"Miss B turns 3!"

I can't believe my baby is now 3 years old! It feels like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital and Tristan would crawl up to her, grab her bottle out of her mouth and start drinking! She has taken a lot of abuse from big brother "T-Dawg" but has learned much from him too, such as running away from mom in the grocery store, shutting the door on dad and mom, how to throw a football and how to write the letter "B".

Remembering when we had a feeling we were going to be expecting another baby (only about 10 weeks after having Tristan) we both were so excited! And even more so when w

This little princess can be very shy, however she has a very big personality when you get to know her.

Some of my favorite things about my baby doll are...

*Her blanket. You can't say anything about Bella without saying something about "Ning Ning". Ning Ning comes to dance, shopping, church, park, tramp, the Tree house or Discovering Gateway and I even catch her in the sand box digging for some burried treasure!
*She loves Cinderella!
*Her entourage of animals, baby dolls, purses, jewelry, makeup etc. It changes everyday and every morning she comes downstairs with her arms full of treasures.
*How she calls the church "Daddy's Temple".
*Bella is learning along side big brother and knows how to spell her name. She loves to learn.
*Before she could walk she would pack around this mini baby in her purse. She loves loves LOVES little babies and cannot wait for new little sister to come home.
*I love how she says "thank you" and "you're welcome".
*I love how she calls Tristan "T-Dawg!"
*With having this baby my back has hurt and I often say how uncomfortable I am. Little do I know little ears are listening. I asked Bella to clean up her puzzles and her reply was, "but Mom, by back and my tummy and my head hurts! I can't pick up my puzzles!"
*I love how she puts on her lip gloss.
* Bella is very shy, but has a big personality. I love to hear her little conversations with Tristan, her friends and Ning Ning. She is a funny little girl.
*She loves to sing and its fun to catch her sing to her dolls and animals.
*She loves her Daddy! The excitment starts when she hears the garage door open!
*Her laugh!!! Reminds me a lot of her Daddy's :)
*Hugs and kisses to T-Dawg when we drop off and pick-up from school.

I love this little princess! She has brought so much joy and happiness into our little home!

Happy Birthday Beautiful!

Conversation

Is it not so fun to have someone to talk to all the time and have a great conversation with? Since I left high school I have found that my best and most fun conversations are with my Mother and sisters. We talk usually once a day or most often we all talk to Bonnie once a day and she distributes the news to everyone else. Blake will come home and ask, "how are the Tollestrups today? Whats new?"
As we were driving to school today the conversation was started in the back with Bella Reese, "Mom look, the new park with the new school!!! I want to go to school like T-Dawg."
Tristan:"You can go to school B, just like me."
Bella: "No T-Dawg, I too scared."
Tristan: "Its not scary B. You learn your letters, ABC's, and get books and play with friends!"
I often forget how fast these two are growing up. It has been so fun to listen to their "conversations" throughout the day and house.

Happy Birthday Blakesters!

