big bear

christmas in big bear was lovely! it was so much fun and we all have plenty of memories to last us a lifetime!

we stayed in the royal canadian lodge!

the whole crew!

our little family in christmas jammies!

santa claus and mrs. claus

baby cousins! Carson (3 1/2 months) & Emmerson (2 months)

tutu's!

we had a dance party!

all the cousins!

all bundled up!

driving home...

the wrong snow.

well this year was supposed to be a canadian christmas with all of my family, but immigration paperwork put a serious damper on those plans. Greg's family is having a huge party for 5 days, and 33 family members up in the mountains at a huge lodge in Big Bear and so we still get to do something fun, and don't get me wrong i love his family, and i know we will have a good time, i just can't help but be a little bummed this holiday season.

oh a happier note...enjoy some cute pictures of my baby that would put a smile on anyones face! :)

bestest friends.

meet emmerson's best friend and neighbor, beckett....

the first time they met, he held her hand.

they celebrated halloween together

little boys got game...we caught them kissing.

i have a feeling they will be great friends...and

we could have some sweet pictures to show at their wedding! :)

birthday party

Emmy attended her first birthday party this afternoon. Vivien Claire turned 4 today!

santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing...

emmerson got her picture taken with santa at the mall yesterday! she was such a good little girl. i'm certain she made the nice list.

december

we are officially in the christmas spirit in our little home. the tree and all the decorations are up, greg bought me a dvd that plays a fireplace on the tv with christmas music in the background, and I have it on a lot. it makes us feel warm and cozy. greg has a christmas puzzle going on the coffee table, i have been baking sugar cookies, i have been watching christmas movies, and i bought The Night Before Christmas at the bookstore yesterday and read it to Emmy this morning. i love christmas.

thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving!

love greg, nikki & emmy

joy.

my life is quite different than it was three weeks ago. i feel happier and more overwhelmed than ever before. i used to consider myself a selfish person. getting married helped that a bit, but having a baby leaves NO time at all for being selfish and sometimes i miss being able to pick up and go somewhere without having to pack another human and a weeks worth of items, taking a nap whenever i feel the need, having time to myself or shopping for clothes...in my size. but as much as i think that i miss those things, all it takes is one look at that darling little face and my selfish desires vanish immediately. amazing! i wouldn't change a thing. i love this little being more than i thought was possible and i feel so blessed to have such a wonderful little family.

oh...incase you were wondering...my baby IS a genius. she is super alert, she recognizes familiar voices, she can roll from her belly to her back and she takes a pacifier like a champ. she has a cute little personality, can shoot the meanest looks, and she has just the right amount of sass. the kid has a million nicknames. i call her my little ladybug when she's all dolled up with a flower in her hair and pearls around her wrist just because she looks like such a lady, but she is more commonly known as stinker-bell... mainly because she craps FAR more than the average human. she likes to be held ALL the time which makes being productive a challange, but she sleeps well so i can't complain. little emmerson is a complete joy and she's already growing up too fast.

two weeks!

sorry for the serious lack of blogging. it's amazing how much time a baby takes up. i will get back into the blog world real soon, but in the meantime enjoy some pictures we took of sweet emmy this morning.

emmerson claire nielsen

october 26th 2009 11:51pm 7 lbs 15 oz 20 inches

so in love.

new time...

9:00am! leaving for the hospital in 5 mins and soooo ready!

you're killin me smalls!

the hospital called once Greg and i were all dressed and ready to leave saying they are full, and i have to wait for a call telling me what time to come in...HOPEFULLY they were reffering to later this morning. i'm pretty sure that is some form of torture. fingers crossed that at some point today, we'll be well on our way to meeting this little girl (who i'm POSITIVE will be worth the wait once its all said and done), until then...my head will continue to explode with anxiety.

i.want.this.

