The Nelsons

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T17:37:00.000-08:00

Oh, how times change after children! Thanks to Maria staying with the boys, Donovan and I did take a small amount of time by ourselves. We ran errands, but we were together and able to speak without 1,538,354 interruptions. We were home in time for a Valentine's dinner with the boys, though.

We had a heart-shaped pizza and a yummy chocolate dessert with strawberries. Yep, that's how we roll here at the Nelson house.

Here is Brighton making sure he gets every last bit of his dessert.

After dinner, my boys worked on putting together Brighton's new puzzle.

Making Valentines

2011-02-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

We have yet another snow day today, so we decided to take advantage of being inside by making Valentine's cards.

Brrrrr - Playing in the Snow

2011-02-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Daddy came home early today because the boys have really been wanting to jump in the big snow piles outside. I think it took more time to get the boys bundled up so they'd stay warm then they actually played outside; they had fun, though.

Rigley liked making and throwing big snowballs.

Daddy built a snow tunnel. Brighton loved crawling through it!

Rigley went through once and he was done! :)

They tried to make snow angels, but the snow was a bit too hard on top.

Valentine's Tea

2011-02-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Every year at Brighton's preschool, they host a Valentine's Tea for the moms and grandmas. They put on a little program with songs and such and then we have snacks.
There are only 2 boys (including Brighton) in Bright's class and they did not sing the songs or do the motions! They left that to the girls.

Blizzard - Day 2

2011-02-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

To help break up the monotony of being snowed in, we decided to build a fort. We built a fort under the dining room table, complete with blankets, lots of stuffed animals, and a DVD player for movie time.

Blizzard - Day 1

2011-02-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

We were under a blizzard warning and they were right. It snowed and snowed and the wind blew until our windows rattled. That meant Daddy got to join us at home for a snow day!

Daddy collected some clean, fresh snow and we made snow ice cream.
Brighton & Rigley took turns stirring.

They both loved eating it!

Since it was too cold and windy to get outside, the boys built their snowmen inside.

Indian Summer?

2011-01-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-01-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-01-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

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!

It's Fall!

2009-10-10T23:01:00.000-07:00

We went to a small farm near our house today to pick out our pumpkins and fall decorations. The boys each picked out their own and the great thing about Fassnight Farm is that they had many varieties of pumpkins, so they each got a different one.

Pumpkin Festival

2009-10-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the Pumpkin Festival & Chili Supper at Bright's preschool. Due to the rain & cool temperature, it had to be held inside. The boys had fun none the less.
There were 3 bounce houses in the gym. Brighton had fun in those & even got to play with one of his friends from class, Noelle. Noelle (the blonde with her back to the camera) is the little girl that Brighton told me he played with at recess on Thursday. He said, "Me & Noelle were pretending we were going to marry ourselves. Just for pretend." (We need to work on grammar!) I send him to preschool for a month & he's already talking marriage, they really do grow up fast!

There were other activities, such as the hay bale horse...

And the teepee village.

It was meant to be a pic of both boys in front of the teepee, but Rigley crawled away too fast. So here he is crawling through the village.

Hey, I Didn't Order a Cheese Pizza

2009-10-05T16:51:00.001-07:00

Donovan picked up a sausage pizza for dinner tonight with the thought that we would pick the sausage off for the kids. While I was cutting up the boys' food, Brighton decided he would sample the sausage. He proceeded to pick almost every piece of sausage off the pizza!

First Day of School

2009-09-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Today was Brighton's very first day of school! He was SO excited!

Notice him reluctantly giving mommy a hug? He was so ready to get to his classroom and start the day, he did not have time for mommy's hugs and pictures.

His teacher, Mrs. McAtee.

In his classroom with Mrs. McAtee and Noelle.

When I picked him up, I asked him if he missed me and he told me, "No, I was too busy."

Brighton's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-08-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's no surprise to anyone that Bright wanted the Cars theme for his party. However, he has been telling me for months that he wanted a Cozy Cone cake. Translation = he wanted his cake to look like one of the cones from Sally's Cozy Cone Motel in the movie.

Brighton's first two birthday parties were at Mimi's with his family, but he told me that he wanted to have this one in Springfield with his friends.

Mimi came down for the party, too!

Due to his extreme affection of the movie Cars, Bright also really likes anything Route 66. So to go along with the theme, we held his party at the Route 66 Cafe, which is an original diner sitting on the old mother road of Route 66.

Bright had such a good time with his friends playing games.

And, of course, opening presents.

Brighton is Three!!!

2009-08-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

Brighton turned 3 years old today. I can't believe how fast it has gone, he is getting so big. His party is tomorrow, but we let him open some presents today.

There must be cake on your birthday, so I made him a small one to enjoy today.

He wanted to go to Silver Dollar City for his birthday, so we headed south. However, he fell asleep on the way there and wouldn't wake up. So, he spent the first part of the time at the park like this...

He did eventually wake up and get to enjoy it. Mimi even went on a ride with him!

Rigley's 1st Birthday Party

2009-08-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Rigley had his 1st Birthday party at Mimi's house in Bethany so that he could celebrate with family.

