All About Our Oliver

Zoo Zoo Mania

2010-04-14T11:41:00.001-07:00

This last weekend was beautiful and we thought it would be perfect to bring Oliver to the Minnesota Zoo. We were able to get free passes too which is always an added bonus! Oliver really loved watching the animals and the sounds they made. He especially loved the fish and birds. Here are a few pictures of our very successful day.

Hoppy Hoppy Easter!

2010-04-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

What a great Easter!!!! We had so much fun this weekend in Sauk Centre with all of our Family. We started off the weekend Decorating Easter Eggs. Addy, Oliver and Nolan did such a great job! Oliver wanted to drink all of the egg dye. We thought let him try it because then he will not want to eat it, but of course after a big gulp of vinegar dye, he said num, num.

It was amazing, while we were coloring eggs that tricky Easter Bunny showed up and filled Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's yard with eggs. We headed outside to collect all of the eggs and see what kind of goodies were left for the kiddos.

After all of that Excitement at the Nelson's we had to get ready for the Miller and Gamradt Easter celebration that Afternoon. The Easter Bunny also made a visit to the Miller Farm. We were able to do our second egg and basket hunt. Oliver loves to try to keep up with all of his bigger Miller/Gamradt cousins.

The kiddos even had time for a little swim in Grandma and Grandpa Miller's hot tub. As you can see when I say kiddos I include Josh into that mix! Everyone had a blast except Oliver. He was a little unsure of all the commotion going on.
Then on Sunday we started our day off with a delicious Zion Lutheran Easter Breakfast. We then went to Easter Service with Grandpa Bob. Forget about a workout, bring a 16 month old to church and I guarantee you will break a good sweat! Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this. After Easter Service we headed back to Grandpa and Grandma Nelson's house. Oliver and Addy decided to take a stroll around the yard on the Gator. I think Oliver has found his first love......the gator. He loved every minute of it.

Gotta Love the Spaghetti

2010-02-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

We joke that Oliver has come from a very long line of good eaters. Josh and I love to cook, try new foods and of course EAT, and Oliver has definitely joined us in this love. Spaghetti is one of his favorite foods and as you can see he wears it well. He is even signing for more after eating a full plate full.

Oh baby baby

2010-02-25T12:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this world Mason and Sawyer!

So we have been really bad and have not posted for awhile. We just wanted to make a shout out to our two new babies in our lives. My Brother and Sister in Law had a beautiful little girl named Sawyer Nadeau and then my very best friend had a hansome little boy named Mason Leo. We are so happy to have these babies in our lives. We have been so fortunate to meet and hold Mason, but we will have to wait a while to meet little miss Sawyer. Unfortunately she is a long long drive away.
Here are a few pictures to show you these adorable babies. The first three pictures are of Mason and then the last ones are of Sawyer.

Chritmas Time

2009-12-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

Oliver had a great Christmas. We spent 5 days in Sauk Centre to celebrate with all of the Family. First we had Christmas with the Nelson Side, and then we headed over the celebrate with the Gamradt/Miller Family.

Snow Fun

2009-12-31T12:45:00.000-08:00

Snow, Snow, Snow! What a great year it has been for Oliver to explore and play in the snow. Oliver and I try to get outside daily (weather permiting) to play in the snow and get some fresh air. I think we have also started a new Christmas tradition of bundling up to walk around our neighborhood to check out all of the Christmas lights. Oliver loved it! He would point to the lights and say "ooooooooooooh" It was so much fun.

A fun filled weekend with Oliver's Cousins

2009-12-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

We have had a very busy, but exciting December. Oliver's cousins Shelby and Raegan decided to join us for some Minneapolis fun. We went to the 8th floor Macy's and then watched the Holidazle Parade. We had a blast with them!

A Birthday Party Success!

2009-11-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Well it was a success! We had Oliver's birthday party with friends and family and we had a blast. Oliver loved his birthday cupcake so much he would not set it down. He literally sucked the cupcake until it was just some crumbs. Here are a few pictures to s how you.

A Tribute to my son: Oliver Robert Gamradt

2009-11-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

I had always wondered what it would be like when my first child arrived. I had images of me playing catch with him or her, images of wrestling on the ground in the front yard, making him or her laugh until they thought it was time to stop, images of their first words. There are many images that made up my fantasy of my first child. As a fulfillment of part of that fantasy, Oliver Robert Gamradt was delivered, more like taken out, into this world on November 24th, 2008.

