Goodbye September

September is on it's way out the door! Craziness!! We have been sick around the Nelson house for the past week, so once again, the motivation to update the blog has not been there.  Hopefully we are all on the mend as we welcome "fall" to Mississippi!!

We have celebrated some ups (a 62-7 win) and some downs (losing to Auburn in the last 1:30) with our dear Bulldogs.  We are excited to go back to Starkville soon for more football fun!

We went to have lunch with Papaw.  Thankfully the kids acted better than our last attempt in the Cafe!!!

We celebrated Kay Kay's birthday.

Walker was a huge fan of the ice cream cake!

Ella Kate had color days at school.  Poor child only has 2 of the days color selections documented due to the food poisoning that her mother was blessed with.  She had fun dressing in theme though.

We are super excited that McDonald's now has The Wizard of Oz happy meal toys! OBSESSED! There will be far too many happy meals in our future as we build the yellow brick road!!!

Nana came to stay with us while J was away at Breakthru meetings and she went along with me to take Walker to the allergy doctor. I am so thankful she was there because 3 hours in a doctors office with my wild man was enough to make me need a room at the crazy house.  Luckily, we were able to get some answers for Walker and have some crazy expensive medicine to help him.  

A big thank you to J, Kay Kay, G and Nana for helping our family make it through the past week! It was not too much fun, but I am beyond grateful for all the help with the kids, laundry, ironing, gatorade fetching, and more kid watching that took place!!!! We are truly blessed to have such awesome families!

My Big Boy

 I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but my baby has become quite a big boy.  He has just started to seem so much more grown up and it pretty much hurts my heart!!!  Walker turned 16 months old this week.  I think I did monthly posts with EK until she turned 2, but in typical second child fashion....I just couldn't keep it up.  I'm sorry Walker.  Please forgive me.  I did want to write a minute about this little guy so I can remember some of my favorite things about this age.  He is so much fun and such a blessing but my stars, boys are sooooooo different than girls!!!!

So, some things about my little stinker...he is such a loving, friendly guy.  He waves and blows kisses to everyone he sees.  He never meets a stranger.  He really likes teenage girls and is quite the flirt.  He has the funniest little dance that mainly involves spinning around in circles and bless his sweet heart, when he jumps, his feet never leave the floor.  He is obsessed with belly buttons and don't be surprised if he pulls your shirt up in search of yours.  He also loves feet and thinks it is funny to lick them when you are not paying attention...not sure how he is my child...vomit.  He loves shoes too.  He carries them around with him at all times along with his blankie and a ball.  He is mainly throwing with his left hand.  Anxious to see if that continues.  He loves dogs and gets so tickled when he sees one.  He can turn anything in to a telephone....the remote, a shoe, a book...it doesn't matter, it is up to his ear and he is carrying on a conversation. He would stay outside all day if I let him and the only time he is still is when he is watching someone on a lawn mower (Pop will be so proud!)  He is finally interested in actually reading books as opposed to just eating them.  Thank goodness.

He is quite the cuddle bug and I do love that.  He seems so big, so I am glad that he can still be little and let me get my snuggles in with him!!!  He is an amazing sleeper and goes 13+ hours at night with a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  I have to wake him up, throw him in the car seat and throw him a frozen waffle so we can get to carpool on time to take EK!  He is a bit of a scrawny dude weighing in at 20 lbs.  Size 12 month things finally fit pretty well, but my boy is up to a size 4 shoe! He will be catching EK in no time with her peanut feet!!!!  Silk Milk is his preferred drink and yogurt melts, applesauce and cheese are a staple.  He goes to the allergist on the 24th to hopefully work out some potential food allergies.  Fun times.  He is talking up a storm and it is so fun to watch him as he expresses himself....except when he expresses himself by pulling EK's hair when things don't go his way.

I just love this little guy so much and I am so thankful for the excitement he brings to our family!!!

A Little of This and a Little of That

I'm not really sure how it has happened, but it is already the second week of September!!! Time is flying by and it will be Christmas before we know it....hard to think about when it is 9 million degrees though!!!

EK and her bestie Anne Marie celebrated Maroon Friday at preschool.

We went to the MRA vs PCS football game.

We had a fun play date with Kathryn and her kids.

We played in the fountain at Renaissance after a little shopping.

We went to the Golden Triangle for the weekend and EK had a blast playing with Mary Reeves!

We attempted not to melt at the State game on Saturday.  Hot does not even come close to describing the day.  At least we won! Thank you to Nana and Pop for keeping the wild man!

Walker had his first day of Mother's Day Out today.  He was pretty excited and so was I!!! I went to the grocery store all by myself.  It was awesome!!!!

EK wanted her picture made this morning as well.  She was super pumped bc she got to stay for lunch bunch and dance today.

Happy Monday!!!

August Happenings

August has been busy and fun.  We are settled in at the house and J is settling in at his new job.  I love a routine, so I am thankful that school is starting back so we can find our groove!  We have our home visit tomorrow to finish up the home study process, so that is pretty exciting and nerve-wracking!! More on that later though.  For now, here is what we have been up to....

MSU had recruitment a couple of weeks ago, so we had to wear our Raggedy Ann gear in honor of Bid Day!!!!  We are SOOOO excited because 3 of J's former youth that we adore all pledged DG!!!!! YAY!!!!!

