Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. It was an extremely busy weekend, with friends and family to see every day. It always reminds me that we are so lucky to have all of these incredible people in our lives, especially during the Holidays. Colin, of course, loved his many toys....just not as much as the cardboard tube inside the wrapping paper. Next year I plan to get every baby I know a pile of cardboard tubes that I save from our toilet paper. It will be the best gift ever! ;)

We were lucky enough to see some great friends that are not usually in town. Lesley and Trevor, along with the handsome Rigs!! It was so much fun to see Colin and Rigs interact, even if it wasn't for very long. Rigs has gotten so big and he's becoming more handsome every time we see him.

Shane went to the Blazer/Nuggets game with Blake and they at in the 3rd row courtside. Shane said it was amazing and he got to say hi to two of our favorite ex-UODTer's....Cristi and Amy!

I got the opportunity to see my good friends Nick and Jenny for an evening of board games and wine. It was so much fun to catch up and reminisce about old times...those people will forever be a part of my life!

Lastly, there apparently was a West Albany/South Albany reunion going on at Riley's Pool Hall in Albany on the Saturday after Christmas. I don't think I was prepared to see that many people from high school all over again, but it definitely was fun to catch up and see who had changed/looked the same.

After all is said and done, I am glad to have had some time to spend with family and am now looking forward to our weekend at the coast for New Years Eve. Spending it with friends, watching the Rose Bowl and taking Colin on his first trip to the ocean are all things that I am very much anticipating.

More Holiday pictures and updates to come...until then, thanks for reading!

The Most Wonderful Tme of the Year!

Hello all! (the 1 or 2 of you that read this) :)

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! This year has gone by so fast yet, it blows my mind to think that I started this year off being pregnant! I hardly remember what any of that felt like (ok, well there is one traumatic part of being pregnant that still might linger).

Colin has been doing amazing lately. He is crawling like a crazy kid, there is no stopping him! He moves across the floor as if he's got wheels that eject from his knees and hands that roll him around the room. He is also into everything! If it's in his reach, it's fair game. He cruises like a champ and grabs at whatever is most expensive to play with (ugh!).

Those adorable little teeth he has got keep coming in, little by little. What used to be a soft gummy grip on my finger is now Jaws about to cut my finger off. Ok, I exaggerate a little, but still. I can't wait to see him as more teeth come in, he's already changed so much and he grows more handsome every day.

We've gotten him a couple great Christmas presents:

A basketball hoop (Dad had to have it!):




and a cool bouncy/spin thing...forgive my awesome title for it. This isn't the exact one, but just to give you a general idea:



Shane's parents got him this:



I'm really excited to see him play with that because his cousin Molly just loved hers. At any rate, things are going well and we're excited for the Holidays. After Christmas, we've planned a trip to the coast with 9 of our friends to ring in the New Year. Should be a ton of fun and it's Colin's first trip to the Oregon Coast! I'll have tons of pictures I am sure. That is all for now, thanks for reading! :)

One Quick Update

I had to write a quick post because we heard back from Colin's doctor and his EEG test results came back normal! I couldn't be more relieved and I feel so fortunate. We are truly lucky that everything is alright and I can't tell you how happy I am to know that my little baby doesn't have to go through this again!

Teething, Twitching and Tylenol...oh my!

Lot's of things have been happening at the Foster household the past week. Some good, some scary and some just crazy! This past weekend we watched our nephew, Devon. At the time we didn't know it, but Devon was pretty sick and started running a high temperature once he left our house. The next day, my sister Angela was watching Colin and noticed some twitching that made her a little worried. Needless to say, it freaked us all out so we made a doctors appointment for that evening.

Our doctor wanted to make sure we tested him for seizures, so we set up an EEG that will take place in the morning on December 3rd. We've been so nervous about it, hoping it's just his muscles developing and nothing more serious. He seems to be in the same happy spirits as usual, so I'm crossing my fingers that these tests come back with no bad news.

