Where to begin?  It's not that I haven't had time to blog.  I just haven't made time for it.  But I figure now is just as good of time as any to fill you all in on life at the Olson household.  I enjoy reading all of your blogs. I guess you can say that as of late, I have become a blog stalker...or ghost reader : ) 

Anyway, things here have been moving at a pretty busy clip. You would think that when you remove a major aspect of life (taking a break from 40mN stuff), things would slow down but somehow, you just fill up that time with other things. Well, and I guess we have to take into account that we did just add a lovely little member to our household in the last few months...there is that. 

I'll just give an update - member by member, alright? 

Carina - Somehow my little girl turned SIX in the blink of an eye!  I thought about it for a whole year - how she would be blossoming into a sweet, six year-old...but somehow the whole thing just blindsided me. 

Kindergarten has been good for her.  I must admit that I was concerned about how her bright, leader-type, take-charge personality would mesh with a legitimate school setting, but she is doing GREAT!  We had her conferences last month, and the teacher had nothing but wonderful things to say about Carina's presence in the class and her skills as a student.  It was so refreshing to hear that she is a helper to the teacher, too.  We prayed that Carina would get a teacher who would really "get" her....and see her for her strengths, while working with her on her weaknesses.  Our fear was that she might be seen a certain way, labeled that way...and then stay that way.  But instead, this teacher is such a blessing! She really does understand the way Carina ticks and celebrates it.  There was only one thing that she needs to work on and that's her pace in and out of the classroom.  We were not at all surprised to hear Mrs. Correll say that she needs to move faster.  We are constantly pushing her to get stuff done around here and to move quicker.  It's like pulling teeth trying to get her to move out the door.  It's not that she's trying to disobey...she just has a different pace that's natural for her.  The teacher said she is not getting her assignments done in time and it could be a problem in future grades if she doesn't get it under control. So...we are seeing what we can do at home to encourage her to start things earlier and to just move faster in general. 

We had a little party for her 6th birthday. We based it on the book, Pinkalicious.  It's a cute read if you haven't read it yet. The character in the story LOVES pink cupcakes. She eats so many that she turns pink!  It's cute...
We had a blast doing all things PINK.



We had a pink gum spitting contest, decorated aprons and pink cupcakes, played games and did the limbo, had a pinata, read Pinkalicious, wore pink crowns and laughed a LOT.  It was a bunch of fun.

So yeah, Carina is doing great...so proud of her.

LIBBY - Proud of her, too. When I went into her school for her birthday a couple months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well behaved she was in her class. If any of you know Libby, she's a mover.  She's unaware of how busy she really is....perpetually in motion at all times.  So this was a great surprise to see how she just transformed into this little normal preschooler during her classtime.  Plus, it was good for me to see that there were others in there who move (and disobey) even more than she does! Most of them were boys, but you get my point. 

She continues to have a very vivid imagination and an explanation for everything.  She can easily slip into a made up world at any given moment.  Sometimes we play along and other times, we have to pull her out of it : )  She's spunky, noisy, sassy, sweet, tender, beautiful and volatile....yep, our girl has many ups and downs. But when she's up, she is soooo much fun and totally adorable. When she's down, it's tempting to put her in her room to recover...whew.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  Good thing she's a pretty lady...it's saved her many many times! 

She's apparently taking after her sister's verbal skills  She's continuously surprising us with pulling out some big word and using it appropriately in a sentence. We had to laugh last month  we were at her well child visit at the doctor. In the middle of a series of developmental questions, she asked us of Libby could say a sentence with at least 5 words.  We both looked at each other and laughed.  She did that when she was ONE.  Now, on average, her sentences are at least 12 words long.  We got in the car and counted several sentences of hers and wow, does she express!!  As you can tell, we are NOT lacking in the verbal department in our house! 

Well, I could go on and on about our girls...but for now, I'll just post a couple pix of Libby and get on to the baby of the family.





JORDAN:  I'm still in a state of shock that four months have passed since we welcomed our little guy into our lives.  He's changed so much since we had our first glimpse of him last July. 
We STILL look at each other and say, "Can you believe we have a boy??"  Truthfully, it is sooo much fun having a little GUY in our home. We are loving the blue, green...gray outfits he wears....and the dreams of all the fun things he'll get to do with daddy when he gets bigger. For now, we are loving the smiles, coos, laughs and the fact that he's trying so hard to be mobile.  He can now roll over from tummy to back (which he's pretty proud of) and he can somehow scoot a ways on his back...mostly in a circle.  He's genuinely a happy baby...rarely cries and if he does cry, it's when he needs something.  He's a great nurser and he's not too shabby in the sleeping department either.  He gets up just one time in the night...and I won't complain about that at all, especially since he's a nurser. We have to be careful. Since he's so quiet and compliant, we fear that one day he'll be forgotten as we are all crazily trying to get somewhere.  It's like I'm experiencing this all for the first time, because he's so very different. God knew he would be the perfect addition to the family - balances us all out.  We are so thankful for our little man and look forward to the days, months, and years to come when we can get to know his personality even more.


