My Three Sons!!

I am still is shock that I have another son. It seems like just yesterday that I was a "girls" mom. Now I have these cute energetic boys, I am so blessed!!! I tried to get some pictures of them right after Roy was born... it proved to be difficult! Here is the littlest brother, our cute baby Roy (he is just under two weeks in this photo).

Wally is so concerned... it is ok baby! Nelson is oblivious!
New baby? What new baby?!
Uh, mom could you take him? Cool new sunglasses!!

This was the best shot I could get. My "Big Bros" and the "little brother." I am truly so blessed!

Feast or Famine! ... and Happy Birthday/Happy New Year!

Well, it seems that blogging for me is either feast or famine. Life has been so busy for me. Birthday parties, Valentines parties, teacher appreciation week, parent teacher conferences, a new baby... the list goes on and on! I am hoping that things are now going to slow down a bit so that I can catch up on all the things that we have been doing. I have some fun pictures that I want to share! I wasn't sure where to start so I decided to start where I left off and work my way to today!! So .... here is Nelson's birthday post!!!

My sweet little er.. I mean BIG boy was born four years ago on New Years Day! I can't believe how much he has grown. He is a great helper with his little brothers. He loves Legos and playing with his sisters. He is generally an easy going kid but lately has been bugging his sisters a little more!

He was so excited to have his Meme here for his birthday, and his Grandpa Nelson came in time for his party with his friends. This year he wanted dinosaurs for his cake. This surprised me because he has been really into batman and spider man lately. On his actual birthday Meme brought home cupcakes for him, we jazzed them up a bit with some of his plastic dinos!

This was first thing in the morning. At our house you get to pick the breakfast and dinner on your birthday. Nelson wanted Waffles and sausage!

Of course he enjoyed opening presents. His main gifts were legos (which everyone in our house is enjoying!)
A few days later he had some friends over for a small party. These are his cupcakes!

Stocking Stuffer

As you all know we recieved the most wonderful gift for Christmas this year. Baby Roy was given a stocking at the hospital to celebrate his arrival. We decided to take a few pictures of him with it.

Meme asking baby Roy if he'd like to participate in a photo shoot!
"This isn't exactly what I expected!"
Cute Christmas Baby
"Aren't I adorable!"
Another random shot for viewing pleasure.... I love my new baby brother!

A Building Beyond Measure

For Christmas this year Wally gave Nelson a huge box of Lincoln Logs. They have had lots of fun playing with them. Here they are together "measuring" the building with their new tape measures that Santa brought for them!

Here they are with Deric (who is doing most of the building). They are still measuring!

The finished product (Wally didn't want his pic taken). It was so fun to watch Deric and the boys "building" together.

Carrie was also busy making her own little house. Meme decided to pose with her!!

And here is a random picture of Roy for your viewing pleasure!

Ninja Swords

After Halloween I took the little kids to Walmart to get a few things. Of course everything Halloween was reduced 75% off. Included in the bins was a sword set that Nelson had drooled over when we were trick or treating just a few days before. Luckily for me 75% off meant that they were just under TWO dollars. I was able to sneak them under the cart and buy them without him knowing. Then I told him if her was willing to do a big chore I would get the swords for him. The next day I let him know that he would have to wash all of the fingerprints off of the walls. He spent the next few hours with a rag wiping EVERYTHING down!!! I was proud of his hard work, and he was so excited to earn his Swords!! Here is a not so great picture of him with them.
Carrie felt like Nebo would make a good Ninja sidekick for Nelson!

Double the Posts

Today will be day 17 of the 20 days in a row of posting I decided to commit myself to. That will double my entire year of posting. I suppose I have been a huge slacker this year. It has however been hard to keep up with the computer being packed away a LOT of the year!

Tonight I am tired thought so this is going to be a quick post! Here are two pictures of Nelson doing Apple prints (that turned into hand prints) for pre-school. He had tons of fun! We did this while Wally was sleeping!!

Footprints on my soul

Being a mom is perhaps the hardest thing I will ever do in my life. It is challenging in ways that we cannot know until we become a parent. But it is, on the flip side, the most rewarding thing that I will ever do. I strive to be the best Mother I can be, to make my children happy, healthy, and to help them create a bond in our family and with our Father in Heaven. It is exhausting most of the time and I feel I often fall short of my goals. But I keep trying and as I do the children reward me in little ways that make it all worth it! The other day Nelson, Wally and I went out to the back yard in the early morning. Dew made our feet wet and I noticed these footprints after we went back inside. I couldn't help but take a picture. Here we are at different stages, me leading them. But they are the ones leaving footprints on my soul! ... and I cherish them!

