STAKE TEMPLE DAY

Once a year our stake has a stake temple day. It's on a Friday that the kids have off school. Friday may seem like a difficult day to go, but there are blessings that come from sacrificing to go, and we have loved participating the last two years. This year, the Wenatchee Stake Temple Day was on Friday, October 10th. And this year was special because our kids were super excited to go! They kept counting down the days. We knew that we were gonna have to wake up our kids super early and that they were just gonna be over at the stake center next to the temple for several hours, so we wanted to involve them in the spirit of the work that takes place at the temple. We decided to have a FHE the Monday before on family history and to have the two oldest, Mattie and CJ, each find a name that Mommy and Daddy could take into the temple. It was one of the best family home evenings we've ever had - mission accomplished! I really think the kids finding those names really helped them get excited about going to the temple. Now we're hoping to keep that excitement alive!

Our little family at the Columbia River temple

Mattie and CJ with the names they found on Paige's side of the family. Bryce and Paige were able to do an endowment session for those names.

"MEET THE MORMONS"

Meet the Mormons opened this past weekend on Friday, October 10th. After a great day at the temple, we were able to make it a date night with the Haslam's and the Mahuika's, enjoying the movie and then dinner at Spring Lotus. Tons of fun! The movie was very inspirational and a great look at the basic beliefs of Mormons. It wasn't preachy at all, and really, an excellent movie for non-LDS friends to watch. And all the proceeds go to the Red Cross. So go see the movie, if you haven't yet!

Liberty Theatre after Meet the Mormons

LIZZY STARTED NURSERY!

Yesterday was Lizzy's first day in Nursery! Hooray!! Well, technically, 3 weeks ago when we were visiting the Brewster branch, she attended their Nursery, which consisted of 3 other kids, one of which was Powell. But since that wasn't our ward, and it was 3 weeks ago, we're not counting it :).

So yesterday was her first day and it went better than expected. She hollered when we left her, which we expected (Paige could still hear Lizzy screaming when she was halfway down the hall). But the teachers told us that within just a couple of minutes, when they were saying the opening prayer, she quieted right down and was fine the rest of the time. Yea! She has needed nursery for the last several months (you know that crazy stage where they are mobile and want to be everywhere and into everything?), and with Daddy visiting other wards for his High Council calling, and Mommy now in the Primary Presidency, it's a relief to know she's cared for, having fun, learning about Jesus, and learning to feel the Spirit.

Here's our mini photoshoot after church :)

 

MASSIVE UPDATES TO COME

Yesterday we had an FHE on family history. We're going to the temple this Friday for our stake's temple day and wanted to take some family names. We also wanted our kids to feel a part of it (especially since the temple is 2 1/2 hours away and our kids get to hang-out at the stake center all day while we go in and do a session), so we had them search out and find the names we're gonna take. It was a great FHE. But in the process, I was reminded how lacking I am in keeping our family history. I used to be so dedicated to this blog. And then things got busy. And I got behind. WAY behind. And then it got overwhelming.
It's been over a year and a half since I last posted...and even then I was trying to catch-up. My anal-retentive self wouldn't allow me to post anything current until all was caught-up. I wanted all my posts in chronological order. But in the {unproductive} process, I've missed posting so many things, namely the birth of our fourth child!! So I'm not going to completely give up on our blog - which I had thought about doing because it seemed impossible to ever catch-up - and I'm going to start now. Fresh. Current. I will try to catch up as I go, so things may seem out of order, but I don't want to miss posting any more moments.
So expect changes. Here we go!
Wish me luck!

POWELL - 9 MONTHS

5/20

5/21 This is what happens when you have older siblings

 5/22 Getting into the wii games; and so it begins...

 5/24 What's Powell doing here, you ask? Chewing on the hearth! :)

5/26 Powell's first time sitting in the cart

 

 5/28

 5/28 Powell's first time in a swing

 5/31 Powell's first time using a sippy cup

5/31 Showing Grandma Forsgren his new sippy cup skills

 

6/1 Powell's first time in a swimming pool (and his first time in St. George)

 6/3 Powell's first time at Papa Forsgren's grave (and these pictures are hilarious! This is the best we could do?!)

