Christmas 2008

CHRISTMAS MORNING IN OUR NEW PJ'S

Well I figure that since the month of December is practically over, I might as well get back to blogging!!
Christmas was so much fun for us this year. I can't believe that it's over, but we had such a great time together. Christmas Eve is a tradition to spend with my dad at his house. We had a yummy dinner and of course, presents!

Christmas day, we waited for Zack to wake us up and we opened presents. Zack slept through the whole thing, but deep down I know he was excited to see what Santa brought him! After that, we went to Jared's parents for the traditional "Brunch" and presents. Then that afternoon we were able to go to my grandparents house to see everyone for a few minutes and introduce Zack to all my aunts, uncles and cousins. Thank heavens no one was sick this year, otherwise, we would have been able to just hear about how fun it was from everyone :>THIS IS A PRESENT JARED WRAPPED ALL BY HIMSELF!!

The day after Christmas we went to my mom's for the celebrations. Again, it included a yummy dinner and presents! So much fun there as always!

ZACK WITH HIS PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS MORNING... NOTICE THE COOL 4-WHEELER HE GOT FROM A FRIEND OF MINE!

We had such a fun Christmas and were so blessed with so many things. It was so great to see so much family and friends throughout the holiday... it just goes to show that there are so many people that bless your life each day!
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and now, let's bring on the new year!!

Date Night

Jared and I went on a much needed date night last Friday night to see the lights downtown and to dinner. The lights were so beautiful and are such a fun way to get in the spirit of the season. And oh ya', everyone else was downtown doing the same thing we were, or they were at the Jazz game, or they were going to the Conference Center to see Savior of the World... but either way, people were everywhere!!

On Saturday, my brother-in-law celebrated his birthday by having us all over for cake and ice cream, and games! As always, we get wild and sit and laugh until it hurts (Mom especially this time!), so thanks for having a birthday, Josh!!

Last night we went to my sister's house to celebrate her birthday and also to do a little Thanksgiving dinner. We had such a great time and I just wanted to wish her a very Happy Birthday!
One thing that has become a "tradition" in our family is to take silly pictures together. Last night we even got the guys to do it too. Just for fun, here are a few!

Thanksgiving

Since we are dealing with RSV season and Zack can't be around big groups, for Thanksgiving this year Jared and I just had our own little feast at home! We had all the usual foods including the turkey! I must say I am especially proud of how it turned out. With a lot of help from Jared, this turkey was the juiciest and most moist turkey I have ever had. (If you are wondering how it was that way, we did a brine...) Anyway, we had a great Thanksgiving, just the 3 of us!! And to top off the day, Zack gave me the official first smile! What more could I be thankful for?!

THEN onto BLACK FRIDAY!!! My mom and sister's and I like to consider ourselves "professionals" when it comes to this day! Without going into too much detail, just to show you how great we are, we got to Kohl's at 3:30AM, doors opened at 4:00AM, we were out by 4:12AM. Then onto Sears which opened at 5:00AM, we were out by 5:10AM. Then to Target (Absolutely insane this year!! Busiest ever!). Doors opened at 6:00AM and we were out by 6:15AM! Hands down, one of the best years...

Twilight

OK, so I went to see the Twilight movie and I LOVED it!! Sure there were some cheesy parts, but I like cheese!! I was nervous for the movie because I didn't want it to ruin the book, but I think that it was just right. As like other people have said, it was nice to have the characters come to life!
I went with my mom and sisters... after the terrible BYU/UTAH game (which I still don't want to talk about!)... so the movie was able to lift my spirits again!!

Weird dream

OK dream experts... here's one for you. Just about every night since Zack has come home from the hospital I have this dream. It is where I am holding Zack while I am either sitting up in my bed, or even laying down, and all of a sudden he is "gone" somewhere in the sheets and I am frantically looking for him so I don't smother him! I even wake up and I am holding the blankets like I would have been holding him, so I "know" it's not a dream and I start freaking out because I know it was "real this time"!
Poor Jared has to deal with me doing this every night... and when I say every night, I mean it! Sometimes it has even happened multiple times in one night.
Now just to clarify, I NEVER put him in our bed with us... and part of that is due to the dream, but I still don't understand why I would continue to have this dream if I don't even have to worry about it happening.
My mom says I need help. Maybe I do?! :>

That time again

While nothing too spectacular has happened to me the past little while, I figured it was time to add a new post. And while reading other people's blogs, the subject for mine came to mind... Christmas!
I love hearing the traditions of other families, as well as just the thoughts of the season, but while I am sitting here, I can't believe how fast the year has gone and to think that we are here! I absolutely love this time of year. I am with all of you in the early planning and preparing for Christmas... I have turned the annual "list" into my mom, started making my Black Friday list, started listening to Christmas music, and have even bought some new decorations for Christmas. Yet on my "to do" list for today, I have the task of still putting my Halloween decorations away! I am ashamed to admit that, but my days literally slip by me lately and I don't seem to have enough time to get things accomplished. But you better believe that by midnight tonight, those Halloween decorations will be put away!!!

