May 2014

May was packed full with big events. It was Foster's first birthday, Mother's Day and a trip to Santa Barbara. But just to balance out the fun, it also included, major wild fires in San Diego, James caught roseola, Foster cut five teeth( 4 of them molars) and I got a sinus infection. Luckily, the good stuff was really good!

Fire Season Comes Early

We had record breaking temperatures and winds in the middle of May. And it was pretty much 0% humidity so it was not a big surprise that there were fires. What started as roadside brush fires turned into huge fires lasting about 3 days. Ani was evacuated for an evening but the rest of us were far enough away from the flames that we never had to evacuate. They say it's going to be a very long and intense fire season. Oh goody!

Foster's Birthday

I am going to an entire post on Foster's birthday party but we celebrated his actual birthday at Disneyland. It was our best day at Disneyland so far. No breakdowns and lots and lots of fun. Foster found his favorite present, the biggest lollipop Disney has to offer. The lollipop found it's way all over Foster's face and clothes! It was the perfect way to celebrate our magical little guy's first year. 

Trip to Santa Barbara

When you're on a trip time seems to go twice as fast. We had a great time in Santa Barbara; shopping, celebrating our  6th anniversary and celebrating LeeAnn's 60th birthday. Here are some of the highlights: bike ride on the beach, chalk festival and spending time with Aunt Jamie.  

While taking a walk around the neighborhood in Santa Barbara we came across this spooky house. It reminded me so much of the house in James the Brave! So excited to get going on this project!

April 2014

Each month the gap in age difference between the boys seems to get smaller and smaller. They play together all day and yes, they fight too. Foster loves to play and tease his older brother and James has become quite protective of Foster. He frequently scolds anyone who he feels isn't treating Foster correctly. This habit might get old but for now I think it's pretty cute! 

Things we did in April: planted a garden, had lots of Easter fun and I am making headway on my children's book.

Olson Farms

Seriously, we are going to have to start selling lettuce pretty soon with the amount that is being produced in our garden. We must have magic soil. We are growing kale, butter lettuce, romaine, curly leaf lettuce and spring greens. We are also growing a variety of herbs, strawberries, eggplant, cucumbers, jalapeño, bell peppers and tomatoes. There is nothing better than picking fresh veggies to cook with every night. My very own farmer's market!

Easter Fun

We had a great Easter. I love this holiday for many reasons: pastel colors, best candy ever, egg hunts and the fact that we celebrate our Savior and His infinite atonement.  Now that James is old enough to understand who Jesus is we were able to teach Him about why He is our Savior and what it means for us. 

The Saturday before Easter we attended the Ewell Easter Egg Hunt for the second year in a row. The boys had a blast and despite Scott's instructions, James ate all of his candy within five minutes. 

Easter Sunday we attended church which was a beautiful service and then went to mom and dad's for another Easter egg hunt. One for the kids and one for the adults. I didn't do so well but Scott came away with about $60. Such a fun day!

James the Brave

I wrote a children's book titled "James the Brave" and this month it is starting to take shape. I have decided on a publishing house and Tess has begun illustrating it for me. The pictures look amazing and I can't wait to have a hard copy finished and in my hands. It will be ready for purchase by Christmas! Here is a rough sketch of the house in the story. 

March 2014

Before I get started, can I just call your attention to the fact that I have written a blog post for every month in 2014. I am really something. Okay, moving on. March was good. We had a visit from the Taos, Scott had his review and we spent our Saturdays at museums. One not so nice thing that happened, I got my phone stolen at Disneyland. But let's not dwell on the negative... on with the positives!

Visit from the Taos

It was seriously great to spend some one on one time with our cousins to the east. We have never had that opportunity with the Taos so there was some serious cousin bonding. James absolutely loved having them here. First thing every morning, he would ask if his cousins were coming over. He couldn't wait for them to get here and was sad to see them go. 

I loved bonding with the cousins as well. Great kids, great family. I need to see if there is a Rylie loan program that I could enroll in. 

Scott's Review

Obviously I'm not going to expand much on this because half of what he does I don't understand. But I thought as head of the Olson home it was important to include. Basically he works almost 12 hour days, everyday, and his hard work couldn't be more appreciated by his family. For a guy that doesn't feel all that great, he sure works hard at work and at home. We like him. We'll keep him. This is a picture of him working pretty hard.

Saturdays at the Museums

This month we made it to both Scripps Birch Aquarium and The Natural History Museum. From jellyfish to dinosaurs, it was fun for all. Foster even made a friend in a baby mastodon. 

