Olive Juice

Addie In Translation: "Addie Pattie"

2011-12-04T22:10:00.002-06:00

After church today I was putting together some hamburger patties to put in the fridge to marinate a little bit before I cooked them. Addie was watching me create the circular patties and when I was almost finished asked if she could make one. I gave her a little ball of meat and watched as she made a decently round pattie. The following conversation is what we said as we made patties.

Addie: "What are you making?"
Momma: "I'm making hamburger patties."
Addie: "Can I make one?"
Momma: "Sure"
Addie: as she makes a circle "I"m going to make an Addie Pattie."

I'm pretty sure she wanted to say "make an addie size pattie, because we often make things her size, but the "size" part was missed and the resulting "Addie Paddie" put me into hysterical laughter. I recounted the tale to Mitch who laughed then I started laughing again and Addie looking at both of us with the pattie still in her hand laughed at herself too, proud of her ability to make her parents laugh, even if she wasn't sure why. I'm really not sure why either for that matter other than "Addie Pattie" struck me as particularly funny and cute at that moment.

Addie in Translation: Preferences

2011-11-07T09:22:00.003-06:00

Lately I've been reading to the kids as night while they lay in bed. I do this not only to calm them down by a soothing, familiar voice, but because exposure to literature and words is, I think important, and also because it gives mommy time to relax too, I know selfish right. lately I've been switching between "Anne of Green Gables" and "Matilda" but on Sunday this week I decided to read the Gospel Principles manual instead. I sat down and started to read about the eternal and omnipotent nature of God and Addie says:

Addie: " Let's read Anne."
Mandy: " Well I thought we'd read about Heavenly Father tonight."
Addie: " I don't like to read Heavenly Father."

Perhaps my literary choices should have started with the gospel and then ended with Anne girl.

Halloween Pictures

2011-10-31T19:51:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween! This Halloween was a lot of fun for our family. We carved pumpkins that we got from the pumpkin patch. Addie was very proud that she drew her own face on her pumpkin, although she wanted to do the cutting too. Wesley liked eating the pumpkin seeds, right out of the yucky pumpkin guts. He didn't much mind the yucky parts, it was just an interesting sensation I suppose. Addie was a fairy princess although she only wore her wings for these pictures, then Mitch wore them the rest of the night as we went to Boo at the Zoo. He got a compliment for them, that handsome guy! Wesley was a little scarecrow with a hat that he hated to have on. The Medical College had a trick or treat too, that I took the kids to. Addie was unusually shy and would not say trick or treat, or go into any of the rooms without me to get a treat. This was very unusual for her, although it annoyed me a little at the time, I'm glad she had some more stranger danger awareness. She was so funny picking out the candies too. I have such a sweet tooth that I would have gone for the Almond Joy's and the Snickers and the so called "Good" candy. But Addie was very meticulous about her choices. She picked out suckers and the smallest pieces of candy. One of the ladies even commented on how careful she was in choosing and putting her candy in her trick or treat bag. Wesley got an orange balloon with a Jack O Lantern on it that he bounced around back and forth until it got lost in the melee of costumed trick or treaters in the halls. It was fun to have a kid old enough to actually understand what's going on, even if her choices of candy were not the ones I would have made, at least she had fun and can look forward to it next year.

Fall Pictures

2011-10-18T19:39:00.004-05:00

Some pictures of the kiddos apple picking, corn maze, and fall pictures.

Wee Willy Wesley

2011-09-23T16:29:00.003-05:00

So I've been very inattentive to taking pictures of Wesley and don't have near as many of him as of Addie at this age, but here are a few cutie ones.The first few are on a little walk that we took to the park and the last two were a funny happenstance. I got out my curlers for him to play with and when I came to check on him he had sat on one, and then I couldn't resist putting some more on!

Old World Wisconsin

2011-09-23T16:07:00.002-05:00

Me and the kiddos took a little day trip out to Old World Wisconsin. It just happened to be the hottest day during a very mild week, so the kiddos and I were a little tired by the end of the day after walking around to see all the old villages. The kids had fun looking at the animals there and I loved the heritage that I got to learn about. Addie loved playing a game called Graces where you take two sticks, put a hoop around them in your hand, cross the sticks and then pull them apart so the hoop soars into the air. The other player tries to catch the hoop on their two sticks. Wesley just liked hitting his sticks on everything that made a noise.Addie also got to draw on a real slate with a slate pencil at a Norwegian schoolhouse.

Addie In Translation: Knock and Ye Shall Receive

2011-07-18T09:02:00.003-05:00

I showed Addie a picture of Del Parson's "Jesus at the Door" to Addie and asked, "Who is in this picture?"

Addie: "That's Jesus."
Mama: "What is he doing?"
Addie: "He's knocking on the door to see if Heavenly Father will answer."

Addie In Translation

2011-07-16T15:07:00.002-05:00

I was going through some papers and found these little things I written down that Addie had said. This was back in October of 2010.

Mandy: " Are you a baby, huh? is that why you want to be held all the time?"
Addie: " No, I'm a sister, I'm a girl."

Papa: " where do Grandma and Grandpa live Addie?"
Addie: "in Utah."
Mama: " That's right, where does Addie live?"
Addie: "Um, I'm lived in heaven."

Addie In Translastion: Tooting Potatoes

2011-07-13T16:14:00.002-05:00

I was nuking a potato for Mitch and while in the microwave it let out some steam and made a PHHHT sound.
Addie said, "Papa, did you toot?"
Mitch said "no it was the potato."

Later as we were sitting at the table Momma tooted.

Mandy said," Excuse me for tooting."
Addie said, "That wasn't you, that was the potato."

4th of July

2011-07-13T15:44:00.002-05:00

We had a lot of fun at our last Wauwatosa 4th of July Parade. Addie and Papa sat over on the street so they had prime candy territory. She was joined by her friend Esther and they had a great time dancing around. This parade has been a Milwaukee tradition for the past 3 years and it's been a great one. The last picture is of some of our Milwaukee friends whom we watch the parade with every year. Thanks to Brad and Meghan Schow and Lance and Chemene Jacobson for always allowing us to camp out and watch the parade on their lawn!

Devils's Lake

2011-07-12T16:49:00.002-05:00

We went with our friends the Browns to Devil's Lake during the week that Mitch had off for 4th of July. They brought their rock climbing equipment so we got to give it a try. Addie especially loved her little climb and swinging on the rope. This was supposed to be an easier climb but once you got to the overhang there were no hand holds and it was really tough. Mitch and Wesley just relaxed while we climbed, which didn't bug Mitch because he just wanted to sit down anyway.
The second day we went to the lake but we didn't get any pictures. Addie went in a canoe, caught minnows, built sand castles and didn't want to leave when it was time to go. We had a lot of fun!

Addie In Translation

2011-05-30T20:40:00.002-05:00

Back story:Addie and Mitch play a game on his IPOD called Fruit Ninja in which you swipe your fingers or thumbs across the touch screen and slice fruit as it floats up, while trying not to slice the bombs and lose. Addie loves playing this game with Papa.

Addie: "momma, I have little hands."
Mandy: "yes you do have little hands."
Addie : "I have little thumbs." (holding up her thumbs)
Mandy: "Yes you do have little thumbs."
Addie: "Yeah, to play Fruit Ninja."

Appleton and Oshkosh

2011-05-28T21:21:00.007-05:00

Mitch had an away rotation in Appleton during the past week, so we went up to spend Friday and Saturday with him. Here is some of our fun.
We visited the Air museum in Oshkosh which was a lot of fun. Addie loved getting into the airplanes and pushing the buttons. She even was patient with momma as I went slowly through all the displays and read things about them. Here is Wes and Addie as pilots.

this was in the Eagle Hanger which was dedicated to World War II. A lot of aeronautical things have the same name as Mitch and this plane is one of them the B-25 Mitchell bomber.

In Appleton we also visited Plamann Park which was fun. They had a kid's farm there with baby animals and also had many trails to hike on.

At our hotel they didn't have a crib for Wesley so we put him in the dresser drawer. Amazingly he only woke up once the whole night! Mitch was also put into the dresser drawer to sleep when he was a baby. You do what you have to do! And it's just to cute.

On one of our hikes we took the bug catchers and went on an "explortation". Addie and Mitch caught a may fly and a mosquito. It was fun to go on an adventure, and when your family are your exploration companions it's always a grand trip!

A Bit of Fun

2011-05-24T19:31:00.004-05:00

We made pinatas for Cinco De Mayo playgroup and Wesley got a little too friendly with the paper mache.He was sitting on the table and went to reach for some paper and he nose dived into a puddle of it and when I picked him up this is what his hair looked like.Who needs hair gel when you have paper mache?

We pulled our grill out for the first time this summer and we made cookie smores, which Addie loved. Well she actually ate the marshmallow out of the center and left the cookie on the counter.

Addie has been doing a lot of projects at this counter top lately. She's a chef and a gardener!

Mr. & His Sister

2011-05-24T19:24:00.003-05:00

We went for a walk to the library and on the way back both kiddos fell asleep, and oh how precious they are! I sure love these two and what good friends I hope they will be!

The Famous Waters

2011-05-13T16:06:00.005-05:00

The weather has been nice enough lately to venture out on walks and one of Addie's favorite places to go is to see what she calls "The Famous Waters" I'm not quite sure where she got this name but it's catchy just the same and quite fitting as well for the waters are often found to be a neon green color. Who knows why, not I said the fly. So the famous waters are just a few blocks from our house in a ritzy neighborhood. We like to walk there and look at all the grand houses of stone and brick. Addie also likes the famous waters because we play "pooh sticks" or pooh dandelions whichever is most convenient. For those of you who don't know what pooh sticks is every player has a stick and they drop it into a moving stream to see which stick will win. Oh we love the famous waters!
Here we are on a clear day at the Famous Waters.

And... here's a not so clean day, the neon green is a little eery isn't it?

This isn't the famous waters, obviously, but spring has sprung and these Magnolia Trees are just beautiful and they have them all over here so we had to get a picture on one of our walks with the flowers and Wes was a good sport letting momma hold him up to get a picture.

Addie In Translation- A Cyst

2011-05-01T19:55:00.003-05:00

While trying to get Addie to put on her pajamas her and Mitch had a conversation/role play that went something like this.

Papa: "ok, let's play like we're being really kind and share the shirt with each other."
Addie: "ok"
Papa: " No, no I insist you take the shirt."
Addie: "no you have the shirt papa"
Papa: "No,no I insist you have the shirt."
Addie "no,no you have the shirt."
Papa: "Addie say 'no, no I insist'"
Addie: "No, no I'm a cyst."
At this point Mitch and I chuckle.Then Addie says.

"Now let's play like we're angry and I'll pull the shirt away from you Papa."

Lately

2011-04-19T19:51:00.002-05:00

Little Wesley has been doing solids since he was about 4 months old to try and get some meat on his bones, but this was the first time I let him go at it and boy was it messy, but he had a great time, although hardly any food made it into his mouth.

Wesley is starting to be rolly poly and is very flexible.

Addie has been making up lots of games lately and this one she found some #10 cans and became a robot.

I Finally Did It!!

2011-03-28T11:18:00.002-05:00

I finally bought a kick wheel so that I can start doing pottery again! Hooray, I'm so excited. Addie loved helping momma make pots and trying out all the tools on the clay to see what they did. Now to let the creative juices start flowing!

7 Month Stats

2011-03-23T21:10:00.002-05:00

Wesley had his Check up this week with the regular pediatrician and everything is looking good. He is developmentally right on track, is sitting up, reaching for things, babbling and responding to people around him etc. I was a little disappointed that he hadn't gained any weight since his operation but he is healthy and happy and so I can't complain. The doctor just said he's a little guy which is probably a combo of genetics and the issues he's had with his kidneys. Hopefully with the feeding regime we've got him on he'll start packing on the pounds. The doctor said he's proportionate and still growing on his curve accept for weight, which would only concern her is he hadn't had some issues and if he looked like he was languishing or malnourished which he doesn't so that was good news.

Height: 26 in (25th percentile)
Weight: 11 lbs 14 oz ( 3rd percentile)
Head Circumference: 42 3/4cm ( 25th percentile)

Addie in Translation- Time Management

2011-03-10T05:33:00.003-06:00

Momma: "Addie do you need to use the potty?"
Addie: "No mom"
Momma: "Are you sure?"
Addie: "Yes mom, I just use the potty on Saturday." (It's Wednesday)

Momma: "No, we're not having kiddos come play today."
Addie: "Oh, maybe they can come in a little week."

When Addie prays she says "thank you for the Sabbath Day." no matter what day of the week it is.

Welcome to Addie's House

2011-03-06T19:30:00.002-06:00

There are so many wonderful things you can do with a box. Addie's house was originally used to store some baby clothes, then it became a tunnel for her to ride her Scooter- bop through, now after some adding some decorations and cutting a door in the side it is Addie's house. The two kiddos played for a good hour in there, with me knocking at the door and playing the big bad wolf "Let me come in!" Addie would follow with the "not by the hair of my chiny-chin -chin" and then laugh and say come in mom, but with a warning to not burn my bum coming down the chimney cause that would leave a big ouie. Wesley mostly just watched Addie but he was content in his watching so it was fun to have him in the house to play too. Welcome to Addie's House!

Valentine's Ladybugs

2011-03-02T20:23:00.003-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Christiansen sent little Addie bug a fun craft to make for valentines day, Love Bugs. Who knew with only a red bowl, some pipe cleaner and felt such a cute creation could fill our home with so much love. Addie helped cut the pipe cleaners, glue on the felt spots and thread the pipe cleaners through the holes to make the legs. Then they got to crawl on our walls during February.

Addie in Translation

2011-03-02T19:46:00.002-06:00

Addie: "Will you move mom?"
Mandy: "Where would you like me to move to."
Addie: "Side behind and to the middle."

Addie picked up a book the other day with a picture of Jesus on the cover. I asked if she wanted to tell me a story, so she opened the book and commenced. "Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there lived a man named... Jesus."

Whenever we are looking at something, or especially when I am making food and opening a package of some sort Addie often comes in and says "What's in there besides?"

5 Things to do During Winter in Milwaukee

2011-03-01T19:43:00.002-06:00

#1- Make sure you eat lots of yummy treats.

#2- Goloshes and Bling are must haves.

#3- Exercise those legs and wish for warmer days and shorts.

#4- Learn to sit like a big boy.

#5- Put on your headband for the cold weather and sport a new do that will unfortunately freeze that way when you go outside.

Wesley's Surgery

2011-02-16T15:29:00.004-06:00

Today our little man went into day surgery to see if they could find an obstruction in his left ureteropelvic junction, which is right where the ureter meets the bottom of the kidney. In a previous test they thought they had found one and this surgery confirmed that there was a rather severe blockage. Dr. Micheal Mitchell performed the surgery and was very pleased with the outcome, and said hopefully now this will help with the hydronephrosis as well as with increased kidney function.

