Sugar Cookies - Yum-O!

Well, it was a multi-day process, but Noah and I finally finished our sugar cookies! On Monday evening we made the dough. Noah had a blast using the mixer! We ran out of time, so the rolling and the baking had to wait. We didn't get to it last night, so we finally finished tonight. It was so fun watching Noah cut out the shapes with the cookie cutters! His favorite was the BIG gingerbread man! He thought it was so neat that it made a face! My favorite part was watching him frost them! He was COVERED with frosting when he was finished! (so is my kitchen!)

The cookies turned out so yummy! Thank you, Susan, for such a yummy recipe! I don't know if we'll have any left to leave out for Santa! We might have to make more...luckily, I saved some dough just in case!! :)

This is a Christmas tradition that I fully intend to continue! It was super fun and delicious!! I can only imagine how big the mess will be when Cooper gets in on the fun too!!

Getting ready for Christmas

We spent much of this week getting ready for Christmas. We picked out our tree...well, two actually! The girl wrecked the first one when she was trimming the bottom for us! Noah did a great job helping me decorate. I had to do a few minor revisions once he went to bed so all the ornaments were not on the bottom of our tree! :)
On Friday I went to Noah's class to do a Christmas craft with them. We painted little wooden ornaments. It was a blast! Once little boy looked like the Incredible Hulk by the time we finished - he painted both arms green! It's a good thing it's washable paint!
Saturday night was my annual area Christmas party. It was at our house this year. It was lots of fun. Everyone brought appetizers and desserts to share. They were super yummy! We played a couple of Scene It games - the Movies edition and 80's music. Mike and I, of course, were on the same team. We are WAY too competitive to be on opposing sides - it always ends in an argument! A few of the players were at a distinct disadvantage during the 80's game having been born in 1988!! It was so funny to see some of those old videos! Man, the 80's were so UGLY!
I was able to do a little shopping on Sunday, but still have plenty to do! This is the last year I don't go shopping on Black Friday! I am so behind!!We continue the Christmas prep tonight when Noah & I will be making sugar cookies! It should be fun! Stay tuned for the pictures.....

Cooper is 4 months old!

Can you believe it? The last 4 months have flown by. Cooper is weighing in a 14 lbs exactly and is now a compact 25" long. He is so much fun these days. He loves making lots of new noises! He actually startled himself the other night when he inhaled and made a squealing noise. He jumped and then cracked up! He is so super ticklish! I can't get him undressed without him belly laughing! I love listening to him giggle. Noah cracks him up quite a bit. We are so blessed to have such happy boys!

We had the boys pictures taken today. They turned out great!! I have attached a few. If you want to see the rest, just shoot me an email.

Noah got a new bed this weekend. It is a twin size cabin bed. (imagine a bunk bed with no lower bunk. It stands about 4 feet off the ground and has a ladder for him to climb in. He LOVES it! He was actually excited for his nap on Saturday so he could sleep in it! (That only lasted for Saturday!) He can't get enough of the ladder though. He is up and down, up and down, up and down..... it's getting a little repetative! :) The good thing about a new bed, was it was a great time to clean out his room. I got rid of TONS of crap! I have come to belive that kids meal toys multiply in the toy box!!

Ahhh....the spa....

What a relaxing weekend! I spent 4 hours at the Tuscan Spa on Sunday!! It was awesome! I had a facial, massage and a mani/pedi. I would LOVE to do it again! It is a really nice place. They have only been open a month so everything is still fresh & new. They have THE BEST pedicure chairs! They have heat & massage on them! I want to replace Mike's recliner with one!!

Noah had a blast decorating Christmas ornaments this weekend. He got to paint and glue! He made several beautiful ornaments that will hang on our tree. We even stamped and embossed some with Cooper's feet! They turned out great!!

Cooper is growing so fast! He is 4 months old now. He is quite the chatterbox! He loves to kick and bat at his toys. I love to watch him play. He is easily distracted by hands as you will see in the video - it's so funny!

Poor Mike...Denver lost again. That's all I'll say about that!

Let the Holiday Season Begin!

The Holiday season is officially upon us! Kicked off by hosting my first ever Thanksgiving dinner! I must say, I was quite nervous about cooking my first turkey, but it turned out great! It was much easier than I anticipated - but the prepping was was more gross than I could have ever imagined! YUCK! The bird turned out great though. I cooked a 22 lb turkey and Mike & I didn't even get any leftovers!! I guess that's a sign that people enjoyed it! Next up - Christmas dinner!

Noah had his stitches removed on Friday. They have been replaced with steri-strips. He ended up with a little bit of a bruise, but it never really turned into the shiner I thought it would. My mom's quick action with the cold compress must have done the trick!