...and if you want in on this THIS delicious action too...friend nikki is doing a giveaway and i'm pretty sure you wont win over me, but you can try. visit her blog HAVE JOY if you're interested.

hello, goodbye.

to my due date that is...

yep, october 24th has nearly come and gone. thank goodness for a doctor open to elective induction because i am all scheduled to check into the hospital at 5:30am on monday morning to get things going, and i couldn't be more ready. wish me luck, and do not fret, this week my blog will be plastered with pictures of sweet little emmerson! :)

ps. apparently i got confused this morning and put all of our bread and bagels in the freezer instead of back in the cupboard. greg just found it there and now thinks i'm mental. i don't even love my brain these days.

ten.

i am now able to count on my hands the days left before my due date. ten days, but how often is that accurate? last week's doctors appointment revealed that i had progressed slightly, but yesterdays news of no more progression took away all hope of an early baby. I plan to demand being induced at next weeks appointment preferably on or a day before my due date, which my doctor actually agreed to, so we'll see if he will hold true to his word. I plan to walk in the sand and eat spicy food daily to get things moving. other than the fact that i am bored of being fat, doc has no good reason to pump drugs through my body to kick this little baby girl out early, so it looks like i have at least 10 more long days of waiting.

on a happy note...i slept for 12 hours last night...how many 9 month pregnant gals can say THAT happy phrase? i feel rejuvenated.

love is in the air!

well it's official folks...these two are getting hitched!!

congratulations to my sweet sister steph and her lover nate!

tutus

i have a new hobby. i'm trying to be crafty these days since i'm pretty much home alone everyday with nothing to do...so i've been trying to come up with things to create. i was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of my current endeavor. There's nothing like a little girl in a tutu and i was about to purchase one for $15 last weekend when i thought, wait a tick! i can do this myself! and so i did..these are of course infant sized for my little Emmerson, but i can make any size! want one? i can make one for you!

bates nut farm.

we've been celebrating halloween a little early in our tiny nielsen household as i am fully intending on being slightly out of commission this year. we bought a massive bag of halloween candy weeks ago from costco and it is already down to the crap no one likes. Bates Nut Farm had a halloween celebration over the weekend that we decided to attend, and the decorations in our home now consist of a few mini pumpkins and squash-ish/gourd type creatures in the center of our coffee table. that is as far as we will go. i wanted so badly to paint my stomach like a pumpkin and lay in the patch, but you'll have to settle for the classic lovers on a pumpkin shot.

the last weeks of "table for two".

i was thinking back to my dear friend Julia over a year ago, blogging daily about anxiously awaiting the arrival of her sweet baby girl. i was so excited for her and wondered what it would be like to feel that way. well....here i am. i have 3 weeks left until my due date....everything is done and ready. i sit. and wait. baby story on TLC has become the highlight of my days, and sweet husband coming home remains the highlight of my nights. wonders of the little one consume every single thought in my head. i don't feel terribly uncomfortable, and although getting a good night sleep is getting a bit harder, i still don't feel like i can complain all that much. i've been lucky. as anxious as i am to meet her, i feel content. i do apologize for the baby excitement completely taking over my blog the last 9 months. i was going to try to be better at that, and spice it up with other stories and happenings, but i found that i just didn't blog very often when i didn't allow myself to write about the baby on board. well, i have a feeling that it wont slow down any. once she's here the ol blog will be flooded with pictures and stories of how darling and advanced she is and you're all just going to have to deal.

no more miss nice girl.

from disney to the dark side. miss miley cyrus put on a fully racy show last night and i couldn't be more disappointed. i don't know what i expected after seeing her performance on the teen choice awards (complete with a trashy trailer, butt cheek baring shorts and a pole) ...see HERE...but i just figured she still represented disney and would keep it PG...especially taking into consideration the fact that her fan base in mainly made up of 6-12 year olds. well sadly, another one bites the dust. thank goodness we still have sweet taylor swift in the world to balance things out.

tonight...

