Adelaide and Cousin Marion


Adelaide Anne got to meet her cousin little Marion Elizabeth on her trip out to Grandma and Grandpa Oliver's house. Marion Elizabeth Seely is Mitch's sister and brother-in-law's little girl who is 5 weeks older than Adelaide. Marion is so petite and has the darkest chocolate brown eyes you have ever seen. Mitch and I got to tend her for awhile during our visit and she was a doll. She loves to such on her binkie even if you put it upside down in her mouth she'll contentedly suck away. You can tell when they were together that Marion definately had some age on Addie. You could see Marion was interested and aware of her cousin laying next to her and was trying to figure out in her head what was going on. She was a lot more spacially aware as well and loved to play with her soft bunny. Adelaide was happy to be there but really had no clue that anyone was laying next to here until Marion and her hand just happened to come together. Such cute cousins holding hands!!

I really loved having cousins my age when I was growing up. I'm so glad that Addie has a cousin so close in age too. I don't know how often they'll be able to see each other and interact but it will be fun to watch them grow.

Ahead of the Game


Here's litte Addy holding up her head. She is so adorable. Ryan McAffee one of our friends said that we would think our baby was the coolest when she started holding up her head by herself, and he was sooo right. It's amazing, not that she wasn't cool before but, well just take a look for yourself and see if you don't ohh and aww.

Colby's Rump- A- Pum- Pum



I thought I'd share Uncle Colby's christmas devotional with you all. Okay so Swing, Swing, Swing isn't so Christmasy, but he sure can bang those drums. Look for Colby. He's the third one from the left hand side when they play the snare and the cymbals, then he's the fourth one from the left hand side when they are on the toms. I think he's the only one with a beard, anyway if you look for the dark beard you'll spot him. Love ya Colby and your little rump too!!

Who does Addy look like (vote above)

Her are a few pictures to help with your decision. None of these pictures are current accept Grandpa Olivers who recently celebrated the same birthday that he did in 1995. Happy Birthday Grandpa!! My votes for you!!

Mandy Oliver
Mitch Oliver

Colby Christiansen
Grandpa Oliver
Madison Oliver









Our Cute Little Bug



Our little Addy is now 5 weeks and 4 days old and is starting to do things that grown up girls do like suck her thumb for example. Her hands are rarely free from the socks we place over them to keep them warm but this day she just happened to land her little thumb right in her mouth which calmed her down for at least a few seconds before she got tired of it and started crying again. I just loved the day she dressed up in overalls. She was so cute in them I just couldn't get over it. I took over 50
pictures and will now have to proceed to erase most of them
because she wouldn't stop wiggling so most of them are blurry. Oh
well. Addy's starting to get really strong and has her own little will

already when it comes to matters of snuggling and cuddling. She kicks her legs against our tummies and Mitch and I have to hold on or else she'd jump out of our hands. She is continually testing out her ability to hold up her head and gets better and better at it every day but mom is still a little reluctant to let her try it without a hand poised behind it waiting for the inevitable release of her wearied neck muscles. She slept for five hours straight the other night which got her momma really excited, but it was short lived and follwed shortly by three nights of up every two hours and colic in the grey twilight of the mornings. Luckily Mitch has been wonderful in helping me so I can get some more Z's. He takes the early morning shifts and gets some studying in too if she's not too fussy. Momma has also discovered the calming power of running water and has made it a habit of putting Addy by the bathroom door when she runs a bath, which seems to soothe her. She'll just stare into the direction of the noise and eventually drifts off which is always a blessed occurance!!




Our Very Own Anne Girl

Adelaide Anne, Cheryl Anne and Grandpa Christiansen after the blessing.




This little Anne girl even got to wear puffed sleeves!! What a coink-e- dink.



The colored blanket was made from remnant pieces from the infamous fabric closet of Adelaide's Great Grandma Ruby Hart.


