It's a...

BOY!!!!!

Jonathan and I are happily SHOCKED! We were certain that this baby was another little girl. I'm so glad I packed boy clothes for him and not just bows and floral blankets.

Merry Christmas Love the Nelsons!

We finally took pictures for our Christmas card on Christmas Eve. Oops! We headed over to Southwestern University after dinner and I absolutely love how they turned out!

The kids had a great time running around while we got the camera set up. It was a little eerie being the only ones on campus, but it worked out great for our pictures. It's such a beautiful place and the weather was perfect!

I love having Aaron wear his rain boots for our pictures because he wears them just about any time we go somewhere that isn't church.

Hopefully, I'll be able to make and send off the cards quickly!

Never Say Never

A couple of months ago, we joined the white Honda Odyssey club. Even after Lucy was born, I was not going to drive a minivan. It took my parents renting one during their visit last "fall" (the calendar says fall but the weather says summer) and seeing how easily Aaron could get in and out by himself when he still needed help in our little sedan. That's when I finally decided a minivan would be better than an SUV. We got it especially now that Baby is on the way and there is no way the five of us can fit in a Corolla with 3 car seats. It is also nice now that Jonathan needs to be in the office. The world is once again our oyster! Aaron is obsessed with our Honda Odyssey. He watched a lot of videos of tours of various minivans and he is so happy that we have a Honda Odyssey.

Nine Months of Lu!

We love our happy LuLu! It's hard to believe that she's already 9 months old. She just keep getting more interactive and fun.

This Is The Life

I really liked taking the time to write blog posts throughout the month of November and so I'm going to continue writing here for now at least. 

I love this current season of life. Sure there's plenty of hard, but this hard includes a lot more giggles and snuggles. After spending so many years around our nieces and nephews, it's still so weird seeing my eyes on Aaron's little face or Lucy's full head of dark hair like what I had as a baby.

It has been the best two plus years of our lives and it keeps getting better.

 

Slow Down

 Tonight I got a bit emotional about how quickly these two are growing up.

I packed up most of Lucy's newborn clothes and replaced Aaron's 2T pajamas with 3Ts because his toes keep busting out. What made me really emotional was the fact that Aaron didn't look like he was in oversized pajamas. Of course there are things that make this time of life difficult, but I still love having two little ones in our home.

Because of Him

 I'm having a really hard time believing that it's already the last day of November. Time is speeding past me. I feel like it's fitting to end my month of gratitude by sharing my grateful for the person next month focuses on, Jesus Christ.

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Through Him, all the bad and outrageously unfair are made right and, frequently, beneficial. I know He loves me as I am and wants to help me grow into so much more. He will never force me to, but as the scriptures say, "his arm is stretched out still." I am grateful that I can rely on Him and that He perfectly understands my situation. I am never alone. All these things are true for you too.

Temples

 I am so grateful for the temple. I am grateful for peace I feel there. I am grateful for the clarity I receive for my own life. I am grateful to share my love for the temple with my children.

My Children

I am so grateful for each of my children. They each bring so much joy to my life in their own unique way. I am so humbled to be their mother.

It's still surreal to have Aaron and Lucy here that most days I feel like I am just babysitting. I am grateful to be learning and growing right alongside them.

I am grateful for Lucy's sweet and patient personality. Each day she's getting more interactive and playful. She's already grateful to have Aaron around.

I am grateful for Aaron's joyful nature. He gets so excited over many things like rocks and trains. Aaron adores his sister and tries to help take care of her.

I am grateful for wonderful Baby E. I still can't find a particularly good way of describing E's personality beyond sweet, but that comes nowhere near it. I am so grateful to have E in our family.

I am grateful for my stalwart Baby J and for the discovery of this picture. This is the only picture of me while I was pregnant with J and I love it even more that Garrett is sitting right on top of my pregnant belly. (He loves his cousins J and E almost as much as I do.) J is such a wonderful example to me and I want to be like J.

I still miss J and E every day especially now that Aaron and Lucy are here. Seeing the two of them together makes me more grateful that J and E have each other. I am also grateful for the time we had together and the promise that we are sealed together for all eternity. Death is not the end for our family.

My Mr. Nelson

I am so grateful to be married to Jonathan. He is such an incredible man and I am so blessed to have him as my husband. Jonathan picks up the various tasks I've been dropping while adjusting to life with a newborn again. 

Jonathan makes life so much better for all of us! 

Mother Dearest

 Building off of yesterday's post, I am so grateful for my mom. As soon as it was clear that surgery would be necessary, she got the soonest flight she could to be with us. My mom was the last family member I saw as I was rolled away to surgery and took care of Aaron every night for three weeks when I got home.

Fast forward to this past September and she again got the earliest flight to help us when Lucy came earlier than expected. (She was still full term just not 40 weeks.) Again she spent way more time with Aaron, but that was exactly what I needed. My mom takes such good care of us that it makes it difficult to let her go.

Health

I am so grateful to be healthy and for all the doctors, surgeons, and nurses that have helped me regain it. I still can't believe how crazy my postpartum recovery was with Aaron and having my very sick gallbladder removed all before he was even a month old. I am so grateful for a surgeon that could handle my complicated case even though all indications pointed to a simple gallbladder full of gall stones.

These memories have been on the surface while I've been recovering from Lucy's birth. I still can't believe all my body went through and all I have is a few scars on my belly from it.

Really Quick

 Before going to sleep tonight I wanted to remember what I'm grateful for.

I'm grateful for traditions. They bring stability and help bond us with the past. I want to be more intentional with them in our family. Tonight, we watched Jurassic Park with our friends just like we did 5 years ago at our first Thanksgiving in Texas with them.

I am grateful for cuddles with Aaron. He's so big and more independent while I'm also usually busy with Lucy that I relish any snuggles he'll give me.

Yes, we are watching Jurassic Park and no it didn't scare him.