Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a bit different once you have a kid, but still great. We had fun celebrating Libby's first Valentine's with her and we're so grateful to have even more love in our lives now that she's here with us!

Her very first Valentine card from Grandma and Grandpa (they were so on the ball it arrived 2 days early - nice!).
Libby and I had fun making Daddy his favorite meal for dinner and we were so excited when he got home. He got Libby some gorgeous white roses that she loved.

Libby's version of enjoying the flowers Daddy got for her.

Libby's white roses and my red roses from Daddy look gorgeous together. We're so lucky to have such a great husband/dad! Thanks for spoiling us, Brad! ;) We love you sooooo much!

More Pool-time with Daddy

Brad has been getting jealous of all the fun that Libby and I have been having without him, so last Saturday we decided to hit up the pool again. Brad had to work in the morning, but he met us at the pool when he got home and we had a great time. This girl sure loves her daddy! ;)

Libby's now sitting in her stroller the "big-girl" way and is loving it. She has a particular passion for the strap - who needs toys when you can suck on a seatbelt?!?
Doing some sun-bathing while we wait for Daddy to arrive.

Daddy's here - hooray!

Libby loved splashing and successfully soaked herself and whomever was holding her, too.

One happy little baby! (And a pretty darn happy Daddy, too.)

Cute, wet, and ready for more! ;)

Whirlwind of a Weekend

Ellie got baptized on Feb. 5th in Provo and asked my dad and me to give the talks, so we made the trek up to UT and back in a total of 50 hours. We left home at 7:30pm on Friday and drove through the night, arriving in Provo at 7:00am. We attempted to sleep for a few hours, then headed to the baptism at 10:30. It was a great baptism and we're so proud of Ellie for the great decision she's made to follow Jesus Christ's example. After the baptism we had an amazing luncheon that Amy put on (for about 50 people - she's incredible!) and then Brad and I ditched Libby and went skiing at Sundance with Porter, Zane, and Summer. It was a total blast and we are so grateful to my family for watching Libby for us so we could go. We finished off the night with dinner and games, then woke up and drove home. It was crazy! But, yet again, Libby was an angel. What a trooper she is! ;) Whew, what a weekend!

I forgot to bring my camera, so I had to steal this picture from my mom. The whole Foster gang, minus Jason.

Water Girl

The Friday of Finals Week was spent at the pool. It was a much more successful pool day than Libby's first time there when she was only 2 weeks old. At 4 1/2 months, she is now a water lover! She loved swimming!

Though her face isn't convincing, she really did have a great time!
She was all smiles swimming around, and even loved drinking the water, too! YUCK!

After the pool we showered off and she loved that, too. Her beach towel is so darling!

The week after Finals was still nice weather, so we headed down to Salt Creek after work one day to enjoy the sunset. It was a nice walk and Libby loved watching the waves roll in. The water was FREEZING but she handled it like a champ!

Hooray for strangers and cell-phones!

Yeah, that's one darling little girl! A water-baby all the way! ;)

Aaahhhh, how cute!

I Love Finals Week!

Though it may be the nemesis of every student on earth, turns out Finals Week is a teacher's dream come true! Especially when you live in Southern California and it's 75 degrees out all week long!! On Thursday, I was done with school by 10:30am and decided to hit up the beach with Libby. It was the perfect day and she loved it almost as much as I did. As we teachers like to say, "Test and rest, baby, test and rest!"

The cutest beach bum ever!
I love those fat little legs!

The south end of Montage beach on a beautiful, hot January day.

The north end was just as great! The water was FREEZING, but Libby still put her toes in and enjoyed playing in (and eating some) sand. Do you think writing "sand" in her baby book as her "first solid food" is a little much?! Turns out it's true!

We convinced Grammy to come join us on her lunch break. She only got to stay for about 15 minutes, but I'd say it was totally worth it! You just can't pass up days like this!

I think her face in this one is hilarious! I'll post more pictures of our pool day later. She's gonna love the water, whether she likes it or not! ;)

Laura's Baby Shower

Babies, babies, babies!!! On Saturday, January 22nd, we threw another baby shower. This one was for Laura Varga and her baby boy (due Feb. 9th). We made it an ABC's shower with lots of bright colors and had a great time. We had an incredible turn out and Laura was truly spoiled! Thanks to everyone who helped and came to celebrate this exciting time with us!

Me with the guest of honor.
My mom and Libby at the food table. We had a chocolate fountain (courtesy of Sarah's mom) and it was a hit! I was worried that 10:00am might be a little too early for chocolate, but apparently women like chocolate ALL day long! ;)

Here's the scene before the crowds arrived.

Sarah, Laura, me, and Natalie

Thank goodness for the great weather! Here are a few guests enjoying the sunny day in the backyard.

Some of our younger guests enjoying the goods! ;)

Sarah came up with a darling game that was right up Laura's alley. She's an amazing pianist and music is a big part of her life, so Sarah did a "finish the nursery rhyme song" game that was really cute and fun.

Laura showing off some of her cute gifts. They're doing a monkey theme for the nursery and I can only imagine how cute it will be!

Kimi, Laura, and Shannon

Libby's German Outfit

Some of our good friends from Germany came to visit us back in August when I was still pregnant. They brought several gifts for Libby (she is sooooo spoiled - people from all around the world give her gifts!) and this is the first one that she fits into. What a cute little tiger!

I figured that it was the perfect outfit for her to wear while her Uncle Paul was here - he's a true Deutschland fan!
Here we are ready to go for a run down to the beach on Martin Luther King, Jr. day. I was so glad that Paul came to hang out with us - too bad Brad couldn't get off of work! We made sure to have enough fun for him, too, though.