More Christmases!

We had Christmas with Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Andy on the 21st...Here is Austin helping Oliver open his present:

Then we had our family's Christmas on Christmas Eve morning - Oliver liked his stocking, which was full of rattles, teethers, onesies, socks, and pacis!

We then went to Grandma Laurie and Grandpa John's house, and then to Granna's! (Long day!) Here's Oli hanging with Granna:

And wearing the hat Granna made for him!

December 27th was exactly four months after we brought Oliver home from the hospital. See how much he has grown!

Christmases!

First, Oliver turned four months on Friday! Here is his 'Four Month Photo':

We had our Tice Christmas Saturday night - Oliver had great naps during the day and was a VERY good baby all night long - even way past his bedtime! He was all smiles for everyone. Here is Cousin Emily holding him:

Sunday morning, Oli and I were up bright and early, but Ian wasn't quite ready - so Oliver attempted to wake him up:


Sunday we had the King Christmas, and got our SECOND five-generation photo! Here is Oliver, Ian, Grandpa Tony, Great-Grandma Tice, and Great-Great Grandpa King:

And here are all the Tice men! Oliver, Cousin Mason, Cousin Grant, Ian, Great-Uncle Mike, Grandpa Tony, and Great-Grandpa Tice:

I uploaded a bunch of new photos, so just click on the links to the left!! We have FIVE more Christmases to go to, so there will be lots more photos!

4 Month Check Up

Oliver had his 4 month check up (already!) today. He weighs 14 pounds 6 ounces, is 25 3/4 inches long, and Dr. Schutte felt two bottom teeth! That doesn't necessarily mean they will be in soon, but they could be! Dr. Schutte said he'll probably be tall and skinny as he grows. He had two vaccinations today (just one shot).

Giggle Pants!

Just a short video of Ian and Oli playing before bedtime! Too cute!

Yummy Toes!

Finally, got a video to upload! Oli looooves to suck on his feet now! I tried to catch him in the act, I think he's a little camera-shy.

The Power of Naps

I will no longer underestimate the power of a morning nap. We had our first of eight (yes, eight) Christmases today, and it was a big fat failure.

Oli was a happy guy when he woke up, and we went to church at 10. He usually sleeps through mass, but not this morning. Afterwards we went straight to Aunt Heidi's for the McKnabb Christmas...and hell broke loose. I fed Oliver when we got there and attempted to put him down for a nap, since he had been awake waaaay too long and was cranky already. For the next two hours, Ian and I took turns trying to get him to sleep. He was just NOT having it. He would fall asleep in our arms for a few minutes then wake up screaming. I think the whole family now thinks he's a cranky baby - he's really not!! He's usually so happy and giggly and flirty! He just refused to sleep.

So we had to leave early, and no one got to play with Oli. He slept on the way home (we took the long way so it was close to a 30-minute nap), he ate when he got home and slept with me for an hour, ate, and THEN was pretty much back to normal. At 4:30pm. What a rough day! He went back down for another nap right away and slept two more hours, was up for an hour, then went down for the night. He was SUCH a tired boy!

We have seven more Xmases, and I will definitely be making sure he gets a nap in before all of them! Poor guy.

I've been trying to upload more videos of him, but they haven't been working...I'll keep trying!

Definitely Rolling!

Oli has now mastered rolling from his tummy to his back while awake. And it's already driving me nuts! Now when I lay him down for a nap, he rolls and smiles up at me. And he wakes himself at night by rolling over (he won't sleep on his back. Ever.). Stinker.
Oh well...it's still fun!!

Family Update!

