9/3/11

 

I jog-walked five miles today!  It was great! I rand a 5k with Brandon’s mom last 24^th of July, but other than that haven’t ran in probably 3 years.  My neck and back feel way better, a lot more blood flow.

Brandon coached his first football game last night.  They won 28-0!  He is way stoked! And therefore it is a good day in the Forster household.  Congrats babe!

I finally have a pic from the reservoir.  We went out Friday night with my parents then I took Brandon out Saturday morning.  Isabela was about the same size as a catfish some guys had just caught so we took a picture :D

 Going for a walk, both kids in the stroller, this is what I see through the little plastic window (only usually upside down. I rotated the picture).  Doesn't Xander look slightly like an alien?

where to begin...

Do you think it's time to start potty training your daughter when she starts changing her own diaper?
A few minor accidents so far, but she is forcing it upon me.  She has been ready for a long while. It's me that's not ready.

Xander scoots everywhere, rolls over like crazy, and they LOVE EACH OTHER! I don't know why, and I am sure it will change, but my kids are best friends, and I love it!

We have no internet at home, the disc drive on my computer gave out, and our TV is not hooked up at all, so absolutely no movies or television for us.  It is SO tempting to plug in the TV and hook up the VCR/DVD player, but I haven't done it.  Isabela now watches pretend movies on the wall and only rarely asks to watch her shows anymore.

People here are WAY nice.  I can't believe how many times I have been called ma'am.  I really like it.  It's in the beautiful moutains.  Last night and this morning we went to play at the reservoir!  Thanks to my mom and dad!  and thanks for fixing my car, too!!

 Going swimming in Logan.

 Dad pushing Xander in the baby doll stroller in our new apt in Silt

 Chillin on the bed... dad's two favorite CO teams!  Aren't we cute?

 Bellie is ALWAYS trying to help.  She did a fairly good job here. (And she insisted he have a pillow so he was comfortable)

Our make-shift bathtub. It works spectacularly and Isabela likes it as well.  She sings all the time, even in the shower :D

Colorado

 We live in a one bedroom apt above the fitness center in Silt, CO.  Right outside our door is the train tracks, then I-70, then a river, a reservoir, then mountains.  It is a GREAT view, albeit a little close to danger for a 2 year old.  However, I know we are where we are supposed to be.

7/30/11 Drove to Silt. Moved in… thanks to Rodney.

7/31/11 Went to church, completely exhausted.  It seemed everyone I met had a baby and a toddler in nursery.  We fit right in (ok, so the ward is a good size with kids of ALL ages).

8/1/11 – 8/3/11 Brandon had training at the district and school.  I started unpacking, if you can call it that.  Looks like a tornado hit our house.

8/4/11 Went swimming in Rifle with a couple of girls from the ward and their kids.

8/5/11 Unpacked for a minute then drove to Grand Junction for Bill’s Birthday and Chinese food J

8/6/11  Had so MUCH fun with Brandon’s family and at Kim & Bill’s reception.  They pulled it off really well.  It was SO beautiful!

8/7/11 Went to church, somewhat tired again. People are so nice. I am still slightly anti-social still, I guess.  Jess, where are you?!  I don't know if I can do this church thing without sitting by you and talking to you in the hall with Jack and Xander!!

Then, WE CUT XANDER'S HAIR!!  He kept having random strands that I thought had fallen to his  shoulder so I would go to remove them, but they were still attached.  And all the sides have thinned out so he just had a mohawk.

 More updates to come... we still don't have internet at home or a PO box.  I will let you know when we do.

7/28/2011

In the midst of trying to pack really fast this morning, Isabela has her stuffed dog and says, "Doggy speak Spanish.  Woof! Woof!"  We both died laughing.

7/24/11

Isabela was playing tonight, fell and twisted her knee or something.  We had a great campfire in the yard with the Jensen's, then Isabela gave us a great adventure to Instacare.  We probably wouldn't have taken her, but it swelled up a bit and she tried to walk on it and collapsed.  Two x-rays.  She should be fine.  She still won't walk on it, but is in good spirits.  She was laughing and teasing the nurses the whole time we were there, albeit a little whiny and hurting a little.  Life's little adventures...

