monkeys

My crazy monkeys showered me with lots of loves, kisses, and cards this mothers day.

What a lucky mama I am.

Now to wrap my brain around the fact that there will be +1 in just a few months...

crazy.

confessions

First a few confessions:

1. I do not like school breaks.  I dread them.  I find myself counting down the days until they are over before they even start.  Call me a bad mom but it gets a little overwhelming trying to entertain 2 very energetic boys with no school distractions.

2. I love, love, love waking up in Las Vegas in the spring.  Windows open, breeze blowing, birds chirping.  It is the perfect way to start the day.

3.  If I could wake up and snuggle with my husband and babies in the morning, every morning, I would be one very happy mom.  It just brings joy to my heart.

So this morning I wake up to a little person saying "mom.... mom.... moooooom."  I groggily come out from under my blankets expecting to settle yet another spring break disagreement.  But to my surprise I see a beaming Beckam holding a plate overflowing with eggs and toast and hear an excited Cade on the other side of the bed doing the same for Jared. 

Those little men woke up, cracked, scrambled and plated 18 {yes 18} eggs for us and made multiple pieces of toast.  Cade was proud that he had made all the eggs and Beckam was proud that he had handed Cade all of the eggs.  Love it.

When I asked them why they decided to make us breakfast Cade replied, "just because of all the nice things you do for us."  ::sigh:: melt my heart.

After we had choked down eaten all of our eggs {while the boys jumped back and forth over the bed and Capri squawked until she had just as many bites as I did.}  I headed down to view the damage.  Not bad considering a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old had made breakfast but it did take a good amount of time to scrub yolk off of... everything.

So back to my confessions.  

1. Those little turkeys proved me wrong.  School breaks are not half bad... except for the cleaning up part.

2.  Windows open, breeze blowing and birds chirping is even better when accompanied by kids.

3.  Snuggling with the family is even better when accompanied with eggs.

Still smiling.

Dance Party

 Last week I decided that our family was in some desperate need of some good 'ole fashioned f.u.n.

I had no idea what to do and not many resources to pull from so I decided that a dance party was in order.

The boys were not to thrilled to hear that we were going to be dancing but once the word party was introduced they were totally on board.

Beckam insisted that we had cupcakes for the party so we spent the afternoon working on some rather unsuccessful cupcakes that needed to be eaten with a spoon... but he was happy.

Cade is now convinced that he is the best dancer in the family {and reminds us of it every day} and Becks is convinced that he is the best DJ ever... and he kinda is.

We had a blast with the music up loud, kids dancing crazy and laughing our guts out.

Gotta love Monday night dance parties.

Hands

We have had busy days, 

busy weeks,

 and busy hands.

Some of our hands are more predictable than others.

Cade has been working hard in school.  He is in the  AR reading program which is a love/hate thing.  Not sure who hates it more.... him or me.  I have decided that teaching your child to read is right up there with potty training... no bueno.

He is doing very well despite the frustration and the "you are the meanest mom evers..." 

I think that deep down he actually likes it {especially math} it is just hard to slow down a busy 6-year-old sometimes.

Meanwhile in the other room.... some more predictable hands.

I know that if there is any type of candy in the house Beckam WILL find it.  

No matter where it is.  

No matter how high.  

No matter how well hidden.  

He will find it.

He is full of mischief but also so much love.  He is my love bug that will stop whatever he is doing to give me a hug and a "I love you mom."  10 minutes later there just might be a melt down and a "I hate this!" but I take the loves that I can.

And little miss...?

Her feet have been busy.

Pictures to come, when I can get her to slow down long enough.

Truth

Jump for joy...

Christmas is here.

Someone please tell me...

How did this happen?

Seriously.

First day of kindergarten was a complete success.

He came home asking why he couldn't stay all day.

Home work, uniforms, school projects.

I am a full fledge mom now.

I love it.

How lucky

That I get to call these 2 little men mine!

They make my life crazy.

They make my life loud.

They make my life happy.

They make my life.

They are learning {in small steps} to really enjoy each other.  They are definitely brothers and like to "love" each other like brothers {punching, kicking, bugging} but they are really starting to have fun together.

There is nothing like watching your children learn to love each other.

Brotherhood: defined

I love my little men and they love each other... most of the time.

It has been interesting to watch their relationship grow and develop.  To watch them try to figure out where each others buttons are and how to push them just enough without getting into trouble.  But in the same breath, be the one they turn to when they do.  

