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!

Oh the places you've been

I love Doctor Seuss, and as I've thought about some of the fun things Andrew and I have done while we've been expecting our baby, the book, "Oh the Places You'll Go" came to mind.  I've been thinking that he has done some pretty fun things so far, but the things he'll do when he arrives will be so much greater!  I am so excited to teach him and see his excitement as he learns about the wonderful world we live in.  There really is so much to learn and experience, and I can't wait to be a part of that for him!

I am really bad at taking pictures, so here are a few of the fun things we've done and actually taken pictures of since being pregnant.

First, you attended Dad's graduation- this was even before we knew you were coming!  He received his Master's in statistics from BYU.

Then a week or so later you moved across the country with us in our little Mazda 3, which carried all that we have.  Here we are saying bye to Andrew's family in Utah.

Here is our car, all packed up and ready to go.

We found out on our way to Ohio in Laramie, WY that you are on your way!  I didn't believe the first few pregnancy tests, so we went to WalMart and bought a few more...sure enough they were positive!  It's kind of embarrassing and hick-ish, but we found out for sure in the parking lot of WalMart in our fully packed up car that we were expecting.  It took me quite a while to believe it, in fact I still really don't!

A couple of days later we picked up our dog, Kyle, in Ohio.  We can't wait for you two to be best friends!

Then we moved to just north of Chicago for the summer and stayed in a Marriott hotel for 12 weeks.  Unfortunately I was feeling a little morning sickness the entire time and definitely didn't love being cooped up in a tiny room all day by myself, but your dad was able to complete a great internship and the company paid for our stay and helped us build our savings.

Your Grandma and Grandpa Jensen came and visited us in Chicago and we spent a fun weekend seeing the sites and eating yummy Chicago pizza.

You also gave us a scare during the first trimester, so we spent a day in the hospital.

You attended your Aunt Kim and Uncle Darrell's wedding in the Columbus, OH temple and then went to their reception in Florida a few weeks later (which was the most fun you've had thus far)!

You went and saw the beautiful fall leaves at Mt. Gilead state park in Ohio.

My Aunt Carolyn had a wonderful shower for you in Avon Lake where you got a lot of your first clothes and toys.  Your family in Utah also had a shower for you a few weeks before that we attended through Skype.

We went to downtown Cleveland with my extended family this weekend.  We visited Santa and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and shopped around a little.  Your jokester dad told me my belly was bigger than Santa's!  Sad thing was, it's true!  Everyone got quite the kick out of it!  Your dad is funny!

The doctor said that if you don't come by the 29th, they'll force you out! I have an induction scheduled for 8:00am, but the OB says you might not make it that long.  I haven't loved watching my body grow, but I have loved getting to know you through your kicks and punches.  We can't wait to meet you and be your parents!  We can't wait to see all the great things you'll do and the many places you'll go!

30 months married, 30 weeks pregnant!

Today Andrew and I have been married 2 1/2 years!  To celebrate on our tight student budget, we ate out at Subway.  We actually went there a lot when we were dating and engaged because I worked at the Subway on BYU's campus and had a good discount.  We were remembering that we could split a $5 footlong, a cookie, and a drink for just 21 cents on days that I worked longer hours and had a coupon.  We probably did that a couple nights a week for dinner, so it did bring back good memories from being engaged.  We are so happy to be married and I can't believe how fast time has flown by together.  Happiness really is being married to your best friend!  Life together has been fantastic so far and continues to get better.  Today he brought me home some beautiful flowers and a cute note.  I'm the luckiest girl!!

Today also marks me being 30 weeks pregnant.  In some ways it seems like it has drug on forever, but the time is also flying by and I can't believe he's due to come in just 10 weeks.  Ever since we learned he was due January 3rd we have been hoping and praying that he'll make his appearance at least a few days early (I wouldn't mind a week or 2!) so we can have a tax break.  January 3rd is also the day Andrew's classes start back up at Ohio State after the Christmas break.  To top it off, he has a huge all-day test he can't miss and determines his future at OSU on the 5th.  I'm also realizing that the few less days of being pregnant would be nice too.

I can't believe how much our little man has taken over my belly!  I'm seriously getting worried that by time he comes I won't even be able to stand up because I'll just fall forward due to the extra weight on my front end.

Here are pictures from weeks 15-30.  It seems like some weeks I get bigger and the next I shrink down a little, but that definitely has to do with what I'm wearing, when the last time I ate was, and the fullness of my bladder.  Some weeks they are taken the first day of the week, and some weeks the last.  For example, my 29 week picture was last night and my photo from 30 weeks is today.  It's harder than I would have guessed to remember to have your picture taken every week!  Enjoy Andrew's photography skills :)

15 weeks

 16 weeks

 17 weeks

 18 weeks

 19 weeks

 20 weeks (by far the best week- spent in Destin, FL with my family)

 21 weeks

 22 weeks

 23 weeks

 24 weeks

 25 weeks

 26 weeks

 27 weeks

 28 weeks

 29 weeks

 and the big 30 weeks!

Andrew and I are so happy to be married and to be expecting our first baby!  Life is great and just keeps getting better!

We got a new dog...

...but she only lasted in our home for an hour.  She bit me like 6 times on the way home and Andrew twice.  Then we got into our apartment and she attacked Kyle and peed marking her territory everywhere.  We called the original owners back and drove her back.  I really thought it was going to work out well, and I'm sure she was a good dog like they said (she was really nice around them), but it just wasn't working for us.  We tried.  Sorry Kyle, you're going to be an only dog. 

Our Dog Kyle (named after the dog in the movie Despicable Me)

For months I worked on Andrew trying to get him to want a dog.  He was one of those kids growing up that went through a million pets but never got to the dog level, so I knew it wouldn't be too hard. 

We lived in an apartment for the first 2 years of our marriage that didn't allow pets aside from fish (which we went through a lot of), so as soon as we moved out in May we finally found the perfect dog.  In fact it was only less than a week after leaving Provo that we were in Ohio with our new little buddy, a Bichon Frise named Kyle.  I must admit it's a little rough when he wants to pee in the early hours of the morning (especially for Andrew who is always stuck taking him out), but we both love him.  He is a little ball of energy and always so vibrant and ready to play.



Here we are the day we got him

 Playing with one of his favorite toys, a giraffe that squeaks

 He has a thing for shoes

 A little sad after losing his manhood

 Just before his first haircut

 Such a happy little guy

 Just a few days ago we found him studying the scriptures.  He had actually flipped a page, and before we caught him on camera he was looking right at them.  Such a righteous little guy.

Hopefully he does alright with our little baby on the way!  We found out we were expecting just a couple of days before picking him up.

And now I'm working on poor Andrew trying to talk him into a second dog :)  Kyle isn't like the dog I had growing up that is perfectly happy just watching you do things and sleeping next to you.  He is extremely playful and is happiest when other dogs are around or he's receiving undivided attention.  I think having another dog around will help his transition into having a baby around a lot easier?  We're looking at one that is a couple years old already, has as much enthusiasm as Kyle, and that we already know is good around small children.

Any ideas preparing a dog for a newborn?