new ollie photos

here is jonathan reading a veggie tales story to oliver













this is jonathan studying, watching sports and holding ollie...a typical sunday:)













check out that strong boy! he is working hard to hold his head up...and he already likes to scoot and push off his feet when on his tummy:)

what a difference a year makes...

well one year ago, jonathan and i were headed to new zealand to kick off our 'round the world adventure. that's us on our first day in auckland, nz. we had such a great time traveling to 10 different countries over 10 weeks. we loved seeing different parts of the world and different cultures and we loved being able to spend so much quality time together and experience new and exciting things together- from camping all over new zealand, to snorkeling the great barrier reef, to river rafting, to climbing ancient temples in cambodia, relaxing on the beaches of thailand and santorini, greece, to meeting up with family in europe and experiencing the declining dollar against the euro:) and so much more...gross and loud hostels, all nighters in parking lots of ferry landings, crazy people on overnight trains...and of course all the good food:)
now one year later, we are back home and have a 4 week old baby! crazy!
we have had a lot of fun over the last year and have grown together and grown closer. i am thankful for a husband who will humor me and take off on a 10 week trip and for the great father he his! he works hard for us and i am grateful!

first trip to the beach

it has been 3 weeks since ollie was born and we have been busy! we are blessed to have family close by and have been able to spend a lot of time with them- which gives me a nice break from always holding ollie and changing diapers:)
this last weekend we introduced oliver to his great-nana and great- papo and he got to hang out with his cousins- samantha, trey and logan again.









sunday he met miley who was born just one week ago- the last time they met they were still in their mommy's bellies (see july 15 post)

we also took him to the beach for the first time. it was a beautiful day and i look forward to many more days on the beach together.

we are home now and ollie probably thinks it's boring with just me around, but i am enjoying having him back all to myself and being able to nap together:)

i still stare at him and find it hard to believe he's here and i am in awe of the beautiful miracle god has blessed us with- poopy diapers and all:)

my first week!

i am filling in for mommy and writing my own blog. she has done such a good job taking care of me, i thought i'd give her a break:)
today, i am one week old! and what a week it has been! we stayed a couple days in the hospital to take advantage of the extra help and i was a little stubborn and would not pee- so i made my parents wait around for that big event:) i experienced my first earthquake, the day after i was born and made my parents proud- i slept through it like a true native californian! we had a lot of visitors come see me in the hospital, which was nice. it made me feel so important!
it was good to finally get home and see where i am going to be living for a while. it is small, but big enough for the 3 of us. my crib is all set up by mommy and daddy's bed- it is comforting to know mommy is close by when i am sleeping so when i wake up hungry, my meal is right there:)

daddy went back to work thursday- i miss him when he is gone, because we have fun together- but mommy is fun to hang out with too.
the weekend was fun. i was glad to have daddy around- we slept in and watched a lot of sports on tv- mommy says daddy does that a lot.

i also got to see both sets of grand parents this weekend and meet my uncle devin! and i went out for my first walk with mommy and daddy saturday, then went out again on sunday. we walked around seaport village and the harbor- i like san diego, it seems like a nice place to live.

we received a few care packages in the mail from mommy and daddy's friends- it was fun to open presents and i got a lot of cool stuff- clothes, toys, etc! we feel so blessed and spoiled!

today, i had my first visit to my pediatrician. i did well for mommy, trying to get ready to take me...but i started to get a little hungry right before we had to leave:) we met daddy there and i had to show off my improved bladder skills to the doctor and peed all over daddy's nice work pants:) the doctor said i look good and my weight is almost up to my birth weight- mommy does a good job feeding me! speaking of food...i think it's time for a snack!

