CJ - 18 MONTHS OLD

CJ turned 18 months old on January 26th! He is learning and growing so much and we absolutely love having him in our lives. He brings us so much happiness and we can't wait to share him with another little one! Here are just a few of the things CJ is up to these days:

- Weight: 22 lbs 14 oz (13th percentile)

- Height: 31 3/4 in (34th percentile)

- Head: 19 (64th percentile)

- CJ started nursery and the leaders said that he did better than any other child they have ever had (should we be sad that CJ couldn't care less about us leaving him there?:).

- He is becoming very independent and wants to do things on his own. For example, he won't eat unless he has his own spoon/fork and the bowl/plate is on his tray

- He is finished with bottles and binkies

- He loves to take off his socks...we find piles of them behind his crib all the time

- He likes to put things in the trash, like keys and toys, and in the toilet, like books and hats

- He LOVES keys! He asks to play with them all the time, and he likes to take them to the door and put them in the space between the door and the frame as if he's unlocking the door

- He still loves books - but he likes to "read" them at a much faster pace now- and he enjoys action songs (right now he really likes BINGO)

- He loves to watch Sesame Street

- His favorite word is "ball" (and he sticks his tongue out when he says it)

- Some of his favorite foods are hotdogs, yogurt, apples, crunchies, fruit twists, and chocolate covered pretzels

- Every morning CJ yells "Da-dee" from his crib when he's ready to get up

- He's very good at copying syllables of words

- He likes to make sounds for animals, cars, and even likes to make a fish face by sucking in his bottom lip

- He says several words (or words that sound like them) which include: Daddy, please, keys, Jesus, thank you, ball, uh-oo, buh-bye, hi, hello, spoon, CJ, duck, shh, achoo

LAW REVIEW VESTING CEREMONY

This last Friday, the Law Review had a semi-formal dinner to celebrate the accomplishments of the outgoing 3L editors. Though Bryce isn't a 3L, all the 2L editors were invited as well. It was a great opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of the outgoing board and welcome the incoming board, and for us, it was a nice meal with some nice friends and it gave us something to look forward to next year. Can you believe Bryce only has a little over a year of law school left? Man, time flies!

L-R: Bryce and Paige, Shay and Misty Wells

I MUST BE COMPLAINING TOO MUCH...

This is what happens when you have the most thoughtful and caring in-laws: you end up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and delicious chocolates being delivered to your home all because you're 9 months pregnant and have a head cold!

Thank you again, Greg and Sheila - love you guys!

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON...ALMOST

If anyone knows Bryce, they know that he loves mini golfing. So after a couple months of trying to go (that darn snow), we finally set out as a family to play some mini golf...and see how CJ would take to the new sport - it was his first time! Well, the course was a bit of a disappointment - it only had 9 holes and we got a picture of almost all 9 holes in one shot, that's how tiny the place was - but it worked out great for us because no one was really there and CJ had free reign to run around and chase balls, which is pretty much what he did the whole time. He was definitely more interested in picking up his golf ball and throwing it, rather than hitting it with a club. We all had fun, and it's probably safe to say that CJ really loved his first time mini golfing...but maybe not for the same reasons his dad loves it so much :)

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VALENTINE'S DAY 2009

Valentine's Day lasted for 3 days in our family this year! It started with Paige and Bryce beating the crowds and going to dinner Thursday night (thank you again for offering to babysit, Heather!). We stuffed ourselves with a 3 course meal at Black Angus! Then Friday, CJ got a Valentine's Day package from his Grandma Forsgren - a Valentine's teddy bear! He loved opening the box, and loved giving the bear lots of kisses too. He carried it all around the house. Thanks, Grandma!

Finally, Saturday morning Bryce told Paige he was going to play basketball, when really he came home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, and a dozen yummy donuts for breakfast (Paige has been craving donuts lately...the good kind that you can only find in mom-and-pop stores). After stuffing ourselves with sugary goodness, Paige wrapped Bryce in her "love," literally! She had made him a chain with 101 links and each link had on it one reason why she loves him (cheesy, I know, but c'mon, it's Valentine's).

Then after a lazy morning, we all went mini golfing downtown (see other post), and then came home and babysat for our friends so they could go out on a date as well. After CJ went to bed, Paige got out her other surprise for Bryce - it's kind of become a tradition - chocolate covered strawberries! And once again, we stuffed ourselves with sweets. It was a wonderful day!

FREE FOOD, ANYONE?

Were we the only ones who took advantage of Denny's free Grand Slam offer? It was great because Bryce doesn't have class on Tuesdays, so we woke up around 8 AM, rolled out of bed, piled in the car and headed to the closest Denny's. Even though it was packed, we only had to wait about 15 minutes to get a table. Instead of saying the highlight of the morning was when 9-months-prego-no-make-up-unshowered-bedhead-Paige got interviewed by the local news (and did we mention that she was wearing a big hoodie and sitting down at a table so no one could even tell she was pregnant?! instead she just looked fat!), we'll say that it was the mini Grand Slam they brought out for CJ, as pictured above.

P.S. Paige's interview never aired, thank goodness!

3-D ULTRASOUND

Bro. Cutler is in our ward here in Spokane and he is an ultrasound tech who works for Siemens, one of the leading hi-tech companies in the world. He just received their latest ultrasound machine and wanted some volunteers from the ward who would be willing to let him use their images in his demonstrations to hospitals and health care facilities. So of course, we jumped at the chance to see our little girl in 3D/4D (for free!). Check it out...do you think she looks like CJ?

NOT TOO BAD, CONSIDERING...

CJ's 18 months old and this is first thing he has broken. Though I was sad to lose the piggy bank I got in Tijuana when I was 10 years old, I'd say we're doin' pretty well :)

BABY SHOWER

My close friends, Heather Dobbs and Becca Adams, insisted on throwing me a shower last week. And boy, did I make out with the cutest stuff! Thank you to everyone who came - your generosity and support really meant the world to me!!

All the ladies: back row (L-R): Mauressa Juassi, Paige, Jessica Sorensen, Heather Dobbs, Megan Arnold; front row (L-R): Polly Anderson, Chelsey North, Misty Wells, Becca Adams, Erin Mayfield, Mogan Fountain (not pictured: Mandy Engar)

Check out all these great gifts! Mattie is set!!

GYMNASTICS?

Elite Gymnastics here in Spokane has an open play hour from noon to one for kids 3 and under. Here's just a few shots of our little man at the gym...

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CJ's FRIENDS

Playin' at the Spokane Valley Mall: (L-R) Brody Dobbs, CJ, and Brielle Young

Brody Dobbs' b-day: (L-R) CJ, Brielle Young, Brody Dobbs, Abby and Audrey Adams

MOBIUS

Bryce didn't have school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so we took advantage and took CJ to Mobius, a kids' science center in downtown Spokane. We'd been wanting to take him for weeks, and even though a lot of the activities are still a little old for CJ, we were definitely not disappointed. Give it a few months and it will be perfect for him!

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CJ's FIRST HAIRCUT

After weeks of not being able to stand the mullet our son was acquiring, we finally got up the guts to trim it off. CJ was curious about the clippers, but with Sesame Street on, we were able to keep him pretty distracted. It was all over in about two minutes (there wasn't much hair there to cut), and now he just looks so grown up!

before (if you look really close you can see how the hair went over his ears too...yuck), during, and after

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"CHA-CHA-CHANGES..."

I'm a Utah girl who has always wanted to live somewhere else. And yet, when it came time to change the plates on the good ol' Suzuki, I was really bummed.

Oh well. Life moves on, right? :)

before

after