29 MONTHS!

At 29 Months Old...

-Just days before Henrik's arrival, Kim and Loren came up and took Hanley to see The Bubble Man. Kim said he really enjoyed the show (and the popcorn) but he came home talking about the white truck that blocked Opa! They had went to grab sandwiches at a German deli after the show to bring home for lunch. When we all sat down for lunch, he told  me all about the white truck that blocked Opa in the parking lot at the deli. He talked about that white truck for weeks to come. I think he might have a little road rage when he grows up.

-Since bringing Henrik home, Hanley has transformed from a Mama's Boy to a Daddy's Boy. He loves to be Daddy's helper.  One day, the two of them replaced the headlight on my car.  For the next week, every time we got in the car Hanley told me "Mommy, I fix your car!". He was so proud of himself...and clearly took all the credit!

-Becoming a Big Brother meant we had to work a lot with Hanley on using "gentle hands" with baby brother and "giving Mama space" when I am nursing. I am happy to say that he hasn't smothered Henrik...yet.

Henrik doesn't really know what to think about Hanley!

-Hanley loves to rough house with Daddy.  Cody taught him moves like "Peoples Elbow", "Atomic Seat Drop" and the newest move is the "Pile Driver". I told his teachers that if uses any of those moves at school, they can talk to Daddy about it! So far, only once has he thrown down a People's Elbow. He didn't actually use the move on a child...he just showed off his move so the kids in class know not to mess with him...

-I once called Henrik "Big Guy". Hanley corrected me and said "No, He's Little Guy.  I'm Big Guy." So, now we are all clear on that...

-We took the child safety rail off his bed. Now he truly is rockin' a big boy bed.

-He's potty trained. Night trained too. It's nice to only have one in diapers at a time. He used to only poop at home.  He only goes #2 once a day and would save it up until he got home from school.  For whatever reason, he got over that and now will go at school too. One day him and Cody were out front doing yard work together.  He loudly exclaimed "Daddy I went poop in the potty at school today and it was a BIG ONE!!!". I think he made the neighbor (who was also outside) smile. Well done son.

-Meme was here for a week helping us with the kiddos during Spring Break.  We finally got a few nice days towards the end of the week. So, my Mom and I picked Hanley up from school early on Thursday and took him to feed the ducks and play at the park.  On Friday, My Mom treated him to a trip to the Portland Aquarium. Meme and him share a love for fish, so I think they both had a good time.

-We spent the weekend in Eugene for Easter. Hanley got to do two Easter Egg hunts!

-While we were in Eugene, we made a trip to the Fire Station with Jessica and her kids. Nathan was on the medic that day and on a call so we didn't get to see him but Hanley got to go for a ride in the fire truck. He absolutely loved it!

-Cody was in Texas on a business trip the first week in April.  So, Kim came up to help me with the kids while he was gone.  Hanley was sick with a cold and fever most of the week. By the end of the week, his fever broke and he was feeling a little better. He managed to muster up enough energy for a little trip to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn. We had a great time, but I wish he would have felt 100% so he could have fully enjoyed it.

Welcome Baby Henrik!

When Henrik’s due date arrived and he was still sitting comfy in the womb, I think I lost all hope.  All hope of being able to experience going into labor naturally.  I think I was completely convinced that my body just simply didn’t know how to go into labor. My next appointment with my Midwife was scheduled for Tuesday, March 17^th, which she warned me that we would have to start talking about a “plan” at that appointment if we made it there.

Monday night Kim sent me a text to just check in and see how I was feeling.  I told her I was feeling way too good to be going into labor anytime soon so we were just going to wait and see what my Midwife had to say at tomorrow’s appointment.

We tucked Hanley in for bed that night, having no clue that would be our last evening as a family of three.

