One Month

As of today Savanna is six weeks old! However, this is her one month post :)

The word that seems to be used most often to describe her personality is "feisty"... by multiple people, at different times, and so it seems to be the consensus! I completely agree though. She is a sweetheart and definitely has some spunk! She also seems to be the most even match of both Ben and I in looks. At one moment she will look exactly like me or someone in my family and at another moment she's all Ben. Make no mistake though, her mad and crying faces scream "Kelli" ha ha. Her big eyes are all Ben, especially when she makes the buggy eyes, she perfectly matches a baby pic of her daddy.

She is losing her hair on top and it makes Mamma sad, but she's still the cutest! Her hair is the most beautiful reddish brown, and in the sunlight the red is very prominent. We love it and hope the red sticks around! She also has super fuzzy, stick straight up hair (which also matches Ben's baby pic... he really did have hair once!).

Savanna loves getting her diaper changed. She has literally never cried while having her diaper changed. On the contrary, if she is crying the moment I undo her onesie she stops and just enjoys the air. She doesn't even mind the cold wipes. She also loves her baths. Even when she starts shivering at the end she's still happy as a clam!

She's an excellent eater, and a wonderful sleeper ONCE she gets to sleep... she fights that one to the end! She eats about every 4 hours and usually only wakes up once in the night.

She is the most fun and the entire family is wrapped around her finger. The other night last minute we were looking for a sitter so we could go to the jazz game, and both her aunt and her grandma were willing to bend over backwards just for the chance to watch the little cutie. Aunt Kara even braved the horrendous snowstorm and icy roads for her. But what can I say, she is one cute baby! 

These eyes and fuzzy hair are a match for Ben's baby picture 

She is very long and skinny! NO idea where she gets her length from!

And she has the sweetest smile :)

Meet Baby!

Baby girl has arrived!!!!! Everything went perfectly, far better than we could have hoped for! 

Savanna Michelle Olson arrived on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 9:44 am. 

I woke up around 4 am on Friday with contractions, and around 6:30 they became consistently 7-8 minutes apart. They were uncomfortable but completely bearable. I took it easy throughout the day, trying to take a nap (although that was a joke since the contractions were MUCH worse when I was laying down... but I was so tired, so I would fall asleep and every 8 minutes I would sit up and wait for the contraction to stop, since I couldn't bear to lay down through it.) I also watched 17 Miracles to pass the time, the movie about the handcart companies. SO GOOD! I highly recommend it if you want a good spiritual pick me up that will undoubtedly make you cry! Anyway, around 3:30 the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart but not more intense than they had been. So Ben and I hung out and played games on our phone together. After dinner we headed over to hang out with Ben's sister and our friends. The contractions were  getting stronger but I still wasn't ready to go in. After all, I see labor every day at work and was quite aware how long first time labors usually last. So, I opted to play Scattegories in between contractions instead of hang out at the hospital! At 10:30 pm I called my work (aka L&D) and warned them we were coming in. Then I called one of my favorite nurses that I work with, and being the SWEETHEART that she is, she met me at the hospital to be my nurse (even though she works day shift with me, she was so kind to come and be with me through this!) 

I got admitted, IV started and checked. I was contracting every minute and a half and dilated to a 4.5, completely effaced and baby was very low. YAY! Around 1:30 am when I was a 6 I got the epidural. The contractions never really got too unbearable, although they were intense. I wanted to wait as long as I could to get it, but by this time I really just wanted to sleep! So I got the epidural and it was INCREDIBLE! Ben slept and I tried, and then at 8:45 I was ready. I pushed for an hour, although it didn't feel nearly that long. It was a beautiful labor and my sweet husband's face when Savanna came out was amazing. He has been completely wrapped up by his daughter and it is the most beautiful thing to watch. We are so so so blessed, and love her so much more than we ever knew we could! We are thanking our Heavenly Father constantly for this beautiful little package!

Just before pushing began

It was Dr. Hartman's birthday as well :)

A perfectly happy family.... even Max loves Savanna!