The kids waiting for it to be time to eat the cake - especially the polka dots!

Rigley wasn't quite sure what to think of his cake.

He decided he'd try it. Hmmm... not bad!

Going back for another round!

I was quite surprised that he liked it so well! He had no interest in the cake we used for his one year pictures and barely touched the one I made him on his actual birthday at home. His daddy says he didn't like that one because it was organic with no refined sugar!

After practicing at home on his birthday, Rigley is a pro at opening presents! If he got stuck, though, his cousins were there to lend a hand. :)

The boys with Grandpa

Testing out the new Cars cup from Grandma Dixie

My baby is ONE!

2009-07-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

My baby boy turned one year old today! It's amazing how quickly it goes by, it seems like just the other day that the nurses and doctor were making guesses on how much he would weigh! (No one came close, Rigley held his 9 lbs 10 oz well!) We just celebrated at home as his party will be at Mimi's later.

After cake, Rigley opened presents. Daddy & Brighton had to help him at first.

It didn't take long, though, before he got the hang of it!
There were lots of breaks to play with new toys.

This was his reaction when Daddy brought out his big gift...
a kitchen!

Rigley has been through so much his first year of life, but he is doing so well. He cruises along the furniture and will walk while holding your hands (with and without his brace!). Rigley doesn't let his brace slow him down; he is incredibly quick while crawling in it and can even climb into the rocket at the play area with it on!

Rigley is also talking quite well. While he has a number of words that sound alike to the untrained ear, Mommy & Daddy can tell what it is that he is saying!
He can say:
-mama
-dada
-milk (muh)
-book (buh)
-ball (bah)
-brother (duhduh)
-dog (dahdah)
-Shocker (shahshah)
-shoes (shuuz)
-that (dat)

Photo shoot

2009-07-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

I was trying to get a picture of Rigley to use for his birthday party invitations. He apparently wanted to show me how well he could display the whole range of emotions!

Brighton Nelson: Photographer

2009-07-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

Brighton has many skills besides his ability to do kickin' personal training sessions. He has also developed an interest in photography. Here is a sample of his portfolio.

Standing tall

2009-06-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Rigley is pulling up and standing much more now. He does it even with his brace on, but its hard from him to get close enough to pull up on something with it on. He has mastered pulling up without it on!

Brighton Nelson, Personal Trainer

2009-06-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Brighton is quite the trainer! Here he is demonstrating a wonderful circuit including a reverse fly, jumping jacks, planks, and more!

We can't forget the bicep curls!

I guess he really does pay attention during Stroller Strides. He'll be guest instructing for me in no time!

Bad day at the park!

2009-06-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be nice to take the boys to a new park today.

However, it turned out to be a poor choice. It was very hot and sunny and the park didn't have any shade. We decided quickly to go to our usual park, which is shady.

Brighton was not happy with the idea of leaving the new park where we had just arrived.

A Day of Firsts at SDC

2009-06-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

This trip to Silver Dollar City held Brighton's first train ride! Rigley had ridden on the train when he was just itty bitty last summer, but Brighton wouldn't actually ride. He likes trains, but was quite apprehensive of riding it. However, this time Brighton decided he would go. He enjoyed the ride and I think we will be doing it again.

Of course, no visit to SDC is complete without a trip to the ball room and toddler area at Geyser Gulch.

We decided that Rigley is big enough now to play, too! This was Rigley's first time being allowed to get down and play in the balls...

And ride the bouncers in the toddler area

Seeing family

2009-06-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Sadly, my Uncle Gary passed away. So, that meant a trip to Iowa for the funeral. The happy thing about the funeral was getting to see family that we had not seen for a while. My sister, Ramona, flew in from Seattle. It was great to see her as Rigley was just about a month old last time she was back.

After the funeral, we drove back to MO. Here are a few pictures from our lunch in Albany.

The boys with a few of their cousins. Lily is the only Wilson girl there because Abbey & Gracie were at school.

Feeding himself

2009-06-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Rigley has decided that being fed with a spoon by Mommy is for babies! He likes to feed himself now. Here he is eating pancakes for breakfast.

Silver Dollar City

2009-05-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, our summers are filled with trips to Silver Dollar City. So here are some highlights of one of the first trips of summer.

First zoo trip of the year

2009-05-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

We took our first playgroup trip to the zoo. The boys had a great time.

Rigley & Brighton fed the giraffes, with their friend Gracie.

The boys sitting with the tiger.

Some of the moms (the others, including me, were taking pics) and all the kiddos with one of the elephants.

Nine out of eleven of the kids - the other little girl had already left & I was wearing Rigley. Gracie was the only little girl in the midst of all those boys!

Rigley is 10 months!

2009-05-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

Rigley is 10 months old! Here is a little about him at this age:

He is almost 30 inches long and about 22 pounds
He has 6 teeth - two on the bottom and four on the top
He has started talking and can say mama, dada, no-no, maa (milk), baa (ball), baba (bottle), moh (more)
He loves feeding himself finger food and does a pretty good job of it
He adores his big brother and laughs hysterically at him
He has yet to spend a night in his crib

We had an indoor picnic to celebrate his 10 month birthday (and to appease Brighton because we couldn't go to the park due to the weather)

Memorial Day

2009-05-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Bethany with family. However, even though I took my camera, the only pictures I managed to take were at the park.