Last week here

We were in Sacrament meeting today, singing, and I started to cry.  It's our last week in this ward.  It's weird how some wards instantly seem to become family.  I am really going to miss it here.  Hopefully the Lord will bless us with a new great ward family in Colorado.

I can't believe how well Isabela remembers people and their names.  She knows the name of every infant in our ward, even the one blessed today.  The dad was walking to the front, and Isabela said, "Baby Marie."  I couldn't believe it.  She saw her only once about a month ago.  She connects with people of all ages really well. (I guess most 2 yr-old's do.)

Xander's hair is falling out, just a little bit, around the crown of his head.  It's still pretty thick, and quite long, on top.  He's a great little baby, whom Izzy LOVES.

Oh, and we went swimming yesterday instead of packing!  YEAH!  The first time this summer, and Isabela LOVED it.  She got comfortable pretty fast in that water and wanted to go down the big slide over and over again.  Xander also loved the water, just smiled and giggled.  Tonight we get to roast hot dogs over a fire at our friends' house.  Boy am I glad to finally get to do two summer activities!

Renting

I would rather pay to take care of my own house and all of the mishaps than deal with landlords right now.  We have been so spoiled.  We LOVE our landlords!  We love our house.  We love our yard and garden and the sheep across the street, and the horses down the road.  We detest dealing with nit-picky people we have never met before, in attempt to find a new place to live.  Can't we move and take our house and landlords with us? If faith can move mountains, surely it can move my house.

7/20/11

I packed a couple more boxes today.  Mostly I am trying to get rid of things.  Looking at how much I still have, I am not doing a good job.  We have a lot of stuff. 
Mom came to watch the kids while I worked and washed my dishes!  Thanks mom!

I painted my bookshelf the other day (black paint over the black spray paint that was already there).  I finally got a map laminated so I can frame it and put it on the wall.

Isabela wanted to see the horses today.  I had a ton of packing to do.  We saw the horses.

Xander finally went pooh.  He filled three diapers right in a row.  I changed him and could barely get the next one on before he filled it to the brim.  We barely escaped a huge explosion.  Tender mercies all around.

Sharing the Love...

 Isabela helped Great-Grandma Forster with the dishes.  Aren't they darling?  I love this picture.

 One more piece of evidence showing how much Isabela LOVES having Xander right by her side. 

Isabela took Brandon some balloons to work for his birthday last month.  I let her hold them all the way from the store.  She looked like she was going to fly away.  The picture doesn't quite do it justice.

Xander brought daddy some frozen fruit bars.  Everyone at the office loves them because he never gets to bring any home to share (but it's ok, that's the whole point of taking them to the office in the first place). 

Xander's 1st wrestling match

 Xander may be bigger, but Jack is two months older.  Evidently, wits won over size this time.  Xander lost his first wrestling match. :)  It was way fun to watch them play. 

Really, Xander would squish Jack to smitherines if he were on top, but Jack did get him in the face pretty good a couple of times.  Xander just laughed.  We sure are going to miss these guys when we move :(

7/17/11

Tonight Isabela was sitting on the bed reading her book aloud to herself... in a really dark room... wearing her sunglasses.

I love how Xander rubs his eyes when he is tired.  He uses the entire back of his hand, his knuckles, and his fingers.  He also laughs a lot more now.

I am so glad...

... that my husband isn't in the military.
... that my husband is not gone serving a mission like husbands did in the early days of the church.
... that my husband is still on this earth with me.

Because he has been gone for a week now and I miss him like crazy!  We don't function nearly as well without him.  Kudos to every wife and single mother who runs a household without the help of a spouse.
My sanity will return Thursday night :)

A little too much love...

