Flash Back Friday-Ethan

I still can't believe that Ethan is over 2 years old. Seems like just yesterday he looked like this... And seems like not that long ago that he would just sit in my lap like this and be happy! Don't think he'll do that any more. The kid doesn't hold still for longer than 1 minute, if we're lucky!

This was Ethan's first hair cut. He was 6 months old! Isn't he a cutie! Now the kid has had more haircuts than I can count, his hair grows like a weed!

I know one day I'll be posting pictures from today and saying I can't believe... Just makes you really try to savor EVERY minute because they go by soooo fast!

Addicted!

I'm addicted to facebook. I don't even know why, I've been on myspace for a while and now I have a blog....so why am I addicted to another website???? Ahh someone help me!!!!

The Day the Nelson Family Became Forever

Chris and I were married in the Las Vegas, Nevada Temple on May 28th, 2005. On that day around 10:30-11:00 our family became a Forever Family...I know we aren't capable of for sure "knowing" what Forever is, but I can imagine that it is quite a long time. And I can't wait to spend forever with my wonderful husband and kids! Even when times are difficult or crazy one thing remains the same....I'm stuck with these people FOREVER! (And I love it) Happy Monday!

Proudest Mom Moment So Far

So last night was my father-in-laws birthday so went to dinner with them. Ethan was being a really good boy. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. (Olive Garden on a Tuesday...The place was sooo busy..Weird) While waiting Ethan grabbed Chris and said Pee Pee. So Chris took him to go potty, but brought him back out because the toilets in the men's restroom were nasty, I took him and he went Pee Pee. We sat down and Ethan was being a really good boy. When we sat down he put his napkin on his lap and then started eating all kinds of salad when we got that. He ate all of his Mac'n'Cheese(of course). He would eat some food, take a drink and then wipe his mouth off with his napkin. And then he'd do it all over again. When we were close to being finished a lady came over to our table and said "I'm sorry to bother you but I just wanted to tell you that your little boy is such a gentleman. He is so well behaved, you can tell that you are a good mother and you should be commended for how well he behaves." I couldn't stop smiling! I said thank you very much, and just kept thinking to myself "Ethan please don't say Dog Poo, Please don't say it right now." And he didn't he just looked and the lady and smiled! I guess Chris and I do set a pretty good example for Ethan, so far at least! It made me feel so good to have someone notice how good of a boy Ethan can be! I love that boy, even when he wont stop saying Dog Poo.....Sometimes I feel like I'm not a very good mother, but moments like this make me feel like I must be doing something right! :)

Ethan loves Dog Poo!!

My son is infatuated with picking up Dog Poo... Or at least the idea of it. Everyday when Grandpa Blackburn gets home Ethan and Grandpa go outside and pick up the dog poo. When I say pick up the dog poo I mean Grandpa picks it up and Ethan runs around outside! Here is a conversation we had in the car the other day:

Ethan: Knock Knock
Me and Chris: Who's there?
Ethan: Grandpa
Me and Chris: Grandpa who?
Ethan: Dog Poo

Ethan: Knock Knock
Me and Chris: Who's there?
Ethan: Dog Poo
Me and Chris: Dog Poo Who?
Ethan: Grandpa! Ha Ha Ha!

Then Sunday at church Chris handed Ethan his toy phone and said "call Grandpa" So Ethan acts like he is on the phone and says:

"Grandpa, Dog Poo?" (ramblings that only Ethan knows the meaning of) and then "Dog Poo?" Well it was pretty quiet in church so a few people heard him. Chris and I just smiled and told the guy in front of us that he likes to pick up Dog Poo! :) You have to love kids and the darned things they say!

My Mother got Her Wish!

