Decorating for the Holiday

I know, I have been terribly busy and bad at these posts. I will try and write minimal words and let the pictures do the talking. 2 weeks ago we setup our Christmas tree and decorations. I grew up with a super awesome advent calendar. You'd come down, find out what you got, and flip over the numbers of the week to discover a secret message. (Merry Christmas Everyone) My grandma made one for each of her kids. My siblings and I have been fighting over who would get it and my mom decided she would make us our own version.

No offense Grandma, but I LOVE what my mom made me. It's a throwback to the one my grandma made for her. Santa is coming down the chimney, with the Nativity on top. I just love it and the boys love coming downstairs to discover what the Elves have left for them.

 When Mom Barnett came in November she brought us this cute countdown that she made. So crafty!

The boys getting ready to decorate the tree.

The finished product. We have enough of our own ornaments that we decided to leave the balls off this year. I like it so much more.

And the decorating begins.

Random decorations around the house. Super cute Christmas decor I got from a friend in the ward.

Now I did grow up with these carolers. I remember playing with them as a girl.

Hunter wasn't too happy that he was tackled.

You've probably seen it on my facebook, but we have Elfie the Elf visiting us this Christmas. He's causes mischief from time to time. More posts to come. Mostly the kids like coming down and seeing what he has been up to. (FYI: This isn't the real Elf on the Shelf, I am too cheap, it's a large ornament I got at Shopko for $1.99.)

Here I am explaining the advent calendar. 

Boys playing. They started licking the candles (which can get hot), so we had to put them away for awhile. We will bring them out a week before Christmas.

Stockings. We hope our next house will have a fireplace.

The other tradition we are doing this year is the lighted candle. We have a candle countdown. We light it each night and read scriptures, sing song, do some sort of Christmas activity (Christ centered- Thanks Audrey) while the candle burns down to the next number. We have missed a few nights, but overall this has helped us remember that Christmas is about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Dentist

We went to the dentist 2 weeks ago. Braden was a champ. His teeth look great and no x-rays were needed.

This is still new for him. He has only been one other time. I was surprised at how quickly and willing he was to jump in the chair.

He needed x-rays and once again I was surprised at how willing he was to do this. He tried his best, but it didn't work. Next time.

I think his patience in the x-rays was all he had because he was in total meltdown mode for his cleaning. I had to put him on my lap. He too has some good looking teeth. He kind of has an underbite, so he will most likely need braces early in elementary school. From what I hear, I will need to start saving for that now. No cavities though, so that' good.

Mr. Hunter just checked things out and sucked on the sippy.

And here's to another 6 months of flossing and brushing!

Thanksgiving: Part 2

I don't know how the piano post got before this one, but here you are. Thanksgiving Part 2. None of us had any black Friday shopping to do, other than the Fred Meyer's sock sale. We decided 8 am would be sufficient enough for us to wake up and get the socks we need. At least that was the plan. At 4 am Brody woke up. He continued to talk to me for the next hour. By 5 am I was wide awake and completely annoyed. I asked Brody if he wanted to go shopping with me. "YES!" was his answer. 

Ask me how terrible I felt as a mom walking through the aisles of  Freddy's with my 2 year old at 5 am on Black Friday. I wanted to yell out, "HE IS THE ONE WHO KEPT ME UP!!!" We got socks galore, scarfs, rain boots and a dutch oven. It was a successful morning.

We came back and ate some breakfast and watched some cartoons until everyone else woke up. Might I note that Blake got to sleep in until 9 am. Yes, I am a great wife for letting him rest up. Many more Fred Meyer's trips were taken that day. Around lunch, Blake went to see "Skyfall" with my best friend's husband, Seth, and Blair. They really liked it. Toren and Audrey (bless their hearts) took the 3 little boys to see "Wreck it Ralph." I was going to go, but ended up staying home with a napping baby. Yes, I should have napped too, but I didn't. 

That night, we left the boys home with my parents and went out with Jennie and Seth to dinner. It was so fun to visit kid free and eat really good food. For those still in Oregon City, Little Cooperstown was delicious. After dinner Jennie and Seth brought all the kiddos over to play. Braden always talks about little Blake. They have great fun together.

I wouldn't mind at all if Braden or Brody married this cute little thing. In like 20 years of course. She is honestly a doll and such a joy to be around. It makes Blake (big Blake) really want a girl.

And my evening was spent snuggling this girl. No, not Jennie, but her newest addition Ms. Aubrey. Honestly, so tiny. It makes me slightly baby hungry. SLIGHTLY! Thanks for the great evening Steyskals!

Saturday. We woke up and headed to a jump place. We have been to several of these. We liked the one in Utah, didn't care for the one in Seattle and LOVED the one in Portland. Not only did it have tons of jumping toys, it also had a separate room for the kids to play in. This was a nice break for the boys and baby Hunter. (For the life of me I can't find these pictures. I took TONS of them, so I will have to figure out where they went.)

