the nickels

Soapbox

2012-01-15T19:48:00.001-08:00

This is another of my sporadic motherhood posts that I sometimes feel compelled to share. I have been thinking lately and had some new ideas that I thought might be of interest to my fellow moms out there.

Soren and I bought a book a while back that has questions to ask each other that will hopefully promote interesting discussions and getting to know each other better. We have liked using it and learned some new things. The other night we had a question that really got both of us thinking and kind of bothered. The question was, “What quality do you currently possess that you most want your children to imitate when they grow up?” WOW. Talk about a self reflective question. We both struggled to answer it because it seems like in the past we have been really strong in certain qualities, but since having kids those strengths have weakened. I honestly almost couldn’t of any area of my life where I would wish my level of strength on my kids. Does that make sense? I guess I realized I need to do better because I want more for my kids than I am achieving right now.

Anyways after pondering this for a while I had a totally new idea that really helped me feel like this problem was fixable. When I was growing up I had a list of qualities that I was looking for in a husband. I kept it for years and sometimes added to it. I knew that if I wanted to find a guy that added up to that list, I needed to work on that list of traits for myself. So really the list was more of a goal list for me than a recipe for the perfect guy. Anyways after getting married and having kids, my goal list kind of disappeared in general. I mean it kind of feels like you have “made it”. So far I haven’t made any new, BIG, near future, next 10 years goals. It often feels like I am living day to day, naptime to naptime.

So, when I thought about this question of what I want my kids to be like, I thought about that future-husband list. And I made a future-kid list. What do I want for my kids? What qualities and traits do I hope they have and achieve? What do I want to be important to them? This was really good for me to spell out and identify specifics. I’m sure I’ll be adding to this list too. But my point is that I have no idea how my kids will turn out, but I do know that my example will be their guide. I plan on turning that list for my kids around on myself. If I can work on all of those things and be who I hope my kids will be, I know I will have done everything in my power to teach them. This list gives me a new goals and adds a new depth to mothering for me. I feel motivated to be better for them than I would be on my own.

Happy New Year

2012-01-08T19:43:00.001-08:00

This year has started out great for us!

We went to a fun mustache-themed party on New Year’s and my Mom was awesome and offered to watch the kids so we could go alone. Wish we had taken some pictures. We had a great night and it felt really good to have a real event to go to on New Year’s.

We have made and been working on some resolutions around here. One of mine for Easton has been to watch less TV and movies. We tried it all week and I feel like we were very successful. It was hard and took some creativity, but it felt better at the end of the day. I am hoping we can still cut even more out.

I am really enjoying my iphone; taking pictures with it is so easy!

Here is a shot from inside the tent Soren set up in the backyard. He built a fire in my frying pan with popsicle sticks and they roasted mini-marshmallows. It was really fun except that everything got that smokey smell.

We have a few small trees in the back of our yard that Easton has figured out how to climb. It is really cute and he is quite capable at it.

The only pet we have had for the last year is a goldfish we inherited from my parents. (The big one pictured.) I never feed it or clean its bowl and it won’t die. It is a source of constant guilt for me. Oh and it has blood red zombie eyes. I really think it is a zombie fish. Anyways while at Walmart the other day I picked up two more fish to keep it company. I figure they will either improve his quality of life or change things up enough to finally kill him. Easton was very excited about the new fish although he doesn’t quite understand naming things. He refers to them as the Daddy fish, Mommy fish and Easton fish.

I’m Dreaming of a Healthy Christmas

2012-01-04T20:23:00.001-08:00

What a Christmas we had. It was our first Christmas in our new house and we really enjoyed decorating with our apartment-size decorations. We got our first real Christmas tree which made it really feel like the holidays. I was convinced I wanted a fake tree and lights on the house and pre-lit garland above the cupboards in the kitchen until I saw how much all of that costs. OUCH. So we went with a real $20 tree, lights in the bushes, and no garland. The real tree ended up being a great choice. It was a bee-autiful green color, smelled nice, and incredibly sharp which kept the kids away for the most part. Kesler managed to swipe and ornament or two, but it really was dangerous to try more than that.

Easton helped decorate by watching and drinking his beloved milk.

I am so glad I did most of my Christmas shopping and prepping early because a week and a half before Christmas Kesler started getting sick. He had a fever and mouth sores and was miserable for days. He also hardly slept at night. It was really hard to take care of him because there was almost nothing I could do to make him feel better. He was so, so miserable. Soon I felt his pain though because I came down with it too. It turned out to be one of the worst 2 weeks Kesler and I have ever experienced. My throat erupted in blisters that prevented me from pretty much eating or drinking for almost 10 days. I was praying I could at least eat on Christmas, but it wasn’t until about 3 days after Christmas before I got anything solid down.

Anyways, it was a trial by fire of motherhood and I learned a lot, but it was a really difficult holiday. Thus I have very few pictures. I wasn’t really feeling camera happy.

It was really wonderful to be so close to my family during the ordeal. My Mom helped as much as she possibly could and we enjoyed Christmas Eve and Day at their house. These are the only pictures I have of Christmas Eve.

Soren and I were very excited for Christmas morning. Easton woke up at about 7:00 and we had him come in our room until we were dressed. We had found him a huge new Thomas the Train set at a garage sale and set it all up as his surprise. He was so excited!

He and Kesler also opened their stockings and enjoyed their little gifts. Easton got the Francesco Bernoulli car from Cars 2 in his stocking and he hyperventilated when he saw it. He LOVES Cars 2 and it was adorable to see the excitement about something so small. Kesler got a new horse toy and they both got candy and new toothbrushes.

It was really nice to go to church on Christmas as a family. Then we all came home and took a very nice much needed nap. The rest of the day we spent opening more gifts and spent time at my parents.

Here is a little bit of the gift line-up. Kesler got a Little People cars race track and shared some more gifts with Easton. Easton also got a Lightening McQueen remote control car which was a hit. Soren mostly asked for money for another bow that he is saving up for. My big excitement was getting my white iphone. I LOVE it. My parents also got me a new blow dryer and a cake decorating kit which I am excited to use.

We may have had some health difficulties this season, but we had and have so much to be grateful for. Gratitude definitely is what helps us gets us through the hard times.

Thrifty

2012-01-03T18:51:00.001-08:00

Soren told me about his holiday work party back in September and ever since I was on the hunt for the right dress. Seeing as it was cocktail attire and needed to be modest and I have particular taste, this was a difficult task. Anyways, after searching and searching online, I didn’t find anything. While in a thrift store I saw this dress and loved the fabric. It was $2 and I thought, “I’m sure I could do something with this.” It was about 10 sizes too big and difficult for Soren to see its vision.

My Mom offered to help me and we started cutting and sewing. It took about 5 hours and a lot of pinning and retrying it on, but I was very happy with the finished product.

I also fell in LOVE with the shoes I found to match it.

Unfortunately Soren still didn’t love the final reveal. The vintage look and the blousy waist reminded him too much of all of his Mom’s old dresses. I had a really hard time with it (ie. I was VERY ANGRY), but eventually saw it from his perspective a little more and decided to save the dress for another event. I ended up finding a new black skirt and a sequin top the next day at Kohls that I was happy with. The party ended up being really fun and I enjoyed wearing my new dress to church on Sunday.

The best part was learning more about altering clothes and I plan to try it again soon. It was so rewarding to see my vision actually come through.

Target Practice

2011-12-11T06:53:00.001-08:00

In the past, if we ever talked about moving close to my family, Soren’s biggest complaint was that Missouri had no mountains. What would he do for fun?? We’ll now that we have moved to Missouri, he has found a few things.

As a kid he was into archery and even made his own arrows to shoot in the backyard. He has gotten back into that hobby and bought a longbow about a year ago. He has tested out several over the last year and built quite a few targets too. The hay bales in the field behind us also have taken a few arrows. Soren really enjoys shooting to let off steam after work and has gotten really good. Here are a few shots of him in action.

Being the craftsman he is, he has handmade many items needed for archery. He made his quiver and arm guard out of leather and they turned out amazing. He would really like to get into making his own arrows and has bought some of the supplies to do it.

His latest project was this bow rack. It turned out perfect! All he needs is a man cave to hang it in. The unfinished basement will have to do for now.

Oh, Dad!

2011-12-06T20:47:00.001-08:00

Soren is the indulger in our family. He is the one who will take the boys romping in the fields when it is 30 degrees, allows the boys to drink straight from the gallon of milk, and shares too many sweets with them. What a Dad!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-06T20:39:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. It felt very easy to celebrate all of the amazing things we have to be grateful for this year. All month I have been keeping a gratitude journal and counting my blessings often. The things I have found myself listing most often are my husband and my two wonderful little boys. I am so grateful for everything they bring to my life every day.

I was also grateful to go to my family’s house for dinner. My Mom made the turkey and I brought some sides. We had a really nice, productive day at our house. We cleaned and did projects until it was time for dinner. Easton helped me make Pumpkin pie from scratch.

Dinner was delicious. My brother Broch came and brought his dog Leah.

What a great year this year has been. We are grateful for all of our blessings and the challenges too.

Happy Birthday Soren

2011-11-24T20:48:00.001-08:00

This year Soren turned 30! I was a little stressed about trying to make it a big deal for him, but it all came together.

His birthday was on a Friday and we had fun celebrating it the whole weekend. After a long day of work on Friday he came home to his favorite meal- calzones and raspberry cheesecake. It was definitely the best cheesecake I’ve ever made and I think everyone would agree. The boys especially loved the raspberries- they ate them all off the top!

On Saturday we had a babysitter all day so that we could go to a marriage conference by Dr. Gary Chapman. Soren was a great sport to spend his birthday weekend there, but we both were really glad and grateful that we did. The conference was funny, uplifting and full of really good ideas. We would definitely go again.

Sunday after church we had Soren’s family party and I couldn’t wait. I had planned a hot dog bar of gourmet with all the toppings- another Soren favorite. My brother’s made some great and imaginative gifts for Soren’s bow- a “bow silencer” and “Ready-Aim-Shoot”. They were really clever and made mostly of cereal boxes. His other gifts were a hit as well.

The cake was the part I was most excited about! I made arrows out of the candles and made his cake a target. Soren was blown away when he saw it- too fun!

The last surprise was a game. I made tiny bow and arrows out of Q-tips and popsicle sticks. (Not easy!) We all had fun taking shots and I think Soren felt very loved.

Family Photos 2011

2011-11-21T18:21:00.001-08:00

We had family photos taken last weekend. After all of the stress about outfits, location and a windy day I am very happy with how they turned out. Mandy did a great job!

The pictures above were some of the best and the ones we have edited so far, but here are some fun out takes.

I told you it was windy!!!

Kesler’s First Birthday

2011-11-17T20:08:00.001-08:00

Our little guy turned one! Because he and Easton are so close in age, I feel like his short little life is kind of a blur in my mind, but we are so glad we have him and can’t imagine our family without him. His party was pumpkin themed and a lot of fun for all.

Loved his little Jack-0-Lantern cake.

Dinner was cornbread and chili which Kesler ate like a champ. This picture made the cut because Easton dished himself a bowl of cornbread before dinner. He just couldn’t wait. When I turned around this is how I found the pan.

Kelser and his uncle Logan.

Easton started walking pretty early, but we are still working on it with Kesler. He loves to walk just close enough to fall into your arms.

