Nielsen Nonsense

May 15- May 19 2009

Matt was very lucky his freshman year in college to find his male soul mates. He had a lot of freshman buddies that he was very close to, but two of them have literally been his soul mates. They are as thick as brothers. Through the years we have tried to stay close through vacations and this year we decided to meet Joe and family from Florida at a halfway point and go to the Smokey Mountain National Park. Justin and family flew in from Canada.

Here is a view from our cabin showing just how the Great Smokies got their name. They are gorgeous!! Here are some more pictures of our cabin:

The view from the hot tub.

The back "wall" was pure windows showing off the view from above.

The kitchen where many delicious meals were made.

The porch where I loved to sit in the morning and read my scriptures and take in the morning fog.

The back of the cabin.

The Scottish Festival:

On our first full day there we decided to hit up a local Scottish festival. It actually ended up being kind of a bust, but we were still able to get some laughs in.

A real live yak. I personally have never come into contact with a yak before. They seem to only be in Carter's books for "Y is for Yak."

The manly axe throw. Justin actually got his axe to stay on his first throw, what a man!!

Laurel Falls:

Our first hike of the trip.

Double Trouble: Carter HATES to wear his shoes! In fact his right big toe is a never-ending bloody mess because he refuses to wear shoes and scraps it up every day. So here Milly is helping Carter get ready for the big hike by taking his shoes off for him.

The water was really cold but still intriguing to the boys who wanted to put their feet in.

Evan was the bravest of the boys, I believe he got completely soaked in the waterfall.

The soul mates showing off how tough and good looking they are.

Matt far right, Joe middle, Justin left.

I know this looks like some team building exercise but no it's just Justin and Matt being themselves.

Justin has this affect on Matt, whenever Justin is around Matt is always doing crazy things. Though let's be honest it doesn't take a lot of pushing. And believe me, that water was Freezing!

The Boys

On Sunday we went for a drive to hit the tallest point in the park. It was freezing and I was the only one prepared. What can I say scouting was always a part of my family's life even though I wasn't officially involved.

The Squirrels, I mean Girls.

And can I say , Woo Woo!!

Action shot of how these boys are 24-7 when they are with each other.

This was our second hike we took in Cade's Cove to another waterfall. Carter loved hiking and was doing a fantastic job. I think he went for at least a mile. I was pretty proud of him and wished my family could see him. Hiking is a big deal in my family and it is almost a rite of passage when you start hiking on your own.

For the rest of it, he got to ride in his comfy backpack. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Again, Craziness! Matt and I were both wishing my brothers could have been here for this one. This is right up their alley!

Freezing!

Go Carts:

For the last day, the boys decided to go go-carting. It was really fun for them until Matt had a serious allergic reaction afterwards and his face swelled up and he had hives all over.

The best action shot I could get. Carter was a little nervous.

They had some kiddie rides there as well, so we took advantage. And of course Carter always loves a good Choo Choo train.

Matt and I are so blessed to have had some once in a lifetime friendships with some exceptional people. Family is very important, but there is something so crucial as well to friends that are as close as family. We are so grateful to those friends who we love so dearly!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

No Longer a Binky Baby...

Now he is a Big Boy Bike Rider!!

So this last Monday we were at Walmart doing the dreaded grocery shopping and while back in the dairy section, Carter messing around took his binky out and threw it. It landed in a grated area where we could see it but not get to it. Previous to this, I had been getting my fill of little old ladies telling me that my son was too old for a binky (one of these actually made him cry last weekend) and people dropping "hints" to me on "this is how I got my child off of his binky." I really did appreciate everyone's great and creative ideas and I even asked for a few of them, but I was just fed up. So I saw this imprisonment of Carter's binky as divine intervention. I think Heavenly Father knew Matt and I didn't have the guts to take it away. So back to the story. After seeing our predicament with the binky I knew we needed to act fast. I told Carter to wave and say goodbye to his binky. His eyes welled up with tears and you could see in his little face that his heart was broken. In between sobs he said goodbye to his binky and waved as well. In the past, I had poorly attempted to limit the binky but after not receiving a lot of support from Matt all of my attempts were thwarted. Thus, I knew I needed to get Matt on board so I called him right away. I explained the situation and told him what I wanted to do. Matt got emotional (yes he cried) and said that he couldn't do that to his boy. This comes from a guy who has a major oral fixation problem himself. But he finally agreed when I told him that Carter really understood that this was it, there was no more binky. Matt was afraid we might traumatize him so we agreed to give Carter a choice. I asked Carter if he wanted a Carter's Bink (that is Carter's name for it to differentiate it from a Baby's binky, yes we tried the shame tactic) or a Big Boy Bike. He chose the bike and stopped crying. Matt wanted to be there with us when we picked out the bike and I thought that it was good to wait to make sure Carter was serious about this. So everytime he asked for his Carter's Bink I gave him the choice and again everytime he would stop whining and say in a big boy voice that he wanted a Big Boy Bike. He went about two days, a nap and a night without his binky and he stayed true the whole time to his bike so last night we went to Target and got his Big Boy Bike. Our little boy is growing up...now on to potty training.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

The Evolution of "Mine"

Carter:

Mine

That's Mine

I had it first!

