4 Month Check-Up

 Minnie had her 4-month check-up today.

She's a healthy 17-pound chub doing all the normal

things perfect 4-month-old babies do.

We're now in size 3 diapers, headed fast to size 4.

After her shots, (sad) I just loaded her up in the car seat 

without putting her clothes back on.

In the car, I rolled all the windows down, and she

slept the whole way home.

She loves the wind and the noise.

8th Grade Dance

 The end-of-school festivities have begun!!!!

Over the weekend, Lottie had her formal dance and dinner party at school for

the 8th graders stepping up to their first year of high school!

Lottie looked so beautiful, and Jane, Minnie, 

 and I had so much fun watching her get ready.

Then we took her to the school dance to meet up with her friends.

But, wasn't it just last year she went to her 6th-grade dance??

In By 7:00

Our Friday nights look so much different these days.  

Instead of going out to dinner or seeing a movie, 

like we used to do,

Christian and I are in by 7:00 when Minnie starts her wind-down phase.  

Bedtime these days is around 9:00 pm, and by that time, 

we are snug in our bed, too.

I actually don't mind.

As the sun sets and the first fireflies start to twinkle in the dimming light, 

I so much joy in nursing Minnie in the rocking chair in her room after her tub

and fresh jammies.

This evening, she fell asleep in Christian's arms while he 

was on the phone talking to his dad in Arizona.

Tomorrow is our studio's FIRST BIRTHDAY!

I can't believe it!

Rocky Mountain Oysters

 

Minnie is in her adorable slobbery phase! 

I just got her some cute little bibs that make her look like a flower. 

We’re also fully embracing the white onesie phase—it's pretty 

much all she wears these days!

It's basically what ALL my baby Nies 

would wear during the hot summer months.  

But is there anything cuter than a baby in a white onesie?

Speaking of cute, baby George is doing great!  

This afternoon, he was castrated.

Christian is such a pro at it; the calves hardly bleed, and it's done

in like three minutes.  

Do you know what Rocky Mountain Oysters are?

George!

 

Introducing George, our newest calf!

He's a big fella, named after the father of America, 

George Washington.

Christian and I decided that, as we celebrate 250 years of our country, 

all the calves born in this year's crop will be named

 after key figures in the founding of America.

Welcome, George!

Dressed For June!

 Well, well, well, Adele looks snappy in her June yellow polka dot bikini!

June has already hit a heat wave here!

We're reaching nearly 100 degrees!  BLAHHH!

Minnie and I wake up in the morning and sit on the front porch swing

while she nurses, but lately it's been WAY too hot for that.

I think Adele is properly dressed for June!

June!

Welcome, June!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I found out 

I was pregnant with baby Minnow! 

One entire year! 

I got Minnie a small swing called "the coconut" to hang on our porch, 

where we spend our evenings when the heat dies down and 

the fireflies buzz around in the dark. 

Summer in North Carolina is magical!

Christian is going to hang it next to the swing on the porch,

but for now it's under the cherry tree.

I put her in it and mowed the lawn.

Angus lies under her feet, and it's all very quiet and charming.

She hates when he barks, but I think she likes to watch him

wandering around.

We all like to watch Minnie.

She is the most incredible, adorable baby in the whole wide world!

I Did Get On The Plane

Today I got a text from Claire with a photo of 

her and Nate in their backyard in Mesa.

As it turns out, I was wearing THE SAME OUTFIT as she was 

seventeen years ago, in Mesa while visiting Christian's sister, 

Charity's graveside, almost to the DAY in 2008!!!!! 

That skirt is still going strong.  

Here I am with Christian's sisters, parents, and 

my little dude Gigs behind me with bleached blonde hair.

I felt a little homesick for those days.

In nearly 3 months, my life would completely change.

It's unfathomable.

I look at myself here in this picture, and I look so happy with my healthy body

from teaching yoga, slender neck, freckles, cute hair, 

 super busy, happy life in Mesa with 4 little children, and I want to yell, 

"Just don't get in the plane!!!"

But then a bigger part of me wants to just hug

her and tell her that it's all going to work out, and I love her

and what she's going to overcome and face, and how it will

change so many lives and teach resilience and growth.

The truth is, some days I wish I hadn't gotten on the plane,

but the reality is, I did, and I am proud of who

 I am, and what I went through to fight for a happy life.

Our Morning Routine

Minnie and I have a morning routine.

We wake up, and I let her kick naked on my bed for about 5 minutes,

any longer than that, and she'll tinkle.

Then we go to the kitchen, and I take my vitamins and fill up

my water bottle.  Then we go outside, and I put

her in her little seat on the porch swing, give her a push, then

check my flower garden, and water my hanging baskets and porch pots

all while she is swinging and kicking her legs.

