we have fabulous friends and family...

first i want to say thanks to everybody for the comments and well wishes. you are all so sweet. (i love blogging...it's such a fabulous way to spread the news and stay in touch.) i also want to say thanks for the phone calls, visits at the hospital, and gifts we received. it's great to have so much support. i feel very blessed. ok, enough of that...

so, yea for derek for posting pics so quick!! a couple of you asked about mckenzie's size etc...derek did post it, but it's kinda easy to miss. oh, and some have asked again about her middle name, so here's the official announcement! ha ha

McKenzie Rae Oliverson was born on 08-28-08 at 1:32pm (only 7 hours after being induced!!!) she weighed 8 lbs 7 oz, and was 20 1/2 inches tall.

Some More Random Pics!

Beautiful little girl.

Sami and "Kenzi"

Big sisters.

Big sister Annie.

Mommy and the baby.

McKenzie stretching those jaws.

Dr. Kirsch and McKenzie immediately after birth.

Meet McKenzie (Later changed to Alexis)

Born 08/28/08 at 1:32 p.m. 8 lbs. 7 ozs. 21 inches tall.

YIKES AND YAY!

it's 4 am, and i'm supposed to be at the hospital at 6 am. ya, i'm having a hard time sleeping! derek gave me a really nice blessing, and i'm not worried or scared (etc...) i'm just really anxious. plus, i think mckenzie knows she's getting kicked out, because she hasn't stop moving for about 5 hours...and it's getting kind of annoying!!! anyway, the hospital has wifi, so we're taking derek's computer and we'll be able to post pics and stuff pretty soon after she's born. i can't wait to see what she looks like. it would be so fun if she has red hair, but i'm trying so hard not to get my hopes up...i guess we'll see. hopefully sooner than later! ;)

oh, we still need a middle name. if you have any ideas now would be the perfect time! here are some of our ideas...well, MY ideas.
Rae (for derek's grandpa, Ray)
Jo (my mom's middle name)
Lee
Nicole
Lou (for my grandma, her name was Luella)

and that's all i've got!!

random thoughts...

so, samantha and i have had 1 school week together. monday and tuesday were a little rough because sam had a double ear infection, and her 2 year molars are coming in. but the rest of the week was fun. we went to the zoo, the children's museum, the park, walmart (x2), costco, and other random things. it's been alot of fun with just the 2 of us. i don't know if it's in my head, but it seems like she talking a little bit more. AND...last night i put her in the tub and she screamed..."sit on the potty." i usually sit her on the toilet just for fun before her shower, but this was the first time it was her idea. so i got her out and put her on the toilet and she PEED!! ha haha ha i was freaking out!! she'd never done that before...it was amazing!! i was jumping around making a very big deal about it. she kept wanting to give me high fives about 100 times!! i had almost lost hope that she would ever be ready to potty train, but i have new hope now!!

a friend of mine told me about the yummiest thing ever. in the frozen section at costco there are these pink bags with yoplait smoothy mixes in them. the smoothies packet thingies have frozen yogurt and berries in them. you just add 1 cup of milk, and then blend it all up in a blender. they are SOOOOOOO GOOD!! anyway, very worth trying.

BACK to SCHOOL

today was the first day of school. katelyn started 2nd grade, and annie started kindergarten. we were all very ready for school to start. last night after the girls showered and got all ready for bed derek gave them each a father's blessing. i'm so glad i have a husband who can do that for our family. the blessings were very sweet, and they calmed some of the nerves i was having about turning my sweet girls over to the public school system!!!! both the girls wanted to go into the school alone...of course! i told annie i wanted to walk with her on her first day, but i let her lead the way. she was so excited...she had a hard time falling asleep last night. a couple of kids in her class were crying when their parents left and when annie gave me a hug goodbye she asked, "why are they crying?" apparently she had no tears on what she considers the best day ever!!! samantha and i have been having a very noneventful day. she's got an ear infection, but i don't really think that has affect how are day would have gone!! every now and then she asks where katie and annie are...she's going to have to learn to entertain herself a little bit! i shed a few tears after dropping the girls off, but i'm over it now!! it's going to make things a little easier around here, especially after the baby is born.

