Nilsson News

 Yes, yes, to all that has been said about motherhood.  Although, I don't know that it gets easier as time goes on and I think I just get to the point where I throw up my hands and say, "Wow!  I have no idea!"  I feel like, Emma, you have the greatest advantage of all of us, where you got to see all of us really mess up and you could watch us and know what you wanted to avoid.  However, you didn't seem to avoid the no sleep dilemma.  It must be a Belliston curse.

    I have no idea what to think about this spring like weather!!!  In the moment it feels really nice, 50 degrees in January?!  But I am curious like Jenn, will winter arrive in March?  I keep hoping that my trees don't all of the sudden burst into bloom and my flowers pop through the ground.  

    Lauren, you are very nice to think that if you hired me something productive might happen.  I'm definitely feeling a tad annoyed that my "small project" still is unfinished.  All the tiny finish work that actually makes everything look nice, takes FOREVER.  I'm in the process of painting the quarter round trim that is under my kitchen cabinets.  Nobody but me would ever notice, but it's one of those things.  I think the end is in sight?

    Eliza had a wonderful birthday.  After her sweet rabbit, Opie, was taken off by we think a dog, she has been begging for another rabbit, and this time an inside one.  No convincing her that we can make her hutch dog proof.  I swore I would never allow indoor pets and now we have two additional little bunnies.  Since I don't love the tiny rabbit cages out there, since they are so small and somewhat ugly, we decided to repurpose an entertainment center that we found for $25 at D.I. into a charming, spacious hutch.  It was pretty fun and it turned out really cute.

I think that's it for now.  I feel like I did a lot of rambling but my brain is doing a lot of that lately.  Love you all!

Before and after deluxe bunny hutch!  I saw something similar to this on Etsy for $600!  Thank you D.I. $25.

Choosing the bunnies!

Snowball and Jellybean aka Bean

Flake Fun

Amen to motherhood being hard, especially when you are doing it on little to no sleep! I would echo Lauren-there is never any judgement when you need a venting phone call! We all know that you love Stetson! And winter is a hard time to have a newly walking little one.  You are doing great.

I also have to echo Lauren's sentiments about the joy of being with mom and dad.  We are eagerly anticipating our trip up in a week or so!!

The start to the year has been pretty good. We decided to do some projects on the acreage in Snowflake while we wait (and in my case, hope) for a crash in the housing market. That way, if we stay in Snowflake those projects will be done and if we leave, we will leave things better than they were.

That being said, yesterday was spent hauling and spreading fill dirt on the road into the property.  We got one corner almost done... It was fun for the kids to take turns dumping and lowering the dump trailer bed.

That is Rand lowering the dump bed

Scott playing on the backhoe

The weather has been rainy but in the higher than normal range.  Are we going to have our winter in March?

Hope that everyone has a good week!!

Tulsi, my father-in-law's dog ran off but we got to pick her up a few days later at a neighbor's house. 

A fun day is when they dress themselves for church.   Note the pink Crocs on James, the double jumper on Robin as well as her jewelry.

He started a flour war!

Our latest art project, finger paint Mom's arms (the alternative was each other!)

Manning Moments

 Well, life is good. I took the kiddos up to Mom and Dad's last week and it was blissful. It was so lovely to visit with them and Emma. Stetson is so cute and my boys followed Oakley around. We loved playing in the massive amounts of snow, seeing the Elk, reading, playing the piano and having almost as many adults as kids. The moment we got home everything blew up. Chet was crazy about not letting Gus touch his toys, Gus kept getting hurt and all the bliss left. It's nice to be with mom and dad. We eventually got back into our routine and it was great to see Nick.

Everyone is growing and learning new things. Jane chews on everything. I suppose that means she is going to have some teeth pop out sometime soon. The big boys are learning lots of things in school and it is a blast to be with them. Gus is going to start potty training soon and I have been mentally preparing for the last month! He will do great! 

Chet gives us a lot of laughs as you can imagine. Recently I have been trying to help him learn to wipe and be independent on the potty. He usually tackles new things with gusto and he started out that way but it has quickly lost its thrill. One time he was calling for me and I went into the bathroom. He said, "I'm not really into wiping." I laughed and said I wasn't either but it needs to be done. I left and 5 minutes later he called again. I went in and he said very mournfully, "Can't you see how sad your kid is!" 

