Jolly Old St. Nicholas...

Here is Max letting Santa know what he wanted for Christmas. He wasn't too terribly sure about the whole thing but he didn't freak out. He did let Santa know what he wanted and I'm thinking he whispered in his ear that mommy and daddy wanted bedroom furniture (check out the pictures below).

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

We have been in the holiday spirit at the Nelson household. Max has been an excited participant in Christmas until it came time to get dressed up and take a picture in front of the tree. Only two things made the situation bearable for him: the tie had trains on it which is quickly becoming a requirement for any piece of clothing Max wears, and we gave him candy if he stood in front of the tree and at least acted like he was happy about taking a picture!

We wrote Max's letter to Santa on Sunday. I admit, I got a little teary eyed as I was writing the words he told me. I can't believe our little baby is almost three. He has quite a wish list for Santa, but I'm pretty sure he will get all his little heart desires. My favorite part of the letter: when asked what else he wanted to tell Santa, Max replied, "I want to hug him!". Too sweet. We will see if he actually does want to hug him when we meet Santa on Tuesday at Lane's office party. Last year, I had to be part of the Santa picture because Max is automatically distrustful of anybody in a beard!

Christmas season so far has been a blessed experience seeing it through the eyes of our joyful two year old. He loves all things Christmas tree, Santa, and wrapping paper. In fact right now he is tearing up scraps of wrapping paper and I think I'll stop typing this blog and go help him turn his scraps into something crafty and fun! I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful time of the year, I know I am!

Babies and Wheelbarrows and Trains, Oh My!

We had a great Thanksgiving week in Oklahoma. Max loves all his grandparents so much and always is sad to go back home. We don't usually go home for Thanksgiving, but this year there was an extra special reason: Max's new cousin Kalliope Sage (I hope I spelled it right). Kalli is absolutely perfect in every way and we were very happy to spend some time trading war stories with new parents Chris and Sonya. I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving!!

Max trying on daddy's old glasses from high school.

One of Max's favorite activities. Being pushed by Ebe in the wheelbarrow. He also trained Bear to leave him alone. He figured out yelling really loudly made Bear not quite so eager to jump and lick him.

Grandma Flo worked on a Gingerbread Train with Max. He lost interest quickly, but Grandma powered through and finished it (mostly). Max did sneak back a few times to steal some candy!

Max's adorable new cousin: Kalliope Sage Harris, or "Kalli". She was born on November 19th and was 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19 inches long. Max can't wait to start playing with her!

Happy Halloween from Wolf Boy!

Listen closely and you can hear Max say Trick or Treat and use his nice manners and say Thank You!

Pumpkin Patch, yea!

One of our favorite activities as a family is to go to the Pumpkin Patch. We love the KC Pumpkin Patch and enjoyed getting out there again this year. Max's favorite things this year: the big wooden train, the tractor and trailer we road out to the patch, and the slide. He wasn't too interested in picking pumpkins, he really just wanted to get back on the tractor! The biggest change was the addition of the Knight Family including baby Jackson. Max was tickled pink when he got to "hold" baby Jackson to take pictures. Gives me hope for the future. I love the picture of the two of them because I can only imagine the mischief these two boys (and their fathers) are going to get into in the years to come!

Monkeys and Pumpkins and Wolfs, Oh My!

Here is Max 2 years ago.



Say it with me, "awww"!

Here is Max last year.



Quite the cutie!

I'm currently in full on stress out mode about getting his costume this year made. He is stubbornly insisting that he will be a "wolf boy". I'm seriously afraid that this year's costume won't be near as cute. Right now, I'm thinking I shouldn't worry so much about it being cute as I should about just getting it done. Right now all the costume pieces are mocking my Martha Stewart wannabeness from the Walmart sack they are hanging out in. I'll let you know how it all turns out!

All Our Family Proofs

All of our proofs are up. I'm in love with several of the pictures. I have no idea how I'll choose!

Click to see!

Roller Skating...really?

I decided to try something new with Max last week:

Roller Skating.

Yes, you read that right. Roller Skating. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I think part of him enjoyed it and part of him hated it. I took a couple of pictures with my phone, not the greatest quality but it certainly captured the moment.

