Our beautiful girl in her beautiful Christmas dress

Heres Nellie in her Christmas Dress. She looks so cute. She twirled and danced in it!

The battle of the binks continues.......

Please note that initially she tries to look busy reading the book thinking that I wont notice that she has found another binky. Then she button hooks me........ several times!

We opened one gift a little early!

We let Drew and Nelson pick one present to open early. Nelson opened this vacuume. She LOVES is! Drew opened underwear. He was not open to having them on video.

Just because

These last two are here because when I mentioned that I was going to get the camera out to take a picture of the snow she stood there and said "cheese, cheese, cheese" until I took a couple pics! Its funny that now she likes the camera. Previously she would not smile when I pulled it out and would look away. Now............................................. a HAM~

Its a little chilly outside BRRRRRRRR!

Heres a couple of pictures looking off the deck. Its so beautiful. The first 2 "storms" pretty much missed us. This one has certainly left its mark!

A picture of our tree

We put this up a couple of weeks ago but I had not yet posted a picture. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to all!

Here's Nelsons first Christmas picture with the folks from the North Pole!! As you can see she really enjoyed her visit!

A few great words from Nellie

We finally got her to talk on the camera! Enjoy!

Someone has had a very busy afternoon!

Nelson has officially found the plastics drawer. She cleared it out today then got inside the drawer. She was so proud of herself. She gave me a real big smile!

A few more pics from the 5k that my friend gave me today.

The first picture is all of us from Legacy that ran together. The second is a picture of the signs on our backs that say "for uncle Tim" and the 3rd is when we just finished!

Our 08 family Christmas picture

These are our family pictures for 2008.

2 5K runs in 2 weeks.

The first picture is my girlfriend Karlene, her daughter Rebecca and I just after finishing our first 5k 2 weeks ago. The second is Shayne and I after finishing another one today. The run today was called the Jingle Bell run. It benifits research for arthritis. We ran for our uncle Tim!

A little toilet interest

For weeks now Nellie has been dispensing the toilet paper to anyone who will let her in the bathroom. Today she unzipped her pajamas and pulled me to the toilet and pointed. I thought I'd give it a try! I put her on the toilet and she pushed and pushed. Then she clapped her hands with excitement and reached for the toilet paper. There was nothing in there but she seemed to think it was great. We decided to get her little toilet out and let her give it another try. Here are some pics of the event. She was more interested in trying to climb inside.

Could life get any better?

Today Nelson took her first bath by herself in the big tub. Where are all the toys you ask? She threw them out one at a time when she noticed that water squirted out of them when the hit the ground. She LOVED it. She slipped and went under twice but recovered quickly.

Our little photographer!

Today Nelson got the camera turned on. She pushed every button until the lense popped out. Then she began taking pictures. Here is some of her work! I think you'll enjoy it! She was especially proud when the flash went off!

Im so cute!

My Auntie Heidi got me this animal print shirt. Im wearing it today for the first time. I look so darn cute. I now have an opinion about what shoes I wear. Sometimes my mom wants me to wear a specific pair of shoes but I take them off and bring her the ones I want. Then I fuss and throw a fit until she puts on the pair that I want! Sometimes my mom puts the same pair on 3 or 4 times. I just keep taking them off until she gives in!

WE ADOPTED AGAIN!!!

This is our new adopted cat! Her name is Rimmy. Shes 8 years old. We adopted her from Aunt Linda. We LOVE her! Nelson and Shayne REALLY love her. We're excited for Drew to meet her today. Shes very sweet and snuggly. She is also very social and friendly. We are excited for the new addition! Please note all the clothes Nelson pulled out of her drawers and drug to the hallway. She thinks shes helping!!

Does anyone need a house keeper?

She has discovered the swiffer! She gets it out of the closet atleast 5 times a day. Shes constantly swiffering the tile, hardwoods and even the carpet. You can see how proud she is to be using it. Shes a girl after my own heart!!

I can feed myself!

Nelson wants to feed herself. Here are a couple of pictures! Im not sure if she actually ate anything or just mixed it all together. She was very happy to use the spoon.

A sneak peek!

Today Nelson and I went to Costco with Auntie Laurel and Uncle Patrick. I let her pick out a Halloween costume. They had cute costumes like a giraffe, elephant, a lion and several others. Nelson immediately fell in love with the alligator. I attempted to trade it and she noticed right away. She also wants to wear it around the house. She LOVES it. And it looks very cute.........for an alligator.

Our new schedules!

Shayne continues to work day shift (06-18). Its been a couple months now. I would say that we've adjusted well. On Monday I was offered the charge nurse position which is also day shift. I'll be working 07-19. I currently work part time which consists of 4 twelve hour shifts every two weeks. For this new position I will be working .75 time or 5 twelve hour shifts every two weeks. Shayne and I stagger our shifts which means we only require childcare every other Monday. We're excited and looking forward to the new schedule.

My beautiful smile.... WITHOUT THE BINKS!

I can't get enough of this smile! She so darn cute.

Yep I still have the binks.........but not for long!

Nelson continues to be addicted to her binks. Shayne and I have discussed when the appropriate time to get rid of the binks is. We have decided its going to be soon. Its going to be rough.

Our baby is ONE! What a great party!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Nelson's first birthday party. Wow that was a packed house. I suppose every first birthday should be special. Thanks for making Nelsons special too. (even if it was a little crouded)!
She got lots of toys that sing and light up. She goes from toy to toy and keeps hitting the buttons. She also got some adorible clothes. Such good shoppers. Thanks!

Our Dog Izzy

5 days ago Izzy began to vomit up small stuffed animals from Nelson's Noah's Arc toy set. She has done this several times in the past without any difficulty. This time was different. We took her to the vet 2 days ago because she had not eaten for 3 days which was very unusual for her. They took a picture of her belly and kept her overnight for observation. She was released home to us the next day with anti-nausea medication. She continued to vomit for 2 more days. She had not eaten or kept down water for a total of 5 days.
After a second consult with the vet today they determined that Izzy had a bowel obstruction. Sadly we had to put her down. It was extremely sad but thankfully very peaceful. It was a very difficult day at our house today. We are thankful for the time we had with Izzy and she will be missed.

I am ONE!

We had Nelson's picture taken for her one year birthday thats coming on Sunday. Uncle Patrick took them for us and they turned out so cute! We have one for everyone. Thanks uncle.

At the Zoo

We had a great day at the Zoo on Thursday with our family. It was a little toasty but we had fun. Here's a picture of Shayne next to a bronze squirel. Those of you who know Shayne know he loves squirels. The other pics are of Drew holding Nelson and they are looking at the fish. Then Nelson is smiling for the camera!

New Big Girl Room

I put together a big girl room for Nelson. Because the rooms are small we will make her nursery a playroom and this will be her bedroom. It will be a while before she sleeps in a bed but the room will be ready. It turned out so cute. I still have to find a curtain that matches and maybe a few little things for the wall but otherwise its done.