Oliver Robert Gamradt, a sight to behold. With the constant hurried walking and talking of our Nurses and Doctors, the hustle and bustle of an emergency C-Section, Laura and I never got the chance to make a proper introduction and hello to our newly ‘born’ child. Needing help to pass all the tests every new human being is asked to pass, breathing as an example, Oliver spent the night receiving the care that he needed. After a long and arduous journey and we hadn’t left the hospital yet, Laura and I started off our new life as parents with a bang.

All my images of playing catch, wrestling on the ground in the front yard, of laughing until it was time to stop, and of first words, seemed now to be a distant chapter of a book of 20,000 pages. When finally home, I stopped and thought about that fantasy of mine, and how eagerness was built into my perceptions of what having a child really means.

My fantasy had become the here and now. Oliver, the present living child of ours, is a reminder that their future is but a fragment of what being his parent really means. The future is the smallest sliver upon a story that will take years to be told. Oliver is a lifeline that is different. A lifeline that is less selfish in nature. A lifeline that must be nourished until it is time for him to leave the nest, which I’m sure in spirit he never will. Oliver is a lifeline that was added to our marriage that acts as thicker glue that binds our story together. No fantasy of mine was ever a reality, only a dream of something I expected for my child. I will always have hopes and dreams for Oliver, but even now realize that Oliver will fulfill his own fantasies, and I have only a chance to influence what those fantasies become. Oliver has now spent one year honing me into a newly developed individual with experience and knowledge that could never be foretold.

Oliver Robert Gamradt, the newly formed human being that needed help passing all of the life tests, is now one year old. Through one year, Oliver has changed the very foundation of what an inexperienced father to be perceptions are of having a child. Oliver is now a wonderful boy, a boy with the piercing blue eyes, the beautiful smile, and the dazzling spectacle of being resilient, like his mother. Oliver is now a beautifully natured boy, a boy with a personality, features, and stubbornness like his dad. Oliver is now the added joy that brought our joy-o-meter from Joy-FULL to Joy-Fullest. Oliver has molded his beautiful existence into something that we thought was beautiful already. He has molded himself as a part of our family.

Oliver, you are our son. You are our friend. You are our lifeline. You are the exceeded expectations of the unexpected. You are the exceeded expectations of the expected. A ‘thank you’ to God is not enough to capture the thankfulness that we have for you being our child. (Thank you God) Here is to you my son. Here is to a life filled with Christ. Here is to life filled with Joy-Fullness-est. Here is to our future and to living in the present. Here is to your dreams and fantasies. Here is to your beautiful piercing blue eyes, your beautiful smile, and your dazzling spectacle of resiliency, your personality, features, and stubbornness.

Happy Birthday Son!

God’s Peace and Love, and yours sincerely, Dad

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

Oliver's First Halloween! Tonight Oliver and his friend Lily went around our neighborhood trick or treating. He was a great sport about it.
After a fun night of going around the neighborhood he had to wear his Halloween PJ's to bed.

Pumpking Carving

2009-10-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

We thought Oliver needed to have his pumpkin personalized for Halloween. Here are a few pictures of the Carving celebration. And yes, Josh did use his drill for the carving. Real baby proof!

Oliver's Group Birthday Bash

2009-10-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last night we meet up with a bunch of our playgroup buddies to celebrate all of our kiddo's 1st Birthday. We thought we would throw a group party, exchange names, and then put the kids to bed so the parents could have a fun night. The Dad's were there too, but unfortunantly we did not get a picture of them with their little ones. Here are a few pictures to show how it went. As you can see Oliver was a huge fan of the cupcake!

Way to Go Vikings!

2009-10-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

We think Oliver was the Vikings good luck charm because he wore his Vikings get-up for them. Nice work Minnesota!

More Fall Fun

2009-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we thought it would be fun for Oliver to go to the Apple Orchard by our house. Again he was drawn to the pumpkins. Here are a few pictures of our fun time there.

