Baby and Beach

We have been busy with our new addition, Oscar Philip. He was born on August 3 and weighed 8 lbs 1 oz. He has been getting spoiled by his grandmother and aunt... and us! We think he is such a special little boy.

In the hospital

At home.

Hanging out with mom and auntie.

We went to Westhampton beach for an evening walk. The sky and water were lovely and the temperature was perfect for a walk on the beach.

The woman who looks too young to be a grandmother.

Some surfers waiting for the next wave.

The two sisters.

Jason trying out the Snugli.

Looks like it works.

Bumblebees, but no babies

Well, I've officially reached my due date set by my obstetrician. I'm hoping that we will have a baby soon, but in the meantime, must keep self busy!! So I thought I'd give a quick update of our July activities thus far.

Some girls from our small group at church threw a baby shower for me. This is me, cutting the cake. (Who's ready to pop?!!)

This was the party favour that a friend made. I was so impressed.

I've been busy sewing some baby stuff. This is my recent project, a baby quilt. Can you guess the theme of our nursery? That's right, bumblebees! If you look closely, very closely, you will see that some of the yellow squares have little bees on them.


We also went into Manhattan, baby-free for the last time. I wanted to go to another Mets game (who knew baseball was so much fun to watch live). This is Jason and I in Washington Square, it's in the NYU area. It's a cool place to hang out (and people-watch of course).

Here's pictures from the Mets' game. They won. Yaaah! It was the perfect way to spend a summer's evening.

Our friend Jeung-Hoon.

Shaun and Jason, enjoying the game.

Well, that's about it. Now, the nesting begins. Apparently, now I'm suppose to want to clean my house to perfection. I have a hard time imagining that I will every feel like that.

New Apartment, Awaiting Other Big Changes

We just moved into a new apartment about a week ago. We decided it was time to get a two bedroom apartment so we had room for the new Olfert whose expected in two weeks and for all our family and friends that want to see us and New York City. We have only been here a week and already we have had two sets of guests that stayed overnight. Lots of fun!

Jason came back a day early from Oklahoma and surprised me with his early arrival. That was fun and even better was the help he was in our packing to move.

We celebrated our first 4th of July here. It was a grey, rainy day but we managed to make the best of it. Here's a picture of Melissa and me at our Independence Day party. She's due three weeks after me. The ladies in red!



This is a baby present that I got today from a friend who just returned from Korea. Can't wait to use it!


My friend Helen came for a week at the end of June. We had a great week, going into the City three times. We went to a Mets game, spent a day on the beach, had a picnic at a vineyard, and hung out at the local pool. Here's a shot of me from Queens, what a great skyline!!


Here's Helen in Times Square, after our Broadway show.

A Broken Bodum

I am making it through my month without Jason quite well. I haven't really missed him until about now. Hoping the next two weeks go fast, but not too fast because I have to do all the packing before we move into our new apartment.

This morning was eventful. As I was taking a container with coffee out of the cupboard, my stainless steel travel mug decided to hitch a ride with it and the mug came crashing down on my Bodum tea pot that I got for my birthday. I'm a little sad about the fate of my poor tea pot. I think the coffee feels that I have been neglecting it because I have been drinking tea almost everyday. So, obviously, it saw it's time to strike back at the tea pot and killed the little tea pot, hoping that that would switch my alliances back to coffee. I'll include a picture of the final fate of the tea pot (warning: graphic image).

Last weekend, my friend Tara came for a visit. We had a rainy, lazy Saturday together on Long Island and then we went to New York on Sunday and got some sun and excitement.

We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan. Some nice New Yorker (yes, that's right, a NICE New Yorker- they do exist) helped us out on the bridge. She directed us towards a pizza place so we could experience Brooklyn-style pizza in Brooklyn and then told us where to get the best ice cream.

Brooklyn Bridge

Me, with child, on the Bridge

Tara, showing us how to eat pizza "Brooklyn Style"

A great ice cream place

Look at that skyline! (oh and there is a bride in the background)

The rest of the day involved more food, as we went to Alice's Tea Cup to get some scones to-go and then we some how got in the middle of the Puerto Rico Pride Parade. It was very loud and crazy.

I also got to see Shaun and Marla while I was in New York and was introduced to the newest member of their family- Dixon. He is a very cute little dog and certainly gets a lot of attention on his walks.

Well, last week, I gave into the pressure and went onto Facebook. It's been fun and time-consuming, but I hope it doesn't take me away from blogging.

Muffins and Rainy Days

Today is a rainy day, which is actually a nice break from the heat and humidity that we were experiencing. I love the warm days but I always feel like I should be outside- DOING something. When it rains, well, I can just stay inside ALL day long, read, bake and watch movies. Which I'm doing today, well, the baking part at least.