This past Sunday Mitch gave Adelaide a name and a blessing along with my father and Bro. Paul Fawson of the bishopric in our home here in Wauwatosa. We decided to name her Adelaide Anne Oliver and Mitch gave her a wonderful blessing including health, missionary work, learning by and through the spirit and listening to it's promptings throughout her life. We chose the name Adelaide because of it's simple and old natured beauty. Anne with an "E" we chose after my mother Cheryl Anne Hart Christiansen. Anne with an "E" has a special connotation in our family and I'm sure in many other families who have enjoyed the Anne of Green Gables books and movies. Our little Anne girl is definately a kindred spirit and full of life, wonder and entertaining fun. We now get to enjoy two vivacious ladies with the same middle name, and hopefully Adelaide will look to both of her grandmothers and other significant ladies in remembrance of where she has come from and in acknowledgement of where she is going and what attributes could be attained from them. Margaret D. Nadauld wrote,"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind... We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith." These, and many more, are attributes that I beleive Addy can learn from the amazing examples of womanhood around her. There are many kindred spirits and many Anne girls, but there is only one special spirit in our lives named Adelaide Anne!!

She's Here!!

Sorry It has taken me so long to get this up and out to everyone but then again we've been enjoying our newest addition!! That's right Adelaide Anne Oliver joined our family on Thursday October 16th at 6: 48 p.m. She weighed 8lbs point 6 oz. and was 20 1/4 inches long. After she was born she had some troubles breathing and so was taken to the special care nursery soon after delivery which made her parents especially the tired, drugged me a little anxious. They attached a heart monitor, a lung monitor and oxygen to her tender little frame while her parents watched on and worried. Mitch was proactive though and continually asked questions to determine what was going on and why everything was happening. The doctors had two culprits for her breathing issues. The first they thought was amniotic fluid in the lungs left over from birth, which is pretty normal in newborns and goes away after a few days when the fluid is absorbed back into the body. The second issues was that she had some sort of infection in her lungs or in her body somewhere which was causing the stuggled breathing. They had to hook her up to a continuous IV of sugar water since I could not feed her. They were afraid of aspiration, which is taking more fluid into the lungs when eating, because she didn't have the breathing thing down pat, it would be dangerous to try to add eating to her little throat and airway. The doctors took radiographs of her lungs and found that they were hazy which either meant infection or fluid. After a few more radiographs the haziness started to dissipate and they concluded that it was just left over amniotic fluid. But to be on the safe side they tried to tap some spinal fluid to look for infection one more time. Well they didn't get any fluid even after two tries and they didn't want to distress Addy anymore than that. They had given her antibiotics along with the IV drip just to cover their bases anyway. Well after 3 days and nights of being in the special care nursery Adelaide got to come home with us. She began to jaundice a little bit the night she came home so they sent a bili blanket home with us which produces blue light that breaks up the bilirubin in the body so that it can pass as waste out of the body. Infants have a hard time getting rid of access bilirubin because their liver is not functioning well enough to handle the overload of bilirubin. She had to be on the blanket all the time for 3 days. She peaked the second day and lowered enough the third day that they took her off the blanket. Now she is healthy and entertaining her parents with loads of new baby tricks, like projectile bowel movements and other such fun things. More entertainment is to come I'm sure!!

Pregnancy Update

Mitch, Adelaide and I are into the final 5 weeks of pregnancy and are beggining to count down to instead of up to the due date. At our last doctors visit Adelaide was still growing really well and my tummy measured the way that it should although I hadn't gained any weight since the last visit, my doctor thinks it's because I'm so active at work. I'm measuring a little over 34 centimeters which is about 13 inches and after this week I'm over the preterm hump and the prenatal team can pretty much guarantee a healthy baby girl after that. I've started feeling some Braxton Hicks contractions which are a little bit more uncomfortable than I expected them to be but I guess I wasn't expecting a bed of roses either. Mitch and I are still on the hunt for a crib. My coworker said that her friend has one that she's been trying to get rid of because she can't have any more kids, so it's a one kid used crib that we might get for free, which would be awesome, but were still holding our breaths on that one. Other than that we're all still doing fine and dandy. Mitch and I can actually feel Adelaide through my tummy now, accept we can't figure out if we're touching her little rump or the top of her head but it's cool to feel her so close anyway.

First Day of Class

As most of you know Mitch was accepted into Marquette Dental School last fall. The two of us have been waiting out the humid summer here for the moment when he would start school and it has finally arrived. Isn't he so cute in his business casual! (It'll be another couple of weeks before they get their scrubs to wear) In comparison to some of his nephews school pictures that we've had sent to us and seen he's not as adorable but still handsome on his first day of school. All he needs now is a school bus behind him. Mitch was inducted into the school of dentistry last week during the White Coat Ceremony where he took an oath to uphold ethical standards and humane responsibilities along with 79 of his classmates. 9 out of these including Mitch are LDS and he's gotten to know all of them and a lot of his other classmates as well. Mitch is the only student from Utah State but he's so bubbbly that he makes friends easily.






