Happy Birthday to an AMAZING Man!

Yesterday, we accomplished an amazing feat. All of the Nelson's were gathered together to celebrate our super amazing Dad's birthday. It was so great! We shared a wonderful meal and spent time together. There was an unexpected trip to the animal ER (oh Rosie...), but it was still a wonderful evening with lots of love and laughter.

One of our gifts to Dad.

So, today is his actual birthday and I want to share a few of the huge list of reasons why he is such an amazing man. (If I shared all of the reasons, this post would never end.)

First off, he is almost always in motion (unless he's taking a quick nap, but that's what gives him the energy to keep going). He's always working or fixing or helping do something. A few months ago Jonathan got a flat tire on his way home from work and needed some help and so he called his dad because he knew he would come to help him.

The man just never gives up! No matter what happens to him or his family, he faces it and just makes things work. Whether it's starting a new business or building a room for his son, he is determined to do all that he can do to make things work.

He also has a sweet and calming spirit. I love just being in the same room with him because things seem so much calmer and lighter with him around. Even when life is crazy, he is always calm and thoughtful. I have never seen the man even remotely flustered or uncertain of what to do. He is a quiet man, but he has a way of influencing the feelings of those that are around him.

He loves being with his family. He works so hard taking care of us and his reward is being with us. He is an adorable grandpa to Mercedes. He is so in love with that little girl. (I can't blame him!) I can't wait to see him with my kids.

He also had a sweet mustache too!

Last but certainly not least, he was instrumental in turning an adorable little boy into a hard working man like himself. Jonathan is like his father in so many ways. He doesn't complain when I ask him to do the dishes or help around the apartment. He goes to school and work even though he would rather be tinkering with the computer. He even gives up time to be on the computer to spend time with me. He is a good man because he grew up with a wonderful example of what it means to truly be a man.

I am truly grateful to have him be part of my life. I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world because I now have two of the most amazing dads in the world and they both love me so much.

Valentine's Day Ideas

I started getting ready for Valentine's Day way back in January (perhaps making up for the crazy Christmas that we had). I thought I would share a few of my projects and other ideas for this fun holiday!

So, the easiest thing that you could possibly do is to frame some pictures or cute subway art. I did both!

I got the love subway art here. I found the frame with the heart mat at Target for $5. I just couldn't pass that up! The picture next to it says "You fog my spectacles." I had to get that for Jonathan! I found it here.

I also decided to make some heart garland. I found the idea on Pinterest, bought a heart punch (my new favorite toy!), and went to work!

I also added a few paint chip hearts to it.

The finished product! I love it!

These are my finished projects, but I have another one up my sleeve. Here's a clue.

Here are some more ideas from Pinterest.

I hope you have as much fun as I do preparing for holidays!

On the Mend...

The end of January was very eventful for Jonathan and me. A new semester started last week and I had a job interview. At the beginning of every semester I get stressed out and this time it was even worse than usual. My body deals with stress in a few different ways, and this time it decided to make me sick to my stomach. (Not the worst one, but still not good. And for the record I am NOT pregnant.) It was so bad that Jonathan went to class for me so the teacher wouldn't drop me. (Yeah, he's a keeper!) Luckily, my mom was able to come over and help me feel slightly better and get me ready for the interview. (Not a fun thing when all you want to do is figure out some way to live without a stomach.) I did look great even though I didn't feel that way. The interview went pretty well, especially since I didn't throw up everywhere. My stomach felt basically the same way until Saturday. It was amazing to wake up and not feel sick! But that is not the end of our story. While I was feeling human again, Jonathan was not. He came down with a rather nasty head cold that would pretend to get better and then get so much worse! Thanks to lots of medicine, Jonathan only missed two days of work. Now we can get back to normal (whatever that is!)

This was all I could handle eating for the week.

Another New Member of the Patterson Family!

Little Miss Clara Denise Patterson joined our family last Monday! Annie did a great job and got to experience a natural birth just like she wanted to. Clara is so cute and looks so much like her adorable mother. I have loved every picture and it will be amazing to see a picture of Clara with her eyes open. She really really likes to sleep. I can't blame her, I was the same way when I was her age. So, here are some of her pictures. (I can't help myself!)

Our second little Patterson girl!

The proud big brother!

The happy Father!

She's just so sleepy!

Her mint chocolate chip outfit.

All nice and cozy! 

We love this little girl so much and can't wait to meet her!!!

Guess Who's Two!

This kid! I cannot believe that Garrett has been in our family for two whole years! He is one of the biggest goofballs (which is a perfect fit for our family) with the best giggle ever! Whenever we're both at my parent's house, Garrett assumes that the only reason I'm there is to play with him. Silly boy! 

We got to go to In-N-Out for Garrett's birthday dinner. It was entertaining to watch him eat only the bun of his hamburger. He definitely ate more ketchup than anything else. What a nutritious and delicious dinner...

On the following day, he celebrated with some of his cute little friends. The theme was Curious George which is very fitting since he speaks fluent Curious George instead of English. It was a beautiful day and everyone played outside.

Garrett got an art easel so I expect to see a lot of artwork from him! 

We are so lucky to have this little guy in our lives!

Road Trip!

Jonathan and I joined his family on a trip to Disneyland! This was our celebration that everyone in the family is alive, happy, and getting healthier. It was a bit of blur, but we had so much fun! I had to got to do a lot of the driving especially since Jonathan went to work before we left. So, we ended up getting a later start, but we made it to the hotel at about 1 in the morning. (I couldn't sleep in the car so I played some really loud music and sang/screamed with it. Yeah, 6 hours in the car kind of got to me...)