Opening presents with Kesler was such a joy. He had all the perfect reactions for every gift. His Grandma Nickels got him a puppy pillow pet and he went crazy.

We got him a pop-up tunnel and it has been fun for everyone.

Kelser loved his cake and milk- but this picture below makes me laugh. Poor kid looks sick!

Happy Birthday Kesler! We love you!

Noisy Boys

2011-11-17T19:34:00.001-08:00

Just love these little guys….

Fire Station with Friends

2011-11-17T11:41:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago we were able to tour the local fire station for playgroup. The kids were all a little young for the information/learning aspect, but they loved seeing the trucks and the equipment. I felt like I sure learned a lot though-when was the last time I learned about a fire station? Probably when I was 4 or 5! As usual I left my memory card in my computer at home, but Mandy got a few pics for me.

Halloween

2011-11-09T19:46:00.001-08:00

Halloween was so much fun this year. Soren and I had a great time deciding and making the kids’ costumes. Since Easton started shooting bow and arrows with Soren, we decided it was fitting to dress him up as Robin Hood and Kesler could tag along as Little John. I didn’t anticipate how much convincing it would take to get Easton into his costume, but by the 3rd or 4th event he didn’t mind anymore. We think they were just darling!

Easton is pretty handy with his weapons.

And so is Kesler!

On Halloween we had our friends Dusty and Linzy over. The dads and kids went out while we handed out candy. Linzy made us amazing soup and spudnuts! We were all in heaven.

I bought some wings a few years ago on clearance and decided to wear them this year. I whipped up a matching tutu and made myself a fairy. This may be my go-to costume for years to come. I’ll add more to it next year.

The kiddos: Kesler, Easton, Bracken, and Cooper

Easton and Cooper are good buds.

The week before we went to our church’s Halloween Party. We decked out our van with spider webs and lights. Easton was great at handing out candy and I think only ate once piece!

Uncle Cody and Easton

Kesler loves his Grandpa and had a lot of fun with his little sword.

Easton and I . (This was pre-hair cut when a ponytail was still possible.) I had really fun face paint on and glitter. I wish we had a better picture of it, but it was a hit!

All in all, a great Halloween!

Short!

2011-11-09T00:48:00.000-08:00

I got my haircut again a week or two ago and it is SHORT! I have never had it this short; it took a long time to recognize the back of my head as mine when I felt it. Here is

LONG

SHORT

SHORTER

I really like and can’t believe how much easier it is.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-11-08T06:40:00.000-08:00

Having kids is hard some days, but life is so much more fun too! Soren and I definitely wouldn’t go to a pumpkin patch together on a date, but taking kids to a pumpkin patch is a whole different event. We went to the pumpkin patch last year as a last family date before I had Kesler. It was so much fun as you can see, and I am so glad we found another fun pumpkin patch here in Missouri as well.

We went twice this year during the free hours, the first time with my parents and brothers, and the second with Soren.

Instagram is why I need an iphone. My Dad took these and I love them!

Of course I love my camera too. What a great place to get awesome pics of the kids.

The next pics are when we went with Soren.

Work and Play

2011-11-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

Soren has been spending plenty of time outside with the boys as well. They have had so much fun raking the leaves and jumping in them too. Having a yard creates so much work, but a lot of fun too. Easton was a great helper and really enjoyed launching himself off the deck into the piles.

Of course Kesler wanted to be out there to. Since we have moved to Missouri Soren has taken up archery again (a hobby from his childhood). He has a fabulous bow and targets in the backyard and garage which he enjoys shooting at. The boys just love to shoot with him and Soren crafted this little bow for Easton out of plastic piping. It works really well and even little Kesler likes to try it out.

Fall

2011-11-06T12:19:00.001-08:00

The weather here in Liberty has been wonderful this fall. We have had 70 and 80 degree days in late October and even November. The kids and I have been able to play outside quite a bit, whether at the park or in our backyard. Naturally I bring my camera along, but we have another budding photographer in the family. Easton has claimed my old point and shoot camera as his ‘camer’ and has been learning the basics. It’s pretty adorable. He even joined me in photographing belts the other day. We took turns taking product photos. Sometime I’ll have to post some of his work.

Fall Festival 2011

2011-10-16T20:38:00.001-07:00

This year we participated in our first craft fair booth for ONE little BELT. I am so glad we went in with a few other women because I couldn’t have pulled it off alone! I shared a booth with Mandy Beyeler and Holly Jacobs, two gals from my ward. Mandy does all things crafty and sells a Jewelry line and Holly makes American Girl doll clothes. Mandy also put in feather hair extensions and tinsel for girls and gals as an extra draw. The three of us was a great combination for a booth.

We started planning about a month ahead of time and for the next month that is all my brain could think about. I held down the fort in all other arenas of my life, but most of my brain power was going toward our booth. I had half of the booth to fill and really felt like if I wanted to sell product, my booth needed to look top notch. I made tissue paper flower poms, pennant banners, painted furniture, bought mannequins, dressed mannequins and created displays. It was so much fun and took a lot of creative power to make it all happen. Soren did a lot of hard work making over 100 leather belts to fill our rack with.

I wasn’t expecting tons of sales because in the past, in person sales have not been very high. I know we have a unique product for a unique customer, so finding those people is hard, but I wanted to put my best foot forward.

Here is our booth from the street view.

Soren was so great and made set up and tear down possible. We were all so grateful he was there!

Mandy made this cute duct tape rug. It turned out awesome and got tons of compliments. She also made us all the utility aprons we have on below. We each picked out fabrics and she made them happen. I loved having them!

Me and Holly and Mandy in our booth. They were great company and totally helped me sell. We each had an easier time selling the other’s products than our own!

This is an amazing rack we found at a barn sale. (Like an antique sale in a barn) It couldn’t be more perfect for our belts. I just painted it and put a vinyl decal of our logo on it. What a find!

Here are a shot of my mannequins and other displays. People couldn’t keep their hands off that yellow dress. It was just TOO cute. Next time I’ll be picking a dress that draws less attention so the belt really shines!

It was my first time making these tissue poms- they were so easy and created a great ceiling décor.

Loved this rack for my girl’s fashion belts. We had a whole rainbow of colors to choose from and they were a hit.

Mandy and her hubby made this fun sign to draw customers in. We all had credit card swipers for our iphones too. We had a lot more sales because we could take credit cards and we all felt more professional too.

The festival weekend went pretty well. The weather couldn’t have been better. There were LOTs of people that came by and we all did pretty well. I sold over 20 belts which felt okay and what really felt great was having a nearly kid-free weekend. Owning a booth and talking with people was really fun. I handed out tons of business cards and recently put our belts in a children’s boutique near where the festival was held.

I would do it again, but maybe not for another year. It was a lot of work- still recovering.

Playgroup

2011-10-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

I volunteered to plan the playgroup in our ward this year. I was nervous at first about the extra stress, but it hasn’t been too hard at all. (It helps that I have the whole year planned ahead of time!)

A few weeks ago we went to a nature sanctuary on a nature walk. The kids got to play in the creek as well. Of course my child was the most adventurous and got the dirtiest. Thanks to a friend, we have a few pics that captured the fun.

Kesler as usual is strapped in the stroller. Not sure what I’ll do when he won’t stay in anymore!

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-10-16T19:48:00.001-07:00

Over Labor Day weekend this year Soren had the chance to go mountain climbing in Seattle. He had a great trip (more to come on that), but we missed him over the three day weekend. I can’t say how grateful I am though that we had family to spend the holiday with. Its so wonderful to be able to tag along with my parents and brothers!

We headed to Smithville lake for a barbeque, biking and swimming. What a great day!

Kesler had a great time in the sand. He is such a water baby and would crawl right in the lake if we would let him. He did eat a few handfuls of sand and didn’t seem to mind. The only thing he didn’t love was crawling on the sand. We are still working on the walking.

Kesler fell asleep on the bike ride, but both kids just loved the bike trailer.

Here are my parents on the ride. Such fun grandparents!

Easton is my little budding photographer. He loves his “camer” and won’t let me get mine out without finding “his”.

Just a few more shots from the day. We missed Soren, but had a great weekend away from him too!

Rainbow Pancakes

2011-09-10T21:19:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I experimented with some Neon Food coloring in our pancake batter. It was a hit! Easton’s favorite was definitely the blue ones. Breakfast, lunch and dinner he requested, “Boo pancakes?” So adorable.

When I saw this idea on Pinterest I knew I had to try it. Rainbow pancakes! I’d love to add in a few more colors, but we’d have been mixing up batter all day. We babysat two little boys today so I thought it would be a fun day to test run it. It was a hit!

End of Summer

2011-09-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

We have been watching A Bugs Life recently, or Baby Bug as Easton calls it. Turns out that when the grasshoppers say they'll be back at the end of the summer- its true. I am amazed in a disgusted kind of way at the number and size of the bugs we are dealing with in our yard. We back up to a field so I know that makes it worse, but oh my word. I can't walk through the grass without 2 and 3 inch long grasshoppers jumping out of my way. I am terrified of them come to find out. During our errands yesterday I found one had gotten in our van and was sitting on our dash. Uggghhh! I screamed and then froze. How was I supposed to get rid of it without having it jump on me- those things are really jumpy. I found some wipes and tried to catch it- no luck. It jumped into my purse which I pushed to the other side of the van and watch warily for the whole drive home. Luckily when I got home I was able to shoo it away out the passenger door. So unexpectedly terrifying.

Anywas today I tried to be nice/fun Mom and take the kids outside. We got bowls of ice cubes to play with and fruit loops to snack on. Before I even sat down in the grass I felt something giant crawling up my leg. I don't even want to know what it was, but I am guessing a Daddy Long Leg or the enormous Praying Mantis we found next. He is pictured below. I had almost had it when I then saw a different giant spider crawling up Keslers leg. Another scream or two later and we were back in the house. I just can't take it. I had the hebbie jebbies for the next half hour and did not feel better until I had showered.

I just cannot do these bugs. I really really hope that plague doesn't come back- I am feeling for those Egyptians today.

Silly Baby

2011-08-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

We still call Kesler ‘Baby’ most of the time. That is the only thing that Easton calls him. Most often you hear Easton saying something like, “STOP Baby!” Soren asks me when we’ll stop calling him that- I’m guessing it won’t be until we have another one. (Not anytime soon.)

Anyways Kesler is getting pretty silly. He is 10 months now and getting goofy. He is wiggly and demanding and interested in everything. He crawls everywhere and gets where he wants to go pretty quickly. Easton is his idol and he wants to be in anything Easton is in. He squeals and flexes his whole body to demand things. He LOVES Otter Pops and animal crackers and hot dogs and all adult foods. No walking yet or even real standing on his own. He LOVES the vacuum and ironically that is the only thing Easton is scared of. Soren let him try riding it the other night and he stayed still and held on for the entire job. They vacuumed the whole house together! It was hilarious.

We just love this little guy!

Kilee’s 25th Birthday

2011-08-28T20:04:00.001-07:00

My birthday was last week. It’s always easy to believe how old I am because it never seems very old. Soren is 5 years older than me, so it always feels like I am just catching up. I’m not sure when I’ll feel like I’m actually getting older. But I’ll take it- I have no problem feeling young.