Rigley had a great time - or maybe not

They're asleep, they're really asleep!!

2009-05-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

This was a BIG day at our house - both boys asleep in their room! Both of them taking a nap at the same time is amazing enough, but this typically only happens when I'm holding one or both of them. So, for them to both be in their bed is incredibly amazing!

This is possibly the longest Rigley has ever slept in his crib. And, yes, by ever I do mean in his whole life. He has yet to be in his crib at night. He napped for about 45 minutes in there today, though!

Playgroup at the park

2009-05-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally cooperating and we are able to get outside and in the parks for our Luna Moms Club playgroup.

Brighton & Gracie on the slide
Preston and Brighton digging in the mulch

Rigley hanging out with, or rather, on mommy.

Playing together

2009-05-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

Rigley is getting old enough now that he & Brighton have started playing together. It is so sweet and makes their mommy very happy!
Please overlook that they aren't wearing pants! It was just after naptime and they had not gotten dressed again.

Almost potty training

2009-04-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

We've been talking about potty training and Brighton typically tells us, "No, not yet." However, he decided that he wanted to try wearing his big boy underwear (a.k.a. training pants). It did not go well. We might wait a while longer before he wears these again!

Caught in the act!

2009-04-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

Rigley turned 9 m0nths old today, but apparently is not yet ready to be left alone with a box of wipes!

He doesn't like being told no!

Evangel Softball

2009-04-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the boys & I didn't make it to many games this season - either the weather was too cold or raining or the boys were napping. We made it today to see two Evangel wins over Benedictine, though.

Playing on the field after the games

Rigley & Coach Breaux

Fun at Daddy's Office

2009-04-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Evangel plants tons of tulips around campus in the Spring. Here are the boys in front of Daddy's office.

Brighton & Rigley have lots of fun in Daddy's office.

Rigley is crawling!!

2009-04-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Rigley started crawling! I'm excited, but also a bit nervous as this means much more work for me! His first time crawling was with his brace on and he had no problems at all!

Table Manners

2009-04-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Rigley definitely won't be winning an award for table manners anytime soon. That's okay, though, because when he smacks his lips it's just so cute!

Rigley feeding himself

2009-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

My baby is growing up! Rigley is starting to feed himself. Here he is eating some banana Happy Baby puffs.
(Don't mind my phone conversation with the telemarketer! Turn the volume down & just watch how cute Rigley is eating & clapping for himself!)

Resurrection Sunday

2009-04-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

We went to services with the family at Lone Star Baptist, where my brother C.F. and his wife Nicole pastor.

Abbey coming out of children's church at the end of service.

Brighton still playing with playdough after church was over.

Brighton & Beau looking good!

Lucy showing off her pretty dress.

Rigley's first Easter & you can't see his cute vest & tie because of the bunny bib!

Brighton & Brandon sporting their TCP sweaters.

Our family at Mimi's house

The Great Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mimi always hosts a LARGE Easter egg hunt at her house. This year was so much fun because Brighton was able to hunt on his own. Rigley did not participate because it was a bit chilly and well, let's face it, I don't think he was very interested!
Everyone else was lining up for the beginning of the hunt. However, Brighton had already started after spotting some eggs on the porch.

Look how full his basket is and he hasn't even been out in the yard yet!

Emptying the eggs and discovering all the goodies inside Mimi's garage.

The hunt was hard work, so Daddy rewarded Brighton with a cake pop. They were really cute little chicks & bunnies made out of chocolate cake & iced.

Coloring eggs

2009-04-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

This was Brighton's first year to color Easter eggs. He got a bit bored and I had to finish, but I think he enjoyed the 3-4 minutes he actually sit at the table and helped!

Brighton & the finished product

Rigley & the exersaucer

2009-04-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Rigley got to try out the exersaucer for the first time while at Mimi's house. Just two days before we went to Mimi's house, we went to see Dr. Dobbs and Rigley got his brace time reduced from 23 hours to 18 hours per day. So, he can finally get into an exersaucer. He enjoyed the one at Mimi's, let's hope he likes the one waiting for him at home.

Feeding himself

2009-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Rigley has finally started pulling his own a bit around here! ;) He can feed himself now. He absolutely loves using the fresh food feeder - especially when there is melon in it.

Yummy, black beans!

2009-03-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

Rigley & Brighton love black beans.

Computer Time

2009-03-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Brighton loves playing on the computer and has gotten quite good at figuring out how to navigate the web. In fact, I now have to close the computer when I leave the room or he will immediately get on the computer and go to what he wants to. He likes looking at blogs and playing games. The other day, he went into my gmail and pulled up the pictures from the blog on Picasa - I didn't even know you could do that! Brighton is also getting quite adept at Facebook. I have found him going to friend's photo albums to peruse their pics.