I think she likes listening to the cardinals nesting in one of my fern pots.

Then we go back inside for a tub & body massage.

Then I nurse her, and she's ready for her first nap.

Minnie is not a great napper...yet.

I can lay her down after nursing, but she usually wakes up 10-20 minutes later.

I am hoping that as she gets older, she'll sleep longer.

I PRAY she'll be a good napper.

It’s such a bummer when I gently lay her down, rush for a quick shower, 

and with shampoo in my hair, hearing Minnie’s little cry just moments later. 

Snoozing With Lottie

This afternoon, I asked Lottie if she'd hold Minnie while I made dinner.

After about 25 minutes had passed

I went to check on the girls since it was pretty quiet in and saw the

 cutest sight ever! Lottie had rocked Minnie to sleep.

Lottie assured me she was fine and so 

I went back into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner 

and silently offered a prayer of gratitude for this unexpected life 

I'm living, for my beautiful children, and for our health. 

I am always so thankful for good health!

Eat Her Up!

Today, Minnie and I joined Christian to rotate the tires in my car, 

make a Costco stop, and of course, the best part, get lunch.  

Usually, when Christian needs to run errands and wants me to join him, 

he prefaces the invitation like this,

"I was thinking of grabbing lunch tomorrow. Want to come?"  

and then I say, 

"Oh my gosh, yes I do!  What errands are we going to run, too?"

I usually don't care what it is; Minnie and I are in!

And Minnie is starting to love being in the car.  

When she gets fussy, we roll all the windows down, and she likes the sound.  

My 4-Runner's rear window goes down, too, and she loves that the most.

While we were getting the tires rotated, I called Claire in Arizona

and I sent pics of Minnie and me, and she sent us photos back

of the adorable garden that Nate planted for her, and 

on her front porch eating a smoothie.

I told Claire I wanted her and Minnie to FaceTime once a day 

so Minnie will know her biggest sister.

I love watching Minnie observe the world around her.  

She is growing up every day, and I can visibly see it!  

She is starting to reach for things, and her chubby fingers

 get wrapped up in my hair, 

and she pulls on my necklaces when we nurse.

She drools a lot, too.

I got her some cute little bibs that make her look

like a little flower.

Ohhhhh my goodness, we could ALL EAT HER UP!

4 Months Old

Hello everyone! 

It’s me, and I’m alive!

 I don’t know if you’ve noticed, 

but I’m gradually returning to blogging with sporadic posts starting 

in December, from where I left off. 

I have so much to share, and I want to make sure I don’t forget anything 

because my life has been truly surreal.

Having Minnie has been so cool- especially with all my

older children around who want to be involved and are so helpful.

 I have always known that having a baby teaches some of the 

best lessons in life about love, selflessness, patience, joy, and

 especially about the Savior. 

But being a new "old" mom has put these lessons in a new light for me-

and it's been challenging, too.

 Christian and I marvel at this sixth chance 

with a new, perfect baby that we get to raise and care for.

It's mind-blowing!

Minnie is officially 4 months old now and doing the cutest things like

rolling, smiling, drooling, and producing the cutest little giggles.

We ALL love Minnie!

MinNie Dialogues

 Hey all!  

I am working on updating my blog.

I'm about three months behind if you haven't noticed.

Feeling horrible during pregnancy for months really

did me in, plus having a newborn has been a huge change.

Literally the only thing I do is nurse.

I'm not complaining, but, well...it's all I do.

But my goal is to update and catch up.

For now, an update on baby Minnie, also known as Nielson six:

she arrived safe and sound on January 21st, at 3:21 am

7 pounds 1 ounce, 19 inches, and is beautiful

 and amazing and fussy all at the same time.

Or maybe I forgot what newborns were like?

Or maybe I'm just old and tired.

Whatever it is, I can't wait to share more.

I only take 50,000 photos of her a day,

so buckle up, pretty soon this blog might sound more like

 the MinNie Dialogues.

I'm Ready, Let's Gooooo!

 This morning, Christian and I drove into Raleigh for my 37-week check-up and

fetal heart rate stress test at 10:00 am.

The nurse set me up with monitors attached to my belly, and 

I was supposed to push a button every time I felt the baby move.

Well, turns out baby didn't move much even after

some juice, and after wiggling around, 

so they sent us to the OBED for further testing.

I wasn't too nervous.

I feel the baby move all the time, and I really appreciate the care,

so we got in the car and arrived at the hospital at 1:00 pm, where

an OB team was waiting for me.

They did some tests, and baby was moving just fine.