Soren took the Friday off and spent the day with us. We all went to the Deanna Rose Children’s Farm in Overland Park. I think Soren and I loved it as much as the kids did! Easton got to see so many kinds of animals, feed baby goats a bottle of milk, fish for and catch real fish and ride around a tractor bicycle track. My favorite part had to be hearing 50 little baby goats bleating. They really do say, “Baaa!”

Saturday was a great day of getting my projects done. Soren finished all sorts of little ones for me and then the big one of turning a gun cabinet into a hall tree/bench for me. (More posts to come for that one.) We also FINALLY made it out of the house, together, without the kids. It felt like it had been forever, but my parents watched the kids so we could go on a date. We ended up walking around down town and doing a little shopping. No dinner out- I just didn’t want to spend the money on food. We’ve been on such a tight budget, that I’d rather spend the money on something else. Not a lot more to report about our date, but we had a really fun time.

My family came over on Sunday for cookie dough cheesecake dessert and we opened presents. I put Soren behind my camera, but that didn’t go well. These were the few pics I could salvage. I should have just gotten our old point and shoot camera out because Soren hasn’t really ever used my DSLR. Oh well, not a lot of action to get photos of. My Mom did all my dishes and my Dad helped me with Photoshop. By the end of the night, I really felt served on my birthday in all the right ways. It was a great weekend overall.

Grandma and Grandpa with Kesler. He just loves them!

Easton had more fun than it looks. He enjoyed opening my presents and would have loved to blow out my candle too.

Projects

2011-08-22T20:47:00.001-07:00

I have been staying more than sane recently by having a few projects up in the air at all times. I am really enjoying the creative outlet and the thrill of accomplishment. Here is what I have been up to….

BEFORE: Found this cool wooden cabinet door (?) in the trash. Loved the shape.

AFTER: Cleaned it up and hung it. Planning on putting our initials in it with 3D letters sometime.

We bought this desk at a garage sale for $5 and Soren re-painted it for Easton. Then I made a gallery wall for his artwork with empty frames. Each frame has a clip tacked to the wall so the pics and be changed anytime. The frames were also from the garbage. :)

Found an old cedar fence post to make candle stands out of. Soren cut them for me and we accented them with a touch of gold spray paint. I really love it!

Made some curtains for our bathroom out of giant antique drapes I bought at a barn sale. I love the fabric. I also made longer curtains for the other window not pictured.

Bought and painted some tiny rocking chairs for photo props for ONE little BELT. Kesler is demonstrating their use.

Made a T-shirt necklace for my Mom’s birthday. I am really happy with the design and want one myself. I would probably wear it plain, but I made her some fabric flowers to pin on if she felt like it.

Got a new lens for my camera recently as well. The “nifty 50” is a great improvement from my kit lens. I love the pictures it takes already. Here is a cute one of Kesler showing how great the lower f-stop is.

I’ve been using it to take new pictures for my website. Here is one that really turned out great.

My business has been keeping me really busy. We are doing a booth in the city fair next month and I am working really hard to get ready. I’m hoping to re-vamp our site and all of our pictures soon. I love how busy it is keeping me and how much I am learning because of it.

I am glad to blog about all of these projects and even right now I am feeling very accomplished. It helps to feel like I am doing some things in this stage of life that don’t get undone.

Just a day

2011-08-07T21:44:00.001-07:00

Its almost 11:30 pm and I should be in bed, but I’m pretty awake and feel like journaling about our day. Soren is up working and the kids are both still asleep. I’m expecting Kesler to wake up anytime as he is not sleeping through the night still and will want a late night snack.

This week has been insane for Soren and work. He has a lot of new responsibilities at work that have thrown him for a loop. He has stayed up until between 4-6:30 am at least four nights this week just trying to stay afloat on his projects. I really feel for him and am so impressed with his stamina. He is hoping on a promotion next year so this year is the trial run for the work load. So last night he was up until 6:45 am! I got up for the day like 45 minutes later! Needless to say he didn’t get to church today- if he wasn’t already sick, he sure would be if he hadn’t caught up on a little sleep.

So I did church solo with the two kids. Thank heavens Kesler napped before church so I could shower and get things ready for nursery. Soren and I are the nursery leaders and it was my first day without him. Luckily I had some great help step in and things went fine. The hardest part was carrying the church bag and the nursery bag and the kids on my own!

After church Soren was feeling more like himself, but I crashed. The kids and I napped all afternoon and I woke up with migraine. I have been getting them pretty frequently lately and its really getting old. I have had the since high school, but seem to get them in spurts. Excedrine usually does the trick, but I’ve been trying not to take it or have it around because I enjoy the caffeine in it a little too much. Anyways today was my 4th or 5th migraine in 2 weeks with no meds around. It didn’t help that our power went out sometime while we were asleep so the house started heating up. Finally I had had it.

I packed us all up and we went to the store. (Don’t judge!) This was not my idea of keeping the Sabbath day holy, but in the middle of a migraine it feels like Sunday doesn’t count. We headed to the grocery to pick up some meds. The kids of course needed a ride in the car shopping cart and a free cookie. What the heck, we were there anyways right? After I got my drugs we decided to go to the spray park to keep cool. Easton and Kesler played in the water in their diapers. They loved it and were cold by the end. It turned out to be really fun family time, even though I was feeling slightly guilty about the whole chain of events not being very Sabbath-like.

We came home to a warm house and the power still out. Easton loved helping Dad get candles and flashlights out. We all ended up with head lamps on. Easton couldn’t understand why his movies wouldn’t work- that was definitely the biggest dilemma on his list. When Soren got out our crank powered radio/flashlight, he brought over a DVD to try and somehow put it in.

I am very grateful that tonight is a cooler night than it has been and we’ll be able to sleep pretty comfortably. I’m also grateful that our computers were mostly charged and that Soren’s iphone can tether me to the internet. Now I just need the caffeine to wear off so that I can sleep. I can say that my migraine is feeling much better though and that is certainly what I am most grateful for.

Hopefully we’ll have power tomorrow and we can start a new day and a new week just doing our best with whatever comes our way!

Yes Please!

2011-07-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blogs, Ain't No Mom Jeans, has a fabulous giveaway this week! A lucky reader will win an adorable pair of UGG Halfhitch sneakers for their little guy.

One thing I don't skimp on quality wise for my boys is their shoes! It is so important for them to be able to run and play unimpeded- the only problem comes when function clashes with fashion. Luckily these little shoes look like they will fit the bill on both!

If you haven't checked out Ain't No Mom Jeans, be sure to stop by. The ladies over there really know what they are talking about! I love it!

Cute Boys!

2011-07-24T06:52:00.001-07:00

I don’t know how our kids could ever be embarrassed if we pull these pictures out to show their girlfriends. If anything, we only pull these out if we are trying to really get the girl in the family.

Independence Day 2011

2011-07-24T06:40:00.001-07:00

We had a great start to the holiday weekend in Omaha and finished it off on Monday for the 4th. We had a great day of swimming, catching up on the house, mowing the lawn, and unpacking. We debated going to a fireworks show or the parade, but the kids were already so tired from the weekend, it just didn’t seem right.

Luckily it turns out that our neighbors put on quite the party! We were invited over for a BBQ, water games, and fireworks. One of our neighbors owns a firework stand, so they really had enough fireworks to last for days. (Luckily they were good about how late and loud they were!) We had fun getting to know everyone and were even able to put Kesler down before the fireworks started. Easton spent the whole night running around with all the older kids and borrowing all of their toys. He is quite the little tag along, but they all love him so its perfect.

A Family Weekend Away

2011-07-16T20:52:00.001-07:00

Because Soren started a new job this year, he wasn’t able to schedule much time off for a family vacation. We decided to take a short trip over the long weekend of the 4th. We headed up to Omaha, Nebraska and stayed overnight.

It took a little longer to get there due to the Mississippi River flooding, but the kids did great and we had a nice drive. There are antique malls at every exit on the way and I wanted to stop at all of them! We didn’t get to because of the kids, but I was sure dying too!

We got to our hotel and I was so happy with it. It was just the perfect price, perfect size and very cute. We met my parents and younger brother at the hotel and enjoyed spending the weekend with them. They really entertained the kids and were fun company.

Bathroom break for Mom on the drive up- someday I won’t be the only one who needs to go!

On Friday night we had a fun dinner at an Asian Place and swam at the hotel. The original plan was for my parents and I to trade babysitting so we could go to the temple, but there just wasn’t enough time in the trip. We felt bad just leaving the kids at the hotel to watch TV while we went, so we decided to just spend some family time together. Easton slept like a dream, but Kesler was a different story.

The next day we all got up and packed. We headed out for a day at the Omaha Zoo. What a great, long, exciting and tiring day!

Easton was so excited to see his favorite animal- “Wen-wins!” –(Penguins). Watching your kids get excited and enjoy life is the best thing! Its so hard not to do too much for them, because we get such an innocently cute reaction of joy! I just love to make him happy!

We also all loved the water tunnel. The fish and sharks were amazing to watch.

Kesler had so much fun with his Grandpa and Grandma Kesler. It was wonderful to have so many extra hands with the kids.

Easton loved the ‘choo-choo’, although it also gave him the scare of his life. At a place on the trail that crossed by the tracks the train really blew its whistle. Easton was scared to death and cried, “gonna get me!” I have never seen that little boy run so fast. I was glad he had his running shoes on!

Easton and his beloved uncles, Logan and Thompson.

The meercats were cute, but really the only reason I got this picture is because I had two free hands for once! My favorite animal of the day by far was the baby gorilla. He was such a combination of both of my boys! He was messing with the other monkeys, causing trouble, exploring and being so funny. I could have stayed all day!

Not sure if there was ever a cuter baby.

Easton begging for treats from Grandma.

We finally got a family photo from the trip!

All in all it was a fun family trip and I loved the get away. It is always a lot of work, but it is different work and the memories are great. Can’t wait to go again!

St. Louis with Dad

2011-06-10T22:50:00.001-07:00

Soren had a training in St. Louis for work a few weeks ago and we decided to tag along for some vacation time with Dad! The trip wasn’t as much as a vacation as we had hoped, but we did have some fun. It turns out babies don’t take naps or stay in their beds at hotels. We felt like it was a live and learn adventure. We definitely learned that we aren’t doing that again any time soon.

The hotel didn’t end up being very nice and we had crazy weather while we were there. The boys and I spend a lot of time in our room and running the hotel halls while it rained, Kesler slept and Dad was in meetings. I did get to take the boys to the zoo and we walked downtown to see the Arch. We also did a little shopping and found a Five Guys. The craziest part of our trip was trying to get home. We were supposed to check out of our hotel just as a HUGE storm full of tornados was supposed to hit St. Louis. It had come from Kansas City so we had no chance of avoiding it had we left earlier. We headed to REI after we checked out because Soren felt like that would be the place to be if a disaster struck. We waited out tornado sirens there and ended up at Borders while the worst of the rains hit. Luckily there were no tornados in our area and we were able to drive home safely, but we were pretty nervous after all of the devastation in Joplin the week before.