So, if you get any random messages from me, rest assured they are probably sent by Brighton. While he is great at surfing, he still can't spell so his emails/IM's are confusing! :)

Rigley likes playing on the computer, too, though he's not quite as proficient as Brighton yet! I'm sure it won't take long for him to catch up. Rigley enjoys the infant games on Fisher-Price.

First lollipop

2009-03-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Chuck E Cheese for playgroup today and Brighton picked a lollipop as one of his prizes when he traded in his tickets. It was one of the mini Tootsie Pops and he didn't even finish it - he's such a good boy!

My little bunny!

2009-03-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Brighton got some bunny ears in his Kidgits Club prize pack at the mall. He likes to put the ears on and hop around the house.

Got to make the pretzels

2009-03-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

I know it is really supposed to be "Got to make the donuts," but if you know Brighton you would know that pretzels interest him MUCH more than donuts. He loves the pretzel sticks from Auntie Anne's at the mall. I agree that they are tasty, however, he asks for them most days after Stroller Strides and since we're there 3 days a week - that can start to get expensive! The frozen SuperPretzels are much cheaper, but just nasty, really. So, my solution... make them ourselves. I got an Auntie Anne recipe from copykat.com and we begin the baking. I'm not sure we'll do it again - they were just ok and pretzel making takes a loooonnnngggg time!

Brighton is a wonderful pretzel maker, though!

Picky eater

2009-03-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Rigley is a bit of a finicky eater as of late. We started him on cereal at just a little under 6 months and then started with "real" food at 6 months. His first non-cereal food was avocado, which he still loves. We introduce a new food every 4-5 days. He still likes sweet potatoes. However, he no longer will eat acorn squash - which he ate very well the first couple of times we gave it to him. He did not like peas, so I thought it was the texture. I typically use the blender and make a big batch of food for him and then freeze it in cubes for future use. Well, with peas it is difficult to get them smooth in a blender, the hulls don't puree well. So, I got a food mill to see if that would help - it didn't. He still won't eat peas, even when they've went through food mill.
He got his first real fruit a few days ago, a mashed banana. (I know, I know - avocado is technically a fruit, but I mean sweet fruits)

Anyway, today we tried zucchini. Here is his reaction:

Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Two boys in a tub

2009-03-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

Brighton & Rigley took their first bath together tonight. They had so much fun playing together.

Such a good big brother!

2009-03-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

Brighton wanted to help feed Rigley at dinner. He did a wonderful job and Rigley didn't seem to mind who was holding the spoon as long as food was being shoveled into his mouth!

Fancy New Move

2009-03-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Brighton has got a "fancy new move," his term. He's very good at it, too! The best part is that Rigley loves watching him do it. He just laughs and laughs.

Trading Places

2009-03-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

Brighton thought he needed to sit in the highchair for lunch today and that Rigley should sit in the booster.

Spring Break - AZ - Day 5

2009-03-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

We flew out in the afternoon, so we did not have much time on our last day to do anything.

Brighton enjoyed breakfast with the men (Papa Don and Mr. Gene)

Brighton had helped pick a pomelo from one of Mimi & Papa's trees. Pomelos are the largest of the grapefruit family, as you can see in the picture.

Here we are in the courtyard at the Mesa airport beside some saguaros. On a side note, I love the Mesa airport - it is small & great when traveling with kids. Allegiant is the only commercial airline that flies in there and there are only four gates! We will definitely fly into there again, its so much easier than SkyHarbor.

The boys did great on the flight. This time Brighton slept almost the entire flight and Rigley only slept off & on. However, he was very pleasant when he was awake. In fact, you could tell that Rigley had finally started feeling better by the flight home.

Spring Break - AZ - Day 4

2009-03-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Thursday was another day at Mimi & Papa's house. We have taken a few walks around their neighborhood, however, to add some excitement to the vacation!
Mimi had gotten some bubbles, so we did at least take advantage of the lovely weather and played outside.

Spring Break - AZ - Day 3

2009-03-04T23:47:00.000-08:00

Given that we had a sick, cranky baby - we scrapped any plans to go do anything. It's a good thing Brighton is only 2 because he had a great time at "Mimi's Arizona house," as he calls it. We had taken his cars with us and he had fun playing with them out in the Arizona room - as much as he was out there playing with them, you would have thought I would have gotten a picture of it. I did not, however. One of Brighton's favorite parts of the trips was having breakfast in bed with Mimi. Mimi & Papa have a king-sized bed and a TV in their bedroom. So, Mimi made him bacon & eggs and spread a blanket out on the bed and let him eat breakfast there while watching cartoons and playing with his cars. He must have mentioned it about 50 times and he would laugh and say, "That's so silly!" As you can tell, we have never let him eat in bed at our house!

That evening Rigley started really using his little stomach muscles to breathe - which is the retraction that the Urgent Care told us to be on the lookout for and to get to an E/R if we saw him doing that. So, a little before 9pm we headed to Banner Children's Hospital's emergency room. Apparently by the time we arrived it was "rush hour" at the E/R because we waited FOREVER. The waiting room was very full. We finally got called back and the staff was very nice. The doctor we saw had actually worked at Children's Hospital in St. Louis for quite a while - that's where we take Rigley for clubfoot treatment. Anyway, they did the actual RSV test to confirm that is what he had. They also found that he had a double ear infection - that could explain the waking up screaming every hour or so. I felt so bad, but they didn't catch it or even mention that his ears were looking bad at the Urgent Care, so I never suspected it.