On a good note, Colin's bottom teeth have finally broken through. It's such a crazy notion that just when they finally break through and give him relief, it will start over again with the top two teeth. And this goes on until he is 2?! Oh boy! I can't wait to see those teeth fully grown, although I am DEFINITELY going to miss his adorable gummy smile.

One last thing! A few weeks ago, Colin was at daycare getting fed in a little chair. He's learned to pull himself up to stand and apparently Rachelle (our daycare provider) wasn't getting the spoon to his mouth fast enough....which resulted in this picture. Enjoy! :)

Mr. Gigglesworth

It's kind of hard to see (you have to turn your head sideways to get the good view), but here is a video Shane took on his phone of Colin giggling up a storm in the kitchen a week ago.

Our New Couches!

As promised, here are pictures of our new couches. Shane has been wanting new ones, well, pretty much ever since we moved in together. We really wanted big over-sized couches with a nice large ottoman that we could use to put our feet up, put a tray on to use as a table, etc. I decided this year that it was time and went around to almost every furniture store in Eugene trying to find the perfect set. Finally, I found this set and I couldn't be happier because they are so incredibly comfortable. Merry Christmas Shane...5 weeks early! :)

I Love My Ducks...I guess!

So although we have been living in Eugene for about 6 years, Shane and I have had a really hard time getting into Oregon sports. One major reason for this is that Shane has been a die hard UCLA fan since birth. There is only room for Bruins in his ginger heart! Being his supportive wife, I am a UCLA fan by association and I will admit I've had some fun cheering them on during basketball season.

I've never been a fan of football, no matter what team. I don't know what it is. I have just never been able to get interested in the stop and go action. Tonight, however, marked the first time I felt it. That anticipation of a touchdown, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and the anxiety (or maybe indigestion from eating too much pizza?).

In a back and forth game against Arizona, Shane and I watched the game from the comfort of our home (and brand new couches - Shane's Christmas present! Pictures coming soon...). Our friends, Jake and Hannah, while battling pretty bad colds, decided to join us which made it even more fun. Maybe it was the fact that Oregon has had a great season, but Shane and I found ourselves completely overcome with support for the Ducks. We cheered when they scored touchdowns, we yelled and waved our arms around angrily when they got unfair penalties and our stomachs did flips when Arizona scored a touchdown and field goal in overtime.

When the game finally revealed its victor, Shane and I both jumped up like lunatics and cheered. After the enthusiastic rounds of high fives and our friends had gone home, we both discussed how we'd never felt this kind of interest in Duck football, or for me, in football in general. I'll admit, I kind of like it!

So now here we are, becoming invested in Oregon athletics....at least until basketball season starts, because some things will never change. :)

GO DUCKS!

Our First Post!

Welcome! I am very excited to finally have a blog up and running about our family. With family and friends far and wide, we wanted to be able to share our lives with those we care about, so here it is!

It's definitely going to be hard to cram the past, who knows how many years into a couple posts to catch people up but I can definitely fill in the blanks as I go. For now I'll just start with the most recent news.

Colin, at 7 and a half months, is crawling! Shane and I literally got goosebumps this week as we watched him finally figure out how to shuffle those arms and legs into a rhythmic motion that could take him across the living room. Until now, he's been content with scooting, rolling, dragging and sliding himself across our hardwood floors. It's made it a little difficult/scary to watch our child become more and more mobile with no carpet to cushion his falls. He's a tough cookie though and he seems to be learning how to balance himself very quickly.

A few nights ago, Shane was conducting a little experiment that involved testing Colin's balance. He would let go of him and count to see how long Colin could stand all by himself, and the little booger managed to get to 20 seconds a couple of times! It's so amazing to watch him learn concentrate on keeping his balance and not rely on us. Just one of the million things about this beautiful child that blows me away.

At any rate, here are some recent pictures of him for you to enjoy. I truly look forward to posting more for you all to see.