Nielson Family Blog

Our Angel Elijah

2011-08-20T12:24:00.006-06:00

I just wanted to post these pictures mostly for us to remember our baby. We were so excited to have another chance at being parents so soon after suffering a miscarriage at 7 weeks. The D&C was 4/29/2011, a Friday, and 16 weeks later (to the day) we learned our new son, who was so eager to come to our family (16 weeks gestation) no longer had a heartbeat and I would need to be scheduled for induction soon. I'm so happy I felt inspired to get this ultrasound done Monday. We were able to see all of our baby and his beautiful heartbeat. I feel so blessed for this tender mercy and inspiration! I know this day and the following will be hard but I know our Savior loves me and our family and we will be a complete family some day. Thanks to my wonderful friends and family for your support. I love you so much!

Love,

Nick and Sonja

Luke Turns 2 (a month ago)

2011-06-13T11:33:00.002-06:00

Pictures courtesy of Nick's dad, Terry.

Accomplishment and the result...

2010-11-02T17:10:00.004-06:00

(I don't even want to know what they did with the strainer in the BATHROOM!!!)

The question is, why in the world did I clean the house or clothe my children before canning and making jam??? The kids went CRAZY!!!

Before and After Pics

2010-09-14T13:49:00.005-06:00

I posted pictures on facebook but needed to have them here to for record keeping purposes.
So I lost 100.1 lbs and 99 inches.
BEFORE and AFTER

Picture Update...March to June

2010-07-04T19:37:00.017-06:00

Visiting the park with Lisa, Steve, and Pepper in Portland.

In May we took a little trip the Pipe Spring National Monument during our visit to Kanab and learned about the The Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians and the Mormons settlers in the area.

Madelyn making friends with the tour guide.

Bryce Canyon on the way home.

We got to go to Heber and take a ride on Thomas the Train with Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds and some of the cousins.

Nick, Me, my Mom and Dad. Do you love his rainbow suspenders as much as I do?

Madelyn making some music.

Tyler, Joseph, and Jacob

Joseph, Porter, Jacob, Monica, Jenny, Luke, Andrew, and Madelyn

Emmalee and Madelyn, too cute!

Nick hanging out with the kids and snapin' some shots.

Happy Father's Day! I love you Papa!

The kids saying "Happy Father's Day" to Nick.

Fa wearing our Dora wig during the Father's Day celebration. I think it looks natural...

Nick had to get a picture of Madelyn multi-tasking. Her phone is the faucet from the kids' toy kitchen.

It Fits Again...

2010-05-23T22:36:00.005-06:00

After losing 75 lbs my wedding dress fits again. It's crazy to think that I had to lose 75 lbs to get back to where I was only 6 years ago. I guess that happens with kids and stress.

Here are some pictures from our trip to Oregon. We visited the Oregon Coast because Rachel's husband Jacopo, had never seen the Pacific Ocean before. Nick isn't in any of the pictures because unfortunately he was sick in the hotel room back in Portland.

Tillamook Cheese Factory

Random pictures:
Andrew helping Nick take out the trash, I love how he's a one trip man!

Andrew's preschool graduation.

Clifton Delo Reynolds

2010-04-06T18:32:00.001-06:00

Clifton D. Reynolds

1914 - 2010

Funeral services for Clifton Reynolds will be held on Monday, April 12, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1645 N.W. Baker Creek Road in McMinnville, Oregon. He will be laid to rest beside Helen, his wife of 73 years, at Columbia Memorial Gardens, 54490 Columbia River Highway in Scappoose, Oregon at 3:00 p.m. the same day. Viewing will be at the Chapel of Macy & Son on Saturday and Sunday from Noon – 6:00 p.m.

Clifton died peacefully on Easter evening, April 4, at his home in McMinnville, Oregon at the age of 96 with his daughter, Shirley and Granddaughter, Rainy by his side.

The son of Orlando Ray and Norah Gentry Reynolds, Clifton was born on March 25, 1914 at Bachelor Flat, Oregon. He attended school in the St. Helens area.

He married Helen Woolstenhulme on February 14, 1936 in Vancouver, Washington and they made their first home in St. Helens, Oregon. During WWII he moved his young family to Seattle to live while he served in the Navy at the Bremerton Naval Station repairing aircraft. In 1950 they moved to Sheridan, Oregon where he and Helen raised their four children. He and Helen were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake LDS Temple in the summer of 1954. In 1970 they moved to McMinnville with their youngest son.

He worked as an electrician at the Willamina US Plywood Mill from the early 1950’s until his retirement.

Clifton was a man of tremendous faith and served his Heavenly Father and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in many callings. He loved doing genealogy and kept meticulous records throughout his life. He took great interest in people’s ethnicities and studied the Spanish language up to his death. When his son, Tim went on his mission to Mexico and his grandson, Ryan, to Russia, you could find him studying and learning the languages.

He was a man of many talents. He loved art and music. He played many musical instruments and taught and encouraged his family to participate in “jamming” with him and each other. He was a member of the Old Time Fiddler’s Association and loved to go to the Senior Center to listen when they played there. He had a great sense of humor and always gave you a good laugh when you were in his presence. He was a loyal, hardworking, kind, loving, tolerant man. His family and faith were the most important things in his life and he paid close attention to both.

He is survived by his daughter, Shirley Holstad of Tillamook, OR; son, Daniel Reynolds and his wife Jan, of Dallas, OR; son, Timothy Reynolds and his wife, Marie of Pleasant Grove, UT; his brothers, Clyde Reynolds and wife, Rosalee of Weston, OR and John LeRoy Reynolds and wife, Sharon of Tacoma, WA. He had 19 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren and seven great-great grandchildren. He will be dearly missed.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Helen, his oldest daughter, Eleanor Kimsey, great grandsons, Levi Baker and Justice Fockler, as well as two sisters and one brother.

To leave private online condolences, please visit www.macyandson.com.

2010-03-29T16:38:00.005-06:00

Natalie photo tagged me. The rules are that you are that you can't tidy up before taking the photos, as painful as the thought is. I didn't tidy up, and you will see that it is apparent on several of the pictures. Hope you enjoy what a true mess my house is on Mondays!
My Closet

Favorite Shoes

Laundry Room (the one thing I got done today, laundry)

My Bathroom (it's always a mess, I just accept it)

My Favorite Room (My bedroom)

The kitchen Sink (technically you can't see the sink ;) You can tell the kids had mac and cheese for lunch.

The Fridge

What my kids are doing right now...

Self Portrait

Feel free to be tagged if you so desire!

We're Back!

2010-03-22T17:01:00.002-06:00

We just got back from a short trip to Oregon and we had so much fun. I drove up with my dad and the kiddos Wednesday-14 1/2 hr drive! We were able to spend Wednesday through Thursday with my dad and grandpa and then we drove to Portland to pick up Nick from the airport. We headed over to Lisa and Steve's house (Nick's sister and her husband) and we had so much fun! The kids spent the evening throwing balls to Pepper (their adorable dog) and we got to enjoy the sun laying in their hammock in the back. We also got to go to the Oregon Health and Science University (where Lisa work's) and ride the aerial tram over the city (http://www.portlandtram.org/?WT_featured=spotlight&WT_rank=spotlight). The kids LOVED it! We also got to play at some great parks while we were there. We took pictures at one of the parks but of course we forgot our camera when we were on the tram. The view of Portland was awesome and it was dark, which made it even better. Saturday afternoon we headed back to McMinnville and celebrated my Grandpa's 96th birthday with some family and friends. My Grandpa is an amazing man and I am so glad I was able to attend his special birthday. He kept telling us when he'd wake up that he thought he was a goner for sure, but then he was still around in the morning =). It's been almost a year since my Grandma (his wife) passed away and since they spent 75 years of their lives together (they were married when she was 15 and he was 20)-he really misses her!
After the party we headed back to Portland and enjoyed some Thai food with Lisa and Steve, went to another park, then watched "Aliens in the Attic" with the kids. We headed back to Utah, another fun 11 1/2 hour drive! I'm glad to be home, but I sure miss Oregon and our family already! I think I've convinced Nick to spend more time there =).
Nick is officially on spring break from school, so we'll get to spend some time this week doing home projects. One major project is starting a garden-we'll see how that goes!
I've lost a total of 62.2 pounds and am in another maintenance phase now. Only 37.8 pounds to go until I hit the 100 lb goal mark! My actual goal is to lose 120-130 lbs, but my reward of going on the cruise (which I've already paid for) is official after 100 lbs. are gone.
Andrew just has 2 more months of preschool and then he's out for the summer. He's already registered for kindergarten and is really excited for big boy school. He's reading words, spelling, and learning math right now. We're really proud of him!
Madelyn is talking a ton and learning to count, differentiate colors, and letters. She's really excited to start preschool. We keep telling her that she can't go until she is potty trained but she doesn't seem to get the connection yet. She loves to dance and we try and bribe her with dance lessons for potty training but she hasn't given in yet.
Luke is 10 months now and stands up and walks around everything. He's taken a couple steps on his own and stands without holding on to things, but doesn't quite feel confident enough to go further than that.
I'll post pictures soon.

Overdue Update

2010-01-25T13:36:00.007-07:00

Sometimes I can't believe how busy life is. It's been months since I've updated this thing.
So, here's what we've been up to...
Nick is still working on his Masters and started working for L-3 Communication Systems the end of November. He finally has a project at work and things are going well with school. We're excited that they pay 100% of his tuition, which means we've already paid for his Master's degree-it only cost us $3535.64. Crazy, I know. His grades have been fabulous too, 2 A-'s and the rest A's. He has also been enjoying every other Friday off and we get to go the gym as a family, which is fabulous since the daycare is FREE! There's nothing more motivating than working out with Nick. =)

I've been busy with running the kids everywhere, all the time. I've recently lost about 35 pounds and I'm working maintaining it before I go for another 35. My goal is to loose 100 lbs by my birthday this summer. I already booked a cruise as a reward! We're planning on trying again for baby #4 after said cruise.
Me in my new glasses, I love em!

We have a little bit of painting left in the basement, then we get to put in the flooring and buy new furniture-and then we're done with it! I can't wait to organize/decorate our house from top to bottom. We'll have an additional 1000 sq ft to use!
Here are some of the treats I've made for my brother, he got to come home after Boot Camp for a little Christmas break.

Andrew is in preschool at Hunter High and loves it. He loves the fact that he goes to his daddy's old school. He also goes to tumbling class during the week and loves that too. I should get some pictures of him doing his moves. It's pretty funny watching him, especially compared to all the little itsy bitsy girls in his class.

Madelyn is keeping me busy at all times. She just learned how to buckle her own belts in her car seat, which is actually really nice for me! She tells me things like, "I'm so proud of you mama" and "I have a good idea!" She is always making us laugh with the things she says. I was at the eye doctor last week because my glasses broke and needed new ones. The receptionist gave the kids suckers and an old lady walking by said to Madelyn and Andrew, "I didn't get a sucker, how come I didn't get one?" Andrew just shrugged his shoulders, but Madelyn said empathetically-while holding her sucker up, " you can have a suck on mine." Everyone in the whole office cracked up.

Luke is doing really well too. He's walking around furniture, getting into everything, and is happy all the time. He loves his daddy and squeals every time Nick comes home. Everyone always comments about how happy his is. He has 3 teeth now-2 bottom and one fang =), which he is very happy about. He loves eating big boy food and play biting us. We're hoping that we're lucky and the next baby will be just like Luke in temperament.
Well, I guess that sums up the last couple months.