Does anyone else feel like this?!

Halloween Party 2008

Every year I throw a Halloween Party with my family. This year was, like every other year, so much fun! Everyone dresses up in costumes, and we eat and play games, and even do our own little "trick-or-treating" around my house! Crazy times, but that's what makes it so fun!! AND to make this year so special, Amanda and Josh found out they are having a boy!!!! We are so excited for them!

Here are some pics of the party...
Jared dressed up as a football player, I was the cheerleader, and Zack was the football!!!
Amanda and Josh had the best costumes of the night!! They are going to be some dang cute old people someday!
The family all looked so good!!
Yes, we had a pinata this year! These are the weird things we do...
Good times!

Pumpkins

We carved our pumpkins for Halloween last night. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work! Obviously we used templates for the pumpkins, but I think they turned out pretty good. In the picture, from left to right we have Zack's pumpkin, Jared's, then mine. Jared was kind enough to do both his and Zack's, since mine ended up taking about double the time to carve... or maybe I am just slow!!!

Something new to try...

OK, so I have had more time on my hands since not going to work anymore, but have a lot less time since Zack is home now! So with my "extra" time, I have decided to try something new. I have created a new blog, yes, another blog. It will conveniently be called "Recipe of the Week". I will post a new recipe once a week, with a "review" from what I thought of it. I would love to have everyone who wants to try the recipe, also give a review. Also, if you have a recipe for me to try, it could be anything from a drink, to dessert, to side dish, to holiday recipe, etc., please post it so there is more interaction!!
I enjoy cooking, so I thought this would be a fun way to expand my knowledge and try something new. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears!!

Craft projects

Now that I am a stay at home mom (that sounds so weird!!), I want some ideas on fun craft projects, or even other things I could make/do, so I feel productive and have something new and fun to do!! I always love to see peoples homes around any holiday because there are such cute decorations out there... so maybe if someone has ideas even in that direction...
Anyway if you have any ideas, or if you yourself do something that's fun and you want to share (pictures are great too), I would love to hear about it!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Tuesday was my birthday and I had lots of fun!! Jared made me breakfast in the morning and gave me presents from him and from Zack :> AND, he did a fantastic job this year!! I also had lots of visitors come by and also call me, so that was really nice too. That night, my mom and sister came to my house and watched Zack while Jared and I went to dinner. Then we came back and had cake. It was a wonderful birthday, so thanks everyone for making it such a great day!!

BYU shower

My mom and sister's threw me a shower on Saturday that was so much fun!! It was a BYU themed shower, and they did such a great job putting it together. Again, we got some great things from everyone...
I just want to thank them for all the time and effort they put into this. From the invitations to the decorations, from the food and games to the party favors... it was so much fun! Also, I just want to say thanks for all of the support the past 3 months. I couldn't have done this without your encouragement and love! I LOVE YOU!!!

Corn Maze

Friday night we went with my sister's to the corn maze at Thanksgiving Point. There were a lot of different things going on besides the corn maze, like tether ball, go karts, a blow up "haunted house" thing, and even little pig races that were actually more fun than the actual maze!! We had a good time... and we only paid 93 cents to get in! Who can beat that?!

A couple of baby showers!

On Wednesday my work threw me a baby shower at the Olive Garden. We had a really good time. The food was good, and of course, I got some really great stuff for Zack... a little drum set was included in that!! So thanks to Courtney for making the invites and making this happen! I had a great time.

Then on Saturday, my sister-in-law's did a baby shower. We had an awesome turnout!! Almost 40 people came... granted, I didn't know most of them since it was all of my inlaw's friend's, but hey, it was still a lot of fun. So again, thanks to all of them for such a cute set up and for all the work that was put into it!
I would say we are just about ready for Zack to come home now!!!

Family Time

Saturday Jared and I went to the BYU/UCLA game. WOW! That was a fun time to see BYU completely blow UCLA out of the water... 59-0!! Good times...
Then, later that night we went with my family (minus Beck, who was at Homecoming!) to the mountains for a picnic. We made foil dinners, did a carmel apple crisp in the dutch oven, and played games. It was cold (OK, if we had planned a little better, it wouldn't have been so bad!), and it got dark really fast, but we had such a good time getting away for a few hours. Here are some pics from the day...

I've been tagged

Thanks to Ashley for this!!!
Here are the rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 obsessions, 3 surprising facts and tag 3 more people on your blog.

3 Joys:
My baby Zack, a fun Summer day, & playing with my mom and sisters

3 Fears:
Something happening to anyone in my family, spiders, & having another baby in the NICU :>

3 Obsessions:
The two boys in my life, the feeling of accomplishing something, & a hot bubble bath

3 Surprising Facts:
I once choked and had to have the Heimlich maneuver done on me, I don't like roasted marshmallows or cotton candy, & I don't really like animals (Sorry everyone!)

