Merry Christmas

Well Christmas has come and Hayden is doing great. He is a very happy baby so far, except when his butt explodes every once in a while then he gets kind of cranky. It really is amazing how much joy one small person can bring to your life though.

Today we drove 2 hours down to Portland to spend Christmas Eve with Grandma Melissa. Of course Hayden slept the majority of the day/night and even got a chance to get Grandma all nice and wet. Dinner was fabulous and you all will have to ask for her recipe for her rolls; I have never had anything fill me up so quick. Amanda said it felt like she was eating a pound of bread in one roll, amazing I tell you.

Anyways, tomorrow we make the trek back up to the Evergreen State, and Hayden gets to discover a few more people, Santa, Grandma and Grandpa Ollmann and Hailee. Hopefully he is in a good mood when they arrive at 10. Well that is all for now, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!!!

Love to all,
Jon, Amanda and Hayden

Home at Last

Well as a new mom I can say our little buddle of joy has been a blessing. On our ride home from the hospital Wednesday Hayden didn't fuss at all, even after the circumcision that morning. Being home with him is honestly almost like a dream that has finally come true. It is amazing how he can be so perfect even when he is crying because he has a dirty diaper or needs to be fed. At night when I get up to check on him because he is making his funny noises and I can't help but to stare at my gorgeous baby boy.

Jon and I have discovered a few things about our little boy. He has my lips and Jon loves to play with his lower lip because he sticks it out when Jon does. He also has my huge toes which can grab a finger, which is actually quite impressive. The best thing however are the noises and facial expressions he makes while sleeping. He likes to use his eyebrows while making these faces.

Being a new mom is a challenge but I can truly say Hayden is a blessing and we are so excited to have our darling boy with us on Christmas this year.

PS Hayden has a mullet.

The only thing that should last 22 hours is a flight around the world

Well everyone, Hayden finally decided to join us last night, December 17 at 4:16pm PST. To be honest it was kind of scary how close Aunt Gin was. We decided that she needs to buy a lottery ticket very soon.

He came in tipping the scales at a whopping 6 pounds 12 ounces and is 20 inches long. He has Grandpa Jack's hands and Amanda's feet. He can grab your finger with his toes which is kind of gross, but intriguing at the same time. They are almost as big as his fingers which are kind of like sausages and if he was a puppy you would think he is going to be HUGE when he grows up.

Other than the normal soreness Amanda is doing great and is in good spirits. I was so proud of her yesterday, 22 hours of labor would be hard on anyone and she did perfect. We will add more pictures when we get some more time, but I just wanted to get some posted so everyone could see him.

Its go time

Well it is 9:15pm PST and we are sitting in the room where we will meet Hayden in a couple of hours. We are still not sure when he will be coming but we do know that if he is not here by 5 AM they are going to induce labor. We were getting some pizza at a local place (garlic chicken so our breath smells wonderful) and Amanda's water broke in the restaurant. Well next time I write Hayden will be here and we both can't wait. Looks like Aunt Gin will be winning the contest!!!

Getting closer...

Well today has been very interesting. It started at 5:00 AM when I woke up and thought my water had broke. I wasn't sure however, so I stayed awake for a half hour or so but I didn't have any contractions and went back to sleep. I then woke up around 7:00 AM and the same thing was happening so when my mom came in to ask how I was doing I told her what was going on and she told me to call the doctor, because it is possible for your water to break and not have contractions (good to know now!!). Well, I called Jon first because I wasn't sure I was in labor and he called his boss while I called the doctor and the consensus was everyone thought my water had broke. I spent at least 3 hours in triage trying to determine whether or not I was in labor and even though I was having contractions (not painful ones) every few minutes they tested my fluid and it was not amniotic. All in all I had a false alarm this morning... Only good thing that came out of it was I got to see my wonderful, gorgeous husband, since I am now down in Portland with my mom!

Washington drivers

So last night Jon and I had another close call thanks to the 'wonderful' Washington drivers. It would have been an exact month yesterday that Jon was in his car accident and last night he was almost in another with me right next to him.

We were on a bypass to merge onto I-5 which happened to be 2 lanes. The lady in the left lane was not paying attention to the stopped cars in front of her and almost hit them. Instead of breaking or doing anything she came over into our lane almost taking us out. Jon had to break and use the shoulder of the road just to avoid her by mere inches.