My Aunt Ellen and Uncle Allen sent the kids their own wheel barrow.  They are LOVING it.  I believe it was intended to help with the garden, but the kids have found all sorts of other uses.  EK's favorite would be collecting the laundry to take to the laundry room.

My Aunt Diane came to MS for a visit and we got to visit with her a few times.  My children were in rare form each time, so she may not want to visit the Nelson house again anytime soon!!!!  EK is OBSESSED with the new purse Aunt Diane brought her.

The end of August means one thing....FOOTBALL SEASON!!!! We have students at church that go to several different schools, so we will be getting to watch a ton of football this fall.  Our first game of the year was the Madison Central vs Brandon game.  As always, the band, dancers, and cheerleaders were the highlight for EK.

Friday night, we went to cheer on the Raiders at JA.  They didn't really need our help as they dominated the other team and even ran continuous clock the entire second half.  Oh well, EK was just happy to get to run around on the field after the game and get a balloon.

Saturday morning, it was middle school volleyball time.  We lead a very glamourous life people.  JA was playing Oak Grove in a tournament so we got to spend time with some of our favorite Hattiesburg people as well as see our new Jackson friends.  EK loved cheering on Alden and she had so much fun with Taylor as they ate tons of sugar loaded candy.

While we were watching volleyball, Robert and Haley installed the ceiling fans for EK and W's rooms.  When we pulled in to our driveway, EK screamed "Robert's here!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!"  She loves him...we think he is pretty great too and it is super to have someone handy around who is always up for a project!!! Thank y'all!!!!

Saturday night,  Pam and Sarah Katherine Sykes came by to visit.  Kat was a good sport and played dress up with EK.  The videos are hilarious and I will be using them one day for blackmail purposes most definitely.

Monday was the much anticipated first day of school for EK.  She is going to The Weekday Preschool at our church, and she has been soooooo excited!!!!

Nana and Pop were here for the first day send off as well.  A HUGE thank you to the Nelsons for getting our yard in shape for the home study visit! It looks great and we could NEVER have done it without their help!!!!!

The fact that this was the best smile I could get from EK, should have given me a clue as to what was to come when I went to pick her up from school.  When I got through carpool, a crying EK was put in my car.  They thought she was just tired but come to find out, she was running fever.  Awesome.  The first day of school and we are running fever.  I already had scheduled a doctor's appointment for Walker because his arms, legs and face looked like this:

So, I just called the doctor to see if I could just bring her in too.  Off we went to the doctor and what do you know, BOTH kids had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease and Walker also had Impetigo.  Say what?????  EK's was just a very light case, so she should be able to go back to school tomorrow.  Walker has been doing a lot of this...playing in a diaper because clothes rub all his little sore places.  Poor baby!!!!  

Maybe next week, we will all be back to normal?????

Horses, Hats and Tea Parties

While in Columbus for the wedding festivities, we got to spend some time with our sweet friends Kelly and Emily Hayes.  We LOVE the Hayes family, and it is always great to get to catch up, laugh, and of course, photograph the little monkeys.  Thank you so much Kelly for capturing such sweet pictures of my babies!!!

 And no photo session at Kelly's studio would be complete without something along these lines happening!!! Ella Kate insisted on her daddy, Aunt Emmy, the sheep, and the bunny wearing these silly hats. You have to love how they took direction from the 4 year old!!!!

Yes, We Are Alive

Well, it seems I have neglected the old blog over the last month or so. Please forgive me...all three of you that read it! The Nelson family has been on quite the whirlwind adventure since we last chatted. I will do my best to catch you up  from my trusty iPhone. 

Our sweet students and parents in Hattiesburg hosted a going away party for J. We had such a great time visiting and laughing! The students gave J an iPad and also a donation for Emma's adoption fund. We were shocked and appreciate them so much for all their generosity!

J is famous for creating music videos with the kids, so they did a video for him. It was pretty hysterical!! I believe it's on YouTube. 

A super huge thank you to our dear friends the Parsons for hosting the event and taking in 100+ extra people for the night!!!

The next day, we went to Picayune to celebrate Gideon Braddy's birthday. His sweet mama threw a mean Peter Pan party and we all had an awesome time!!

Sweet birthday boy and his delicious cake!!!! Also, please take note that josh was dressed as Captain Hook!!! I love a theme party!!!

We made it to moving day and said our goodbyes to Baracuda Drive. We are so blessed to have incredible families to help us along the way. The Nelson's kept the kids for a week while we got the house in order and my aunt Carolyn, mom, dad, and Haley were awesome to help get the house cleaned and ready for us. Thank you guys so much for all you did to help us!!!! We love you!!!!

To make moving a little more fun, we threw a wedding into the mix!!! J had the privilege to marry two of our students from Columbus. Bryant was a groomsmen in our wedding, so it was extra special to get to be a part of his wedding as well!!!

Things are going great in Jackson! This picture is from our first Sunday at Christ United. Ek said, "I'm going to remember this day forever!"  A little dramatic, maybe but it truly was an awesome day of worship and we are super excited to see all The Lord has planned for CUMC!

***when I get our Internet hooked up, I will be putting up some precious pictures that our friend Kelly took of the kids while we were in Columbus!!!