samantha speaks

the title should read "hamantha peak" because sami can't say her s's. she doesn't have a lisp...she just doesn't say them at all. i just realized this the other day, and it's been cracking me up ever since!!!
hum = some
lide = slide
wing = swing
ya = yes
hun = sun

anyway, you get the point!!

baby update

we finally decided on a name. we're going with McKenzie. for the time being Lee is her middle name, but i'm not 100% on that. (i really want to use Jo, but derek's not a big fan of that.) if anyone has a middle name suggestion feel free to tell me! also, she's due september 3rd, but my doc has agreed to induce me the 28th so we can have over the weekend. it would be alot better for derek if he doesn't have to worry about missing classes. i went to the doc yesterday and i'm already dilated to a 2 and 50% efaced...so maybe, just maybe she'll come a bit early on her own, and i won't have to be induced!!

finally...an update (aka: lots of pics)

this summer we've spent alot of time in our suits trying to stay cool. this is a splash park in omaha that the kids really like.

the girls have spent alot of time coloring and playing with playdough. samantha always sticks her tongue out when she's really concentrating!!

we've spent some time being sick too. especailly derek...he had such a bad ear infection a couple of weeks ago that he ended up getting a tube in his ear.

annie was in the council bluffs newspaper, and katelyn was in a eye doctor commercial.
while in salt lake city, we went to derek's uncle brent's house and saw his horses and hung out. the kids loved the horses.
well...they loved petting them...not so much riding them!!!

the girls had tons of fun with their cousins.

katelyn and james... their relationship has been a little strained because katelyn really likes hanging out with the older girl cousins lately. derek and i kept telling james that katelyn will think he's the coolest again someday!!!
these are all the oliverson grandkids...minus elea...she wasn't born yet when this pic was taken.
we were in utah for 4 weeks and samantha never really warmed up to anyone. at first she would cry if anyone even looked at her, and by the time we left she at least didn't do that anymore. but if you wanted a hug or a kiss from her you had to bribe her with a treat. she did warm up to jeff...of course!!!
it was so stinkin' hot in st. george. grandpa o. would buy big blocks of ice and put them in the hot tub to cool it down so the girls could get in and "swim". (and you wonder how jeff won samantha over....)
derek and elea when she was 1 day old.
isn't she so sweet?!
we spent a few days in cedar city...where jeff and kristina live. the canyon park there has this little creek that the girls really like to play in.
i love this pic...i should be a photographer!!!!

sullivan grandkids with grandma and grandpa sully. apparently they're only going to get grand-daughters!!!
katelyn and annie can kick anyone's booty in the match game.
more time with cousins.
the last weeked we were in st. george we had a "kevin and marjean oliverson reunion". to start it off we all went to tuacahn (an outdoor theater) to watch "the sound of music". marjean had seen it twice already, so she stayed home with the three 2 year olds. when we got back that night this is how we found them!!! oh, the play was really good...the kids loved it.

saturday morning of the reunion the dads and all the boy cousins went golfing, and the girls stayed home and made crafts.
samantha was "napping" during the crafts...or so i thought. i guess she decided to do a craft of her own. this pic is only a 10th of what she really did. luckily everything wiped off and the sheets and bed skirt came clean when i washed them.
saturday afternoon we played water games with the kids...it ended in a huge water fight because derek poured a huge bucket of water on marjean's head!! i don't have pics of that, but if you're interested in those pics click on the "bundys" blog (fellow bloggers).

at the end of the day grandpa o. put up a pinata. each kid got a turn taking a wack at it...then grandpa o. finished it off. i spun him a few times, so he was having a hard time finding it at first!!!

the next day was elea's baby blessing. jeff did a great job. it was a hectic weekend, but alot of fun. i didn't plan on being in utah for a month, but it ended up working out really well because the kids got to spend alot of time with their cousins...we got to be in town for elea's birth, and we got to spend some time with my parents too.