Nursery

It's hard to believe that Braden is now 18 months. We all know what that means, NURSERY! Technically, he's been going to nursery for the past 3 months, but today was a guilt free drop off. He has the best teachers in the world.

Mom & Son before church (classic Braden look)

Most days he will fuss for 5 seconds while we leave, but not on his first official day. He walked right over to the closet, grabbed his favorite car and then headed over to Brother Felsted to play. I didn't even get a kiss. I am glad he loves it.

Getting some playtime in before church. (He looks so big to me in this photo)

My favorite is when Brother Owens walks into sacrament meeting. Every time Braden sees him he will stand on the bench and just wave until Bro. Owens has sat down. So cute!

This was taken last week. He's just so cute in his white shirt and tie. Future missionary coming through.

Musically Inclined

Part of Braden's bedtime routines consists of Blake and I singing him some songs. Some are silly nursery rhyme's, while others are church songs. Every night I look at Blake and think, "Man, you are the worst singer I have ever heard." But that thought is quickly replaced with, "What a great husband and father to be so comfortable singing to his sweet little boy." I am sorry to say that our children have no hope when it comes to being musically inclined (especially because of me). We still want to encourage music in the home though. And there really is nothing better than watching your husband (regardless of how good or bad) sing sweet little songs to his son.

From Cars to Trains

Someone from Blake's work was selling 3 different train sets for $10. We couldn't resist. It is the best $10 we have spent in a long time. Braden loves his choo choo.

This one is battery operated. It's by far his favorite because he has to chase it while it's on the track.
It took him a little while to understand that the track needs to stay on the ground so the train can go.

My mom brought him a train table on her last visit. It is really nice. We have turned our guest room into a playroom for Braden. His track now sits on his train table and he loves it even more. We have two track sets, a plastic and wooden. (this is the plastic one)

2009 Lentil Festival

We are still waiting for everyone to flock up here for the big event. Free lentil chili, music, and tons of fun. Although we missed the Sorensen's, we did manage to have a great time with some great friends.

Eating our free bowl of lentil chili from the largest bowl of chili in the world.

We met up with our good friends the Bell's and Coke's. (Coke's not pictured)

Braden was freaked out by Spongebob.

Braden's first shaved ice. I knew from the moment I saw someone eating a shaved ice that I would be having one. Why doesn't Pullman have a shaved ice stand? I would be a loyal customer.

Towards the end of the festival, we made our way over to the firetruck and ambulance. Braden loved pretending to drive the ambulance with Dexter in as his partner.

We were excited about the parade Saturday morning. Our good friends Merilee & Calvin saved us (and a bunch of other people) the greatest spot in the world. It was in front of Calvin's office, so we had shade, flushing toilets, and a great crowd.

Braden watched the first part of the parade with Merilee. (her faced is being blocked, sorry!)

We thought he would want to run around within 1 minute of the parade starting. To our surprise, he sat and waved with Blake and I for the whole hour.

He even watched some with the girls.

What's the Lentil Festival without Larry the Lentil?

Last year was a little hot and not entertaining. It makes everything so much better when you have a child who is loving the candy, parade and company.

Overall, it was a great year. We didn't head down to Reaney for the after parade festivities because a certain little boy needed a nap and Braden too. My goal for next year is to complete the Le Tour de Lentil (100K bike race).

Cheesy Grin

Potty Training

Not really, just when we see him going poo. He loves doing it on the potty, if we get him there in time. Flushing the toilet makes his whole day.

Second Pregnancies

Since I wasn't a blogger when I was pregnant with Little B, I have forgotten a lot about when things happened with him. Blake wants me to be detailed in blogging about this baby so I won't keep asking him, "How far along was I when ..." or "Did this happen with Braden?"

Stages & Feelings:

• Discovered I was pregnant at 6 weeks
• Exhaustion kicks in at 7 weeks (I need my afternoon nap too)
• Starting feeling nauseous at 8 weeks (nausea includes not eating & feeling sick if I even think about food.)
• Told my parents at 8 1/2 weeks
• Had my first doctor's appointment at 9 1/2 weeks
• Started showing at 10 weeks (only Blake & I could notice)
• Told my family at 10 1/2 weeks
• Threw up for the first time at 11 1/2 weeks (which included peeing my pants)
• Nausea starts to subside at 13 weeks (meaning if there's food in my stomach I am fine. I still can't look or even think about Safeway Spinach Dip or Pita Chips.)
• Told Blake's family at 13 weeks
• Started showing to everyone else at 14 weeks
• Had my second doctor's appointment at 14 weeks
• Can feel the baby if I am laying nice and still at 14 1/2 weeks
• Back pains begin when I am working too hard at 14 1/2 weeks
• 15 weeks and I am still tired and have to pee ALL the time

I swear I am in the bathroom 10 times more than I was with Braden. And for all those ladies who had normal deliveries, I am sorry to tell you, you have NO bladder control. I asked the doctor about the frequent restroom trips and he just said, "Welcome to your second pregnancy. You start showing a lot earlier too." I am sure there will be more posts about pregnancy, Blake just wanted me to catch up.

Our New Car

With the arrival of a new baby, we decided it was about time to purchase a new vehicle. There is no way I am waking up 2 sleeping babies to take Blake to work. We have been looking for the past couple of months and finally found the perfect deal.