Here he is receiving his white coat and officially becoming a dental professional.

THE DENTAL STUDENT'S OATH

"As I begin my clinical education for the profession of Dentistry, I pledge the following:

To uphold the highest standards of professionalism by demonstrating compassion, empathy, and sound judgement in the treatment of my patients and in my interactions with colleagues. I will remember that I am working with human beings first and foremost.

To demonstrate excellent leadership through my interactions with my patients, my fellow students, and my community. I will gracefully accept leadership opportunities presented to me.

To uphold the highest of prefessional ethics by doing what is right and just in my interactions with patients, classmates, and the community at large. I will remember that dental education and the practice of dentistry is a privelege and not an entitlement.

My dedication to this education and career will be exemplified in my commitment to learning all that I can, treating my patients with kindness, and always maintaining honor and integrity.

I promise to maintain the dignity of this profession by promoting the principles of patient autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice and veracity.

All this I pledge with pride as I pursue the education that will lead to the honor of entering into the profession of dentistry."

House Tour


We have enjoyed living in our house now for the past three weeks and decided to make our humble abode available for family and public touring at the following website.


Mitchell's Garden

Mitch has been harvesting away this past week from his little garden on our balcony. We received 3 puny plants from our ward out here in Milwaukee one of our first weeks to church and I thought there was no hope for the little guys. Mitch thought better and has shown me that it's not always the sturdy plant that reaps the rewards. Our little cucumber plant has really produced, Mitch has picked 5 cucumbers off it's vines so far and the plant barely takes up the space of its small planter box. Here you see him proudly displaying the first cucumber that it produced. You can see Mitch definately has a green thumb. I think he inherited it From Grandpa and Grandma Oliver.
He's also got two tomato plants that are starting to ripen now. The little cherry tomatoes are turning red and he was able to pick some and put them in our salad last night, I'm not a tomato fan at all but I drenched one in ranch and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Mitch was just glad that I ate one at all. He also has some larger tomatoes but they are not turning red yet. We have big plans for our little garden next year. We'd like to plant some peas, pole beans, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Our first attempt at a garden last year ended miserably with one or two bell peppers and some late tomatoes, but this year Mitch has made unprecedented strides in his garden abilities and hopes to bring more yummy food into the home next summer.

Mitch and I are firm believers in self reliance thanks to all the teachings of our parents and the church, hopefully we'll be able to be more self reliant in the years to come. If you're interested in some good articles and information on self reliance or food storage try these links.
http://www.mormonchic.com/recipe/recipebox/pages/foodstorage.asp (this one has tons of fun recipes, crafts, spritual thoughts etc. )

Getting Bigger All the Time





A couple of weeks ago I went to visit the doctor and my weight had not increased from my previous appointment. She was a little concerned which made me a little concerned, which made Mitch a little concerned, but on my last visit on Monday all was well and there was really nothing to worry about after all. I might not be gaining a lot of weight but Adelaide continues to grow stronger and healthier. My uterus is measuring at 29 and 1/2 cm which is exactly where it should be for me being 29 weeks along. Each week should add another centimeter to my belly as she continues to grow and gain weight more rapidly. Her kicks are getting stronger and I can feel her turn in my tummy which is always a cool feeling. She had a really steady rythm going the other night which I'd never felt before, Mitch and I thought she might have the hiccups but maybe she was just keeping time. She's been keeping us up all night too. There are two major blood passageways down your back, the vena cava and the aeorta, and with all the pressure from the baby it's best for pregnant women not to sleep on their backs so that oxyginated blood can get to the baby as well as to the mother. Well I tend to sleep on my back and so every once and awhile I'll wake up freaking out that I'm on my back again and I've got Mitch doing it now too. He woke up last night and kept saying Mandy you're on your back again you have to sleep on your side, roll over. She's got us both worried that she's not getting enough oxygen and so we both get no sleep because we're both worry warts. The only problem with sleeping on my side is that my hips start hurting!! There's no way to win !!




