Why ...

We know that Olive cannot yet 'get' little stories and songs, but we have begun listening to lullabies and nursery rhymes while we rock her at night and reading books when she is awake during the day. This way we will have the habits of reading books and listening to music when she is old enough to appreciate them.

However, Kyle is worried that these stories, songs, and rhymes will be forever stuck in our brains (which will probably happen) and will push out other vital pieces of information such as how to tie his shoes. So, if you notice that Kyle has suddenly developed a propensity for slip-on (or even velcro!!) shoes, you might want to teach him that shoe-tying rhyme so that he can redevelop those skills!

;)

One Month!

Our little Olive is one month old today. What a ride the last 31 days have been! Having a newborn at home is a great excuse to spend a good chunk of August inside (although I'm sure our AC bill will not be pretty - Yikes!).

Also, we've had the wonderful gift of guests galore! My mom and Tim, my dad, and Kyle's parents all were able to be here the day Olive arrived - despite some pretty short notice. Mom and Tim stayed for a bit, and Russ and Rae came back later for a long weekend. Matt and Liz (and Will and new Baby Charlie) came to visit this past weekend. We are also looking forward to more guests - Chad, Jen and Ben, and Mom and Tim (for a second lap)!

Our guests have helped with chores, helped with projects, and generally encouraged us in this process and helped get us out of the house. (It is daunting to get out with Olive - although not as daunting, I'm sure, as venturing out with infant twins like some of our friends and family!!) Thank you very much to all!

Olive is a wonderful baby. We're starting to get into a schedule, more or less. She is a good eater and a very good little night-time sleeper. (Right now all bets are off for her afternoons and evenings. Please know that we'll pick up the phone if we can!) We have had some pretty frustrating bouts of crying, but we don't think it is anything out of the ordinary. And we are becoming more skilled at soothing our little one. A few nights with a seemingly inconsolable infant have helped us think outside the box!

A few more details:

Today was also Olive's one-month appointment with her pediatrician. She weighed in at 8 lbs and 7 ozs and is now 21 inches tall/long. Her doc thinks that she is growing well and that her eating and sleeping patterns are not out of the ordinary. (A big relief for me and Kyle. We were worried that she was a bit slow in her weight gain.) Olive received the second shot in her Hep-B series today which just about broke my heart. Suffice it to say, her prior inconsolable crying was nothing compared to watching her actually wail in pain!

And finally:

A photo of Olive all bundled up in her Sleepy Wrap carrier for a walk with Mommy, Daddy and Zoe.



A photo of Olive and her daddy celebrating cousin Will's birthday at the Magic House (the St. Louis Children's Museum).




- H

Marking three weeks ...

Even though Olive was four weeks old yesterday, we have a few photos to post of our little girl at three weeks:







Our alphabet wall ... We are still accumulating letters and numbers. It will be finished before too long!!:



Another view of Olive's room:



This is the quilt that Kyle's mom made-see earlier posts-and Kyle and his dad installed the new shelves.

We won't wait so long before our next post!!

- H

Just so you don't think we've disappeared ...

A few mundane details of our lives:

Kyle is in Tennessee for work. He left Tuesday and returns tonight late. The big pit has been calling his name, and he finally answered the call. Thus, little Olive and I have been fending for ourselves the past few days.

Things are pretty uneventful - Olive and I hang out a lot at home. Olive loves a car ride, but they get fit it in between her requested meals and naps (for both the little one and her mom!).

I finally met with a lactation consultant. Her advice and encouragement were very helpful because breast feeding is not as easy and intuitive as one might expect.

Also - I was recently reminded that a good bra makes a huge difference. No need to share the gory details, but worth every penny!

We all are missing Kyle, but poor Zoe is particularly longing for his return ... I am currently neither talented nor confident enough to take both Olive and Zoe out for a proper walk. Not to worry, although its a bit rough, Zoe has been able to get some of her frolic out by romping around our back garden, and I will make sure she gets in a good walk very soon!

A few new photos of our little Olive ...

Olive in her bathtub waiting for Mommy to finish brushing her teeth:



Olive hanging out with her Daddy:





Olive on her one-week birthday:






- H

Olive's One Week Check-Up

Today we went to visit Olive's pediatrician:

Olive was born weighing 6 lbs 10 ozs, left the hospital at 6 lbs 3 ozs and weighed in today at 7 lbs 5 ozs.

Olive at birth measured 19.5 inches, and today measured 20.5 inches.

All in all she is on track, her growth pleases the doctor, and we head back later this month for her one-month appointment, barring any unfavorable developments.

Great news which pleased both Kyle and me.

- H

The Miraculous Sheep

Once upon a time there were two new (very new) parents, who delivered a wonderful little girl named Olive. They spent 48 hours after her birth in the hospital. While there, Miss Olive was a joy during the day - she glowed whether in the arms of family or sweetly snuggled in the hospital bassinet. But, after dark, the bassinet was not her favorite place. The parents snuggled her in their arms to get some sleep but worried mightily that she would tumble and find harm. These parents returned home and brought baby to bed one more night, for her sleep and theirs, when she did not want to sleep in her cute little bassinet by their bed.

The next day - hark! - they remembered, a gift they received twice, once from a young mom and once from an experienced grandmother ... the Sleep Sheep.