His hair is CRAZY...super fuzzy and soft. Miah shined a light on him here to get the true fuzz effect.




I will have to update on Miah and me later...right now, I hear Jordan talking in the monitor...ready to be rescued from his bed. 

You all have a wonderful, fall weekend! 

...my baby is a kindergartner!  I know...I've put these pictures up on facebook arleady but I want to get them up here, too as I have lots of family that are not into facebook yet. 

So it's official. My baby is off to school.  No longer do I get to have lazy weekday mornings with her or a spontaneous day trip to the library, the zoo or the park.  I honestly thought it would be a more emotional event than it was.  I certainly couldn't be down very long because her excitement was contagious.  She didn't know exactly what it would be like but she knew she had been waiting for that day for years and was ready to take on the challenge.  Here are some photos from the first day:







walking to the bus stop.  For some reason, the bus doesn't come into our cul-de-sac. We have to go down the street and around the corner.


These are all the girls that get on the bus at our stop....except Libby. She really wasn't as sad as she looks in this shot.  In fact, once the bus took off, she grabbed my hand and said, "Now I can watch the movies Carina doesnt like, right?"






She looks a little unsure here...but right after this shot, she turned around and went up the steps to find her seat. 



Could she get any happier??


And off she went. 

It's been a week and a half now since her first day.  The first couple days were spent finding her rhythm.  She tested her boundaries a bit in school but she quickly discovered the consequences and is now finding her niche and understanding the expectations. I am still in shock that they don't even have a rest time in full day kindergarten.  Because of this, my little girl has been coming home sooo exhausted to the point of tears.  We had to have lots of patience in the afternoons and evenings with her but as of the last couple nights, she has been handling things much better and getting the rest she needs each day. 

We've also realized we need to pray a whole lot more for her as she is now in a public school.  She has come home with a "boyfriend" (whom she didn't even remember his name the first day) and has tried out "dang-it" at home (which she learned from her lovely nameless boyfriend).  We are taking everything as it comes and jumping on each opportunity to explain things to her. 

On a good note, I wrote an email to her teacher the other day - just to check up on her. She wrote back and said that occasionally Cari has a tough time listening in circle time but other than that, she is a big help in the classroom. She referred to her as being bright and that I should be proud of her. Big sigh of relief.  It's just so great that her teacher works with her on her faults but also sees her for who God made her - one amazing kid.  I AM proud of her and I pray that she'll be a shining light for Jesus in her school, that she'll make lots of friends and that she'll continue to be a helper to her teacher. 

At home, we have also had to find a new rhythm.  It's just Libby, Jordan and I and Libby has been a little lonely.  She lost her playmate and she has to find new things to do with her downtime.  I do what I can to engage her - with books, trips to the library, painting, exercising, doing crafts, and getting outside...but there are many times in a day when she has to look for things to do on her own.  So she hovers around me.  But it really is getting better.  I just have to be intentional and help her discover a new normal. She starts preschool (for two days a week) this coming Tuesday, which will help immensely.  She can't wait.

Jordan is doing great. He's sleeping around 6-7 hours straight at night. I get up and feed him around 4 and he sleeps until 7 or 8. I am soo loving having such a laid back baby.  I had heard there were kids like this and now we have one of them. There is not one day that goes by that I don't thank God for such a fantastic little kid.  He fits right in.  Lately, he has found his voice so he's cooing a lot...and saying "a-goo". Plus, his smile can light up a whole room.  Speaking of Jordan, I hear him "calling" me through the monitor.  Guess I better go scoop him up now and give him some kisses. 

I am sure that most, if not all of you, know that we had a beautiful baby boy on Saturday, July 11th at 3:22 p.m.  We are thrilled to be welcoming little Jordan Asher into the Olson household.  I figured I might get his birth story written before I forget some of the details....

Around 1:30 a.m. on the 11th, I woke up to one big contraction.  I had to really evaluate whether it was the real thing or not - considering all the previous false labor contractions I had experienced over the previous two weeks. This definitely felt different.  I didn't waste any time waking Miah up and telling him I think we were finally gonna meet our baby.  Excitedly, we timed the contractions and came to the conclusion that they were happening frequently enough that we should call the midwife.  She said it all sounded like the real thing to her and told us to leave within the next half hour.  So, we got the rest of the bags packed and I took a shower.  The contractions slowed down a little then so we decided to hang out some more at home - you know, check facebook, make some food to eat before going....important stuff : )  Miah ran down and woke up Mary to tell her that we were actually going in to the hospital.  Then we were off. It was about 4:30 when we left the house.  



