Baby Annastyn or Anniston

Anniston Marie Nielsen was born yesterday March 23 at 11:16 pm. 7 lbs 4 oz, 19 inches long.
I had woke up in labor at about 2:45 am, but the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. The boys went to school, and the contractions started getting stronger. About 12:30 we headed to Draper and my contractions were 3 minutes apart.
Trudy drove me to the hospital and they monitored me for an hour. I had been dilated to a 3+ for 2 weeks and had barely changed (which was frustrating as I was having all that pain for nothing!). I changed a bit, and after talking to my Dr, they decided to keep me.
We called Todd about 3:30 and told him to head back from Wyoming. He made it at about 7:00. I still had only dilated to a 5+ when a Midwife came in to break my water at 10:45. Minutes after she broke it, I was ready. It happened so fast that I went light headed and almost passed out. I had to have oxygen and the baby had some distress as she dropped so quickly. My Dr showed a few minutes later, and after pushing through 1 contraction she was here.
She wasn't crying well, so you can see my concern before they took her away to the nursery.

They thought it would take a few hours and then she would be in with us. But she was really struggling and not getting better. Finally this morning they started antibiotics and took an xray. They also had to pump her stomach twice and removed a large amount of amniotic fluid she had swallowed. The x-ray showed pneumonia in one lung and the antibiotics seem to be working well. It is just so sad to see her connected to all the wired and monitors.

She has to have the drugs for 7 to 10 days. If she really improves she may be able to go home and have them there. If not, I will be staying here with her for the week.

She has a chunky little face and neck, and more hair than our 3 other kids combined. I finally was able to hold her for a bit today. She's so tiny! I forget how small they start out.

We can't quite decide how to spell her name. We've narrowed it down to Annastyn and Anniston. We'd really like your imput. Let us know your vote.

MIchael's Birthday and Feb.

Michael has his first "Friend" party this year. As you can see it was a Lego Birthday Party.
Here is the invitation I made in Photoshop.

His Lego Cake

Decorations

All the kids made a Lego Car and we raced them on the Track Todd had built. Unfortunately I took video, but forgot to take a picture of the track.

Here are some of the kids. Sorry, I loaded the wrong photo and didn't get the 2nd table in.

Here is Pin the Head on the Lego Man

And here's Jake after the party is over. So sad!!!

Check out that hair!

Happy Valentine's Day!
The Boys got lots of candy and these cute shirts.

Jared loving Purrcey

And how he eats! What Messy boy. It's no wonder his hair sticks straight up so often.

Jake's Birthday and Christmas

So, since I forget how Blogger works, this post is backwards. A few weeks ago we attended the Auto show. Here is Grandpa's Dream Jeep. Michael liked it too.

Of course they wanted their picture with BumbleBee

Jared has started to drag his head around the floor, which kinks his hair. It looks pretty funny.

Jake turned 4. We can't believe how time has flown by. He is our little superhero who lives in costumes. Costumes or pajamas. It is a fight to get him into regular clothes.

He loved the cards as much as the gifts.

Here is a photo of Christmas at the Nielsen's. I dropped the ball and didn't take too many. But Jake got some new capes which he loves.

Here are their Christmas outfits from Grandma Nielsen

We spent Christmas in GR this year. Christmas Eve everyone gets to open a gift.

It was matching pajamas!! Looking good guys!

Christmas morning

Mom had some playdough cookie dough. Bright bold colors. Be careful it colors your mouth too.

Our Christmas Card

I'm sorry to those of you who I didn't get cards out to. I don't have a lot of new addresses and lost the return address labels I had pulled off, so here it is. Merry Christmas!!

Dear Family & Friends,

We hope you all had a wonderful year. Ours was busy, hard, and full of blessings.

Todd started the year by enrolling in the Welding program at Mountainland Applied Technology College. He has received a few certifications from the American Welding Society and is close to finishing up. Although he already knows a lot about welding, he has enjoyed learning the technical aspects, new processes, and improving on his skills. In the Spring Todd was called to serve as Elder’s Quorum 2nd counselor. He really enjoyed the calling, serving the people in the ward, and really learned from and loved the men he served with. However, a few months later he was released from that and called to serve on the Stake High Council. It has been an amazing opportunity for both him and our family. He has brought a new spirit and joy to our home and we are grateful for the opportunity to associate with such wonderful men in the Stake. He always finds time to be a great father and husband and the boys adore him and the things he teaches them. It is fun to see them mimic the things they see him do.

I continue to work at home for a real estate management company, mostly reviewing properties for banks or investors. I finally finished my Real Estate Schooling and passed all my tests, so now I am a licensed agent in Utah. It feels good to finally have it over with. Our ward split near the beginning of the year and I was released from the Relief Society presidency and now teach Valiant 9 in primary. They are great kids and I have really enjoyed it. We are teaching from the Old Testament and it has been so fun to become more familiar with those stories I have forgotten over the years. In mid-September we were surprised with some exciting news. We were excited and shocked to find we are expecting baby #4. We have always had to plan our pregnancies and take medication to conceive and I don’t usually get sick with pregnancy, so I couldn’t figure out why I kept getting food poisoning and was so tired. We are expecting our 1st little girl April 13th. It is a little overwhelming, as we only know about boys here, but we are very excited.

It has been a year of growth and change for Jared. He has recently taken his 1st few steps and I’m sure running is not far behind. He can say a few words including, “Hey, Dada, Mama, Dido (Michael), Jake, and Thank you”. He loves to watch his big brothers, but is no longer content to just watch. He tries to be in the middle of everything they do (much to their dismay at times). He has a fun personality and we love having him in our home.

Michael started Kindergarten this year. He is already becoming a great reader and loves to point out words, letters, and figure out sounds as we drive around. They are already writing sentences and I am blown away at how quickly they move through information. He is full of drama and everything is a huge deal. This year he started wrestling and is kind of a natural. He loves it. He also played soccer again and even scored a goal. He is such a great helper and is so proud to be a big brother. He is constantly making us laugh with things he says. For example he though a mustache was called a hash and Lehi was Ei - “like Ei Ei O?”.

Jake loves to do everything Michael does, which often causes drama when we have only 1 of something. He loves to torment Michael to make him scream. I love him to bits, but he is definitely the one who is turning me gray. He started preschool this year and loves it. He is extremely active, but his teacher assures me it is pretty normal. He is excellent at puzzles, building things, and memorizing poems and articles of Faith. He has his sweet moments, loves to cuddle, and loves to make us laugh. He is definitely the clown of the family.

We are grateful for this time of year to focus on the blessings we have, the birth of our Savior, and love of family and friends. We love you all and hope you have a wonderful Holiday. Good luck in the New Year.

Love, Todd, Bridgette, Michael, Jake, Jared, & Baby

Our Stockings were hung with care

My Aunt Trudie is an amazing cross stitcher and makes these stockings for our whole family. She recently finished up Jared's. I find them all so special, I thought I should display them.

Here is mine. The 1st generation done probably about 25 years ago.
We laugh that they sure have changed over the years.

Thanks Aunt Trudie. We LOVE Them!!

It shouldn't be funny

We made cookies last night and the boys were jockeying for position to watch them bake. I know I shouldn't find them fighting funny, but last night I did. See if you agree.
Jared's not about to be pushed around.

Jared's 1st Steps

Riding with Dad

I was trying to be sneaky and film Jared talking to himself in the mirror. Instead he decided to take some of his 1st steps. Unfortunately the camera was aimed at his face and not his feet.