(Note - the new parents received no compensation in exchange for this post.) This amazing device emits a variety of sounds, including rain, heartbeat, whale sounds and a white noise setting. The new parents attached it to Olive's bassinet and turned on the rain noises (as they did not enjoy the sensation of sleeping with the fishes) ... and almost immediately, Olive's distress was relieved. She relaxed, sighed and slept.

What a miraculous little device, providing the proper environment for all to dream sweet. (Note 2 - This miracle may not continue, but the new parents are happy to celebrate while it lasts.)

The End.

- H

hello world!

We would like to share the exciting news of the arrival of our daugher Olive Suzanne Thiel. She was born on July 25, 2009 at 12:17 in the afternoon (just in time for lunch – that's my girl). Mother and baby are doing well and we will be staying at the hospital until mid day on Monday. We thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes as we went through the labor and delivery process and a special shout out to Erik, Sarah, and Bailey for watching our other - 4-legged furry baby.

and the stats:

6lbs 10oz

19.5in long

Oh and ...

The repair person fixed our refrigerator for a reasonable price and now it is functioning AND producing ice and water from the door!

Woo Hoo!

Another Appointment Down ... Another One Scheduled ...

Today we saw our doctor. Not much has changed since last week.

Things are happening - not too fast (in fact, some might say, very, very slowly) ... Baby Thiel could come tomorrow ... or some time next week ... or the following week.

Our doctor suggested that we schedule another appointment for next Tuesday (and we did). But as we left, she said, "Tonight is a good night for the baby to come. I'm on call."

So, we have no new information and are TRYING to be content with a "here, there, anywhere" answer ...

We'll let you know when Baby Thiel is here, whenever he or she decides to make an appearance ...

- H

New photos!

Our floors are done (but for a few things that are ours to finish). Baby Thiel's room is ALMOST complete. Other rooms in the house are also falling into place. Yay!!

A few photos of the baby's room:







A new letter:



And our first number:



While Baby Thiel's imminent arrival is overwhelming and exciting, Kyle and I have both moved from "not quite ready for baby" to "yes, we are ready for baby to be here!" (well, as ready as you can be to be first time parents, I'd imagine).

But Baby Thiel seems perfectly content in its current home. We do have an appointment with our doctor tomorrow - maybe that assessment will change. We'll let you know!

(Oh! and Kyle is meeting with a GE repair person tomorrow morning. Here's hoping he brings not TOO bad news!)

- H

When the first question you ask ...

the appliance repair company is "Do you work on refrigerator/freezers?," you do not expect the (very friendly) repair person to arrive, take a gander at your refrigerator, listen to your husband's explanations of its troubles, and tell you "We do not do THAT kind of work on refrigerator/freezers. I suggest that you ..."

Fun. But the noise stopped. Maybe the refrigerator/freezer is miraculously fixed. I don't really think so.

Our floors are in their final day - trim! So the last finish coat was applied yesterday and we can officially move furniture back to our second floor beginning TOMORROW!!! THIS is GOOD news.

- H

When you think someone is ...

tap-dancing in your kitchen and it turns out to be your refrigerator, it doesn't bode well for a) a restful night, b) the stock of food in your refrigerator, or c) your budget that doesn't necessarily include a new refrigerator at this time, thank-you-very-much. Shopping for appliances sounds like date night, right?

We'll have to wait and see what the repair person has to say tomorrow morning. Patience is hard.

- H

So ...

We went to the doc yesterday (our appointments are weekly, but not necessarily 7 days apart). Things continue to 'progress' but she gave no indication of when we might expect Baby Thiel to make his or her appearance other than reminding us that:

"90% of all babies are born within a 1-week window of their expected due date."

We'll see if we are 90% or 10% here in the next few days/weeks. Other than that, the baby's heart beat is strong, and it is favorably positioned. I, however, am more than ready to get rid of this lovely "bowling ball with legs" feeling that currently overwhelms me!

On to other things, our floors will receive the second of three coats of 'finish' today. The schedule sets forth tomorrow as the third finish coat and Friday as the day for trim. The transformation has really been amazing. So, if the schedule holds, we will be moving furniture up (or down if it is on the third floor) to the second floor this weekend. Very, very exciting. We may have photos of an assembled baby's room to post in the near future!!!

And finally, yesterday was our second anniversary. We didn't plan much as the uncertainty of baby and floors has made planning a bit hazardous. However, we went to dinner at a restaurant near us called Acero. Very very yummy Italian inspired food. Adding a glass of wine to savor through the meal would have been a wonderful splurge (next time!), but the food and company were splurge enough. Who knew that two years could fly so fast or bring so many wonderful things into our lives?! We did take in a movie last weekend as an added anniversary celebration (movies on weeknights are harder to swing, full time employment and all). The new Pixar flick 'Up' was wonderful, and a bit sentimental (I maintain this is NOT just my pregnancy hormones making another appearance).

Hoping to soon post fun pics of our home and little one ...

- H

stained and barking?

master bedroom
master bedroom (other direction)
the hallway into the nursery

as you can see and from heather's outburst below our floors have gone from red oak to red-red oak. it nicely matches the downstairs floors (our intent) and hopefully the remainder of the finishing process goes smoothly. hopefully the workers will show up monday morning to continue work on the stairs - there are 4 treads as yet not replaced. they are "pie" shaped and so require some special carpentry to complete. we are looking forward to the complete project.

ps: zoe is sleep-barking at my feet right now, its pretty darn cute.