Kicking the Bottle

Pediatricians recommend that you wean your baby off the bottle by age 12 months. With Cal, I postponed it to 15 and of course, as a first-time mom, I was paranoid about it and felt a little guilty. This time around, which seems like much more than just two years later, I let my little girl hang onto her bottle until 18 months with no regrets. It was just so convenient and she loved it so much...why be in a rush to give up something so good? In fact, part of me still wonders, "What's wrong with letting her have a bottle until age two? Can't we just push it back to age two? I think I know a couple of two-year-olds who carry a bottle around, right?" However, my conscience got the better of me and after several weeks of half-heartedly talking to her about "throwing her bottles away," a ceremonial ritual that seemed to work well with Cal, I decided on Monday to go ahead and do it. And I've got to tell you something...it ain't going so well.
I guess I was thinking she was good enough on a sippee cup that it would be a pretty smooth transition. Wrong. I was forgetting how much of drinking a bottle is a comfort to an 18-month-old. While the first day of sippees may have seemed like a novelty to her, she has since realized that she's supposed to get ALL of her milk from a sippee cup from now on and is pretty sad about it, especially at nap time and bed time. Thankfully she likes to drink water out of an open cup sometimes. I say thankfully since my primary worry about her during this has been dehydration. In fact, this morning at breakfast I was sitting across the table from her. She had an open up of water on one side of her and the new sippee I'd bought her on the other side, full of milk. In a telling moment, I watched her look from one to the other two or three times. Then she reached for the water. Maybe this means we'll skip the sippee stage altogether!

Winnie The Pooh

Some of you haven't seen our kids for a long time, so here's a recent video of Monica.
I'll try to post one of Cal in the near future. (No promises...)
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It's a Girl! (Definitely, No Doubt About It!)

Dear World,

As many of you know, at the end of March we found out we were "probably" having a girl. The doctor told us she was about %80 sure. Well, I just wanted you all to know that we had another ultrasound on Wednesday and it's been confirmed. Little Baby Girl #2! The funny thing is that I didn't really announce to anyone when we knew we were "probably" having a girl... I was holding out that my initial impression that it was a boy might still be right. After all, I was correct in guessing both of my other two kids--doesn't that have to count for something? But it turns out it was just luck! Oh well, I'm totally happy to be wrong, we would be thrilled either way. But on Wednesday I realized that the thing that was weirding me out most about having another girl was that we didn't have a name picked out already. We had a strong boy name, but for a girl--nothing. We picked out names for Cal and Monica pretty early in the game...like, when we were engaged, so not having a name for kid #3 was unsettling. But I'm happy to announce that we now have a couple of front-running names so...everything's going to be alright. ;)

Lots 'o' Cousins!

This week I've been in Utah staying with my sister Ellen who just had a baby. This is her 7th little babe, and he's cute as ever. His name is Emmett Odell. Look how buff he is:

But besides being around a newborn, it's been so fun thinking of things to do with her older kids. Actually, I haven't been the one thinking of the ideas. It's more fun going along with the ideas they come up with. For example, the morning after we arrived, Gilbert (her 11-year-old) said, "Hey, I really want to take the little kids to Cabelas and show them the fish tanks there." Huh. We all considered that for awhile, and we figured, why not? We thought we looked pretty funny parading 8 kids past all the burly hunting men since we weren't there to buy anything, but besides that, it was really fun. I had never been in that store before and it was really cool! There was tons of stuff for little kids to look at, and there was even a place to feed the fish. (So I take it back about not buying anything...we spent .25 for fish food!) Here are some pictures:

The three buds.
Did I mention that Cal is totally having the
TIME OF HIS LIFE around all these older kids?

My Hubby Makes Me Laugh!

Hey guys. I just thought this picture was funny.
After putting the kids down the other night,
I went into our bedroom to find Jeff like this:

Reflection of a Musician:

Staying Young at Heart

I just got back from an orchestra rehearsal for a concert tomorrow that I'm pretty excited about. We're playing an all-Russian program and I have family coming, so it will be really fun. I enjoy playing in this orchestra, and I'm grateful for the chance it gives me to get my cello out at least once a week. All the same, after tonight's rehearsal I couldn't help but dwell on one observation.

We sound, well ... old.