Looking at these pictures you wouldn't even be able to tell something was wrong with the little dude. We had to be at the hospital by 6:00am and he wasn't able to eat anything after 1:30am, so he was probably really hungry, but he was just smiling and laughing, and making the nurses fall in love with him. After arriving at the hospital we talked with Dr. Mitchell so that he could explain what he was going to do during the surgery, then they took us downstairs so that we could talk to the anesthesiologist. After we talked with him the nurse who was assisting Dr. Mitchell was talking to us and Mitch and I saw the hand of the Lord in our lives, for who should walk up but Steve Taylor, a brother in our ward whom Mitch home teaches. He was just walking through to where he was working that day, but it was really nice to see a familiar face. Well the Lord's hand was extended again when Cameron Woolf walks over, another brother in our ward, and he is part of the anesthesiology team that will be working with Wesley. The awesome part is that Cameron was supposed to be someplace else today but got called back to this hospital. I was truly awakened to the timing and keen awareness the Lord has for each of us and how he answers prayers. It gave me a lot of comfort today to know that the Lord is looking out for my family in so many ways.

After the nurse took Wesley into surgery Mitch and I waited for a call about half way through to tell us how he was doing. He was stable and the doctor had finished the otoscopy to look at his bladder and was continuing onto the obstuction and repair. Because the surgery was over three hours long the anesthesiologist put a breathing tube down his throat in case the drugs caused breathing trouble. We waited a little longer and got another call saying the surgery was done and that we'd be able to see Wesley soon. Dr. Mitchell came down and was very positive about how the surgery went which was a very welcome conversation and he hopes that by removing the obstruction that Wesley's kidneys will start to improve in function and that some of the pressure from the hydronephrosis will be reduced. I got to go see Wesley in the post- op room for a couple minutes until they were ready to move him to his recovery room. He was asleep and had remained asleep, only waking up enough to eat , and boy was he a hungry man after 12 hours of nothing in his tummy. Although he did have an IV in the whole time so he hasn't be dehydrated at all. He has a big bandage on his tummy where a little drain is from the incision and he's had a catheter in so that his bladder empties and doesn't cause undue pressure. He's been such a trooper through all of this. We have been very blessed to have skilled hands working on him here at Children's hospital and we know that we owe thanks to our Heavenly Father for providing those hands in all of his wisdom to be here with our family at this time.

We'll hopefully be discharged tomorrow if everything is doing ok. Thank you for all of the prayers and support.

2011-01-11T19:45:00.003-06:00

For those of you who don't know Wesley is having some trouble with his kidneys. He has a condition called hydronephrosis, which is swelling of the kidneys due to a reflux of urine from the bladder. It usually corrects itself as kids mature after birth but with Wesley it hasn't gotten any better and the function of his kidneys was found to be not quite right either. He is going in to have a test done next week on the 18th that might tell us if their is some sort of blockage that is inhibiting the flow of urine etc. If you all could keep him in your prayers it would be greatly appreciated.

Catching up In Pictures

2011-01-01T21:25:00.003-06:00

So in a nutshell this has been the last couple of months. Mitch studied for finals, Wesley is starting to hold up his head really well, we went to see the lights in downtown Milwaukee, opened Christmas presents, got a new family picture taken, went to a Jazz Basketball game and Wesley is a little laughing and playing ball of fun.

Ruggedy Man

2010-11-10T21:29:00.002-06:00

So when we were coming home from the hospital with baby Wesley we were trying to think of nicknames for him and Mitch said how about Ruggedy, so then we would have a Buggedy (Addie) and a Ruggedy(Wesley). Well the name stuck so we have a little ruggedy man around the house now and of course he has to have a theme song so to the tune of spider man we sing "Ruggedy Man, Ruggedy Man. If you can't do it, nobody can. Ruggedy Man,Ruggedy Man." When Addie wants to sing it she asks for the "baby Wesley song". A few other nicknames we use are little fella, little man, duders and buddy. Wesley has started to smile and loves to look at all of our smiling faces and smile back. A cool thing I learned the other day is that babies actually prefer smiling faces not only because they are fun to look at but smiling faces apparently give them a sense of security. I'm sure the babies told the doctors this personally in so many words, but who am I to argue when the Wesley smiles back? If he's happy, he's happy!

This is Halloween, This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween

2010-11-08T14:10:00.002-06:00

We loved Halloween this year. Addie actually was a little more attentive to things this year than last, so it was a lot more fun. Our neighbors put up the fake spiders web in a neon green color and every time we went past it she would say, "see the spider web, mom?". She also loved a new story that we read called "Dorrie, and the Weather Box" which she still asks to read by saying when we're reading books, "Where's the witch mom?". One of her favorite things to watch is the Sorcerers Apprentice from Fantasia, starring as she says "Mickey O". So she dressed up as the sorcerers apprentice this year. There is a safe trick or treating event at the Medical College of Wisconsin every year that we were on our way to, but when we got there I turned back and Addie had fallen asleep, so we turned back toward home without going trick or treating, but with my sweet tooth, there was no shortage of candy this Halloween. We also got to go to Mike and Robyn Larson's home for a Halloween party. We enjoyed such fare as zombie skins and witch fingers and played some games. Mitch dressed up as a retro 70's man complete with polyester floods and toupee. Wesley was a little blue bunny and I was, well I was something colorful although it was said that I looked like a flower, a clown, a wood sprite or nymph etc. I'll let you be the judge. Hooray for Halloween!!

Pretties

2010-11-02T20:41:00.006-05:00

Addie and I were playing with some pretties the other day and Addie decided that Wesley needed some pretties too. Although he didn't look to thrilled to have them on after she was done he didn't put up much of a fuss and I was glad she wanted to include him in our fun.

Mi Guapo

2010-10-18T15:57:00.002-05:00

Mitch and I celebrated our third anniversary this week, and oh how the time has flown. Three years of marriage, two kids, two years of dental school, two moves and we've only just begun! Since being married I've learned a lot of different things, mostly that Mitch usually knows better than I do and that I should listen to him, even if I do it grudgingly. I've also learned that marriage is a lot different from what I expected. Do you find yourself quibbling over what drawer the utensils are going to go into? That was Mitch and I's first big argument and how trivial it is. Most things that I get mad over are very minor. A great thing I heard the other day was that Satan doesn't care why you are mad, he just wants you to stay mad. So I've been trying not to stay mad, especially trying not to stay mad at Mitch, because like I said he is usually right and I like Laman and Lemual just get mad, because I know he's right! Anyway, my man is awesome, that's all there is to it. He goes to school, comes home and helps with the kiddos, helps with household stuff and doesn't complain about his lot in life. What an example he is to me of fortitude and faith, and lots and lots of patience. I sure love you Mi Guapo. Happy Anniversary and many more to come.

The Long and the Short of it

2010-10-07T20:12:00.009-05:00

There have been some that have been waiting for the story of little Wesley's birth. Well the short of it is this; He was born.
O.k. now to the long of it. Thursday the 19th my friend Jana Wells was nice enough to put a baby shower together for Wesley and I. Well after talking with all the girls, playing a fun charades game and eating some very yummy cake made my none other than Robyn Larson, I was tired, hot, full and ready to flop into bed when I got home. When I got home I started feeling really light headed and sick to my stomach. I laid on the floor in our dining room and didn't move for awhile trying to will myself to feel better, but soon I was up and vomiting. This went on the whole night, I was restless, nauseated, I couldn't even keep water down and on top of that was having little contractions, which didn't hut but we're just another annoyance on top of being sick. Well, in the morning I didn't feel any better and Mitch and I were worried about me being dehydrated, so we called the doctor on call and she had us go into the hospital so I could at least get an IV into me. We arrived at Community Memorial Hospital on Friday morning and the nurse put a very painful IV into my hand and started me on fluids and also put a stress test monitor on my tummy to see how baby was doing. They monitored him for 4 hours until my doctor came in and looked at the heart rate and what was happening. She told me that it looked o.k. but that she just had a feeling that something was up. She noticed on the graph of his heart rate that every once in awhile his heart rate would plummet, usually with a contraction, then would shoot up and stay up for a long time. So she gave us the choice to either go home and wait for labor to start or to just get it over with right then and there. We opted for the "get it over with" so they moved me into a labor and delivery room, connected me back up to the monitor so they could watch Wesley's heartbeat, gave me a little pill to get my contractions progressing and waited.
The nurse was saying that things might happen fast and if Wesley remained in the stressed out state that he was in that a C- section might be necessary in which case tons of people would come in, there would be little to no time for questions because they would need to get the little guy out. Thankfully, none of that happened, but Wesley's heartbeat continued to be high and sometimes irregular and on top of that my tummy was really hot. I didn't have a temperature, but my stomach was burning up so they knew Wesley must be pretty toasty too.
About an hour after they gave me the little pill the contractions really started in, but I couldn't be up and walking around because I needed to stay within reach of the monitors on my tummy. So we tried rocking in a chair by my bed, but that elevated Wesley's heart rate so the nurse had me lie back down in bed.My contractions were getting to the point where I couldn't handle them any more laying down, I couldn't control my breathing even with Mitch's help in trying to help me calm down and think of something else. I was hyperventilating and my hands were going numb because I wasn't getting enough oxygen, which freaked me out even more because I thought something was seriously wrong. I asked for an epidural and the anesthesiologist came almost right away which was awesome. As he was putting in the epidural I told the nurse I felt like I was going to vomit, and she said that was sometimes caused by the epidural. I threw up, and immediately felt better and my legs started to go numb. For the next hour I drank as much water and apple juice as I could get, I just felt so thirsty, even though they had had me on an IV the whole day, it was good to have something on my stomache. They put in a catheter and I filled the bag pretty quickly. Dr. Hasenyager broke my water and about an hour later I was ready to push. The epidural was wearing off by the time I started to push so I could feel when the contractions were coming and baby Wesley was coming out. At Push number 4 I yelled like a Banchee and Dr. Hasenyager looked up and said "the epidural must be gone, huh?". One more push and baby Wesley was here. Only five pushes and three hours of progressive labor, with an epidural and it's ll over, yeah!! Dr. Hasenyager said she was worried that I wouldn't be a good pusher and that she would have to use the forceps to get him out fast, luckily she didn't have to. After looking at the placenta it was confirmed that I had placental abruption which was causing Wesley stress and why my tummy was so hot, and probably why I was sick the night before.

He arrived August 20th at 6:03pm and weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces, and was 19 1/2 inches long.

The first thing I thought when I saw him was he had a lot of hair!! Baby Wesley had a temperature and they were still worried that he was having problems so I only got to hold him for a little bit before they took him into the nursery to hook him up to oxygen and heart rate monitors. His temperature went down by about midnight and he was off of the oxygen by 2:00am so that I could nurse him. He took right to it the first time, but after that he just was fickle and wouldn't latch on very well. And because he was really small when he was born the nurses and I were worried that he wasn't getting enough to eat. Luckily after the first night and a day of trying a bottle, a dropper, a nursing nipple, he finally caught on and started to nurse like a pro.We were discharged after 48 hours with a clean bill of health. Wesley did lose a pound while in the hospital but luckily gained it back plus some in a week.

We're so glad to have him in our family and he's been such an easy baby, he sleeps he eats, he barely fusses which has been so great. We sure love our little Ruggety Man.

Addie's Turning Two

2010-10-05T23:02:00.002-05:00

So it's a little crazy to think of where the time goes. This month I turn 25, Mitch and I celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and our little Adelaide Anne turns 2. Those two years have gone by so fast. Last week Addie and I were not seeing eye to eye and I just had to remind myself that "this too shall pass" and that in two more years I'll be wondering where my sassy two year old went, ( and probably wondering where my bossy 4 year old came from.) But the good comes along with the bad and Addie sure has been a lot of good in Mitch and I's lives. It would hardly be the Oliver family without little Buggy and oh all the adventures we'd be missing out on! We sure love our little Addie girl and can't wait for all the years of birthdays we'll get to celebrate with her. Happy Birthday Adders!

A Wish, A Hope, A Prayer

2010-10-01T20:02:00.003-05:00

During my parents visit this message was left on my desktop from my mother along with several songs that I had asked her to write down for me. I had not read it until today and it just happened to be what I was needing, a little pick me up and smile. The first paragraph especially hit me as I try to make good choices as a mother. Perhaps it will bring a little bit of cheer to the lives of others who read it too. There are great little tidbits of wisdom to ponder in it from the author Douglas Pagels and the feeling of a mothers love written in between the lines.

A Wish, A Hope, A Prayer

Imagine yourself to be serving the holiest of beings when you serve your family. Keep nothing back when you feel enlightened by love. Remember that there is an enduring worth to every positive step you take, that the good decisions you make will come back to bless you.
I wish that every one of your days will dawn with a sense of hope streaming in with the sunlight, a sense of strength woven into the winds, and as many things to be thankful for as there are stars in the evening sky.
I hope that the distance between where you are and where you want to be grows shorter every day. I’ll never stop wishing that your journey through this world will be touched by kindness, inspired by wisdom, graced with understanding, and kept safe from all harm. I hope you have a charmed existence, and that your heart will always be an open window to a joy so lasting and deep. Mandy I pray that you will always have an angel watching over you, there to trace on your wonderful face a smile that you can keep.
May you have a day whose moments unfold with peace, with promise, with doors that open on new beginnings, and with windows that look out on a world filled with dreams waiting to come true.
May today not only be a day of duty done and life’s little battles won; may it be a time of joy, of laughter, of memories made and faith renewed. May it be a time when feelings of closeness are sweetly conveyed, when truths are spoken, when smiles appear.
May today be a sweet success. Not in the form of furnishings and wealth, but in the much more dear and valuable ways; good family relations, good times, good health. May you and the loved ones in the circle of your life always know the treasure of togetherness.
May a gentle gladness remind you that there is never too little time to strive or too little strength to climb. May your joys be everlasting, and your beliefs stay steady and deep and true. -DouglasPagels-

. . .for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up. D&C 84:88

All My Love,
Mom
Sept. 3, 2010

Grant Park

2010-09-30T14:46:00.002-05:00

We took the morning a few Saturdays ago and went to Grant Park, one of our favorite parks in the Milwaukee area. It's right on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, but has great deciduous tree lined trails, awesome cliff and beach views and a great playground for Addie. Here are a few pictures of our adventures. It was pretty cold that morning and it was the first time this season that it was jaw numbing cold out, at least for me. Mitch didn't think it was too bad. Fall has definitely come to Milwaukee, hopefully it stays for awhile before winter comes!

