Christmas Day in Pleasant Hill

Merry Christmas to all! God bless us, every one A Christmas Carol>.

This year we hosted Christmas Day festivities at our home in Pleasant Hill. It was our first Christmas with Ben, so it was important for us to start our own Christmas Day tradition at home. Though he won't remember or understand this year at 9 months of age, we look forward to him running down the stairs excited for Christmas morning in future years.

As predicted by many, he seemed to enjoy the packages and discarded wrapping paper as much as the gifts themselves!


Ben playing in the wrapping paper video

More Winthrop Thanksgiving 2010

In these videos, we have guest star appearances from Becky Hegland (Kari & Tiff's friend from High School) and Erin Jansen (Jon's girlfriend).

Mike relaxing on the couch:

Jon says "Hello":

Erin says "Hello":

The Nickerson Girls and Ben in Winthrop

Here are some videos for Janelle and Mallory who had to stay back in Wisconsin. The other girls each hold Ben for a while and say "Hello".

Intro + Mackenzie & Ben #1

Mackenzie & Ben #2

Natalie & Ben

Emily & Ben

Delaney & Ben

Wedding Fun

A couple of weekends ago, I was excited to be a part of the Baumgart-Schildroth wedding! A very good friend of mine, Erin, from way back freshman year of college, got hitched. I enjoyed getting to be involved as a bridesmaid and hang out with all my girls from college too. We had some fun at the salon and hanging out in the bridal room too. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a blast! It took place in Waterloo, Iowa. Here are some photos of the Mueller family attending the wedding.

It was Ben's first time dressing up super nice for a fancy wedding. :-) Daddy and him coordinated all thanks to mommy!

Halloween Costume #2

Ok, so Ben didn't really like his first Halloween costume. He later became a garden gnome. If you don't at least giggle a little at these pictures, seek help!!

Ben's Halloween Costume

Ben was not too excited to be wearing his new Halloween costume. He was crying very hard, but I couldn't stop laughing so I had to start recording!! Poor guy...

Rainy Weekend

This weekend was busy, but took lots of turns we weren't expecting. On Friday, Ben had his scheduled 6 month checkup. Daddy took him in the afternoon and he is now 17 lbs. 6 oz. and 26 in. long! Seems like he has grown so much but still such a little guy. :-) The doctor also took a look at his head since his last checkup. There were concerns about him having a slight tilt from a stiff neck muscle and one flat side because of it. We had gone to physical therapy with him a few times and have done exercises and thought he may end up needing a helmet to correct it. The doctor said he looks better and she is not really that concerned. Plus, helmets cost like $3,000 dollars out of pocket! We were thankful to hear this good news. He also had his 6 month shots including a flu shot. Daddy said he was brave again and made it through.

Friday evening, Aunt Kari was gracious in babysitting for a little while so Andy and I could have a date night. We decided on a movie because that is the one thing we always did as a couple before Ben was born and it is rare to go to them now. Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Rick came to hang out with him too while we were out. We headed to the mall to eat and catch a movie. We saw "The American", which in the end was a big dissappointment. I agreed to go to it because Andy was interested so we went. It is not worth it at all! I was so bored the whole time and it was not building up to anything in the plot. So, if anyone was thinking of going to this movie, take my advice and save your money.

When, we got home Ben was not feeling so good. We think it was because of the shots he got. He was pretty fussy which is very unlike him, he usually is a very content baby. We had an interesting next few days and nights. All Friday night until Sunday was random naps and sleeping with some times to eat for all three of us. He finally got back to normal on Sunday, back to his happy self. We were planning on going to Ames on Saturday for ISU tailgating fun and meeting old college friends, but the weather wasn't cooperating very much and we all lacked sleep and energy too.

Keep an eye out for some videos I just did with Ben tonight since he has been happier. He's been eating more baby cereal and fruits and got some footage of that! Hopefully I will get it posted on here soon! Night all!