It is official

Well, it's official... we are building a new home, finally! We picked out the lot and the builder back in October and then got distracted by different lots and different builders and different floorplans... you get the idea. You know us, INCREDIBLY indecisive, both of us. So it wasn't until December that we began negotiations, but the offer was accepted and we had our builders meeting in the second week of December. After that we picked out our colors, which actually was rather fun, and not stressful as we had anticipated. Likely due to the fact that we basically copied the outside of one of the model homes... yeah, we're not much for risk. However, we did pick our kitchen colors from a small palate and have never actually seen the counters large scale... so you can only imagine how many times Ben has questioned our decision :) However, I love it and I think it will look wonderful. Plus the designer agrees so if it all turns out hideous I can really just blame her and won't have to feel too bad, right? On Friday we signed the construction loan so now it is official - they are set to begin digging this week! Oh, I can't tell you how thrilled we are! My in-laws have been SO SO SO kind to let us live here but we are excited to have visions of living on our own again in the future! If all goes well (and we know it usually has some bumps along the way) they should finish around the end of April, so here's hoping!

As for news from the baby front... there isn't much to report. The doctor estimates an eight pound girl if I go to my due date, which is starting to look like reality. I have been crossing my fingers for at least a few days early, but I shouldn't be so picky. She'll come when she's good and ready, I'm sure. I have eleven days til due date, and so far am not dilated or effaced. I picked up some raspberry leaf tea from the health store today... even if it doesn't help bring on labor (although that would be great if it did!) it's supposed to make the contractions more effective and thus shorten labor, so I guess it can't hurt. Besides that I think it tastes good with a bit of honey and helps me get all my water allotment in!

Hopefully soon a beautiful baby girl's face is smiling out at you from this blog... until then!

Family Pictures 2011

This one is my favorite :)

Ben and I had our family pictures taken yesterday before the baby comes. I think they turned out pretty cute~ Enjoy!

Still here... :)

This blog needs an update, although I will forewarn that it has no pictures! This would be due in part to the fact that my computer is sitting under a sheet in the basement of my wonderful in-laws' house ... which is also where you will find our bed and our clothes and our dog... oh yes, and us. That's right, we have become basement dwellers once more. After trying unsuccessfully to sell our house we decided to find the perfect renters, which we seem to have done. So far at least we are very pleased with the cute couple that has moved into our baby, that darling house in Ogden where we have lived for the last three and a half years. While Ben and I are searching for the next perfect house to move into his parents have been kind enough to allow us to stay with them. When we found out I was pregnant it moved up the intensity of the plans to move. You just kinda know when the timing is right, and so we are in the market! We are looking for something in the Davis County area, and house hunting is so not my favorite thing anymore... it sounded fun, like four months ago. Not so much anymore! However, all is going well and hopefully soon I will be able to give some good news from the homefront!
Baby Girl is growing beautifully, we love her so much! I can't believe how fast time is flying by, and I'm sure with the holidays coming up it will just continue to soar on by! I am 25 weeks now, and two people yesterday said something along the lines of "You must be about due, huh?" My sweet smile was followed by an inward growl which they of course couldn't hear! So yes, in case you haven't believed me before now, this belly is getting big! I have zero complaints though, because it means our sweet baby is growing and nothing is better than that! And despite my size I am feeling absolutely incredible. I have been blessed so far with the most wonderful pregnancy and little discomfort so I am definitely one grateful girl!
Lately I am loving this sweet fall weather, which brings the welcoming in of hot chocolate season and snuggling up to my sweet husband while it storms outside... one of my very favorite things. Now that baseball and football are on the tv pretty much ALWAYS, I have discovered a new favorite... laying on Ben's lap falling asleep as he plays with my hair while watching sports. Max joins in and usually ends up curled around my head or my feet or even occassionally he will plop down quite literally right on top of my face. Cute boy can't get close enough and he is quite the snuggler!
We are doing well, sorry for no pictures! Hopefully I will do better next time, but you all know me too well to place any bets on that!

Our story

So I can hardly believe that I am already 19 weeks pregnant. It's going by so insanely fast! Here I am at 18 weeks, although this belly is poking out so fast I probably already need a new, updated pic :)

I woke up early this morning when Ben went to play basketball, and I was laying in bed feeling completely overwhelmed with gratitude. So many of you have been so happy and thrilled for us and I want to tell you all thank you. You have no idea how grateful and touched we are to be so blessed by your sweet words and emotions!