This post isn't meant to be a soapbox rant--I say it observationally... and affectionately. It sounds a bit like we've all been working our full-time jobs all day and have too many things to do and not enough time to do them, and like we're all pretty tired. Why is that? Oh, I guess it's because it's all true. When we come to rehearsal, we are so worried about staying together and hitting the right notes that there's no time to rehearse the expression. I think we also consider ourselves "experienced musicians" so maybe we think we're already expressing when we're not. Or we expect the piece to do it for us.

I remember being in orchestras during summer camps where our conductors would talk about how great it was working with "young people." They said we were full of life and energy. I didn't really know what they were talking about. Now I know that it's totally true. What is it about being a young musician? Is it that you're playing your best because you're trying to one-up your stand partner? Or impress the conductor? Is it that you just have more time to practice? (I don't remember there ever being enough time to practice...) Or is it that young people are actually more in tune with what a new piece of music has to offer? I think that because they're still discovering their own musicality, they pick up more on the expressiveness that's written into the piece. They also don't have the problem of thinking they've already "arrived," so they're still trying to be expressive.

The problem with playing like the above-depicted "experienced musician" is this: Music-making is not just about the notes. I know we say that a lot, but all too often we forget that the notes on that page are really just a tool for the composer to communicate something fantastic. He/she wants you to express something to the audience. Once we forget that, and we make "hitting the notes" or "staying together" our primary objective, we are missing the point. Don't get me wrong--hitting the notes is important. But I am a firm believer that the audience will forgive a few wrong notes if they are made to feel something. Without the expression though, what's the point?

I know this post is full of sterotypes, and we all fall somewhere different on the spectrum, but I think we "old musicians" would benefit from playing like we're a little younger, like we still have energy. We may not we have the energy, but if we can create the illusion, we'll probably get a lot more out of the music. And the audience will, too.

Hello, World!

After taking a brief (okay, three-month) hiatus from posting on my blog, I return to you full of new ideas and enthusiasm. Just kidding...I can't make any promises. It seems that blogging comes and goes in spurts with me. I have a lot to post, but this is the most important thing for those of you who don't know:

Yeaaaa!!!!!!

I finally went to the doctor on Monday and everything is going great! I'm already about 11 weeks. I guess that's one of the advantages of starting the doctor visits a little later. Jeff and I are both very excited to add this new little guy (or girl) to our family. By default I say guy because I think it's a boy, but Cal is set on girl for some reason. I guess only time will tell. I would be thrilled with either.

(What you're seeing is the head on the right and his little belly on the left. The little dots on the sides are his arms waving around.)

Monica Walking!

.

And here's the evidence.

Back In Black...

...And loving it, baby!  This morning I got to play in a children's concert with the Arapahoe Philharmonic.  Last Friday was my first evening concert with them.  I sure am enjoying being a cellist again.  It's so fun to be surrounded by cool people playing really great music.  (Hmmm...this concert black looks suspiciously like my X-men costume...)

Halloween Pics

Hey everyone! Hope you had a great Halloween.
Here are the pictures of our family.
Monica was an Oreo:

Cally-Wag was Superman:

And Jeff and I...

...were Wolverine and Jean Grey from X-Men. I don't think I've officially dressed up for Halloween since...maybe junior high? But we had to dress up for a work party. It was actually really fun! Mostly because Jeff made such a convincing Wolverine!

Here are a few more pics of our Jack-o-lanterns.

Livin' in Up in the Breck...

This weekend Jeff and I got to spend a fun weekend getaway at the Breck Inn in Breckenridge, CO. Jeff arranged an opportunity to go up and listen to one of those time-share spiels. Athough we weren't interested in owning a timeshare, they hooked us up with some nice deals...on our hotel room and a yummy fondue dinner. Here are a few pics. HUGE thanks to Mickey, Margaret, and Megan for taking our kiddos for the weekend. It's so nice to be able to leave your kids with people they love being with! And even bigger thanks to my sweet hubby for setting it all up. It was a much needed break for both of us!

Cal's Monster Party

Here are a few follow-up pictures of Cal's friend party on Thursday night. It was a lot of fun, and we were glad to have the excuse to have the Larsons, and Lintons, and the Hoovers over. The kids started out making little monster bag puppets:
Then we went downstairs to read a book about monsters and set a monster trap, which happened to be on top of a huge lawn-mower box with a hole in the top...

