FiRsT dAy oF ScHoOl!

Can you believe it? Jaden started kindergarten! This was his first day of school, so of course I had to record the day... He loves his teacher, Miss Ellett, and he's excited to have Tatum and Cooper in his class!

All the kiddos waiting in Miss Ellet's line

Cooper and Tatum

TaGgEd!

RANDOM FACTS:
When I feel anxiety I open the door to my linen closet and just stand there take a deep breath, and enjoy the calmness of the organization, and it grounds me.

You probably already know this, but Jade and I only knew each other for four days when we got engaged.

When I was seventeen my sister was dyeing her hair and she told me to smell it because it "smells soooo yummy!!" I did, and now I can't smell anything unless it is really strong. And most of the time stuff doesn't smell like what it really is. Like how bananas smell like vomit. Oh, and I can't taste things very well, either.

Jade and I have been married longer than anyone in my family (except my gram), and I am SUPER proud of that! This includes my parents SIX marriages!

CURRENT OBSESSION:
I LOVE digital scrapbooking! It is so much easier for me than traditional scrapbooking, and its cheaper, too! Plus, I don't have to worry about leaving a mess of papers and stuff that the kiddos can get into.

GOALS:
#1 Find a daily routine that works for me and STICK WITH IT!
#2 Get Jade through medical school
#3 Lose 20 lbs.
#4 Build up food storage and emergency fund

MY FEARS:
That I won't ever learn to keep my mouth shut and that I will alienate people with my moronic sense of humor and gossip.

That Jade and my friends will realize how uncool I really am and stop loving me (wow, that was deep...)

MY JOYS:
I LOVE my husband! He brings me joy every minute that we are together. I am so happily married it's ridiculous! My children bring me joy, and my friends bring me joy. Lori, Heather, Dana, Stacy, Stacey, Kay, Melissa, Becca, Tiffany, Natalie, Mighty Meg, Mandi, Sam, Ashlee, Holly, Sina, Elizabeth, Apryl, Kristi and the rest of you girlfriends that take care of me and keep me going, you bring me joy! Photography and good books. The first time I get under the sheets with freshly shaved legs brings me joy. Cleaning music and guitar hero. THANKSGIVING...mmmm...that definitely brings me joy! Game night with the Whytes brings me joy. The thrill of learning something new brings me joy.

Finally Updated!

Well, I finally updated my blog! Actually, most of these pics are at least a month old, so there are plenty more that need to go up. But I was his with a crazy bout of insomnia tonight and haven't slept at all, so I spent the time working on my blog. They might be out of order, but it doesn't make much difference anyway. Enjoy!

P.S. - Don't call today because I'll be in bed asleep. If you could manage it, can someone please come over around noon to feed the kids? It'd be real helpful!

Who Are Your Parents?

I know deep down that these cute kids are perfectly functional human beings, but looking at these pictures makes me question myself. They grow out of the toe sucking stage, right?

And once again, the Nielson boys without their clothes on.

Ah, how far we've come...

Didn't boys used to huddle together looking at bugs through a magnifying glass? This is Jaden, Gabe, and Jackson watching a cartoon on a 2 1/2 inch screen. I guess you know what kind of house my boys are growing up in!

Bros Before Hos!

I know, its a little irreverent, but that's what these pics make me think of... I am enjoying my children while they are still little, but can't you just see them as teenagers talking about girls and basketball? I can't tell which I'm more excited for, kindergarten or high school!

BaBy bLuEs

I just love that my baby girl has blue eyes just like mine! Isn't she adorable!

Yeah, I heard that's been going around...

Poor Gabe! Our family was hit with that flu bug that went around, too, but Gabers got the worst of it! He was sick every day for a solid two weeks! He would wake up seemingly alright in the morning, but then at the stroke of four o'clock in the afternoon, the poor guy would get a fever and start throwing up... it was so sad! He was just miserable.

Of Youth and Jammies

In the Nielson house, jammies are considered a perfectly acceptable form of clothing for both indoor and outdoor activities, as long as Kaeli and Abbi still have their Jammies on. On this particular Wednesday, Lori brought Kaeli and Abbi over, and Kristi Jones brought Taylor, so that Lori and Kristi could go to their WW meeting. Lo and behold, Taylor got the memo and wore her Jammies, too! I caught all five of them hanging out on Ben and Heather's doorstep. Those are the memories that last forever!