I tag Amanda/Josh, Melissa/Ben, & Steph/Ryan :>

Good ol' days!

This is how I used to spend a lot of my days when I was growing up... jumping on the trampoline! My sister's and I, friend's and I, my mom and I, and even just by myself... hours were spent there. We would play games like add on, gymnastics (especially loved pretending to be on the balance beam!), dodge ball, and many more. We would practice our cheerleading/dance moves there, put the sprinklers underneath, and one of our favorites was sleeping out on the trampoline!
On Sunday, I climbed up on the trampoline again. It has been a while since I have done that, and it felt great!
Of course, I had to practice all the tricks I learned while on there, and sure enough, I can still do them!!

We registered

A lot of people have been asking us if we have registered for Zack yet, and so last night we attempted to do it! Let me start out by saying that we had no idea what we were doing, and Jared started to get a little scan happy! We walked around the store for quite a while looking at things with a big question mark on our foreheads! It just confirmed to us that we still have no idea what is going to be coming our way in just a few short weeks! So, we hope this registry helps those of you who have been asking... oh, and we are registered at Target!

Busy Week

So the past week has been pretty busy for us! Last Saturday we went to Lava Hot Springs for the day. It was SO much fun!! We went tubing down the river (the best part!) and swimming with my family. It was such a good time, that we might just make this a new tradition. It was really nice to get away from the stress of life for a day too!
On Monday, I started back at work. I am only doing part time, but I can think of a lot of places I would rather be then there!
Then on Tuesday, it was my mom's birthday! She turned 29 again, and is looking SO good!! We went to Lagoon and had a really fun time. My little niece Maddie was the best part of the day for me! She is 4 years old and is a little dare devil! She loved all of the big kid rides, and the faster they were, the better!! Jared and I are thinking of bouncing back if anyone wants to come!!

The Mary's

http://deseretnews.com/article/1%2C5143%2C700250455%2C00.html

This is a link to an article on our new friends that we met in the NICU at St. Mark's Hospital. They are the sweetest little family, and have been through just about everything you could imagine with preemies. They had twins born at 25 weeks and almost lost one of them, they live in Kansas, but ended up having their babies here, and they have 3 other kids at home in Kansas that she had to be away from!
Stacy has been such a sweet person to talk to throughout my 6 weeks in the NICU, and has such an amazing attitude towards life! Her little baby girls, as well as the other 3 at home, are very lucky to have such a loving and caring mom!
You can read this story and get more details, but I just wanted to post something on them and wish them the very best! We are going to miss them so much!! Good luck to them, we love you guys!!!

Zack's Page

I decided in able for me to keep up with things, I added a new blog page just for Zack and his updates. Feel free to check it out. We'll see how well this works!

24th of July

For Pioneer Day, Jared had to work a half day, so I went to the famous Pioneer Day Parade downtown with my mom and sisters (and aunts, uncles and cousins). We are not big on parades, so it was funny that we all got roped into going. But we all ended up enjoying ourselves, especially when my mom would jump up and dance when all the bands/floats would pass by!!

Then, we went to Copperton Park for a picnic with the extended family. That is always my favorite tradition... except the tradition is usually on the 4th of July when we go there. But again, good times there! I think Bitty really enjoyed herself!

Finally that night, Jared and I had a good time doing a few fireworks. That is always my favorite part about the holiday. We just wished that Zack could have been there to do his own sparklers. :> Next year, right?!

Updates

I thought I would do a quick post on how Zack is doing. A week ago we got a call from the hospital saying that Zack had taken a little turn for the worst (that is the type of call I dread everyday!). They had found some blood in his lungs, which meant that a little valve in his heart wasn't closed like it should be. So they had to take him to Primary Children's Hospital for surgery. The surgery went well and there were immediate improvements in Zack. Since then, he has been doing very well and has been transferred back to St. Mark's Hospital.
Again, I just want to thank everyone for the prayers and concerns for us! It means a lot to know there are people all over who care...

Zackary William Forsyth

I would like to introduce you all to my baby boy, Zackary! He was born on July 1 weighing 1 lb. 11 oz. He is doing well, all things considered.
Quick recap - Last Monday we went to the doctor to see what our test results would be, and left the doctor's office with strict instructions to go straight to the hospital! They said I had severe toxemia and would be lucky to make it 10 more days. After getting to the hospital and meeting my new doctor, they said that I was scheduled for a C-Section the next day at 12:00 and that we didn't have 10 days to wait. Everything happened SO fast as you can imagine and it hasn't slowed down since.
I think the hardest day of my life was Saturday when I was released to come home, but we had to leave Zack there. He is just so small and is fighting for his life. Everyday I can't wait to go and see him. He just brings such a special feeling to our little family.
I just want to thank everyone for all of the prayers that have been said for us. It has meant so much, and I know he is doing well because of that. So thank you!!!


Here is a picture to help get the idea of just how small he is...