Being Sick

So being sick is no fun. Especially when you are sick, pregnant and have a small child. Monday morning Olivia woke up throwing up. It wasn’t much and then she seemed to feel much better afterwards. She did not have much of an appetite, but otherwise she seemed fine. So Monday night, right when Andy came home (when I knew I could have some help) I started feeling terrible. I am not one to throw up so I resisted as long as I could. Then I decided that since Olivia had throw up and felt better maybe I should too. So I did and I did feel much better, but only for a short time. To make a long gross story short I was sick most of the night until I woke up Andy due to a fear of being dehydrating and causing trouble for the baby. Maybe a for a little comfort too. We called our doctor and she said that we should to the hospital to labor and delivery to get some of my fluids replenished. So at about midnight we woke up Olivia and headed out. Olivia was quite confused about what we were doing and why she was awake, but she was a good trooper for most of the experience. We did not return home until just after 4 AM and we were all happy to get into bed. So far today I am doing fairly well. I am seeing a new doctor today as I switched OBGYN’s and I am hoping she does not discourage me from getting on a plane tomorrow with Olivia to head to Iowa. As my mom said the trip there will not be fun if I am sick, but once I am there she can take care of me and Olivia.

On a side note I had made a list of projects Andy might be able to accomplish while he is a bachelor for the week, but to have one major project move up and take center stage. Our home was built in the 1960’s so things are bound to happen. Well on Sunday I stepped into the bathtub to say something to Andy through the window as he was outside. When I got close to the window I grabbed onto the tile and it broke apart. We knew this job was coming, but now Andy is trying to get it completed before I am back home. This involves him taking down the current tile and removing the fixtures and tub. Finding all of the new pieces we want to put in and then hiring a tiler to complete the job. We have found the tiler and he is coming on Monday so Andy has his work cut out for him. I am excited to see the final result

Hiding things

So one morning this week Andy had a really tough morning. He was missing everything including his sunglasses, car keys, and wallet. He searched for the longest time and finally found his wallet, took my key for the vehicle he wanted to drive and decided to go with his sunglasses as he was going to be late. About 20 minutes after he left for the day Olivia was playing and pulled his keys out of one of her toys. I called to inform him and at least he could feel a little bit better knowing that losing everything was not his fault. Now we will just have to watch Olivia a little closer with our things.

Growing up

Well Olivia is seeming more and more grown up to us everyday. She is now walking all over the place and trying really hard to talk. She can say a few words that we understand, but many of them are still a mystery to us. The other day I asked her to come to me and she said, “Mama, bla bla bla.” I have no idea what the rest of the sentence was but she had something she wanted to tell me. We have also been talking with her about the second baby on its way. When you ask her where the baby is she will lift up my shirt and either pat or kiss my belly. It is very cute. I am not sure that she really understands, but it is fun to think she does. She is also very interested in other children. When we go to the library she is immediately drawn to other little ones. Now that it is Spring here in Utah she is also really enjoying playing outside. She loves walking around and going down her slide in the backyard. Soon we will venture to a community playground to see what she can find there.

Baby #2

Baby number 2 is on the way! Many of you already know this, but for those you that don’t we are expecting our second child around July 15. We had our ultrasound this week and the baby has all of its parts! We did not find out the sex again, but I was very temped this time. When I was pregnant with Olivia I was not tempted to know at all, but this time during the ultrasound I said, “Are you sure we don’t want to find out?” Andy was strong and said no so we will be waiting a few more months to see if this is a boy or girl. T hanks goodness the morning sickness is gone now and I can just enjoy all of the changes my body is going through. Olivia is walking like a champ these days and I can tell that she is growing up since we are not taking so many pictures as we did in the beginning. My mom was here visiting for a week and I don’t think we brought the camera out even once while she was here. Do you think we will take any pictures by the time this new baby is born?

