First Birthday!!!

Happy FIRST Birthday to our little man! The Dyl-Bug turned the big numero uno on the 16th of March! I still can't believe that he is one! It seems like just yesterday that I was carrying him inside of me, waiting to get to meet him, and now he has been part of our family for one whole trip around the sun!
We had a lot of fun on his birthday, he woke up to mom and dad singing "Happy Birthday" to him, and I think he was just more excited about the fact that dad was home and not at work that day. The morning was pretty mellow, we got up and got ready like normal before we had to go over to my mom's to get the party food cooking. We then went to the store to get some balloons for the party, (which we still have partially floating around our house because our child loves them.. He has actually tried to say 'balloon' several times. He gets the 'ba' part and the second part comes out more like a 'who' but it is still really cute!) We made a stop by my mom's classroom because they all wanted to wish him a happy birthday.
After the class we went home for a little bit and I got his cake put together, which will be featured in some photos later on, while the little one napped. We did take him to get his pictures done at Sears, which surprisingly turned out really cute! He got really upset that we wouldn't let him wander and cried through most of them, the only thing that made him happy was the BIG pink flower that he found and decided he needed to put on his head.
After the pictures we went straight over to the in-laws to get the party set up. They were nice enough to let us use their home since there was NO way we were going to be fitting all the people in our little apartment! The party was a HUGE success! Here are some pictures from the fun festivities!! Enjoy!
This is the banner that I spent about three weeks making.. Happy Birthday...

DYLAN!!! :-)

The awesome palm tree we made out of the pillars..

The party was a Monkey theme, since Dylan IS a little monkey half the time, plus, he picked out the theme!

The birthday boy himself! This photo is a bit misleading, he really did have a lot of fun! He walked all around socializing with everyone!

Aunt Sarah was equally as thrilled about the hat I made her wear.. :-)
He loves his grandma! He also loves balloons.... which I think is what he is preoccupied with in this picture..

THE CAKE!! Don't ask me how I came up with the idea, it just came to me one day after we decided to do the monkey theme.. This was one of my proudest moments! haha

Yet again distracted by those dang balloons! They were everywhere, which made him happy!

The in-laws! YAY!! Party blowers!
The SWEET photo thing I found at Zurchers for people to have a keepsake from the party! It was a hoot! Andrew makes a pretty awesome monkey too!

Of course mom had to do a monkey picture! haha
We did get him his very own cake to demolish, at first he wasn't quite sure what to do....

He would poke at it and then wipe it on himself.

Andrew tried to show him what to do with it......

... but it wasn't until my Uncle Kirk smashed his face into it that he realized that he could make a mess.

After that the cake was done for... Although most of it ended up on the floor. Very little of it actually made it into his mouth.
The party was amazing, and we are thankful for Dylan, and he has been such a blessing to our lives! This past year has been so amazing, and it has been so wonderful getting to watch him learn and grow. It is hard to believe that it has already been a year! He has learned so much and it is so hard to believe that within a year he has gone from a helpless newborn to a walking around, attitude giving, determined one year old! Mom and Dad love you Bubba!!

St. George or Bust!!!!

My dear, sweet little brother B.C. left on his mission the en of February. His Farewell was all the way down in St. George, UT which is a good 4 1/2-5 hours away from us. We decided to make the most of the trip, and since the farewell was on Sunday we left early Saturday morning. Dylan slept part of the way down, and then ate the other part. He was a good baby. We got to our hotel and then we headed into downtown St. George to pick up my little sister Sarah that was already down there for choir tour. After we picked her up we went to dinner with all of my family that was down there and B.C. It was a lot of fun and Dylan was just so excited to be out of the car that all he wanted to do was have us walk him around. After dinner we went to a few places and then headed back to our hotel. Our hotel was kind of far away from everything, but it was really nice! And it was right at the mouth of Zion National Park so it was really pretty! Here are some pictures from our trip!

By the time we got him back to the hotel that night there was no stopping him! He was all over the place!!!


He was also attacking people!

But he was quick to give them kisses and say he was sorry..

He WALKED all around the hotel room!!! He couldn't be stopped!!

This is just Sarah being a Diva... She was very excited to not have to share a bed that night!

Mommy and Dylan the morning of the farewell hanging out on the balcony. :-) Man I love that little guy!!!

I know that this isn't the best picture of the beautiful red rocks, but it rained the whole time we were down there, so this is the best I could get. This is basically what the whole area looks like! It was a great little mini vacation and we are so proud of B.C. for his choice to serve a mission!

The Biggest Birthday Boy!

With another birthday quickly approaching, I feel like I should recognize our last birthday.. Happy Birthday Andrew! His birthday was the end of January, and I am sure by now you all realize how bad I am at keeping up with the haps as they happen, so here is your moment to shine Andrew!! Andrew had his Birthday off this year from work and I didn't have to work so we got to sleep in as late as the little one would let us! It was a great day! Here are some pics from his birthday:

Dad and his #1 guy on his Birthday!!

Blowing out the candles.. His cake was interesting. It was chocolate cake with bits of Reeses in it and rainbow chip frosting. It actually turned out pretty tasty!

24 years big!!

Andrew, Dylan, and Kaiden (Andrew's little brother). They were all wearing brown stripes!
Andrew is such a wonderful husband and father! Dylan and I love him so much, and we can't imagine our lives without him! Happy Be-lated Birthday Andrew!!!!!

Big stuff!!!!

Dylan learned to crawl, probably about 3 weeks ago. Now we can't keep him still! Since then, this is what he has learned to do!

Just hangin out...

Wait wait wait.. He's goin for it!

Almost got it.....

Shhhhhh... I'm being sneaky!

So close!!!

GOT IT!!!!!

So proud of himself! :-)


Hopefully this video works... It is Dylan walking with his lawnmower.. So cute!!

Merry Christmas from the Nielsens!

I know this is a little late, but Merry Christmas!! We made our list and checked it twice! Turns out Dylan was pretty nice this year!
He went and saw Santa and told him what he wanted for Christmas...

And Santa delivered!!! What a lucky boy!!
Turns out Dylan is not big on tearing things open.. He wanted us to unwrap his gifts and then he wanted to play with them.. He only got mad when we would take one toy away to have him open more gifts.. He just wanted his new toys!
Yay! Presents!!
He got a lawn mower to help him walk, when he gets to that point..
Hey! I'm getting a call on my new cell phone! Thanks Grandmas!! (Both grandparents got him the same cell phone toy!)
A nice stylish hat from the grandparents.
He got money AND a present from the great grandparents!!
Cool!!!
Grandma Rea shooting the big gun!!
This about sums up his first Christmas! Happy as a clam!! We did spend time with my family, but we forgot to take our camera in.. :(
The Saturday after Christmas we went down to visit my dad and do Christmas festivities! Dylan loves his Grandpa Coy!!
We had such a wonderful first Christmas with Dylan! We are so thankful for him and for all of our family! They are all so wonderful and supportive to us!! We love you all and we hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!!

Feeding Time and a Pirate!

Ok, so normally feeding time at the Nielsen home goes off without a hitch.. That was not the case in these photos. There are also a couple pictures thrown in of other fun in the high chair.. Enjoy!!

This is what I walked in on....



He really was just happy as a clam.. And even more happy that after he got to play in the bath!!

Aaaaaarrrrggggg!

Fear the sword!!! He is a pro!

He is the happiest pirate ever!