Brothers

2011-06-10T22:28:00.001-07:00

Kesler is coming up on 8 months. I’ve been thinking about this age with Easton. It is so fun to see babies become little humans and get excited about life. This is when we decided to get pregnant with Kesler- but believe me that thought is not around now! We felt like we knew and wanted to have another little boy to be Easton’s little brother and best friend. When I found out I was pregnant, we just knew he was a boy. I even guessed my due date and was only off by a day. I had also picked up a Newborn size Halloween costume the year before thinking someday it would work for one of our babies. Turns out it would work for the next one.

Well it was a little boy and what a sweet one he is! So far Easton hasn’t ever wanted much to do with him. He has ignored him except to complain if Kesler touches him or takes a toy. Well lately Easton is warming up to him. I love seeing his kindness to his little brother. It gives me a glimpse of how Heavenly Father feels when we are kind to our brothers and sisters. Easton will go and entertain Kesler in his crib, fetch him toys, and reassures him “its k”- (its okay) when he is sad. The other day on the way to my parents Kesler was crying and Eason talked* in a baby voice to Kesler the whole time about how we were going to see Grandma and Logan (Easton’s favorite uncle.) He even held his hand. I’m sure they will soon be the best of friends.

*Easton doesn’t really talk except in one word sentences. Talking about visiting Grandma or Logan basically means saying their names on repeat.

Memorial Day 2011

2011-06-10T21:51:00.001-07:00

Oh how fun it is to be around family for holidays- even smaller ones like Memorial Day! We had a great long weekend of spring cleaning and organizing and spending time with my parents and brothers.

Soren was great and really helped me get the house clean from top to bottom. The house was so clean when we moved in, but after 6 months of busy season and two babies, neither of us had had time to really keep it up. We cleaned the carpets, wiped walls and baseboards and even oiled the kitchen cabinets. It felt great! For Mother’s Day Soren gave me new towels and rugs for our bathroom. I finally picked out the ones I wanted at Kohls and I love how they look.

On Sunday night we went downtown to a Memorial Day celebration with music, cannons and fireworks. I made No-Bake Cookies and we had caramel popcorn and treats. The kids played ball on the grass and we visited. I was nervous about the fireworks with Kesler, but he LOVED them. He just watched and smiled and cooed the whole time. Easton loved them too. It was such a fun time!

A Piggy and his Pancake

2011-06-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Kesler is such our little piggy. He loves food!!! Anything I am drinking or eating he literally dives for it! He doesn't care what it is- but he knows when we are eating. Soren let him at a plate of pancakes and it was adorable.

Kesler is 7 months now and getting big! He is becoming more mobile and can roll and spin like a pro. We are still working on sleeping through the night, but steadily improving. Kesler is such a sweet, happy little guy. He LOVES his older brother and constantly watches his every move. He can't wait to be the little side-kick!

Playgroup at the Farm

2011-06-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

We have an awesome playgroup in our area and have had lots of fun every Wednesday. I'll be planning it next year so hopefully its still fun! Anyways we got to go out to visit a farm a few weeks ago and saw some babies cows and chicks. I enjoyed it as much as he did!

Easton chased the baby cows around their pen and muddied his little boots. There is nothing like baby animals!

Temple Run 2011 5K

2011-06-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

In April we our family ran in the first annual Kansas City Temple Run 5K. Soren pushed both babies in the stroller and I ran solo. We had a great time! Neither of us were really in shape or prepared, but we dug deep and pulled out a pretty good race. The temple looked great and there were lots of runners and cheerers. We will definitely be running again next year!

Sporting my racing headband- I got it at the Salt Lake City Half Marathon and have worn it for all races since. :)

Family photo at the temple.

My brother Cody ran too. It was so fun to see him and sweat together!

Old vs. New

2011-04-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

I got my new camera this week!!!! I am very excited to learn the in’s and out’s of it. It will really help our product photos for ONE little BELT, but also our family and event photos. I am amazed at the difference between my new DSLR camera on auto mode and our old point and shoot camera. Here are a few shots just messing around with it/them.

Old camera

New Camera

Old Camera

New Camera

Stage Fright

2011-04-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

So, I learned something new about myself last night. I have bad stage fright. I always knew that I hated to do things on a stage or perform or play charades or like games. I have a big fear of looking silly in front of other people, so I opt out of a lot of things. Well, yesterday I was trying to get my hubby to take my picture to enter a give-away on one of my favorite fashion blogs. And I was so awkward!! It makes sense because I feel that way in all of the previous mentioned events, but this time I was surprised and really frustrated!!!!

I really enjoy fashion, style and clothes- but I was too embaressed to take a picture of the thing (outfits) I put effort and time into. So this is something I want to get over! I am sick of being embaressed about something I enjoy. Maybe this will be the start of a new confidence movement for me.

Anyways here are the pictures. The first two are from last night. I included an awkward one, although they are both awkward to me.

The last one is another try today. I felt slightly less weird.

I really did like both of these Mom-style outfits and feel like although I am a mom, I can still dress my age. Here is a link to one of my favorite blogs. I think you will all enjoy it too!

For more mom style ideas, see Ain't No Mom Jeans' Mom Street Syle Linkup

Sunshine and Fresh Cut Grass

2011-04-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Having a yard is such a blessing! I love being able to send Easton out there and let him explore. He just wanders around the backyard hitting trees with sticks, running up and down our small hill, drawing with chalk, and calling for the neighbors Kitty. it just warms my heart to watch him out there playing with the cat and soaking up some sun. He is such a good little boy and is very good about knowing his boundries. It’s a common sight to see him out there in a diaper, t-shirt and some rain boots. Adorable!

We are also learning all about taking care of our own yard for the first time! We bought weed killer and rakes and hoses and fertilizer. Soren has been researching lawn mowers and edgers. It was such a fun feeling to mow it (or watch Soren mow it) for the first time!

Kesler at 6 months

2011-04-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Kesler is almost six months and is getting cuter and more fun every day. I love this age when they start to coo, giggle, and take on a stronger personality. He has also been putting on some weight so he is even more fun to squeeze and roll around.

Having two kids so close together really makes their personalities show. I love seeing their differences and what is unique to each kid as opposed to a typical ___ month old behavior.

Easton was always trying to look around, see the world and get out on his own. He always seemed like such a little man to us and has a tough, independent spirit.

Kesler on the other hand, has been so different. He is my cuddly one, but also the sensitive one. When he doesn’t feel good, he lets everyone know. He does not like to be left to cry. If he is, he will hold it against you and let you know just how sad and upset it made him for the next half hour. Because of these things teething and sleeping on his own have been big challenges that I didn’t have with Easton.

We sure love how happy and smiley he is all of the rest of the time though! He loves to watch Easton and play with Dad. Soren has got him doing balancing tricks already although Kesler doesn’t seem to be the thrill seeker like Easton yet.

I am trying very hard to keep Kesler away from sweets and adult food for longer than we did with Easton, but Dad still foils those plans sometimes. I am sure I don’t even know the things he has snuck in Kesler’s mouth so far, but I did see this pizza go in.

Kesler sure loves to snuggle and kiss. I love it!

He is such a ham sometimes!

We are trying out rice cereal, green beans and carrots so far. He wants to eat anything we are eating and LOVES to drink water from a cup or a Sippy cup.

Having two babies sure is tough sometimes, but we love it! They are the best and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

10 Minutes away….

2011-04-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

We are getting a temple in our area very soon, so last Sunday we went over to check it out. The weather was sunny, but very windy so we took a quick walk around and enjoyed what we saw!

Easton sporting his shades and hiding under the stroller. Kesler is tucked in behind sleeping. I can’t say enough how much I love our Phil and Ted’s stroller. It has been just the thing for having two babies.

The beautiful Kansas City Temple. The outside is basically done, but the inside is just a big open space. It might be done by the end of the year.

Kelser woke up and was doing his best to peek out. I can’t even describe how cute this kid is!

Easton and Dad on the rock pile of the construction site. Somehow Easton found the only mud around and tracked it all home. He is such a boy!!

At the end of this month our whole family is going to run in the Temple Run 5K. The course will be around the area of the temple and it seems like everyone is training for it. I am amazed at how out of shape I am too. I never thought 3.2 miles would be so tough, but I am straining to be ready for the big day! Needless to say Soren will be the one pushing the babies in the jogging stroller while I work up a sweat alongside. We are excited and can’t wait to watch the temple move toward completion!

Spare time...what spare time???

2011-03-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have been working on several projects in my spare time.....what LITTLE I find. :) Two babies makes for very little spare time, but a missing husband actually creates a little extra. Here are a few things I have done since we have moved.
Pictured above are Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies which I feel I have successfully mastered. (At least I have mastered the eating of them!) Recipe found here. We have also done the Oreo stuffed brownies a few times.
Below is vegetarian home-made pizza. Accidentally mastered this one when I spread the crust extra-thin and used Garden Vegetable Tomato Pasta Sauce as the sauce. So good!!!

The backboard for this shelf got scratched up in the move. I found some upholstry fabric I liked and used spray glue and a staple gun to cover it. I love what it adds to the room!

I wanted to try and spruce up this OLD cardigan before I threw it out so I used a tutorial from my cousin's Modest Fashion blog and tried adding some lace. Turns out I am not as great of a tailor as I thought before I started, but it was fun to do and turned out ok. Here is the link to that tutorial.

Easton loves Cars right now and I got him some cheap sticker sets at Target. After seeing how much he liked them, I wanted to try and make them reusable. I glued the paper background scene to a sheet of metal and laminated the stickers. Then I mounted the stickers on magnets. It was cheap, easy and a great use of the stickers he enjoyed so much.

I have also tried to start working on ONE little BELT more. These are some of the new colors of girl's belts that we will be selling soon. I am excited to be getting an SLR camera soon to improve my product photos even more. We also have a boutique sale coming up in May which will be fun and the prep work will keep me busy.

I have also been trying to keep couponing out here in Missouri. It was easier in Seattle with more retailers, more couponers, and only one kid- but it is a work in progress. This is one end of our basement and the AWESOME shelves we were able to snag from Eddie Bauer. They work great to put food storage and my stockpile on. I hope it just continues to grow- there is nothing like feeling prepared!!

Anyways, that is what I have been up to when I have an extra minute. It has been fun and hopefully I continue to have more to share!

Our House!

2011-03-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

We just love our new house and couldn't be more happy with it. I have been dreaming of paint and wallpaper and decorating, but for the near future we are content with our beige walls, cream trim, and fabulous carpet. Here are some photos I have taken of several rooms in the house. There is more to see, but here is a start.

The front of the house during a recent snow storm. A three-car garage is amazing!

The entryway

Our enormous kitchen; I love it and am amazed at how lucky I am!

The kitchen joins to the living room which I don't have a photo of yet- it is usually not picture-ready during the day!

Our bedroom

The master bathroom. I was so excited for this tub, but Easton has used it way more often than me!

The boys' room

The second bathroom with TWO sinks!

Our backyard. We love how it joins a giant farm field behind us. We also have no neighbors yet on either side of us, just empty lots. It feels like we have soo much space!

I also haven't taken any pictures of the basement. It is 1/2 garage and 1/2 unfinished. We are just using it for storage and belt making until we finish it one day.

So that is the house. I'll add more pictures as I do more things to it, but this is how it started!

January Flew By

2011-02-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

We are moved in and finally getting around to documenting the last few months. The move in went great thanks to so many helping hands from our ward. We got it all out of the truck in an hour and nothing was really damaged during the trip. Luckily Soren didn't have to start work for a few days, so we went to town on unpacking, organizing and hanging pictures. There were SEVERAL trips to and from Home Depot and Lowes- not that Soren was complaining. Now he has a never ending list of reasons to visit the home improvement store.

