Well, Noah and I have had a busy week. We went to some outlets about 45 minutes from us to get some fun Easter presents for Noah and Daniel's Easter baskets. Usually Noah has a standing play group on Friday mornings with two other friends (we just switch who hosts it each week). But Noah got to have two play groups this week! He was pumped. This week was red letter for one other reason: NOAH WENT POOPIES ON THE POTTY!!!

Daniel asked him if he needed to go potty and sat him down. He just sat there in the bathroom singing the "Bob the Builder" theme song for about 5 minutes before Daniel said, "I think you're all done". But Noah insisted he was "not all done, need go potty!" So, Daniel left him there in the bathroom singing away at full volume. Then about 5 minutes later, Daniel heard the potty go off (our potty for Noah has a sensor in the bowl that senses when something is in there and it plays a little song). Daniel rushed in and found a huge log - good for Noah! (don't worry, as much as I would've liked to take a picture of the actual poopies for future generations and for your viewing pleasure, I was not there).



Here are some pictures of our outings and fun lately:

Noah laughing up a storm:



Noah hugging Audrey (one of his play group pals).


Noah still hugging Audrey ... she looks a little scared.


Noah and his BFF, Braeden eating some snacks on my messy, crummy table.


Me at 32 weeks, I am now officially, uncomfortably large.


Noah hugging his favorite stuffed animals ... Noah has lots of love to give.

OK, so this month for the little bookclub I'm apart of, we were reading "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho (a Brazilian author?). The book revolves around a discussion of one's Personal Legend. From what I can tell, a Personal Legend is a life goal one has that they continually strive for and are only happy while pursuing this thing. To me, it sounds like a goal.

I was sick and couldn't attend the bookclub meeting where they talked about this, but I talked to a friend of mine about it and the discussion everyone had about it at bookclub. Most of the women in the group talked about how they felt that teaching and motherhood were their goals or "legend" in life. I thought about this and I do not feel like motherhood is a great goal for me. I am not good at it, I do not generally enjoy it and I await the day for when my child is more self-sufficient and at school more hours of the day ... I know that sounds bad. Furthermore, I have had many goals in my life and have achieved many great things, but do not feel like those individual goals were the purpose, goal or legend of my life.

Something that I DID find rewarding and intriguing in my life was performing opera and I felt good at it too. I felt somewhat successful and it challenged me in an exciting way. When I was talking to Daniel about this I asked him what he thought about this. He said I was not a fun person to be around while doing an opera because I was so focused and concerned on the performance, I left little time or thought for him or other concerns. When I asked him whether he liked to be around me more as a struggling opera singer or a struggling mother, he said opera singer. But he followed that up with, "But if you're asking whether I would like an opera star wife or Noah, I would pick Noah any day".

I talked about this with my friend and she brought up a good thought that I guess someone discussed at bookclub. As mothers, our personal legend, what we leave behind and people remember us by our children. And what better legend could you leave behind? As an opera singer, I could do some pretty cool performances and have some neat experiences and probably leave behind a few recordings - but as a mother, I leave behind my kids. Noah is what he is, largely because I keep him alive each day and teach him and hang out with him. And with that thought, I cannot help but think of my mom.

I am what I am because of her (and dad, ofcourse). I learned how to work hard, I was driven to finish my bachelor's degree in music, I started a small business online, share my testimony and am a functioning member of my ward and serve others because of what I learned growing up.

So my next thought is: so what if you're one of those moms that does everything right with your kids and they still make poor decisions when they grow up. Is that then your legacy? A kid with issues left in the world, causing havok?? ... and the follow up thought to that is - do you decide to do something only because of the end result? Or is it more in the journey? (Daniel suggested this to me). You begin a goal, journey or challenge because you want to learn something or try something new, right? It's for the experience, right? So whether or not I leave behind some awesome kid that conquers the world, converts millions, finds the cure to cancer - or if I leave behind a total dud, it was the process I did it for. I learned something. I am better, smarter, more patient, more understanding ... right? Is that why we do what we do? Just thinking ...

So, I haven't really put much thought into baby number two and I'm at about 31 weeks now, I think ... I think I should at least try now. So, I went consignment store shopping (I love that - I only buy clothes for Noah to destroy at thrift and consignment shops) and I found a few fun little things for the new one. Hopefully this one won't be a spitter upper like noah was and totally destroy these clothes within the first few weeks of life.


The pants and firetruck onesie go together. The blue and white striped shirt on the right is just a Sunday shirt.


I know this is vain, but I am a sucker for Ralph Lauren on little boys, so whenever I find anything Ralph Lauren under $5, I have to buy it. This tiny onesie was $3.50.


This is a closeup of the firetruck onesie. This little outfit was $3.50 (pants and shirt together) and it's Carter's. Love it.

So ... one of Noah's favorite new things to do is dance to music. We caught a few videos of him doing it. It's funny because you'd think he only jumps and runs around like this while "dancing" to music ... but this is pretty much his only mode of transportation in life. He used to only run from place to place (in the store, to his room, in the kitchen, around me in circles ...), but now he only jumps from place to place. His calfs (calves?) are going to be rediculously huge doing this kind of a workout everyday. I can only imagine this means that one of these days he will actually throw me into labor early by doing a power kick to my abdomen with his super calfs while I change his diaper.

Here is Noah dancing:



Here is Noah singing along with the song and dancing ... but Noah is singing the theme song to "Bob the builder" while the music is playing some Nickelback song. Noah always does this. He only knows the words to (and likes to sing) the "Bob the Builder" theme song, so every song on the radio he hears, he'll start wailing out "Bob the builder ... Yes you can!" - thinking he singing along. It's funny.



