...Nelson News...

Happy Birthday Branden!

2012-01-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

For Branden's birthday this year, he chose to take us all to the coast. We started up in Atascedero, where we saw all the elephant seals and their pups hanging out on the beach.

Then we headed over to Los Osos for some play time on the rocky beach.

We ended the day at Pismo Beach and a walk down the pier. As we strolled along the boardwalk there, Nora spotted a store selling crickets and worms, of the chocolate-covered variety. Her dad said he'd buy a cricket for her if she promised to try it. For some reason, Nora thought that would be really cool. I didn't get any pictures of her eating it, just video. But she thought the cricket was delicious, and "crispy inside." The worm she was less enthusiastic about. Silly girl!

It was a great day to be together enjoying the winter sunshine! Happy birthday, my Love!

Guess Who's Potty Training?

2012-01-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

Ike and I started his potty training about a week ago, with mixed success. He does great with peeing (as long as I am vigilant about taking him to the bathroom.) It's the other stuff we're struggling with. :) His one BM success so far was rewarded with this playdough set that he is CRAZY about. Maybe I need to go get some more playdough sets as incentives. Any suggestions?

Here Comes Number 3!

2012-01-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

Yep! We're pregnant and it's a girl! The current due date is May 31st, but if I go back to C-section (leaning that way right now) then it could be earlier. We announced the news to my family this Christmas, when I showed up in Texas wearing the shirt shown below:

It's says Bump's First Christmas. And this picture is of girls modeling the cool hats my brother Logan sent from Peru. (Lindsay was photoshopped in so cleverly by my Dad.) Morning sickness was a bit rougher than Ike's pregnancy but not as bad as Nora's. Unfortunately I have had some lingering nausea even now (I'm 19 weeks!) I know I was definitely over the nausea by this time with both pregnancies. Oh well.

Nora is super excited both to have a new baby and to be getting a sister. Before we found out it was a girl this week, she had already decided on names for either gender: if it was a boy, he'd be Sam and if it was a girl, we should call her Flower. :) Thanks for the suggestions, Sweet Pea!

Texas Trip

2012-01-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas a day early so that we could fly off to Texas to spend a week with our family. Fortunately, Nora thought it was perfectly fine that Santa would make a special early trip for us.

I was really impressed with this drawing. She tried to copy the Spiderman on the punching bag. Pretty good perspective drawing for a 4-year-old!

This is the latest quilting masterpiece my mom created for her newest grandchild. She is already on to her next one, a jungle themed quilt for my due-any-minute nephew Colt.

We started out the week with a large crowd, including Steph, Carter, their three kids, my parents, and Briana and Craig and their two little girls. Throughout the week, the size of our party gradually diminished, but I'm so glad we got to be there with everyone for at least a little while.

I don't have any pictures of it, but Thursday Steph took us to South Padre Island, an incredible beach just 45 minutes from her house. The weather was gorgeous and I couldn't believe that my kids were running around in swimsuits on the beach in December. So fun!

On Friday we took a trip to the Brownsville Zoo, where the kids had a blast at the petting zoo and waterpark/playground.

We got to celebrate New Year's Eve with Stepharter and Co. The nice thing about having little kids is that they have no idea what time it is, so we had them watch the countdown in Sydney on youtube at about 7:30, let them light some sparklers and they were down by 8:30 pm! :) And they thought that was great!

Here's the kids bundled at our Vegas hotel and ready to jump in the car at 6 am on Monday. (The best flight prices we found were in Las Vegas, so after flying in the night before we still had a little drive ahead of us.

Such a wonderful trip and so fun to be with family! We definitely missed Lindsay and her family and Logan of course. We'll catch them next time, I guess. It was so wonderful though to see all the cousins playing and having a good time. Thanks Steph and Carter for a fantastic week!

A Book for Remembering Far Away Family

2012-01-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

A Few (or More) Family Photos

2011-12-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

Clipped and Fit!

2011-12-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

Ike now officially has a normal length tongue. The surgery was this morning and went perfectly. Our little guy was a little out of it afterwards, as you can tell by his dazed look. He's wearing his prize for being such a good patient. He picked them out himself.

He hasn't seem to be in much pain at all and is now bounced back from acting lethargic. Now we just have to work with him to realize he has a long tongue. Bring on the ice cream cones!

Thanksgiving!

2011-12-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to get Branden's parents with us for Thanksgiving this year. I'm really glad they were able to make the drive out.

Here's Ike enjoying the Macy's Parade with G & G.

With a table full of delicious food, all Ike wanted was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Nora's favorite part of the meal

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we head up to our favorite Christmas tree farm again. Here's Nora at the base of the treehouse.

Ike, waiting for a ride on the train.

Here's us on the train. Nora insisted on sitting in the back in the cattle car. :)

Superstar Hubby

2011-11-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give some quick, but major props to Branden for all his hard work on my birthday this year. He made and decorated this cake completely by himself!!!

Here was my birthday breakfast spread.

He even invited a bunch of my friends over that night to help celebrate and eat the cake. He is so thoughtful and I'm so grateful for all his efforts!

Pudding Painting

2011-11-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

We revisited an FHE activity we did with Nora when she was about 18 months old. Branden made up about 5 colors of pudding and we let the kids have at it on their plates. The point was to finger paint in the pudding, but it really just ended up everywhere. Lots of fun though!

Harry and Rita

2011-11-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

I realized today that I never posted about our very special visitors in September. My dear friends Harry and Rita van der Bulk cam all the way from the Netherlands to spend a week with us during their American vacation. I met them on my mission after they came through the Temple open house. They were not interested in joining the church but I remained in close contact with them throughout the years and this year, nearly a decade after my mission, here they were! It was great to get reacquainted, and I did a pretty good job of remembering how to understand and speak Dutch after 8 years, if I do say so myself. :)

We were a little stumped as to what "sites" to show them in Visalia, but luckily Harry and Rita were more interested in simple getting the "flavor" of our little central valley home. Here's some pictures of our adventures together. All photos courtesy of Harry (he's an amazing photographer.)

They brought cute Dutch "wooden shoe" slippers for the kids.

Walking around downtown Visalia

At our favorite local restaurant, Fugazzis

Showing Harry and Rita the murals of downtown Exeter

Harry and Rita spoiling our kids with GIANT suckers

Our kids LOVED Harry and Rita. Even though Rita didn't speak much English with the kids (she could understand it fine), they laughed and played with her all the time. Ike was even calling her Oma (grandma) by the time they left.

Ike dancing on the trail at Sequoia National Forest

We even took them to one of Nora's soccer games.

One of our last adventures was the Tulare County Fair, which I think was a truly American tradition to introduce them to. :)

Nora being the leader of our section during the pig races.

They promised to visit again some day and I really hope they do. It was a wonderful visit!

Halloween

2011-11-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

The Bride of Frankenstein (aka Nora)

The Organ Barrel Grinder and his performing Monkey

Maybe I do have a little of my Dad's humor in me after all. :)

The Bride and Rapunzel about to head out for some treats.

This was half of our trick-or-treating group. We had another family join us along the way.

This looks like a monkey, if I've ever seen one! Ike had the most stamina of all the kids last night. Once he figured out how it worked, he was running from door to door. When the other kids were begging to go home, Ike was shouting, "More!"

