Grandma & Grandpa Meet the Newest

On August 27, Grandma Maureen and Grandpa Bill flew out for a visit. The weekend went by fast but we were still able to do some fun things. Maureen barely stepped foot through the front door before she had scissors in hand and was hard at work on Brielle's mangy hair. Then that night we went to Derrick and Lisa Dye's home for a tail-gate party before the big Shelley/Firth football game. I'm not sure that a high school football game was at the top of Grandma and Grandpa's must-do-lists, but they were good sports and seemed to have fun! Most of the weekend was spent taking LOTS of pictures, talking, and just hanging out. We love having our family from Oregon come for visits! MISS YOU GUYS!!!

Grandma and Grandpa enjoying sweet sleepy moments with Laney

One morning Ryan, Brielle, Bill, and Maureen went out for breakfast and spent some time at the playground and the greenbelt. Mom and baby stayed home catching up on some much needed (and much appreciated) sleep ;) After seeing all the fun pics I was sad we had missed out!

Ryan, Brielle and Grandma Maureen at the greenbelt

This picture was taken at the BBQ before the ball game. Brielle loved playing in this sand box. Before the night was through she was wearing a borrowed shirt because she accidentaly tackled one of the boys and walked away wearing his drink. My little football star;)

I loved this picture of Brielle and Grandpa Bill! He is helping her eat his leftover spaghetti from Olive Garden and she is having the time of her life!

Brielle did so great for her haircut and the end result was adorable--thanks Grandma!

Daddy, Grandma, and sweet Laney-girl

A picture-perfect moment with Daddy!

Our Stork Came Early!!

Alayna Maureen Foster

Born August 5, 2008 at 8:55 am

7lbs 4oz & 20.5 in long

A HOME BIRTH!!

We could not have asked for a better birth experience! Labor and delivery went beautifully and Alayna was perfectly healthy. Originally we were going to deliver at the birthing center in Rigby, but after a kind offer from my sister Ryan and I decided that Amber and Jon's home (their master suite to be exact ;) would be the perfect place to have our little girl. Not too long ago I remember telling myself I could never do a hoe birth; but from the moment Ryan and I decided to do so, IT JUST FELT RIGHT!

On Wednesday morning I woke up around 3:45 having contractions. I tried to relax and time them for a while, but when I discovered they were already ranging 7-10 minutes apart and some over 60 seconds long we called the midwives, loaded the car made it to Amber's just after 6 am. Ryan, my mom, and Amber went to work transforming the room into a comfortable delivery room and soon Valery (the assisting mid-wife) arrived. She helped me from the couch to the large bed where I settled into a comfortable side-laying position and proceeded to work through one contraction at a time. It was a real team effort I tell ya--Ryan putting counter pressure on my lower back, mom rubbing my feet, and Valery talking me through each contraction. At some point I got too comfortable and the contractions began to space out. Valery suggested I stand up and find a new position off the bed to help speed things along. Crazy as it sounds, I found that draping my upper body over an exercise ball and slightly rocking side to side was very relaxing and labor sped up immediately. Soon my water broke, I worked through a couple more contractions and two pushes later Alayna was here. It was AMAZING!

Thank you Ryan for your confidence in my ability to do this. I leaned on your strength more than you could ever know.

Thank you mom, Valery, Kathy, and my sisters for making our home birth such a perfect experience. A very special thanks to Amber and Jon for opening their home to us!

Hope you enjoy all the pics ;)

Brielle was adorable. As soon as she saw the baby in my arms she left the room and came back with a baby of her own!

I haven't seen any major signs of jealousy from Brielle. She wants to hold her and love on her all the time. Sometimes she gets over excited and loves a little too hard.

OUR DANCING DIVA TURNS ONE!!

Brielle is my April Fool's baby--born April 1st at 1:01 p.m. I absolutely LOVE that I have an April Fools Girl!! So Wednesday, April 1, we celebrated with a birthday party. I have to tell you, I so enjoyed planning and preparing for her special day. I decided early on that I wanted to make her a tutu and with the help of my talented friend Kamee, we made we the most adorable multi-colored pink tutu. Her colors were pink, black, and silver and her theme was 'Dancing Diva.' I could not bring myself to incorporate any TV or Disney characters into her birthday party because she just has not shown any real interest in any yet; however, she absolutely loves to dance!!! Her favorite part of every afternoon is when I break out the little floor radio and let her turn it on and control the volume. She likes the volume as loud as it can go and she goes to town with moves that even I envy. She giggles and squeals every now and then to let me know she is pretty pleased with herself! ADORABLE!!