Wesley Robert Clark Oliver

2010-08-24T14:32:00.004-05:00

Welcome to new baby Wesley. He arrived on Friday, August 20th at 6:03 pm and was 6 lbs 11 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He had kind of a rough start with a temperature of 102.9, but that quickly went away and there was no infection associated with it so all is well. He's home with Momma, Papa and big sister Addie now and is acclimating along with the rest of us!

More Ultrasound Pictures

2010-08-17T20:50:00.003-05:00

I went in to have another ultrasound last Monday so that they could measure little Wesley and estimate his weight. He weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces which is a little small, but still a good birth weight.Although I have a few more weeks so hopefully he puts on some more. The doctor has been doing non-stress tests on him every week I've gone in and his heart is really strong and he's an active fellow so she's not worried about him being under any stress. I'm hoping he comes soon because Mitch is off of school for the next two weeks and his help would be great! But if he doesn't come by then that's ok too, as long as he's healthy, I'll be happy. These are some cute pictures that the ultrasound tech got of Wesley's little face. A little creepy but you have to remember they are in 2-D not 3-D so your missing some levels there that would make it look a little less odd. We can't wait to you get here baby Wesley.

Flip- De- Do's

2010-08-17T18:46:00.004-05:00

Addie recently taught herself how to do somersaults and it's been awesome to watch her progress from going sideways to going all the way over. She's gotten it down pretty good, I even considered a recreational tumbling class for her, but Mitch said that the class would be mostly for me and not Addie, and he's right of course. Maybe in a few years!CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND IT WILL OPEN ANOTHER WINDOW WITH A FULL VIEW.

Jumping Beans

2010-08-17T18:14:00.005-05:00

We got to have Sarah come play with us for about an hour or so the other day and there was lots of fun and play that happened in the house. They played with dinosaurs, read books, marched around the house, played hide and seek and jumped on the bed. Here are the two cute little monkeys.

More Summer Fun

2010-08-16T21:24:00.006-05:00

Addie got her first haircut last week. The sides of her hair are straight and whispy but the back is curly so it always kind of looks, well cute but it was starting to bug her momma a little bit. So after having a great Relief Society meeting on how to cut hair I went for it and it no longer looks lopsided but still maintained it's whispy cuteness.

We got to go to the Fair with Papa too. We only go to see the animals, the horticulture and crafts and of course to get some roasted corn on the cob. Slathered in butter, yes please!Addie loved the animals and kept asking to go back to see the cows.

This is Addie strutting her stuff in the small animal barn.

Addie has been helping Papa reap the harvest the last couple of weeks. We have tomatoes coming out of our ears. Here they are showing off their prize winners!

Pyelectasis, Ultrasounds & Contractions

2010-07-31T21:46:00.003-05:00

So baby Wesley has had some problems with his little kidneys being a little dilated so I've had to go in and get some extra ultrasounds done to see if there has been any change. All the measurements were "ambiguous" (which was the doctors favorite word every time we went in there) meaning they didn't say either way if it was above normal or if it was in fact getting better, so I went back for three ultrasounds to keep checking. On the last one because I am so close to my due date and the measurements were still "ambiguous", they are going to have little Wesley come in a little while after he is born to see what's happening. Here is some information about Pyelectasis if you'd like to learn more about it, if not skip down to the ultrasound pictures.

Fetal Pyelectasis (Pelviectasis)

Enlargement of the part of the kidney that collects urine (the renal pelvis) from 4 to 10 millimeters in diameter is called fetal pyelectasis or “renal pelvic dilatation”. Dilation of the renal pelvis to greater than 10 mm is called severe pyelectasis or hydronephrosis. The illustration at right shows a normal kidney compared to a kidney with pyelectasis.

Normal Pyelectasis
Pyelectasis is detected in 1 per 100 babies before birth, and is seen more commonly in male fetuses [14]. About 1 in 500 cases develops significant disease. Most mild cases resolve before birth or within a few months after delivery [1,2].
A fetus with severe pyelectasis or hydronephrosis is at increased risk of developing problems such as low amniotic fluid and kidney disease. In addition pyelectasis has a weak association with chromosome abnormalities, in particular Down syndrome [3,4]. The severity of isolated pyelectasis does not appear to increase the risk for chromosome abnormality [5].

What Causes It?

The most common causes of severe pyelectasis or hydronephrosis are a blockage of the ureter (the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder) where it joins the kidney and backward flow of urine from the bladder (vesicoureteric reflux) [6]. Less common causes of hydronephrosis include posterior urethral valves, urethral atresia, ectopic ureteroceles, duplication of the collecting system, megacystis-microcolon-intestinal-hypoperistalsis syndrome, prune belly syndrome, and cloacal malformation.

Does Pyelectasis Need Treatment?

Pylectasis involving only one kidney does not need intervention, but requires followed up ultrasound evaluation after 28 weeks for possible worsening of the condition. Severe hydronephrosis involving both kidneys is associated with increased risk of poor outcome, and is monitored for the development of low amniotic fluid [11].

An ultrasound is usually done 5 to 7 days after birth to reevaluate the infant’s kidneys. Most cases of mild pyelectasis where the renal pelvis measures less than 8 mm and involves only one kidney tend to resolve spontaneously either in utero or within a few months after delivery. Pyelectasis greater than 8 mm is more likely to need surgical correction during childhood [7-10].

What are the Chances of Having Pyelectasis Again in a Future Pregnancy?

In a study of 64 women with the finding of pyelectasis in their fetuses, 43 (67%) had a recurrence of this finding in their next pregnancy [15].

What is the Risk of Down Syndrome in a Fetus with Pyelectasis?

Presently genetic testing of the fetus (amniocentesis) is offered if the risk of Down syndrome in the fetus is 1 in 190 or greater. For a 34 year old woman the isolated finding of pyelectasis at midtrimester increases the risk of Down syndrome from 1 in 365 to 1 in 192.

For a woman 34 years of age or less with a normal triple marker screen for Down syndrome the risk benefit ratio does not favor amniocentesis when the only ultrasound finding is pyelectasis [12,13].

These are some really cute profile pics. I love the one of him sucking his thumb.

Here are a couple shots of the kidneys. The two black areas in the middle of the white circle are his kidneys.

On Thursday night of this week I started having some Braxton Hicks contractions around 3:30 and although usually annoying and little painful after about an hour or so they got much worse and I started to wonder if they weren't Braxton Hicks anymore. I was doubled over and doing the contraction waltz while I made dinner. They lasted for two hours. Well luckily on Friday I had a doctors appointment so I told her about the contractions and along with some other info like I'd lost a pound and the uterus was measuring small at 33 1/2 cm instead of the 36 that I should be, she had a non stress test done on little Wes to see if he was doing ok. So in the twenty minutes that they monitor him he was kicking and rolling around and his heart rate was excellent and went up when he moved like it should, so he is doing just fine. I am a little anxious though that he might come early, although I'm totally ok with him staying in there as long as he wants to.

Some Cuteness

2010-07-31T12:36:00.003-05:00

Here are a few cute pictures as of late.

Addie and Papa taking a Sunday nap together.

The other day we told Addie that we were going for a walk and so she went to get the essential, her backpack, her hat and her soft soft of course. She loves to wear her backpack just like papa does.

More Backpack fun!

Papa and Addie enjoying a restful afternoon on the deck eating some cold Popsicles.

Nesting Projects and Sad News

2010-07-31T12:16:00.007-05:00

So I've been in a really big nesting mood lately and have gotten a lot of projects done or at least have tackled a few again because some projects seem like they are never ending i.e. scrapbooks. Today I totally cleaned out the kitchen and reorganized all the cupboards. I recently got about 20 free books of wallpaper from craigslist for free and decided to cover some journals that I had laying around that were a little passe. They turned out great but the four that I made didn't even make a dent in my paper collection.

I also found a little tykes picnic table on the side of the road that was in pretty haggard shape, but the week before I had found a pretty solid shelf unit that I wasn't exactly sure if I was going to keep or not. Well when I saw the condition of the picnic table top and seats I knew that the shelves would work perfectly for new seats and table. So I cut up the shelves, dismantled the table ( which took a borrowed saw from Sarah & Ben Ekstrom from our ward to get the rusty bolts out of it)then put it all together again and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Addie seemed to like it too when I showed it to her, now maybe we could do some crafts outside!

Like I mentioned I've also tackled Mitch and I's engagement book that I started before we were married to use as a Guest book at our receptions. Well there are still tons of pictures that need to be scrapbooked and put into album, so slowly but surely the picture pile is becoming smaller and the book is getting fatter. I'm really grateful that all of our pictures are on the computer now and I can just do all this on the computer, it's much easier and takes a lot less time.

Now to some sad news. I was working on a big jean quilt the other night when as I was sewing along, my machine all of a sudden just stopped. I checked the cord connections tried the treadle again and nothing happened, I floored it all the way to the floor and nothing. I tried this over the next couple of days just to make sure it wasn't just a fluke, but finally took it into Bernina to see what the deal is. So my sewing machine is temporarily out of commission and I was 3 feet away from finishing the jean quilt top!! Doesn't that just frost ya? UGGGHH. So all the other sewing projects I had lined up are on the back burner as it were for at least two weeks until the technician at Bernina "gets to it", but it leaves room for me to do some other projects so I guess it's an o.k. trade off.

Independence Day

2010-07-19T12:04:00.002-05:00

It was a busy holiday week for us around here. Mitch had the week of the 4th off from school so we planned some fun things to do together. Monday we celebrated Independence Day by going to the Wauwatosa street parade in the morning and then hurried off to our ward BBQ to get things set up for that. It was a great turn out and I think everyone had a good time, the kids especially loved the water balloons and pool.
On Tuesday Mitch, Addie and I went to swimming lessons then quickly came home and packed up to go to Point Beach State park to camp with some of our friends. Kristina and Nick Harker put it all together for us and it ended up being a lot of fun. The Schuyler and Marianne Sessions family, Dalin and Christin Ricks family and Landon and Erica Rencher family were also there with us and it was quite a crew. We took a lot of walks and played at the beach and around the campsite for two days. There was also a lighthouse there, which I was a little disappointed in because it looked more like a water tower than a lighthouse, but the history of it was cool I guess. We spent a lot of the time warding off mosquitoes because we were camped next to a swamp, but it did make for a good frog story. The second morning we woke up after a stormy night in which our tent leaked a little bit and there were frogs hopping all over the grassy patch where we had pitched out tent. We pointed them out to Addie and she followed them around for awhile until one stopped right in front of her. So I said, "Addie, be careful not to step on the frog." Through a small misinterpretation she must have though I said to "step on the frog" so she raised her little booted foot and squished the poor guy. It's kind of a haunting image to have your two year old do that to something that was living, of course she didn't understand that it was dead and although we told her it had a big ouie but she kept saying that is was still a "nice frog".
Down at the beach we played in the sand and built a big volcano and subsequent hole that the water could run into. The hole ended up being a burying pit for several of our company, although they all managed to get out of their sandy tomb without any harm, but perhaps a few extra grains of sand in places they hadn't expected them. Schuyler, Brycen, Macey, Thomas and Rylan all were buried and had a great time popping out of the sand. It was really foggy that morning and the fog turned into a light drizzle and then into rain, but at least the rain kind of kept the mosquitoes at bay. We had a lot of fun during our little vacation even if we did get lots of bug bites.

Swimming Lessons

2010-07-12T21:46:00.004-05:00

Mitch was a lifeguard at the Snow College Activity Center for a few years and has a firm belief in starting kids out as early as possible to get them used to the water. Addie (whom has always loved baths) had no trouble acclimating to the bigger pool of the swimming lessons we enrolled her in this summer. The class is every Tuesday and Thursday morning and sadly is ending next week, but we've all had fun during the 4 week stint.
Last Tuesday Mitch happened to be out of school for the 4th of July holiday which coincided perfectly with the only visitor day they have during the session. So we packed up Buggie and her swimming suit and Papa got to do all the fun things with her while I took pictures from the viewing balcony above.
The class always starts off by getting used to the water temperature by putting water all over their bodies usually with a fun story like making popcorn, or a snack. This Tuesday just happened to start off with a bang of fireworks to get them all wet, well there were no real fireworks in the pool, but the grand finale was all the kids and parents kicking their legs in the water to make big fireworks! Mitch hopped in followed quickly by Adders and then it was time for the "BIG SONG SINGING CIRCLE" (yes that's the real name). They sang the "Wheels on the Bus", "Old McDonald had a Pool" and for lack of a better title, the shark song, do do da do! Addie loved the shark song which was one we hadn't sung before and she's asked for us to sing it a lot since then, but Momma can only have so many shark attacks in a day before exhaustion comes on.
After singing the kiddos always practice their "reach and pull" to try to get them to move their arms as if they were swimming. Tuesday they just happened to be going after colorful balls that floated on top of the water. Mitch motored Addie around the pool as she reached for the balls she wanted and even got her to float with him on her back which seems to always make her a little uneasy. They also blew some bubbles while holding onto the edge of the pool.Mitch did motorboat with her and I though her head was going to fly off her shoulders he went so fast, but he said she had a smile on her face the whole time.
They didn't have them go under the water on Tuesday but the week before they had us blow into their faces really hard so that their eyes closed, then dunk them under the water really quickly. I thought Addie wouldn't like it, but after doing it she asked to do it again. After the second time she was done, but I was sure proud of her for even doing it without so much as a peep from her out of fear or surprise.
I think Addie has enjoyed her swimming lessons this year and hopefully as per Papa's wishes has gotten a used to the water a little bit more.Some of the pictures are blurry, but what can you do when the lighting is horrible and everything is moving around?

Sheboygan!

2010-06-30T15:01:00.002-05:00

Mitch had the opportunity to go to Mission of Mercy in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and we got to stay a night with him there and spend the next day on the beautiful beach there. Now, they do have a beach in Milwaukee, but the signs stating the toxicity level of the lake is a little deterring so we headed up north of here and the lake was wonderful! The sand was clean and so fine that we could even build drip castles with it, a technique learned from Grandpa "C" when my family and I lived in Florida. We all had fun playing in the sand and getting our feet wet although the water was still a little too chilly to get in all the way. Addie got buried in the sand by Papa and momma got to look for seashells. Mitch pointed out that the shells probably belonged to an invasive species that he learned about in his invertebrates class at USU. I just thought they were pretty, but he said they are pretty prolific in Wisconsin. Sheboygan was a cute little town with a great river walk and a beautiful hotel that reminded me of a large version of the hotel in "Somewhere in Time", unfortunately we didn't see Jane Seymour there but we still had lots of fun. Take a look!