When I lay in bed at night and think of them I picture them as they are above. 

Holding hands.

Looking to each other for guidance.

Laughing together.

However, when I wake up and am actually in the throws of life with them this is how it R.E.A.L.L.Y is...

I will take it.

It is real.

And it makes me giggle.

So there you have it... 

Brotherhood in real life.

Christmas 2010

 Santa made it to our house and it was truly a success.  I gave myself a gift this year.  I decided to allow myself to enjoy the moment rather than spend all of my time trying to document every second of what happened.  It is always such a struggle to know when to just stop, put down the camera, and enjoy my children being children and this year I decided that the first few moments would be documented in print and the rest as memories I will carry with me forever.

 We had the pleasure of having my cute sister and her adorable family with us for Christmas.  Alli and I couldn't help but laugh when we realized that we had unknowingly put all the boys in the same jammies. What are the odds that we would not only have bought the same ones but also put them on them the same night... we must be sisters or something :).

We also were able to have some good friends come over to join in the Chaos of Christmas morning with us and we also had my mom and dad with us via skype.  So it was a houseful.  So fun!

Cade loved everything he opened and wasn't afraid to share his excitement with all of us.  He is truly one of the most fun kids on Christmas morning.  So far the most played with gifts have been their Harry Potter wands and their remote control cars.

 

Beckam on the other hand had to be Convinced to open A.L.L. of his gifts.  He was so focused on all the candy that surrounded him that he had a hard time paying attention to anything else.  He was so worried that Cade would take his candy {and rightfully so} that he wanted to put it in his pockets to protect it.  Only problem, jammies don't have pockets.  That didn't stop Beck.  He shoved all his candy in his "pockets" anyway and carried it around in his pant leg all morning.  It was quite the sight to see him try and get it out.

Maddux was such a sweetie.  He wanted to just hang back and take it all in.  I can't blame the poor kid.... the Nielson boys can be rather overwhelming on a normal day let alone Christmas morning.

He was such a trooper.

And Miss Capri was an angel as always.  She slept most of the time and the boys took turns opening her gifts for her and then attempting to show her what she got.

Although I put down my camera and lived in the moment there was one that I just couldn't miss.  Jared and I have been so excited about having a backyard so we could get the boys a trampoline and it has been one of the best things we have ever bought.  The boys L.O.V.E. it.  They jump at all times of the day and night.

I love that I can look right through my kitchen window and watch them play, jump, and do whatever they can to get my attention.

It was truly a wonderful Christmas.  It was so nice to be surrounded by our family and to join in the excitement of childhood with them.  We feel so blessed.

Life

  There is nothing like fall trees.  I love them.

The color.

The crunch.

The memories they stir within my heart.

Not very often, in Las Vegas, do you actually get a glimpse of real fall trees.  As enchanting as palm trees can be at first sight they don't exactly lend much to the fall season.  So when I saw these trees my heart practically skipped a beat.

I was rather impressed with myself.  I had all three kids up, bathed, dressed, fed, and on location by 8 a.m. I wont tell you what I looked like or how Beckam really acted but lets just say neither were very pretty.

Life is finally starting to get into somewhat of a routine.  I still feel a little out of sorts that I have had to replace my normal, leisurely, 10 a.m. workout for a 5 a.m. sleepy eyed run, my enjoyable, quiet shower time with a speedy, chaotic rinse (if I am lucky), and laundry... well... hmmm... lets just say there is a lot of it.

However, how lucky I feel to have these 3 little monkeys.  They have all grown, evolved, stepped up, given a little and loved a lot.

Being a mom is good.  It is amazing.  It is tricky.  It is hard.  It is everything.

I have recently gained a new perspective.  A view from the other other side, if you will.

I had the incredible opportunity of photographing my dear friend Camille as she brought a beautiful baby into this world.  

 

The mom feeling never changes... it just deepens...always

::Gasp::

I know... can you believe it! A post. Major accomplishment, I tell ya!

So much has happened that I figured I should quickly put at least some of it down before the little bambina gets here.

These two cute munckins started preschool. I went back and forth with the decision of sending Cade to kindergarten or another year of preschool and I am SO glad we opted for one last year of preschool. He has grown and progressed so well and I am so proud of him!

Cade and his cousin Amelia are almost exactly one year apart and are either the best of friends or the worst of enemies. I was a little nervous to see how it would play out with them being in the same class but I must say I couldn't be any more happy. They love having each other and I love that they will for the rest of their school careers.

