Oliver - 27 Months, Baby Rude #2 - 24 Weeks

Summer has finally arrived in Oregon! We've had several nice, sunny days and it has been great to enjoy the outdoors. Oliver frequently asks to ride his tricycle and bicycle in the backyard and he also loves running around and playing in the dirt. We got a little wading pool for the really warm days and he LOVES getting wet. The latest for little Oli include an obsession with most things mechanical - cars, trains, keys, tools, etc; playing independently for longer amounts of time; singing "Jesus Loves Me" and the "ABC Song"; helping daddy at his office and around the house; and talking non-stop. He's fearless on the playground and is very strong when it comes to climbing, swinging, jumping, etc. Perhaps we have a little athlete in the making.

Rude Baby #2 continues to grow and I am blessed to be feeling really well. After the 2 months of nausea at the beginning of the pregnancy, it is a big relief to put that all in the past. This kid is another very active little boy and I am continually kicked and jabbed throughout the day and night. I'm not feeling like a total whale yet and I continue to sleep fairly well so that has been a blessing too. It seems like this pregnancy is going quickly so far, but don't quote me on that when it comes down to the last few weeks! Here are some pics of our latest adventures.

Family pic during a trip to the Rose Garden.


Just past week #20.


The basement gets a coating of spray foam insulation.


David's new ride.


A recent trip to Rocky Butte.


Oliver at the Camp Yamhill Campfire.


Oliver does some climbing and swinging during Challenge Camp.


David and his "baby" brother at the slip n' slide. (Thankfully that hairdo was short-lived.)


Picking berries with the Garretts on Sauvie Island.


My boys at Kruger Farm (Mt. Hood was supposed to be in the background, oops.)


My men working in the backyard.

Baby Rude #2 is Almost Halfway Here!

We are 19 weeks into the pregnancy with Baby Rude #2 and boy is it great to feel like myself again! I was like a carsick zombie for about two months and I didn't realize how bad it was until my hormones finally regulated themselves. I can't imagine feeling that way for the entire pregnancy - thankfully it was (relatively) short-lived! Eating is no longer a chore, I don't have to carry a barf bag in my purse, and I don't have to spend every evening wishing I could melt into my couch cushions. Hallelujah!

We had our major ultrasound last Friday and we confirmed our suspicion that Oliver is going to have a little BROTHER mid-November. For each of my prenatal exams, my doc does a quick ultrasound check so we had a peek at the goods a couple weeks ago, but we didn't want to share until we knew for sure. We are so excited to be adding another little boy to our family. It will be fun for Oli to have someone close in age to beat up on and show how to get in trouble.

Speaking of the big brother, Oliver continues to be a joy for our family. He loves going to Bible class at church, "singing" various songs, reading the same books over and over (Things That Go is currently picked most often), playing outside, doing things independently, and using anything with buttons or a touch-screen. He now regularly uses the potty for #1 but is having trouble with #2. Really we need to just pick a week this summer to work on it. He knows most of his colors and can sometimes count to 10. He can sing parts of the ABC song, and "EIEIO" is his other favorite tune on repeat. Sometimes we just marvel at how quickly he has become a big boy and we hear lots of remarks about how tall he's getting.

Here are a few pictures to enjoy!

About 18 weeks along!


Sweet little profile!


Oli loves to help outside!


Ready for more sunny summer days!

Oliver's 2 Year Checkup

David took Oliver to his 2 year checkup appointment this morning and we're happy to report that he received a glowing review. Oliver is a healthy, growing boy and we are so thankful for that fact. His current stats include a height of 2'11" (62nd percentile) and weight of 27 lbs 9 oz (42nd percentile). His vocabulary is growing exponentially and I am amazed daily at the things he is able to communicate. He frequently uses the toilet for "pee pee," and when we get into some warmer weather we plan to tackle some official potty training business because he seems to be very ready for it. He had to have one vaccine this time and when my boys came to visit me at the office after the appointment Oliver told me about it. I asked him how it was at the doctor and he said "one poke leg." David said he hardly batted an eye about it and he enjoyed the orange bandaid he received afterward. He's certainly braver than I when it comes to shots! I told him I was proud that he is such a big boy and did so well at the doctor. I think he's on his way to being a great big brother!


(Of course, he still has some growing to do!)

My Baby is 2!

Our sweet, sweet Oliver was welcomed into the world 2 years ago today and we can't imagine our lives without him. Each day we learn something new from him as he grows, and he continues to bless us with his energy, curiosity, humor and joy. He is our precious firstborn and we love him so much.

April 20, 2009: A day that changed our lives forever!


We knew we were in for adventures when he started walking before 10 months.


He was a great travel companion to the East Coast last spring.


Despite his almost complete lack of hair at the age of one, we think he is still the cutest little guy ever in the history of the world.


His dimples continue to be irresistible.


We always have fun together!


And there's never a dull moment!


We look forward to celebrating many more of your birthdays to come!


Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

An Almost-2-Year-Old and a (9-week-old)

My life since my last post has mainly consisted of work, sleeping, puking, trying not to puke, crying, and looking forward to being over this morning sickness! I hate to be dramatic, but I'm finding the hormones to be quite challenging this pregnancy. I am taking naps every lunch break and after I get home from work and snacking as often as I can get food past my gag-reflex. So far I have only thrown up once at work and I've only had two days when I left early because I was just getting too run-down to be productive. Thankfully, I am most sick in the evenings when I can at least be in the comfort of my own home.