It's been awhile since I've written a 'real' update on our family. So, here goes! I quit my job, and just recently accepted a part-time position. I will be an in-home counselor, working with children and families who are involved with DHS. I think it'll be really great - I am staying in the human services field, I will get to set my own schedule, and besides the in-home visits, I will work from home!
I also decided to become a Discovery Toys, Inc. consultant. I had my 'Grand Opening' this morning and actually got to play with a lot of the toys I'll be selling - they're pretty fun! You can check out my website here: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/tifftice.
Ian started his new job just before Thanksgiving, and we are really loving it. It's so nice that he can be home every night now! He is going to start MMA (mixed martial arts) training again, and may get back in the cage. Who knows!
As for little Oli...well he's getting bigger and bigger! After cancelling our diaper service and doing cloth diapers part-time, we have decided to go full-time with them. I was tired of spending money on what becomes trash too soon, tired of the leaks, and tired of the icky smells from disposables (yes it's worse than with cloth). So we invested in a cloth diapering trial from www.jilliansdrawers.com. They sent us seven different types of cloth diapers to try for 21 days. Anything we didn't like we could send back for a full refund. I quickly found my favorite diaper (and ordered more), but will be keeping the others anyway. They are all pretty great. No pins, no swishing in the toilet.
These are the kind we decided on:
The brand is Fuzzi Bunz, and they are a 'pocket' diaper. So, the diaper comes with an insert that you put in the 'pocket.' You then put the diaper on just like a disposable. (Actually, these diapers snap instead of velcro.) I can put in an extra insert for overnight so no leaks! And aren't they so cute?
We also tried gDiapers - they come with flushable inserts. They aren't bad, but they are actually more expensive than disposables so we won't be buying anymore. They are pretty cute, too:

Oliver recently had his first visit to the Water's Edge! Here's Aunt Danielle holding him...and it's tissue paper from a gift behind him, not a bow on his head!

Oliver is getting better at grabbing things - and immediately pulling them to his mouth! He has also found his feet. Gotta love toys that never get lost!

Bouncy!

Here's a short clip of Ian bouncing Oli on the bed...they were at this for awhile, but my memory was too low on my camera so it's just a short clip!

Just like Daddy...

Drool and all...

3 Months!

Oli is 3 months old today!

Exersaucer

Oliver got to play in his exersaucer for the first time the other day...I stacked up blankets for his feet and put one around him to keep him from wobbling around too much, but he really liked it!

Haha, what a funny face.

Oli had two vaccines on Monday (11/10) and weighed 13lbs, 3oz.

Taggie Blanket

I bought Oliver this cute taggie blanket off of www.etsy.com, even though he's not quite old enough to fully appreciate it. (Little ones like feeling all the different textures of the blankets and the ribbon 'tags' along the edges.)

But today he was playing with it and just as happy as could be! Here's a video...

trying so hard...

I can tell Oli is getting soooo close to start grabbing for things. He likes staring at the toys I hold up in front of him, and he moves his little arms around, and every once in a while he actually hits the toy - but by accident. It's so fun seeing him learn new things every single day. I'm excited for him to hit this developmental milestone, so he can start playing with all the cute rattles and toys his family and friends have given him!
Oh, and he rolled over in his crib again last night. Of course he only does it when I'm not around to see! The stinker.

Rolling!

We have a roller....or maybe it was just a fluke? Anyway, he did it in secret...
Oliver is a tummy-sleeper, and last night around 2am he was fussing in his crib, which is normal as he usually eats at this time. Well, I went in to get him, and instead of lying on his tummy like I had put him down, he was on his back!!
I'll be giving him lots of tummy time this week and watching carefully to see if this is for real!

Quit My Job!

This weekend, Ian and I had a long talk, and decided it was best for me to quit my job. I was scheduled to return in two weeks, and had been dreading it. When I was pregnant, I had planned on returning for at least the rest of the school year, and then considering a new job. But once the little bug arrived, I began wishing I could just quit now.
My office is an hour away from home - that means I would not see Oli for 11 hours of the day. And with Ian being out of town a lot, Oliver would get home in the evening just in time to get ready for bed. I was NOT going to be okay with that. I will miss my coworkers, they are great people, but the drive is just not worth it.
I am looking for a new job, but I'm not in a huge rush yet. I would love to work part-time and close to home, but a full-time job will be okay as long as I'm not too far! I would also like to eventually return to Drake to finish my Master's, but I'm not sure when.
For now, I'm going to enjoy all this time I get with my little one. I have found that in the last year, I have gotten more 'granola' than I ever thought I would. I'm a breastfeeding, babywearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping mama and I'm okay with that! In fact I'm proud of it! I think that even just another month of being at home with Oli will be so good for both of us.

