Happy Mother's Day!

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Isn't my mother beautiful? I love her so much for so many reasons! Not only is she super talented, but she has the biggest heart. She has the most amazing ability to connect with anyone and to genuinely care for them. Today I am grateful for all the sacrifices my mother and grandmothers have made for my well being. I am grateful for the physical sacrifice of pregnancy & birth, the sleepness nights, the late night help with school work, the hugs & kisses when I was feeling sad, the ability to make me feel like a rock star, encouragement to strive to be better, all the carpool rides to school, practice, church activities, play dates, etc, and all the other countless things they have done for me. I love them all and I am grateful for their example. Each of them put aside their own aspirations and ambitions to raise their children and teach them good values and correct principles. They have taught me how to be Mother.

Landon is 10 months!

This picture was actually taken a month ago so he has filled out even more since then. I haven't written a lot about this little guy on here. So let me tell you a few things about him.

-He loves to take the batteries out of our tv remotes. He use to just throw the batteries, but now he is developing the skills to put them back in. Yea!

-He loves balls. One of his favorite games is to throw a ball and chase after it.

-He gives the best smiles and it doesn't take much to get him laughing. Although Teagan can get him laughing the hardest. He loves his big sister.

-He loves the 2010 World Cup Theme Song, Wavin' Flag by K'naan. He will clap his hands & dance every time he hears it.

-He loves to watch trucks go by, the double decker bus was his favorite attraction at the zoo.

(are you seeing a trend, he is very much a little man....tv remote, balls, trucks, and yes he loves food)

-He loves to snuggle when he is tired. Sometimes he will burrow his head into you. He will just push his head into you. And he likes it when momma scratchs or rubs his back.

-He loves bubbles, when ever we get the bubbles out he puckers his lips and starts blowing. He can blow bubbles if we put the wand right near his face.

-He is thick. His last weigh in was 23lbs. He is starting to get a few rolls, but he mainly is just a solid kid.

-He is kinda explosive. He is a very mellow kid until you push the wrong button and then watch out. He gives no warning signs and will just let out a vicious scream.

-He loves the water. We went to the water fountains at the outdoor mall and he left with every inch of him soaking wet. He would crawl straight towards the fountain, swat the water with his hands for a while and then stick his face right in the water. This is totally different from his sister who prances around the outside of the fountains for about 20 minutes before getting in. She is a little more cautious than he.

-And in my unbiased opinion is one of the most handsome little baby boys EVER, he just melts my heart every day!

Eric Jon Forrester

The last couple of days I have been feeling BLAH, anxious, overwhelmed, etc. I feel like I am standing still and everything and everyone is moving forward without me. Even when I have managed to do something productive its like I've been sitting on the couch watching someone else jump up & down to entertain 4 preschoolers or wash dishes frantically before company arrives or sweep the bucket of sand off the floor someone brought in from outside. Its due to a few things but mainly I've been reflecting on this past year, a year with out my cousin Eric. Its hard to believe a year ago our family was faced with such a huge tragedy. There have been a million little reminders around me of the amazing young man Eric is and how he is not physically here with us. Its been amazing to watch how strong my cousins and aunt & uncle have been. But its been tough on them and everyone in our family. There is hole, a void that will never be filled until we are reunited as a complete family. I am grateful that Easter is during the same time of year to remind me of the eternal nature of families and of our existence. I am grateful for our Savior's sacrifice so that we can be together as a family again. I love you Eric and am missing you!

Oranges Everywhere!

I love this time of year! It's actually green and it smells of orange blossoms, AMAZING! Every time we pass by an orange grove Teagan will say, "Oranges Everywhere." This is one reason why we love Redlands, oranges everywhere! This year our little Tangerine tree produce a ton of fruit we are excited to start eating them!

I Love Sundays

So this is our first post of 2011, and yes I realize it is almost April. Most of this year we have been battling nasty colds and ear infections. But on the rare week that we have everyone healthy we have managed to squeeze in a little fun. These pictures were taken last Sunday. Usually on Sunday after church meetings we have a family nap, Teagan and I bake and cook together, and then we go for a drive or go to our favorite Duck Pond. Landon is much like his sister in that he seems to loves animals as much as she does. We will see if it sticks. Teagan has always loved animals and is asking for a baby panda, a camel, and a yak for her birthday. I haven't figured out where to find the camel and the yak, any suggestions??? Landon is such a happy kid and is usually smiling, but he has found a few facial expressions that I think are pretty funny like the one below.

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

This is our token two month appearance on the blog so enjoy. We did Thanksgiving in St. Louis this year and had a great time. Here are some of the highlights, but they don't do it justice.

We hit up Santa's winter wonderland

The butterfly house

Ran into a green power ranger-or is that Papa?

Stopped at the bird sanctuary

Rested with Gigi

And fed the chickens with Grandma. We can't wait to go back.

Happy Halloween!

