A Photoshoot with the very talented Carolyn Fong

Carolyn did a photoshoot with Oliver and we LOVE the pictures! She did such an incredible job - thank you, thank you, thank you Carolyn!

A Visit from Carolyn

Our very dear friend Carolyn came for a visit to meet Oliver. We had a great time, with a couple of nice dinners out, a little shopping, a trip to Minnehaha Falls, a BBQ, a photoshoot and a lot of time just admiring Oliver. Thanks for visiting Carolyn! Come again soon!

Mom and Baby Class

Oliver and I took a Mom & Baby Class during maternity leave. Every Monday from 11:00-12:30 we got together with other moms and babies that were born withing two weeks of each other. It was lots of fun and we met some really great people. Here is a photo of the other kids in the class. Starting with Oliver and moving clockwise their names are - Oliver, Nova, Avery, Finlay and Ryan.

Family!

Oliver is one lucky baby to have so many family members who live so close by. Here are some highlights of all the family time Oliver has had in his first few months. It is great to have so many willing babysitters!

At the Gym

Oliver LOVES his baby gym.

Oliver's photo shoot at 2 weeks

These are some of our favorite shots from Oliver's first photoshoot - he sure is one cute baby (but I may be a bit bias).

Our first few weeks at home

Snuggling with his very sleep deprived Mama.

Going for his first walk, four days after he was born. It was a beautiful day!

All wrapped up in his towel after a sponge bath. This very cute towel is one of the MANY gifts from his doting Nana.

Meeting the Swanson/Peterson's - Oliver doesn't know it yet, but these two will be lifelong friends!

Oliver's Birthday

So I am about to go back to work on Monday, and I thought it was about time to set up the blog that I was always meaning to start while on maternity leave. The purpose of this blog is to keep friends and family updated about Oliver as he grows, as well as any other munchkins we add to this fun filled family.

I think the best place to start is at the beginning - Oliver's birthday! Oliver was born on March 10, 2010 after 5 long weeks of bed rest. The game plan was to be induced on March 12th, but Matt and I went in for a checkup on March 9th and learned that my amniotic fluid level was a bit low. Matt was actually out feeding the parking meters when the doctor told me to head home and get our bags because we were being induced that day. We rushed home, grabbed our bags, quickly tidied up the house a bit and gave Sammy some good-bye kisses. I remember feeling funny as we were leaving the house, knowing that we would come home a threesome instead of a twosome.

At the hospital the process of being induced was actually rather mellow. We got there at about noon and I was given a drug to get the ball rolling. For the entire day Tuesday I didn't really have any pain and Matt and I watched all sorts of shows on TV that we don't get at home because we don't have cable - Cake Boss, the Dog Whisperer, What Not to Wear...little did we know that this was the last time we would get to be so lazy in a very long time.

During the night Tuesday the pain in my back increased. On Wednesday morning they broke my water at about noon and from there things went very quickly. My very manageable contractions became really painful, I got an epidural from an extremely inexperienced resident and Oliver was born at 6:48 pm.

Oliver came screaming into the world and Matt and I were overjoyed to meet him! The three of us spent some time soaking each other in and then we called in the family. The night Oliver was born he had so many visitors - Nana, Grandpapa, Grandma, Grandpa, Jake, Josh, Jen, Ben, Emily, Sarah Wisneski and Kelly Schwinghammer. Oliver's cousins came to meet him too, but since we were still in the delivery room, they weren't allowed to meet him until later.

March 10, 2010 was an incredible day - one that Matt and I will treasure forever! Over the next few days in the hospital Matt and I kept marveling over how beautiful Oliver is. We repeatedly said, "How did the two of us make such a cute kid!?" We can't express how lucky we feel to have this little man in our lives!