Jason left for Oklahoma this weekend. He has gone down there to do research for a month with his work group. I know- nice! Leave the pregnant wife at home. But he didn't really have any say in the matter, the group does this sort of thing every year. Next year, they are going to Chile-now you're talking! So, maybe next year, I'll tag along and spend some time on the beach in Chile, learning Spanish and having my baby pick it up by immersion. We will see!

Now that I'm single, even though there is another person inside me (weird/cool at the same time. Beans does keep me from talking to myself. I can have conversations with Beans and not call it "crazy" just "bonding"), I'm having to find ways to fill my time. I've made my list of "June Activities" and so hopefully that will give me some structure so I don't spend the whole month watching "Pride and Prejudice" and marathon runs of "America's Next Top Model".

Nope, once the rains clear, I will be hitting the beach with my new maternity bathing suit from Target. V.cute. And no, you won't be seeing a picture of it on me either. I have found the beach to be the perfect place for a preggo- I can dig into the sand and bury my stomach down into it, so that way I can lie on my stomach. (Then people walk by and just feel mildly sorry for the beached whale!)

I'm also hoping to make a quilt for my baby. I made one for a friend (see my blog "Exams, excuses, etc.") and I was thinking of making one for myself. Since this one will be asexual, I'm limited to what colors to use, but I have an idea. I'll post the finish product.

My friend, Helen is coming at the end of June from England! We have already bought tickets for a Broadway show and it should be fun to show her around NYC and Long Island. Granted, I won't be up for pounding the pavement too much but it will still be fun.

Also, we are moving into a two bedroom apartment in July (well needed! The second bedroom will probably host our guests, while our baby sleeps in our room!) So, that means that I will get to have the joy of packing everything up again. But this time, I won't have to do any of the lifting- I can live with that.

Well, my low-fat Chocolate Chip Muffins are nearly finished, so I should run. Hmmm... they actually taste low-fat as well!

Beautiful Days!

We have been having the best weather here this past week. It's been great. It's so warm, in fact, that we went to the beach on Saturday. We didn't go into the water past our ankles, but that's 'cause it's the Atlantic and it's COLD!!

It's been so nice and warm that I made a batch of home-made strawberry ice cream! It turned out very good (I think). I bought the strawberries from our local farm stand and I milked a cow for the cream (just joking- about the cow). This could be a bad combination though: pregnant woman with ice cream maker. I'm considering what my next flavor should be, either peanut butter with peanut butter cups OR peach. Any suggestions?

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Like I've mentioned already, the weather's been great, so we spent most of it outside. We watched "Pan's Labyrinth" on Friday (not for the weak-hearted) and then Saturday, we headed to the West Hampton beach to enjoy the sun and sand. Sunday, we went into New York to meet up with our friend, Liz. We had a great day there. We went to MoMA for the afternoon for FREE!

Here's Liz and Jason in the garden at MoMA.

One of the displays in the Design and Architecture section of MoMA.

Just a picture of the Empire Building.

Monday, we helped out at our church, giving out free pop (out here- it's called "soda". I guess people in the Mid-West call it "pop") to people who were marching or watching the Memorial Parade.

We just bought our first BBQ. So, we have been cooking on it regularly, it's great. I think it's a necessity for the summer.

Other necessities for the summer:
-Body Shop body butter KEPT IN the fridge
-home-made ice tea
-a fan
-ice cubes, lots of ice cubes
-a nearby beach/body of water
-sunglasses
-flip flops
-ice cream (in any form, on a stick, in a cup, on a cone)

Big Changes and Little Changes

Well, I know that I have been pretty bad about blogging lately. We recently had Jason's mom and dad out visiting us. We also had some friends from Cambridge visiting. Finally, I was in Alberta for 10 days, visiting friends and family.

As the title suggests, there has been some big changes and some smaller changes as well... the biggest (and smallest) change is that I have a new neice! Her name is Emery Janae and she was born on May 6th. Here's her picture.


I was able to meet her five hours after she was born! I flew to Calgary and drove up with my mom the day before her birth. My welcome to Alberta? Driving through a snow storm on the way to Edmonton. Unbelievable.

Another change that we have experienced at the Olfert house is the shaving of Jason's beard. He has had that thing since September and now with the warmer temperatures and his favorite teams out of the NHL playoffs, he decided it was time to shave...

Before

After

And in between...

Here are some pictures from our trip to Washington, DC with Jason's parents. Here we are at Arlington National Cemetary. It's the cemetary where JFK is buried and the Unknown Soldier's memorial is here as well. We had great weather in Washington and saw lots of cherry blossoms on the trees.

Here's a picture of the White House. We couldn't go inside but we were able to tour the grounds and see the gardens.

At the WW II war memorial.

There were so many beautiful flowers there.

There's Abe.

Korean War memorial.

Iwo Jima memorial.

Capitol Hill.


An artistic attempt.


Here's a picture of Jason, working in an airplane. See kids what you can do after you get your PhD! This is Jason testing out his sensor that he has been working on. His research group is going to be flying over Oklahoma City this June, gathering air samples. This is a test run.