Halloween Pictures

2009-11-02T10:17:00.003-07:00

It's a go!

2009-09-23T22:47:00.002-06:00

So we had our first work out today. Good times. We also did measurements and weigh ins. Not good times for me =). Our goal is to go to July and reward ourselves along the way. I can't wait for my rewards! Each Tuesday is our weigh in day, so I guess that'll be my day to record what I've lost. We're doing really reasonable goals of 1-2 lbs a week and hoping that slow and steady wins the race. Wish us luck!

The Biggest Loser Beginning

2009-09-16T17:05:00.003-06:00

So I was really inspired by the Biggest Loser last night, as I am each season. This time, I felt the need to start a group. So what I want to do is get everyone together (even through email or skype) and we can go through what motivates us and think of incentives and things that will keep us going. I have a million exercise videos, some equipment, and I'm willing to invest and get more things too. I'm also willing to have whomever wants to come to my house to work out, come and we'll let the kids play, while we sweat off the pounds. We're also close to finishing the basement, so if there's enough people, then we'll get that done sooner than later so we can workout in the basement, where it's nice and cool. I have rooms upstairs that the kids can destroy while we work out, or if people prefer we can work out later when husbands are home and kids are in bed (8:30 pm for us). I want to put together recipes, menus, because I have a ton, and charts that are easy to make sure we're getting the foods we need (i.e. check off servings of fruit, veggies, etc that we've had). Whatever you want, I'm willing to put in the time! I want to make this easy and keep everyone motivated.
Some ideas for incentives that I have (please give me your input):
Everyone put money into the pot and after so many months, whoever loses the most (based on percentage weight lost, of course) gets the pot.
Or we could do milestones, where once a person gets to certain milestones they will win prizes...
I was thinking of weekly weigh ins. I also have my tv hooked to a computer so we can do several different exercises, anything to spice things up!
Please give me input and ideas and we can get this thing off the ground!

Madelyn is 2

2009-09-15T14:39:00.003-06:00

My Madelyn monster is 2 already! A week ago today, she turned 2. I can't believe it! The day after her birthday we got to see the doctor for her 2 yr. appt. and her are her stats...
Weight 28 pounds (68th percentile), height 36 1/4 inches (96th percentile).
A story to share about Madelyn...
We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house with Nick's family and once you get to the sealing rooms, a couple took us in the sealing room and talked about the significance of being a forever family and as they were talking Madelyn ran round and round in circles around the alter, taunting the other kids to chase her. We tried to take her out of the room, so we wouldn't ruin the experience for the others there, but the couple talking told us to let her stay. Anytime we'd try to catch her or ask her to stop, she would scream. It's pretty hard to embarrass me, but I was thoroughly embarrassed!
What she's up to...
She's talking like crazy and saying 4 word sentences for the most part. She's always surprising us with the words she knows too. Right now we're learning colors and starting to work on our ABC's. Currently the two colors she gets right every time are pink and orange. She now loves being an older sister and adores Luke. Everything he does is SO funny to her. She is always saying "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome." She and Andrew are taking advantage of the lasting warm weather and jump on the trampoline every chance they get. It's so nice for me to be able to have them outside so I can get stuff done around here. I love how they play together and most of the time get along. We love our Madelyn and couldn't imagine life without her!
Here are some pictures from this summer. Enjoy.

Andrew's stats...

2009-08-13T11:31:00.002-06:00

Here are my little man's stats: Weight 43 lbs. (91st percentile), Length 42 1/2 inches (90th percentile), the doctor couldn't believe he just turned 4 because of his knowledge (props to his preschool teachers). I wanted to share a little story about Andrew and how awesome he is. Last week I had to give Madelyn a bath because she made a mess while eating. I put her in the bathtub and went out to finish doing the dishes. I know this is not normally a safe thing to do, but Madelyn is so loud constantly, I know she's okay. Anyway, I asked Andrew to go in the bathroom to keep an eye on her, so he did. I could hear them giggling like crazy and thought once I was done with the dishes I was going to find a huge mess in my bathroom. I went into the bathroom and this is the scene: the tub drained and rinsed and Andrew in my closet with Madelyn picking out clothes for her and saying "Okay Madelyn lets go get your diaper on now." I couldn't believe it! He actually put her diaper on and tried getting Madelyn dressed too, but she would only let him do the diaper.I gave him the biggest hug and sang praises to him the rest of the day. He has started to even get Madelyn and himself breakfast in the morning. He gets bowls and spoons and pours the cereal and milk, too. What a kid! I love my Andrew.

Andrew is 4!!!

2009-08-05T12:29:00.003-06:00

It happened, my little Andrew turned 4 on Sunday. When he woke up I explained to him that he was no longer 3, but 4, and he jumped up and shouted "hooray"!!! I then showed him the cars cake I had made (I stayed up till about 1:45am making), he had to look at it twice he was so excited. He wanted to know if his friends were going to come over and play, but I told him we were going to have a friend party when he turns 5. When I took him to Sam's club on Saturday he got to pick out a present for himself. He ended up picking out a math/numbers work book. He loves it! He also gets a bike, but we're not giving it to him until we celebrate his birthday this weekend with my family. I can't believe he's 4 already, where did the time go? We haven't had his 4 yr appt yet, so I'm not sure of his stats, but I'll post them soon. He's really into drawing pictures and spelling words. His imagination is going crazy, we have Andrew's art everywhere, it's even spilling into Grandma and Grandpa Nielson's home.
Here are some pictures from the party at Grandma and Grandpa Nielson's...we have video too, but I don't have it on the computer yet.

Don't you love how Luke adores Andrew?
He was following his every movement.

He also adored the cake =).

Luke's Blessing

2009-07-03T21:40:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to post that we are blessing Luke this Sunday, July 5th. The sacrament meeting starts at 1pm and after the meeting we will be having a little luncheon at our house. We wanted to invite friends and family to please come! The meeting house address is 3930 South 6000 West in West Valley City.

On another note, yesterday was our 5 year anniversary, so we took the kids to the place Nick proposed to me and took some cute pictures. Here are some of them for your viewing pleasure!

Madelyn's head meets a sharp corner

2009-06-28T23:16:00.004-06:00

Today it was 12:55 PM and we were in a rush to get out the door. I (Nick) was packing stuff up in the kitchen and Madelyn comes cruising in at full speed with her new dress shoes on. They don't have any traction really, so she slipped and hit her head on the outside corner of our cabinets. I picked her up, and gave her a hug, then realized that her head was bleeding. The cabinet had cut her head pretty bad. My church shirt got a lot of blood on it, and so did her dress. The cut was about an inch long, and looked pretty deep. I dropped Sonja, Andrew, and baby Luke off at church, and I took her into the instacare. It seemed that 3/4 of the people there had the swine flu, as I saw a lot of masked faces. Madelyn got four staples and didn't cry (but they did give her local anesthetic gel before doing the staples). I am impressed with how tough she is! These pictures don't really do it justice because the blood has been cleaned up, but you can see the little staples at least.

Mom update #2

2009-06-26T12:47:00.002-06:00

My mom had surgery yesterday to ablate the cells in her heart that were causing the ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation. It looks like the surgery was successful and she is recovering well. We got to take the kids yesterday and visit her and she looks good. The doctor came in and said that as long as everything looks good, she can come home today. We're just waiting to hear from my parents today about what happens next. Thanks so much for all your prayers!

Mom update

2009-06-16T15:26:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to write down what's going on so far. My mom wasn't feeling well (pain in her arm and chest) and so she made an appointment with her family prac. doctor and when she went in they hooked her up to have an EKG (I think) and found she was having a heart attack right then. The doctor called to the nurse to call 911 and he threw 2 asprin at her and gave her nitroglycerin. The hospital was only 1 block away from the doctors office but since she had driven herself to the appointment they had to wait for the ambulance to come and drive her the 1 block to the hospital. Last night they transferred her to the University of Utah Hospital because the American Fork Hospital isn't quite equiped with what they needed to test her. Once at the U, they found that her heart was not damaged from the attack-probably because of the speed in which she received treatment. This morning between 2 and 5 am she kept the nurses busy running into her room because her heart rhythm is all over the place. When I went to visit her at noon today they said the problem is probably being caused by the atrium and not the ventricles which is "better" scenerio wise. When I left her, she was being taken to have a treadmill test, which we weren't too happy about because she was having problems just laying in bed, with oxygen on and meds in her system. So that's the news for now. I'll update once we know more. Thanks everyone for your prayers and well wishes!

I survived...

2009-06-15T17:00:00.004-06:00

So far I've survived the swine flu. We're still being careful with Luke and the kids so they aren't exposed. We were able to get Tamiflu for Nick, Andrew, and Madelyn but Luke isn't old enough to take it. I was flat out in bed for a good 3-4 days, but thankfully my mom and mother in law are absolute angels and came to our rescue. They ran the household in every way and I couldn't have done it without them. I am so lucky to have such amazing people in my life! It seems like it has taken me a good 2 weeks to recover from it though. Nick started coming down with symptoms, so we got him on the tamiflu and he was only down for part of a day-lucky guy! During all the craziness we found out my mom has had several strokes (she had a MRI because of migraines) and now they are testing her to see if she has a hole in her heart (PFO), like my sister, that is causing her the problems. The last week of my pregnancy I developed major headaches that haven't gone away, so now I have to go get tested for the same problem. We're praying that whatever is found will be easily fixed.

On to better news. Luke is growing like a weed and is such a great baby! He sleeps through all the fighting and screaming and actually prefers to sleep in the midst of everyone's noise versus sleeping in a quiet room by himself. We're thrilled to finally have a mild mannered, snuggly baby. Even though he has bad gas and stomach pains, he hardly ever cries. It's amazing! Andrew and Madelyn let us know about their EVERY discomfort as babies.

Madelyn seems to be doing better (not screaming her head off about everything) with her jealousy issues, but we still have to remind her not to punch or hurt Luke about every hour. Her most frequent phrase these days is "sorry Luke." She's talking like crazy and has actually been binky free for 5 weeks now. She's down to 1 nap a day, like Andrew, and melts our hearts with her hugs and kisses.

Andrew is doing really well and LOVES Luke. He misses pre school, so we bought him a "homework" book at Sams so he can work on some skills during the summer. We bought a trampoline from Walmart.com and he is super excited about it getting here. I think I'm more excited though =).

Nick is finishing his application for Graduate school and we're hoping that he's able to be officially accepted so he can continue taking classes this Fall and on.

Well, I hope that everyone is well and has a better month than we've had!

More pictures and happenings

2009-05-23T08:37:00.007-06:00

Luke's BEFORE and AFTER photos

I liked these shots of Andrew because they show how he really feels about having a brother, so HAPPY!!!

Nick and his parents

Andrew looking for something to watch at the hospital and Luke under the lights at home.

Andrew being my "big helper" and showing off his writing skills by writing Luke's name and drawing a picture of him. So cute!

Madelyn showing off her chocolate face and hair do from Grandma Reynolds.

We're loving life with our new baby and the kids are adjusting well, for the most part =). I can't wait to be healed enough to enjoy being outside with the kids and having fun again.

And with this all going on Nick got straight A's in school this semester!!!! He is amazing!

We also wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone that has helped us out this last week. And especially for Jenn Tukuafu, Lianna Black, and Teresa Andrus for the amazing meals they brought after we came home from the hospital. You guys are the best!