Then we came upstairs for pizza and while we were eating we heard our monster trap go off. We went downstairs to find Vincent the Friendly Monster caught inside. (I'm kicking myself for not catching any video of Jeff's performance, but it was a success...the looks on the kids' faces were hilarious!) He said thanks for the cupcake we'd put in the trap, had heard it was someone's birthday, and suggested that we all sing happy birthday to Cal. Then we went upstairs, opened presents and had monster cupcakes. Over all, a very fun evening.

My Crafting High

I'm on a crafting roll! (...So to speak.) Let me explain.

Cal wants a monster-themed party for his birthday, so Jeff and I thought of a couple of monster-related activities that he could do with a few of his friends tomorrow night when we have their families over for dinner. One of these activities (shhhh... don't tell Cal...) is catch a monster, inspired by a children's book we got from the library: The Monster Trap by Dean Morrissey. We thought this would be a good idea only if I could buy or make a monster puppet by the time Oct. 23rd rolled around. Well, tonight (Oct. 22nd) arrived. Still no monster puppet. Our kids were in bed by around 8:30, and at that point I said to myself, "Ange, if this is going to happen, you have to make a monster puppet before you go to bed tonight." (I hadn't thought of how I would do it or anything.) "The rules are...no sewing allowed, and you have to be done by 11:00. All you have is whatever materials you can find in your basement and your trusty glue gun." And this is what I came up with:

So uh, I'm trying really hard to be humble tonight... I mean it's not Sesame Street worthy or anything, but... dang! That's pretty good!

No, totally just kidding! It was more luck than anything else. All I knew was that I was going to start with some green fabric and maybe put some cardboard in the mouth to give it more shape...and imagine my delight when as I was randomly gluing, nostrils and ears popped out! Anyway, he turned out a lot cuter than I was expecting. Here he is in action:





This experience made me want to get onto my blog and tell you all why I LOVE crafting so much. You know what is great about crafting??? It's taking completely raw materials and turning them into something that can be beautiful or cute or useful or of great entertainment value, especially to children. And you can do whatever you want! There are no rules and nobody's judging the outcome. So that's what I love about it. It does the heart good. It gives you energy to stay up into the wee hours of the morning. Seriously, this may sound ridiculous, but I've often thought about how if there was another Great Depression or something horrific going on around me, as long as I could craft (which I would probably be able to because all it takes is a bunch of garbage and your own imagination), I could overcome whatever and be happy.

It's Birthday Week at Our House!

This is an awesome week for our family.
Today is Monica's 1st birthday, and tomorrow Cal turns 3.
So besides the fact that it's so fun for me to think about how these two little babies...

...now look like this...

...and are so sweet and hilarious with their own personalities,
it also means that it's
party time
at our house!

We had a party on Monday with the all the Fosters who live in Denver. It was a lot of fun and our kiddos totally scored on presents. (Thanks everyone for your serious generosity!) It felt like Christmas had blown through our family room after we were done.

Here are some pictures:

It was a lot of fun, and I am one lucky mama!

Cal's Modern Art

The other day I was frantically trying to get something "important" done (I don't even remember what) when I realized that Cal had dumped out a whole bottle of glue onto this little art project. My initial reaction was horror, but when I realized that most of it stayed on the paper and there was only a little bit on the carpet which was easily cleaned up, I figured, 'Well, why not let it dry? Let's see what happens.' It took about two days to dry and was about 1/4" thick, and when it was done I didn't want to get rid of it because it was kind of a statement on my life:
I just thought it was ironic that a To Do List was what he found to plaster in a quarter of an inch of glue, which is how it feels like it's attached to me sometimes. I just can't shake it off, and it's by far the most hindering force in my life that keeps me from spending time with my kids.

"Mom, will you build a tower with me?"
"Um, yes...I will in a minute. I just have to do this and this, and then one more thing, and then I'll sit down and build a tower."

"Mom, do you want to play this game?"
"Sure honey, but can you wait until I put these things away and put in one load of laundry?

"Mom, will you read me this story?"
"Yeah, but let me just wipe off Monica's face and then run this thing upstairs..."