On the way there, we had to stop at the church to drop something off but that was okay because my contractions weren't too painful at that point. 
In fact, when we arrived at the hospital, I sort of stalled out.  It was more like 15 minutes in between some of the contractions. We both feared they would send us home.  The nurse checked me and I was 5cm and 100% effaced at that point...so they decided to admit me.  Next, the midwife (Nancy), came in and checked me and told me that we needed to do some walking to get the baby's head in the perfect spot.  The next several hours were spent walking up and down the halls and in between that, we would try different pain management techniques as the contractions started intensifying.  I have to say, that it was a lovely day with Miah. We both so enjoyed being completely checked in to each other and catching up with all we were feeling and thinking about this new baby coming.  Then it came time for me to decide on whether I wanted to get an epidural or not.  This was something I had been on the fence about for a long time.  My labor with Libby was pretty shocking and painful at the end and I just wanted to not have that same experience again.  Nancy did a fantastic job of talking me through my decision. She did not force me to go one way or the other- she just laid out my options and waited for me to make the call. She reminded me that this birth was going to be different than the others and to not spend time worrying about what was coming next.  I was progressing nicely and she said that things would likely go smoothly if I just let my body do what it was trying to do.  This made sense to me....so we decided to wait it out.  She promised we'd wait until I was complete to break my water. Then all I'd have to do is push at the point. So...we tried the birthing ball:

I didn't like the ball with my other labors but for some reason, this time it was great.  Let me just say, Miah was simply amazing!  He massaged my back for hours.  He was fine with moving to my shoulders during a contraction and to my lower back in between.  Even though he was tired, he never once complained about it...he just followed my cues and helped me out whenever I needed it.  We put on some soft music and let the hours pass.  Nancy would come in occasionally and check me and sure enough, I continued to progress.  This type of labor is my favorite because I could anticipate what was coming and manage it.  It was just a great day. 

Mary told us that when she told the girls that "today is the day you will meet your brother or sister", both of them said, "Are you kidding?"  The day for them was spent waiting and waiting and waiting. It was a long day for them...

By the time early afternoon rolled around, I was having very intense contractions.  In between, I was sucking on a grape blow pop, which apparently made my lips, teeth and tongue purple.  But it was a nice distraction.  At this point, we would all be talking - the labor nurse, Taneesa, Nancy, Miah and I, but when the contractions came, all would stop and they'd help me get through it.  I needed to remember how to breathe and to concentrate out getting the baby out.  They were all massaging me at one point. I thought to myself, "If this were any other situation, I would think this was funny. It was like they were petting me like a dog!" But it wasn't funny...I desperately needed the help. 

Around 2:50/55, I had enough of those kinds of contractions.  I was NOT going to wait any longer for them to break my water. Nancy had been waiting on my go ahead.  She came in, checked me and told me, "Congratulations, you made it to complete all on your own!"  Then she realized that while she was checking me, she had accidentally put her finger though a soft spot in my bag of waters.  I was glad though....it was time to move on and get that baby out!  At one point, before I decided to have my water broken, Nancy had to look me in the eye and tell me that since I am a Christian, I need to remind myself that God will be by my side and walk me through this. I just cried.  I guess I had some fear to let go of.  Knowing the biggest, hardest part was ahead of me, Miah asked if everyone would clear the room. After they all left, he prayed for me and gave me a pep talk. It was super sweet....

The next 20 minutes were the longest of my life.  That's how long I spent pushing.  Some people say, "that's all? 20 minutes?"  But man, was it intense.  I'll spare you the details, but at 3:22 p.m., our baby was born!  They laid him on my chest right away but we still didn't know if he was a boy or girl yet.  They faced him away from Miah so we were both looking when the nurse shouted out, "It's a boy!"  I will NEVER EVER forget the look on Jeremiah's face when he received that information.  He said, "Ah! I have a son!! WE have a son!"  They showed us that Jordan had a knot in his cord.  Nancy said, "Wow. Someone is looking out for you!"  This was not news to us - God had clearly had this pregnancy and this baby in the palm of His hand from the very beginning.  He did come out a little blue....but no one seemed bothered by it. He pinked up right away.  He didn't cry out much...just seemed happy to be done with labor.  Any pain I experienced after birth - I don't even remember.  The news of having a son was so amazingly distracting.


He weighed 9 lbs. 3.4 oz. and measured 21 inches long.  His head was 14 1/2 inches around.  Big boy!

Here's the first father/son picture. Does Miah look proud, or what?

Here is the labor nurse, Taneesa (left) and Nancy, our midwife (right):

Our time in the hospital after Jordan Asher was born, was great.  The nurses were helpful and the visitors came in perfect intervals.  The whole experience was surreal....

And now we have three beautiful children to love on. Check out these cuties!

And here's a recent one of Jordan:


It's been two weeks now and we've really enjoyed seeing what our new normal is like.  He's pretty low key and only seems to cry when he's hungry.  He's even sleeping at least 3 hours at a time and the other night he went 5 hours in between feedings.  We are trying not to get our hopes up too much...but so far, we've been amazed at how laid back he is.  What a nice treat!  

So there ya have it - Jordan's story.  God is good!

I'll try to post more about the girls meeting him...soon. They are sooo excited to have a brother!