A Fun Project for the Fourth

I wasn't feeling so good this time last year thanks to a growing little boy inside of me, so when the 4th of July rolled around, I may have still had winter decorations out. This year I managed to get them put away in the spring time! I'm taking a few days off to recover from VBS last week and wanted to use some of this time to actually decorate for the 4th. While browsing some blogs, I saw a challenge/contest for making something crafty that used the colors red, white and blue (check it out here).

I started with this:


Unstwisted the hangers, bent them into a star shape and taped them together.

Wrapped the star in blue fabric and cut out my red, white and blue fabrics into strips, and tied them on the star.

And then hung this on my front door.
I ended up with a patriotic wreath, and didn't spend a penny!

A Little Look At Jace's Life

Here's a collection of video clips I've taken of Jace over the past few weeks. Enjoy!

everyday jace from Nolan Nelson on Vimeo.

First Time with Solids!

Our doctor had said it would be ok to start Jace on solids anywhere between 4 and 6 months. I had hoped to wait until 6 months, but for the past week or so he's been acting very dissatisfied with the amount he's been eating. He also fits all the criteria for knowing your baby is ready (doubled birth weight, ability to sit up with help, interest in food, etc). So I figured maybe now was a good time to give rice cereal a try. This video shows both his first time eating cereal (on Thursday) and then eating again on Friday. By the time I was done feeding him on Friday, he discovered that he LOVES eating cereal (as long as it's mixed with milk not water) and that he can't get enough of it. Enjoy!

Jace Eats Rice Cereal from Nolan Nelson on Vimeo.

Four Months Old!

Our little guy is four months old already! He had a wonderful day today--happy and actually took naps! I told Nolan that being 4 months old suits him well.

He has his four month appointment on Monday, so I'll find out his length and weight then. But in other news about our four month old... He is working very hard on learning to roll over-he's gotten all the way from his back to his belly, but still needs to figure out how to get his arm out from under him. He also loves to lay on a blanket and play with toys. His favorite toy is his red hippo on a ring. He hold the ring with both hands and try to shove the hippos head in his mouth while squealing at it. He loves to smile and giggle and is very aware of his surroundings. He's been eating every 3 hours, but I'm trying to transition him to eating more every 4 hours instead. When he decides he's hungry, he's hungry, and if you dare make him wait you'll hear a squeal that sounds like a pig being slaughtered. He goes to bed around 8:30 pm, sleeps for 8 hours, eats, and then sleeps for another 3. Naps are still hard to make happen though. He loves his time at Ashley's on Tuesdays while I'm at work and always naps perfectly for her! Jace especially loves his daddy, and they love playing games together. We're very blessed to have him as our son!

Sitting in his new (to us) bumbo seat and watching Toby.

He still loves taking baths!

Having fun getting dried off after bath time.

Eating the leg of his Naval Academy bear that Grandma Steiner gave him.

Trip to Maryland: Relaxing and Hanging Out

My grandparents, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Alan and Liesl all left on Saturday, and then Dan, Anna, the kids and Mike left on Sunday. We weren't flying out until Tuesday evening, so that meant we had a few relaxing days with my parents and Tim.

The entire family before everyone left--Dad, Mike, Tim, Nolan, Dan, Mom, Micah, Jace, Me, Josiah, Anna and Cami. My parents have lived in Maryland for 4 years, and this was their first time having all of us there at the same time. My mom loved it!


Jace and Grandpa getting some cuddle time.


Nolan and Jace taking a much needed nap.


My parents took us out to dinner on Sunday evening. I love how their area is on the water. We ate at an outdoor restaurant right on the water. Maryland is known for their crab, so being the not-seafood-loving person that I am, I decided to be brave and have a crab cake. It was probably good if you like an authentic crab cake, but I decided I much prefer them with lots of filler!


Tim and my parents.


After dinner, Tim and Nolan went back to the house while my parents, Jace and I went into downtown Annapolis to walk around. Jace is with my parents at City Dock in this picture.


Jace and I in front of Gate 1 to the Academy.


While walking around downtown, we passed the Paca House, and all three of us mentioned that we'd wanted to tour it. So my mom, dad and I went back on Monday to go on a tour. William Paca built the house in the 1760's, and he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was one of the best historical tours we've been on, and the house and gardens were beautiful.


Walking down the old streets of Annapolis. I love all the history!
It was a wonderful trip and Jace was an amazing traveler. Our trip home ended up taking 2 1/2 hours longer than planned since someone on our last flight had a medical emergency and we had to make an unplanned stop in Denver. When we finally got in our bed at 4:30 am, we were so happy to get some sleep!
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Trip to Maryland: Graduation Party

After graduation my mom had a party in Tim's honor at their house. A friend of hers from church was sweet and got everything set up and ready so all we had to do was come home to food and fun!