It is the Eve of October 8th and an exiting time in the Nelson household as the man of the house turns the big 34 in the morning! Happy Birthday Babe! I remember celebrating your birthday for the first time at the Macaroni Grill and the fun birthday presents I was aloud then to get you. We have had some fun times and it has changed a lot, but definitely for the better. As now on the Eve of your bday instead of penne rustica, its popcorn & cheese with coke and a hand rag. This guy has so many amazing qualities that I just have to name a few, maybe a few 34 of them and some fun stories and memories...
(They are not in any particular order)
1. I love love love Blake's laugh!! He has a contagious laugh, when he starts I start. The best is going to the movies and he starts laughing during the parts where no one else will laugh, therefore making everyone else laugh because of his laugh. I hope that just made sense.
2. He is the best Dad in the world! When he comes home from a long day of work he always gets down and plays with Tdawg and Bells. He is always fun and they LOVE to hear the garage door open because that means, "Dads home!"
3. Coke. I cannot count how many times Blake has started his "goal" to get off coke but lets just say it is a lot!! It usually starts Monday morning and ends in a large headache Tuesday night.:)
4. He takes care of all the bills, need I say more?
5. Blake is always up beat and positive!
6. Loves sports! Everything from Basketball, football down to ping pong.
7. To go with num. 6 he is always playing sports with Tristan and Bella. Tristan's favorite sport right now is Football. It is fun to watch them "tackle" and "run the bases".
8. He has a story to go with everything. We will be driving down the street and he will say, "that reminds me of when I was hauling hay" or "Back in college". (I get a little tense when I hear the back-in-college ones :))
9. He puts up with my 9 months of expecting moments.:)
10. He is very humble and modest, one of my favorite things about him.
11. Hard working! He works so hard with everything and anything he does.
12. He will be patient and help me hang all my pictures/decor on the wall. He is great at measuring and hamering (always on an angle).
13. Blake is soo good with math. He can add/subtract/times/divide and figure out the percentage so fast!
14. Plays Rook like a pro., even though I don't always agree with his method of strategy.
15. Never says anything bad about others. (unless he sees some of his family or old friends walking down the street with a keg and a wife beater on. Please do not get offended, it is just a joke we have had going on since date1).
16. Boomshackalacka ( I don't even know if this is right or makes sense, but he says it all the time and now Tristan says it just like him and it will always make me laugh)
17. His love for the Office, Modern Family, Seinfield, Sportscenter, Glenn Beck, Hannity etc.
18. I remember our first Scrabble game we played together. We didn't make it past any 4 letter words.
19. I don't know if he has ever read a novel in his life.
20. For our anniversary last year he took me to see New Moon, (might I add because of all his popcorn lunches that this was the only movie he hadn't seen) and made fun of it the whole time, but I just laughed at all of his comments.
21. He is the best to travel with, he knows his way around so well, even in foreign countries:). Our trips are always so fun because he is such an easy going person who is always wanting to please others. I love that about him!
22. He is great with money. Very frugal whereas I am learning. :)
23. "Patience is the key word". That is the Tollestrup family motto. Well Blake has a lot of it especially when it comes to #22 and myself.
24. He has a testimony of the gospel.
25. I love how he dresses for work & church. Always so dapper.
26. Great at public speaking
27. He has a big heart and very compassionate.
28. He is great at golf and we love going to go to the driving range or the put put as a family. This summer he taught Tristan how to hit it off the tee. Bella, well, he is working on that, she insists on having her own golf clubs like T's, but must be pink and when she doesn't hit it, she just ends up throwing the golf ball.
29. When I look at my children I see so much of Blake. Bella is the spitting image of her dad and Tristan, well, when he is doing something mischievous, Blake is written all over his face.:)
30. He is a totally different person playing sports, especially basketball. :)
31. He works hard so I can stay home with the little ones.
32. We sit up at night and laugh and tell stories about our kids. I will always love this. It is surprising that they even made it to bed tonight as they were up and down "needing" a drink or another story etc. Looking at each other we just sat back and laughed.
33. He has always showed so much respect and love for me. Always opening my doors, giving me a hug and kiss when he comes home from work, and has Tristan and Bella always thank me for dinner and take their plates to the counter and since I've known him, he has never said an unkind word or called me any name ever. He has always given me confidence in anything I do.
34. Blake is the most selfless person I know. For Christmas, Father's Day, his birthday or whatever day I will always ask him what he wants and he will always say "nothing, I don't need anything." He is always putting others before himself!
I could write a billion more things about Blake, but I probably have embarrassed him enough with my cheesy list. But I realise how blessed I am to have him as my husband and father of our babies. Happy Birthday Babe, luv ya!

My Posts

It has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog. Sorry everyone. I have however written many posts and saved them until I could get my pictures on them. Having an older computer where it takes a lot longer to upload images and to write any post with half of the keys mysteriously missing :) makes blogging not always my favorite thing. When I see family and friends blogs, however, it makes me want to keep mine up as well. We had a very fun/fast summer and a very exiting start to fall with new baby-on-the-way, school, dance, birthdays etc. There is much to post so please stay tuned. :)

Canadian Cousins

The "Cool Girls 2!"