It's a Boy!

2009-05-15T16:53:00.005-06:00

Luke Timothy Nielson was born on 15 May 2009 at 8:30 AM via C-section. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 10.3 oz. and 19 3/4 inches long. He has dark blonde-reddish hair and is very mellow and snuggly. Sonja says he looks just like his dad and has little freckles on his nose. Andrew and Madelyn were very excited to see him. Madelyn was the funniest...she made me pick her up to see him in his crib, at which point she said several times "ooooh! baby!!!!".

Here are a few pictures of the new guy! The boys outnumber the girls now :)

We're almost there

2009-05-13T16:57:00.002-06:00

Well, we have less than 48 hours before the little guy's, big debut. I can't believe the time has come and we still don't have a name for him! Nick and I went to Park City this last weekend for a final getaway before the craziness begins and instead of settling on a name, we added to the list of names we like.
I thought it'd be fun for people to add a comment of what they think the baby will weigh and how tall he'll be. Whomever is the closest I'll send them a little treat, so let me know what you think!
Here are Andrew and Madelyn's stats if that matters or helps: 8 lbs 11oz, 21.5 inches and 7 lbs 10 oz, 20 inches. Andrew was 9 days early and Madelyn was 8 days early. This baby will be 9 days early...Good luck!

Funny coincidence...
We bought a crib from a guy on ksl.com and Nick was finally able to put it together, to find that it is broken! I had already bought a changing table from kid to kid that matched the crib, but I had saved the receipt and left on the tag, so if we needed to return it for some reason, we could. We decided to make the defective crib into a toddler bed for Madelyn and change her bed back into a crib for the new baby. Which has a changing table already attached to it. So we headed to kid to kid to return the changing table that we didn't need now, but they wouldn't take it back. Although they informed me they would buy it back at a 40% markdown. No thanks! So I listed it on ksl.com and sold it the next day, and actually made a $1.26 profit. That night Nick was putting Madelyn's new bed together and found that he needed some screws that the defective crib/toddler bed didn't come with, so he headed to Lowe's. After he got home, I jokingly asked him if he had spent my precious profit on the screws. He was downstairs and started laughing because he checked out the receipt and the screws cost $1.26 after tax. What are the odds? So I guess we came out even on everything and I don't feel so gypped any more!

Pictures, like promised

2009-05-03T20:58:00.009-06:00

Well we finished the baby's quilt and Madelyn's dress, so here are the pictures I promised. Andrew quillow isn't done quite yet but hopefully we can finish it up this week. It is starting to look really cute and Andrew is super excited about it!
(Don't you love how Andrew is putting his arm over the baby bump?)

The dress cost a whole $3.90 to make!!! How many binkies can YOU see?
Talk about binkie overkill! (There are THREE!!!)

Here are some pictures of the family at Rachel's wedding

Reynolds Family Lafranceschina/Reynolds Family

My family with the kids in order of age. We were so happy that my brother, Jason, was able to come to the reception! The Reynolds Family

All the sisters in the family (including in laws)

Summer Break...

2009-04-26T23:43:00.006-06:00

I can't wait! Nick has his last class of the semester on Tuesday and then a final project due by next Monday and hopefully that's it for this semester! If he did well on his last midterm for one of his classes then he won't have to take the final, so we are crossing our fingers that he did really well. We'll probably find out this Tuesday.
In 7 days I will be considered full term (37 weeks) and I'm scheduled for a c-section on the 15th of May, only 19 days to go! I can't believe how time has gone by.
Andrew is so excited to see his little brother. We have been tying a quilt for the baby and Andrew got to do about 3 ties. He was very excited to help. Nick even got to put a couple in too, just to say he helped. We're going to finish it up on Tuesday and I can't wait, it looks so cute! I'll put up some photos when we're done. We were able to get a crib and mattress for $40 and now we just need a changing table and I think we're set furniture wise! My mom was kind enough to wash, fold, and sort all the 0-3 months clothes I have, now I just need a place to put them and we're good to go.
We've been considering putting Andrew and Madelyn in their own rooms but I don't know if they can handle it. We've had Madelyn in our room to help her train in her big girl bed and because we needed the space for all the people staying in our house the last while. Andrew has had nightmares almost every night that Madelyn hasn't been in the room with him. It's kind of sad, but I think they just love being together. I think we'll put them together and see how things go. I'm just a little scared of both of them being in a room together and having free reign (mostly scared of Madelyn having free reign).
My parents are considering buying/building in Herriman now and so they might live with us for a couple years. So needless to say this summer we'll be working like crazy to finish the basement once and for all. I can't wait, it's been so close to being finished for a long time!
Well, I guess that's all the news for now. We'll hopefully have some more exciting news soon!

Pictures at the zoo on April 11th.
Andrew trying to see the animals and Madelyn and Aurora (Jacopo's little sister).

Easter 2009. Madelyn insisted on wearing this clog while trying to find eggs. Andrew and Madelyn both got toys and notes from the Easter Bunny, so exciting!
They love to snuggle. Andrew always asks us to take a picture because he knows they are just too cute!

The Chaos is Over For Now...

2009-04-12T22:37:00.004-06:00

Well it's done and we all survived (despite being called a "whore" and "special" by my lovely older sister). My little sister was married on Saturday and everything went pretty well. On Friday I took my kids and Jacopo's (my new brother-in-law) brother and sister to the zoo. They don't speak much (any really) English, but animal names are pretty similar in Italian, and we had fun. I thought I'd go into labor pushing Madelyn and Andrew in the stroller up the hills by myself, but everything was ok. Nick took work off Friday so he could stay home and study because Saturday and Sunday were pretty much shot for study time. Him and I made a slide show for Rachel and Jacopo and burned CDs with all of their pictures for their family and mine. I have to give props to Nick for finishing the technical components for me, instead of studying. He saved my life! It was great to be in the temple Friday night and Saturday morning with our families. We have really grown to love Jacopo's family and especially the cooking. We'll all be sad when they go home Tuesday. My best friend Kelli flew in from Alaska on Friday and surprised everyone with her arrival. It was SO great to have her here! She helped my brother, Stephen watch the kids Friday night and Saturday and got all the kids ready and to the temple. I really don't know how we would have done it without her. She even cleaned the house Friday night after my sister's kids and mine destroyed it. I was so sad when she had to leave on Sunday, especially because she lives so far away, I know it will be awhile before we see her again.
Now that everything has settled down I can focus on getting our house put back together. We've had so many people in and out for the last couple of weeks, it'll be nice to be able to focus on getting ready for this baby to arrive. Nick said the next 3 weeks he'll be pretty much out of commission here at home with final projects and such needing to be finished. So needless to say we're looking forward to this summer break BIG TIME!
I was able to take Andrew and Madelyn to my parents and Nick's parents for Easter and they had a great time. Andrew and Madelyn got little baskets from the Easter bunny this morning and notes from him too! We have some pretty cute pictures that I'll put up in a couple days, once I get them off the camera. Here are some pictures of my sister's bridals that I loved. Enjoy!
(P.S. Sorry this post is so scatter brained, we've been busy, obviously!)

(My mom and Rachel)

Potty Training, again...

2009-03-31T17:45:00.002-06:00

Well Madelyn has decided she doesn't like being dirty and runs to the bathroom every time she needs to pee or poop. She freaks out completely if she has to poop or if she goes in her diaper. I'm thankful that she wants to go potty on the toilet but I had forgot how nasty potty training is. She could sit on the toilet all day if I let her. Usually she'll go a little in the toilet, then stand up and pee more on the floor. We first tried the little toilet chair, that Andrew trained on, but if there was anything "yucky" in it, she wouldn't go anymore. She'd want me to clean it out. Now we've moved on to using her little Dora toilet seat that fits on the big potty and I can just flush anything "yucky" down so she can continue her task.
In other news, we're excited to start a garden in the back and get our backyard in order. Andrew talks about all the things we're going to grow, he's so excited. He can't wait for "Jack Frost to leave for good," so we can plant our seeds. His great grandma (Nana) educated him about Jack Frost and how he bites your toes and hands, which Andrew takes very literally.
This weekend Nick and I are hosting my sister's soon to be in laws from Italy. So needless to say I've been a little anxious to get our house in order and get things cleaned up around here. It's hard to clean everything up, considering the kids are right behind me undoing everything I do.The big huge belly doesn't help either. There's so much going on from now until this baby comes that I feel like I'm in a whirlwind.
I don't know if I mentioned it before but Nick's company had more layoffs and made everyone take paycuts. I've also stopped watching Hailey, Isaak, and Elsie full time so our budget has taken a huge hit. I'm still doing consulting and hope they will let me continue to do that if I don't really take a break when the baby comes. It's only 4 hrs a week but gives us about $400/month. Which is a lot for us right now, with all the pay cuts. I feel really blessed that Nick and I still have jobs and that we've been helped out so much from my Nana and Nick's dad. They each come over once a week and sit while the kids nap and I'm at work. I'm hoping this little guy is laid back and I can get him on the same schedule so I can still work and not put anyone out. That's a lot to hope for, so we'll see how everything works out!
I hope everyone is doing well!

I'm putting off folding laundry!

2009-03-24T14:33:00.002-06:00

I think the permanent title for my blog should be blogging slacker, seriously! I love reading everyone's blogs when I have time, but it takes me forever to update my own. I decided since I want to put off folding the laundry for as long as possible, I should blog. I don't have any kids to watch this week and I almost don't know what to do with myself! Except for the fact that I have my sister's bridal shower to get together and my house to clean for her in-laws that are flying in next weekend from Italy and staying at my house. Crazy times. Nick has a huge assignment due this Thursday that he's been working on, literally, FOREVER! I feel so bad for him. He works so hard.
I actually have a story to tell this time, instead of just updates...
So Sunday Nick and I went with his parents to their stake center to watch the Draper Temple Dedication and we were sitting in the last row of metal chairs, talking very quietly, before the dedication began. They were showing pictures of the temple and playing music while everyone took their seats. Anyway, this lady that was sitting two rows in front of us (with no one sitting in between the rows) came up to us and said "Hi." We were like, uh, "hi." Then she started pointing to each of us while demanding, "STOP talking, now! No more through this whole thing, okay?" Mind you this is Nick's dad, mom, Nick, and me sitting there. I couldn't believe it! Nick and his mom were just whispering to each other about temple stuff, I was reading, and Nick's dad was just watching the pictures! Normally I can quickly think of something clever to say, but I was in complete SHOCK! Especially considering there was a whole row of older kids sitting on her same row, who were talking to each other, giggling, and moving around a lot. Gee I wonder how people get the impression that Mormons are self righteous and rude? I can't imagine how this person treats people in the outside world, holy cow! I should've gotten her name and what ward she attends, so we could pay a visit and sit behind her with our children! Then she'd know what loud is! Crazy stuff, eh?

Two Digits!

