i just can't get enough... i just can't get enough

Our happy Oliver at 12 weeks old. 12 weeks?!? He is growing up fast!

At 12 weeks Oliver can:
-hold his head steady
-smile up a storm
-coo and make razzing sounds
-blow bubbles and drool on everything
-squeal in delight (my favorite!)
-track objects, especially mom and dad walking around or leaving the room

His favorite things are:
-baths
-walks and being outside
-story time
-mom singing him random songs all day long
-dad doing his special booty dance (I am determined to catch this on video!)

My boys

Did you know that while I was in labor... the most intense part, the pushing stage of labor... Tony managed to fall asleep? I remember looking over at him to see his hand resting on my thigh and his face down. Haha. Yes, I was slightly perturbed. In his defense, it was probably for no more than fifteen minutes and he had been working hard all night long pushing on my back for hours in a row. I had our doula and my mom encouraging me. If I had asked him to do anything he would have obliged. And of course, he did wake up before Oliver was actually born, so he didn't really miss anything. :)

While I like to occasionally give Tony a bad time for this... it is all in good fun. Tony is such an amazing daddy and Oliver just adores him. He can always get him to smile and coo. I love watching them interact and know that they are my boys. Forever!

Here is Ollie playing with his daddy.

So, back to Tony. He doesn't read the blog very often so I feel pretty comfortable talking about him on here. Tony has been so wonderful throughout our transition into parenthood. Not only does he drop everything to play with Oliver, he comforts him in the middle of the night, gives him baths, and never complains when a diaper needs to be changed, yet again. He's a great dad and also a fantastic husband. I am so lucky! Tony is almost always making dinner, doing the dishes, and taking out the trash. He comes home from work and jumps right in with whatever I need help with. I know I couldn't function without him!

So here is my super embarrassing confession: I haven't cooked in 12 weeks. Like legitimately cooked. Sure, I've stuck a frozen lasagna in the oven or thrown together a sandwich or two, but I haven't cooked. Tony deserves some home cooked meals again, and I finally feel like I have a hang of Oliver's schedule to where I can cook dinner without being overwhelmed.

Anyone have any dinner recipes that are easy to make? Perhaps something that only requires one hand if the baby is fussy? :) Maybe we should get a crock pot....

Tummy Time anyone?

Tummy time equals ten minutes of screaming, flailing, and sweating up a storm while mom innocently tries to encourage, distract, and comfort the little tortured one. Three times a day.

Sometimes Ollie finds his fist amidst the furious flailing of body parts and sucks on it to calm him down. Then he remembers that he is face down, on his tummy... which is apparently the worst position to be in in the whole entire world. Then he starts screaming again.

Just call me a baby torturer...

On the plus side, Oliver takes naps! In his crib!! Usually they are just 45 minutes long... but hey that is 45 minutes in which I can do such important tasks as:
1) pee
2) eat
3) drink something
4) clean?
5) take a power nap (?!?)
6) do five sit-ups
7) think about how wonderful it will be to have my old wardrobe back someday
8) stare blankly at a wall
9) search the internet for tips on how to get Oliver to sleep through the night...
10) write on the blog!

And seriously if you have any advice that will help my nights to go from waking up at 12, 2, 4, and 6 (when Oliver is ready to start the day!)... to something that involves more sleep for both of us, please comment away!

Spring Break

Tony has the week off for Spring Break and we are loving it. We are trying to get out of the house and do something fun every day. Today we went downtown to have lunch at the food carts. I had some fusion Korean tacos and Tony opted for a burger between two Texas Toast grilled cheese sandwiches... ahh the gluttony!

Ollie slept most of the time but he did enjoy walking around downtown in the rain for the short period that he was awake. He sure loves napping in his car seat.

We stopped by VooDoo Doughnut on our way home. Because.. Doughnuts! They are delicious so why wouldn't we? We got some of their enormous apple fritters. Too many actually so we are looking to pawn them off onto anyone interested in increasing their waistline. Any takers?