Growing up we always had a lot of fun at Grandma's with our cousins. This summer we had that wonderful privilege as we spent time up in Canada with Grandma and Grandpa. With my brother living just around the block and my sister coming to camp out for a week, we got to know all of our Canadian cousins. There is Emma, Tody, Brady and Ave, also Briggs or "mom, that guy who takes his shorts and shirt off and is naked :) (sorry Becs), Ester, your Livie, Oaks, Aunt Becs, Emma's mom, Emma's Dad, Uncle Al, Aunt Ang, Grandma and Grandpa with the bad knee. We went swimming, played at the park, diving board, road bikes, sleepovers, Magrath Days, hiking, throwing rocks, more swimming, playing doll house, Rock-Paper-Scissors, fireworks, mashed potatoes and milk gravy and did I mention swimming?! These cousins along with our Provo cousins (you'll always be Provo as there is no way of going down there without thinking of them!) have a special place in my heart! Maybe it was all the babysitting I did as I was only 13 when Avery was born. They are really great cousins to my little ones and put up with a lot of tagging along and fit throwing!

One very funny story as I can not forget is one day after swimming with Cody, Emma and Brady we all went up to 'The Store' to pick a treat. Well, Bella picks her usual Cheetos and we went to Grandma's basement to relax. Bella was laying on Brady's lap and unlce Al came down to say hi to the kids and he turned to Bella to say Hi and give her a hug. Well, Bella is quite shy some moments and as Al tried to talk to her she closed her eyes as if she were alseep and couldn't see him, however she continued to put her cheesie little fingers in her Cheetos bag to help herself to some more 'treats'. Classic Bella.

They talk about their cousins all the time! Bella is always on her phone to Emma and Ave and we do her hair like Emma's, dress like Emma, and even dance like Emma. As I write she is even talking to Emma on her phone, "Hi Emma, ya my ning ning." When I asked Tristan who his best friend was he answered, "Cody". The other day I asked Tristan where he wanted to serve his mission he told me, "Canada, so I can visit Grandpa and Grandma, Cody and Brady."

We have great cousins! We love and miss you so much!

Bella the Ballerina!

With her big brother starting his new school there is no way little sister was going to be out shined! Miss B started her dance class with her friend Macey. They learn tap and ballet and let me tell you how darling these little sweeties are! Dressed in her tights, tutu and tap shoes she was so ready to dance! This little class brings out her personality in a fun way! She loves being a ballerina like Emma and Ave!

First Day of School!

"First day of School! First day of school!" I felt very much like Marlin, the clown fish, on Finding Nemo last week as my little Nemo started his first day of preschool. He was so excited, I on the other hand was full of emotions (mostly due to the expecting baby on the way) nerviousness mostly, with the thought of letting my sweet little baby going all by himself. The night before Blake gave Tristan and Bella each a Father's Blessing and what a special experiance that was. My children actually sat still and reverent and when Tristan was done, Bella jumped off the couch and said, "My turn!"

The next morning we started off with a bowl of oatmeal and some sugar and with Tristan's new school shirt and Bella's new dance outfit we were all ready to go. Tristan was so excited for school and was so polite saying, "Thanks for breakfast mom!" and "I love you so much mom!" followed by a big hug and wet kiss! He sang all the way to school, "First day of school, first day of schoo!" When we reached the school he didn't even hold Mom's hand, he just ran as fast as he could to his class. He is my little stud and I am so excited for what is to come this year.

A Fathers Intuition!

Since I've been a parent I understand a little about a father's intuition. Judging by the way my father reacted to me coming home late on the weekend nights, I'm pretty sure he had some idea about the grain elevators we were climbing, the bridges we jumped and how many hanging eggs hung down the streets of Raymond, Magrath and Cardston. (If he didn't know then, he knows now). Well, I'm sure Blake will have the same intuition about his little girls. Yes thats right, little girls. He has been saying for weeks that we are having anonther little girl and he was right! We left the doctors office an excited little family, well... all but one. I asked Tristan if he was excited about having a little sister and he said "No! I want a brother. I want to read to him and share my room, not Bella's."
Names are another fun topic. Blake and I so far cannot agree on a name, however I don't believe we will have a say as Bella Reese already told us that the baby's name is Emma Ave. For those of you who know her she usually gets her way!:)

A Week with the BONDS! Followed by a Trip to Canada!