Wisconsin State Fair

After a few weeks of the weather being muggy and hot the air finally started to cool off and people are already saying that fall is coming and it's not even mid August yet. Compared to Utah though it is a lot cooler. Mitch and I decided to make the most of the cool weather so we got up early on Friday morning and went to the Wisconsin State Fair. The fairgrounds are only minutes away from our new house so it was a quick trip both ways. It was still really cool when we went and most of the things we saw were in the shade of a stadium. The fair didn't seem nearly as neat as it did when we were younger but we both had a really good time walking around and looking at all the crafts, animals, and things for sale. There were several barns with animals in them but not nearly as many as they have at the Western Idaho Fair it seemed like. I really missed seeing the Alpacas that Idaho usually has. They had rabbits, chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs and horses. Mitch and I even got to see them judge a breed of horse called Percherons, a type of draft horse used for heavy labor and towing. They were really beautiful. Mitch got friendly with some chicks in another barn and I had to put my foot down then. You can see him here with one of his girlfriends, he's so suave. The only thing we didn't get to do was have a famous Wisconsin Cream Puff. They make such a big deal out of these things that they even send them to the Brewers Baseball team at their away games so they can have a taste of the fair. OH Well, maybe next year we can share one with Adelaide at her first fair.

Wedding Memories

Wedding Bells June 21, 2008



Mitch and I got to fly home for a week to see my big brother B.J. and his new wife Heather get hitched. It was so wonderful to see everyone and to join them in the Manti temple for their sealing. We got to go through a session with B.J. and Heather the day before and also for their sealing the next day. It was a geourgeous day in Sangpete County and everyone looked great including the Beautiful new bride who was beaming in her lovely white dress. B.J. and Tristan looked wonderful too in their freshly pressed tuxes. Mitch and I took tons of pictures for them cause we knew from our own wedding how limited some pictures can be. Here's just a few highligting the day. I really like this one of B.J. he looks so GQ don't you think? A few highlights for the day were the group photos outside the Manti temple afterward and the luncheon afterward in Hether's Backyard. It was so wonderful to sit and talk with everyone and to try and capture some of the most exciting parts, like the cake cutting and the couples first dance together as husband and wife! Mitch and I are so happy for you guys and hope that your lives together will be as beautiful as your wedding day was. Congratulations!!










It's a Baby GIRL!! and we're so excited to have her in our budding family! Mitch and I got to go in for our 20 week ultrasound and luckily she cooperated and was not camera shy at all. Right now our little girl weighs 12 oz. almost a pound and continues to grow. All of her pieces and parts are normal and growing like they should and her mom is growing too. Our little girl is in The Breech position in this ultrasound, you can see her little bum sticking out there on the right and then her little legs are straight out above her head. What a little contortionist huh? Mitch and I are still deciding on a name, but we've started to call her little Ruthie, although I don't know if it will stick. Ruth Anne Oliver has a nice ring, but we're still giving it some thought.



Congratulations B.J. and Heather

Just wanted to throw out a congrats to my big brother and my soon to be sister-in- law. I'm so excited to have another girlie in the family and Heather is a great one, especially for my brother. I'm so excited for you two and Mitch and I hope to see you soon when we fly out for your wedding. Love you tons!!

Miwaukee Here We Come

So this is the last week of classes and in one week Mitch and I will be traveling on our way across the U.S. of A to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.A little overwhelming but hopefully going to be a great adventure for us and our new family. Mitch will be attending Marquette University to become a dentist and is looking forward to progressing with his schooling. He graduates next weekend from Utah State University with a bachelor's degree in biology and therefore the move to Milwaukee for his graduate work. We'll be out there for four years while Mitch finishes and so that means our first child will be born out there too!! Mitch went out for his interview before he was accepted and his description and pictures of Milwaukee were bleak and flat, there are no mountains, but there's a little bit of pretty in everything right. Milwaukee is right on the shore of lake Michigan and this picture above captures not only the shoreline but the city skyline as well.

We're pregnant!!