Honorable mentions:

1. The boys and I have started going on 3 mile walks a few times a week. We go with friends, Mi Ani and sometimes grandma and grandpa. It's a great workout and an even better way for James to collect an obscene amount of sticks.

2. James had his wellness visit and he is well. 38 pounds of solid boy and he's doing great. Dr. Whitman was shocked and overjoyed that he did not get the dreaded scowl from James but instead lots of smiles and conversation. Our boy is growing up! 

3. I cut my hair too short. It will grow.

February 2014

For only being 28 days, February seemed to drag on. Maybe because it's the height of flu season, maybe because Anut Ani was in the Bahamas all month, or maybe it was because this was our first month on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (no grain, no sugar, no lactose). It wasn't all bad though, here were the highlights: Foster started walking, it was warm enough for the beach...again, and we've started going to a playgroup once a week which the boys and I really look forward to.

Foster starts walking:

He took his first steps on February 20th and has been working hard at it ever since. The kid looks way to small to be standing upright, much less walking but there's no stopping him. He is up to 10 steps in a row and I don't know who's more proud, us or him. He already seems to delight in his own achievement, a true Nielsen! 

Beach Days:

These beach days are such a tease for the fun days of summer ahead. We spent four hours at the beach with friends last week and it almost felt like vacation. What could be better than, chatting with girlfriends, snacking and letting the sand babysit your kids! 

Playgroup:

Thursdays have become very social for us. We've been meeting friends at the park or the beach every week and it's been great for all of us. Since having the baby, I've been missing my Girls Nights. Well, Thursday playgroup is a close second to going out with the girls. The boys are loving time with kids their age and it's fun to watch them develop new friendships. James has almost become social!

Honorable mentions:

1. James has learned how to pray all by himself. Every night he asks Heavenly Father for rain. Well, it started raining yesterday and hasn't stopped. When James saw the rain he said "Heavenly Father gave us rain." He gets it.

2. Valentine's Day didn't disappoint. I got three months worth of a cleaning service. Scott knows me too well.

3. Andrea will be having baby #5 in Oct to add to the cousin fun.

4. I've started making lemon curd and Scott and I are obsessed. 

January 2014

I'm making a goal for 2014 to post something at least once a month. And since my other resolution for 2014 is to accomplish the goals I set, it's only right that I kill two birds with one stone.

So here we go. January suprised me and was much better than I expected. 

Everyone has it out for January being that Christmas is over and it's long and cold but I'm a fan. This month we celebrated James' third birthday, had nice enough weather to enjoy the beach, went to Disneyland and started sleep training with Foster. Most these things were fun, one was not, I'll let you decide.

The Birthday:

We kept it simple, pizza and birthday cake. I can hardly believed I pulled off making a cake and ordering a pizza with Foster around. That morning he knocked down a mop spilling and breaking my full glass of smoothie on my nice clean floor, wouldn't take a nap and was an all around hot mess. But with divine intervention and help from my mom and sister, we got it done. James loved his party. He only asked to take a break from the party and go in my room once. And the next day he was really confused as to why no one was coming over again to bring him more presents. He's still confused. But he's very excited for his next birthday party, he's his mothers own son.

The Beach:

The beach is officially the answer to keeping Foster out of trouble. He stayed busy for four hours, count them 1-2-3-4, digging in the sand. A lot of sand ended up in his mouth but he was happy so I was happy. Scott and I are excited to spend every Saturday at the beach this summer. 

Disneyland:

In January, we had our best trip to Disneyland so far. No crowds, no breakdowns and the weather was perfect. The highlight for me was the Pixar parade. We were in the front row and all the characters gave their very best effort to make James smile. They failed. But what they didn't know is that he was actually having a really great time.

Sleep Training:

Two words. I'm tired. It's a good thing he's so cute.

Other honorable mentions:

• James is going to nursery on his own.

• Foster can stand up by himself.

• We finished the family room.

• The boys are obsessed with the car carts at the grocery store which makes my life easier.

• Scott has been teaching some awesome family home evening lessons.

• I went to the dentist. Probably not necessary to include this on the list but I like being thorough.

Before and After

We have finally completed the house projects we started about three months ago. I am so happy with the results and honestly cannot believe I get to live in this house. It feels like a dream come true. Here are some if our before and afters.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Deckin the Halls

Tonight was the kind of night I want to freeze in time so I can relive it when my boys are grown and decorating Christmas trees of their own.

Snickerdoodles, Christmas music, a visit from grandma and grandpa and whaa laa...our house has been filled with the Christmas spirit. 

Instead of decorating the tree, James decided to decorate grandpa. 

All the excitement wore Foster right out!