Happy Birthday David, Aria and Levi!!

Here is a picture of each of my babies at the time they were born last year:

David, 3:02 pm


Aria, 3:02 pm


Levi, 3:03 pm


Here is what Levi thought of my attempt to get a smile out of him. He went in to "camera mode" and banished all smiling. If he could roll his eyes at me, I am sure he would!


And, if I had even an ounce of vanity left, you would not be seeing these pictures.

We had a wonderful birthday day today. (That's a lot of days in that sentence!) It started out with me singing "Happy Birthday" to each of my babies as I fed them their morning bottle. We played and had a nap. After lunch, Shari and Kara Kooiker came and took the kids on a walk in their stroller. From what I hear, they toured the town! They went with Kara to see her get her hair cut and were given some candy. Then they stopped by the bank and got stickers. Ironically, I believe they ate the stickers, but not the candy! Shari wasn't sure I would allow them to have the candy so we'll eat it tomorrow... when we are at the pool!!! Yay! Back to today... after the bank, I believe David, Aria and Levi got a glimpse of the fantastic pool we will be going to tomorrow. They seemed excited and I am sure it looked fun. The Kooikers didn't quite make it back to the house before I had to go find them, because I wanted to see my babies at 3:02-3:03! I know, I am a nut. But, a year ago today my precious babies where brought into this world. I didn't get to hold them or hardly touch them those first minutes of life, so I wanted to be holding them this year! So, at about 2:50, I drove off in the truck to get my one year olds! They were happy to see me anyway because it was getting hot and David had just drifted off into a deep sleep as I found them. Here is a picture of the way he fell asleep watching the stroller wheel:



Aria was tanning herself and quite relaxed on the stroller ride. She is definitely my daughter, as her feet are constantly propped up on whatever is in front of her. Right before this picture was snapped, she put one leg down.



So, I got my pictures with my babies. David was put down for a nap and the others soon followed. Dan and I fed them dinner and we had a nice meal all together. It was wonderful that they could eat what I made for us all and we could dine as a family. Here are some pictures of my one-year-olds at dinner time. They were all being quite silly.














After dinner, we took them out for dessert! We went to a local burger/ice cream joint called Slade's, and bought them their first strawberry soft-serve ice cream. They loved it. I loved it and we all ate lots of sugar just before bedtime! Yay! Oh, and I forgot to mention how we got there... on their birthday present from us! We got them a new bike trailer and a seat for Dan's bike, so he can take all three of them out for rides. I can either tag along, or choose to stay home! It's awesome! They LOVE the trailer. To ride in the seat, they have to wear a helmet. David won't have anything to do with his helmet, so Levi and Aria trade out in the seat. Here are some pictures from their first test drive on Monday:





Since we were full of sugar and not ready for bed yet, we decided they deserved one last hooray for their birthday. We took them to the park and played on the swings for a while. The evening concluded with baths and a new bedtime routine.

We have been getting them into pajamas and feeding them bottles down in the livingroom. Well, they always sensed it was bedtime and rebelled. They wouldn't eat and wanted to get down and play with toys. Tonight, we started something new. At bathtime, we brought all evening supplies upstairs, only had the lamp on and got them ready for bed in their room. There are no toys in their room. We did bottles up there, sang songs, read a story, said our prayers and laid down for bed. Levi and Aria went right to sleep. Aria actually got laid down in the pack 'n play in our room because she and David get each other riled up. David had to fuss for 15 minutes before realizing Mommy wasn't coming to rock him tonight. I have been guilty of trying to settle him down too much lately. I am always eager to get everyone asleep and was afraid he was disturbing the other two. Tonight, with the new routine, comes a new resolve to get David putting himself to sleep at night. We put a fan in Levi's room to quiet David's noise. This week David's crying has woken up Levi and he gets MAD! If he is woken up after he's down for the night you can expect a 10 minute sobbing fit. Well, no more! We are tackling this problem for good! I am hoping each night gets easier and better. I am looking forward to a nice routine and hopefully finding some success in a Mommy idea! I gave myself an annual review last night and set out some goals. Ha ha. Well, someone has to do it!

Well, blog readers, thanks for sticking with us this year. It has been an awesome year full of lots of love and learning. Thank you for reading this and inspiring me to continue journaling for my children. I hope they will enjoy this record in future years and I know I will always treasure it. Here is to many more adventures in the lives of the Nebelsicks!

Love, Elizabeth

P.S. - More party pictures coming soon and other great stories of our crazy kids!