Then yesterday he pulled this one out as Matt was trying to put Carter's toliet seat cover on, "Hey, I had it my turn!"

It is so funny to hear how kid's internalize certain phrases as "Who had it first?" or "We need to take turns." Ultimately, to Carter it all means one thing: "MINE!"

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Grandma, Grandpa, Buddies, and Puddles...

...These are a few of Carter's favorite things. (This is our April Wrap-Up):

We went to the Children's museum at the beginning of the month. They had a new tree house exhibit where you could try on a whole bunch of different bird costumes. Below Carter is an owl (one of his favorite animals he pretends to be thanks to Little Bear, see the last video at the bottom of the post). Speaking of Little Bear, it may not be the most educational show as far as letters and numbers but it has been fantastic for his imagination. He loves to pretend he is his little animal friends from the show, not to mention his trips to the moon.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was a big one for us because Matt turned 30, Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen came into town, I taught the Easter Relief Society lesson and it was Easter.

We had to take Grandma and Grandpa to the zoo.

I love this picture of Grandpa and Carter checking out Carter's most fascinating animal at the zoo, the snake. It is quite a love/ hate relationship. It terrifies him but he can't look away.

You can't tell in this picture, but Carter's hands looked like a sea monster's (after insisting on dunking and pulling out the eggs with his fingers), which Carter thought was awesome since a monster is probably his favorite imaginary thing he likes to be, especially when it involves scaring girls.

Carter and Oliver did a great job in helping this older gentleman blow out his candles. :)

Skippy Jon Jones is a favorite story at our house, especially when Matt reads it with his great Antonio Banderas accent. Below is some video of it, though it is hard to hear his voice in some places. Thanks Lexi and Emi for giving it to us!

Paling Around

Carter has really enjoyed the bike trailer this year. Last year between the wearing of the helmet and having the helmet always fall in his face he wasn't a huge fan. But since none of that is a problem this year, he loves speeding down the road behind his daddy.

This is Siddharth, the boy I watch, and Carter swinging on the tire swing at their house. The boys love doing this and the two of them fit nicely. Siddharth and his sister Tanvi always try to make things work so that Carter can be included in most activities.

I have talked a lot to family and some friends about their dog Caesar so I thought I would post a picture here. He is a Golden Doodle (Golden Retriever and Poodle mix). He is a big dog but is sweet as a teddy bear. He and Carter are great buddies and love to watch for the garbage man together on Thursday mornings.

Carter is definitely hitting that independent and wants to help with everything stage. In fact, the other day Carter was complaining about it being his turn to clean the toilet bowl as I was scrubbing it. But two Saturdays ago, we had some yard work to do and Carter was right there with Matt helping every step of the way.

He loves the watering part!!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Last week we had a ton of rain, but Carter and I were very itchy to get out of the house. So we did and we had a ball. By the way, this is the back alley way from our house.

I only wish I had a better camera and more skill because some of these pictures could have been awesome!
We found this umbrella at the Goodwill for a $1.50, SCORE!!

There's nothing better than the joy of a child!

In the second video below, it isn't too obvious but Carter loves to label puddles: "Baby Puddles" and "Daddy Puddles."

Temple Day

I had the honor of escorting a sister from our ward through the DC temple this last Saturday. It was a remarkable day. Matt and Carter came down with us, Matt dropped Carter off at my cousin Adrienne's house and joined us at the temple. I am so excited for this wonderful sister who had so much faith and dedication to make it to this day. And of course the DC temple and it's grounds were looking as beautiful as ever.

Spring Time!!

Last fall, Matt planted a bunch of bulbs and it has been so exciting to watch them come up and look so beautiful. Matt goes out there every day and looks at them. He loves to garden. But with that said, we have really struggled with our flower beds and vegetable garden in the past. Some areas are successes and other areas we really fail. But this is the first time, where each plant looks beautiful and survived. I guess we are making progress, lets just hope it lasts.

The picture above was from our side flower bed and this is the bed right in front of our drive strip.

An owl, a duck, a dog, a snake oh my....

And that was our month of April, phew!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Finally, Carter's 2 yr-old Pictures!!

So, a few weeks ago we decided that maybe we should finally get Carter in for his 2 yr-old pictures since he has been 2 since Dec. 18th.

