Dashel Edward

Well the little guy FINALLY made an appearance. I told him that since I let him cook for as long as he wanted he'd better give me a fast and easy delivery. I didn't get the easy part but it was definitely fast, the Doctor on call didn't even make it there in time! My water broke about 5 am so we went to the birthing center shortly after that. Once they checked the baby's heart beat and got me hooked up I was able to get the webcam set up with Kirby and even chatted with him a while. That was a big morale boost just knowing he knew I was there and that it was happening. I walked up and down the halls until about 11:30 and thought things were getting pretty close. Turned out I was still only 2cm. The nurse (who was absolutely awesome by the way) told me not to get discouraged and that I just needed to turn the corner and it would happen quickly. The next two hours were absolutely horrible but then she checked me and I was 9cm and having the baby. I heard her say to my mom that the Dr wasn't going to make it, the nurse sat right on the side of the bed and delivered the baby. It was very civil war era feeling. The Dr did make it eventually. I was just so happy it was over. About 15 minutes later Kirby called in and I told him I had had the baby. He was surprised and I was able to hold Dashel up so he could see him. It was a very special moment.

This is the same look I had after I had Oliver, like I can't quite figure out what just happened.



Talking to Kirby on the computer

Dashel Edward
8lbs 4 oz
December 24, 2009
2:16pm

Still Waiting

Well here we are still waiting on little boy to arrive. Its not bothering me too much but he needs to get here soon! I posted a ton of our pictures on our shutterfly site that I will be mostly using from now on. If you didn't get an evite let me know you want to get on there and I will send one out to you!

Gina, Oliver and Dozy

-missing Daddy, and waiting for baby

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVER!!!

Two years ago this sweet little boy came into our lives, 10 days past his due date and 37 hours after I felt my first contraction. Its been an adventure ever since. Oliver's been to 6 states (9 if you count airport layovers) and 5 countries and has had a great attitude the entire time. He loves cars, bikes, bugs, balls, balloons, and Daddy and talks about these things constantly. His goals for next year are growing more hair, learning to potty like a big boy and telling his baby brother all about their awesome Daddy and how much fun they'll have when he gets home. Oliver's life is about to change drastically in the next few weeks, becoming a big brother and man of the house, but I think its a challenge he's up to and will do a great job. We love you so much Oliver William!


Oliver William Jones
November 20, 2007 4:53 AM
7 lbs 13 oz

Halloween 2009

If you know anything about me you know that I absolutely LOVE Halloween. A whole day where wearing a wig and something crazy is perfectly acceptable, I am all over that! Plus orange is my favorite color so it just all works out. On Thursday we went to a costume party. Everyone really put on a good show, there were only a few losers that didn't dress up. The event was held at this restaurant that is trying to appeal to Americans with Friday's style atmosphere and non Italian food. They even have a billboard outside post that say "Grab the handfuls...don't be chickened out" Of course something is lost in the translation but I think that makes it all the better. The food was pretty tasty too. Here's our costumes. Not super original but pretty comfy and mostly stuff we already had!



Since we live in government housing, this is the only place that the American kids can actually go trick or treating (my least favorite part of Halloween) and every year it is madness. People go crazy and buy TONS of candy. I can't figure this out, I buy as much as I want and when its gone its gone. I don't want all that left over stuff or to spend that much anyway. Well we set up our table at the end of the walk since the kids come so fast and furiously, and we set up the fire pit and BBQ and had a really nice time. Kirby took Oliver around to the neighbors to trick or treat then Oliver spent the rest of the night running around like a madman with the other neighborhood kids. He had a lot of fun and didn't ever wonder what happened to all that candy the next day. Here's Oliver in his costume and Kirby's oddly ginormous hands.





I couldn't resist another chance to dress up so I pulled this outfit together but don't think many people got the reference. Either they were too young or not horror movie buffs but I thought it was clever. My name tag says Rosemary...



Oliver and his bag that our neighbor had made for him.



Our awesome pumpkins, Kirby's is the one on top.




Scare you later boys and ghouls!!

What We've Been Up To

Kirby was gone training for about three weeks and when he came home Oliver was very happy. I'd never seen him smile so big or be so obviously excited. I tried to capture a picture of them, this was the best one.


I've been getting all the baby stuff ready. All this baby stuff takes up a lot of space. Here's Oliver in his old car seat.

Since Kirby's return, Oliver has been obsessed with all things Daddy and has perfected his salute.

He put these boots and hat on himself.

We went to a birthday party at the bowling alley. Oliver bowled a great game as always and ate 3 pieces of pizza. We were astounded.

Oliver and Kirby in their Seahawks gear

He's not actually "going" in this picture, he has yet to really give it a shot, but he likes to sit on it every now and then. Potty training in full is right around the corner!

Oliver's new bike or bikle as he is now saying.

A live Sesame Street show came to post, and it was a big hit with the kids!

Here's Oliver when they first came out, notice how hard he is squeezing Kirby's finger. It has turned purple. He had a great time.

Before the show.

Me and the Belly

Pumpkin patch. It was so hard to get him to look at the camera!

I love the expression on his face here.

Oliver wants to be a big boy and drink from a regular cup. Here he went into the kitchen and poured himself a cup.

....with just a minor amount of spillage...

...but he cleaned it up!



Thats all for now folks!

Florence

This past weekend we jumped on the train to Florence. We are getting pretty good at navigating the Italian train system and even helped an American tourist buy her tickets on our way home. When we were in Rome with Kirby's parents we popped into this hotel called the Minerva to change Oliver's diaper. It was a very nice hotel and Kirby said he wanted to come back and stay there sometime. I looked it up and saw that there was also one in Florence and since we hadn't been there yet we decided to stay at that one instead. It was walking distance from the train station and overlooked a great courtyard.









That night we found a Mexican restaurant to our surprise and ate there, cause frankly we are sick of Italian food. The next day we went to the Ufizzi Gallery and did a lot of walking and exploring the city.






The next day we shopped at the local market that was going on and I got a few nice things, we ate more gelato then headed home. It was a great trip and the last big outing I think we will make before the baby comes. All that walking nearly did me in!

Random Pictures

Its getting really hard to get a good picture of Oliver. The whole time he is running around and getting in to things. He rarely sits still


Our new baby

Oliver started trying to skip his naps for a few days, this is what happened by dinner time.

and after I lifted him up, still didn't wake up

His newly converted crib-into-big-boy-bed

This is my "its a boy" bouquet that Kirby got me the day we found out


Sweet boy


Loves the sprinklers


Hamming it up


classic Oliver, pointing with his middle finger


Oliver thought Dozy needed a hat


Ciao for now!