Jace and Uncle Tim. At the end of graduation, all the no-longer-midshipmen throw their covers (hats) in the air, and kids rush the field to pick them up. Dan bought one off a kid who had 4 to give to his boys, and Tim found one in his room to give to Liesl. Jace looked pretty cute in a cover!


View of the food from upstairs.


Cami LOVES Jace (she calls him Jace, Jacers, and Jameson-the name of one of Anna's friend's baby). I'm pretty sure she was telling him something very important in this picture.


After Tim opened all his gifts, he presented my mom with his Reef Points book, the book that he had to use through Pleeb Summer. He told her how much the Bible verses and encouraging quotes she sent him had meant to him, and had one in particular taped to the inside cover. Mom got too choked up to read it, so we passed it off to Nolan to read.


Hanging out with Grandpa Steiner.


Liesl holding Jace. Liesl is closer in age to her second cousins than she is to us! She was a flower girl in our wedding.


Jace crashed on Grandma after all the excitement was over.

Trip to Maryland: Graduation

Friday morning was Tim's graduation. All week the weather forecast was saying thunderstorms, so we were praying for good weather! There was a huge storm the night before, but the morning of graduation was overcast with occasional sunshine, and a great break from the heat! It was quite the experience watching what had the elements of a normal college graduation, but also great military formality. Vice President Biden was the speaker, so having helicopters with guns fly overhead also added a special element!

A picture through the binoculars. Tim is in the last clear row on the right, looking over his shoulder.

Waiting for graduation to start.

Biden giving his speech. He did a great job.

The new Naval Officers getting sworn in. Tim is in the second to last row seen here, just past the guy in white who is sitting down (he was here from another country in an exchange program, so he didn't get commissioned into our Navy).

With the new Ensign Timothy Steiner. So proud of him!

Tim and Mike. It was so sweet to see how proud Mike was of Tim!

Trip to Maryland: A Day in DC

On Thursday, Nolan, Jace and I went into DC. We decided to splurge and buy tickets on an old time Trolley that took you all over DC and allowed you to get off at different stops, and then hop on the next trolley that came along. With the heat and Jace, we figured all the walking it would take to see the sights might be too much. We were so glad we took the trolley because we also saw quite a few things around DC that we never would have seen before, and the drivers were great tour guides!

We rode the Metro into Union Station. I had been there twice, but Nolan hadn't seen it before. We grabbed lunch, ate in the lobby, and then got on the trolley. Jace was happy in his front pack as long as I was standing up.

We got off at the Jefferson Memorial and walked over to the FDR Memorial (I'd never seen it, but Nolan saw it in high school). The temperature was in the 90's and got humid as the day wore on. I enjoyed the sun, but Jace got a little over heated.

Nolan and Jace at the FDR Memorial. Jace was happy to get out of his front pack.

The FDR Memorial was beautiful. It was made up of 4 rooms to represent FDR's 4 terms as president.

We sat in the shade at the memorial and stripped Jace down. He was so happy to cool off!

After the FDR Memorial, we got back on the trolley and rode past several other monuments and memorials before getting off at the American History Museum. There were some new exhibits since we'd been there last, and we thought the air conditioning would be a nice break. We all enjoyed a time of cooling off! Then we got back on the trolley, rode around DC some more, switched to a different trolley and rode out to the National Cathedral. As much as we would have loved to get off and look around, we were worried about how Jace would handle the day being longer. On the way back to the trolley station, we went down Embassy Row. Finally we were back on the Metro (which Jace screamed for half of the ride because of how hot and crowded it was), and then back to my parents' house.

Trip to Maryland: The Ball

Wednesday evening was the Graduates' Ball. Wednesday was also my Grandma's birthday, so we all attended the ball to celebrate her special day. It was fun having everyone get so dressed up, and then we had a blast dancing at the ball. Jace loved all the lights and movement, and Josiah, Micah, Cami and Liesl were quite the dancers!

Jace with Grandma before the ball.


Dan, Anna and their kids looking great!


I LOVE this picture of Nolan and Jace!


The four of us kids--Dan, Me, Tim and Mike.

My parents and Tim in their backyard before the ball.

Us with Tim before going in the ball. Jace and his cousins got quite a bit of attention due to their cuteness!

Family self-portrait.

Uncle Tim and Jace dancing together.

Jace was very quick to give Great-Grandma Steiner lots of smiles and giggles. Grandma loved it!

Trip to Maryland: Blue Angels

On Wednesday we went on the yard to watch the Blue Angels do a show. It was a very hot day, especially in the beating sun. Jace had a hard time with the heat and bright sun (he'd never really seen the sun) and then when the planes started flying over us VERY loudly, he decided he'd had enough. But after a little while of sitting in the shade of an umbrella and drinking a bottle, he fell asleep and missed the rest of the show. The rest of us loved watching the crazy stunts though!

Cami and Jace before everything started. Cami decided she didn't want to sit in her stroller, so I put Jace in it. Of course, she then wanted to be in her stroller again!

Waiting for the shuttle buses to take us back to the football field where our cars were parked.