Mission Of Mercy

2010-06-28T22:17:00.005-05:00

Mitch was able to volunteer for the Mission of Mercy that the Wisconsin Dental Association puts together. This year they visited Sheboygan, Wisconsin and provided about a million dollars worth of free dental care to patients in that area. Mitchell was there for two days and helped translate for the Spanish speaking patients and also helped by giving anesthetic injections while assisting one of the 180 volunteer dentists.This article below was printed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the services provided during the Mission of Mercy.

"Sheboygan - She arrived at midnight with blankets, chairs, four kids and a broken molar.

She camped out on grass, called it a safari. But instead of searching for big game, she was searching for free dental care.

"This is a godsend," Lisa Seil of Plymouth said Friday during the Wisconsin Dental Association's Mission of Mercy.

This was dentistry as charity, dentistry done on a grand scale at Sheboygan North High School, home of the Raiders.

Raider Nation was transformed into dental central by 953 volunteers, including 180 dentists, scores of dental hygienists and assistants, nurses, lab technicians, dental students, translators and escorts.

They were there to serve those who were uninsured or underinsured or unable to receive quality dental care.

There were no appointments. It was first come, first served.

By the time the event concludes Saturday, 2,000 patients are expected to have received an estimated $1 million in free dental care.

For that kind of crowd, you need a lot of stuff, beginning with 8,000 doses of Novocaine.

The school's smaller gym was turned into a reception area, complete with three X-ray machines.

The main gymnasium was outfitted into a giant dental suite, with 100 dental chairs arrayed on the basketball court. Areas were sectioned off for cleaning, filling and care for kids. Behind curtains, a dozen oral surgeons performed extractions. There was an entire section for sterilizers and sinks, an assembly line of workers putting in the hours.

The air was filled with the sounds of dentistry, whirring drills and slurping suction devices.

Dentists worked intently. Patients stared at the gymnasium's ceiling.

"A lot of people are having a hard time accessing critical dental care," said Eugene Shoemaker, president-elect of the Wisconsin Dental Association and chairman of the state's Mission of Mercy committee. "The people who do get care here are so appreciative of what we're doing."

At times, it was hard to tell who was getting more from the event, the dentists or the patients.

One dentist wiped away tears as he told about being hugged by a 7-year-old girl after he pulled a molar from her mouth. Other dentists said they were moved as they walked among patients who waited through the night. They were receiving thanks before performing even one procedure.

"A lot of people have lost their insurance, lost their jobs," said Janelle Stumpf, a dentist from Pewaukee. "There is a huge need out there, especially with this economy."

Seil, the mom on safari, broke her molar four months ago, lived with the pain, downing Tylenol like mints. She couldn't find a dental practice that would accept her as a new patient under BadgerCare Plus, the state's health care program.

This was her one shot to get her teeth fixed, the same for her kids. She needed four teeth pulled. Her 10-year-old son Brayton Zimmermann needed three cavities filled.

The kid was a trouper. He nearly fell asleep as the dentist, John Korolewski, put in the fillings.

"I was half-scared," Brayton said.

But for Brayton, it was over, new fillings and a new friend. He and the dentist talked about baseball.

Faith Olmedo of Sheboygan said her family lost its dental insurance three years ago. She and another mother camped out in a parking lot by the school, and their kids joined them in the early morning before the doors opened.

Olmedo had two teeth extracted. The Novocaine hadn't worn off yet, so she talked like she had a mouthful of marbles. Yet she managed a smile.

"I avoided the dentist as a child," she said. "Now, I just waited in the parking lot to see one.""

Brad one of the students from Marquette dressed up as the tooth fairy and cheered up the pediatric patients as they had dental work done.Another one of Mitch's class mates, Gretchen, was also there to help cheer up the patients and offer them a "bright smile" in hopes of cheering them up.

This is the packed gym they worked in shuffling 2,000 patients through over two days.

The line outside for treatment was staggering. I dropped Mitch off the second morning and the line looked like it curved clear around the corner of the school about a block away!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-28T19:53:00.008-05:00

So it's a week late but honoring Mitch as a father is something to be done year round and so an ode to Mitch is appropriate anytime. Mitch is one lucky man because he celebrates his birthday and father's day within the same week every year. Last year his birthday was father's day! Mitch also has a very special birthday because it is the summer solstice which means it's the longest day of the year, so he gets to celebrate with more daylight hours than the rest of us!

We celebrated his birthday with a little BBQ get together and on Father's day Addie gave him a little trophy proclaiming him as the "#1 Papa". Addie helped spray paint the trophy and although the trophy is silver (we didn't' have any gold spray paint) he still is worth more than gold in our hearts and could never be replaced. Us two girlies are so lucky to have him and "little Gus" I'm sure is happy that he was sent to this family so he could have such a wonderful Papa. Lately Mitch has been showing his fatherly ability to teach by having Addie practice some Spanish words like "besos"(kisses) and "playa"(beach)and "bola" (ball). Mitch felt like he was loosing his Spanish a little bit so he's been reading his scriptures out loud in Spanish and he's been teaching us a lot of new words. He is such a great example of diligence and hard work!
We also went on an outing down to the lake shore where Addie and Papa had lots of fun watching the waves and looking at the seagulls. Addie also picked up some "heavy rocks" which she quickly showed us that she was strong enough to lift. She takes after her Papa lifting heavy objects, they should work out together. You Rock Papa!
We love you Papa Luego!

Sis. Stephenson's Farm Day

2010-06-14T22:14:00.007-05:00

Our ward play group always does some really fun and exciting things and this past week was no exception. Addie and I got to go to Sis. Stephenson's Farm for a day filled with animals, friends and a picnic. It was a little overcast and threatened to rain on us, but it turned out to be the perfect day to go so that we all weren't blistering in the sun. Sis. Stephenson teaches an institute class during the school year and invited our ward to come out to her home to enjoy the new little lambs and all of her animals. She had chickens, horses, goats, sheep, rams, and geese. Addie is starting to connect the drawing imitations she sees in her books to the real life objects so this farm day was especially fun for her because she knew all the animals already, but had never seen them alive before.
When we first got there the horses were the first animals that we could see so we walked up to them but they were on the other side of the paddock. Addie looked down for a minute and when she looked back up they were standing right in front of her which made her jump! Luckily there was a fence in between her and them. There were three geese too that came around the corner and Addie and her friend Marie Wells chased them across the grass for awhile until they bolted into the garden. We walked around the horses to the barn area where there was some sheep and little lambs along with some goats and their kids, and two rams back in the corner in there own paddock. The chickens were roaming around and one in particular came close enough to Addie that she could get a good look at him. She put here hands under her arm pits and flapped them up and down saying "bock bock" and "chicken".
We went into the barn and one of the bigger goats stuck his head through the fence and tried to take a nip at my ear. Some of the bigger kids milked the goat but Addie just watched and didn't want to try it out. I thought it would be the same deal for holding the little lamb too, but she sat right down and let the lamb lay it's head on her lap. She stroked its neck and said "soft lambie". Sis. Stephenson also helped her find an egg in the chicken coop.

Addie loved the tractor too and asked to go back to it several times. It was quite a popular spot for the kids to sit and play on. After we saw all the animals we spread out a blanket and had some lunch, it sprinkled on us a little bit as we were finishing up, but then stopped so we could end on a good note. It was a great day to go to the farm!!

Just Plain Cute

2010-06-14T07:49:00.009-05:00

Don't think Mitch and I are bad parents for letting our kid put a bucket on her head, but she was being an "astonaut" and loving it. When she had the bucket on her head we pretended that we couldn't see her. Then she would take the bucket off and say "peek" so we could see her!

Addie loves ice cream cones like her momma, unfortunately for a one year old they are really messy.

Addie woke up from her Sunday nap with a grump face and crazy hair that just had to be captured in a photo.

I was making some fruit dip the other day and Addie was helping me mix it together. She got sidetracked though after she saw the marshmallow cream jar and of course I couldn't resist giving her the spatula to try and salvage the "clingys" that were still attached to the inside of the jar. I think she decided her hand worked better after awhile. Oh the sticky goodness of Marshmallow fluff.

Caldwell Vacation

2010-06-09T22:02:00.014-05:00

Addie and I were lucky enough to be able to go to Caldwell for a little vacation before this next little guys comes in August. Mitch endured a whole week with us gone, but did pretty well considering we talked with him every night and left a meal plan for him to cook while I was away.
The flight was great! Luckily we sat next to two very nice ladies that were totally kid friendly and both very unique. The first lady didn't speak very much English and kept calling Addie "Bubka" which was very cute. She was on our second flight too although she didn't sit by us she did make a little slinky toy from some paper for her to play with. The second lady was headed to Notus, Idaho to compete in a period correct shooting competition. She had 45 revolvers (not that many,it's a type of gun obviously not with her on the plane), period dresses, hats, and even a fake name she goes by when she performs. Awesome. They were both very helpful!
We hung out with the family for a week and a half which was so much fun. My brother, sister-in-law and nephew were down for the whole week too so we did some fun stuff. We went to Zoo Boise on Saturday and although it was pretty rainy it was still fun and Addie enjoyed seeing all the animals now that she knows the names and sounds of most of them.she really liked the penguins, wallaby's and the baby goats that she got to feed, or rather watched Grandpa feed them. She practiced her roaring with Uncle B.J. and climbed into a groundhog tunnel with Tristan.

Addie loved the Discovery center, especially making echoes in a sound tube and watching a whiffle ball float above a stream of air.

We also got to play a lot in the backyard with Grandma, Grandpa and Tristan. She loved throwing the Frisbees and balls back and forth and playing soccer with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma "C" also gave Addie a ride in the wheel barrow. My Grandpa Hart used to do this to us kids and it was always a treat when he let us ride around as he pushed. I'm sure Grandma "C" gives fun rides too that hopefully Addie will remember as she grows up too!

Addie loved playing the piano and singing "Jesus wants Me for a Sunbeam". She's getting better and better everyday at singing almost all the words to some of her favorite songs. Among which are the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the "horses" song which is the All the Pretty Little Horses lullaby ( which she sings to her ducky and monkey friend while rocking them back and forth), Popcorn Popping, 5 Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed, the "mr. Crocodile" song, I love to See the Temple and I Am A Child of God to name a few. She loves to sing with momma which makes me happy because I love to sing with her too.

We also got to go to Given's Hot Springs as a family which we hadn't done since we were little kids. We thought it was going to be packed because when we were little it always was, but when we went this time we had the pool completely to ourselves! Addie loved the water which surprised me because when we went to an indoor water park about a month ago she didn't want to get in the water or play or splash hardly at all. I think she liked that the water was warm so it made her a little more comfortable, like a bath would feel. Well she got a little too comfortable because when people would hold her she would want to escape and try to swim by herself. I think because she thought everyone else was swimming without help she could too. She was even brave enough to blow bubbles in the water which Mitch says most kids her age are not comfortable with. She loved trying to get Grandpa "C" and played a game with him for awhile where she would throw a little silver ring to the bottom of the pool and Grandpa would pick it up with his toes which she got a kick out of. There was a little shallow part of the pool where Addie could walk but still be mostly in the water. Here she tried to corral the balls and tried to let go of my hand so she could walk by herself, silly girl, I didn't want her to faceplant and totally wreck her pool experience so I held on to her. She liked climbing the stairs in between the little pool and the big pool, she would go up them then down into the big pool and visa versa. She did this several times, which was pretty tiring for momma. The pool was lots of fun but the warm water sure drains ya!

B.J. and Tristan really like the Birds of Prey that are in the Boise area so we went to the Center that they have there in Boise to see some of the cool birds. We saw a bald Eagle, a Peregrine Falcon and some California Condors. They also had several stuffed birds of Prey from around the world. Heather's favorite is the Harpie Eagle. I really liked the owls that they had there. They do a little demonstration with some live birds but the first bird was a hawk and was a little spooked by loud noises apparently so Addie and I had to leave. Luckily there was a little room that was for kids that had some fun beaks to try on, some books to read and some eggs to compare in size, shape and color! Grandma "C" came out to watch Addie so I could see some of the other birds they were showing. They only showed one other bird, and it wasn't even a bird of prey, it was a crow, I was a little dissapointed, but the bird did soem cool tricks and Tristan even got to participate! he put a piece of paper out for the crow to take then fly back to the trainer. He also gave the crow some money for the donation box, which the crow put into the slot himself.It was pretty cool.

These are some of the highlights of our trip with pictures for some of what I just explained. If you click on the scrapblog link in the lower right hand corner it will enlarge it in another window so they are a little easier to see.

Bread Question

2010-05-21T18:21:00.003-05:00

Alright all you food gurus out there. I have a question about home made bread. I've only recently gotten over my fear of not being able to bake bread, but so far the storage of the bread has not been to grand. I don't mind my bread being a little hard, but Mitch prefers softer bread for his sandwiches. Does anybody have some recommendations on how to store bread so that it stays "just cooked soft" for longer than a day or two?

Apostle Islands

2010-05-17T19:58:00.006-05:00

Mitch got a week off of school before the summer semester started, so we decided to do a little camping up at the very tippy, tip top of Wisconsin at the Apostle Islands. It was a 6.5 hour drive from Milwaukee to Bayfield, WI where we caught a ferry across to camp at Big Bay State park on Madeline island. Madeline island is the biggest island in the archipelago. To keep Buggie from going crazy we stopped in Steven's Point, WI and just happened to find this beautiful park that had streams and bridges, swings, slides, geese, and alpine slides even! unfortunately the alpine slides were closed but we loved walking around the big park and Addie loved following the geese around, she almost walked right into the water after them. It was a great reprieve for some pretty sore tushes.
After some more driving, a lot of songs and a short nap, we arrived at Bayfield to take the ferry. Addie as this point was very excited because we told her that we were going on a boat. She kept saying "boat" "water", "boat". As we crossed we pointed out the waves, seagulls and the island we were going to. After we got off she kept asking for the boat again, which she got a second chance on when we came home obviously. Mitch and I had planned the trip so that we would get there with plenty of time to set up camp. Our last camping trip we left too late and finally got our tent set up, in the dark, at around 9:30, hurriedly cooked dinner in a roaring fire, instead of good coals and so this time we wanted to make sure that we did not have this problem again. We got the camp set up and the logs burned down just in time for a 6:00 o'clock meal of salmon, corn on the cob, and asparagus, Yumm. The best camp meal I've ever made if I do may so so myself.

