Fighting Off the Winter Blues

I took this picture this morning when the temperature was -11 degrees outside.  brrr  I love Logan but this is the hardest time of year and the inversions are a killer.  There is no color outside and it can be grey and white for weeks.  This picture really doesn't do it justice because there is a little blue sky peeping through, but that's gone now.  I find it really easy to get the blues.  Especially now that I am a stay at home mom.  My interactions with adults are cut down significantly and I find it very difficult to motivate myself to leave the house.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love and feel incredibly blessed to stay home with my beautiful bouncy baby boy every day, but it can still be hard.  You kind of go crazy after staying in your house for so long...

So to fight the winter blues I have 6 things I am testing out to improve my mood!  My friend told me she was at a meeting with the General Relief Society Presidency (of the LDS church) and they said if your depressed at least do these 3 things every morning and it will help!

1. Read your scriptures.  Even if it is just one verse!  I love that they point out it doesn't have to be way long and time consuming. Just start simple!  I am finding that keeping it simple is benefiting me in a lot of ways lately.  (more on that later)

2. Make your bed.  Seems easy enough...most days...some days...( :

3. Get dressed.  I am proud to say this one I usually accomplish.  Usually.

I have been really trying to focus on getting these 3 things done first in the morning and have been pleasantly surprised how much they help.  Once they are done I am more motivated to accomplish other tasks and I generally feel more uplifted.  

Some other things that have helped my winter blues..

4. Exercise.  This is always difficult to motivate myself to do but I have found if I put on my exercise clothes as soon as I get out of bed I am 84.2% more likely to exercise.  Also I keep it simple!  I don't have a crazy long exercise regime and I don't force myself to do it for a certain amount of time.  I found that if I do say I HAVE to exercise for 1 hour than I avoid it like the plague.  An uninterrupted hour is hard to come by with a baby.  So I just start and go for as long as I can.  Sometimes this is 20 min.  Sometimes its 45.  Either way I feel like I accomplished something and move on.  

5.  Filter your entertainment.  I love TV drama but some of the shows can be very depressing.  I find that during months like these I have to watch upbeat shows, movies, even music or I feel crappy.  

Or I go on youtube and watch funny baby/animal videos!  These are some of my favorites. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Kt_kuYVtU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBSYD0dQCAw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFK30CspfJM

6.  Most importantly I look for the small treasures through out the day like this handsome little boys smile, laugh, or pretty much anything he does.  

 I also found this little rose plant at Sams Club for $5 and I love it.  It is so pretty when everything outside is so ugly.  

 I can also be extremely grateful for indoor plumbing.  Poor Mozzie has to go potty outside and I have been worried his pee will freeze in midstream and .....ok actually I am pretty curious if this is even possible?  

Anyway poor guy comes back in looking like this...and I unsuccessfully try not to laugh and take pictures every time.  

If anyone else has any tips on staying happy during the winter/grey/freezing/ time of year let me know!  

Love J

Motherhood is Messy

Title: It's a bird, It's a plane, No it's Liam peeing all over me!

This morning I was playing with Liam in my bedroom on the bed.  I especially love playing with him in the mornings because he is so happy and talkative.  I needed to change his diaper and was feeling lazy so instead of moving him I just grabbed the diapers and wipes and was gonna change him real quick on the bed.  Everything was going great until I turned my head for 1 second to see what Mozzie had just brought in the room and ...It started to rain.  Not just a little sprinkle..full blown cats and dogs coming down on me, my bed and worst of all my pillow.  I tried to keep calm but my emotions flowed free as I started screaming,"ahhhhh nooooo!!!"  Liam was unfazed and kept it coming like a fire hydrant!  When he was finished he looked at my horror stricken face and just laughed.  I am pretty sure Mozzie and him planned that one, sneaky little stinks.  

Well when i cleaned him up and picked him up he decided to spit up all over himself, myself, the floor, and Mozzies head.  

Well played lil'liam, well played.

For my next messy story you might want a garbage can near by because you might throw up.  