We have officially entered cold season here in KC. I had strep a couple of weeks ago and Lane is still fighting a cough he has had for almost a month. Max is struggling with an ear infection and cold. He is such a trooper that when he really loses it on you, it is a sign that he feels horrible. The other night he slept for 13.5 hours. That is something he never does and definitely shows that this kid is fighting something bad.

Last night he woke up crying and I went in to check on him. He H-A-T-E-S to have snot on his face and his nose was running. I laid him back down in bed and took a wipe to his nose. Afterwards, he looked up at me with all the love in the world and said "Thank you so much". At that moment he could have asked me for anything and I would have moved mountains to make it happen. Good thing he just fell asleep.

This morning he announced in between bouts of pure fussiness that he wanted donuts and donuts would make him feel better. I sadly told him I had no donuts but I could make him pancakes. He happily agreed and even helped me in the kitchen. I realized I just took one giant step in motherhood, making a true breakfast in the middle of the week. It is crazy what love for a sick child will inspire you to do.

It is gross outside (again). I have a sleeping kiddo and I'm contemplating the rest of the afternoon. Laundry is needing to be done. A dishwasher needs to be unloaded. There is always a never ending list of things to do. I'm thinking we are going to make chocolate chip cookies when Max wakes up (or as he likes to call them : Granny Bop Cookies). Maybe not to best way to spend my time, but I'm thinking they will make Max happy and really that is all I'm worried about right now.

Family Pictures

Here are a few pictures from a family photo shoot on Saturday. I will update when the whole proofing slide is posted, but I thought there might be people out there that want to see the preview!

http://www.paparazziphotos.blogspot.com/

First Day of Mother's Day, etc.

Here is Max on his first day of MDO. Scroll down and you'll see extra bonus shots of Max the goof and Max the spaceman!

Date Night

Such a novel concept. Who would have thought when we married 9 plus years ago that we would ever have to resort to scheduling time with each other?!

Lane and I have been noticing a serious lack of "us" time in our life. We have family time and we are pretty good at doing things all together, especially on the weekends. However, time where Lane and I just concentrate on each other has become few and far between. This is something that definitely needs to be fixed because when you are dealing with a two year old terrorist, you need your marriage to be STRONG!

To even get this started we had to decide what night to put a scheduled date on and wouldn't you know, that alone was a chore. We finally decided on Wednesdays. Rarely will there be something in our schedule on a Wednesday night that would conflict with our date. Not the most exciting of days to 'date' but it works for us.

So, tonight starts the first ever Nelson Date Night. We couldn't afford the babysitter expense this week and I like to save the calling in of friends for bigger occasions (like Zombieland on October 2nd: Laresa, Alissa, either of you free to spend some high quality Max time).

Lane is bathing Max as we speak. I'm finishing up some laundry. If the two year old cooperates we should be sitting down with each other for Gran Torino in about 45 minutes. Wish us luck!

Frog Boy

Here is Max avoiding bath time in the cutest way possible!

A month, really????

Life is ever changing in the Nelson household. I figured I should blog because it has officially been a month. So for anyone who is still reading, HELLLLLLOOOOO out there!

The highlights of the last month:

- Max -
1. Spent a week in Oklahoma with grandparents and no parents :) It was a weird feeling being without a child for week but I think Max had the time of his life. So much so, that Max and I went back a couple of weeks later and spent the week at Grandma Flo's with frequent visits to Bop and Ebe's.

2. Tried potty training. Stopped potty training after Max declared "I'm a baby, I wear diapers".

3. Enrolled at a PDO. Un-enrolled at a PDO after they raised their prices astronomically. Found a new PDO at a local United Methodist Church. Max will start after Labor Day.

4. Has started a new love affair with his dinosaur rainboots. He wears them frequently. Oftentimes accessorized by nothing but a space helmet and diaper. I will hopefully capture this on camera soon.

5. His imagination is growing by leaps and bounds. On the way home in the car he told me a story: "The polar bear said, 'I'm going to eat you up'. So, he was sent to his polar bear room where there was a train and a tunnel and a crocodile. The crocodile said, 'I'm going to snap you up!'"

6. He is definitely a boy. The fart jokes have already started in the house, well there were always fart jokes (thanks Lane) but it weird to now how have a 2 year old participating!

- Lane -

1. Still working hard and being an awesome provider for our family!

2. Getting ready to turn 32 next month (jeez, what an old man)!

3. Has been spending a lot of time helping a friend with some design. It's been nice seeing him excited about designing again.

