Monday, July 8, 2013

Happy 2nd Birthday Nelson!

Wow!  Can't believe Nelson is already two!  We are very proud of what a sweet, smart and sunny boy he is becoming.  He's learning new things every day and surprising us with how much he knows.  Time really does fly by.  For his second birthday, Mommy took the day off to spend with him.  We had lunch with Daddy, got to go to the kids museum, and even had a little party that evening.  Nelson got quite the kick out of saying "Happy Birthday Nelson" every time he opened a present.  And while he didn't cry at seeing his cake this year (like he did on his 1st birthday), he only wanted to eat the berries on it.

A little help from Daddy

Check out my new car and truck!

A gift from Grandma & Grandpa combining two of his favorites: bubbles and pushing things around!

"I mow the lawn, I help Daddy"

Oooh!  More trains!!!

A very happy birthday boy

Grandma made him a special Elmo "cake".  He doesn't like cake, so this one was made with ice cream and berries.

The hot weather made Elmo melt a little bit...

But he still loved it!
 
A pre-birthday, pre-haircut photo too cute not to include :)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Clark Family Reunion 2013

We just took a trip to visit Grandmom and Pop Pop and the rest of the Clark Family at the reunion in West Virginia.  Nelson had a blast.  He got to ride on an airplane, play at his grandparents house, meet many of the Clarks and Davises, go to a zoo, check out a bounce house, and much more.  It was really fun for us to see everyone, as it has been quite a while since we've seen most of the Clark extended family.  We also heard from many that have been following this blog - it's great to hear that it's been enjoyed by so many!  Thanks to Bob and Carol for hosting us and helping us in traveling with a toddler.

Dancing with Pop Pop to Reggae

"I've got rhythm!"

Nelson's 1st Bounce House experience

His 2nd cousin Olivia shows him how to get around in the Bounce House
 
Clarks watching a slideshow after dinner.  Nelson got up and made space in the "kids row" for himself shortly after this pic.

Another presentation

Happy Anniversary slideshow for Bob and Carol

Watching the Rainbow Lorikeets in the bird bath at the zoo

Strolling through the zoo

Bedtime stories with Grandmom. 
Nelson's new favorite bedtime story is "Good News Nelson" from Aunt Darlene - thank you!

"Choo Choo Trains!!!"  Thank you Aunt Barbara for surprising Nelson with the train set. 

 Nelson went to bed holding onto a train car he was so excited.

Monday, April 29, 2013

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.


Monday, April 8, 2013

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
 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

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!