The Title: Mozzie's going to die

We have been letting Liam spend a lot more time in his bumbo now that he is getting so good at sitting up.  Sometimes he likes it and sometimes he don't. Sometimes I take him out and sometimes I won't.  hehe Sorry back to the story.  All of a sudden I hear him start packing his diaper full of loveliness and with his little hiney squished in the bumbo it is a guaranteed blow out!  Sure enough I pick him up and there was a lovely little poo puddle in the bottom.  So I left the bumbo on the floor to go clean up Liam first before I tackled that lovely mess.  In the middle of wiping down Liam Mozzie walked in and my heart sunk to the very deep down dark depths of my tummy.  If there is one thing Mozzie loves, it is to clean up any mess left on the floor.  I sprinted as fast as my little legs could carry me back to the bumbo and sure enough it was perfectly clean, it even shined.  Now I started to dry heave a little, got Mozzie outside, and waited for him to show signs of death.  He just looked at me through the window like, "well that's not a very nice thank you for cleaning up your little humans messes!  Sheesh you humans need to learn a thing or two about cleanliness."  

Well I am happy to report Mozzie didn't die but I don't think I will ever look at him the same.  But regardless he is still my Mozzie and I love him and grateful for his willingness to clean even when it makes me want to puke.  

The End! (or at least for the next minute or so until some other mess comes upon me)

                                        

My adorable drooling 4 Month Old

Is it 4 months already?  Oh man how time flies!  Here is our darling little 4 month old!  All these pictures look similar because he would only sit still for a few moments so I snapped them all at once!  He is always on the move and looking around at what's going on!  He is sleeping like a champ and is the happiest in the mornings.  My favorite part of the day is going and getting him out of his crib and seeing his beautiful smiling face!  He also rolled over for the first time a few nights ago and loves to stand up with some help.  He hates his car seat and will arch his back and use his head and legs to block himself from settling in.  He also drools buckets and buckets and spits up all over his mommy and daddy.  His favorite is turning his head at just the right moment so it all goes down inside my shirt....mmmm I love warm spit up baths.  

 Liam: Hey Mom let me drool on you..

Me: No stay back drool monster!

Eating chocolate while Breastfeeding causes gas...Myth or Fact?

Last week Liam was really fussy and had a hard time sleeping.  He would try to relax then wake up 15 minutes later screaming.  My mom was staying over and thought it was probably gas, so we started researching how to soothe him as well as what could cause it.  I had heard from a few people that if they ate chocolate and were breastfeeding this happened to their babies.  I tried to ignore this but knew I had eaten a good amount of chocolate lately.  I cut it out of my diet to see what happened and he seemed to do better the next few days.  Yesterday I was making some homemade OREO type cookies to take to neighbors that brought me meals after I had Liam and I thought it couldn't hurt just to have one!  Just one!  If you know me you know this is amazing because I could eat them all!  Sure enough a couple feedings later Liam was screaming!  Even today he seems to have an upset tummy and this morning he was especially gassy!  

Does anyone know if this chocolate myth is true?  The nurse at my pediatrician says there is no evidence but I have talked to some woman that say they couldn't even have chocolate shavings on a piece of pie. I am a die hard chocoholic and I am so depressed but it's not worth what it does to Liam.  This is a testament to how much I love this kid because I thought chocolate was worth anything!  Thank goodness for gas relief drops or the poor thing would never be able to relax.  Also does anyone know how long it takes to enter your breast milk, as well as exit?  

He sure is a handsome little fella!  Here he is at 4 weeks old!  I love this outfit and he looks stinking adorable in it but it is the most impractical thing for a new born!  It's a pain to get on and doesn't seem very comfy.  At least it made for some cute pictures.  

