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!!