Yesterday Isabela and Xander were on my bed. I left them for a just one minute.  I came back and Isabela was giving Xander a "hug."  She was laying on top of him and he could barely breath (well, he was crying mightily, so I guess he was breathing).  I took her off and she started crying hysterically, "I want abrazos."  She hugs and kissed him ALL THE TIME.  I love it, even if it is a bit much sometimes.

Window Washing

Brandon and his friend, Rodney, started a window washing business a little over a year ago.  It has done really well, especially in Cache Valley.  The other week they were washing windows here in Logan and I went to visit.  They had a friend that followed them all day as they progressed around the building.

Xander - 3 mo old

Today at our friend's house Xander rolled from his tummy to his back three times in a row.  He usually hates being on his tummy.  We tried to get him to do it again, but he wouldn't.  Maybe it was just a fluke...

We got home and Xander was being pretty fussy.  I started eating chips and salsa with him on my lap.  He would fuss, then every time I put a chip into my mouth he would start giggling with a huge grin.  I think he likes the crunching sound. 

He is talking and laughing a lot more lately, and is always blowing bubbles.  He is a really happy baby.  Compared to Isabela, I just can't believe how big and thick the kid is.  His body seems really strong, maybe a little rigid.  He doesn't always bend at the waist very well.  At three months old he is mostly only wearing 9 mo clothes.  Crazy how fast it goes.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Hey Babe!  Happy birthday!  You are the best husband ever and the love of my life!  I hope your day is perfect!

Fold your arms

In Sacrament meeting today, we told Isabela it was time for the prayer.  An elderly gentleman sitting on the other side of her bowed his head and closed his eyes, but did not fold his arms.  Isabela kept tapping his arm, pointing, and saying "Oracion," until he finally folded his arms.  She then - finally - did likewise.

Isabela brought Brandon a Dad's root beer from nursery.  We got him stuff for his grill and salt and pepper grinders.  He is such a great father and husband.  He always plays with Isabela and Alexander, and changes countless dirty diapers.  I couldn't have asked for a more perfect match.  The Lord really knows what he is doing.  Love you babe!

And Happy Birthday Renee!  Love your guts!

Picture Editing

We recently got some pics taken at JC Penny.  I had a coupon so it was really cheap.  Of course, I could not buy all of the really cute ones with enhancements.  So, I started playing around again to see what I could come up with.  Here are some before and afters that I like.

 

Just don't mind I look a little funny.

 

 

And this one is just hilarious.

6/15/11

Since I am not a creative-minded person, I really do not enjoy creating titles for my posts.  Now that Jenny has started using the date, I think that is the best idea since ramen was created. (That only comes to mind since I was watching a movie the other day where they were learning to make ramen.)  Again, not being creative, I am going to copy her idea. Thanks Jen!

Brandon and I were foot zoned for the first time this week.  I was way excited.  Brandon was very skeptical.  We both feel tons better now.  I am in love and wish I only had the money to do it all the time.  Brandon is no longer a skeptic.

We went out for a walk today with some friends.  I fed Izzy lunch when she came back while I fed Xander on the couch.  It got really quiet in the kitchen.  I called out, "Did you eat all your food?"  No answer.  I thought, Maybe she is sleeping.  Then she was all happy and said, "No."  Nope, not asleep.  But a few minutes later I walked in and she was curled up in this tiny ball in her high chair sound asleep.  I honestly don't know how she fit in there like that.

Birthday and Swimming!

 Isabela was spoiled for her birthday! More than any 2 year old should be.  She LOVES basketball!  Seriously, though, look at that form.

 But the really big hit was Winnie the Pooh.  He was about 5 feet tall! Talk about life-size.  I think he is only 2 feet tall in real life.  Really, look at him and Christopher Robin.

 Good thing some bigger kids showed up to help out.  Winnie the Pooh was a little out of her league.

 The Birthday Buddies! 

 Swimming the first time this year at the hotel.  Izzy would only come out for a minute or two at a time then had to go sit back by Grandma.  But she loved it and went back the next day.

Chillin' with Grandma Becky.  Xander's first swim ever at 2 months old.  Well, he mostly just got his feet wet, but he looks awesome in his swim trunks.