What the heck is so important about running something upstairs? Anyway, it just feels like I'm always telling him to wait because I'm trying to do all my "important" things.

I'm not saying that housework should permanently be put on hold until our children grow up. I mean, a relatively clean, organized home does create a great atmosphere for family life. I guess I'm just saying that in each little situation, I need to ask myself what is really most important...if my "important" things are more important than the fact that Cal gets older every day, and he can either remember me as a neurotic house-cleaner, or he can remember me as someone who spent time with him, heard his questions, laughed at his jokes, and cared about what kind of person he grew up to be. I sure am glad he dumped out that bottle of glue...it's given me the chance to think about this a little. Who would have known it would have turned into an artistic statement?

I Feel So Blessed!!

I feel so happy to have come out here and spent two weeks with my sister Emily, so I just had to make you all understand how fun it's been. At the same time, I miss my husband terribly and I can't wait to be back by his side. You can see how Heavenly Father has put so much love in my life. What bigger or more wonderful blessing can you have than that?

So here's a little about why this trip has been awesome:

SERVICE TIME
Emily just had her third little baby about six weeks ago, so I brought my kids here to spend two weeks helping out with her older two boys, Adam and Peter, and the housework. (I guess I should mention that the reason we’re here when Annelise is 6 weeks old is because she came 5 weeks early and we already had our plane tickets…) It's been so wonderful to be doing someone else's housework and not have to worry about my own at all! It's actually fun doing it for someone else, you know? It feels good to be focusing on someone else's needs instead of my own and it has really strengthened my testimony of how service is more for the benefit of the server than anyone else. That's why we're supposed to do it. It feels great!

GOOD TIMES
Ems and I like a lot of the same things, so we have to take advantage of the opportunity to do those things together whenever we're in the same city. This trip, we've watched a lot of British drama (Middlemarch, Jane Eyre, Cranford…), done a couple of craft projects (making Cal a super- cute Superman cape to match Adam and Peters’), made some yummy food (café rio salad and TWO batches of monkey bread, among other things...), and got our haircut together. We even took before and after shots to celebrate the victory over frumpiness. These are included below, for your entertainment.
Before:

After.

HILARIOUS TIMES
I think I laugh harder with Emily than any other person. I think that’s my favorite thing about being with her. It’s so fun to be with someone who thinks I’m funny, and who I think is hilarious. Anyway, here's a list of some of our quotable quotes, plus a few more pictures of our cute kids:

Quotable Quotes (Maybe you just had to be there...)
"It says here that exotic dancers make the most money
in the height of their fertility." "Don't we all?"
"Forever isn't even a time frame. It's a length of time."
"Poo." (No response...) "Mommy, I said poo!" "I know Adam..." "Put soap in my mouth!"
"Okay, wait. I don't understand a thing you've
been talking about for the last 10 minutes!"
"My blender is digressing?"

Thanks Emily and Weston for a great visit. Thanks also to the Geoff for letting me come out here for this long and for being such a phenomenally great and kind husband to come home to. I’ve had so much fun here, but I miss you, need you, and can't wait to get you back in my life.

My Girl Angie

I've secretly taken over my wife's blog to present to you a video about the most beautiful, wonderful and special woman in the world...my wife.

Jeff

Angie 2008
Uploaded by jeffreydeanfoster

The Hot-n-Ready

"Well, Hot-n-Ready, you've done it again.  You've won my heart again."  That's what Jeff said to me after we finished our dinner on Friday night.  So I thought it was time to stop and write a reflective post about how the weekly Hot-n-Ready is becoming a Yank Foster tradition.  Let's face it.  Our family loves Little Caesar's.  When we lived in Phoenix, we would get a Hot-n-Ready for special, celebratory occasions.  Then whenever we were on a road trip we look up the nearest Little Caesar's because the Hot-n-Ready was hands down the most food for the lowest price.  But now, almost every Friday night (at least during the warmer months) we get a Hot-n-Ready and eat it at Clement Park.  I love how it tastes, especially when I'm really hungry.  I love how it gives me a break from thinking about dinner.  I love the price. But more than anything, my favorite part is the pure satisfaction it gives to my hard-working hubby.  Pure joy with every bite.  Every time.