Ike's Tongue Clipping Saga Resurfaces

2011-10-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

I never wrote about it, but Ike was born tongue-tied. The hospital nurses asked us if we wanted it clipped but didn't really explain it to us very well. They made it sound like he didn't really need it done so we declined. We regretted our decision just a few days later but we had switched insurance and our new pediatrician totally blew us off. We couldn't understand why it was such a big deal since at Kaiser they made it sound like it was just a quick snip and healed up really fast. And as a newborn Ike had been losing weight for three straight weeks and we were really concerned. We pressed the issue and told her we wanted to see a specialist about it. (And we changed pediatricians.) We drove to Fresno to see the specialist who also looked at us like "why are you even here?"and said a lot of kids grow out of short tongues and we would have to wait until he started talking to see if he still had a problem. He said at that point he would have to be sedated and have a minor surgery. So left with no other options (we thought) we just waited it out.

Fast forward to Ike at 18 months old. At his checkup the doctor was concerned that Ike was only saying a few words and recommended him for a special evaluation. Since that time his vocabulary has really blossomed (although most words are only comprehensible to us) so we haven't been too concerned. But today was his evaluation and...he needs his tongue clipped! Surprise, surprise. The speech therapist was concerned that he isn't able to articulate the ends of his words because his tongue is too short. She even said that without the tongue problem she thinks he would already have been saying three and four word sentences at this point. I'm assuming the surgery is not too big of deal, but he's still going to have to deal with anesthesia, ugh, and I'm left wondering why we couldn't have avoided this problem altogether by just making a little snip two years ago.

So moral of the story I guess is that I should listen to my best parental instincts and keep pushing until I get a doctor who will listen. I don't look forward to a surgery that will make my son feel like this:

(And yes, that's about how far he can currently stick his tongue out)

If they had just clipped it when he was a few days old, he would have been forever as happy as this: :)

Well at least as happy as often as most two year olds are. :) And I am glad that its getting taken care of now instead of even more years in the future when it would be even harder to change speech patterns, but still! :)

Say what?

2011-09-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

During breakfast this morning:

Nora: Do you love having a clean house?

Me: Yes I do.

Nora: Even if someone else cleans it for you?

Me:... Yeah, that would be really nice.

Nora: Do you trust Merry Maids?

Me: What?!?!?

Nora: I saw a commercial about them. Get a Merry Maid. Everyone trusts Merry Maids!

Yesterday, Nora's preschool teacher told me there was a little rock throwing incident, where another kid hit Nora in the mouth with a large rock. Afterwards I pumped her for a little more information.

Me: So Parker hit you with a rock?

Nora: Well...Actually I started it.

Me: You did? What did you do?

Nora: I was throwing little rocks at him.

Me: Why?

Nora: Because he was pretending to shoot a gun at me and I didn't like it.

Me: But don't you know you shouldn't throw rocks at people?

Nora: Well (sigh)... sometimes during life, its hard.

Morro Bay Heaven

2011-09-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

In the middle of August, we made our last big fling of summer, heading out to the coast at Morro Bay. This was one of Branden's favorite childhood vacation spots and now it is one of mine as well. So beautiful! We broke up the drive by stopping in a town called Paso Robles, where they happened to be having an Olive Festival.

The kids got to make some crafts,

throw some bean bags,

and be an olive.

Here's Nora getting her groove on while she watches the pacific islander dances.

We even got a taste of OLIVE OIL ice cream... and it was GOOD!!! They sprinkled raspberry vinaigrette on top. Wow. Who knew?!

Then we headed over to the rocky beach area (can't remember what its actually called) and Nora and Branden braved the cold water to climb the cool rocks.

Ike chasing after the birds. (He would do that all day if we let him!)

Nora and her Daddy made it to the top.

My turn.

No, she's not playing hide and go seek. She's praying to God that he will save her friends from destruction when the Second Coming comes. Don't ask me how her mind works! :)

Then the sandy beach area...

It was the BEST day - happy kids, beautiful weather and scenery. Can't wait to go back!

And this is why...

2011-09-13T13:23:00.001-07:00

...we don't usually let Nora anywhere near her brother when he's sleeping!

Cakes, Cakes, Cakes!

2011-09-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

At Branden's suggestion, the two of us are taking a cake decorating class this month at Hobby Lobby. Branden wanted to get a little practice in this weekend and he did this little beauty of precision.

He's so talented! And it's a lot more fun to take the class with him there - We get an automatic date night for four straight weeks!

Unbroken

2011-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

My book club tonight is discussing the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. This is the cake I made in honor of this UH-mazing story. (It's a shark coming at a life boat in the ocean, if you can't tell. I had a hard time finding the right angle so it didn't look like a shark attacking a banana:) ) If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It's the story of an American star athlete-WWII Navy airmen-airplane crash survivor- Japanese POW-hero. And it's a true story. Extremely inspiring tale of overcoming adversity and standing up for what's right. It definitely changed my outlook this month on my own adversity.

And here's to book clubs everywhere, that expand our minds and give us a chance to share ideas and friendship!

Goddess of Love

2011-08-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

Nora: (coming to me while I'm doing my hair) I just don't look like myself today.
Me: You don't? What do you look like?
Nora: (Sing song voice) Aphrodite, goddess of love!

That comment compliments of Disney's Hercules the TV series on youtube. :)

A Few Recent Nora-isms

2011-07-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

I read Nora this book today. After all the Cat's mess is cleaned up and he leaves, the Mom comes home and asks if they had any fun that day. The last few lines read, "Should we tell her about it? Now what should we do? Well...What would you do if your mother asked you?"

And without any pause Nora said, " I would lie."

A quick reminder talk about honesty followed.

After getting in trouble for throwing a cheerio at Ike, Nora scrunched up her nose, got a little attitude and said, "Oh sorry... I was out of my mind!"

Ike has just started to try to verbalize a few words and is still experimenting. So Branden was quizzing him on his family members. When Branden pointed to himself, Ike said "Da Da." And when he asked Ike who I was, Ike said "Da Mom." It was kind of cute and he said a few times over. Nora came at that point and heard Ike and heard us laughing at him so she started copying what she thought he was saying. She stopped herself after a few times and said, "Oh I forgot...That's not a nice thing to say." (She apparently thought Ike was saying "dumb Mom.") We hadn't known she was saying anything different! :)

Happy Birthday Nora!

2011-07-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Today Nora turned four and we celebrated with a "princess pirate party" inspired by the Disney show Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Beware Mateys, here come a ton of pictures!

Aunt Briana and cousin Claire came down to help celebrate and Briana, being the fabulous artist that she is, donated her skills for a few fantastic cutouts. Thank you, thank you Bri!

Pirate treasure cake!

Making pirate hats.

Izzy thanks you too, Briana!

Playing Matey, Matey, Skalliwag (Duck duck goose)

Getting ready to walk the plank in crocodile infested waters.

Digging for buried treasure (pennies in a bowl of rice.)

Briana also did this great picture of Captain Hook for our Pin the Hook on you-know-who game.

Fishing in the Mermaid Lagoon

Another Bri masterpiece

Musical islands (like musical chairs)

You can't really see them well, but Branden's pirate cannonballs (turkey and zucchini meatballs) were the hit of the party with both kids and adults!)

How Ike felt about it all!

Happy Birthday Nora Monet!

I Step Out For a Second...

2011-06-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

I got the kids undressed, the water started in the tub, and I stepped in to the hall for a second to throw the dirty clothes towards Nora's room and I turn back to find this! So dangerous (at least on Ike's part) but definitely worth a picture. :)

Fun with Mod Podge

2011-06-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

After learning about Mod Podge on a link from a friend's blog and the wonders it can do for furniture (I was inspired by this post - ModPodged File Cabinets), I decided to have some fun.

We have some 5 year-old IKEA laminate end tables that are lacking in the character department. So I gave them a little modpodge makeover.

A little spray paint and fabric and ... voila!

