Christmas Came Early - Along with Thanksgiving!

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of spending time with Jake's mom Diane. She came up on Saturday and we started the day off by going out for burgers. We have since decided that we will eat at home from now on because it is impossible to get good service AND good food anywhere in the greater Lena area. The price we pay for living in the country - we are ok with that though, because living here means we can raise our kids in a great 1950s style community.

That night we watched White Christmas and holed up in the house with a big pot of chili to keep us warm on the coldest day of the year so far. About 6 PM Baleigh asked if we were going to decorate the Christmas tree.... so we brought in the boxes of ornaments and the kids took a trip down memory lane. Its funny to hear them reminisce about when they got a particular ornament, and how they "remember" it from when they were "little." Since grandma came with a trunk load of Christmas surprises we decided to give them a little bit of the holidays early. After they were snugly dressed in jammies we told them they could open a couple presents. They both got some beautiful new outfits and Baleigh couldn't wait to wear them.

Sunday we had a big turkey with the trimmings lunch so it felt like a true holiday. We ate early and then most of us took a little nap to make the day truly perfect. Grandma headed back home mid afternoon and we just hung out watching Christmas movies until bed time. I am fully in the holiday spirit and look forward to a nice long weekend that we have coming up. :)

Happy 6th Birthday Baleigh

This time 6 years ago I was up and realized we were going to have a baby. We still didn't know if we were going to have a boy or a girl though. I was supposed to make pies for Thanksgiving dinner at the Nielsen's but called and told them I was not feeling up to it that day. We spent the day hanging out with family until dinner. I was determined not to make the rookie mistake of going to the hospital hungry. I ate my fill and by then contractions were just a few minutes apart. Jake and I headed out to the hospital leaving our little 1 yr old Thor with peepaw and his uncles. About 3 hours after getting to the hospital, we had our dark haired, outspoken little girl. She hasn't stopped talking since she was born. She has never met a stranger and she can talk your ear off if you give her the opportunity. She's a take charge kind of girl that reminds me of myself in many ways. She tends to be a bit bossy with her brother, but at the end of the day they still love each other very much. I relish the moments after they are in bed and I hear whispers and go to check on them.. only to find them huddled together in one of their rooms reading books and whispering conspiratorially. Happy birthday to our little Baleigh Evelyn Angel Nielsen - can't imagine our world without our little BEAN.

Parent Teacher Confernces - Baleigh

I have been dreading parent teacher confrences for some time now. I never know what is going to come out and I strive so hard to keep our children up to speed in all things academic. Last night we had Baleigh's meeting with her teacher Mr. Blakely. He was nothing short of gushing on how awesome Baleigh is in class. He said that he has challenged her with reading in class that he said most of his students won't see until next year. He also said she excels at math and is one of the class leaders. In her areas of strength he wrote, "-Always working hard + participating  - Plays and works hard with others  - Helps all of her classmates   - Great role model!"  We could not have been more proud. I will get back to posting about Thor's conferences later.

Family Photos

Family Pictures by https://www.facebook.com/JillVPhotography - First one we have taken in years! Can't thank Jill enough for such a beautiful job! It take a ringmaster to corral all the Nielsen's in one place these days. It also takes an artist to make me think I looked good in a photo- and I think I look great here. :)

Second family photo we have had taken in just a few weeks. These were with my family out at Lake Le Aqua Na State Park. I love the lighting in this one, and the fact that it shows us having a little more fun than the more formal one above. Both pictures will be displayed prominently in our house!