Toren, Audrey, Blake, Kalen and I went to see Lincoln. I was extremely tired, so I didn't care for it at all. I really wanted to. Everyone else really liked it. I just thought there was SO much talking and so many people I couldn't keep them straight. Audrey put it best when she said she wishes she could have paused it and asked some questions. I will try renting it when it comes out.

While we were away, my mom made play dough with the boys. Give the boys some play dough and you will have hours of fun.

I don't know if I said it before, but Hunter didn't much care for my mom. I don't know if it was my mom or if it's his age, but he just wouldn't have it. This is a rare picture. We all think he is trying to play his cards just right because Mema will need to be better at buying his love. We will see.

The little man exhausted from the days activities.

Saturday night my cousin came over with his kids. My mom was cute and made Gingerbread houses for everyone to decorate.

This is what happens when Braden touches eggs. Benedryl fixed the puffy eyes. He loved decorating though and refused to stop. We just had to make sure he didn't touch his face anymore. I was in charge of the frosting and he placed the candy.

Mema helping Brody decorate his house.

All the houses. It was fun to see the different ages and what they decided to do.

Pictures taken by Braden. Isn't Austin just the cutest? I sure love him.

Dad and his baby.

The trip wasn't long enough. We could have lasted another day or two. But, I am sure my parents wanted their quiet house back. My friend wanted some shelves from Ikea, so I told her we'd bring them back. It was a tight fit, but they made it and so did we.

Thanks again mom and dad for letting us all cram in the house. I should really be thanking Blair and Kalen. The boys are always getting into Blair's things and Kalen is always having to sleep in random places. I dread the time we will actually need to rent a hotel in order for everyone to stay. I fear that time is coming sooner rather than later with all the new additions coming into the Forsberg household. It's a bitter-sweet blessing! Happy Thanksgiving.

Playing the Piano

There's a time in each of my boys life that they learn to sit at the piano and play. Well, not quite play, but pound on the keys and enjoy themselves 100%. This time came last week for Hunter. The older two boys had just as good of a time.

Braden singing along.

He honestly thought he was SO big. It's cute to see the excitement on his face.

Thanksgiving: Part 1

We went to Oregon City for Thanksgiving. We left Tuesday night and got in pretty late. We were welcomed by Kalen on Wednesday morning. She drove all night from Rexburg to be here. Little Hunter was trying to crawl over her, but just couldn't make it. He slept with her for a good hour. So cute!

On Wednesday we just hung out. Made the traditional Fred Meyer's trip, went and saw Jennie's new house and played with the kids. Other than that, we hung out at home and waited for Audrey and Toren to arrive, which they did Wednesday night.

The next several pictures are from Braden. He captured me prepping Thanksgiving dinner.

And Brody relaxing on the chair. Getting ready for Thanksgiving is hard work.

The cousins couldn't get enough of eachother. They made piles of toys all over my parents house. I am sure my mom is still finding things. They are all finally old enough to play together. It was quite fun to see. Austin is pretty enamored by Braden, while Brody is just as enamored by Austin. They went through phases of playing with one other person, with everyone and by themselves.

Hunter loved snacking on new foods. I have been much more adventurous lately in what I give him. He LOVES bread chunks and cheese.

Thanksgiving day was a blast. We didn't eat anything until we ate dinner at 2 pm. The boys did fairly well so we were able to visit. My cousin Stephanie and her husband and kids came down to eat with us. I love my cousins. Minus pie later that evening, I didn't eat anything else. Both Blake and I agree that this is the first Thanksgiving where we felt just right. The boys loved playing with their cousins, the men watched football and the women discussed black Friday shopping and upcoming trips for next year.

Later that evening all the ladies (my mom, Kalen, Audrey and myself) went and saw Breaking Dawn: Part 2. I was surprised at how much I liked it. Usually I think the movies are ok, but I really enjoyed the twists, story and fighting scenes AND Kristen Stewart as Bella. Yeah, this blew my mind too, but she did well. I liked Vampire Bella.

More Thanksgiving stories to come.

Grandma & Aunt Amber Visit

A couple of weeks ago Grandma Barnett and Aunt Amber came to visit. I knew 4 boys (the baby is not pictured) who were as happy as clams.

They arrived late Thursday evening. We stayed up way too late visiting and then got to bed. I had to teach spin Friday morning and Blake had to work, so Janna and Amber offered to stay home and play with the boys. I took the baby, but Braden and Brody had a ball, especially since Grandma spoiled them with gifts. She brought a cute family movie night package including  The Lorax (we LOVE), Madagascar 3 (we LOVE), popcorn bucket and holders, and candy galore. 

I didn't take many pictures, I know 2 ladies who were happy about that. I did manage to get a couple of grandma snuggling little Hunter. She had a way of putting him to sleep.

As I said, we didn't do too much. We talked, went to a friends holiday boutique where we spent (ok, maybe I spent) way too much, shopping at the mall, driving around town, eating out and just hanging out. We love having family in town and are so very grateful that they made the 11 hour drive to be with us. We can't wait to see them again in the Happiest Place on Earth. See you in March!