- Laura -

1. Flipped than flopped about what to do with my career. Which is slightly ridiculous considering I'm not even working. I think I've finally figured myself out...

2. Turned 29 and a half. That is slightly depressing.

3. Will return to working daycare afterschool starting tomorrow!

I think that touches on the highlights of our life the last month. Nothing too terribly exciting or life changing but now all my loyal readers can feel caught up!

Hopefully I won't go a month again with no blogging.

Life is Good!

Priorities and Life Decisions....

My life has a very predictable pattern to it right now.
*Lane wakes up with Max (he is such a good daddy and an excellent husband)
*I roll out of bed and see Lane off to work.
*COFFEE
*Max time, taking care of the house time, and occasionally outside activities with friends.
*Lane comes home
*Max goes to sleep
*Off to bed for all of us, it will be time to start the day again soon.

There is nothing too dramatic in our days, not counting Max's terrible two tempter tantrums. We have a fairly predictable schedule. Despite the lack of "excitement", I'm very happy in my life. I have become very content being Lane's wife and Max's mommy. I like taking care of my house (although I will NEVER like laundry) and I like making our home and family my priority. Things can be tight because I don't work but I wouldn't trade this time with Max for any sort of paycheck, even if it does mean I need to watch all our pennies very carefully and there are times we have to sacrifice a lot of material things.

I'm a mom and wife and for now that is my career. It is a good and right thing for us and it is something I've come to love.

But in a few years Max will be in school (isn't it crazy that in 3 years he will be on his way to kindergarten). If we are blessed with another child, they won't be that far behind Max in going to school. And I will be left with a lot of hours to fill. I could certainly maintain my mommy and wife status and be very active in their schooling. I could continue to not work and I'm sure I could find some way to fill the time. But I'm pretty sure I'm going to be bored with no Max at home and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to want to return to work. My priority will still be my family and home, but there will be room for more in my life again.

The question I've been struggling to answer lately is what will I want that "more" to be. I have my bachelor's degree in education. I worked for 4 years as a teacher and I'm certain I could return to the field of education if I so desired. I'm just not sure I have that desire. I have certain strong beliefs about children and their learning and school systems today are in direct opposition to my beliefs. I was already becoming frustrated with the direction being taken in education and I'm certain that frustration will grow if schools continue on the path that has been laid. Add to that the long hours preparing a classroom, the work you bring home, the low pay, and the high amount of money I put back into the classroom and that career just isn't appealing to me any longer.

I have some thoughts about what I would love to do instead of teaching. I've even started taking some steps to make a new career a reality. I'm trying to plan all of this in such a way that for the next few years my family can still be number 1 job but I am also able to start pursuing my new goal. And....

I'm scared. I'm having to pray nightly for the ability to see past my fear. There are so many questions about the path I'm taking and whether it is right for my family and for me. The unknown is always hard not to fear.

So, I'm doing what I can to answer the questions I have and for the ones I cannot answer, I'm relying on my faith. Faith in God. Faith in my abilities. Faith in my family.

So my challenge for right now: don't let the fear grow bigger than my faith (and still do the laundry).

Our Magic Prince

This is a really low quality video, but it is the best I got! This is Max in the hotel before heading over to the hotel to be ring bearer in my cousins wedding ( I took it with my phone for Daddy back in Kansas City which is why the quality stinks). I'll try to load some pictures later.

By the way, we got him to put the tux on by telling him he was wearing a magic shield (the vest) and a magic sword (the tie). Then he found some plastic sticks in the shoes and pretended those were a gun! That's our boy:)

Roll the Ball!

Here are some pictures from an afternoon spent bowling or as Max likes to say "roll the ball". Max bowled a couple of frames and then Lane finished the games out for us. Max did an excellent job cheering for daddy, even if Lane got gutter balls! We leave today for California. Max is going to ride a plane for the first time, see the ocean and we're going to Legoland. Plus, he is the ring bearer in my cousin's wedding! I'm sure it is going to be a great trip and we'll have lots to share when we get back.

Lucky.

It is Sunday at 9:23pm. Max is talking himself down to sleep in his room. Lane is watching a military show and muttering "uh huh" and "that's right". I'm next to him typing a blog post.

Nothing too exciting going on. But I can't help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

We didn't do much this weekend. We played in the backyard a lot. Swam in our little "pool". Cooked out on the grill. Walked around the neighborhood three times. Grocery shopped at not only Walmart but also Costco.