One of the purposes of going camping was to try out the emergency kit that we have been putting together. It had all of our warm clothes, camping equipment and a few other items that might come in handy if we were trying to live like nomads. I think we decided though that it was just too heavy to lug around (it's in a large rubber made container)plus there is a backpack for each family member that carries their set of clothes etc.
We tried to have a good look around the state park while we were on the island, although it was overcast and pretty cold down by the lake, it was very beautiful. We saw two blue jays, an owl, and two ticks which neither Mitch or I had ever seen so many. Needless to say we were pretty paranoid the rest of the trip about having one. We were the only people in the whole park which was good because Addie had a rough night, I think she kept waking up and didn't know where she was so she'd just cry and cry. Finally at around 3:00am Mitch got up and started a fire and took her out and held her so that she could sleep and be comfortable, and so that I could get some sleep, what a great Papa!! He said is was beautiful to be up that early, he heard the first bird chirp, saw the sunrise and saw some raccoons too.
Although we had reserved the campsite for two days when we woke up Tuesday morning it was starting to sprinkle, which didn't surprise us because the forecast said that is was supposed to have rained on us the night before, so we decided to leave a little early and head down to the Dells to do an indoor water park. The McAffee's had told Mitch that the Wilderness was a good resort to stay at so we went there for a night. We though since Addie likes parks so much that she would love the little kiddie water stuff, but she was more than a little apprehensive after a huge bucket tipped 1000 gallons of water down to the ground before she even got into the water!! After watching the bucket the rest of the morning here fears started to ease a little bit, but as soon as she heard the warning bell, she would find Mitch or I or stare at the bucket from the lazy river where we were floating, almost as if she expected it to dump on top of her even though there was plenty of space between it's cascade and us. The water park did wear her out though, so the ride home was peaceful, as she slept the whole way.

Sorry to say this is the only picture we have to verify that we went camping, like an idiot I deleted the pictures off of the camera before double checking to make sure that they had imported. This was the only casualty of the camping trip, Ducky fell into the fire and got singed. This is him even after a washing, Addie doesn't really play with him anymore. Every time we give him to her she say's "Ducky dirty" and gives him back to us. Luckily she has found a new lovey in her "monkey friend".

More Sleeping Positions

2010-05-07T20:19:00.003-05:00

I went in to check on Buggie the other night and once again found her in a cute sleeping position. What a silly kiddo. Sorry the pictures are kind of dark.

Baby Boy Oliver

2010-04-24T09:50:00.003-05:00

Warning, the following pictures contain images that may affect younger viewers. Viewer Discretion is advised. O.k. so not really just a few more pictures of our lovely baby boy. We are so excited to be having a little boy join our family!

The Gauntlet

2010-04-24T09:14:00.003-05:00

So my sister in law Christy is due to have a baby boy a couple of weeks before I am and the challenge was set forth to post a belly picture, in a I'll do it if you do it type manner. So here is it Christy, I'm expecting one of you to appear soon on your blog!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-13T20:22:00.002-05:00

We had lots of fun over Easter. Mitch got Thursday through Monday off because Marquette is a Catholic/Jesuit school so we had him the whole weekend which was wonderful. Thursday and Friday were great weather so we got out as much as we could into the sunshine, we rode our bikes down to Jacobus Park and played there for a long time which Addie loved of course. When we got back we worked on some garden stuff and hid some eggs around our house while Addie was still outside. We were really talking up eggs before she came in the house so that she would maybe get the idea of hunting for eggs. Addie actually has a fascination with eggs, because I use them to cook, and Mitch and I eat them, but she can't eat them or touch them when I'm cooking so, I think she has an "I want what I can't have" dilemma going on.
Well it didn't take her long at all after we let her loose to realize she was on a mission to find eggs, and not ordinary plain white eggs like momma uses but colored eggs that had candy inside. Once she found the last egg she cracked it open and proceeded to try to open the chocolate eggs inside. Mitch and I just let her work at it for a bit, and eventually she got the wrapper off, in tiny pieces.
On Saturday it was rainy which put a damper on putting Buggie in her cute, white Easter dress for pictures outside and at the bigger Easter Egg Hunt, but I've reconciled myself to taking pictures when more flowers come up. Addie like looking for the eggs again and putting them in her basket, but she did not want to get near the Easter Bunny at all. She has the same issue with Santa at Christmas, hopefully she gets over her holiday character phobia soon.
Sunday morning Addie woke up at 5:30 which made it a little hard for me to occupy her while Mitch slept in. The Easter Bunny had come the night before so she couldn't go into the front room, so she was confined to her room and the kitchen until 7:00 when Mitch woke up. Besides the Easter Bunny gifts she got some books and new church shoes from Mitch and I, a cute pink tutu and crown from Grandma and Grandpa Christiansen, and some new plates and a bowl from Aunt Heather, Uncle B.J. and Cousin Tristan.
We've really enjoyed reading her all the books, and she has loved the recorder, the tutu, the "Elmo" plate which is the one she requests every time we eat and the watering can which she uses to help momma water our little plants.
Our Easter weekend was put over the edge by listening to conference and by sharing some time with friends over an Easter meal. Our family was definitely fed both in body and spirit.

Just Plain Cute

2010-04-12T19:21:00.002-05:00

We got a package in the mail a few days ago that had a tiny item in it that I had ordered and 3/4 or more of that box was filled with Styrofoam packing peanuts. Addie of course was curious and after scrunching a few she decided she would like to climb into the box. She sat there and ripped apart the peanuts, then started putting them on her head, where they stuck because of the static. Our little peanut.

The other night we had put Addie to bed and a few hours later I checked on her before I went to bed. This is what I saw when I opened the door.

The pictures are a little dark, but in the second one you can see how far she traveled. She rolled off of her toddler bed, onto the second mattress, onto the floor and across to the crib, and the part I love, she took her Ducky on the whole trip!

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-12T13:18:00.002-05:00

Mitch got a whole week off for spring break this year so we decided to go down to Chicago and see a few sights. We had heard of a museum where you could go into a coal mine which we thought sounded pretty cool so our first stop was the Museum of Science and Industry that's right along Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago. We planned on only staying a few hours but it was sooo big and had so many exhibits that we ended up staying most of the day there. We saw an exhibit on genetics and how it affects different variations in each individual, and we walked through gallery filled with transportation history, including engine number 999 which set a record as the fastest steam locomotive, and the Spirit of St. Louis which set a land record at the salt flats in Utah. We walked through an exhibit that talked about agriculture and why it is so important to our nation. It was sponsored by John Deere so they had a big tractor and a combine. Mitch and I had a little learning moment as we had always thought it was "columbine" and not combine. There was an exhibit on energy, on technology, and the future of the oil industry. We also saw the most accurate and to scale fairy castle every made, it included in it's collection some of the smallest artifacts ever found in Greece and Rome and was full of fanciful things like a cradle rocking in one of the trees outside. Addie mostly just liked to run around and look at everything as fast as she could.
The highlight was of course going into coal mine. The electric lift was actually used in a 1930's coal mine in south Illinois although some modifications have been made to the elevator, like it now has steel sides so that you don't get a chink of elbow taken off as you go down the shaft. We didn't get to wear helmets with lamps, but it was fun none the less. They turned on some of the machines that they use and it was deafening just for the few seconds that they had it on, no wonder people lost there hearing. We got to see a long arm mine as well which is a machine that cuts horizontally and vertically along a wall while simultaneously holding up the roof of the mine. The one drawback I saw of this was that all the equipment they use to hold up the roof, which is a lot of mechanical arms is jut left in the shaft after they dig it, so all that waste is just left in the ground! Mitch had been in a coal mine before but, he has been reading a lot about energy especially coal and oil and the usage of it so he had a lot to say on the subject of misappropriation of resources as we walked through.
Our next stop was the Garfield Conservatory which is over a hundred years old. It has several plant houses including a tropical room, flower room, arid room and a show room. It was filled with some awesome greenery while we were there. One of the palm trees was started from a seed when the conservatory first opened and is one of the biggest of it's kind still living in a conservatory. Get this though, the seed of the double palm weighs over 50 pounds! No wonder they have a hard time getting it to grow! Addie loved splashing in the puddles that were all over on the floor and Mitch and I liked reading about all the plants.
We also had a guest on this trip. Flat Stanley came to visit from Colorado in an envelope, can you imagine squeezing yourself and all of your luggage into a letter sized envelope? Well he did and we introduced him to Wisconsin and he got to come to Illinois with us. Our nephew Jacob sent Flat Stanley to us so that Stan could learn a little bit about Wisconsin and then return to Jacob's class to tell the tale. Flat Stanley did everything with us and became part of the family as we showed him around.
We came home the next day after getting to go to the Chicago Temple. We also took Addie to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum which she loved. I think she just loved that there were so many things to do. A sandbox, a lawnmower, slides, a house with pots to bang on, faux plants to garden and that's only the toddler section!
It was really great to have Mitch home and to not have him studying for boards the whole time. I actually felt like a family again and Addie loved having Papa around.It was a great spring break for all of us.

Bean Box and Bags

2010-04-02T18:14:00.004-05:00

Over spring break ( pictures to come) we took Addie to the Betty Brinn Kid's Museum and she loved playing in the sandbox so as we were driving home Mitch told me about his brother Matt and how he had made a bean box for his boys to play in and it sounded like a great idea to me. It's a fun activity for Addie to do indoors and it's not as messy as sand, which is great. We decided to institute the "bean box" right away but the only container that we had to use that was deep enough for her to sit in and not as easy to get the beans outside of the box, was our cooler.

Well the cooler remained the bean box until I got a bigger plastic tub to put them in. This one gave Addie a little more leg room and a lot more playing area to dump, scoop and bury to her hearts content.The rule we made for the "bean box" is that there are no beans that go outside the box, if beans go outside of the box Addie gets a warning, and if she does it again then the bean box goes away for awhile. Addie does really well with this rule and usually before I even get it out or mention it she says "no bean" and waves her little index finger back and forth, indicating that she knows the rule of no beans outside the box. I actually read this great article about using "instead" phrases to replace the usage of "no" and Mitch and I have been trying to apply it and I can already see the affects. Although there are still times when we say "no" like when she wants to cross the street or something that might hurt her, but we try to give her an instead sentence that tells her what she can do which is more positive. For example if she is coloring and starts to color on the table I would say something like, "Addie, instead of coloring on the table let's color on this page." I think it's an amazing technique and I don't feel so awful saying "no" all the time. Anyways that was a little tangent. On we go.

Lucy Loveday a friend of mine out here in Wisconsin had me over a few weeks ago to show me how to make these cute reversible bags. I was so excited for her to teach me because I had been wanting to make bags to use as grocery sacks because I hate collecting the plastic ones in droves! Anyways,so she taught me using a simple pattern and voila, seven grocery bags. I just completed them this week so I haven't had a chance to use all of them in one go yet, but I took two shopping on Monday and they held tons more stuff and heavy things too, like two pineapples in one! and at our grocers there is a discount for bringing your own bags, BONUS!During the week I've used them as library bags and as a little tote when Addie and I go to the park, I can tie it right to my bike. Anyways, thanks to Lucy for such a versatile bag.

Boards!!

2010-03-12T10:26:00.004-06:00

Mitch has been studying away since before Christmas for his second year national boards examinations and the culmination of all this study led of course to the actual test in February. Well for the past couple of weeks we have been anxiously awaiting his scores to see how he did and most importantly if he passed or if he would have to start studying all over again to take it again in the summer.Yesterday our waiting came to an end and the exciting news is that he PASSED!! Yeah babe! He was hoping for some better scores in Anatomic Science and Dental Anatomy for which he studied the hardest but overall he did really well!! He is always spouting the proverb, "Expect the worst and hope for the best", which is exactly what he did and so when the letter came there were no undue tears or exaltations of joy, just a confirmed sense of confidence and a smile!

The test includes sections on Anatomic Sciences, Biochemistry/ Physiology, Microbiology/Pathology, and Dental Anatomy/ Occlusion. Any comprehensive score of these four parts that is a 75 or above is a passing grade and anything below 75 is a failing grade, luckily Mitch passed with flying colors and is now eligible to take his part 2 boards to receive his national board certificate during his 4th year of school.
He deserves a lot of congratulations and praise for the hard work that he put into studying for this test, there were lots of long nights sitting in one chair, and starring at his computer screen trying to process all the information that they gave him to study, which was a lot!! Addie and I are so proud of Mitch!

Camping Gear

2010-03-09T19:33:00.002-06:00

Mitch and I have been putting together our emergency prepardness/ camping stuff for the last couple months and I had all of these loose utensils just hanging around amongst my neatly organized camping tote. So I decided that it was high time that they had a neatly organized holder as well, so I made one and I really like how it turned out.It is a little bulkier than I expected with all the spoons, knives, can opener etc. in there but it's still flat enough to fit into the camping tote so it works.

For Those of You Who Don't Know

2010-03-07T20:34:00.003-06:00

The Wisconsin Oliver's are welcoming a new baby into our family!I am about 15 weeks along and the due date is AUGUST 29th. Although not far enough along to see what gender the baby is, we are excited to find out in about 5 weeks time. Until then I don't really like calling "it" "it" so I've started referring to him as baby "Y", because I think it's a boy and therefore he has a "Y" chromosome which leads to the name. Mitch on the other hand hasn't taken sides and to poke fun at me a little bit has started referring to him as baby "XXY", to account for if it's a girl "XX" or a boy "XY". I reminded him today that although this is a great way to condense, it also is a reference to having a baby with Klinefelter's syndrome. But any baby would be welcome in our home, so the chromosomal name is of no consequence, but I still think it's a boy.
I've felt a little more nauseous and tired and generally a little more irritable than I did with Addie, but besides that everything is great with baby and momma. Here are the pictures from the 13 week ultrasound. The first picture you can see the face, the two hemispheres of the brain, and the little lungs. The following pictures all have little explanations of what you're looking at.If you want to blow up the scrapblog pages click on the gray link in the right lower corner that says scrapblog.
Mitch and I are very excited to welcome this little kiddo and more than a little anxious as well, enjoy the first pictures of our little one.

Story Time

2010-03-02T18:46:00.005-06:00

So I haven't been posting one because there has been no news and two because there has been no pictures. Addie has become fascinated with the camera and so every time I get it out to take a picture she drops whatever the cute thing is that I want to take a picture of and races toward me and the camera so she can take a look. This has resulted in very cute things taken in a very blurry manner and most of them haven't even been worth keeping because you can't even tell what she is doing. By the time I get the camera out and up to take a picture she's already high tailing it over to me and by the time the shutter goes off it's just a smudgy blur of color. Here are the best ones I got and the story to go with them.

Before bedtime it is in our routine to read a story, one night Addie got out a book and grabbed a dolly but instead of coming over to sit on my lap, she asked to get up onto the couch. I sat her up there and she proceeded to put the dolly in her own lap and open the book. The book just happens to be one of her favorites because it has pictures of all sorts of animals in it so she was jabbering away as she turned th page and if she came to an animal she knew she would say the word, make the noise, or sign the animals name. She especially enjoyed telling the dolly about the monkeys in the book. In this picture she is holding her nose saying elephant in her baby sign language.

