Getting ready for winter

I can't beleive it's almost December. It's been such a wonderful year. Cooper is now 6 months old and Cade turned three on the 5th. We've been busy spending time together and getting the house ready for winter.

Cade loves to ride his trike. Mark was mowing up the fallen leaves and turned to see he had a little follower. He continued to follow him down and around the yard. How adorable is that!? He's quite attached to his daddy!

Cade also has a new affliction to wearing daddy's clothes. We caught him the other day sporting them...

Cade's third birthday was on November 5th. He was so excited this year! He had a good one and got a new bike from dad. His legs are a little short so by next spring he should be good to go.

Cooper is growing so fast. He's rolling both ways like a champ and is able to push himself up on his arms more and more each day. He's doing so good and is almost 16 lbs. He continues to be a happy boy which is wonderful. We took him to the dermatologist a few weeks ago and finally we're getting somewhere with his eczema. It looks a lot better now and hopefully we can get him cleared up soon.

Sunny CA

Last week we went to Anaheim California for our fall vacation. It was pretty easy with the 2 kids getting through the airport and traveling with them. Cade did pretty well, although he threw a few fits when he didn't get his way. That's a toddler for you! Coop did excellent! He slept the first flight there, then just looked around the second flight. He fussed a little at the landing but besides that he was happy as a clam. We got to the John Wayne airport and found our rental car, a Trailblazer we named Cindy. She got rode hard... that traffic there is awful! Those interstate freeways are crazy... but thanks to Sally the Tomtom we found our way around. We went to San Diego both Thursday and Friday and went to Sea World and the Zoo. Cade LOVED it! The zoo was awesome, although huge. Sea world was cool too, and we finally got to see Shamu. (Since Cade threw too many fits when we went to Orlando last time!) The sea lion show and otter show was so cute too. We had some long days from about 8 am to 9 or 10 pm and Cade was beat. Cooper did so good and just napped in his carseat. It was easy this time since nursing him doesn't require making a bottle! We had a few funny times, being stopped by the Border Patrol and them looking at us and quickly passing us by. Could we be more American?! We also got to see a few illegals getting cuffed... poor guys. We went to Hollywood which was gross. What a dirty place. Also went to the Santa Monica Pier and that was a neat place full of life and excitement. The ocean was very pretty but the day we went it was really cold. It was great to visit but so good to be back where there is no smog or graffiti!!!

Ok.. now it's almost August?!

Gosh, now it's almost August... so hard to beleive! Cooper is 2 and a half months now. He's smiling and cooing and it's oh so cute. Cader is doing so much better and has adjusted to his little brother nicely. He says all the time I love my little brother, and I'm the big brother. Really really cute.

Today Cade said to his sippy cup, you're going to get a spank, then counted 1, 2, 3 and then he spanked his cup. Then he set it on the couch and said, you sit here! Can you tell he's had a few of these? I found it quite funny.. and i'm wondering what his cup did.

We've taken the boat out every weekend so far and it's so fun. We have a great time. Last weekend I got to drive it and pull Mark on the kneeboard. I was scared the first time, but now it's a little easier.. and not quite as frightening!

We decided we need a vacation and since hotels are giving a discount right now, we decided to go to Anaheim CA and go to Disneyland and Seaworld. I think we'll go to the San Diego Zoo as well. We're looking forward to it and it should be a great time. Coop will be 4 months then, and Cade is getting easier to travel with.

My incision is STILL open about 3/4 of an inch. Goodness! I wonder when it's going to close.. it's been 9 weeks now since it split open. Well, hopefully it will heal soon!

That's about it for now.. we're pretty boring.. and it's too hot to care! I can't wait til it cools off a little bit.. 90s are way too hot!

June's almost over?!

I can't beleive that it's almost July.. where has June gone?! Cooper is almost 2 months already.. I can't beleive that. He'll be 2 months on our Anniversary! He's grown so much and is starting to smile and roll over. Mark went to get him out of his crib this morning and he was all the way over by the crib rail on his side/belly! He's sleeping a little more each night which is welcomed! Cade is having so much fun this summer. He loves being outside with his squirt gun watering the dogs. He also loves his friends and enjoys the park. His favorite thing is being with his Daddy. They have so much fun together and that little boy loves him more than anything.

I'm finally starting to feel 'whole'. My wound is almost all healed, only about a 2 inch section is still closing. I feel great though, no pain for once! The doctor's were happy with the progress. Next baby, hopefully this won't happen!

We recently bought a boat and have taken it out on the lake. It's a great activity because Cade LOVES the water and enjoys the boat very much. Mark is such a great wakeboarder and skiier. We plan to take it this weekend to go watch the fireworks on Horseshoe Bend. That should be a lot of fun!