At 2am, I woke up with some mild contractions.  By 2:30am, they were strong enough that I was uncomfortable laying down.  Cody woke up and asked if I was okay.  I assured him I was just fine and told him to go back to sleep.  I went downstairs and started doing dishes just to take my mind off the contractions. By 3:30am, I went back upstairs and woke Cody up.  I told him my contractions were 10 mins apart and I thought we needed to just start taking about a plan. He thought we needed to call the Moms and have them make the drive up but I hesitated.  I told him I didn’t want them to get halfway here and have my contractions suddenly stop.  It took him 15 minutes to talk me into calling my Mom. She of course jumped in the car and headed north right away. Cody called his Mom a short time later and said, “Chelsea’s having contractions.  You have time but you might want to think about coming up.” The plan was for my Mom to come to the house to take care of Hanley and Kim meet us at the hospital to be there for the delivery (since my Mom was present for Hanley’s birth, we thought Kim might like to be there for Henrik’s birth).

Cody and I threw some last minute things into the hospital bag but I kept insisting I could wait it out until my Mom arrived. Soon, I was having a hard time talking through my contractions. Cody timed them and realized they were only 3 minutes apart but I kept insisting I was just fine and we would wait.  “My worst fear is to get to the hospital too early” I kept telling him (I mean, how discouraging would that be to get to the hospital and have them send you back home because your not far enough along!).

Cody called Kim back and told her things were progressing fast and she better get on the road.

We figured my Mom was still about an hour out. Despite my reservations, we started making calls to see if we could get someone over to the house to bridge the gap until my Mom arrived because Cody was certain we needed to be leaving for the hospital. My first couple calls went unanswered. A couple minutes later my phone rang and it was our friend and old neighbor calling back.  I picked up the phone and Tammy didn’t ask any questions, she just said she would be right over! Talk about a huge relief!! She was there in 10 minutes stat then we were out the door.

The drive to the hospital was horrible.  I couldn’t sit through my contractions so I was on all fours with my knees in the front seat, my body slung over the center console with my hands on the backseat.

In triage, they hooked me up to the monitors and realized I was pumping out contractions every 2 minutes then checked me. I was 8 cm dilated. They didn’t waste any time getting us into a delivery room.

We walked into the delivery room at 6:00am. 

The nurse said, “Oh how exciting. Your going to have a Saint Patrick’s Day baby!”.

Cody (with his only other birthing experience being Hanley’s lengthy one) responded honestly with “Well, we hope we have a baby today.”

She looked at Cody puzzled and said “Um…I am off work in an hour.  Your going to be have this baby on my shift.” 

And she was right…

My water broke at 6:12am.  10 mins later, I was pushing.  Henrik Loren Olson was born at 6:48am. Everything just happened so quick. 

No INDUCTION, No medical interventions, they threw Henrik right up on my chest as soon as he came out and Cody got to cut the umbilical cord. It was the birthing experience I had hoped for.

Kim missed Henrik’s birth by no more than 5 minutes.  She walked into the room with a crying baby already in my arms.  I think if it was up to her, she would have had Henrik slow things down just a little bit!

We feel beyond blessed to have a happy, healthy little guy. We love all 7 lbs, 12 oz and 20 inches of him. He is simply the perfect completion to our family. 

Dragon's Vs. Sheep

I work for a Chinese dentist and we have a lot of Chinese patients.  So, I know a little something about the Chinese lunar calendar. 

Hanley was born the Year of the Dragon. The Dragon is one of the most powerful and lucky signs of the Chinese Zodiac. Some women in China plan ahead for years to try to have a baby the year of the Dragon. Dragon’s are generally strong, decisive, warm-hearted and thrive in social settings.  They are intelligent and ambitious so they have great chances at reaching considerable financial wealth but they are less motivated by money. Their true goal is to achieve power. They have a natural tendency to be leaders. Therefore, they often find much success in their careers.  They can be hot tempered and willing to take risks. To them, life is a colorful leaping flame.

Henrik, on the other hand, will be born the Year of the Sheep. Sheep are generally believed to be calm, mild-mannered, shy, generous, stable, sympathetic, and have a strong sense of kindheartedness. Though they are mild in disposition, they are tough inside, and never yield under pressure. They seldom speak in a straight forward way. They look upon the world passively.

