let it snow?

this is snow.

somewhere under there - is our car.

About 19+ inches in 24 hours.

She colored this all by herself. She works so hard every day at cutting and coloring.  Amazing.

I want to kiss his face off.

We had quite the storm this weekend if you can't tell. We were inside our house (not by choice) all weekend. The plows even gave up because it just kept on coming. Truthfully it was nice to have so much time with Erik and the kids. Erik finishes up his semester this week and then we are off to UT! Darla has been literally counting down the days. I believe the paper chain had 40 something rings when we started. We can't wait to be with everyone.

Mom

I am Mom. I am Mom to Darla. I am Mom to Bennett. Erik even sometimes calls me Mom. I feel that becoming Mom to Darla was a different experience than becoming Mom to Bennett. I feel as though we become Mom all over again with each child. Questions that linger in my thoughts are - How do I be Darla's mom? How do I be Bennett's mom? I know those questions are separate. If I were just to be Mom (one in the same to both) that wouldn't work - for they are not one in the same. They are my daughter and my son. Daughter. Son. I believe they are learning those roles, right along with me; learning to be Mom. Simply - I'm grateful that I am Mom.

nothing cuter

"Mom, I need to go potty!"

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5

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7

1 - Every morning, Darla and Bennett sit together on the couch while they wake up. I love little kids in soft, warm fleece pajamas. 2 - Bennett and Bea are only 1 month apart. This picture was taken to show the world how tall Bennett is. 3 - Darla and Audge - Podge (Darla's Best friend). Every day Darla tells me how much she loves Audrey. I remember a picture that my mom took of me and my friend Brooke when we were around this same age. We too were playing with Play-Dough. 4 - This is Darla! Proclaiming to the world that she wears big girl underwear and goes on the potty! What a great week it has been. One day she just said to me "Mom, I want to wear underwear like Audrey" She has worn them ever since. Yes! 5 - This morning we woke up to the first snow of the season. Instead of being on the couch these two stood by the window for the longest time. Bennett of course was still looking for the squirrels, "Qurl" he says. 6 - Bennett hiding in the toy closest. 7 - First snowman of the season. We all know that after today the snow will be too frozen for play. She loved being outside.
I couldn't be more grateful - sure may be it is because of the holiday that is approaching, but truly every day I am humbled with all that I have. What a beautiful life we have been given. I am thankful for that.

this years costumes

Here we are all dressed up for a good old costume party. Darla was SO excited about her cowgirl costume and Bennett had no idea what was going on. He sure makes a cute pirate though. As for Erik and I, well - I'll just leave those comments up to you. Happy Halloween!

A Mystery

What little boy sits in the middle of all these books every day?

Bennett.

fall

"why so serious?"

they are the same size

oh darla

little

My brother Matt sent this picture to me today. I have no idea how old we were - but I love it. What do you think? Do I look like Bennett or Darla?

October?

Really? I only posted once last month. Wow. I must be having a lot of fun doing other things beside sitting at my computer uploading pictures. Luckily MN has been giving us a BEAUTIFUL fall. We have had all the time in the world to spend outside. This week especially has been perfect autumn weather. I also am happy to say that am on the third book of The Hunger Games series. For those of you who know me well, know that I don't read all that often. I've greatly enjoyed them thus far. Anxious to see how she ends it all. Erik's busy with school and work (just as I expected) and is doing great at both (just as I expected). But my dear mom was able to come out and visit. Not only did she come to spend time with us, but she let us have a night out of dinner, the broadway musical Wicked, and an over-night.  Wicked of course was and is incredible and the time with Erik, even better.  Darla and I have become the greatest of friends lately. The "Paci Fairy" came the other week and replaced her pacifier with a Tinkerbell Doll. Those first moments that I anticipated to be torturous - the tears and struggles to fall asleep etc - were anything BUT torturous. If anything I feel as though it brought us closer together. I love being her mom. Bennett is a boy. No longer a baby. Where did my baby go? At the playground he is exploring, crawling, and climbing everywhere. He couldn't be happier. Simply - life is grand.

Summer 2010

24th of July Parade (Bountiful, UT)

Richards Cousin line up (Hebgen Lake, MT)

Siblings?

More Richards Cousin time (Bear Lake, UT)

Walking up to the cabin from Bear Lake

Darling

My favorite tourist (Old Faithful)

My little brothers wedding (SLC Temple)

All 10 siblings together!

Handsome

Bennett's 1st Birthday!

Delicious.

On the Airplane returning to MN!
What a fabulous time we had!!!

faces of summer

These two photos will have to do for now. We are still in Utah and will be until Bennett's 1st birthday (Sept. 6th). While here we have been with a number of people we love, while being in the places we love. More to come once we have returned to our daily life in Minneapolis. For now, just know that we are having the time of our life.

girl and boy

New favorite picture. Just had to share.

Erik John Nelson

I have the best husband. Little tired today - some may call it "a case of the Mondays", but whatever you want to call it - Erik is amazing. He did all the dishes (you should have seen the pile), he vacuumed (upstairs and down), he carried all the laundry downstairs (quite the feat), took the children outside so I could make dinner in peace, and the list goes on and on and on. He's incredible to me. It's no wonder why I chose him.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!!!!

Ten months. Where does the time go? Bennett is so cheerful. He just hangs out all day long. He is a great napper (we are still working on the nights). He LOVES Darla and is even happier when she is around. He is starting to get up on all fours - soon the movement will happen. He'll get there. He loves to stack things  and knock over towers. He loves the sound of his own voice when he realizes he's somewhere with a nice echo. His hair sticks straight up. There's nothing we can do about it. His eyes are BIG and BLUE. He loves water - whether he is in the tub, at the pool or at a lake. He would eat oatmeal all day long if mom let him - and he also loves the Gerber Lil' Crunchies (Darla calls them his french fries). His laughter fill our ears every day - especially if his big sister is doing something silly. I am IN LOVE with this little boy. I've decided every mom needs a baby boy to love. We love you Bennett.

"why are you growing up?"

That is frequent question around our house - "Why are you growing up?" Darla is most definitely 2 and 1/2. Emotions (happy and sad) are flying around our house. She is amazing and I love how well she communicates - it is so helpful in moments of tears.  The other day I said, "Darla you are so cute and dainty." That night when saying her bedtime prayers, she said, "Heavenly Father, thank you that I am dainty." I love it. Bennett is starting to realize that sitting is boring. He's not quite crawling, but is determined to figure it out. Erik celebrated another Father's day - this time with two beautiful children to claim. What a great dad he is! Truly he is incredible. But being the dad or the mom will certainly remind you that you are growing up. Hopefully as we grow, we will all become.