Green Thumb

I previously posted pictures of my spring flowers; now I want to post some pics of my summer flowers! Last year I discovered the wild and diverse world of growing dahlias. Even though they're a tiny bit of a pain to grow (because you have to dig up the tubers in the fall, pack them in a cool place for the winter, and then replant them in the spring), I totally fell in love with the hundreds of varieties, colors, shapes, and sizes of these amazing flowers. The ones I got last year were some smaller varieties from a nursery, but this year I branched out and ordered some really tall and interesting ones from a website to add to the others. Here's a few of my favorites (although one of my tall ones is still a few days from blooming):

This was my first big one to bloom; the blooms are about 6-8 inches across.

This is a smaller one, but I love the color.

Another shot of one of the above purple ones, not quite fully bloomed.

This yellow one is really fun

This one just bloomed the other day and I'm totally loving it - plus it's HUGE!

This one is my favorite, it's called Tahitian Sunrise - it's about 8 inches across in full bloom.

Brian with my cherry tomato plant. Isn't he mahvelous?? The plant, not Brian, although Brian is mahvelous too.

Ella's Story

Our baby girl is here! Ella Brianne Olsen was born on June 25, 2010 at 10:26 am. She weighed 5 lbs, 14 oz, and was 19 inches long. I had a scheduled C-section, which went well; however, following the surgery my doctor told me that because of all the scar tissue and damage that I had sustained from my previous C-sections, I wouldn't be able to have more kids. Brian and I were kind of thinking that this would be our last, so hearing that basically solidified that idea. At any rate, we're extremely thankful and happy to have this adorable baby girl in our lives. She has been such a good baby so far, with a mellow and content personality. She's a tiny little thing, and getting her to gain weight has been our biggest struggle so far. 2 days after she was born she had dropped down to 5 lb, 4 oz, and we were informed that she would not be allowed to go home until she was at least 5 lb, 6 oz. We started supplementing her with formula, and by the time we were ready to go home, she was up to 5 lb, 8 oz. We're still struggling with her weight as of right now, and it looks like we will have to start supplementing with formula, and perhaps go exclusively to formula in the future. Given my history with the other 2 girls, it won't surprise me. Even though I wanted to breastfeed exclusively for awhile, our main concern is making sure she's healthy and doesn't shrink down to a skinny skeleton, which is what happened to Makayla. Here's some pictures of our little princess so far!

Welcome to the world, Baby Ella! Meeting my baby for the first time. Bonding time with Mom.

Getting her first taste of formula. Daddy and Ella Big sisters were sooo excited to meet Ella! The whole 5 family, as Kylee would say. Home from the hospital, with her flowers

A smile at 5 days old! Ok, she might have been dreaming...