Not saying that I now love these end tables or that the spray paint is going to last very long on that laminate :), but at least they have a little more personality and I am very glad to have discovered Mod Podge!

Memorial Day Weekend in NorCal

2011-06-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

We spent a very nice Memorial Day weekend with my parents and sister's family up in Fairfield. I'm just going to post a barrage of pictures. We spent Friday at Muir Woods and Muir beach. Saturday Ike was sick so we stuck close to home but the adults all got out to see the latest Pirates movie that night. Sunday we played several heated rounds of Ticket to Ride, and by Monday my parents had caught the flu we brought with us (sorry guys!) so we just made a quick trip to Vacaville's Nut Tree before heading back to Visalia. It was so nice to see family though. We really miss not being closer!

One quick story from our Muir Woods walk. Aunt Briana stepped off the path for a second and Nora caught her. She called,"Aunt Briana! I don't think you should do that!" Branden jokingly asked Nora what should happen to Briana for stepping off the path. "Should she get a time out? Should she go to jail?"

"No," Nora replied. "She didn't do something THAT bad."

"Well what kind of bad things do you have to do to go to jail?"

"You know, like, eat people."

Uh, yes, Nora, that would do it! Glad she can distinguish between degrees of badness. :)

My kids eyeing the money box at Muir Woods

Gramma!

Papa!

One of these things is not like the other...

Claire was delighted with Nora. She followed her everywhere all weekend.

Hiding with Grandpa in the tree.

Nora's mermaid tail

Look how talented my son is! Writing his name at 18 months. :)

RIP Tushy the fish

2011-05-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Who Knows, 2011 - May 13, 2011

He/she is survived by loving owner Nora, who was heartbroken that she would be "lonely" again at night, and then informed her parents that "I guess we have to get a new kind of pet," whose mother then said, "when pigs fly." Rest in peace, dear fish.

P.S. Nora has not mentioned Tushy in the past three days, so I guess that means she's over it? :)

Cinco for Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated 5 years of marriage this past week, on May 5th to be exact and thanks to the help of a lovely young lady, Branden and I were able to get away for a night. Erica is home from college for the summer and very kindly babysat for us for about 30 hours. We only went about an hour away, up to Fresno, but it was great to just be alone, to hear ourselves think and be able to get through entire sentences uninterrupted. :)

I think the kids had a fabulous time with Erica and she thought Nora was funny enough to write down some of her expressions. (That's a babysitter who is definitely winning major points with me. ) I thought I'd share what she wrote: (and these are exact quotes from Nora)

At bedtime: "My Mommy lets me go to bed at 10 o'clock. Did she not mention that?"

When drinking her milk: "We have twisty straws...but my mom hides them well."

"When I'm grown up, will you babysit my kids?"

And after carrying away some of the babysitter's stuff: "let me tell you why I moved your bag...when I do it will all make sense."

And here are some quotes from today, just for fun: Singing to herself in the backyard, "Heavenly Father...I love you...much more than my parents."

I think that's a good thing, right? :)

Then at dinner time, Nora said the prayer, "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for everything, Amen." I told her afterward it would be nice if she thanked Him for the food. "But Mom, I SAID thank you for everything!"

After explaining a little more about how Heavenly Father likes to hear about details, she tried it again. "Thank you for the day, thank you for the food..." At this point Branden tries to point to me, indicating she should say thank you for Mommy (because its Mothers Day), but she gets a very confused look on her face, and obviously must think he is pointing to something past me, because she then says, "thank you for the desk?" :)

Anyway, it really was so nice to get away even if it was a little weird to leave the kids overnight with a non-family member for the first time. Erica seemed in good spirits by the end of it all, so I'm glad this experience didn't make her want to postpone having children for a decade or anything. :)

And happy anniversary, Branden - They have been the happiest, most contented 5 years of my life!

Disneyland!

2011-04-15T23:36:00.000-07:00

Not too much explanation is needed. We loved it, had great weather and short lines. I will add this one note: My husband had not been to the Magic Kingdom since he was 9 years old and it was just cute to see how in love he was with the whole park. He commented several times on how great it is that Disneyland really creates a whole "experience" for you and just transports you to a different world. He loved Pirates of the Caribbean and took us on that ride three times in our two days. His other favorite was Indiana Jones. (Mine, by the way, was the Tower of Terror in California Adventure Park. :) )

The kids did great and loved it all. Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us out and coming to share the fun!

First ride of the trip - Peter Pan!

Tina was a real trooper and met us as the park with Soren. Nora was constantly kissing and hugging her belly and below is a picture of Nora doing her pregnant stance. It was great to see you Tina!

Mesmerized by Fantasmic.

Buzz Lightyear ride with a VERY tired Ike.

Probably the kids' favorite part of the whole trip. :)

My Husband is the BIGGEST LOSER!

2011-04-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

He did it! In 12 weeks he lost 45 pounds, even getting down to his target goal weight of 200 lbs! I have never known him this skinny. When we met he was close to 20 lbs heavier than he is now. How did he do it? One to two hours of treadmill and rowing machine at night and counting his calories to the T.The prize money was $1000 and I think he will need to use it on an entirely new wardrobe as all of his clothes now slide right off of him! :) Great job B!

BEFORE

AFTER

Notice the belt hanging down because even the smallest loop is too big!

Someone else wanted her muscles showcased.

Ten Benjamins - don't get used to holding that kind of cash, kids!

Still Wrinkly

2011-03-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

We went to Gramma's house a few weeks ago and Nora helped her cut out some paper dolls. "This one is your mom," Gramma said. "And this one is your dad, this one could be you, this one could be your brother, and this one could be your little sister."

"I don't have a sister, Gramma," Nora reminded Gramma.

"I know, but maybe some day you could have a baby sister, right?"

"No. My mommy doesn't have a baby in her tummy now," Nora replied. "She's still all wrinkly."

On the subject of tummy wrinkles and weight, get ready for some pictures of my newly-slimmed hubby. He's been participating in his work's Biggest Loser contest and it ends next week. Even if he doesn't win the $1000, he has done REALLY well. Good job, B!

Say Hello to Tushy!

2011-03-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would see the day when an animal lived inside my house, but it has happened. Daddy very sneakily "won" Nora a fish at recent traveling carnival. "Oh just let her play this ping-pong-throwing game," he said, without telling me the prize was an animal. The next thing I knew we were at the store buying a bowl and fish food. As we walked away, Branden said, "I'm surprised you're letting us come home with a fish." In my stunned daze, I said,"It all just happened so fast!" :)

Needless to say, Nora was immediately in heaven. She promptly named him "Tushy" and don't ask me why (other than that she is very solidly stuck in Freud's Anal stage.) She has been so glad to have someone to "keep her company" at night and reminded us today that his (her?) water needed to be changed. The night we got the little guy we tried to warn Nora that fish don't live a long time. So in her evening prayers she prayed that God would let him stick around longer than a few days.Well, we'll just have to see...

Ike Alike

2011-03-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

My dad sent me this photo of Branden he found the other day. I don't think the pictures I have here of Ike do justice to their resemblance, but hopefully you can see it!

Somebody in this family has STRONG genes, and apparently it's not me. Good thing they are such cute genes!

Look Mom!

2011-02-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

The other day we were driving out of our neighborhood when we saw a man wearing a turban. Nora, having recently watch The Wizard of Oz for the first time, yelled out excitedly, "Look Mom. There's the man that looks into the crystal ball!"

The Rewards of Sleep

2011-02-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Nora is working on staying in her own bed all night. As incentives/rewards when she does it she gets to choose an activity from her jar. Well, we've had two nights of success in the past two weeks and here are some of Nora's fun rewards:

Riding on the local trolley through downtown.