So...if you hear of any great jobs that deal with kiddos, let me know! :)

A Drummer?

Ian seems to think that Oli should be a drummer when he grows up...Here's a video of them playing together.

Baby Bumblebee!

I have had the "Baby Bumblebee" song in my head all day! Oli was dressed up for some photos, but otherwise his costume was way too hot! I won't complain, I am loving this weather and we have been getting to go on lots of walks!
Anyway, Oliver handed out candy to his family and friends this afternoon/evening. It was a very exciting night for him and it showed at bedtime - he was craaaaaanky!

With Gpa Tony & Gma Holly

I was a Mama for Halloween

Is he adorable or what?

Tice Look-alike Meter

I always hear different things when people try to figure out who Oli looks like, me or Ian. So I did this online "Look-Alike" test and he ended up right in the middle! I even took the test two times, with different photos, and got the same results! (It's not always 50%, other people I talked to had different results.)
I just thought it was a fun little thing to do...

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

2 months!

Oliver turned two months on Sunday! He celebrated by going to the doctor on Monday and getting his first shot. He only cried for a couple minutes! Oli weighs 12lbs, 4oz and is 23 1/2 inches long.
We took lots of pictures of Austin and Oliver this weekend, they are in the photo link to the left.

Twin cousins?

I think Austin and Oliver look a lot alike here! Making the same funny face! There are more photos of the two playing together in the 'Oliver III' link to the left.

Better Late Than Never!

I just mailed out Oliver's birth announcements...I know, it's about time. So if you are reading this blog because you got yours in the mail, I apologize for being so late!

Taking a nap..

Oli loves sleeping in just his diaper!

Last night Oliver went to Mass for the first time (I know, about time!), and he did really well - just cried a little bit as he was fighting off sleep, but then slept in his baby wrap the rest of the service. The VERY exciting part of last night was the fact that we drove to and from Granger with NO CRYING in the car!! He usually really hates his carseat and has never gone in the car without screaming - no matter how short the trip. So, it was very nice to have him sitting happy and quiet in the car last night.

Getting so big!

At six weeks, Oli weighs 11 lbs 10 oz - three pounds more than his birth weight. He's already grown out of most of his 'newborn' clothes and is too long for his 0-3 month footie jammies - I tried three different pairs the other night and he couldn't straighten his legs in any of them! We did a mini photo shoot today, here are a couple pictures. There are more in his photo album, the link is to the left.

Teach 'em young...

Ian's got Oliver learning to love motorcycles already!

One Month Old!

I can't believe it's been a month already! Time with our little bug has really flown!
Ian was out of town from Sunday to Thursday this week, and we missed him lots! But we survived and Oliver is actually getting really good with a bedtime routine and he is sleeping a lot longer at night. As soon as Ian walked in the door he noticed how big he has gotten; it's hard for me to tell, since I see him everyday, but it's easy to see by looking at photos.
We did a little photo session today, and below are a couple of the pictures. Click on the 'Oliver Photos' link to the left to see all of them.

Aunt Becky

Here is Oli's onesie that Great Aunt Becky got for him!

Big Smile!

Well I kinda cheated, and was playing with Oliver's chubby cheeks - but he gave me some big smiles!!

Baby Wrap

I recently got our new baby wrap in the mail, from target.com, and we looooove it! Oliver loves napping on our chests and now I can still get things done around the house! Especially at this young of age, 'babywearing' is so good for babies. (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051100.asp#T051103) I highly recommend this wrap (http://www.target.com/Parents-of-Invention-Ultimate-Baby/dp/B000G82FVS/sr=1-3/qid=1221420906/ref=sr_1_3/602-0825177-4471851?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Ababy%20wrap&page=1), or the Moby Wrap (which is very similar) to any new mom and dad!

3 Weeks

Just a short note while Oliver is napping on his Boppy (which is my absolute favorite baby gear). Oliver turned 3 weeks old yesterday - it has really gone by fast. He's getting better at sleeping in his cradle, although of course he still prefers sleeping in our arms.
Ian went back to work this week, so Oli and I have been working on getting into a routine, although I don't get much done around the house until Ian gets home at night. That's okay! Ian has to work out of town next week - I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for that, but we'll survive! He is such a wonderful dad and does so much to take care of the baby. I have more photos to post, but my desktop computer crashed the other day and it has all the photos on it...so I'll work on that when I can!