I decided to split her birthday party into two parts--a play date with my girl friends and their kids in the afternoon and family in the evening. When all of my friends and the kids had arrived, I woke Brielle from her nap only to discover she was running a fever and feeling miserable. I was heart broken! Of all the days for her to get sick and without any kind of warning!! She wouldn't let me leave her sight and I spent most of the party trying to make her comfortable and happy. It wasn't until most of the group had gone and only a couple of my girl friends remained that she finally perked up. To my relief she started to play along with the three little ones that were still here and we were able to salvage what was left of the afternoon. All in all, it turned out pretty good. Thanks so much to all who came and for the fun new toys, books, and adorable clothes!!

In between parties I put Brielle down for another much needed nap and got things cleaned and ready for round two. I was so relieved to find my Elle-May quite the different little girl when she woke up. She let me dress her in her adorable tutu and waved to all the fam when I brought her out for her birthday debut. The night was so much fun! I loved having all of my family packed into my kitchen, dining room and living room. This was the large family get together that we have ever hosted, and I was a bit nervous about our small quarters. But it was GREAT!

Thanks to all of Brielle's aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends for making her first birthday special ;)

I made an attempt to put the pictures I have posted in some kind of an order, but all my efforts were wasted because they still ended up all over the place. SORRY. But hey, enjoy none-the-less ;)



This was my favorite pic of my sweet birthday girl enjoying her cake. You really should click on it to blow it up--WAY better bigger! She was a little bit timid at first until she discovered that all the little candies on the cake tasted like nothing she had ever had before. And to make it better mom and dad were not stopping her!

Like I said a little timid, shy. But she eventually caught the hang of it.

Miss Elle-May feeding her birthday cake to yours truly. This picture was taken at the friend party. Great shot Suikim--Thanks!

Pictured is Cydni with her little boy Hayden and Cilla with her son Carson. I have to take just a second and highlight the birthday banner hanging in back. It was my first attempt at anything like this and even though I spent way to much time on it, it turned out adorable!! I love that now I have something special to hang up for Brielle's birthday every year.

This is Brittnee with her two little girls, Abby and Aisha; Camee and her daughter Cavery; and Hayden and Carson again.

A cute shot of everyone enjoying the birthday cake.

And another . . .

Okay--this one is a little out of order. That morning Ryan and I got up early to decorate Brielle's cake. We had decided very early on that the perfect cake would be a pink, girly boom box because Brielle loves to shake her stuff while standing over my radio. I really can't take much credit for this adorable little masterpiece because Ryan did the majority of the work.

Brielle, I included this picture for you so that you will know how much your daddy loves you and wants so badly to be a part of your special days. He was so careful to make sure everything was absolutely perfect!!

Poor sick thing looks ready to puke!

This was the best picture that I got of her in her birthday get up. Her tutu looked adorable (Thanks again Kamee) and I found some leggins that matched perfectly. To top of her outfit, Cilla made her two of the cutest hair bows ever--Thanks Cilla!

All the fam gather 'round to watch Brielle open her gifts. From left to right is Ashely (sister), Amber and Jon (sister & bro-in-law), Jake, Katie, and Kinnley (Brother, sis-in-law, and niece), and Dad. Not pictured was Brittnie and Ryan (sis and bro-in law) and many of the nieces and nephews.

Sitting pretty while we all sang 'Happy Birthday.'

I Love you sweet girl!! Happy number one ;)

SUGAR & SPICE . . .

AND all that's NICE . . . .

That's what LITTLE GIRLS are made of!! Yep, ultra sound showed we are expecting another baby girl--FUN! I guess my so called 'mother's intuition' was malfunctioning this time because I was quite confident it was a boy. A large part of me was hoping it was a girl though because she and Brielle will only be 16 months apart.

I LOVED this picture of her little foot. Precious ;)

We have decided to go with the Rigby Birthing Center for this pregnancy. And even though I took the Bradley Method birthing classes just before Brielle was born, I am going to start again this Wednesday. I know what natural child birth is like, but there is something about those classes that really builds my self-confidence and creates a special bond with this sweet baby growing in me. The women who teaches the classes (along with her husband) also acted as my Douala for Brielle's birth. She is now making my transition into the birthing center even easier because she is training as a mid-wife there.

It is still hard for me to believe that I am 21 weeks pregnant because my Elle-May (Brielle) is still such a BABY! And it doesn't help that this pregnancy is flying by!! To be quite honest, I am little scared. But I am also so, so excited to have another little one for Brielle's sake. Sometimes she just gets so lonely.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone

I just about let St. Patrick's Day come and go without doing anything special to celebrate it. But thanks to my mom, Brielle got a little taste of green and some new scenery for the afternoon. Grandma always goes the extra mile to make every holiday special for everyone and St. Patrick's Day is no exception. She starts out by taking all the grandkids on a leprechaun hunt outside where the kids find little golden nugget treasures that the little green men have left behind. Brielle and I were a bit late getting there so we missed the hunt this year. Then she breaks out crafts, movies, stories, and all kinds of good things to eat. She really is the kind of grandma every child dreams of --thanks mom!