We were so happy when he did so well during the photo shoot. We told him if he smiled big then we would send the pictures to Grandma (so Grandmas here they come). He seemed pretty happy about that. But what really got him was this wooden train that they had at their studio. All they had to do was tell him there was a train involved and he was putty in their hands.

We got a kick out of some of these "grown-up" poses that he did.

The picture above shows his "Oops I just got caught doing something naughty" face.

Man, sometimes you have those moments as a parent where you stop and think, "Wow, is he really mine?" I get that feeling everytime I look at these pictures. In my mind he is not as grown up as he looks. My heart just bursts with love and pride for this kid. I know, I know, pride is a bad thing, but I just can't help it!! If I was like Matt's beloved church authority Gene R. Cook I would say that I am so humbly grateful for that boy!!!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Matt's 30th Birthday

Today is my Sweetheart's 30th Birthday!! It is amazing that we are now hitting milestones like this together. He is such a loving, gentle, crazy, and good man. As my Grandmother reminds me often, I am so lucky to have him in my life. I thought I would just post some of the pictures I have of him in his 30 years thus far.

When Matt was a baby he had the nickname of being the Michellin Man.

This is Matt with his Dad and older brother Cory.

These crazy boys: Matt loves his memories of being at his Grandparent's house in Hyrum, Utah playing with his brothers and cousin Jake. They always had something up their sleeves.

And these are the two (Jay & Bonnie) that made it all possible. (This picture explains a lot don't you think?)

Sadly, on our computer we don't have any pictures of Matt in highschool, college, and mission. Matt loved highschool and was heavily involved in wrestling and the school musicals. All the girls swooned over him when he was Conrad Birdie. Then after his freshman year at his beloved BYU where he met his best friends (see below) he went on his mission to Paris, France.

After the mission he came back home, roomed with the boys above and had a blast living the single life.

But sure enough in January 2002 I came into his life and 6 months later we were married.

We both had a year left at BYU and then had the awesome experience of graduating together.

After graduation we were off to Des Moines University where Matt attended Podiatry School.

But true to Matt (and sometimes with a little nudge from me), during all of this we were still able to get out and have a good time.

Matt being his crazy self and jumping in the goose poo infested lake behind his parent's house.

Halloween with our friend's the Whoolley's in Des Moines.

At the top of Mount Timpanogous

Colorado

Visitng the Palmers and Lowrys in Gainesville, FL

For our year anniversary we went to Paris, France (that is the Eiffel Tower in the background) and London, England.

And then the coolest thing to happen to either one of us:

Matt has always been a phenomenal father. You can just see it in his face.

And finally the craziness of Podiatry School ended and Matt graduated from DMU. Little did we know that we were going into something even crazier called Residency.

Matt is now a resident in Pittsburgh and life continues to be interesting, but I know I can always rely on my fantastic husband to be the rock of our family. We have such a great time as a family and when we are all together we find ourselves laughing quite a bit of the time. (Carter is a big help in that area.) Thanks Matt for your unending dedication to our family! We love you more than we can say.

Monday, March 30, 2009

March Wrap-Up

Builder Man Carter

Carter has an older buddy Linus who he really admires. Carter thinks that Linus's house is the coolest because Linus has all the coolest toys ever. It has been really nice for me in deciding what to buy Carter for birthdays and Christmas because I can just think of the toys that Linus has and buy whatever he has that we haven't already copied. Linus is into all things builder and manly. It is rare that you see Linus without his builder boots, jeans, and his construction hat.

So when I saw Carter in this outfit playing with his crane that Aunt Nicole gave him I thought it had Linus written all over it.

Growing Up

The other day we had playgroup and I was so amazed watching Carter play with the other kids. First, because he wasn't hitting or pushing, he was overall being a pretty nice kid. Second, he was right there keeping up with all the imaginative play that the big kids were doing. The playground was at times a castle with princesses, dragons and bad guys. And then it became a Pirate Ship and they were all pirates. But no matter what the playground was Carter was right there with the rest of them playing his part. I was so happy and proud of him. I just never imagined such things would bring me such happiness and joy.

His new phrase after this playgroup was, "I had it first." It is essentially a glorified way of saying, "That's Mine!" It's just so funny to hear his developed speech.

Also, last night Carter peed in the potty for the first time. We aren't ready to go full blown into the potty training thing, but we thought we would start introducing him to it and get him thinking about it. He was VERY proud of himself.

My Two Boys

Siddharth, my nanny boy, is on Spring break right now so I had him all last week and most of this week. We have been playing pretty hard and having so much fun. I have now nannied Siddharth and his older sister for a little over 1 1/2 years. I have grown to love them so much. They are as close to my own kids as they could get. So I wanted to include a few pictures of us playing on the playground at the zoo.