So for most of you this will come as a surprise! My mother has always hoped that I'd have a kid just like me....Stubborn! I know, Hilary, Stubborn! Hard to believe but I guess some might consider me that. Well I have been blessed with a stubborn daughter just like me. (Ethan is pretty stubborn too, but he is also two!) I decided last night that if Katelee woke up before 3am I was going to let her cry it out. Low and behold 12:45am comes and Katelee is up fussing. I get out of bed, turn on all the bathroom fans, the laundry fan and shut her door, preparing for her to get loud for a moment. The girl cried until 1:45am when I couldn't take it any more and went in to give her her lifeline....The Binky! (did I mention that the girl has some very powerful lungs?) She fell right to sleep.....The sleeping books say that they usually don't cry longer than one hour. They also say not to let them cry for more than one hour! What do they know about my stubborn little angel?? She is going to show them! (Katelee did sleep till 4:40am with me only having to give her the binky one more time! Small improvement.... Then she sleep till 7:15...I guess I really can't complain!) Hopefully this is the only bad trait Katelee gets from me, if not I'm in for a long 22 years! :) (Isn't this picture a classic! It's the calm right before the storm!!!)

Tired of Being Tired!

I haven't had a good nights rest for over 4 months now. I am so tired of being tired! When I lay down at night I don't even have time to think about what I'm doing tomorrow because I'm already asleep. Every night when I wake up to Katelee's crying I pray that it is like 5:00am, but it never is. Usually I think its 2:45 only to find out its 12:45! The other night I got five straight hours and woke up feeling good, but by the afternoon I was exhausted and wanted to lay down. I sit at work and think of things to do to keep me awake! Luckily my husband helps me out at night by taking the 6:00am feeding. That way I get to at least sleep till 6:30 or 7. Poor Chris is exhausted as well. He used to stay up pretty late watching TV. Now we are in bed at the same time and he is asleep right behind me! Darius Rucker has a song out that talks about "it won't be like this for long." I know eventually I'll look back on this and smile, but right now it seems like there is no end in sight, and it's going to be like this FOREVER!!!! (oh course that is just the lack of sleep talking) :)

Our First Official Family Photo

Thanks to my wonderful Cousin, Tiffany, we have a nice family photo. She can be called a miracle worker! Aren't the kids cute!

Crying it Out Night Two!

So last night we let Katelee cry it out again. All the books that I have read say it usually takes two nights, and the 2nd night is the worst. I sure hope they are right, because last night she was determined. She cried off and on for a good 45 minutes. She started out crying a little and then stopping and then she went to straight screaming! I stayed downstairs this time, so the crying wasn't as loud. (It was still pretty darn loud downstairs...) Finally while I was saying my prayers she stopped. Of course I thought oh she'll just start up again in a minute, she didn't! I was so excited. I waited about 20 minutes this time and then went to put her bottle in her room. She was out and she looked content. No scowl on her face! So I jumped into bed and wouldn't you know it I couldn't fall asleep. I watched some t.v. and then finally fell asleep! Then around 1:30 I hear Katelee moving around so I go in and give her the binky! (don't know if I should have done that, but oh well) Then I see that Ethan's light is on. The boy was us reading a book in the middle of his floor. So I tell him to get back to bed. Katelee is fusing again so I go get Chris so I can go pump. He gets her back to sleep and goes to bed. When I get done pumping Ethan's light is back on. I go in again and tell him that I'm going to take away his toys and to get back in bed. I go back to bed only to be woken up 30 minutes later by Ethan's door opening and closing. So I grab my pillow and march into his room. I point to his bed and and runs over to it. I shut off the light and lay down on his floor. I wake up an hour later and go back to my bed. 4:45 Katelee starts crying. I feed her and try to get her back to sleep. She doesn't want to no matter what I do. So I go get Chris and have him deal with her. She goes to sleep and we sleep till 6:30 when it's time to get up! So I think we had a pretty good night. Doesn't it figure when Katelee has a good night, Ethan doesn't! Crazy!!!!

Gotta Love This Girl!

Looks at this girls cheeks, can you say Chipmunk?Grandma and Grandpa Nelson got Katelee this little doll! It also serves as a pacifier keeper iner! (that is mother of a two year old talk)
Look at this little lady! She loves to watch me do the dishes at night. And I love to look down while washing her bottles and see that all the loads of dishes are worth it!

