Safe and Cold in Iowa!!

We have arrived in Iowa...and it is FREEZING! It's currently -1 and going to snow like 5in tomorrow. Just giving a quick update that we made it safely, thanks for the prayers and well wishes! We will miss Texas so much...we already do, we did the second we got here :) But we are looking forward to finding out what God's plan is for us here! Stay posted-no pun intended-I'll hopefully be putting up a lot of new posts by the end of the week! Hope you're warmer than I am right now!

Good Times

Mike was working in Cedar Rapids this week so Fox and I spent the night at the Johnson's and had a great time! The boys played, we made yummy treats and played a little ourselves! Mike's parents were so kind to give us a Wii (the new nintendo system) for Christmas and we LOVE it!!














Yummy Peanut Butter Balls that we made!

Olsen Baby #2

Here is the baby's debut! What a great profile shot! We're going for another ultrasound next Thursday...so we'll have more pictures then! The baby was about 14wks 2days here.

Update

I haven't blogged in forever it seems...
Hopefully I can keep this a little more up to date!

The House...
God has blessed us with a buyer, and it is in the process. We are currently waiting for the inspection and appraisal to happen, so it can be officially SOLD! Mike's company is going to be moving us and that includes packing as well! How great is that?! They are planning(unless something changes with the house) to pack the house on 12/10 and load up 12/11. Mike will start his drive on Friday 12/12, Fox and I will fly to Cedar Rapids 12/13. So...two weeks from today we will no longer being living in the house we've called home for two years! CRAZY...it's overwhelming thinking about all the things that have happened in this house...from bringing Fox home from the hospital to his first Christmas to walking and talking...it will be sad to leave all those memories here, but we hope the next family will enjoy it as much as we have. What a great first house...one we didn't deserve. God has given us more than we'll ever deserve and we are so grateful.

The Fox...
He's walkin' and talkin' like crazy! He jibber jabbers all the time and it is soooo cute! He's starting to run a bit as well...which is interesting :) His current words are...Daddy(Mike) Dada(Me) :) he only calls me mama when he's tired or it involves food! Ball, baby, birdie, bob, bib, dog and OK. On occasion he'll say Maggie and he said good boy today...so Mike says :) He got a haircut a while back and he looks like a little boy now and not a baby. He is just so sweet. He gives kisses, hugs, five, shares his food and laughs a lot...but mostly makes us laugh a lot!! He is the best.

The Big News...
Fox is going to be a Big Brother! (well, he already is) We're expecting baby number two on May 12th. We're really excited! Excited to find out if it'll be a baby brother or sister and to see what Fox will be like as a big brother. We're leaning toward finding out but not totally decided. If we find out we are going to have them put a labelled sonogram picture in an envelope and open it on Christmas to find out...but we're not sure.

Chilly Fox

While in Minnesota for Thanksgiving Fox got to experience a few things...

Bundling up...which he does not like! It was cold..only a glimpse of what is to come in Iowa!

Tractor ride with Grandpa...he Loved it, very bumpy which he liked!

Putting up some Christmas decorations with grandma...mainly watching but he was very curious!

Along with yummy Thanksgiving food he got to have Jake's pizza....YUM!!

Needless to say it was a good trip :)

Fox's First Hair Cut

I think the pictures speak for themselves on Fox's reaction :)

Yummy Dirt

I guess they all give it a try...although it just looks like he was eating an oreo :)

The Fox Trott

Last week Fox decided to start walking! Sunday night before Mike went to Cedar Rapids for three days we had him walking back and forth between us, he'd take about ten steps and go down. He was very excited and just screamed and laughed while he walked...so cute! So at 15 months 1 week Foxy started walking!! Hopefully this will help him slim down a bit..that boy is heavy! We just saw Dr. Eastman for his 15 month appt. and he was 27lbs and 33 inches long. His current list of words is Dada, Mama, Ball, Bye-Bye and had on occasion said Button, Maggie, Baby. He's getting louder and definitely becoming a toddler!

Boys and remotes...

Dada and Fox hanging out on a lazy afternoon!