Ben Laughing Video

Due to demand for more video, here is a short video of the best sound in the world - my little boy laughing.

5 Month Pictures

Ben Saying "Dada"!!!!

I managed to capture Ben saying "Dada" on the camera. This is one of the first few times that he has said it.

Visiting Grandma Diane in Davenport after her knee surgery

My mom is slowing becoming the bionic woman with millions of dollars of space-age hardware. This summer she adds a total left knee replacement to her existing fake knee and hip. Just a few more joints remain!

She champed out the surgery on Tuesday morning, and was up walking all over the place when we visited her on Saturday. Tiff brought Ben down on Friday night, and Heather came down on Saturday as well and brought Faith and David too! So we have all been hanging out this weekend and visiting Grandma Diane in the hospital.

G'ma Diane then made her way to a healthcare facility after the hospital to recuperate. She will stay there for awhile after which Aunt Doreen and uncle Russ will journey up to Iowa to stay with her for a while.

Cat-tastic

This is a "Hello" from Luna. I guess the view from the floor just wasn't good enough. She had to be 'rescued' from this perch...

She also was gracious enough to help Tiff out with her school preparations.

Busy Week

Hi all- Seems like it has been a while since we have been on here, about a week I think. Some stuff has gone on this week in the Mueller home! :-) On Tuesday, we had some people come and take a look at our nice couch in the living room. We have been wanting to get a sectional for the space instead and wanted to sell it quickly. A nice couple came and really liked it! They also were cat people and were very much in love with our 2 kitties. They ended up purchasing it, so brown couch has gone forever! That evening, we went to Slumberland to take another look at sectionals and finally found one we love! It arrives in about a month, and will be super comfy. To take a look at our new couch, click here.

The other event that day was Benjamin's 4 month checkup. We took him in the afternoon to the doctor where they weighed him at 15 lb. 1 oz. He was also 24 inches long. He absolutely loved grabbing all their tools and they kept commenting on how "helpful" he was. Everything checked out good, except he has a muscle tight on the right side of his neck. This makes him turn his head mostly to the left, because it is more comfortable for him. I guess I noticed him doing that a lot more lately but now we know it is something we will have to work on with him so he turns his head both ways with ease. This will also help his head be more symmetrical. So, tomorrow we go to the physical therapist to learn some exercises to do with Ben to help treat this. The end of the appointment was the 4 month shots, eek. His first round of shots, I got to hold his hand and soothe him through it all. Today, it was daddy's turn. I think he was a little braver than before and pretty much calmed down after daddy cuddled with him a bit. So we go back in 2 months for his 6 month checkup. Has it really been almost half a year since he was born?!!

So that is mostly what has gone on these days in our home! Andy has a birthday coming up this Friday, the big 29! I am sure we will post more about our birthday fun in the upcoming days and weekend. :-)

What's New Pussycats?

What's up kitty cats? Luna and Cedric as their usually curious selves, looking at bugs and ready to attack should they dare enter the house.... :-)

Me and Blue

Today, Ben was chillin' with his new buddy Blue (because he's a blue bear, hehe). Grandma Diane got this little guy for him when he was born. Now that Ben is starting to play more and hold things, he's getting to know his new friend! Here he is hanging out with him in his bouncer watching t.v. with Blue and mommy! :-)

Clean Freak

It's been a few days so we can't leave people hanging without knowledge of our lives...I am sure everyone is very concerned. :-) In any case, I will keep you updated. This week it seems to be flying by so fast, already Friday tomorrow! Summer weeks always seem to go so quick because the school year just has to creep back up on me, it misses me too much, haha. We have planned yet another weekend getaway to visit family, this time to Grandma Diane's in the Quad Cities. It's already been over a month since she has seen little Ben, and little Ben is getting bigger!

Today, I was admiring his ability to stand up (with support) and he constantly beams with that to die for smile, like he is very proud of this accomplishment. I have a feeling that once this whole crawling and walking thing starts up, I will be running around the house like a mad woman to keep him out of things. He already has the talking thing down to a T.