2009-02-16T11:26:00.002-07:00

Yea! The pregnancy ticker is down to only two digits now. We're getting there, slowly but surely. I told Nick that this is probably the first pregnancy where I'm excited about the baby coming but also content with the fact that he's not here yet. They are so much easier to take care of in the womb versus out. I'm just enjoying feeling him kick and wiggle all the time. Next Monday I have my glucose screening appointment. In the past I always throw up after drinking the sugar drink, but maybe this time won't be so bad.
Nick managed to get through his 12 hr shift (the Saturday before last) and then got both his assignments turned in and took a test. The prof. still hasn't said anything about the test to the class but Nick said only 1 student turned in their test before the time was up and everyone was pretty upset with how it went. Hopefully that translates into a bad average on the test and a good score for Nick. We're excited for this semester to be behind us!
Andrew has started up with his tantrums again, but now he adds in lots of "humphs" and "sighs" and sounds that tell me how disgusted he is with my parenting. Hopefully it's a short stage he's going through because it's really annoying!
Madelyn is at the end of her month long stage of teething. She's getting 4 teeth right now and goes through about 3 shirts a day, because of all the drool. Her teeth come in so slowly! I hope these are the last ones for awhile. Everyday she is coming up with new words and repeats them over and over and over throughout the day.
We still can't agree on a name for the baby, but the ones we like are Timothy, Elijah, and Luke. Let me know what you guys like...

My husband, the amazing man!

2009-02-06T19:43:00.004-07:00

I just had to write a quick post about Nick. He told me that past Valentine's Days he's been a little lame, so this year he has been leaving me notes all around the house since February 1st. He calls it the 14 Days of Valentine's. I love it! He's left notes in the cereal box, microwave, light on my nightstand, in a bag of bagels, and one was an email with a song. All this while he has been studying like crazy and working OVERTIME at work. Last Saturday and this Saturday he's had to work, even though he got in over his required 40 hrs and goes to classes at the U too. It makes me feel really special that he takes the time to think about me even though he is completely overloaded. I hope I can find something really cool to do for him this Valentine's Day, anyone have any cool ideas?

Blogging slacker

2009-01-30T16:39:00.002-07:00

That's me! I haven't even taken the time to read others' blogs, let alone update mine, until today. I got a reminder from Summer that it's been awhile, I just didn't realize how long it had been since I wrote anything. Thanks Summer for getting me going again!
Some updates:
Nick started the semester on January 13th and is taking two graduate classes this semester and works full time. He got an A- in his class last semester and I am so proud of him, especially because the class was REALLY hard. I'm excited for him to have the summer off and be able to really do well at work and have fun with the kids and me.
I just had my 24 week appointment on Wednesday and the baby seems to be doing really well. We still don't have a name for the little guy, but hopefully by the time he comes we'll have some names we both like. I have been feeling so great, it's amazing! As long as I plan the weekly menu with mexican food I do really well actually cooking it and don't get sick, weird eh? One week we had lots of pork on the menu (because it was on sale) and I didn't feel good and had NO desire to cook. I've still been working twice a week, consulting for insurance, and watching kids Tuesday-Friday. Needless to say I've been busy with Nick always at work and school but I've been BLESSED with this pregnancy and been able to keep up with everything so far.
Andrew is still loving preschool and loves to tell me all the things he learns. I love helping in his class once a month too, kids are so cute! He is growing like a weed and amazes me with his insight into things. I.E., Me: Andrew, you make me so happy! Andrew: You make me happy, but also sad, and mad too! We've had a few problems with him calling me names like "pee-pee head" the other day after school, and having consequences like time outs. He gets three minute time outs, that end up going for about 12 minutes because he "falls" off of time out, and the clock starts over, or he talks back to me, or tries to play with toys, etc. I hold on to the hope that someday he'll shape up when I threaten time out.
Madelyn is talking like crazy. Some of her favorite words right now are: naughty, poopy, peas (or p-p-p for please), don't, Aneeee (for Andrew), Mommyyyy, Daddyyyy, crinckle, tickle, yucky, etc. She's been saying two word sentences too, like "Don't Aneee" or "Don't go" or "poopy out" (when she's sitting on the potty). She keeps me busy and running around like crazy (probably the reason I'm 6 months pregnant and haven't gained weight). She'll patiently sit for a good 5 minutes, whileI do her hair, and once I'm done she promptly stands up and un-does everything I just did.
Well there's the novel of what we're up to. I hope everyone is doing well!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-24T10:25:00.006-07:00

I just wanted to do a quick post and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope we can all remember Christ's birth and the miracles that took place. I'm so grateful for my family and friends and for this time we get to have a break and reflect on our lives and blessings! We love you all and hope this new year gives new opportunity for good changes.
Love,
The Nielsons!
Here are some pictures/highlights of 2008

An exciting weekend

2008-12-13T22:30:00.002-07:00

Nick and I got to go to the Forgotten Carols last night and it was awesome! I seriously cried with every song that was sung and it wasn't just because I'm hormonal! I would recommend everyone see it! Nick got the tickets for me as my Christmas present and I'm so glad he did. I can't wait to get tickets for family members as presents through the years. It's especially powerful if you're having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. Nick even cried, even though he will deny it if you ask him.
Today we got to go to Fetal Fotos and found out that we are having a BOY! We are really excited and can't wait to agree on his name! Nick likes Timothy a lot (as do I), but I really love the name Elijah too. Decisions, decisions!
Nick has his final on Monday, so after that hopefully we'll have many more exciting weekends! Wish him well, he needs it!

Andrew is growing up!

2008-12-01T18:01:00.002-07:00

Today was Andrew's first day of part-time preschool. When we would talk about going to school he would get a little sad (probably because I told him he couldn't be naughty to his teachers and friends) and say he didn't want to go to school. We got there at 8:30 to meet his teacher and check things out before class started and he did so well. Once he saw his own cubby and sitting mat with his name on each, he was sold! The teacher had just made a bear den because they are learning about bears this week, he was so excited! When I picked him up he got to put his papers in his backpack and wear it out to the car, how cool is that?!? After school he played on the playground with his good buddy Isaak. Madelyn even played with the big kids and went down a big twisting slide( taller than me) all by herself! She wanted so badly to stay at school with Andrew, she even pulled a chair up to the table to play with him when I dropped him off this morning, but she still has a few years to go. It was weird not having a load of kids for a couple hours, it was just Madelyn and me! I didn't even have work for the two hours I normally do on Monday-so we got to go grocery shopping, with just the two of us. You'd think with not having so many kids that I'd have my house all cleaned up from our huge long trip to Oregon, but no, it's a mess! I think it's going to take a couple weeks for me to recoup from this one. One highlight of the trip was that we got to stop in Portland on the way home and see Nick's sister, Lisa, and her fiance, Steve. It was nice to get to see my grandparents again, it's been 2 years since I saw them last and they are going through a lot. My grandpa is 94 (turns 95 nextMarch) and my grandma is 88 (89 next June). My grandpa just had his third stroke and my grandma suffers from dementia. They are still in their home, with my aunt and uncle taking turns caring for them. It was good to be in Oregon again, but sad to see my grandma and grandpa, whom I adore, suffering so much. I'm really thankful for my amazing family and that I was blessed to grow up with so many great memories with them!
We get to find out next Saturday (December 13th) what the gender of our baby is...Fetal Fotos here we come! Nick is liking the name Timothy (my dad's name) for a boy and we're still thinking Ella for a girl. Although we're not sure of middle names because there are so many good people in our families to name our children after...so we'll see.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that you're all recovering from turkey coma!

Twilight

2008-11-21T11:26:00.004-07:00

So last night I got to see Twilight at the midnight showing and it was fabulous! I haven't read the books because I don't like to be disappointed with the movie. I'm not a person that would read or even give the time of day to vampire entertainment, but this was actually really good. So I think I'm ready to read the first book now! I didn't get to bed until 3am, but luckily Kristie (Hailey's mom) was nice enough to have Hailey come over later than usual so I could sleep in! I don't think I've stayed up that late (having fun) since I was in college, good times! I have to get pictures from everyone else that was smart enough to bring their cameras, so I'll post those at a later time! Oh and I almost forgot that I had my 3rd appt on Wednesday and everything is going really well. The baby's heartrate was in the 160-170's range. Fast little heart! If I remember correctly Madelyn was usually in the 145-150's range and Andrew was in the 160's range...just a thought. My doctor changed his mind about when we're doing the next ultrasound (changed to December 31st) but for insurance reasons we're going to change it to after the first of the year to help with our deductible for next year. Since we're doing that it'll save us about $250, so Nick said I could do fetalfotos! So we get to find out in a couple more weeks what we're having.

Husband Tag

2008-11-12T15:57:00.003-07:00

How long did you date before you were married? 7 months.

How long have you been married? 4 years and 4 months.

What does he do that surprises you? He always takes out the trash and I never have to worry about the garbage not getting picked up because he always takes it to the curb too. One thing I don't even have to think about, I love it! He also picks up my packet from work every Wednesday, I don't have to ask him to do that either!

What is your favorite feature of his? Where do I start? I love everything about him! Top of my PG rated list is: his eyes and hands.

What is your favorite quality of his? I love that he is such an awesome person and always thinking of others. I love his mind too!

Does he have a nickname for you? Yes, but it's not appropriate. Mild ones are babe, love, honey. Andrew calls me honey too because he hears Nick saying it. Cute.

What is his favorite color? Blue and green, depends on the day.

What is his favorite food? Marsala steak and potatoes from Carrabba's. SOOO GOOD!

What is his favorite sport? Do electronics count as a sport? He really likes to go paint balling but hasn't had the time!

When and where was your first kiss? I'm going to be a little vague and go with, in my room at my house on Christmas. We were snowed in and Nick couldn't go home-all the power was out and the gate wouldn't open!

Favorite thing to do as a couple? I'm going to go with our second favorite thing =)...we love going out. We really like to spend time as a couple but we also love to be with our kids as a family. It doesn't happen as often as it should!

Do you have any children? 2 with 1 more in the oven.

Does he have a hidden talent? He has an awesome singing voice, I absolutely love it!

How old is he? 26

Who said I love you first? He did, I think.

What is his favorite type of music? He's open to most music. Not rap so much.

Do you think he will read this? Yes.
I tag Lesley, Lianna, and whoever else hasn't been tagged and wants to do this one.

It's that time again

2008-11-03T20:17:00.002-07:00

I think it's time for another post. Although, not much has changed! Halloween was so fun with the kids. We were able to go with our friend Summer Larsen to a trunk or treat and the kids loved it. Madelyn was really scared of people and wouldn't walk towards them to ask for candy, but Andrew had no problems at all! We went to the Olive Garden because we had a giftcard and were there for 2 hrs! The waitress was so slow!!! We then went to see Nana and Fa on the way home and then stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Nielson's for some pictures. Thank goodness for a father-in-law that loves to take pictures! We didn't end up getting home until like 10:30 or so and the kids were so tired! I felt bad because we didn't see any of the older couples in our ward or take the kids to their friends houses. Next year, we will be better!
In our ward there are about 5 ladies that are pregnant right now. All of them have cute little baby bumps, but I just look the same. People can't ever tell I'm pregnant until I'm at least 6+ months along. On a good note. I just ordered all these pants from Old Navy because they were having a fabulous deal and I got the size I normally get and I had to return them all because they were huge on me! Oh Yeah! And I just got a ton of clothes from Jenn Tukuafu, so that's a plus! Thanks Jenn!!!! Well, that's all I can think of for now. Night!