Our Little Pumpkin

2009-09-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Sauk Centre and Oliver got his very first pumpkin. For some reason he was in love with the pumpkin and was laughing and patting it over and over. Last year at Halloween I think my tummy was the size of the pumpkin. (At least I felt that big)

Here is Oliver with the pumpkin grower AKA his Grandma

Our little Twins Fans

2009-09-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here is Oliver and his new 3 day old, cousin Nolan cheering on the Twins. Noland and Mom are doing well, but Rhea is ready to get rid of the Bells Palsy she developed when pregnant. (Doctors say it should go away in about two-three weeks after giving birth)

Oliver's new cousin, Nolan

2009-09-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

On September 10th, almost two weeks early Nolan David decided he had enough of the belly and made is first appearance to the world. He weighted 7 lbs, 4 oz and is 21 inches long.
Here he is just three hours old.

Our little Scholar

2009-08-09T20:15:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I love to decorate and before our little man was around, my house was anything but baby-proof. Well after much deep breaths I have come to accept that my house is going to have to evolve into a kid friendly zone. So I have been slowly moving breakable and kid unfriendly objects down to our basement for the next decade. I thought I had done a pretty good job, but leave it to a crawling little boy to find things that you forgot. Well Oliver found some of Josh's keepsake books and decided to read a few pages. What a little scholar! While catching up on the books he also thought it would be fun to try to ripe out a few pages to keep for later. Luckily we were able to save the books and relocate them.

Oliver's rearranging

2009-08-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

Oliver is getting to a really fun age where he is crawling and wanting to explore everything, but unfortunately that means exploring EVERYTHING! He also wants me to always play with him by his side. The other day, we had to make a compromise when I was trying to get dinner made and I let him crawl around the kitchen next to me. Well, after checking out the container cabinet I guess he felt the need to reorganize it.

Our Rockstar Mom, Linda!

2009-07-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Josh's mom is having to put up her fists and take on the tough fight of Breast Cancer. We have known for a little over a month know and she being so very brave. About three weeks ago she had her first treatment of Chemotherapy and is now experiencing hair loss. All of Josh's brothers joined forces and decided to surprise her and have a head shaving party. Even our nephew Brady, and Linda's sister Janelle joined in and shaved their heads! Josh's brothers Kurt and Ryan had to shave their head back home since they live in Hawaii and Seattle. We even had shirts made for all of the family members that said: "Cancer Sucks". Linda was very surprised and honored that her boys decided to join her for this big and scary event! Here are a few pictures to show the before and after pictures of the family. Please keep Linda in your thought and prayers, she has a tough road ahead of her.

Oliver Getting His Laugh On!

2009-07-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

This morning we were just sitting around the table at my parents house and Oliver's, daddy wanted to get him to laugh, so he started doing his typical "Josh" stuff. Attached is the outcome of Oliver's cuteness. Enjoy!

P.S. just ignore the last 10 seconds of it, my dad is trying to turn off the camera and not exactly sure how to do it.

Father's Day Fun

2009-06-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day we brought Oliver on his first visit to the Minnesota Zoo. He had so much fun strolling around in his jogger and hearing all of the animal noises.

Oliver and Cousin Addy

2009-06-25T12:28:00.001-07:00

Oliver and Addy had some bonding time at Grandma and Grandpa's house when Uncle Nathan came home. Addy is so good with Oliver, she loves to play with him and make him smile.

Uncle Nathan

2009-06-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, uncle Nathan flew home for his birthday and to spend some time with the family. Oliver and I made the trek to Sauk to spend as much time as possible with Nathan. This was Nathan's first time meeting Oliver.

Oliver and his cousins

2009-06-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Oliver with his cousins. This last weekend we were in Sauk Centre for Uncle Doug's wedding. Oliver was able to see his Seattle cousins and his cousins from Hawaii.

Oliver's First Twins Game

2009-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we brought Oliver to his first twins game. Twenty members of the Gamradt/Miller Family joined us. Here are some pictures of the fun day.

Oliver's First Gator Ride!

2009-05-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Oliver had his first Gator ride with his Grandma Marie. This will be one of many rides to come since he loved every minute of it.

Oliver's Big Day!

2009-05-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we had Oliver's baptism. We had such a great time with everyone, and fortunately the weather could not have been more perfect. Thanks to everyone who came and made it so special for Oliver and us. Here are a few pictures from the church and at our house after the church service.