oliver walden savona

well a week overdue and he finally came! YAY!
it all started at about 11:57 pm on sunday. I woke up and my back was really hurting- which is not unusual for me- so i changed positions and it went away...so i thought. about 5 minutes exactly it came back and lasted about as long (30 seconds or so)...and i thought to myself- hmmmm....and so then like clockwork 5 minutes later it cam again and again about 25-30 seconds...and i thought- here we go!
i laid in bed for a while trying to hold off telling jonathan so he could get some rest. but about 45 minutes later i noticed they were a bit stronger and longer, i could now feel them in my abdomen and my back and they were now about every 3 minutes...so i woke jonathan up and we started getting ready. timing each one, packing last minute items...i wanted to hold off as long as i could and you are told to follow the 5-1-1 rule- when you have contractions every 5 minutes, lasting 1 full minute, for 1 full hour...so i was waiting for them to get longer and stronger, but they were just getting quicker, leaving me little time to recover. jonathan called the hospital and filled them in and we were told to come right in...being my stubborn self, i tried to put it off as long as i could, but i knew jonathan was getting nervous and so about 3:30am monday, we left for the hospital...
we got there and started the whole process and i was hoping to be well on my way- dilated to 8 centimeters already...but i was about 3 1/2... they sent us on our way to labor and delivery and a few hours later i was about 6 1/2...and a bit later my contractions were about every minute, but the pain in my back was constant, now leaving me no time to recover. since they came on so quick from the beginning, now at about 8 am i was pretty tired, not getting much rest between. i had some pain relief, but not much. we had spoken with the anesthesiologist when we first got there about getting an epidural or not- i have a crooked spine, so i was more worried something would go wrong with that, more than i was worried about the actual delivery...but he looked at m back and said it shouldn't be a problem and recommended it because i would feel a lot more pain in my back than most people...so i finally gave in and asked for one...and boy oh boy- it was a world of difference. if you have a low pain tolerance, or your contractions come on quick and strong from the get go- i recommend it! it gave me a chance to rest and i was even in a cheerful mood...
i relaxed and hung out for another 3 hours and then all of a sudden i was fully dilated and we started to push with the nurse for about 20 minutes or so, i had just enough pain management to take away the sore back and sharp contractions, but could still feel some pressure and what i was doing...then she gave me a rest and we waited for about an hour for the doctor to get out surgery....the doctor came in, i did a couple sets of pushing and then all of a sudden, at 12:14 pm, i hear jonathan exclaim, "IT"S A BOY!!! WE HAVE A BOY!!" and then i saw him and he was so beautiful!
i know i am bias and you always think you baby is the best, but i really was impressed by how good he looked- no conehead, full head of hair, not even to slimy...he wasn't an alien baby after all, but the most beautiful baby boy...
now the issue of giving him a name came into play. we have an easier time narrowing our girl name options, because there were a few that we both really liked and stood out...but the boys names nothing really jumped out and grabbed either one of us. so after we held our new son, they took him to clean him up and do some treatments and jonathan went over to watch and said "this is definately an oliver"...we wanted to try and use a family name for the middle name, so we settled on walden- which is comes from my dad, grandpa and great grandpa. and so baby savs became oliver walden savona- or ollie wally :)
it was fun to make the big announcement to all our family that was there. my mom and sister, jonathan's parents, his sister and her daughter. it was great to see their excitement when they first met our new son:)
all in all, it was a quick labor and delivery 12 hours and about 30 minutes total pushing time. i have felt great in my recovery, too- just a little sore:)
it is still amazing to me to look at oliver and watch him twitches and kicks, recognizing the same movements he would do before he was born... he is my little oliver twitch. (he is rooting for twitch on "so you think you can dance")

we are loving adjusting to being parents and thrilled to have a handsome and healthy baby boy! but we are exhausted:) we feel so blessed and are thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

It's a boy! Oliver Walden Savona was welcomed to the world at 12:14 PM on July 28th, 2008!


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More to come from Quinn...

the waiting game

well the due date (21 july) has come and gone...still no sign of baby savs wanting to make his or her entrence into the world...and so we wait...

i am ready in some ways...and not in others- but are you ever really ready? it is still hard to imagine, even though i am constantly reminded there really is a little (and strong) baby in there sticking his or her foot into my ribs. it will be fun to see those little feet out in the world- kicking a soccer ball with daddy, instead of kicking my internal organs:)