The Rogers are back!

We're making a come back and giving blogging a second try! I was just thinking about all the milestones Caroline has had recently and was also realizing how fast all this is going. I was feeling regretful for not documenting all these special moments. Before I know it, Caroline will be in kindergarten (sniff, sniff!).

It's public knowledge that we are hoping to add another Rogers to the clan by way of adoption. We are in that waiting phase, but hopefully will get good news soon. We can't wait to welcome our baby into our hearts and home! So if I disappear in the blogging world again, it's probably because our little one has arrived and I'm too sleep deprived to put a sentence together. :)

This is gonna be a long post as I play catch up, but I will try to let the pictures tell most of the story....

In March, Ben and I had a little weekend get-away to a spa and resort in Hilton Head. Thanks to Grandma for taking care of our special little girl while we enjoyed a relaxing weekend away!

Hilton Head Island

Caroline turned four on April 5 and we surprised her with a bike. She has really enjoyed riding it, and it became routine to take a little spin around the block each day. We were glad Grandy and Poppy could join us for Easter weekend and Caroline's birthday!

Posing on her birthday (don't worry... she does wear a helmet) :)

Ready for a serious ride with Cocoa in tow

Grandy and Poppy

We had Caroline's kiddie party at the YMCA the next weekend and it was a blast! It was a princess ballerina party and Cinderella made an appearance. The girls loved dancing and were enamored with Cinderella, of course.

Dancing with the host... loved all the costumes!

Caroline and Cinderella. Of all the adorable costumes to pick from, Caroline wanted to wear her own Cinderella costume. Hmm...I wonder why? :)

Little princesses

Another piece of news to share.. while Caroline is growing up and outgrowing many things, the milk allergy is not one of them. We were disappointed to find out that she is still allergic and it may take several more years to outgrow it! But, we are optimistic that one day she will enjoy pizza and ice cream. :) Thank goodness for Earthfare's vegan cupcakes- a girl has to have some cake on her birthday!

Yum! Love that icing! (which is all she ends up eating anyway).

Caroline, Sutton, and Ali. This is Caroline's favorite pose at the moment.

Best friends sharing a secret. Love this picture of Caroline and Ali (awesome job, David!)

After the party, we went out to dinner with Grandma, Eva, David, and Wendy.

A photo shoot with cousin, Eva. Once again, David did a fantastic job!

Sweet Caroline is four!

After Caroline's first year of preschool, you can imagine how many projects she brought home. A friend of mine had the idea to take a picture of the special projects that you want to remember, as you can't possibly keep them all. Preschool did wonders for Caroline's confidence. She is much more outgoing now and seemed to enjoy going.

Just one of many projects

Turning four is eventful! In May, Caroline had her first dance recital. It was so special that all four of her grandparents got to come for the weekend. I have to say, the recital was one of my favorite moments. The sight of those sweet little girls dancing on stage was just so endearing! I still tear up when I watch the video. Uh, oh.. I will for sure be one of those moms who cries on the first day of kindergarten!

Ballerina girl after the recital

Mommy and Daddy are proud!

Caroline and her grandparents: Papa, Poppy, Grandy, and Grandma

Whew! So many things have happened! The fun didn't stop there. Grandy came to visit us for two weeks, and during that time Caroline took swim lessons and learned to swim! She went from being afraid to jump in to going off the diving board! She can now jump in and swim to the side unassisted. Check out the video at the bottom of this post. We also had a 4th of July Firetruck Parade.. the kids loved decorating their bikes and parading down the street.

Caroline and Grandy

Decorate your bikes and get into place!

Caroline with Ali and Ali's cousins Caris and JJ.

Last, but not least. Here is the video of Caroline jumping off the diving board and swimming to the edge. The sound is not working for some reason, but you get the idea. Fun times!

Halloween.. Two Little Mermaids

There was a little hiccup in our plans on Halloween night, but we made the best of it...the show must go on! We went over to the Slacks house so that Caroline and Ali could tranform into two little Ariels together. Chrissie and I later questioned our idea to put make up on three year olds. Caroline was not wanting to be still, so the purple eyeshadow I was attempting to put on almost made her look like she had a black eye.. not good! We finally managed to get them ready though. Note to self: wait a few more years before attempting make up with a little girl for special events!