Here is Rigley with Daddy in the E/R waiting - which we did alot of that night.

We thought Rigley needed a souvenier of his trip to AZ and what better than a chest x-ray?!?
They discharged us about 1am with prescriptions and a list of 24 hour pharmacies. We dropped off the prescriptions and he told us to come back in about 20 minutes. What are you going to do at 1am for 20 minutes? Go to an all-night taco stand, of course!

We went to Filiberto's Mexican Food and trust me, they had a good photographer to take the above pic for their website. In real life, it looks like an old In-n-Out Burger that is run down. However, it has some yummy food! Donovan got a Spanish Omelet and I think it was the best omelet I have ever tasted! We drove back to the Walgreen's and sit in the parking lot and ate until it was time to pick up Rigley's prescription, then got back to Mimi's house about 2am. What a vacation! ;)

Spring Break - AZ - Day 2

2009-03-03T23:32:00.000-08:00

Donovan & Brighton went to the Cubs game on Tuesday. We had gotten tickets on the lawn because we thought that would be much easier on Bright to not be confined to a little seat. It was a beautiful day at HoHoKam Park.

The game fell into nap time, though.
Brighton was not happy about getting his picture taken, but here is Donovan & Bright with Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers.

Here they are with Hall of Famer Ferguson "Fergie" Jenkins.
They didn't make it through the whole game as Brighton was worn out. He took a nap in the car and was much happier when they got back to Mom & Don's house. Brighton went out to pick some oranges after the game - Daddy had to help with the ones higher up in the tree.

We didn't get pics of Rigley's exciting day. After speaking with a nurse from his pediatrician's office, we headed out to a walk-in clinic at Walgreen's. This was after spending a considerable amount of time on the phone & online finding somewhere in AZ that was on our insurance and we could get into. We get there only to find out they don't see patients under 18 months old. This applies to the clinics at CVS's, too, in case any of you need to know that. So, we regrouped and headed to Urgent Care. We were sent home and told to use the nebulizer we had brought with us for Brighton on Rigley, too, and to keep an eye out for retraction - using his stomach muscles to breathe is an indication he's having a very hard time breathing.

Spring Break - AZ - Day 1

2009-03-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

We flew to Mesa for Spring Break on Monday, March 2. Apparently the camera was set wrong because all of the pics have the wrong date on them!

This was Brighton & Rigley's first time in an airport. We flew out of Springfield, which is a nice, little airport. It is wonderful when traveling with kids b/c it is so small, there aren't big lines or much ground to cover between check-in, security, and the gates.

Here is Brighton exploring the airport.

Rigley had not napped ALL DAY until we got to the airport - did I mention that our flight didn't leave until 8pm? He was quite fussy the whole day until he finally drifted off for a short nap.
Here are the boys on the plane. It was their first flight; we even got them a pair of wings and a commemorative certificate that the pilot signed.
Brighton was allowed his bin-bin on the flight so he could suck on it during take-off and landing to help his ears adjust.

Brighton & Rigley did really well on the flight. Even though he hadn't napped that day, either, Brighton didn't sleep at all on the flight. He watched Cars on the portable DVD player and colored.
Rigley slept pretty much the entire flight. During his nap, though, I noticed that he was feeling warm. Sure enough, once we landed and I could check, he had a fever. Brighton had been diagnosed with RSV-induced bronchiolitis last week, but was doing better & the pediatrician told us to go ahead and go to AZ because the climate would be good for him.

Seven months old!

2009-02-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

Here is what Rigley is doing at 7 months:

He rolls over very easily in the brace now & will do it anytime he wants.
He is mobile - he can scoot on his fanny and pushes backwards on his hands & knees.
He sits without any support now and uses his abs to go from flat on his back to sitting!
He babbles all the time now and loves to blow raspberries
He has his two bottom teeth
He has gotten a bit picky in his eating, but will always eat avocado, green beans, and sweet potatoes

Moms Night Out - Social Suppers

2009-02-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

I know, I know - you all just check the blog to see pictures of the boys. How dare I put up a pic that doesn't have either of them in it!?!?!

I actually get out of the house once in a while without children - and not just for Wal-Mart runs! Donovan takes daddy-duty for the whole night and I go out with some wonderful moms from Stroller Strides & Luna Moms Club. Funny thing is, they usually go to bed easier when it's just him home than when we're both there. Hmmm.... maybe I should go out every night!

We went to Social Suppers for Moms Night Out. It is one of those meal prep places. It was really fun and I came home with 3 meals ready to be cooked later.

Lucy's party

2009-02-21T22:27:00.000-08:00

We were able to make it up to Bethany for our niece, Lucy's, first birthday. CF & Nicole did a great job decorating the cakes & the room. Bright & Rigley had fun seeing their cousins. I still can't believe that Lucy is 1 already - it goes by so fast!

