*Easter Fun*

This year we decided last minute to head to Utah, so on Friday afternoon we took off and went to see our families. It was a lot of fun this year because Brandt was able to help color eggs. I usually let him help me crack eggs when I bake so he thought that he was supposed to crack them when we handed them to him. Needless to say instead of cracking the one he had he smashed it! It was so funny to watch. He just kept hitting it on the counter saying, "crack, crack" 

 Here is dad and Brandt getting ready to color eggs.

 We decided it would be best to take off his shirt so it wouldn't get ruined. He is trying to stir the egg in the color.

 He was loving the blue color. As you can see it's a good thing there was a paper towel under it because he tipped it a couple times.

 Mom and Brandt trying to tackle another egg.

 Little miss Raylee Jo just sitting on the counter enjoying the chaos. She'll be right in the middle of it next year!

 Aunt Randee and Raylee. Finally getting to enjoy some warm weather without the Idaho wind!

 Saturday night Brandt got to play with Kent. They had so much fun! They were using their toys to try and fix the wheels on the cop car. Brandt is clapping because we said "good job!" He loves to clap and say "good job" when he does something good.

 Brandt and Daddy ready for church. We loved this little suit when we saw it and it looked so cute on him!

 I was just snapping pictures of him enjoying being outside and got this one. Looks a little mischievous to me but it was still so cute!

 This one was my favorite! He looks so much like Brock when he was little!

 Here's Brandt just running up and down the sidewalk loving the warm weather. It was almost impossible to get him to stand still for a picture!

Brandt and Raylee trying to get pictures taken. We tried to take them after church. Bad idea. Brandt was tired and it was so sunny they couldn't see. Needless to say our family pictures didn't turn out so wonderful because Brandt was so tired. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter also!

~Random Pics~

It's been a while since I last posted. Not too much has happened. Brandt is growing so fast and getting so big! He just had his 18 month checkup and did a great job! He finally came down from the 90th percentile for his head and is at 86th percentile. He is almost 3 ft. tall so he is in the 90th percentile in height and is in the 60th for weight. The wonderful thing about my kids being 12 months apart is that Raylee was able to have her 6 month checkup the same day at Brandt's. She is already 16 lbs! She is in the 50th percentile for weight, 67th for height, just over 2 ft. tall, and is 94th for her head! Other than that they are great! Brandt is talking up a storm! The doctor was amazed at how much he was talking for his age. Raylee is sitting up with a little support but I'm sure she won't be crawling for a while. Here are some random pics I've taken over the last couple months. 

Here's Brandt and Daddy with their matching Boston Hats. It was Brandt's favorite Christmas present because he could be big like dad. My camera I got has a color selector button that emphasizes certain colors so as you'll see, I've had some fun with it!

Brandt with his hat and tie.

Brandt with one of his favorite snacks. As long as it's chocolate!

Raylee and Brandt after church one day. They were both due for a nap!

Mommy and Brandt reading right before his nap.

LOVE this one!!! They were both so tired but wanting to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Both had to have binky's.

Mom and Raylee after church again. Kids always seem to be super cute for going to church so we can't resist a couple pictures before we change their clothes.

My beautiful blue eyed baby girl!

She is getting so big! They may both have big bald heads but they're super cute!!!

Hope you enjoyed the quick update. I will try to post sooner, I just have to wait til they're both napping which hardly ever happens!!!

~Raylee Jo's Blessing and Random Pics~

Raylee Jo was blessed on October 9th by Brock. It was a really nice day and Brock did a great job! We weren't able to get a family picture but we sure did get some of the kids. :) Raylee's dress and headband were made by Brock's Gramma Haglund, so Raylee's Great-Gramma. It was so beautiful! We had a lot of comments on it. Thank you so much to all of our family that came and supported us. We are very lucky to still live close enough to see everyone!

 Here is Raylee in her dress. Her bracelet was made by her Aunt Randee.

It was the perfect accessory for this little girl!

Here's Brandt pulling a funny face.

He's such a cheeser sometimes.

Yellowstone Park

Brock's parents came up one weekend and we decided to go to Yellowstone for the day. It was an eventful trip. We weren't lucky enough to see a lot of animals but we did get to see some buffalo and a 5 point elk. It was a fun getaway.

Here's Brandt again. He was having so much fun on this bridge.

These pictures turned out so cute!

Here is Brock and Brandt on that same bridge.

I love this picture!

Here is one of Brandt, Brock, Shaun, Raylee in the blanket and me. It was pretty cold so I was trying to keep her warm while we went to see the hot pots.

Raylee Jo's New Jewelry 

On Wednesday I took Raylee to my Aunt Debbie's Salon and had her pierce her ears. We gave her Tylenol before and I had a watermelon sucker for her to suck on while we did it. She barely even cried!

She is such a tough girl!

*New Arrival & Turning 1*

We can finally announce the arrival of our little girl! Raylee Jo Nielsen was born on August 18, 2011 at 5:08 p.m., weighing in at 6 lbs 5 oz and 19.5 inches long. Labor and Delivery went very smooth and quick. We checked in at 12:30 p.m. so we only had to wait for a little over 4 1/2 hours.