She's Almost Got It!

Maya's been practicing her crawling technique lately, and at this family party we were able to catch her in action. She gets up on her hands and feet, but then she gets stuck. She doesn't know what to do next, but she knows that she must somehow go forward. So there she is with her belly way up off the ground and she starts to rock back and forth. It starts out relatively slowly, but it builds up until she is violently lunging and then she lets her arms collapse and she lands six or eight inches in front of where she started. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done!




**UPDATE 08/10 Maya is in full-on crawl mode now. Oh, yes, girl gets around! Time for the baby gates!

Our Miss Heather

We love Miss Heather! She's actually my awesome friend Heather Cram, but the kiddos call her Miss Heather (because its polite). She is so good to our kids and she an even better friend to me. I don't deserve her love and generosity! Heather, thanks for always making yourself available to help me out in a pinch, for taking Maya when Jade and I want to catch a flick at the dollar theater, for bringing over samples of your awesome cooking, for letting me tag along on your photo shoots, for coming to my photo shoots and mentoring me on the "little things" that make a good session better, and for sharing our special moments bonding over our idiosyncrasies. Here's to you, Heather!

gIrLy TiMe!!

Kaeli and Abbi had a fun time playing dress up with Maya. And Maya had a blast, too! It was pretty cute when Maya just sat still and let Kaeli put the lipstick on her!

Have you seen that kid next door? He's HUGE!

My best friend Lori, who also happens to be my sis-in-law, just moved in to our apartment building. YEAAAAAHHH! Its sooo fun to have them so close. Our niece, Kaeli, comes over practically every day to play with the boys, and her little sister Abbi is always just a few steps behind. It's cute the way they just open the door and walk in like they own the place (which I'm sure Kaeli is convinced of.). We don't mind at all because we love having them over. Anyway, Kaeli and Abbi have a not-so-little little brother who was born in the middle of March, so that makes him two months old in this picture. Lori and I wanted to see how close Jacob and Maya were in size (Maya was seven months at the time). We had just weighed them and Jacob was less than half a pound smaller than Maya (which you can't tell from the pic because he's so beefy!) I couldn't believe it! Jacob and Maya were the same length from head to crotch (sorry, couldn't think of a better word), and the only difference was that Maya's legs were about two inches longer. We love Jacob, though! Nothin' better than a big ole baby boy !

At Long Last...

To say that my dad's side of the family isn't close would be an understatement.... They don't even talk for years at a time! And, just to give you a little perspective, I get my "chatty" nature from them. So, yeah, they're not close. Consequently, I haven't seen my Aunt Loretta's family for almost fourteen years! Since she live a short two-hour drive away in Vegas, that's a shameful tale. So, to give this story a happy ending, My mom and sister and I finally made the trip down to see Loretta and my (awesome) cousin, Michael. We met up for lunch at a really great restaurant, where Michael drilled Mom and I on all the "funny little things about Mormons", which was hilarious, especially when he and Aunt Loretta got serious and asked, just to make sure, whether we were really polygamists... not that they would judge:)

I have to relate this funny story that Michael told us about his Halloween costume from a few years back: Mike and a friend were debating on whether to dress up as two Jehova's Witnesses or a pair of Mormon missionaries.... They finally decided to go with the missionary idea because, as Mike says, "You guys have way better accessories!" So off they went with their white shirts, ties, backpacks, and "future missionary" name tags! I love it!

Taiya, Loretta holding Maya, Gabe getting squished, and Jaden

Mom and Loretta

Jaden thinks he's a dog, and the dog is confused...

That's right folks, those Nielson boys are no respecter of circumstances when it comes to when or where they will take their clothes off.

This is Mike teasing Gabe with the dog's ball. Mike was AWESOME with the boys and was willing to throw that ball as many times and they would catch it and bring it back. I know, "fetch" is a game you usually play with a dog, but apparently its great for toddler boys as well.

Aunt Loretta and Maya

Dot, Maya, Loretta, and Mike

See, I'm not the only one who has a life!!!

Okay, for those of you who keep bugging me about not having any new posts since May, just take a look at Lori's blog... See, I'm not the only one!