Been Awhile...

Hey everyone,
We have been crazy busy, but just so I remember what has been happening in our lives lately here we go...

Ryker:
Has been sleeping better...hopefully that continues!
Is becoming mobile- rolls over, turns in circles, scoots frontwards and backwards and is getting up on his knees...hopefully this doesn't continue as I can't contain his energy right now!
Jumps and jumps and jumps in his horsey
Loves his daddy even more, but is still a momma's boy

Ashley:
Was in a fashion show and yes, I did make a fool of myself
Applied for a job with Up to 3 where I worked over the summer. I would be working mostly from home so this would be perfect, we find out today if I got it!
Is so sick of school she could scream, but I know I will make it!

Dustin:
Is still snowmobiling and loving this weather (opposites attract I guess...I hate it!)
Bought a new fly fishing pole and loves it!

So that is what is happening in the Nielsen family in a nutshell....have to share this cute picture and will upload more when I get a second.

Drooly Elmer Fudd?

That's all for now...hopefully spring will come sometime soon!
Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Random Happenings

Hey everyone,
So here is a random post. Just had to put all this craziness somewhere for memories...
Last Monday I was pulling out of school and totally backed into a car. Their alarm was SO loud, but the owner was nowhere to be found. I left a note, but the damage wasn't too bad. They just had a scratch on their bumper. This is what mine looks like...a little worse.

Anyways, I have never heard from the owner, so they must not have thought it was too bad. I still feel very bad and wanted to apologize to them in person, not just in a note. What nice people though, I was not looking forward to that bill!

Next Saturday I am going to be in a fashion show at Dillards with my mother in law and Kristi. I am excited because the clothes are SO cute and I am excited to have fun with the family. If you can, come see the cute clothes- Noon at Dillard's next saturday.

Ryker is still teething...so sad! His belly is also not liking the veggies, so we are back on just cereal for a week or so. Too bad because he loves his peas and squash. He has been happy mostly but is not sleeping. I feel like a zombie today. He is doing better putting himself to sleep though and is taking a little bit longer naps. Yipee!

My grandma's nephew died yesterday. He was hit by a car as he was getting out of his truck and it did some severe brain damage. I feel so bad for his family. They are in our prayers.

I think that's it for now...just had to remember these random happenings!
Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Power Struggle

Hey everyone,
Ryker has gotten quite the little mind of his own lately. He gets so mad when we don't do things the way he wants. Needless to say, it is wearing us out quite quickly.
Me being the pushover I tend to be, I just can't stand to hear him cry. I called the doctor today about something else, but casually mentioned that naptime, bedtime and sleeping has become a power struggle (have I not posted about this about 1 million times?) They said that he really should be able to put himself to sleep at this age and should only wake up maybe once to eat at night. Not happening---well it was about a month ago but then the attitude started. So....
I'm standing my ground. I will have a child that isn't so needy and that can put himself to sleep. He is crying right now, refusing to take a nap. I feel like the worst mom but seriously, if I don't do something I may rip my hair out!
There is my rant for today...this being a mom stuff isn't for wimps!
Ashley

Whoops!

Hey everyone,
Last night after I was done with class I was pulling out of the parking lot and I backed into a car, The alarm started squealing so loud, but since it was parked I had no idea who's it was. I felt like such an idiot because one of my classmates and a professor came over to see what happened.
I left a note explaining what happened with my name and number, but I haven't gotten a phone call yet. There was just a few scratches on their bumper. It cracked mine in two places but isn't too bad. Needless to say, I am very anxious.
My header picture is new. We went to White's Ranch, a private hunting and fishing club in Paradise, for Dustin's work party on Sunday. We had a really yummy dinner and then took a picture in front of this big bull. It is the second largest ever killed in the world!
In other news, Ryker is now rolling from both back-belly and belly-back. He also is eating peas and loves them. I wanted a funny face when he ate them for the first time, but he just gobbled them. He does not like juice though, which is probably a good thing.
I also started a new blog for all my favorite things. Click on the link to the right to check it out!
Hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful weather. Ryker and I finally got to spend some time outside!
Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Best Day!

The other day was so great! I went to the mall with Kristi and found some cute jeans for $15. I picked up size 5 and 3/4. They were both too big so I tried on 1/2s just for fun. They were also too big so miss Ashley, who was in size 7 when Ryker was born is in a size 0! I was so excited...haven't been that small since I met Dustin.
In other news, Ryker has a tooth! It just cut through the gum- no wonder he didn't nap on Wednesday- poor kid was teething! He is also obsessed with smacking his lips together. So cute! He is also sitting up better everyday.

Spring Break!

Hey everyone,
It's Spring Break and I kicked it off by...sleeping in. Ryker slept till 9, which is unheard of for my early riser...usually it is 6:30. So what's on the agenda this week? NOTHING! I will probably be bored but I'm going to try to get my house all cleaned and organized.
In other news, Ryker is 4 months old! He is so huge. I packed up all the clothes that are too small and looking at those premie clothes amazed me. He was that small? I don't remember! He is so curious. Hard to control him at meal time cuz he just wants to look around. He is eating cereal and gets so mad when its gone. He also gets mad when we eat without him.

Notice the curiousity...can't keep anything out of his hands :)

He also rolled over today. He has done this before but now he actually knows what he is doing. He also sits up, sometimes he falls over but for the most part he can sit by himself. I took him to the store and put him in the cart today. He sat like a big boy even though his legs don't even come out of the leg holes in the cart :)


That's all that is going on right now...enjoying the extremely snowy spring break...the irony.
Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Working Mom

Hey everyone,
For the first time I had a feel of what it would be like to work and be a mom. I have an internship where I spend time with a sweet lady with Alzheimer's disease. I usually just go for 4 hours on Saturdays but this week I needed to be there for 8.
Kristi, Dustin's brother Colby's wife (they really should have a name for this relationship- is she my sister in law- in law?). Anyways, Kristi and her little girl Nikelle watched Ryker for me. They brought him to me twice to feed him so I did see him throughout the day.
It was so hard to not have him with me all day! I knew he would be fine but I missed him so much! It was also sad that he really didn't seem to miss me that much. He would have only needed to eat once and had I been able to pump, he wouldn't have even needed me ALL DAY! How sad! I like being needed!
Thanks Kristi for having tons of fun with Ryker. They went to Brigham, ate at a restaurant and even gave Ryker his first real meal (popcorn and rice)! Kristi wanted Ryker to sit up because that's his favorite thing to do. They didn't have a baby bouncer or anything so her mom said "I'll show you how we did it before the days of bouncers!"

Here is the result...

A pillow+ a washcloth + a chair= old way of sitting up babies :)
At first he was just sitting there with no toys and Twila said- "give him some toys so it doesn't look like we tied him to a chair and left him there!"
Kel also made sure Ryker was well taken care of. She is 2 and just loves Ryker to death. When we go over to her house the first thing she does is take out his wipes, diaper and changing pad and insists we change his diaper. She always tells me- "he peed!" If he doesn't need it changed, she patiently waits with all the gear until we are ready. What a good little mommy!
On Saturday, she rocked him when he got upset in the store and was sneaky and held his hand when he was sleeping- she loves to do this, although he resists most of the time.
Thanks guys for being his mommy for the day. I hope I don't ever have to leave him for that long again!
Ashley