Cal-i-fornia Girls (and boy)..

Auntie Allie, me & Kai had a great trip out to Newport Beach (orange county). The weather wasn't as hot as we had hoped (or what I packed for) but it was still GREAT just being away from the snow and seeing a family we love so dearly!!

 James was SO sweet to Kyler the whole time! It was precious. He would bring him his water or juice and say, "here Kai." They are best buds!

 The highlight of the trip (for me) was our 10+ mile bike ride on "back bay loop." It was SO great to get some exercise and see water that isn't frozen, grass that.. well, isn't frozen, and birds that are loving life and not just in the survival mode of winter. Biking is AMAZING!!

Kyler has really perfected his walking skills! I will get a better video uploaded soon where he isn't pushing something. But his need to keep his beverage with him at all times was cracking us up..

Thanks again Bonnie, Keith, Kalen & James!! Your hospitality, once again, was unmatched! You mean so much to us!!! Lots of love & look forward to seeing you in MN!

Amber Alert! Look out for the black truck!!

The kids had a great time at "Pretend City" in the Children's Museum. It was a holiday week, so crazy busy..

But this video just goes to show how quickly abductions can happen. Right after I stopped recording, Kyler got off the back by doing a face plant into the ground. He didn't seem to mind and just got right up. He was all about walking around the little city!

"Hey, I want this ball."

Actually it was, "BALL!"

 "Is this a flat head or a phillips head?"

This boy is b-u-s-y!

Hope everyone had a terrific Valentine's Day!

It was the first year where I felt true romance.. I must be married!

Chris got me some gorgeous flowers, dark chocolate, & lara bars for our upcoming trip to Orange County. So sweet!

For him, I finally printed some of our wedding photos and got them into frames. Only a year and a half later :-)

Kyler got kisses all day (doesn't he everyday?) and enjoyed a walk around the neighborhood ~ so he thought it was divine.

He has been quite the busy-body! Nearly 16 months old and interested in EVERYTHING! He's always looking for the next thing he can grab and try to figure out. His favorite thing right now is the white board cleaning spray. He loves to take the cap off and then put it back on. over and over and over. Then if you take it away he screams and lets out huge tears. That is until you distract him with some blocks, a book or a baseball.

woot woot..The Boy is Walking & Feeding Himself

Yay! Kyler is finally walking AND I am finally getting it posted on this blog!

He is quite proud of himself (although his confidence isn't 100% quite yet)... he is still a little dependent on his truck. He still chooses to let go of your hand so he can make his journeys independently most of the time.

After a not so pleasant case of croup last week, the little man is finally feeling better and his appetite is back. He is very excited to use his own utensils and he likes to help blow on the food to cool it down. Funny dude!



Joe Mauer!!

So maybe the reason Kyler is so into his Twins book lately is that he was prepping for his meeting with their catcher, Joe Mauer?!

Today, Allison convinced me to join her at a restaurant in Bloomington where #7 was doing a radio interview. It turned out to be really intimate and fun! We were up close and personal with him - there were probably only about 75 to 100 people there. Unfortunately he didn't sign any autographs (I brought the Twins board book but no luck), but it didn't stop Kyler from choosing that one as his bedtime story tonight.

I took some (pretty bad) photos of us sneaking up on him before the interview began.

 Allie took Kyler over and stood behind him as he was getting ready.

 Kyler was like, "hey, whose that guy - he looks like someone I should know."

 So Auntie Allie tapped him on the shoulder and asked him for a high five! I wasn't able to get it in the pic, but this is right after. I'd say Allie was pretty excited ;-)

I would now like to take back any negative things I may have said about Mr. Mauer in the past. I've been known to say things like, "he's not that hot," or "ehhh, whatevs."

But after seeing and hearing him in person I now think he is a very nice man! You go Joe!! Thanks for making my son's morning (and husband's day).

and... for your entertainment delight

Today Kyler wanted to read his "Twins" book over and over... and his eyes lit up when we gave him this baseball to play with! I think he's craving spring as much as his mom ;-(

And the little guy has decided he's still not ready to walk (at 15 months old), but he sure does L-O-V-E to follow his truck around! He circles the house multiple times a day and stashes various things in the dump compartment to haul around.

sorry if you are unable to view this last video.. our computer is not cooperating lately but I thought I'd at least try.



2011!!

 Kyler has been very busy growing lately! We notice he's eating and sleeping a lot lately..and when he plays there is a lot going on in that little head!!

He loves the toys he got for Christmas - there seems to be a farm theme & he's all about it.