The Cheap Train Ride

On Saturday, we caught the train into NYC to spend the day with our friends Chris and Tara. We got a deal on our train tickets and thanks to Jeong, who lets us know about this discount, our tickets were only $6.50 each (normally $19.00).

The weather was great on Saturday, sunny and mild. We were lucky and beat the Nor'Easter by a day. You may have heard of the big storm that hit New York and the North Eastern coast over the weekend. The storm was apparently a 'Nor'Easter', which I am going to assume means a North Eastern wind was causing the storm. It's certainly took on a life of it's own. There was so much flooding in this area.

Here are some pictures of our day with Chris and Tara. These ones are all taken in Central Park.





I finally got into this tea shop that I have been trying to get in to everytime I've gone in to NYC since Christmas. There was always a 45 min. wait to get a table. So, finally, this time we got in after waiting 10 mins. It's kind of a girly place, so a big thanks to Chris (and Jason) for allowing me to drag them into a place that serves finger sandwiches and was hosting a bridal shower in the back room. This place serves the best scones, so I know they didn't suffer. Warning, if you do come to visit me, I may drag you to Alice's Tea Cup.

From tea to hockey....

On Monday, we went to an Islanders playoff game. They lost, but it was still pretty fun to be in an atmosphere like that. The fans got a little out of control at the end of the game. Due to a bad penalty call, the fans were littering the ice with bottles and cups to show their disagreement with the call. I think we will stay away from going to anymore games this season because every game we have gone to, the Islanders have lost.

My obstetrician is a big hockey fan so I am now having dreams (or maybe nightmares) about him and Jason discussing hockey while I'm in labor. At least the playoffs with be done then.

Easter Birthday

That's it- I'm officially 29 years old. This year, I celebrated the date of my birth on the same date as the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Obviously, one event had significantly more of an impact on the world than the other event, but it was still a good birthday. Not a GREAT birthday though. No, unfortunately, last year's birthday is still overshadowing this year's celebration. Last year, I was in Egypt, exploring ancient temples and relaxing by the pool in the desert sun. This year, I spent the morning at church and the afternoon, studying in my kitchen.

Here's a picture from last year's birthday in Egypt. We went to a Korean restaurant for dinner.


But, the afternoon of studying paid off, because I passed my nursing exam! I just got the "unofficial" results today. I am so relieved. There still may be a chance that I will work in this country before I have this baby! I didn't feel so confidant when I left the exam on Tuesday. I had left my house with PLENTY of time to get there, but of course, traffic was horrible and then I missed my turn, twice. So I showed up with pink cheeks and out of breath. Then, the exam went really quickly. The length could range from 75 to 265 questions (depending on how you answer your questions) and you have 6 hours to write it in. Well, I was out of there in 1 1/2 hours and my brain was spinning. I thought I would have an idea of how I did, yet I felt completely confused and unsure of how I did.

Other exciting news- I got tickets for "Live with Regis and Kelly" at the end of the month! I had applied to go with Irene and Esther, when they were visiting. But, only two dates worked when they were here, so the third date I gave was a date in April, when Jason's parents are here. So, it's going to be me, Jackie and Irwin in the audience on April 26th. Make sure to check it out, spot us in the audience and listen for Irwin's laugh!

Colds and Friends

Well, all my visitors have left and now I am trying to study for my exam. We had a great time with our friends who came to visit. Carin and Marcus arrived last week from Sweden and stayed with us for a few days. We had the nicest day in spring so far, which we spent in Southampton, walking on the beach and looking at all the nice houses there. I think I even got a few more freckles. Here's a picture of the cute couple. They are on their way to Guatemala to visit Marcus' dad and take in Holy Week down there. That should be an amazing experience.


After Marcus and Carin left, my friends Irene and Esther arrived from Lethbridge. But (as the title of this blog suggests), I came down with a wicked cold, I even lost my voice for a day! Luckily, there was a day and half break in between our friends coming, so I was able to rest my body and my voice and somewhat recover. What a pain! I haven't been sick all winter and the week that I need to be well, I get sick! Isn't that how it always goes?! Now, we are looking forward to Jason's parents coming for a visit in two weeks. Our spring seems to bring friends and family, which is great.

Here is a pregnant picture of me. As you can see, everything has GROWN, not just my belly. Oh well!


As for a name for the little fetus, we are going with the name "Beans" (only while it's inside me!) Beans? you ask. Well, there is a bit of a story behind it. First, the kid DID look like a little bean in the first ultrasound that we saw. Second, we took the name from this children's tv show called "Even Stevens", where one of the characters gets the nickname "Beans". Jason and I laughed so hard during that episode (it must have been EARLY Saturday morning) that it made an impact in our minds. So, when we were thinking of nicknames, "Beans" jumped into our minds (and into our hearts!).