I actually skipped Black Friday morning shopping this year! I think Mike was the most shocked! I am mostly buying toys this year, and there was NO WAY I was venturing into the toy department with those shoppers! Those women are mean! My mom and I did a little shopping that afternoon and it was much more relaxed!

I started my Christmas cards on Saturday. My BFF, Susan, and her daughter, Kathyn, joined my mom and I for some card making fun. I was so excited that I actually got to make some this year! Last year when I had people over I spent the whole time running back and forth to my craft room getting them stuff.

OUCH!

Well, it took 3 years and 5 months...longer than I expected actually...Noah got his first stitches today! He took a header into my mom's fireplace. He had to have 4 stitches above his right eye. Poor little guy - he cried and cried while they were doing the stitches. My mom thought they were just going to put a band-aid on it so I didn't go. I felt terrible once I found out that they had to do stitches. It broke my heart to hear how upset he was. But, before I could even get to my car after work, Noah had called and was excitedly recounting the events! He's pretty tough! I hope he doesn't have too bad of a scar. Of course, I will have to scrapbook his first stitches...I'm sure there will be more to come. After all, he is a Nelson!

The Buzz this Week...

Well, we took Noah to his first every movie at a theater! On Satuday we took the boys to see The Bee Movie. Noah was so good! He only sat for about 20 minutes total, but was still really good! We went to the first showing of the day so it was mostly kids & parents. The kids all clapped at the end of the movie - it was too cute! Noah did ask us to turn on The Bee Movie as soon as we got home...he doesn't quite understand the concept of a movie theater yet. We had not been to a movie since right before I had Cooper. At least we know we can go see kids movies! Of course, we are going to have to start sneeking snacks in - it cost us more for food than to get into the movie!!

Cooper is already starting to teeth! It looks like he will be getting teeth early like Noah did! That toothless grin won't be around for too much longer... :(

Noah & I made banana bread last weekend...he felt the need to wear safety gear! :) He loves to help me in the kitchen. Now if I could only get the boys to help me clean it!

What a week!

Whew! What a week! We have been busy since the last time I posted. Mike went to Reno last weekend to play in a softball tourney...let's just say, it was not the weekend for his team! They played 3 games and lost all 3. I think he had a pretty good time in the casino though! ;) The boys were certainly glad to have him back, as was I. I sleep terrible while he is gone. In fact, on Saturday night I actually went & got Noah at about 2 am just to have someone in bed with me! He is quite the bed hog!!

We kept pretty busy while Mike was gone. On Saturday, Noah was invited to his best friend Kate's birthday party. He had a blast! I must say, Leslie (Kate's mom) is braver than I! 5 2-3 year olds makes for quite a house full! After the party, the boys headed to my mom's house & I headed to work...:( Luckily, it was only for a little while. That evening, I had a few girlfriends over for dinner & scrapping. We didn't get much done, but had a great time gabbing!

Of course, Halloween was this week. Noah had to wait until after school to dress-up. The Children's Center asked that there be no costumes. Noah's class had pajama day instead! They all wore pj's and got to watch a movie and eat popcorn - he loved it! The boys looked adorable that evening! Noah was Tigger & Cooper was Pooh. It was the Pooh costume from Noah's first Halloween. It was HUGE on Coop, but he still looked adorable!! Mike & I dressed up as "Dad & Mom". :) Noah had a blast trick-or-treating! We took him up and down our block and he got tons of candy! (just what he needs!) The neighbors all adored him...naturally! ;)

Last night was my scrapbook group night. Connie brought her son, Jaden, and he & Noah had a great time playing! Mike made it about an hour before he headed out to play cards - I think there may have been too much estrogen in the air! :) Noah was so exhausted by the time everyone left. He went to bed almost 2 hours late!

Well, that's all for now. Time to figure out what to make for dinner...take-out is sounding pretty good! ;)

First Week Back

Well, I survived my first week back from maternity leave. I'm pretty sure that Monday was the longest day in recorded history. (well...maybe tied with the first day I went back t work after Noah was born!) I walked in to a cubicle filled floor to ceiling with balloons! It was FULL! It took about 30 minutes to pop them all with a pin before I could find my desk! It was a very fun welcome back! :)

Cooper is still adjusting to his new schedule. He has taken to the bottle, but is not so sure about napping in his pack n play at Grammy's. He does nap pretty well on her sofa though! I have really missed spending all day with him. As soon as I get home I scoop him up and we snuggle most of the night. My lap is pretty full with both him & Noah cuddling!

