Poppa Days and Uncle John's Visit

Hello Everyone,

We have had a busy spring up here in Helena, with Mandy being busy at work and getting more pregnant all the time, Jamie busy with consulting contracts and getting the last out of the ski season and both of us trying hard to find a bigger house to move to and getting the old one ready to sell. 1,000 square feet is getting a bit small for three (and a half) of us!

 

Nelson has also been really busy this spring with learning how to ride his balance bike,  and tricycle (Thanks Rebecca & Jonathan!) and his Uncle John came for a visit and he got to go to his first rugby match. He has had a rugby ball almost since birth, so it was nice to see him get to see a game or two as both his uncle and daddy have played their share of rugby. But mostly he played in the playground at the park where the tournament was. We have also been prepping him for the arrival of his new little brother in July or August, which we are very happy about and feel grateful for. He was a bit confused at first why daddy did not have a little brother in his belly too, but he will figure it out over time. He will certainly have to learn all about sharing.........

 

Here are a few recent pictures.

Making Cookies

Dad may like rugby, but he also has had to work in kitchens for years to provide for his (former) ski bum lifestyle. So this week Nelson and I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies from scratch while Mommy went to Missoula to visit friends for the day. Nelson always likes being a helper, and Nelson wanted an apron like dad's, so Mom made one from one of dad's tee shirts. Nelson has never had a cookie at home, and he actually thinks a "cookie" is a wheat thin?!? ;) So boy he was in for a treat.

Measuring the Dry Stuff

Nelson Adds Vanilla

Well to make a long story short, when we got done making the cookies we realized the oven was broken! So we saved all the cookie dough and Nelson never got to have a cookie on that Sunday. That did not seem to bother him much and we both had a great time on a snowy spring day while being stuck inside.

Hmmmmm.

All Done With The Dough

Finally - a few days later the oven was fixed so Nelson got to have his cookie.....



I don't know about that thing.



Cookie, and I made it!

Nelson nibbled it a bit, but he did
 not eat much of his cookie.







 

 

 

 

Uncle Johns Visit

Uncle John came up from Jackson Hole for the last weekend in April to visit. We went out for some food, drank some red wine and went to the Montana Cup rugby tournament to watch a few matches. Nelson played hard with Dad all day on Friday when he stayed home with him as it was sunny and 75 degrees. Then he played all weekend with Uncle John. He actually slept until almost 7:30 on Monday morning....

 

Nelson Loved John's "thera-cane"

Uncle John pulling Nelson around the
 Living Room, much to Nelson's delight.



Story time with Uncle John

 

So Many Hats....

Nelson loves hats and has always loved them. He especially loves Daddy's work hard hat lately, so here are a few shots of him wearing it. So many hats, so little time...Today engineer, tomorrow pirate, the next day fireman......

Official Elmo Engineer.

 

Has to Wear Dad's Hat.

Thats about it for this time, thanks again for all the support. Life is good.

Busy Toddler

Wow time flies!  Especially when you have a very active toddler that is learning new things every day.  Nelson counts, knows his ABCs, sings songs, and tells us all sorts of stories about his friends at daycare.  He also likes running around, pushing trucks, and in his words, "making noise." :)

Reading about trucks with Mommy

A cool new car to drive around - thank you Fran!

Vroom, vroom

 

Hamming it up for the camera

Can't wait to go play "bak-set ball"

He didn't want Daddy to go down with him, but still wanted him to catch at the end

Very excited about finding eggs, and the colored goldfish in them, that the Easter bunny left

 

He looks so much like his Daddy when he was young in these pictures!

 

Just got a new haircut.  He did not enjoy it, but looks handsome!

Snuggling with Daddy

 

Christmas and New Year

Wow time flies!  Nelson is 18 months and had a great holiday season.  He didn't really know what to think at first, but ended up enjoying himself.  He really liked seeing all the lights (and naming the colors he saw), but he mostly loved getting to see all sorts of friends and family.  We spent Christmas in Helena, and then went to Jackson, WY for New Years.

Was not a fan of Santa this year

 

He could tolerate Santa as long as Mom and Dad were close

 

He preferred dressing as Santa himself...
 

The Christmas train was SOOO cool!

 

Daddy got me my first bike!  A cool red balance bike!

 

Nothing beats a new box of crayons though...

 

Well, except for maybe a new sandbox - thanks Grandma!

  

Our friends Jason & Anna came to Jackson with their daughter Sierra

 

This about sums up how Nelson felt about sharing his toys and attention with a younger girl - not a huge fan!

 

Nelson checking out how it would look to be a brewmaster one day

 

Out to dinner with Creed

 

Daniel came to visit too!

 

Still have a little while before you're able to borrow Daddy's boots!