Home Sweet Home!

Oliver has been home for almost a week now and we are starting to adjust to the family life...
He received his last antibiotics at 4am Wednesday August 27th, and we were home by noon that day! We spent a few hours giving Oli the tour, introducing him to Brick (our rottweiler), and napping. We went to Aunt Bonnie's and Uncle Chad's for dinner and cake for Grandpa Tony's birthday.
Saturday night we all went down to Lake Red Rock for the grand opening of Uncle Mat's bar. Oliver slept right through the live band - probably because I went to several concerts the last month I was pregnant! He met a lot of people that night but he wasn't too interested in them. :)
Monday evening we went to Bonnie & Chad's again for dinner. Today Oli went with us to the dentist, then he had his 2 week check up with his pediatrician. He is up to 9 lbs, 3 oz already! Doctor Schutte said everything looks good and he won't have to see another doctor til 2 months!
Oliver has been sleeping fairly well - although lately he likes to stay up from about 10pm to 2am, he then sleeps well in either his cradle or our bed, only waking up to eat and fall right back to sleep. Ian is amazing with him - and I'm so glad he's sharing the late-night feedings, because I can get pretty crabby with no sleep! I am hoping he doesn't have to work out of town anytime soon, I'm not quite ready to handle the nights alone!
I'll keep adding photos, check out the links to the left!

Snuggle Bug

With every wire and monitor that comes off, Oliver keeps getting cuter and cuter!
On the left of the page is a list of links, including links to lots of photos of Oliver. Check them out!

Home Soon!

The end is in sight!
Due to a high fever (an infection somewhere, they aren't sure where or why), I have been hooked up to IV antibiotics since Thursday night. So Oliver and I have learned quickly how to untangle ourselves and move around without tripping over wires and cords!
It has been a rough weekend, but things are definitely looking up. I am getting my last dose of antibiotics right now, and will be discharged this afternoon. I'm looking forward to a quick trip home, my own shower, and then coming back to the NICU.
Oliver is doing so well - he's a tough guy. The only things he is hooked up to now are his IV - which is a saline lock when he's not getting his meds - and his heartrate monitor. He lost his bubble, oxygen monitor, and feeding tube. He just keeps getting cuter! He is eating well, his last antibiotic dose is due Wednesday morning, and he should be out of here that day! We are so excited. I'm looking forward to doing things on our own schedule, sleeping (haha) in my own bed, and mostly just hanging out on the couch as a family. It has been a loooong week!
I will work on uploading more photos soon! Below is a photo of him over the weekend, but he still has the feeding tube in. He is SUCH a cuddle bug!!

No more bubble!

I woke up this morning (finally got a few hours of sleep! yay!) and went to see Oliver in the NICU, and got the best birthday present: Oliver was off oxygen! We thought it would take quite a bit longer.
All of his vitals have been stable now and the doctor is pretty confident that as soon as the antibiotics are done, he'll be sent home! All the nurses say they can't believe he's sick - he is quite the screamer for having lung problems!
And even better news was that he can now eat - he went about 24 hours with no food at all. We are working on breastfeeding, but it's pretty hard right now with everything else he's going through. So he also has a feeding tube that we can feed him with - it's just a tiny tube that goes in his mouth and down into his tummy. He can't even feel it now.
So hopefully the next week will be uneventful and Oli will be at home very soon.
Thank you for all your thoughts and encouraging words!