Nora pulling a Balloo on the palm tree.

Our littlest daredevil.

And taking a stroll over a walking bridge that goes over our highway.

Keep it up Nora! I'm enjoying the increased sleep and as well as our outings!

I Just Love These Kids!

2011-01-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas Gift!

2011-01-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

Last year my sister made a super cute quiet book for my kids for Christmas, so this year I tried to come up with something that her kids might enjoy. I made a paper doll house, laminated it, and put velcro on everything. I also made paperdolls of everyone in our family - I hope that will be a good way for her kids to remember everyone while they are so far away. Sniff! :) Stephanie says her girls liked it enough to fight over it a lot on their long drive to Texas. I guess that means they like it! :)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right?

Ike's favorite Christmas present

Nora's favorite present (and subsequently, the most USED present we've ever given her!)

Deja Vu

2011-01-29T08:54:00.000-08:00

I pulled this dress out from storage the other day. I wish I had a picture of when I wore it as a little girl. My mom made this dress for me and a matching one for Stephanie. Good job Mom on making something that could last almost three decades! :) Nora was thrilled to wear it - she loves learning about her parents when they were little. In fact, several times she has asked Branden to tell her stories of when his older brothers teased him and tied him to a tree as a boy. Not sure why she loves that one so much...

Thanksgiving At Our House

2010-12-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

I know this is way behind, but here are our Thanksgiving photos finally. We had my parents, and two sisters and their families at our home for two days. Briana's husband Craig was sick with strep throat the whole time and couldn't even touch his turkey dinner, but I think everyone else had a good time. :)
Reese flew in before her parents and we got to have her with us for a few extra days. I LOVE how well she and Nora get along now! From the moment we strapped her in our car to take her to our house, she and Nora were busy pretending with their little figurines. So fun! I have such fond memories of playing with cousins as a girl. I really hope our girls will have time to build the same kind of memories.

Here's most of us lounging after Thanksgiving dinner. Branden cooked the lions' share of the food and it was delicious! I am so lucky to have such a fantastic chef for a husband.
And here is my son, gnawing on a turkey bone. Classy Ike, classy.
Fun time (?) with cousin play.

The next day the weather was nice enough to head out to a park and enjoy the fresh air.

See how Carter is helping his CHILD play? And look, below how with Branden it is the opposite. Hmm... :) You're great Honey!

On Saturday Briana, Craig, Claire, and Dad took off in the early morning, but we took the rest of the crew to a super cool Christmas tree farm up in Reedley.

Reese riding the train with Gramma!

Nora HAD to be in the cattle car. Before she even saw the train, she was begging to go into the "Dumbo" car. She remembered it from last year when she was not even two and a half! She often surprises me with her memory!

We all took a turn up the tree house which has a great view of the whole tree farm.

This really looks like a safe piece of play equipment, right?

Thanks everyone for making the trip down here! I know it added several hours to your travel plans, but we LOVED having you all here! Christmas at our place next year? :)

My Thoughtful, Spiritual Three-Year-Old

2010-12-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

Last week I had an unsightly blemish on my nose, probably due to all the sugary Christmas treats we've had around the house. :) As I was pushing Nora in the cart at the grocery store, she had a prime view of my face. Pointing to my nose, she asked, "What's that?" I told her it was a zit. "Not pretty, is it? I can't do anything about it, except wait for it to heal," I said. She thought for a second and then said, "I wish Jesus would come back down to earth and heal your zit!" How thoughtful! :)

A Surprise Visitor

2010-12-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Branden went out to the garage for something and when he came back inside, we found this little guy had appeared! No idea where he came from or where he had been living. But I suppose its better to have a pesky frog hanging around rather than a mouse, a rat, poisonous spiders, or snakes. Still... Branden promptly escorted him out of the house!

Family Photos

2010-11-22T22:02:00.001-08:00

A very talented friend, Toni Wood, in our ward took some pictures for us and I think she did a fantastic job. Thanks Toni!

Nora's Lunch Prayer

2010-11-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

"Dear Heavenly Father,

Make sure my doll's bottle doesn't fall off the counter again,

Please don't let my brother eat rocks anymore(in the backyard),

Please bless the food.

Amen"

Home Improvement Project Numero Dos

2010-11-17T18:51:00.001-08:00

We're hosting the fam for Thanksgiving this year, which necessitated that we upgrade from our little farm table that B has had for a decade. We were about to plunk down a small fortune for a new one, when we found a nice one at a garage sale for much less. Unfortunately, the white seats were pretty worn and stained.

So I tried something I have never done before and recovered them. I did the end chairs in green and the four middle in a floral and they all have plastic over them (tacky? probably. Practical and essential? absolultely! I love being able to easily wipe off red sauce and spilled milk.) It was a really easy project too.

Amber's Design on a Dime (or 400)

2010-11-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

My mom gave me a dresser that I LOVE,and we've needed some end tables in our bedroom for a while. I found a pair on Craigslist for $15. They were totally ugly with a gray washed veneer. I really wasn't sure I'd be able to use them.

A friend of mine had told me though that I could get the same finish as my dresser by painting and then wiping some wood stain over the top. I first spray painted the tables a cream color, applied the stain and voila! Matching bedroom furniture. Sort of. :) There's obviously less detail and trim to these guys, and I want to still switch out the hardware, but I'm so glad for people out there who know how to do these at-home projects - it definitely saved me a lot of money and now I have customized end tables!

"Here's your end table, and it's HAPPY to see you!"

Halloween Time

2010-10-29T21:40:00.001-07:00

B and I made this spooky cake creation for our ward halloween party. I think we found a new family holiday tradition.

In case you are not a Disney channel buff, these costumes are inspired by Nora's favorite show, Phineas and Ferb. Ike is Phineas, Nora is Perry the Platypus, Branden is Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and I'm Candace.

Happy Halloween!

San Diego!

2010-10-21T14:32:00.001-07:00

We dropped the kids off with my parents last Thursday and took off for three days in San Diego, a quick birthday/anniversary re-do trip. It was very relaxing and so nice to have a short break from nap schedules and toddler meltdowns. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) We took a trolley tour of the old town, downtown, the seaside, and Coronado. I love all the bits of history you get from tours like that.
We visited the Mormon Battalion Museum in Old Town. It was really cool - they have recently updated it with new interactive movie presentation.

We honeymooned here four and half years ago and even though the weather was just as grey, we still had a wonderful time just being together! I am so blessed to have this patient, self-sacrificing man in my life forever! Love you B!

To Get to the Other Side?

2010-10-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

Last night Nora woke up in the middle of the night. After settling her back down in her bed, she asked me to stay with her one minute. She was quiet and I was about to leave when all of a sudden she said, "Mom? How did the chicken cross the road?"

Then she immediately dropped back to sleep. Good thing too. I didn't have an answer for her - he walked? he ran? he flew? Glad she doesn't ask the hard questions during the day! :)

Ballet Class

2010-10-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

This picture says it all!

...Well, maybe not everything. :) We thought she would LOVE this little ballet and tap class because she LOVES to dance, but...I guess she doesn't love following the crowd. At her last lesson, instead of doing what all the other girls were doing and following the teacher, Nora went around to all the parents on the sidelines and bowed to each one, saying "thank you, thank you!"

Because obviously she had been doing such a great job dancing that she deserved applause and praise. :)

Maybe we'll try hip-hop next time!

Oh Dear!

2010-10-08T17:46:00.001-07:00

I had the radio on today and the song True Colors came on. After hearing the line "your true colors are beautiful...like a rainbow," Nora turned to me and said completely sincerely "I think they're talking about me. They said beautiful."