Rigley is mobile! (kind of)

2009-02-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

Rigley figured out how to scoot backwards today! He did it much better than the video portrays. However, when I got the camera, he would barely scoot! I'm sure he'll be crawling in no time - I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet!

Coyotes!

2009-02-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

Brighton got a Diego "seek & find" book for Valentine's Day. He was showing me the animals and telling me all about the sounds the coyotes make.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Donovan had games on Valentine's Day, so we had a lazy Saturday at home.

Brighton told me he wanted to rock himself to sleep for his nap. It worked!

Rigley got sippy cups as one of his Valentine's Day presents. Here he is trying it out for the first time.

Valentine's Day party

2009-02-13T05:49:00.000-08:00

We had a Valentine's Day at playgroup on Friday. I took my camera, but forgot to get it out of the diaper bag! It was a great playgroup with lots of our friends from Luna Moms Club and Stroller Strides.

Since I forgot to take any pics at the party, I took some when we got home. Here are the boys in their Valentine's outfits surrounded by the cards & treats they received.

Here is Brighton dancing to his Valentine's frog - it is hilarious! One of the moms got these singing Valentine's animals for all of the kids, but I don't think she read what songs they played. His frog sings, "From New York to Hollywood, It's ladies night and girl the feeling's right, Oh yes it's ladies night!"

(Sorry, I don't know how to rotate a video!)

Da-Da (sort of)

2009-02-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

Rigley babbles quite a bit now and often says "Da-Da." I think he's just talking and not actually saying DaDa, but it makes Daddy happy just the same!

Oh the things he says!

2009-02-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

Brighton never ceases to amaze me or make me laugh! I can't wait until Rigley is talking to hear them together.

Here are a few things that Brighton has told me over the past few days:

Upon entering the kitchen after hearing something, I find him sitting at the island with a piece of bread and the loaf sitting next to him. I ask what he's doing and he tells me, "I got a piece of bread. I'm getting down now 'cause I thought I should put the other bread back."
He asked for some cereal the other day and I told him we were all out. Brighton says, "We'll go to Wal-Mart and get more. We'll have to go down the cereal aisle 'cause that's where the cereal is."
Rigley had a dr's appointment in St. Louis on Tuesday, as we were driving that morning we passed a Dillon's grocery store on the other side of town. Brighton says, "Look there's a new Dillon's. We don't go to that Dillon's. I think it's new."
Brighton likes telling knock-knock jokes. He has 2 of them that he likes to tell, but has recently started making up his own. Here is one he made up a few days ago, "Knock, knock" (Who's there?) "Window" (Window who?) "Window goes down" and then he laughs hysterically

Here is about the only time you can find him not talking!

Happy Baby

2009-02-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

There's not much to say about this video, other than it's Rigley laughing. Please excuse the Blair Witch-type footage, I was trying to make him laugh, so I was moving about.

Brighton and his letters

2009-01-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

Brighton has been able to recognize his ABC's for quite a long time now. He started with being able to tell you what one was what with his puzzle pieces and he's moved on to being able to recognize most uppercase now when you ask him. We've just started working on lowercase, though. So imagine my surprise when in the middle of lunch he says, "G-E-R-B-E-R." This was the first time he had told me what a string of letters were without me asking about each one. I was even more surprised when I saw where he was reading the letters - from his fork & they were in proper case, so the "e" through "r" were lowercase!

Tiny Snowman

2009-01-29T08:04:00.000-08:00

Brighton wanted to build a snowman, but both of the boys have been a bit congested so I didn't want them out in the cold. So he didn't have to miss out on all the winter fun, I told him we could build a snowman inside. Being two, he still lets me get away with things like that. He had fun, but it could be because he ate more of the candy we used to decorate than what actually made it to the snowman!

Six months old!

2009-01-27T21:12:00.001-08:00

Rigley is 6 months old today. On one hand, I can't believe he is that old already - on the other, it seems like he's always been part of the family.

Here is what Rigley is like at 6 months:

He really enjoys his brother now and laughs at him frequently. He also tries to grab him and has started trying to get his toys.
He rolled over in his casts and has done it in the brace, too. In fact, he spent one day rolling back and forth. However, now he won't do it unless heavily coaxed and even then it's not a guarantee. We've determined he can do it, but he chooses not to.
He hates tummy time, seriously hates it. He will scream the entire time. Brighton did the same thing.
He can hold himself in a sitting position pretty well. He still tips over from time to time, but he can sit by himself for longer periods each day.
He can easily get to sitting from laying down with a slight incline, like the Boppy behind him, and just today made it all the way to sitting from laying flat on the floor.
He babbles - sometimes you can hear "da,da" and in distress you can usually make out, "mmmm-mom"
He is so much bigger than Brighton was at this age; granted he started out much larger as well. He is wearing 12 month clothes already!

Brighton isn't fond of me taking Rigley's picture without him being in the shot, so here are a few with both boys.

Getting big

2009-01-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Brighton is getting so big. He left the room and was gone for a bit and very quiet - which means I must quickly go see what he is doing. He is apparently now tall enough to get his snacks from the pantry. He had gotten the Bunny Grahams, climbed up to the island, opened them, and was snacking when I caught him!