I attempted to get a picture of Brielle and Kinnley, who is Brielle's closest cousin in age. But Kinnley was more interested in figuring out if Brielle was real or fake. Check out the way she is poking at her cheek. Too cute!

My sweet girl surrounded by her aunt Amber (Brielle's second mom) and aunt Katie (Kinnley's mom). Ah, precious moments.

Need an idea for some cheap fun? My Ryan is an expert in this area! Our canister vacuum sits on wheels so my ingenious husband removed the main vacuum part, set the highchair tray atop, and walla--instant rolling fun for Brielle!!

I had to include this picture because what you are seeing is a huge milestone for all of us. Brielle has graduated to a forward facing car seat. She was looking a bit ridiculous in the infant seat, but truth be told, I was reluctant to move her up because how I have loved sneaking through the drive thru's and enjoying my greasy fries and sinfully delicious shakes all by myself. Gone are those days because now she is a witness to everything I do (and a participant in everything I eat). I have to admit I love being able to interact with her while I drive down the road or watch her wave her little arm to the music on the radio.

Ryan's dad, Leland, sent a happy belated valentines package. It was filled with sweet treats that Brielle has never had the pleasure of trying. As you can tell, she was very cautious and timid about the whole experience. OR NOT! Thanks Grandpa!

JUST FOR MY HUBBY

My living room is covered in toys. There is a LARGE pile of clothes sitting on my couch apparently not folding itself. The dinner dishes are only partially cleared. And Brielle is laying in bed repeating “da-da” rather than sleeping. And yet, I am blogging. But I feel extremely justified in my reasons. On Tuesday my hubby had a birthday and turned to big Three O. There was no time in the day for fun and celebration because he started work at 5:30 am and got home around 11:30pm. In hopes of making it kind of special, Brielle and I made him a card and baked him some super-duper delicious brownies. The three of us had big plans of slipping away for the weekend and celebrating his birthday in Boise, but just our luck Brielle got sick and Ryan is flying solo in Boise for the next few days. SAD! So babe, I hope you are having a good time, but hurry home because your girls are missing you

Brielle is making her best attempt to use this marker and tell dad "happy Birthday." When all was said and done, her hands and feet were covered in a beautiful mixture of color!

I have never been very vocal about how much I care about Ryan. He is such a hard worker and ensures that life for Brielle and me is very comfortable. He has such a drive and determination about him to succeed and he takes so much pride in everything he does. I am so proud to let others know that I am Ryan Foster's wife! I can't believe how much our relationship has grown since Brielle's birth. I always hoped the man I married would be a good dad, but good does not begin to describe the kind of father Ryan is. I don' t know many men who will stay up all night with there little girl when she is sick only to go to work at 5:30am; or change her diaper and make a bottle every morning so mom can stay in bed a little longer; or (my personal favorite) take his pride and joy out for a daddy-daughter ball game night while mom stays home and gets some much needed work done. Yep ladies, I caught a great one!!

Last weekend, one of Ryan's wholesalers put on a plumbing convention in Seattle. They flew us out, put us up in an awesome hotel, and took us out to an amazing dinner. We got the royal treatment! It was the first time I had ever spent a night away from Brielle and I missed her like crazy, but I loved having some alone time with Ryan. I love Brielle to death, but I have to admit sometimes it is hard to share him!

We spent a couple hours at the convention then set out with a group of six others to see a part of Seattle that many don't even know exists. We went on the underground tour of what was once the original Seattle. After a fire destroyed much of the main town area, they simply built over the top of the first floors of the buildings. It was so different than what I had expected!

Hard to explain what is pictured here, but we are standing under the existing sidewalks in downtown Seattle and you are looking at the original first floor of the building.

This toilet is one of the firsts and it's real name is 'the crapper' named after Thomas Crapper (I think). Ryan had to have a picture in front of an original 'crapper'. Um, plumbing thing, or guy thing?

I had to throw in a couple of pics of daddy and his little girl. A couple weeks ago we went down to Inkom with my family and Brielle experienced her first sled ride down the mountain.

Which one is enjoying the ball game more? Ryan and the crew we sit with always get the seats right on the floor and Brielle is Shelley's most enthusiastic cheer leader! These are special moments for Ryan when he gets to watch his baby girl get as excited about basketball as he is!!