The Halloween Tail (get it?) of a Little Lobster

It's weird...a little lobster has been hanging around our house this week.

When I told the lobster that he was going to be cooked for dinner, he wasn't too happy.

But then I decided that he was too cute to eat, so I told him we would go to a Halloween party at Bapa's church instead.  He liked that idea and cheered right up.

Once we got to the party, he found out that he was going to have to go back in the stockpot, and he was a little concerned and frightened.

But Aunt Sarah comforted him, promising that she wouldn't let anyone eat him.

Relieved, he calmed down and just enjoyed himself at the party.  Everyone stopped to admire him and his cute cousin, Peter Pan.  And really, who can blame them??

All of that admiration gets tiring, and before he knew it, Lobster had drifted off into Dream Land in his cozy little pot.

Mama loves her Little Lobster, and she can't wait to show him off today.  (He will be wearing his lobster suit all day, all around town.)

Happy Halloween!

Dad vs. Mom

Ryan has big plans for his son.  He wants him to be an athlete, and he is starting his training early.  Every time I turn around, Noah has a different kind of ball with him--all strategically placed by his father.  The best part is I never see Ryan giving Noah these balls.  They just show up in his crib, his car seat, his swing, and the Bumbo.  It makes me laugh.

Look closely under his left elbow.

Mom, on the other hand, wants Noah to be a good helper, and she has already started her training.  Last weekend, she and Aunt Laura took him shoe shopping at DSW and expected him to follow behind them and carry all of the different options (the job of a guy, right?).  

Boxes and shoes in his lap AND on the front of the stroller

Thanks for holding those boxes tight, Sweet Pea!

Noah seems to like sports more than shoes.  He was willing to help us shop for about fifteen minutes before he got fussy and started whining to go home.  Typical male.

My Dream Came True

I never should've written on this blog that Noah was sleeping through the night.  Once I publicly admitted  to my good fortune (pretty much the very day that I admitted to it), he started waking up a million times a night.  Figures, right?  

I wish I could say that I wasn't frustrated by it.  He is, after all, very young to be sleeping through the night.  But once I got a taste of how wonderful it feels to be rested, it was difficult to go back.  Noah is a fussy baby--he has very few periods of content awake time during the day--and it's so much easier to be patient when I'm not exhausted.

It's true what people say: Being a mom is hard.  But just when I am getting discouraged and frustrated, Noah and I have these moments together that remind me how very lucky I am to have him.  

Last year, in the height of our fertility and adoption drama, I often envisioned and yearned for life with a baby.  I pictured my son or daughter being my little buddy, someone I could hang out with all day long.  For some reason, the picture that most often came to mind was of us cooking dinner together.  The baby would be sitting in his Bumbo chair on the counter, watching me contentedly while I cooked.  I would talk to him as I measured, chopped, and stirred, expounding on life as if he understood every word I was saying.  We would be best friends.

Yesterday, my dream came true.

It only lasted ten minutes before he started to bawl--but those ten minutes were enough.  I love my boy.  I am so lucky.

One Week Until Halloween...

This little pumpkin is ready!!

Such a snoog.

My Best Friends' Weddings

Three of my college roommates got married this summer/fall.  It was a whirlwind of celebrations, weddings, and girls' reunions.

Katie got married in May, so we all met up in Seattle, Washington for a true girls' trip.  We stayed at a hotel together for the weekend (everyone except Katie, of course), and the day after the wedding, we toured Seattle and saw the sights.  The wedding was beautiful, and the entire weekend was a perfect getaway with some of my favorite people in the world.

Becky and Kirst, wearing their cool shades,
driving to the wedding.

Tia brought her baby Kai (he is my boyfriend) to crash the girls' weekend.
We didn't mind!

It was a perfect, sunny spring day in Seattle.

Beautiful bride!

Love her.

Pikes Street Market
I tried out Tia's wrap and carried Kai around the market to get practice. :)

Fortunately, the fun wasn't over yet.  Becky arrived in Washington with a beautiful diamond ring on her finger, as well.  She did a great job surprising us, and we all screamed and celebrated, thrilled to find out that we would be meeting up for another wedding reunion in August!