The crazy thing was I was right in the middle of a contraction and then for the next 45 minutes or so continued having them for a total of 9. I finally took a shower however and they began to stop and slow down.

We are now monitoring my contractions a little better just in case of premature labor. I do have a doctors appointment tomorrow so I am not too concerned, just glad we weren't plastered against the guardrail last night.

Not to worry...

Well to be completely honest I was a little worried about Hayden this week. On Thursday Hayden hardly moved which is very very unusual for him. He is usually jumping around and moving constantly. So on Friday when I-5 opened up Jon and I got in to see the doctor down in Portland.

My cervix still has not moved or done much, but Hayden was still not moving as much as usual. The doctor recommended we have a bio-physical ultrasound, which measures his movements, breathing and heart rate.

The good news is Hayden scored an 8 out of 8 and is perfect. Hayden was even doing some funny things in my tummy. He was pouting, sticking his tounge out, and doing something naughty with his finger. All in all everything is perfect and nothing to worry about.

Never a Dull Moment with the Ollmanns

Well, this has been an interesting week to say the least. If you have been paying attention to the news at all, you might have heard about the floods in Washington state around us. First of all, Amanda and I are both safe and things are still going well with us.

On the other hand Riverside, the nursing home I work at, was in the midst of the floods that got so much attention these past couple of days in Washington state. The facility is located about 30 yards off of the Skookomchuck River, which is connected to the Chehalis River.

Monday at work, we were starting to prepare for the possible evacuation of our residents from the nursing home due to the rising waters. We left for the evening under the impression from the chief of police that there was nothing to worry about. That however was not the case and with the 15 inches of rain we got in 24 hours, the waters rose really fast. Needless to say, I got a call at 2 am saying that we were evacuating the entire building.

It took 7 hours to get all 89 of the residents out, but we made it through 2-3 feet of flood waters on the roads to get them all out. It was definately an experience to drive through what seemed like rivers complete with rapids and everything, but the main thing was everyone made it through safe and sound. In the end, the waters got within yards of the facility but never actually came in.

This morning at 5 am, after getting the OK, we moved everyone back in. Tonight things are getting back to normal and the residents did very well with all of the excitement they went through.

Amanda was wonderful through all of this, as I was putting in some pretty crazy hours the past couple days. Now it is just time to get a little bit of rest and try to get back on a normal sleep schedule. (I feel like I just got back from Europe again and am trying to adjust to the time change.) Anyways hope everyones week has been going great.

We also hope that Aunt Pat and Uncle Brian learned how to use the locks on their new house. :)

A Little Christmas Pondering

OK I know I will probably hear about this...2 postings in a day when we haven't updated in a while, but this is for a good cause.

Amanda and I were walking through the mall today and we saw a tree in the middle with tags on it. On each tag was a name of a kid in the Olympia area and a list of things he/she wanted for Chritmas. We had both been talking about donating some things earlier, but when we saw the tree we each picked one and did a little shopping for them. Of course we didn't spend a fortune on each one, but enough to make their Christmas a little more special than it might have been.

It also made me think of when I was in the fifth grade, and as a family, we went to deliver presents and food we had gathered as a class. It was eye opening to say the least from what I can remember.

With that said, today really made me stop and think how lucky Amanda and I are. I have a job that allows us to live very comfortably, yet allows for plenty of time at home; a wife who I love more than anything; friends, family and all of you reading this; and of course our soon to come son, Hayden who is already spoiled. :)

It really is true that at this time of year you stop and think about what you have, and I for one, thank God for everything that I do.

23 days to go

Hello everyone. Yesterday we got about 3 inches of snow (which I guess is not normal here). Today it is back to raining, but there is still some snow on the ground.

Amanda had a doctors appointment on Friday and we found out that Hayden should be coming closer to his due date. He has not dropped yet, but is still really healthy. Amanda has to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for another check up. Hayden's heartbeat is really strong and it is kind of interesting how you can push him around in her tummy. We are ready for him to come, the room has been done for a couple weeks now, and we packed the bags yesterday. The only thing I have to do is put them in my car and get the car seat installed.

Well thats all for now, we will update as things happen.

Finally a new post!

Sorry about the delay on the posting of the blog. We both have been crazy busy with the car accident, Thanksgiving, and of course Jon's birthday.

I haven't gained any weight since between doctor visits. Last Tuesday was my last visit and it was just a check-up. Everything is good, I started having a couple of braxton-hicks contractions. At my next doctors appointment I am getting my cervix measured. Hayden is running out of room in my tummy and is sometimes uncomfortable.