Some of the latest pics of Oliver and his girlfriend, Ava

2009-05-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Oliver and I went over to visit our friends Brie and her little girl Ava. Oliver and Ava were having so much fun playing. It's great to see their personalities come out more and more. By the way, Oliver did have pants on yesterday, we were just showing off his amazing thunder thigh's. Gotta love the rolls!

The New Swing on Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today, Josh put up Oliver's baby swing. He looks like such a big boy in it! He loved it even though the pictures do not show it. He was super tired and anytime he saw the camera he got his "study it" face on.

Another Great Playdate!

2009-04-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

Last week Monday, Oliver and I went over to our new friend Michelle's house (and Carter her little man) to have a play date with some of the Moms from our Baby class. Here are some pictures of Carter, Lauren, Oliver, and Ava. They are all within 6 weeks of each other.

Hot Damn! 82 Degrees in April!!!!!

2009-04-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

I thought I would snap a few pictures of Oliver and I enjoying the super warm weather today. He looks like he should be on some beach in Mexico instead of here.

I Guess We Spoke Too Soon!

2009-04-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

So, as you can see a few posts ago we wrote how much Oliver loved his rice cereal. Well, I guess he has changed his mind. The last three nights he has made the funniest faces when we have tried to feed him. He no longer thinks it's delicious. We thought that maybe he became bored with it so we tried peas, but he is not into those either. Here are some pictures to show you what we mean!

Oliver's 1st Easter

2009-04-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! Here are a couple of pictures of Oliver with his Easter bunnies his Grandparents gave him.

Oliver and His 2 New Cousins

2009-04-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

We wanted to give a quick shout out to Oliver's 2 new cousins Owen and Easton. Ryan and Kristi brought 2 little twins into this world today, and we are happy to hear everyone is doing great. It is great to know Oliver has a few more boy cousins to play with this coming summer.

Again, congrats and God's Blessings to the Seattle Gamradt family.

Joshua, Laura, and Oliver

Trying out the new high chair

2009-04-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

So last week we introduced rice cereal to Oliver and he loved it. We decided that it was time to bring out the high chair that his Aunt and Uncle Rock gave him.

What's Up?

2009-04-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Oliver just hanging out the other night while we ate dinner. Josh had to see how his hat looked on him.

Chow Time!

2009-04-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

Oliver had his first rice cereal and he loved it!!! He just turned 4 months and I had planned to wait a little while and then I thought I would just try it and see how it went. Well, he thought it was delicious! So needless to say we have done it a few times already. Here are some pictures of him chowing down!

Oliver and Papa

2009-04-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, we headed to Sauk Centre. Here is a couple of pictures of Oliver with his Papa Nelson.

Oliver's Playdate

2009-03-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had some friends over to our house from our Baby and Me class. It was great to host our first playdate. Here are just a few pictures from the day. The first picture is of Carter, he was exhausted from partying all afternoon. The last few are of Oliver and his girlfriend Ava.

Giggles

2009-03-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

So we decided to take some pictures of Oliver giggling and having fun. Whenever we pull out the camera to get a picture he is so busy studying the camera that we cannot get him to crack a smile. We figured we needed to catch him in the moment when we were playing with him. This was from last Saturday morning.

Enough with the pictures already!!!!!!

2009-03-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

As you can see I love to take pictures of my little man and usually he is a pretty good sport about it. He does hit the point though were he has had enough. This picture was after I had taken about 10 pictures.

Having Fun!

2009-03-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Oliver is really starting to enjoy playing in his Exer-Saucer and with toys. He also loves it when we sing crazy songs to him or make funny noises. Here are a few pictures of him playing.

Yale or Harvard?

2009-03-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is a sweater that Grandma Nelson bought Oliver. We think he should apply to Yale or Harvard in it. It's so cute on him now, but if he ever wore it in Kindergarten he may get beat up from it. :)

Oliver's Sauk Centre Meet and Greet

2009-02-23T10:24:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few pictures from Oliver's meet and greet held in Sauk Centre by our parents. It turned out to be a great day, so many people came to meet him! Unfortunately it was so busy that we did not get a lot of pictures taken, but here are a few.

Getting ready for a walk

2009-02-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

Josh and I took advantage of the nice weather this weekend and decided to take Oliver for a long walk. Here he is all bundled up to go.

