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!

Anniversary and June Update!

Today is our third year anniversary! We were married on July 13, 2007 in the Washington D.C. Temple. As I was looking through our wedding photos to post a few, so many memories of that day came flooding back to me. It was a very special day and so much fun!

As we look at where we’ve been and where we are today, we realize we are truly blessed. I am so lucky to have Kyle as my eternal companion. Poor guy is stuck with me for good. :) I’m grateful for the time we have had together and the many years to come as well. My sister Chrissy took Rylan this past weekend so we could celebrate. It had been a while since it was just Kyle and I. We take Rylan everywhere we go because we don’t want to spend the extra money on a babysitter. Needless to say, we had a great time…thanks Chrissy!

The last time I posted was the beginning of June; I don’t know where that month went. We’ve been super busy with lots of family in town plus all of the summer events. Here are a few things we’ve been up to:

Rylan went swimming for the first time. He was pretty quiet at first, having a somewhat scared look on his face. It didn't last too long though, he got comfortable and began to splash, splash, splash! It was getting all over him, in his eyes and mouth. He didn’t even seem to care. No crying at all. He just splashed more and more.

Mid-Splash...

Kyle’s Mom and sister Kristin came into town from Colorado for the Nielsen family reunion. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them for the weekend they were here.

This is Carson, Kristin and Seth’s little girl. She was only a few weeks old at the time. She is adorably gorgeous and I loved holding her. It got me super baby hungry for our little girl! We are very anxious for her arrival…I am at least. :)

Rylan and Nana

My Mom moved out to Utah from Virginia about 2-3 weeks ago. It’s been great having her here and getting to spend so much time with her! Here are a few things we’ve been up to.

My Mom got tickets to the Stadium of Fire where we got to see Carrie Underwood perform. It was a lot of fun! The show was great and the fireworks seemed to never end. Kyle and I bought a few fireworks to do on our own with Rylan. It was still daylight because of his bedtime, but I think he got the idea. Any fireworks that made a 'pop' or crackling sound seemed to frighten him. However, he did okay watching the ones that lit up with minimal sounds. Here are a few pictures of our 4^th of July.

Rylan with his first firework...

No more fireworks please...

Chrissy and her kids came to visit from Vernal. We went to Big Cottonwood Canyon and had a BBQ.

Rylan trying to cook his first S'more.

Not the best picture of me, but needless to say Rylan loved the river! He took his eyes off of it for literally 3 seconds enough for us to get this facial reaction from him.

Rylan, Grammy, and a few of his cousins!

We also went to the Gateway mall when Chrissy was here. They have the Olympic fountain which is a water show set to music. Kids can run through and play in the water while it goes.

I wasn’t brave enough to go out there, I didn’t want to get wet. So my mom took Rylan for a ride.

Not so sure about the water spouts.

And here are some random pictures of Rylan from this past month.

He still loves to empty whatever cabinet or drawer he can get into! The mess on the floor is his doing...

Rylan loves to help brush teeth! No matter what he’s doing, he’ll drop everything when he sees one of us with a tooth brush. He’ll just hold on to the handle the entire time as happy as could be. We did end up buying him one of his own, even though he still only has two teeth. Hopefully this is the beginning of a good healthy habit for him. He loved brushing teeth before he was even one. :)

Rylan is a very happy and active child! I will admit that I’m constantly exhausted with being 8 months pregnant and trying to keep up with this little guy. He loves to be chased (crawling) and loves to play an easy game of hide and seek. He’ll watch us go down the hall and he’ll laugh as he crawls to come find us. Then he runs away screaming and laughing as we pop out and chase after him. He also loves to wave “Hi” and “Bye.” Although he's not walking on his own yet, he did take two steps without holding on to anyone last week. But that’s the most that we’ve seen from him. He’ll be turning one year old in about 3 more weeks!

So I am on my official long-term summer break. Friday was our last day of school. I told my class that I would post all of the pictures I had taken that last week of school by Saturday. Sorry, I'm a little behind. It was definitely the best 5th grade school year yet! I will definitely miss this chapter of my life, but I'm glad I have so many wonderful, fun memories to cherish!

Almost Summer....

Well here we are....tomorrow will be the first of June. This is my official last week of school. I won't be returning next year with two kiddos basically under the age of one. :) If I have our little girl right on time, that will make them 1 year and 1 week apart. It's been a rough year juggling everything and I just don't see how it suppose to happen with two. I'm grateful to be able to have the chance to stay home with my children. It's figuring out how to continue to survive while Kyle starts school and works part time as well. I know that the Lord will provide a way. I'm just curious as to how. :) Here are a few pictures to sum up these past two months. We've been keeping very busy with school, work, and church callings....but we've managed to have a little fun in between on the weekends.

Sweet Rylan at my friends Wedding Reception.


He has been on the move (crawling) since the end of April now...


Rylan has learned to open up cupboards and drawers. He thinks it's the best game ever to empty out everyone he can open.


Or even emptying the book shelf...


He loves to climb in, on, under and over everything he possibly can and often finds himself stuck...


Chrissy's family came in to visit from Vernal a few weeks ago. They invited us to go to the zoo with them. Rylan only seemed to be interested when he was up close and personal.


They invited us to a BBQ afterward...Being such a beautiful day, I thought Rylan would love crawling all around the yard. We discovered he didn't like the feeling of grass very much. We're slowly introducing him.


And lastly, for those who've been asking to see my prego belly...me at 29 weeks!