Best Birthday Ever

Things have been so busy with baby stuff lately that I haven't had time to blog about the BEST birthday EVER! It was a surprise in many ways. Since I was expecting the new baby any day, I really wasn't thinking much about this birthday or expecting much of anything. It was a surprise also because there was an actual surprise party! Let me break it down.
It was a beautiful day, and standing in the sunshine it actually felt almost summer-like. Which is why Will couldn't help running around in nothing but shorts, and play in the water. Growing up I always hoped it would snow on my birthday, but with weather like this I really can't miss the snow too much.
During Will's nap I headed to Hair international to get a much needed update on my highlights. It took a really long time, and I vegged out with a stupid girlie magazine. I came to the conclusion that I will never be in style.
After that my thoughtful husband scheduled a pedicure appointment for my tired, pregnant feet. I got Britton to paint my toenails once during this pregnancy, but other than that they've been pretty neglected. Those are not my toes pictured below... Having 0nly had two pedicures in my life, my feet are nowhere near that cute. But now my toenails are the same color.
Then we went out to eat some Thai food. Lotus Bistro, for those in the area, is really good and kid friendly. They gave Will lots of attention and free ice cream. We of course got my favorite dish, pad thai.
As we pulled into the parking lot at home Will said, "Chris go home Mom." It was just as I thought! Chris must have come over while I was gone to help Britton install some carpet in our downstairs room. Britton admitted that was the surprise. I was totally unprepared when we opened the door to find the new carpet and a room full of people yelling, "Surprise!" A surprise party was a surprise I was totally not expecting this year. (The new carpet is pictured below with the new baby. It's so soft and doesn't show every speck of dirt!)
Our apartment was crowded with friends from school and church, and Britton's family. Britton's parents and little brother Alex even made the trip for my birthday! That was an extra surprise. Plus Margo made her special Texas sheet cake for the event. Yumm!
THEN Britton pulled out an even sweeter surprise. He made a "Renee Quiz" game to do during the party. I don't do well being the center of attention, so this made it easier for me.
Click HERE to open the quiz and enjoy Britton's unique wit. It should open automatically, or a window will pop up and you choose to open it.
Give the quiz a try and let me know how you do:) Margo and Nikki tied for the win at my party with 8 points. Mom, I expect you to get them ALL right. No pressure.

Overall, the day earned Britton one MILLION husband points. He really is the best husband ever.

Welcoming Elliot

Elliot came faster than any other baby I've heard of. It was only about two and a half hours from the first real contractions to birth. It took about an hour and a half to convince myself it was really happening and I should head to the hospital. I didn't want to go without Britton. Unfortunately, he was at school taking his last final which was scheduled from 8:30-11:30. I texted him, "meet me at the hospital" at 9:45 AM. I expected to be able to get to the hospital, get myself situated in a room, get my epidural, and then have Britton arrive for the fun part.
I made it to the hospital thanks to my good friend Nikki. She received a weird call from me around 9:20 where I just breathed into the phone for the first minute because it was hard to talk during the contraction. She reminded me that people with fast labor should head to the hospital as soon as possible. She almost gave birth in the car! She sent her mom and step-dad to pick us up. Her mom would stay with me until Britton arrived, and Will would go back to Nikki's house to play with his buddy Gabe.
We arrived at the hospital about 10:00, and slowly walked to Labor and Delivery. They checked me in, and all their questions took FOREVER! I said I wanted an epidural as soon as possible, and found out I was already at 6 cm. So they rushed me to a room, set up the IV, and the anesthesiologist started to explain the risks of epidurals. He also took FOREVER. While he was getting things set up my water broke and the contractions transitioned into the overwhelming stage. Sometime between one of them the epidural started working and I could get control of myself again. I had only been in the hospital for about 40 minutes and it was already almost over! I asked Nikki's mom Janice to try calling Britton to see if he could get there in time for the birth. He didn't answer, but I didn't really expect him to during the final. It was nice to have Janice there so I had someone supporting me. She was like my free doula, cheering me on, assisting the nurses, and calling Britton. There was nothing left to do but get the baby out. And he was born at 10:51 AM! I got to hold him right away. As I was basking in his cuteness, Britton rushed in the room with a anxious, slightly bewildered look on his face. And then we were all together in a big kissy, baby-filled hug.


Brittons Story: Here's how the events of Friday unfolded from my view:
6:30- woke up and got ready for final
7:00- had breakfast with Renee and Will and admired Renee's belly
7:30-8:15- last minute cram for Cardiovascular Bioengineering class
8:30- head to med-school and start final
9:00- emails start to trickle in... making my phone vibrate. Sony is having a sale this weekend.
9:45- more emails come in. I ignore them (see Renee's story and kick me)
10:45- Renee's calling me and I dont pick up but plan to step out and call her back momentarily.
10:51- Renee calls again and I see a text from 9:45 saying, "meet me in the hospital"

10:51 + 3 seconds- Throw test at TA while running back wards and asking for directions to the Hospital.
10:51 + 5 seconds- SPRINT to the hospital asking directions as I run into random Doctors and med-students.
10:55- arrive at the hospital and went to labor and delivery
10:56- see 5 minute old son... started to cry cause there is nothing more beautiful than this ...

We finally decided to name him Elliot Paul Olson. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz, and was 20 in. Nikki brought Will to see us right after lunch. I missed him the few hours I was away from him. All of a sudden Will seemed so big and heavy!