After a few hours of sleep, we headed across the street to Disneyland! I forgot just how fun and magical it is. The Disneyland band was AMAZING!!! All I wanted to do was follow them around however, we were there to play and boy did we play hard! Our first ride was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and I totally beat Jonathan! He would tell you that it was only by a few hundred points, but it doesn't matter because I still won. We also went on the improved Star Tours in 3D. It was really, really good. Thanks to that ride, we now know that Taylor (Jonathan's brother) is a rebel spy! I should have seen that one coming... oh well. Jonathan and I had lunch by the Jedi training area. It was adorable watching kids learn how to become Jedis. Jonathan really wanted to do it too, but I wouldn't let him.

The Nelsons are taking over Tomorrowland!

Waiting for Star Tours!

 After lunch, we all headed back to the hotel and rested. Disneyland is an exhausting place! No one really great like getting up, but we still had so much to do! We went on Space Mountain and Jonathan was rather nervous on it. Instead of being sympathetic, I just laughed at him. I grew up riding the roller coasters at Disneyland, so I have no fear when it comes to these rides. He really liked so we ended up going on it again. Our next ride was Dumbo. The last time I was on that ride, I was 5 years old.(Yeah, that was a long time ago!) Then we did the Teacups and boy did we spin fast! Even Mercedes loved spinning around! By request of my mother, I went on Thunder Mountain. I love that roller coaster! I always remember the time when Chris, Amy, Kurtis, and I (brother, sister, and cousin) went on it right when it started raining. It was even more fun than normal! We also had to go on Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise! We then ran over to California Adventure and rode Soaring Over California. I was sitting next to Jonathan's dad which was a lot of fun because he used to be a pilot so it reminded him of flying. Then we went on the Hollywood Tower of Terror. It was so fun! I love the picture that was taken when we reached the top because of Jonathan's moms face. It truly is priceless, but she forbids me from posting it. (It's so good that I really want it to be my Christmas card this year.) We also went on California Screaming and Jonathan loved it! Before the park closed, Jonathan and went on the Tower of Terror one more time. Then we headed back to the hotel. It was a crazy fast day, but so much fun!

            Waiting for Dumbo             Yep, I'm laughing at Jonathan

            Spinning on the Teacups         I love Thomas's face!

Surprise!!!

The next day we packed up the cars and headed to the beach. This was Mercedes first time seeing the ocean and the first time Jonathan and I have been to ocean since we were married. I love the ocean so much. Being back on the beach reminded me of why I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was 11. I am so happy there that I could live there. I hope that one day Jonathan and I live close to the ocean so I can share my love of the ocean with our kids just like my mom has with me. Jonathan and I ran down the beach scaring the sea gulls and then I started picking up shells. It didn't take long to notice that all the good shells were actually in the water, so I waded into the cold water in search of some good shells. I found a whole bunch of shells including a whole sand dollar! Jonathan bought a Frisbee at Disneyland so we could play on the beach. Most of the time we ended up chasing it because the wind blew it of course, but it was so much fun to play with. After about an hour, we had to leave the beach and head back home.

All of my shells from the beach.

A beautiful sunset in the middle of nowhere.

This was such a great trip with lots of fun memories. I am so grateful that we were able to join in on the fun and that Taylor is on the road to recovery and Adam is done with chemo. Last year was a crazy year and hopefully this year will be a healthy year.

Lyla Girl

I love my adorable niece Lyla. She is so sweet and cuddly and I just can't get enough of her. Lyla is my parent's first granddaughter and sixth grandchild. Yeah, we've been wanting a little girl in this family, especially because my mom was convinced all of her grandsons were going to be granddaughters. So, it feels like we've been waiting for little Lyla for ever! Ok just eight long years. (Side note: I love and adore all 5 of my crazy nephews and can't even imagine what life was like before they joined our family.) Lyla had her own private photo shoot just a few days before Christmas with one of her mom's friends. (Here's a link to her website and blog. She's really talented!) So I am going to show you some adorable pictures of this little girl!

I really think that this is my favorite. It's just too sweet!

Such cute little toes.

Lyla looks so much like her brother Tyler in this picture.

I love that little smile!

I love Lyla's blue blue eyes.

I just love being an Aunt. It really is one of the best and easiest jobs in the world! I can't help but love all of my nieces and nephews. They are all so unique, funny, and lovable. And in a few short weeks, I'll have another niece to brag about! Little Clara is due to join the family on the 24th!

Some of My Projects Lately

This year for Christmas, Jonathan's mom said that we should give each other homemade gifts. Which is PERFECT because I love doing projects and trying out new things. Here are some of the things I got to make for Jonathan's family members.

Christina's Clutch:

Not a new project, but it was good to do again.

Adam's Sign: 

All I used was puff paint to trace out the letters. 

And here's the final product!

Hannah's Jane Eyre Necklace: 

This was my first time making a piece of jewelry.

Printables for Jonathan, his mom, and Lyla:

I love making these! It's so fun and easy!!!

 My Mom's Bottle Light:

This was so great to make! My favorite part
was drilling the hole into the bottle.

Some People I Love

I was going through some pictures on my phone and I decided to share some of them.

Lots of fun with my nieces (I finally have nieces!!!) and nephews!

Lots of fun with Jonathan over the past year.

Mercedes loves walking around in my gold
flats. She has excellent taste!