her through the first, little fireworks.
Then they got bigger and louder, and in that location,
they were right over our heads and echoing off the lake,
so she just wanted to get out of there... not a fan this year.

The next day we did a forest picnic in super hot weather.
Ellie had fun exploring the woods with Dad and the pups.

Love the sweaty hair.

Then she enjoyed hitting all the big trees with a cool stick she
found. We had a good time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Anyway, things are good with us. Adam is working lots of hours,
but we get to visit him a lot, so it all works out. I am 37.5 weeks
pregnant... feeling good, just waiting for the big day. I am still
running, but not a lot.... like twice a week lately... and only 2-3
miles each time. But it feels good to do it. We will be sure to post
the news when our little man arrives. Here's to the waiting game!

Whole lot of Summer...

2010-06-06T21:43:00.005-06:00

So on to June... it has been HOT, and so we are keeping
busy with lots of summer activities.

Seriously, I just can't resist this girl.

Ellie wants to play in the water ALL THE TIME!
(as you will see throughout this whole post).

Along with sprinklers and summer come icepops!

Ellie loves to play. In this game, she thought it was
hilarious to slam the door on me, then play peekaboo
and laugh whenever I act scared or upset.

Letting the Italian blood shine through... this girl
LOVES pasta.... and even things with strong, stinky
cheeses. Makes her daddy proud.

She also loves to cook. And everyone in the room
always gets to taste, while she says "mmmmmm"
as loud as she can.

She even got to have Tucker play in the sprinkler with her.
They both had too much fun.

Ellie and I were pleased to have Daddy home with us
ALL DAY on Memorial Day. It was wonderful. We started
with a yummy breakfast of french toast and donuts... and of
course, some Band of Brothers on TV (a fave for me and Adam).

Then of course some more sprinkler time...

While Daddy did some work on his new baby... a little $1200
Dodge Avenger. Yay for cheap cars!

Ellie saw me laying down to take a picture of Dad and looked
too cute when she came to join me.

Mr. Fix-it.

We also went to a park for a little run.

And Ellie was so excited to finally have Dad
with her at the playground (he's almost never
home during the day... except for Sundays. The man
works too hard for us). She showed him all of the
equipment she loves.

I got out a camp chair to sit in while Ellie played in
her kiddie pool the other day, but she decided it looked
comfy and took over for a while... as usual. Pushy little girl.

Too bad all the real pools around here are so expensive... we
will just settle for our little plastic one for now. Ellie doesn't
seem to mind.

More running pics, I know. But I like them.
Ellie and I also got to spend Friday with Dad, which
we were very grateful for since he left the next day for
his 2 week class in Cedar City, Utah. We drove to meet
him at various points for his 12 mile run that morning,
handing off water and such. We had a lot of fun!

Ellie decided that she should drive home.

And while we were there, I realized I haven't really
been recording my pregnancy progress at all this time
around, so I had Adam take a picture of me. So here I
am at 32 weeks. Feeling great... and very blessed to be
experiencing such an easy pregnancy again. I have to
remind myself all the time that I am pregnant, and that
this little guy will be here in less than 2 months! We're
excited to meet him!

May

2010-06-06T20:55:00.003-06:00

With how my pics are organized, it felt easier to just catch up on
all the pics from my "May" folder before moving on to any from
June. So, here are some quick moments from the second half
of the month of May.

Ellie got a new bed! She was already sleeping in a big bed,
but it was a little too big (and tall and squeaky)... so here is
her new bed, perfect for her. She loved it right away and
wanted to lay down with her babies. Someday I'll buy her some
real bedding... it just doesn't seem necessary yet.

Ellie LOVES to play at the park now. She climbs on everything,
even up the tall slide... which she goes down over and over.

I'm glad she has finally gotten so brave and independent on
the equipment now. She's fun to watch. The only thing she
doesn't like is swings.. she loved them when she was smaller, but
I can't get her on one anymore... oh well. Just mean I don't have
to push her, right?

Adam and I went to a free local "track meet" in
Fredericksburg a couple of weeks ago. There were hardly
any people, but it was soooo much fun! I've never done any
kind of track race/event, but I love it. I really want to try
and compete in some real ones next year when I'm not so...
well, you know... with child.

I was 30 weeks along when we did the race. I ran the 800m,
with Adam as my only competitor, which means I finished 2nd!
But I did it in 3:24, which just seems crazy... that's a 6:48 mile,
I don't even run that fast when I'm not pregnant... I think I just
like races... and short, fast ones. It was a blast!

Adam did like 3 or 4 different events, just to get a good
workout in, and he ran really well! He amazes me with
his talent and dedication to everything he does. Plus,
I LOVE watching him run... always.

Looking good around the track. Glad he's mine.

UTAH

2010-05-13T07:57:00.011-06:00

Adam, Ellie, and I were lucky enough to be able to travel to Utah last week. It was a wonderful little vacation, and we were soooo thrilled to see everyone! Ellie even did super well on the planes. We were quite impressed with her maturity. She's such a good little girl. Anyway, here's a quick collection of pictures and moments from the trip.

Adam and I got to do a SLC Temple session with his
parents, which was wonderful!