We are LOVING our new house and home. It really already does feel like home to us, and not just because I grew up here. We have made so many new fun friends, spent lots of time with family, and enjoyed the things a house allows. It is great to have people over for dinner and kids over to play. It is awesome to have a garage and a yard and so much storage!!! We feel so, so blessed to have the house of our dreams and that life is so great.

Other happenings: Kesler got his first haircut. We cut Eastons at around the same age. It grew in thick and quick so we decided to do the same for Kesler. It's so cute and fuzzy!

Enjoying the snow in more ways than one.

We have gotten so much snow! Its been crazy here and quite a difference from Seattle's mild winter weather. We can say we survived the Blizzard of 2011, although we didn't totally enjoy it. Much of the month of January we were either sick or snowed in or both. We have a really nice neighbor who has helped us out with his snowblower and I have even done some shoveling.

Soren has been very busy with work which we suspected. He didn't get home until 10 last night and normally gets home after Easton is in bed. He does see us on the weekends and we try to make up for lost time during the week. We are just holding out for spring and praying his hours will let up a little then. Until then I am acquiring new skills as an almost single mom and really learning to appreciate the future days of having a hubby come home at a normal hour. I can say that I don't think I could have handled this at any other time before, so we are managing. We feel right and great about being here and are doing our best to make the most of it all.

We're On Our Way

2011-01-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a little update on our move. So far it has been exhausting, exciting and emotional.

We are all here in Missouri now. The boys and I flew our by ourselves last Tuesday and left Soren and his brothers to finish packing and painting the apartment. It was a long flight with 2 babies, but we had nice neighbors on the flight and the kids did great. I even had the chance to share my testimony and a pass-a-long card with someone.
On Wednesday I signed the next 30 years away and bought our house. It was surprisingly easy to sign away that much money! I got the keys on Friday and saw the inside of the house for the first time. It was awesome and better than I expected. We are so so blessed to be in such an amazing house!
Saturday was a bummer because my Mom and I both came down with the flu. I think we are both starting to feel better but it has been really aweful.
Soren and Ryan got here on Saturday and we are feeling really ready to have the truck arrive and get moving. I think my parents are ready to get rid of us too! They have been great taking care of me and my kids while I have been sick and busy with house stuff.
Anyways the truck should arrive today or tomorrow and then the chaos begins. Luckily Soren doesn't have to go to work until next Monday. We have one more week before busy season begins!

Oh and by the way, we did have a sort of Christmas in the middle of the move. Our friends Kristen and Tim were kind enough to let us join their family for Christmas Eve. We had a fabulous time eating Prime Rib, playing games and opening the fun gifts they gave the kids. Soren's brothers showed up Christmas day so we had a nice dinner with them and a little Christmas before the moving began.

Easton and I Christmas Eve

The Family Christmas Eve 2010

Easton had a great time!

Handsome little guy opeing his portable DVD player. Such the perfect and generous gift!

One of the only pictures we have of Christmas morning. He loves his 'vroom, vrooms'!

Outside with Dad shooting his new rocket Christmas morning.

Eddie Bauer Christmas Party

2010-12-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

We are sad to be leaving a lot of things in Seattle, even though we are excited about our move. One of those things is Eddie Bauer and we felt even more sad after the Christmas party last week. We had a lot of fun! They held it at a local ski resort and while we didn't ski, there was lots to do. They had live music, great food, kids crafts and lots of snow! Easton had never really seen snow before and he was having a blast. He ran and ran in his little snow boots. Soren taught him how to throw snow balls, make snow angels and to kick up snow. Sleds weren't allowed, but Soren dragged Easton around by his feet and he could sled pretty well on his bum. We all had so much fun!

Kesler and I stayed toasty and warm.

Like I said, he loved it!

Soren representing EB well in one of his First Ascent jackets.

I love this little warm fleece suit we got for Kesler. He got a little snow in the face, but otherwise he was snug and dry.

Soren threw Easton around a little. Don't worry this is normal. :)

Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

I sent out a few Christmas cards this year, but wish we could have sent more. If you are reading our blog, chances are we wanted to send you one. Here is the letter we sent as well as the pictures.

Hello,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to our friends and family! We hope this letter finds you happy, healthy and enjoying the holiday season. This has been a big year for us and we wanted to update you all about the happenings in the Nickels family.

We started 2010 with the wonderful news that we were expecting our second baby and we came close to ending it with his arrival! On October 26th, 2010 at 11:54 pm Kesler Ryan Nickels was born. He measured 7 lbs. 7 oz and 20 ½ inches and the delivery went great. We arrived at the hospital at 11:20 and 34 minutes later he arrived! We just love this sweet little boy. Even Easton loves his new little “be-bee.”

Soren has had a fun year. He has been working in the tax department at Eddie Bauer and enjoying the outdoor encouraging atmosphere that EB provides. When he wasn’t at work or spending time with us, he was able to go hiking, kayaking, shooting, and mountaineering. In July he climbed to the summit of Mt. Baker (10,778 feet) and in August he led a group to the summit of Mt. Rainier. He’s been waiting to do that for a very long time.

I spent much of the year chasing after Easton and growing a baby. There were days when the two didn’t work well together, but we survived. I am still working at Gap a couple of times a month and have really grown our online belt business, One little Belt. In case you hadn’t heard, at the beginning of this year Soren and I combined our skills to create and sell belts for babies and toddlers and it continues to grow. I love the outlet and challenge it provides! Most recently I have just been trying to keep up with and conquer the new challenge of handling two kids.

Easton has gone through so many changes this year and continues to just light up our lives every day. From only being able to crawl in January, he can now walk, run, and climb about anything in sight. He is in constant danger and is an extreme dare devil. He loves Elmo, hot chocolate, DVDs, and playing chase with Dad.

Kesler is just a sweet, easy baby. He lets me sleep, he eats well, and he hardly fusses. I cannot complain. We love this tiny person and can’t wait to see who he is and how he’ll be.

As a family we have had several fun adventures this year from vacations in Utah and Missouri, to road trips down to the Oregon beach. We’ll soon be embarking on another big adventure. We will be moving to Kansas City, Missouri in January. It was a whirlwind of opportunities and decisions, but we really feel like this is the place for our family to go right now and we are excited for a fresh start. Soren will be working for Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) in their financial services audit department. We are buying a house in Liberty, Missouri about ten minutes from my parents and the Liberty Jail. I am thrilled to get to live close to family for this time of life and especially for our kids to be close to grandparents and uncles.

We are so grateful for all of our blessings and for the Lord’s direction in our lives. It has been wonderful to turn to him, especially at this time of year. We love the Savior Jesus Christ and are eternally grateful for everything he has done, is doing and will do for us. We hope that you feel his love this season and upcoming year. We would love to hear about the happenings in your lives. Please keep in touch!

Merry Christmas!

The Nickels

Kilee, Soren, Easton, and Kesler

December Fun

2010-12-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

We have a crazy month with packing and moving, but we have still tried to do a few Christmas things. To start off the month we of course had to go see Santa. We didn't sit on his lap, but we did go to the Country Village in Bothell to see the lights and see Santa fly in on his sleigh. It was cold, but the shops were all lit up, there was a little train and we even tried some Caramel Apple Cider.

Easton hugged all of the wooden animal statues. He loved them because they were just his height.

Of course the slide is always a big hit, no matter how cold it is.

Santa and his raindeer are up on a zipline so they really did "fly" in. It was pretty neat.

2 Kids now means lots of laundry. Both of the kids love to help.

We've been making Christmas cookies. Easton calls the Kitchen Aide "cookie." I wish you could hear the voice he says it in because he has started saying 'cookie' in a voice the Cookie Monster would use. Adorable.

I love how much this little guy still sleeps. It really helps me to still get things done during the day!

Kesler has gotten very expressive lately. He coos and smiles a LOT! I love it!

Very rarely will Easton hold Kesler. He doesn't mind the baby, but usually just wants to do his own thing. This was a unique moment.

We sure love our two boys!

Family Pictures 2010

2010-12-16T15:03:00.000-08:00

We had family photos taken in Missouri. It was probably 37 degrees outside for the shoot so we were freezing, but the pictures turned out really cute. Thank you Mandy Beyeler for the great shots!

Thankgiving

2010-12-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

Like I said my last post we spend Thanksgiving in Missouri with my family and had a wonderful (and productive!) visit. I haven't spent Thankgiving with my family since high school so it was nice to be able to do so. Besides house hunting and interviewing, we went swimming, shopping, on a date and took family photos. Here are a few pictures of the events. We are so THANKFUL for family and the week we spent with my side of it.

Grandpa Kesler (weird to see that written!) with the baby, Kesler.

Easton had so much fun with my brothers. Thompson is almost 8 and Logan is 12. They played and played together! This is one reason we are so excited to move closer!

Easton had a great time at the pool. He learned to float and jump to Soren's arms. That kid loves the water.

Kesler sunbathed with Grandma on the sidelines of the pool.

Handsome little Easton playing with all of Grandma's toys on Thanksgiving Day. I just love his "good boy" hair as Soren calls it. :)

Grandma makes GOOD banana pancakes.

Logan and Soren strung my Dad's old bow while we were there and practiced their archery skills. Archery is Soren's new declared hobby. He has been worried about the lack of mountains in Missouri so this will be his new interest to keep a little fun in his life.

The boys refused to sleep in their pack 'n' plays so we all slept together on a FULL size bed. That was an experience I hope not to repeat.

Thompson was so good with baby Kesler. He just loved having a baby around since he is the youngest and has never experienced one.

All in all is was a great trip. I can't believe we'll be back in just 2 weeks!

Big News

2010-12-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been stressful, busy, and full of decisions. The stress and business will continue, but I am excited to share some of the decisions we have made.

1. Soren took an offer for a new job!

2. We are moving to Kansas City!

3. We are buying a house!

4. This will all happen in the next 30 days!

We never would have thoughts any of these three would be happening, much less all of them at once, but things have opened up so easily we just know it is the right thing. We are so grateful for prayer and faith that can help us make big decisions like this and move forward on them.

The full story goes something like this.....

We have been keeping our feelers out for jobs and houses for the last 6 months. There were no houses here in Seattle that we both liked and could afford- it was either one or the other. Soren has enjoyed his job at Eddie Bauer, but has been unsure about his career path in general. And I have always wished to live closer to my family, but with a second baby the desire has been even stronger.

When we decided to visit my family in Kansas City for Thanksgiving, Soren started applying to jobs at big 4 accounting firms in KC, just to see what happened. He got an interview with PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) and some meetings with recruiters. The interview actually went really well and somewhat to our surprise we got a job offer within a few days.

While there we also drove around and looking for houses in the area, just in case. We found one that we both loved and for some reason kept coming back to. It was the right price, the right area and nicer than we could ask for or ever find here in Seattle.

So with the job offer and a house possibility that we could afford, we had a lot of decisions to make. We came home and debated and prayed about it. We looked at jobs in St. George (near Soren's parents), staying here, or taking the job in KC.