 And although we did cut his hair recently, the poor boy inherited his dad's MANY cow-licks! He often has messy messy hair.

My guys are so funny when they hang out and play together! So far 2011 has been great ~ I'm lovin what the future holds :-) Love my bubbs & hubbs!

mama's been slackin!

I have been paying very little attention to our computer lately.. ;-( It has been slow so I have been avoiding it!

These pics are from my parents house at Christmas - we took the kids for a walk..

New Year's Eve we had dinner & drinks at our place. Wine, burgers, crab & bubbly.. Grahamm, Allie & her new man, Dusty, were there to enjoy w/ Chris & I. It was an early evening as we were in bed by 11:15, but judging by my dry mouth and slight headache the next morning, it was probably a good thing.

Also, yay to my bro for finally making things happen & going forward! We are excited for you Eric :-)

holiday steps

Christmas Eve while Eric, Rena, Clara, Kyler and I were relaxing before going to church, Rena decided to take a video and caught a first.. an independent step!! How lucky!!

We had a great holiday and hope you all did, too. Looking forward to the new year ~ chris and I are hoping for a FIT 2011!!

I will try and get some new pics and videos in the next couple of days.. Kyler is doing some great things lately :-)

Why do we live here again?

30 Below temperatures... shoveling until your back gives out... it's Minnesota, baby!

 We got about 17 inches the other day!

We feel blessed to have shelter & heat!

 Poor Siddy is entering her season of depression. She still tries to get outside but then realizes how stupid that decision was after her paw pads freeze to the sidewalk.

 We made some almond butter balls at our house to help ease the pain of frigid cold. Kyler was happy that his dad let him try the chocolate.. although this photo doesn't look like he's all that happy ;-)

ABC - "hey, sing with me!!"

Kyler has been h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s lately!! I'm sure I always say that.. but he truly just cracks me up!!

He is the best :-)

Loon joins scuba divers

This video was taken in the Cuyuna Range mine pits... so I think my worst nightmares could really come true!!

Long Lost Photos

 I got some pics off of Uncle Grahamm's camera & thought I would share some of the good ones..

We miss our old place on Johnson St!! :-( That deck was SO MUCH FUN!!

Last days at the LLL cabin! FISH FRY - woot woot

 Returning from an excellent dinner on Burntside Lake in Ely.

Go Twins!!

From Kyler's one year party..

Turkey Day = Family FUn!

We had a great Thanksgiving 2010! Kyler and I were in Sebeka from Wednesday until Sunday and we enjoyed delicious food, cozy relaxation & lots of Nelson family fun!

 We had our turkey day feast at Wendy London's gorgeous house. Kyler was sitting at the opposite end of the table from mom and dad.. and he kept telling uncle Grahamm, "more. more." He is a fan of figs, stuffing, turkey, potatoes & definitely PIE!

 Good lookin mother and son!!



snowfakes keep fallin on my head...

This is Kyler's immediate reaction when we walked out into the snow today:

We had our first taste of snow this season... about ten inches total ~ but it was warm and wet so a lot of it melted. Still a great opportunity to get pulled around in the sled!

Kyler definitely likes to experience new things - he loved it :-) He sat contently for about a half hour in the stroller (in garage) while I shoveled the driveway.

p.s.. thanks for the great snowsuit and hat g&g Bolt :-) It kept me nice and warm today!

And thank you uncle grahamm ~ my sled r-o-c-k-s!! 

love,

Kai

Teeter Tot Trucker

Kai loves his push/ride/pull truck.. he is just getting into pushing it by himself and walking behind ~ I'm thinking walking videos will be next. Uh-oh!!

that darn cow

Kyler loves being one! His newest things are: dancing to goofy songs, pulling himself up and taking leg-locked steps, going up and down the stairs, opening and closing doors and cupboards, and drinking milk from a cup... just to name a few of course.

Hallow-eve & Halloween

We had a fun family weekend! On Saturday night we went to this forest nature walk that was lit my jack-o-lanterns called, "friends of the forest." It was put on by a school, so there were kids and adults performing little skits at different stops along the path. SO CUTE! Kyler thought it was great fun!

 He also really enjoyed being a little bear :-)

We dressed him in all brown and drew on his nose w/ eyeliner for the effect. Next year, we are prepared to get more into this holiday. Chris and I are already thinking of ideas for what we can get dressed up as... any ideas out there? Neither of us has ever been too into the whole costume thing, but this year we felt a little lame and left out of the fun.

 For Halloween, our neighborhood has a horse-drawn sleigh that pulls all the kids around for trick-or-treating. We had a great time being outside and enjoying some of the kids in the area!