Boy Vs. Taters

Rice cereal was pretty much a fail.  It seemed to upset Hanley's tummy. It appeared to be hard for him to digest. So, we held off on anything else until recently.  I slaved over the stove cooking up the boy some sweet potatoes and what did I get in return? The most dramatic look of disgust.  I called for Cody and ran to get the video camera. His face was just priceless. As luck would have it, the battery was dead. Gosh, that must just be an Olson thing!

We kept trying each night with hopes that he would adjust to the new taste and texture because I was getting tired of being tied down to the couch feeding such a hungry boy ALL THE TIME!

My friend Katie suggested I just place it on his tray and let him experiment with it on his own terms.  So thats exactly what we did..

A clean boy, but not for long!

"Uh, I don't know about this Mom."

"It might not taste good but at least it's fun to play with!"

He is slowly coming around.  Last night Cody was able to get him to eat a full serving for the first time with minimal facial expressions...

Next week: Peas!

6 Months

 

My little man is 6 months old!

Stats:
Head Circumference: 17.5 inches, 80%
Length: 27.5 inches, 75% (he grew 2 inches in the last 2 months!)
Weight: 17 lbs, 7 oz, 55%

My goal was to nurse for the first 6 months. I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself with returning to work and all so I thought that was a realistic goal to set.  Here we are already at the 6 month mark and I can't imagine giving it up already.  Nursing was important to me because of the health benefits for baby (and the calorie burning for Mama!) but what I didn't realize is the extent of the Mama-Baby bonding it creates.  There were many times I wanted to give up in the beginning and I remember thinking "I totally get why so many women don't do this!" But I can say I am soooo happy that I stuck with it.  My new goal is now Hanley's 1st Birthday!

FINALLY Hitched

Well, I think  I can speak for everyone when I say we were all excited that they day finally came for Kramer and Rachael to say "I DO!". After all, they have been dating since BEFORE Cody and I even met! Here are a few more fun facts about the happy couple:

They met in statistics class at OSU- crazy odds eh?!
They have been together for 2949 days
Their first date was at McMenamin's in Corvallis
Rachael was known as the "library girl" in the beginning
Kramer bought her a MOOSE shirt in Canada shortly after they first met- Leave it to Kramer to impress a girl with a moose shirt! Haha

They had a beautiful wedding at The Oregon Golf Club in West Linn.

To start off Wedding festivities, we joined them for the rehearsal dinner Friday night at McCormick and Schmicks.  Joanne was nice enough to offer to take Hanley for the evening so he enjoyed a date night with her!  After not having an appetite all week, I was glad I was feeling well enough to eat dinner because it was delicious!

The Wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was short, sweet and very special because it was officiated by Mr. Tyler Inman! Yes, Tyler got ordained to perform the ceremony!

Rachael was a stunning bride!

These two make such a great couple, we couldn't be more happy for them!

Hanley did great at the wedding.  He got lots of love from everyone.  It was a late night for him for the second night in a row but he managed just fine.  These are especially the moments where I am grateful that he is a fairly flexible baby!

Hanley and Mindy

 

Hanley was guilty of breaking the dress code!!! It was so hot (In May in OREGON, I know...hard to believe eh?!) that I couldn't bring myself to put his pants on him.  Shortly after the ceremony, it cooled down and I put his khakis on! 

 

 

Family Photo...

 

 

I was so glad I finally got to see these two again!!! Last time I saw the twins, they were Hanley's age, now they are up and running (and not to mention absolutely adorable!)!

Thank you Kramer and Rachael for letting us be a part of your special day.  I know you two have a bright future ahead of you!

Hanley's 1st Camping Trip at the One and Only, Crescent Lake

I can't believe it, I pulled a Kim Olson.  I brought my new camera camping with us to capture Hanley's first camping trip.  Pulled it out to realize, I left the memory card at home. I was so disappointed in myself.  Cody chuckled a little and said "Oh, the story of my childhood. If my Mom remembered the camera, the battery would be dead."

When I told Kim what I had done, she said, "Oh bummer.  Well at least I brought my camera!" Then she pulled it out and the battery was dead...seriously.

So, we got a few iPhone photos from the weekend...

One thing I can say is that Crescent Lake holds such a special place in our heart.  It was so fun to take Hanley there for his 1st camping trip.  To top it off, we had EXCELLENT weather!

I think Hanley liked spending the weekend outside as much as Roxy did! Once the sun started to go down, it got a little chilly so here Hanley is all bundled up.

We went on a hike to the group site on the other side of the lake.  The men wanted to check out our annual site for Memorial Day weekend.

"Lets get this show on the road, Mom!"

Rox, Hanley and Cody set to go

Mama and Hanley checking out the group site. The guys spotted a site for the wall tent.

On our way back, we stopped at the lodge. Cody and I stayed for lunch and Kim and Loren took the baby and the dogs back to camp.

 

One tuckered out boy after the hike! Apparently it's tough work to have someone pack you around!