Today, I had the cleaning itch to make things tidy around the house. Already wanting to clean a LOT again, you say? Because most people that truly know me, know that this is once...okay like three times in a blue moon that I do things to fix a mess. It's just not my forte. But once you have a child in your home, suddenly you start to think about things you don't want them to crawl on or touch that is dirty and possibly get it in their mouths...yuck. Now Ben isn't quite there yet, but I guess this was my practice run before I make this more of a regular routine. So now our house is lookin' not to shabby and even Andy is surprised by some of the things I did! :-)

We also visited with my family before our journey tomorrow,watching videos of when Ben was littler and when he was first born in the hospital. I am glad Andy was able to capture these moments (I was a little busy then), and he captured them appropriately. I can see us showing them when he is older and either shocking him in a good way or embarassing him....hmmm, oh well. :-) In any case, it was great to preserve memories of that big event. Maybe we'll post a few sometime up here for you all to see. Okay, I think I am headed to bed. Gotta be roarin' and ready to go for even more packing tomorrow and other various household duties before we are on the road again. Night all!

Ben's Official 3 Month Photos

Check out Ben's official 3 month photos! He was a trooper though he did get hiccups halfway through the shoot... We went to Portrait Innovations in West Des Moines and they did a superb job! Yep, I used the word superb.

Family Get-Together Weekend

So, I thought I'd post about our busy but fun weekend with relatives. It is always awesome to us when we get to spend time with any family---especially sitting around the kitchen table at Grandpa Leroy and Grandma Cloey's house. The three of us journeyed up to northeast Iowa to visit them, as well as Uncle Glen and Aunt Sandy since they were spending some time in Iowa the past week. We arrived on Friday night and spent a little time together before bed time. On Saturday, mom and dad also came to enjoy everyone's company, complete with a yummy dinner of chicken from downtown Winthrop (I can never pass up this chicken). Most of the time was spent chatting and playing with Ben which of course never ever gets boring! :-) We noticed this weekend that he is becoming more and more talkative. Daddy also says he is pretty sure he giggled for the first time (and I totally missed it!). Hopefully I can get some giggles out of him this week during playtime. Another fun thing he discovered this weekend was his feet! For weeks, I have been touching his hands to them and has had no desire to investigate more---until now. He was actually grabbing them a few times and looking at them very curiously. Pretty soon it will be a regular thing to touch toes and time will fly by with all the other amazing things he will be able to do. It felt so good this weekend to have Ben get a taste of family and spending time with all these wonderful people. I really want him to grow up loving those times there with family and having fun just being together. Great Grandma Cloey and Great Grandpa Leroy loved their time with us and Ben again (he's growing so fast!) and we would LOVE to come back and visit them soon, hopefully with some more of the Nickerson clan? :-)

Memorial to David Mueller

Today makes 10 years since my father passed away on this day in the year 2000. I still miss my father often, but now that Ben is around it makes me wish that he could have met his grandfather. I also did not get to meet my father's father, who passed away in the sixties.

I cherish every memory I have with my father though; I owe a lot to who I am today to him (the good stuff that is!). Nothing testifies more than the massive number of people that celebrated his life with us 10 years ago. I will never forget the line of cars in the procession that stretched back as far as I could see out the rear window.

My father was one of the kindest people I have ever known - always slow to anger and fiercely intelligent. This was a kid who was not supposed to live to be one year old with all the heart conditions he had, but beat the odds with various open-heart surgeries over the years. This was the kid who saved his Algebra homework so that he could work on it at the precise time his favorite TV show came on (and you thought I was a dork?). A true engineer, he was meticulous in just about every aspect of his life. From the folding of his clothing, to the absolutely perfect script with which he wrote like a type-writer.

So thanks Dad for everything you taught me, I love you always!

-Andrew

How old is this guy?

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Winthrop!!

