My Favorite Reindeer

He's so cute!

And such a ham for the camera!

Let it snow!

Last night alone we got 12 inches of lake effect snow. I love Syracuse! Snow just makes me happy and I'm not the only one. Violet is a big fan of the white stuff too.
Due to the depth of the snow from the past 5 days Leif went out and and shoveled paths for our little one to run around in although she does sometimes like to take the path less traveled while playing.

Violet's First Birthday

Yesterday was Violet's first birthday. We celebrated just like she wanted to by taking a long afternoon nap while the snow fell continuously outside. Later she got her very own doggy biscuit cupcake which disappeared very quickly.

22 weeks

I asked my husband if my hair looked ok right before he took this picture, as you can see he lied to me and said "yes". But at least I know he loves me no matter what I look like.

It's a Girl!

A little over a week ago Leif and I headed to the doctor's for my 20 week baby appointment. It was here that we found out the little one that I am toting around is a GIRL! Needless to say we are thrilled and can't wait to meet her, only 19 more weeks to go. In addition to finding out the sex we also found out that she's about 11 ounces in weight and has a very healthy heartbeat of 134 bpm.

First taste

We have gotten about 12 inches of snow in the past 24 hours. This is Violet's first play out in the snow winter and needless to say she loves it! (although I think she might have more fun if Badger were here)

18 weeks

Every since I went in for my 16 week appointment I have been waiting to feel movement from this little baby inside me. Finally, two days ago I did! I actually think I started to feel flutters about a week ago but Thursday night I felt movement for sure. So last night I had Leif put his hand on my belly, to show him how much it has grown, and the baby started wiggling around like crazy, it was awesome!

The Beat of a Heart

Leif and I made our monthly trip to the doctor's yesterday. This trip was pretty exciting because we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time, it was amazing. Slowly but surely the whole idea of carrying around a little person inside me is sinking in. This definitely made it more real than it has been. 144 beats per minute.

Happy Halloween

This is Damien our 3 year-old nephew. This year for Halloween he is a dragon. A pretty darn cute one at that! Needless to say he was very excited to head out for some sweet treats this evening.

Fall for Katie

So this is Baby Olsen's profile. I'm not sure why the picture gets rotated like this but the baby is easier to see this way anyway.

12 weeks pregnant-
I went to the doctor's yesterday and got to see the baby again! The pregnancy is now official. Mom went with me to see the little one, I think she was impressed. Heartbeat is 153 beats per minute. And all parts are accounted for.

Exciting event of the day. After the sonogram I had to get every blood test under the sun done. I sat down in the chair and after looking through all of my paperwork the tech said "Wow! We're taking a lot of blood today!" Then he reached over and grabbed 4 vials, I thought to myself that's not too bad, wrong-o, immediately after he grabbed those 4 he grabbed 4 more. I felt ok through the first 4, then for 5-7 I started to get a funny feeling in my head, at vial number 8 I got light headed saw stars and then I was out. After returning to the real world I felt really crappy but slowly stopped sweating and returned to the waiting room where mom was. We went straight to Starbucks for a Perfect Oatmeal and a Signature Hot Chocolate. They helped and we went home. I was sent home with a couple more pictures and as soon as I figure out how to turn these pictures I will post them.

Sisters

Violet and Sadie, sharing.
Violet
Sadie

The reason we have Violet is because our friends, Abigail and John, bought her sister Sadie. They told us all about Keeshonds so we went to see them and couldn't leave without one. Fortunately, Sadie lives close by so they get to see each every once and awhile. They hung out on Sunday and I got to take some cute pics.

The Pics are In!

Our wedding pictures are online now. To see them visit http://www.pictage.com Once on the site type Leif and Alyssa into the event space and we should come up.

Roses are Red, Violet's our Dog

This is Violet. I like to call her the baby, but it drives Leif crazy now that I'm pregnant. She'll be 9 months old on Monday and we love her to pieces. We picked her up in April and because she was so little I would come home everyday from work to let her out in the afternoon. Now that she is older we leave her home for the afternoon. At first I felt bad, poor little Violet all alone all day. Then I got a surprise day off on Monday and found out that the only thing that Violet likes to do during the day is sleep in the rug in the kitchen. She's not much in to socializing before 3pm. Once we get home she's a horse of another color. All she wants to do is play.

The Honeymoon

For the honeymoon Leif and I headed east, way east, to Copenhagen, Denmark. Yes, we are both Danish. We left on April 5th, but didn't get to Copenhagen until the afternoon of the 6th. I slept most of the way, getting up to eat the delicious airline food. Copenhagen was absolutely beautiful. For the most part we had great weather, (there was a little bit of rain during a 3-hour walking tour we were on) and we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go. There was so much to see and so much beer to drink. The food was great and Copenhagen photographed well! We returned to New York from the eco-friendly city on April 13th. It was definitely a trip that we will never forget.

The Wedding

On August 2, 2008 Leif and I finally got married. It was a beautiful day and we had an amazing time. We were very lucky that all of our family and friends could be there to share in our special day. Thanks to all of you for making it a day that we will never forget, and for dancing all night long with us.