Let the nursery building begin!

Ben and I decided to start putting together our nursery tonight.  It meant packing up a whole wall of bookcases and then assembling the crib.  After a little more than an hour, we had successfully completed our mission :)

Handmade mobile (from Etsy) to hang above the crib

Ben getting to work

Ta da!  

All of his friends are waiting for him :)

22ish Weeks!

So many things to report!

First and foremost, Harlan has a cousin.  Jarod adopted a 4 year old golden over the weekend named Thina, and we cannot wait to meet her :)  It will be nice to have Harlan romp with someone his own size (which as you can see below, does not always happen-- picture from doggy daycare).

Second, I just returned from a great trip to Chicago with Karen and Allie.  It was a fantastic girls weekend full of shopping, eating, and talking (what else would you do on girls weekend?).  We did enter the art museum, but only to peruse the gift shop :)  The highlights for me were the great conversation and ENORMOUS piece of carrot cake from Grand Lux.  I get screened for gestational diabetes on Thursday, and I'm pretty sure I will still have sugar in my system from the piece of cake.  But it was worth it ;)

Third, our little boy is 22 weeks and 3 days along.  Last Thursday Ben and I felt his first kick/karate chop.  I had been feeling little bubbly bursts from the inside, but we were watching TV together and I had my hand on my belly and felt this "pow!".  I grabbed Ben's hand and luckily there was another jab right after that he was able to feel.  It was pretty amazing.  Then we both realized there is a living thing inside of me trying to kick his way out, which is so bizarre.  

Our little boy weighs a pound and is over 11 inches long.  He is about to start putting on fat and getting chubby, which is fantastic. He also has little tooth buds forming in his gums, which is surreal.

We also got our crib and mattress delivered over the weekend, so nursery assembly is about to begin.

Ben leaves Sunday for New Mexico, so he is busy preparing for his presentation and is also in an absolute writing frenzy; but overall, seems to be doing quite well with such a high stress time.  

Baby Boy is 21 Weeks Along!

Our baby is now almost a foot long (10.5 inches) and weighs over three quarters of a pound (about 13 ounces).  Some fetal development trivia for you, he now has eyebrows and eyelids.  We have yet another ultrasound in a month, so we should have more pictures to share at the end of November. 

This is one of our rare weekends at home together, so Ben and I have big plans to sit around and do nothing :)  Well, we may hop over to the Hawkeye tailgate for a bit on Saturday, but that is very weather-dependent. 

The only other update on our end is that Harlan got bit THROUGH his ear at daycare on Wednesday (like a piercing).  I was furious, but Ben is pretty convinced he did something to deserve it... (which is probably true).

Looking Back...

I thought I would post pictures from back when we first got Harlan-- these are from his photo album when he was 'Puppy of the Day' on the Daily Puppy website... because he was so stinkin' cute.

 

St. Louis Weekend

I just spent the weekend in St. Louis.  It was a great trip, and it was wonderful seeing everyone.  Friday night I logged some extra time with Ben and Harlan since it is always difficult being away from my boys.   

BEST PICTURE EVER.   Harlan fell asleep half way off the couch.

Harlan and Ben watching TV.

Look at those jowels.  

Now on to the other cutest boy :)  Josiah is a speed demon on his big wheel.

Carving Pumpkins.

Punkins.

Big Wheel Video

This is a leftover since I forgot to add it before... When the Olson's were down visiting last Friday, this was how we told them we knew that we were having a boy.  We added blue food coloring to the cake, so when Karen cut into it, the cat was out of the bag.  

 

Mallory's Fabulous Red Hair + Josie

 

 

20 Weeks-- Half way there!!!

Good morning family & friends, and happy Friday!

Today our baby is 20 weeks old :)  Which means I am halfway done with being pregnant, and I must say, that's a little said because so far being pregnant has been fun!  No excuses required for excessive napping and eating and people are nicer to you (especially the women that work in maternity stores, my god I swear you've never met a more accomodating, joyful bunch in your life..).  Of course not having morning sickness, or any sickness, makes pregnancy a bit more enjoyable (or so I've been told...). 

At 20 weeks our little boy weighs about 10.5 ounces and is 10 inches from head to heel (the length of a big banana).  Up until now he was totally curled up, so they measured him from head to butt, but he is going to start stretching out and will be measured by his total body length from here on out.   Also, he has taste buds now and there is evidence that babies & children are more open to flavors that they experienced inutero after they are born, so a little pressure on me to eat a variety of foods and not have a baby who is craving reeses pieces and cheetos :)

Ben and I have two names picked out, and while we say them out loud at home all the time trying to decide if one is better we have a feeling we will need to meet him before we pick his name.  And yes, we are going to keep his name a secret, he will get to be the first person who hears it :) 

Everything else is going great in Iowa!  We were able to visit with Ben's Aunt Michelle and cousin Nick last night as they passed through Iowa City, which was great.  And this weekend I'll head down to St. Louis. 

Harlan is doing great.  He is entering hibernation mode and does not like waking up while it is still dark outside.  But we make sure he gets plenty of activity even though he would rather be napping :)  This picture is from doggy daycare on Wednesday. 

Wobbly Pregnancy

As any of you who have been pregnant know, dizziness is a common event in pregnancy, as is worsening balance.  Ben and I are both working from home this afternoon, and anytime I move I know he is watching me because he is a very protective husband and I know he is just waiting for me to teeter over.  I just jumped up off the couch (not for an emergent reason, unless getting a comforter from the bed and snack refill counts as emergent, which I think it does), got dizzy, wobbled around a bit, regained my footing, and went off to get my stuff.  I could hear the pitter patter of foot steps following me and when I turned around Ben gave me a big hug and said, "I love you.  But I might wrap you in bubble wrap until the baby is born."

Baby Boy Olson

We are having a boy!!

We had an appointment on Friday and were able to see our little baby boy.  This time, he looked like a tiny human instead of a gummy bear!  On Friday we were exactly 19 weeks along.  We found out that he weighs 9 ounces, and that he looks very healthy so far.  Here are pictures of our little boy :)

Sucking his thumb

Picture of his little brain!

His mouth is open in this picture

 his little spine

Now that we know we are having a boy, I have gone into full blown nursery planning mode.  It will be no surprise to any of you that we are doing an animal theme of sorts :)  

We had a great weekend with Ben's parents, Caleb, and Allie who came to visit in Iowa City.  And we surprised them with a cake that said "We know something you don't know :) ", that they needed to cut in order to see if the cake itself was pink or blue.  It was fun :)

What a weekend!  Dad and Jo's wedding was this Saturday, and it was a blast.  We drove up to Mankato Wednesday after work so that we could hang out with Aunt Pat and Uncle Mike until the big hurrah, and of course partake in the festivities leading up to the wedding.  

Of course a lot of our attention was on the doggers... who were absolutely hysterical getting in and out of the truck as we hauled them around all weekend.

\

Herbert

Layla-pop

The funniest golf hole of all time.  Ben teed off directly to his right (instead of straight ahead).  His next shot hit a house and landed on a hill (pictured here).  From there he hit the ball into the water. Needless to say, this particular hole was a challenge.

The Wedding

(There may or may not be a butt grab happening here...)

Ceremony at Sibley Park

Mike & Pat sang a beautiful song during the ceremony

Awww :)

After the wedding, hanging out waiting for the party to start