...i am attending the miley cyrus concert with ashleigh, dyanna and savannah. don't judge. and try not to be too jealous! ;)

doctors, blankets and crack.

so. i had a doctor's appointment this morning. i walked into the office...and the lights were out. i saw the nurse in the back so i popped my head in to say a friendly hello! (but really i was thinking why in tarnation didn't anyone call to tell me that they obviously weren't taking patients today!) i told them i had an appointment at 11:45...i had the card to prove it. she checked the computer and nooooo nichole in the system. she forgot to write me in, therefore she obviously didn't call to tell me all appointments for the day had been cancelled. lame. i drove back home (20 minutes).

i ordered a precious blanket for emmy over 2 weeks ago from etsy.com. i've been waiting and waiting for it not so patiently. i started tracking it a few days ago, and finally yesterday i saw that it had been delivered and i couldn't WAIT to get to the mailbox. well i got to the mailbox alright....and realized we didn't have a mail key. we didn't have a mail key because Greg lost his keys (come to find that dear old grandpa pocketed them) i have been going crazy for the last 2 days so anxious for the treasure sitting inside our mailbox, and knowing that we wouldn't have that key until saturday afternoon. then a miracle happened....sweet husband heard the mailman drive in today and i sprinted outside to collect the goods. i love that blanket extra now.

you know how some fellows wear their britches ridiculously low? like so low they have to waddle in order to keep them up? yeah i saw that today. i saw that walking across the street while husband and i were stopped at a red light. i also saw that he forgot to wear underpants. we're talking a good 6 inches of crack for the world to see. we laughed.

wheel....of.....fortune!!!

so, remember that one time a few years ago....my husband was on the price is right??

need a recap? here he is...

well folks, this time he's going for wheel of fortune!! auditions are in san diego on saturday and we are SO THERE. well, i'm just there for moral support, but i'm seriously hoping that the combination of his cute face, and mad puzzle skills will land him a spot on the show so that he can win big and buy little emmy and i a house!! we watch the show every single night while eating dinner, and he truly has talent. wish us luck!!

my weekend was probably better than your weekend.

i feel this journey of mine to getting legal in the united states of america is finally going somewhere. today we will meet with a dear lawyer friend from church to get everything in order and hopefully all paperwork will be sent in this week sometime. (fingers crossed) if everything goes as planned...i will be approved for permanent residency and i get to go HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! (and return back here afterwards, which i guess is the big issue at this time) ....i guess if i DON'T get approved i will be deported and heading home for 3 YEARS (husband will be devastated) ...so either way home is in my near future! right now i just dream of my wonderful family and snow angels and and lovely hughes family celebrations for the holidays with gregory john and baby emmy. is that too much to ask?

today is sister shell's birthday!! she is finally 20 years old, which makes Logan look like much less of a cradle-robber. haha happy birthday shell!!! i love you and it was so great to see you this weekend! we spent all day yesterday at lawrence welk resort playing in the pool...and on the water slide (thats right "women who are pregnant should not go on the water slide" signs don't phase me!! due in 6 weeks and riding the slide like a champ!) then we went out for dinner. the day was swell.

speaking of the weekend, i went to my first high school football game on friday night. this was my first, mainly because football wasn't an option at my high school. we had...rugby ....hockey ... basketball...soccer...volleyball....nope. no football. i can honestly say i didn't pay much attention, but i liked the overall experience...and Hunter Moore is a stud. i think i have a crush on him.

i hope all you lovers had a lovely weekend!

emmy's nursery

Emmy's Shower

My dear friend from church, Jill Wright threw baby Emmerson the sweetest little baby shower. Aside from the hot hot heat, everything was precious. thank you to everyone who made it so special! oh....and Emmy will be a well dressed little girl.

sasterssss (shell surprised me from utah!!)

the tarts!

the chocolate...see's of course.

cupcakes!

party favors! (see's chocolate inside)

the darling baby wreath made with love by Dyanna Moore

hot pink gerber daisies!

we like presents!

family and friends!

it was truly a lovely baby shower!