Much to be thankful for...

Check out the great form on his follow through. He makes his daddy very proud.

In shorts and t-shirt on Santa's lap--a true Texan!

Welcome Spencer Wayne Foster!

Spencer Wayne Foster joined our family on Tuesday, November 23rd--just in time for Thanksgiving. A few weeks ago I had some signs of decreased liver function due to the hormones of pregnancy which worsened as due date neared. So on Monday it was decided that being induced a little early would be the best choice for the baby. That night I checked into the hospital to prepare for induction the next morning. 4 hours after receiving pitocin (and just a few minutes after the epidural kicked in) baby Spencer was born. He was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 21 inches long. His head was 14 inches around--lots of brains! We were discharged a day early so we could be home for Thanksgiving. Spencer is a beautiful baby boy who looks just like his Dad. He has a broad chest and long feet and toes. We think he'll be another blondy. He is a cuddly little guy who just likes to be held and has a hearty appetite. We love him!

Fall Fun

A couple wonderful friends (pictured above) threw a baby shower for me and my little guy on the way--he will have a name soon, I promise. It was beautiful and lots of fun thanks to lots of good friends! We can't wait to welcome our new addition in the next few weeks!

We were the Potato Head Family for Halloween. Mr. Potato Head did recover his other eyeball by the end of trunk-or-treat.

But he was also all mixed up. Luckily Ian Larson was quick to point out his problem and helped him fix it. Thank goodness for little boys!

The cutest little Mr. Potato Head Jr.! He was very good at taking off his facial features. I was lucky to get this picture with them all on. As we went from trunk to trunk Benson would point out every pumpkin he could find. It was more like a seek and find for him. When people tried to put candy in his bucket he'd hide the bucket behind his back. :) Eventually he got the hang of it and really enjoyed catching candy in his bucket.

A Trolley Ride through the Woodlands with great friends. Benson has the back of his head towards me--surprise!

Benson with his friend Lily. Benson shows his love for his friend by stomping in the water right by her side and splashing mud all over her. Luckily Lily doesn't mind but I think a few years from now she will so we'll work with Benson on his love languages. Squinty-eyed boy with his sand pail.
Good friends and mud--life doesn't get much better than this!
Riding the carousel with Dad and waving to picture happy mom.
One more great joy in life...ABCs. His little ABC dance is my favorite! Too bad he gets distracted by the camera so easily--if only we could catch all his funny moments.

Utah/Idaho Vacation

We escaped Houston's August heat and headed up to the mountains to visit friends and family a few weeks ago! It was wonderful! My pictures are in backwards chronological order but I'll just tell the story backwards.

On Monday night several Long family members had dinner at the Vandegrifts since Tricia was in town and we crashed the beginning of their party. Benson spent his time chasing their new little puppies and playing basketball with Grandpa Long.

We saw Carter for just a few minutes but snapped a picture to compare these two boys to a picture we have of them and Orry a year ago. Look how much these boys have grown! We stopped by Grandma Foster's place and visited for a little while. Grandma Foster found some cool matchbox cars for Benson and he plays with the buses all the time now! Tricia, Brittany, and her friend came by at the end. We were so glad we crossed paths with Tricia as she heads up to BYU-I this fall.

We spent the weekend at the Erickson family reunion just outside Yellowstone. We stayed at a girl's camp up there. It was really fun! We ate lots of yummy food, caught up with family, went 4-wheeling to Sheep Falls, canoeing at Horseshoe Lake--hijacked Holly and Hal's boat :), played games, sang songs, performed skits, and spent a good portion of the time chasing Benson around the camp! Here we are at a quick stop we made after canoeing to see Cascade Falls!

Benson is helping Grandma down the path! Here are the 4-wheeler folk beginning their adventure. Their skin and clothes were a few shades darker when they returned from their trip.

Friday night we played Minute to Win It around the campfire. With a couple exchanges and minor rule changes throughout the evening Watkins family did represent! :) Here Hal and Holly (hiding behind the cup) were stringing penne onto spaghetti noodles. Hal advanced but this was Holly's exit point--her spaghetti noodle broke as she lifted the last penne noodle.

Benny stayed up way past bedtime to enjoy the campfire fun and slept like a rock each night! He has our campsong book in hand ready to sing.

We stopped by Logan on Friday morning and were able to see a few folks from the Watkins side. We swung by Alisa's place on our way in and saw little Carter! Adorable! We visited with Grandma and Grandpa Watkins and caught the Scotts and Suey working out back.

Uncle Bob created this perfect picture taking oasis! Isn't it beautiful! Benson thought it was the greatest jungle gym and the Scott boys showed him how to hop from rock to rock.

Grandpa and Benson stopped for a minute to swing out back! I spent many years playing on that swing set when I was little. It's fun to see Benson enjoying it now.

We were able to get a 4 generation photo! I come from great stock!

Our first few days in town we went to Education Week at BYU. It was wonderful nourishment! I attended some great classes and loved sitting next to family while learning! We don't get to do that much these days now that we're spread across the nation. Benson was such a trooper through these long days and everyone pitched in and took turns sitting out of classes to have some quality time with him! I was so spoiled and so was Benson!

Our first day we took a break at lunch and met up with college roommates for lunch at Kiwanis Park. Tay, Laura, Ash and their babies all came to play! (We got to see Bryce for a few minutes too!) It was fun to meet their little babies and catch up with them. We miss them!

And this was the first time Benson was able to see both his Grandma's at the same time! We had to snap a picture!

July

It's already August! Where did July go? At the beginning of the month we found out we're having another baby boy around Thanksgiving time! Benson gets a little brother. He looked like a healthy little guy. We're excited!

I have lots of cute little pictures of Benson. His little personality is so funny. We sure love him.

He loves putting on Daddy's clothes. Here he is dressed up to head out to a rig! The helmet might have been a little heavy for his head--he's leaning.
He loves playing blocks with Daddy. He'll grab blocks from the toy room and put them in Dan's hands to convince him to play.

He spends a good portion of the day driving his little cars around the house. He's become really quick--especially around corners. He picks up the car and swings it to the side.

For Dan's birthday he requested 2.8 candles instead of 28. I think he's feeling old.

Amanda came to visit for a few days last week and we loved having her! We're so glad she's living closer and hope to see her often!

We went to an Astros game which Benny actually did really well at. He spotted this ball from a block away. He has a knack for spotting balls everywhere. But when I tried to get this picture Benson was much more interested in the ticket scalper than me. The scalper saw my unsuccessful attempts at getting Benson's attention so he stood behind me and got Benny to smile at him for the picture! Texas is truely one of the friendliest places on earth.

Again we tried to get his attention but the game going on behind us was much more exciting than the picture. A true boy!

At this point the game was pretty much over. Astros were down by quite a few runs--but...Amanda, they did win the series against the Cubs! :)

Benny isn't afraid of ducks, but they were nervous around him. They'd eat from adults hands but this little miniature person was a little scarier!

Walking with Amanda and scowling at the camera. We hope this scowl is just a phase thing.

Benny sure took a liking to Amanda. She blew bubbles with him, played cars, read books...

And just a few more pictures...Dima found a turtle in our background and the boys were fascinated.

Daddy and Benson playing chicken with the fountains.

A turtle came to visit us on our morning walk and Benson wanted to jump in and take a swim with him. Dad held him tight! You can see the turtle coming to say Hi.