Sleep Deprived

Oh what I wouldn't do for a good 8 hours of sleep...i would even take 5 or 6 continuous blissful hours of uninterrupted sleep.  aww it sounds so nice.  It's weird to day dream about sleep, but it's probably one of my favorite day dreams.  I have had a few people tell me it's possible to have Liam sleep 5 or 6 hours straight even this young!  I have been trying their methods with little success.  A good night seems to be if Liam will go back to sleep within 20 minutes of waking up being fed and changed.  These times are rare but cherished.  He is more consistent waking up every three hours to feed at night than he is in the day time.  I am not one of those people who functions well at night.  I have heard some mom's talk about how much they love the time they spent with their babies in the middle of the night.  I wish I could be one of those mom's but instead I am half mom half zombie.  I usually have one eye half way open, and can only grunt.  For example when Jason asks if I need help I respond, "ugh."   A lower pitched ugh means no and a higher pitched ugh means, "yes, help please!!!"  Ok I am not always this bad but its not pretty.  Still every night I go to bed with hope that maybe this will be the night that Liam sleeps more than 3 hours.  Ha and it's funny what rules you break in the middle of the night.  For example I have been told over and over don't let the baby sleep in your bed because it starts bad habits.  Well at 3am Liam can sleep in our bed until he's 18 for all i care!  Fortunately Liam does spend a good amount of the night in his crib lately.  As long as he has his binky he doesn't seem to care where he is but when your the one having to hold in his binky or keep replacing it, you would rather be lying down. 

Even with a lack of sleep I can't express how much I love that little boy.  I don't I could understand this kind of love until I had a baby.  I was thinking about the different relationships in my life and the different degrees of love I have for people.  There is the love I have for my parents and family, then the love I have for my friends, the love I have for my amazing husband, and then I had Liam.  A whole new type of love develops within you where you know you will do anything and everything to give them the most wonderful life you can.  Your world just revolves around this precious little person and you dedicate your life to them.  Even when your covered in poop, pee, and spit up.

Here are some pics of our Handsome little man!

 Love that yawn!

 Liam always has to have his arms out of the blanket and around his head and face.

 and they say babies can't smile?

 Love this pic, with our neighbors beautiful flowers.

 On a very very sad note Mozzie has had some trauma.  Against the advice of my mother I cut Mozzie's hair short because his hair was getting matted and he hates getting brushed.  I dropped Mozzie off at the groomer and when I got back there was a rat in his place....  This is the last cute picture I have of him all fluffy... so pictures of Moz may be limited until his hair grows back.  Jason insists it's not as bad as I think but every time I see him now I let out a sad sigh. Don't worry I still love him all shaved and naked looking.  I also blame my bad decision on sleep deprivation.  ) :

Our New Life!

Oh my goodness we have gone through some changes these last few weeks.  It is amazing to be a new parent and definitely the hardest thing I have ever done!  I have always said though the hardest things in life are the most rewarding and that is the truth!  I never knew it was possible to be this in love with your precious child.  Even after being covered in spit up, poop, and pee I couldn't be happier.  He is the most precious little guy and I wish I could just cuddle with him all day.  It is breaking my heart to see how much he has already changed in just a few short weeks.  It makes me more aware I need to savor every second with this handsome little guy.  I try to remember that in the middle of the night when I think I am going to fall over I am so tired and just praying he will go back to sleep.  I keep thinking of that country song, "Your gonna miss this."  The lyrics go, "You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back, you're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast."  Its true.  I already recognize that I will soon miss these days, no matter how hard or exhausting they may be.

Our little boy is pretty amazing.  I can't believe how strong he is.  I am pretty sure if we arm wrestled he would put up a good fight.  This of course makes getting him dressed and changing his diaper difficult.  He can kick like a horse!  He also makes it his personal goal to try and pee on you every time you change his diaper!  and he is usually successful.  No matter how you try to outsmart him he figures out how to soak you.  Sometimes you don't even know how or when it happened.  You think you succeeded and hold him up all clean and look down and see your shirt is drenched.  If that's not a prodigy in the making I don't know what is.  I am considering investing in some ponchos, and creating a blue (wet) zone around his changing table.