Today we started putting up Christmas decorations around the apartment, just getting ready for the holidays and we are pretty much ready for everything! Hadyens room is completely ready and we have 4 cases of diapers which should get us through the first week! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and we promise to keep you updated more often from here on out!!

This "How to Moment" brought to you by Jon

I have heard through the grape-vine that some instructions might be needed to post a guess for when Hayden will be born.

Step 1: Locate Link - Right above where we post our messages there is a banner that says "Expectnet" and how may guesses there are right now. In order to make your own guess, just click on that banner. It will take you to another page.

Step 2: Click on "Enter Guess" - In the right corner there is a small orange box that says "Enter Guess". Click on that.

Step 3: Enter Information - It will take you to another screen where you enter all of the information. Make sure all of the information is spelled correctly!!

Step 4: Submit answers - Click Submit and you are all done.

That is it, if you have any questions just write or call!!!

Only psycho people play bingo...

So last night we ended up going to a bingo hall outside of Seattle because I have never played bingo before. We had already tried our luck at the slots and roulette tables and decided to do something different.

Let me tell you, people are crazy in those places. People had like 5 different colors to mark their bingo sheets, and some had buddas and flowers in front of them. We sat next to a group that lost their seat to one woman and ended up complaining the rest of the 3 hours about it. They complained to security, themselves and everyone around them. Despite all that, I had a blast!

We had some close calls, but I guess you can't expect much when you have crazy people with 4 or 5 sheets in front of them. Jon and I just had one a piece plus a warm up section. I didn't realize bingo was such cheap entertainment. We also ate at the casino restaurant and I got excited when they had chocolate cream pie!

Hayden is still doing well, he likes to stretch out now since he is losing room. This morning when Jon and I woke up you could see his long skinny body in my tummy, it was kind of cool. He is very healthy still and I am due for an appointment on November 13. We will keep you updated.

Trick-or-Treat, Smell my feet

Well last night was Halloween and we went out and bought 2 huge bags of candy for the kids in the area. Lets just say we still have 1 and 9/10 of those bags left. We got five trick-or-treaters 2 younger kids and 3 older ones; one even forgot his costume so he just got a small kit-kat, silly kid.

Before that, Amanda came down to the nursing home and helped direct some kids around as they trick-or-treated to our residents. We had about 100 come through in the end. I will put up some pictures later, Amanda went as a witch and I was an 80's rocker.

It was a good time, but I really wish we would have had more kids come by our place. Well, now we at least know not to take Hayden around here next year.

Weekend News... Those darn Packers

So the cheesehead picture almost disappeared off the blog, but Brett Farve had to go and turn just one play to end overtime. Anyway, Jon and I went out last night to watch the game and had a good time.

Hayden is still doing well, rolling around in my tummy like always. He likes to sleep on one side of my tummy, depends on if I am sleeping on the left or right. He prefers the right however, because then he can sleep on his back.

We are finally getting Hayden's room ready so we will take pictures once everything is all put in order and post them. We have a play-yard all set up and a new dresser that took us awhile to put together without a tool set and good directions. We eventually got it put together though! Well that is all that is new, if anything changes we will let everyone know.

Check Up

Had another appointment today and everything couldn't be more perfect. I drove down to Portland yesterday and ended up going to Jazzercise with my mom. Hayden must have enjoyed the music because he was dancing in my tummy while I was working out. At least that is what I want to believe otherwise Hayden probably wasn't too happy with me.

Today I went to see the doctor and was told "You have a perfect baby." Those were her exact words. I have gained 4 pounds since my last visit, and Hayden is growing more and more each day. The doctor tole me my tummy is at full length even though Hayden is not yet. She estimated he is about 17 inches and about 6.5 lbs. His heart beat is in the 130s and he couldn't be more healthy.

Hump Day!

As the week is ending I am getting ready for my drive down to my doctors appointment on Friday. I am not sure if I am due for another ultrasound or test but it may just be a check up. Hayden and I are doing well. Hayden's movements are now seen on the outside of my belly as you can see from the video. He is running out of room so my tummy just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I am not having the pregnancy cravings yet, but I am starting to get crabby at moments (poor Jon). I am sleeping better, however, last night Jon said that I must of had a rough night or at least Hayden did because I was breathing heavily and every time I exhaled Hayden gave a kick.