On Sunday I was doing the dishes when Addie came in and started to "help" by taking out everything I had just put in, well this continued for awhile until she had everything out of the little utensil basket. She then snatched up the basket from it's nestled spot in the dishwasher and started carrying it around the house in the crook of her arm. I started singing a tisket, a tasket a green and yellow basket and because it was Sunday and she had her dress on she started to "spin". It was a very cute red riding hood type of moment.

Addie has been really into stickers lately. I have a baggie of odds and ends stickers I've collected over the years that I let her get into and this day she was putting stickers on momma's face, then I would put one on her face etc. This is the end result.

5 Little Monkeys

2010-02-02T20:20:00.003-06:00

Addie loves to sing songs and she has gotten really good at the actions to a particular favorite of hers that I call 5 Little Monkeys. We learned it while we were visiting for Christmas from Marie, Mitch's sister. It goes like this:

5 little monkeys swinging in the trees (hold up the number on your fingers and swing back and forth)
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, you can't catch me ( hold hand up to ears as if teasing, then wave finger as if to say no you can't)
Here comes Mr. Crocodile, Silent as can be ( put hands together and move in a serpentine pattern, as if a crocodile swimming through the water)

SNAP!!! ( clap your hands together)
Repeat with each number until you get to no more monkeys swinging in the trees.
She can do almost all the actions accept for holding up the number of fingers and especially loves the SNAP!! part. Some times instead of clapping Mitch will grab her on the SNAP part and she giggles and tries to squirm away!

She has also started saying YUCK especially when she sees a garbage can or a potty. She even crinkles up her nose and makes a grimace. The other day we were coloring and she pulled out all of the crayons from the plastic bag, then proceeded to take the plastic bag over to the cupboard, open it the few inches that the cupboard lock allows her to then stuffed her hand and the plastic bag in to the garbage can. She dropped the bag then came back to her coloring as if throwing trash away was a common occurrence for her! Funny kiddo.

She is also starting to recognize some emotions. We've taught her sad and happy in sign language and so if she hears a baby crying in church or something she'll put one finger to her eye ( her sign for cry, Mitch and I use one fist to the eye)and say "sad". For happy she points to her cheeks as if grinning and says "appy". OH our Appy Addie!

"Milk" Is a Four Letter Word

2010-01-23T18:29:00.003-06:00

Before Addie was born I read all these books about nursing and thought I was prepared for the "unknown" when it came to breastfeeding. Unfortunately those books became pretty obsolete other than making a firm impact on my mind that nursing is good for your baby's development, the other pearls of wisdom just were not to pearly! At Addie's birth I was looking forward to having her placed lovingly on my chest and starting it all off with a great comfy and wonderful nursing connection like all those books I had read talked about, well Addie had some fluid in her lungs that took a few days to dissipate and so the initial nursing that is "so important" just did not happen. After two days of her being hooked up to monitors to make sure her oxygen levels were good, she finally got to nurse, and that little squirt took right to it. Now for all you ladies out there that hear about how nursing is a glorious, bonding and nurturing experience, well it is, but there is a dark side to breastfeeding that no book tells you about and after experiencing firsthand some of the downsides, I'm left a little miffed that I got only one side of the story. Obviously everyone's experience is different, but here is why I've come to think of "milk" as a four letter word.
During her first year there were minor things I hadn't really contemplated to thoroughly like late night feedings for the first 9 months. I just couldn't let go of the night feedings until I finally just let her cry it out at 9 months and she started sleeping through the night, it was so against my gut to do it, so how come it worked so well? Anyways, another few things were nursing in public, which I am still not good at, nursing in small spaces like airplane seats(once they stuck me by two teenage boys so I resorted to an airplane restroom),and "when your child gets teeth" is definitely not a chapter they cover in breastfeeding books.
My main angst came about when Addie turned about a year old and started signing the word "milk" whenever she wanted to nurse. Of course I thought it was so cute and wonderful that she could express to me what she wanted without me guessing three other things before getting to what she wanted. Well at first she stuck to her3- 4 times a day schedule that she had been on previous to her word usage, as time progressed she would ask more frequently and thinking that is what she truly needed (insert hand to forehead motion here DOI!)I would give it too her and so she became accustomed to nursing when she asked to nurse. Well during Christmas this whole fiasco came to a head and I was through! Our first week back from vacation she was nursing 7-8 times a day and was relentless with her asking,she would nurse then five minutes later ask to nurse again, and then throw tantrums if she didn't get it. I tried all sorts of things like offering another drink instead, but she would drink a little bit then, ask for "milk" right after ward. By this time she had added the actual word "mil" to the sign so I was always apprehensive to when she would ask for it next and if I would give in or if I would try to be stalwart against her forward advances on my waning patience. One morning I tried to just ward her off by ignoring her but this just made her more upset and I gave in finally out of frustration, exhaustion and anxiety. This whole charade was making me crazy, I could feel my body shutting down mentally and physically from all the exertion, I flopped in to bed one night and totally broke down to Mitchell, that poor guy, saying it had to be over, I was anxious all the time about when she was going to ask and if I was going to say yes or no, and besides the mental siege, most of my day was spent nursing or anticipating nursing, so I didn't get anything done.
I'm not sure why she went through this spurt of cluster feeding, it might have been because she was bored and it was something to do, it might have been just a comfort thing to be next to momma, but whatever it was it left pretty quickly and relatively easily, thanks to lots of prayers and some good advice from a friend. I really do believe that Heavenly Father understood I was at my wits end because I had tried to wean Addie before this week of death but without even the slightest smidgen of success. So when my friend ( thanks Meagan) offered her advice on how she weaned her little one I thought it was worth a try. She told me to use the step down method and distraction as my tool, so you take the feeding that you think you can get rid of the easiest which was Addie's mid morning so I filled that with activities to distract her from "milk" and it worked. The next one was her morning feeding which I enrolled Mitch to help me with, I asked him to get up with her for a week instead of me, as he got her up I prepared some breakfast for her so it was ready when she came out, when she asked for "milk" she got breakfast instead, Brilliant!The last two feedings that were regular and not weird every hour ones that she had been instigating, were the afternoon and the one right before bed. I knew these were going to be the hardest so I decided to tackle the one right after her afternoon nap first, when she woke up she automatically got a snack and then we went on an outing to pass the time away until dinner, after dinner time flies as we do our bedtime routine so if I occupied her during the time between 3 to 5 she was golden. All three of these nursing were gone within the week which I wasn't expecting at all but I guess when you are asking to nurse every hour or so, the accelerated version of weaning seems to fit too!
The last one to tackle was right before bed and once again the Lord provided a means to and end. We had the Schows over for dinner which occupied her up until bed time after they left I simply did all the other routine things, brush the teeth, a drink of water, prayers and voila, skipped her asking for "milk" all together. The next night afforded another opportunity like this, we had a birthday party for Mike Larson that kept her up until past bedtime again, so we did the same routine without nursing and ta da night two without asking for "milk".
It's now been a whole week without nursing and although I miss it a little bit, the last month was so frazzling that I'm glad it's over. She does still ask occasionally for "milk" but I just offer a drink now instead and she readily accepts that this is the new norm. So my experience with nursing has been for the most part all those gooshy and wonderful things, but at least for a couple of months in the Oliver house, "MILK" was a four letter word.

Christmas 2009 Pics

2010-01-20T20:39:00.002-06:00

A request was made for more Christmas Pictures to be posted so here are a few good ones. We loved being able to go home and see family for the holidays, we sure appreciate Grandma and Grandpa Oliver and their gift to us so we could travel home! The flight to Utah did not go so well. We planned our flight for Addie's bedtime thinking she would sleep but that plan did not work at all. She screamed almost the whole time on both flights, and she wouldn't nurse so her ears wouldn't pop, so I think that just made her even more upset, she finally did settle down the last half hour of the first flight, but then it started all over again on the second.
We spent the first couple of days at Mike and Emily's new home in West Jordan and visited with their family and Marc and Molly's family before going down to Ephraim. We got to go see Grandma Nancy's first grade class perform in their Christmas Program which was wonderful along with our Nephew Dane's first grade class as well! We also got to tend our nephew Tristan that night so his parents could go out for B.J's birthday.
We went sledding with the Christiansen side of the family, well got pulled behind the four wheeler on a sled, but that counts right? Addie fell asleep in Grandma Christiansen's lap while they were riding behind Grandpa "C" on the sled. I guess it just wore her out. The Oliver side had an awesome carnival and lunch for the family and kiddos. Mitch and I were in charge of the fish pond which was a lot of fun!I got to tease the kids a little bit by pulling on the string to make them work for the prize, or not sending one over at all. When Uncle Mike came to fish he got my shoe instead of a prize, but I guess he didn't want that cause he threw it back. Addie had a great time going around to all the stations and eating all the chocolate prizes that people had, that little moocher!There was also some good news from the Seely's, they are going to have another baby! ( and we just found out Matt and Christy are expecting too, so there will be a few more cousins coming around August time!)
Christmas day was lots of fun, to see the kids open presents, Addie who could have potentially been spoiled to death got just the right amount of fun things and just the right amount of things she needed which is always good! My parents surprised me by getting me a clarinet which I've been practicing and I'm a little glad at how easily it has returned to me.
We got to go out to dinner with both families, we went to Los Amigos with the Oliver side and we had such a big group and the place was packed so we waited a long time for our food, but it was good when it came. We went to Chinese with the Christiansen's side after we got to go to a session at the Manti temple. I was not feeling so well and I was coughing and sneezing the whole time, but it was worth it to go with my parents and brother and sister in law.
Mitch and I wanted to go to the Salt Lake temple too but I was feeling so crummy after waking up at Marc and Molly's house with pink eye that we decided I was probably too contagious to go. ( we've never been to the Salt Lake temple yet, and every time we plan a trip to go when we are in Utah, something always comes up.)
Well after much love from the family and a pack of throat lozenges generously donated by my sister in law Emily we were on our way home and luckily this trip was a lot better. Addie slept the whole time on both flights and although we thought we were going to miss our second flight it was a little late boarding so we got on in time which was great because some of the people on our flight were not so lucky.

Quilts!

2010-01-19T12:48:00.003-06:00

Thanks to all the sisters who helped make these quilts during 2009. They all turned out so great and I'm sure they were appreciated. Thanks again for all the ladies that cut out squares, sewed quilt tops, donated backs and batting and helped tie the quilts at Super Saturday. There ended up being 12 baby sized quilts and they were all so cute.

Invisible Mother

2010-01-10T19:01:00.004-06:00

It's really amazing the invisible little things that your mom does for you. For instance I have been feeling especially ragged as of late and this email appears in my in box from my lovely mother, who I know has felt the same way I do sometimes about being a mother, but the beauty about her is that she carries a different perspective and now passes a little bit of that on to me, thanks mom for the great story, it has helped immensely. To all the other mom's, wives, father's, husbands etc. out there that sometimes feel recognition is due and none is to be had, someone is watching! *wink*

Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store..
Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not.
No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is
gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England .
Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling
pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam; He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it..' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right; And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Trash to Treasure

2010-01-04T18:59:00.004-06:00

So coming home from the grocery store I had stopped at Lloyd St., at which I would usually turn right to come home, when I look up and see what looks like a white headboard sitting on the curb across the street. It wasn't big enough to be a full sized head board but I thought I better investigate and lo and behold, it was a toddler bed! Let me tell you the Lord provides! I have a twin size bed that I got for way cheap at a garage sale during the summer, but that would be too big for Addie to use for at least another year or two, and even then I'd be afraid of her falling off and hurting herself, so this bed came as a blessing. The only downside was that one side of the frame was cracked in half! Luckily all the hardware was there and although the previous owners had tried to fix it with what looks like electrical tape, the faulty fix job had obviously not lasted the treacheries of a toddler. But I thought to myself, it wouldn't be too hard to replace that side board and save this piece of furniture from the landfill heap it was bound for. My project for today was therefore to fix the injured toddler bed and it turned out great and at a nice price too. I looked up the similar style of bed on K-mart.com and it sold for 78 dollars! I got the piece of wood for 5 bucks and with a little elbow grease finished it all up by dinner time, accept for the paint! It pays to turn trash into treasure!

After Christmas, Christmas Crafts

2010-01-02T20:31:00.003-06:00

Today I hit all the after Christmas Holiday clearance sales and got some smokin' bonuses.I went to Wal- Mart with the intention of only getting some holiday colored totes to keep all the winter decor in, but everything holiday was 75% off so I had to take a gander. I got two 20in wreaths for 50 cents! 6 green place mats for 75cents each, a gravy boat that matches my dishes for 1.25, and a matching huge oval platter for the same price! I also got a set of 4 dinner plates, 4 salad plates and 4 bowls that match my other china for only 3.00 dollars!Well when I got home I was putting all the Christmas stuff away and was reorganizing it all when I came upon the fake Christmas tree that I had found on the side of the curb last year, that had unfortunately been broken. Well all the branches were still good, so I decided to make door swags out of them to be used next year, so I went to Joanne's and got two 24 count sets of jingle bells for 5.00 dollars each originally 14.99 and some cute garland with jingle bells to match that can go on our tree, if we ever get one. Well on the way home, I thought that I should stop by Steins to see what they had left over and this is where I found the goods! four cute ornaments to go on the swags for only 2.19 each marked down from 9.00 and a 11 piece nativity set for only 7.49!!Well when I got home I got to work putting together all the swags and I used one of the 24 sets of jingle bells to make ornaments to go on the tree. So now I have ribbon on the swags that match the ribbon on the stockings that I made, which I will hopefully have enough of to wrap around the tree too and to use on the tree skirt which I have still to make, so that all that will match, then on the large swag is the set of jingle bells which will match the jingle bell ornaments I made and will match the garland that I got too and it's all matchy, matchy, which is good right? of course right.

Pigtails

2010-01-01T19:29:00.003-06:00

For Christmas Addie received some really cute hair "diddies" so that I could actually start doing something with all that hair. Today we got to use them and Ta da, her first hair do and what a cute do it is. She was a little exuberant while we tried to put them in this morning, Mitch had to hold and distract her while I put in the elastics and cute little bug clips, but after they were in she hardly touched them all day. She did end up pulling out the bug clips, but the pigtails remained intact thankfully. So now every morning I'm hoping to add "do something with Addie's hair" to the routine and hopefully there will be cooperation!

Going Private

2009-12-10T18:33:00.003-06:00

So with all the anybody's out there that can look in our lives, we've decided to make our blog private. If you'd like to be invited to view our blog leave a comment below with your name and email address so we can add you to the list. I'd like to make it private by the end of the year so that gives you a few more weeks. Happy Holidays!!

Shake It Up Baby, Now!!