I have also been learning to avoid getting spit up all over me.  I am usually unsuccessful but am making progress.  Between the spit up, pee, and occasional poopy blow out Liam and I go through a few outfits a day.  I think our record is 5 for him 3 for me.  This is especially difficult for me because I don't fit into my clothes yet and my outfits are limited!  Let me just say laundry has become a daily routine!  Jason also has received his fair share of spit up, pee, and poop on him.  When it does happen to him I usually laugh my head off and less than ten minutes later the same thing happens to me.  Karma!  The only one who has seemed to escape is Mozzie.  

I definitely couldn't have survived these last few weeks without the help of my incredible husband, and mother.  Jason has been wonderful to help me in the middle of the nights.  Even though he can't feed Liam.  He still helps with diapers and trying to get Liam back to sleep.  It means so much, and is a huge blessing for me.  Also my mom has been a life saver.  I have learned to appreciate mothers so much more through my pregnancy and the birth process but its amazing to see how much my mom still helps and does for me.  I promise I have the best mom in the world!  

We have been lucky enough to have lots of family come visit us including Jason's parents for a couple of nights.  They were wonderful to also help us out and let us get a few more hours of sleep.  Liam is so blessed to have loving grandparents on both sides that think the world of him.  I love seeing him with them and am grateful for both our parents and all they do.  Jess, Joan, Gary, and Chris we love you and don't know what we would do without you!  You are all amazing, thank you for everything you do!

On a sad not one of my best friends in Logan moved today.  Stephanie and her husband are off to Minnesota for grad school.  I am so excited for them but don't know what I am going to do without Stephanie.  We have gotten very close the last 3 years and will miss her like crazy.  She has taken all our wonderful pictures the past few years and we hurried to make sure she could get some of Liam and the family before she left.  The good news is Jason has business in Minnesota so hopefully we will go out and see them soon!  Can't wait!  Good Luck Stephanie and Jon!  Thanks for your love and friendship and soooo many fun memories!  

Here are some family pictures in a poppy field Stephanie found in the Island.  If you don't know what the Island is it is in Logan south of USU.  We were lucky because similar to our family pictures in the fall in front of the colorful wall of leaves these poppies only last a few days!  It was so beautiful!  

 Here are some of our handsome little guy at 1 week old.  Stephanie is amazingly patient to get some of these shots because he is pretty stubborn and like I mentioned before strong!  It can be really hard to pose him and get him to stay that way.  It took many hours!

 And what may I ask is even harder than posing a newborn?  Posing a newborn and a puppy!

WELCOME HOME LIAM!

 On Wednesday, May16th we welcomed William Jason Nelson into this world and into our family! In my family there has been tradition for quite some time of the firstborn son taking the fathers first name as his middle name in your family, it was fitting and worked out perfectly for us to keep this going! First off I have to say that none of this would have happened if it was not for my beautiful and determined wife who did absolutely incredible throughout her whole pregnancy and during labor - I LOVE YOU! Guys we have life pretty easy when you take this whole scenario into perspective and realize from day 1 until now exactly how sacred the women in our lives are and the calling they have in life! We are blessed beyond measure to have them in our lives and should never take for granted just how special and amazing they truly are. This experience was so life changing for me on so many different levels especially spiritually and the power that comes from seeing him for the first time along with hearing him cry for the first time and knowing he is healthy. There is no doubt in my mind that our little ones are watched and cared for on all levels before, during, and after they join us in mortality by those who have came before us and those who are yet to come. I can't believe I am a DADDY....seriously so cool!

He is everything we could have hoped for and more - he is a beautiful boy, full head of hair, and attributes that many of us are not sure exactly which side they came from - nonetheless he is our little angel who already has miraculously changed our lives and we know will continue to do so!!! Here are a few pictures we would like to share with you of our little aggie stud muffin!

Cutest Baby in the world!

He loves his fingers around his mouth and face and is strong enough to usually make it happen

He just wants to be held by Mommy!

Our new little family, isn't he adorable?

Look at all that hair...