I would like to introduce our new 2001 Nissan Sentra. Minus the little dent above the front wheel, the car is in perfect condition with only 100,000 miles. Many other features came with the car (winter tires & roof rack to name a few) and the best part is we got it under the blue book value & PAID CASH.

We spent about a 1/2 hour playing with the car this evening. Afterwards Blake decided to give Braden some football practice.

Look at that spiral. Maybe we have a quarterback on our hands.

Braden did this for about 10 minutes until Blake's back starting hurting from bending over.Braden, I am not saying your Uncle Brent, Toren & Grandpa Forsberg would love you more if football became your dominate sport and you played for the BYU Cougars. I am just saying you may be the favorite grandchild if you do. It's your choice though. Your mom and dad are still vying for your golfing career.

Barnett Reunion: Silver Mine Tour

On Friday we headed up to Wallace, Id (45 min. away) to attend the Sierra Silver Mine Tour. Here is Grandma and Grandpa trying to control the grandkids. There is no control with them. Our little family.

There was a 10 minute trolley ride up to the mine. Here is the whole Barnett gang. The mine didn't know what hit them.
Cute cousin Micah & Ella enjoying their trolley ride. (If you look at Micah's right ear, you will notice that it's red. He got stung by a bee the day before.)

We all got to wear hard hats and thank goodness for that. I hit my head (or hat) really hard on the way out of the cave. The tour wasn't too long, but very informative. All I know is that I have no desire to be a miner or have Blake be a miner. What a hard job! You can barely see Braden in the back pack in front.

After the mine tour we had a little longer train ride with a tour of Wallace. We headed back to our cars and ate lunch. I love this picture of Mira and Braden. He sure loves her, maybe that's why he hit her every chance he had.

After lunch we walked on Main St. and then headed home. Chad & Nicole stayed and took the cutest 'old time' photo with their family. When we our family is more complete, I think it would be fun to do something like this. We spent Friday night enjoying one anothers company and packing things up. We even caught a little bit of shark week on Discovery.

Overall, it was a great vacation, very relaxing. Everyone left bright and early on Saturday. Blake and I headed down to the park and the 'longest floating boardwalk' in the world. Afterwards we went out to lunch at Chilis. We haven't eaten there since we left Logan. It wasn't as good as we remember. Our drive home was peaceful, as Braden slept the whole 1 and 45 minutes. Thanks Barnett's for a great vacation. I had to hold back tears when you guys left.

Barnett Reunion: Figpickles & Hockey

All vacations need a day of relaxation. We decided Thursday would be that day.

While Janna, Alan & Amber were taking a drive up to Sandpoint, we took the kids to Figpickles. Talk about the best toy store ever! It had some classics, some new and even a couple of board games I wanted. Blake refused to let me get them though.

The kids with their loot.

The cutest moment of the week is when Braden learned what air hockey was. Not only did he master the word 'hockey,' but he also mastered the game. He would have played it all day if we would have let him.

His favorite part was hitting the puck into his own goal so he could get it out of the hole.

The video shows his technique.

Janna so graciously offered to watch the kids while Amber, Nicole & I got pedicures. Blake and Chad took Colin & Micah golfing. It was fun to have a girls night. We got back before the boys and spent the next couple of hours making bracelets.

Barnett Reunion: Lake Coeur d'Alene

What's the point of going to Coeur d'Alene if you don't spend a day at the lake. Braden and I stayed home to nap for the first part of the afternoon, but then headed over to join the cousins in the water.

Cousin Mira showing off our make shift sand spoon Still dorks and lovin it!

There were statues all over the part. Micah wanted a family picture in front of the eagle. Don't I have the cutest nephews and nieces?
Ella and Braden watching the kayak. Or in Braden's words, 'canoo.'

Aunt Amber, Grandma and Grandpa decided to take a boat tour of the lake. This tour included million dollar lake homes, beautiful scenery and a closeup of the 'floating' green.

Uncle Blake messing around.

Chad & Nicole rented a kayak for a couple of hours. Most of the time consisted of Chad or Nicole paddling around each kid. I did have an opportunity to take a little trip with Nicole. Braden sat with me the last 30 seconds. That was just about the right time for him.

He much rather preferred the paddle on the ground.

The lake was the perfect place to be on a hot day. We could hardly drag Micah and Colin out of it. Unless it was to ride in the kayak with their dad.

Braden didn't take to the water at first, but loved the sand. He eventually warmed up to the water and had fun playing.

After we were done swimming we went back to the park and enjoyed visiting and eating snacks. As you can tell, Braden loves his pudding.

Amber brought tons of beads and was the bracelet maker of the week. We later joined her in making very stylish bracelets. (I wore mine to church today.)

Throughout the week you would find Grandpa tucked in some room reading. This is a perfect picture to illustrate his zen like state when reading.

The lake was so fun. It makes Blake and I want to go up for a weekend sometime soon. We did some biking later that night and thanks to my friend, Collette, we were able to pull Braden along in a smaller trailer. I think this is the night we had game night. We did whip out Ticket to Ride: Europe. I don't want to brag or anything, but I dominated. We ate tons of junk food and had a great time laughing. I sure love my in-laws.