Avian flu?

2009-01-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

Even though it looks like the avian flu has hit our house, no worries. Donovan has a sinus infection/tonsillitis and the doctor sent masks home with him so he wouldn't share his bacteria with the boys. Brighton thought he needed a mask too, so I made him one.

First tooth!

2009-01-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

Rigley has a tooth! His lower right popped through today and I think the left will be coming in soon. Not that you can see it, but here is his first tooth picture!

Building a mountain

2009-01-24T20:45:00.000-08:00

Brighton decided it would be great if he put every toy and blanket and whatever else he could find in a large pile. Every time he would put something else on his mountain, Rigley would just laugh & laugh.

We donated poop...

2009-01-24T06:01:00.001-08:00

well, at least I think that's what happened. The DAV had called & said there was a truck coming. I was excited because I had quite a bit of stuff I hadn't got around to dropping off yet. I got it all ready the night before and set it at the front of the garage so all I had to do was open the garage door and push it out. Well, Rigley was up early and crabby and I totally forgot. When I went out later, there was a tag on the door that said "thank you for donating" at the top, but on down it said, "Sorry we missed you." I just figured they left it so I would know that they stopped, but my stuff wasn't there. Then as I was making dinner it hit me that I had changed a dirty diaper, but it wasn't outside when I went out there.We don't keep poopy diapers inside the house, we tie them in a plastic bag and toss them in the outside bin. Well, during the day when I'm busy with the boys I just open the door & toss the bag towards the bin & then go out later and actually put them in the bin.

I feel horrible, but what can I do? I mean, you could see through the bag - it was a very thin Wal-Mart one, so you should have been able to see it was a diaper. Plus, it was over by the trash bin. Our car was out front, if he would have just rang the bell I could have opened the garage and directed him to the actual donations.

So, I really think that the driver took the bag with the poopy diaper and left me a thanks for donating tax receipt. What's the charitable value of a dirty diaper?

A day in the life

2009-01-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy day - Stroller Strides at 9am, followed by Jumpmania (indoor inflatable play place) for playgroup, a trip through McDonald's (a bribe to get Brighton out of the bounce house since I couldn't crawl in after him while wearing Rigley!), and then home to eat the Happy Meal and try to get a nap.

The boys are getting ready to eat lunch. If you add an applesauce to a Happy Meal, does that make it a balanced meal? ;)

After naps, I decided to do my new Jillian Michaels workout. Brighton thought he would do it, too. He went and grabbed blocks to use as his weights while we were doing a chest fly! When he wasn't exercising with me, he ran circles around me saying, "Go momma! Go momma!"
(I don't know if you can tell or not, but he is wearing his new Stroller Strides shirt. It's really cute - picture of a stroller on the front and on the back it says, "That's how we roll!")

Rigley decided everyone exercising was making him hungry. So, he decided to just chill and have a bottle during the workout.

Smash! Crash!

2009-01-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Brighton loves books and really likes to read aloud. He will take his books and tell me that he's going to read to Rigley. It's adorable, he turns the pages and "reads." He actually just has a bunch of his books memorized, each and every word! Brighton really enjoys the Trucktown books and this is an excerpt of Smash! Crash!

(Don't mind the Thanksgiving jammies! They're just so cute I didn't want to pack them away yet.)

Saying grace

2009-01-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

Brighton had always said "AMEN" when we prayed over his food, but for some reason I hadn't thought of teaching him to say grace on his own. So we taught him the other day and now he says it very well before each meal.

Brighton loves Mexican food - chips & salsa, queso, quesadillas, rice, and beans. However, he had never wanted to try a taco before. I made "tacos" (I put that in quotes b/c I realize that they aren't real tacos - the super yummy fried ones like Nicole makes) for dinner and Brighton decided he would have one.

Multi-tasking

2009-01-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

Brighton is quite the multi-tasker. Santa brought him his own computer, but I recently found an ABC game online that he enjoys, too. I had left him in the floor playing on my computer while I went to grab a bottle for Rigley. When I came back in, he had gotten his computer and was playing an ABC game on it as well.

What happens when a 2 year old won't take a nap?

2009-01-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

He finally crashes...
Yes, that is Brighton asleep on the family room floor. Nap time at our house is, shall we say, interesting. Quite often there are several rounds of getting one to sleep only to have the other wake him up. This happened to be one of those days. About 5 o'clock, Bright went and found his bin-bin and Dog-dog and laid down on the floor.

First food

2009-01-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

Rigley tried his first "real" food, oatmeal. He did really well, I think he has long been ready for this.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

Since getting his casts off, Rigley has been able to sit really well while supported, does pretty well semi-supported, and can stay up for a bit all on his own.

Here he is sitting up - don't mind the drool spot on my pants!

Rigley (and Mommy & Daddy) are SO happy he can take real baths again.
Getting dressed after his bath.

