Noah, Elliot and Olivia's Blog: 2014

Friday, December 12, 2014

Welcome Olivia Rose Owens!

Our newest little bundle has finally arrived! I was supposed to be induced on Monday morning, but because of how busy the Maple Grove hospital was, we were unable to get admitted. After some initial frustration, we enjoyed the day (and one more night of rest) and then were admitted to Southdale Fairview hospital in Edina on Tuesday morning for induction. Olivia Rose Owens made her debut on November 4th, 2014 at 1:43 pm weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 22 inches long (wow!). She is the perfect addition to our family and we love her so much. Labor and delivery were a bit different this time since I had group B strep and had to get 4 hours of antibiotics prior to delivery. Nick and I watched a lot of TV for those 4 hours :) Once my water was broken and pitocin started around 11 am, things progressed quickly. I asked for my epidural right away (to be proactive, ha!) Little Olivia was in a bit of distress (heart rate dropped very low and then shot up really high over and over again) so we were nervous, but she was just stressed from coming out so fast. The nurse texted the Dr. when I was dilated at a 7, and she made it just in time to deliver. Here are a few pictures of Olivia at the hospital and her first few days at home.

Doesn't like the cold

Mommy is in love!

Much smaller than her brothers, she surprised everyone

Look at that face!

Meeting her brothers for the first time

Lucky girl has such great big brothers

Proud daddy

Mommy kept dressing her up at the hospital,
she doesn't think she likes being the only girl in the family :)

Getting dressed to go home (not a fan)

Still not a fan of getting dressed

That's better

Waiting to go home. The computers were down so we couldn't check out.
We couldn't get over how ridiculous that sounded.

Happy (partial) family

We are out of here!

So much (maybe sometimes too much) love from her brothers

Checking her out

Lots of kisses

Shhh, the baby is sleeping!

Our three sweeties

Welcome to the world, Olivia, we hope you are ready for our crazy family! :) We love you so much already!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Noah Starts Kindergarten!

The day finally arrived, and Noah started kindergarten! We are so incredibly proud of him, and he is so excited to be in school. We started the day with a big breakfast then drove over to Shelli's house so Noah could catch the bus. We then followed the bus to the school and helped Noah get inside the school with his teacher and classmates. I held myself together and didn't cry until AFTER Noah went into the school :) Noah is doing great in school, and is making many new friends every day.

Read to go

Ninja Turtle Backpack :)

Bus buddies Brooke and Zach at Shelli's House

Here comes the bus!

Such a big boy

Excited to ride the bus!

Best Friend Kendyl

Bye! (This is when mommy started to tear up)

Here's to a great first year, Noah!!

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Carrie on 5k 2014

This year was the 5th annual Carrie on 5k. We can't believe it has been that long since Carrie's accident, but always enjoy the event to celebrate her life and remember her. It was hot again this year, and mommy had a hard time finishing the race with her big belly in tow :) Noah walked/ran the entire race this year, and was very proud of himself. He and his friend Caleb did a great job completing the race. Here are a few pictures from the race:

Ready for the race to start

Kiddie race (Elliot's first time)

Go Elliot go!

We all finished!

Lunch at Maynards with the Dawson's after the race

State Fair 2014

Grandpa Randy came down to visit again this year so that we could attend the State Fair. Mommy decided not to go this year because she thought it would be too much walking for her, so it was just Grandpa, Daddy and I. Everyone tells me that this is the last year that I get to enjoy the fair by myself; next year Elliot will be old enough to join us. That's okay though, I think I can share the day with him :) The weather this year was much colder than it has been in the past, and at the end of the day it rained on us. We still got a lot of fun activities in though, and had a great day. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Getting ready to 'farm'

'Farming'

Riding a roller coaster by myself

Mini donuts with Grandpa, my favorite!

Trying to look a pig in the eye :)

Petting a pig

Corn with daddy

Passed out in the car, tiring day

Noah's 5 year old fun

Hi everyone! I am 5 years old! I am excited to be 5, because now I can got o school. I also think I get to extend my bedtime, but mommy tells me we have to discuss it first :) A few days after my birthday, mommy and I visited Dr. Paulson for a checkup. He asked me a bunch of questions (i.e. if I knew my first and last name, where I lived, my address, phone number, what to do when a stranger talked to me, etc.) I knew the answer to most of the questions, so I was proud of myself. I also passed my hearing and vision tests. Here are my stats at age 5:

Height: 44 inches (80th percentile)
Weight: 46 pounds (69th percentile)
Blood Pressure- Normal
BMI-Normal

I continue to be a healthy boy! I enjoy running around and am extremely active. I learned a lot in preschool and am very ready for kindergarten. I can write my first and last name (and Elliot's name), know my numbers and letters, and can recognize patterns. I can't wait to see what else I learn in kindergarten. To keep our fun tradition alive, here are the answers about my 'favorites' at 5 years old:

Color: Blue
Food: Corn Dogs
TV Show: Ninja Turtles
Move: Tom and Jerry
Fruit: Strawberries
Vegetable: Corn
Song: What does the fox say by Ylvis
Toy: Ninja Turtles
Best Friend: Caleb

Noah's 5 Year Birthday!

Noah is finally 5!! He has been counting down the days for almost 6 months (when will I be 5? in 4 days?) As soon as he had his birthday, he started asking how long until he would be 6 :) On Noah's actual birthday, we spent the day as a family going to Lake Calhoun walking around the lake, going on paddle boats, and eating lunch at the Tin Fin. It was a great day. Since mom hadn't been feeling so hot lately, Noah's birthday party with his friends was several weeks later. Noah was a bit upset at first, but ended up thinking it was fun to be able to celebrate all over again. He had his friend party at Lifetime Fitness this year. We rented out the gym and the kiddos had two 'fun coordinators' that organized games for the kids to play during the party.