Ruth is putting us to shame with her renovations while we are still at a stand still. We should have just hired her and she couldn've learned what she needed to in the amount of time we have been able to dig a hole! Oh well, we are excited about it.

Emma, mothering is hard. It is not easy and I think you are in one of the hardest stages. When people ask how it is to have the third or fourth child I always say it's not as hard as the first. It really does get easier in some ways as you keep going. I kind of wish I could erase the first two years of Wesley's life. I was a basket case. Anyway, I think you are doing a great job and any of your sisters are a phone call away. Venting is a necessary thing!

Other than that, nothing new to relate. Hope everyone is getting some beautiful weather like we are enjoying today! Sure love you all!

Hyde Happinesses

 Helloooooooo. This week has been rather long. Stetson isn’t a great sleeper, and this week it just got under my skin. I know he’ll sleep someday. I don’t need sleep someday though… I kinda need it now. So anyway. That’s a thrill. But he’s still so happy and pleasant during the day so that is a huge blessing! He is so fun and is definitely learning how to push boundaries. He’s taken to throwing things in the garbage which I really don’t appreciate. If he would stick to trash, that would be great, but books, socks, oakleys balls, and other paraphernalia ends up in it 😂 he’s always keeping us on our toes. Recently I had a flash. I realized Stetson had never walked outside or in a store before, and whole new world opened up. Now I just let him go outside and toddle around. Cam and I took him to Locals the other day and he grinned ear to ear while he walked around like he owned the place. It was adorable. Needless to say, I’ve found something else we can do to occupy our time a little more this winter.

We had dinner with some old friends this week which was great. Cam roomed with Corey and Maddie and I were also roommates. They got married the same day as us and Cam and Corey have been good friends for awhile. They have an 18 month old, Emma, and are expecting another one in June. It was fun to catch up.

Cam told me a funny story about Stetson today. I was in the kitchen making dinner, and Stetson was reading one of his books pretty contentedly. All of a sudden he stood up, walked over to his toy bin, took out a necklace and put it around his neck, walked back to his book and began reading again😂 I would love to know what goes on inside his head some days.

We went to Hardware Ranch today! It was very fun. We’d never been before, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. We ended up waiting in a very long line for a long time, and Stetson did great, until we got on the wagon 😅 then he got pretty fussy and kept grabbing at my shirt 🙄 so Cam and I were able to see the elk pretty well, but Stetson insisted on lunch and a short nap while we did 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

This week was a particularly tough one as a mom, so I just have to say hats off to all you amazing ladies that make motherhood look so effortless. Maybe you should try to make it look a little harder so no one gets any fancy ideas in their head about the ease of motherhood 😉 I love you all and am so grateful for all your examples!

So fun having mom and dad over for dinner. Stetson is totally enamored with their glasses and always makes an attempt to steal them.

Teaching the ways of the snowballs

Walking all by his big self in the store. That face means absolute bliss

Hyde Happinesses

 Hello! This last week was great. Cam and I went on our first movie date since having Stetson and it was a blast!! Cam was SO excited to see The Boys In The Boat. I wanted to read it before we went, so I sped through it and finished it about two hours before we saw it 😅 in hindsight I probably would’ve preferred to wait to see if for a couple weeks… but cam would have been devastated so we went. It was very good. Apparently I am a harsh movie critic but I will spare you the critique. 

We are finally feeling pretty settled and getting into a routine. It always feels so overwhelming to get into a new place and learn your way around your own house but it’s so nice when you finally get it figured out. 

It was so fun to see Yanny and her family!! Stetson loved watching the big cousins and was pretty entranced by Jane… just so long as I wasn’t holding her.

We went to Kaysville on Saturday to celebrate Cams grandpas birthday. Stetson was in heaven with their dogs… they let him touch them and hug them and pat them and he was so so gentle. It was awesome. 

Sledding… his face didn’t change the whole time

Movie date!

