First Day of First Grade

School started for Carson today. He's in First Grade this year. He's so big!

Laying Around

Daddy and the kids enjoying a movie together.

A Parade

The nice things about living on the corner in the middle of town is that you get to watch a Parade that you didn't even know was going on and from your front yard no less.

The Parade was pretty minimal actually. Mostly just a bunch of horses, but the kids got candy...and that's all they really seemed to care about.
I tried to get a smile out of the kids, but they were too busy eating their candy.

Swim Lessons

Today Carson and Alaina finished this year's swim lessons. They very much enjoyed it. Carson was the only boy in his class, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. He even gets to advance to the level II next year. This is exciting for me because growing up I usually had to repeat a level several times before passing it. Alaina just loved being in the water. Tony and I were starting to worry about her because she really didn't like to get her head wet. But she is doing great in that area now. She was a hoot to watch. Continually jumping, spinning, and talking with the other girls in her class.

Carson with his certificate, he's so big.
Alaina with her certificate and cheesy smile.

A Big Owie!

While we were in Island park last weekend Alaina managed to walk into the tailgate of the truck...again! Yesterday morning when she got up I noticed that it was really red and swollen. It doesn't seem to bother her much.

If you look close you'll notice that next to her left eyebrow is a red mark. This is where she actually hit her head. Now compare her eyes. See how swollen her left eye is? Hopefully in a few days she'll look like herself again.

Wrapped in Grandmas' Love

Here Charlie is sleeping away wrapped in the blankets his Grandmothers made for him. The one my mom made is an adorable quilt with an outdoor/fish theme. Perfect for Tony's son! The other is a blanket made by Tony's mom with monkeys on it. Also perfect for Tony's son!

Mesa Falls and Big Springs

While Tony's parents were in town we took a trip up to Island Park and did some sightseeing. It was so nice to get out and enjoy nature.

Upper Mesa Falls. It was beautiful and the hike wasn't bad at all. Board walk and stairs with handrails all the way. Which made things much easier for me.
Charlie enjoying his first outdoor adventure.
Lower Mesa Falls.
This is as close as we got to Lower Mesa Falls, but it was still beautiful.
Big Springs is just that. A big spring of water that appears from what seems like nowhere to feed Henry's Fork. It's amazing how much water come from underground and how clear the water is. It seriously made me want to drink right from the spring, but I resisted.

Fashion Diva

Alaina is always coming up with new ways to accessorize her outfits. The bow on her head is from a gift we received for Charlie. I'm a little afraid of what we will face when she becomes a teenager!

Tummy Time

I don't what it is about Daddies and their babies, but you usually find them napping on the couch like this. Tony has done it with all of our kids, and I remember my dad doing it with us (at least I've seen pictures of him doing it with us).

Cuddling

Last week Tony's parents and sister came into town to meet Charlie and to visit. It was so good to see them. One morning after Carson and Alaina's swim lessons Alaina was especially sad and complaining a lot. When I realized she had finally quieted down I saw why. Alaina and Aunt Rachel had fallen asleep on the couch.

This was at 11:00 in the morning no less.

Almost every morning the kids want to crawl into bed to cuddle with the baby.
So sweet!

Baby Charlie

Charles Dennis Foster was born on Thursday, July 28th, 2011 at 3:13 p.m. He weighed in a 8lbs and 14 oz. He measured 19 in long. At my doctor's appointment the day before I have the midwife scrape my membranes to help induce labor. Our moving day was only days away and needless to say I was done being pregnant and wanted to get the show on the road. Contractions started right away, but were very inconsistent and just mildly painful. At 5:30 Thursday morning the contractions started to get consistent, but not any more uncomfortable. By 10:00 I called the midwife to let them know what was going on. They had me come into the office to check my progress before going to the hospital. At 10:30 I was dialated to a 5 and Tony and I headed to the Hospital. Once we got to the hospital progress was still slow. At 1:30 the midwife broke my water and instantly my contraction were hard and fast. By 3:00 I was pushing and by a quarter after I had little Charlie in my arms. I won't go into the groosom details, but lets just say that it took a little more effort on my part to get Charlie out than my other two. Tony said to me later that he thought I was going to swear while I was pushing. After Charlie was born the nurses gave him a some oxygen to help his breathing as well as some suction to get all the gunk out of his lungs. He's been a really good baby so far, knock on wood. Carson and Alaina absolutely adore him...sometimes too much! It's definitely fun to have a baby around again. Much more work and sleep deprivation than I remember, but we're loving every minute of having our baby Charlie.

This is Charlie as of today. I managed to get a little smirk while he was sleeping. Such a little cutie.
Carson and Charlie. What a great big brother Carson has been. He's been a super helper with Charlie and he's always wanting to hold the baby.
Alaina and Charlie. The big sister in action.
Charlie's first bath. He actually didn't do too bad. Not a lot of crying, just a lot of grunting in protest.
Charlie and I just a little while after his birth.

Apologies

I have to apologize that I haven't posted anything about our little Charlie. With the move, family visiting, and my own sleep deprivation it just hasn't been at the top of my priority list. So as soon as I can find time and the power cord to our camera I will post pictures and all the details of the birth of our little son.