A Toy Story Christmas - Catching Up #2

Thanks to family, friends, neighbors and Secret Santas we had a great Christmas, in more ways than one.  We truly felt very blessed and loved by many.  We were able to come to better understand the spirit of the season and hope that sometime we can pay it forward.

Linden and I got up and got dressed and ready to go for the day.  Normally the boys wake up around 6:30 am.  This would give us plenty of time to open our gifts and have our family breakfast before we needed to head out for a busy day of visiting family.  Well, we woke the kids up at 8:00 am.  Here they are shortly after we woke them up.  It must have been because of all of the visiting we did the day before, but they sure slept late. It was a good thing because they weren't so grumpy having gotten some extra sleep.

Anton and Zackary showing off the coat hanger Linden made them for Christmas.  They love seeing their names and being able to hang up their coats instead of tossing them everwhere helps keep mom sane. Thank goodness I have a handy husband that can create personalized gifts for us.

The boys trying out their new sleeping bags and alligator pillow they got from a secret santa while sharing with their sister.

Thanks to the blitz sales, Grandma Nielsen was able to completely thrill the boys.  Anton was so excited when he opened up Buzz he danced around the room with him.  Of course Zackary was just as thrilled and danced, also, but that is what Zackary normally does, Anton's dance was unexpected.

Isabel also got Jesse, this is the only picture I got of her with her new toy.  She loves playing with Jesse, just as much as the boys love playing with Woody and Buzz. Especially since that is what the boys always give her.

How wonderful it was to feel the love from others as they helped to make our Chirstmas brighter.  I wish I knew who to thank for all that was done for us and given to us. THANK YOU!

Catching Up Post 1

I finally feel ambitious enough to try to catch up on my blog. This is our family journal and I need to record a few things before I forget them.

Zackary had a great third birthday. His new cousin Claire was born on his birthday. He also got to see Santa Claus at the ward party. We had a little party for him afterwards with Grandpa and Grandma Butler and Uncle David. We had lots of fun celebrating having our little spitfire with us for three years.

He is still very spunky at HOME.  Anywhere else he seems to be painfully shy. He has a contagious smile. When Anton wants something Zackary is the first to share and come to a compromise about 90% of the time.  He LOVES to make others happy which is why he is so willing to share, despite the fact that he is only three. He has been struggling with his pronunciation quite a bit.  Linden and I had been working with him when we would read with him, talk to him, etc. trying to help him improve his pronunciation. He had improved some, but progress was very slow. At the end of January when we finally got him in to the doctor for his three year check up he recommended that we get a speech evaluation.  He has been in therapy since then.  His pronunciation has improved immensely.  He still has a long ways to go.  But, it is wonderful for us to be getting less and less frustrated as we try to decipher what he is saying.

Zackary loves books, toys, balls, blocks, MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC, dancing, and playing with his brother and sister.  We are hoping to start piano lessons soon with Grandma Butler (Anton also).  They should have lots of fun with it.  He is such a joy and a blessing in our lives.  How grateful I am for my tiny little Zackary.  (He comes up to the shoulders of everyone else in the Sunbeam class.)

Here is our little Zackary showing off his birthday cards he got in the mail from Grandma Nielsen.  In Spanish I am encouraging him to show us how old he is, for those of you who would want to know.

Anton is showing off Zackary's new pajamas. Zackary got them for his birthday and was kind enough to let Anton wear them the first night. Anton's prayers have been showing off his personality a lot more lately. One night he was quite upset that we wouldn't let him do something because it was bedtime.  In his personal prayers he said in the saddest most imploring voice you could imagine: "thank you for my broken heart it is just so broken."  I had the hardest time holding back laughter until I could get out of the room.

The same night that Anton wore Zackary's new pajamas Zackary decided to wear as much stuff as he could when he got ready for bed. He had on three different pairs of pajamas plus three other pair of pants, one on his head, and then did a little dance for us. What great entertainment he is in our lives.

One Sunday in church, late November or early December, Isabel decided to show off her newest skill.  There were a few people sitting on our bench with us and she is so cute they couldn't resist holding her. They all got a shower.  In this video it took some encouragement, the camera distracted her, but she finally decided to show off her spitting skills. You should have seen her when she really got going.  This is about five or six months ago now.  How much she has grown since then.

The sixth try was a charm.  I finally got the video uploaded. It only took six tries and about four hours.  The really frustrating thing is that I don't know why it finally worked, I don't think I did anything different.

Our wonderful children posing together on the floor. As usual, the boys had to join in on the action as soon as they saw the camera. They are so cute, I just had to share.

I was trying to get a close up of the saying on Isabel's shirt because that is truly what I wanted for Christmas.  Now, six months later, Isabel has finally slept through the night about four times.  As with her brothers, she just needed to be weaned in order to start sleeping through the night.  She is now waking up at 6 am instead of 8 am.  She still wants that early morning feeding and won't go back to sleep.  But, hey from 8 or 9 pm to 6 am (with a little stirring around midnight or 1 am) is WONDERFUL.  