Random Videos

Carter is at the point where I feel like to truly capture so many of the things that he is doing or that makes him who he is I have to take videos. I take these videos with my not totally awesome, but gets me by digital camera. It is convenient and super easy to download, but the videos are far from high quality. Really all that matters to me is being able to see my boy and hear his voice.

This kid is always cracking us up by the clever stuff that he is doing (Can ya tell I'm a proud Momma?) Also, this video shows one of his very favorite games. He loves to Roar and have us Scream. He could do this on and on:

Notice in this video his "ums" it cracks his mommy and daddy up!

This is C's new favorite board game:

Last Friday evening we went out to get Matt's favorite food - Thai. C had to give the chop sticks a try:

Daddy is just the funniest guy around, wouldn't you agree? He certainly knows how to get some good laughs out of his boy.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Grandpa Clarence's Funeral

Carter and I were planning on making a trip out to Utah for the first two weeks of February. Matt was going to join us for most of the second week. About a week before we were planning on leaving I got a call from my mother informing me that my dear Grandpa Clarence (my dad's father) was not doing very well at all. I asked my mom to tell him that he needed to hold on for one more week for me to get out there. When my mom started to cry and said that if I saw him I would not ask her to ask him that I knew it was serious and I needed to get out there. I was okay with my Grandpa passing on because of my faith in God's Eternal Plan and forever families. But I needed to be able to talk to him one last time and to tell him face to face how much I loved him. So minutes later I was on the phone with Southwest. It was going to cost us at least $300 (and that may have been per ticket) to change our flight plans so that Carter and I could get out there early. I explained my situation to the lady on the phone and she sweetly looked into every possibility she could for me. Even though she wasn't supposed to do this, she got Carter and I on the next flight that she could (the next morning) at no extra cost. I knew this was Heavenly Father showing us His tender mercies.

There were several other miracles that happened in preparation for and during this trip, but I want to share just one more with you. My Grandpa and Grandma have two kids, my dad and his sister Karma. My cousins and I grew up very close. Once we were all grown several us because of jobs and schooling had to move out of state and across the country. It had been years since all of us had been together at one place. And before we even knew that something was going on with my grandpa all of my cousins and myself (unbeknownst to us) had all planned to come home to Utah at the same time. What a beautiful statement of love that our Heavenly Father had made to us that he let this be the time for my Grandfather to pass on, when we could all be home to say our good-byes and to comfort one another. I got into Utah late on a Thursday afternoon and was the last of the family to arrive. Thursday night we all gathered at my grandparents house for family prayer and to give my Grandpa a blessing. I am so grateful that i was able to be there for that and to have these last few memories with my grandfather whom I love so much.

All of Grandpa Clarence's and Grandma Ione's great-grandkids except my sister's twins.

All of my family except Matt, Carter, and my sister's twins.

The funeral and burial was beautiful. The spirit was strong and testified that Grandpa went on to a much better place.

Also, a special thanks to Whitney for watching Carter the day of the funeral. It was so nice to be able to call on family and ask for help. It was also so comforting to know that Carter was in such good hands and that those hands were just as excited to be on Carter.

Most of all at this time, I am so grateful for my knowledge that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for Temples that allow us to be forever families. I am grateful for the Priesthood that can seal these many blessings upon us. If any of you who read this blog would like to know more about what I am writing about please let me know, I would love to share this joy and knowledge with you!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"Christ can Change Human Nature"

Living here in Pittsburgh has been a real eye-opener for me. There are poor and slums here like I have never seen before and is still not even the tip of the iceburg of what can be found in other places. In our ward alone we have so much need and being part of our Relief Society Presidency here I have worked closely with this. Sometimes the need can be daunting and overwhelming. I wonder how can little me make any difference, how can I change these people's circumstances? But then I read this quote and the Spirit told me that I have it all wrong: It is always and forever in and through Christ...

“The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature” (Ezra Taft Benson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1985, 5; or Ensign, Nov. 1985, 6).

Sunday, March 8, 2009

"OH NO" and Pizza

I am gone for a few hours doing church stuff and I come home to hear: "Oh No!!"

I feel so blessed that I know I have nothing to worry about when I leave Carter home with Matt. These two boys love each other so much and are always horsing around together. Matt is so great at encouraging me to get out and let him and Carter play. In the words of my Grandma Ione: "Oh Amber, how did you ever get so lucky to marry a boy like that?"

Pizza Anyone?

A couple weeks ago, our Relief Society was in charge of feeding 80 missionaries during their Zone Conference. So what's a girl to do with a number like that? Go to Costco of course!

We were quite popular with the workers and customers and everyone was shocked watching these people walk out with that many pizzas. Everyone wanted to know where the party was at. That car has certainly hauled a lot of odd things in it's time.

Nielsen Nonsense

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

"I'm Gonna be a ..."

Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Best Thing a Momma Can Hear

Friday, May 29, 2009

The Great Smokey Mountains