Boys Day Out

The other morning I woke up feeling like total crap! Chris could tell that I probably needed to be alone for a while so he said "Ethan do you want to go see some snow?" Ethan instantly goes "Grampa, no, Grampa no!" (translated this means Grandpa, Snow) Chris said "I guess we can call Grandpa and see is he wants to go with us." So I call my dad and ask him what he is doing. He was heading out to the dry lake bed with the dog, but said I'll be right over. (side note: Grandpa Blackburn is Ethan's best buddy. My dad is so cute with Ethan. Everyday when my dad gets home from work, Ethan takes grandpa outside and points out all of the "dog Poo" for my dad to pick up! My dad will call randomly to talk to Ethan on the phone just to say good night... He is so cute with him) Anyways, Chris, Ethan and Grandpa Blackburn head off for the mountains to find some snow for Ethan to play in. While they were gone I got a nice hot bath with Katelee seating in her bouncy seat next to the tub. I was feeling better so Katelee and I headed over to my mom's house to hang out! Needless to say the boys had a really good time and so did I. Ethan with Grandpa
Ethan and Daddy

Ethan just wondering around

Ethan with Grandpa again!

Thank you Chris and Grandpa for giving me a much needed break from my favorite "crazy" kid!

Let Her Cry it Out???

Isn't she cute? She isn't that cute in the middle of the night!
Katelee is still not sleeping through the night and I'm starting to try different things. One night we left her hands out so she could suck on them if she wanted to. That didn't work, seems like when she gets mad she can't seem to find her mouth with her hands. So we tried this new swaddling thing. There is no way she can get her arms out of this "straight jacket" as my mother-in-law calls it. That works with keeping her hands out of her way, but she still drops her binky and then she really screams. Saturday night was her worst sleeping night EVER. I ended up sleeping downstairs in our chair with her on my chest. If I moved she started screaming. Chris was up with her for a bit, but was getting frustrated with her, so I took over for a bit. Sunday night it seemed like it was going to be a GREAT night. She was out by 9 and sleeping like a little angel. Then it happened, like it always does, she lost her binky and was pissed off at the world! Chris went and got her binky for her and came back to bed. As soon as he laid down she was screaming again. I had finally had it. She was nice and full, she had just eaten 6oz of milk, she had a clean diaper and even a little bit of benadryl for her eczema. So when Chris went to get out of bed I said "No Way!" She gets to cry it out tonight. We never had to do this with Ethan, he has always been a good sleeper. So we turned the humidifier on High in Ethan's room and turned the bathroom fan on to muffle the crying, so Ethan wouldn't be bothered. She cried from 10:50-11:26 and then she stopped. My heart jumped, could it actually have worked, and in only 36 minutes? 5 minutes went by and she was still quiet. I started to get a little worried that perhaps she had passed out from crying so much, so I creep down the hall and opened her door to find her sucking on BOTH fists. Knowing she was still alive I felt much better and went back to bed. I finally fell asleep only to be awoken by her crying again at 11:46....The books didn't mention anything about her crying again??? What was I suppose to do, let her cry or go in??? Chris got out of bed, oh by the way, did I mention that he was able to fall asleep with Katelee screaming? Amazing!!!! He wants to give her the binky because he thinks she has been crying for an hour constant! So finally I give in and give her the binky back. She wakes up about 5 minutes later, I give her the binky again and she sleeps till 4am? So did crying it out really work?? I'm not sure! Do I try it again? I'm not sure! Will she ever sleep through the night? I'm not sure! But I guess in the end all that matters is that my little girl is healthy and I love her to pieces! (Oh by the way, my cousin took the kids' pictures a week ago. She didn't have much to work with...but they turned out amazing! She took the picture with this blog...I'll post the other ones a little later!)

Katelee meet her Uncle Brian for the first time this Christmas. She is already a happy baby, but she really smiled for Uncle Brian.

We think it might have something to do with him having as much hair as her! :)

Happy New Year!!!

So when the clock struck Midnight at the Nelson household:

Katelee was sleeping
Ethan was sleeping
Hilary was sleeping
Chris was watching TV in bed!

Maybe we will celebrate New Years again some day! :) Hope Everyone has a great 2009!