Well, :) yes, little lady, I must agree your true colors are beautiful!

Debates of Logic

2010-09-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

(After trying to grab Daddy's toast off his plate, and being rebuffed)
Nora:Dad! God wants us to share!
Branden: Yes, but Mom asked you to finish your waffle before eating toast, and God also wants you to listen to your parents. Do you remember that?
Nora: Well...!

Gesundheit!

2010-09-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

At bedtime,

Me: Once upon a time, there was a princess named Nora.

Nora: (Fake sneeze) Ah-choo!

Me: Bless you.

Nora: I'm allergic to these kind of stories.

A Note of Thanks

2010-08-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

My bishop was shot and killed at our church on Sunday. The shooter was a mentally ill man with a vendetta against the Mormon church, he did not even know our bishop. Bishop Sannar was a true hero and tried to save everyone else around him once he realized this man was dangerous. He leaves behind a beautiful wife and six boys.

This tragedy is just so senseless and sick. There are so few answers to be had when it comes to things like this. What I do know though is that God is in control. While that doesn't mean we will be shielded from pain, it does mean that eventually, if we live His gospel, He will grant us greater happiness than we can even imagine now. We will be resurrected to live again with Him and our loved ones. And that's about all I know, but it's what gets you through.

So this post is my tribute to Bishop Sannar. Thank you for your willingness to be our bishop. Thank you for being a righteous priesthood holder and an excellent example of an LDS father. Thank you for trying to get everyone out of the church when the shooting began. Thank you for being so brave. Your good name will now be forever remembered as a martyr for your faith. My prayers and support are with Julie and the kids. May God bless them with every comfort and hope at this time.

A Visit with Tina!

2010-08-19T07:12:00.001-07:00

Branden is working some crazy overtime this month in order to pay for some upcoming landscaping (see previous post!), working some six and seven-day stretches. I have used this as an excuse to plan some visits I've been wanting to make. My dear friend Tina has lived in San Clemente - on the beach! - for the past four years and I had not gone to visit her in all that time. Now that we are only :) 4 hours away, I packed up the kids and spent a few days with my very generous host.

First of all, San Clemente is GORGEOUS! It's all on beautiful rolling hills. These pictures that I found don't do it justice. It's just breathtaking. Especially coming from Visalia! :)

The beach was phenomenal too. Warm water, great sand, perfect weather. Wow. We loved it!

And we also had a ton of fun hanging out with Tina and Soren (Hunter was out of town.) Tina and I haven't really hung out for years and it was cool to just be together again and talk until 1am about everything and nothing. Thanks for the fabulous trip Tina - come visit us soon please!

Let the Backyard Rennovation Begin!

2010-08-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you can call it a rennovation if there was never anything done to it in the first place, so maybe its a makeover. Anyway, we invited my Dad and brother down the first weekend in August to help us jump start our project.

In the morning, before these pics were taken the weeds in our yard were as tall as the fence, creating a lovely home for dozens of hornets and these camouflage little fellas.

Yeah, we had three frogs living in our backyard for who knows how long! Anyway, Dad and Logan were superstars and helped rototill the whole backyard, install a beautiful new fan in the playroom,

build a new fence gate,

and build a privacy fence to hide our garbage cans.

Thanks Dad, Logan, and Branden!!!

P.S.I'm sure this is blasphemous for many out there, but... I think we will pay someone else from now on to do all our yard stuff. :)

Vacation Extended

2010-08-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

We brought our niece McKyla home with us from Idaho after our trip, and we spent the next week galavanting about central California with her, so it really didn't feel like our vacation had truly ended.We took a day trip to San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. San Luis is a really chic town that I'd love to go back and explore without toting kids around. This picture, however, is in front of the really disgusting "gum wall" there. Just an entire alley decoratedly stuffed with people's chewing gum. The photo doesn't do the gross-ness of it justice.Nora's addition.
The rest of the day was spent exploring the beach, because our 11-year-old niece had NEVER BEEN TO THE BEACH BEFORE. Outrageous! She loved it and especially had fun collecting seashells.

We ended the day with a stop on the boardwalk for some traditional fish and chips. Our children were by far the noisiest thing in that restaurant, but at least they were happy.

Later on in the week, we headed to Sequoia National Park/Forest?, home of the giant sequoia trees. We had actually never been though, so McKyla's visit gave us a great excuse to check it out. The trees were pretty amazing and it was nice to do a little hiking.

So now vacation is officially over and its back to normal, whatever that means!

July Vacation

2010-08-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

We took a two week vacation in July to get out of the Visalia heat and visit some of our loved ones. We did a enormous amount of driving but it was worth it to hang out with all the family. We started by heading over to Denver, with pit stops in Las Vegas and Loa, Utah (thanks for the visit, Grammy and Grandpa!). We had a blast spending a few days with Stepharter and their kids. Nora and Reese got a long SO well this time and I would love for them to be able to play more often.
Emery and Ike actually did pretty well together too, with Emery teaching her little cuz how to crawl.

We arrived on Nora's 3rd birthday and Steph had decorated her place with balloons and streamers in her honor, as well as baked really cool cupcake ice cream cones. (Thanks Steph - that was awesome!)

The view from Steph and Carter's backyard. Fantastic! We LOVED the cool summer weather there. Even the summer showers were a welcome change to our heat waves at home.

Steph and Carter also very graciously offered to babysit our munchkins while we explored downtown Denver together. This larger-than-life cleaning sculpture is in front of the museum of art. Although I still need to visit CO in the snowy months to be sure, we have pretty much decided that the Denver area will probably be our "settling place" in a few years. We've already got Steph there, Bri is almost certain to come back there with he CO native hubby, and if we move there, Mom and Dad may eventually follow. We'll have the majority there, so that means that's where they'll want to be, right? :) We'll see how it all works out.

After Denver, we headed for Branden's parents' home in Smithfield, Utah. Nora got to spend a week with her cousin Audrey who was visiting from New York.

We took a quick side trip to visit my sister Briana and have dinner at Gandolfo's with her cute family.

We ended the week with a birthday celebration at Grandma's with a majority of the Utah/Idaho clan joining us.
Ike with his great-Grandma Nelson. I think she is 94 this year.

Throughout our vacation of endless driving and assorted and many stresses, my husband was a champ. I love him like crazy and I am so glad he's mine forever!

Father's Day Photo Shoot

2010-06-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

Ike was a little freaked out by his first picture session, but we got one good one of him to give to Daddy. Nora was our little star, as always!

Father's Day

2010-06-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have my dad and mom and brother join us for Father's Day weekend. It was a very eventful three days: Dad and Logan tirelessly applied three coats of pink paint to Nora's bedroom - thank you!!! - meanwhile I locked my mom, the kids, myself and my purse out of our car at the mall and the guys were too absorbed in their painting to pick up their phones. I had to call my friend to drop by our house to get their attention. They didn't even hear the knocking or door bell so Tera volunteered to go on a special ops mission through our jungle of a backyard to wrap on their window - Thanks Tera!!!

We all went to see Toy Story 3 - just "ehh" compared to the others I thought - and then Logan opened his mission call with us and all the other sisters on speakerphone. He's headed to the Peru Arequipa mission - I'm so excited for him! And how cool that he'll actually be learning a useful language. Not that Dutch isn't cool and all... :)

Then on Sunday the guys had to undergo an ice cream taste test with Branden emerging as the clear??? winner.

And that was followed up by the customary Sunday snooze for some of us.