After a lot of praying we came to a decision that was pretty clear. We now know we are supposed to go Kansas City. We accepted the job. We also felt great about the house so we jumped and made an offer. The sellers accepted it and the whole process has been working in our favor so much better than we could have asked. This further reinforces our decision to go.

So we are buying a house in Liberty, 10 minutes from my parents, Soren is going to work in Auditing at PWC and we'll be moving out December 28th.

Its exciting and will bring new challenges, but we are ready for a fresh start and to see what is in store!

Week 2

2010-11-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

We made it through Week 1 and we are all alive and healthy. Sometimes I think I am getting my energy back and other times I feel like I need Diet Coke through an IV. Easton is still adjusting to everything and I am really learning how much patience I lack. Most days in moments of crisis I ask myself, "Does he need a nap or do I?"

Kesler is doing great. He really is such an easier baby than Easton. I didn't know how hard Easton was until Kesler came. He sleeps for long stretches all day and night and only cries when he is hungry or has to burp. I try hard not to pick favorites, but the sweet little baby sure is preferable to our crazy toddler sometimes. I am SO glad I have Soren to help deal with him at the end of the day. I don't know what I would do as a single mom!

Sweet Baby

Crazy Toddler

Thanks for everyone's words of encouragment and support!

Motherhood

2010-11-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day on the job of mothering 2 kids. Mom left this morning and Soren went back to work. What a day.

I barely got done the 3 things on my list today and was SOOOOO glad someone else made and brought dinner. Thank you Anne!

Lets just say I take back anything I ever said I thought I knew/know about mothering. My new policy is

"Do Anything You Have To To Maintain Sanity and Survive."

Wish us luck tomorrow. :)

Kesler Ryan Nickels- He's Here!

2010-10-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

The second son of the Nickels family has arrived! It was a whirlwind of an event, but boy are we happy with the results.

With a name soon to be decided, it has been a fabulous last 24 hours and we'd love to share the story. Tuesday October 26th was my official due date and we were feeling ready. All of the errands had been done, Soren had taken off Monday to get his list of to-do's done, the house was clean and the bags were packed. Easton was born the day before his due date so we had good reason to suspect this little one would keep the same plan. On Friday I had been dialated to a 2 and had been contracting for weeks.

Tuesday morning I sent Soren to work, but about 9:30 am I started getting contractions in my lower back. This was exactly how Easton's 5 1/2 hour labor started, so I felt fairly certain things were moving along. I called Soren and he came home from work ready to go. Unfortunately, nothing happened. Things stayed in the same place with no real progression all day. I had consistant contractions, but they were sparce at times and weren't getting any worse. We tried going on a long walk, getting on the elliptical, doing laundry and vaccumming and nothing worked.

To some degree I was okay with this because Easton was having a hard day. He wouldn't nap with Dad home and when he finally did at 4 pm, he woke up in a terrible mood. It wouldn't have felt right to leave him with anyone at any point that day. So we just spent the day together and wondering when this baby was going to show!

At around 9:30 I showered and my contractions started coming on harder. I was in enough pain to stop what I was doing so we decided to call the hospital. They convinced us to stay home for a while longer and I agreed when I realized that getting to the hospital wasn't going to make the pain go away. (I was planning on another natural delivery.) We started a movie and packed the car up. At 11:00 pm our neighbor came over to spend the night with Easton and we headed out. My contractions were about 5 min. apart and I had to kneel or get down on my hands and knees to get through them. We pulled up the car at the hospital at around 11:20 and left it at the curb.

Soren helped me in and they gave me my gown to change into. During a contration in the bathroom my water broke and went everywhere. I was really glad we weren't still in the car for that! I made it back to triage and they checked me. I was already dialated to a 7! This surprised me, but not for long because the contractions really started coming then. They called for about 6 nurses and my doctor once they saw how fast things were moving. We made it to the delivery room and they tried to get my monitors hooked up. I was in a LOT of pain by then and the breaks between were getting shorter and shorter. I finally got one I just couldn't take anymore- I started yelling/screaming through it and nothing was relaxing. I knew I had to start pushing and could feel him coming. Soren could already see him. After that one long contraction of death, I had one more and his head came out along with the rest of him! Three nurses delivered him; my doctor was halfway to the hospital listening to me scream over the phone. They pulled in a random doctor down the hall to help finish things and we were basically done.

Baby was born at 11:54 pm, about 30 minutes after we arrived at the hospital. He was 7 lbs. 7 oz and 19.9 in. long. (A pound and an inch smaller than Easton- no wonder he slid right out!) It was the best and worst experience of my life. The condensed pain was the worst, but such a short labor is the way to go!

No one could believe how fast things went, oh but I was glad it was over. So, so glad.

We spent the night getting things washed up and checked and even got a little sleep. Soren went home before Easton woke up and even knew we were gone. That was a big stress relief and blessing for me. They came back later that morning and Easton met his little brother. So far, so good. Easton was very curious and kind. He tried to give the baby his binkie and was concered about the band-aid on his foot.

My mom is flying in tonight and will be with us for a week. We get to go home tomorrow morning as long as we all look healthy. I can already tell this recovery is going to be cake- another bonus to a short delivery. I feel great and couldn't be happier.

I love bath time photos!

Dad's first time with him.

Snuggling.

Friends already.

We are so happy to be a family of 4. New babies are so wonderful; I just wish you all could squeeze him and touch his soft little cheeks. We'd love any and all visitors so feel free to come see us.

Family Date to the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time at the pumpkin patch/petting zoo today! I wasn't too opptimistic when it started raining right before we left, but it really turned out great! They had so many kinds of animals and Easton loved them all. We got to feed the ducks and bunnies and the turkeys. Easton just giggled and squealed at how eager all the animals were to eat.

Fun with the ducks

Pygmy goats

Jumping to Dad!

Mom's favorite- the baby pigs!

Brand new ducklings

Even newer ducklings- these were in the process of hatching! It was so cool!

Petting the bunnies

We made it to the pumpkins!

What a great family date!

Taking a Break From Nesting

2010-10-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well with 4 days left until my due date I'd say nesting is officially in full swing. I have been cleaning and organizing and to-do listing and more cleaning. I told Soren I feel like I am cramming for a test and that as a long as the baby isn't here yet, I've got to keep charging along to get things done. Unfortunately that usually means I over do it and wear myself out. So although the bathroom is calling my name to clean it, I'm taking a break to catch up on the blog.

September was a busy month for us, especially in regards to ONE little BELT. I had the opportunity to fly to Utah for a day to do a boutique sale with my dear friend from college Seidi. Soren and I, especially Soren, worked so hard a long all month getting things ready to go. We printed pamphlets, made over 90 belts, put together packing and a table display. It was quite a whirlwind. The trip was a great get away (all by myself!) and also great experience. We didn't sell as many belts as we had hoped but the exposure was great and we have a good inventory for Christmas now. Thanks so much to Seidi and Danny for putting me up and helping so much!

Our table at the sale.

Seidi and I at the airport-trying again for a decent picture together. :)

Easton and I have been spending lots of time together too. We do lots of sidewalk chalk and playing catch in the parking lot. We are usually having more fun than is pictured below- we just couldn't resist a picture of Easton's face-plant in wet chalk.

Last week we took him on a family date to the Children's Museum in Everett and to Taco Bell. We all had such a fun time. Easton loved all the kids at the museum and all the awesome exhibits. Hopefully tomorrow we'll make it on one more family date to the pumpkin patch.

We are pretty sure he doesn't understand the concept of a brother coming his way, but he is getting much more clingy to me. I think is suspects something. Either way we are doing what we can to enjoy the last few days as a one child family.

As part of my nesting, I have also been couponing A LOT. I feel relatively well stocked on a lot of things now and that eases my mind. Here is a picture Soren snapped on my way out the other night. I usually go on Monday or Tuesday nights after Easton is in bed. Soren wanted to capture the 4" coupon binder in this shot as well. :)

Soren's most recent news is that he got a new bike! This isn't a great picture of it, but if you know anything about bikes you should still be able to tell how awesome it is. :) He dented the frame on his old one this summer at Youth Conference which aparently made it unsafe to ride. Thank goodness for the REI return policy because we were able to return his dented bike and exchange it almost straight accross for this upgraded bike. He is just thrilled and hopes to get a few accessories for his upcoming birthday and Christmas to make it just right.

Otherwise, we are hanging in there. I really don't have too much to complain about although I can tell my body is nearing the end of this stage. I CANNOT wait to have myself back- well relatively speaking. I definitely feel like I have been pregnant my whole life at this point, so don't expect us to be doing this again soon. We don't have a name picked out yet and that is somewhat stressfull to us. If we had a few more solid options we'd feel more prepared. Hopefully something comes our way.

All in all we are very excited for this new little tiny one to join us. It feels very strange to be on the eve of something so life changing, but time will pass either way so we are just trying to make the most of it all. We will try to keep everyone updated as soon as things start happening. Otherwise, wish us luck!

A Few Random Shots From September

2010-09-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Easton just keeps getting older and hitting new milestones. Not the typical milestones like talking, (we are still working on the whole words thing) but milestones like today when he successfully put on my shoes and walked around the house like a big "boy?" It was really cute and worth documenting. :)

I'm always trying to get him to eat and enjoy something besides Goldfish and fruit snacks so these pictures were also well worth taking. Not sure what the body-builder pose is about. :)

This was probably one of Easton's happiest moments yet. He drank 16 oz of chocolate milk in one setting. We wanted to capture his true reaction, but this doesn't do it justice. His grin was to die for; I think he stopped breathing all together until that milk was gone. He couldn't get enough!

These are actually gloves that go with a book Easton has, but they were just so cute as little monster feet!

This is me at almost 36 weeks. I am due one month from today and ready to have a few of these prego symptoms GONE!

Kilee's 24th and our 4th Anniversary Weekend

2010-09-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

I'm late blogging about this, but for my birthday and our anniversary (8/20 and 8/22) we took a long weekend trip down to Oregon and the southern west coast of Washington. It was such a fun weekend and really felt like a vacation for our little family. We went with our friends Sarah and James and their son Emerson. Every year they go down to the Kite Festival in Long Beach, WA. Since we are still pretty new to Washington we decided to try out their tradition with them.

Soren took Friday off and we left town about 10:00 that morning. I was so happy that the mail man made it in time to deliver my birthday package before we left. Thanks Mom! On the way down we had to stop at Cabella's for the guys to look around. Easton LOVED all the stuffed animals and the fish. Here are some cute pics from there.

Dad's favorite animal- the wolverine!

On the way down I also realized I forgot something. Usually I forget my toothbrush, but this time I forgot pants. Yes, pants. The only pair I brought were the leggings I had on. Seriously I don't know where my brain was. :) So we had to stop at Target and get another pair of leggings to get me through the weekend. I was not about to buy $30 jeans at Target!

We made it to Long Beach that afternoon and set up camp. Our camp site was great with a bathroom nearby and even showers! After a quick trip down to the boardwalk we ate dinner and came back to camp to put the babies to bed. Sarah and James were awesome and surprised me with a cake and presents around the campfire. What a fun birthday!

The next day we went back to the boardwalk for the festival. Easton loved the beach! He and Soren had so much fun running around in it. The kites were all really cool to see; there were so many!

Easton hugging the sand. :)

Kites!

Easton found a rock candy sucker in the sand. We aren't sure how he knew it was edible at one point because it was literally a sand pop. He stuck it in his mouth before we saw it and he found out the consequences all on his own. Yuck!