6/5 Powell's new favorite thing - playing with the door stop. He likes to hit it and listen to it vibrate

 6/6 Crawling up the stairs for the first time (at Papa and Gramma's house since we don't have stairs at our house :)!

 6/8 Powell likes to pull himself up to standing - getting ready to walk! Plus who can resist taking a pic of those cute buns?!

6/11 Powell holding a bottle all by himself (the funny thing, he doesn't even take bottles. Unfortunately, the novelty of holding it himself didn't last long and then he was finished with it)

6/12 CJ taking Powell down the slide at the dentist's office

6/12 Powell's been finding all sorts of things to get into lately. He loves to get the plastic utensils and cups out of the bottm drawer and practice his drumming

6/12 Had to take a pic of this! If you look really closely, you can see what little of Powell's hair that he actually has standing up from the static on the tramp :)

 6/12 Powell's first time with this sippy cup (no handles, soft top)

 6/12 And Powell's favorite drawer to get into (again, the one with the plastics utensils)

 6/13

 6/15 Just as we were about to leave the house, Powell had an altercation with the popcorn popper. First time he's tugged on a cord, and since something came crashing down on his head as a result, it's probably the last. But as you can tell by his cute smile, he was a trooper.

 6/16 Powell's first time at the splash pad - he's not quite sure what to do :)

6/16 Check out that adorable patootie!

6/16 Daddy always knows how to make Powell laugh

 6/17 Diaper fun! This is Daddy's idea of a good time for Powell (ew!)

6/17 Curled up little angel

6/17 Powell pulled himself to standing and started pushing this chair around! He'll be walking in no time!

June 17, 2012

Nine months old

Length:18 lbs 5 oz (14th percentile)
Weight: 27 3/4" (31st percentile)
Head: 18" (61st percentile)

- Powell always wants to be grabbing the food or the bowl or the spoon when we feed him, so now we give him his own spoon or empty container or lid or something to play with/suck on while we feed him. Makes it a whole lot easier :)
- 5/20 Powell cut his first tooth today! It just barely started poking through, but it is there - we can see it! It's his bottom left
- 5/22 We took Powell to the doctor today because he hasn't been putting weight on his right leg when he stands. Dr. Jantzen checked him out, including his hips, and everything seemed ok, so the doc thinks he probably has a baby sprain, which I guess is pretty common. It's just when the baby tweaks their leg (or other extremity) some how and nurses that extremity a little bit. He said it should be fine in a few days but to come back in if it persists
- 5/22 Powell is 27 inches long (24th percentile), and 18 lbs, 11 oz (32nd percentile)
- 5/21 and 5/22 Powell slept all through the night! Like we're talking 11 hours each night! When I woke up at 7 AM, we had to rush in and check on him to make sure he was still breathing! :) Subsequently, it was also his first whole night in his room (maybe they're related :)
- 5/24 Powell fell down the stairs today! We don't even have stairs in our house, but sure enough, Mattie and CJ went outside, and Powell followed. Mattie saw him headed for the stairs on the deck, but by the time Daddy rushed out there (Mommy was gone :), Powell had already flipped down a couple steps. He didn't make it to the bottom, and was more scared than anything (pretty much walked away without a scratch, thank goodness), but we definitely learned our lesson (and maybe he did too :)
- 5/26 Today was the first time Powell got to sit in the cart, instead of stay in his car seat (in the cart). He loved it! And looked so cute too!!
- 5/26 We finally got Powell's crib out of our room, so tonight was the first night he slept in his room, in his crib (instead of the pack-n-play). The kid finally has his own space (and now that we've lowered the crib, we're finally ok letting him cry it out sometimes :)
- 5/27 Powell drank from the kids' water bottle at church today. That means he was sucking from a straw!
- 5/28 Today was the first time Powell got to swing. He was in a little bit of a daze, but we definitely got smiles out of him!
- 5/28 Powell started reaching out his had while sitting today. We've never seen him do that before. We're not sure if he's waving, asking to be picked up, or asking for some/more of something, but whatever it is, it's adorable!
- 5/29 Powell is a smarty pants. He's been going for the outlets lately, but today we found him trying to plug in the fan in his room!
- 5/31 Powell waved for the first time! It was to a lady sitting across the aisle on the plane (he flew to Utah with Mommy and Daddy for their law school friend reunion). Guess all the hand reaching was waving after all :)
- 5/31 Powell started being shy
- 6/1 Powell's first time in the pool
- Powell has an obsession with door stops :)
- 6/5 Powell's bottom right tooth cut through
- Powell likes it when we sing to him. If he's upset - especially in the car - we can sing soft songs to him (usually I Feel My Savior's Love) and he often calms down
- 6/6 Powell crawled up the stairs all by himself today! 5 whole stairs at Papa and Gramma's house (we don't have stairs)
- 6/15 Powell got his first big owie today! The popcorn popper was on the counter and had been unplugged, so the plug was dangling off the counter. Powell tugged on the cord, and the edge of the popper left a gash on the upper left side of his forehead :(
- 6/17 Powell is not only pulling himself to standing, but he has started to balance while barely holding on to something with just one hand (and he looks like he's about to take off :)
- 6/17 Powell pushed the chair across the room while standing up!! He's going to start walking soon, for sure!