What's new!

Well it's been a few months since I've posted.. sorry! I have had plenty going on.

Cooper Gary Olson was born 5/5/08 at the Powell Hospital via C-section. He was 8 lbs 2 oz and 18.75 inches long. He was healthy and happy from the moment he came out. He was delivered at 5:18 pm. I went to the hospital thinking my water broke (it didn't) and they put me on the fetal monitor. She said, well you're probably going home but first we had to make sure my BP went down and they had to get some more of the baby on the monitor. Well my BP went down but the baby wasn't giving the acceleration/deccelerations that they want to see. They called the doc. and hewanted to see more and had the OB specialist come and look at the strip too. Of course my OB was gone, golfing... so this was the dr. on call. Well, they didn't like what they saw, so they decided to break my water and do a contraction stress test where they basically 'induce' with pitocin but do it at a slower speed. Then they monitor the baby and how it reacts to the contractions. Well, baby wasn't tolerating them well, and they decided at 4 pm to do a c-section and just get him out. LAter I found out they wanted to get me an emergency c-section at noon! They were quite worried, but wanted to make sure they HAD to do a c-section. I told them just do what they need to do to make sure baby is healthy. So at 4:30 off I go to get prepped. Mark scrubbed in and was able to be with me, and he watched the whole procedure. Out came Cooper and Mark said, well, what is it? I was crying and said I don't know... He said IT'S A BOY! I thought it was a girl, but I wanted a boy. We found out that he had the cord around his neck and it was pulled tight, so when I contracted there was no give and it cut off his circulation. I'm so glad we went to the hospital and that they did the c-section. He's been such a great baby... so sweet and content.

Well, a week later, I noticed my incision had a little crack in it. About an hour later I started gushing blood. I called Mark and he rushed over and we went to the Lovell ER. Come to find out I had a hematoma under it and it finally burst. I went to see Dr. Bohlman the next day and he referred me to a surgeon who decided to sedate me and open the wound and clean it out. It was infected and had to be dealt with. So after this is done, Mark had to stuff dressing in it, three times a day for about 2 weeks. Now, 5 weeks postpartum, I still have an open wound but it's slowly closing. I'm on antibiotics to kill the infection... so hopefull this thing closes soon. I'm in no pain, but it's annoying!

Today actually feels like spring...

We actually had sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s today... giving us a little bit of hope that Spring is on it's way. Although the weather said it's supposed to snow Saturday... Cade loves being outside and it's been so hard to keep him cooped up inside because of the cold weather and wind. I hope tomorrow will be nice so we can go to the park and play and so he can run some of his energy off.

I'm now 35 weeks along... 5 more to go. I really don't know if I'll go late like with Cade or maybe earlier this time. I'm really hoping to make it to 39 weeks but not go late like I did before. Mark will have to leave to work out of town, but they will be working 10's so they will be gone only 4 days. I HAVE to plan to have this kid Friday-Sunday! Yea... we'll work on that. I've been feeling really good, although my hips kill me when I try to move at night. I had some contractions last night that woke me up but just a few so that was relieving! We have finally started to clean out the spare room for the baby. Now we just need to rearrange some furniture so that the crib and changing table is in there.

Mark's started a new venture building decks and landscaping. He's working on a nice deck right now. We're hoping that this will take off this summer so that we can pay off some debt and save a bit too. He's so good at things like this and I know he'll do just fine!

Cade's been a handful.. I think because i'm slow and tired and a wee bit cranky at times. Although he's been speaking in sentences. It's so awesome to see him grow and develop. Yesterday he caught a fly.. I know a true boy! I asked him what his fly was named. He said Cade. I said well shouldnt' he have a different name than yours? What about Fred? So Fred it was. Later he came to me and said.. Oooh I squished Fred. Fred's squished. I told him to put Fred in the garbage so he did, then he lifted the lid and said, ooooh poor Fred. It was hilarious. He seems to have 3 moods. Crying, whining, and hyper than all getout. Today, he actually sat with me for a little bit and watched cartoons and that made it all better!

Spring Fever

I've noticed that I haven't posted anything for a long long long time! We've been pretty boring. I'm getting bigger and bigger. The little one is kicking me crazy and moving a lot. I have two months to go... two months! I finally have a little stockpile of diapers, but we still haven't cleared out the room yet. My appointments will soon be every two weeks. We're so ready for spring. It snowed a little bit today and that just made me want it that much more. Our grass is actually starting to green where all the snow melted, but we know that we'll get at least one more big snow storm before Spring is over.