Fall Festival

This was great...Fox got to sit on a "Bee-daa" aka
motorcycle :) He tried cotton candy...definitely did
not like it! And also a pony ride...what a day!

Boston Fox Sox

September 30-October 3, 2008

Mike had to travel to Boston for some meetings and we decided to make a family trip out of it!

It was a lot of fun. Fox did great on the plane, then we got there and took a tour of Fenway Park. It was really neat to see, especially because it's the oldest ballpark in the U.S. Foxy got a Red Sox sweatshirt...as a fan and it was a little chilly! We drove toSalem to explore because it was rainy and cold outside, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. The next day it was a beautiful fall day and we drove up to Ipswich, MA. It's the first period town still standing and it was really neat. We went to an orchard that had animals and ducks and tractors to climb on, Fox loved it! It was a gorgeous place, but unfortunately we didn't bring any pumpkins or apples home...don't think security would've like that. Then Fox and I went a few miles further and went to the beach...it was so great! He loved playing in the sand and we met a nice guy with his dog Chase...who Fox loved. He took some pics for us and got Fox's buddy Chase in one too :) It was a sweet time with the boy.

The last day we walked across a scary bridge that you could see through to downtown Boston. I hate bridges...especially those. We went to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. Quincy Market has been selling goods to the people of Boston since the beginning so that was neat to see. We then walked on park of the Freedom Trail and went to the the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was first read...it was exciting to be there. Kinda interesting though...the basement is now a subway station. It was a great trip and lots of fun memories!

Click here to see more Boston pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/eltzaolsen/Fall0802?authkey=taseWwZLQl8#


Here are some links to the places I mentioned:
http://www.ipswichma.com/directory/castle.asp
http://www.russellorchardsma.com/
http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/index.html

September 27, 2008

We went to a little festival in Prosper, TX and Fox got
to ride a real pony and pet the bunny and goats :)

I look away for one second...

September 26, 2008

We were hangin out at the Johnson's house and

apparently not paying attention to Fox... I turned

around and saw him up on the stool, reaching for the knife! I didn't think he could even climb that thing. Boy oh boy, it seems you can't look away for a second! Life is never dull :)

Round and round

September 21, 2008

We went to the mall after church and Fox was excited about
the carousel, so we went for a ride! He wasn't so sure at first,
but then really enjoyed it, especially going up and down!

Feeding myself like a big boy!

September 21, 2008

This is Fox after feeding himself his oatmeal :)

Balloon Festival

Fox loved the Balloon Festival! The weather was perfect and it was a great night just enjoying being a family. He pointed at the balloons and said "oooohhh" a lot and was dancing like crazy to the music! It was really fun watching him and were amazed at how big he is getting and what a little person he is becoming. God has given us an amazing gift in him. We grow so much learning to be parents, practically as fast as he grows physically. We've seen we can either grow with God's grace or try to do it on our own. We've given Fox back to the Lord and know that he has everything in his control, all the time!

Fox and his Lightsaber!
Since he had his
StarWars shirt on
it was only fitting
for him to get a
lightsaber, and boy
did he LOVE it!

Playtime

We went to the mall to meet up with the Stewart's to let the boys "play" :) Luke is walking and Fox likes to stare at the other kids while they walk so they didn't really play, but it was fun to see them interact! We met the Stewart's through our birthclass last year, Fox is about five weeks older than Luke.

September 17, 2008

Games with Grandpa

September 2, 2008

Fox was having fun with Grandpa passing the hotel
room key back and forth between their teeth :)

Off to the fair...

August 31,2008

Dada and Fox headed to the fair!

Foxy as Goldy..(just for Mandie)

Dad in line for some yummy cheese curds!

Mike not feeling so well..maybe one too many fried things

While we were in MN we got to got to one of our favorite places...The Minnesota State Fair! We got to take Fox and it was a lot of fun. Grandpa and Grandma were along as well. Fox got a turkey sandwich, we saw tons of animals, ate lots of yummy things. Fox got to sit on some tractors and Mike got sick :) Probably the plate of cheese curds and milkshake, ya think?

Foxy Phelps

September 1, 2008