Well, we have had an adventurous month of July (and last part of June)!  Aunt Becky and the children followed by Grandma in the Kia came down south for a week visit while Oakley went to "college" as Esther put it.  Oakley came down for a week of BYU basketball camp and loved it.  He stayed at the dorms the whole week, he is growing up way too fast!  

We had a blast with swimming, shopping, driving, more shopping and a quick trip up to Park City!  Aunt Becky bought Brigham and Tristan matching Buzz Lightyear PJs that look like the full Buzz Lightyear.  They loved them!  All trip they called each other Buzz!  The last night Oakley surprised us with a firework show and then it was off to Canada!

We have had a fun two weeks so far!  Tristan and Bella love to have cousins so close.  Everyday they ask for Cody and Emma.  Today we went swimming with Aunt Deanna and the kids and we had a blast.  Tristan runs off the diving board all by himself and Bella Reese tried it a few times herself, with a little help from big cousin Avery.  Bella loves her cousins, especially the boy cousins, Brady and Cody, she thinks they are "tute" and "pansome" (cute and handsome).  I don't know what was more fun, the swimming or watching this one life guard who has a crush on my niece Avery.  But we are making some fun memories for sure!

Tonight we are having a sleep over at Grandmas, Avery and Emma in the 'girls room' and Cody, Bella, and Tristan in one bed.  Singing songs got old fast so instead we told stories.  Cody told some, "out from my head" and Tristan's went something like this.  "Once upon a time there was a boy named Tristan Errol Nelson, Bella, Mom, Aunt Megan (he has started calling me Aunt Megan, "Mom, Mom! AUNT MEGAN!!!') and Blake Dad went swimming, went off the diving board and then home to Grandma's house.  The End."  Bella's story went like this, "Mommy, Daddy, T and Bella, swimming, Grandma's house.  Amen!"  

I know this is a fast little rendition of our last couple weeks but if I didn't write it down I might have forgotten it.  We really miss dad!  And cannot wait until he comes up!   

(I am sure there are many mistakes with this post, but my children are still running around.  Our sleeping is a bit off as the sun does not go down until midnight up here!)

Park Adventures

Bella playing with her bud Easten. They like to race down the slides.
Where ever we go and Tristan sees kids he always shoots, "Hey Guys!!!". He has the ability like his dad to make friends easily. This little boy was 6yrs old and they played How to Train Your Dragon the whole time. Tristan loved it!

We have such a fun little park just 10 houses down from ours and though our swing set is fun it is nothing compared to the PARK! Everyday it is either park or swimming, so every now and then we call up the neighborhood friends and head to the park. It is always a blast. Bella always has her baby stroller or shopping cart to push and Tristan is the stud with his sun glasses!

Fishing at the Indian Ponds

Blake sporting the Zeniths sweatshirt. He did it to score some points with the fam.

Last week we went up to the annual Nelson family retreat to Roseivelt, Ut. We went up early with Casey, Emily and Livie to fish in the Uintahs at the Indian Ponds. Well, it turns out miss. Bella Reese LOVES to fish! I think a big part was the fact that Livie had a Dora fishing pole and of course she had to have it. Livie being the good cousin that she is, let her use it and surprisingly that little pole caught the most fish! Bella would not let me help her (not that I could do much to help anyways) just her Dad and she caught 4 fish! T-dawg caught one, but was more interest in exploring or throwing rocks in the ponds. It was a fun little family adventure and it is so fun to watch my children get older, they are growing up before my eyes!

Happy Fathers Day!

It has been forever since I have written a post on this blog, to my family fans I am sorry! Uncle Al asks every time I talk to him to post some pictures of my children and now that I have finally had some time & a husband to help me figure out how to work our new camera we have some pictures!

