Indian Summer?

After painting pottery, we decided to take advantage of the unusually warm January weather and play outside. Here are some pictures of the boys having fun in the warmth.

Rigley's flower

Brighton's flower

Brotherly love

Painting Pottery

We went to a pottery painting place with some friends from Luna Moms Club this morning. I decided that I would let the boys paint however they wanted. We chose plates so that they could eat off of them and enjoy their artwork.

Winter Zoo Day!

The weather took a beautiful turn and it was warm enough to head out to the zoo! Unfortunately, we only had 45 minutes to take in all the animals. I told the boys that we would go as soon as we picked Brighton up from school. Then, I checked the hours - oops! We made it and I think the only animals we didn't go see since they were a bit out of the way were the zebras, warthogs, and the reptile house inhabitants.
We didn't get many pictures because we didn't have time to pose and take them!

We still had some time after the zoo closed before we needed to head home, so we played at the park outside the gates for a while.

A visit to Dr. Dobbs

Rigley has beautifully corrected feet and our family is very thankful for Dr. Dobbs, Kristina, and the staff at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Rigley wears his brace at night for 12-14 hours and we go for a check every 3 months. He loves Dr. Dobbs and Miss Kristina, but is often shy once we get there. Brighton loves the toys in the waiting area and eating in the hospital cafeteria! :)

It was time for another check-up, so we headed out on our one day trip to St. Louis and back. It makes for a long day, but we are so blessed to be close enough to drive to one of the world's top doctors for clubfoot treatment. Rigley's feet look great and we head back in 4 months for our next check and to get new "shoes."

Brighton's Notes

Brighton has really started doing well with his handwriting. It's still mostly all caps, but he's doing such a good job at writing and sounding out his words to spell. He got a notebook for Christmas and likes to write notes to people (things) in it.
He has written ones to Mommy, Daddy, Dog-Dog, and the one below is to the snowman Rigley, Daddy, and Brighton made.

It reads, "To Frostey Brighton and Rigleys snow man we love you and baby loves you to"

Frosty the Snowman

The boys were very excited to head outside with Daddy today and build a snowman. The snow had started to melt, but they found enough to make a good one!

They both really liked helping pack the snow on the snowman.

The finished product - they named him Frosty.

We found enough snow that both Brighton and Rigley could make a snow angel.

First snow of the year

We got our first snow on Monday, but it has been SO cold here, I haven't let the boys go out and play in it. Today, we brought the snow inside to play.

Play time!

Our first Luna Moms Club playgroup of 2011 was at an open gym in a gymnastics center. The boys had a great time running, jumping, and playing with their friends.

My New Year's Resolution

My New Year's resolution for 2011 is to keep up with the personal blog. I'm sure this comes as a surprise to those of you who have seen my blog sit here with Fall 2009 on it for - ev - er. It's a new year and I plan to keep everyone updated on our super-exciting life this way!

So, I have no pictures of 2011 - no one would want to see us. We've all been sick; Brighton is the only one that is back to 100%. I'm hoping the rest of us are there very, very soon.

I know this year will hold many great blessings for our family and I pray that it does for yours as well. Happy New Year from the Nelsons!