Addilyn Caroline Nielsen

Addilyn was born August 13th. It's been a little over a week in a half now. The days are just flying by. I thought it was a little ironic that in my last post about Rylan's birthday, I ended it with saying I was still pregnant and that I was so ready for her to come.... I posted that at 8:51pm and then started having contractions early the next morning. She was born at 1:26pm that day. She was 7lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long. Rylan was the exact same length, but 7lbs 3oz...Weird how close they were!

After checking into the hospital, she was born about 2 hours later. It was a very fast delivery and a completely different experience then with Rylan's birth. I'm feeling great and it's only been a little over a week. Addilyn is doing very well too. She is such a good baby. She sleeps all the time which makes it easier to still tend to Rylan. Knock on wood- hopefully she'll continue to be a little angel! Here are a few pictures from the hospital and the first week being home.






First family picture with both kiddos!


This is what she looks like 90% of the day. Eyes closed... sound asleep!


Look at those eyes!


I will admit, I was nervous on how Rylan would interact with her. He has been doing surprisingly well though. He gets so excited when he firsts sees her and starts babbling in this high pitched tone. It's pretty cute... we are still working on how to be "soft" with her. He gets a little too excited sometimes and slaps or grabs at her. He loves to take off her socks (you can kind of see it in this picture).....


He also likes to help push Addilyn in the swing... if he only knew the purpose of what this kind of swing does (pushes on it's own), but Rylan gets a kick out of pushing her.


My mom helping Rylan give her baby sister a hug... I love her face, it's so squished. What a big, sweet hug Rylan!


We've been hanging out at home for the most part. I haven't attempted to go anywhere by myself with the two of them yet. Maybe next week sometime. :) For now I stay busy enough between the two of them! I'm having a lot of fun though. It's surprisingly not what I expected it to be like. Life is good!

Rylan Turned One!

We celebrated Rylan’s first birthday last Friday, August 6th. It's crazy to think that it was only a year ago when we were in the hospital welcoming him into our family. Life has never been the same since, but we sure wouldn’t change that for the world! Here's a picture of Rylan the day he was born...



We were so lucky to have family in town to help us celebrate! My brother Timmy and sister Chrissy came with all of their kiddos from Vernal. My mom and other sister Kimmy were already here in Salt Lake.

Rylan probably didn’t notice anything different about his special day, but he sure enjoyed all of the balloons.



We took Rylan to the mall to ride on some silly fun quarter rides, then we went to the kiddy park with the soft equipment he could actually crawl all over. After a short nap, we met up with all of the family at the park for a picnic. Rylan still hasn’t had much interaction with grass, so he’s still getting used to it. I love this picture! It was taken at the perfect moment, check out that face!



My sister Kimmy used her awesome artistic talents to make Rylan's birthday cake. We decided to go with the Curious George theme. Rylan was very interested in what she was doing as she began to decorate.






She did a great job! It looks like we found our own personal cake decorator for years to come! :) The final product...






Rylan blowing out the candle.



Rylan was a little shy with his cake at first when it came to eating it, but after some help he learned how delicious the cake and icing were!


We opened some presents afterward… there were a lot of adorable pictures of how excited he was to see so many new toys, but I thought this picture would sum up his facial reactions of the entire process.


The next day we went to an awesome indoor/outdoor water park at the Rec center. We have lots of pictures, but with me basically 9 months pregnant and in a swimsuit in almost every shot... so sorry… no pictures will be posted of that event. :)

We had a great time celebrating Rylan’s first birthday. He definitely has his own little personality. He’s an active, busy little boy that has brought so much joy into our lives and soo many funny and happy memories. We look forward to another year as he continues to explore and learn about the world around him. He’s at such a fun age!

Before I check out, I wanted to let those who are still wondering, yes…. I am still pregnant. This little one is on her own agenda. We are very anxious for her to arrive! Here's one last prego picture....I am so ready for her to come!

29 Weeks Pregnant


39 Weeks Pregnant


Do you see that silly little boy at the bottom, smiling as I'm getting my picture taken! :) What a cutie!

Fun in July!

I figured I'd post about a few things we've been up to these past few weeks before it really gets chaotic around here. My due date is August 17th, but my doctor says that I won't make it that far. He said I'm dilated almost to a 3 and now 75 percent effaced (sorry, a little too much information I know). It's just crazy to me because after having contractions for what seemed like all day before we had Rylan, when I checked into the hospital I was at a 3. So, she obviously has her own agenda.

Two weekends ago was Pioneer Weekend and before the excitement on the 24th happened, my mom took us to the Days of '47 Parade Float Show where you could help judge. It was pretty exciting to be able to see all of the floats up close.

Rylan reaching to touch with his little pointer finger :)


They had a marching band come through, Rylan seemed like he wasn't sure what to think of it. This is Rylan with Aunt Kimmy (my sister). She moved here from Virginia and is staying with us for a little while.


Then that weekend, we went to the actual Pioneer Parade in Salt Lake City. My mom and sisters camped out the night before to get a good spot. Although it sounded like they had a lot of fun, I don't think Rylan would have done too well. Not to mention me being almost 9 months pregnant! We got there a little before the parade started. All of Rylan's cousins (Chrissy & Kevin's kids) were so sweet to share their parade toys with Rylan.

Rylan waiting for the parade to start!


I'm grateful they stayed the night to get the spot. I was able to reap the rewards without having to pay the price. :) They got a great view right on the street. It was really cool to be so close and in the action.



Rylan liked the parade for the most part. The only part he didn't seem to like were the Police driving by on their loud motorcycles with there sirens going off. I guess that part was a little too loud for him. He loved all of the bands though! Everytime a band would come by, he'd clap his hands and shake his little head (that's how he dances).

Grammy & Rylan clapping to the music.



The parade was a lot longer then I had expected. All in all, Rylan's first parade was a hit. He enjoyed it and was definitely exhausted. He was out when he got in the car.


Later that night we went to see some fireworks. Rylan did really well considering how the 4th of July went. Pioneer Day was a lot of fun. It was great to have family in town to celebrate it with.

The following weekend was Kyle's brother's wedding. We've got to hang out quite a bit with Greg & Emily during their courtship and engagment, so this was an exciting weekend to be a part of. Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

Kyle's family with the happy couple.



Family picture at the Salt Lake City Temple.


Rylan looking like a total stud!


That night they had a reception at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Rylan got to spend the evening with Grammy and his cousins (Timmy & Brittany's kids). He had a lot of fun at the "Fun Center" where they skated and got to ride a few rides.

Riding with cousins Brooky & Allie.



He dumped the cup over and icy cold water went all over his feet. I thought this was a cute picture. Rylan has lots of silly faces. He shows his emotions and what he's thinking on his face well.



Before Kyle's parents left, we were able to visit with them one more time. We sure did enjoy spending time with the family. They're from Colorado so we don't get to see them too often. Rylan will be celebrating his first birthday tomorrow! They gave him an early birthday present. He loved the gifts! This was just another cute picture of his facial reactions I was saying he was so good at.



Well, depending on when our new little addition to the family wants to come, I may be posting more pictures from Rylan's birthday. We have lots of family that will be in town for the weekend to help us celebrate. So we are very excited!