But I couldn't help but write a few words about the wonderful fathers in my life. First, I have an amazing Dad and he is such a great Grandpa too! (T & B call him grandpa with the hurt knee). Growing up when I told people my last name they always asked "well who's your dad?" and I would tell them and they would always tell me how they loved to watch him play basketball back-in-the-day. When I was down in Provo surprisingly I was asked many times as well and always the same response. I write this not to be boastful, just simply proud. I love to hear his stories about life and where and what he has done. As a little kids he would always tell us stories about when he was growing up on the farm, and then in the background we would hear my mom say, "oh ya right". :) Fun times. Happy Fathers Day Big Phil! I sure love ya!

I have a pretty great father-in-law too! You should hear him speak, he is like a fountain of knowledge with the scriptures! He taught Blake how to work hard and he willingly lets us use his 4-wheelers, truck and trailer to go up line creek whenever we ask. Not to forget all the free gas and bringing them home after every trip dirty and muddy. Happy Fathers Day Nate!

My Favorite Father Blake.

He will probably make fun of me for writing this post, but I can't help but write a few somethin' somethins' about my husband! Here is just a short list that makes him such a great Father!

*When he comes home and the kids hear the garage door open they immediately run and hide and he will always "try" and look for them. Tristan and Bella think they are so sneaky.

*He plays games with them. Whatever they want, hide- and-seek, the Caterpillar game, memory, throw the ball at mom game etc.

*Jumps on the tramp and does "atomic bombs."

*Lets them take sips of his coke. (I don't know how 'good' that really is, but if you know Blake he loves coke!

*He helps them eat their dinner and if they want they sit on his lap.

*When Tristan is supposed to be in bed, some nights he will sneak downstairs and jump up right next to Blake while he is watching sportscenter. Blake lets him eat his popcorn and cheese (I know that doesn't sounds good, but actually its not too bad). Tristan will usually eat it all. My kids will not have popcorn without any cheese!

*The nights he is home, he'll bath the kids and make it so fun!

*He reads them bed time books.

*He gives them their vitamins every night.

*I've noticed, every time we are getting the 4-wheelers ready for a ride or trip he always lets Tristan help him. Help him to tie them down, drive them on the trailer etc. Tristan loves it so so much and just wants to be right there by his dad always. I'm sure Blake could do these things much faster without his "help", but he always involves him and its fun to watch.

*He lets Tristan drive the 4-wheeler.

*When Bella wakes up at night she wants her Daddy! He always holds her and she will usually fall right back to sleep in his arms. (It may sound a bit cheesy but its cute)

*Lately we have many MANY knock,knock jokes and he will always play along every time.

*Blake works hard in the church and with his calling(s). Its a great example for our kids to see.

*He has been teaching T & B to ride their new bikes.

*They Love to ride on Dads shoulders and he lets them whenever they want to. (all 48lbs)

*He tells them what a great Mother they have and how much he loves her. (That is my personal favorite)

*Lets just say I haven't been on my A game lately, so when he gets home from work he will take the kids so I can rest.

*Blake works very hard everyday. His line is "If I'm awake I'm working" and its true. He puts in long hours everyday so I can stay home a raise our children.

*He reads the scriptures every night. With little ones that can be hard to do:)

My list goes on and on. Blake will probably get a little embarrassed by this. But, I love him so much and he really is such a great father & husband! I love ya!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Well today it is windy, snowing and so so cold and to top it off Tristan has the flu and Bella Reese has a super bad cold and was up all last night. This morning Tristan came up the stairs and said, "Mom my tummy hurts bad". I didn't think much of it but as I put them in for their morning bath he had a 'throw up burp' (taken from the neighborhood boy who would always knock on our door for cookies etc. when we lived in Vegas. He would say, "ah, I just threw-up in my mouth!" Blake and I still joke about that) and it all started coming out. After he threw-up breakfast etc he said, " Ahhh, that was gross!" So we got out of the tub and I gave him and Bells a shower.