This little man also celebrated his 5th birthday (2 months ago, ::blush::). He was so excited for his birthday and still asks when it is his birthday again. He was once again so excited for candles so we started the morning off with panCAKES and candles. He felt special and was sweet about his overflowing excitement.

We also went to the firehouse to have a "party" for him. We see the firemen at the gym every morning and Cade thinks they are so cool so I figured the firehouse would be the perfect place to celebrate his special day. The firefighters were so good to the kids and the kids hung on every word they said. {Thank you firemen for making seat belts no longer a battle every time we get in the car}

The guys even let Jared put on all of their gear. He felt like hot stuff. Becks on the other hand wasn't too sure what to think about it all so he stood back and just watched and listened to his daddy sound like Darth Vader.

And yes... I was there too :)

I know that I have been MIA lately and honestly cannot promise I will do much better in the coming weeks... I will try though.

Although the posts have been sparse, I have not been MIA from my busy life.

I had the amazing opportunity to venture out out to Ohio to spend some time with some amazing families. I am so blessed to have "family" all over the place.

It was strangely difficult to go back to Ohio, alone.

To have my parents gone.

Nobody at the airport to pick me up.

My bedroom no longer my bedroom.

My house no longer my house.

It was all strange and incredibly emotional. However, a necessary experience.

How thankful, though, I am for those sweet angels in my life that extended their love, homes, and family and allowed me to pull it together again.

It was such a joy to see everyone again and look forward to heading back east again. Love you all!

I also decided, as if I don't already have my hands full, to tap into my crafty side. My sister and I got together and decided that we needed to "make something." After multiple trips to the fabric store we came up with lots of fun flowers/bows. We started off with multiple sizes and I have recently ventured into making teeny tiny ones for the little bub (not pictured)... they are so cute and I cannot wait to get them on her!

Alli and I will soon be opening an etsy shop and I will also be hosting a Christmas Boutique in a few weeks with lots of fun venders and items just in time to get rocking on Christmas shopping. So if you would like to participate or if you are dying over the flowers (not going to lie, love wearing them in my hair, on my shirt, and also my shoes. Can you tell I am so getting into the girl vibe!) let me know. We would love to have you all!

So, there you have it.

No wise advice.

No motherly insights.

No jokes.

No tears.

Just busy.

Busy but good.

Cant wait for this little girl to make her way here. She is getting bigger and bigger and I keep praying she will finish cooking a little early. We are ready to snuggle her!

So until next time (keeping my fingers crossed next time is less than a month away), Happy Harvest!

One Lazy Saturday Morning

One of my very favorite things as a mom is snuggling in bed with all my boys. Very rarely do we all actually end up there at the same time, especially since Jared started coaching football at the high school. However, this one lazy Saturday morning was just what my soul needed.

Lots of jumping and acting silly...

... lots of laughing...

... and lots of my family.

It is amazing how the small simple pleasures in life are the things that embed themselves so deeply in our soul that it gives us that extra umph to keep trudging through the not so simple things in life.

There is lots to share. More birthdays, an ever expanding belly, lots of traveling in different directions, new school, new routines, more work, more, more, more. But for now my little guys in their skivvies will have to suffice.... And lets be honest, that is a lot more fun than stories about "mom duties."

Down... set... hike.

A few months ago the boys pulled out Jareds old football jerseys.

They loved them.

They ran, they threw, they caught, they tackled, they thought they were hot stuff.

Jared was loving every minute of having his boys wear his gear... and think that their dad played for the "orange BYU cougars."

I decided that it was as good as time as any to head out with my camera and capture them walking running in their daddys footsteps.

I love that they both have such different personalities. Such different ways of approaching life.

Beckam is cool, calm, collected. If something bothers him he can brush it off until it really gets to him, he will have a major blow up for a minute, and then is done and moves on.

He loves to observe life. Take it all in. Soak it all up and then act.

Cade on the other hand runs into life head first, doesn't think, just goes.

Sometimes it works.

Sometimes it doesn't.

But there is never any shortage of entertainment and excitement in his life.

He is all competition. Working hard to do better than the last time. Taking life by the horns and living every single moment to its fullest.

Needless to say we are VERY excited to meet this little girl and learn more about who she is.

She is already a wiggler... especially at night... all night.

She loves to sit as low as she can possibly get. I am hoping it will maybe make getting her here a little faster :)

And she is already loved, adored, and cherished by her crazy older brothers.

26 weeks and counting. Can't wait!