2009-12-09T14:57:00.001-06:00

Little Magician

2009-12-03T21:00:00.002-06:00

You often hear from other people how when children are learning that they often have "explosions" where they all of a sudden just get it, whereas yesterday or even a few hours ago they didn't comprehend. This "explosion" as it were, happened with Addie about a month ago and Mitch and I have been scrambling to keep up with all the new things she is learning especially with her language skills. As a mother I've come to respect magic not as an illusionists art form but rather as something I see everyday from my one year old. It's amazing how you put her to bed at night after teaching her something that day that she just didn't quite get the hang of like the word and sign "duck" and the next day when she wakes up, before you even bring that word up again, she is saying and signing it like a pro, therefore magic must have happened in her sleep and no smoke and mirrors or special affects were necessary. Here are a few of her words and signs that she has been saying and doing consistently.

1. More= "Mo"= one hand pointing into the open palm of the other hand ( she has now started say "mo dis" and pointing to the "this" that she wants)
2. Milk= "mil"=open and closing fist (this sign she uses exclusively for nursing, and now that she figured out she can ask to nurse, she asks about every hour or so)
3. Bath = "ba"= both hands starting at chest and going down across tummy
4. Duck= "cuck cuck" or quack quack thumb and forefinger opening and closing
5. Drink= C shaped hand tipped back and forth at mouth
6. Papa= "papa" forefinger pointing to temple
7. Puppy= both hands patting chest
8. Kitty= "meow" hand sweeping across face
9. Soft Soft( her little cuddly)"Sof sof" hand sweeping across mouth
10. Light= "li" hand extended toward the light, open and close the fist
11.Snack= "sna" fingers and thumb closed together moving toward mouth
12. Belly= "ally" pat the tummy
13. Blanket= "b"
14. Baby= "ba...by" she always seems to put a pause between the two syllables
15. Hot= blowing air out in little stream
16. Shoes= "zzz's" she always finds her shoes for me when we go someplace
17. Ball= "Ball"
18. Book= "Book"
19. Up= "up"
20. Out= "ou"
21. Up Stairs= "Uh Sta"
22. Wind= "WHhi" She sits next to the heater vent when it comes on so we started calling it wind because she could feel the air moving across her hair and face.
23. Addie= "A... D" once again she puts a pause in between the two syllables.

She also tries to do the actions to some nursery songs like:
"The Eency Weency Spider" moves her hands up and down like the spider
"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" which she started doing this week ( for the knees and toes she just bends her legs up and down like she's doing a little squat, but she touches her head and shoulders)
"Once There was a Snowman" melts with me to the ground

It has been so much fun to watch her learn new things and I am constantly amazed by my little magician.

Family Pictures

2009-11-06T15:21:00.001-06:00

These are some great family photos that our friend Brooke Hedin took for us during the summer. They all turned out so well, especially Addie who is always a cutie patutie. Thanks Brooke.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T21:12:00.002-06:00

Halloween this year was a lot of fun. I got to make Addie's first Halloween costume and Mitch and I dressed up too. Addie was a Bug in a rug, Mitch was a Maharajah, and I was a pirate. I found Mitch's costume in a local Goodwill and just happened to have a length of creme colored fabric that he used as the turban. You can't see his shoes in any of the pictures but they had a rounded pointy toe on them. Addie and I went to the Medical College of Wisconsin to do there trick or treat Halloween party that is put on by the spouses association. We were invited by some of our friends and although Addie didn't collect any candy from the rooms that were giving it out, she did have fun walking up and down the halls and she collected a bag of animal crackers and tiny Oreo cookies which she dutifully carried in each hand until we left. Afterward I took her to Hoyt park to take some pictures in the fall leaves in her costume which was a lot of fun.
On Halloween we went to a party hosted by our friends the Larsons. There was a great turnout and some great costumes.It was fun to see everyone take on a different persona in their outfits. When we got home we decided to take some pictures next to our lighted Jack O' Lanterns and while we were out there trying to light the candles some trick or treater rang our neighbors doorbell so we asked if Addie could get her first candy Halloween treat, which she did. Twizzlers are unfortunately a little hard for one year olds to chew so Mitch or I will probably have to eat them.
I have really good memories of Halloweens past. Trunk or Treats in the stake center parking lot, eating sticky glazed doughnuts and drinking hot chocolate, going to the Ritzy houses hoping to get some extra big treats, which were almost never had. I think I actually got pencils once from one of those homes, pencils! of all things. Well Mitch wanted to hand out toothpaste to the kids so I guess pencils will have to pass too. Here in Wisconsin you have to register to trick or treat which is a good idea for safety's sake but I think it's made the holiday here not as big as it could be because it kind of is a hassle to do so and so it discourages people from actually going through with it. If only the world was more trustworthy we could all have a safe and happy and kid friendly Halloween!!

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-26T23:01:00.002-05:00

For FHE tonight we got to carve our pumpkins that have patiently been waiting to turn into jack o' lanterns for a few weeks now. Mitch had the squat round pumpkin and I had the tall lanky one, I think our jack o' lantern faces turned out really well and they are both fitting as one is scary (Mitch's) and the other one is scared (Mandy's) they go perfectly together, like Mitch and I you could say, except not with those adjectives. Addie was not so into the pumpkin carving. Although she has loved going to two pumpkin patches this year, she did not like the slimy insides of our pumpkins, nor the stringy guts and seeds that came out of them. It sure was fun to start this tradition for Halloween, maybe next year she will be more willing to dig in. Now to enjoy some roasted pumpkin seeds. Mmm, mmmm.

Adelaide's First Birthday

2009-10-20T19:26:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Addie's first birthday.I can't believe how the time has flown by. Time seems to move a little differently when you have a kid. Growing up, time is marked by school semesters, summer breaks, sports seasons, end of term exams etc. Time at home with Adelaide has been marked by smiling at us for the first time, holding her head up by herself, sitting up, eating solid foods, crawling, walking, talking, signing, and all these things seems to begin to compound indefinitely as she gets older. She has started to learn new things each day now and big ticket items are becoming a thing of the past as she is working now at a year of age to refine her motor skills, pick up on vocabulary in words and sign language, begin to imitate people and things around her and the list goes on. The other day I commented to Mitch how much time I squandered during her early months just lounging around the house, watching movies I had rented from the library and dabbling in little projects. When she was little she slept most of the day away and now every moment is filled with some new adventure that she is getting into, whether it be pulling all the kitchen towels out of the drawer, climbing the stairs, playing with her toys, or playing outside in the mud, how time is spent now certainly has changed for the both of us.
She had two such adventures yesterday that weren't so welcome, especially it being her birthday. Yesterday morning as I was removing the sheets on the bed to be washed and putting the new ones on, I had piled the comforter at the foot of the bed to get it out of the way and Addie, being comparatively new at the whole walking bit, tripped on the curled up blankies and fell onto the edge of the metal bed frame, causing a red and black line to form right above her left eye, which has now turned a dark purple. The second "birthday bonk", happened as I was taking her to be tended at Meghan Schows home, so I could help at the dental school putting together dental screening packets for the head start program. We arrived a little early so I parked and decided to let Addie walk up the side walk from the car to the front door. She meanders a little bit as she walks, looking at new things and occasionally stopping to pick things up, so I thought it would eat up some time by letting walk. After going a little ways she stooped over to pick up a small stick she had spotted and after standing up and taking only a few steps, down she went, tripping on some unseen object and because her hands were full of sticks, she didn't catch herself on her hands, but let her forehead take the blunt force of the sidewalk. So now she has a matching bruise and abrasion on the right side of little head. Birthday bonks are no fun, I'm just glad she didn't land on the sticks she had just picked up.
At first Mitch and I weren't going to have a little party for her because she is only turning one and it's not like she knows what a birthday is or is going to remember it, but we decided to celebrate after all with some cake and a few presents.
She received presents from both sets of grandparents, her Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy and the boys, her Uncle BJ and Aunt Heather and Tristan, and Mitch and I. She now has some new warm winter clothes including boots, sweaters, pj's, socks, snowpants, and frog galoshes, and also a cute double sided bib, and a baby Einstein book that makes sounds and has pictures that are hidden under flaps on the pages. She got two new toys from Mitch and I, a stackable wooden toy and a shapes toy. She loved all her new presents and especially loved putting the wooden toys in to the new green galoshes, then taking them out again, then putting it back in again. Silly kid. Grandma Cheryl Christiansen joined us over Skype for the cake ceremony and happy birthday song. We put the whole cake in front of Addie and at first she wasn't quite sure that she wanted to touch it, but then she started to dig in her little fingers and fling the cake towards Mitch. Mitch was pretending to lick it up off of her high chair tray and she, being our little imitator, started to do the same thing, which was adorable of course. We tried to have her blow the candle out at exactly 6:48pm the time she was born, but we were a little slow in finding something to light the candle with, Mitch could only find his little propane torch, so that's what he used to light her little candle and she blew it out a little after the 6:48 mark.
I can't imagine what this next year will hold, I'm sure more amazing times with little Adelaide Anne are on the way, and the time will be pleasantly marked by her life's goals and achievements.

5K Run

2009-10-10T21:28:00.003-05:00

This morning I participated in my first ever 5k run. One of the ladies from the Milwaukee 1st Ward, Meghan Schow, put on the first annual Relief Society 5K run, walk and stroll for us sisters that needed a little motivation to get up and go. 14 ladies showed up on this cold morning to run, walk or stroll the 3.1 mile loop that started at Hart Park, went down Menomonee River Parkway, turned onto Historic Church Street, then left onto Rogers Ave,right onto 81st, then left onto Jackson Park Boulevard, a little loop around to 94th, then back onto Swan Boulevard and into Hart Park again. When I first started out it was a little chilly and I was glad I remembered to take a pair of gloves, but after the blood started pumping it turned out to be the perfect morning for the run, because you got hot running, but you weren't sweltering from the temperature outside. Mitch counseled me to keep a steady pace so in following with his wisdom I did just that and ended up running the course in 30 minutes and 32 seconds coming in second. Not that the race was a competition against each other. I was just happy to have run the whole course and to have done a 10 minute mile which I didn't expect. I was thinking I would do it in about 40 minutes, so I exceeded my expectations, which is always satisfying. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-09T12:49:00.002-05:00

For a family outing we decided to take Addie to "Apple Holler" an apple orchard and pumpkin patch about a half an hour away from our home. We didn't have much time but we spent a little bit picking out two pumpkins and letting Addie explore the Pumpkin Patch. She patted the pumpkins and felt the scratchy stems and had a wonderful time. It was a little rainy, cold and muddy, but well worth it to get some pumpkins!

Playing Catch Up

2009-09-25T16:22:00.005-05:00

So Mitch had about 3 weeks off during the summer in between summer and fall semesters at Marquette. He had a lot of fun playing with Addie and spending time with us and also some visitors from home, his dad and brother. They came out for a couple of days to visit with us and while they were here we got to see some sights of Wisconsin, The Miller Brewery, which isn't the most worthwhile place we could have taken them, but it was interesting to see how the brew is made and learn the history of the brewery which was started back in the late 1800's by a Friedrich Miller. The saying of the day was "Miller Time" and we had the occasion to see the production line, packaging lines, storage facilities, boiling and fermentation, and the "Historic Caves" where they used to store the beer underground with ice from a nearby lake. We also visited the Miller Inn where all the other guests on the tour sampled some of their varieties. When we told the waitress and the tour guide that none of us four adults were having any, they gave us some weird looks, and the tour guide said that that was a first for her, someone refusing the free booze.
The second place we got to visit with the Grandpa Oliver and Mike were the Boerner Botanical Gardens. It was a pretty chilly and overcast day when we went but it was fun to walk around and see the flowers that were blooming. The rose garden I thought left a little something to be desired, but all the other flowers and plants were pretty and some were very interesting. There was a big butterfly sculpture that we put Addie on and she loved it, she grabbed right onto those antanae and went for a ride. Grandpa and Mike were a little camera shy the whole time but we were able to get a few good ones in, I especially loved Grandpa's funny faces in the rose garden, which are about all the pictures we got out of him. We loved having them visit us and hope we can have more visitors soon!!

Mitch's 1st Year

2009-08-25T08:54:00.003-05:00

I feel like I've been neglecting Mitch and all his accomplishments, in lieu of all the excitment this year with Addie and her milestones, so I thought I might dedicate a post to Mitch's first successful year of dental school at Marquette University.
His first semester he learned how to take radiographs (x- rays), he learned how to clean teeth, although all of his work the first semester was done on fake teeth.In all of his semesters he has had what the students nicknamed PRES/RES or preservations and restorations, of teeth such as drilling cavities, filling cavities etc. Had classes like Histology (study of tissues), Biochemistry he was lucky enough to get out of because he had taken it before, and a Fundumental Class of Dentistry that included Bio material, nutrition, radiology, developmental biology & a clinical rounds class that discusses moch clinical scenarios.Because he didn't have to take Biochemistry he feels like school wise this semester has been his easiest, but as Addie was born this semester as well, it made it a little more interesting and busy too.
His second semester he learned about some Behavioral sciences, Cariology or the study of cavities, he did some Periodontal or gum studies, and had course work in Oral biology and gross anatomy that focuses on the head and neck, but also touched on body cavities and organ systems.He also had the clinical rounds class again and continued training on cleaning teeth on manakins and taking radiographs. He also got to go into the clinic and do some assisting to the older students. He feels the second semester was harder because he had more credit hours to do, but he also thinks that his second semester was sucsessful because he really buckled down and studied hard.
The summer semester by far has been the most trying semester for him. The bane of his existence has been the Dentures course. It was only two credits but he says the work he was doing made i feel like it was 8 credits. He worked on a lot of hands on projects like making a pair of dentures for a patient, creating casts and replicas of his own mouth, and making a whitening tray for himself from the molds of his mouth. He also got to do his first Prophy(where he cleaned his first live patients teeth). He also had the opportunity to go to the AIDS clinic downtown and learned how people are managing there disease and how dentists can help. During the summer semester he spent a lot of time at home working on his dentures and other projects. He even bought a propane torch so he could melt the wax and do other things for his projects, which he says was a highlight.This is a pictures of his teeth that he shaped and made.The yellow is the mold and the white and pink is all the work that Mitch did. They even have to make the gums look exactly the same, they even give them a stippled appearance! Lots of work went into these.

So that's his first year in a nut shell.
He's had three weeks of this summer to spend with his family and we've had lots of fun while he's been home with us. He heads back to start his second year this upcoming Monday. Good luck babe, Addie and I will miss having you home during the day!