Our Tinkerbell and Baby Elvis

Yellowstone/Teton Preview

Here are a few favorite pictures from our trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Landon turned two months while we were there. This picture makes me melt. I love his smile, the best time to catch them is when we change his diaper. I am smitten with him!

Would you rather.......

I got this book at the library for Teagan that goes through several would you rather questions, would you rather be a stick or a rock, lightning or thunder, a lion or a mouse, etc. It got me thinking about my daily would you rather decisions. Lately I have to ask myself would you rather shower or sleep, exercise or sleep, do the dishes or finish my dinner or sleep, take the trash out or watch Tinker Bell with my daughter, put the laundry away or sleep, etc. Sleep is winning just about every time. So, if you come to my house and I smell, look a little soft, and the house is a disaster, then you know I took my nap today, I ate dinner, and I watched a good movie with Teagan. What would you rather do?

I Love My Baby Brother

Teagan is such a good sister. She loves to help me and she takes good care of her brother. He has been pretty tough as sometimes she can love him a little too hard. One of her favorite things is to help me burp him. She sings a song about burping a baby she learned from Mickey's Playhouse, "top top, bottom bottom, middle middle", as she pats his or her baby doll's back.

One Month!

I can't believe its been one month! We've had some fun adventures with him already and we'll post more pictures and stories later.

Landon has been such a joy to have in our home. Teagan loves her little brother, in fact she will tell me at least once a day, "I love my little brother, I do, I love him." The other day she caught a baby lizard just for her baby brother. She was so excited when she caught him, a little too excited really because I had to bury him when she wasn't looking.

Who's the man?

Just a quick update, LT is doing well. Here is one of our favorite picture of him so far. We catch him smiling every once in awhile-he is pretty awesome.

New Arrival-Landon Tolman

We are very excited to announce the arrival of Landon Richard Tolman. Landon arrived at 2:40am on Wednesday June 23rd. He weighed in at 8lbs 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great.

Jessica started having contractions on Tuesday morning. When I got home from work around 5:30 that evening they were getting stronger. By the time I convinced Jessica to go to the hospital it was around 8pm. The doctor came in and checked her and about fell off her chair, she was already dilated to an 8. The doctor and nurse were very impressed that Jessica had stayed at home as long as she did. She was an absolute trooper. She did the whole thing naturally, which is not easy considering the size of the little guy. I am so very proud of her, she never ceases to amaze me.

Needless to say we are all very excited to have the little guy home with us, and can't wait to spend more time with him.

Quick Landon Facts:

-He loves to eat, and has been doing so non stop since coming out

-He loves to suck on your fingers, when he is not eating

-He was not named after Landon Donovan, but they do share the same hometown. Landon Donovan grew up in our little town of Redlands, CA.

-Landon and I watched the US beat Algeria early Wednesday morning-it was pretty awesome.

-He is very strong, upon arrival he dropped to floor of the delivery room and pounded out 25 crisp push-ups.

-He loves to do Sodoku in his spare time

-He is currently working on a solution to the BP oil spill disaster

A couple of pictures from the hospital.

Little Tea wasn't too sure what to think about Baby LT, but she has already started taking his toys. In this picture she climbed up into his bed and put on his new born hat.

Her holding LT in his bed, like I said she wasn't to sure about the whole thing, that is why she is flashing me the "get this off me eyes". Luckily she is loving him a lot more now that he is home.

Since he sleeps so much we got lucky and were able to catch him for a minute with his eyes open.

Yaya and Little Tea made LT a welcome home sign.

-PROUD FATHER

Mommy's Makeup

So the before and after pictures are mixed up, whoops. I caught Teagan in my makeup the other day. She told me she looked "pretty" with my makeup. When I took it away from her, she was well.... a little upset. A few minutes later she let me pull her hair up and take a pretty picture with her pretty purple makeup. It's moments like this that I can't imagine what she has in store for me during her teenage years.

Our Big Girl

She's Two!

Teagan turned two last week! I can't believe it! We had a small little carnival in her honor. It was a lot of fun. The kids had fun jumping on the couches, blowing bubbles, getting tattoos, crawling through Teagan's Funhouse, getting balloon animals (by courtesy of Lance), throwing bean bags, and eating cupcakes! We had lots of fun carnival food too: sweet potato fries, sliders, caramel apples, pretzels, popcorn, and a few other goodies. It was a fun day for us! We also were able to have two other small parties via web cam with the grandparents. Teagan loves seeing her grandparents and had a good time opening presents with them. Here are a few pictures of our little princess from her special day!

Lorikeets

The past year we have had passes to the San Diego Wild Animal Park and Zoo. We recently went back before they expired to go see one of our favorite exhibits, the Lorikeets.

Lance's favorite part of the whole day was when one of the birds pooped on my leg.
Teagan was a little spooked at first, but then she warmed right up to the birds and wanted to touch them and give them kisses.