Mitch and I are going to have a baby!! We're fourteen weeks into pregnancy and finally past the queasiness. We went in for our first doctors appointment at about 9 weeks and got these amazing ultrasounds taken of our "tiny peanut". It's pretty awesome how technology can put this image into your head and carry so much emotion with it. You can't really make out the baby quite yet in these but it's there. This first ultrasound has the heartbeat showing at the bottom as highs and lows and is pinpointed by the white line going from top to bottom of the screen. At nine weeks it was beating at a racing 196 beats a minute. My coworker says baby girls always have faster heartbeats than baby boys but that could just be hearsay. In the two pictures on the right you can see the egg sac as the round white circle and below that is the fetus. At our twelve month checkup we got to hear the heartbeat again, this time for longer than the first. It's 164 beats a minute was a little less than before but the doctor said that was good. Maybe she was picking up my heartbeat as well cause it was pounding just hearing that living child inside of me.
Our due date is October 21st which is the same month as my birthday and the same date as Mitch's birthday in June. Mitch wants a little girl, but I would really like a baby boy. We'll have to see at our twenty week visit what it's going to be.

Saturday, January 26, 2008


This was our main reason in going down to Salt lake to visit Maribel Lobo, a lady that Mitch stayed with in San Ramon,Costa Rica on his mission. She was visiting friends in the U.S. and they had a party for her the weekend before she left. Several missionaries that she had served in her home were there to visit with her. Mitch stayed with her only a short time but he's such a friendly and nice person that she remembered him and they chatted the night away. She speaks very little English but I was able to pick out some words Mitch has been teaching me and so I didn't feel quite so out of the loop. They made Guillo Pinto which is a rice and bean dish that is absolutely fantastic. Mitch has made it for me since before we were married and I love it especially with a sauce they like called Salsa Lizano. It's a highly seasoned sauce made out of veggies that is really tasty. She told us missionaries don't stay in her home any more because she had a falling out with some picky sister missionaries that lived with her after the elders. It's pretty sad when converts fall away because of something someone else did. She seems very happy but how could she be as happy as she would be if someone had not offended her and she had the gospel back in her life. Mitch and I had an awesome time that night and were able to hear some amazing stories from the returned missionaries.

Temple Square Visit

In our wonderings we went into the old meeting house there on temple square and talked with the sister missionaries. They knew tons of information about the building so we asked them about some of the intricate designs that were all around us. I noticed the stained glass windows and that some had different designs than others. The sisters told me that when the building was restored the same glass was used for the new windows that was in the original ones. Because they were fragments of glass the designs vary throughout the building because the same design could not be made over and over again without using newer glass. That's what I call recycling. Anyways the sisters also told us about the new adaptation they have on the proclamation to the family in the north visitors center so we decided we should go check it out next. Oh! also ya know that really tiny spiral staircase on the north side upper level of the meeting house, well I've always wondered what was up there and imagined a grand room that only special visitors could go to, or a hidden room of relief for the speakers before they give their talks a quiet space to calm their jitters. The sisters told us that there is only a small attic up there crammed with chairs and other thingamabobs. A little less romantic than I expected a spiral staircase to lead to but I suppose ya need an attic.

The Tabernacle

Mitch got me a new camera for my birthday last October and were just starting to figure out all the cool buttons that it has on it. A couple weekends ago we went to Salt Lake to go to the temple, but alas it was closed for cleaning so we got to wonder around temple square and use our camera to capture so many of the wonderful sights there. They had just finished up an organ recital in the tabernacle and the pipes were lit up with a fantastic purple background. unfortunately we didn't get to hear the organ but we got a pic before they turned the lights off. Pretty huh?


Two Months Already!!

Happy New Year !! How wonderful it is to be into a new year and so soon. It seems like life has been in a full ahead charge since Mitch and I got married in October. It's been two months already can you believe it? We've settled into life in our little apartment quite well although the never dying issue of "which drawer do the utensils go in" is still a sore spot for us both! But we're keeping our tempers cooled by the frosty 60 degrees that our house is currently holding. It saves money and gives Mitch and I a little extra cuddling time, if only for warmths sake.Mitch and I start school again this Monday and we're both a little nervous. He'll settle right back into the old game, putting his nose to the grindstone and acing all of his classes of course. I'm a little more apprehensive on my ability to handle classes, a full time job and being a homemaker. Mitch has been especially helpful these past two weeks with cleaning and cooking. He's quite the chef and it makes life a little easier for me. Thanks to all who helped with the wedding and supported Mitch and I as we started our new life together. If you'd like to see our Wedding Album go to http://www.brianolsenphoto.info/OliverWedding/

Much love,
Mitch and Mands