As you can see here, Ben was super psyched to come to Winthrop, IA and visit with Great-Grandma Cloey and Great-Grandpa LeRoy! Ok, so he got really tired helping mommy pack...

This weekend we get to visit with Glenn and Sandy and show them how big Ben has gotten! Great-Grandma also created her first Facebook photo album today. Brett came over a few weeks ago to build Cloey a beautiful new cabinet to organize all of her hobby materials! Check out the photo album.

-Andrew

Monkeying Around

Here is Benjamin all ready for bed time! We are all pretty tuckered out today. Daddy worked all day, Mommy and Ben cleaned the house (shocking, I know) and we took a trip to the mall to get Daddy some clothes for our upcoming family pictures next week. This is the first time he's been able to wear these jammies and of course Mommy can't pass up him wearing anything with monkeys on it!

Anniversary "Date-Night"

Ok, so now that we are parents, we get to begin our once in a blue moon date-nights, hehe. Today happened to be our 2 year anniversary, so we decided we could atleast go to dinner, even though we both don't like to be away from our son too long. So, the Polands graciously offered to be our babysitters for the evening so we could have some "alone time". We decided on going to Macaroni Grille because it's cheap, good food (especially their bread which is always a factor for me whenever we go out to eat), and was pretty close to where Ben would be. We went all out----appetizer, drinks, meal, and dessert, and was amazing! My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach allowed because we both were super stuffed. Then, we both love to take quick trips to bookstores, so we spent a little time at Barnes and Noble across from the restaurant. And it just so happened that they had Starbuck's coffee there too, so I couldn't pass up an evening Americano. :-) We then anxiously got back to pick up Ben and he was a very good boy the whole time. We hope this gave them a little practice as maybe soon-to-be parents and made them want to have those babies soon! Because Ben would love a little playmate to play with dirt and mud and all that fun boy stuff. So yes, another anniversary has passed now and it feels like we've been married so much longer. I guess I will probably say that every year though, but I still am very much happy with my hubby and thankful for all the blessings we've been given this year as a married couple! Year 3, here we come, hoping many more blessings will be in store for us!

Des Moines' New Center Street Bridge

They finally opened up the Center Street Bridge - the centerpiece to downtown Des Moines' Principal Riverwalk. This multi-year project is meant to spruce up the downtown area, and it is indeed making the area look a lot nicer. The bridge is lit at night, and features two walkways with a cross-over in the very middle of the bridge. The center of this cross-over is glass, and lights up at night with different and constantly changing colors! We are big time now! Move aside St. Louis Gateway Arch, here we come! Ok, so I don't think people will come from all over the country to see our humble new arch, but it is at least something new for us. See my photo album of the bridge.

Principal's Website about the Riverwalk

They also recently opened the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens, right next to the bridge. These gardens include a rock garden and a elegant pagoda in the middle of it all. It looks pretty neat sitting right on the river. Check out the link here.

Both of these places are neat new additions to the landscape, but my only criticism is that they really don't offer much to do other than look at them briefly. There isn't really anywhere to sit or spend any time near the bridge or Asian Gardens. What is it that Des Moines needs to do to get on the map so that we aren't driving to Omaha for most of our concerts?

-Andrew

Happy 4th of July!

This weekend was our first time celebrating the 4th of July as a family. :-) We were a little hesitant to take Ben to fireworks, not sure how he would react to the loud sounds and popping. We went to Altoona fireworks at Prairie Meadows and they were amazing. Ben was in awe and amazed at the colors and was content the whole time with Daddy. We watched fireworks with Grandpa Rick and Grandma Kathy, as well as Aunt Kari. And 4th of July wouldn't be complete without grilling so we enjoyed that as a family too!

We also got a chance during the day to check out the new riverwalk bridge in downtown Des Moines, both during the day and night. The 3 of us took a walk over it (with the rapid river of floodwaters below us---eek!) and it was very cool. Then, after fireworks, we decided to check it out again to see it all lit up. Hopefully we will take many more walks there when Ben is older.