One of our patients explained to me that Hanley will be very successful in life but his life will be like one big exciting “roller coaster” with ups and downs of all kinds. He will be willing to take big leaps in life and with that comes the risks and rewards. Then he explained that Henrik’s life will be much more like a calm “stream of water”- smooth, gentle, predictable. 

Looking back at Hanley’s birth, it was a wild ride for sure.  He wanted the power, despite every efforts of the rest of the world trying to force him out when he wasn’t ready. As I sit here at home, on Henrik’s due date, I hope and pray he enters this world in a much more smooth, gentle and predictable manner.

Happy Due Date Baby Henrik! Mommy, Daddy and Big Brother can’t wait to meet our Little Lamb! 

28 MONTHS!

At 28 Months...

-I am 39 weeks pregnant.  Hanley is about to be a big brother! This may very well turn his world upside down in the beginning but at some point he will learn to love and adore his new buddy and little brother!

-Hanley is well on his way to potty training.  He recently decided that he was going to be a big boy and use the potty.  I picked him up from school one day and his teacher asked, "So, who at home says Boomshakala? Hanley used the potty then jumped up and yelled "BOOMSHAKALAKA!" Daddy has clearly taught that boy how to celebrate :o) We have had very minimal accidents.  He's great at holding it (even through the night and at naptime) until we take him but we are not at the stage where he will tell us he needs to go. But when Mama is big pregnant and has to go every hour or two herself, it makes it pretty easy for us to remember to take him!

-Kim called us up and asked if she could have Hanley for the weekend.  We took her up on her offer knowing Hanley would love a special weekend at Oma and Opa's house and it would give us a chance to get some stuff done around the house before Baby arrives. My Facebook post Saturday evening pretty much sums up our productive day:

"A trip to Ikea, Home Depot, La-Z Boy and the grocery store + curtains and rod hung in nursery, baby clothes washed, Hanley's bookshelf assembled (in record Ikea timing according to Cody), wall shelf hung, sectional couch for upstairs ordered and 11 crock pot meals in the freezer = Nesting at it's finest!" 

And lets not forget about Hanley....He had an absolute blast! Oma and Opa took him to the Logging Conference which was a total hit!

-The following weekend was my Dad's birthday.  So, the 3 of us made a day trip down to Eugene. Other than the banana splits for the birthday dessert, I think Hanley's favorite part was watching my parents fish tank!

-Hanley has been Daddy's little helper in the yard lately.  Cody has been working long hours and most weekends so I can imagine working in the yard in not top on his list of things to do with his very limited "free time". We are probably one of two homes in our neighborhood that doesn't use a landscaping service and Cody still manages to keep our yard looking just as good as everyone else's. The best part about not hiring out our landscaping is that it gives Cody and Hanley the chance to do "Man Stuff" together outside.  I absolutely love looking out the back window and watching the two of them bond over pulling weeds or mowing the grass. One day, after working in the yard with Daddy, Hanley came inside for lunch and said, "Oh I am tired. Daddy works too hard!"

-Hanley was up at 5am this past weekend (both mornings!).  Judging by his mood, that was too early! Normally he blows me kisses before I leave his room for nap time.  He kept telling me he wanted to blow me kisses but then would just sit up in bed, clearly trying to stall and control the situation.  I told him he needed to lay down and blow me kisses or else I was leaving the room.  He tried to call my bluff.  I left his room and shut the door behind me.  It was the FIRST TIME EVER (in the 4 months that he has been in his big boy bed) that he got out of bed.  He pounded on his door and cried (okay more like screamed) "I blow Mommy kisses!" for awhile before crawling back in bed and going down for nap.  He took a much need looooong nap and woke up in the best mood!! And guess what? The next day I laid him down for nap and he didn't waist anytime blowing me kisses. When I left the room, he didn't make a peep.  I think he learned two important lessons. 1) Mommy means what she says and 2) Crying ain't gonna get you anywhere in this house!

-Cody and Hanley got their first Father-Son haircuts together! It was also Hanley's first trip to a Barber Shop. In the past, we have always taken him to Little Clipper's where he gets to sit in a car and watch cartoons while they cut his hair.  But, he's been all about being a big boy lately so we figured that meant getting a haircut like big boys do too!

