7 is HEAVEN

This little boy has our hearts since the second he arrived, on March 22, 2005.  His bright blue eyes, his mischievous smile & his amazing sense of humor are just some of the things that make our nephew so special.  We are constantly quoting this "ONE-GUY" in our daily lives and can't want to see him to wish him happy birthday in person in a couple weeks.

We know Abby is your "FAVORITE" and has been since you were a little toddler, just remember we all LOVE you.

Even when you show us your "ANGRY" face!

Mardi Gras @ OLV

The annual OLV Marti Gras event is a school fundraiser and a very kid centered, fun-filled afternoon. It was held on Sunday, Feb 6th and we were excited to be able to have our nephews Nixin and Noah join in since they were visiting with their parents for the weekend.
The kids start out with tickets and play games. Most games allow the kids to earn gold coins. Nixin had a pretty good sized stash of coins he had earned.

Said coins are then turned in for prizes... lots of choices, so the decisions are very difficult.

Tickets can also be used for other fun items. Here is Uncle Steve helping Nixin to get

this cool dinosaur tattoo!
Some kids had fun Mardi Gras masks...

And some kids were just content to play with colorful fringe.

I helped with the Children's raffle, which had a little over 80 different prizes. The kids could place their tickets into the bag representing the gift he/she most wanted to win. Of course, the more tickets placed in the bag, the more chances of winning the coveted prize. As it turned out, announcing the prize winners yielded sequels of excitement from the recipients as well as tears of sadness from the kids who didn't get selected. Out of our kids, Abby won two of the raffles, but neither Kippy, Nixin or Noah were chosen. Noah did however, become the winner of some yummy chocolate/peanut butter bars from the Cake Walk; while Nixin & Kippy were happy with their prizes that they chose. All in all, it was a joyful day.

Conversations with a 5 year old

My five year old nephew, Nixin, helped me plant flowers on Saturday. He was so excited to dig holes that were just the right size and put the flower in himself, fill the dirt in and water them. As soon as his dad came back he proudly said, "Dad, want to see all the flowers I planted?"


I walked over to the flowering lilac bushes and said, "Nixin, come over here."

He did and asked, "What?"

I said, "Smell these flowers." as I took a large sniff of a fragrant lilac bloom.

Nixin tentatively sniffed the flower and then asked me, "When will these be grapes?"

I was a little perplexed and I answered, "These are lilacs."

He asked me again, "But when will they be grapes?"

I had to tease a little, so I said, "They are lilacs."

Nixin calmly asked again, "When will they be grapes?"

I finally answered. "Never. They are lilacs." He makes me literally laugh out loud. Love that kid!

Kristy asked me to take Nixin's 5 year old pictures outside, so I took them to a few places in town and just let Nixin do what he does and followed him with my camera. One of the first things he did was to find a stick. When we went to the railroad tracks, I asked Nixin if he could balance on the rail. He tilted his head and said, "What?" I then demonstrated a couple of steps and he immediately gave it try. "Look! I'm balancing!" he exclaimed.



Then he plopped down on the railroad track with his stick in hand and randomly said, "DreamWorks." and proceeded to pretend to fish. I just love how his brain works.

He made some wishes on a dandelion, but accidentally got his mouth too close and hacked the biggest spit I have ever seen from a little kid. I was pretty much in shock. No pictures of that event.
Within the first 10 minutes, he got his knee dirty climbing on some rocks. He didn't notice it for the longest time. Then suddenly, he looked down and said, "Hey, how did this dirt get here?" And then proceeded to scratch the dried mud off.

I think he liked the adventure of the river walk. I asked him how high he could jump and he quickly demonstrated his skills for me.

This kid is a charmer and I love being his auntie Nae.

Half way to 10?

It is so hard to believe our nephew, Nixin Rudy Sell, is officially 5 years old today! Happy, Happy, birthday Nix! We love you to the moon and back again! And look forward to seeing you and your family on Friday.

My failure.

See this little imp? He is my nephew. His name is Nixin. He is four. I tried to bribe him. I failed.
A little background is required. Nixin is kinda shy and I don't get to see him very often because he and his family live near Duluth. So I like to offer incentives to Nix to help him overcome his shy nature. I usually play on his love of sweets, most especially chocolate. I have in the past been known to say things like "Nixin, I'll give you this M&M if you give me a hug." What? Don't judge!

On a recent trip to the farm, we got to celebrate two birthdays, mine and my nephew Noah's (Nix's big brother). On the night we ate my birthday cake, I noticed the incredibly fast way that Nixin shoveled in his cake and how he was particularly infatuated with the frosting. hmmmm... a seed was planted.....
So, two days later, when we celebrated Noah's birthday with this fabulous Bakugan cake made by my aunt Claire, I volunteered to do the cutting of the cake to put my plan in motion. And here is how it went down...

ME: Nixin, I'll give you this frosting if you tell me who is your favorite? [as I pointed to myself and showed him a spatula thickly covered with frosting]

NIXIN: [no response]

ME: Come on, Nix. You can have all this yummy frosting if you tell me that I'm your favorite. Now, who is your favorite? [as I continued to try to entice him with the globs of frosting]

NIXIN: [crickets]

ME: Don't you want the frosting? All you have to do is say that I'm your favorite. [using my best begging and pleading voice]. Who is your favorite?

NIXIN: [very quietly and without any hint of a smile he says]..... Abby

My entire extended family bursts out in laughter. And then Nixin cracks a bit of a smile. I pretend to pout [ok, it was real]. That little punk was playing me!

but he seriously does love Abby more than all the frosting in the world!

All American

Four-year-old, Nixin, is definitely true to the Red, White & Blue!

Complete with WWII helmet and a cap gun...

as he marches off to be with his cousins in their make-shift parade.

I was so happy to be together with my two siblings and their families to honor the 233rd anniversary of independence for the United States of America. We solute all those who have served and are serving to preserve our freedom. God Bless America!

Snugglin'

When I caught these pictures of my dad snuggling with Abby and Nixin this weekend, it made my heart do a flip-flop. There is something so special about time with your grandparent. My dad's lap is rarely empty when the grand kids are around and they all love it.
I certainly remember being snuggled in my Grandpa Rudy's lap when I was a kid. In fact, I think I got to snuggle with Grandpa Rudy well into my adulthood and that puts a smile to my face.
I get a little squeeze-y feeling in my throat when I see my mom or dad showering attention on one of my children. I'm just so grateful and I hope they know how lucky they are.

I have to roar "NIXIN IS FOUR!"

So hard to believe my nephew is already 4 years old! We love this kid so much and hope he has a spectacular day filled with everything and everyone he loves!! Looking forward to squeezing him up this Friday when he gets to our house!

It seems SO LONG AGO when we could just snuggle up on the couch with him. This kid had my heart from the beginning.