So, the other day I was at the gym ... yes, I am a newly avid gym rat (a really round gym rat). Noah and I are members of the local YMCA. Noah loves the childcare area because it has lots of trucks and cars and they give him treats. And I love to have an hour to myself reading magazines, even if I'm reading while doing the elyptical machine. So last time I was there, there were no more good magazines (i.e. fashion and pop culture ones) so I begrudgingly snagged the "Travel" magazine.

I started reading this article about this guy's trip to Paris. He talked about where he and his sister visited and what the atmosphere was like and how to really travel "right". As I read along it reminded me of one of the funnest things Daniel and I ever did - we went to Italy, with help as a graduation gift from both our parents, for two weeks a few years ago.

I got completely caught up in this man's description of his trip because it was similar to Daniel's and my experience in Italy. We basically had a few things we absolutely had to see and do while there, but in bewteen those things, we just wandered around on foot, trains and buses in Rome, Naples, Venice, Pisa, Florence and Milan. I had a specific memory jog while reading this article about one of these in between moments with Daniel in Rome.

We were a few blocks away from the Vittoro Emanuel white stone building (the one with the guards in front of the eternal flame) and on our way to the Coliseum. We were hungry and stopped at some little food store. We ordered a few pre-packaged sandwiches and some juices to go. The sandwiches were garbage, but the juices ... oh man, I can still taste them. It was fresh squeezed pear juice. It was like biting into a pear, so sweet and so succulent that I saved the little green bottle it came in and backpacked it all the way through the next two weeks in Italy and then came home and it now sits on our nightstand. Good memories.

The pear juice bottle from Italy is the one on the left.

Happy Valentine's Day to all. We had a good one this year! We kept it simple. Daniel and I decided on no gifts this year, just a nice dinner and movie out. Thanks to our tax return, at the beginning of our V-Day date we went to Circuit City and bought a 40" flat screen, LCD, HDTV. Daniel has been online reading c-net reviews, doing online tutorials on what "720p and 1080p" mean, and researching for deals for weeks and finally decided on this TV. We're pumped.

We ate at a local swanky place called, "Steve and Rocky's" and loved it. Super yummy. The best part was the passion fruit creme brulee fro dessert, oh man ... had to be there.

As for the latest Noah story ... I was sick on Monday morning and set Noah up in front of "Go Diego Go" with his juice and vitamins and snacks only to be awakened 45 minutes later with Noah at my bedside saying, "need help". I looked at his black scribbled hands and leapt out of bed (here's a visual for you: a 7 month pregnant body leaping through the air). I ran into the front room where I discovered a black marker (ofcourse it's permanent ... if I went looking around the house for a permanent marker I'd never be able to find one but Noah is amazing that way) scribbled all over our red couch pillow, coffee table and an entertainment console we're trying to sell on craigslist ... oh man, the terrible twos have officially settled in. There are no sick days for mommies.

Later that day I called my mom and dad to whine about it and they simply giggled with delight on the other end ... I cannot tell them anything. They just think it's just desserts and always comical. Anyway, we had a fun V-Day and lots of other fun times ... check out th pictures below!


coffee table destroyed with permanent marker, it never came off.


console destroyed ... this came out after using softscrub on it.


Red couch pillow destroyed - it never came out.


Noah on time out after the permanent pen incident ... he looks so sad, huh?


New coffee table. I told Daniel that before our new baby gets here I wanted a soft-cornered coffee table with storage for toys inside. he found this at Target! I love it! It's soft leather on top.


New TV and IKEA entertainment center. We got the entertainment center on a killer deal, 1/2 off! woo hoo!


Can you see the gleam in Daniel's eyes next to his new TV ... boys and their electronics. :)


Noah ... on a much happier day - the day before Valentine's Day, making cupcakes for Daniel's work friends.


Valentine's Day dinner.


We've decided to make it a tradition in our family to make a heart shaped pizza for dinner each V-Day. (that's what I made for Daniel on our first V-Day together when we were dating).


Daniel and I after our crazy fun night out to dinner and a movie (day after V-Day)


This is how I've grown ... I'm 28 weeks now and counting!

Daniel created a new blog for us ... it just looks like new colors to you guys, but to me, it is so much easier to use! The old blog and older entries can also be viewed still by clicking on the link to the right called "Old Blog - Forsyth Family Blog (2004 to 2007)" Yahoo, I love my computer nerd husband. Three cheers for nerds!!!

So, remember how I've mentioned Noah's bear (also named Noah) is found randomly around the house ... placed strategically by Noah himself? Well, I started taking pictures of the bear all around. I've posted a few pics. Noah is a funny little guy ... We also got a short video clip of him giving his bear spankings. Too awesome.



Bear in office. Playing on the computer.


Bear on Noah's new truck pillow ... relaxing.


Bear eating pasta.

I also decided to try for a theme in Noah's room, since I don't really have a "nursery" to decorate. The new baby (still unnamed) is going to stay in the pack'n'play at the end of our bed in our room for the first 3 or 4 months, then he'll just move in with Noah, so no fun with decorating the pack'n'play, ya know? Anyway, my first decoration is a decorative pillow for Noah's bed. I will be doing trucks, cars, trains and planes in Noah's room (Noah really likes vehicles). Here's my first and then second attempt at a truck pillow.


This was my first try. Daniel came home and was not impressed and said so. I tried harder ...


Better??



So, recently Eric's wife, Jaime sent me a link to this cool dress site. It sells modest dresses and they're cute too. Here are some of my favs and the link to the site is under "Sites We Like" to the right. The website is called "Shabby Apple".


Black lace dress


Green casual dress


Grey dress.