MAY 2012

5/1 May 1st was Paige's dad's birthday. Even though he's not around anymore, we still remember him on that day. And Powell decided to honor his Papa Forsgren by looking as cool as possible :)

 5/2 Mommy and Mattie were reading stories and decided to send Daddy a picture...

5/2 ...and blow him lots of kisses

 5/5 Bryce and Paige ran the Apple Blossom Festival 10k (had to start doing something to train for the Rock n' Roll marathon :). It was a great run and will hopefully become a family tradition


Brent's Wedding
5/6 - 5/8
Paige's oldest brother, Brent, got remarried at the beginning of May. Paige, and Powell, were able to fly out to MI (Paige's first time), along with her mom and all her siblings, to be there for his wedding

5/7 Powell got to meet his Michigan cousins for the first time. Cathy (feeding Powell) and Ellen (holding Powell) were so good to him!

 5/7 Powell was the honorary ring-bearer. Here he is with Mommy before and after the ceremony

5/7 The newly-weds, Collen and Brent, right after the ceremony. Colleen is not LDS, so they were married in Brent's LDS chapel by his bishop. It was a nice ceremony with just Brent's kids, siblings, and mom, and Colleen's kids and sister.

 5/7 Zach and Katey Pepin (holding Powell), Paige's new nephew and niece

The Family

Back row (L-R): Zach Pepin, Courtney Ranjan, Paige, Colleen and Brent Forsgren, Chris Forsgren, Peter Forsgren, Nathan Forsgren

Front row (L-R): Katey Pepin holding Powell, Melanie Clay, Norine Forsgren, Ellen and Cathy Forsgren, Danice Turpin 

Mom with her kids

 Powell and Paige with the newlyweds, Brent and Colleen

5/8 The day after the wedding, we went to Greek town in downtown Detroit and ate lunch at a Greek restaurant and then stopped at this super yummy bakery next door. After a quick tram tour, we headed to the airport and all headed (sorry about the poor quality pics from my phone)

5/7 Bryce is such a sucker when it comes to his kids. Don't believe me? Look what happens when Paige is out of town. When Paige went out of town in April, he took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Then when she was out of town in May, he bought them goldfish! Introducing Nemo and Fishy-fish. Unfortunately, these two didn't even live long enough for Paige to meet them after her 3 day trip. That's our last shot at pets for awhile :)



 5/7 And then look at this loot! Did Bryce just rent that movie? Um, no, be bought it, along with a bunch of goodies for a movie night (Mt. Dew, Bryce? Really? :). These kids are going to be pushing Paige out the door so they can spend more time with just Daddy :)

 5/8 Two crazy kids on their way to pick up Mommy from the airport



 5/11 Daddy-daughter time

 5/12 Look at these three on the trampoline together. So cute!