So here's our story, for the record. Last March marked our two year mark of trying to get pregnant unsuccessfully. That time included a year where we hoped we wouldn't have to use medication, despite the doctor's warnings. When we obviously needed help after a year we began a rough year on fertility meds and tests. It was on to Clomid, which failed to cause ovulation. After that it was on to a different, more brutal pill. Three times a day everyday and sick for a few months. It was, quite honestly, awful and I was no peach while I was on it. Ben was a sweetheart for putting up with me. After about 4 months on that came the day I have previously written about, when my doctor informed me I was over his head and needed more help. All this time on these meds ovulation never occurred.

Although these were a hard few months, they were also full of blessings. Never did Ben and I really feel despair over this. We always just felt that it must not be the right time and were able to feel confident in the Lord that it would work out eventually. Don't get me wrong, I definitely had my moments. But Ben was right there to reassure me and to remind me that everything would be okay. This time also provided some awesome quality time for us as husband and wife, for which I am forever grateful. I have been blessed with one stellar man and I count my blessings everyday that we have forever together.

To continue, after the doctor gave me that little tidbit of information we began to plan our next move. Meanwhile I continued on my pills, just in case, and eventually combined the Clomid with the current pill. Still nothing. I had, however, gotten over most of the sickness caused by the pill, although there were still some sweet side effects to deal with. Nothing major but definitely annoying.

In February I discovered a big bump and it was off to the doctor again... It took a few visits but they eventually decided it was a hernia. Surgery was scheduled for March 30, and Ben and I decided to call it quits on the fertility meds before the surgery. After a lot of talk we decided to plan for artificial insemination in the summer, which would give my incision time to heal before hopefully getting pregnant. Just before the surgery, while sitting in Young Women General Conference with my darling beehives, I realized that it was time for me to go back to school. It was quite the clear prompting, and I got busy signing up for classes, figuring out our payment plans, meeting with counselors and adjusting my work schedule, since I had one month before summer semester started. So busy was I with planning school, and so excited to be going back, that Ben and I decided to postpone the artificial insemination. I was excited to be moving on with school and the end was in sight for my teaching degree. Pregnancy was put on the backburner and, you guessed it.... that apparently was all it needed!!

In the middle of May I began cramping and when it didn't stop, I began thinking I should take a test. Not that I thought anything of it, mind you, but I figured I would. On May 31st I was driving home from class and still cramping, nothing major just out of the ordinary. I decided to stop by the dollar store and pick up a few tests. Ironically, as I was driving, I had a funny (in retrospect) thought. Class had been really good that day and I was really getting into the learning groove again. I thought "It's good that I'm not pregnant because I'm so excited to be finishing school right now." Ha ha ha. I'm positive the Lord has a sense of humor and was chuckling at that one.

That night I took the test. Ben had no idea I was going to take one because really, there was no reason to tell him. I wasn't pregnant, right, so this was just routine, something I did every few months. Well, when the two lines appeared, I started shaking and breathing really fast and praying really fast (it went something like... "thank you thank you thank you thank you..."). I went and told Ben and he didn't believe me til I showed him the test.... And the rest is as you know it!

I have felt incredible, and been blessed to skip the pregnancy sickness. This little girl

(Did I mention that? IT'S A GIRL :))

is growing like a weed and measures long and lean. She is kicking out of control and made it quite difficult for the doctor to get a good heartbeat at my 3d ultrasound on Wednesday. Every time they tried she would start kicking and mess it up. LOVE HER! The placenta implanted on the front of the uterus so it's cushioning the movements, which is why I haven't felt any of it yet. I'm okay with that, since I am sure it will come soon enough. We are already madly in love with her and are so excited that she is coming to join our little family. One thing I do know for certain is that this life is one hundred percent in the Lord's timing. And we're so thankful that now is our time for this little angel!

And then there were three

Yes, that means I am pregnant! We are so very happy and feeling so incredibly blessed right now by our Heavenly Father. We couldn't be more thrilled! Baby O is set to make an appearance around January 21, 2012. As of today I am ten weeks, three days, although by the look of my tummy you'd think it was WAY more than that!

I checked this picture dozens of times to make sure it's real. Yep, it is!

Right after we found out and I stopped crying!

Don't mind Ben's goofy smile, I'm pretty sure he was in shock!

Max is still undecided, although he enjoys jumping on my belly, which is always a feel good moment.

10 weeks 3 days. See what I mean? A small bump appeared around a week and a half ago but I chalked it up to my imagination. However, there seems to be no denying it now. Apparently, baby is growing like a weed and there's nowhere for it to go but out!