Hats.....

Hope has a few outfits with very cute Hats that she refuses to put on. However, when I put a hat on Bryce to stay warm, she suddenly loves hats and wants to wear one. She is a crack up. This was just a few days before Thanksgiving. Jared and I were so looking forward to 4 days of family time. Hope however began to be sick Tuesday, and every day one more of us became sick. Jared didn't develop anything too horrible because he took his usual trip to the drug store and did multiple prevention remedies. The holiday turned out to be less then ideal with runny noses, crying through the night, fevers, and everything else that is not fun about being sick. In fact, don't look too close at Hope in these pictures, I hadn't wiped her face with a washcloth before taking them. She is still cute, boogers and all......

glides on air

Christmas came early for Jared and I this Year. I got my Schwinn double stroller that I had begged for since summer. It is wonderful. It is easier to push then my single Graco stroller. It practically glides on air. I had big plans to take it to a new park each day and play in the afternoon with the kids. Unfortunately the kids have been sick and it has been very dark and cold. Anyway, I love it! It is better than a diamond necklace! For Jared, who likes to buy his own Christmas gifts, he got us some more home security in the form of a shotgun. We have been talking about a gun for months and after the election we decided the time was right. Let's get a gun while we still have the freedom to do so.

Family pictures

It feels like we have been moving at the speed of light here in the Forman house. We have been so busy and amidst all our activities the camera battery went dead and I have yet to charge it. We did take family pictures since our last post and I was thrilled with how they turned out. Here are some of our favorite shots. This was the first time that Jared and I had family pictures since our wedding. It was even more special for us because we did them at Jared's parent's house.

The kids are growing so fast. Hope will be 2 soon and Bryce is about 5 months old now. He has grown so fast that I didn't even get a picture of him in his blessing outfit because I procrastinated and he grew out of it. He is about 17 pounds now! For comparison, I will just say that Hope was 19 pounds at her 12 month appointment. It is comical to look at them together. Hope begs to hold Bryce constantly and then when I place him on her lap she immediately falls on her back because of his weight. Then she just lays there holding him on top of her, both of them just as happy as can be. How sweet it is to have a family, and to have children who love each other. I wonder how long that will last?!?

Bishop's Pumpkin Patch

On Friday night we drove out to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch in Wheatland. It was so fun. My parent's and Grandma came with us to make it even more enjoyable. There was a petting zoo with all sorts of animals and you could buy some food for a quarter to feed the animals. Grandpa Christensen took Hope inside the gate to feed the baby goats which was ok by her until one came up behind her and bumped her shoulder with his head. After an instant outburst of crying she wanted to only be held by Grandpa. They had really cute buildings that the animals climbed on and lots of baby animals. We then walked out to the pumpkin patch and took a train ride. Hope loves trains. I wish Hope would have taken a better nap that day because she wasn't in her best spirits, but that happens. It was a bit chilly and windy but we hadn't planned on spending several hours there anyway. Grandma, as usual, played the comic relief for the evening. Mom left Grandma's purse in the car because she has a habit of wanting to buy useless things everywhere they go. She had been begging for her money all evening long and our last stop was the bakery where the begging to buy some goodies became much more intense. Mom didn't have the car keys so she was out of luck there. She even went up and was in line talking to the girls who took the orders....we couldn't hear what she was saying but we assume she was trying to order. She finally got my Dad to order some things for her and after we had goodies to take home she wanted to stop and buy ice cream as well. Bless her heart she keeps us moving and laughing. Especially when she is in good spirits. Bryce ended up in my sweater before the evening was over because he had drenched his little sweater in spit from sucking on it and we didn't want him to be cold from being all wet. It was a great night. I wouldn't mind going back again.

Like Father, Like Son?

I have noticed more physical changes with Bryce than and I did with Hope. It might be that Bryce has grown so fast in comparison to his petite sister, or just that I am paying more attention this time around. He has lost most of his dark hair, but his eyes remain blue and eyelashes dark just like his handsome Daddy. I think he looks just like Daddy but it is interesting to hear what other people think. Maybe I associate him with Jared in all things because his personality is so even tempered and good natured like his Daddy. I can't believe that his is only 3 months old. I can't imagine having life without our little man. So what do you think.....like father, like son?
ps- he can't sit up on his own yet....he is sitting in a bumbo below that helps aid a baby who can hold up his head to sit upright.

4 Generations of Fun

My Grandma, Aunt Debbie, and Mom came over this last Wednesday to help me with the kids and take us to lunch. It was so nice. It was just the medicine that I needed last week. With both kids keeping us up at night this last week it was hard to face each day with a smile and optimism. Mom took Hope outside to play (her favorite) and Bryce was exercised by Grandma and then snuggled by Aunt Debbie (his favorite). He fell into a deep sleep after all the exercising from Grandma and was limp in Aunt Debbie's arms for quite awhile. I think it is such a blessing to have Grandma close as she is nearing the end of her life. We had the best time watching her with the kids, trying to keep her out of the cookies, and constantly reminding her that although Bryce is big in size he still is only 3 months old and doesn't eat cookies and ice cream!

Hope and Crayons

There are some things in life that you just have to sigh and shake your head in disgust with yourself. After crayons went through the washer and dryer a few months back I have kept them from Hope. However, the library program that we go to gives out picture to be colored at the end of each class. I thought that we would revisit the idea of Hope having crayons and gave her an assortment of different colors and her paper on her table. While I was deep in the cleaning and motherly duties of the morning I didn't become alarmed when she shut her door and was quiet for a long while. In fact I was enjoying the peace and accomplishing the things I am always striving to get done. Low and behold I decided to check on Hope as it was just a bit quiet in there and I found that she was enjoying coloring.......only it was not on the paper but the walls. I had totally forgotten when she closed her door that I had even given her crayons. Ay-yi-yi! Thankfully she colored mostly purple on purple walls. I spend the next 40 minutes scrubbing the walls clean and scolding myself. The funny part is that if you look at her picture she didn't make one scribble on it. I guess we chose the right color to paint her room when we moved in! And the crayons are once again moved to a location unknown to the tootsie until she is just a little bit older.