Merry Christmas! Our holiday is now complete with soon to be a foot of snow! We are getting geared up for the Breeden, Lewman, Farmer Christmas up here in Portland...hopefully I-5 won't be closed from this "Artic Blast" (as the news report refers it).

Mario, Angie, and Bob came to visit this weekend. Mario had some summer internship interviews for law school up here, so they flew in from Boston on Thursday. Angie delivered the good news of their expecting babe...July 17thish.

We decorated a gingerbread house, saw the Zoo lights and had a great time. Mangio, as we call them, love to take pictures. So here are some of our little pose.

Also, our "newborn" son is now 12.5 lbs and 22 inches long! He is ssooo big! 70% for weight, but only 20% for height. Today ,12-19, he smiled fully for the first time. From cheek to cheek, he was showing off his dimples.




Just as my creative SIL Suzie has on her blog "From the mouth of Kendall/Ben"

Here are some funny things Natalie has said recently:

"Mommy, Daddy, come look at my poo-poos" is yelled from the bathroom, "It is a dragon-tail poo poos" ...HMMM... any translation help???

Bob loves to sleep with her grandkids, so after telling Natalie a story, she settled in next to her for a long night of restless sleep, when Natalie declared "Ok, now you go away". So much for that idea.

Natalie's Time Out

Today Natalie wanted to test her "baby brother" do's and don'ts. She found out that marker on Collin's face while he sleeps equals a double time out.

Halloween

It is that time of year where we can all look forward to one holiday after another. To kick off the season, we celebrated Halloween to the best. Natalie wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake, the original version and Collin decided to be...well warm. He did wear a pumpkin onsie under his bear suit.

Our little boy arrived on Tuesday October 14th at 12:29 pm! After a night of light contractions with a morning of pretty hard ones every 3 minutes, I finally called Jed out of class to go to the hospital. His entire class of 86 students all knew what was happening, and he was given a round of applause. Thanks to all Pharm D students for the emails and delicious edible bouquet.

Once admitted, Collin Riggs Foutz came to us a little more than an hour later. With no anesthetics, labor was a little rough, but thanks to the great doctors and nurses at Tuality Community Hospital, it was a success with an easy recovery.

Collin weighed 6 lb. 15 oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long. The pediatrician on staff heard a heart murmur, and speculated it was innocent, but we went to OHSU the next day for more tests. He was right and Collin is perfectly healthy.

We are all doing great. Natalie loves being a big sister and (besides being a bit sleep deprived) life is back to normal. We do appreciate the long visits from our moms (AKA Bobba, GG, and Grammy).

Our Family Updates

Just a quick update: Jed is currently attending the Pharm D graduate program at Pacific University in Hillsboro, OR. We absolutely love the Portland area with its adbundant supply of rain, cool weather, and lush greenery.

In between toddler time at the library, zoo and OMSI visits, or just playing at the parks, Natalie and I keep pretty busy. With a growing abdomen, these activities have slowed down a bit. Nattie is so excited to be a big sister and has done well at preparing to show him the ropes (i.e. sleeping in her bed all night, listening better, and conquering potty training...YAHOO!!!)

We are so excited/ anxious for "Baby Brother" Foutz to arrive. My O.B. speculated I would delivery last week sometime, being dialated to a 3 and 80% effaced. But to hers and our dismay, no sign of activity yet. It seems baby brother is quit content hibernating inside...so I will let everyone know when the blessed event happens.

This last weekend Maria/"Grammie" came to visit. It was great having her at our home while we did as much fun-filled activities as possible. This in part for her entertainment, but also to get me out walking as much as possible. We really appreciate her precense in our lives and are excited to have her back up soon...more back tickles:)