Target Baby Shower

2009-02-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

On Thursday the 12th, Josh's work was very sweet and decided to hold a baby shower for Oliver. We received many generous gifts from his coworkers and it was fun to meet all of Josh's friends at work.

We think it looks like Oliver wants a piece of the cake. Don't worry, he got his share about three hours later. :)

Recovering from Snow Golf

2009-02-13T12:45:00.000-08:00

After Snow golf Oliver and I decided we needed to take a nap from the busy day. Unfortunately, he was able to sleep more than me. :)

Snow Golf Weekend

2009-02-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
Here is a picture from our annual snow golf trip to Brainard. We are so fortunate to be able to stay at our friends (Tanya and Zac's) parents beautiful lake home. This is our 3rd year of playing and even Oliver joined in on the fun. (well sort of, he stayed in his warm car seat igloo the whole time)

What a big boy!

2009-02-04T08:36:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone, Here are two pictures of Oliver just hanging out. It's crazy how much he has changed in the past few weeks. I thought I would try the chair with him and he loves it. He always wants to sit up and see what's going on. The other picture on the bed is from one morning when we both just stayed in our PJ's and chilled for most of the day. Life is good when it's 11:00 in the morning and you get to be in your PJ's with your little man!

Our growing boy is 2 months old!...Soon he will be driving

2009-01-23T08:59:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the latest pics of Oliver. It is so hard to believe that he is already two months old. We have had so much fun in the last two months and cannot believe how much life has changed.
In one of the pictures he is chilling out before a bath one night. Check out the belly! In the middle picture he is with his Baby and Me buddy Ava, (Oliver and I take a class on Wednesdays to get to know other Moms and of course for social interaction for him :) . Ava is only 5 hours younger than him. We met her parents at our birthing class and we were in the hospital together. You get to know a lot of people when you spend a week in the hospital. The last picture he is with his Great Grandma Laura, at her apartment. She was very excited to meet him.

2008 Christmas

2009-01-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone, sorry we have been so bad about updating this. It is amazing how busy a seven pound.... well now a nine pound bundle of joy can make you. We all had a wonderful Christmas this year and are so thankful for Oliver, our best Christmas present ever.

Just a side note, for those of you who are facebookers, I try to stay updated on there as well.

Oliver's Senior Pictures

2008-12-02T18:56:00.001-08:00

One of the gifts I received was a Oliver hoodie from my mother. Oliver is a type of tractor, but in this case, I'll let it represent a damn cute little boy. We have gotten the suggestion that when he is a senior to wear it for his senior pictures. I'll be sure to keep it for him and to keep that in mind.

Oliver and Daddy

2008-12-02T18:54:00.003-08:00

I am proud and happy to be a dad to say the least. Here I am enjoying a little time with my new son.

Oliver and Mommy

2008-12-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

Through it all, Oliver is doing much better, and his pneumonia is all gone. Here is Laura posing with our new little one.

Oliver Needing a Little Extra Help

2008-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Due to the stressful labor, especially from everything you have just seen below, Oliver had a hard time coming into this world. Oliver was not breathing to well on his own, and he had to be put under an oxygen tank to help him breath.

Oliver's Big Delivery

2008-12-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Here we are in the C-Section room. After 30 hours of labor, finally, Oliver makes his grand entrance. It was both an exciting and stressful time for Laura and me, but in the end, Oliver is worth it.

Pain is Kicking In

2008-12-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Here we are, half way into the labor, and Laura is officially not having fun anymore :( I worked really hard to keep her spirits up and keep her motivated through the process.

Beginning of Oliver's Labor

2008-12-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

As you can see Laura is still looking and feeling good here. Little does she know at this point, what is ahead of her to get our beautiful boy delivered.

Oliver's Labor and Delivery

2008-12-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

Hey, our close friend Tanya put this message together, and it explains things perfectly (She is the best!) I wanted to get everyone updated. Sincerely - Joshua, Laura, and Oliver

Hello All!

I know you have all been waiting to hear about Laura and the baby news! I have the privilege of letting you all know about the newest arrival!
IT'S A BOY!!!!!!

