THANKFUL…

This Thanksgiving the Forman Fam packed up and headed out to Florida for a week of vacation and fun with Gigi and Pop. We all crammed into our one bedroom condo and had the best time playing, hanging out, eating, talking, and relaxing!

On Thanksgiving Day, we fixed an almost-traditional meal and did our first Forman Family craft to celebrate. Got this great idea from my creative friend Elizebeth’s blog, she does it with her lifegroup each year. Basically I just had everyone trace their hand on a piece of construction paper and write down things they were thankful for this year. We put all our “hands” together to make a 2009 Thankful Wreath. It was special to hear what everyone was most thankful for and a neat little keepsake for me to put out each November. Family and Jesus were big themes from our thankful hands this year. Oh, and our baby boy also loves to EAT! Here is the before/after picture from Thanksgiving. Before, very excited to get to eat, and in dad’s lap! After, crying because he wanted more ROLLS!!! What do you mean, all done?!

Plus, there are so many things we had to be thankful for from this week alone! Here are some of the things we were most THANKFUL for this week! Click the links below to see more about our Thanksgiving adventures in Florida this year.

• Baby Pools
• Time at the Beach
• Relaxed Recreation
• The Coolest Park Ever
• FAMILY!!!

Baby Steps to First Steps

Our baby boy is walking!!! Well, more like wobbly stepping but that counts for me! I still can’t believe it and I’m probably way more proud than I should be! I think I’m just shocked that he finally got the gusto up to try it for himself! Tristan, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and the big boy you are becoming. Okay, so here’s how it all went down…

While we were in Florida vacationing with Gigi and Pop for thanksgiving we ALL kept trying to get this little man to walk. He loved walking with help and trying to get from the table to the couch by himself, but never would get the courage up to try walking. We tried everything to coach and entice, but nothing worked. So after dropping Gigi and Pop off at the airport on our last full day in Florida, we hopped back to the pool for one more splash. Well, Tristan decided that was the time, and took a good 3-4 steps in the baby pool as he was trying to reach the watering can he wanted. We were shocked and so proud!!! The pictures above are us trying to re-inact it! We were so happy that we could say T took his first steps in the baby pool in Florida. We know there will be many more great memories made there. Can you tell how proud Justin is?! :)

So then we came back home and Tristan didn’t really want to try anymore! That is, until Aunt Courtney came home. Last night at almost bedtime, she told T she wanted to see him walk. We got down on the kitchen floor, and away he went….8 steps right into Co-Co’s arms!!! The clapping and joyful screaming began! So we got T in his PJ’s and practiced using our new walking skill in his room where it’s nice and carpeted.

Walking to Aunt Co-Co

Walking to Dad

Walking to Mom

This picture says it all, I love it. The sheer joy on Justin’s face, Tristan happy and stickin’ that tongue out concentrating, and one excited laughing momma!

It’s THE CUTEST thing watching a baby learn to walk! The cutest! He was wobbly and so proud of himself! But no one could be prouder than mom and dad! Way to go Tristan, a whole new world is awaiting you now!

Baby Pools

Who knew I’d ever be thankful to go spend some quality time at the BABY POOL! This was one of our favorite things to do this week. It’s easy, we all get sun minus all the gritty sand, and most of all, Tristan L-O-V-E-S it! No matter what the temperature is outside, he’s happy to jump in and play and splash. Just look how happy he is! He is for sure a water baby! Doesn’t mind going under and is very brave to try to crawl and walk and explore all over the pool. He played with all the water toys but mostly liked going on the water-coaster ride which is dad swooshing him around and throwing him up in the air. We also had lots of walking practice that seems to have paid off as well!

Time at the Beach

…is not something I necessarily thought I’d be thankful for over the holidays, but this year we are! When it wasn’t raining, the weather was so pretty, not too hot, not too cold. Although the waves were a little big and the ocean a bit cold, we enjoyed most just laying out in the sun soaking up some rays. And Tristan loved his little blow up pool filled with sand, ocean water and toys. I can’t believe we only got the few pictures we did! As much as we love the beach, it’s messy and requires a lot of setup, hence the camera doesn’t get picked up as much as it probably should. What was actually the best part about the beach from this trip, was the sound of the ocean waves you can hear from our back porch! I could listen to that all day!

Relaxed Recreation

Justin and I were so thankful this year for some fun, relaxed down time together as a family. With no chores or bills or emails to send, we were able to truly get away and play together as a family. It was wonderful! Justin and Pop golfed every day, we had a round of family tennis which Tristan really picked up on. It was crazy to watch him grab the racket and try to swing! And we even got Gigi and Pop to try our favorite game one night: Settlers of Catan. So many times holidays are filled with go-go-go, cooking, cleaning, so we were very much thankful for the time to relax and have fun playing together!

Putting Around

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Game Night!!!

Going out to Eat for some good Seafood! Tristan even ate his first fish, baked Mahi-Mahi! Isn’t this the sweetest site of all the guys walking up to the restaurant?

Playing with Gigi and Pop! Gigi’s “getting him” with a little toy truck rolling on his back. He just cracked up with tickles and asked for more and more!

The Perfect Hiding Spot: Tristan had more fun exploring all the rooms in the condo! His favorite was this perfect little cubby for him in the hall closet. He had fun hiding away in there, poking his head in and out!

A Little Amateur Tennis

The Coolest Park Ever

About five seconds from our condo, just down the road is the coolest park I’ve ever been to. This park has just about everything! It’s got HUGE tall twisty slides, splash park, baby park, picnic tables, swings, ride-on cars, right off the ocean, did I mention really cool big twisty slides?! I know Tristan’s going to LOVE coming here as he gets a little older. For now I think Justin and I had as much fun as anyone!

FAMILY

The thing I think all of us in the Forman Fam are thankful for this year is FAMILY!!! God has blessed us abundantly this year by giving us Tristan, and we treasure the sweet times we have together as our little family of three. Tristan has brought more joy to our lives than we could have ever imagined. Justin and I say to each other all the time, “I love our little family.” It’s been a sweet spot for us this year.

We were even more thrilled to get to spend this sweet time with Gigi and Pop too! Tristan is one blessed little grandson to have them in his life and we are so THANKFUL for them and the time they were able to spend with us this week! We will always treasure these memories we made with you here this week!