Happy Halloween!

My little pumpkin is walking!

Halloween Costume Sneak Peek

I am very frugal (read cheap) when it comes to Halloween costumes.
This year I decided to make all the kids' costumes and I knew exactly what I wanted them to be!!

Here's a sneak peek.

Can you guess??

Luke 9 Months

I feel like I just barely posted about Luke's eight month milestones and here we are at NINE months!!

Fastest 9 months ever?

Yes, I do believe so.

Hopefully the next nine months go really, really slowly, so I can love baby Luke as much as possible before he's not the baby anymore.

At 9 months Luke is

-- a little tornado.
He tears apart everything at his eye level. Bookshelves, cupboards, you name it.

-- stands up from a sit, but hasn't taken any serious steps yet.

-- is cutting another tooth, a top fang.

Oh my heck, I can't get enough of that crazy smile and those chubby thighs. :)



P.S. My mom made his vest isn't is adorable!!

Things That Come In Five

1- Sides on a star

2- Fingers on a hand

3- Little Piggies (The little piggie that went to market, did not go grocery shopping. This just clicked with me)

4- Guys -- Burgers and Fries

5- Golden rings (four calling birds, three french hens...etc)

6- Senses (unless you count Haley Joel Osmet in the Sixth Sense)

7- Nelson children

8- Boy band members (It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie baby bye, bye, bye)

9- Presidents of the USA named John. (John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Tyler, John F.
Kennedy & John Calvin Coolidge)

10- Food groups


Wait a second.. what was number seven? Nelson children.. aren't there are only four Nelson children?

Yeah, we'll number five is on its way!! I'm starting to feel a little green and we decided it was time to share our news with everyone.

Baby #5 is due to arrive mid-June of next year. Yay for Summer babies!

Good Reads

1. The Frontiersman's Daughter

Pleeeeeasssssse, don't judge this book by its cover! Dustin thought I was reading a Harlequin Romance, tee hee... but for real.

Lael Click, is the daughter of a famous frontiersman, living in the late 1700s of Kentucky territory. Spanning eight years, we read as Lael grows up in raw Colonial America. Find love, loosing love, discovering herself and God.

"The Frontiersman's Daughter takes readers along for quite a ride with high-spirited Lael as she searches for love during a time when the world is more savage than civilized, when medicine comes from roots, and when a woman alone needs to keep a gun within reach. Laura Frantz portrays the wild beauty of frontier life, along with its dangers and hardships, in vivid detail."--Ann H. Gabhart, author of The Outsider

Seriously, I loved this book. Its one for my nightstand.



2. Cowboy Sam and the Fair

Last week we went to the library and found three Cowboy Sam books for sale! My dad read these when he was little and they are a treasure to him. When I found them I knew I had to get them for my library and to share with my kids. They are fun books about a cowboy, his friends and their adventures. Mark loves them and carries them around with him!



3. A Little Princess

Another accidental find! During a routine diaper and formula run to Wal-Mart, I was scanning the book section and found books for $1! I snatched up A Little Princess, The Wizard of Oz, Oliver Twist and Doctor Dolittle. There were lots of others that we already owned, like Peter Pan. For a $1, how could you pass that up?

A Little Princess, is the story of Sara Crewe. Sara is the pampered daughter of a rich military man and is student at Miss Minchin's School for Girls. Sara's life is turned upside down when after the death of her father, she is left penniless and is forced to work as a servant. Sara's strong will, determination and kind heart keep her going as she realizes you don't have to be rich to be a princess. Its through your actions and good deeds that is what makes you truly rich.



4. The Book of Mormon

On Facebook, I came across the event "Reading the Book of Mormon." It gives you a suggested reading schedule and outlines how much you need to read everyday in order to finish the book by December 31st. As a family we've really tried to incorporate daily scripture reading into our routine and this has helped so much! We have a goal and we are trying our hardest to reach it. We've made it a habit to ready after baths every night. The kids all know to get their jamies on and go to the couch. Its been a wonderful experience and we've felt the spirit as we been reading it together. We are way behind schedule, as having little kids doesn't always allow us to ready the four pages a night. But getting into the habit has been such a blessing!

What are you reading?

Halloween Hand-Me-Downs

If you've been around here for a while, you may remember this post (that I wrote almost exactly two years ago) about how much I thought Allie and Mark looked a like.

Since then Allie and Mark have definitely taken on looks all their own. Its funny to hear people's comments about them -- "Oh, Allie is your mini-me!" but then I also get "Allie looks just like Dustin." Almost always people say Mark is Dustin's twin but I see a lot of us both in them. Luke, on the other hand always gets, "Wow, he's all Hardy (my maiden name).. ha ha, makes me laugh.

Anyway, back to the point... in that old post I showed these two pictures. Allie at 10 months and Mark at 6 months. Seems just like yesterday! Kids grow up way too fast.


Well now, since its October and I have a baby again -- I dug out those same ol' Halloween jamies for Luke to wear. And oh isn't he cute!!! They're a little stained and faded, but they've had lots of love and they smell like my cedar chest, so its all good.

Now I need to find that Little Devil outfit for Mr. Luker next!

Pickin' Pumpkins

Saturday evening we went a pumpkin pickin'!!

We had quite the truck full!

The Dalley's and The Greig's joined us for the fun.

Someone was trying to smuggle extra pumpkins out of the patch.. I'll let you guess who. ;)

Baby Dalley should be coming any day now!

I made all the Nelson grandkids sit together for a picture. Pretty successful!

Then the kids wrestled, swung on the swing set,

cried,

played and swung some more!

The kids kept asking who's birthday it was.
But sometimes you just have to get together for fun, right?!

A Nelson party isn't complete without Dustin making this face..

and being silly with the boys!

Then we concluded the night by watching Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

With the pumpkins picked, its officially Fall and the start of the holiday season!! YAY!

Milestones

Luke's first tooth finally popped in!

He can clap

and he can wave!


Bye-bye babyhood -- hello toddler days!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

The rain has been so crazy this week! Tuesday night the sun peeked out for a short visit.
So we took advantage of it and BBQ'd and played outside on the swings and in the mud!

Then when we had our fill of dinner and mud we came in for baths and toys!

"Everyday moments make the best memories."
-- a frame in my kitchen