Grandparents Visiting, Blessing

The first couple of weeks of Jake's life have been exciting for him.  He has spent a lot of time with both sets of his grandparents.  A few days after he was born, my mom came down to spend a few days with us to help take care of both me and Jake.  After a few days on our own, Andrew's mom and dad came to spend a long weekend at our apartment with us.  I have loved having help caring for this little boy!  For how little he is and how much he sleeps, I am surprised how much he consumes my time and how much work he is.  Good thing he is so darn cute and that I love him so much.  I am so grateful to be his mom!

Andrew's parents with Jake while they were here visiting from Utah

 Andrew and I with little Jake

While Andrew's parents were in town they bought us a really nice swing.  I don't know how I survived the first 2 1/2 weeks without it- what an awesome invention!  Jake loves it and so do Andrew and I!

While Andrew's parents were at our apartment, Andrew and I both came down with the flu!  So much for the flu shot, washing our hands like crazy, and buying Walmart out of hand sanitizer!  We were both SO sick.  I threw up for the first time since middle school- which made me extremely grateful for not getting very sick during pregnancy.  Our many prayers were answered and thankfully baby Jake didn't get what we had.  It's interesting how my perspective has changed since becoming a mom.  I used to feel so bad for myself when I wasn't feeling well, but this time instead of feeling sorry for myself, I was just thankful it was me and not my baby. 

We were so fortunate to have Andrew's parents here when they were.  I'm not sure how we would have taken care of poor little Jake when we couldn't even get out of bed.  Once we were feeling a little better, Andrew braved holding Jake and doing some homework in the same room as him, but with some extra precaution.

BLESSING DAY

In our church, when babies are born, they are given a blessing, typically by the father.  We really wanted both my parents and Andrew's parents to be able to participate in Jake's blessing, so this Sunday when everyone was in town Andrew was able to bless Jake at our apartment.  Usually we would have done it at church, but Jake is only 2 1/2 weeks old and we didn't want to expose him to that many people and germs yet.  My parents and grandparents came and we had a nice dinner and his blessing was beautiful.  Again, I feel so lucky to be this little boy's mom!

Here he is wearing his blessing outfit- the same one Andrew wore for his blessing when he was a baby.

Jake with his parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents

Andrew and I have loved every minute of being parents.  It is crazy how fast he has grown.  He's not quite 3 weeks old yet and I can already tell he is getting bigger and bigger!

I cannot believe what a miracle it is to become parents and to love someone so much that you would do anything for them.  Andrew and I adore little Jake and are so happy to have him in our little family!

Jacob Andrew Olsen

Andrew and I were happy to welcome our little son, Jacob Andrew Olsen, into the world 12/29/11 at 11:12pm.  He weighed 7lbs 8oz and was 20 1/4 inches long.

My family came right after he was born to see him in the hospital, and then the next day my extended family make a long trip down to meet him for the first time.  This week Andrew's parents will come from Utah and stay with us for a few days, which we are very excited about.  My mom stayed with us for a few days this past week and my dad came down for one night to spend time with all of us as well.  It has been fun introducing our bundle of joy to our families.

My parents and baby Jake

My sister Kim and her husband Darrell, who were here from Utah on Christmas break- I was so happy he came before they left!

Today our little baby is 10 days old!  In some ways the time has flown by, but I feel like I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in forever (probably because the last weeks of pregnancy I didn't sleep great either).  I can't get over how much I love and adore this little guy. 

It has been so fun becoming a mom and I have really enjoyed watching Andrew become a dad.  He is so sweet with little Jake and I don't think I've ever loved him more than when I am up in the night feeding the baby and Andrew comes in just to say he loves me and to keep me company for a few minutes.  I am so happy and blessed to have such a kind, supportive husband and little Jake is so lucky to have a dad who loves him so much!

Here are Andrew and Jake dressed and ready to go home.  What a scary thing- leaving the hospital!!! 

In his car seat homeward bound

We got home New Year's Eve and weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves, or with a baby!  We were awake at midnight, but didn't even realize it until about 12:06 am when we happened to look at the clock to figure out what time he was eating.  I am certain this will be a happy new year for us- definitely a new adventure!

First bath

Sleeping in his crib

He has big, dark blue eyes which will probably turn brown.  His eyebrows are an exact replica of Andrew's!

Soundly sleeping on my lap

 
I am so happy to have a child of God in our home.  He truly is a gift and I am so thankful that Heavenly Father has entrusted him to our care.  It has been fun getting to know his personality more and more each day.  Andrew and I are so glad to be little Jake's parents!