Baby Nelson #3, 26 weeks

This is the first time I am posting about my 3rd pregnancy! Oh boy.. time gets away from me these days. Now, it certainly doesn't mean we are any less excited about this pregnancy than the other two! We are just a lot busier (major understatement). 

On July 5th we found out we were expecting. It was a little bit unexpected. And after telling Rustin and getting over the initial shock that a sweet baby was on its way - we decided it was all a part of God's plan. We were certainly planning on having a third child but we hadn't quite decided when were we were going to be ready for that. Well I am certain God's timing is much more perfect than ours could ever be because ready or not - HE is on his way! On October 15th we were also surprised to find out that our little one is a BOY! I thought I had all of the classic signs of a girl pregnancy. I felt terrible during the first trimester, the baby was stealing my beauty, I was extremely fatigued for the first few months, craving citrus and sweets etc - It had to be a girl! But he's not! Afterall I have had both a boy and a girl previously so I should know these things by now? I have decided you never call tell until you see for yourself. Surprises certainly seem to be a theme so far. I can't wait to see what other surprises he will bring along the way. 

We were so blessed to learn that he is healthy. I have had no complaints thus far in this pregnancy. I cannot believe how lucky we are. I just keep thanking God, honestly. I have slight swelling in my calves and ankles but otherwise that is it at this point. I am still chasing the kids around without issues. Although I will admit it is getting harder to get up off of the floor than it used to be. :) 

Emmett and Hattie are very excited to meet their baby brother on or around March 13th! Yes, he does happen to be due on Friday the 13th. We have been busy preparing our guest room for his temporary residence along with celebrating Thanksgiving and now preparing for Christmas. We plan for him to be in the guest room until he's around the age of two and then the boys will be sharing a room once we can transition him with (hopefully) minimal problems. 

We have also officially decided on a  name. I'll tell you - naming boys is not easy. However, there is a name that had been speaking to me since before I was pregnant with him. I did really struggle with it for many weeks. I just adore it and I already can't imagine him being anything else other than:

Felix Dillon Nelson

Baby boy - we are so looking forward to your safe arrival in March so we can admire, hold and adore you. You are going to be one of a kind, so very loved, and ours! 

Emmett Turns 3

Emmett Robert turned 3 on May 16, 2014. He had a good day at Dragon Tots and brought Mike Wazowski hats and chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting for his birthday celebration there. Of course he was the one that refused to wear the a hat! He can be a little a little arnery, but mostly I think he is unsure about all the attention he receives on a special day like his birthday. We practiced the night before. I would say "Happy Birthday, Emmett" and he was supposed to smile and say "Thank you!" After 2 times he said - "Mommy, not until tomorrow!"

We had a low-key birthday party with our families on Saturday. We went to the mall and played, then had pizza and cake at home. Here are a few pictures from the day...

Update...Hattie Jeanne

Hello blog.

There are many updates to be shared but I will start with my precious little Hattie Jeanne. Hattie turned 16 months on May 30th 2014. This time with her has really flown by. She is a joy at this age but she's really starting to test her limits. She's always looking for some attention and a reaction from Mom & Dad. Her newest trick is climbing onto the couch or chair and then she jumps up and down and looks at us for our reaction. There were a few times I didn't notice she climbed up so she yelled for my reaction. I'm guessing Daddy or I might have laughed/smiled the first few times we saw her do it.. and now we're in real trouble and trying to correct ourselves to let her know that is not ok!

She now walks up and down the stairs. She has the potential to do it on her own but so far we are always right there making sure she has a hand to hold. 

Hattie's vocabulary is expanding by the minute. She likes to greet us with "Hi Daddy" and "Hi Mommy" and then smiles. :) Some new words that come to mind are pizza, George (Curious George), Open (sounds like apple), thank you, ME!!, etc. She started saying "Hattie" at 15 months but has been saying Emmett for many months now.

She has started to sing. Her debut song was "Let it Go" from the movie Frozen. It's no wonder this is the first song she's sang since it is so popular. Emmett's first song was "Twinkle Twinkle" and we probably didn't even let him watch TV at her age.. 

She has a new affectionate nickname for her binky - it's her "Di-di". She's becoming quite attached to her precious di-di too.. She has started to ask for it at very inconvenient times like in the middle of supper. We are trying to wean her from it and only allowing it at nap and night time for now.

Hattie is into playing with puzzles and bubbles. She really likes her new swing set and points to her swings and says "Whee!" She also goes down the slide and likes to climb back up. 

Her hair is finally long enough to be put into a pony tail (with a portion of it) or piggy tails. It is styled in a bit of a mullett right now but I plan to change that once her sides and front grow out a little more so she won't look like a boy when we do cut it. She already seems to like bows and bracelets etc. 

At her 15 month appointment she weighed in at 24 pounds even and was 33 inches. She is still at the top of the charts for height.