All in all, it has not been too bad of a first week back. Of course, it's not over yet - I have to work my first Saturday back! Luckily, it is only for about an hour or so. Today was the first commencement committee meeting. Cooper was our special guest! He slept through part of it and then got a little grumpy while he pooped! Everyone was excited to see him. Last time they saw me, Cooper was still enclosed! ;)

Noah is going to his best friend Kate's birthday party tomorrow. It is a costume optional party. I think I'll send him in his Tigger costume just to get an extra wear out of it! I still have to adjust Noah's old Pooh costume so it will fit Cooper. I am thinking I just might safety pin it for a couple of pictures and call it good!

Only one week left...

Sadly, I am down to my last week of maternity leave and I have a terrible cold. I sound like a total dude. What a fun way to spend my last week at home!

I am really sad to leave my boys. It has been so wonderful spending this time with them. Cooper is changing so much every day. He is starting to smile and giggle so much more. I love those gummy smiles! Noah got his teeth so early, that the gummy smiles didn't last very long.

I have loved spending the extra time with Noah too. He loves going to "BS School" but I love having him home on Tuesday & Thursday. We went to Linder Farm pumpkin patch on Monday with my mom, my sister, my brother and my niece, Mya. Noah and Mya had a blast! Cooper was not as happy to be there. He was mad that I woke him up to put him in the snuggly and then didn't feed him! Noah ran all over the field looking for his pumpkin. Mya preferred to have my brother carry her! After finding the perfect pumpkins, the kids played on the inflatable toys and went for a ride in the cow train. Noah's perfect pumpkin only made it about 5 minutes after we got home - unfortunately, it didn't survive the throw to the family room floor! Needless to say, we will be stopping by Reggie's Veggies to get another one!

Well, that's all for now. I'm off to my cough drops & tissue! :)

What a week! We have jammed lots of stuff in this week! Monday we had Cooper's 2 month pictures taken. I can't believe he is already 2 months old! We went to Target for the photos - they did a nice job. I hate not getting them right away like at KK, but they were a lot cheaper. As soon as I am back to work I'm pretty sure I'll head back to KK - I hate waiting!! :) Wednesday was Cooper's 2 month check-up. He is weighing in at a healthy 11 lbs 10 oz! He is doing great! He did not enjoy the shots though!
Wednesday was also Mike's birthday - I won't mention the age...cough...41...cough... I was caught a cold this day as well, so we didn't really do anything. Noah & Cooper got him a round of golf and Noah picked out a new golf ball for him to use. He has wanted to play with it ever since! ;)
Ok - so Thursday we did nothing. I felt crummy because of my cold & Cooper was pretty grumpy from his shots. And by nothing - I mean nothing! I didn't even get out of my pj's!
Today was Noah's parent teacher conference at the children's center. He is doing great! After the meeting we stopped by the office to check in. Noah was very excited to go in. He hasn't been in a while & asks me almost every day when he can see my work.
Only two weeks left of maternity leave. I am really sad, but less anxious to go back than when I had Noah. My mom is a little more anxious this time since she will be watching Cooper full time until spring semester when I can get him into BSU.
That's it for now! :)

WOW!!!

Wow! That's all I can say! Cooper slept for 9 that's NINE hours last night!!! I don't know what I did to get such a great sleeper. I certainly don't deserve it. Even Noah slept in this morning. I love it when the stars align! :) Bye for now!

Busy busy busy...

We have been keeping pretty busy these days.

Saturday was my nephew Dylan's birthday party at Boondocks. All I can say is - CRAZY! It was a zoo in there! I asked one of the employees if it was always that busy in there. She said that is always how Saturdays are. They had 38 birthday parties scheduled for that day!! Noah had a great time playing in Kiddie Cove after the pizza & cake. He didn't want to leave!

Noah spent Satuday night with his cousin Adam so that I could attend Susan's birthday dinner. Happy 40th Susan!! :) Pf Changs was super yummy!

I took the boys to the zoo on Tuesday. My mom went with us and we met my sister-in-law, Sharra, and cousins Dylan & Mya. The kids had a blast! (well, Cooper slept the entire time, but the other three had fun!) The animals were a close second to the giraffe slide! ;) Noah was very sad that the merri-go-round was not open. Luckily, we got out of there before the rain hit.

Cooper is doing great! He is still an excellent sleeper - he has had two nights where he slept for more than 7 hours!! He is averaging about 5 for the most part. I'm not sure how I lucked out and got such a mellow baby, but thank you!! He is growing like a weed getting bigger every day. He is making lots of new sounds and starting to really work his arms and legs.

Noah is doing great at the Children's Center. He is learning all sorts of new things - like what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar! He LOVED that!!

Well, we're off to Grammy's to meet up with Aunt Jenny for another fun day!