I thought they would unplug me from the monitors and send me on 

my way, but actually, the best thing happened.

My favorite OB doctor, Dr. F., came into the room, announced that she

was on call, and asked if I was ready to have the baby.

I said,

"Well, yes, you mean, like, right now?"

And Dr. F said, 

"Yes, like right now!  Let's get you started,

baby is fine, and I feel good about it. Plus, I know how uncomfortable

this has been for you."

Then I broke down in tears and sobbed with gratitude and excitement

because honestly, I couldn't imagine another night itching my legs

to smithereens, and the thought of not having to barf again sounded 

like I had won the lottery.

SO YES, I WAS READY TO HAVE THE BABY!

at 4:20 pm, the nurses transferred me into a gown and into a bigger L&D room

with a giant window overlooking the city.

I had to honestly pinch myself.  

Was this real?

I made it!!!!

The day I had waited for and prayed for WAS FINALLY HERE!

Christian got us food, then fed me soup, encouraging me

that I would need all the extra energy for the upcoming labor. 

I called Jane, who had just picked up Lottie from school, 

to share the news. 

Then I heard screaming on the other end of the line. 

Both girls were overjoyed! 

They had both decided to be present for the birth, and I was thrilled. 

It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

They told me they were going to go home, get some stuff,

grab dinner and then make their way to the hospital.

I chewed ice and breathed through contractions for about three 

hours until the girls arrived in the room with bright smiles at 8:00 pm

They weren't sure what this was going to be like, and I could

sense their hesitation, but they warmed up soon enough, and were

so good to help me walk around the room, breathe with me, and get me

ice chips and back rubs.

We also called Oliver in Idaho and Claire and Nate in Arizona to let them

know baby sister was on her way.

They wanted play-by-play updates, and Lottie was good at keeping

them informed.

I texted Gigs in Slovakia and told him to say a little prayer for his mom

and baby sister.  He gave me a heart emoji back.

I labored through the shift change, and really, really loved

 both my L&D nurses.

I even got a visit from Katherine, 

whom I met in the OBED early on in my pregnancy. 

I bounced on the ball, walked around the room, and even took

a little nap.  Everything was slowly progressing.

Around midnight, I told the girls and Christian to take a little snooze on 

the couch, while I lay quietly on my bed, 

moving from position to position to find comfort during the contractions.

I felt strong and powerful.

Then, I threw up.

And that's how I knew I was close.

That would be the last time I'd throw up for this pregnancy!

I woke Christian up at 3:05 am and asked him to get me a barf bag

to which I threw up and woke up my girls.

Then I felt such intense pressure, 

I thought surely her head was out already. 

I asked him to give m e a blessing, which he did, promising me

strength and peace from the Savior, who knew what I was experiencing.

I was immediately calm.

Then I had a big contraction, and Christian looked down there, 

and called for the nurse, her head was in fact beginning to poke out!  

Lottie and Jane woke up, lights turned on, and Dr. F. ran into the

room just in time to deliver baby girl Nielson to the world!

I pushed and pushed, working hard, but I also had the presence of mind

to look at my girls' faces, and I am so glad I did.  

I will never forget seeing the sheer shock and amazement,

the joy and the awe, the tears and smiles.

It felt so surreal.

After five big pushes, the most darling baby was placed on my chest

and we were all crying!

Dr. F gave me the sweetest hug and kiss on my cheek.

Miss Minnie Maloy Nielson was born at 3:21am on 1/21/2026.

The same day, 34 years ago, as my oldest sister, Page's firstborn son, 

Layton, whom I watched be born in a hospital in 

Utah in 1992 at the age of 11.

They are my parents' bookend grandchildren.

How special is that!

Canceled

 Last night, we got a call from Lottie's school; 

they canceled classes today due to inclement weather. 

 The forecast calls for snow, but mostly low temperatures that turn everything into ice

and make it dangerous to drive on the roads.

As a Utah girl, I sometimes chuckle when school is canceled here.

I swear, when I was young, it would be snowing 

five feet outside, and they would still never cancel school.

But I'm NOT complaining!

The thought crossed my mind: what if I go into labor?  

Would we be able to make it to the hospital in time and safely?

The truth is, we'd be fine delivering baby girl if she decided to come. 

 I've had natural births, and Ollie and Gigs were delivered at home. 

And I 100% trust that my Dr. Christian would know what to do.

We had a super cozy day, finishing up the last-minute things on my 

before baby comes to-do list and then enjoyed dinner by the fireplace.

Then, as the sun faded, big giant snowflakes fell from the sky, and Jane painted

my toes/fingernails for labor while Lottie did her homework.

We are all so excited to see this little girl be a part of our world!