Hayden's room is filling up with all of the new stuff we have got him. I am getting more and more excited that he is coming and trust me Jon is thrilled to go shopping at moments too, even though he may claim it is all my doing. There are moments however he does have to drag me out of the baby department, but I can't help it. There are tons of cute clothes and toys out there!!!!

Don't worry I will keep everyone updated about the doctors appointment!

Late Night Shopping

Well we began the night carving pumpkins (Amanda's is way better than mine) and made some dinner. Afterwards, I used our new camera to take a picture of them, but it started making some weird grinding sounds. So, we were off to the trusty Target to get a new one. While we were out, we decided to do some Hayden shopping; just like every other time we go.

In the end, we went out to return our cameraand came home with a crib comforter, sheet set, dust ruffle, bumper, 60 diapers, a mobile, 4 receiving blankets, 4 packs of baby wipes, a bottle of baby stain remover, 2 hats and a growth chart to match the crib set.

What did Jon learn from tonight?

Don't take Amanda with to return the camera.

Lazy Saturday

Well as the day's tick away, we are finishing up getting everything ready. I am still waiting for Amanda to go through her boxes in the spare bedroom so I can move everything around and get it set up for Hayden. For now, we just have all of the baby things in the middle of the room and is starting to pile up a bit.

Amanda recently bought a cross-stitching kit to make a wall hanging so I have not spoken too much to her lately; she likes working on it and I am beginning to think she is obsessed. Last night she did not go to bed till around 2 because she had to finish "the little blue area". (She messed it up so had to fix it.) Either way I slept through her working on it.

Well other than that, everything has been going great, Amanda is as beautiful as ever and Hayden continues to kick and move constantly. It is fun to play hide and seek with Hayden, we try to find his foot and he tries to move it away from us. Every day Amanda pees less and less, which is a miracle and he is starting to take up more space in her belly. Now if you poke her belly there is a great chance you will hit him. Anyway, just wanted to write a short note, GIT said we needed to make another post so I had to oblige. We go to the doctor next Friday so we will write more then.

Oh yea, thanks to looking through Ruchell's blog for Brooklynn we added a spot for everyone to guess when Hayden will arrive...enjoy!!

Getting Bigger

As the days go by I have just accepted that I am going to get bigger and bigger. I have put on a couple pounds just in the last three days, it is getting harder to sit up without rolling first. I think Hayden is enjoying having his weight to push me around. He loves to stretch all the way across my stomach to either kick me in the ribs or diaphragm (resulting in a huge gasp that sometimes scares Jon). I think we are going to have a little soccer player on our hands because his kicks just keep getting stronger and stronger.

It is getting more and more uncomfortable to sleep because my tummy is so big, so if there is any advice on how to sleep I would love to hear it. Cheryl you will be glad to know I found a way to calm Hayden down at night so he sleeps all the way through. I take a nice long, relaxing shower that not only calms me down but seems to calm Hayden down as well. We are both (Hayden and I) doing well, gaining weight everyday, and all would be pleased to know Jon has not jumped out to scare me since we have been back!

Video

I posted the video on the blog yesterday, but have gotten word that it does not work for some reason. Just in case it doesn't work for you, I added a link to the youtube page where I have it posted. Enjoy!! Jon and Amanda

Foot, knee or something else?

Yesterday I (Amanda) think I saw Hayden's foot pop out of my tummy. Jon isn't to convinced so we are not sure if it is a foot, knee, or even a elbow or something. We do have a video of a super kick though that we plan on putting on this blog. You all should be pleased to know that I am gaining weight little by little, and I think my tummy is getting better, but we are not sure.

Note from Jon: Even though she says she is gaining weight, she is still the cutest pregnant lady I have ever seen. I just hope Hayden doesn't get her toes.

GIT

Since Cheryl does not want to be called grandma yet, we have begun to call her GIT (Grandma in Training). I think it has a nice ring to it, so feel free to use this new nickname for her; in fact I encourage it.

Finally

After repeated requests (nagging) by Grandma Cheryl, we have started a blog to keep everyone up to date. We just had another doctors appointment on Friday and it went great. Dr. Macy said Hayden's heartbeat is perfect and everything is going well. All the blood work they did last month came back normal. He was "sitting like a hammock" in Amanda's stomach and gave the doctor quite a kick when she put the gel on her belly. Other than that everything is going great and we will be adding some pictures and a video soon.