Shelby

 Shelby Elaine Olsen

9lbs 1oz

21 ½” long

12/12/12

Just like the other two, Shelby joined our family via C-section. My due date was the 19^th but they will allow you to schedule a C-section one week in advance, hence the 12/12/12 date. Nothing significant about it, just worked out that way, though it makes it really easy to remember and recite when others ask for her birthday. :)

Everything when smoothly prior to her birth. We are so grateful for the anesthesiologist who listened to the problems I encountered when Everett was born and didn’t just swat my concerns away. When Everett was born the first spinal block they gave me didn’t work so they made me sit up and get stabbed again, which ended up working. I told the anesthesiologist about that and he said he would do both a spinal and an epidural at the same time in case the spinal failed. Well… the spinal failed again and due to his planning, he just upped the epidural medicine and all was well.  Later he was talking to me and because of the precautions he took, it was most likely that the drug most commonly used in Spinal blocks - bupivacaine, is simply infective for me. And it was likely that they gave me an epidural for the second poke when Everett was born. He said… “Remember that if you ever have to have surgery again.” :)

Anyway, prior to Shelby’s birth, we decided not to know the gender ahead of time, so it was a happy surprise when the doctor said, “it’s a girl.” (We were kind of hoping for a girl.) She came out with LOTS of long, dark hair. I have my fingers crossed that she will keep it as my other two have faded to a light brown/blond color.  She also has dark reddish skin, so much so, that we toyed with the idea of naming her Scarlett, but Shelby just seemed to fit better. Her middle name is after Mike’s mom.

So far she is a wonderful baby. Sleeps a lot, nurses well, wakes up once or twice during the night to eat and then goes back to bed. (Except for last night… not so much fun :)) Daylin and Everett are good big siblings. Daylin in particular loves to hold her, and be helpful when she can. My recovery has been a breeze for the most part. They even let me leave the hospital 29 hours after she was born!!! I would so rather be at home than at the hospital. I like having my husband around to help, and sleeping in my own bed... even if I have to go back to being a Mom full time. I feel great... just wish I could go running already. Soon enough I guess.

Also of note, my mom and sister where able to come up and stay for a week. It was wonderful to have them here. I love having my family around!!! 

Welcome little Shelby!

Sewing

Worked like mad to finish up some Christmas Sewing Projects before the baby comes... in 40 hours :) 

When I was pregnant with Daylin, I had the people who came to the baby shower draw a quilt square. Well, 4 years later, I am finally getting around to making a quilt out of them. It turned out well, but I'm not a huge fan of machine quilting this size of a quilt. I think I'll stick to a professional doing it.

 I also made some double sided capes for the kids for Christmas. I pinned some pillow sheets on their back the other day, and they fell in love, so I thought I would make them the real thing. Love a project that only takes a day to complete.

Alright, projects done, house clean, fridge stocked... ready for Baby to come now.

Everett's Birthday

Our little buddy turned two this week, though he has been practicing being a "terrible" two for a while now. Just as stubborn and independent as his sister, these two are peas in a pod. Though I have no idea where they get these personality traits. :) 

The day here was very cold, so we put on the new hat and gloves from Grandma O and headed to the park anyway.

Later, I made Everett a motorcycle cake, Daylin was very helpful: practicing her icing penmanship.

Then we had family over for dinner and festivities, where he was spoiled with presents and fun.

Two little things that describe what our little man is up to right now.

• He usually only uses one word at a time, but he is always very good about which word he says and how he says it, such that he communicates very well. I find it pretty adorable.. most of the time.
• As indicated above, he LOVES motorcycles: watches the big ones as they go by and has been completely absorbed with the two new toy ones he got yesterday. He also has an ear for how the motor sounds as compared to cars. He can usually hear one coming before he sees it and waits anxiously for it to come into view.

We sure do love our little guy.

Daylin's Birthday

Well we officially have a four year old. I snuck into her room this morning and wished her a happy birthday. She responded that she wasn't 4 until she ate her cake. um okay... Then later after eating a large dinner she couldn't finish her piece of cake, and she asked me if she still had to be 3 because she didn't finish. :) Silly girl.

She had a wonderful day. We went to the park in the morning. 

 And later she got to pick out a movie to rent, The Lorax. It certainly kept both of the kids' attentions. Later, while Everett was napping she got to help me make the train cake... and sample all of the components. Then we picked up Dad from work, raced home and had her cousins over for dinner and cake. The food was delicious, and partying with cousins afterward was a lot of fun. The kids were bouncing off the walls with all the sugar/candy they consumed from the cake.

She was showered with gifts from various relatives, but as wished for... and anticipated by her parents, the freshly painted/customized bike was a favorite. She asked if she could ride it to her cousins house by herself since she had a helmet now. Um no...  

(A not so good before shot, but a cute one of her helping Everett ride the bike)

(After hours of work to refinish it for her)

It was a great day! 

Last weekend we also celebrated Daylin's birthday by going to a fun jungle gym and the local "airplane" museum, home of the famous Spruce Goose. The kids weren't as interested in all the planes as Mike was, but they sure had a great time in the Kid zone.

Thank you to everyone who made this birthday so special for her. We love our little Daylin so much!! She is so smart and energetic, she constantly baffles me with how much she is able to understand and retain.

Much to say....

Yep, been a while. It's been busy, but I'm also really lazy at blogging. So we have been having a lot of fun...

A coast trip with my family. We stayed here this year... awesome!

And this was the view each night

 We flew kites...

 

 And "played" in the water

 

 The sand was definitely a favorite

 

 

Mike tried his hand at fishing with little success unfortunately.

Loving on the stuffed animals that Grandma gave out.

And hanging with cousins.

We did a 1/4 mile dash for the kids. They all did so well!!!

We did a tasting game... Daylin loved it.

I didn't take it so well.

My brother brought up his soft serve machine. Pure heaven. I made myself sick eating so much. :)

 And once again, Kyle and I got paired up (randomly) for the Ladder Ball tournament and dominated for the second year in a row!!!

 

 Our Family

 

And then there are the more serious (but still awesome) things to mention.

Number 3 is on the way. Coming around December 12.

We decided to let it be a surprise... but Daylin is confident it is a girl. I personally have no idea. I definitely think she could use a sister.  But we probably won't pick a name Daylin has suggested. She likes to be... "creative" with her selections. (Gelse, Josee, Toosee, Falansee, etc..)

Mike got a new job... his ideal job in fact for the company he has had his eye on for a while. It is a treatment center in Newberg (on the outskirts of Portland), where he finally gets to be a therapist. We move it 3 weeks. Yikes. Much to do. But we are really, really excited for the opportunity. Sad to be leaving the area, and the close proximity to my family, but it just so happens that I have a brother who lives there, and him and his wife have children close in age to ours, so we couldn't be happier with the location.

We have been concerned with Daylin's behavior for a while now. She has constant mood swings and trouble focusing. My mom suggested altering Daylin's diet and it seems to be making a significant difference. With the removal of dairy in particular we are seeing a much happier Daylin. Hurray!

That's about it for now! More updates to follow.

Hiking

For the 4th of July we went down to Etna to spend the day with family. We had a nice picnic with extedned family, but we were also able to sneak in shotgun shooting and a hike to Taylor lake with the siblings. However, I only took pictures of the hike.

There were many rock throwing contests while up at the lake. Here is a video of the left handed throw.

And here is just a sweet picture I captured the other day of Daylin and Everett holding hands.