Mother's Day

5/13

Paige woke up to her favorite breakfast, french toast. Breakfast in bed on Mother's Day is a fabulous tradition! And did you notice the card by CJ? Those scribbles are the words :)

After teaching in RS and wrangling the kids during Sacrament meeting, it was nice to come home and relax. After taking a nap, Bryce had a yummy dinner ready, and then we went on a nice walk.  

Paige got the sweetest gifts for Mother's Day: a bookmark that CJ made in his preschool class (love it!), a picture of Mattie that her nursery leader, Sandy Wells, made for the kids to give their moms (adorable), and a gift card for a yummy restaurant and a night out (plus an entire day of not lifting a finger - hello!). It was a fantastic day!

 

5/14 Mommy took Mattie and Powell on a run. We stopped halfway through so Mattie could pick a "snow flower." I think Powell enjoyed the run the most :)

 5/14 Powell's first time on grass. His face (and pose) explains it all!



 5/14 CJ's really proud of his CTR ring that he got in Primary
 

 5/14 Bryce, the {wanna-be} grill master



5/16 Mattie has a new habit of twirling her hair. It started out really cute, but now we're constantly trying to get tangly knots out of her hair, and most of the time she ends up losing a chunk of hair as we try to get it out. This girl and her habits.

5/16 This is how Powell gets out the sliding glass door

5/17 CJ and Daddy love

 

5/17 CJ and Powell love

5/17 Powell and Mommy love

5/17

5/17 Still trying to figure out how to get over the frame

5/19 Our first 10 mile run of the season around the loop. Success!

5/19 This is what CJ does when he gets a hold of our phones

5/20 Having a blast at bath time!

5/20 Check out these flowers (ok, our grass was patchy and we totally needed to bark, but just ignore that)! No editing whatsoever. Weren't they awesome?!

5/23 CJ has a summer birthday which never gets to be celebrated, so we brought in bug cupcakes to his preschool class two months early. They were a hit! And they even sang "Happy Birthday" to him :)

5/24 CJ loves to climb in Powell's crib to play...and Powell pretty much thinks it's the best ever!

5/24 More self-portraits on our phones

5/26 Powell sitting in the cart for the first time (instead of in his car seat)

 

5/26 And this was the best group shot we could get

5/29 Check out that funky cloud! Doesn't it look fake?!

 5/29 This is what happens when Bryce lets Mattie get her own shoes on. Not only do they not match, they are both right-footed shoes :)

 5/30 CJ's last day of preschool. This was his teacher gift that he Mommy made.

5/30 CJ and his teacher, Miss Sarah, on his last day of preschool.

This was one of his little classmates, Mila (aren't they a cute couple? :)

5/30 All grown-up with his preschool diploma

 

5/31 Bryce and Paige headed to St. George for the weekend and took Powell with them. Since they were in Utah, they had to stop and see Grandma Forsgren and Powell had to show her his new trick - using a sippy cup!

CJ drew this picture of flowers and a vase (thought it was adorable!) 

Some Monday Night Musings from May:

- CJ and Mattie have recently discovered that they like reading in bed. They don't do it all the time, but I probably let them get away with it more than I should. I just don't want to squelch their enjoyment of books. I hope it's something that lasts a lifetime for them (unlike me, who only discovered in the last few years that I enjoy reading)
- 5/16- When I put CJ to bed tonight he said he loved me "super, super much!" :)
- Mattie has been into spells lately. She takes long things - like the handles on the toy golf clubs or sticks - and waves them around and says, "presto-change-o" or a jumble of words, and then pronounces that Daddy, or someone, has been changed into a cow or a pig or a frog or a dog, etc.
- 5/27- Today in church CJ drew a family portrait. It was the first time we've seen him actually draw bodies, instead of just arms and legs coming out of heads. He's so growing up!
- 5/29- CJ was helping out today and he said, "I got this" :)
- 5/30- Today was CJ's last day of preschool. As we drove there this morning I asked CJ if he was sad that it was his last day of preschool ever. He had already told me a few days before that he wasn't sad that school was over so I wasn't surprised when I asked him again this morning and he said no, he wasn't sad. But only a minute later he said, "I'm kind of a little sad." I knew it! :)
- 5/30- CJ keeps referring to Mommy and Daddy's trip to St. George as going to "Curious George" :)