My Husby Built a Deck

I married a handy man who happens to be an educated engineer who also happens to be quite frugal. He can fix or build anything if he takes the time to research/think it out, and generally he does because, as I said, the man is frugal. He has saved us many a penny over the last 5 years. We wanted a new deck because the last one had a huge railing that cut it off from the rest of the yard, making our already small backyard feel much smaller. So he took to tearing down the old and building a new (with the help of a knowledgeable guy from our ward). This is the result...pretty sweet, no?

The kids are lovin' it and as soon as the new grass we planted grows in, they will have free rein back there. They were lookin' so cute sitting on the deck after church, sharing some strawberry Mentos, that I had to take a few pictures... (after the first picture, Max kicked up his modeling skillz for a few sweet shots - please ignore the eye gooby in his left eye...if you can)

just been stabbed in the heart

feigned sadness

Kelly hasn't caught on to the crazy posing just yet

don't you want to squish her cheeks and kiss her little face?!

maybe it's just me...

proof that little sister smiles (love that nose wrinkle)

Just for fun, and just because I love those of you who read my blog, I thought I'd throw in a few pictures of the Ev Man. Man, is he a lover! He makes us laugh (he's lovin' the discovery of his tongue these days) and melts my heart. Oh, and he laughed for the first time last night...almost brought me to (happy) tears.

Some Max Love

I feel like I've been posting a lot about Kelly and Everett lately. It's kind of like the squeaky wheel gets the oil...the kid doing the most changing gets a blog post. Max doesn't have all sorts of new tricks because he's getting older. But, boy, does he get better with age!

His imagination is awesome. He is super creative. Take today, for instance. Right now he is in the front yard in this get-up:

Let's talk about each item he has on.

• First, he wears these boots outside all of the time. He loves them because of the ease with which they slip on and off. I'm a lame mom and restrict the wearing of these boots to our yard. I know, I should let him be a kid and wear them all over town. It goes against my particular mom "grain" to do it. Although, catch me in the right mood and I couldn't care less how looks in public. So I guess I'm not always lame.
• Note the plastic knife tucked into the boots. Essential.

• The flowery pink belt which is holding the sword? One of Kelly's headbands, of course.
• The thing draped across his chest is a scarf that my 80-year-old neighbor gave us and the kids have adopted for dress-ups. He's really into dressing up as a soldier, Nephi, Samuel, Ammon or Helaman. Kid has a great imagination and is such a BOY.

This quarter Tyler's classes are on Mondays and Tuesdays, so he tucks the kids in bed on Sunday night and doesn't see them again until Wednesday evening after work. I've noticed that on Tuesdays Max is kind of emotional and more prone to fits. Some Mom inspiration came from above that the little man needed to be wrestled. Ty is usually the wrestler in our fam, but I know how to throw down. So I did just that. We wrestled and laughed and tickled and took turns 'dying' for a good, long while. I think it did the trick! And I realized that it's a great release for me as well. Those days without my man can get really long and lonely and hard. So a Monday or Tuesday wrestle fest is on the books for the next several weeks.

Last Sunday, dude passed off the 6th Article of Faith. I love that he has a good memory and gets a kick out of memorizing. It gives us a kick to hear him rattle things off. The stake primary is holding an ice cream party in June; for every Article of Faith you get one item (for example: 1st A of F=spoon, 2nd A of F=bowl, etc.) We'll see how far he gets!

Max is getting jokes and humor more now and so we giggle a lot together. He's also into riddles and comes up with pretty good ones. "I'm camouflaged, I have guns, and I'm NOT a soldier (because he totally knew that would be my guess). What am I?" The answer was an ARMY airplane.
Max was meant to come first. He is the ideal big brother. I think I've mentioned before that Kelly repeats absolutely everything he says. Brother is so patient with her! It never bothers him. Lately during Kelly's naps Max has been asking, "When is Kelly going to wake up?" I've asked why and he told me that it's more fun when she's awake and that he LOVES playing with her. I am so glad they like each other! Sure, he pushes her buttons sometimes, but mostly he is so happy to be with his sister.And he will grab a diaper for me or comfort Everett anytime I ask. He's figured out how to make Ev smile all on his own now, which makes for some cuteness I love to observe.
If Everett's head happens to be near his face, he will give lots of rather absentminded kisses; it's like his lips just know what to do when a baby is near.

LOVE this little man of mine!

K.A.F.

Kelly Anne Foster

On Sunday, sister didn't have a nap. At dinner she was being stubborn about eating her chicken in order to get some beloved bread. She turned around in her chair in defiance to pout. A few minutes later I heard some deep breathing and realized that she was sacked out. Man, it's cute when that happens!