After a day or two at Long Beach we drove down to Astoria, OR and some other beaches. The beach was AMAZING! It was so beautiful! Easton loved it!

In Astoria we climbed The Column. It was a tower that overlooked all of Astoria and the water. The view was neat, but I didn't realize how terrified I would be on the way up. It did not seem safe to me! I guess I have a thing with heights and rod iron railings. Lets just say I was a little nauseaus the whole time, but I toughed it out and at least made it all the way up!

All in all it was a great family vacation! Three days was just enough of a getaway. We hope to do something like it again soon.

Creative Juices

2010-09-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to encourage coloring and other creative outlets for Easton. He hasn't really been interested in crayons, sidewalk chalk or colored pencils. But yesterday as I was writing something in on my fridge calendar, Easton had a stroke of creativity hit him. :) We pulled it down to his level and he went to town. It was really cute to see how long he colored and where else the marker ended up besides on the board. Luckily it was all eraseable. So fun!

Nemo, Nemo, Nemo

2010-08-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how this happend, but Nemo is now permanently showing at our house. Don't bother looking for it in the DVD case because it's already in the player. We watch this movie or parts of it at least twice a day and Mom and Dad can now quote most of it by heart.

Easton LOVES this movie. Here are a few recent shots of he and Dad cuddled up together. This is one of the few perks of our new addiction. :)

Utah in July

2010-08-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

In July we went to Utah for 2 weeks to visit family and hit up 4 reunions. I have been delaying blogging because of how far behind I am, but somehow that strategy doesn't seem to be working. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

We had a great time and were able to see lots of family and friends, but there is NEVER enough time to see everyone. Sorry to those of you that we wanted to meet up with but never did! We spent time with my dad's family in Alpine, my mom's family in Herriman, and Soren's family at Bear Lake. Highlights of the trip include fireworks, craft day at Grandma's, shopping, rasberry shakes at Bear Lake, just Soren and I taking a drive in my uncle's new mustang and catching up with friends and family. Thanks to everyone for a great trip!

It's A Great Time To Be Prego!

2010-08-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

I think being pregnant is getting very trendy these days- and I couldn't be happier about it. Unfortunately all of the trendy clothes are pretty pricey. Nothing against a plain T and jeans, but that is really all that affordable stores like Target carry. While we were in Utah I stopped in at the Forever 21 to check out their maternity line. I have to say that even though it was a small selection so far, it felt great to have a few cute, cheap options for trendy maternity clothes. I picked up some leggings and have been LOVING them. So comfortable!

I am looking forward to what else will come in this line and to see if other trendy companies will follow suit.

Thanks to Maman A Droit for the heads up on this line!

Sun??? In Seattle????

2010-07-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

We have learned to savor the sun in our last two years here. It was about 55 degrees on the 4th of July and cloudy. Today was officially the first hot day of 2010 in Seattle. I think it was about 88. Needless to say we have been enjoying what sun we get. Here are some shots of Easton and I at the sprinkler park today. We had a blast!

Father and Son's Campout 2010

2010-06-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was one of firsts. Easton and Dad went on their first Father-Son camp out and I got a whole 24 hours at home ALONE in over a year. It was much needed and totally fun for all.

Easton did a great job camping and proved himself to be quite the outdoorsman. Aside from running off frequently while Soren tried to set up the tent, Easton was well behaved, enjoyed the outdoors and slept all night. The next day they went rafting down a small nearby river and as you can see they had a great time. They came home Saturday about 2:30 and Easton went right to sleep for 3 hours. He was worn out!

Prepping the boat.

Ready to take her out.

Enjoying a Capri Sun on the river.

While they were gone I had a great time too although I'll admit it was a little strange at first. I went to dinner with friends from church and their girls who didn't go camping- Amy, Beth, and Michelle. We had a fun time at Bucca di Beppo's and afterwards I headed over to OLD NAVY to check out their weekend sale. I found a cute hoodie for $6, picked up a Redbox, and got some hot chocolate at 7-Eleven. I headed home to watch Coco Before Chanel (kind weird, but not bad) and put in some time on the elliptical. I went to bed way too late, but the best part was I got to sleep in until 9. I kept forgetting no one else was home! I then spent the morning walking at the track, working on my business and planning my lesson for Sunday. I really enjoyed the alone time and I'm so glad they had fun. I'll definitely be encouraging this tradition in the future.

23 Weeks

2010-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well here we are at 23 weeks. Time is going by so quickly and that has been nice. On Friday night I got to hold a 5 month old for a little while and he was soooo nice to cuddle and snuggle with. It really made me excited to hold our new little one. I have been feeling great in general although my immune system really has been down during this pregnancy. I have had 3 colds and the flu twice so far. I'm sure having an active one year old accounts for some of that. We are looking forward to our next little boy, but right now I'm just trying to enjoy my first little boy and the fun that just he and I can have over the next few months.

Best Friends

2010-06-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to have Kelli and Brinley here! (We missed you though Mike! Mike is on a work trip in Africa for 3 weeks so Kelli took her vacation here.) We were terrible at taking pictures, but I'm blaming that on how much fun we had. We were too busy to take pictures or to remember to put the memory card back in the camera.

While they were here we road the Water Taxi in Seattle, went to Pike's Place Market, took the kids swimming and got their pictures taken. We barbequed at Greenlake and enjoyed the 3 mile walk around it. Soren and I even went on a date. (Thanks Kelli!) We also celebrated Kelli's 25th birthday with Blizzards from Dairy Queen and pedicures. (Well almost; we rainchecked the professional pedis and did some at home because we couldn't find a salon open after 8. Boo.)

We also watched a few movies, did a lot of P90X, and shopped. We already miss them now that they are gone and can't wait to see them next month when we go to Utah.

Easton and Brinley took some time to adjust to eachother while they were here, but by the time they left the kids were starting to speak the same language. Brinley kept trying to hold Easton's hand and he did not like that. Easton felt a little threatened at first, but he warmed up to having a buddy around.

Best buds.

Easton loved to pat Brinley on the head as she crawled around underneath him. Since he can walk I think he thought she was the smaller younger one. The funny thing is they are almost the same size and only 2 months apart.

One of the few pics we got together. You can't see how round I am getting and how thin Kelli is. That is why I kept this picture. :)

These two shared everything in that backseat. They spent the time just passing things back and forth. The best was when Kelli gave them paper napkins to play with and they took turns tearing the peices apart.

Goodbye friends! We'll see you soon!

Its a.....

2010-06-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

'nother boy! For those who haven't heard yet, we are having another boy on or before October 26, 2010! We are really excited for Easton to have a brother, especially one so close in age. We really just can't wait to meet him!

Soooo Delish!

2010-06-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

I made this for dinner last night.

Sweet and Spicy Almond Glazed Shrimp over

Cilantro Basmati Rice

It was AMAZING.

Currently my favorite dish. You must try it.

My modifications: I think it would also work with chicken (cheaper). Also I substituted 1/6 c. peanut butter, 1/6 c. almond butter, and 1/4 c. honey for the honey almond butter. I also added a little extra honey on top. I will also double it next time because there were sadly no leftovers besides Soren's lunch. :(

Friends and the Farm

2010-06-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

Last week while Kelli and Brinley were here we went to the petting zoo together. Although it drizzled on us, we had a great time. I think I enjoyed it as much or more than the kids. Besides being free, it was really well taken care of and they had a great selection of baby farm animals to see and touch.

Easton was fairly adventurous and touched or walked right up to most of the animals. Brinley was more thrilled to watch the animals and preferred to keep her hands to herself.

Here is Easton with the baby cow. So adorable.

There were also plenty of baby goats that were just Easton's size.

Kelli and Brinley stayed a safe distance while enjoying all of the animals.

Easton felt no need to stay close to me and frequently wandered off on his own tour of the farmyard. This is becoming a frequent occurance no matter where we are. Mr. Independent.

Brinley loved the rabbits, especially since they were caged. :)

I was most excited for the baby pigs. I LOVE baby pigs and hope someday to have a yard perfect for a pet pig and a few chickens.

Brinley's favorite animal was the sheep. She has a stuffed one that she just holds and cuddles with at home. Its quite adorable and so different from Easton. He doesn't have any stuffed animals or blankets but prefers to carry around tools and kitchen utensils. Having Kelli and Brin here really pointed out to me how different little boys and girls can be. We sure love them both though!

June 2010

2010-06-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

Soren has been hard at work making belts. As you can tell Easton has made a few himself. There's nothing like using tools with Dad.

We went to explore a new park together last week. Here is a fun shot Soren got of the two of us. Yes, I am looking more pregnant, but no part of that is my hoodie.

Our friends Kelli and Brinley Duthrie got here today to visit. We are so happy to have them. Here's a bath shot of the two babies. They will be here for a week and we are going to have tons of fun!

Feeding a Toddler

2010-05-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

I have had some requests to do a post about what I feed Easton so I thought I'd share. Although I have degree in Nutrition, I wouldn't say Easton ALWAYS eats the healthiest, but I can tell you what we try to do and keep working on. I am not as picky as some moms that I know, but I do have my limits and I feel like we do okay.

Easton doesn't care for baby food anymore. He will eat baby cereal and some baby food fruits, but that is all. He hated any of the combo jars we tried and frankly I wasn't impressed with them anyways. Once he stopped eating baby food, I found myself scrambling to find things for him to eat. He had a few days of mostly Cheerios and crackers. But I wanted him to learn to eat other foods so I started looking.

To start with, I found a list of the best suggested foods for a toddler online. It agreed with what I know, so I wrote it down and posted it on the fridge. I added a few other things, but it is a great place to start. Now if I don't have anything planned, I can glance at the list and pick some things off of it that I know I have. If its on the list, its fair game pretty much anytime.

Here is our list:

chicken
avocado
banana
cooked carrots
sweet potato
yogurt ( I just try to buy what is on sale and stay away from artificial sweeteners. I don't spend extra money on baby yogurt.)
baby cereal (mixed with juice, milk, yogurt, baby food, sometimes peanut butter or jam)
oatmeal
cheese (Easton like string cheese a lot or just chunks)
eggs (he likes scrambled)
citrus fruit (he loves the Cuties)
red meat (ground beef alone or in left-overs)
fish (healthier fish sticks are what we have tried so far)
squash
tomatoes (any tomato based soup goes down well with Easton)
peas
broccoli
pasta
peanut butter (depends on the kid, but Easton does fine with pb.)
toast
apples (knaws on the whole thing), applesauce
bluberries, strawberries, peaches, etc.
grapes (cut up)
rice and beans (Easton loves this! I just cook rice and open a can of beans and drain them.)

Breakfast: Lots of time we do cold cereal for breakfast and Easton loves it too. He just eats plain Cheerios and milk. He also likes yogurt mixed in like his Dad and loves to drink the milk at the end. We also give him fruits with it or raisins.

Lunch: Left overs from dinner. If I can't feed it to him I try not to make it for dinner (such as things that are too processed or have too much sour cream and things like that). He also likes toast okay, more fruits, cheese, frozen peas or anything on the list above.

Dinner: Usually what we eat plus somthing else if he can't eat it. (We do salads for dinner a lot and besides sucking the dressing off of the vegetable, we have to find him something else.)