Growing up being sick was our favorite, because my mother would be at our beckon call all day and we always had Canadian Dry Ginger Ale! So I decided to go to the store and get some pop and things to make chicken noodle soup. Well, Tristan wanted to get a movie "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" he kept telling me "a chance of meatballs mom, thats what I want to watch," so of course I say yes. While we are in the store, I'm holding Tristan and he tells me again, "mom, my tummy hurts!" and before I knew it, he threw up again, this time all over me, himself and Fresh Market's floor. We hurried and cleaned up the best we could, ran and got our groceries and ginger ale. As we turned the corner down the beverage isle Bella says, "Mom! Look who it is....Dad's pop!" She was so excited she found her dads favorite pop, can we guess? Well if anyone knows Blake it is nothing other then Coke. Anyways, we hurried to the checkout and then to the Red Box to get our movies and then finally home. I hope my little ones get better soon, we have a couple birthdays to be partying at. :)

Better Late then Never

We went to Temple Square with the Nelson family and had dinner at the Lion House. Here is little Bella with her boots. She loved being able to put them on and take them off herself so for months she wore these all over even if there was no snow to run threw.

Uncle Al says I never update my blog and he never gets to see pictures of his favorite niece and nephew. :) Well, I thought better late then never with some of our winter/Christmas pictures. For Christmas Blake gave me a beautiful professional camera:) (well, prof. for me anyways) so most of our Christmas morning and other pictures are on that camera and once I figure out what I am doing then I will post more pictures.

Spring has Sprung!

Blake Jr.

This is the face I see right before he takes off down the grocery isle or out into the street.

How can I get mad at that?

Mia & Bella Reese

I love living in Utah! One of my favorite things is the weather. I know you are probably thinking, "the weather, what?" Yes the weather, spring comes early (well, early for us Canandians. I remember the snow would melt and thinking we were safe to wear shorts then all of a sudden the worst snow storm would hit, school would be canceled and driving was out of the questions because we couldn't even get the Maxima out of the driveway. Two years ago we packed our little family up to Cananda the last week in April for my little brother's wedding and it snowed the whole week we where there. Poor Blake was stuck inside and his 2 rounds of golf/day was out of the question.) and fall is longer then a month. With the weather now warm we are out jumping on the tramp, in the sand box or running to the park everyday. We also have been visiting my sister in Provo a lot lately and last week my children, along with their big cousin Mia, found some little flowers popping up in the flower garden. They decided to go in and out of the house with glass mugs full of water to water the flowers. "There is a purple flower Mum!" says Bella (her favorite color lately is purple). It was so fun to watch these little ones playing together so well without any tears!

T-Dawg

Tristan had been going to preschool now for 3 months and it has done wonders for his speech! He loves school and all his little friends. It is so fun to watch him run in and say hi to Liam or Shawn and not even look back at where his mom went, he is getting to be such a "big kid". After school yesterday he was so tired that when we were in the car he said, "hurry home mom, I'm tired!". He doesn't take naps anymore, but yesterday he went right upstairs and got under his covers, told me to shut his closet so no monsters would come out and went to sleep. He had a two hour nap and when he woke up he came to the top of the stairs and said,"Hi Mom!" He played all afternoon and was the biggest angel! At dinner time, while he was eating he said, "thanks for the food mom! its good". He is growing up before our eyes! He was so funny last night I could go on forever! He had to sleep with Dad and didn't want me there and told me to go sleep in his bed. Blake usually watches sports center before bed so Tristan likes to sit up next to dad and watch basketball too. I had Blake turn it to the Olympics (ladies figure skating because the Canadian was skating last night, Go Canada!) and Tristan said, "no girls, i don't want girls, turn it to boys, i want basketball!" Blake was so proud!
I have such a wonderful little family, its so fun to watch my babies growing up!

This morning as I got Isabella out of bed I said to her, "Guess where we're going today!". Her response, "the Temple?! Daddy's Temple!". Bella's favorite song that must be sung before she goes to bed(besides Blake's rendition of Shimmy, Shimmy Coco Puffs) is I Love to See the Temple. When we took the children to Princess and the Frog she saw the Disney Castle and screamed "Temple!!". Anyways, to get back to my story, when we go by our church she thinks its the Temple, and since Blake has meetings before church on Sunday, I take them by myself and the only way I get them out the door on time is to tell them we're going to get Daddy at church. So she thought we were going to meet her Daddy at church. She is such a funny little thing!