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On my way upstairs today, I found each of the following 'scenes':

Kelly loves to tuck everybody in for a nap...

the police and fire men on this particular day were given a blanket of "big girl" underwear and a doll shirt

these Indians and their horses got Dad's sandals for a bed

Girl is SUCH a momma. She loves to take care of others. If I am upstairs and Everett starts to fuss, she will sit by his side, holding the bink in his mouth (even if he's screaing in protest), singing or talking sweetly to him until I can get there. (see below)

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Her hair is usually a crazy, curly mess ("Mom, this ponytail is buggy, can you take it out?") and often her face is too, but, boy, am I glad to have this little woman in my life!

*sigh*

I've often looked at pictures of other people's kids spreading flour or sugar or paint or makeup all over themselves and thought, "I'm glad I haven't had to clean up a mess like that"....

It

was

only a

matter

of

time

And trust me, I know that this was nothin'. A few wipes of the face and hands, a sweep of the floor, washing the rug and that was it. I just have a feeling that this is the beginning - when she gets caught she laughs and flashes a really cute smile. I can't help but laugh a little and then I take pictures which I am sure encourages the little thing further.

She just climbed up on my lap and saw these pictures and said, "Kelly!" in a disapproving tone. I know, that Kelly Foster. What are we going to do with her?

Unexpected

This year I did NOT expect to win the Foster Family March Madness Tournament. Usually I put a little bit of thought into my bracket, but this year I filled it out in 5 minutes just because the games were about to start and I had to get it in. Guess who picked Duke to win it all?! You guessed it...me! (Although, I was totally cheering for Butler in the final game; I love a good underdog victory) My only goal in these family tournaments is to beat my father-in-law, but me winning it all takes the cake because that really gets his goat. :)

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General Conference kind of snuck up on me this year. Usually I am anticipating it for weeks, anxious for the messages and renewal of soul. This time, though, I hadn't put a lot of thought into it; I think it's because I'm in new-ish baby land. I still feel like I'm living in a bit of a bubble with my little family - lots of nursing and diaper changing and sitting inches away from Everett's face with kiddos on either side enjoying his smile and spit bubbles and cooing. Whatever the reason, I just wasn't prepared. However, I was overcome by the power of the messages this weekend; more than I have felt in a few years and I always love Conference. It was such a delightful surprise. I felt like the overriding theme was parenting...but maybe that's because it's what is on my mind these days.

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On Monday an acquaintance of mine - a friend of a friend whom I've met a few times and had at my home just last month for a baby shower -unexpectedly lost her husband. I just found out about it last night and I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. I have uttered many prayers in her behalf and shed many tears this morning. Her husband lost his first wife in a car accident 7 or 8 years ago; they had one son together. Then he married this sweet woman and they have three children, the youngest is 18 months. Oh, my heart breaks for her and those kids.

Last night when Tyler got home from school I told him about it and it prompted a conversation we should probably have had already after 5 years of marriage about some of the specifics -"call Tina from HR and she would probably help you with everything you need with life insurance and all of that" "I want you to remarry quickly; our kids will need a mom" "I want you to bury me in the temple dress hanging in the closet, not the one in my temple bag" "I need to ask Janet to make my blog into a book for you guys if I don't get to it". Kind of random things, and really it's just the beginning of what we need to talk about. It was late. My heart ached thinking of this friend and that she is dealing with this loss. It's her reality.

I really believe that we continue to live after this life on earth. Our time here is temporary and we never know when we will be taken Home. My hope is that I will be ready, that I will be living in line with what I believe, so that I can have peace and continue to progress There. I think that might be the "easier" part...what I really hope is that I would have the strength to withstand the loss of my husband or a child.

Say a prayer for Michelle, will you? There is power in prayer; I absolutely know that.

Life is full of the unexpected, big and small.

happy

We hope you had a super HAPPY Easter!

There's a small town just north of us called Poulsbo; it has Norwegian roots. A group called The Sons of Norway put on an egg hunt every year. We go for the pictures of, and with, the vikings. It was SO cold, but so worth it for our little man.

This was Kelly's reaction to Mr. Viking

(notice we have no shots of her picking up easter eggs - it's 'cause she wouldn't, they were too close to Viking Man. we threw a few in there for her)

This is how Max felt about Mr. Viking

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E.B. came to our house (anyone else feel this is a strange tradition - a bunny bringing eggs and baskets filled with goodies?)...sugar high shortly followed.