The boys are good. Cooper is growing so fast! He will be 6 weeks old on Thursday! Noah can't pass him by without giving him a kiss or touching his head.

We have been playing at the park a lot. We love the park on Hill Rd. in Eagle. It has the coolest squishy flooring under the play equipment. We went twice last week! Cooper slept through most of the trips!

He is still a great sleeper. He is consistently sleeping in 4 - 5 hour stretches at night. Every once in a while slipping in a 6 hour stretch! He is starting to really check things out. I love to listen to all the new sounds he is trying to make.

We just found out that our friend Jeremy will be graduating from undergraduate pilot school this month. A big congratulations to him!

Cooper is a month old!

Wow! I can't believe how fast time is going! Cooper is 4 weeks old already! He is a great baby. He has been sleeping for 5 hours at night! He even slept for 6 hours the other night!! Noah still adores him. He gives him TONS of kisses & can't walk past him without touching his head. My mom & I took Cooper to the mall yesterday to get his one month pictures taken. He slept through the entire session.
Noah is doing great at the children's center. His best friend Kate is in his class and they are loving spending so much time together. Noah is so excited to see her every day.
Last night was a terrible night. My dad had a mild heart attack. Cooper & I spent a few hours in the ICU waiting room last night with my mom & siblings. Thankfully, God was taking care of him, and Larry is doing great. He had a blockage about an inch long in his right coranary artery. They were able to remove the blockage and he is recovering well. Hopefully, he'll be able to go home tomorrow.
My goal is to try & update this blog at least once a week (Susan!), so be sure to check back often! :)

Fair fun!

We took the boys to the Western Idaho Fair yesterday. Noah had a blast!! He got to ride a pony & some rides. He is an adrenaline junky! Mike took him on a ride that went pretty fast & spun around. He LOVED it! He screamed & laughed the entire time. Every time it would start to slow down he would yell - GO!! I was so lucky to capture a photo of him on the ride.

Today was Noah's first day in his new pre-school classroom. He was very excited to see Miss Katie again (she filled in for his teacher over spring break & he fell in love with her!) & to meet his new teacher Miss Becky. This week is only for kids who were enrolled in summer. There are only two kids in Noah's class this week! We are really hoping that his friend Kate from Nadine's house was able to get into his class. They are such good friends.

Unfortunately, today was Cooper's circumcision. As to be expected, he has been pretty grumpy today. We have been snuggling most of the day. Hopefully, he will be feeling a little better tomorrow. He did get weighed today. He is up to 8 lb 10 oz! He has gained over a pound in 13 days!! (He was 7 lbs 5 oz at his 5 day check-up!) He is a GREAT eater!!

How cute are these boys???

So here are the illegally scanned pictures. I can't believe how well they turned out! I was a little worried, because by the time it was our turn, it was past Noah's nap time. He was great though! He is such a little ham when it comes to getting his picture taken!

We have poop!

Tuesday night was quite a night for us...Noah FINALLY pooped on the potty!! He was just as excited as Mike & I were. I've never been so excited about poop before! Noah was so proud - he called grammy right away to tell her! I was just as excited - I called Susan right away! Now we just have to wait for him to wake up dry & we'll only have one in diapers!
Cooper is two weeks old today. He is still pretty mellow. Although he has developed a little bit of a grumpy side from about 10 - midnight. So sad for me! I would much rather be sleeping then! He just gets a little fussy and won't sleep. Then at about midnight, he zonks out for about a 4 hour stretch - that I love!!! It's amazing how good 4 hours in a row feels!
My mom & I took the boys to the mall today to get some pictures taken together (thanks again Kris for the gift certificate!) They turned out really cute. I will illegally scan them tomorrow for you to see...I'm too tired now. Good-night!

Welcome Home Cooper!

The final member of our family has arrived! Little Cooper Michael Nelson arrived at 2:29 pm August 2, 2007. He weighed in at 7 lb 9 oz. Quite a bit smaller than the 8 lb 13 oz that big brother Noah was! Noah was super excited to meet Cooper in the hospital. He wanted to hold him right away. We had a special present for Noah from Cooper to help ease the meeting.

Cooper is a very mellow baby. He mostly eats, sleeps and poops! Noah has been a great helper with Cooper. He loves to get me diapers and wipes when he needs changed. He found it especially funny when Cooper pooped all over the changing table and my hand! Noah loves to hold Cooper. He is very soft with him and gives him lots of kisses.

While Noah has been very good with Cooper, he has been a little naughty with Mommy & Daddy. His favorite word these days is "no". We are hoping that things settle back to normal soon.

Well, that's all for now! It's time to take a nap! :)