Even more exciting than Halloween was the arrival of Ali's little sister, Abigail, the day before. Abigail and Chrissie had just come home from the hospital that morning, so Ali was in awe of having a baby sister. She showed her off to us, rocking and singing to her. Caroline didn't know what to think, and you could tell she was trying hard to figure Abigail out.

It started pouring down rain (there's the hiccup in our plans!) just as we were headed out the door to the neighborhood parade. We opted to wait it out, thinking the parade would not happen, and went trick or treating a little later. We ended up only having to carry an umbrella for a few houses and then the rain stopped. It turned out to be a nice night, sort of balmy and warm. The girls enjoyed going up to the doors by themselves with us observing from the driveways. I was amazed at Chrissie, who had just delivered a baby the day before, as she walked the whole neighborhood with us! She should have dressed up as Superwoman, or even Super Mom. She was determined not to miss out on trick or treating with Ali.

It was a fun night and the girls enjoyed trick or treating more than ever before. Here are a few pics from the night...

Ali, the proud big sis, and baby Abigail

Time for lipstick!

We've got to do something with this hair!

Two peas in pod.. actually two little mermaids, Ali and Caroline

Ariel one and Ariel two

Let's get started!

Whew! I am all caught up on the blogging now! Thanks for checking in!

Party Time at Preschool!

As a room mom, I got to help out in Caroline's class with the Halloween party. Hitting a pinata was on the agenda, and it was so funny to see the difference in the way the boys tackled it versus the girls. Of course, the boys were aggressive when they hit the pinata and the girls took a more cautious approach. So fun to see! Each child got to take a turn and the other kids counted to ten.

The class lined up listening to the directions

Caroline and Ali cheering one of their classmates on

Caroline is taking this serious

Go Ali!

On the way home from preschool, faces painted and all!

Carving pumpkins.. and roasting marshmallows

The last few days of our trip to Little Rock included several "fall like" activities. Of course pumpkin carving was one of them. Caroline wanted to draw the face on the pumpkin herself and actually it was pretty good! She helped Poppy scoop out all the seeds, but then our little project was interrupted by a visit from Lilly and Maggie. Caroline decided she wasn't so interested in carving the pumpkin anymore, and we had the intention of going back to it later. Of course, that never happened. So we ended up with a half carved pumpkin! Somehow toward the end of a visit you are trying to cram everything in at once and never quite get it all in. Oh well, she had the experience of it and tends to lose interest when her part in the project is done.

Drawing the face

Not bad for a 3 year old.. but probably a little hard to carve...

Ready to carve!

Scooping out the seeds...

And that's all for now.. time for lunch with the girls!

The perfect fall weather gave us the idea to sit out by the fire pit that night and make s'mores. Caroline loved this and enjoyed several marshmallows. She got on a roll telling us stories that went on an on. She was quite animated with this. Wonder where she got that from? :) Quite an imagination that little girl has!

Once upon a time...

Uncle Curt joined us.. here Caroline is talking on the phone with her Daddy.

Grandy and my Aunt Barbara

All cozy!

We had to leave on an early flight the next morning and Grandy snapped this picture as we were walking out the door. Caroline loves to roll her little backpack full of entertainment for the plane. Easier on me! We had a wonderful trip, but this time Caroline was really sad to leave. This is the first time that she actually cried when we got on the plane, wanting Grandy and Poppy. So sad! The next visit will roll around before we know it though.

Time to head back to Charlotte!

Little Explorer

While in Little Rock, Caroline spent plenty of time cuddling with Poppy and her favorite dog, Cody. She loved to snuggle with Poppy and Cody while watching a show.


One day we ventured out to downtown Little Rock to do a little exploring. We stopped by the Heifer Institute just to check it out. Entertaining for the adults, but not much to do for toddlers. The Heifer project has the mission of working with communities to end world hunger, poverty, and to care for the earth. The building is designed to use half the energy of an office building comparable in size, and there are many displays and centers to explain their mission. They not only aspire to help those in poverty, but also actually educate the people so that they can continue to thrive. It really is amazing and inspiring and makes you realize how much we take for granted.

Looking at all the "food"

I don't know what to think about all this!

In front of the building. Caroline was getting a little tired.

Waiting on the trolley with Poppy

Trolley ride

Little Rock and North Little Rock are basically twin cities separated by a river. There are several bridges that connect the two cities, but only one that you can walk across. We walked across the bridge and looked out over the city.

Looking at downtown Little Rock.

Riding in style!