In Loving Memory of Kristie Lynn

2010-06-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

Last week we drove out to Utah for the burial of my sister-in-law Kristie, Branden's brother's wife. She lost her two year battle with cancer the week before, leaving behind her a devoted husband and three beautiful children ages three to seven. I cried all the way through the service (poor Branden had to give a talk!) but at the end I had a great feeling of peace come over me as I knew Kristie was in a better place and the Lord would take care of her family for her. I'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of eternal families that provides that peace!

And although the occasion was sad, it gave us the chance to have the family reunion we've been hoping for for a long time. Everyone on B's side was there and it was wonderful to see Nora immersed in a sea of cousins.

Immediately after a tasty lunch, most of us headed over to the new Payson swim park for some fun. Not quite your typical post-funeral activity, but hey...

We made the trip over the course of six days, only two and a half of which we were in Utah. We drove until 1 am Saturday night, hotelled in Vegas, drove most of Sunday getting in at around 2 pm. Burial was Monday, shopped Tuesday and had dinner with my grandparents and aunts and Uncles that evening and took off again for Vegas after dessert.

The second time through we stayed at Circus Circus and let Nora have some fun on the rides.

It was a quick trip with lots of driving, but on the whole Nora and Ike did great, with only a few meltdowns to mention.

And on a lighter note...

This is the first time Nora has really learned about death, and in the process of trying to understand it she has said some really morbid but funny things. For instance:

In trying to explain what we would do in Utah, I told her that Aunt Kristie's spirit was in heaven but her body would be in a box. In Utah we would get to see her box and then it would be lowered in a hole in the ground and be covered up with dirt. At this point, in a very excited voice, Nora says "I need to get a shovel!"

Also, Nora is -alas- a frequent nose picker, and dare I say it -booger eater. We try to get her to stop by telling her that picking her nose will make her sick. So...one day as I was watching a little collage of photos of my late sister-in-law put together by her hubby, Nora hops in my lap and I point out her aunt Kristie.

"The one who died?"she says.

"Yep."

"Why did she die?"

"Her body got very sick."

She looks at me with a very serious expression. "Did she pick her nose?"

And then of course there have been the "burying" games where she wants to put her dolls in boxes and "bury" them in our big old-fashioned trunks.

I hope no one dies again anytime soon. I think my little girl needs some time to digest the death concept better. :)

Trouble's Brewing

2010-06-16T22:42:00.001-07:00

I turn my back on Nora for one second and...

Ike will hate me later for posting these pictures, I'm sure. :) These kids are going to be trouble together. I can already tell. I see it in Ike's eyes - he just can't wait to start getting into mischief with Nora. The good news about that is that I'm also sure they will be great friends. Ike already thinks Nora is hilarious and vice versa. They have giggle fests together - like in the tub splashing water on each other (okay, Ike just kicks his feet and it ends up splashing her, but she thinks he's trying to have a water fight) or when she picks him up and does log rolls with him. Yikes! He can't get enough of his crazy, fun big sister. And I can only imagine the kinds of trouble they'll find once he is mobile!

Sewing Success!

2010-06-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

I got some really cute fabric for Nora a month ago and have just been looking at it for weeks wondering what to do with it. I am not a skilled seamstress so I knew it would have to be simple. I found this peasant's blouse pattern and direction online and it actually turned out pretty well! It only took me about an hour and a half (would have been less if it weren't for having to undo mistakes!) but now she's got a great little summer shirt to play in. I think with my half-off coupon at Jo-Ann's the whole shirt cost came to about $5. Yay! I have another piece of pink flower fabric and I think I'll use this same pattern but extend it into a dress. Wish me luck! :)

Morro Bay for Memorial Day

2010-06-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

We joined some friends for a weekend on the coast. We camped just a few bushes away from the beach at Morro Strand State Beach. Nora was in heaven running around with other girls and playing in the sand. B and I were sick with a nasty cold for the first day and a half that kept us from enjoying ourselves. But after that we felt much better and were finally glad we came. :)

We decided that camping is a lot more fun as a kid when you have no responsibilities and don't have to try to pack a car full of gear. I guess we've just gotten soft in our old age, but next time I think we'll just rent a condo! :) That said, I LOVE morro bay and its perfect beaches and lovely weather. I would not mind making several day trips there this summer. Anyone want to meet me there? :)
Nora's BayWatch Tryout

Ike's first taste of rocks - he couldn't get enough of 'em!

I don't think He even eats cookies!

2010-05-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Driving around town the other day, we were playing the "Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar" game. You know it - it goes like this:

Nora stole the cookies from the cookie jar?

Who me?

Yes you.

Couldn't be.

Then who?

Daddy stole the cookies from the cookie jar.

Nora was getting a real kick out it.We went through all our family members, including grammas and papas with each of us taking a turn pretending to be an extended family member. Then Nora started naming her favorite fictional characters like Dora the explorer, Little Einsteins, etc.

The game ended abruptly when we asked, Then Who? and Nora answered, Jesus stole the cookies!

Hmm...I'm glad she thought to include him in our game, but I guess we need to teach her a little more about the attributes of deity! :)

We Bought a House!!!

2010-05-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

I never thought we'd buy a house this soon out of school, but thanks to a nice little tax return this year and a really cheap bank-owned property, we did it! Since we just moved last week, I can't find my camera yet, but we've already done quite a bit of painting on the inside to make it presentable. These pictures are from before we bought it. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with an office, a small-ish yard, and it feels huge to us! Even though we are still in boxes and there's lots of work to be done, it feels great to be in our own place.
entry way and view to kitchen

master bedroom

living roommaster bath
lovely red office
ike's room
nora's room
kids' bath

One-liners from the Time Out Corner

2010-04-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Most of Nora's funniest one-liners come from being put in time out. She will shout out manipulative phrases at us from down the hall as she waits out her penalty. Here are a few of my favorites:

After hitting Ike on the head with a wooden spoon: (In a pleading voice) Mommy? Remember I'm a good girl?
After throwing food at the table: "Heavenly Father want you to not give me a time out! Heavenly father misses me. Heavenly Father loves me!"
N:Mom! I'm saying a prayer...I'm saying a prayer! I need you to listen!
Me:Okay Nora you can come out now.
N:I'm saying a prayer.
Me:Okay. (N kneels down.) Say your prayer.
N:Heavenly Father. Please bless me not to put fingers in baby Ike's mouth and please bless me not to be sad anymore. Amen!

While carrying her down to time out: Heavenly Father wants you to be a good mommy!

Easter at Gramma's

2010-04-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

What a treat! We got to spend Easter at my parents' house with my sister Lindsay and her family as well as my sister Briana and her beautiful new baby Claire. The festivities started with traditional egg dyeing.

Papa and his grandsons, Ike and Tyson
Nora's first chocolate bunny
Success!

Monday we headed to the Nut Tree in Vacaville for a little playtime in the sunshine.

Aunt Lindsay with baby Tyson.
Riding the train with Gramma.

I know I say I don't like animals, but these ones are pretty cute!

Yosemite!

2010-04-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

We spent the last weekend in March with my good friend Jamie and her fam in a little town called Groveland, just outside of Yosemite. It was the first time we've every really vacationed with another family and it was definitely an experience I'd like to repeat! So fun.

This is how good of friends we are - we arrived at our condo unexpectedly wearing essentially the same outfit!
Jamie was so prepared. She brought along all the fixings for a mini easter egg hunt for the kids. It gave Nora good practice for the real thing the next Sunday ! :)

Ike chillin' in his rocking chair.

Bridal Veil Falls, I think. Very cold that morning, but gorgeous.
We didn't do any actual hiking as planned, but we took a walk up to the falls, had a picnic lunch, checked out the little indian village and just enjoyed the surrounding beauty.

