Tis the season! Wait, already?

Anyone that knows me knows that I love a parade. Maybe not as much as I love a mascot, but pretty close! So of course I have been looking forward to the Raleigh Christmas Parade for months! The weather was gorgeous, and it seemed that most of Raleigh was in attendance. Olson was a trooper, and actually made it all the way to the end this year, so he got to see Santa instead of sleeping through the big event!

Great view from Dad's shoulders!

Perfect day to wear my festive reindeer hat from Ibby!

After a while the leaves were more interesting than the floats

Hometown boy Scotty was Grand Marshal!

Yay for Santa!

All that fun made me hungry for Hayes Barton Pharmacy!

xoxo the Nelms

Snip! Snip!

I waited until he turned a year old, but I have to admit, it was difficult! The little scraggly hairs over his ears drove me crazy, but for some reason in my mind I needed to wait until he was one. Maybe I was just trying to hold onto any bit of baby-dom we had left. The pictures paint an accurate picture--Olson was not a fan of the hair cut!

So far, so good

No problem, Mom!

Wait, what does he have in his hand?

Noooo! Make it stop!

Can't wait to see how the next trim goes!

xoxo the nelms

Happy Halloween!

I know that this is actually Olson's second Halloween, but I have a hard time not thinking of it as his first! Last year we brought him home from the hospital on Halloween, and there were no costumes or candy for us. Just two parents trying to figure out what to do with our new little guy! And while I don't like to dress up, I bought Olson's costume months ago in anticipation of the big day! And I think it turned out pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself!

What does my mom have me wearing?

And of course I think it's even cuter when you add in his beagle sister...

At least the beagle is in it with me!

 The pumpkin was a highlight, and I carved it to commemorate Olson's 3 teeth. Olson liked checking it out.

Hmmmm what is this?

Whatever it is, I like it!

A better view of the teeth

 Even though it was raining, we were happy to greet trick or treaters at Grammy's! Olson wasn't too sure of Grammy's get up at first, but he eventually realized it was just his crazy Grammy!

Silly Grammy!

xoxo the nelms

Let them eat (cup)cake!

To continue Olson's birthday weekend, we had a fun-filled Sunday celebrating with family. Olson was dedicated at Hayes Barton Baptist Sunday morning, and that was followed by a birthday lunch at Grammy's. We had a wonderful time visiting and eating, and of course watching Olson eat his first cupcake! He seemed to love it, but didn't care for the frosting. He must get that from his daddy, because as we all know, mommy LOVES frosting!

What is this???

Loving my cupcake!

Didn't like to eat the frosting, but loved squishing it!

Yay! This is fun!

Kaylin preferred Daisy when she was outside

Happy family!

Beautiful new chair from Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy

What a special first birthday celebration with our family! We thank those that were able to make it, and missed those that were not. We are so blessed to have such an amazing extended family!

xoxo the nelms

Happy Birthday to our baby!!

How has it been one whole year since our sweet baby was born?

When I started this blog, Olson's first birthday seemed impossibly far away. But here we are, and our little baby is turning into a toddler! He now has 3 teeth (keep waiting for that other top one to drop!), has a toothbrush for his 3 teeth, loves to cruise around the furniture and walk behind his walker toys, still does his bear walk, loves to play ball, enjoys bath time, can't get enough blueberries, would spend all day outside if he could, is down to one nap more often than not, is getting very attached to Woofie, and still loves to torment Lilly. 

Some highlights of his day:

Yummy birthday dinner at Grammy's

Someone didn't think the hat was as cute as Mommy did!

I love my wagon walker from Grammy!

I couldn't wait to get my hands on my present from Grandma & Grandpa Carson

Mom and Dad got me this cool Cars car

Angel food cake with pink frosting served on my great-great grandma's cake plate...a Carson tradition!

What an amazing year it has been. I can't even begin to imagine what the next year holds. Happy Birthday sweet Olson. We love you to infinity and beyond. And back.

xoxo the nelms

Gator Chomp

Daddy came home today with a fabulous new toy for Olson--a Gator Chomp n' Clack! I had never seen such a thing, but he had me at Gator. Olson immediately took to it and knew exactly what to do! We're so proud of him! Here he is on one of his first "walks".

Watch out....won't be long now!

xoxo the nelms

Pumpkins!

Although some might say he is a bit young to really enjoy it, we took Olson to pick out pumpkins this weekend, and had a great time! It was a perfect fall day, and we enjoyed playing in their "park" and picking out the perfect pumpkins. 

In front of the corn maze, which we passed on this year

Oh boy, a slide! I love slides!

Wheeeeee!

How about a video for good measure...

Olson took his task of picking the perfect pumpkin very seriously...

I think this is the one, Grammy!

xoxo the nelms