Wisconsin Dells

2009-08-21T11:12:00.003-05:00

Mitch and I were invited by our friends the Sessions to go to the Dells this week for a little get away from Milwaukee. Wisconsin Dells is the water park capital of the world so they say, so Mitch and I were pretty excited to go. We stated at Chula Vista in a nice condo that we shared with Marianne and Schuyler and their two kiddos. Mitch and I hit all the rides of the indoor and outdoor water parks at the resort and Addie really like playing in the little kids areas and splashing in the water. She especially liked the lazy river. I sat in a tube and put her on top of my lap and Mitch would push us around and around, she would look at everything and she even held onto the black handles that were on the tube which was so adorable. I'm not sure if she did it for support or just something to hold onto. One of the rides was nicknamed the "toilet bowl" because you would go down the slide and end up in a circular bowl shaped whirlpool that would take you around and around then drop you down another tube to the bottom of the slide. They had a half pipe ride, a "bonzai" ride for those of you who rember Wet and Wild waterpark in Caldwell. (it's a slide that goes straight down. My favorite was called the cyclone that was a tube that went around and around in a tight circle, it was super fast. Mitch and I got to go by ourselves that first night while Marianne and Schuyler watched Addie. I hadn't been to a water park since high school and Mitch swears I was talking an octave higher and ten times faster than I normall do. I attributed it to how excited I was, I felt like I was 10 again, it was awesome.

Talkin' the Talk

2009-08-15T10:05:00.006-05:00

Adelaide started to wave at people, things and pretty much any thing else she wanted to about a month ago. We were feeding the Elders and one of them waved to her from across the table and to our surprise she waved back. Well a new development to the wave is the word "HI" her first official word!! When we say hi and wave she says hi and waves back to us. I consider it her first word because I think she actually connects it with greeting people and things, instead of just putting the constanant/ vowel sounds together like "mama" or "dada". A new development also is she has started to clap, well in her own way. She can't really make the "clap" sounds yet but she brings her hands together and immitates Mitch and I when we clap with her.

Addie's Specs

2009-07-27T21:13:00.002-05:00

Addie had her nine month appointment a couple of weeks ago but I've been a little slow on posting her stuff.

HEIGHT: 28 1/4 IN which puts her in the 75th percentile for height, she's starting to slow down and even off now that she's a little older.

WEIGHT: 16 LBS 13 OZ which means she's in the 23rd percentile for her weight which is also leveling off from her previous appointments. The doctor said it was a little low but that is to be expected now that she is crawling and moving around.

She also got another shot this time around so she wouldn't have to get 4 next visit I decided to break them up a little bit. We also discussed her allergic reaction to what we think is eggs. She'll have to be tested at a year to see if she is still allergic. One of her immunizations is grown on an egg based titer so she'll have to go into Children's to get that shot just in case she has a bad reaction to it. Most kids grow out of egg allergies though and she hasn't shown any signs of being allergic to anything else yet so that's good.

More Addie...

2009-07-27T13:58:00.003-05:00

Addie is the only thing I ever write about I know, but everything she does is new and exciting, and everything Mitch & I do is pretty hum drum, so you get Addie. She has been so active lately, crawling, pulling herself up onto things,and lately she has become a little clingy. I think she might be experiencing some 9 month old seperation anxiety. I was warned it might happen, but I though, not my kid! Well I definately got a smack in the face as a wake up call that that "not my kid" cliche is just not true. Addie will be playing just fine by herself, but if I come into the room, or make eye contact, or if someone else is holding her she will start to cry and reach for me, or crawl toward me. She has been crawling towards my legs and grabbing onto my pant legs to stand recently, which kind of hinders my movement because if I move it sets her off balance, so I have to tread lightly, as it were. It's really precious, but also a little annoying too. It's like she's a newborn again and has to constantly be held or touched or within her visual range. She has been doing lots of fun things like going down slides by herself(with papa at the end to catch her of course), playing in a box full of corn kernals and picking rasperries, and generally having a good time inventing games to amuse herself and her parents.

TO MAKE THE SLIDE SHOW BIGGER CLICK ON THE "SCRAPBLOG" ICON & LINK IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE BOX.

Allergies, Sleep & Bike Rides

2009-07-15T15:57:00.003-05:00

We've had a full little week here at the Oliver house. Saturday morning Bug had an allergic reaction to some eggs and broke out in hives. She has also started sleeping on her tummy which is so cute. Every time I put her in her crib for a nap or for bedtime she automatically rolls on to her side and when I come in to get her she has rolled onto her tummy.She has also learned how to pull herself up to standing in her crib so we had to lower it a few weeks ago. She pulls herself up on anything she can and frequently uses Mitch and I as a jungle gym to crawl, stand, crouch, bend and walk all over. We were lucky enough to get a free bike seat for her so she can come on bike rides with Mitchell and I. Here are a few pictures of allergies, sleep and our family rides. Hope you enjoy. To make the insert bigger click on the "scrapblog" link in the bottom right hand corner of the page, then click the green full screen button after the new page opens. SORRY EVERYBODY TRY AGAIN TO SEE THE SCRAPBLOG AND SEE IF IT WORKS NOW. LET ME KNOW AGAIN IF IT DOESN'T. THANKS.

Walking BUG

2009-07-07T07:31:00.003-05:00

Addie has been practicing a lot of walking lately. Whether it be holding Mitch and my fingers around the house, pulling herself up onto benches, sofas or anything else that is within reach, or walking in between Mitch and I she is a ball of walking energy. She's become a lot braver of late as well and will let go of our fingers for a few seconds before stopping and turning around to find where our finger went to. She's taken a couple of spills, but she bounces back really fast. She want to be mobile so bad, but she just can't make up her mind whether she wants to do it crawling or standing up, she hasn't mastered either one so far and is very fickle about the whole process in my opinion, but she's learning none the less. Here's a little bit of what she's accomplished over the last week in the walking department. I don't think she'll be able to walk 500 Miles but she'll get there!!

4th of July & Summer Fun

2009-07-06T09:05:00.005-05:00

This 4th of July was full of activities. Mitch, Adelaide and I hardly had time to breathe before moving onto the next thing.Saturday morning we got to go watch the Wauwatosa parade down North Avenue with some friends and share a potluck breakfast with them too. Thanks Schows for a wonderful morning. Adelaide really liked the parade, although it was during her naptime, so she was pretty sleepy. I think her favorite part was the small American flag that the Boy Scouts passed out to the crowd, she sure was patriotic waving her little flag.

After the parade we went to the ward BBQ for a few hours. Addie got to put her feet in the swimming pool and we all enjoyed some really good food!!
We all took a little nap before going onto our next adventure up in Cedarburg. The McAffees invited us up to a BBQ and fireworks at their new apartment. The food and company were wonderful!! Addie fell asleep right before the fireworks but the noise woke her up. She was pretty lethargic so she just sat on my lap and watched the fire in the sky, she only jumped once at the finale when there were some big booms. What a trooper, she had a long day, and it didn't help that I kept sticking the camera in her face!

We've got to do a lot of summer activities over the last week too. Mitch had a week off before the 4th so we've been visiting parks,going on walks and playing in the sprinklers.Addie has also been practicing her walking skills with Papa and I, she's nearly got it down. Stay tuned for some video.

Crawling

2009-07-01T20:33:00.007-05:00

So I said that there was crawling in my last post but the video that I put on there didn't show up in the final layout so here is a newer, better and updated version. Addie has been so close to crawling for awhile now, she just has to coordinate her hands with her legs and then her forward locomotion will be underway. Here she is trying her darndest to work it out. Her best motivation to get her moving is little yogurt snacks, she'd move across the house for one of those things if she knew it were there.

Catching up, Caldwell, Crawling, Candles, Cuts, Crafts and Camping

2009-06-29T07:02:00.000-05:00

I've really been neglecting this thing but with good reason we've been really busy. Addie and I took a trip to Idaho for a few weeks to see Elder Christiansen and the fam before he left to South Dakota for his mission.Mitch celebrated his 25th birthday, Addie is on the verge of breaking through the crawling barrier, and we went camping for a few days up in Door County, Wisconsin which was a bunch of fun!! Instead of drawling on and on about what we've been up to I decided to tell it in pictures, cause lets face it, that's what people look at when they check out blogs anyway, right? of course right.Here we go. Addie and I walking on the "sand dunes" on the east side of the Wisconsin Peninsula. Kind of pitiful sand dunes compared to the ones in Bruneau, Idaho. Mitch, Addie and I at the top of a 75 foot look out tower at sunset on Lake Michigan. Addie putting her feet in Lake Michigan. Papa and Addie. Mitch and Addie climbing the look out tower Mitch, Addie and I in front of the lookout tower after a long hike to get there. Addie walking with Papa on fathers day. Papa makes her happy!! Mitch enjoying a good stroll with Addie on Fathers Day/His birthday too! Momma and Addie outside practicing standing. Bubbles! and more bubbles! Tristan, Addie and Uncle Colby at the Discovery Center in Boise. Kim and Bug playing with a puppy. Long Hair. Short Hair. Addie taking a nap with Grandma Christiansen Addie eating her first shaved ice from the sno shack!! Tear. Grandpa Christiansen reading a story to Addie about manners. Addie playing in her hippopotomus swimming pool. Addie wearing a billy bob mullet, or would it be a fullet on her? Addie wearing my old All Star Marching Band Hat Uncle Colby with Addie A Rag quilt I made for a friends baby shower A binki clip I made for a friends baby shower A few burp cloths I made for a friends baby shower

Canning with Mitch

2009-05-05T06:52:00.000-05:00

Mitch and I borrowed the stake canning machine last week and decided to do some of our food storage.I had been collecting food stuffs when the prices were good and my cupboards were stocked so full that I didn't have room for anymore. A sister in our ward was moving to Arizona and was getting rid of some unused #10 cans for free!! So I snatched them up and Mitch and I canned for our date night. We did flour, sugar, black beans, rice, quick oats,and potato flakes. We only did about 25 cans in all but I felt so accomplished after we were done. The canning machine was so easy to use, I was thinking it was going to be a big process, but I just prepared everything before Mitch got home and then he helped me with the machine so we could get the lids on as tight as possible(He's the buff one you see.)We had a lot of fun!!

Jelly Belly Factory

2009-04-29T14:33:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin is lucky enough to have a gourmet jelly bean factory!! Ok.. so jelly beans aren't my favorite but it was a lot of fun to go with some other Mom's and take our kids to see the short little tour. It Really isn't a factory per se just a shipping building and candy store. The tour was mostly videos depicting the way they make the Jelly Bellies and some history behind the family owned business. My favorite part was the testing table where you could test out all the flavors!! They don't just make Jelly Bellies either, they make fruit snacks, chocolates, and candy corn... Who knew? Well I tried some flavors that were shall we say interesting? "Baby Wipe" flavor being the most enjoyable while still tasting inedible. They had pencil shavings, vomit and black pepper, which I was not brave enough to try. I'm surprised no one has come up with a "SNOZBERRY" flavor yet. Addie seemed to enjoy herself although she had no idea what was going on, she loved to eat her Jelly Belly hat which was probably her favorite part of the whole experience. I wonder if they make their hats taste like banana flavor and that's why she liked it so much!! Just Kidding.

Becca's Bows

2009-04-27T08:19:00.000-05:00

Thank You Becca for the cute bows for Addie!! They all are so adorable, I still can't believe you made all of them!!

Strawberries, Sunshine and Sixth Month Birthdays

2009-04-27T07:21:00.000-05:00

Addie absolutely loves strawberries,so one day I stripped her down and let her go at one which was so adorable to watch.

The weather turned hot this last Friday getting up to 85* so we decided for our date we would take Addie to the park and let her enjoy the good weather. We set out some blankets and she played so well in the shade of the trees. It was so fun to watch her perk up at different sounds, like motorcycles, the Shwann man truck, and even a cool breeze was something different for her. She also had two new experiences in the playground. She got to swing which she loved and Papa took her down her very first slide, which I'm not exactly sure she liked. Mitch got a slide burn which he's showing off in the picture, and I KNOW he wasn't happy about that, you can't tell through the smile on his face though.

Addie celebrated her 6th month birthday a few weeks ago (sorry about the slow post about it) Well she went to the pediatricians for her checkup and some more shots and she was a trooper. The first shot she didn't even flinch, the second shot she didn't start to cry until the nurse took out the needle and she soothed right down afterwards and was happy the rest of the morning, which was amazing. Of course in the afternoon she got cranky cause her legs hurt but she slept it off with a good 3 hour nap, which gave momma time to read. Thanks Addie!! Mitch and I celebrated her 6th month birthday with... da digga da... A BATH!! Ok so it wasn't an extraordinary day but we did sing to her and we got a cute picture with a foam 6 on her forehead!

At six months she weighs 15 pounds 3 1/3 oz and is 27 1/8 in tall!! She has only been sleeping about 5 hours on average at a time at night so the pediatrician recommended we try to help her learn how to self sooth which has been brutal for me to listen to her whimper and cry but it seems to be working!! She can put her self to sleep now for naps and bedtime and is sleeping about 7 hours now which is awesome!! Mitch and I can hardly believe she is already half a year old, she continues to surprise us with the new things she is learning and we can't wait to see what's next for her!!

Pre- Conference Breakfast

2009-04-06T12:02:00.000-05:00

We were so blessed to hear the words of the Prophet and the Apostles this past weekend during the 179th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Mitch and I especially enjoyed Elder Hollands talk abou the last days of Christ's life and ministry and about his atonement and not being alone. We also enjoyed the two talks on temples by Elder Bednar and Elder Gary L. Stevenson. The messages of "you are never lost when you can see the temple" and "Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness" were such powerful words. May we all take a spiritual walk through our homes and make them as clean and orderly as we can, to make it a place of safety and worship, and as close to the temple as we can.
Mitch and I would like to thank all of our friends who joined us for a pre- conference get together and for the wonderful food everyone brought to share. It is so wonderful to have such great friendships while we are all so far away from family.

Mitch's Class

2009-04-06T11:12:00.000-05:00

Mitch and his group from Marquette Dental School got to go to an 3rd grade elementary class this past week to teach them about dental hygiene. They learned how to brush properly, the parts of the tooth and Mitch taught them about what kinds of foods are nutritious for your teeth!! He really enjoyed himself as you can see in the pictures. Mitch is thinking of going into pediatric dentistry so this particular project got him very enthusiastic about that specialization. He is always thinking about how he could better communicate with kids about better hygiene and how he could relate more completely with them. He said he was surprised that most of the kids didn't even know where cavities come from. He would be happy to tell you anytime what exactly a cavity is and where is comes from, just ask!

Look Ma no Hands!!

2009-04-01T08:39:00.000-05:00

For awhile now Addie has been sitting like a little tripod, with her hands on the floor and her little tushy as the third point of contact, but the last week or so she has been trying to raise up her body to an upright position.She would get up to about a 45* angle and would fall forward again, or would throw herself with so much force backward that she would topple over.So I just let her keep practicing and lo and behold she straightened her back yesterday and sat up so well that I just had to get it on camera! She's been practicing this skill ever since, now she just has to get a little more balance so she can do it for longer periods of time!!