Despite me catching the flu (nothin' like breaking in your new tent with getting sick all over it, right?), we had an awesome time.  Looking forward to many more family camping trips.

Say Cheese!

Happy early Mother's Day to ME!!!!!!! I decided I didn't want to capture Hanley growing up with a bunch of iPhone photos so Cody bought me a new camera for Mother's Day.  We all know the Olson boys don't love having a camera in their face, but they better get used to it because I plan on putting this bad boy to use!

Last weekend Cody was in Seattle for Kramer's Bachelor party so Hanley and I headed down to Eugene. We first went to the park so I could play around with my camera...

But first I had to learn to use it! Thanks Amie for helping...

Hanley got passed around and many photos were taken...

I love seeing my Dad with Hanley!

 

Hanley and Oma

 

Hanley and Aunt Amie

 

Dr. Stuebing was in town from Alaska.  He hadn't seen Hanley since he was just a few days old!

One very loved little guy!



After the park, Kim and I grabbed yes, you guessed it...Cafe Yumm for lunch! Wayne invited me over for a BBQ so Hanley spent a couple hours with Oma and meeting Miss. Chloe (she's just 4 weeks older than him). In the morning, my parents had us over for my Mom's homemade cinnamon rolls and a cup of my Dad's coffee (another one of my favs!). Oh and yes, more photos were taken...



All the Uncles and Aunt Brooke

Oh, how this kid loves his Big Sis!

It may have been one of my favorite weekends away with Hanley to date.  We drove down there with no set plans (I usually OVERBOOK us!) and was able to just go with the flow which was extremely relaxing. Thankfully, I have a child that is flexible too!

Cody had a great weekend with the guys as well.  Although, I think his age really hit him! He realized he is no longer the young buck that used to be out all night! Needless to say, he came home exhausted...

Working Mama, Happy Boy

Work has been going great.  I actually love going in 3 days a week.  It's almost like a little break for me then I make sure to enjoy my special days with Mr. Hanley on Wednesday's and Friday's. I was talking to one of our patients this week who has a 2 month old.  She is getting ready to go back to work part-time next week and she asked me how it was going back to work.  I told her that as long as she is comfortable with the childcare, that going back to work is actually easier than she is probably anticipating it to be. It broke my heart when she told me how uncomfortable with the childcare situation she is.  She is taking her little man to a infant center which employees 1 gal to 4 infants.  She said she recently went to shadow and there were babies crying for far too long because the gal had her hands full. I hope something works out for her because I understand the feeling of wanting to find someone who will take care of your little guy with the same love and care you do for him.  This really made me feel so blessed to have found April.

When we started our childcare search, I told Cody that I was really disappointed in ourselves for not reaching out more to those in our community. After all, we love Oregon City and have set roots here but we barely know anyone in this little town. We have talked about finding a church here for several years now because we both grew up going to church and feel like it is important for our children to grow up learning the same morals and beliefs we hold. Each Sunday morning rolls around and we find ourselves too busy.  We need to stop making excuses, make it a priority, and just go! We know some of our neighbors well enough to borrow a cup of sugar when I am in the middle of canning and find myself 1 cup short, say "Hi" and ask about their dog named Roxy too, knock on their door and ask to cut down the DEAD tree that sits on the property line, tell them that the loud noise from their son revving his race car for HOURS is extremely disturbing, or ask about the chickens or new kittens we have seen in their front yard. But thats probably about it. However, as my pregnancy progressed, we ended up getting to know our neighbor's across the street much better.  They brought us dessert when we returned home from the hospital and brought Hanley a gift back from Disney Land, made Hanley and little hat when she first learned to crochet and enjoyed morning coffee and great conversation with me during my maternity leave. We quickly realized how great of neighbor's they are! Then, we met April through them and we quickly realized how great she was too! So, although we have done a poor job stepping out and becoming more involved with our community, we are thankful to have meet a few people who really make a difference in our life.

It's a great feeling to be able to go to work, knowing Hanley is in good hands. It allows me to focus on my work. However, there are moments (lots of them!) that I miss him greatly. Last week, April sent me some pictures of Hanley and Sophia. They made me smile and brightened my day in the moments that I missed him the most.

I love how Sophia has her arm up around Hanley and Hanley has his hand on her...So sweet!

Sophia's smile can just melt your heart!

It sure seems like they play well together!

I think it is great that these two will grow up with each other. They will learn to share their toys and Hanley will probably always strive to keep up with Sophia!

Bad Dog!

Wednesday afternoon, Hanley and I took advantage of the nice weather and went out back to play with Roxy...

Hanley got a wet diaper, so we went inside to change him and I checked on dinner. We were literally inside for 5 minutes and came out to this...

Roxy tried denying she had anything to do with the loss and destruction of the Bumbo (notice she refuses to look at me or the scene of the crime...) but we all know what really happened! She was a BAD DOG!!!!