There was no big event. No hanging out with other people. No exciting party to attend. But it was a great weekend. It was just the three of us and I was reminded just how great the three of us can be.

We talked about stuff going on now: my mother's visit and how much we enjoyed her, Max's inability to fall asleep on his own, the need to get our garage cleaned out.

We talked about stuff from the past: Max's birth (a friend's new baby brought about this, welcome Jackson Danger), living downtown in Kansas City, and other little moments in our life.

We talked about stuff in the future: when we'll need a larger house, when will a new baby enter our life, and what will be the next big step we take.

We also talked about how lucky we are. We have a beautiful boy who brings more laughter and more love to our life than we ever could have imagined. We are still happily married after 9 years of marriage and still very much in love. We have a cozy little home that provides exactly what we need right now and Lane has a job that allows me to fulfill the most important role of my life: mama.

Is the checking account sometimes a little low? Of course. Could we use an extra bathroom in our house? Absolutely! Do we wish there was extra cash for vacations or that car we want? That would be nice.

When I get past the superficial wants that society tries to convince me are important, there really is nothing I need.

My life is wonderful and tonight I'm just taking time to thank God for all these blessings.

Grandma Comes to Town!

Max has loved spending time with his Grandma! It has been a great visit and we will be sad to see her go! Good thing we'll see her in a couple of weeks when we fly to California!

Room Makeover

Pictures of Max's new bedroom. I still a few little odds and ends to take care of but for the most part it is done! I didn't want to hang another curtain in his room, so instead I put up closet shoe organizers. I'm using them to store toys down where Max can reach them, and art supplies up higher. Plus I throw his shoes in there wherever I see some room.

Lane made a piece of art for the room and is working on another piece. When he is finished I hope to get them framed but for now it is just slapped up there with some masking tape!

Yea for Star Wars sheets! Thanks Bop!

Everything in its place:) Makes my organized soul feel good!


Gotta love the space stickers! Thanks Grandma Flo!

Blog Much?

Even Max is annoyed with my lack of blogging.

2 year Photos

I know I am a little behind on getting two year pictures done. The last photo shoot at 17 months left me a little nervous about going back into a studio with Max. But yesterday, I finally bit the bullet, sort of.

We had a photo shoot outside at the park with Paparazzi Photography and it was WONDERFUL. The two photographers, Kadee and Elizabeth, did a fabulous job of keeping up with my busy little boy and really captured who he is at this age. I'm so excited to see all the photos but for now, there is a preview on their blog. Check them out!

This Made Me SMILE:)

I love Julie Andrews and Sound of Music just happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. I know this is something that was done to make a cheesy advertisement but it still made me feel all warm and fuzzy and happy. So watch it. And smile.

No Time

Every morning I have gotten into the habit of asking Max for good morning kisses. He is usually more than happy to oblige.

This morning was a different story. I forgot to ask and when I remembered he was already working hard with his duplo's building a castle. I leaned in and asked "Good Morning Kisses?"

To which Max replied:

"I building. No time. No good morning kisses" Then I got a hand in the face.

Oh well, teach me to wait too long to get my kisses.

Here is a random picture for your viewing pleasure!

To Potty or Not To Potty? I think NOT

I was talking with a friend the other night about insecurity. To feel secure in your actions, in your beliefs, in your life is something that is often an elusive goal for many. If you can be secure in these things, well, that really is half the battle in life. However the idea of being secure in yourself is so easy to talk about and amazingly hard to put in action.

I struggle with the putting into action. I often second guess my decisions, wonder if things could have been done better, and look outside of myself for validation. This is not a good way to live and is something that I have made a concentrated effort on improving. Especially now that there is a Max in my life. I am determined to not pass my insecurity on to him.

Which brings us to potty training. We've been at it for two days and had ZERO success. It is very easy to feel failure in a situation like this. Why is it not clicking? Why won't he pee on the potty instead of the floor? What do I need to do to help him understand? Why does he just stand there and say "oh no" when he is peeing all over the place?! The obvious answer is he is just not ready.

It has not been fun. On the outside I have maintained a very cheerful attitude about it (don't want to give Max a negative attitude about this business) on the inside I have felt like a total failure. The pessimistic, insecure part of me wants to question why I am not a good enough mother to teach him this skill. The more rational part of me knows that it is early, and we probably should retire the underwear for now and come back to this in a few months. I also know that in reality this has very little to do with my skills as a parent. But man, that insecure side just wants to sneak into my brain and snicker at me.