He was a little hesitant about the baby at first, but I helped him poke baby Elliot's cheek and after that things were OK. He is pretty excited to have a little brother. He says baby Elliot is just a teeny, tiny, little guy. He brought one of his friends from the playground to see his baby brother today.
We came home from the hospital Saturday afternoon, and are looking forward to a week of pure, relaxed family time.

Uploading Baby...98 Percent Complete

The clock is ticking. Is that really my belly?
I feel more like 100% complete, but my body won't get on with the labor process yet. Will was born two weeks early so I set my expectations of an early delivery way too high. I'm going to get really disappointed if I don't aim for the real due date.
This pregnancy has gone really smoothly, but has been a lot different than the last one. The last one I sat in front of a computer in an air conditioned room every day. This time I'm all over the house, the playground, stores, doing all kinds of activities with Will that involve lifting and carrying him. The last pregnancy ended in the hottest time of the year. Sure I was hot, but so was everyone else. This pregnancy ends in the middle of December, and I'm waking up in the middle of the night sweating even though I don't use any covers. I'm the type of person who could sleep with a blanket in the middle of summer. It's so bizarre to be so warm in the middle of winter for me. To warm up Britton's ice feet instead of the other way around.
I'm excited to meet my new little person. And to get my body somewhat back to normal. Don't worry. We'll let everyone know when we're headed to the hospital, and post pictures right after he's born.

Then vs. Now

Well, at least Will has gotten over his fear of Santa.

At the church Christmas party on Friday he was VERY excited to be able to sit on Santa's lap. He drew a picture and gave it to Santa. That's an idea he got from Caillou, which is the only TV show he will watch these days. There is absolutely nothing scary about Caillou and his feel-good adventures. I will put up with his whiny voice, and incredibly annoying sister because Will learns all kinds of cute things from it. Today he learned the word 'detour' from an episode, and it helped him prepare for his turn with Santa this year.
I'm excited for Will to understand more about Christmas this year. And I'm not just talking about Santa. I've been teaching him the nativity story with our Little People nativity, and he now knows what a shepherd is. It's the little guy in the brown robe who loves sheep, feeds them, and kisses them. :)

Scaredy Pants

What do all the images below have in common?




They are all meant for kids, but scare the pants off our Willy Pants Pants.
It all started with the tractor tipping scene in Cars. Will would stop watching the movie, but if it kept playing through this scene he would start hysterically crying. It took a while for all of us to figure out what was going on.
Next, Will was watching Monsters Inc. at a two year-old birthday party. I noticed him slowly get up, and move towards me, and then say, "I'm going upstairs, OK Mom?" It took me a little while to put it all together, and then we read books in the kitchen until it was time for cake.
Every morning while Will is doing his nebulizer breathing treatment we watch some cartoon episode on Netflix. He used to get his daily dose of Thomas, but one day even Thomas betrayed him! He explained after calming down, "Spencer whooshed down the track." Even an episode of Kipper the Dog with the "bleeper" aliens scared him. By the time this happened I could recognize the scream from upstairs as his "watching-something-scary-scream". He was hysterically crying and falling on the ground trying to get to me by the time I made it down the stairs.
It's so bizarre. He's so sensitive these days. It was only nine months ago we took him on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and he was fine. Maybe it's a phase. Even if it's not, I think it's pretty sweet that he's just a sensitive little guy. I love my pansy boy.

We've Got Company!

The Scarboroughs have arrived! They actually have been here for a while, but as you can tell, I've been a little behind in my posts. While I wish we could live near my family too, I am so grateful to have Britton's family so close by while Britton finishes up school.
The Scarboroughs add two adults, three cousins, and a dog and cat to the mix so that family get-togethers like Thanksgiving really become a big event!
Will has been happy to spend more time bonding with his cousins. Below, Will and Sam are sharing a "Thomas moment". Anybody who's a friend to Thomas is a friend to Will.

The Scarboroughs moved into a cute house situated right on the edge of the Mt. Diablo wilderness! Their backyard has access to hiking trails, which is pretty rare in the bay area, and we took advantage of a family hike over the Thanksgiving break. It's a beautiful area and I can't wait to explore it more when I'm not so large in the belly.
Phil is working for the same firm as before, and commuting to San Francisco by train. We got to pick him up on his way home one day for a temple trip. Erin met the rest of us at the Oakland temple, and we had a wonderful time together followed by a Denny's run.
It's hard for me to find a picture of Erin because she's usually the one behind the camera. Here's a big group of Olsons celebrating Grandma-lita's 89th birthday! Erin let me borrow a bunch of baby stuff. Score! And she surprised me by driving all the way to Palo Alto for my baby shower.
I probably sound like a broken record, but we really are SO grateful to be able to see our Olson family so often.

Potty Success!

It's time to put puke day behind us and celebrate a big accomplishment. Will is potty trained! I didn't want to blog about this for a long time because I wasn't sure if potty training was going to work. After it was working I wasn't confident it was going to last. Then I just lost track of time. I think Will has been mostly diaper-free since October. It's been so nice to not have to buy diapers for a while.
I think this whole process has been more stressful for Britton and I than Will. It's been mostly up to us to remember when Will needs to use the potty, and then we have to convince him to go, or clean up the consequences when we forget. I would like to thank Halloween candy, Jelly Belly, and various other treats for our success. Nothing motivates him better.
The past few days Will has really impressed me by telling us he needs to go, or being totally compliant when we say it's time to use the bathroom. I know there's a chance he could relapse after the new baby is born, but I'm hoping he's been at it long enough to be able to stick with it.

Yay Will!