Good Times and Bad

2008-10-23T10:43:00.002-06:00

I'll start off with the good news. I had my second ultrasound last night at the doctor's office and the baby is looking awesome! We saw the heartbeat for the second time and he/she looks just like the pictures online show he/she should look. Just two more visits before we find out if we're having a girl or boy. I'll have to start a poll someday, to see what ya'll think.
The bad news. Andrew has been sick and very miserable! He's had fevers for three straight days and his tonsils are swollen and filled with pus (sick, I know)! When he talks I can hear his tonsils touching, it's so nasty. His eyes have also been really bugging him. They are red and swollen and bloodshot. I think this must be related to allergies or something. Even on tylenol and motrin his fevers don't really go below 101. He's had two rapid strep tests that have come back negative and we're waiting on cultures, still! Last night the doctor said he could have a bacterial infection that they can't test for (right!) and to go in again if he starts getting a stiff neck! Nick missed my prenatal appt. again because he was at the doctor's with Andrew. I've been really mean lately because I'm sleep deprived and just want Andrew to feel better. I just hope Madelyn doesn't get this because she has been sneeking sips out of Andrew's sippy cup. She is so naughty!
Well the little miss is up now, gotta go! I hope you all are healthy and happy!

I could cry part II

2008-10-16T12:17:00.002-06:00

Sometimes bad things happen for a reason. A couple days ago Nick's computer starting wigging out and everything he tried wouldn't fix the problem (system wise). So yesterday and this morning he started taking out drives to see which was causing the problems. Well, in doing so, guess what he found?!? My glasses! One of the kids had pushed them into the back of the armoire behind the computer tower. We would've never found them if his computer hadn't, out of the blue, started wigging out! Now my glasses are found and his computer is fixed! The Lord answers our prayers all the time and I am so thankful!
This kind of reminded me of funny dreams I have related to babies...
One night I started sleep walking around our bedroom saying "where are the babies" as I was turning on all the lights in the room and flinging blankets off the bed. Nick finally woke me up (at least he thought he did) and we went back to bed. The next morning he told me all about it because I didn't remember a thing. We had been trying to get pregnant and all the tests for weeks said negative. I took one last one and just kind of left in on the floor, thinking I'd get the same result as every time before (this is the day after my sleepwalking, trying to find the babies episode) and it was positive! That was our Madelyn...
So my story this time- I had gone to my doctor to talk about starting clomid because we had no success otherwise and he suggested we start with the next cycle. Well a couple weeks after that (Setember 15th) I had a dream that I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. So that morning after Nick had left for work, I used my last pregnancy test and it was positive! These stories just make me think of how the Lord knows us, our concerns, and answers our prayers!

I could cry...

2008-10-14T12:06:00.002-06:00

Saturday we were at our ward party and right when we got there Madelyn knocked my glasses off my face. They fell on the gym floor and broke (not something I could fix). I thought no big deal, I just bought new prescription glasses and sunglasses and I could just start wearing the new ones. I had been keeping them in my purse just in case something happened to my old ones. We got home and I went through my purse and my glasses weren't there. I searched the whole house, both cars, everywhere, but no glasses! I've called a ton of places I've been in the last while but no one has turned in my glasses. The last time I remember wearing them was at the Utah State Fair on September 12th and the last time I thought I saw them in my purse was a couple Thursdays ago when I went to work for a couple hours at SelectHealth. I wore contacts the last couple days (which I can't stand for more than a couple hours) and now I have a stye or something in my eye that hurts all the time! I can't believe we just spent $175 on these glasses in August and I've already lost them! It makes me sick! Summer gave me a couple of her old pairs of glasses to use the frames with my new lenses (which I did use one frame for the new glasses but the others wouldn't work for the sunglasses) so I have one pair left. One of the lenses is my prescription but the other isn't, so I've been wearing those around for a couple hours but I start feeling weird and have to take them off.
Last week I was at my OB/GYN for an appt and he said I have a UTI, so I've been on antibotics for that, right when I got off antibiotics for my ear infection. I get really sick taking them and instead of morning sickness I get evening sickness. So with the combined antibiotics and evening sickness, Nick has had to pick up a lot of slack! I feel so bad for him and our house is in constant shambles. The kids have been pretty good besides Madelyn finally getting her two teeth in, so things will have to start looking up. I only have 3 more days of antibiotics!
I guess you're probably wondering about the "morning sickness" comment, yes we're expecting baby #3! I've been so worried because I haven't been sick like I was with Madelyn and Andrew, but we've seen the baby's heartbeat and everything looks good so far. The due date so far is May 24th and I couldn't be more excited to be pregnant during the winter! We didn't even have to take clomid, the timing was the Lord's and we are so thankful for the answer to our prayers!
The names we're liking right now are Ella Kirstie and Elijah Kirk (all family names except Elijah). We'll probably find out in December if we're having a boy or girl. With Madelyn we did fetalphotos when I was 17 weeks pregnant, but that was when my sister was due at the same time and we went together. This time we might just be patient and wait for the 20 week appt. with my doctor.
Sorry for the long post! They all seem to be long lately!

Google It Tag

2008-10-10T11:59:00.002-06:00

Go to Google images and type in your own answers for the topics below. Pick your favorite image on the first 3 pages of results and post it. (Try to do a different image than these if you have the same answer). Sorry Liane for not seeing this post sooner, I've been slow!
My First Name:

My Middle Name:

My Last Name:

Favorite Food:Italian!!!!

My Grandma's Name: Helen

A Pet I Use to Own: Cocker spaniel

My Age:

Favorite Place: (This is the Oregon state capital building, I used to play in the water in this black fountain when I was little, fun times!)

Favorite Color:

Nickname of a Friend: Nasty#1

Past Love: I used to love hotdogs when I was little...

What I'm Doing Right Now: (besides blogging)

Bad Habit:

A Place I Want to Visit:

My First Job (Besides babysitting):

I tag anyone who wants to do this on their blog!

It's been awhile

2008-09-30T22:18:00.002-06:00

I feel like I haven't blogged in a long long time! We've been so busy that I haven't been able to read others blogs or write on my own. Things have been so busy mostly because of Nick's schooling and how much time he dedicates to it.
The kids have been doing really well. Andrew is having a hard time not acting like the parent to Madelyn, but we are working on that everyday. He tries really hard to keep her out of things (which is nice) but the way he does it is the problem. Usually he'll drag her away from something by grabbing her by her head! She'll usually fight back by biting him, then they get into a fight. For the most part they get along well, the fights usually happen when one, or both of them are tired. We love naps around here, that's for sure!
I went to the doctor today because I've been having pain in my right ear for a little while and then this morning I woke up with pain radiating on the outside of my ear. The doctor said I have an ear infection and gave me some amoxicillin to take for the next 7 days. I hope it starts helping me feel better because I haven't been sleeping very well for awhile because I sleep on my right side or stomach.
Nick seems to be catching on to his class really well and is enjoying the new knowledge he's getting. Even though I'm exhausted from picking up the extra slack, I'm really excited for him to further his knowledge! It makes any time we get to spend together very precious, that's for sure!
I'm really excited for conference this weekend and can't wait for the talks that will be given. They always uplift and give me hope and sometimes I get great naps too!
I hope this next week finds everyone happy and well! Hopefully I'll be better about blogging and will have better and more interesting updates for next week...

What we've been up to

2008-09-09T21:49:00.008-06:00

This last Friday Nick and I packed up the kids and went to Bear Lake. We met my parents there (they had already been there since Labor Day) and had fun swimming in the pool, sauna, and playing on the awesome toys they have for kids. Then Nick got a call from work wanting him to come in and fix something that only he knew how to fix. My parents had just left with our van to drop my sister off in Rexburg to start school, so there wasn't really any way for him to get to work. He ended up leaving at around 7pm, when my parents got back from Idaho. He went into work that night and then stayed home the rest of the weekend and went back to work Monday (which he had originally taken off for the vacation). I ended up staying with my parents and the kids had a lot of fun. I felt bad for my family because Madelyn kept crying randomly through out the night because she had a really bad bum rash and is teething. I had to be at work Monday by 2pm (the first appt was 2:10) and we were supposed to be checked out of the condo by 10am, so I thought we had plenty of time to get me to work on time. Well, we didn't end up leaving the condo until just before noon and I thought there was NO way I would make it to work. It took Nick 2.5 hrs to get home just driving in our car (at 80 mph after the canyon) and my dad was in the suburban pulling a huge boat! I felt like I was 12 again, throwing a fit about how I wouldn't make it to work and it wasn't really a day I could miss... My dad got me to work at 2:15, only 5 minutes late-so that means he made it from Bear Lake to West Valley City in 2 hrs 15 minutes, pulling a boat! My parents dropped me off and watched the kids for the 1.5 hrs while I was at work and then picked me up when I was done. When I got home my mom had unpacked almost everything and had done 2 loads of laundry-dried and folded! I couldn't believe it, she was exhausted but still managed to help me out so tremendously!
I haven't posted my weight update lately because my scale has been saying the battery is low and won't weigh me, but when I got back from the lake it decided to work again. So the news is I haven't lost anything more but I haven't gained. Which I'm very happy about because we've had so many birthdays and parties in the family-so I haven't been counting my cals or doing anything I was before. I just bought a jogging/bike stroller so now I can start walking and biking with the kids. I'm really excited and have Natalie to thank for finding a great deal for me!
Nick is starting to really like the class he is taking and to add a cherry on top-he just bought a new laptop for school. I told him he should try and get his work to cover some of it because it's for school but he doesn't think he should try. Whatever!
Madelyn turned one yesterday and we had a little birthday cake for her and sang to her. We didn't do a friend party for her because she wouldn't remember it and wouldn't even know what's going on but either next year or when she turns 3 we'll party...She goes in tomorrow for her 1 yr appt. so I'll put her stats up after then.
Andrew is growing and learning like crazy. We've been exploring different preschools for him and he's REALLY excited about the thought of going to school. He's on the waiting list for Hillside Elementary and the school district is sending me info on the other schools that have preschools and their stats. It costs about $80 a month through the school district and about $240 through Challenger.
Here are some pictures of what we've been up to...

Madelyn's first pigtails, cheese!
She'll let me do her hair if I let her splash in the sink at the same time
Andrew took about 20 pictures of things around the house (i.e. me, toys, cars in the garage, shoes, bottle caps, etc.) This is just one of the many pictures he took of Hailey right after she ate. He loves Hailey! I did a slide show at the bottom of the post of the random pictures he took because it's pretty funny. He knows how to turn the camera on and off and take many many pictures. He even knows how to change it from taking pictures to viewing them all...he's just like his daddy!
Madelyn at Bear Lake having a blast with daddy on the swings. Notice the matching nail polish? This is actually the first time I painted her nails-I know I'm lame!
She was being so photogenic!

Here's Andrew waking up from his nap to get ready to go to the lake. He opened his Pooh tent and put his spiderman sheets, Owl Babies book (gift from Rachel Harding when he was born), tin box, baby doll, and other treasures with him. I was really surprised when I opened his door to wake him and Madelyn up! Madelyn and daddy going down the slide.
Andrew climbing a rockwall at the Bear Lake park. He insisted on wearing this swimming floatie "life jacket" thing even though it's way to small for him. I would post the other pictures of him but you can see his "junk" way too clearly because the thing is so dang tight on him!
A rare moment when Andrew would smile for me while I had the camera. He's so devilishly cute!

Here's the slideshow of Andrew's pictures...

Six things...

2008-09-03T11:13:00.006-06:00

I was tagged by Christie.

The Rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you possess.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I have a really sensitive gag reflex. I can barely swallow tiny pills let alone big huge vitamins. I can't even take prenatals when I'm pregnant because I absolutely will throw them up. When I go to the dentist and they take my xrays, the tech ends up running to push the button to take the picture and runs back because I'm gaging so bad and tears are rolling down my face. I reassure them I'm not crying, just gaging.