Her stranger anxiety continues as well. It is considerably better than before. However, places like doctor's offices or portrait studios are places she would rather not be. Especially if someone she doesn't know might try to talk to her or touch her. Oh Hattie.. :)

She and Emmett really don't get along all that great. They have good moments. And bad moments. But they are always keeping tabs on each other. If Emmett isn't sitting in his chair for a snack or meal with her she points to his chair and says "Emmett?" When Emmett woke up in the middle of the night last night (very rare and he actually stayed home sick with an upset stomach today) he said - "Is Hattie awake?" Obviously not, it's the middle of the night! But, they are always thinking about each other. Two peas in a pod. Two peas in a pod who sometimes hit or push the other pea. But they always say "Sorry". :)

Caught!

I'm a little behind here so these pictures were taken March 1st. This little girl is everywhere. Climbing, running, you name it! She'd like to be able to climb up on the couch or the bed but isn't quite there yet. She stands up on stools and is impressively learning to listen to Mom & Dad when they say no standing on chairs or beds.

 She is a sweet little stinker. We have been busy loving on her and her brother!

Hattie Turns 1!

I can hardly believe that our baby girl is a 1 year old. She is a toddler. She is a wild, loving, and sweet little girl. :) We have enjoyed celebrating her birthday with her which that and our busy life have kept me from posting this most important update.

• Hattie has all eight incisor teeth - four on the top and four on the bottom. I also noticed just today that her top molars are starting to come through. 
• Her favorite food is cottage cheese these days she eats it by the handfuls.
• She says "Ma-ma" all the time and tells us when she is ready to go "Ni-night".
• Hattie is starting to say a lot of new words including book, Elmo (Melmo), quack quack, ball, basketball (b-ball), yeah, yay, etc.
• When we ask if she wants to go to the basement she walks over and starts tapping on the door to go downstairs.
• Walking is definitely her made mode of transportation at this time and has been for several weeks.
• We were attempting to get her 1 year pictures taken about two weeks ago and the poor girl hit her head on the window sill. She went to put her hand on it, missed it and fell forward into the edge and hit between her eyes. Mommy might have panicked slightly. We went to the doctor, she got some glue on a cut on the outside corner of her eye, and was deemed to be ok. :)
• Hattie likes to cuddle and be held by her Mom and Dad.
• She is still a little anxious around people she is unfamiliar with.
• Hattie is enjoying books a lot more these days and wants to read them with us all the time now. Her attention span has greatly improved. 

Remember what the second year was like with Emmett makes me look forward to everything we are going to experience with Hattie over this next year. She is going to learn so much. It will be so fun to see. She is my sweet little Mama's girl and we are enjoying her so much at one year old.

Our Little Walker

Hattie is 11 Months!

• We have a little walker on our hands! Hattie started walking in about the middle of December at 10 1/2 months. While it still isn't her preferred mode of transportation, she is getting there. She stands alone for long periods of time in the middle of the room, has been cruising for quite some time and will take possibly up to 7 steps between us or starting from standing in the middle of the room. If I just would keep walking away from her she might go longer, but she knows I am going to catch her so she just collapses! It's adorable. :)
• Hattie celebrated her first Christmas recently. She truly handled traveling really well. What I am most thankful for is that she has remained very healthy. She doesn't sleep very well away from home, but what 11 month old does?
• She has two new teeth. On December 4th her bottom right lateral incisor finally came through to even things out on the bottom (she had 3 teeth for about a month, they usually come in pairs!). Then on December 14th I noticed another tooth! It is the upper right lateral incisor. Odd! The first time I saw it she happened to be eating some cottage cheese (favorite food!) at her great grandma's 95th birthday party and I thought that could not possibly be a new tooth... However, on our way to Grandma Nelson's house afterwards I was glancing through some pictures and noticed it again on a picture from the night before where she had a huge smile. So, I'm not sure exactly when it came in but it was there by December 13th. That explains her increased night-waking! The other 3 are close, but nothing yet. Rustin has started to call it her "snaggle-tooth" as it grows in more and more. In an affectionate manner, of course!
• Her vocabulary is increasing and she now says "Go!" when Rustin encourages her to say "Go Hawks!". Of course that would be one of her first words... She is also increasingly vocal about letting us know what she wants. When she sees the cottage cheese container she then grunts and points until we give some to her. Crazy girl. She knows what she wants. :)
• Hattie is also able to communicate what she needs better through her actions recently. She will grab her sleep sack when ready for "ni-night" or cuddle down on the ground like she is going to bed. She also stands up by her height chair and taps on it when she is ready to eat.
• Some of her new tricks are blowing kisses. She puts the back of her hand in her mouth and says "mwah!". She tends to do this when we tell her to say ni-night to Emmett or Daddy etc. Hattie also enjoys saying cheers with her sippy cup at dinner. She smiles and laughs and holds her glass up to us. Sweet girl.
• Hattie has started to be a little bit rebellious. I have found that if Mommy tells her No to something - such as when she heads to climb up the stairs from the basement on her own, she obeys. However, Daddy tells her No and smiles and laughs and then she does not obey him. Unfortunately I think he's taught her it's ok to stand up on Emmett's little brown rocker because of that! It's not ok little girl. :) She will learn in due time.. She has him wrapped around her little finger already...

This stage is the best I must say. She is learning so much and is sweet and snuggly. Her separation anxiety has gotten better within the last month so that is a little bit of a relief. We are really enjoying this stage. She is easy to take care of and showing so much personality.