So that is what I am trying right now. If anyone has suggestions of other foods or meals I'd love to hear them.

Someone asked what foods we take on the go and really most of the ones on my list are easy to take with. We still do cheerios or crackers. Easton drinks a lot of whole milk.

If I think of more I will add it, but this is just a quick summary. I'd love to hear thoughts!

The Big First Birthday

2010-05-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, May 15th, we had Easton's first birthday party. We had a get together with friends at the park to celebrate and enjoy the sunny weather. It went well, but it was a lot of work. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us. Here are some pictures from the day.

The party was between 2-4 pm so we just had snacks including fruits, veggies, chips, pretzels, sugar cookies and caramel popcorn.

My friend Melanie helped by making delicious sugar cookies and I enjoyed decorating them. I need to pick a different frosting next time though; this one stayed too runny.

Easton loved this bike! (It belonged to a friend's daughter.) He didn't care about the colors and couldn't stay away from it.

Our friends the Van Leuvens were nice enough to bring two of their adorable dogs. Easton LOVES dogs and puppies. He was a little nervous, but followed those little dogs everywhere.

I had a cute banner, streamers and balloons up. The sun didn't help with getting a picture of it, but we were sure glad it was out and shining.

The Birthday Boy and Mom

As you may know Easton loves chocolate chip cookies so I made a huge one in place of a cake. It turned out really well- in looks and taste. Whipped cream and ice cream helped keep the candle up.

Easton wasn't sure how to blow it out or what to do at all. It was still cute to sing to him.

I think he enjoyed the cake.

Yep.

Oh, and he did eat some vegetables too. :)

Happy Birthday Easton!

2010-05-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to put something up all week, but since we are having his party on Saturday, it doesn't really feel like his birthday has happened yet. The crazy thing is that is has! I have a one year old. His birthday was on Monday and we celebrated in a small way by going out to Red Robin and opening a few gifts from Grandma. More pics to come after Saturday.

This past 2 weeks have almost felt like Easton knows he is getting older. He learned how to say hello and mama. He can walk up the stairs while holding onto the wall. We officially play outside in the parking lot with the big kids now. He threw his first fit over a piece of candy at the store. He's just growing up.

As always, we couldn't have been blessed with a sweeter, handsomer, more curious and fun boy. We love him so much. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Discipline/ Purposeful Parenting

2010-05-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

As Easton nears his first birthday, he is getting more capable and can do so many new things. I love it, but every day poses new challenges. Each day I understand why they say motherhood is hard in a whole new way. I think I had similar realizations after I got married (why they say marriage is hard), and it really is impossible to truly understand until you are there.

My overarching thought lately is..

that it is so easy to become the kind of mom I never wanted to be.

Everyone has these predetermined thoughts about what kind of mom they want to be. I did and I am sure most of you did. These thoughts probably included many examples of what you didn't want to be- "I'd never let my kids to that!" mentality.

This monologue may sound like something you have heard before, but just wait. You aren't going to hear me say....

"Now I understand why that Mom was that way, and I see that it is inevitable for me as well."

Nope. Although I do have a deeper sympathy and understanding for the challenges Mom's everywhere face, I am not giving up on my ideas or giving into difficulties. What you will hear is that now I do understand why some Mom's act the way they do, but it is not inevitable.

What I have been mulling over is the fact that most of the time, when I see Mom's doing something or allowing something I don't agree with- its because it is easier that way. I really do see that it is easier to do things one way, and harder to do them another. Most of my ideals are the harder way. Let me give a few examples to explain.

(*Please do not be offended if you read this and see yourself on either side. Everything a Mom does is personal choice for herself, her kids and her sanity. What I want to point out is that all of the time the best thing really is HARD.)

1. Feeding Your Toddler/Child- It is hard to stay consistant and feed your kid healthy foods. It is so much easier to pull out animal crackers, graham crackers, a granola bar or gummies. All kids will each these things without so much as a squawk. It takes time and patience to continue offering healthy choices, to plan for them, and to teach your child to eat them. The food industry has made it so easy to quickly choose something less nutritious that you know your child will eat.

2. Naptime- It is hard to establish and stick to a nap schedule. It means constructing your schedule and theirs around it and sometimes letting your kid cry himself to sleep. Easton takes great naps (2 2-hour naps) everyday. But it was hard at first because he didn't always want to do it and he would often wake up to eat in the middle just for fun. If he woke up tired and grouchy, I'd put him right back in bed until he fell asleep. It would be much easier to let him just fall asleep anywhere and get him up if he fussed.

3. Church- It is really hard to even take a toddler to church, much less keep them in a meeting. It is really hard to take enough activities, toys, and distractions to keep your child quiet and in the meeting the whole time. It is so much easier to just take them out to the hall to roam where you can listen and don't have to entertain. This is such a mental battle and exhersion for me. Teaching this takes a long time and lots of patience and creativity.

4. Outside Time- Its hard to make the effort and remember to go outside frequently with Easton. If the weather isn't really warm and sunny (a rare thing here), then I would rather just stay inside or run errands in the car. Planning activities for yourself and a one year old is not something that automatically happens.

5. Personal care- It is really hard to get up earlier than Easton to get my workout in. I never really know when he will wake up and I need to be back from my run or walk before Soren leaves. Its hard to go to bed and to get up and do it- especially if it is dark and cold. It is easy and the default option to sleep until Easton is my alarm clock.

6. Nursing- Two parts of this are hard for me. Nursing itself, while I believe in it wholeheartedly, is hard. Its hard to keep doing for months and months and months. Its hard to be tied to a baby or I guess have one tied to you. The other hard part is quitting. Easton is not showing any signs of wanting to be done, but I so am. My goal was a year, but its not looking like I can stop real soon. It would be easier to keep nursing until eternity (his choice), but I need a break before this next baby so at some point I will be doing the hard job of cutting him off.

All of these things are hard, but the benefits to me are really what I try to keep in mind. I am not perfect at any of them, but these are what I want to be. I can totally see why some Mom's choose otherwise and for me I can see that unless I am disciplined- its easy to take the easy way out.

We Conquered!

2010-05-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

On Friday Soren got off of work early for an Eddie Bauer sponsored hike of Mt. Little Si. Easton and I joined him and had we all had a good time. It was a long day, but we made it up the 2.3 miles. Soren rated his hike a piece of cake for him, but medium hard for me. You can see the disparity when we hike together, Soren usually doesn't get too much of a work-out and I usually get TOO MUCH! :) We hiked to the top despite a little rain and some clouds. The sun poked out just as we reached the view. Afterwards we got burgers to celebrate and really enjoyed those! Easton was a trooper even though he missed his nap and had fun poking Dad from behind with sticks and branches found along the way. (Soren carried him in a backpack carrier.)

12 Weeks

2010-04-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

I look slightly more pregnant now, but here I am at 12 weeks. I am now 14. Not much to see, but I think I will want this post for later. I already wish I had more to look back on from my last pregnancy. I totally look like I am sticking my stomach out, but I swear I was trying to stand up straight. Maybe I need to work on my posture a bit........

To The Races

2010-04-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

This little guy LOVES to drive. He can't stand getting in his seat because he just knows he should be in the driver's. The cutest part is watching him turn the headlights on, flip the brights, adjust the radio, move the gears, and yes, honk the horn with his chest. He's just a few feet away from takin' me for a spin.

My Favorite Product this Week

2010-04-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

These headbands are great! I picked them up at Walmart the other day for like $4.95 and have been thrilled with them. I've tried this type before, but they always slip off my head. These have a rubber/sticky no-slip band on the inside that really does work. They do get a little tight and squeezy feeling after a few hours so I can't wear them all day. I've been using them while I work out in the mornings and my bangs are no longer in the way. Plus the cute colors match my work-out clothes and spruce up my outfits nicely.

A Visit From Mom

2010-04-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

Things were getting a little too lonely and homesick around here so a few weeks ago we invited my Mom out to come stay for a week. I am so glad she came to visit and we had a wonderful time. We did a lot of touristy stuff and shopping and dates for Soren and I. My Mom came to hang out with me and also babysit so Soren and I could get out on a few outings together. We got to go to dinner together and a movie (only our second since Easton!). We also went to the temple Saturday morning and out to breakfast. It was great. Here are some pictures of a lot of the things we did.

The famous gum wall. There really was a lot of gum!

Pike Place Market

Mariner's Game

The Tulip Fields at Tulip Town

Easter and Conference

2010-04-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. Depite the lack of family and get togethers, we really had a nice time together as our little family.

This weekend was special not only because of Easter, but it was also General Conference for us. (A worldwide meeting/broadcast where we listen to our prophet and apostles speak to us for 5 2-hour sessions over a weekend). It was an amazing conference and I really felt spiritually recharged. There were so many good messages and themes. I can't wait to keep listening to them over again and read them too. I think our family really will do better at coming closer to Christ over the next six months until we hear from them again.

We didn't do much in the way of Easter baskets. Easton got a few great things from Grandma. I dyed eggs alone because I am the only one who appreciates it so far in our little family. I LOVE Easter dinner and apparently I'm not alone. Easton is also a fan it seems. We had a ham, potatoes, peas, rolls, fresh pineapple, and strawberry pie! Easton LOVES ham and whipped cream. He also ate lots of peas and potatoes. I made my own pie crust and although it didn't look gorgeous, the pie really turned out!

Easton is now officially a walker. He walks much more than he crawls and has even done a few pivots and turn-arounds. He stole his first piece of candy from the store yesterday. I didn't realize it until we got to the car so we marched right back it. It was pretty funny.

I had a Dr.'s appt yesterday and got about 5 vials of blood drawn. So far, so good. We'll find out what we are having in 9 weeks. That's really what we are excited for.

Just like his Dad, Easton discoverd a LOVE for whipped cream.

Surprise!

2010-03-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it may be for some of you, but we weren't totally surprised. We are excited though.

Baby Number 2 is due to arrive October 27th. I had an ultrasound yesterday to find out that I am 10 weeks along. Since I only found out I'm pregnant last week, that was pretty thrilling. Nothing like almost being done with the first trimester unknowingly.

I've felt pretty good except for being extremely tired. We are excited and probably don't know what we are in for, but thats okay. We've have loved having Easton so much, we can't wait to have another!

News About Dad

2010-03-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

This week has been a great one for Soren. We are so excited for him! He received this in the mail......

After a year and half of hard, hard work and studying, he is officially a CPA! He has really done a lot to earn this and it is very impressive. I'm really glad for all of the attention he is receiving at work for it. It's quite an accomplishment! Even more impressive was how well he did on each test. The tests are all pass/fail with a 75 being the cut off. Soren averaged more in the high 80s or low 90s on all of them.

He also had a another piece of good news yesterday. He found out that he had won a contest he had entered months ago on Moosejaw's website. He won a three day trip up Mt. Baker in July. The trip itself costs $500, plus he won a $500 Visa giftcard to pay for any other expenses related to the trip. Mt. Baker is one of the biggest mountains up here and this will be such a treat for him. You can see in the picture below how big it is. It is almost in Canada and about 2-3 hours away from us. Way to go Soren!

Lake Washington

2010-03-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

We went on a little hike/walk on Saturday down to Lake Washington. Easton had so much fun in the water. He tried to just crawl/dive right in. It was so adorable I had to put up a few pictures.