Easters, and schtuff

*kissy faces*

So this is actually not just an Easter post, it's a March/April post. I'm just really good at posting only once a month.....

In the middle of March our good friends Chad and Carissa got married! They had an open house here in AZ before the wedding and Emma thoroughly enjoyed the cotton candy stand. We grabbed one for her and as we were walking away she grabbed another one for her. Cuz one just isn't enough :)

mmm...sugar.

Random picture collage of when we built a fort with Emma in our living room. I was feeling really nostalgic when I built it because I did that with my siblings ALL THE TIME growing up.

And they were bomb. We brought in lamps and pillows and blankets and a TV to watch movies, and a fan cuz it would get crazy hot inside. Man, those were the days... :)

Our friends wedding was up in Utah so we made the trek up there with Spence and Tay (ROAD TRIP!) and we were fortunate enough/really sad to leave Emma here with family :) It was so fun to be able to visit with friends (and as fun as it was feeling like newly-weds without kids who could do whatever they want, whenever they want, I MISSED EMMA SOOO MUCH!)

Carissa looked a-MAZing and we couldn't be happier for them :)

After the luncheon

BFFs

And this is what Emma was up to while we were in Utah - having WAY too much fun with grandma and grandpa and cousin Porter.

The trip home was wet and cold but we got to see a rainbow as we entered Phoenix and that made my day

So one day I was sitting at the computer doodling around when I looked over to see this:

Emma lying on her back in the middle of the floor reading a book. For some reason it just cracked me up I had to take a picture! She is such a sweetie pie and I can't get enough of her.

Paige played on a club volleyball team this season and it was so fun to see her play in her tournaments! I remembered to take a few pics at the last one I was at (the end-ish of March).

scrumptious nakey girl.

This is at 23 weeks! I felt huge then, but now that I'm 26 weeks I really AM huge.

Beginning of April we celebrated Spencer's b-day with lots of friends at El Charro - yum.

Then we celebrated Easters! The Saturday before Easter we had a celebration at my parents house and then we spent Easter Sunday with Thomas' family (but who forgot to take any pictures of Emma in her adorable Easter outfit on Sunday? me. wah wah.)

At my parents, we colored easter eggs, had an egg hunt, and celebrated my brother Parker's birthday after our Easter FEAST.

Emma had so much fun finding eggs in the easter egg hunt. We helped her only a little *wink wink*.

Wow, look at all those eggs!

Opening up her goodies. I think this was her favorite part :)

Parker turned 17 this year!! I can't believe it. To me he's still 8 years old skating around in his wheelie shoes grinning from ear to ear with his adorable smile... time seriously flies by so fast

Oh yeah, in between all the festivities, Emma and Porter decided to go for a swim in the water table :) They eventually made it to the big pool after they realized this one was a little too small.

And speaking of pools, check out this new addition to our backyard! Emma love, love, loves swimming and water and swimsuits and being outdoors, etc. so this kiddy pool Thomas got for her is perfect! I can even get in it with her when I'm feeling up to it :)

Updates:

1. Thomas is finishing up midterms this week and then has a camping trip planned for Friday night with some friends. Anyone wanna have a girls night with me and Emma? I'm probably going to make no-bake cookies and stuff my face until I can't move.

2. My sister, Lindsay's birthday is on Friday! Too bad she lives in Sacramento and I don't get to see her. wah wah :(

3. Emma will be TWO YEARS old next week! I can't believe it. So, lately I've been feeling torn and a little sad because it's starting to hit me that in a few months there will be another little human being in my life that will need my attention and I won't get to spend every minute of the day with my mimi. Emma and I have been best buddies her whole life, we do everything together. We even have inside jokes and a secret handshake ;) I think I'm just feeling overly sentimental and want to cherish every second I have with her right now :)

4. I am 26 weeks today! and I'm feeling pretty good. Starting to get uncomfortable sleeping at night and it always feels like my feet are on fire so I have to stick them out from under the covers to cool them off. Oh yeah, and heartburn has started to kick in... lovely.

5. Summer is basically here. Supposedly it's going to be 100 degrees this weekend. Bring it on.

Boy Oh Boy!

It's a BOY!!!

This little guy made sure we had no doubts about his gender when we had the ultrasound a couple weeks ago. The tech didn't have to do any maneuvering to figure it out - he was spread eagle ready to show off for the camera :) We are SO excited to be having a boy and Thomas couldn't be more thrilled. I can't wait to see how different it will be raising a boy after having the joyous experience of raising a drama queen.. I mean, girl. :)

The other day I was in Target and found myself in the baby section when I realized that shopping for a boy is going to be difficult... My brain is now hardwired to block out anything that isn't pink, ruffle-y or the slightest bit girly. I literally had to tell myself to only look at boy stuff and stop letting my eyes wander to the tutu's and bows. HELP! :)

For your viewing pleasure here is a baby bump pic at 19 weeks:

In other news....

On President's Day weekend we went to Mund's Park (just south of Flagstaff) to my sister-in-law's family's cabin. It was so much fun and the kids had a blast playing in the snow! Thanks Brittney and the Nick family for letting us hang out at the cabin :)

If you're ever in Flagstaff - YOU MUST EAT AT ROMA PIZZA. This pizza place has been our favorite ever since we went there a few summers ago for a family reunion. We've even scheduled a road trip around it so that we'd be in Flagstaff at lunch time so we could stop there to eat! It is sooooo good.

mmmm......Roma's......I'm going to dream about it tonight...and probably drool in my sleep.

(T.M.I. sorry)

We ended the trip off with a bang - literally. Emma and Porter were jumping on the bed and unfortunately while no one was watching (yes, I take the blame, I was blow drying my hair at the time) Emma fell and smashed her face into the corner of the night stand. I say 'smashed' because she hit it really hard, so hard that it cracked her pacifier, cut her lip in two places and bruised her upper gums. Needless to say, there was a lot of blood. Poor little girly. She had some sweet fat lips after that and her gums were bruised for about a week.

This is the only picture we have that documents it (notice the dried blood on her shirt). It's kind of hard to see her swollen lips because they're on the half of her face that's turned away from the camera, but you get the point.

She's a trooper and she pulled off the fat lip look really well :)

Nelson Family Update:

1. Thomas had spring break this past week and we took full advantage of his time off and did nothing :) It was quite the lazy/relaxing/unproductive week :) Yay for wasting time!

2.Our good friends are getting married in SLC this week so we are headed up to Utah on Wednesday for the celebration! I'm so excited to visit P-town - it's been too long :)

3. I am almost 21 weeks along in my pregnancy and I feel fantastic! I can't believe I'm already at the halfway point, it's gone by really fast.

4. Hunger Games comes out next week...eek! We have tickets to a special preview showing the day before it comes out woo whoo! I'm excited.

5. Umm is it just me or did Jan/Feb go by waaay too fast? I can't believe it's March already. And then it will be April and that means Emma will be turning 2! She's getting too old... :(

Young Woman

Happy Birthday PAIGE!!!

My adorable baby sister Paige turned 12 today! She is by far the sweetest, most thoughtful, most beautiful girl on the planet and I'm so lucky to have her as my sister :)

We celebrated her b-day last Saturday at Cafe Rio (excellent choice Paige :) )

I can't believe how grown up she is, literally! She is the tallest girl in our family (which it isn't that hard to be, but c'mon, she's 12!) and I can't give her my hand-me-downs anymore because they're too small! So although she's still my baby sister, she's no longer my little sister :)

*funny side note: I realized this morning while I was giving her my birthday wishes that I was 12 years old when Paige was born! Crazy how the time flies...

Happy birthday Paigerade - I love you SOO much