some new pics of the family

Baby Log, Stardate Feb.14. 2009

First of all, I want to wish my little girl Eryn a Happy Birthday. She is such a sweet and helpful little girl and we are so blessed to have her.

second- Update on the newest addition.

We have decided that we will call him Ryan. So, that is what we are calling him. Sharel and Ryan got to come home yesterday around noon. We had a wonderful nurse who I think worked extra hard to get us discharged before noon. We came home and Sharel went to bed. So far Ryan is very quiet. He eats every 3-4 hours and seems content to either sleep or look around. I know that they say newborns can't smile and they can't see, but last night Ryan was looking around while I was talking to him. His eyes were darting back and forth like he was trying to focus on something. He finally looked right and me, and then he smiled. It only lasted for a second and then his eyes were back to moving around. Maybe I just have that new father naivetee, but I think he was able to focus his eyes on me for a second and liked what he saw.

Anyway, he so far is quite content and easy. Sharel and I find ourselves doing things we never would have done with Eryn and Rachel, like leave him sleeping in his bassinet in the bedroom while we eat dinner, or leaving him alone in the living room while we go look for a diaper. We know he is in no danger, and it is nice not to have new parent jitters.

All the kids have taken a shining to him, even Grant. We were a little worried that Grant would be jealous, but so far he has not. Not to say that he won't ever get a little jealous, but he is actually quite gentle and soft with Ryan. Of course Eryn wants to hold him every second and she does a great job of it. Rachel has been the most reserved so far, but even she wants to hold him and play with him.

I will post more videos and pictures when I get the chance.

Peace- I'm out.

John Ryan Ross Olsen

I know it is a mouthful, but we couldn't decide and it was between these names, so we decided to have our cake and eat it too!

Here is some video for all you too far away to see him.

Ummm.....Hello everyone

Ok, so I know that I do not write. Mostly it is because I am trying to catch my kids, or catch up on the housework, or sleep. I have felt the worst during this pregnancy than any other and it doesn't allow a lot of time to do blogs. Plus, I sometimes am a perfectionist and don't want to do something, unless I know I can contribute a lot of time to and make it exactly as I want it, but oh well.

I will write just for you Merilee!

Things have been going great for the baby despite the awful feelings I have had. He (we think maybe John Ross will be his name) was breech for awhile, but has turned around now. So once again, a textbook pregnancy is about to end in a couple of weeks.

I have tried not to get to anxious this last month, but I think that happens no matter what, so I am feeling like I need to go in a week (ha!).

Eryn is doing really great in school and still loves it. She is continuing to learn how to read and loves her teacher Mrs. Mendoza. I think any thoughts I ever had about homeschooling the kids, she has dispelled that thought (at least for her), because I think others would do a better job of teaching her. I think she would not be happy at home learning. She needs to be able to be social at the same time.

Rachel is excited about her brother coming and always asks about him. She loves to give him hugs and kisses all the time. She is also learning how to read and actually enjoys learning. I think she may become "the cutest nerd". She really does love to explore and learn.

Grant is still Grant! Boys really are a different breed from girls, but so much fun! I love watching him play and explore and grow. I am a little concerned for when little brother comes because I think that there may be some jealous feelings there, but I am sure we will make it through.

See....really boring around our household. Well....at least Danny can make things seem interesting and fun. Love ya babe!

Oh, and I would have to say that Danny would be the best superhero of all time. No explanation needed.....

Once every other month posting...

Thanksgiving- It was good, a quiet Thanksgiving spent at Mom and Dads with Korynn and Bryan and Bo and Andrea. 3 pregnant women under the same roof and everyone lived. It was a super beautiful day, and Sharel and I sat in Mom and Dads back yard in their comfy Cabelas chairs and watched the kids play. I even fell asleep.

Things are going fairly well with us. We are almost done painting the living room, and have ordered carpet for the living and family rooms. Hopefully it will be put in before Christmas. After that we have laminate flooring we will put in the kitchen and dining room. We are quickly outgrowing this house and need to sell it and move into something bigger, hopefully we can do that in the next year, year and a half.

Eryn is doing awesome at school. Her teacher, Sister Mendoza from the 3rd ward, recently asked the kids how to cook a turkey and wrote down their responses. Eryn's "I love to cook with my Grandma so I add some salt and sugar and cook it in a rice cooker for 5 minutes."

Rachel, oh Rachel, where do I begin? She is definitely into learning. She has Eryn and Sharel show her how to write letters, and she is even trying to read. She loves punching me in the gut when I get home. She is also the sweetest little girl out there.

Grant is Grant, most assuredly a boy. He likes to rock out in his Batman pajamas or his Fireman pajamas. He picks up random things and turns them into guns, (I really had nothing to do with this, I think he learned it from Eryn playing cowboys and bad guys). He is throwing less tantrums, and his vocabulary is shooting up. Above all he tries to make is laugh when he knows he is in trouble. When that fails, and sometimes it doesn't, he still throws a tantrum. But we still love him.

Sharel is doing just fine with the pregnancy. Obviously things are a little more difficult for her as this has been her hardest pregnancy so far. We are getting excited and have not really settled on a name as of yet, or haven't even really thought of one to be honest. But we are getting excited, until we realize that we have not had a good nights sleep in almost six years and nothing is going to change for another couple of years, or decades.

I hope we are all caught up now, and I will try to get Sharel to post more often.

Here lieth a new post...

So, we haven't written in a while- so here is the update.
1. It's a boy!!!!
2. Sharel is mostly over her morning sickness.
3. I am the new Scoutmaster- (awesome for me.)
4. I still don't like Obama.
5. Neither do most of the people in our ward.
6. I still don't like McCain.
7. Neither do most of the people in our ward.
8. I am applying to graduate school. (fingers crossed)
9. We are happy.

There you go, a quick update- hopefully more detail will follow,

Peace - I'm out!

Wow, it has been too long since we have written, but I have felt the peer pressure (thanks alot Caryn!) and thought I should catch up.
The end of May Danny graduated (with honors I might add!) from Columbia College in Columbia, MO. He was able to take his classes online so that helped. We were going to get me started on school again this coming year, but we both felt impressed that he needed to keep going and get his master's out of the way. A lot more work, but it will be well worth it.

We are not moving as soon as I would have liked, but we are doing alright where we are (the whole bloom where you are stuck...I mean planted has had to come into play)

The big news is that I am pregnant again! We have felt "the push" for couple of months and of course all Danny and I have to do is look at eachother and we get pregnant. But, we make the cutest kids, so we figure we cannot stop. We would be doing the world a disservice by not having more.
This will be the longest break in-between kids, but we still may have two in diapers again...but Grant has actually initiated going to the potty by himself many times (and made pee-pee! His words....).