2. I can't wear turtleneck shirts or really anything that touches the front of my neck. Again relating to the gag reflex...when I'm pregnant even if the seatbelt sits on my neck I will throw up. I have to wear v-necks or round neck shirts, which are sometimes hard to wear with g's.

3. I hate swimming alone. In my family we would often go camping for long periods of time, of course only where there were lakes present. My older brother (Ryan), my older sister (Monica), and I would always try and swim across any lakes we were at. One time I was in the middle of a lake (Suttle Lake I think, which has tons of full size, huge trees on the bottom) when my brother started telling me about fresh water sharks...Needless to say, I found a huge tree that was floating in the lake and sat there for a good while, until I could find the courage to swim back to shore. One thing that probably aggravated my hate of swimming alone was that my classmate in 6th grade, Rory, drowned at the same lake during that summer.

4. I have very high expectations when it comes to Italian food and I love fettuccine alfredo! I order it almost all the time when at Italian restaurants. Even when dieting I just order the kids meal and eat half of it, to fit it into my calorie range for the day. It's so yummy! My best friend Kelli and I would always go to an Italian restaurant in Bend, OR that served spinach fettuccine alfredo with chicken, it's rated #1 on my list, Carrabba's #2, Macaroni Grill #3 (just recently moved up), and if I'm dying for an Italian fix and the above named restaurants aren't close- Olive Garden comes in as #4.

5. Speaking of food...I could eat a whole batch of cookies by myself! Cookies are my weakness, if I didn't like cookies I would probably weigh 100 lbs. less! My favorite are Oatmeal chocolate chip and white chocolate macadamia nut. Nick's sister just made some chocolate chip zucchini cookies that were delicious and are now a favorite.

6. I refuse to clean the toilets! Nick and I had a discussion before we were married about this. I let him know that I would not be the one who would be cleaning toilets (this only pertains to toilets that guys use). I don't know if it was from living with brothers, or what, but guys make bathrooms disgusting! When he cleans the bathrooms, Nick does a fabulous job!

You're it:Lianna, Natalie, Summer, Allana, Rachel, Shellie

I Bet

2008-08-28T22:53:00.003-06:00

You all just couldn't wait for me to post my weigh in update! I know I'm a little late posting it, but here it is...this last week brought me down 3 more lbs. Not the huge numbers I was hoping for, but a loss and I'll take it. That leaves 46 lbs. to get to my 1st step goal. I only have about 7 weeks to be at that goal, so it probably won't happen-but I'll take whatever I can get. Nick has finished 2 class days out of 32 for this semester and I hope he will hang in there. The first day was a huge disaster because right before he left work to be at school things blew up (that of course he designed) so orders could not be tested and sent to customers, then the teacher announced that the course was going to be very fast paced and they weren't going to do much review at all (Nick last took the pre-req classes 3 yrs ago), and then on the way home from class his car started smoking! What a way to be welcomed back to school, eh? I think if Nick can take it one class at a time, he'll do really well. We were able to go to the temple tonight, thanks to Nick's mom watching the kids and the bishop's daughter filling in last minute as well. It's such a nice way to hush the mind and not think about all the little everyday things. I have to give a shout out to Natalie for being willing to watch the kids even though she wasn't feeling well. THANK YOU!!! Well I think that's it for now. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!

Dilemma

2008-08-24T22:23:00.002-06:00

We're having a dilemma because apparently Nick and I aren't capable of making decisions (especially REALLY important ones)...Here's the deal. When we got married we decided that once we started having kids, we would space them 2 yrs. apart. So we were planning on getting pregnant this September or October, but...we can't decide if we should wait another year or not. I don't know if it's better to wait because I could lose a lot more weight in a year or just keep losing until I actually get pregnant within the next couple of months and then lose the rest after the baby comes...One reason I don't want to wait is because the sooner we're done having kids, the sooner I get to go back to school. Another is I really like the age difference with Madelyn and Andrew. The reasons for waiting are losing more weight and of course saving more money...So any opinions about spacing between kids, please let me know what you think...

It's past time for another update...

2008-08-20T20:56:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I didn't have time to post my update for the weigh in because I was watching my sister's 3 yr old twins and 11 month old baby. Needless to say, it was a busy day!
Well my weight loss totaled 4 lbs. for this last week (2 lbs. more from my last weight update), leaving 49 more to go. I was hoping for 5 lbs.+ but I think the monthly cycle didn't allow that to happen. I'm hoping next Tuesday I'll be able to put up some good numbers to catch up to my goals. I have 10 more lbs to lose in order to be at the half way mark of meeting my goal.
Every day Madelyn is walking more and more. It's good to see her try over and over again, even when she falls. She keeps saying random words here and there, mostly repeating what we say. Some of the things she says: Dada, mama, here, yeah, And (for Andrew), Madyn (for Madelyn), and of course the famous "NO."
Andrew seems to be going through a phase of testing the limits again. I don't know what brought that on, but he is finding himself on timeout quite often. He's been really quick to say "I'm sorry", and somehow thinks that means he shouldn't have to face any consequences. Hopefully this new phase will pass quickly!
Nick and my dad are getting tons done in the basement. Plumbing is done, vents are pretty much done, framing is almost done. I can't wait for these last rooms to look like the rest of the basement. It will be so great! Well I think that's it for now.

Cute Videos

2008-08-17T22:55:00.004-06:00

The first video is of Andrew "helping" Madelyn walk/dance. They are the craziest kids and we love them so much!!!!

This next one is Madelyn walking...Tonight she took 11 steps by herself so we grabbed the camera to capture it on video. She ended up only taking about 6 steps or so to Nick but we got it on video. Her hair is crazy because we had just taken out her pigtails to get her ready for bed...

Eight things...

2008-08-15T10:11:00.002-06:00

Tagged by Christie

8 things that I am passionate about

The Gospel
Nick
Andrew and Madelyn
My Family
Learning
Music
Planning and budgeting =-)
Playing

8 books I've read and enjoyed

The Book of Mormon
Becoming Baby Wise!!!
The Work and the Glory
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic
All of the Nancy Drew books (of course this is from when I was young)
I Can Be Reverent When...
The Chronicles of Narnia
Certain books by Mary Higgins Clark (guilty pleasure when I was a teen)

8 words/phrases that I say often

I Love You!!!!
Seriously
Tender...
Are you the mommy?
You're the best!
If you don't stop that before I get to five...!!!
Just two more bites...
You're okay. I promise!

8 things that I want to do before I die

Go on lots of vacations with my family
Have all debts paid off
Raise my children
Help my children with their children
Do lots of temple work
Teach my children the Gospel
See my children serve missions
See my children married in the temple

8 Things that I've learned over the past

Life's too short to not have fun
Not to wish away time
How to budget and not waste money
How to snow/water ski
That being a good example is the best way to teach my children
Work hard and not make excuses
I need to be healthy and enjoy my young years
Having a potty trained child is AMAZING!!!

8 places I want to see

Sacred Grove
Hawaii
Mexico
France
Niagara Falls
New York
Denmark
Europe in general I guess...

8 things that I currently want/need

To finish my education
Basement to be done!
Carpet/Flooring for the basement
To lose more weight
An exercise buddy
My own furniture
My husband to be able to work at home or run his own business
Patience

8 people I want to TAG

Lianna
Natalie
Summer
Erin
Jenn T.
Jennifer A.
Rachel
Shellie

It's time for another update

2008-08-14T20:05:00.004-06:00

I've lost another pound, so I have 51 lbs. to go. I do my weigh ins on Tuesdays so maybe I'll just do weight updates once a week, that way it will look like an impressive number instead of 1 lb here and 2 there!
I've started watching Jenn's niece, Hailey, and she is so cute! It's amazing how well she just fits into our schedule. Andrew keeps telling me that he loves Hailey and talks about her all the time! It's pretty cute.
Andrew had his 3 yr. appt. last week and is in the 95th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height. The doctor said he is doing really well and that I should probably think about putting him in pre-school because he's functioning on a 4 yr. old level. I think we'll keep our eye out for something, but it's not something I think is super important right now. When we were waiting for the doctor they gave Andrew a little paper robe to put on because he had to be only in undies. I put it on him because he was "coldie" and it looked like a little dress. So naturally I took a picture of him with my phone, which then mad him really mad. So he took off the dress and then because he was naked when the doctor came in, he hid under the chair! This is the same kid that will run outside NAKED for the whole world to see, what a weirdo!
Madelyn is growing like a weed. She has taken 4 steps by herself now, she can't seem to get past that number, but I'm still enjoying her being in the pre-walking phase. I can't believe that she will be one in just 3 weeks! It's crazy how time flies.
Nick starts school in 2 weeks. I hope that he'll adjust well to working full time while being in school. The one thing I'm not looking forward to is the extra gas money to drive up to the U, hopefully it will pay off some day.
Well, I guess that's all for now. We taken some pretty cute pictures of the kids that I'll post in the next couple of days. Good times!

And

2008-08-08T08:24:00.001-06:00

Another two pounds hit the dust! I had Nick weigh himself to make sure the scale wasn't just being nice to me...52 more to go for now.

Another quick update

2008-08-07T22:05:00.002-06:00

2 more pounds down, 54 more to go. I'm really happy because I just passed a milestone that I haven't been able to get pass since before I got pregnant with Madelyn.
Oh and can I just say that I'm really excited for the Olympics to start!

Wow.

2008-08-03T23:09:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was Andrew's 3rd birthday and I just can't believe he is already 3! I think back on the 3 years we've been privileged to have him in our family, and the joy he has brought to us just overwhelms me! It's amazing how insightful and fun he can be. He picks up on everything (especially on things I don't want him to)! The things I love most about Andrew are: his smile, how he dances (like his daddy), how he loves his sister, his interest and concern for everyone, how most of the time he listens really well, and how smart he is. Both Nick and I love to watch our kids play together and we are excited to have more! I'm really excited to see what the future brings for Andrew.
Oh and sorry to those that came to the party...Usually our house is very cool but the air conditioner broke right as people started coming and then wasn't fixed until about 6:30 that night. We appreciate all of your support and hope you all had a good time regardless of the heat!

Just an update

2008-07-30T09:56:00.001-06:00

4 lbs. down, only 56 to go...for now anyway. I guess exercising for a couple hours a day works. Geez!

Can I just say...

2008-07-29T22:32:00.002-06:00

I am so frustrated with Wasatch Homes right now! We've had Ram builders come and give us a quote to repair the stucco on our house. They basically said that the builders did the stucco incorrectly and that is why it is cracking and breaking off. He also said that a lot of the houses in the neighborhood he noticed many problems with how the stucco was done. We've emailed the builder with the quote from Ram builders ($3K to fix it) and they will not answer us! Nick is going to call the guy again tomorrow and talk to him about how our house is only 5 yrs old and the condition was in no way caused by something we did, or did not do. We've also told him if he'd like to foot the bill for a stucco inspector to come out and do an inspection to "certify" that things were not done correctly or per code, we'd be happy to do that...but nothing. I don't think he understands that this isn't something we'll just let go of. There have been too many things they have not finished with this house or done incorrectly (not to mention not finishing many things from the walk through!). I mean is this something that you'd expect a newer home to have happening? When I first bought the house the roof starting leaking during some rainstorms and it took me going over to the model house almost every week and faxing in complaints for them to come out and look at the problem. When they did end up coming they just put a tarp over the skylight where the leak was for weeks. The skylight has still not been completely fixed from them sealing it off.
If anyone has any advise or has dealt with this before, we'd really appreciate your input!