 

Poppa Days II and Fall Holidays

Poppa Days II

Jamie left his engineering consulting position this fall to spend some time with Nelson and find a new gig. So he has been home with Nelson 3 to 4 days per week since the fall. Poppa days have changed a bit since last post as Nelson is talking and communicating lots these days. He knows most of his colors, likes to count and to go outside almost anytime. Here's some of the things we've been up to at home and with Momma and in Helena.

First Nelson usually gets up with Mom and Dad about 6:30 or so. One of the things he seems to like about Poppa days is that he gets to stay in his pajamas through breakfast and most of the morning if there are not plans.

We usually take care of recycling chores together, and Nelson loves any sort of big box right now.

He readily climbs up on chairs now, and everything else he can get on. Here he is ready to eat breakfast.

 "Hey Dad, how about fresh blueberries and waffles for breakfast today? - and every day for that matter!"

Hamming it up........

Once breakfast is taken care of, we usually  move on to upstairs or the living room for some antics. Nelson has a thing for hats......and things that are not really hats but can be used as hats. He likes to wear one of his Lego boxes on his head, his winter hats, but especially his Lego box. He will often pull it over his eyes and walk around until he bumps into something and falls over, which makes Dad laugh. All the time he says "hat" over and over.




Here is Nelson wearing his Lego "hat".

The Lego hat and Jamie's bathtub boat hat.
 

Later we'll read something, go to the Kids museum, to the library for story group or to the store.

He still seems to get tired of the camera though.

I sure do enjoy Poppa Days and will be sad to see them go once I get a new job.  I do not take this time for granted. Thanks to my wonderful wife Amanda for making them happen. We could not do it without you - we both love you lots! 

Thanksgiving and other fall pictures.

Nelson has had a crazy holiday season so far, and we haven't even had Christmas or New Year's yet. Here are some pictures from this fall and Thanksgiving. He usually goes to his grandmother's a day or two a week so she can enjoy spending time with him and Jamie can get out for some skiing or other exercise. This is great for the both of them and we appreciate it. He loves to go over because he has a set of toys there and a bit more room to run. Thanks Grandma Martin!
 

 

Grandma got Nelson a little shovel so he could help with shoveling the snow from the driveway. Here he is helping out at Grandma's house.

When Jamie first found out Mandy was pregnant, the first thing he went out and bought was a snow jacket and pants baby sized. He was very excited to have a new partner to play with outside in the winter, like he loves to do. Nelson has not been one to disappoint and he loves going outside in the snow, as long as it is not too cold and windy. He went out with Mom one sunny weekend day and they built a snowman in the yard together. Here are a couple pictures.

 

Nelson was very proud of his snowman.

He wanted to give it a hug when he was done.

Nothing like a good winter swing after a tough afternoon of snowman making!

 

 

Thanksgiving at grandma's and the turkey leg tradition.



Nelson looking sharp in his Osh Kosh's getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

Mandy's family has this tradition where they give a whole turkey leg to the baby of the house for thanksgiving. I think if there are two babies, each gets a leg. This is mostly for entertainment and not for nutrition, and it usually does provide for some good laughs (see last thanksgiving). This year Nelson did not seem very interested in it at all and was way more interested in being on the table and goofing around with his family. Here's how it went this year.


Nelson did not really know what everyone wanted him to do this year. Last year he tore right into the turkey leg, but this year he just kind of looked at us like "what do you want me to do mom?".

 

Goofing it up with his Uncle Jesus'.

Making Grandma Martin laugh.

 

That's about it for us this fall, we have just been getting ready for the holidays and planning for the future. Whatever it brings, we are very thankful for all of the wonderful things in our life, our family, our friends and our life here in Montana. We do not take it for granted and we are thankful for all of you and all that life has given us. Thanksgiving seems like a good time to remember these things and thank all of you. We'll be back after Christmas. Have a wonderful Christmas or Hannukah or Kwanza or whatever you celebrate, and a Happy New Year!

Jamie, Mandy and Nelson.

Halloween & other Fall Pics

We were trying to decide what Nelson got to be for his second Halloween, but he is obsessed with Elmo so it was an obvious choice.  Really, he can spot an Elmo anywhere.  The grocery store folks know this too - they place all the Elmo products right at grocery cart/children's eye level...  Anyway, he wasn't sure about being Elmo himself at first, but then got used to it and had some fun. 

We had a nice warm, late fall.  But by now it has snowed.  And boy, the first real snow was a big one too.  We took Nelson out for a sled ride on the cross country track at the golf course - thanks for the sled Mindy!  Nelson continues to say more every day and is as active as ever.  He's quite the little character.

Elmo who?

Happy Halloween!

Nelson had "School Picures" at day care, so he got dressed up for the day.

First snow dump - 14.5 inches!

All bundled up for a sled ride

Thanks for the ride Daddy!

Hey, this snow stuff isn't so bad!

My Uncle Denny came to visit and while we didn't get a pic of him, he did get one of Nelson and I together.  Thanks for sharing Denny!