even more...

more pictures from shoot

It was a crazy day when we had these taken. In all fairness it is always a crazy day around our house - just for different reasons each day! The kids were playing tug of war over a book inches away from bumping baby Charlie during half of the family shots, Lindsey avoided Shannon like the plague, and Cody pouted for more "cars from the movie" to smile for the camera...it wasn't pretty. I'm not sure many of the pictures were that pretty either, but they do really capture this time in our lives. That is good enough for me!

Better late than never I suppose...

Just about anyone I can imagine reading this blog should be getting one of these in the mail this week. It took me longer than I had planned and hoped, but here is Charlie's brth announcement. I'll post some other pictures from that day later on today or this week- K

Happy Birthday Cake!

Last Thursday was Lindsey's 2nd Birthday. We had a week full of cupcakes and then we followed that up with Easter candy! Lindsey didn't really know what the celebration was all about, but she did enjoy ripping into presents and like I said before, the cupcakes!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St.Patrick's Day from me & my little bunch of leprechauns!
-Kristen

Butterfly time at the Gardens

Steve & I took the crew to the Meijer Gardens yesterday to see the butterflies - It was sunny and warmer, so they were all out and busy flying around. The kids loved it!

Gripe Water saves the Soets!

So its a simple mixture - water with ginger and fennel, but the results are HUGE at our house! The night before trying Gripe Water, Charlie woke up every 1.5 - 2 hours screaming to be fed & uncomfortable...it was a very long night in a chain of many very long nights! For the next two nights he slept 5-7 hour stretches - a great improvement. Last night he ate & went to bed at 9pm and didn't wake up until 7am!!! SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!

Thank you Gripe Water!

Crying baby update-

Since I am officially 6 weeks in and still not getting much sleep I have starting soliciting advice. Charlie definitely qualifies as having colic - crying at least 3 hours, at least 3 nights a week, for at least 3 weeks! Anyone with any colic treating tips, please let me know if anything worked for you.

Today's tip came from Sue Duyser: Gripe Water (available at Eastgate Pharmacy!)

I thought third babies were supposed to be easy going, laid back, etc. Maybe once this passes, but I don't have a very good feeling about it! If the Gripe Water helps at all, I will pass the recommendation on to the next mother with a wailing baby that is SO tired of doing the swaying, bouncing, and shushing all night long!
-Kris

Hippity, Hoppity!

Easter is on its way and since I didn't feel real confidant that any of my kids would smile on the Easter Bunny's lap at the mall, I opted for live bunnies (& chicks)this year! It went extremely well with the boys and not so smoothly with Lindsey... She cried so hard and for so long that she never even made it into bad pictures. Maybe next year!

Big Daddy is Back...Almost!

So for those of you that don't know my dad a.k.a. Big Daddy, he has been living in Hollywood, FL for the past 2 years. He was back in Grand Rapids this week for a visit before he officially moves back home in a few weeks. The kids are VERY excited - actually Cody is thrilled & Lindsey is still a little sketchy around Big Daddy, but that won't take long to work on. Anyway, he brought the kids some shells & it was a big hit. Last week our Traverse City buddies stopped by and JP was toting a bucket of shells and ever since Cody has been hunting them...Not too easy to find shells in the snowy GR area! So we had a great time seeing him, getting lots of shells, and Big Daddy got to meet little Charlie John for the first time too- We can't wait till he's back for good!

Charlie's new buddy is here - Ryer

Ryer Jack Olsson
February 29, 2008
9lbs. 2oz. 21 inches
Happy family - Lindsay, Scott, Morgan, Corby, & Ryer Olsson

-Charlie & I stopped up to visit Lindsay & Ryer yesterday. The two boys got to know each other and smiled for the cameras. They are exactly 4 weeks or 1 month apart. I'm sure they will spend plenty of time together in the future. We're just glad everyone is healthy and happy to be no longer pregnant!

Congratulations to the Olssons!