Annual Camping Trip

Ethan and I arrived at the campground Friday night around 7 (Chrystal couldn't go camping this year because she was hosting a baby shower for her friend Jen). We got our tent up and headed down to the park because Ethan wanted to go golfing. After golf it was time for bed, but Ethan was too excited about "camping" that he had a difficult time going to bed.

On Saturday, we had a marathon day of swimming, baseball, football, and golf. We were able to take a little break from sports to watch the turtle races. Aaron and Matthew both entered their turtles in the race and Matthews turtle came in 2nd place.

The campground was very kid friendly. They had pinatas, music, turtle races, playground with lots of toys, swimming, and boating. Ethan's friend Devin went camping too and they both liked swimming, although Ethan's favorite was golfing.

Overall we had a great time. Vinnie makes a killer fajita. All the kids had a blast. The adults got to play some poker and Bingo and hang out by the campfire. We can't wait to do it again next year.

Big Boys

Last Saturday we "potty" trained Ethan. We pretty much did it in one day and he has been a pro ever since. My friend Shannon loaned us a book called "How to potty train your child in less than a day". She swore that it worked for her daughter so I thought why not give it a try. It was a success and now we have a "big boy".


Nolan turned 2 months old last week. He smiles so much now! He is now 14 lbs, 6 oz and is 24"long. He still is a great sleeper at night and spends most of his days between the bouncy chair, swing, and the play mat on the floor. He still dislikes car rides and cries whenever we have to stop at a red light. He is also growing before our eyes and will be a "big boy" before we know it.

Rochester Fireworks

2007-06-28 Fireworks in Rochester

(click above picture to view more pictures)

We went to the Rochester fireworks on Thursday. We met Shannon, Jorge, Bella, and Abbey there. This is our second year going to the fireworks at Borden Park and they do a great job. Ethan really enjoyed it this year. It was fun to see his reaction to the fireworks. Nolan pretty much slept throught the whole display, but woke up for a few of the really loud "BOOMS".

(click below to view movie)

2007-06-28 Fireworks

Lizzy & Alex Visit

2007-0621 Lizzy and Alex Visit

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Kevin picked up Kathy, Lizzy, and Alex from the airport on Thursday. They flew in from China (where they are currently living). It was so nice to see the kids again. Alex especially has grown so much and looks so different with his big boy haircut. On Friday, I had Emily and Ashley (the girls I babysit). We were outside playing at 8:00 in the morning. I think Lizzy and Alex really missed playing on the swings in the backyard. We later went for a walk to the pond, where Alex discovered that he likes to throw rocks into the water (along with all 4 other kids). Friday night we had a fire pit on the patio and Lizzy and Ethan made Smores. Alex and Nolan were already passed out.

Saturday evening, we went to the Strawberry Festival at St. Isidore Church. The first thing the kids saw was a big bouncy jumper-roo which they eagerly went right in. It was so much fun to watch the smiles on their faces, but after 1/2 hour it was time to go eat. We finally got them out and over to the food tent where they discovered the dance floor. Alex, Lizzy, and Ethan are natural dancers! After dancing and eating it was time to play games. Ethan scored a hole-in-one on the golf game and won us a 2-liter of pop. He also won a Blinko game and won himself a football.


On Sunday Kathy left for Cleveland to take the kids to her sister Nicole's for the week. We had such a great weekend with them, we can't wait to see them again in a few weeks.

6 Weeks Later

Wow, I can't believe it's been 6 weeks since Nolan was born. The past 6 weeks went by really fast. Grammy Roessler came for 4 weeks to help us with Nolan after his birth. She was a big help with Ethan and kept him occupied while I was occupied with Nolan. Ethan kept her very busy with many many games of basketball and soccer out in the backyard. Ethan has been very good with his new brother Nolan and loves having him around. He calls him his little brother and tells all the kids that he is a "big brother now".

During week 3, Ethan went to Grandma Linda's house to spend a few days so that Grammy and I could get a relief :). Grandma Linda said he had a really good time and when we called he was having too much fun to talk to us.



Grammy left after week 4 and left us to try out two kids all on our own. I also started babysitting Emily and Ashley again. The week was a challenge, but it helped having Emily and Ashley here to play with Ethan and keep him occupied. Ethan was happy to have them back at our house to play with him.

Nolan also had his 1 month check-up on week 4. He weighed in at 11 lbs 6 oz (up from his birth weight of 8 lbs). He is now 22 inches long. He is growing really fast and is starting to be more and more awake throughout the day.

It's now been 6 weeks and Nolan has blessed us with his first smile. He especially smiles when he sees his Daddy. Maybe Nolan will be a Daddy's boy! Nolan has also decided that he doesn't like to drive in the car this week, so it has made simple trips a challenge. He screams until we reach our destination and somebody holds him (hmmmm sounds familiar). He's also decided that he must have his pacifier in his mouth at all times or he will scream until you put it back in his mouth (another binky boy).

Overall, these past 6 weeks have been much easier than I ever could have expected. Nolan has been such a great baby and Ethan has been a great big brother. We've had so much help with Grammy and Grandma Linda that it has made our transistion a lot easier. We've also had some wonderful friends who brought us dinner and made us treats. We really are blessed to have such a wonderful family and people who care about us. Thanks everyone who helped us with our new family!

Ethan and Daddy Golfing

Ethan's favorite sport of the week has been golfing. Here are some pictures and video of Ethan at the park hitting some balls.



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2007-05-20 Golfing

It's a Boy!

2007-05-02 Baby Nolan

(click the above picture to see additional pictures of Nolan)

It's a Boy!
His name is Nolan William Roessler
born on Wednesday, May 2nd 2007
8 lbs 0 oz; 20 1/2 long

Kevin and I went into the doctor on Wednesday for a routine checkup and to our surprise the Doctor told us to go to the hospital so that they could induce me. Apparently there was a very low amount of amniotic fluid in the womb which tells them that it's time for the baby to come out.

So after the initial surprise, we came home and gathered up our things and told Ethan that it was time to take out the new baby. He was too busy having fun with Grammy to stop and listen (Grammy flew in from Florida on Tuesday - just in time).

We went to the hospital around 5:00 pm and the Doctor decided to break my water to see if I would go naturally without giving me petocin. After an hour or so without any progress, the Doctor decided to induce with the petocin. I was given the petocin around 8 pm and things progressed pretty fast from there. I got an epidural, pushed for about 20 minutes, and then our beautiful baby boy Nolan was born at 10:17 pm.

It was such a different experience from Ethan's labor. It was much easier and I felt so good that I could have went home that same night. The pain and soreness did set in a few days later however, and I'm still recovering slowly, but overall a great experience.

Nolan has been a blessing ever since we brought him home. He has done a LOT of sleeping and only waking up a few times each night to feed. He is a champ!

Ethan loves his little brother and loves to say "look at the baby". He likes to pat his head and look at him, otherwise Ethan pretty much ignores Nolan.

We have been blessed with two wonderful and healthy babies and love having two boys.