David has been incredible through it all - taking care of Oliver, letting me nap on the couch, doing the grocery shopping and cooking most of the meals. He brings me a wet washcloth when I'm throwing up and consoles me in my moments of crazy tears. On top of it all, he is busy with his own job and working on our house as well. I'm so blessed to have his support and love. :)

We had our first prenatal appointment this week. The nurse practitioner I saw with Oliver is on an extended leave so I scheduled with the next available doctor - a man this time. I was a bit unsure how comfortable I would be, but I reminded myself that a male midwife delivered Oliver and there really isn't a lot of privacy or modesty involved in pregnancy appointments - whether it is a male or female doing the exams. David was with me for the appointment and Dr. Traynor's nurse was present for the exam as well. He is very professional and David and I both felt very comfortable with him so I think we'll continue to see him for future appointment.

It was exciting to have our first ultrasound and see our precious little baby blob. The heart was fluttering and we saw arm buds and the beginnings of eyes and a mouth. He/she is about 9 weeks and the size of a grape - so tiny! All these crazy hormones are caused by something so miniscule at this point - it's crazy! I will have to scan the pictures the doctor took for us. So far I've compared this baby's appearance to an alien and a hand puppet. :)

Oliver is still growing and learning everyday. His 2nd birthday is next week on the 20th. He's speaking in full sentences and new words are added to his vocabulary constantly. He's as active as ever and it's a challenge for him to "play gently" now with mommy and attempt to be quiet when I am having rest time. He likes to rub my belly and talk about the baby getting "bigger, bigger, bigger!" He's already asking for him/her to come out and I have a feeling it will be a loooong wait for him. He gives the baby "kisses" and talks to him/her too. It's very sweet and I think he'll be a very good big brother (under close supervision to make sure he doesn't help by throwing brother/sister out a window.)

I'll see what I can do about adding some pictures to this graphic-less post. :)

Back to the Blog

Obviously it's been more than a little while since I've written a post on my blog. I figure that since I'm stuck on the couch for a few hours each evening, I may as well keep this thing better updated. Why the recent friendliness with the couch, you ask? Well we are due with baby #2 this November and this nausea has started hanging around every night. Morning sickness is not really an accurate term for me since I'm okay for most of the day, but starting around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, things start to go downhill for me. Blech. I've had to pass already on some fun activities because I'm just feeling steamrolled and like I'm going to have to go puke any second. But enough about that!

We are truly excited to be welcoming a new addition to our family later this year! We've started talking about names, discussing adjustments we will need to make to accommodate another little person in our household, David is working frantically to finish the remodel project in our basement, and we're introducing Oliver to the idea. I'm pretty sure he doesn't really understand much yet (he'll be 2 next month!) but we tell him there's a baby in mommy's tummy that will be at our house in a little while. Sometimes Oliver pats my tummy and says "baby" but a lot of the time he likes to pretend HE is a baby and does this super fakey cry until I hold him and rock him. This lasts about 3 seconds and then he is off running to more of his big-boy adventures like climbing, throwing, torturing Tucker, yelling, breaking things, etc. :)

Since it's been many months since a post, I will recap with a few pictures of events since my last update...

Annual Wilson family camping trip 2010 - this time to Salmonberry Campground.



David's mission trip to Mexico, August 2010.



Helping at our church's annual Vestal School cleanup service project.



Basement window well project - this was a big one and took about 3 months to complete! Since we are adding 2 bedrooms in our basement, we had to install egress windows. This meant cutting through our concrete driveway and foundation, digging the wells to allow enough room for the crank windows to open, building frames and pouring concrete to make the new structures and installing the new windows. My dad and Ben came to help with part of it and a couple of other friends helped us remove all the debris afterwards.









We attended a few Halloween parties as cave people with our pet dinosaur.



November 2010 family photo shoot.





Quick trip to Coeur d'Alene, ID for Great Grandma Teen's funeral.



David frames walls for the basement rooms.



We celebrated Christmas 2010.



We flew to Dallas, TX for New Year's to celebrate Ben and Haley's wedding and see our Rude family.



We waited in line for a couple/few hours in downtown Portland to take our "No Pity" Timbers family portrait.



David redid all the electrical for our house including installing a whole new breaker panel and main. (This guy is amazing.)



David and I celebrated our birthdays in February 2011 with a weekend trip to Yachats.



Stay tuned, more adventures are sure to come! :)

A Midsummer Night's Post

I can't believe July is almost over now and it's been FOREVER since I wrote a post on my blog. David's on his way to Mexico, Oliver and Tucker are sound asleep, and I've already done the dishes, so I guess I can take a moment to load a few photos. :)

Oh drat. I guess I forgot how to load these properly so they are in backward order. It's like our summer in reverse. Fun. :)


Enjoying a bonfire before the teen camping trip.


David makes a new doorway to our basement (and a big mess).


Oliver eats Cheerios with a fork.


David tears out walls in the basement.


Oliver obsesses about shoes.


Enjoying Challenge Camp at Yamhill.


Baby pool time.


Installing all new plumbing at our house.


4th of July Party.


Church camping trip.


Cleaning up our back yard.


Happy Father's Day!


A little date with Edward Cullen.


One of David's crazy hair stages.


Karaoke date night.


Oliver and his girlfriend in Sunday School.


I have high hopes for updating in greater frequency!