Playing at the community park a few minutes from the condo.

The condo was in a gated lake community. Although the water was freezing most of our party ventured in at some point and it was just nice to be on a warm-ish beach in March!

I forgot about these...

2010-03-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

We took these pictures at Christmas time and I forgot to post them when I got them.

Pajama Party

2010-03-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

As a way to kill some time the other morning, I suggested to Nora that we make some pajamas for her dolls (that never seem to have any clothes on.) She delightedly helped me get out the sewing machine and her favorite part was pushing the reverse button for me a few times. Girls are so fun! :)

Ike's Shower

2010-03-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Even though my baby is now four months old, the ladies in my ward decided to throw a shower for me since Ike was born right after we moved in. We decided to do a diaper shower and the very thoughtful women there were very generous! It was definitely a good excuse for a party!

Happy Kids

2010-03-18T14:25:00.001-07:00

The colds and flus are all behind us now by several weeks and being healthy is bringing back the smiles!

Mini-golf and a Meal Meltdown

2010-03-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

During a mini-vacation to Fairfield last week, Gramma and Papa took us out miniature golfing. We found out that Nora is SO not ready for a little putt-putt yet. Gramma graciously chased her around the course while the rest of us tried to remember how to golf.

Then as a special treat, we went to the nearest McDonald's so Nora could romp about in the play structure. (Sidenote: In an effort to discourage our kids from liking fast food, when we drive by a McDonalds, we sometimes tell her that the food there is "yucky." The other day in Visalia she spied a McDonalds and said, "Gramma told me McDonalds was good, not yucky." Well, I guess if Gramma says so... :) Anyway, after a good 15 minutes of a power struggle (we wanted her to heat her food before playing, she did not) she got a time out, which was apparently enough to knock down her pride and get her to eat, and Grandpa gleefully climbed all around the play structure with her.

And thanks Mom and Dad for our date night! You're the best!

A few recent, random photos

2010-02-16T16:21:00.001-08:00

This is one of Nora's stickers on baby Ike's head. She is so good at sharing!

Inside Campout

2010-02-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Branden had the great idea the other day to have a campout with Nora. He was actually thinking of doing it outside, but rain quickly put the kabosh on that idea. She was in heaven as we pulled out the popup tent, had a nutritious dinner of corndogs and fries at our "picnic table," "roasted" marshmellows, and then finally moved the tent into her room and sang camp fire song before she went to bed. Some ideas are just genious- good job honey!

Ike's first marshmallow roasting.

Say Cheese Nora! Wait--did he just...?!
Yep! He figured out how to get it to his mouth. And he likes it! Sneaky little devil. Whoops!

Dress Up Days

2010-02-09T19:30:00.001-08:00

Having friends over always calls for pulling out the dress-up box. We had a WHOLE afternoon of princesses! Oh boy!

You know you don't vacuum enough when...

2010-02-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

you pull out the vacuum cleaner and your two-year-old asks "Who's coming over?" :)

My Ladybug

2010-01-29T15:33:00.001-08:00

Nora is one funny girl. Anyone who knows her knows there is no end to her energy. Here are some snippets from her life recently.

Today Branden called from work to say hi. I put him on speakerphone and asked Nora if she wanted to say hi to Daddy. "No," she replied. "I'm too nervous." Where does she come up with this stuff?

We went to the local children's museum for storytime today. Nora sat in between two other kids, both perfect strangers. About half way through the first story, Nora reaches out and holds hands with both kids. The girl on her right was pretty obliging, but the boy to her left was a little freaked out. He sat down on the floor and his little brother took his place on the chair. Nora held his hand instead!

Nora's stomach tells her to do things, apparently. I think maybe one time I must have told her that my tummy was telling me I was hungry. At any rate, Nora has told me on different occasions that her tummy is telling her that she is tired or that she needs to play with this or that toy.

She has also learned about pirates recently. A few days ago, I asked her to do something and she piped up, "Aye Aye Cap'n." I think she actually thinks the phrase is: "I am, Captain" but it was cute nonetheless.

Ike's Blessing

2010-01-29T15:15:00.002-08:00

We blessed Ike on Friday, January 22 in San Jose, Ca. We did it at Branden's grandpa's chapel so GrumpPa wouldn't have to travel. Also in attendance were B's parents, my parents and B's aunt LeAnn and cousin Christy. After the blessing we hosted a luncheon in the cultural hall and had a great time just chatting. Meanwhile, Nora had gotten into the bathroom and up on a stool so she could play in the sink in the mother's lounge. She completely soaked her shirt and then inadvertently locked herself inside. Branden found her topless and wailing at the top of her lungs. Poor crazy kid!

We really surprised both sets of parents when Branden blessed our baby as Ike Andrew instead of Ike Alexander Nelson. We decided we liked Andrew better about 2 weeks after he was born. Unfortunately, we have to pay our broke state $355 to make the name change legally. Why couldn't we have thought of Andrew before he was born?!

Ike's onesie is the same one Branden wore as a baby. I am very proud of myself for whipping up his little pair of pants in about two hours, with no pattern no less! They are certainly not the best well-made pants, but they did the job! And now we have our own family heirloom.
We should have gotten a picture with Ike and Nora, but here we are at any rate with our handsome little devil!
'

Branden's Birthday

2010-01-29T15:06:00.001-08:00

Branden turned 33 this year and it was the first time in almost a decade that he got to celebrate it with his parents. Since we were blessing Ike the next day, his parents drove in from Utah and we all got to go out to lunch at one of Branden's favorite places - Chilis. His parents graciously babysat for us that night so we could go on a real date. We saw Avatar. Pretty Amazing graphics. Don't know about the animated hot-and-heavy scene though! :)

My Family

2010-01-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post some of the most recent pictures of my favorite people.

A few nights ago, Nora woke up in the middle of the night and while I was in her room trying to get her back to sleep, she said," You be the Nora. I be the mommy. I be the best mommy in the whole world!" Yes, Nora I bet you will be. I know I'm not, but I definitely love being your mommy!

My Grammy's 80th Birthday Bash

2010-01-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

Grammy and her 100th member of the family!

Nothin's better than a cousin!

Aww Man...Sisters!

2010-01-11T19:04:00.001-08:00

Lots of Christmas Pics

2010-01-05T11:04:00.001-08:00

Thing One, Thing Two, and Emery

Putting Out Carrots for Santa

My cute husband gave me several gift cards for Christmas but instead of just handing them over, he created this beautiful flower arrangement to surprise me with! So thoughtful!

I think she was confused about this gift! (they're soccer cones.)

Maybe we shouldn't tell her to say cheese! :)

New cousins Ike and Tyson - just three weeks apart!

Hey Ike! Quit Pushing!

Naughty, naughty!

Hmmm... why are all the legs missing?
We took Stephartereesery to the local kids museum when they came down to Visalia after Christmas.

Our beautiful niece Emery!
Reese getting a dental checkup from her daddy at the museum.

Playing dress up at our house.

Fun With Gramma

2009-12-04T14:48:00.001-08:00

Nora got spoiled rotten while my mom was here right after Ike was born. Nora got new toys, tea parties, and lots of one-on-one attention! She also spent a lot of time with Gramma doing one of her favorite activities - shopping! Nora is always begging to go to "one more store." Thanks Mom for giving our daughter the time of her life!

Gramma made herself, Nora, and her new doll matching aprons.

Enjoying the cookies they made together!

Nora the Photographer

2009-12-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

Digital cameras make it really easy for toddlers to become little photographers, as we found out with Nora a few weeks ago. Here are some of the shots she took:

Then she handed me the camera and said "take one of me, Mom." I love how she posed with her drill!