Dying of the eggs...I love having so many hardboiled eggs in the house to eat!

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This little woman, the one on the left with the silly smile, is a tiny bod of cuteness. Except when she's a tiny ball of stubbornness, or when she's screaming in defiance. Well, even then she's a tiny bod of cuteness. She repeats E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. that Max says (bless his patient little heart). I love getting her one-on-one because she has so much to say and has so many fun thoughts swimming around in that mind of hers. Sister loves to talk! I don't know where she gets it from. And her voice is somethin' else. I was talking to my mom and sister about it yesterday and I said that I hope it grows up with her. If not, though, she'll always have a job at Disneyland. Or she could do cartoon voices. :) She makes Max belly laugh often. So much joy in that tiny bod.

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Photo courtesy Big Sis

Little Dude is out of the bassinet in our room and in a crib in his room now. I got teary-eyed the first time I put him down in there. These little people grow much too fast for my liking. Since he's mostly sleeping through the night I figure I can overcome the laziness and walk down the hall if I need to. Man, is he cute! And good! I really thought I was in for it since my other two babes were good...but he's the best of the bunch.

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Picture courtesy Kelly the Photog

"I'm going to take a picture of my brother. Hey! Brother! Show me a HAPPY face!"

Max: When I'm a dad, I'll still be my Daddy's son

Me: That's right

Max: And when I'm a grandpa, I'll still be my Daddy's son

Me: Yep

(short pause)

Max: But I'll NEVER be a mom

Right-O

goodbye March - you were good to us!

March had something I loved very much - a week off of school for my man. His quarter ended and he had an entire week where he got to come home after work and hang out with us. We got excited about this every single day, including the days that he normally would have come home anyway. I have two little people (well, three, but the third can't really express it yet) who LOVE their daddy. He's a full-blown celebrity around here.

He usually has kids hanging all over him while he's around.

I think he likes it.

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Speaking of my two little people...they had a troublemaker day a few days ago. First of all, while I was nursing Everett I heard them playing somewhere but when I was done nursing I went to look for them and couldn't find them anywhere - bedrooms, closets, bathrooms. I finally opened the door to the garage and there they were, sitting in their car seats on the ground (we'd taken them out of the van for Ty to pick up my new-to-me-treadmill!), graham crackers they'd secretly swiped in hand, pretending to watch Blue's Clues on a pretend TV. Then later on I was looking for them and realized the noise was coming from the laundry room...only to find that the noise was coming from inside of the dryer. Not safe, I know. Don't turn me in.

Shortly after that I was cleaning the huge mess they'd made of Everett's clothes a few days before and when I came out of his room I saw them in Everett's bassinet in my room. "It's our boat, mom!"

These are the kinds of "problems" I wish I could deal with their whole lives. Someday I'm sure I'll wish that my biggest worry is them climbing inside a large home appliance.

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I have to include a few Kelly the Photog pictures. I love downloading my pictures because I always find surprise pictures on there from her. Like I've said before, they're usually of her toes, but every now and again we get some keepers (trust me, I've kept my fair share of her tiny, chubby toe shots as well). "Mom, say: Cheese Hot Cocoa!" As you can see, I never expect these pictures to turn out...and in my defense, I don't get ready until after I get my kids ready for the day. Which is what's happening in this picture - I'm doing the little lady's hair.

Love these little fingers!

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Little Dude is 2 months!

We went to the doc today where shots were administered. :( He charmed our pediatrician (even after she woke him up and poked and prodded for a bit) with his smiles and cooing. Oh, that little man of mine! 11 lbs 12 oz, 23 inches of baby goodness. SUCH a good babe. Last night he slept 10 hours. That's what I'm talkin' about!

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Yesterday instead of my normal run, it was sunny out and I wanted to take the kids with me over to the track since it's spring break for the schools. Our family has many-a-fond-memory at the track. My trick so that I can keep running while they "run" with me is to have them run across the grassy football field and race me to other side while I run the track and meet them there. That way I don't have to slow down to meet their stride. I know, I'm a mom genius. Well, I've been saddened because our jogging stroller is a two-kiddo and now we're a three-kiddo family. But yesterday I thought I would try to fit them all in since the jog to the school isn't super long. It worked! They all seemed comfy enough - no complaints - and I think that the tight fit made it safer for the smallest dude? They look so cute all smooshed in there.

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We're looking forward to a pretty chill April - lots of running for me and hopefully good weather for outside play. My tulips and the buds on our trees are about ready to burst...makes my heart want to sing! It's spring!