A lot of our family members were able to come up and see her. We are so thankful for all the support and love that they have shown to us. We have had a lot of help from both sides of the family. My little sister Natalie was able to come up here and help me for 6 weeks this summer before Raylee was born. And both my mom and Brock's mom have stayed with us to help out.

Here is Daddy and Raylee when she was two days old. A really nice nurse found the litte hat and put it on her.

Here is Daddy, Mommy, and Raylee after her first bath.

Here are Grandpa Greg and Grandma Kari with Brandt and Raylee.

Here are Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen with Brandt and Raylee.

Finally here is our little family the day we came home from the hospital. Brandt has been so good with her and has been so sweet to give her kisses on her head and he now knows how to say sister.

This was her take home outfit. I loved it when I saw it so I had to make sure it's what we brought her home in.

*Brandt's 1st birthday*

Brandt turned 1 on the 22nd. So yes, my kids are 361 days apart! Almost made it to a year but not quite. We kept it really small this year because I wasn't sure when Raylee was coming so I didn't plan anything huge. My mom and I made him a cake that he could dig into and he did a great job of that! Brock decorated the #1 and put the Boston Red Sox baseball cap on the bear and my mom and I decorate the bear.

Here he is chowing down on the leg he ripped off. He was loving it! It was so fun to watch him. My mom has had this cake mold since I was little. It has been tradition to let all the kids tear into this cake on their 1st birthday. And so far, Brandt has been the only one to actually grab a piece and start eating it.

This one has to be my favorite pic of him! He has grown so fast! He can now say a few words which include...

*Mama

*Dada

*Papa

*Sister

*Bath

*Dog

*and he can tell you what a cow says.

This last year has flown by and I'm sure it's not going to slow down any time soon with the addition of another one. I feel so blessed to have the wonderful family that I do and to have so many people around us that love and support us. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us out and who has been there for us whenever we may have needed it.

*Summertime Fun* (so far)

~First haircut~

Brandt had his first haircut a couple months ago. I know it looks like there was nothing to cut but he had the old man hairdo going where it's really long on the bottom and he had a bald spot from rubbing on his mattress. So I decided to use my clippers on him and even it out. He did an amazing job!! He sat so still and it looked so much better after. He's had another haircut since then too. I figured I might as well get him used to haircuts so it's not a struggle when he's older.

~High School Gradution~

My younger brother Brady graduated from Fremont in May. I can't believe he's old enough to be done! He was a Student Body Officer his senior year but has pretty much been an officer every year since he was in 7th grade. He played on the Varsity Soccer team for Fremont also. I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished!

~Brock's Birthday~

Brock had a birthday in June. His parents were able to come up and stay for a little bit. They took us to dinner for his birthday and Brandt would not sit still once he saw the balloons! It was so funny! So grandpa Nielsen decided that Brandt should have one and went and grabbed one for him. He loved it!

~Random Pics~

Now here are just some random pics I've taken this summer so far.

Here's me and Brand't just hanging out at home.

This is Brandt at Brock's softball game last week. He loves being outside!

Brandt has now developed a habit of falling asleep in his jumper. It's been great for me since it's getting harder and harder to hold him while he's sleeping without his little sister trying to kick him off!

And finally here I am at just over 31 weeks pregnant. Definately been harder this go around with a small one to chase after and keep out of everything.

*First Mother's Day Ups and Downs*

My first official Mother's Day was wonderful! We weren't able to visit family in Utah but that just meant that we were able to have a quiet day with just my little family, and we didn't have to run around like crazy. I loved it! My sweet husband and adorable son gave me a few shirts that are more comfortable for me to wear right now. And Brock had no help picking them out. He did an amazing job finding some of the cutest tops ever! He also found a shirt for me that was his favorite to give me. He's been wanting to find me a Boston Red Sox shirt for a while and fnally did! It was so cute! Now we just need to find Brandt one and we can get some family pictures. Here's me and Brandt on Mother's Day with my Boston shirt. It's not easy to see but it was way cute!Here's our cute little family! Brandt didn't want to cooperate too well, we took quite a few pics to get one good one. The down side to my Mother's Day is that Brandt is trying to cut 4 teeth and is pretty fussy. He is getting the two teeth next to his front teeth, so he may look kind of funny for a while since his two front teeth are coming after the ones on the sides.

I was able to talk to my little brother Alex who is serving a mission in Minnesota right now! His mission president let him call the family on Skype. It was great! We were able to have me, Brock, and Brandt on with my brother that lives in Virginia, and the rest of my family that lives in Utah. He's doing great but can't wait for summer to come either!

Here's Brandt thinking about trying to crawl. He went backwards a little bit but then gave up.
Here is Brandt's new favorite thing to eat! He loves ice cream.
Here he is on Easter with Papa Craft reading a book. We had a lot of fun visiting family on Easter.
Here he is with Aunt Natalie in his Easter outfit.
This is the day before easter coloring eggs at Grandma Nielsen's. We had to entertain him with the spoon so he wouldn't keep trying to reach the cups of dye.

Hope everyone else had a great Mother's Day also! I am so lucky to have so many wonderful examples of mother's in my life! Thank you mom for everything you have and are still teaching me! I love you!
Here are two of the wonderful women in my life! This is my Grandma Burke and my mom at Brandt's blessing. They have been a huge help to me and I love them both so much!