Time flies...

2008-07-27T21:31:00.002-06:00

This week went by pretty fast, it seems. Today Madelyn and I missed church because she wasn't feeling too great and was pretty ornery. I think it's just all the teeth she's getting in lately.
Andrew is really excited about his birthday being on Saturday and he can't wait to send out invitations. Hopefully I can get them finished up soon. I can't believe he's 3 on Saturday, it's so weird! I feel like I'm still 18! I keep having dreams where I'm in high school still and guys will ask me out, but I tell them I can't date because I'm married and after a while in my dream I remember that I have kids too. I think maybe that's just me trying to hold onto being young and carefree...but those days are long gone.
Tonight I saw a picture that was taken in Oak City at Nick's grandpa's 90th birthday celebration, Nick took me with him to meet his family there right before we were engaged, and we both looked so skinny and young! It's crazy what married life will do to a person! Just kidding, I think it's the kids' fault... seriously! Anyway, I'm back on the weight loss shenanigan again. I only have 10 weeks as of tomorrow to lose 60 lbs. That's probably when I'll start clomid again. I've been doing really well, eating 1000-1200 cals a day and exercising. I'm pretty much to the point where anything is better than nothing, so I'll give it my best. One thing is for sure, I get so sick being pregnant I always lose at least 15 lbs. and keep it off almost the whole pregnancy. With Madelyn I gained about 8 lbs. and that was only the last month when I had to take it easy.
Well, this next week should be a pretty good one. I imagine most of the time will be spent in the basement and hopefully outside (if it gets cooler).
I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

So cute!

2008-07-20T21:02:00.005-06:00

Here he is!
Jackson Douglas Smith born July 15, 2008 at 6:18pm weighing in at 4 lbs. 5 oz. and 16 inches long.
He is seriously the cutest premie I've ever seen and we're very excited for Doug and Shellie! He's almost back up to his birth weight and doing really well.

Well, in two weeks from this last Saturday Andrew will be three years old. I can't believe it! We haven't really decided what to do for his party yet, but I think we'll have a friend party and then a family party. Last year we didn't have a friend party for him (that I remember), so this year we will definitely be doing one. He's been telling me forever that he wants a spiderman cake this year, so we'll see how that one goes. So for all his friends' parents keep Saturday August 2nd from 1-3pm open on your schedules. I think that's when we'll do the friend party.
I don't have much new to report with Madelyn...she just gets into everything and is a big time busy body! Oh, today she did come down a flight of stairs at Nick's parents house all by herself. She did it very cautiously! The only way I got her to do it was to take a toy from her and move it to the bottom of the stairs. It worked like a charm. She's also been standing on our baby gate waiting for Andrew to open it so she can swing back and forth on it. She thinks it's pretty funny.
Nick gets to register for class next week and then starts school in a month. We're both pretty nervous about it because it seems like there's never time as things are now, and then we're adding more to the pot.
We've bought the whirlpool tub, vanity, sink, faucets for the tub and sink, and tub surround for the basement bathroom now. My dad and Nick are going to try and finish the plumbing this week. Last minute we decided to put hook ups for a washer and dryer in the bathroom down there, so that changed some of our plans, but I think we're back on schedule now. There's only a tiny bit of framing left to do and then we'll be on to wiring and insulation. So far this year we've spent a little over $3K on the basement and about $5K total in the past 2 years. Luckily that includes most of the expensive items for the bathroom. I can't wait until it's ALL done and then we can get on with our lives! Like actually exercising and going to the gym...
Well I guess that about wraps it up. I hope everyone has a great week!

Here's some pics from the past couple weeks:
Madelyn getting all her dinner in her hair and everywhere, as usual!
Andrew learning how to suction cups onto his chin, that'll come in handy for sure!
My sister Jenny pulling the kids around, while pretending to be a horse.They seemed to enjoy it!
Picture of Madelyn's crazy teeth. If you look closely you can see the front top one is through.
Andrew kickin' it after a long day of putting barrettes in his hair. It's hard to be beautiful!
Madelyn doing her silly smile...

A New Baby!

2008-07-15T22:58:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to write a quick post that Nick's sister, Shellie, just had her baby boy today! He is so cute! She was 32 weeks pregnant when her water broke today on her way home from having some prenatal screening. He weighs 4 lbs. 5 oz. and is doing really well. We couldn't be happier for them! Last year on the 4th of July they lost their little Max when Shellie was just 18 weeks pregnant and her water broke. Since then they've been sealed together and to their daughter, Sadie, and now have their sweet Jackson. I'd say they've been busy! It's pretty neat that he came on their anniversary and my birthday! We can't wait to meet him! I'll have to put up the picture they sent of him, he looks so good for being just 32 weeks. Any prayers in their behalf would be much appreciated!
Love to you all!

I'm too busy!

2008-07-13T21:56:00.003-06:00

This has been Andrew's answer to anything I ask him to do. He also wanted his sippy cup filled up so he threw it to/at Nick and said "fill up my water bottle dad." No please or thank you...fun times.
We've been thinking of selling our van and just using Nick's car. With trax making it's way out here, he could just ride that to work because there's a station directly behind his work building. It would save so much money. So if anyone is, or has family that is looking for a new vehicle let them know about us. It only has 12K miles on it and is a 2006. We bought it brand new and it's still under warranty.
Today Madelyn finally said mom and mama for the first time. It was cute she kept patting me on the back saying it. Every time we'd ask her to say mom in the past, she'd just say dada and smile.
We've also moved Madelyn into Andrew's room and it's been going pretty well. She's been a little fussy because her other front tooth is about to pop through, but it hasn't really bugged Andrew too much. Today she was crying after naps so Nick went up and got her. When he went in the room Andrew informed Nick that he was still going to sleep some more, and he did for another 2 hrs!
I need some ideas on how to decorate the room to accommodate both kids. I was thinking of painting 2 walls a nice chocolate brown and then putting up pink vinyl dots (or flowers) on Madelyn's side and then light blue dots on Andrew's side. My dad thought of the idea of doing the saying of what little girls and boys are made of in each color. Anyway, any thoughts would be nice.
Nick's brother in law came on Saturday all day, and framed most of the rest of the basement. It looks so good! We love it! He just has a little bit more to be finished. Tomorrow my dad and Nick are renting a cement cutting saw and going to do some major work to get the bathroom down there ready for plumbing. The retarded builders had the shower drain too close to the stub out for the toilet, so we get to move the toilet over. Then they also put the sink right next to the toilet, so we get to move that way over too. It takes so much work to do, so I'm glad my dad has dealt with this all before.
Well I guess that's the end of my random thoughts for the day.

Funny Nana

2008-07-10T10:57:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was a long day. I woke up at 6:30 am to make Nick and my dad breakfast before they went to work(not to mention went to bed after midnight the night before). Then we had a dentist appt. for Andrew and after that we went to a free movie in Bountiful with Monica, Jacob, Joseph, Porter, Shellie (Nick's sister) and her daughter Sadie. Then we got some party supplies for Andrew's birthday party (not for another month). Needless to say when we got home, I put the kids to bed and then had a little bit of quiet time to myself to pick up the house. I had just laid down on the couch when my Nana called. I answered the phone with kind of a yawn. The first thing she said to me was "Are you pregnant?" I was a little surprised and asked her where she came up with that. She said "you just sound really tired." I told her I was very tired, but very NOT pregnant (at least not that I'm aware of)! I need to lose at least 30 lbs. more and be on clomid or something before that happens...
Anyway, I just thought that was kind of funny...

I did it!

2008-07-10T00:29:00.002-06:00

With the help of Gatsby from the Blogger Team I was able to fix the blog! Yeah! I also updated and personalized my blog, finally! I wasn't in love with the pre-made templates so I experimented and this is what I came up with...Fun times!
I'm so happy! Well it's off to bed for me, Nick is probably wondering where in the heck I am!

Oops

2008-07-03T11:08:00.002-06:00

I was trying to update my layout/template, which happened successfully. But then I had to delete the add from the pyzam website from the html code and some how screwed up everything! Now I don't have the option to add back some of my page elements that are missing and I don't have a layout tab. Lovely little mess! I know Nick will know how to fix it, but I wanted to do it myself. I should have just left well enough alone! Oh well, at least I can still post...

Today...

2008-07-02T22:26:00.000-06:00

Nick made me breakfast this morning, it was so fabulous! The kids both stayed asleep, so we got to eat in peace which rarely happens. Nick's parents are having some problems with their sprinkler system so we were at their house most of the evening with him in a 5 foot hole, trying to fix things. Nick's mom, Mary, was nice enough to buy pizza so I wouldn't have to cook on our anniversary. We had fun in the yard with the kids running/crawling around. Madelyn still hates grass, so we had her on a blanket. She would try and play peekaboo with Nick while he was in a huge hole he and his dad dug the day before. Today Madelyn had her 9 month appt. (she's almost 10 months old, but they couldn't get her in sooner) and she is doing really well. I was really surprised that she's almost 20 lbs., she seems so small! She's in the 60th percentile for her weight (up from the 30th last time!), in the 70th percentile for height, and 80th for head circumfrence (thanks to both her parents having huge heads)! She now acts like she's talking on the phone all the time, regardless if she has a pretend phone or not. She just holds her hand/fist up to her ear and talks endlessly...She also plays peekaboo all the time, but fails to actually cover her eyes. She's taken 1-2 steps by herself and stands for short periods of time by herself too. I can't believe that she is already almost a year old! This year has gone by so fast! We love her so much and she truly adds spice to our lives.
Andrew is pretty much totally potty trained now. Four nights ago he was begging and crying telling us, while we were trying to put a diaper on for bedtime, that he wanted to be a big boy. So he promised us that he would keep his diaper dry that night and then the following nights we would let him go to bed with only undies on. The next morning I came out of my room and he was in the bathroom washing his hands and told me he needed his treat. I told him he couldn't have one because his diaper wasn't dry (I hadn't checked it, I just assumed he was trying to hide it because he had already taken it off and thrown it away). He pulled the diaper out of the trash, and thrust his hand in it saying "it's not wet mom, it's all dry!" Sure enough it was, he had woken up and gone to the bathroom and kept the diaper totally dry. I was so happy I gave him a brownie for breakfast! It's the best thing in the world! I told my mom I could have 10 kids if they would all be potty trained when they were two. The kid even goes in the kitchen and gets his own treat when he's done! It's freakin' amazing! Sometimes we have to remind him that washing his hands is a must BEFORE treats are given, but not too often. He's gone three nights without diapers and about a week without diapers during the day. Last night he pee'd a little in his undies which woke him up enough to stop, but I think he was confused because he got in bed with me (I felt him and he was dry) and I asked him if he had wet the bed and he said "no." Nick took him back upstairs to bed and said that his undies were wet but not through to his jammies.
Good times! I guess that's enough of a novel for today. I'm just so proud of my big boy!

I love my husband!

2008-07-01T17:33:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been four years tomorrow that we've been married and I love my husband more than ever! He is the best! I can't believe how much patience he has with the kids and especially with me! I remember the first time I met him playing human foosball and how I know he thought my best friend Kelli and I were/are so crazy! It's crazy to think of all the places I could've bought my first house and I ended up being 1.5 miles away from him! I always get excited to think that we get to be together forever, especially with our crazy kids! I love the gospel for the truth and joy it brings to this world and our lives. I am so grateful we were able to be married in the temple for time and all eternity. I couldn't imagine a better (or hotter) man to spend all that time with-he is the BEST! I love my monsieur! Oh la la!