The day ended with seeing one of our good friends, Chad, while he was in town for a business trip. We went to Hot Lips pizza and ate our fritters for dessert.

Yes, today did revolve around eating food. We aren't going to live in Portland forever so we are taking advantage of what we can get around here. Or at least that is how I am justifying it in my head. :)

Cookie Monster

This picture was taken the day we took Oliver home from the hospital. We wanted him to be nice and warm... but his little fuzzy suit didn't fit.

It fits now!

We sure love this smile!

Happy ONE YEAR!!

March 20th marks our first anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband... I'm so happy that we can be together forever! :)

I cannot believe that a year has gone by already! Time flies when you are having fun. And what a year it has been! Here is a quick recap of the happiness, craziness, and fun times that have made up the past year of our marriage:

March 2010-
Marry in the Portland, Oregon LDS Temple
Go on an awesome honeymoon to Kauai
Adrianna moves to Pullman, WA to join Tony for the end of his internship at WSU

May 2010-
Find out that we were expecting a baby!

June 2010-
Tony finishes his internship and we moved to Portland, OR

July 2010-
Tony successfully defends his dissertation for his PhD
Summer vacation with the Parsons family in MI, Toronto, NY, and OH
We find out that we are having a baby boy!

August 2010-
Tony graduates from BYU with his PhD in Clinical Psychology
Tony begins post-doctorate work at Reed College as a Psychology Resident

September 2010-
Adrianna begins work as a part time nanny
Tony and Adrianna are called to be Sunday School teachers at church

December 2010-
The Parsons come to visit in hopes of meeting their first grandchild

January 2011-
Oliver Henry Daniel Hwang is born!

February 2011-
Lots of family comes into town for Oliver's baby blessing

And in most recent news...

March 2011-
Tony passes the EPPP to become a licensed Clinical Psychologist!!! Way to go!
Tony receives a job offer at a group private practice in Pouslbo, WA!
We haven't signed the contract yet, but accepting the position is in the works...

That means after Tony's post-doc ends in May, we'll be moving to Washington. We'll move to either Silverdale, Poulsbo, or Bainbridge Island. Bainbridge Island is just a thirty minute ferry ride from Seattle. We hope that we get some visitors as we are planning to have a guest room wherever we live. :)

PHEW! What a year! So happy to have spent it with my best friend by my side.
Looking forward to the many years ahead! :)

A fantasy called sleep

Call me naive, but I don't think I fully grasped the intensity of the sleep deprivation that would greet our little family as soon as our son was born. I haven't slept more than about 3 hours at a time in two months. As depressing as that sounds.. sleeping for 3 hours uninterrupted feels like heaven when it happens! And it happens a few times a week, on good nights. Ahhhh... where was I?

Oh yeah, sleep. I can blame my lack of blogging on my baby's lack of napping. Well proper napping. The kind of naps that you are led to believe that babies take prior to actually having a child. The kind where you put down your sleepy little baby and they drift off to slumberland peacefully, and then sleep for two hours. Enter reality: you bounce, sway, and shush your baby till they fall asleep. Then you hold them until their body goes completely limp. Then you gingerly put them down and quietly creep away. You get into bed thinking maybe you can catch up on sleep yourself. Then your baby wakes up. Repeat process over again. And again. Give up and put them in the swing. Then when they wake up 15 minutes later, give up altogether because it is time to feed the baby again. Repeat entire process two hours later. Try to appear sane when your husband comes home from work.

So yeah... sorry for the lack of updates and pictures. Aside from the constant sleep fantasy that I have in my head, we are having more and more fun with Oliver everyday. He has become more vocal and playful and he is even smiling for us! All of the craziness of having a newborn is worth it for the smiles and coos and precious moments when he cuddles with me. :)

Oliver is 8 weeks old tomorrow! Which just absolutely blows my mind. Everything is going by so quickly! Enough talking already though... here are some pictures!

sleepy!

Ollie loves bath time!

This is the look I get when I'm not being entertaining enough...


Stay tuned for more updates, pictures, and big news for our family!