Becky got married August 6 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Again, the five of us came together for the big event, though I wasn't able to participate in all of the fun because I had a five-day old baby. :)  The timing actually ended up being really good because I was already in Utah for Noah's adoption, and I was staying in a condo right on Temple Square--so I just slipped away for a few hours to attend the wedding festivities and Ryan stayed with sweet Noah.  What a wonderful week--first Noah's birth and then Becky's wedding.

Salt Lake City temple...amazing!

If I look tired in this photo....well, I was.  New baby! :)

Kirsten got married in October.  Unfortunately, her wedding was on the exact same day as my brother-in-law's wedding, so I didn't get to attend her ceremony or reception.  Kirsten is one of my oldest and dearest friends (she and I have known each other since seventh grade), so I was very sad to miss such an important day in her life.  I am grateful that I was able to attend her "bachelorette party" the night before, so I could at least share in her excitement and joy as she prepared for her big day.  I have looked through every one of her beautiful wedding photos--I wish I could've been there.

I am so grateful for Becky, Tia, Kirsten, and Katie.  I am so blessed that I found such kindred spirits during my years at BYU, and I hope we will stay in touch forever...I know we will!

Derek and Alli's Wedding (also known as Noah's First Wedding)

Last month, Ryan's older brother Derek got married to a fabulous girl.  I am so excited that Alli is my sister now!  We got to know each other on the family trip to Hawaii this summer, and she is so fun and easy to talk to.  We think Derek is pretty awesome, and now he has an awesome wife!

Noah and I went to Idaho a week before the wedding to "help" Ryan's mom, Sally, and his little sister, Ashley, prepare for the festivities.  We didn't really do much in terms of helping, but it sure was fun to spend the week with Grandma and Aunt Ashley.  Noah was in heaven with all the attention (though we didn't get enough photos to prove it).

One night, Noah and I drove to Utah to visit Katie and Drew.  It was so fun to see them.  When I pulled up to Drew's house, they were waiting outside, and Katie started jumping up and down in excitement, and Drew gave her a high five.  It was priceless.  I love those two, and I love how much they love Noah.  The relationship we have with them and their families is such a blessing.

We stayed the night at Katie's house, and Noah had fun playing with her and her siblings in the morning.  It is really special that Ryan is related to Katie and we are so comfortable in their home.

Everyone agreed that his Halloween pajamas are stinkin' cute.

We returned to Idaho for a few days, and then it was back to Utah for Derek and Alli's wedding!  Hooray!  The night before the wedding, Noah met his Uncle Tanner (Ryan's youngest brother) for the first time.  The two of them really hit it off:

Noah loves to be swaddled tightly like this.  Tanner said he wants one of these "burrito blankets" for himself! :)

Noah enjoyed his first wedding rehearsal dinner...

The happy couple

The way Derek is holding Noah in this picture cracks me up!
He better learn how to cuddle a baby because we're all counting on them to provide Nielson Grandchild #2 very soon! :)  (But no pressure, guys!) 

And bridal shower...

Noah is not pictured, but he did attend.
And this is the apron I gave to Alli. :)

And wedding...

Noah slept through the entire thing.

Coming out of the Salt Lake Temple

Aren't they both so cute?  

Handsome brothers...sixteen months apart!  (Not sure how Sally survived that!)

All of the handsome brothers!

The fam minus Noah (he was sleeping)

And wedding reception...

Aunt Ashley made him this adorable purple tie to match the big boys.

The amazing seamstress

Noah was getting tired by this point.

Ryan gave a great toast!

Katie and her family came to the wedding. :)

Four generations

After such a busy few days, Noah zonked in Grandma's arms:

Now that we're home, Noah's resting and building up his energy...because next month, we'll head back to Idaho and Utah for another Nielson wedding!

Cole and Sara will wed on November 19th!
CONGRATS, YOU TWO!  Can't wait!

I don't know how this post, like all of the others, ended up being about Noah.  I intended this post to be about Derek and Alli!  Will I ever again be able to blog about something other than Noah??  I kind of don't think so!