Mom and Pop Roggia... how cute are they?!

One of Ellie's favorite things from the trip was the "puh-puh's".
That girl loves her some dogs. She just walked around with Joy
and Tyler's dog in the picture and put her arm around her,
pet her, laid by her, everything.

We tried for lots of family pics while we were there... but Ellie
is at an age where that is not very likely to work out. They were
still cute and fun though... so I'm posting some anyway.
Poor Daddy... he always comes close to losing an eye with her.

On Saturday, Mom and Pop Roggia, Cathy, Jason, Adam, AND
I all got to do a 5k in Provo. Even Ellie, Caleb, and Brianna got
to ride along with Jason pushing them in the stroller. It was
fun to do a race with everyone. Adam did great and ran it
in 19:00. And I surprised myself by totally getting under my
goal time (I was hoping for sub 28 min), and finished in 26:13!
Hurray for racing at 28 weeks pregnant!

Adam and his beloved Father... they're really cute together.

Adam and the boys even got to attend a Real Salt Lake game...
such a handsome group of guys... I love Evan's face in that picture.

This is one of Ellie's favorite things... a "group hug", but really
it's just her strangling the two other people in the hug...
she loves it!

Her favorite way to get around.

She liked pretending to have a baby bump like Mommy.
She was even dancing around and patting it.

Great Grandma Roggia, with Ellie's newest cousin, Elias...
he was so sweet and adorable! Ellie was very good around
him and even liked when I was holding him... a little too
much even... she got mad when someone else took him
from me. Funny girl. She'll be a good big sister in
a couple of months here.

Picnic with the cousins.

She picked up lots of habits and skills... like climbing
on everything. She's gotten even more fearless after
beingwith her cousins for a week.

The oh-so-cute Grandma Roggia... in her
Mother's Day apron.

The Roggia clan together.

...plus spouses and kids. We had so much fun. We are really
going to miss Mom and Pop Roggia while they serve as
Mission Presidents in Africa for 3 long years!
(We just wish Dean, Mel, and Roman could have come!)
Thanks for a wonderful trip, everybody! I'm so glad that I
was blessed enough to marry into such a wonderful family!

Easter and Such

2010-04-12T09:21:00.006-06:00

So I know that blogging would be much less trouble if I
could just get myself to do it more often... but maybe
someday. Anyhow, here's some silliness from the last couple
of weeks.

Ellie -- the Mechanic
She loves to get tools out of the toolbox, do a job,
then put the tools back where they go and close the box.
She's so good at working and putting things away. She
always does the silverware for me when we empty the
dishwasher. We love our little helper!

Ellie -- the Baker
She is not quite as helpful when it comes to baking. She
mostly just steals snacks, but it's still fun to have her around.
Plus, she looks so cute in her apron.

Ellie got to do an Easter Egg Hunt with lots of kids from
church. She did great with collecting the eggs.

Till one broke open and she saw what was inside...
but I was able to get her back on track after just a
quick bite of chocolate bunny.

Checking out her stash.

She's not incredible social, but she still likes to be a part of things.
So when she saw all the kids going over to sit on the steps and eat
their candy, she went right over on her own and wanted to sit
with them all. She's such a cute girl.

Then later that afternoon, we went with Daddy to a picnic with
his Physical Therapy class next to the Washington Monument.
Here you see our All-American girl... monuments, sugar cookies,

flags, and a little red-head... quite the picture.

Then we stopped to check out some of the
Cherry Blossoms since the big annual Festival
was underway. Ellie destroyed a few blossoms...
oops.

Ellie -- the Wrestler
This girl plays so rough. She always wrestles with Daddy,
all through the house. And she loves to tackle Mom and Grandma's
heads... and do boxing matches with Grandpa. She's a crazy child.

While we waited for Conference to start last week, Ellie got to
take a ride in the Trans Am with the top down. She didn't seem
to mind it, other than she didn't like the sun on her face. Oh well.

For Easter, she got lots of yummy treats... a new Easter baby (a
lamb, actually), a new Easter dress and purse from Grandma...
and numerous other things... Can anyone say spoiled? Yep.

But at least she shares. She put her baby straight into the little
high chair and piled lots of her candy on the tray.

A nice outting to the park on a hot day.

A moment of Ellie-ness. What a loon.

Looking like a cute little athlete.

Didn't want to let go of the water bottles,
even to go down the slide.

Then we decided to go for another walk when
we got home. Mostly so she could fall asleep easier.

And it worked! Poor little red-faced girl... it was so
hot last week!

Ellie's Easter dress. She looked adorable... but
wouldn't smile for the picture. She's got too many
obsessions to distract her outside. She loves watching
birds and squirrels... and begging for the hose sprayer
to be turned on so that she can play in the water.

She did get to play in some water after church...
whether we wanted her to or not. She soaked herself
with an old rag and the doggies' water dish.

Ellie -- the Vegetarian
She just doesn't care for meat very often. I let her choose
something to eat from the cupboard... and she chose corn. Then
she asked for more food, and chose carrots. She loves those little
veggie cups. We're very lucky in that sense... she's a good eater,
but she does love sugar too... hopefully we balance it all out okay.