Notes from the Nelsens: Life Updates

37 WEEKS

Today marks 37 weeks for this 3rd pregnancy- we are SO close to meeting our baby girl!

We spent the long weekend close to home and soaked up all the family-of-four + Tal time we could. We swam, we walked to breakfast, we played in the driveway, we ate on our patio, we went out for pizza and ice cream, we hiked, we spent some time with Mimi & Papa, we organized and cleaned a little and relaxed a lot. It was SUCH a good weekend.

Each day during nap, Matt and I sat down by the pool for a bit, and each night after the kids went down, we sat by the fire on our patio. It really felt like vacation without any of the packing.

We talked about how different these final weeks feel with this pregnancy than they did with Ryan or Natalie's. We have so much anticipation but without any of the nervousness. We're just ready for whatever life with 3 will bring.

In fact we laughed because one of our nights on the patio was spent making a list of 40 places we want to travel, both with our kids and just the two of us- that's how different being within 3 weeks feels this time. I can promise you we weren't having those conversations right before Ryan or Natalie were born!

LITTLE WALKER

Well guess who decided she wanted to start walking this weekend?!

This girl!

Saturday morning she stood up from the floor and flashed that wide open smile and took two steps before reaching for the floor and trying again. She worked her way up to 8 steps by Monday and prefers to walk with one of our hands over crawling just about everywhere now. Sweet girl is on her way to being a full-time walker!

MAY GOALS

I finished Love Lives Here, made two new recipes, and finished setting up Ryan and Baby Girl's new rooms!

You can check out the first recipe here.

The second recipe is a homemade popsicle recipe that I'll post tomorrow.

And I'll also share pictures from the new rooms later this week. I'm so happy with how they both turned out!

Love Lives Here Review

This book was a great, light read that made me think about what I want our home life to look like and what kind of family I want our kids to grow up in as the years go by. It sounds obvious, but a family culture is going to exist, and it's either going to be one that Matt and I intentionally set and are diligent to maintain, or it's going to be set by other influences- people, activities, opinions, schedules, school, sports, etc.

I like the way the author and her husband seemed to think about these things on the front end in an effort to protect the type of family atmosphere they wanted to create.

Two passages that really resonated with me were:

"When the kids were young, Bob and I tossed the busyness of outside distractions in order to protect our home life. We took time off from volunteering in youth ministry, cut down on evening events for a period of time to give consistency to our schedule, and we eliminated a couple good things to make room for three great things: Lindsey, Richard, and Adam. Family memories mean more to me than personal accomplishments. Both are good, but on a priority scale, there are seasons when spending time with the family will always mean more to me. It's an investment worth making." -pg. 184

"A stable and abundant home life is what I wanted deep down. A home full of people who practiced love, joy, peace, patience, and understanding, until we got it right, even if it took a lifetime to figure out how. I wanted a place where people felt nurtured, where exploring, adventuring, trying, and failing were supported. I envisioned a home where gathering for meals not only filled our stomachs but also nurtured our souls, and where we'd rally when one of us got sick or suffered or struggled. What I desired most was an environment where laughter and music hung in the air, where the flames of creativity were fanned and the fires lit by fear, judgment, and condemnation were snuffed out swiftly, and where everyone was safe from emotional trip wires and landmines. In short, I wanted my family to live where we could serve God, each other, and be able to say wholeheartedly to everyone entering it, Welcome Home." -pg. 212

So, so good.

If you'd like to read the rest of Maria Goff's book, you can order a copy here.

I'll finish this post with some pictures I snapped throughout the weekend:

Natalie loves sitting on this bottom step, and this time Ryan went to sit by her and asked her something, I'm not sure what, but the way he had his arm around her and was bending down toward her face was too sweet.

I snuck this pic of the two of them at my doctor's appointment on Thursday. They have been so great to come to so many of my appointments with me and have done really well playing with their toys while we wait.

Friday morning we ran into Target to make a return and picked up a couple of things from the dollar spot- Ryan tried on this Mickey hat and decided to go with a wooden painting kit instead. :)

And Natalie picked out a pink ball that she was pretty excited about, sweet love.

From there, we headed to the mall to get Natalie her first pair of walking shoes. We had a gift card to Nordstrom from Aunt KK (Matt's sister), so we went there to have her feet measured and find the right shoe for her. Well little did I know they would pull out all the stops for this Little Lady's first shoe shopping experience! Girlfriend got balloons and a little stuffed animal bunny to go with her new shoes. She was so cute and looked so grown up to me!

Friday afternoon, Matt left work early and met us at the park. He and Ryan we playing on the swings and slides while Natalie and I rocked in the lady bug car and played with my glasses. :)

Friday night and Saturday morning, we painted Ryan's little wooden shark that he got from Target, swam in the pool, and he and Matt ran around the yard with the balloons from Nordstrom (Ryan ran totally naked, of course) while Natalie and I played with the water table and hose. :)

Sunday morning, our church wasn't meeting (they do this every Memorial Day and every Christmas to give staff and volunteers the weekend off), so we went on a hike at the Roswell Mill near our house. It was Natalie's first time in the backpack and she loved it!

Ryan was such a big boy and walked most of the way, and then asked Matt to carry him. Bless Matt. He carried him a pretty long way back after we saw the waterfall!

Monday morning we walked up to a new coffee & waffle shop in downtown Roswell called Crazy Love. It was a fun start to the extra day off for Matt!

After naps, Mimi came over and Papa joined a little later for our Memorial Day dinner. We hoped to swim too but it rained all afternoon, so we just played inside and ate on the screened porch.