Tree Hunting

2009-12-04T14:30:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to buy a real tree since we will be around for most of the holiday season. We found a really cool tree farm in Reedley (about an hour north of us) where they have a miniature train to ride, a treehouse for kids and a castle playhouse. Nora especially loved the train and it was rough trying to get her away from it, but we bribed her with some popcorn at the end.

Riding the Train

Aah popcorn!

Nora helped Daddy put up the star!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

We got to host our first Thanksgiving dinner at our own place, but we still didn't have to cook the turkey! Branden's parents drove out from Utah to join us and his mom cooked the bird. All the food was delicious and we were very grateful they were able to stay a week with us. That futon we just bought for guests is definitely been worthwhile. Especially since they will be back in January for Ike's blessing!

More Ike

2009-12-04T14:23:00.001-08:00

He's Here!!!

2009-11-14T13:13:00.001-08:00

Ike Alexander Nelson joined our family Thursday, November 12th at 5:45 am. All my doctors and several nurses kept telling me that Ike would not be as big as Nora (9pounds 3 ounces, which is why we were shocked when we found out he was 9 pounds 8 ounces!!! He was 22 1/2 inches long and the first thing Branden said to me when Ike came out was "whoa - he's big."
Labor was a beast. (This account is mostly for my personal history. Skip over this part if you don't like labor stories or if you are currently pregnant. I know others have had worse labors, but with nothing to compare it to for myself, I thought it was rough! ) I went into a prenatal appointment Tuesday morning - Ike was a week and a day overdue. They put me on the fetal monitors and found some irregulaties and the doctor said there was probably already plenty of meconium in my fluid. So he sent me up to the hospital, Branden met me there, and our wonderful Relief Society President drove up to take Nora. After monitoring the baby there, they found him to be perfectly healthy. I was not dilated at all, my cervix was closed and very thick - definitely not ready for labor. So my choices were 1) go home and come back in a few days to be induced (or hope that somehow my body would go into labor on its own) 2) be induced immediately, or 3) have a c-section later that evening. It was a REALLY tough decision, but for the sake of future pregnancies I finally decided to go with the VBAC induction. They started the pitocin at about 2 pm on Tuesday. By 10 pm absoutely NOTHING had changed, except that I had been through a lot of painful contractions. We got to sleep that night and they restarted the pitocin at 5 am. By noon, my cervix had softened just enough for the doctor to strip my membranes and dilate me to a 2. I started taking some pain medication in the afternoon and got an epidural in the early evening. By about midnight I was dilated to about 9 1/2 and my water had broken or atleast started to leak. The epidural was definitely starting to wear off and was completely ineffective by 2:30 when I started to actively push. The second dose they put in did not work, I guess my system was already too used to the phentinol. My nurse and Branden were superheros in helping me stay on track with concentrating and pushing because otherwise I think I would have passed out or given up or something. I really didn't think I was going to make it. Towards the end, the nurse said "do you want to feel his head?" And I was so tired at that point that I said" No. I just want to get him out!" But after just over three hours of pushing, I got an episiotomy and Ike popped out. And then I thought I was going to die again when the doctor started pumping up and down on my stomach. That was intense. I guess I was bleeding ALOT and the doctor was trying get more out to prevent clotting from all the pitocin. Recovery in the hospital was pretty rough with all the sore muscles and the really sore belly from all the pit. One of my nurses asked me if I was glad I went VBAC and she was probably surprised when I told her I wasn't sure. I am not sure if a longer recovery is worse than induced labor pains. There have also been some very embarrassing post-partum side-effects that definitely did not occur with a c-section. Not going to elaborate on that one! But I have a wonderful husband and both my parents here to help out and I felt a great deal better this morning after getting full rest in my own extremely soft bed. Hopefully in another week I will be very glad that I went VBAC. At this point, it's still iffy. And immediately after Ike came out, I turned to Branden and said "I'm not doing that again!" Obviously women forget about how tortuous labor is though, so that statement will probably be null and void in another two years or so. :) Nora has been THRILLED to have a little brother around. With swine flu risks everywhere, she was not allowed to come into the hospital to see Ike. Thursday my mom brought her to the hospital and Branden held her outside our room window so she could at least see him in person. She was SO excited - she was even trying to tickle his little feet from the other side of the glass! :) As soon as we got home yesterday she wanted to hold him and play with him and give him tons of sweet kisses on his head. When he cries, she says "oh! Dass okay, dass okay. (That's okay.)" in a very motherly voice. She's been constantly bringing out toys and baby equipment for him. The only thing worrisome is that she has started to mimic his cries sometimes and tries to climb up on daddy, claiming she is a baby. Hmmm... :)

Nora opening her present from Baby Ike.

Nora wanting to share the view with her brother.

Ike is a great little guy. Very chill and a great cuddler. So glad he's here! Here is the amazingly beautiful and creative quilt my mom came up with for little Ike. Isn't she great?!

Our Little Rock Star

2009-11-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Nora was a rock star for Halloween and she really got into it. After our ward's trunk or treat, we took her door-to-door for a few minutes. By the end when people would ask her what she was, she would yell out "I'm a rockstar! I sing for you!" and then proceed to belt out her version of Pink's "So What" (Rockstar) song. Most people at the door were pretty blown away. :)

Life Lessons From Nora

2009-11-08T20:04:00.000-08:00

Tonight after her bath, I combed Nora's hair as usual, but then she wanted to comb my hair. She pulled a bit hard and when I yelled out "ouch!" she said very matter-of-factly to me "Sometimes it hurts." No "sorry mom," just "sometimes it hurts." I guess that's just how it goes!

The other day at the playground. Nora was playing like she was the cook at a restaurant. After a few minutes of taking my order and making me food, she started to fake cry. "What's wrong, Nora?" I asked. "Sniff-Sniff - I cutting onions."

These stories are from Branden:

The other night, Nora had a nightmare and woke up at 3 am. I went in to get her andrealize dthat she was too awake to just wrap her back up and put her to bed. So, as a lazy parent, Iwrapped her up and brought her back to our bed. After a couple of minutes of dozing and listeningto our ceiling fan and the clicking of its chains Nora asked, “Daddy what’s that sound?” I said,“Nora, that’s the fan spinning around.” “Oh,” answered Nora, “It sounds like a Tick-Tock!”Despite it being 3 AM, it was a cute moment.

The other day, we were sitting together as a family and Nora was talking about babies. She pointed to Amber and said, “Baby Ike is in Mom’s tummy and baby Nora is in Nora’s tummy!” pointing to her own tummy. “Not yet,” Amber said. I asked her if she’d like to be a mommy one day. “When you’re older” Amber said. “Yep,” I replied and looking to turn this opportune moment into a lesson I said, “First, you have to get married in the temple before you can be a mommy.” Nora answered, “No, I just need shoes…”

More Catch Up - Halloween Cookies and My Birthday

2009-11-08T20:01:00.001-08:00

A day or two before my birthday, Branden came up with the great idea of making some Halloween sugar cookies to decorate. They were good but extremely messy, much to Nora's delight.

Branden and Nora gave me lots of fun presents for my birthday, all of which Nora ended up opening for me herself. She's so helpful!

Catch Up - Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-08T19:54:00.001-08:00

A few pictures from our trip to the local pumpkin patch. We rode the hay ride, Nora took a trip on the tractor train, climbed the hay bale pyramid and picked out some "Nora-size" pumpkins.

Fall Fun!

2009-11-08T19:41:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago we visited my parents and Gramma introduced Nora to the joys of playing in Fall leaves. I think she had Gramma and Papa out there with her at least three times that weekend.