26 and 27 MONTHS

My friend Marissa created a journal called "Forever Notes". It's a calendar based journal that I began using daily after the 1st of the year. I love everything about it! I find just a couple minutes in my day to record some of the daily happenings or the funny things that come out of Hanley's mouth! My Mom has not been too happy about me journaling because she always enjoys reading updates on our blog and journaling has almost replaced my blogging! I promised her to continue blogging as well. So, here is our latest updates:

At 26 and 27 Months...

-Cody and I spent New Years in Big Fork, Montana while Hanley spent the week in Eugene with Meme and Grandpa. I warned my parents when we left that Hanley would "tell" on them if they spoiled him too much....and he did! 2 days after our return, this happened:

Cody: "Hey Hanley, you want to go to Dairy Queen?"
Hanley (throwing his dump trucks aside and jumping straight up): "YEAH!!!!!!!"
(Cody looking at me like WTF? Because we have never ever taken him to Dairy Queen or even talked about it before. He should have NO IDEA what DQ is!)
Cody (testing Hanley): "Okay, what do you want at Dairy Queen?"
Hanley: "I want a TREAT Daddy! I want an ice cream treat!"
Me (laughing): "Okay...WHO took him to Dairy Queen?"

I automatically placed the blame on my Mom.  I figured Kim and Loren would have fessed up to it right away (like they did when they took him to get his first ever Happy Meal). So, I confronted my Mom. "So Mom, What did you order Hanley at Dairy Queen?". She looked confused and when she denied it I could tell right away she was telling the truth.  Then I looked over to my Dad who sat there trying to act like a fly on the wall and had G.U.I.L.T.Y written all over his face! I couldn't help but laugh. Sorry Mom!

-Cody and I completely enjoyed our road trip and week away, despite the -15 degree temperatures (yes, you read that correctly- NEGATIVE DEGREES)! The first night we stopped in Coeru d'Alene, Idaho then made our way into Big Fork the next day. It had snowed just days before we arrived. We hiked through a foot of snow to our cozy little cabin in the woods.  We saw several deer just 10 feet from our cabin pretty much every time we looked out our window. It was cold but it was dry, sunny and beautiful the entire time we were there. We explored Whitefish and Glaicer National Park. Everything about the week was relaxing! I was so glad we chose to do a road trip because it meant there was absolutely no time schedule at all.  There was no hustling to catch a flight, return a rental car, experience travel delays/gate changes/etc.  I might even say it was one of our most relaxing vacation yet.

-We were sick for the bulk of January.  This has been a horrible cold and flu season.  Hanley was home sick for 2 weeks and even ended up at the Dr.'s on an emergency basis, getting pumped with IV fluids.  He went through 2 rounds of antibiotics to finally kick his respiratory infection, sinus infection and left ear infection.  It was brutal to watch this sickness bring him down so hard.  He had no energy and no appetite. I secretly (or not so secretly) loved all the cuddles though! My journal those 2 weeks is filled with iPhone selfies of our sweet boy passed out in my lap. Cody and I were sick too.  It was a pretty sad scene at our house with all 3 of us just struggling to just get through each day.

-Cody celebrated his 30th Birthday!

-Cody was also busy studying, working long hours, and traveling for work the past 6 weeks which meant he wasn't home much.  It's hard to see how his busy work schedule directly effects his relationship with Hanley.  When Cody returned home from his trip to California, the next morning when Cody went to help Hanley with something, Hanley pushed him away and said "No! You go back to work." Those were some tough words to hear for Cody and I both.  So, I started having conversations with Hanley about how Daddy works really hard because he loves us and takes care of us. Then, Hanley started saying "Hanley work really hard" when he would use his play tools to 'fix' something around the house or help cook dinner. It was cute to see him want to 'work' as hard as Daddy.  The following week, Cody was in Las Vegas for work.  When he returned at the end of the week, Hanley was soooo excited to see him! He was in an unbelievable, crazy good mood after Cody's return.  That night as we got him ready for bed he said to me, "Daddy read story tonight. I sit on Daddy's lap. Mommy listen to book and be quiet!".  I loved seeing him so happy to have Daddy home instead of trying to punish Cody for being away. Hopefully he is starting to understand that Daddy may have late days at the office or spend a couple days traveling out of state but that he always comes home to us!