That's right; Oliver Robert Gamradt was born on Monday, Nov. 24th at 10:45 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz. and was 18 inches long. He definitely is a Gamradt and looks quite a bit like Josh. We all think he has Laura's lips though. It was a long road for Laura and Oliver, so I will give you the short version of the story: Laura went in on Sunday night to be 'ripened' and induced. After the cervix ripening didn't bring on natural labor, she was given pitossen, which is the drug to make her contractions come faster. They broke her water, and she labored for about 30 hours, here she was dilated to a 7 (you have to get to a 10 in order to start pushing). About that time, Oliver's heart rate slowed from about 150 beats per minute to 65, which was a major concern. When this happened, the doctors decided that she needed to have an emergency C-section, immediately. So within about 12 minutes, she was rushed into the operating room, and Oliver was born! When he came out, he was slow to breathe normally, so he was given oxygen. They figured out the reason his heart rate had dropped so suddenly was that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and so as he moved down the birth canal, his cord was tightening as he got closer. After doing the standard baby tests, the doctors discovered that he has a small case of pneumonia, and so he was also put on antibiotics. They think he may have gotten this from the muconium (which means he had a bowel movement in the womb). He is slowly getting stronger each hour, and the nurses said he pooped as much as a grown man this morning! (He is definitely Josh's son!) So, I visited today, and Laura, Josh, and Oliver are all doing well! Laura is quite sore from having back labor and the C-section, but was able to walk around on Wednesday. Oliver will stayed on antibiotics for a week and had been working hard on learning to breast feed. Josh is stepping up to the Dad title very naturally and did fabulous at keeping Laura positive and calm during it all.

Laura was in the hospital and discharged on Thursday, but Oliver had to stay until Sunday, December 1st to make sure his pneumonia had cleared up before going home. Laura and Joshua stayed with Oliver at the hospital until Sunday, and the whole family was released, FINALLY, at 10:30am. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and remember to give thanks especially for Oliver, Laura, and Josh.

Tanya

Any Day now.... well 19 days before due date

2008-11-02T16:32:00.001-08:00

This is the latest pic of Laura's belly. The doctor says any day now, so needless to say we are very pumped. We will have to see if babycakes wants to make an early, on time, or late arrival. We vote for early! But as we all know children have a mind of their own!

A Fabulous Baby Shower!

2008-10-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday the 5th of October, my wonderful friend Tanya held a baby shower for me. She did such an amazing job and put so much thought and time into it. It was great to see many of my old co-workers, friends, and family. Unfortunately, it was a busy weekend for many of my friends and they were not able to come. I figure that just gives me an excuse to go out with them on a later date. :) Here are a few pictures from the fun day.

A few speed bumps

2008-09-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, we thought we would update you with the latest going on with the pregnancy. We have experienced a few speed bumps in the last few weeks, but we think we are back on track. Two weekends ago Laura became very sick. She was vomiting and became very dehydrated and started to have contractions. We went to ER at 3:00 in the morning and had to stay in the hospital until the next day. The doctors determined she had a bacterial infection. After much observation, blood work, and medicine to stop the contractions the doctors had things under control. The doctors said that the baby was not affected by this and Laura is doing much better now and has regained her strength.

One more little bump that we are dealing with is that Laura has been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. This is a form of Diabetes that some women get when pregnant. She has met with all the specialists and we believe we have it also under control. She will need to check her blood 4 times a day (which she just loves!!!!!) and make sure she is eating certain foods every two hours. It does not effect the baby in any way as long as she can keep her blood sugar under control.

So, that is the latest at the Gamradt household. The baby is still doing awesome, Laura just has a little more on her plate to deal with. We know it will all be worth it in the end and we will have a beautiful baby.
Again, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers with all of this.
Joshua and Laura

The 29 week belly

2008-09-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

So here is the latest picture of Laura's belly. If you look close you might see a kick taking place, just kidding. :) We have been able to sit and watch the baby move like crazy in there. Laura is worried this baby may be as crazy as it's father with all the kicks and punches going on. It is amazing to think how fast these 29 weeks have gone by. I can only imagine how fast time will fly after this baby is born!

All we need now is a baby!

2008-09-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

We are ready for this baby, well in about 10 weeks. We want it to cook in the oven for as long as needed. :) This is our finished baby's room. The paint color is very similar to what we had in there before, however we felt like it needed a fresh coat of paint. We also hung some shelves, hooks, a leaf canopy, and the quilt that came with our bedding set. Needless to say we are very excited.