These are some of my favorite pictures of him/us...

We're getting there...

2008-06-20T08:47:00.000-06:00

Today we officially paid off the rest of our school/Nick's car/basement debt. It's all gone! Now we just have the house and van to payoff. It's so nice to have it done with. Luckily all of it was 0%, so we never paid a dime of interest but we made about 5% in interest income on all of it. We decided to pay it off because the interest rates went so low and we were about done with the 0% deal. If we can stick to our budget then the van will be paid off in two years, luckily we don't pay any interest on that loan either. Then we'd just have our house left to pay off, but I think we'll end up moving long before that ship sails. My goal when I bought the house was to have enough in savings to be able (if I wanted) to pay off the house. We've lived here 5 years now and I don't know how that will play out.
We've decided that Nick is going to go back for his Masters and has officially applied at the U. We looked through all of his classes for the next 5 years and the only one that is taught at a good time is his first one. The others are basically in the middle of the day. Oh well, things always seem to work out for the best.
Yesterday Madelyn stood up by herself for the first time. It was really cute. She pulled herself up against the wall and then spread her legs out pretty wide and then let go of the wall. She was so proud of herself that she was standing there with nothing helping her. She lasted a few seconds and then fell on her bum but she was giggling a lot and clapping her hands. Good times.

Good news and bad news

2008-06-12T10:49:00.001-06:00

Well the mudding is all done! A huge thanks to Jessie, the Black's neighbor, for doing a fabulous job at a fabulous price! We'll definitely be asking them to do the garage and rest of the basement when the time comes. Nick and I were so excited to prime and paint, but then the flu came to visit us AGAIN! And again it started with Andrew and then the rest of us got it. Nick and Madelyn didn't get it too bad, so again Nick was cleaning the whole house and keeping up on the nasty laundry while I slept and tried to get better. The only places Andrew has been are church and Grandma and Grandpa Nielson's. None of the Nielson's are sick, so I've come to the conclusion that it was probably from nursery at church. Nick missed work yesterday but went today even though he was feeling not so great. I'm missing work today but I don't want anyone to get sick because of me.
The week before last we got new clothes from Kelli in Oregon for Madelyn! Cuttest things ever! We put her in one of the dresses and took some pictures. She was loving it! Especially the shoes, yummy stuff! Oh and the last picture shows my childrens true personalities towards me!

We're on to the mud!

2008-06-02T21:50:00.001-06:00

Nick has finished the sheetrock in the basement!!! It's looking so nice. Terry, Nick's dad, is coming over this week for a couple hours each day to do some mudding! He's so good to us.
Today I snapped my fingers at Madelyn to stop crawling to the bathroom (you know the three snaps) and she gave it back to me, waving her arm in the same motion I snapped at her. She's definitely got a 'tude. I was laughing really hard, so she started laughing and snorting, cute.
My best friend Kelli sent me two more boxes of clothing for Madelyn and one of the dresses fits her now. It was the cutest little dress I've ever seen! We took lots of pictures and need to post them on here. We also took some video of Andrew "helping" in the basement. The new word he learned Saturday was sawsall and today he learned what a sidekick is. When Nick got home from work Andrew told him "I'm a sidekick," and pulled his pants up really high, while tucking in his shirt. Can anyone say Steve Urkel? I guess how I explained it to him wasn't very clear...

Finishing the basement is fun to do, to do, to do, to do...

2008-05-23T21:30:00.000-06:00

Yeah right! Actually it's kind of exciting working on the basement again. Last night Nick and I cleaned up the mess he (it was all Nick) made all winter long. It turns out that anytime I asked Nick to put something away in the basement through the winter, he would just put it (or throw it) down the stairs...So needless to say, it needed the cleaning/re-arranging big time! Today Nick put up more sheetrock and I threw away junk and swept like a mad woman. It's looking so good! We just have 2 more sheets to put up in a walk in closet and then a linen closet to do and then it's time for the mud! Nick's dad was gracious enough to come last summer and mud and tape the family room and one of the bedrooms. We just need one more coat on those rooms and two coats on the one room that didn't get anything and then it all needs texturing (which we are going to pay someone to do). Then Nick and I will paint everything. I think we're going to get a couple more bids for the job and then go for it. If anyone knows someone who does a good job mudding/texturing, please hook me up with their info!!! We've decided also that once all that is done, we will buy wood to finish framing the rest of the basement( 1 room/walk-in closet, cold storage, and a bathroom) with any money we have left over from our stimulus payment from Bush!
Anyway, more importantly the kids are growing like weeds and make us laugh so much everyday! Today was the first day Madelyn pulled herself up to stand all the way! She's pulled herself before up on Nick while he was laying down on the floor, but that wasn't a very big climb. So this time, I had just turned around to put her bottle down and her binkie was on the ottoman and she climbed up and got it, in that short amount of time. She was very proud of herself. I grabbed the camera and video taped it, but it was just her standing there.
A funny thing Andrew did...we had just come up from the basement and Andrew had just woke up from his nap and noticed how dirty Nick's pants were and said "Oh man, you have pee-pees!" I was in the bathroom down the hall and laughed so hard! He is so crazy! We love that little mister!

Sonja is making me blog

2008-05-19T20:30:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone, this is Nick, and Sonja was just saying how I never write on this thing. Yesterday, Sonja's grandparents (hereafter known as Nana and Fa) called us while we were at my parents for dinner. They said their new home (down by the fitness center) was very hot, and that they didn't sleep at all on Saturday night. We told them we'd be over there by nine because they made it sound like it wasn't that bad. So, after dinner at my parents, we went down to Nana and Fa's and we checked out their thermostat. It said it was 90 in their home! I reprogrammed it and thought all was fine and good.
Then Sonja, being the brilliant, observant person she is, noticed that the air coming out of the vents wasn't cold at all. I checked into it and noticed that the breaker for the air conditioner was off! So, we turned it on, and voila, nice cold air was coming out of the vents.
We told Nana and Fa that next time they should tell us how bad the problem is! Needless to say, we felt pretty bad!

Updates...

2008-05-03T22:56:00.000-06:00

Okay, I love it when people update their blogs so I guess I should do the same. Today we went to Nick's cousin's husband's graduation party (did you get all that?). It reminded me why I love this time of year. This same time last year I got my husband back from the University of Utah! I think he still wishes he was in school sometimes. Especially when he gets asked to do something around the house. Back then the only people he had to answer to were the professors and his beloved integrated circuits. Anyway, I think connecting with my old roomies and friends from school makes me want to finish and get my degree. I guess we'll see what Nick decides about getting his Masters degree...

oh I wanted to write in this blog in order to remember some of the funny things Andrew and Madelyn do. So I have to write Andrew's new answer to everything "yeah, yeah." Of course he says this like a gangsta. I don't know where he gets these things.

Some random pics

2008-04-29T21:39:00.000-06:00

I just thought I'd add some random pictures from this last month. One with Madelyn and pink all over her face was me not watching her while I was reading baby Gracie's blog updates...Second was Madelyn on the day she turned 7 months. Others are from the park with friends.

The Journey of Losing Weight

2008-04-28T11:35:00.000-06:00

So Nick has lost about 8 lbs. and I've lost about 12. I keep falling behind because of my fractured foot. The doctor says to keep off of it for 8 Weeks!!! Right! He said I could try water aerobics or cycling to keep weight off the foot. However, both exercises make things worse. So Nick says I should try at least for a little while to not exercise and just see what happens. So last week I only exercised about 3 times the beginning of the week and nothing since. My foot is definitely not as sore, but my weight has stopped coming off. So the plan is to reduce the calories a ton and see if I can stick to that and just weight train. We'll see how that goes. We want to get pregnant in about 6 months, and I MUST lose weight before that happens. I think everything will go much better with 70 lbs. less weight. So I guess I have about 58 lbs. left and Nick has about 18 lbs. to go. If anyone has any advice about ways to get a cardio workout that doesn't involve your feet, please let me know!

Adventures of the mobile baby Madelyn!

2008-04-17T10:53:00.000-06:00

So Madelyn is crawling now, if you can call it that. It's honestly the funniest crawl I've ever seen. She looks like an inch worm or something. She puts her bum up really high and then scoots forward. I'll have to put a video of it on this. It's so weird that she can get around so quickly now. I don't know if it's a good thing yet. She seems happier, but gets into EVERYTHING! Andrew keeps on trying to sit on her. He thinks it's funny. Not so much considering he weighs about 35 lbs and she weighs about 15!

Little Ones

2008-04-06T14:03:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been reading a lot about our friends the Pettits and their son, Teagan's experience at PCMC with HLHS (hypoplastic left heart syndrome). A link on their website goes to another baby having a struggle with the same heart defect. Her name is Gracie and she is so cute! This last week she's been going through a lot, so Andrew and I have been praying for her and Teagan a lot. I think it's amazing how awesome the parents of these children are through these trials. They really are great examples to me and how grateful I should be for all we are blessed with. It seems like every minute I am checking for updates on these little ones to make sure they are doing well. I hope that anyone who reads this will please offer a prayer for these little ones that their bodies and will to fight may be strong and that the families of these beautiful babies will know of the Lord's hand in their lives.
Every night I reflect on my role as a mother and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be blessed with my children and that they are healthy.

The Flu Strikes Again...

2008-03-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

It seems that EVERY year at this time the family gets the flu. This time Andrew had is so bad he was throwing up every 20 minutes! It started with Madelyn, then Andrew, then I had it. Nick never throws up, he is so lucky! Unfortunately for him because he is less sick than me, he gets to do dishes, laundry, and this time carpet clean! He did really good though. He didn't have to cook though because none of us ate anything but crackers and sprite for a couple days. So we last went to the gym on Friday. We really need to get back to it, but I'm afraid that Madelyn isn't still well enough. I guess we'll see what happens. We're thinking of having Nick start school again. So that will be a 4 year long endeavor for his masters in engineering. Luckily his work will reimburse us for about 80% of the cost, which is nice.
Yesterday Andrew spilled Sprite all over Nick's laptop as I was doing bills. I called Nick thinking he would be so mad, but he actually sounded HAPPY! He was probably thinking "yes, now I can spend more money and get a way better laptop!" But oh no, I took off over half the keys and cleaned the sucker out using a billion q-tips and rubbing alcohol. Good as new! Nick wasn't too happy it seemed. He wrote me from work saying it has to pass his inspection before he will accept that it's fixed.

Just starting...

2008-02-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

So I've decided that it is time to start a blog for our family. We have a family website at nielsonfam.org, but I hate the advertisements on it! This month for Valentine's Day I bought a gym membership for Nick and me and made a promise to Nick that I'd lose 70 lbs. by September. I made the promise to Nick because it seems if I just say I'm going to do it, I don't. But if I promise him something, I keep my word. Nick's goal is to lose 26 lbs. by September. So far I've lost 7 and Nick has lost 6 lbs. Last night we worked out on the treadmill and my heel started bleeding and my knees aren't feeling so great. I think I'm going to stick to the elliptical trainers...I hope to start taking some classes too. Andrew loves playing with the kids in the daycare center and then after we're done we take him to the "edutainment center." He loves it! Madelyn just sleeps most of the time we're there. I love schedules!!!!