Cade's starting to talk so much more now. He's making sentences and sense! Now that he's talking more, the tantrums aren't as much. He has been beating himself up though. He took a digger into the heater and cut his cheek open. Then two Sunday's ago he fell of the pew at church backward and cracked his head open on the hymn book stand... then he crashed and burned in the gravel and weeds and cut his lip open. Poor guy! I suppose that is part of raising a boy! He's doing so many funny things. Today he was 'tucking' his tractor and excavator in with him when he went to bed... girls have dolls, boys have tractors! I thought that was funny. He loves to do Lion Hunt with Grandma Olson. He gets so darn giddy with her!

Turning over a new leaf

I was baptised on January 26, 2008 by my husband, Mark at the LDS church here in Lovell. It was one of the most amazing experiences in the world. I got to don the 'real nice' see through white gown and Mark immersed me in the font. He didn't' hit my head or hold me under too long which is a good thing! He also did everything right so we didn't have to do it over again... hooray! I'm not a big fan of water, so this was not something I would usually do for fun. Although, it means a lot to me and I knew I wanted and needed to do this to make my life complete. Yesterday, I was confirmed in sacrament by Gary Olson, my father in law. This was an amazing experience having the priests lay their hands on your head and confirm your baptism. I felt so warm and tingly, like nothing I had ever felt before. Gary was there with Warren, my brother in law, Craig Walker, my neighbor and one amazing man who has taught us a lot and helped us, Greg Rael, Craig's son and law, Bishop Winterholler, and the missionaries Elder Gurr, Raasveld, and Young. To those who have experienced this, I'm sure you will understand and know exactly what i'm talking about! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband that supported me through all of my learning and was able to give me this wonderful gift. I also feel so blessed to have found this faith and to learn and understand everything that is in it's teachings. My family that supported me are a big help too, as I couldn't have done it without all of them.

Excitement!

I had my doctor's appointment today. The ultrasound looked perfect and I'm measuring right on track. The little one's heartbeat was 143 and moving and shaking all the time in there! I've only gained 3 pounds total so far, so that is great news to hear. I really don't want to gain much and the Dr. says that my uterus is growing fine, so the lack of gain is not a problem. We still haven't thought of a name for a little boy. We have our girls name, although we haven't decided on a middle name yet. I suppose we really need to get going on that! It will be May before we know it... My due date changed 2 days to May 9th also. If its like last time it will be May 14th. :)

We went on vacation last week to Salt Lake City. We had a wonderful time. We spent a lot of time at Temple Square going to the visitor's centers, the museum's and the tabernacle and the conference center. It was so enlightening and a lot of fun. We also made sure to make a generous deposit in the Deseret Bookstore. ;) We got to see the Tabernacle Choir practice and to see the temple at night. It was so beautiful! We are continuing our lessons and Mark will be ordained as a priest here soon as it was approved by the Ward. We have decided that my baptism date is the 26th of January tenatively. We'll know more as we get it scheduled with the bishop. I am so excited and never had this kind of warmth and passion about something before. I know this is the right path for me. I just want to thank everyone for their love and support!

Happy New Year!

Well, its so hard to beleive that we are in 2008! Last year really did fly by, but it was a challenging year, but we prevailed! We are so excited to start this New Year. We have our baby due in May and Cade entering the exciting world of toddler joys. Cade is a joy and a pain all at the same time. He's pretty challenging himself, but it's giving us some experience! We are going to church now and he has such a hard time sitting through the sacrament for an hour. It seems he is getting used to the nursery though and enjoys playing with the other children once he settles down. It's great he gets to play with other kids.

Mark and I have also become serious in the church. We have decided to have teachings with the missionaries so we can learn more. He was baptized LDS when he was 8 but has been inactive since the age of 14 or so. Me, I have never had a religion. It's been a big part of our lives in the past 6 months and I have decided to get baptised in the church. We need to go through another month or so of teachings before we're ready. Mark will be ordained so that he will be able to perform my baptism which is something I am really looking forward to. It's quite the learning experience, but I feel really good about everything I have learned and look forward to pursuing more! I love the fact it is something we can do as a family.

I am now 22 weeks along. I am getting quite the belly and keep knocking Mark over every now and again. This means I am more than half way. I feel really good and am enjoying every minute of it. The baby didn't cooperate on the ultrasound so we don't know what gender it is. We will be blessed with whatever sex and am actually looking forward to the surprise! We both said that if it didn't show itself, then we would leave it until delivery.

We are going on our little 'vacation' next week to Salt Lake and I'm really excited to see the sights. I've never been down there before. We're going to drive, so hopefully the little guy can handle the road trip. Well, that's about it for now. Happy New Year to everyone!