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

YOU THINK YOU'RE BIG?!

Well look at ME!

You'd think I was due next week, not in March!

HE WALKS!!!

OK, so CJ's not quite walking on his own in this pic, but I had to post it! :)

CJ's fist steps...finally! Yes, a tortilla chip was used as some motivation.

Note: We have video of his first steps as well that we'll post when we've figured out how to edit it :)

BRYCE TURNS 26

Bryce's birthday, which was January 5th, consisted of dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse before leaving Seattle last week, then sleeping in, his favorite breakfast of German pancakes, watching sports all morning, an attempt to go mini golfing - but it was closed :( - dinner and dessert at Twigs, and let's not forget getting waited on all day (including not having to even look at a diaper :), lots of gifts, and loads of phone calls, texts, and emails. We love you, Bryce!

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Three days later Bryce finally got to make a wish and blow out 26 candles after being sung to by some friends :)

OLD FRIENDS

One of the great things about going home for the holidays is getting to see old friends. Bryce and Paige were able to go out to Red Robin and catch up with some of Bryce's oldest and closest friends. L-R: Andrew Pham, Chris Burgh, Bryce, Paul and Jen Fahey, Jessie Napenias, Paige

VICTORIA TRIP

Bryce's parents surprised us with a weekend trip to Canada to stay in the quaint city of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Besides the road trip, we got to experience some ferry rides, great food, seeing some historic sites and visiting a museum, lounging in a nice hotel, swimming and hot- tubbing, and staying up late playing games. It was a blast and just a nice get-away. Thank you Greg and Sheila!

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CHRISTMAS 2008

This is a SLIDESHOW, not a movie. Just hit the play button

"OH, THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL..."

Bryce standing in front of our two cars...and the snow has only gotten worse

So we heard on the news last night that we've already had 77 inches of snow this season! Spokane's average snowfall is 40-something inches. Last winter - which was our first winter here and Spokane's second worst winter in history - had a total of 92.6 inches. There is so much snow everywhere that cars are abandoned and buried on the side of the road, all the windows in our complex are leaking because there is no where for the snow to melt, and the police have asked people not to call them if they are in an accident that is not serious because they can't get to them. It took Bryce three hours to dig our two cars out (what a man!)!

The best part of all this is that Bryce finally appreciates Paige's little Suzuki Sidekick :) When CJ was born, Paige started driving Bryce's Honda Accord, and Bryce got stuck with Paige's Sidekick. He wasn't all that thrilled about it, but it has been such a good little car. Now that all this snow has hit, it has been our lifesaver with its four-wheel drive and higher frame. Thank you, Suzi!

TRIP TO UTAH

Due to papers and tests, we weren't able to make it to Utah for Thanksgiving as planned, so Paige packed up CJ and flew down while Bryce took his finals. It was great to spend a week and a half with her family, and it was also nice for Bryce not to have to worry about them while he devoted his time to studying.

We bought a cheap portable DVD player for CJ to use on the plane ride. It's working great in this pic...too bad it didn't work at all on the plane :(

Girls' Night Out with old friends L-R: Paige, Jodie Hughes holding Kaydence, Ashley Love holding Briggs, April Knapp, Angela Gappmayer, Kelli Cherrington (not pictured: Carrie Jackman). The funny thing about this group is that all the ladies not holding a baby are pregnant!

Sisters' Night at The Cheesecake Factory L-R: Paige's sister-in-law Katie, mom Norine, niece Kenya, sister Melanie, Paige, sister Courtney (holding CJ)

CJ goofing around at Grandma and Grandpa Forsgren's

Though Paige was in Utah for their third anniversary (Dec. 15), when she got back into Spokane, Bryce and Paige celebrated by going on a memory date. Paige had a gift and rhyme for each part of the date, and each part was something fun from their past. It was a great night!