Photos, Update

Well Oliver is doing pretty well in the NICU. He is currently under an oxygen dome (his 'bubble') but they are weaning him off of it slowly, and he is doing much better than they thought he would so soon. He will be on IV antibiotics for 7 days, but hopefully as soon as he is well enough to be out of the bubble we will be able to hold him again.
For those of you who are interested, I'll give his birth story (brief edition): On Monday he was 12 days overdue, so we went in for an ultrasound and non-stress test. He was doing well but my midwife decided he needed to come very soon. We went to the hospital Monday evening and I was given Cervadil to hopefully get some dilation started. I tried to sleep, and got a few hours, but my water broke at 4am and contractions started getting stronger. They weren't consistant enough however, so I was started on Pitocin at 10:30 Tuesday morning. Long story short, I labored until about 10:35pm, started pushing, and he was born at 11:27pm! He passed meconium shortly before delivery and swallowed some, so he was rushed to the warming table to be suctioned - poor guy was NOT happy about all of that. They gave him back to me, but he was 'grunting' a lot so they took him back to suction more. I finally got to hold him for good about half an hour after he was born.
He had a quick visit from some family members, and we tried to get some rest overnight. About 9:30 Wednesday morning, the nurses checking on him noticed that he had started breathing really rapidly. They took him to the nursery to run some test, and determined that he had pneumonia. They can't tell exactly why he got it, but it could have been due to the length of time between when my water broke and when he was born. He went straight to NICU and is in his 'bubble'.
He is doing well though, but it's hard to see him laying there and not be able to pick him up. We're just praying that he continues to do well.
Here are a couple photos, and you can go to two websites to see a lot more: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049146&l=ed2ea&id=34004988 and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049147&l=8ae30&id=34004988

Finally our baby!

Just a very quick update!
Oliver Vernon Tice was born at 11:27pm on Tuesday, August 19th - 13 days past his due date! He was 8lbs, 10oz and 21 inches long.
Unfortunately, at less than 12 hours old, he was taken to the NICU with pneumonia. They are planning on keeping him on IV antibiotics for at least 7 days and if he's doing good then he'll get to go home! Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
I will be posting his birth story, photos, and updates soon.

Still Waiting...

No baby yet! He is being pretty lazy. I am praying he will be ready to arrive soon. Otherwise they will be inducing me next week sometime. Either way, it's pretty crazy to think that in a week or less, we will be able to hold our little boy!!

One year ago today...

Happy Anniversary to us! I can't believe it's been a year already - it has flown by. Well, except for the last couple weeks of course! We were really hoping to have a baby to play with by now, so we haven't made any exciting plans to celebrate. I think the best anniversary gift we could get would be to go into labor today....cross your fingers!! :)

Happy Due Date!

Well today is my due date, but I don't think Oliver really cares. He's way too comfy in there. He has up to two more weeks to arrive on his own, or else he'll be evicted! But, I still feel really great so I think I can be patient a little longer.

Due date photo - 8/6/08 (Austin has been smudging up the mirror!)

last one???

Will this be my last belly photo?? Most people have placed their bets on this week...we'll see! I think he's awfully comfortable in there, and if he's like his dad, he will be stubborn and will stay there as long as possible!

39 weeks - July 27

38 Week Belly

Here is my photo from 38 weeks - July 20th.

37 Weeks!

37 Weeks - 24 days til due date! (7/13/08)

On Thursday Candice came over and did a henna tattoo on my belly! It'll slowly fade over the next couple weeks. Isn't it cute?

One month from today!

36 Weeks - 7/6/08!

35 Weeks

35 Week belly! (6/29) I thought since it's getting so close, I'd start taking photos every week instead of every two weeks.

Coed Shower!

We had a wonderful coed baby shower this weekend, hosted by Kambra. It was a blast - we played a relay race that included a 'pregnant' Hemmer and Kevin, Ian and Amy bobbing for 'poo', a diaper-making race, and beer chugging from a bottle.

Making the diapers...

The finished products!

We were also glad that Sean made it - for those of you who don't know, Sean is one of the Posse and is currently teaching English in Africa with the Peace Corps. Before he left and before our wedding last summer, he tried on the groomsmen's tux and had a photo taken, which Mat then turned into a (almost) life sized cutout. So he hangs out with us still.

Here are some of the onesies our friends made - some he might not be able to wear out in public, but that's okay!

And this will be Oliver's hospital outfit - created by Mat. I laughed so hard I cried.

We also played a crazy game of pictionary, and I think several of the guys learned some things about childbirth they really didn't want to know. Ian really showed off all that he has learned in class so far!