Be one with the toys

No one warned me how exhausting church is with a toddler… day of rest my foot 

Cold walks

Nilsson News

 Has it really been since October since I posted on the blog?!  I have some repenting to do.  I won't try to give a recap of all the things that have happened since then.  We had a great holiday season and we are excited for the year ahead.  As of late, we have been tackling a remodel project.  If you have been to our house, our entry has little to be desired.  It feels like you are entering into a dark cave.  Also, we are not able to fit around our dinner table as a whole family so we have been trying to find a solution.  Well, in order to fix both of these problems, we just needed to knock down a wall!  Let me tell you, it's not as easy as Chip Gaines makes it looks.  The boys had a blast and we are still trying to help Dane realize that he can't go around knocking down all the walls with a hammer.  It has been a dusty, dirty mess and we still aren't done, but I thought I would show you the progress.

We took down the wall and a few headers above the stairs and living room.  We tore up the carpet in the entry and hall and replaced some subflooring.  We painted the floor and then I got this super ambitious idea to stencil the entire floor.  Now, painting a floor, especially in a kitchen where 8 people often frequent, is not an easy task!  The only time I was able to work on it was after everyone was in bed which meant an entire week of VERY late nights.  I'm happy to report that as of last night, our floor is finished!!!  We are still working on a sliding barn door for our coat closet and all the finish work of painting baseboards and touch work.  Our house feels so much more open and tall!  Emerson doesn't have to duck to go into the living room or down the stairs anymore (he is now 6'2" everybody).

Aside from projects, I think life has continued.  Schools have been closed due to blizzards and we are now hanging in a very bitter cold front for the next few days  It is truly January in Idaho Falls!  I hope you are all doing well!  And now for picture overload!

Emerson discovered that Gallium softens aluminum and ha had fun shooting the cans with nerf guns.

Selfies!

Even though it's bitter cold, it's rather pretty.

We took the paneling off to discover a rather hideous green color underneath.

Learning the trade

Does this linoleum remind you of Hyde Park?!

Welcome to our wall!

 

The floor is now done!!!!  Woo hoo!

Dane loves the snow!

Oh, and during this time, Addy had her wisdom teeth extracted.  She was awake the whole time which actually kind freaked her out but she's doing much better now.

Hopefully a complete before and after will follow shortly.....

Hyde Happinesses

 Change change change. Change. We are finally feeling moved it and it’s great. I really like our little place and it’s been a blast putting it all together. Cam started school this week as well as a new job, so it’s been a crazy time for him but he’s taking everything in stride and just killing it. He is working at Logan dental as a dental assistant which is awesome and he’s been liking it so far. 

Of course the big news of the week is that Stetson turned one! Totally unbelievable. He also started walking for real! Tottering all over the place and it’s 100% adorable. Cams siblings and their significant others came as well as mom and dad, and we had a blast celebrating Stetson boy. We started with pizza (one of Stetsons favorites), then we had a charcuterie board and some cake. It was pretty fun. We opened some presents and Stetson was so cute. Mom and dad got him a recorder which he promptly blew into and got roaring applause. #prodigy. The birthday theme was “Orange” (or one little cutie) because Stetson is seriously obsessed with oranges. It’s weird. Mom and dad also got him a bag of his very own oranges and that won the present of the year award. He tried to eat them through the bag, peel and all. We also discovered Stetsons total phobia of balloons. We knew he didn’t really like them, but we blew some up and put them around the house. However, when we took them down last night, he about had a conniption. He screamed and shook and held onto us as if his life depended on it. Very sad. Now he is our big one year old boy and that is totally crazy to me! 

Cams first day of school 😂

The happiest lil guy 

He loves balls right now (ba ba)

We recently discovered that he is absolutely transfixed by whispering. He’ll lean in super close and just listen as you whisper in his ear

His grandma Hyde got him this for his birthday! To Stetson for me ;) it’s a little kitchen helper and it’s been so fun! 

 Cranberry orange bread for Stetsons birthday 

He’s big into giving kisses lately and it’s awesome and oh so slobbery 

Oranges 🤷🏼‍♀️

Birthday eve dinner 

There were balloons all too close to his chair. Hence the stoic look