Say cheese... or bubbles!

I had Wally and Nelson in the tub the other day and thought I'd try some manual pictures (after some coaching from my sister in law Christie!) They aren't great photos on a technical leval, but the boys, especially Wally, were ready to have pictures taken.

Say cheese Wally, or in this case Bubbles!!

You too Nelson!
I like the shadow in this picture. Wally is such a ham!
Check out the water frozen in mid stream! Wally thinks that Nelson is a riot :)
This shot was taken a few days later. I had given the boys a bath and Carrie got in while I put them in their clothes. Wally snuck away and jumped back in the tub! Here he is, all proud, in his very HEAVY diaper.

Nelson's 3rd Birthday

Happy Birthday to you... Nelson turned THREE on the first of the year. We happened to be in California and were able to have a family party at Chuck E Cheese on the 30th of December with Noah (who turned 4 on the third of Jan.) The kids had a blast!
Nelson really enjoyed ski ball (he was a little less than good at it though!)
Yeah presents!!!
Sarah earning some tickets.

Carrie and Sam stuck together most of the time.
Jess helping Wally with his cupcake.
We are so grateful for Nelson and all of the fun he brings to our lives. He is curious and outgoing. He is thoughtful and kind. He is also energetic and loud! He sure does keep us on our toes and I am loving every minute of it! Happy birthday buddy!!

Doggie Door

While traveling across country we stopped a our friends house in Salt Lake City, UT. While there we made an important discover... Nelson loves doggie doors!!

Who could that be?

Why, it is Nelson of course!
Once was not enough. After he came in he turned around and went right back out the door!


Bye!

Super!

The other day we went to a birthday party. It was a superhero party and the children got capes with their initial on them. They also got spider man masks. Nelson is now "Super Nelson."


He is really into being a superhero. While my mom was here he was running around saying"Go Nelson" as he pulled an imaginary shield over his face. This video kind of shows, it was really cute.

Now he only wants to wear superhero shirts, or shirts with cool things on them like dinosaurs or sharks. If it is a plain t-shirt or polo shirt it is not good enough for him!!

Today...

Today I was talking to my friend in NH and was chastised a little for not posting more often... the intention is always there but lately time has just slipped away. I will try and be more diligent, I have many things that I would still like to share with all of you. Here are just a few pictures to get me started, hopefully a few more posts will follow soon... maybe even later today!!

I found a paper today that Jessica filled out . The question was "What is your favorite way to help out around the house." Her answer... Holding Wally. It brought a smile to my face! She is such a great big sister, here she is with Nelson and Wally while I make dinner.

Speaking of Wally... he is growing like a weed. Four months old, 19.3 lbs, and just shy of 27" long!
He is such a good baby. He is very social and a big charmer! I really like this picture of him... he is looking at his big sister Carrie, you can tell he loves her!
Like his shades!
Today while Wally was sleeping and Carrie was at pre-school (more about that later) Nelson and I had a little fun together. I even let him paint. He especially liked it when I showed him that it was ok to get it all over his hands and stamp the paper with his own hands!!
I loved the look on his face when he handed me his first paper. He was so proud and excited about his work. As I stood there watching him I was filled with joy. I love this little boy and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to raise him!

Happy New Year... Happy Birthday!!!

I remember very vividly what I was doing on New Years Eve two years ago. I was in a hospital room awaiting the arrival of my first little man!! James "Nelson" was born at 4:35am on New Years Day... what a wonderful way to start the year!Today he turned TWO! He is a feisty, fun, loving, BIG boy. He weighs 34 lbs, and is Just over 3 feet tall. I am so grateful for his smile, and how he keeps me on my toes. Happy Birthday "little man".

My TWO Sons!

Deric and I have had two boys names picked out since before I was pregnant with out first baby. He wanted to name our first son after my father James Nelson. I loved the idea but insisted that our second son would be named after him, Frederic Wallace! I honestly believed that we would never see the day that we'd have one son, and now we have two. I am so grateful for my boys... may they teach me to "roll with the punches" (probably literally)! Anyway, here they are looking so cute in the shirts that Meme bought for them.

How long do I have to wait until he can play?

Actually Nelson loves his little brother and points him out to everyone. He also asks to hold him often, and insists that you don't hover over him the entire time... but watch out when he says he is done he means it so you'd better be ready to get the baby immediately!!