Clear back when Isabel was just starting her swim across the floor I got this photo.  I know, I should have been a better mother and gotten the shoe insert away from her instead of taking the photo.  The real story is that she only got it close to getting in her mouth, I hurried and snapped the photo and then got it away from her.  Her army crawl truly did look like she was swimming across the floor, especially when she first started.  She would throw her arms and hands clear out in front of her, grip the floor and pull herself forward as she wiggled and kicked her legs to help her scoot forward also.  It is so cute.  The last couple of weeks her crawling skills have improved and she is now crawling more and more.  Along with that came her pulling herself up to stuff (the first time was a week after her first birthday) and now she is also walking along the furniture.

I couldn't resist adding these adorable pictures of Anton and Zackary in their favorite pajamas.  Anton is showing off his cheesy grin.

Instead of his Elmo slippers Zackary opted for Anton's snow boots and a cowboy hat as accessories for his sleepwear.

Thanks for your patience as I have neglected my blog. 

A Few Reason I Haven't Been Blogging

Finally, I am getting some pictures of my adorable children posted. However, this post is more about what has been keeping me busy lately. (Besides being a mom, wife, and working.) I have been quite busy sewing and learning more about the fun adventures that come with sewing.

First up is this quilt. My mom and I made matching baby quilts for Leonora and Jessica who were due on the same day with baby girls. After cutting out over 2,500 pieces and lots and lots of sewing, pressing, sewing, pressing, quilting and then binding we got them done. This is the first ever quilt that I have pieced like this. It was lots of fun and now I am looking forward to making another quilt. Officially, my mom made the one for Jessica and I made the one for Leonora, with some help from mom.



Katelynn came over a month early in November, we had started on the quilts, but they weren't quite done. Luckily, this meant that Jessica's was done on time when Claire arrived on December 10. I forgot to take pictures of the quilt before I sent it down to Leonora and Katelynn. So, the above picture is one that Leonora and Kevin sent me and the other is via mom's cell phone.



There were a few quilt blocks, table runners, mending and other sewing projects in between this quilt and the next project, but no pictures were taken before they were sent off to their recipients.

Up next are the outfits that I made for Brook and Bob's wedding. Linden had a tie to match his brothers' ties for the wedding, but I wanted him to have one to match us also. (I left off the individual pictures of the kiddos in their ties and dress because they are in the previous post.)



While hunting for material for the wedding I came across a fabulous deal on the perfect material for another project and had an epiphany. Matching outfits aren't just for family weddings!!! I can make matching Easter outfits. I finished everything (almost) that I had hoped to get done by 11 PM, not quite midnight. Yeah, one whole hour to spare before Easter was here. Not bad for just a month to accomplish this undertaking. The only thing I didn't get done that I wanted was a little flower or decoration of some sort for Isabel's pinafore. Alas, I need to learn how to do stuff like that, still. I am hoping to get brave enough to attempt it soon.

Here is the family on Easter, after church at Grandma's. Linden told me that he would NOT wear a vest, so I didn't need to make him one. Then, while we were driving to church he told me (just to bug me) if I had made him a vest he would have worn it. GUESS WHAT LINDEN!!! You are getting one next time!



Little Isabel was so wiggly we had a really hard time getting her to hold still for the pictures. Here are the two that are the least blurry. She is really growing up!



Even a toy didn't keep her still for long enough to get a good picture.



For Anton and Zackary I had a hard time narrowing it down to one picture. They just looked so adorable.

Don't let his innocent look fool you.



Por favor, por favor, por favor, can I?????????????



A typical Anton cheesy grin.



So proud of his new vest and tie!



Hamming it up for the camera.



Have to show off the back of the vest, also.




Thanks for letting me share my handiwork. I have a lot of learning to perfect my sewing, but I have learned a LOT (sometimes more than I wanted) in the last few months.

Aunt Brook and Uncle Bob

They finally got hitched! Congrats Brook and Bob!!!



The happy couple.



Try as we might, Ruby did NOT want her picture taken. Linden snapped this one when she wasn't paying attention, so here it is, Brad and Ruby.



The boys. All of Brook's brothers, the brother-in-law and two of her sisters' boyfriends. I would have included a picture of the girls, but since not everyone looked good in the same picture I decided to opt out of that one. You can all thank me later.



Aunt Brook and Uncle Bob with the Nielsen nieces and nephews outside the temple. Anton is sticking out his tongue and Zackary is sticking out his lower lip. What a great photo op for them. (Zackary was quite upset that he had to be in another picture.)



Somehow Anton got to hold Brook's bouquet for a little while and I couldn't resist snapping a picture that I know he will not enjoy so much when he is older.



Zackary just had to have a turn with the bouquet, also. How adorable is he?!?



Brook in her wedding day dress, waiting for the luncheon to start.



The Nielsen family (minus Grandpa Nielsen in Heaven, we know he was with us for this special day). And a look at the back drop that Linden and I made.



Our darling little Isabel (and a look at the decorations for the reception).



Grandpa and Grandma Butler came to help in the kitchen at the reception. Grandpa did a great job of holding Isabel and keeping her asleep for a while and then happy.