Happy Birthday Olivia

So we have made it one full year as parents, and so far so good. Olivia is alive and well and even seems fairly happy! We had a very small birthday celebration for her and she got to try her first sweet. She enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say that it was much different from seeing her eat other things. She is just a really good eater. Speaking of that I was a little worried that she would be over weight at her 1 year check up today but she was just fine. Her stats are 20lbs 7oz and almost 30 inches long. The doctor said she was even a little under on her weight for her size. So I guess she can keep on eating. The new things Olivia can do these days are take a few steps on her own, open up cupboards, click her tongue, make a great mad face, and give really nice hugs and kisses. Well maybe they are a bit messy on the kisses but they are still sweet. She is also working on learning her body parts. Recently she has been sleeping like a champ from about 8 PM until around 6:30AM. Last night however was awful. She woke up at 3AM and unless we were holding her she would not sleep. We are hoping that tonight is back to normal. Also just to share a piece of news, Andy’s cousin gave birth to a little baby girl on Olivia’s birthday this year! The baby was 5-7 weeks early, but is doing well. FYI there are a few newer pictures of Olivia under the 12th month tab.

Walkin’

It’s a treat to see Olivia grow and change everyday. It’s always something new. Just last week O took her first steps and boy was she excited. O and I were playing in the basement with her learn and groove, and I was able to coax her to let go and come to me 2 feet away. Since then she has taken a couple of steps with out us but for the most part is still crawling. She can now say ka-tee, mom, mama, dada, no, more, and ya. She’s a little crack up and keeps us well entertained.

Christmas part Deux

Part two of the Christmas adventure is the Hermanson Christmas at my parents. We had a great morning at Brian’s, picked up my brother Butch and headed for Faribault. This is the first time in at least 5 years we have had our whole family together for Christmas so I have been especially excited about Christmas this year. We decided to open presents early as dinner wasn’t planned until 6pm or so. Olivia caught on pretty quick to the Andy way of opening presents (rip and tear as fast as you can). She had a great time opening presents and I had a great time watching her. Olivia beat us all in the amount of presents she had to open this year, but I guess that is to be expected. Uncle Bob got her some great books that I think Miriam and I will enjoy as much as she will. All in all it was a great Christmas I will remember for years to come.

Christmas

We started Christmas off with a bang. We had presents to open dinner to eat, and church to go to within 4 hours of each other. Then it was up at 3:00am to get everything ready and get to the airport through the new 8 inches of snow got that night for our trip to MN to see our families. I wasn’t too jazzed at first either about leaving at 5:50am Christmas morning for flight but it turned out great. We got to Brian and Jen’s by 10:45, just in time to meet Miriam’s parents who had also just arrived from Cheriton, Iowa. We had a great Christmas dinner, opened presents and even had enough time to load the kids up on sleds and go for a walk in the park. The sled Olivia was riding had special significance to it as it was made by her great grandpa and used by Miriam and her siblings as children. Olivia, being the seasoned walker and outdoors person she is had no trouble staying on the sled as we walked through the park. This year has been one of the best Christmases I have had in a long time.

Olivia uses the potty!

Ok so most of you are going to think we are crazy, but we are slowly beginning to potty train Olivia. She has gone poop a couple of times on the toilet with Mom being the one to recognize when it is time to go, but last night was a whole new story. Olivia was crawling over a very large item in her way to get to the bathroom. Andy asked her, “Olivia do you have to go poop?” She responded in a baby babel, “Yeah.” We both looked at each other like, “Did we hear that?” Then Andy asked her again, “Olivia do you have to go poop?” This time she said a bunch of nonsense then said, “Yeah Dadda.” Again we were both completely shocked but thought what the heck. So Andy took off her pants and diaper and had her sit on the toilet. Within a couple of minutes she went pee. We of course were both thrilled. Not that she is potty trained, but that we are moving in the right direction. We have been told that because we are using the cloth diapers she is able to recognize the fact that she is wet more often and therefore be more motivated to use the potty.

On a side note last week Andy and I also got to experience having a sick child for the first time. Poor little Olivia had a temp of 106 at the highest. Which caused great alarm for her parents, but the doctors did not seem nearly as worried. They did check her blood and urine, but were unable to find anything alarming. With 3 days she was back to her normal self. Thank goodness!

O and the stairs.

It’s been a long time since I have written and a lot has happened. Olivia has changed a ton. Her personality is now in full swing and she is so much fun to be with. She is now an avid crawler and sometimes it is hard to keep track of her. She is next to me one minute and out of sight the next. Going up the stairs at the moment is easy but she is having a hard time going down the stairs. Once she gets to the stairs she can’t figure out how to turn around, so when she gets to the edge of the stairs she hangs at the edge and then decides her approach wasn’t good enough. So she turns around and crawls down the hall. I keep working with her and it is clear that she can understands what I am saying, so it’s a matter of time.