But like I said, I'm making that concentrated effort to work on those insecurities. So, I'm calling this a trial run at potty training; it is not a failure. It was a learning experience and hopefully when we try again we it will be a successful experience.

Thanks for reading, here is your picture:)

Ribbon will ensure success, right?

So, I've decided to embark on the most terrifying of journeys: Potty Training.

This is something that absolutely frightens me and is something that if I could put off till Max was 5, I probably would. However, several things have occurred that signal the time is now:

1) Max knows when he has to go number 2 (by the way, I debated which was the best phrasing...pooh, bowel movement, poopie. Number 2 seemed the least immature). Also, he wants the diaper removed immediately following the production of said number.

2) He is very interested in the toilet and what we are doing when we have to go to the bathroom.

3) He is becoming increasingly more independent and likes to accomplish tasks on his own.

All these things say to me it might be a good time to start the process. With that in mind, we purchased several pairs of "big boy" underwear that Max is very excited about. We also got a step stool so he can get to the potty on his own and a new Lightening McQueen toilet seat Plus, I got chocolate (m&m's to be exact) because history has shown my child will do most anything for chocolate.

I also have made an elaborate chart for Max to place stickers when he is successful. It is complete with his name, robots, and ribbon to make it pretty. The ribbon might have been a little over the top, but it certainly made me happy to do it. And really, is there such a thing as too much ribbon?

Reminiscing

Tonight I spent some time looking over past blog entries. I do this every so often. Usually when something is going on that makes me stop and think about how fast time is flying by.

Today we started the process of re-doing Max's bedroom. That's right, I said BEDROOM. It is officially no longer a nursery, it is slowly turning into a big boy's bedroom. The crib is gone, his storybook prints are down, the dresser is no longer a changing table (and honestly hasn't been for over a year). Over the next few weeks I plan to change his room into a modern, eclectic mix of star wars and space. I'm hoping it will be a room fits who he is now and makes him happy.

So, I'm guessing the removal of the last vestiges of babyhood made me sad and I needed to reminisce about the past few years. While doing this I discovered 2 things:

1) Good gravy, my child is no longer a baby! He has grown so much even just in the last 6 months. I think sometimes I still see him as a little baby and then I will go to put him down for nap and he wants to cuddle in my lap. I pick him up still envisioning that sweet little newborn who fit perfectly into my arms. Then he stretches out on me and his legs hang over the side. While it still is a perfect fit it is obvious he isn't what I would call "little".

2) I used to write a LOT on this blog. I would post about the goings on in our household as we waited the impending arrival of Maddox. Our lives were changing and I had lots to share as we prepared to turn our world upside down. That changed after Max. I no longer continued to write about life in our household, mostly I just post pictures with a few facts about what has been going on. While the majority of you (all 5 of you) are probably satisfied with just the pictures, I found myself missing reading what I was thinking during all those beautiful pictures of Max.

The result of the pondering and discovering I did tonight: I'm going to write more. I love being able to read my thoughts during that time of anticipation and I guess blogging is the new diary, so you get to read my thoughts too. There are still lots of things to write about, life with a two year old and the prospect of raising said two year old to be a fruitful member of society is quite thought provoking.

If that isn't why you visit this blog, that's fine. Just skip over my words and move right to the pictures. Believe me, I understand the draw of Max's cute face and I won't ever blame you. Otherwise, enjoy the ramblings of this mom.

Oh, and here's your picture:

Egg-straordinary!

Max loves his egg hunts! The first one was held in the backyard on Wednesday. We've since held countless more inside (thank you Mother Nature). He loves to look for eggs. He loves it even more when there are jelly beans inside the eggs. He's even happy to do the egg hunt with empty eggs. I'm thinking we still might be having egg hunts long after Easter is over. Mama's okay with that. Easy entertainment is always a great thing, even if that means I'm still hunting eggs in October.

Snowy Day

On Sunday we woke up to Max already walking around our room (a crib sure would be nice at 6am). He promptly said hi to daddy and then "Look outside, snow on the the ground! Go see. Put jackets on."

After getting over the amazement that our child is now speaking in paragraphs, we headed outside for some fun!