We had a great time with Uncle Jeff. The boys and Isabel LOVED playing with him. We are so glad that he got to come for a whole week. Thanks to Aunt Sandy and David and Anna for sharing their husband and father. We wished that you could have been here for the wedding and look forward to your next visit.



We are thrilled for Brook and Bob as they begin their new journey together. It was a beautiful ceremony and the day was full of happiness. We are so excited to have Bob now be an official part of the family. Best of Luck. We love you both.

Miracles Do Happen

Yes, they truly do. I am finally doing another blog post. We have had a few busy months and blogging was just on the bottom of my list. I am hopefully going to get busy blogging regularly again. I can't promise once a week. I have been busy picking up extra shifts at work until Linden gets a job. So, while I am working more, it will be difficult to blog as I would like. Anything is better than nothing.

In addition to the miracle of me actually posting again we have been truly blessed. There have been many miracles in our lives. Despite the fact that Linden has been unemployed for now over seven months we still have all we need. We were truly blessed in December. Linden was able to work for a few weeks doing roofing in Island Park. We also had more than one Secret Santa that gave us food/money/and or toys for the kids. It was hard for me to want to accept the help, although it was greatly appreciated and an answer to our prayers.

We are hopeful that Linden will find a job soon. Some days I feel more hopeful than others. I know that we now have more faith and patience than we did seven months ago. I am truly grateful for the decision that we made to live in a trailer house from the 1970's, yellow toilet, sinks, fridge, stove and tub and all that comes with a trailer home. Our rent is super cheap which has been a great blessing over the last several months. We have been so blessed because of our decision to do the best to follow the prophets counsel and live in affordable housing and stay out of debt. We have also been blessed with many great family and friends that help us, including those that have chosen to help anonymously. THANK YOU!!!

More posts to come soon with updates on the kiddos. Thanks for your patience with my blogging habits as of late.

Our Favorite Aunt/Uncle Is.....

Linden and I both come from large families. I have nine siblings and Linden has eleven. That means that there are MANY Aunts and Uncles for our children to have in their lives. This is a great blessing. The boys really enjoy all of them. To date Anton, Zackary and Isabel have 30 Aunts and Uncles (this counts Bob, the soon to be uncle). There are more to come as I am sure more of our siblings will be getting married at some point. The boys truly enjoy playing with their Aunts and Uncles.

A couple of weeks ago we were down at Grandma Nielsen's house. Uncle Brad was also there. He gave something to Anton and Anton was asked who his favorite uncle was. He responded, "Uncle Alex." Considering that Uncle Brad was the only uncle present that was not quite the appropriate response to encourage Brad. Linden explained to Anton that he should say that Uncle Brad was his favorite uncle and asked him again. He gave the same response, "Uncle Alex." We explained to him that Uncle Brad was helping him and being nice to him right then. The third time he was asked he still gave the same response.

This last week we had Maria and Josh visiting us. Anton was having lots of fun playing with Uncle Josh. We asked him who his favorite uncle was and he responded, "Uncle Josh." Ha, ha, sorry Brad.

In all reality it really doesn't matter who the favorite Aunt/Uncle is. Anton and Zackary love playing with all of their uncles and aunts and it truly is whoever is there at the time. (Uncle Alex has had some good priming with Anton, asking him who his favorite is.) We are blessed to have such a great family to help and support us and to play with our wonderful children.

We got a few pictures while Maria and Josh were visiting. Here is Aunt Maria with Isabel.



Uncle Josh was giving shoulder rides to the boys and decided to try a double shoulder ride. Anton didn't like being in the middle very much.



I haven't forgotten about trying to get a picture of Isabel sitting. While she is doing better and better all the time, I never have the camera out at the right time. Here is one of my attempts. She is tipping over because she got distracted by her brothers. (Don't worry, no babies were harmed in the production of this post.)



Have a great week.

A Warm Fall

We have truly been enjoying great weather this past week. The high for the day most of this week has been in the 60's, about 10 degrees above the average for the beginning of November. That has made it easy for me to be motivated to keep running. I'll hope I can be motivated to run when it is snowing and colder. Notice I didn't say blowing. I don't enjoy running in the wind, so we will see how that goes.

We had a fun week. Anton and Zackary, aka Buzz and Woody enjoyed wearing their shirts from Aunt Brina this week.

Zackary was mad at me for some reason (I don't remember what), hence the scowl in this photo.



We also enjoyed playing in the leaves at Grandma's house. Grandma even joined in the fun and got buried in the leaves. Here she is popping up out of the leaves to surprise all of us.



Anton had fun getting buried in the leaves.



Zackary also enjoyed the leaves.



On Sunday while visiting Great Grandma she wanted us to get a picture of her and Oliver.



Of course we couldn't resist a photo op with the boys and Great Grandma, also. (Isabel was sleeping.)



The most exciting news is the new arrival of Leonora and Kevin's little baby, Katelynn. She came a bit early and will be in the NICU for a little while still, but is doing well. She looks so tiny!



What a precious, little bundle.