With his brace, Rigley can't use a traditional exersaucer or jumper. So, we found this toy that works well because the tray comes off and we can sit him in it without removing the brace.
Brighton loves his new computer. He is learning so much from it, too! There is a phonics game mode where it shows the letter and gives the sound and you have to type it on the keyboard, he always gets all of them right! He was able to recognize most of his letters before he got this, but now can recognize all of them. He is also learning their sounds so much better. Just the other day he asked for milk and then said, "M is for milk!" (Which is not one of the sayings on his computer, he figured it out by himself!)

New shoes

2008-12-31T22:12:00.000-08:00

Here is a better look at Rigley's shoes and brace. Donovan picked out the flag pattern.

Rigley is done with casts!

2008-12-30T22:01:00.000-08:00

Rigley got his last set of casts off today! Here is Marlon, the cast tech, cutting them off and Daddy keeping little hands out of the way. As thankful as I am that Rigley is out of casts, I'll miss Marlon - he rocks!

Here is the new brace. He'll be in this 23 hours a day for the next 3 months and then we'll gradually decrease his time in the brace until he's just wearing it at naps & sleeping at night. He will sleep in it until he's 4. The brace is to prevent relapse; the serial casting did the correction and the brace keeps his feet corrected.

Christmas with Grandma Dixie

2008-12-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon we went to Grandma Dixie's for lunch. It was so nice to see her & get to spend a little time visiting.

I told you Rigley liked this toy. He fell asleep with it in his mouth on the drive back from Grandma Dixie's.

Christmas with the Skinners

2008-12-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

After hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa Nelson's for a bit, we headed up to Grandma Nora's for Christmas with the Skinner family.

A picture of all the kiddos: Brighton, Bo, Jeffrey, Samantha, Dalton, Rigley, and Zachary
Rigley chillin' with Aunt Dava

Grandpa with his three grandsons: Brighton, Bo, & Rigley

Donovan with his dad, sister Dava, and brother Dalton

Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's

2008-12-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the day to celebrate with Donovan's side. We went to his dad & step-mom's and his sister & her family came down as well.

Grandpa giving Brighton a gift.

Rigley really liked this toy.
Aunt Dava, Uncle Dalton, Grandpa, & Brighton watching Bo open his present.

Christmas at Mimi & Papa's

2008-12-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we had Glynis's family celebration. 3 of the 5 siblings and their families were present.

Lucy loves Rigley and really wants to play with him. She is 5 months older than him, so I'm sure they will be good buds once he gets a little older.

Rigley is the youngest, so he got to open the first present. As you can tell, he was very excited! :)
Brighton was very into opening gifts this year and got way too many from everyone. At least Mimi got him a suitcase to help us haul some of his new toys home!
Gracie's expression was so cute when she opened her Pixos; she was so excited!Everyone getting in on the gift opening.

Opening his first gift wore Rigley out, so this is how he spent the rest of the evening.
I can't believe I didn't get a picture of all the cousins together. This is the closest I came - everyone except Rigley is in this shot (plus Aunt Nicole!).

Rigley's First Christmas

2008-12-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

We had a relaxing Christmas morning at home. Brighton started getting more excited the more awake he became! At not quite 5 months, Rigley was really only concerned with when his next bottle would be.
While it was Rigley's first Christmas, I think Brighton got the better end of the deal! I guess that's just what happens when you've already got everything left over from an older brother.

Brighton got his own computer from Santa. You might remember from an earlier post that he likes to try and get on my laptop so he could (in his words) check his email! Hopefully, this will keep him off my computer.

We sold our big swing because Rigley didn't seem to like it. However, he liked swinging at Mimi's house. So, Santa thought it would be good to get him another swing and give it another try.
Brighton with his ladybug and hippo. Up until just a few days before Christmas, whenever someone would ask what he wanted from Santa, the only thing he would say was a ladybug. We have no idea where that came from!

After presents, we had breakfast - french toast, Brighton's favorite. Then, we got everything packed, grabbed the dog, and headed north to celebrate with family.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve 2009 was Rigley's first and Brighton's third. It was also the first Christmas Eve we stayed at our own house. We decided to make pizza for dinner.

Brighton loves to help in the kitchen. He even decided what cheese he wanted and we made one end just cheese for him. Then, he wouldn't eat any of it once it was done!

The boys got their Christmas jammies on after dinner.
Donovan read about the birth of Jesus and we did the interactive Nativity.
As a compromise of our own families' traditions, we decided that the boys could open one present from mommy & daddy and their presents from each other. Brighton liked helping everyone open their present. Here he is helping Rigley open the present he chose for him.
Here is Brighton opening his gift from Rigley.
Good night kisses

Baking Christmas cookies

2008-12-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

December 20, 2008

Brighton wanted to bake sugar cookies for Christmas. I gave him a choice between that and gingerbread and he chose the cookies we "put sprinkles on." He was a great helper.

Rigley even helped us out.Here is Brighton with the fruits of his labor.

Daddy & Rigley retired to the family room while Brighton & Mommy finished up decorating the cookies.

Mommy's workout buddies

2008-12-23T11:34:00.001-08:00

December 19, 2008

A few weeks ago a reporter from a local magazine came to Stroller Strides to do a story. Well, they came back on Friday to do a photo shoot for it. My boys looked fab in their new gear!
The story should be in the February edition and you can access it online. I'll post a link when it runs.