-Amie, Jess and Kim threw an amazing baby shower for Henrik and I! I still can't believe all the time and energy they put into even the smallest details for the shower. I had a great time, felt very blessed to have so many amazing ladies in my life and I am now starting to feel slightly more prepared for Henrik's arrival.

Tractor Party Favors!

Coolest Diaper Cake EVER!

Tammy ordered these cookies for the shower! They were amazing and beyond adorable!

25 MONTHS

So, I am still trying to catch up on blogging...

At 25 Months...

-Right around Hanley's 2nd birthday, he started trying to really test boundaries.  I would say there were about 2 or 3 really rough weeks right about that time.  It was a little overwhelming first because part of me just wanted to scream at whomever took our sweet boy and left us with a little cranky monster! Cody and I did our best to stay firm and consistent with him and slowly we saw signs of the terrible 2's diminish.  Thankfully, our easy-going, sweet boy is back and we hope the Terrible Two Fairy leaves us alone!

-Around that same time he was testing boundaries, he also slipped into a stage of sleep regression. So we had a cranky boy during the day and a sleepless boy at night. Horrible combination for everyone! One night he even climbed out of his crib. A week later, we switched him to his big boy bed and he's been a great sleeper since.

-Speaking of his big boy bed. My gosh, he loooves his new bed (and dump truck bedding)! I was worried about the transition.  Everyone told me to be prepared for him to climb out of bed 50 times each night and such. We have had no problems at all with the transition. The first night was a breeze. It's been almost 2 months since he's been in his big boy bed and he has never once even tried to get out of bed.  Even in the morning, he still calls for us to come get him. When we walk in, he just sits up in bed and says "Mommy, I wake up."

-Not only does Hanley love his new bed but he loves all his "babies". He officially has 9 babies that he sleeps with now.  It's pretty ridiculous. Cody does "role call" each night with all his "babies". It's so cute that I am going to have to video tape it one of these nights. Some nights after role call, he will look around and say "Look at all these babies!".

-Hanley got a workbench for his birthday.  So, he walks around the house daily with his tools in hand saying "Hanley fix it".

-We celebrated Thanksgiving in Eugene with both families.

Olson Fam

Stuebing Fam
 (even Uncle Caleb made it from Alaska!)

Hanley's 2nd Birthday!

So, I am waaaay behind on the blogging but Hanley had a great 2nd birthday.  His birthday celebration was 2 weeks long! It first started with his early birthday party.  Since Cody was going to be out of town on his real birthday, we celebrated early. Despite doing a construction themed birthday for his 1st birthday, we did a Dump Truck themed birthday for his 2nd birthday. He loves dumps so we figured, why not?! I made the cake.  I was pretty stressed out about it but kept trying to remind myself that it doesn't take much to impress a 2 year old!

While I got everything ready for the party, Hanley got to go on a special tractor ride with Daddy. Our friends Cam and Sarah have some property not far from our house and let Hanley come ride their tractor!

Uncle Wayne and Aunt Brooke were out of town the weekend of Hanley's birthday party so they took Hanley and I to Tillamook the Saturday before his real birthday. It was a busy day: Breakfast at their house, Tillamook Air Museum, Tillamook Cheese Factory, Grandma and Grandpa Robideau's house, then out to dinner. We both had a blast!

Kim and I both took Hanley's real birthday off of work. So, he got a special day with Mommy and Oma at the Portland Aquarium. When I put him to bed that night, I asked him if he had a good birthday.  He said, "I fun with Oma.  I see big fish.  I fun day Mommy."

His last birthday celebration was at daycare.  So, when he returned to daycare the next day, everyone celebrated with special birthday cupcakes for our birthday boy!

It's hard to believe that our little guy is already 2! Happy Birthday Mr. Hanley. We love you.