24 Week Belly

2008-07-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

So here is the latest picture of Laura's Belly. Sorry we are late putting this one up. Everything is going great and our little one is kicking like crazy! We can even watch Laura's belly move with the kicks.

Our Little One On the Ultrasound

2008-07-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we have been given a lot of grief for not updating this in awhile so we thought we better put up some new pics.

On the 15th of July we went to the doctor for our ultrasound. We were a little stressed because we had the appointment time mixed up and we ended up being a little late and as everyone knows Laura hates to be late! After we made it there, it was so amazing to see our little baby on the screen. He/She was moving around so much and we saw him/her punching their fists, yawning, and kicking. The ultrasound tech said that she had to be very careful because if she showed too much we would be able to see if it was a boy or girl. I guess our baby is not modest! At that moment it was so hard to stay strong and still not find out the sex, but we want to be surprised.

So here is one of the pictures from the Ultrasound. It looked so much better in person, but this was the only way we could let everyone see it. We will try to get a recent picture of Laura's belly up soon.

18 Week Belly!

2008-06-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

Laura is now 18 weeks along! Here are a couple of updated pics of the growing belly. Everything is going great, Laura is done with the morning sickness and she is waiting to feel the first few kicks! According to BabyCenter.com, the best website ever, the baby is almost 6 inches long!

The 13 week belly!

2008-05-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

So here is the latest picture of Laura's belly. We are now just past 13 weeks. It is a lot of fun to watch the belly grow each week! Last week we went to the doctor and heard the heart beat and the doctor said Laura's pregnancy seems to be very healthy.

9 Weeks...and so the belly begins!

2008-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody,

We just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and the congrats that everyone has been giving to us. We have had a lot going on, especially with Laura feeling like crap 24/7. As for me, I can say I am loving pregnancy more than she is :) We do have to give a big thanks and shout out to Dave and Rhea. We received a tote load of maternity clothes that Laura has been able to start using...so THANKS!

We have also included a few pictures to give you and idea of what Laura is looking like so far.

Love,

Joshua, Laura, and Baby Cakes

First Doctor's Appointment

2008-04-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we went in for our first doctor's appointment. We were not expecting too much, because we had been told that not much happens at the first appointment. When we first arrived, I was all nervous, not knowing if the husband should be there yet or not. But of course, we walked into the back together. Everyone was really helpful and talkative. It was actually exciting to see how exciting everyone was while we were there. While sitting in our room, the nurse came in bearing a few gifts for us. We received a bunch of coupons and stuff, along with a baby bag, which the nurse said was masculine, but I'm not too sure about that. We also received a really cool book. With how much reading I like to do, hopefully I am able to make it through it. Maybe I'll make it my next book club book! As we were going through the whole appointment, the mid-wife asking us questions and us asking her questions, she finally asked how far along we thought we were. We said, we thought a little over 7 weeks, but we were not sure. She surprised us with asking if we wanted an ultrasound. We must have looked at each other in anticipation, because we were not expecting to be able to see baby cakes yet. Before we went for the ultrasound, Laura had the pleasure of getting her blood taken. I'm pretty proud of her, she didn't faint once. So, after the blood work, we went into a back room to start the ultrasound. Laura got comfortable, as comfortable as you can be, and we got things started. It was exciting to look up at the screen and see a little baby cakes right in the middle. When she zoomed in on the picture, we were able to see the little heart beating and the development of the head taking place. She did all the measurements, and our estimate was almost spot on. We are currently 7 weeks and 4 days along. Our current due date is November 21st. We have a lot of family that are close to that date, especially Laura's sister, my brother Shawn, and Brady. Maybe baby cakes will share a birthday with one of them. Anyways, that is a quick update of where we are today.

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. We are extremely excited to be taking this journey together. And we hope that all of you can be a part of baby cake's life when he or she arrives. We love you all and can not wait to hear or see from all of you.

God Bless,

Joshua, Laura, and Baby Cakes

Could it be true?

2008-03-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

...YES! Our big news is, this fall we are planning on adding to the Gamradt family. Laura is still very early in the pregnancy, about 7 - 8 weeks. We will be going to the doctor to make sure everything looks good next week. Needless to say, we are very excited, and we are happy to create this blog to make this announcement!

Joshua, Laura and baby cakes